ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF BUDDHIShT

Volume V

Facsimile Reprint

Reprinted in 2000

by

The Department of Buddhist Affairs

Ministry of Buddhasasana

Printed by : Tharanjee Prints

ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF BUDDHISM

Fo urtder Ed ito r- i n -C Ii ef'

G.P.MALALASEKERA, M.A.,Ph D., D. Lirr.,Profc,ssor
Enreritus

Ediror-in-ChieJ'
W. G. WEERARATNE.M A. PhD

VOLUME V

Earth- Japan

r990

PUtsLISIII'I) T}Y 1'IIIT GOVERNMB,NTOF SRI I,ANKA.

PRINTED AT THE STATE PRINTI}IG CORPORATION. SRI I-ANKA.

ENCYCLOPAEDIAOF BUDDFIISM
EDITORIAL BOART)

Dr. ANANDA W. P. GURUGE

HonoraryConsultantEditor

Dr. N. A. JAYAIryICKREMA, Professor

Emeritus
Chicf EditorialAdvisor

Dr. W. G. WEERARATNE
Editor-in-Chief

Mr. A. G. S. KARIYAWASAM
DeputyEditor(1987- 1989)

Mr. S. K. NANAYAKKARA
D.p.rty Editor

MT. M. KARALUVINNA
DeputyEditor

Mr. A. D. T. E. Perera
Assistant
Editor

PANELOF CONSULTANTS
Ven. Dr. WALPOLA RAHULA THIIRA, kofessorEmeritus
Ven. MAPALAGAMA VIPULASARA THERA
Ven. DT. KAKKAPALLTYE ANURUDDHA THERA
Ven. DT. KUMBURUPITIYE VAJIRA THERA
Ven. Dr. BHIKKHU DHAMMAVIHARI
Prof. DAVID J. KALUPAHANA
Dr. L. P. N. PERERA
hof. Y. KARUNADASA
Prof. LILY DE SILVA
Dr. P. E. E. FERNANDO, Professor
Emeritus
Prof. PADMASIRI DE SILVA
PTOf.SENAKA BANDARANAYAKE
PTof.RATNA HANDURUKANDA
Prof. P. D. PREMASIRI
vii
Forrner Editors-in-Chief

Dr. G. P. MALALASEKERA, Profa:rcEmiuu

Fqrn&rEditor-in{trid

Dr. O. H. DE. A. WUESEKERA, Professor

Emcnurs

DT. JOTIYA DHIR,ASEKERA

Mr. BANDLTLA JAYAWARDIIANA

 In Memoriam

We record with deep sorrow the deathsof ProfessorO. H. de A. Wijesekera,Mr. H. G. A.

van Zcist and Mr. Upali Karunaratne who were associatedwith the Encyclopacdla of Buddhism
projcct in different capacitiesand rendered valuable servicefor its growth.

ProfessorO. H. de. A. Wijesekera,a former Professorof Sanslrritand one time Vice-Chancellorof

the Colombo University becameEditor-in-Chief of the Encyclopaediaof Buddhism in1973 assuccessor
to Professor G. P. Malalasekera,the founder Editor-in-Cheif. In this capacity ProfessorWijesekera
worked until 1976renderingremarkableguidanceand leadershipto the edioriat staff. He died in 1990
at the age of 80 years.

Mr. H. G. A. van Zcist was a Hollander by birth, and was trained and disciplined to be a Roman
Catholic clergyman,but becamea convert to Buddhism rn the pnme of his youth. Coming to Sri Lanka
to learn Buddhism in depth,he was ordainedasa bhikkhu but after severalyearshe revertedto lay life.
Mr. van Tnist was one of the few to join the Errcyclopaediaof Buddhism Project almost at its inception
urO $erveOin tlre capacity of AssislantEdior cum Administra[ive Officer foi over I I yearsup to 1968.
He died in 1989 at the age of 80 years.

Mr,.Upali Karunarahe,a Pali (Specid) Honoursgraduatefrom theUniversity of Ceylon,Peradeniya

joined theEncyclopaediaof Buddhism editorial staff in 1960and servedthe project till his dearhin 1979
at the age of 54. A keen student of Buddhism, lvlr, Karunaratne has cclnpiled many articles on
Abhidhamma and Vinaya topics, some of them already published and others srill to appearin furure
fascicles.

Editor-in-Chief
 ABBREVIATIONS

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ASCMem. .. Archaeological Survey of Ceylon, Mentoir
AAWG. Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wisscnschaf-
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ASIMem. .. Archaeological Survey of lndia, Memoir

AbhK, Abhidharmako$a (Nigari characters), ed. R.
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ed. H. Hoffmenn (Bruchstrlcke
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AbhKvy. Abhidhermako$avyikhyi, ed. U. Wogihara,
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Abhs. Abhidhamrnatthasangaha, ed. T. W. Rhys Av{. .. AvadCnaiataka, ed. P. L. Vaidyq AS?l 19, 195E.
Devids, JPIS. 1884, l-48. BASR. .. Bullctin de I' AcadCmie des Sciencrr dc Rulsie
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OF SPECIAL TTTLESTO ABBREYTATIONS

CROSS.REFERENCES

Atthasilini Dhammassangani Atthakatha (DhsA.)

Madhuratthsvila;ini Buddhuvamsa eithatattti (BuvA.)
ManorathapIrani A nguttra Nikiya'Atthakathi (4,4.)
Niddesa-vanna-ni Maha{Culta-) niddesa Atthakeths ( N d A .I , I I )
Papaficasud'a;ri - Majjhinra Nikiya Atthakathi (MA,)
Paramatthadipani Cariyipitaka Atthakathi (cpA.)
Paramatthadipani Itivuttaka ntthakatha (ttA.)
Peramatthadipani Paficap pakaiana Atthakatha (PpA.)
Paramatthad!pan! Petavatthu Att'hakaihi (Pvun.1
Peramatthadipani Theragatha nittakattri OhasA.)
Paramatthadipani Therigithi Auhakathi OhisA.)
Paramatthajotiki I Khuddakapitha Atthakathi (KhpA.)
Paramatthajotiki lI Suttanipita ntthei;ttra (SnA.)
Paramatthmaf,jusi Visuddhimagga Atthakathi (VismA.)
Saddhammapajjotiki_t, tl Mahi{Culla-) niddesa Atthakathi (NdA. I, il)
Saddhammappakioini PatisambhidamaggsAtthakatha (PsA.)
Sarnantapisidiki - Vinaya Atthakathi (vinA.)
Sammohavinodani Vibhanga- Atthakathi (vbhA.)
Sarattheppada:ini Samyutta Xiliya Atthakathi (SA,)
Sumangalavilasini - Oijtra xft iyr Atthiicrthi (DA,)
Visuddhajenavilasini Apadanr Atthekittri (ApA.)
 I,,q.l,l'itE

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oi
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":1
'-,,
or lound. i"rr-iihere arr;eft:rerrces ir',Jlcating th.ii ih. m ; 1 . , J . ' .j i i htm!'jif li-rirrg r . i: r , ' . t i r : i : r l C ' r i i r i _ , ' i h e c a f l h
rrarth crn r+iirCr ws lrve is nilt the oilly slrrih thai c\isrs .l*;r,. h r : w ' i - r u l t i n r ; : ! , 1 *l i i t ; c . , ' { , l r ' r , . ; ' ,:..,,:\(:,ii {ff
.rinl i.liat ftililv qlf then-r tir.re.\itt rn space. {Ser l-()K ii \ v.iStitc.;s:rnd thc;::,.,,1 rleni;, r;l t:l;.',;"ililt. ll!tln rrr
iJIIATT Ii. .ircuiri ir, tli,, 1li'r;. ltiricti:1,.' ,,: i:tij ? . . , , 1 . ; ! r . . 1 .i c i l t i l l i l

tf n tn0l g ] . ; n t , ' r L rt t d i r i U f l , , - . j v . i t r - i - ; ; r - ) t i i i - L) i l i r l l ' . r ' l h s ialiclel-

,\ccorthng to lluddhisr cilsmolo€r1 1q r ,. ,r mounl.ul)
e t r c j a b u r c : . r i i l i i 1 o . - . . . l p i r!:r . t i : c . t ^ t t t i t l ! t r ' , ,r.,.;,, i."{. i1,'
nj'rram€ Sincn: stands in thc ccntrc ({ ()ur eu|lh. it is
pp. -i74 ri! a ntiblc dr::r-lfrk-,ri iire i1l,'.i*ir.t t.'ri..ilrr ialtei
- . : u b - t n e r g e du l t i l e s c . t I o a d e p t h t l c i g h t r - l o i r r - t h o u s . r n c l
that he {j(iirid rcml"tn ,JniIn- ,.,in(}irl iru*tnp 'listurtrr-',.i
icagrres (y}.juna\ :rncl rises above thr sirriacc ir) tlre r:inrr.:
\\tlh ihoiiqirli oi lovc i - r i r d r . : - . r ; : ; i : . , s r r ; i ;i t , i l l l lr!.1 the
heigtrt. Mount Sineru is surroundeti hy scrcn rnorlnrrrir
qt-cilt {-';irlh'lt;ri rrnr,tlns calln .i.lii .rrf|r'. . . {r t i ; r r u t l - - r t n !
rarrges'i'riganrlhara. ls;tihar,l K;li-lnikl-. 5rrriirssl,.na
Nernindhara. \'inat;rkii ;tncl.\ssai<a4rlri'f.rlliirn;r lic.r- elaterl or itngcrerj uhi:l: " i i l s i . r i : . i i i ' - , , . - ' . t t , ,. t a t l . r r l ' r l c
'1"'i
i , . f - r - ; . t r i { ' ' v J 1i t 1 r r ' " r ' h t : ; r : t ; r t ' r [ r l \ , r { l r r . ] l ; . 1 1 . l
\ t - ' i : t s s r t u a t s J o n t h e t , } p o { ' m r } u n l S i u c i r r r , '} : r i l ' l ; . ' thingS
r _ i i r 1 r ,' 1 1 [ i ' r . ; h ] t r ( : l t ! i ( , ' 1 l - i ( } a ! i l i n i ] ; t : , \ 1i i y ; h t , t ; t t n i l l r t / i
r c i r i m { { A s u r a s ( { i . s u r ' . l b lr i({i il r i i )L t 3 1 i i s l . r r t t i r n . i l ' i ' 1 ' \
t li I :J il ihr: iiutliliilt iiri ','lrrr \{)ung i{,rirula trr
!ol II. p I ll6) A l l t h e h c l l s a r c - \ u n p { r 5 e L t1r . , b t ' r r r , l i . ' r ' ;:
Lieveitrp hrs rrtrari rr, .L.rch;r i.,..i' rhili:1 ,loci not becotne
thc surlhcr d thc earth. Spcnce I-lardi in hrs r'.L 1,Iirirt it'
tiistLrrheri in 1n\ r^,iir:alion .inJ lhL:rri)!' rn:irillarq Lom-
I i r t t i d ! i t s n r{ p . 1 6 . } m e n t i ( ) n s l i ; ; . r f l i ii o ; ' i i r h i c i t : ; i l \ \ l i r x i
pletc cquilrbrr.itr. l t i . , - 'i h , : c ; r r t h . h i i i e ' . !, ' r t , t k t t i i p 24t
\ ' , i . ' r r q r r t h e r n o s t d r c a d f u l c - iuf l l h ; l i s . i s s c v c l r h L l l . l i - r r r j
i n r i r - sd r r e r t i r u n d e r t h e B o d h r t r c e a t G l r ; r . , \ c c o r ' i i n : r it is seen hou' thc t}uddha [)ipa:ik:ira advisesSumedha
l / r s e \ ' . r ; t l i : < r m m e n l . l r i a lr l o r k s ( c g . D h u n n t t t r t r l , t - l ( . ! l t t - P a g { i t a t o d e v e l o p t h e p e r t ' e c t i o nt l { e q r i a n i m i t } { r r p e f t -
i.1:r,, \,rl I. pp 127"I47: ilI p I8lI Avici hrii is A f t r r )w h i c h e n a b l e so n c t o r e m d r n u n m u ! e d a n d u n d i s -
',rrr.ili(l rn the womb oi-the earth hclo,*'all o:her hells. t r r r b o l u n d e r a t l c r r c u m s t a n L : r \l i k e i h t : e a r t h t h a t
remains calrn and screne when *t:t>d thrnp as well a*s
T h c c a r t h a l v : p l a r s a v e n i m p t r r t a n t r o l e ' a - sn i l r r c s s
bad thrng; are dumpetl upon ri (see also EARTH-
. :uppr)tt of'the f r o d h i s : r t t a o n t h e o c r j r r s i ( ) no t ' h r s
QtjAKIr
,':rinlncnt ot" Buddhahoo<1. Mara. the e!il ()ne. $;i:i
: i , a L i n g h i s l a s t a t t e m p t l o c l i s s u a d et h e b o d h r s a l t a l ' r o n . t W" G. Weeraratne
::teinlng Buddhahood With lrrghtcning \\'cilpclns.
\ i l 1 r ; r ' s l b r c e s s t a r t e d t h c a s s a u l t o n t h e h r - . < l h i s : r t t ar v h r r
.) \crcncl! scatcd itt the loot ol thc trcc rrf w rsdoiD. -Ihe
' iir bl the power o{ virtues practised bi' the lattcr dunng EARTII GODD[SS. cult ol the [:arth Gtrddess
p r e v a i l a l r n l h e w o r l d f r o m t i m e i r n m e m o r i a la n d h a s
.rn incalculable period of time in the past. all thosc
beer reckoned in popular Buddhrsrn too, with sporadic
\\caporrs became garlands ot fragrant flowers and lell
ref-erencesrn Buddhist texts from early times.
. L rr h e f - c e to f t h e b o d h i s a t t a . A t l a s t w h e n a l l h i s a t t e m p t s
rrere ot-nc avail. Mara came to thc bodhisatta ard said: Earth Goddess has a prominent role to play as the
Prrnce Siddhattha the seat on which vou are seaterj is divine mother or Mothsr Goddess in early religious
nune and not yours. Please go away f'rom it.- At this the practiccs of rnanktnd. During the pre-historic times
trodhisatta said: "[{ow can the seat used bry the bodhi- the Great N{other Earth wzrs portrayed in ex-t:oto
sttta t(} attain Enlightenment Lr yours. what evidcnce tablets and clal' and stone carvings.Her primary charac-
have 1ou got to support your claim"" All the lorcq; ol' teristic is her capacity to reproduce. Hence the fertility
Mara roared: "We are evrden€ lbr it." Then Mara and fecundity symbols were always associatedwith her
asked Buddha: "Now. what evidenct have you got to images. unless these very symbols representedher. In
support 1'our claim for itl'" At this the bodhislita earl1,iconographic representationsthe Earth Goddess
stroked the earth with the tip; of his lingers. and thc rs portraryed with a belly showing thereby'her eternal
earth responded by trembling and roaring. The lbrcc of pregnancY
 EARTH GODDESS EARTH GONNESS

i-,.'-';t.rur pre-Buddhist rnvths. especially those of T h e E a r t h ( i o d c i e s s h a - r s ee m i n g l r p l a r e , - l n o l e s s

r(grr:dre orrgin. the L.ilrlh (jodcJcss is tmpregnatal b1 s r g n r l i c a na t r o l e r n t h e c a r e e rt t t h e B u r l d h a -a c c o r d r n g
thc sk-r gtxl 1r,;r'g,'. 1i'l!cn,,t'. Indra. ibr her to prr.rdttce thr-- t o t h e P a h t r a d i t r o na s * e l i S h e s s a r c tl o h a v e h e l p e d
-i-his
green growth rn atrund:nce is in f.i.1 ;rn iLlcgon oi i h c h t r t l i r r s u l l rul a t l m e o f < i r r rr i r l l i e u l t rw h e r ra l l t h e
the rains falling (rn earth frorn thc skr,: ,. ir()duc€ ln gods and angels fled from the Buddha's presence on
bountv ior !hc chi!drcir ln iarih the advance of the Evil One (Mara) and his armr'.
According to these legends, when the bodhisatta was
Among ci:t1. stucctr.r:i\, rlr,irc earvinBF discovercd
about to attain Supreme Enlightenment (Sumbodhi).
l'rom ancicni pi:c-Butiihrstrc sllcs in India and 5.-i
Mara. the Evil Jne. who saw him in deep nreditation
Lanka. rcpirctr ri the tlreat l)rvine i!,lother, the Eart^r
unCer the Bodhi-tree, approached him with the view to
Goddess. are alslr lr...irndSr:rne bclicve that these finds
distract hirn" When Mara's attempts failed, he put
bclong ta a rrre-Budrlhrst t-rir- but had survived even
forward his claim to the very seat Vujrusaruton which
after the [Jur1r]htstPc-.rerd.
the Buddha sat. He called upon his myrmidons (mdrd-
In the latcr Buddhrsr traditlon the personified and sentr)to bear witness and challenged the Buddha to
deified concept of the earth i.e. H;.rrth Coddess. rs referred show cause as to \ryhyhe should not return the seat to
t o a - se i t h c r m a h i o r p u t . h t i t i w i t h a n a d d e d a p p e l l a t i o n Mara (This is reminiscent of the Biblical reference to
kuntu. signifying the feminine nature (f'ujtrtultv'tt-ed. Satan's having authority to rule the entire wcrld).
K (inanavimala. ('olomlx' 1 9 6 5 . p 1 8 7 . . \ t r . r p r r l c r n i . s a ^ At this point it is said that the Buddha reminded Mara of
. ir n , , l r r r i k , r r . r I ) r , ' : ! . j ' ) l , i p 59. [)ulldmsuru4tt. ed. the ten perfections(Pttrumfihe had cultivated on numer-
'[
D h i i r r , m a n a d a h e r a . l t ) 1 7 . p 2 6 - 5I orls previous births. and called upon the Earth to bear
It rr hirt naturai tor tluddhists to give prominence
testimony to it by pointing to the Earth with his right
1o .1ir agc-old tradition b1 recognising the earth as a
hand (.i l.p.7l lfl.
hl perphr sical being. In the Indian nrrllar earth has L a t e r e l a b o r a t o r so f t h e s a m e l e g e n d r e c o r d t h a t t h e
alreadl been elevated to the state (t a divinity several [,arth itself tremored seven times and Mara with his
centuries before the rise of Buddhism. Both ur the battalionsfled away E J. Thomas puts this narrative
'Prthirl
Vedic a-swell as in the epic tradition (leminine) w h i c h i s f o u n d o n l y i n l a t e r B u d d h i s tl i t e r a t u r ea sf o l l o w s .
has oiten been combined with the Divine Father. the "That the elaborators of the Mara story were recording a
sk,v{Dlrrrspitri Rr I. 89.4). Thus the dual compound subjective experience under the form of an ob-lective
(Llt,t :ttt i.tdt u n:lLiI d y'u ui prtfi ir'r. The universal or primordial r e a l i t y . " ( E . J . T h o m a . s .T h e L i . l e o l t h e B u d d h u .K e g a n
paierJi rs ilivoked as Prthit:i-milti (mother earth). P a u l .1 9 3 1 p. 2 3 0 ) .
Thrc erJn*'r'r. ,,f derfying the earth and sky is universal
I t i s n o t e w o r t h l t h a t i n t h e e a r l i e s ts t r a t u mo { B u d d h i s t
and could be traced back to the belief,s and practices
l i t e r a t u r et h e r e l e r e n cteo l v { a r a ' cs h a l l e n g reo r h c B u d d h a
amonS several pre-historic civilisations. ln many of
u n d e r t h e B o d h i - T r e er s f o u n d f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e i n t h e
the ancrent cultures earth was also the bountiful mother.
I'utlhinu .Suttrrol- the Suila-niprita. See also "Gotama''
Hc'r seismrc behaviour too must have been counted as
in /)/'1',\
Civrne nature resulting in the invcstiture of divinity on
ea.iih The procreative energy too has been reckoned. Hou'ever it is signrficant that the Mara legend has
t o c r i i f h e r t h e w o m b ( q u r b h a s 1 _ y r r n rt)o b e i m p r e g n a t e d play'edthe primary role in introducing the Earth Goddess
b;- the Divine Farther Sky. in thc form of rain. In the to the life of the Buddha by later compilers and to be
early Indian tradition this aspect has been emphasised elaborated greatly in Buddhist art roo.
hy portraying her in art iu the Great Mother. .4drti-
Earth Goddess thus appears in the illustrations of the
I'rtunupad. with the genital parts more prominently
Mara legend in couniicss Buddhist shrines both in
5 f r 1 r r ' l ' rS c u l p t u r e s p o r t r a v i n g this aspecl of'the goddess
sculpture and in painting, of rrany Buddhist lands. One
ls to1116 f'requcntll rn thc Indian repertoire The
such is an early painting (cir. 7th. AD) from Kyzyl
lol',rstoo is ii symbol of earth in this particular instance. (Central Asia) which shows a woman in humble sub-
'Sri
It r:rruld tr presumed that the later and Ga jalaksmi
mission rising up from a fiery circle below the dais. on
mt,trt's depicting a goddes,s (in both tsuddhist and
which the Buddha sits. The Mara's army is shown
Hindu art) tcxr could be a derivative of the same concepl
hurling weapons at the Buddha while the Buddha is
\\ rth the spread and growth of Buddhism as a popular
d e p i c t e di n t h c c a r t h - t o u c h i n gl b h u s p u r i ual t t i t u d ec a l h n g
relrgron rt began to assimilate and accomodate u p o n t h e F - a r t hG o d d e s sf b r u ' i l n e s s( D S e c k e l .. 4 r r o l
such
n'ire{s that ilre deep-rooted among the common poeple. B u d d l r t s n tp. 2 6 8 . S e e a l s o E n t v . B . s n rI , f a s c . 2 . P L .
il:-: ln ths light thnt one has to evaluatc the presence X X I : I I I . f a s c .l . P L V I I )
,rt 'he F.arth ('i,,ddesc rn !irrrirlhist t.clre{sand cults of a A still early illustration is found in Sanci showing
M a r a ' s a t t a c k w h e r e i n t h e B u d d h a i s r e p r e s e n t e di n t h e
 EARTF{GODDESS
l'ujrasana and ttre Sacred Bodhi Tree. The fleeing Mira
and his acolytes are shown to the left d the trrre while on
the right side of the tree (quite close to it) is a figure of
a woman holding a water pitcher. One could conjecture
that this female is non other than the Earth Goddess
(The W uv oJ'tlwBuddha,Govt. of india publication p. 67.
fie. 70).
The Earth Goddess is shown in a medieval Pala
Sculpture from Bengal where she is shown holding a
pitcher-like objea (in like manner the female is depicted
in the Sanci panel) and rising from the bottom of the
Buddha's seat. The great event is symbolically illustra-
ted in the earth-touching pose (bhispurlu-mudru\ of the
Buddha figure. The crown of the head of the Buddha
signifies that lre had attained Buddhahood, symbolically
crowned in the kingdom of Buddhaland (B. Rowland.
Art and Architecture oJ' India Pt 94 A. on "Crowned
Buddha". See A. D. T. E. Perera. n The Purunatithttnrr
CommemorationVolume,Leiden. ed. J. E. Van Lohuizen
de leew. K. Indrapala, L. Prematilake).
In an Aja4ta cave sculpture depicting the Buddha's
Enlightenment at the foot of the sacral Bo-tree. the
Buddha is shown in the earth-touching attitude while a
womiul is shown rising up below the Buddha's seat and
holding a pitcher in both hands (The Wav-of the Buddha)
p. 69. fig 73). Here the Mara's hands are shown unleash-
ing their weapons on the Buddha.
In the early sculptures or paintings available in Sri
Lanka, it is difficult to trace the Mara legend,hence the
Earth Goddess also. But this cpisode has been a lively
theme for later artists of Sri Lanka as seenin the nume-
r o u s i l l u s t r a t i o n so f t h e M a r a ' s a t t a c k i n t h e m e d i e v a l
temple murals with the prominence given to the Earth
Goddess (mah{ kintd) too. One sudr is the mural from
the Degaldoruwa temple near c,andy where the Earth
Goddess is shown holding a pitcher and rising up from
the bottom of the Buddha's seat (W. G. A. Archer and
S. Paranavitana,(Ceylon).UNESCO, World Art Series.
P a r i s ,1 9 5 7 P . L. XXIII).
"The Earth Goddess and Mara's discomfiture" theme
that has so very prominently been depicted in the South
East Asian Buddhist Art of Burma Thailand, Laos and
Cambodia could have been derived from the Pila
School of Buddhist art of East Bengal. In the South East
Asian Fiel( the Buddha in the Bhilsparsh-mudrd has
become so prominent and common that some have
erronesouly identified that this was the very first type
of Buddha image in the world. ln fact it is possible to
call theseimages of the bhusparJaattitude not as 'Buddha'
l. For an exemplification of thb processser.AA. IV, p, 155.
EARTHQUAKE
images but icons produca{ to iiistrtrate the particular
event in the career of the bodhisatta when he called upon
the Earth Gcddess to bear i'r!r.rmonytc hrs claim to the
A d a m a n t i n e S e a t .t h e " L " t : j ; ' ' : : . u n tA
i ' ! r v c i _ vP i l a i m a g e
depicting this episode.pror:ablv cne of thLrsethat gave
inspiraticn to tbe artists frorn Soiith-eastA:;i4 shows the
bodhisattva ur the attire oi" royirlt,"-.wearine a crown
The Earth Goddess is shulrvnai the boitorn panel o{'the
seatexactly in the rniddle flani,.edby two hgureson either
side. The one to the left of'the Earth Goddessis unques-
tionably the Mara in a ciejectedntood showing his defeat.
( B . R o w l a n d . T h e A r t a n d A r t ' h i t e ( t u r eo l l n d r a . L o n d o n
1 9 5 3 ,p l . 9 4 A . S e ea l s o T h ew u v o l r h e B u d d h t to p c i t p . 1 7 5
f i g . 9 3 . B u d d h a i m a g e f r o m t h e P a l a S c h o o lo f ' B u d d h r s t
Art). On analogical grounds it is not impossibletoargue
that thosefemale figures carved on stone columns placed
at the enirance to some Buddhist shrinesof Sri Lanka of
the late classical and early medieva.lperiod. are of the
Earth Goddess herself.Ai th€ entrance to some shrines
of the famous Daladamaligawa Complex (in Kandy)
huge figures of the Goddess hcidirrg a pitcher can be
s e e nc a r v e do n s t o n eb l o c k s .( S e ea l s o B H r . JM- I S P A R S , \ -
MU DRT).
A. D. T. E. Perera
E A R T H Q U A K E ( P a l i p a t h u u t - k u m p a , ' c a l a .- c a l a n a o r
b h u m i - k a m p u ". c u l u . ' c a l a n a ; S a n s k r i t p r t h u i - k u m p u .
"culana or bhimi-kampu.'culana). Eight reasonsfor the
occurrenceofearthquakesare enumeratedby the Buddha
in the Sutta Pit.akn(D. II pp. 107 f.; l. IV. pp. 312 f.:
seealso Diuy. p.204). In the Mahupurinibbaru Suttantaof
the Digha-nikAya$I. p. 72 f .) it is related that Ananda.
being incapable of comprehending the suggestionof his
master, failed to request him to live longer. Mara then
approached the Buddha and the latter renounced his
remaining life span (dyusamkharam ossaji).declaring
that within three months time he would attain parinib-
bana. lt is stated that a mighty earthquake 'awful and
terrible, bursting forth the thunden of heaven' (bhim-
sanako lomahunsodeuq-dundubhiyo phulimsu)took place
at thb utterance.Ananda then inquired as to the reasons.
proximate and remote, for the occurrenc€ of agreat
earthquake (ko rw kho hetu kn paccayo mahato bhumr
calussapurubhauayarr'l). At this point the Buddha avails
himsef of the opportunity to enumeratethe eight reasons
for the quaking of the great earth.r
The flrst, the most significant for Buddhist cosmo-
gonical studies, deals with the physical aspect of an
 ij't lt'E'I I {} {-:.'1ig r' l_Alt-tli .,

l ' : ; t .-\lt:tndl i u n l i i l l , - ) 1 * d i . l ( ) \ 4l l l g ' , , I i t . i l i : i r n i : . ' L, , : ,.,,

hir *liici S:rngharakkhitri .lLCnniiriiShui :hlS .r:t.f iltr' .,!tri
. .\lt,' . t ) 1 1 \ l ' . l f D i l l l r r frll i I i i c cellsirai dncl iers rrrLtehrng lr(rrll
rr tihin. si-tci:cc.l rn shaklrrE the grcr'i \irucl rlrc * iili his
toc

1 u ' L : o t h e r r r c r - ' l l s i t ) nw
- ch e n t h e i : a l t h i l r : i i t , i ; r i . ; r i 1 1 , - r :
1 , , ; r r t m i l a ; r c a \ u r J r e I { i f i i l i o n e r i i n i h . ' i ' i i ti ! n l . i t l l h t t -
:<r'1i.)ll(lrrL.lS(leptCt!](i Llipuni. the errntiter:iari t o i h e T h e r u c i , t t t . , ti:' i l r t i , j i lil.
: i l . \ 1 i ) { I { } 5 v ^ \ ' 1r , , n , 1 i r l 3 - i i : s c e a i s o 1 - 1 . p p i 8 { } i l i r r t h ' r : ( , r i t i i i r . ' n t . i r \r ( }
,iltt. I\ illt.thc the M u ltti-k u s.;upu - t h er u(lat hit li L\ rr:ia t oci t hat lJh:,rri tiir-
. ii'riii:, il is lls(J thc K:rgrii.rlri an<i Kas:iapa, (later Mahil Kass:rpu Tlrcra)
, r ' , , . . r . 'tr-rr rl,r r g r c u ci l p l u n l t , *'hen they Jecrded to part at the ur'()s.croads iiiicr rc-
' ^ . . . ' . " - \ , . r i ; ( rrrn( g nouncirig woiliily life ancl joining thc S:rngh:i togerhcr
'l to lhc conr-
: ,, i . 1 l \ t p 1 5 5 t .t h i s m a d c t h e m i g h t ) e a r t h . t h o u g h i t c : . r i ; i r lf ' r ' i , r a l i S r n . r i i
, i : ' , i r i l c ' r tf i t l t r i t r l i t i o n a l i r c m b l c a t i i i e w e r g h t o f t h e i r t , i r t u e . i " i i l s c a i t h q L r ; r ! : et r u s
l : : r t " h i c i r i s r : o n c l i t i o n c { Jb } also a signal to attri'rct the attention oi thc Budcih:i l-r,r
. : : i , . . : n l il t i i t t t ru L : t t p r n t r .\ ' \ the text comments that the Buddha- who was at \ rili,,rir;
.rt that tinrc. knew u'hlrt the earthquakc sigril'rrxl tirrri
, , , , , , ' 1: x a g i t l r t c t i i n t h r s
w lthe! g h t \ c h i e l t h e r a s w a l k e t l r n t h c d i r e c r i , l n o 1
iIi.{illlCl , , . - ., i l r . ; l t h r s t v e t l t ' l l h c r
Kassaprr. ,\gairL when ttre tsuddha g.1\'e a\{'a\ liis rag-
, {.rr!::ilt(' .. il! i.:riu r11r'ial L{l ln I he ilst
robc lpumsukuiul to Kilsslrplr in crchangc ioi rht
1r,rll rrri rri .i,r' ]lr ;, ., ,f rltiif (ji less.strpplr the rc-
r r u l c r - r r r t r l p u t t p i l o t i k t t s L t i L t h i t iol l t h e i r r t t e r .i 1 i s s t a t e t l
ri';:iiiiiii.': .r i , ., i i l i d I i.ktng in thc. f ifSt
t T : t , r q7 i l l . p l 1 5 : . 1 4 p . 1 3 3 .a l r c p l l i l | t h a r t h c e a r t h
rl : , 1, . i . r . ;i r . r f g r , : r t t h a t tlie VariOus
cluakexl in the recognition of Kassapa's virtucs. for no
: 1.il(r::, r, : ,.:r ..' ,.',,.... , .itth{l"iiaf.ts iiSted trndCr thest:
ordinan bcing would have been lit to rrc'rr- cven thc
, J i _ i . i t : r : . r r r, l . , i !, ) ! , . J ; : i , . { i . { s t i i , . - ", t n c i l i a n condiiions
cirst-off robe of the Sakvamuni
l r ' .. | , ! , i i , - r . : i t , : t r l l r : , r , t i l : r : , t - i - i l i r i i i i . . r lt. t l a n e l f f t h q t f a k C
\ r .l i i a . i , i 1 . , i i i , ' i r , . i h i . i i i : I n * ( . l j l ; i t t l l r ' L - l I ' i t h e a g . i t a t i C l n O l ' A c c c r r d i n g t o t h e S u m u n g t i t t : i l r i s i r r r( I ) . { 1 . p l31i thc
l h , . r - l r l l, - i " . , : r r , . ' ii ir l I i t l ! : t r l r r . i l i i . L , - i i c r 1 / r i r l r r l r t p r r ) . e a r t h t r e m b l e d f r o m t h e u a t e r u p * . i r d s l L t d ( r k , . 1 - f tl vt tLt i n -
'..r. ,ii.
:,. , 'ilr t u n r ( ! t r k u i r l t p , t ; . h t ii t , i k t t n t t . t t t h , i $
) hen thc llighlihhrr-
i ' l' , i i t l l t ; i 1 t . , I i l . - r n ' t - i i r l t ( ) illt n C l f f t h -
naka thcriis rccitcd thc /lr'lrlrrrr;iiti Surt'i rri ihr' pllrcc.
! . l r , i : 1 . i . .i ii .r . , i .: . , i,i liiL. :'ilr,-i rrt :itf F:l-ciil r:riCrgl Of ti
rc,-lLisr i-:' i;r riiil-rjilt ol-grr.Jl
culled.,\mbalatthikl
rnicilectuai prtwer with
ccrnliirileei trrr:i:nits. or a go<i or l,iir_t tdi't ttttll clt' great l-he idea. which fbrrns the basis ril thrs n()tl()n. un-
mlghi iinii pi)\1 ci [ir infense rneditatipn such lt berng is doubtedly is that extreme virtue and plett arc capabh.
- 'l-his
:rlrr.- ' il,.rke ihr. r;rrtir rrcmble ;rn,i shake vrolentlt. tr'tr o{ producing vanous (haumatuigical phenomena.
r-jitr''ril.r[0 thtr r , r t i t r l . i ] t r r l r ' i i l . r g i , , r r . rl / , ; . 1 ll. ir -558 t.l is ar notion lound rn ntlrnl rcligions. but the cxtent to
rf;;,il' :l;r tlr.ril til Sarigftrrrlkkhiitr. tht: ar'eittirti tnonk. which it is possible to furnish a lactunl basis for such an
w i j r l : , : i . : ; ; i i 3 . r . t l : r i h a n t s h r p r > t ' r{ h e v e r \ L t ; J ' !h c c n t c r t t l the a s s u m p t i o n r s v e t u n d e l l n e d a n d a ^ sT . W . . a n d ( l A . F
Lrr{.1er trle(r b: \'ain ri' shake tht: palirc* r.ti Sak ka. the Rhys Davids have observed. in the case o{' Buddhism.
'The
king o f t h e t i i r < J . r\ r e l i t . r L i n l h , t t . t t r . i a J r r ) . l - a t e r . hllvrng Cr)n- train cl'earlr Uuddhist speculation in this licld has
suitoj ihe advice of hii teachef. the rnttnk maker thc r e t t o b c c l u c i d a t e d ' l D t t t l o t l t t t , so l t h t B u t l d l r r i .I l . p . l l 5 .
i,:i\iji!'thut llrl \pilcc ()n ufllih t l . i Cp i r l l r i ' , rs t t . r , r ds h o u l d note 2).

' fr ,/r.. il 6'1t Llut

.. :li. \(l/ I ,/ltl tifit). t ll l'k and a/lllli /'l{,.rr lrt(rt.

.l.....;:li.]ltltlese:p1rono{e;rrthqualce

,''.i'll;i'||)(!||.]iilrrmAirt,I,.'t,l.|rnr)it|h[5!n)Crnclnir4llnthecontcrtrcletrujttl|ntr1hcrrrtlrdslht'rdu-rimplrcc1

.'. ,li,)!r' 'ri Jrlnimr)lrrJn (l ih( ph.;r,:.ri r'ltrnerilsttlhiitu: grvr\ ny: lo carthqu.tlr'r
' ti ri-i,''.' 't
i !l i: )-.1J 1-i 1\' pr li5i t'nrrrncratc:thcsc \c\rn l n I h e l o l i , r u t n g r . n . r n n r r \ r c ( ) n ( jj \ .r,r..rrlhrtrr;rlc nt.rr i,.
 EARTHQUAKE [i.ArdTItQ{"rAKE

T'hr:tlly'. according to the Budtlha's enumeration. art the western sitlc lntl thc ear:h seanrrxi i1i ni:r)d :;Jrirlrd
carthquake occurs when a hrxlhisatta consciousll antl d o w n l i k c ; r g r e a t c a r t w h r s l i - v r n gr i n r t s a r i s r n h c n i i s
r . i c l i l " i e r n ' , r : l ive a v e s h i s a f ' o c i e i n t h e h t a v e n < i l d r ' l i g h t circumjcrencc L\ tr{)ddcn trn ln lhis *rt"r. li:lr: irorjhrsiitla
{ T r - r s r i i r t)o d e s c e n d i n t c l h i s m o t h e r ' s w o m b T'hc \ itlrnitt- t r i e r l a l l b u t t h e e i t s t e r n s i d e ( p u r r r i t h t m u d t : , t b h . i , l i r i: 1 r i ( l
k i t t h a o { t h e c o m m e n t a r y t o t h e . / r r t r r f r ri .r 1 | p 5 l t s ; * s i t i s s a i d t h a l t h e e i i r t h : l r o , , r , r l : t s u n o r c ' r p ir- : ' r , " . , n -
t h a t t h c t * c t r v e i h o u s a n d w c r r l d - s y s t c r n si l t o r t k g r e a t l r c i u l a t i n g a n d r e c c d r n [ t n t h c s a n t c r , r ' l h r r i i cf a s h i o i i lJut
at thc vr:ry moment when the bodhisatta clttrrL\l qut-cn when he triql the castern srde.lhe pl.icr rrcilhcr iirnrirlerl
s
!{ltvli'-. llilml-r. T h c f ' t t r t t m u l l ! t i t L l ; i t , i t !u { l t ' r t t 1 l l nor shook- ior the east is thr piirce whcre ril ilLr'-rrihas
p 9 J t n r c l i i r . r r t rl h : i l t h c c l t ' l l t Q u i t L t r r,ir 1t h c , , o t t L r ' l r l i , ) n have sat cross-lt:gllrd On!-v.th*r cid th;: ri!'i )t i',,.:tng
r-f Tissa, the lluddha-to-be At this. thc pcoplr in tcrrt'r per.celvrnrt. ]"his is the steat-lfasl sp{"rt ch*$t:n fr" ail
s c c k t h e s r r g cc a l i e d V : r r a 4 a . w h o e x p l a i n s t h e s i r n i l i c a n c c tsucldhas' makc hrs seat lhere .
d it to thcnr saying that earthqualiL's are harbingcrs o1-
Alier the hodhrsatta had thus siit do\1il i"il,i.r i,l''ri
t h e h i r t h < i l ' ; rl l u d d h a - 1 o - h c . l t i s a l s o ' r ; r t c r i t h a t \ j a n r n i r
to harass hinr but all ai,elnpts to drive aw.ti ii!.i !'llir,iq
himscll'acquircd grcnt ioy in contcmplating the glon ol
Buddhir prr*i\1 i ' l r r r ' i i " t i s i . l l t s s .. 4 1 : r ! , 1 : r i r r s r i r l''l:rli
thc fluddha.
c h a l l e n g e t l t l t c t r t r t l i , r r r , l t ai o p r O ! c l - . - vr t ' r , t ' . ' r $ . t ' .l rl t, : t : i s -
'fhe
I-atcr literature echoes this idea with additit)nal cm- that hr'has r:ivcn ainrs grrat ireint lrn;cw\:ii.'i i1r...,,:
b e i i i s h m c ' n t s .F o r i n s t a n c c . t h e M L r h i t . r . s t us t a t c s r c g a r d - m thls plaec nri lrvrng witn,.:ssat all brii ict thts g,.rat
rng the conccption o{ Dipamkara. thal thc carth qrraked a r r d s o l i d e a r t h . u n e o n s c r i ) u st h o u p f r i t h c l r r ; : r u i t i r d s !
'there
six times and that was something thrriiing in this 5 ( ) s i r \ i r r r h c w r t h d r c u h i s r " i g h t h a n r l l i . r : r n b , - : n c u t hh r s
quaking. something beautiful. merr\'. clccl ul. amiat-rle. roLx lnri \ t r e t c h i n g i - r . r r t hi t r w a r d s t h e e a r t h s i i i d '\rt
txhillarating. admirablc. chccrful. assuring. gnrceful. t h o t t o r l r r t t h ( ) u r 1 ( ) i r \ l t n r ' s s L ) i i h c j c V r i r h u i r ( . j ir : t l l o l d
lovelv. si.rddeninq. c:rusing no misgivirrg nor fear For g i f ' t I g l r v e i n m - r i - i l l l , . l : . l r : ! . i , , ' r . ri l r r , ^i 'i : . . i ' i , i i , r . i i i l
while thc carth quaked. it destroyed no life whatevcr. t h a t t h e c r i r t h . O V C I i i t g : i r 1 i l t i i{l i i ; t " ' . ' t i - i i v ! r r r i : 1 t , . ' i i L , . l
whether animal or Dlant. (J. Jones. 7'\rc NIttl'titLtsttt. a v o i c L - . ' l a m u t t n t s : i l a , t h r - cr r i ' ; ; , i 1 r , r l s r ), , - , i I . t i t c s .
I. p. 164). i h i d . I I p l i f i . i - t t l r r {i r l - 1 s i;1! 1 , ,; : r , . i i : l c . r i i r, r. r i . : , i i , . l c k -

Next. the tsuddha givcs the birth of'a hodhisrtn'a (in

t i i t t t l t f I r i r l , i ' . Ii l i i i ' i i l l r ' i J t i d i ; rI , ' . ' :
hs last lil'c)as the iburth reason lor the occurrcncc of'an
s ) s t c m s q u , . t k t ; ,i!r r , - ' l i c: ; i : , . : r , i ' . '
earthquake \\'uda IJadli-ct)tro .s(rlo suntp(tiatttu ttl(t(u-
{ . / l . 7 i t . [ ' r i r i t l l r .r i i r c n l : c i l i 1 . l 1 n " : ]
kutthtsnrri ntkkhttmttri. ttttltt \',int yttthuri katnltttt :trttt-
t \ r t f t | p L t t is u m p u k a n t p L t t s i o i l p u L( d i r ! . t iII Inent (tt brc.tk ol ti;ti :l:r: lr'il ir:''i'
again shouted lbr jor iSee i.-Ali I il
Again. when a Tathigata arrives at supreme and per-
I h e , l f r r i r I i , r - s l r . r, J c i i t t r : . r , , . ' i, ; , j : j t i . . . ' i l i ' , i : r i t : r w c -
iec-t cniightenment. the earth shilkes and trembles
i n s p t r i n g m a n r l e r t h 9 r r o l t j r , r i : : ! r , ' . r i l i : rri: . i L t : i . ' ; h i c h t o o k
v i o l e r r t l y \ v u d u ' I h t h u q u t o d , t u l I ( t t ' d n ts d n v n A s u m b r t d h i n t
'the p l a c e n ' h e n t h e l l r r , . l . l h , :. . l r ' i i i i i ' ; : l l : r . , t . t , .ri t t t t i 1 i l u D u .
'tbhisumbujjhuti, tuda... .. .). later books. espccrail-r'
T h e t e x t h a s i t t h . r l r " r \ r : n' i r : : , i : i , ; : i r l l r r i r , - r ' l l ' , t i t r r , . ' h t
the :\ rrirrnrrkuthi of lhe JitrLrktt c(]ntmcntarr'. contain
p u t l u r u l e h t \ m a t l e l : : a :t : r f t h i i e i t i i r l t : i i r " l i s i , : r r t i t l i n q a n c i
detailed descriptions of the miracles uhit--h ttrok place
h a i r - r a i s i n g . t b : - t i r t g l r i r l \ r i i t i h r : . i i l r , r 'l n i t ( J e i l - ! . j g r c a t
w h e n t h e T h a t a g a t a s a t u n d e r t h e f J o c l i i i t r c e( q . v ) . T h e
s - l s t e m o f t h e l i r r c . ' l l r t r i i . , ; r i r ii i r ' ; r , . i : .l : : i , : l l i k e t l t c p l t i i n
l r c c o u n t s o f t h c e a r t h q u a k e s r ' , , h i c ho c c u r r e d a t t h i s t i m e .ilir,'rrrlr
o f -t h c h ; i n t l t r - r ' i ' , , , ' . t ' r - , 1 - l 'i i t t i l i c h i e i ; e d l ) n c .
lrdd colour to thcse dcscriptions. For instance. accord- ' r i , : i 1, , , ' . . . , , , , : ' n i ; ' ; t i i , r J h ; i r i t
S u m e r u . ( . r k i l t ' ; :.ii ; r i'rr-
i r r g t o t h e A t i d u r e n i d i r u ( . 1 . 1 ^p p 7 0 f . t t h e t r o d h i s a t t a .
g a n d h i t r a .l s u n , i h ; i r , i? . a, i , r : . i r r . i..iii , ,'. t.,i.r
.rf'ter accepting c:ight bundles of grirss from Sotthiva.
: h e g r a s s c r - r t t e rl o, o k s t b r t h e ' r i g h t p l a w t o s i t f o r a t t a i n g -
ing flutldhahoo61 15. te\t savs Ihat the bodhisatta.
.rscendrng thc' risin.uground around the Botlhitrce. stood A s r g n i l i c : r r i tl : - : : ; r . . , , : ' . , r :1 i r . : 1 ; . - ' i c ; r l l i i L ). i. ri i\ e a r l h -
rutthc ,,-..ith of it- liicirig the north. At that moment the q u a k c s i n t h r : 1 f , ; l ; , ; r , ; r , ' iir: t h l r i r i r c c l J l I T l c t l t r ( r lrt5 \ c t - t
sourtircrn horizon seemed to descend below the Icvel ol o f ' t c n n t a d e o l l h c l - l . 1 n r l i . ' i\\j l i . r , i ' r . - ' i ' . L I c he ; i r i l i q u a i t c s .
the lo,*:-:i irell (rrliti) and the nothern horizon mounting B e s i d c s t h i s . t h c t r : r l ; i i s r r o i L c n r e i a t e sl l i : r l t h r ' e a r l h
r . i p\ e i r n c ( l t o r e a c h a b o v e t h e h i g h e s t h e a v e n ( b h u r e q g , t l . q u a k e d i n s i r w r r r r { r , i , J - it l . ' l r r r r r i l i ' h i c h t s . r s l i r l i t ' . r : .
l;rom thrs the bodhisatta realised that it w;rs not the W h e n t h e f a ! i { ' l l r \ l I t : i l l ! , 1 . ' r i ! ' 1 1 1 1r .1r g ' , 1 , - ' 1 s .l tt t r k
correcl place for attaining Buddhahood. Nc'rt.hetried \ ! ' h C n t h C g C S l 1 ' r l c X i r f l ' r i 1 l 1y 1 , 1 g i. i i e . ; r ) ! . * r i t \ i i l i k

lJttdhtsLttttt.,:tt pttttu nrutuku, rhtntli: (L.rtllt . r r t A r t 1 . l , r , : . , , . , , 1 . , , . rl ir , r ' t ' ;:r; i, .rf;t^,r.:.i

Itrtttsttndhiqtthdtrrtkkltrtlt'
'tttnpttt tdht (J I. p. 5l )
 EARTHQTJAKE
\ l h e n t h e r r , - - l t h e rcnx t r e m i t y r o s c . t h e s o u t h e r ns a n k .
\ \ ' h e n t h e e x t r e r n irf e sr o s e .t h e c e n t r es a n k W h e n t h e
i e n t r e ; r - r s c! . h ee x t r e m r t i e s a n k ,
A t t i m e s .a l t h o u g h t h e a u t h o r s a v sr h e e a r t h q u a k e d
in the sixfold manner. only a few of these wavs are
a i i u d e dt o s p e c i t l c a l l yI.n t h e P a l i s o u r c e st.o o . e s p e c i a l l y
r r rt h c c o m m e n t a r i e s m . e n t i o n r s m a d eo f ' a s i x i o l d q u a k -
i n g ( l ' h n h iJ k u r e h tr t k u m p t l l h u ^ 1. { I I . p - i ? . 1
etc ) But thi-s
i s n o t i d e r i t i c a l r v i t h t h c s t e r e o t v o e ds i x f o l c iv e r s i o n o l '
rhe Muhitu;tu
T h c s i x t h r e a s o nl ' o r t i " r eo c c u r r e n c eo f a n e a r t h q u a k e .
irccording to the Iist given in the Mohapartnrbbunu
S u t t a n t u .r s w h e n a T h a t a g a t a p r e a c h e sh i s d o c t r i n e f o r
t h e f i r s t t i m e ( _ r ' a dTr ih a t a g a t om u t t a r e n ' rd h a m m u c u k k t m
p a t ) o t t e t ii.u d t i . . . ) . T h e s e v e n t hr e a s o nf o r a n e a r t h -
quake is the Buddha's declarationof his decision to
renounce his remaining life-span and finally the eighth
r e a s o nf o r t h e q u a k i n g o f t h e e a r t h i s w h e n t h e T a t h a -
g a t a e n t e r sc o m p l e t e n t r | u \ u l v u d a t a t h a q ( l t ou n u p u d t -
. r r , s r r lnot b h i n a - d h a t u ypau r t n r b b u v a ttiu. d i . . . . .. \ .
I l e s i d e st h e a b o v e e i g h t r e a s o n sf o r e a r t h q u a k e sa s
g i v e ni n l h e D t t t l wr r i l i r l , r ri.t i s m e n t i o n e di n t h e c o m m e n -
taries that when the Buddha walked along. the earth.
uncon'sciousthough it is. filled up deep places,and made
i t s s t e e pp l a c e sp l a i n . 6 I n t h e M i l i n d u p a h h a( p . 1 7 9 )t h i s
f'orms a dilemma, when king Milinda asks Nagasena
hou' a splinter of rock could graze the Buddha's foot.
when it could have turned aside. Nagasenaascribesthe
f a l l i n g o [ t h e s p l i n t c r t o c h a n c e( a n i m i t t a k u t u d i s u \ .
A l s o i n t h e M t l n t d u p u h l t ul p . l l - l f . ) t h e s e v e ne a r t h -
q u a k e s w h r c h o c c u r r e d a t V e s s a n t a r a ' sg r e a t d u n u sb e -
come the local point of another dilemma. Milinda in-
q u i r e sh o w t h e e a r t h c o u l d h a v e q u a k e d a t V e s s a n t a r a ' s
l a r g e s sw h e n t h e B u d d h a h a d n o t i n c l u d e d i t u n d e r h i s
e i g h t r e a s o n sf o r a m i g h t y e a r t h q u a k e .N a g a s e n a ' s o l u -
tion is that the earthquake which repeated itsclf seven
t i m e s a t V e s s a n t a r a ' sb e q u e s t s ,w a s a n i s o l a t e d a n d
e x t r a o r d i n a r y o c c u r r e n c ed i s t i n c t f r o m t h c e i g h t u s u a l
ones and not reckoned amdng theseeighr
Besidesthe instancesmentioned above. there are also
,cattered referencesto earthquakes. Frequently, con-
c u r r e n t l y w i t h t h e u t t e r a n c e so f t h e B u d d h a .t h e e a r t h i s
r e p o r t e d t o h a v e q u a k e d a s i f t o b e a r w i t n e s st o t h e
B u d d h a ' ss t a t e m e n t s( e g .K u l u k a r u m u S u t t a ,A . I l . 2 4 f . .
G o t u n r u k uS u r r u D . . 4 . 1 .p . 1 3 0 ; J . I I , p . 2 5 9 e r c . ) M
. ore-
r)\'er at the conclusion of the Mihndttpahha (p. 419\.
o n c e t h c p u z z l e sa n d s o l u t i o n sw e r e a l l g i v e n , t h e g r e a t
c . r r t hl s s a r dt o h a v es h a k e ns i x t i m e s
T ^ ! <
'Jnnala lrhumrppadevr onamantr- onata unnamanti padanikkhepa
ECLIPSE
i n c e r t a i nM a h a y a n aS u t r a sm e n t l o ni s m a d e o f e a r t h -
quakeswhich took placewhen the Buddha attained to
o r r o s e f r o m c e r t a i n s t a l e s o f c o n c e n t r a t i o n( . s ( l n t r i d h l ) .
For instance, the Ast.udasusdhLttrrka-pralha-parumttu-
n a m a - m u h a y u n suu t r ar e l a t e st h a t t h e e a r t h t r e m b l e d i n a
sixfold manner. when the Buddha rose from the sumidht
c a l l e dS i n r l r i i r i k r r d r(tsue ea l s oC O S N 4 O G O N Y .E A R T H
MIRACLLSi
G. K. W[eekera
ECLIPSE. means "interception of the light of a lumi-
nous body by intervention of another body between it
and the eye or between the luminous body and what
illuminates it"; the word is technically used with refe-
rence to the eclipse of the sun and the moon. The Pali
word used in this senseis guhu from ganhati to catch.
to seize,to take hold of. The compounded words candug-
quhu and suriyuggha(D. I. p. l0), therefore, mean the
eclipseof the moon and the sun, respectively.
This natural phenomenon of eclipseshas been con-
sidered and explained by ancient peoples. who deifled
various objects and acts of nature, through myths. as the
work of supernatural beings. The ancient Indians be-
lieved that the sun and the moon were gods (surc) whose
enemieswere csuras,and that the eclipseof the sun and
the moon was an act of an usura.namd Rdhu.
"The churning of the ocean"is a well-known episode
i n I n d i a n m y t h o l o g y .W h e n t h e g o d s w e r e c h u r n i n g t h e
ocean for the nectar of immortality (amrtu\. Rahu. the
a . s u r ad. i s g u i s e dh i m s e l f 'l i k e o n e o f t h e m a n d d r a n k a
portion of amrta;but the sun and the moon, both lumi-
nous gods. revealed this fraud to Vishnu, one of the
warrior gods. who cut off Rahu's head, which thereupon.
fixed in the stellar sphere,and having become immortal
through drinking amr.ta has ever since wrecked his
vengan€ on the sun and the moon by occasionalll'
swallowing them. This is the ancient Indian mythological
interpretation of a natural phenomenon.that is the
e c l i p s eo f t h e s u n a n d t h e m o o n .
T h i s m u s t h a v e b e e na p o p u l a r b e l i e fa m o n g t h e a n -
c i e n t s ,a n d i s e v i d e n t l y p r e - B u d d h i s t i ci n o r i g i n . f o r i n
t h e P a l i s u t t a s t h e r e a r e a n u m b e r o f i n s t a n c e sw h e r e
a l l u s i o ni s m a d e t o t h i s i n c i d e n t .T h e s e z u r e o f t h e m o o n
by Rahu and the escapefrom him is often used as ir
s i m i l e i n t h e s u t t a s( S n . t ' . 4 6 5 , J p p 1 8 3 . 2 7 4 e t c . t .
samaye sarril va bhrlmi hori
 ECONOMICS
R a h u i s o n e o f t h e f o u r s t a i n so f t h e s u n a n d t h e m o o n .
p r e v e n t i n gt h e m f r o m s h i n i n g i n a l l t h e i r g l o r y ( , 4 . I I .
p. 53. ltn. II, p. 295, etc.).
Thc Snmyuttu nikaya (I, pp. 50. 51) refers'to two
occasions when the sun and the moon wcre seized by
Rahu and that the latter (referred to here as deuaputtu)
invoked the aid of the Buddha, who instructed the former
to let them free. Rahu immediately let them go and.
trembling and with strllened hair, ran to Vepacitti, the
leader of the asuras.This incident evidently refers to the
Indian myth of the eclipses,and the legend has been
appropriated by the Buddhists to illustrate the Buddha's
power and compassron.
According to the commentaries (D,4. II. pp 487-8;
M A . l v , p . 4 2 r ; S , 4 .I . p p . 1 0 8 - 9 ; A A . l l l , p . 2 0 ) R a h u
possesseda body. four thousand and eight hundred
leagues in height: his chest is one thousand and two
hundred leagues broad and his mouth one hundred
leagues dcep. He is jealous of the sun and the moon
and stands in their paths with wide-open mouth. When
they fall into hb mouth, the gods abandon their abodes
and flee for their lives. Sometimes he caressestheir abo-
des with hand only, or with the lower part of his jaws
or with hb tongue. Sometimes he takes them up and
places them against his cheek, all amounting to partial
eclipses; but in no case can he stop the course of either
the sun or the moon, for. if he attempted to do so. he
would meet with disaster. So he Journeys along with
them.
This is the Buddhist popular ml,thological description
of the eclipses. Although in detaii it differs from the
Hindu interpretatiorr' there is no essential dillerence
hetween the two, except the lbct that the Buddhists
have shapod the legend in sucfr a way that it shows
the power of the Buddha.
From the sutrru of the Si/okkiran,/rr llklqu of the
DIgha nikaya we gather that there wa; a practice preva-
lent among the ancient Indians, as among other ancient
peoples, of foretelling the consequencesof cclipscs.
This practice, which belongs to the sphereof astrology.
is condemned as a low art (tiracchltnu-r:r/'ia).
amounting
to a wrong means of livelihood that should be given
u p b y m o n k s .( D . 1 p
. l0 etc.).
Upall Kerunarttna
ECONOMICS. The complexity of the sublect of econo-
mics, as it is understood today, ddies any attempt
at giving a precise, adequate ddinition. Originally
economicssimply meant the administration of household
resources.The earliset of the modem definitionswere
ECONOMICS
usually in terms of rvealth. For example. Adarn Smith
'An
called his famou^s *'ork inquiry into the Nature
and causesof Wealth of Nations' -l S \'lrll. considered
'practical
economics as the science of productron and
distribution of wealth' Nowadals ddlnitions lay more
emphasison the problems of exhangeand price deicrmi-
nation. Some even define it rn terms c*- welfare thus
representing econon'ics as a means of studying hou'
througfr increased productron the standard of livir,,,
of people could be improved. Alfred Marshall sees
it not only as a study of wealth but also as a study of
man. Some of the latest ddinitions are based on the
theory of scarcity and choice which gives economlcs
yet another dimension.
What becomes clear from these above mentioned
numerous definitions is that economic: is a complex.
yet composite subject. to a large extcnt concerned
with activities and to a lesser extent with nrotives of
man adopted by him in the process crf securing all
kinds of thinp with which he aims to satisfyhis various
wants. These definitions make it clear that econnomics
also explains the causesupon whictt the material well-
being of mankind depends. the causes that influence
and control the production of goods and their distri-
b u t i o ne t c
fu human activities and motives are involved in all
aspects of economics it inevitably gets linked up with
ethics. Inspite of this natural linkage economists are
not generally directly concerned wiih the ethical aspect
of human behaviour involved in economics. But on
the contrary whatever interest shown by the Iluddha
on problems of economics is primarily due to ethics
involved in it. Buddhism is primarily an ethrcai religion
whose main objective rs the moral. ethical arxi spiritual
development of an individual's character. According
to tsuddhism all human activitres shouid tre made
subservient to ethical or moral aiivancement. l{ence
economics whic*r cornprises c.l riurrreroushunran acti-
v i t i e s i s m a d e s u b s e r v i c n tt r : c t h r c s .t h u s l e n d i n e i t s e l i -
open to ethical evaluation.
T h o u g h B u d d h r s r n a c c e p t st h a t , r : e t j n r : i i r , . r m w a n t
o r e c o n o m i c s e c u r i t y( u t t h i - s u k h uat s a l r e i p f i J p r c r e q u i -
site for the production ol a congenial atmosphcre for
spiritual development, it is ciear that the Buddha did
not consider the formulation d a comprehensiveecono-
mic theory as a part of his mission.His missronotrviously
was not aimed at bringrng ab<;ut an economic-revolu-
tion in the meterial sense. As pointed out earlier his
concern was more on the ethical aspectol the economy
rather than on tlrc theory or subtle mechanrsminvolved
in it.
Textual evidence points to th€ fact that the Buddha
took for granted the economic system prevailing at
 i , , : : - i r t ( 1 ; , t . : ; . r i l : l l i t . u t i r - ' i :o i ' S r l O d S i l n C i r y r j A l t hb r r t k
p t h . . .\ ; i r . l , . ' - . , ' c t ,j r; l r h r i c t h e r e h i r n J k i n s i h c c c t ' n t i r n : i :
. . r" , r 1 1 , .
-f.r
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r J ' i r l l a n d a l * ) e { r i r i i i i L L t { , ' l t i e t r r l l - r : r i t r . i ; rr r] i o g r i : " \
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I-lerrr-*. what on(: iinris scirtt*re-i in ilrirltlhtst tcxls
lt' thi.tr,'rrr ir\ ir f us{' Ol'rtbtltinrng alt L.ils\iir inr: Thrs
ts lirli a c{.}mpretlerlSivt ,tconomic th*orr bu1 some
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l , i . , 1 i . ' ! r ' . , , , l - . rt xc n r c t l i l r l n t c l l s u r L \
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b e a r r n g ( ) n . i r I ) { t l f l i e v i t r } (c 1 ( \ .m ( ) s t r . r !t h t : r n r i r l c n t c c ! ) n ( } - t ! ( r r t r . \ i i l i c h l r r c n r , r ' lo n l - r n o n - p , . c l c l u c t i r c I r r - r ta l s o d r " t s -

ntles. lrri,-iilr' ll !lie lilnt' I tin. \\'hcn lhc coi-illtrt r: trnrlcruotng

\irctiil unrc\l c l i r r s e d l - r _ ie c o n o m i c d c ' L r 1 g 5 5 i i ) nT. o p u t
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p r o b l e m s . i n c l u d i n s c ( o n o m i ( - p r o b l c n ' , i . 1 ; i c c r lh r m a n crillcd \{ahuritita uho fi:els ellttcri abor-rt his having
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that lul the tsuddha to ucccpi lhc fiirsic oremir thrrt ail cn.jrr,i [Jcing thus clated thc- king tlecrries to hold ir
b c i n g s s t r l r s i s t r : n f o o d { r , r l ; b i ' . . t t u t ' t i t i t i t t r t . r . l it tki t t t ) g n r n t i s r r c l i l l c r a lr r t u n l i r , ' h i c ha. s l h c s t o r \ s h o u s . i n v o l v . - s

lil. pp 2l i. 273: ,{ V pp ,s0. -55) \\'orkrng on rhrs \ \ l r \ i c ( ) l s t i l t c r e s o u r c e s .s l a u g h t e r o l c i r t i l c . i l v a l u a b l e

prenisc thr lJuddha realized that peopic had to resrtrr
It rarious lvavs and means lo accluirc this basic nee<l
I-{crr he intcrvcnetl to regulate the wa1's ancl means
jippted br people ilnd to keep them u'ithnr r-thical
froundaires For this he applied the general ethical
nLrrms that control and guide action (kanrma) of people
'l-h'.rs
,rnc' sees that in this manner the Buddha formulated
'ft:r.lc-\
thitt indirectlv influence productiorL distribu-
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..'rds requlred to satisfy the wants cf people to foster
:.:: rnrlcrial \\'cllberns.
l t r ' r n ( ) l n i r t i t r n a l u ' c a l t h - u n d f - i n a l l r b L r r d c n t h L -p e ( ) p l c
br lniposition ol extra til\es to rcco!er the erpenses
involved ln thcsc uastclul activitics fhe storr irlso
r n t lu r : c t l r p o i n t s r ) u t h o r v n c c c s s u r \ i t r s f o r t h c S t l r r c
lcl bc a*are antl crinsclous oi-the prcvailing situati()n
in a ccluntn if'u countrr is tcl proq;.-r. economicall\'.
As sho*n hv the stor\ it is this unauitrenesson thc part
ol thL'Stule lhat worscn the alreadl declining cconomic
preservation of'all t)'pes of conditions b _ v i t s r . r ' a s t e i u le c o n o m i c p o l i c i e s
As thc stor!' €roes the chaplain of the king adviscs
hrm to tiesist l-rom implementing such futile venturcs.
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i , . . '; r i t h r : i . i l r " t ' ; : d i i : r ' ! t! ' , h o c l e v r - r t ei h r ' i n : , l l v r . I t K c ' , . p i r r . *
c l i l i e a l t r j t l l e l a r r n . t c t i r e n i l r t h i s r n , r . j q . 1 1g i v c l o o r i
. r n i i s r l e , . j - ' : r t r i Li ' h o s o r : 1 , r - ! i i r t i i ' i - ' r : : t : t i t c k i ' ' r I r r ' : a l n r
' ! h u ( l i i \ i J t f l i i r . r r n ! t l v c rl i l t r ; l t i c . i r . ii h , : r r ' :l c i h i s n r i i l s l !
iile king giv*;apitri. W'ilr:r;;rc;. ihcirr lr'; in ihu !,.rng's
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* i j l b c p l c a s r l r . ir i ' r 1 h r . ' i i i ri:r n , : i 1 i r . : rl r i i , i i l l i [ ) p \ [ : t , n r l i i i r g
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ii,rrri,:-n i ' i r h l i t n o r s w i d r : - o p c r r . i r r ' , . . r L r st fri c r r - ' i i r i i I ' r ; , r u
. l l r n g c r l r o m r r l b h er . r i n ( l r : :i i i r t n , r i s .
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t , . rt h e B t r d d h i s t v i , . - w .C O l t S e r v a t i o i lr ) f i l : t t l o n ; r I r g s o r l r t ' c s :
l r : c t h o i l i c : e ln l a n n i n g a n r . Jr n v c s t r n c n t o l c r r r - r i l r ri n
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i l u r o r ) i . i l f . l t r ' ,' & ' L )kru i : s i - l , , u l . i h e r n ; : i l c t : c n i t : n t . l r - r r
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, j r € l l r ' _ \ l l t t l ! l , - ' . r . t s i l ' t r . - r nr ( . , - ( : s . ) t ' .l r ) . r : i , U p l t , r r i . : , , t :
i t : u i p r L c t r c e s t h u t u - r i i r r r i ' , ' c r s , : i 1a' i l c r t s 1 1 1 ' q i i 1 1 1 1 , r , ' ;
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j , t $ . , ; t u n r , - t.ji l \ i l i i - i t : l , j . J t n . :,".'\ i , i 5 a , . , ' 1 i { h l l i l t { 1l i i i c r . : . \ i , i .
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nirrrt of pcoplc. hut the usc o{' lrrrn]n r ' . , 5ri u r L , J - \t t ] . i
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lri ol'"ci ;clcctiln ttf itrr:l:t ihiit rcquiic Stltte aid. thc
i n r p r . r r e m c n t i n t h c q i i i i l i t v o l l i i - e i . t ' t h r : p , , : o i t i cr s u
p c o l : r i r l r c u u i r c d a n c l t h . : p r o p e r u t i l r z r , l l { _ i r io l ' s l i ( : l t
i i u e l n . ll c ; l i ( t ri l i ' t h e c c r t n o m i c d c v c ! o o m c n i o f - a u t t u n i r r .
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. r l l c eo n o m i c d r v c l o p m c n t a l p r o l t - : c t s .i l u d r i h i s m e x p l a i n s l i u r e d i r i p r { . ) ( J i : c l n c. q, - ) l t ( l i t i ( ) ntsh a t * t t u l d c o n t r i b u t c t r t
iiow llthtrur shttuld be organrzed. iraincd. managc(i iind t h c i n i p r o r ' , ' n t e l l tr r l q u t l j r l \ L . l I t l e r _ dl h e p c o p i e . T o a c h i c -
n r ( ) [ t \ i r r u t l .: . t t t [ r a l i t u t l t r l d m a k . c t h c m i l \ i m u r n c r ) n - v e s t r c he i ; n r l i l i t t n s t h e [ ] u d d h l r . r r l v o c l r t e db e t t c r c i i s t r i b r u -
i f i i r u t i o n t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o i a c o t i r t t r _ r ' sc c t r n o m r , . tion of-.*cnith. To attain this desired result he encounrgeci
it is in order to achievc the m;rxrmurn out put fiont irbcralitv anc'l charitv un<i condemned c(.)nLantrittion
, , ' " t , r k c r st h a t i l r t i l r i h i s m e m p h a t i c a l l , v -l a l s d ( ) w n . a l m o s t cl"''il'r d r i r : t r . rh o . : i t l i r r r i r ' , a l c r y T h e B u d d h a w h i l e
rr) ll piescriptive tonc. that onc shoulcl tppl;- onesell . r d r t r c u i i n t . u c h b r t r . t r l - h a s L - rLj- e o n o m i c p r i n c r p l e s \ r a s
c lr l r g e n t l v . s n ' c a t i n g a n r l d r : v o t i n g o n e ' s t o t a l s t r e n g t l r itlso aRrre that thc indrvidulls too have the responsi-
i o t h c t a s k r r n r l c r t a k c ni . 4 . I I . p p 6 7 . 8 9 : l l l . p p . 4 - 5 . 7 b ) . brlrtr ol pley'ing a major role in the total economic
'I'o
increase lahour-c'rficiencv and pnrduc:tion of high- d e v c l o p m . ' n t o l ' a c r t u n t r r , T h e S t a t e ' s a t t r - m p t st o c r a c i i -
.lualit)" gootls llu<ldhism cncoLrrages specialization c a t e p o v er t \ . p r o v i d e e m p l o y m e n t a n d o t h er b a s i c
Pcrhaps this is one of thc reasons n'hy' the Buddha n e c e s s i t i c s* i t h r r v i e w t o i m p r o v i n g t h e q u a l i t l ' o i l i f e
,.jid not denounce the division o{' lal-rour that prevailcd will lail. the []uddha realized. if the individuals cio nor
l t t h a t t i m e , I f e t o t a l l ] ' r c , l c c t e r - lt h e B r a h r n a n i c c l a i m conllrm to certain life patterns that would be in keeping
rhat one's prol-ession is rndicati";: ol one's caste. Yet with the economic conditions that prevail. From canoni-
he did not disapprovc rf rlivision of' labour which cal references it becomes obvious that the tsuddha
lacilitated thc proper .rrganization ol' lal-rour b1, the laid much stress on proper management clt' the house-
lormation of'guilds and corporate bodies. Such organi- hold economy as an essential pre-requisite for the
zrtions helped to control labour. maintarn a high level improvement of the quality of life ol' the people Thus.
 ECGNONdICS
one comes across in canonical literature numerous
g u i d e l i n e sa n d i n s t r u c t i o n s t o i n d i v i d u a l s c o n c e r n i n g
t h e p r o p e r m a n a g e m e n to f h o u s e h o l d e c o n o m y . B e i n g
the brilliant psychologist that he was, the Buddha
k n e w t h a t t h e p e o p l ei n g e n e r a a l r e u n d e rt h c c l u t c h e s o f
o v e r w h e l m i n g d e s i r e s .a m b i t i o n s a n d a s p r r a t i o n st.h a t
t h e y h a v e a n u n i n h i b i t e d a c q u i s i t i v e t e n d e n c ; "w h i c h
really is an obstacle to enjoyment of life. for it usually
l e a d s t o u n h a p p i n e s s .d i s s a t i s f a c t i o na n d e v e n t o t h e
misery of lalling into debt. Buddhism shows how.
being goaded bv unchc'cked desires. individuals
lose all sense ol- priorities and become confused and
muddled when faced wrth scarcity and choice. So in
s u c h s u t t a sa s t h e S i g u l o r a d a( D . I I I . p . 1 8 0f f . \ V v u q q h a -
p u j j a ( A I V . p . 2 8 1 f f )o n e f i n d s t h e B u d d h a ' si n s r r u c r i o n
to house holden regarding the proper management of
their household economy. To check householders
f r o m l o s i n g s e n s eo f p r i o r i t y a n d i n d u l g i n g i n e x c e s s i v e
e x p e n d i t u r eu ' h i c t r i n e v i t a b l y l e a d s r h e m t o r n d e b t e -
d n e s st h e B u d d h a a d v o c a t c st h e p r a c t i c eo f a b a l a n c e d
w a ) o f l i t e ( s n m u j t t . r t u \l.' h i s n o t o n l y e n a b l e s t h e
individuals to en1oy the happiness of debt-lessness
( r r n i r n a . s u / . hbau) t a l s o m a k e t h e m e n j o y e c o n o m i c
s t a b i l i t y( u t t h i s u k h u \H i s i n y u n c t i o n t oa l l w a s t o e n j o y
m a x i m u m h a p p i n e s sw i t h m i n i m u m p o s s e s s i o n sI .n d i -
viduals are advised to limit their needs to bare necessi-
ties (appicchdlt). He gave a formula to help the proper
management of househoid income. According to this
formula one is advised to divide the income into four
parts of which one is to be used for day to day expenses.
anothcr to be depositedto be usedin caseof an emergen-
c)'The remaining tu'o parts. the Buddha advised.
s h o u l d b e g a i n f u l l yi n v e s r e dT. h i s s h o w st h a t t h e B u d d h a
$ a s \ - ' r \ c o n s c i o u so f t h e f a c t t h a t i n d i v i d u a l s h a v e a n
lmportant role ro play and that if they allow their money
t o g o \ r ' a s t eo r r e m a i n i d l e t h a t w i l l b r i n g a b o u t s e r i o u s
adverse effects on the whole economic structure of
lhe countrl'.
Such methodical management of the household
economy enabledindividuals also to keep away from
f a l l i n g p r e y t o c o n s u m e r i s m .I n d i v i d u a l s w h o s u c c u m b
t o s u c h t e m p t a t i o n a n d i n c u r e x c e s s i v ee x p e n d i t u r e
which drains out their income is compared to a fig-tree
g l u t t o n ( u d u m b u r a k h u d i k u ) . w hwoi s h i n g t o e a t f i g - f r u i t s
shake the fig-tree causing much fruit to fall and go
w a s t e( . 4 .I \ ' . p 2 8 1 ) .T h i s s h o w s t h a t p r o p e r u r i l i z a t i o n
and conservationof individual income has great bearing
on the quality of life of an individual and also on rhe
nationaleconomy.
From the above account it will be seen that there is
no ralidin' in the vieq that Buddhism is pessimistic
L The rerm rrtr generalll'connotc the meaning of mundane lovq attachment, pleasurc and fondness.But as used in tlte Thug. rcrscs
r - i b l t ' f . rr t c l e a r l r c o n v e ) , st h e s e n r d s p i r i t u a l e n j o y m e n l .
10 ECSTASY
i n i t s o u t l o o k a n d t h a t t h i s o u t l o o k h a s b e e nd e t r r m e n r a l
to economic development. Frrstll. Buddhism is nor
p e s s i m i s t i cb u t r e a l i s t i c . S e c o n d l y . a s s h o w n a b o v e .
Buddhismeven by wav o!'ud hot formulation of norms
a n d p r i n c i p l e sh a s e f f e c t i v l yc o n t r i b u t e dt o t h e e c o n o m i c
s t a b i l i t l ' a n d d e v e l o p n r e n rl n t h i s r e s p e c ri t s r e a l i s t i c
o u t l o o k . e t h i c a l b i a s a n d i t s o b j e c t i v eo f b r i n g i n g a b o u t
universalgood has enabled it to formulate economic
p r i n c i p l e s .e v e n i n a p i c c e r n e a lm a n n e r . t o s h o w t h e
way for a righteous and stable economy, (see also
EMPLOYMENT).
S. K. Nannyakkare
ECSTASY. primarily rneans overwhelming mental
Joy or rapture. As a religious technical term it conotes
a deep religious fervour. a sublime state of' the mind
usually produced by deep and prolonged meditation.
In this sublime state. thougfi rhe meditator remains
mentally aware and alert. receptivity and sensitivity
of' the meditator's mind to external stimuli get
either inhibited or altered in character. Hence
his mind remains undisturbed by' travails of
day to day experiences.Very often writers use the term
'ecstasy'
to render into English the sense connoted
by such Pali terms as ,ihanu and, samapatti (Kindred
Sayings. I, p. 164: The Compendiumol Philosophy.pp
55f; Cf. Dialoguesol the Buddha.I, pp. 84 ff. 248 ff, where
'rapture'
the term is used to conve], the same meaning).
It should be noted that in cerrain contexts the Pali
t e r m r c t i r c o n n o t e st h e s e n s eo f e c s t a s y( ' l l t u q u u .5 1 8 f f . ) .
According to the Buddhist tradition there appear
to be different levels of ecstasy'with the state of the
sublimation of the mind progressively increasing in
the four jhanas, and reaching the climax with the experi-
ence of the ecstatic happiness which results from the
attainment of the knowledge that gives an insight
into the true nature of things (yuthabhutalnunal.
A t t e m p t s t o s u b l i m a t et h e m i n d a b o v e t h e o r d i n a r y
levt:l of erperience and attain ecstatic happiness could
be lraced back to ancient times and to numerous cul-
tures of the world. It is evident that some even have
resortedto the use of drugs (q.v.)and alcohol which
are supposed to induce mental rapture (see ERE. s.v.
ECSTASY). This practice is widely prevalent now.
'mind-expanding.' 'psychoactive'
and the use of or
'psychedelic'
drugs such as LSD. marijuuna etc. is a
common feature in numerous societies particularly
 ECSTASY 11 ECSTASY

among the youth. In the west this has almost reached
epidemic levels.2
Though there seemE to b€ certain similarities
betweer the mental experiencesproduced by drugs and
meditation, there is no experimental data that either
warrant or justifies a toral identification of these experi-
ences.3 On the contrary, when compared exclusively
with the Buddhist textual descriptions of such ecstatic
mental states attained through meditation, personal
accounts of experiencesundergone during drug induced
ecstatic states appear quite different in content. Experi-
ments have also shown that, unlike meditational practi-
ces, drugs cause physical damage and tend to deprive
one of sensecontrol, which could even become a per-
manent characteristic if one gea addicted to the habit
of experiencing ecstasy through drugs. Moreover. when
one comes under the influence of psychedelic drugs
one becomes subject to hallucinations. imaginations,
and chaotic upsurgence of feelings and thoughts. C)ne
also loses power over all voluntary activity and gets
automatically and indiscriminately involved in irrel-
evant emotions and prolific thought constructions.
The expanded and diffusedthought constructions trans-
fer the ecstasyseekermentally to an imaginary world.a
These effects and results experienced through drug-
induced ecstatic states are the direct opposite of those
ecstaticexperiencesattained through meditational prac-
tices. Buddhist meditational practices are not to be
m i s t a k e na s b e i n gh a l l u c i n o g e n i c(,F u r t h e r S e eD R U C S )
Buddhist meditational practice elevates the mind
f'rom a reflective to an intuitive state which ultimately
pierces through the veil of ignorance that conceals
the truth, It is through a gradual and a methodical
process that the mind could be sublimated to such a
high level ofexperience,and in this process,the cleansing
of the mind of the five-hindrances (pahca-niuargna)
is considered to be a basic requirement. In inducing
ecstasy through dtugs neither is an attempt made nor
any importance attached to ridding the mind of defile-
ments, and consequently eflects of drugs cause more
arrd more confusion and ignorance. The fulfilment of
this basic requirement of divesting the mind of the
five-hindrances,nrior to embarking on the attainment
of mental absorptions or jhttnus is seen in the general
description of the life of the Buddhist disciple given
in the Shmahhaphala Suttu (D. I. p. 73).
The predominant feeling experienced in the first
jhana is that of elation of mind brought about by detach-
ment from lustful thought and evil ways (uiuekajam
pitisukham) in contrast to the chaotic psychosis that
takes place under the influence of drugs. While being
in this state one behaves consciously and voluntarily,
for one does not lose control of onself in any jhanic
state, pervades (abhisandeti) permeates (parisandeti),
frlls (pcripureri) and sulTuses(parippharati) the whole
personality with this feeling of elation which is the
first level ofecstasy that could be gleanod from Buddhist
texts.
In the second jhinic state feeling of elation is further
intensified bv divesting the mind of the two factors
wtukkus (initial application of thorrght) and uicuru
(investigation)which are sourc€sof thought proliferation
(papahcal. When freed of these two factors one becomes
internally more pacified, further limiting one's involve-
ment in mundane thoughts. This makes the mind more
pliable for concentration, and the feeling of elation
that arises from intensified concentration (samadhijam
p[tisukhaml is experienced by the meditator more
acutely. This form of ecstasy is of a higher level than
that experienced in the first jhitna.
Usually the meditator is alert and aware in all jhanic
states. These two factors namely, alertness(sari) and
awareness (sumpajairha) are further sharpened in the
thftd jhana.. At this level of sublimation of the mind
the meditator experiencesa feeling of happiness(su/<fta)
devoid of personal excitement (nippitikenu\.

2. See Richard H. Blunl Drugs l, Society and Drugs; Drugs II, Srudenis und Drugs, Jossey-Bass,San Francisco. Washington. London.
1969.
L SeeLama Anagarika Govin4 Drugs * Meditutio4 Bodhi Leaves,No. B.6Z Buddhist Publication Society.Sri Lanka 1973; Earnest
R. Hilgard, Richard C. Atkinso4 Rita L. Atkinsoq Introduction to Psychology,6thedition, Harcourr Brace Jovanovick New york.
1975: Lawrence S. Wrightsman and Fillmore H. Sanford, Psychology,A Scienti.frcStudy of Human Behut:tour.4theditior\ California,
1975, p. 491 ft; Brain Wells, Psycfiedelic Drugs Nor York, 1974.
4. Throug;h Buddhist meditation orr ddinitely undergoes a mental cbange in whidr all his attitudes. ourlooks and values are divested
of egoistic considerations Orc b never transporred to an imaginary worl{ but instead one is brought down from his 'mind-made'
world to fall on reality, lt b bclieved that jhanas are capable of e{Iecting even physical 'transport.' and the lzisn, I. pp. I43 f. refers to
two sucb cascs Thb howcver. b not thc purpos d jhdna d Mrs. Rhys Davids, Birth ol Indiun Psychologv und tts Deuelopment in
Buddhism,London, 1936.
5.lltukka (initial application of thought) by whici thina-mida(sloth and torpor) is inhibited. Similarly rrtZrn (invesrieation)inhibiting
uicikiccht (sceptical doubt): pitr {elation)inbibiting uynpatu (aversion) and sukla (happy feeling) inhibiting distraction and worry
(uddhacca-kukltucca| Tbc othcr factr present b tb detachment from sensuons and unwholesome objects which inhibit sensuous
desires (kdmacc hand,a\.
 ;,T"ASY t.( {$rc'rs
in:he !i-n;1lt ih:nrt.qiair'thc m.('irtttiir"snLind lr the Buridira hul also hrs t.lircinir. ,uc s:l,i lo iuiv': rioni:
f u r . l h c r c l r : a n s e d : : r " l < it t r a r J e i r a n s i i r c , : r : h i i r , , r f u i t i r r : r i h l t . A w e l i i . f i ( ] w n e r . i lr r p i t i : i h . ' , , r l l i e h a k a s s a p a
, - l l l t ! 1 ' a 1 J r r) l(f: ; , , . , , t l e n r : srts; . / , , r. 1 f i , r J, l ' , , 1 - ' i i : : 1 . ,; '1 1 1 i 1 , i ' t i i 1 , r ' i r i e c l i i ; ; 4 . r l l 0 - 1 ' )f l ; A r u l h * ; c i t i . r i f ] : i r l s i h a t o i ; r r a h a n l
Ar thrs :tate of' sublirr:litrnr: ' rf I i,r: r:ir,d il.:lirrFs 'rl llhrrta ,rrho drscriircs thi:, .s thr iiig;resl ir-rrrn of rcstast
F..ieiisuri i s u k i r , ; ] a n C p a i n t ' J ; : k l l
, t . t : . r - . i r i : r , ' r t : . . , r r l I !h,;g t r l l i l i , S t ' - ir i r i N A
i 1: l: J ' r e t ' l / , l ' ; : . ; : , ; , , : . : ; ! i i - . l -
i , i i t d r l C j C C t : t ' r nt , l r - r r t - , . ' : ' r ; l \ ! h
I q c d ' i r - 1 i " r i .i l , j i h i s l e r : i n 1 ' l a n ( ! L ' n i c i r ( ' n s . i ,h i r 1 : . a l c i ' ' t S. K. Nunayakkara
p U r e i V t u p r ; ' ' r g i 1 : -,,,1' l i A a: t : { . : r ! . i l : j ' L ) i l l r l cg;r i i i l r l i i , : : ; : l i t : - r . i
-!
i'ccling oi eq'l;;nlmitr,' he ecstiitic iceitrlg, thal :tiist:s
when ltrt meditlltr)r ilcr!'r'lillics his hcler pir:r^nalil\
"r
i r sj ' . l c e n t i i r i r t ( J i c r h i . h r g h , : s t
u r t l r t i r e s u b l i r t - r t 'l n r i 1 r - T
lcvei of ccs'.ts\ thilt c()r.tidhc rralher.l throrrgii lhirnic 9.!iiC!-5. i-i.Ji;ts .ls oi]lcrai l-ti(rciamatio!ts rri.
"iti*,r
practiccs i ' r r j , . ' i t ,l s : ; u e r i b y a s c i c r e i g n t c h l s s L l b i e c t sa s a r u l r o r
ilri, r"i-'-lu;irng c'bedicri,:c I sc"rn 1..)ll!:.rre ior the first
llowelt:r itie Bucldhr{ii ti:}.i:i rilii:i 1o
line n: tiir hr:,iliri' ui B:rl,.ihisin ri; t-itereign of Asokr
l p v c i o f r j c s t a s \ a t t a n t c { " 1t h r u i r g h t i i l c
irirca l?8 l-il B.i- ;
i h e t r u t h . w h i c i : i n o t h r : r v r o r < , l si s : i r t
ihr I r dc ns{ur:: r-r{' 1ping1. BudtJhism and Slntr Auihcritv

Jhun,ts are only a rirealrs to an cnri. iinii i!rc ncl ;rn f n:: iSudrlha ,ir"rnn-chri iil'e-tiliie u'us closel-l associated
und rn thcnrselvcs. As tiiei are cil-:itr:tj {i;/:l;i.,iir,l..i;r;;r;) w i l h s e r e r a i k r n g s o f t h e r e g i o n i n ' , r ' l i i c i rh e u , a s a c t i v e .
and tl':oughl out {,;nl;1.:iiig
i i f u i tl i i r ) t l i e l r l r i l i ; i i , i r : i r ; Ol- them ai ieast three importi.rnt rnrifr;irchs narnel;-.
t.ur. h i o t r : n l y t h t r n r ; r .i l l l t h i i r e r ; t h a i a r e c i l c c t e , - i a n L i I'lsenadi Kosala, Bjmbisara rnrj Alat;.;s;rtttr - wcrc
t h u L i g h t o u i a : - L -i i ; r b i e t r : c i ' a s e i y i u r : A i u t y , u n u n t n t ' r ;irtirnt adhcrerrts to his tctrching:; Wliiic rrruch is ircor-
uhht.sunkhul iirn uhh: st:n,{'ir:,r i"ili!t?, Ir.td;rllt{i rlfir t i ir odhu- dr:d cf therr munificence tii the llu;ilna .ind r.!ii: $iingtra.
'l'ruti:.
d h t t n r t r r , i n r' ) i h t s i s t h e ihc ti ue naturc ol' ali nt mention is made of uirlier tiiclr c t l c r c t s i r . : ! t. r r i i r t
'[':uili
things. V"hen this r:: {uliy r,.oniprehendcJ :rnrJ time thcir rovll authorit-v to proiiluir iiudriirrsnr rht 'tugh
thoruughii, i n l e r n a i i z e d u r : e a c q u i r e l , i i r r c l A 't i r p r h o f - r l e c r e e s . c ( ) r r ' r n l a n d so i protiitmdli,r;:ri or thc Bl,rirlha
rision. and the rninr:{gets rclcascd trom ail cat}kers oi t ( ) ( , 1 . )l i i
o r . i r i l y o l h i s c l i s c r p l e sr e q u s i i i i i u . r , - t h c m
\eniirlal pieasurcs crl bectinririg and r{norance. fhe F-ven in the g:ive crisis u'hlch ouciirir,,i in rhe Sangha
happiness that restiits frc'n thrs ii'cedam (r'in;ririr- anri which rr*ulted in ihe Buddhr i; 'rlirenlent to the
. s u A J r r ;iis r h e I ; g h c s t l c v s l d i e c ! t . ; . - .,- ) l u i h r s e c s l , t i i i l"ariley vaka forcsi. nr: i-oie +a:: pi'rvr'ri l:i t:r cxpected
r t , r t r . r e ' . 1 c ? -rto I e x p e r i e r r c e i i n ] ' f o r n t o i ' e r c i t e m e n t r ' r r nf 1!,a l';1,:l i,f thr: i':r: rirrr
ci;::,'" cr ail\ scltish or pcrsonal c()nrciil. The ieeiing
A pr;:h;:l;ir instancc trf ro1;ri inli:i i'.:,i:i 'rr jlr Buddhist
t.[,.] r '.: trrrcricri;tr is that i]l'complete sp;rluriicqiiili-
.iil':tir.; in r'arl1'times rs suggcstcti rt-rIi!il Sri Lankan
br:um \!uttruntu.;ihrllI.itiiI resultir-rg fiorn thc p;rfcct
trisli;rlc;-ri 'rradilr,.-rn as lecorded in ih,J '\i[itluit'umsu
in:rrrrn'r' oi all psycltic f;ir:tors.
C i : a p t e i 4 v c r s e s l 0 - i . $ . i t r s i e i c i i h : t i K . ; r ! ' i q o k a .u r g c d
t rrlrks the ccslatic states attained thrr.r'gh iltttn,r:.' by tire dissrdent Vajjian manks, issued a putrlic order
rcslas!' resulting liom the fiecdom irom sarnsliric in thelr ilrvoui and later rescinded it nlrern appriscd
hondage remains as long as one lives. This does not" o[ thc facts. But none of" the earlicr accounts ol r.h.:
ho\\'ever. mean that after attaining freedom t'rom Second Coirncil (e. g Cu//atult(tlt: ( h XII. Suntunta-
samsaric bondage one is constantly in a stale ol ecstasy. pttshdtktt- I pp 33 - l5: !)lptttLttristt (-h. \') refers. to
What is meant is that one could. if one wants. recoilect such an order. One nright. iliere{ore. con.;ccturr: thal
'freedom'
and reflect on his attainment of and lhen Lhe lvlrthat'um.sa has pro.iected into the past a royal
re-lrve and re-experience the state of ecstasy of freedoni function rvhich had come into voguc much later in
irtmutrisukha) he originally experienced. The Buddha is Sri Lanka It should also be nold that the leading
said to havc done this. re-experiencing his ecstasy of theras of the first two Buddhist Councils had not reques-
l-reedom for several wceks. Buddhist texts. aiso record ted their patron kings (i e Alatasattu and KaLisoka
p.ieans of joy (udhnit) uttcrcd by the Buddha when rcspectivel.v) for anything but material facilitics anci
erperiencing this highest form of ecstasy. Not only security for the sesslons.

f . : \ / I p 3 5 0 l : I I I . p . 2 4 4 S . I I . p 6 - 5 ;l . ! ' , p . 3 4 3 .
,lhanr ecstasr'lasts only as long as tlrc meditator remaim in a particular _ihunqEither when he vcluntarily rises or. accidenrallr
i r l l s a u a r f r o m i t h e l o s e st h e j h i n i c e c s t a s y .
 tuL.};{."{
$ 'J g[]tCTt]

'i-lie
F"ntpcr rlr' ,t\4lka tl;,: i{.i;ih{rtirrs . l)h-rrlr;.t:i.;rika. ihrt i'iilar .--i:,r:; irr:r:ripticns rl
I:is,,n.pt.ioni. the
,isr.rir-;1(i v i{ild nial',:l 1 1j ' 1 1 ; l r r i r t i i i ; ' ' s ' v ; r,-rli::rt ih'' Sr.rdirr:a. ilic ?'isva lhaT",r: ,rn;i ii .:ir lr;i Chaupri i:eves
;illairt; i-ri the S.lrig,ila irr:il lilri FfoDt!g.irl:;:ii oi iht l.t:,tchriiyrs oi the S.arabar i:ills lrcer i.-r;,i..'::,n l:ihar re';orf ;gilii
-l'hl-'r'-l:'ri.i
,,1 tr':; iJtitj,lha
ts ntr jorlf;cr'ji.:i',;icj {-ii O{-Ca\ri:i:b-f Astrka io Ati.ii.-tr: t*r:ii,-: ' '. ! :in{l i:;nctfcl!
ir: :ltil;l; lgcorils ii,r!'e ititirtri,-,iidri! i.ti.ctlvt:i'ei s;;irt,;i'eii ) ea[t ,t: :':i cr.]ir.]r'tlticn
.;1! ,,i 11; ih,: jn,.i;nn 9il'b-c1n{l;.,riri ti,. rnul11ple ,,-r'1:!-'1.
T!l': lt:ila, ]ri:;crilli:lr,: ;,ri,ir-c,iit:in*r:', {i.lr,.tri;,ni)
i i , - , ii l : : ; - f i i ii) , ",'r.'l i'r,i' hll , ,ilrtl ;,:,,, t.r, J;;ii,:-'.,q .tl
ri:
';. r * : L . t i t l i ; l : ' i l . l . i f i ! rA
i . l ,i ! i ; i ; ' : i f . r i i g f . i : n e . i i r : . , . i ! ' i l i ! _ ; e l i f S : l i i t t '
ti)L :''1;{itJlii iir,'l ;lrt i':oirrii i;cgicitr, t .:'"1 :rii(l .j\ri-lit.;ii-iu.
Loi'i.u)il!i'i! tir ih':1ri;;le.,vherc ihc iluridh"a v;as horn
, ' , : 1 \ i L : 7 :, r ' t r : r t r ; i l ' i i t !r:till:, i-j'.rlli',i. l',h.i,.;,,rlhi irli' t:.
;;fij :'i.,r.,jL i.lt;: ill.: rrin.:€ssio;i giv*rr l,:: the peopic
.ii.i! y'.r':irit ,' i.:,t i, :i , ili: irttl!< r,i i i,r .iL ii!SL , 'r ^,,y,,, ''br)'.-'J.lis:
iiii: iludtinrr ',vt* b,:r'.'r hreie'- l"he *ther Fiiial
, .r : 1 , r ' r t - v , , i i : i i ' : t h i r ' . r , i i l i r l : i a i ; } g e . r ' l : i r .i t : : r - l t i i v f : r . . i l ' . : i r i i
'i::lrrh
InscrrJ;iron - als<r in the Nepal Terai not tul far from
;i1:tli:tj 1-:tlI; iil iht iiifJcfctll :{riits1tt'u', :_\',. r:rr ,.i
L.urnorrii ii..r.i l\igali Sagar ft states tli;r.i Ascka enlarged
i.,r ;i', illputilt-;' IAJ;:r. Ilir':;'rt,tl,: :]:i:it j; l ii,-l uilijr;tiii lai!:
; iiliFij rnrhriirii:g the r::i;t r:!'tlie Suddha Ka4akariruni
r : : - . : i i t i, ; f t ! s i t ' : , r - t r ' i - ; 1 i ( . i l t t : i - i I ] i i t iegilrdS his plii-:liiii"t
1,, i1..61,::;garii:llictrr'.Br:it'r3i:il.8 :alier cr-rr*naiton .tnd
'. L;r;ilii;isul : , : - ' i . ii r j s i l , * i . ; i , ' , 1 ; l l i r , l ' , . ; l r e r t c r r { itt ii. prtri..r
vu.:;s alier cGrJnJttun
c 3 r : 1 ( jl i t - ) i ' : o a p r l g r : ; n : : [ - ,
. ! ; I t l i { t r . . } ii - : ri . r g ; i g i i i i ( } : i "'rni.,
ilirti "[aiicls" of Asofun -- Cbsstftcstion and PrflvE-
( )n me rt';u lol lsi\ cii r ef ir i LUrnpil ;:isDt-ii wi th ii I i avar i lrbic nflnce: F,xcludlng thr l!ve inscriptlons discussed
iri{ri:rr_\ si)urirr-'s Uol.lr wiliirn unci wtlhtiul India. ttrc
atrove. lhe other thirty are callsJ "Edict.s." There anpears
)ir i-"nkan i).rii r*corclc;irc lor-iltd lr) be ihe lriosl
to be a widespread il'not uni-r,ersal agreernent on the
,'-'ri.,bl;' ilnd i:r-iillp:r.fi*nsivc'i-hey prlit|ai A.s,;!,;l as
nom*nciature based on their siz,l irn'J the kind of iithic
.,':ili.'nlci.V r.irvOUr. gCnCfCitis. atd Sti'iplC-Iiitrr(j';:c] in
sirrlir:e trseC. 1'hey ar{: generaily discussed iinder four
i'iis rule ln ra,sjng ilut''ldnism ir*.rm a loclri rcli{ir,ll ! n ' 1 ! i -a}
ir',r)cwhal arbitrarv c"itegorlfs:
.";.ln-IIr{-lri.:n and c{;trt*rlirc.nti!' .r wr)rlij ;'cligtoti. i-in
(li Minur Rr:ck Edicts: MRF nurnbered I - IV.
: nrs avldLrti.'c. thc r\:rlkirf, schtiiats c!iln wcn'r tt-. tltt
()l iI::;fiUtliIrH, 'r:. {li Rccf. Erjicts: RF nu:nbered I XVI {with Rock
r-r lent ctr()ili)()usl',' tl hi:i \ir)(-i' i ('- n
,-.stabiishsd that ilrsilkii r.plrircJ his ti1ii,)rriiti{
E r i i c t s . ' r \ a r r d \ i ' 1 . i v i r i c : hi i r e l o u n d o n l y i n K a l i n g a
!a,.ri\r'I'
''Budrihist 'lrtr in singic copies, called Separate Rock Edicts - SRE -
iti ihe 6fusrch" uf rvhicir wus hca,"l"
by scme scholars)
i s i , - - ia) n d t h a t r i u r i n g t h c l ; i . t ' - $ , ' , r ! r t ! ' f r \vt rc a r s + l - i r i s
l r ie . h r ' d i s t i n u l ! i -u d o p i * r l i i r r , ' i . r - r s i i i t ii!rrf r L i l ; r i r i i t o i h i-l) L{inor Piilar Edicts: MI'jii nr-rrnberedI iI {also
( i r i r r it l a n d S t t t e ' : t s i , : l l r rf'erred tr') as Schisn l,r.Jrct).
(4) Pillar Edicts: PE irumbered I - VII
l:.rlictsoI Asokn
.,\s 3{il.ilccsof thc nlost cogcnl nrunil l.rr'lt' svidence ln the c,lllise of this articie. ;t wlll be shown thai these
, r rt h e c o n t r i b r . r t i o nc f , A . s o l :la< tt h e e ' i < t l u t i o no f ' U u d d h i - t h i r t v ! e ; f s a c i u a l l y c o n s i i t u t e t h i r t e t : n E C i c t s ,w h i c h
. " r e s b r . r t ha r e l i g i o n a n d a c u l t u r a l t b r c c . h i s r n s : r i p - Emperol Asoka had issucd betwcen twelve antl twenty-
'ni and speciaily th,;v: tirat are called EDICTS- scven vears after his coronalit-n.
' c r J1 o b e e : < a m i n e dr r d e p t h . H e r n c c t. h e d e v o t i o n o f
The far ilung provenlnces of these lithic reccrds youch
r b u l k o l t h i s a r t i c l e t o t h e [ ' - d i r - ' tor i{ A s o k a . for the impressive extent of Asoka's dominions, which
i ' r s n e c e s s a r ya t t h e c l r , r l s etto r e c r r g n i z ei . h ; r t t h e seernedto havc covered the whole of the Iridian sub-
: ' . t . . i : , d r c !i s a p p i i e c it o a p a l t o i 4 s o k a r i i n s c n p t i o n s continent from Afghanistan to Orissa and Nepal to
. r r i o r ) s e l ) l' o l t e r r n i n o l o g i c aci o n v e n i e n c c A
. caref'ul the northern borders of Tamil Naclu and Kerala States.
-rient -analysis would show as will ix uiscussed Equally demonstratC by their distiibution is the uni-
, i i i e c o u r s e . - t h a t s e v e r a ld o c u r . r e n t sw h i c h A s o k a n form inrerest which Asoka had shown in conveying
. ' . ' l a r - ; c a l l e d i c t s - a r e a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a la n d r e l l e c - his basic ethical messag€sto €very corner of his empire.
nei rr charectcr and hardly contain any elernent LlR.E I is found in a longer and a shorter version
' j()mmand which would
.prstify their description in not less than fourteen localities in Rajasthan, Llttar
.' ;,jrcts. it will tre necessaryto exarninewhether r\soka Predesh. Bihar, Madhva Pradesh Andhra Pradesh
:, r\ rntended thern to be clisjointoJ as the system and Karnataka States and the Union Territon' of'
^ imDcring ilow in v.rgue suggests.
D el h i . I n l i v e i o c a l i t i e s i n A n a d h r a P r a d e s h a n d
- . , r r n t i r i n sn o l c l a s s i f i e da s e t l i c l s : A l r e a d y e x c l u C e d Karnataka- MRE lI is appended to it. \t Pil at or
- -: lhc categcrryC edicts by conscnsusarnong Asokan Bhabru in Rajasthaq along with MRE I was found
-- rlars are the three Cave Inscriptions and the two MRE IlI, which is unique lir.st r.rs.no other copy has

i in;ent A, Smit:' Asolut (2rl Edition) p 92 ad Romila Thapar; Asaka arl the Decline of the Muuryas (5th impression) p. 37
 EDICTS
yet been discovered anywhere and second as. in tone
and content, it is very different from all other inscrip-
tions of Asoka. What is called MRE IV was found
ln two versions, namely Greek and Aramaic. near
Kandahar in Afghanistan.
RE I X I V ( s o m e t i m e sc a l i e d M a j o r R o c k E d i c t s r
constitute a series which is found intact" though with
textual variations.in five places: Shahbazgarhinear
P e s h a w a ra n d M a n s e h r ai n H a z a r a D i s t r i c t i n p a k i s t a n :
Girnar near Junagadh in Gujarat, Kalsi near Dehra
Dun in Utrar Pradesh and Erragudi in Kurnool Dis-
tncl rn ,{ndhra Pradesh in India. RE I-X and XIV
appear at Dhault in Ganjam Dstrict and Jaugada in
Pun District in Orissa (ancient Kalinga) along with RE
XV and XVI. which are founC only at these two places.
The omission of RE XI, XII and XIII in Kalinga
has raised several questions especially becanseconspi-
cuous by its absenceis RE XIII which contains Asoka's
moving confession of his grief and repentance during
the havoc he caused in the conquest of Kalinga. Frag-
ments of RE VIII and IX were discovered in Sopara
near Bombay. A substantialiy abridged Greek version
of this series appears to have been in existence in Kan-
dahar in Afghanistan,for fragments ot'RE XII and XIII
have been found here.
MPE I - the Schism Edict - occurs in three versions
at Sanchi near Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) and Sarnath
near Varanasi (U.P.) and in Allahabad on rhe Allaha-
bad-Kosam Pillar (U.P.) whic-b had originally been
set up in Kosam (ancrent KauMmbi). To the Sarnath
text is appended MPE II, which conrains further direc-
tives on the diffusion of MPE I and on inspecrion
tours connected with its implementation.
MPE III (also called the Queen's Edict) inscribed
on the Allahabad-Kosam Pillar, is a specific directive
on recording separately the donations of the second
queen Ciruvaki mother of Tivara.
PE I - VI, like RE I - XIV, form a series apparently
issued in quick successionover a brief period. Six almost
identical texts have been found: two in Delhi on pillars
called Delhi-Topra and Delhi-Meerur on the basis
of their original locations; three in the Champaran
Dstrict of Bihar at Lauriya-Araraj, Lauriya-Nandan-
garh and Rampurva; and another on the Allahabad-
Kosam Pillar.
.VII
PE is found intacr on the Delhi-Topra pillar
*'hile somefragments have been discovered in Kandahar.
Awaiting further study and eventual inclusion in
this classification are thc fragmentary inscriptions
from Taxila and Pul-i-Dharunteh in Aramaic script,
the small fragment of the inscription at Amaravarr
and tbe four edicts discoverod in 1969 in the Lashman
Province in Afghanistan.
14 EDICTS
O h r o n o l r r y i c asl c r l u e n c c : N o t a l l o f A s o k a ' s i n s c r i p -
tions are dated. Some refer to the regnal year during
which a certain event is said to have occurred (i.e.
visits to sacral spots, the appointment of Dharma-
Ilfahdmatras, the writing of edicts. the enlargement
of the stupa of the Buddha Kar;akamunr and gifts of
caves).These dates provide the upper limit for dating
the document in question.
In PE VI. Asoka staresthat he cr:mmencedthe practice
of issuing Dharmalipi twelve years after coronation
(dutad.asauasa-abhisitena me dhammalipi likhapirc). It is
assumed by Asokan scholars that the term Dharmalipi
applies to all those inscriptions which are categorized
as edicts. But it is important to note that in none of the
MRES or MPEs is this term used. Nor is it applied to
RE XV and XVI, the latter being simply called "iyam
lipi" (this document). That the appelation Dhurmalipi
applied particularly to the two series RE I - XIV and
PE I - VII is amply borne out by its use as a specific
description of thesesetsof documents in RE I, XIII and
XIV and PE I, IV, VI and VII. Of thesethe PE I - VI
are clearly. dated twenty-six years after coronation
and PE VII, which is the last among the inscriptions
hitherto discovered, was issued 27 yearsafter coronation.
The internal evidence indicates that the series of
REs was not issued together. From the dates .in RE II
and IV a justifiable conclusion is that RE I - IV were
inscribeil twelve years after coronation. RE V, which
records the creation of the new administrative cadre of
Dharma-Mahamatris thirteen years after coronation.
expressly opens a second instalment of edicts. RE V
and XII give the impression that this ofrrce was no
longer an innovation but a well-establishedinstitution
in all parts of the Mauryan empire by the time these
edicts were written. RE XIII is a record of services
which could have gone on for many years since Asoka's
change of policy and could belong to an even later
insfalment.
Content-Analysis of Edicts:
MRE I - IV: A content-analysisof MRE I-IV should be
preceded by an examination of their grouping in the
fourteen locations where MRE I is found by itself or
with either MRE II or MRE III. In five places (namely,
Brahmagiri, Erragudi, Jatinga - Rames'vara, Rajula-
Mandagiri and Siddhapur), MRE II in either a shorrer
or a longer version is appended to MRE L In Bairat
or Bhabru MRE III was found on a separate block
of granite but alongside MRE I.
MRE Mn Aramaic and Greek versions have an
aflinity to MRE I-II as regards content, though in
presentation it is compact and straight-forward, apparen-
tly to appeal to their specific readership. It is evident.
as will be further elaborated, that MRE I - IV consist
 EDICTS
of bits and pieces and versions of Asoka's very firsr
Dharmalipi (i.e. the First Edict).
In comparison with the extra-oridinary degree of
uniformity which underlines RE I - XIV in dilTcrent
localitieq MRE I * III show a surprisingly signficant
tendency tc be dissimilar. They vary in length and
verbosity as rnuch as in the contents. Three copies
(i.e. Brahmagiri, Chitradurga District oi Karnataka)
start with the staternent: "ljnder the instructions of
the Prince (Aryaputra) and Mahamatras from Suvaqqa-
giri, the Mah6mitras d Isila are to be wished good
health and addressed as follows." It is also at these
lhree localitics that we come across a longer version
of MRE II, with specific instructions for compliance
brythese officers.
The gist of MRE I in all fourteen localities is that
- two and a half years prior ro the issue of this edict.
Asoka had become a lay Buddhist devotee - not
s o v i g o r o u s i n h i s e x e r t i o n s i n t h e c a u s eo f t h e
f)humntuduring the first year but devoutty attached
to the Sangha and vigorous in his exertions since;
- the result of his e{forts is that gods who did not
mingle with tttc pcople of Jambudipa in the past
were now mingling with them; and
- the objective he has placed before the people in
this process was equally achievable by the rich
and the poor.
The direaives contained in it were:-
to the rlch and the poor wltldn and outsHe lds
domhlons to continue this exettion for a long time
and to achieve a progress equal to one and a half
times(the present).
- to olTiccrs to have it engravcd on rocks and pillars
in Asoka's dominions and to go on tours throughout
the districts in their charge.
MRE I ends with the information that it was issued
on. a tour of pilgrimage when Asoka had spent 256
nights away from the capital (according to several
copies) and "since the relics of the Buddha ascended
the plaform" (according to the Ahraura text.)
MRE II shorter version is expressly a continuation
of MRE I, as it op€ns with: "Thus said Devenapiya
with rderence to the above." Here occurs the succinct
formulation of Asoka's Dharma as "One should obey
one's mother and father and likewise one's elders.
One should be steadfast in one's kindness towards
Iiving beings. One should speak the truth. In this way
one should profound these attributes of Dharma."
The longer versiorl as already pointed out, proceeds
to instruct the Mahimatras of Isila how this messageis
to be communicated through Rajjukas and PrddeCikas
15 EDICTS
to the local pppulations and how ir is to be diffused
through elephant-riders. scribes, charioteers, and tea-
chers of the Brahrnan Community. In the process is
described lucidly the role of teachers and pupils and
those of the teacher's household.
What accompanies MRE I in Barrat or Bhabru is a
unique edict - MRE III - addressed by Asoka to the
monks and nuns as well as the male and female devotees.
Following the customary salutatior\ Asoka in this
edicq declares in no uncertain terrns his reverence
for and faith in the Triple Gem of Buddhism and, saying
that whatever is said by thc Buddha is well-said, pro-
ceeds to propose "a way as to how tlrc Dharrrrrr could be
perpetuated." The directive expressed in terms of a
wish or a desire - is that monks and nuru should cons-
tantly listen to and reflect on seven specified texts and
the lay-followers should do likewise. The seven texts so
recommended are:
1. Vinayasamutkarsa
2. Aryavisih
3. Anagatabhayini
4. Munigathd
5. Mauneyasfitra
6. UpatiSyapradna
7. Rahulovada on falsehood
What is signficant is that MRE I-In taken together
underscore Asoka's own declaration of faith as a devout
Buddhist. Working back from the statement in PE VI
that Dharmalipi or edicts on the Dharrrre were issued
for the first time twelve yeam after coronation and
and assuming MRE I - In arc in the category of such
edictq the earliest date assignable to these edicts is
twelve years after coronation.
The statement in MRE I that he had been actively
exerting in the Dharma for a little more than a year
prior to the issue of thc cdict, enables us to date the
beginning of his mission as a propagator of the Dharma
around ter years after coronation The most important
information which the Aramaic and the Greek version
d MRE IV is that Asoka became a teacher of piety
(i.e. "showing piety to the people') when ten years
had elapsed(from his coronation). Besidesthis chronolo-
gical confirmatioD, MRE IV records Asoka's humani-
tariau acts and his achievements in usherine an ethical
amelioration of the people.
An issue which calls for attention is thc date assignable
to MRE I - IIL The following internal evidencesuggests
that it could have been Asoka's very first essayin issuing
and inscribing edicts:-
- lack of uniformity explicable as a proliferation of
tentative drafts;
 aDfilI'S EIiTCTq

' : l r r r t t l t l j c i u - ' a r u ; t n , J ! c i ; i l , : r r " t l r i i i t : s i ri D l i r t l : t ! . t i t i ' ' ! t r ' i l L t o! t 1 i s j i n t 3 a . \ i i i - ) a \ ' r :

r,l lrr,rrrth l'tirri Li:. \'i
, , { , : i j k . rd S \ . : i l r - ' r t l . ; .\ . _ . . r i : : i . f } ' , ' r , , , i i - r i r r O f l i t . ( . _.' 1 If oi.r,.:i t": ;, ,;,ps'r il previ{)uri aiiministratrr-rri:
l ) ' - i , r r ' t i i l l ) p i _ i . ,: A ! , . ) i ' : .: i: t , \ { : . : : r t . i ) , ' r r . r r 3 r e ! ) r \ t i r ' . ' l - ahei: -;t;ti: ir,ir"t'rc.s lliiii fcporiili6 io the kin;l
l 1 ; : i \ s t r k - r . . 1t l i i r l f J U i : l . i i i . i. r ; i d l ' t i ; t d t . . l : r : { \ 4 t g : r r . 1 i r . t ,.iiC rcr riil.:' p;iire et iiii iioiirs o{'the day; Ju.llr-
:lt liarrat ,\:, Ascka .ri-rri'icii\lii1i{!}ris f,ii;;iilrr i i , ; . ' t i r t * . .i h , . q l r i e r : t i v r a r n{i ciinlprehenstve day-i'r.lg
, r r l i n : l m e . i r e * i , ; u n ! i n ! ' ! i r ! . , , ' : ; i t : : i : ) ' . 1i ' i r i : l : l : ; r ' , : ! lr:r',.tivgrnerli ht ]",ld rnfrr,jrir:;d: Rein{orterr,er:t
l-lyad;lst in lli irlrr r r r r i . : e " r j i , r . , . : i; p i i r , : r i ; ' i , r u t 1 . - , ni r t i t . . . t , i r i l n ii.r r r - i l i t i i i . c l i o r n p t f i i S p a t r : i :
{il p.-'opie e r.,'J:riress. ri i'.h '.ir..- ,-'rn.r:hasts on th{.1
all the hithci'.', discovt're-l c.)pre.t a!'c 1,1 :iltlt. rr '':.\ltt
rholl rlistatrce l'rcfit iiu caprlai ;:nd ihr n;Llst nr.iml,'c.r 1ti11r.;{ ret$i.ri;11.)i:i!,}' i ii;r.ll tltschargc
lh,'debt 'vhrch I owe ail l;v:ag n:lng:. thai I rnak.:
: ' i 1 ) n i It h c r r ) r . r i i i c ; nh t : l d i - ' r r , i h i : . ; : . r r r r i n i : i n . ' l ' i r c :
Iurd not rtrc:i:rvcri tne lride dillusion .,riiirh ili: I thern happ-v.'ui i{iis ri'orid an<j thiri thev m:rv atteiF
h,:;iven ln lhe next". l".tir'.cfr|e. t:dciressed ir: sons.
lilv h a , j r ' ^ e n s u i - ' i e c t o c jt o .
grald:r:ns ;ind gre;it -grarlciso!'is ir] corll(1rrl:: P ercsr,r
l i ! i - l : l \ : I ' r r r . - l . j : . . i , ,d t i ( i i l r r i ; r fi t r ' r i - r l n " l r ! e : i \ L : a r e i ' u i I !')h "'t'his. htrwBl ii. is rliii'icuit io :rcLr-)rnillisl';
strr.li, .rl Ri:. I lil\ in .' ;tl i,.'r'i,g var.:,,Ci,.::a,i lv thilt rhc withrir:l utmosl lr,rrtirrn
, . t i v i r i r ; ; i n t o l r l u r t e e n t c x i : r o r r r , l i { ' 1. i ' , n d t h e s , v i t c i n o l
'fhese I'if ilr I-dir'(: RU YII - X ('itntmenlemt'rii' "Kirig
ir irn'i:e rinE \4'e use arc purel:- :ri:itr:rr-v-. rverr
Devanaripil'a Pivadasi wisiics that ;rll rciigilrit
l,-,ric b.r caill'A:iokan schci.rrs anil are rron'i:tlued as
sects :;lrciulC live harmoniouslv in aii parts ol' hr:;
cl-.nvenicnt labels for irJentil'icatron and irscusgion.
-[]re dominions" . lvlottrutton. Rei'leciir:non the superilr
stiuctrjre. thr stvle and the contents str(]ilglv imprrrtance ol- sei!'-control. ./ustri;r'Ltticin und Ret.:-
suggcst the origirial iirrriat rx this serie$ u'a.s ofle ('1
lL,rcement hrs Ll*parturir from the old practice of'
f i v c e c l l c t s a n c i a n e d l t o r i a i n o t e . I - ; d c l i . J t - ! h e s er c r : n n s l i . kiripf l,r dr--\r)lii cln pleasttlv lrip; a'd huntiirg
t L r t e df i r e c r l i i l s h a s a p r e a m b l e . a d i r ; : c t i v e a n d a i r : i i i i 1 : snd the sunner in x'hich he urilrze; his pilgrimages
p c r o r a t i o n . A s w e a S S U i r r € dM R E I - i l l t o b e t h r J ; i r ' ' . ; i)lr?(tire . addresscd dlrealy to the people to desi:;t
i-rirc'1. RE. I - XIV could bt numbered from suc,.rnd ti; lrorn trrvial ;rnC meaningiess rites and cercmcnles
riiriir and llrr:rlvsr:c:las ftrlio*s: and ro concentfutc on flharrna to attein a desirei.l
Sr.r'rrnt.llidicl; RE i IY : Commetr{ €n1€nt"This Dfrlrnrri- obSeci in this worid and to gain merii for the nr.xt.
iirr has been caused tr- he n'rittcn b-r kine l)r:venam- Ptrt:tttlirtn his disi;rteresied devotion to the wei-
'Whatevcr
piya Pivadasl": Af1)Ilirrjiiorr hrrillriiittil-:l:ri. with lr fare of the people - endcav(rum made
ar-c {or the sake of the people's happiness in iire
ccncern i'l;r aninlals siuughtcii.:i I'or s;iirdjce as
r r ' e l l a s f o r i o o d : . Ju t t i { i r ' , . ; t i , r n t h e r : r n p e r o ! . ' s o \ 4 ' n oth*r world and that all pcople erpcrience a fsdirc-
crampic in r.lyl! kitchen; hi.' rccor.l o| hamani- tion in corruption." C'onclu-sion "This fieedorn
tarran scr\'r.es u'ithin his ciornintons anC ouiside froilr corruption is rnore difllcult for the rich le:
e E. merlical trr.:atmenl, meri ir:ira.! irerbs. n'rells achieve."
and shad-r: lreq; firr the tret'rel'it C' human being: Sirth I'l<litt; RE Xl - XIII. Commtnt'erneni Samc .is
and rnirnals'. Retniitrcenrcnt.'Ricriinig lhe spccrlic iir the sccond and the third edicts above. Nioritution
dircctivc issiicd to Rariukas anij flrailesrk-as anci tr(ellcction on the Dharrna - "there is nrj such gil'1
the ('ourrcil tif Minrsicrs twelve -!ears aftei ccrona- as the giti ri'Dharma: no sucfi act as the separation
tion as regaids the teaching ol'ttte IJhlrlrr:i. [];valuii- u.f Dharrru from what is not Dharma: no such
tion of thc pnsitive results of these instruclions; kingship as kingship through Dharma": Justrlrctttion
[ ) i i ' p , i i ' 1 , 1 'a d d r - e s s e dt o s o n s . g r a n d s r . t n s a n d i r r c a t -
h c l r i ' t h c c r - r i , - i u c tc n j o i n e d l t s D h a r m a p r o d u c c s
grand-sons to promote the Dharrrvt ic the crrcl ol
bencfits here and hereaf ter. Retn{orr:ement' his
l l m e , I ) t , r r r r r r r i r . r nP r a i s i n g t h e D h a r m a : " A n i n c r e a s c .
policy of religious tolerance and his reflections
is gotrd as also its non-decrease ; Conclttsion.
on how religious dissensions are causd and fos-
thc daie u'hen it was crrused to be inscribed.
teral and how they couid be avoided bv becoming
'l
R[r V. (.-ommencement: ""I'hus said
h r r r f F l i li r t : wsil-rnformed c,{ the dcctrines cf different religions:
Dei'anamniya Piyadasi " Motruatrcn' hi-srdlection his instructions to the !)harma-MahAmatras and
and conviction that doing good to others is difl'i- othei ofiluers tr! pr{-rrnole religious !tiierance by
cult: ./u..;rillt.'ation his own record of good things suppcrting ali secis arxi tc acl for the glorification
rione which he wants his progenll to emulate to of tbe t)harma: his most spirital declaration of
end of time; Rcinlbr('emen . a positive evaluation how ihe havoc crcattxl by the Kalinga war brought
r''f hos hs innovation in the administrative machi- remorse and repentance to him and how he had
nen of criatlng the posrs tf Dharma-Mahamatras abandonxl wars of expansion in favour of conquest
rs being di-eurrvelyrmplemented: Diret'tive adclres- by Dharma; an assertion of his willingness to
.C to hn descendants to conform to this edict. pardon repentant wrong-doen even though he
 E$JECTS
has ibe p'ower to punidr t&ern scvereiy; a detailed
statcment qr hcw hb conques through Dharma
has encompassed dominiom as far away as six
hundrd yoja"aq including thc Greek kingdoms of
Antiyok4 Turamiy6, Antikini, Maka and Alika-
rundara ard extendiqg as far south as Sri Lanka;
{'eroration: Praisc for conquest through Dharma:
"In th conquest througb Dharm4 satisfaction
b derivcd tyy both the victcrs and the vanquished."
Directitv: addrcssed to his sons and great-grand-
som to abandon tbe ida of conquest by arms.
to adop a policy of forbearanoe and light punish-
ment to ttr vanquisbcd even if they conquer by
arms and to regard the conquest through Dharma
as tbe truc conqus€t. (lonclusion: "l-nt all their
intense joys bc associatcd with Dharma. For
this brings happinessin this world as well as in the
next,"
Edllodd Note: RE XIV: not an edict but an edi-
torial explanation on why thc edicts would not appear
everywher-c in thc sarne form.
The identiFrcation of five edicts issued at diffcrent
intervals within R.E I - XItr provides a reasonable
explanation to several questions: viz:
ra) why as ma[y as four among tbe thirteen REs do
not embody any directive to be considered an edict;
(b) whst relevance th philosophical reflectiom and
autobiographical details had in several texts;
(c) for whom the directive was meant anCwhy in most
instances Asoka describad the orders given to offi-
cials ard what they did to implement them without
addressing any directive specifically to them; and
(d) how RE )fl - XIII could be dropped fully from
Dhauli and Jaugada.
RE Xy - XW. An assumption h prompted by this
grouping about RE Xv,ard XVI, that take the place
of RE XI - XIII at Dhauli and Jaugada. tt is thar
thesc tcru edicts which are spcc'ificaly addressed to the
Mahimdtras d Samnpa and Tosali could have been
issued bdorc RE XI - XIII. Such an assumption could
bejustified on the ground that their omissionat thesesites
was due to lack dspacc on tbe rock sapce"Some Asokan
scholan argrE that thesc two inscriptions preceded
RE I - XVt Thb argument is not altogether invalid.
From thc point d vicw of contents, RE XV and XVI
are very different from tbc Dharmalipi series; Firstly,
they are addressed specifrcally as'royal orders' (rajaua- .
canikd) or instructions (cnusaffrr) to two sets of offrcers-
or d thcu judicial offrcers of the city d Tosali - and
thc objcctivcs to be gaincd are immcdiate. They do not
digress into philosophical rdlcctions or autotriogra-
phical notcs brs addrcss g mrju questioo in which
17 ENICT'S
the efrrts rrf,the officers arc urEEnt : that is. ro piacate
anci paciti' lhi: Deople 1n nnceliqurred tsrntories lying
bcyoud tF.c irorclers of' As;rri.:'t lcciiilailrfi.
The genern"ladrrrrnistratrlr-e- tn Sarnalp* err instructd
to cor.r.vi*ii: thixc p*er$!6' ii i;x: errprcr,:'rh q,i6irc bo
prcvide than wlt*h ali kir:rL :.d r;..*ifare ad happiness
fu thl-q r*trrld ;:irti tlrc :ler' iis !""::di'li3$idlereall aran to
be hls cliildren anj to i*r,il:e s'! thm conficience and
goodwill tcwards thc *rnperor
ln RE XVI, tlre objectrve ieffiainq tlp same and the
judicial ofrrcers cf Tosalj are required to accomplish
it by impartiality and meticulous care in imparting
justice without being subjected to .leaiousy, anger,
cruelty, hastinesg want d pers€v€rencc, lazines and
fatigue. They are speoally directsd to dsist from unnc-
cessary imprisonment and harassment. This instruaion
also rders !o the tours of inspcction which were to bc
organized from Ujjayini {by thc Frinrx Viccroy) and
from Taksadila. These two could be countod as thc
seuenth ard erghth edicts d .{s+ka pending further
evidence on their chronological preccdence.
Mlnor Plller EM I - II: Eh ffiIN HlcT): Th
Nlnth Micl.' Addressed to thc Mahdmitras stationed
at Kausambi and urcioubtxily also to those at Sinchi
and Sarnattr. this edia announces the successof Asoka's
e{Iort to punfy and unify tbc Buddhist Ordcr and
instructs the Mahimdtras on stepc to be takcn by
them to ensur€ the drrrability of such purity ad unity.
ln content, all three texts are identical although
tbe one at Sdnchi is slightly more dctailed Whereas
Allahabad-Kosam Pillar text says simply, *I have
made both the Sarigha of monks and the Sarigha of
nuns united," the Saranath text continues the sentence
adding "to last as long as my sons and great grandsons
shall reign and thc moon and ths sun shall shine," It
also adds a concluding sentence to tbe effect, "For
my desirc is that thc Safrgha may remain unitd and
flourish for a long time."
The instructions to the Mahamitras are:-
(a) to disrobe ( : put on white garments) and expel
from monasteries monks and nuns who jeopardize
the unity of the Sadgha.
(b) to ensure that no heretics are admittod to the Sadgba
(Allahabad-Kosam Pillar version only); and
MPE II, found only at Sarnath gives instructions as to
how the edict is to bc diffusod and how its implemcnta-
tion is to bc ensurod through tours of inspection by
thc Mahamitras as well as their subordinates. Among
thc persom to whom thc edict has to bc particularly
made accessible are "the lay followers of thc Buddhq"
who are also to be asscmblod ncar tbc document on
every fast day "in order to bc inspired with faith."
 EDICTS
Like MRE I - III, the Schism Edict in MPE I - II
displays Asoka's direct association with Buddhism and.
above alf demonstrateshow he used his royal authority
and the imperial administrativc machinery for the
promotion of Buddhism. From the point of view of
style, this is the only document which can really be
dubbcd an edict. Here the formula "chc" (stated or
declared) which is used in all other inscriptions is rep-
laced by "d4apayati" (commands or orders). This edi^t.
which could bc numbered as the ninth is undoubted.y
an order demanding obcdience. ln all others the injunc.
tion to evcn thc offrcers are couched in less forcefui
language.
An approximate date could be assigned to this edict
on the basis of the evidence cf the Sri Lankan Pali
sourcrs. The action reflected in the edict was taken
around the sarne time that the Third Buddhist Council
was held That was in the seventeenth year of Asoka's
region. That would mean that the Schism Edict was
issued only thrce or four years after the series of five
edicts, found in RE I - XIV. On cpigraphical evidence,
Asoka had bccn, by this timg a devout patron of the
Sadgba for five or six years and apparently, as vouched
for by Pali sources, it is the emperor's munificence
which had attracted heretics and opportunists to the
Sailgha.
Pillur Edicts I - W: Threelater Edicts:Almost a decade
after thc Schism Edicq Asoka had issued a scries of
inscripions, namely, PE I - VI. In bctwccn there had
bca threc short inscriptions: one at Karga Chaupar
Cavc dated ninctesn years after coronation and the
othcrc on tbc Nigali Sagar Pillar and Rummindei
(Lumbini) Pillar dated twcnty years after coronation.
Like MRE I - Itr and thc Schism Edict (MPE I - II),
thc last two of tbc thrce inscriptions are specifically
associated with Asoka's role as a pstron of Buddhism.
From that point of view, PE I - YI have much in common
with RE I - XVI. While Dharma is upheld, taught and
ddinod in thesc, no unequivocal reference to Buddhism
per se could be identified.
PE I - VI havc apparcntly bcen issuod in the same
year - that is, twenty-six yean after coronation. PE I,
IV, V, and VI, whic,h are described in the preamble as
Dharmalipi, actually carry thb date. This fact alone
should persuadc one to considcr PE I - III as one
document rathcr than thrce. On that basis we could
identify three documents, which could be numbered
as thc tmtb, eleventh and twefth Asokan Edicts. as
follows:-
Tafr E& PE I - III: Comngncemen' the usual
opcning statement "Ttus said Devinampiya Piya-
*This
dasi- followod by Dharmalipi has becn cswcd
to be writtcn by me twenty-six years after my
18 EDICTS
coronation;" Motiuation: his realization that happi-
ness here and hereaftcr is diffictlt to be securd
without intensc love of Dharma, rigorous sef-
examinatio4 implicit obedience to elders, great
fear of sin and excessive zeal for Dharma. Rein-
.lbrcement: the satisfactory results observed in
increasod love for Dharma on the part of the
people and the success of officers of all ranks in
conforming and urgqg others to conform to
Dharma; tbe policy of govcrning administering
justice, causing happiness and protecting peoplc
according to Dharma as implcmentcd by the
Mahamatras in chargc d border districts; Asoka's
own achievements. in enlightening even criminals
and hb humanitarian measurers to protect animals,
birds and fishcs. Directive: The peoph should
act according to Dharma and it should endure for a
long time Peroration: a spritod sennon on bow
one fo blind to one's own sinful acts and tb necd
for sef-retrosepcction,'Itcte passions surely lcad
to sin such as violence, cruclty, anger, vanity and
jealousy." Conclusion: One should refl,ect "This
is good only for this world and the other is
good for tbe next world also."
Ecffi Ffre PE IV: Commencementi exactly as
above; JustiJicationr somc felt necd to cxplain
the role d Rajjukas, why they had bccn'appointcd
and what was expected of them. Reinlbrcement:
the feeling d confidcnce he enjoyed on thc realiza-
tion that Rajjukas wcre looking aftcr thc wefare
of tb€ pcoph just as an expcrt nursc cares for a
child entrustod to her Directiue: Rajjukas should
bc impartial in judicial proccedingp and impartial
in punishmcnt; epccific instructiron on allowing
time for condemod convicts to appcd or to bc
consolcd by thcir relatives wbo could elm pcrform
meritorious dccds io tbc nam of thc condemnod.
Conclusion: expression d Acoka't dcsirc to eoture
happincss for thc convicts in thc ncxt wCrH and
to promotc thc practia of Dharma through scf-con-
trol and distribution cf gtrts.
TfttAr Hre PE V - VI: a uniqu documcd consti-
tuting pcrbaps tbc oldcst proclsmatioa d sanctuary
to animalE- Commerrcement: exactly as abovc;
Directiae: cxempting a long list drpccict danimals
from slaughter; restriclior oo killing castrating
branding and destructioo d enimab on all tim6
in some cascE and otherr o rpccihod holy days.
Reinforcement.' Aroka's twenty-fivc amnatics cxtsn-
dcd to prisoncrs duriry bb reign; hb practice of
issuing Dhamnlipis (cdicts) to guidc tb pcoph to
develop Dharma aod to attain wclfarc and happi-
ncss; hb rdlection on hory to bring happincs to
pcoph without any form d discrimination; his
 Et}iCTS
policy c* bcing equaliy disposod to all religioru
sects. whm hc honours alike. Conclusion: "I
consider my principai duty rs meeting the people
of different sects personally."
TM W P.E. VII: The last of the Asokan
inscriptions as the present evidence goes is ,DE VII
which b alsc a datd document. Called a Dharmalipi.
it was inscribed twenty-s€ven years after coronation-
that ig onc year aftcr PE I - YL
This inscription is also classifiod as an edict only
bccausc thc very last paragraph directs that it be engraved
on stonc pillars ad stonc tabletg whenever they are
availablc in order that it may endure for a long time.
ln a previous paragraph thc objeaira of tbe document
b explainod as follows: "that it may last as long as my
sons and grandsons shall reigp and thc moon and the
sun shinc and also that thc pcoph may conform to it."
Tbe bulk of PE VII, which is orr of thc longest texts
among Asokan inscripions, is a recapitulation of his
rdlections, policies and deeds, higfilighting what he
had done for the promotion of Dharma during his
reign. Dividcd into ten parts each starting with the
statement, "Thus said Dcvanampiya Piyadasi," the
words of Asoka are presented in a tone of reminiscence
and historical record.
The contents of the ten paragraphs are briefly as
follows:
(l-2) The questiur which Asoka had posed to himself
on why previous kings failed in their desire to
endure thc pcople's progress through the promo-
tion d Dherma: "How can I elevatc thern through
thc promotion d Dharma?"
(3) His plan: Dharmalifl or edicts to be issued;
various kinds ofinstructions to be given to offlcers
to disseminate them; Rajjukas appointed over
many hundred thousands of people to instruct
thc pcople on Dharma.
(4) Furthcr steps.'s€ttingup pillan with Dharmalipi;
appointing Dharma Mahdmatras and issuing
proclamations on Dharma.
(5) Social seruicesinstituted: shade trees, wells, rest-
hous6, watersheds along roads just as previous
kingp but witb the new objective that people
conform to Dharma-
(6) Duties atd functions of Dharma-Mahdmatras:
engaged in activities beneficial to ascetics and
Ananda W. P. Guruge: Empcra Asoka's Place in History: A Review cf Prevalent Opinions. Sri Lonl<aJournal d BuddhistStudies.
Vol. I. 1987.
Ananda W. P. Gurugc: Empcrm Asoka aod Buddhirm: Unrcrolvcd Discrepancics between Buddbisr Tradition and Asokan lns-
criptions, B Buddhis Philosophy arl Culture, Essoya ir honor oI N.A Jayawickrema, l9t7.
19 EDICTS
householden of all relig:c,u:: ';ects including Bud-
dhists trderred to rv affain ,* tirr $adgha), Brah-
mant {jivikas, Jaim ,:,-,:.
(7) F{cw thesc officers ar}'j otliers are eri;agod in
thc distribu*.i,rn of grit.e eionated hy Asoka as
well as members of his farnily. Hrs intention:
"to promote notrle ues<is:t f)harma and practice
of Dharma, whid L.::f.rsists of compassion, libera-
lit,v, truthfulnesq pr.rrit y. gentlenessand gcociness."
(8) How the people have itr:itatd Asaka and, as a
result, tbe obedienc. to parents and elders.and
courtesy !o th€ agd the B;ahmans, ascetics,
tbc poor, thc di;tresseC, and even to slaves and
servants have increased.
(9) The two w(lys adopted to promote Dharma: (a)
imposing restrictions ard {b} exhcrf ation.Why the
latter is superior. How exhortation has reduced
violence and slaughter of anirnals Also stated
is the obje'ctive of tbc Piiiar Edict, whidr ends
with a peroration: "If a person conforms to this
happiness will be attained in both this world
and the next."
(lO) Directiue. This record should be engraved on
storre pillars and store tablcts wherever available.
We have thts m all thirtecn Asokan Edicts among
the inscriptions so far discoverod and published.
Historlcel ard Refgbus slgnl8cance of the Inscrlptbns of
Asokn: The undisputod value of the epigraphical
records of Asoka as far as tbc history of Buddhism is
conccrnod b that they providc sollJ cvidence for the
accuracy of tbc historical tradition recorded and trans-
mitted through thc Pali literary sourcc d Sri Lanka.s
The inscriptions themsclvcs could not harrc bcca reliably
ascribcd to Asoka or accurately interpreted without
thc Sri Lankan Pali commcntarics and chronicles.
Asokan scholars without a suffrcient grounding in
this literature have often lumped all Buddhist literary
sources togthcr. Further, by assigning higher credence
to Sanskrit Chinesc and Tibetan works, they have
come to conclusions whose inddensibility is increasingly
established.While there are still a numbcr d unresolved
discrepancies (e.g Kdlinga war which only RE XIII
mentions; sequence and chronologl of certain events).
there is no doubt that Asokan inscripions and Sri
Lankan historical tradition are mutudly supportive.a
Thc inscriptions which arc generally callod edicts
have bccn extensivelyanalysodfor tb historical informa-
 EDICTS 20 EDI{:i:*,

l l c l n t h r y p r o v i d e c n h 4 ; l : . r ; - f i , : ' a d r n i n i s t r a t i o na n d fragmentary inscnption irom Jetavanaranu. ntw in rhe

aiso lbr the content of []hairna :r.s,l,'nceived and dissemi-
nated by Asoka.5
Iv{uch has b**n sarr''l,-.,r tlre ahserice of any mention
of undeniably Iluddhisi dr,.:trinx such as the Four
Notrle Tnrrhs. Ile'pendanr ( ausation. Noble Eightfold
Parh and f iibbina lt ha.i also been stressed that. rn
k r e p i n g w i t h A s o k a ' sa r J r n i i a b rtl cel e r a n c ea n d d e d i c a t i o n
lcr reirgror,isiicedorrr. his Dharina was nonsectarian
and e';clectic.it :t L\ irue rhat tlr basic tenets of good
r,jil.-lu.t r+ilich he hac diffused arr universal. But his
!aiitiiity ..,, iir,,"]dhismand hn direcl involvement in
its promotron are amply borrrc out by quite a number
cf ttiicts There rs no doubt. therefore.that Asoka deserves
the place whrch Buddhist history has assignedto
him as its most dynamic patron at the crucial moment
ir hen it grew from a restricted local sect to a world
r c l i g r o r '( S e eP L S . i a n d I l )
Othcr ldkts hr BuddhH llistorv
Sn Lanka: Onc iooks in vain among the early Brahmi
rns,.:ripiionsfor edicts comparable to those of Asoka.
( - i ie r a t h o u s a n de p r g r a p h r c arie c o r d sh a v eh i t h e r t o b e e n
drscoveredand published. In script and languagq they
are ver) close to Asokan inscriptions but all of them
are short announcemenb of donations. Nor do we
have any mention in thc early literary sources of any
specific edicts issued by kinp for the promotion of
Buddhis4 even though it could be assumed that kings
of Sri Lanka right from thc introduction cf Buddhism
in the third century B.C used their royal authority to
safeguard Buddhist interests ard establish Buddhist
practices.6
Tbc earliest specific edia issued by a king to be
mentionod m ttn MahAvams b the total ban on killing
(Mdgheta) by Amap{a-Gamaei (22 A.C. - 3l A C )
and a similar rule by Voharika-Tissaabolishing torture.
Attrrbutad to Sihkala 6n A.C. - 535 A.C.) Aggabodhi
fV (667 A.C. - 683 A.C.) and Kassapa III (724 A.C. -730
A.C.) are decreesguaranteeing sanctuary to all creatures
(MahEuann : 35, 6; 36, 28; 41, 30; 46 3; 48, 23). There
could have becn similar decrees on observing tht U po-
satha (Poya) days a$ holy days Badulh Pillar Inscripion
of the tenth ccntury (E.2. III p. 7a) prescribcs fines to
those trading m sudr days.
An edid which according to the Mahauamsa, was
issuerl by Mahisena against the residents of th€ Mah6-
viharq v/as engraved on ro* as is evident from the
Colombo Museum (l' Z.lV pp.273-2851
Most of the Sri [-ankan rn,.;nasticinscriptions of the
nintl and tenlh c:nturies \q b Abhayagiri Sanskrit
Inscriptioru - I'.Z I, pp I - 9; Slab-'lnscriptions of
Mahinda N - 8.7.1 pp. 23 - 3 9 ; p p . ? 3 C 2 4 1 ,p p .
2al - 259: Slab lnscription cl Mahinda V E.Z. I pp.
.$1 - 57) are regulations promulgatod under royal
authority for the administration of monasteriesand their
properties They are addressod to the Sailgha as well as
the laity. Reminiscentof Asoka's instructions in some of
hb edrctsis the concluding sentenceof the Slab Inscrip
tion of Kassap V: "(this record) shail be written up
and read out lrcfore the cornmunity r:f elders at the
expiration of every year."'
A class of edicts specific to Sri Lanka are the Koilri:n
vatasl (q,v.) in which several kings hed promulgitd
rulesof conduct tbr the Sangha.The rules.according to a
elaborate stereotyped preamble are formulatod by the
leading members of the Sadgha through discussion
among themselves based on custom and practice. The
king grants his authority by figuring as tbe initiatc of
tfie process at whose invitation the Sadgha had under-
taken the task. The emphasis given to certain norms of
conduct in eac*r extent Katikauan rdlects the contem-
porary situation of Buddhism which demandod royal
intervention Tlrc Katikauaras differ frm the decrees in
inscriptionq referred to abovq by being solely devoted
to the conduct of monks whereas those inscriptiom tieal
also with monastic administration and management of
income and property.
Two of the earliest Katilfiuatas. as far as our current
knowledge goes, are also inscribed on rock: namely.
the Katikduata of Parakramabnhu I (1153 A.C. - 1186
A.C.) at Galvihara and that of Nissanka Malla (1187
A.C. - 1196 A.C.) which is in a damaged condition - at
HdtadAg-, both in Polonnaruwa. Texts of the following
Katikiuatas have also been published: Dambade4i
Katikavata of Parakramabihu II (1236 A.C. - l27O
Katikiuatas have also been published: Dambadeni
Katikdvata of ParAkramabihu II (1236 A.C. - 1270
A.C.) Fragmentary Katikauata of Parakramabahu VI
(1412A.C. - 1467A.C.\: Katikduataof Kirtj Sri Rnjasimha
simha (1747 A.C. - 1760 A.C.) and that of Rejadhireja-
s i m h a ( 1 7 8 2A C . - 1 7 9 8A . C . ) .
fuu: A fair number of inscriptions - some d them
quite long and detailed - is available from Burma for

D R Bbandarkar: Asol<a(fourth edition) 199; R- IC Mookerlcc'. Asol<a(thind edition) l!)62; Bcrd Madhab Barua: Asoka uttd His
I nscripriang Parts I & II (sccond cdition) 1955; Scc alp E Hultzsch: lnscriptiotts o{ Asoka, Corpus Inscriptionfu Indicarurn, 1925.
.iules Bloch: Les Inscriptiors tAsoko, 1950, A"C Sco: ,lso&a's fr'ictq 1956 D. C Sircar: Inscriptiotts of Asoka (Tbid Editionl 1975.
Waipola Rabula: Ilistory of Buddhirtr h Ccylo4 1956 tr 64.
D B Jay-atiiaka Katikauat Saitgaru, 1984.
 EDICTS
the rcconstruction of the history of Buddhism in several
of its kingdoms. But these belong to a relatively larer
date commencing with the rise of Pagan ard its contacts
i n t h e r e i g n o f A n i r u d d h a ( 1 0 4 4 A . C . - 1 0 ' 7 7A . C . ) w i t h
Sri Lanka. Neither in these many inscriptions nor in
extant chronicles and literary works, has any evidence
been found on edicts comparable to those of Asoka.
While historical accourrts abound and some royal
interventions in reconciling religious dissensionscould
be surmised (e.9. from Pagan inscription of 1260 and
Pegu Kalyani SimA Inscription of 1476),no documents
similar to Kutikauuttts have yet been reported. See
KATIKTVAT
It is nevertheless.clear that the practice of engraving
decreeson rock was not totally unknown- In 1249 A.C.
Klacwi had issued an edict against robbers and it is
assumed that its objective was to protect religious
monuments.8 The tone of an edict is also discernible
in records of dedications wherein the blessings and
benefits on the proper use cf the donations and curses
and punishments on misuseare listed. (e.g. Face B lines
14 - 36 of the Pagan inscription of Siri Jeyyasura of
1 4 4 2A . C . ) . e
China: From the history of Buddhism in China
come a number of royal edicts both for and against
Buddhism. In its long history, Buddhism had been in
conflict with the local religious traditions of Confuci-
anism and Taoism ln 426 A.C., the Tartar chief of
of the Wei dynasty issued an edict against Buddhism
and it resulted in the destruction of many books and
i t r e s u l t e di n t h c d e s t r u c t i o no [ m a n y b o k s a n d i m a g e s
and the massacreof monks. In 451 A.C.. however. his
successor issued another edict permitting Buddhists
to build a temple in each city. Following a conspiracy
in which the involvement d a Buddhist monk was
detected. an edict in 458 A.C. brought the Buddhist
Sarigha under very close administrative and judicial
s u r v e i l l a n c e ,M o n k s w h o w e r e g u i l t y o f m i s c o n d u c t
were ordered to be executed.
An edict assuring full toleration to Buddhism by
the Sui Dynasty appearedin 581 A.C. In betweenperiods
of prosperity enjoyed by the Buddhism, there came
times when long forgotten edicts were invoked against
it, as for example, in 714 A.C. wherL under the weak
rule of the sixth emperor of Tang Dynasty, such an
old edia was revalidated.The result was the disrobing
of 12000 monks and nuns and prohibition of writing
sacred books, building temples and casting images.
Severe persecution enacted by emperor Wutsung's
8.G H Luce and Tin Htway; A l5th Century Inscription and Library at Pagan, Burma in Malulusekera Commenoratrcn Volume,
1976, p. 208.
9. Ibid. p. 9.
10. Joseph Edkins: Chircse Buddhism 1893, pp. 87 - 154
I l S o h n P o w - k e y . K i m C h o l - c h o o n H o n g Y i - s u pT: l v H i s t o r y o f K o r e 4 1 9 7 0 . p p . 5 l i - 8 81.l I . I 1 6 .
21 EDICTS
edict in 845 A.C. led to the destruction of 4600 monas-
teries and 40,000 shrines and the disrohing of more
than 260,000 monks and nuns.
Buddhism in China, however, revived and regained
the favour of emperors. After a fairiy long period of
tranquility, the fourth Ming cmperor issued an edict in
1426 A.C. which imposed a qualifying examination
for candidatesfor monkhood and in 1450 A-C. another
edict f-rxeda ceiling for the land to be owned by a monas-
tery. More recently under the Manchu emperor Shun-
chi a tolerant and favourable attitude to Buddhism was
displayed by his "Sacred Edict" which is known as
the imperial book of moral instruction to the common
people.ro
Fet Esst State intervention had figured prominently
in the establishmentand the development of Buddhism
in Korea and Japan. In the three ancient statesof Kogu-
ryij, Paekche and Silla, Buddhism was recognized as
the state religion by decree in 372 A.C.. 384 A.C. and
528 A.C. respectively.In Silla" king Pophung employed
Buddhism for estabiishrng his monarchical authority
and. for this purpose, identif'edhimself with the Buddha.
In the centralizedState of Koryo, Kwanjong (850 A.C. -
875 A.C.) intervened in reconciling Doctrinal and Son
sects, in systematizing the T'ient'ai theories and in
developing a spirit of tolerance among adherents to
tsuddhism. Confucianism and Taoism.
Edicts against Buddhist interests, too, had been
issued from time to time as in China. For instance.
Songong (928 A.C. - 997 A.C.) decreed to restrain the
power and influence of Buddhist monasteries and
replaced with new ritual those originating in Buddhism.
while Yi Pang-won, in a similar processof restrengthen-
ing Confucianism,ordered in l40l A.C. the confiscation
of extensive Buddhist temple land as a part of the offrcial
suppressionof Buddhism. Three decadeslater, Sejong,
the famous patron of medicine. astronomy. sciencc
and literature, oppressed Buddhism at first and later
changedhis policy.' '
J a p a n ,t o w h i c h B u d d h t s mw a s i n t r o d u c e dv i a K o r e a .
followed a similar pattern of rof iri intervention through
decrees and prociamations. The first of]lcial act of
Prince Shotoku in assuming ihe regency in 593 A.C.
was to proclaim Buddhism as the state religion. In
604 A.C., he proclaimed what is known as the "Consti-
tution in SeventeenArticles" and its second article is
reminiscent of Asokan edicts:'
 ED UCATIC}N,BIJDDI{IST
-three
S r n c e r e i vr e v e r e t h e t r e a s u r e s 'T h c
t r e n s u r r s ' : r r e B u d C h a . D h a m m a a n d S a d g h a .t h e
i r r r a l i - c s , ; r ;s f a l i b e r n g sa n d t h e s u p r c m e o b l o c t o f
l ' , i i t h l o r ; 1l i p r e o J : i e sS.h o u l * 1a n ! a g e o r a n ! p e o p l e
f a r i t o r L ' v { ' : rt e h t s t r u t h ' ) ' l ' h e r ea r e f e w n r e n w h o a r e
u t t e r ! l v r c i t ; u st v e r y c n e r , ' ' i irl e a l i z ei t i i d u ! . vr n s t r u c -
i e d ( ' u u l t l a n y w r c k e d n c r s b e c c - r r r . ' c , i ewdi t h o u t
h a v i n g r e s ( ) r !t.o t h e t h r e e t r e a s u r e s ' ' ) "
A s i m r i a rd e g r e co f p i e t l w a s m a r k e d b y e m p e r o r S h o m u
'/49 q (:
{724 A (' - ! . v r h r : i ei e i g n k n L l w n a s t h e E r a o f
Heavenly Peacesaw the enactment of marry decrees
a n d e d i c t sl ' c i t h e p r o m o t i o n o f t s i r d d h i s ma n d B u d d h i s t
i n s t i t u t r o n s T h e s t a t ea p p o i n i m e n t o f B u d d h i s tr e l i g i o u s
dignitaries was such an edrct.
Though i4 more recent times, a deiiberatesuppression
of Buddhism was in progress on the grounds that it
flourished under the Shogunate Government, it was
found that Buddhism grew iri strength as the danger
of being swept away broughr lhe leaders together for
unitd action - a state of aflairs which was well nigh
impossible during the preceding three centuries. In a
significant proclamation. the Buddhist bodies were
granted [ull autonomy in 1877. | 2
Nced for Further Research:
A s y s t e m a t i cs t u d y o f a l l a v a i l a b l e p r o c l a m a t i o n s ,
rules and regulations and laws which constitute edicts
in the history of Buddhism in diverse cultures is yet to
be undertaken. The inlbnnation gleanedfrom a sample
of instancesin this article bears out the fact that state
intervention both for and against Buddhism has been
growing in magnitude and importance. Recent laws
enacted in traditionally Buddhist countries such as
the Sri Lankan Clonstitutional Provision to assign
B u d d h i s m a s p e c i a lp l a c e r n t h e c o u n t r y w o u l d f i g u r e
among the most recent edicts. Although the Buddha
f o u n d e d B u d d h i s m w i t h o u t r e c o u r s et o r o y a l a u t h o r i t y .
t h e B u d d h i s t i n s t i t u t i o n s t o d a y s e e mt o n e e d t h e l e g a l
authority which state legislationprovides.
Ananda W. P. Guruge
EDUCATION, BUDDItrST
I Introduction
!'ery little is really known of the contribution of
'education.
Buddhism to Eveh in the Buddhist coun-
t r i e s w h e r ea n u n b r o k e n t r a d i t i o n o f B u d d h i s te d u c a t i o n
p e r s i s t e df o r m a n y c e n t u r i e s ,t h e c u r r e n t e d u c a t i o n a l
s \ s t e m sa r e n e i t h e ra d i r e c t e v o l u t i o no f t h e p a s tt r a d i t i o n
nor in any way relatedto it. The Buddhist educational
l: \ { a s a h a r uA n e s a k r :H t s t o r vo l J u p u n e x R e l t g r m( S e c o r dp r i n t i n g )1 9 6 4 ;p p . 5 7 . 8 8 . 3 3 4 1 3 6
22 EDUCATION, BUDDFUST
'threc
tradition has been supplanted almost entrrely but for a
few vcstiges which have fortunately been preserved in
monastic organizations for training of novices and
monks.
The paucity of docurnentation on Buddhist educarion
is astonishingly staggering. The situation' reported in
t h e E n r ' ) . c / o p u e dot ul R e l i g t o nu n d E t h t t s v o l . V . p . 1 7 7i n
1 9 1 1t o t h e e f l e c tt h a t i t w a s h a r d l y p o s s i b i et o p r e s e n ta
c o n s e q u e n th i s t c r y o f t h e e d u c a t i o n a lr h e o r y o i ' p r a c t i c e
among the Buddhist peoplesin the absenceof historical
records" rcmains unchanged" One could examine the
indexes of a hundred standard works on Buddhism.
Buddhist culture and civilization or history with hardly a
reference to education. Where any refercnce is found to
educatiorq the information given is most likely to be
restrictedto vignettesoflndian education in such centres
of intellectual activity as Taxila or Varanasi,as narrated
in the Buddhist Jatakas or to the accounts of Buddhist
centres of learning in India and Sri Lanka visited or
reported on by the great Chinese travellers, Fa-hien.
H i u e n - t s a n ga n d I - t s i n g .
If the coverage extends to more recent
_ times, one
flnds referenc€ to the Buddhist
monastic system of
education and the temple schoolswhich
were systematl_
cally relegatedto the background, if not
totar obrivion,
by the onset of modern education.
A few attempts
have been made to unravel a Buddhist
philosophy of
education with limited results.
2. Foundatlons of Buddhist Educatlon:
The Buddha's forty-iive year mission as a wandering
teacher was to proclaim a path of deliverance-He was
popularly called a teacher of men and gods (sattha
deuumunussanum\and a guide who tames men (purisc-
d u n t m u s u r u t h t - l i ta c h a r i o t e e r u n t o t h e ( h o r s e - l i k e )
amenable folkt two of the nine epithetsused even
today in a formula of homage to the Buddha. Moral
d i s c i p l i n e( s t / r t ) .c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f m i n d ( s a m a d h i )a n d
the wisdom gained through the realization of the
t r u e n a t u r e o l ' l i f e ( p u n ' n u \c o n s t i t u t e d t h e e s s e n t i a l
steps of the Path he taught. It enjoined a life of study
and meditation aimed at training and taming the mind.
It is but logical that a religious system like Buddhism,
which regarded ignorance to be the root cause of all
misery and postulated an undeveloped mind to be the
f u n d a m e n t a l o b s t a c l e t o e m a n c i p a t i o n .s h o u l d p l a c e
the highest stress on mental development and the
educational processesmost appropriate for the prupose.
A d i s t i n c t i v es y s t e mo f e d u c a t i o nh a d b e g u nt o e v o l v e
d u r i n g t h e l i f e - t i m eo f t h e B u d d h a .F o u r f a c t o r s r e l a t i n g
to his educational effort constituted its foundations.
 EDUCATION,BTJDDHIST
They were:-
(i) The Buddha as the model teacher,
(ii) The Sadgha as a learning society;
(iii) The monastic establishmentsas the institutional
base for Buddhist education: and
(iv) The intellectual liberalism of Buddhism as an
incentive to educational development.
2.1 The Buddha as the Model Teacher:
2.1.1 MgogH Pt*tdpla ut tIffi of trc B.tilln:
The Buddha was, undoubtedly, a skilful teacher
and believed strongly in the power of the spoken word
to convince people to change their way of life, adopt
new values and seek new goals. At a time when rival
religious teachers rcsorted to magical and miraculous
deeds to win disciples for themselves,the Buddha upheld
only one type of miracle: "The Miracle of Instruction"
(anusdsani-patihari y a).
His discourses were organized with meticulous care.
Clarity and logical presentation marked his longer
sermons which he had delivered on his own accord.
In these he addressed small or large groups and sought
to take thern step by step to a point of view he sought to
establish. Clear examples of these are the Dhammacak-
kuppauattanaSutrn and SatipatthunaSurra.Afew charac-
teristics stand out in these discourses; He began with
an attention-catching stat€ment, e.g. "There are two
extremes which the truth-seekers ought not to follow"
or "There is one sure and straight path, etc."
He analysed a concept to its constitutent elements
and presented them with a numerical enumeration,
serving both as a framework for orderly presentation
of ideas and an aid to memory.
The Buddha used similes and analogies freely and
frequently and drew than usually from the day to day
life of the people, e.g.,the work of the farmer, the butcher,
the florist, the boatma& the soldier, the royal official.
He repeated the important concepts over and over
agairl returning to them whenever it appeared permis-
sible. The presentation of such concepts developed
almost to the level of standardized and stereotyped
formulae which were exp€cted to reappear in identical
phraseology whenever the concept was referred to.
The discourse led the audience gradually to the conclu-
sion which usually was a strong plea for the pursuit of
the path of deliverance he advocated.
His dialogues with individuals are livelier as he used
several other learning devices: Usually he would get
the discussant to clarify his point of view and to adopt a
delinite position. But the Buddha would not proceed
unless he was sure that he understood clearly the dis-
cussant's standpoint. Clarification of premises was dili-
gently resorted to at the beginning of each discussion.
23 EDUCATION,BUDDHIST
If he disagreed he n'ould not ridicule the opponent
or his ideas, but wouid begin asking questions. These
were always searching questions, cardully arranged
to convince the discussant of the fallacies of his argu-
ments. The discussant was gradually led to make con-
cessions and give up his original stand The impression
often given is that the Buddha reorganized the discus-
sant's thinking process by rapid-fire questioning. Simi-
lies and analogies were used in elaborating and explain
ing these questions. Anecdotes from legend and history
figured prominently in his sermons. The evaluation
of the original standpoint of the discussant to the point
of downright ridicule and denunciation, as on several
occasions, would ire done only when the discussant
had given up his ground and was ready to agree with
the Buddha.
Only after such a point of agreement would the
Buddha begin to expound his own ideas on the point
at issue: Whatever be the subject of discussion, the
Buddha led the discussant gradually to an exposition
of the path of deliverance.
Whether in sermons and expositions or dialogues
and debates,the Buddha resorted to a seriesof standard
educational practices. He aimed at the intellectual
level of the "pupil". He had expounded the same idea
in so many different ways according to the nature and
composition of the audience. He started with the known
and insisted on it as a fundamental principle in all
his teachings. He eschewed speculation as a waste of
time. He urged that one should endeavour to "know
it as it really is" - the emphasis being on both knowing
and reality.
The Buddha assigned little value, however, to know-
ledge per se. knowledge was valid only up to the point
it was applied. A little knowledge but duly applied was
rated far superior to vast stores of knowledge with no
effort to practise what was learnt. Those who believed
in the latter were criticized as cowherds who looked
after cattle for other people's beneFrt.
He was never satisfied until he was sure that the
pupil actually understood what was being expounded.
He tested them as he went along with searching ques-
tions. He used strings of synonyms for important
words. He narrated stories. When appropriate, he
summarized the lesson into a capsule form, usually
a metrical composition in the form of a quatrain of
thirty-two syllables.
The advantages of poetry, particularly as an aid to
memory, were recognized. Being a poet, himself, the
use of poetry to reinforce learning was constantly
pursued. Most of the popular themes were expounded
in versified sermons. But he was not in favour of presen-
ting his teaching in Sanskrit verse - the medium of
 EDUCATION.tsUDDIIIST
elit:st philosophers and religious reacherr of his day.
FIc prcfcrrod to ailow ea-chDerson lo learn the doctrine
in his own l:rnguage and the Buddha himself chose ro
*peat in thc vernacular ol the day - Magadhi rather
thraq elitist Sariskrir.
2.1.2 {rrgrrrfutbn of Lantry: Tlrc mk of the Tenchcn
He enci;uragd his pupiis to discussand debate anci
he n'er-s
olten .rnl;r an arbitrator. He arrangecipromineni
pupils to become teactrers for others. tr{e evalueteyJ
ther teaching ability and ranked them according to
their speciaiizations anil tnstructional methodologies.
Thc Buddha organized the Sarigha to be a learning
society in which the mernbers spent their life-time
learning practising what they iearnt, teaching others.
engaging irr rlebates anci discussions to clarify concepts,
memorizing sermons and utterances of the Buddha
and transmitting them iry wurd of mouth for preserva-
tion. developing commentarics and winning more and
more members who woulcl similarly continue a lifelong
learning process.
As a teacher the Buddha demonstrated many other
remarkable competencies.He could convert any incident
to an occasion for teaching. If all occasions on which
he preached to an audiene are analysed as classes.
one would be amaze<lat his ingenuity to use any situation
or any congreation of peoplc {rs an opportunity to teach
somethin& Urchins harassing a snake. an old man
abandoned by his chiidren. the search for a bandit
murderer, the sacrificial ceremonies of a Brahman, a
war between kinsmen and scores of similar occasions
provided him the "class".
Sometimeg he contrivetl them himself. He did not
fail to usc opportunities which others provided. He
readily accepted the challenges d others and was
always keen to participate in a debate. Though a consu-
matc user of the spokor word, he was equally adept
in using other methods of instruction, Discovery method
finds one of its earliest, and perhapst the most perfect,
applications when a mother grieving over her dead
child was made to realize the universality of deathby
getting her to beg for a mustard seed from a home
that had not sesn death (See DI'PN.s.v.-Kisagotami).
Budihist literature ascribes to Moggallana one of
the carliest recorded incidents when diagrammatic
reprcentation was utilized to reinforce and enrich a
lesson According to Diuyauudnna. Ananda reports
how Moggalhna illustrated a talk on Dependent
Origination (puticcusamuppudul with the diagram of a
wheel in whict the twclve causal factors were symboli-
cally depicted Not only docs the Buddha express
his admhation for Moggalldna as a teacher but suggests
that thc diagram bc displayed over the gateway in
24 ET}UCATIOT{,BUDI}HIST
the monastery of Veluvana rn Rijagaha- Thrs illustration
is reputed to be the origin of the "Wheel rl Becoming
secr rn a ?th century cave painting rn A..;a1tain a frag-
mentary cordrtion. It is a popular therne in the Tibetan
and Nepal' Tangka paintings.
The Buddha himsef is attributed with the use of a
seriesof visual images.miraculously creatcd,to convince
an arrogant young queen of the fleeting nature of
bcautv and hfe itself.(SeeDpPAlAbhirupa Nancli theri).
Far more important as all practical applications
of a number of important educational devices are the
Buddha's views on teaching and learning and related
subjects.
An interesting passagein the Sigalouddu Sutta (D.l.
p. 189) enumerates the duties of' teachers and pupils:
The Teacher should:
( l ) s h o w a f f e c t i o nt o h i s p u p i l ;
(2) train him in virtue and good manners;
(3) carefully instruct him, impart unto him a know-
ledge of the science and wisdom of the ancients;
(4) speak well of hrm to frinds and relations: and
(5) guard him from danger.
The Pupil should:
(l) minisier to his teacher:
(2) rise up in his presenc€ and wait upon him;
(3) listen to all he says with respectful attention;
{4i perform the duties necessary for his personal
comfort: and
(5) carefully artend to his instructions.
These were meant to be obligations between teachers
and pupils in a secular setting becausethe same Sutta
lays down a similar set of duties between religious
teachersand their lay disciples.Here the ethical content
of what is taught is emphasized and, interestingly, an
obligation is cast on the lay disciplesto make themselves
accessible to their teachers.
In both the cases of secular and religious education,
the obligation cast on the pupil or disciple as regards
learning is very important. The pupil is expected .to
to Iisten to everything the teacher says with respectful
attention. The lay disciple similarly is asked to minister
to their teachers with respectful attention in their words,
deedsand thoughts.
At no time did the Buddha advocate unquestioned
acceptance of anything on the authority of the teacher.
Such an assertion would have gore against one of
his own basic principles of guranteeing to each person
the full and undisputed rigbt to think for himsef. The
Buddha's approach to learning as a free and unfcttered
exercise of one's own intellectual capacity to think
 EDUCATION,BUDDHIST
was in keeping wirh his over riding principle, so elo-
q u e n t l y e n u n c i a t e d t o t h e K a l a m a s 1 . a .I " p . 1 8 8 f . ) .
Process of Gradual Progress
2.1.3 Txfrf-Lannbg;
The mcthod which the Buddha proposed for this
proce$ of self-examination of aii knowledge is observa-
tion and analysis. His nwn philosophy or religion was
described as ehipc.ssika(come and observe or examine)
paccattam ueditabba (to be realizod by each one inde-
pendently). Buddhism was given very early in its career
the epithet uibhajjaaadq meaning the doctrine of analysis.
The Buddha's position was also stated as that of a
pointer of the way whille each individual had to realize
the truth for himself.
One woul4 of course, ask here whether the role
of the teacher as conceived by the Buddha was a passive
one. Our brief sketch of the, Buddha as a teacher showerl
that he was anything but passive. In several passages
the Buddha describeshis role as a teacher in some detail.
Speaking to BhaddAli in the Muljhinut-r'rikayri,
he com-
pares himself to an exp€rt horse-trainer. He draws a
parallel between his method and that of graduated
exercising which a horse-trainer adopts with a new
horse- "In this way," runs the Sutta" "the Buddha offers
everyone who submits to his guidance by methodical
exercise of concentration, therefore by pure thinking
to free him from all passions and to make him the
holiest place in the world."r
Again in the Majjhimu-nikuyi the Buddha's method
of gradual onsetting gradual progress and gradual
ascension from the lowest step upwards h;rs been
compared to learning pr(rcessesin archery and accoun-
tancy. "When we take pupils we first make them count
one, the unit, two, the duality, three, the trinity and
thus we make them count up to hundred", the illustra-
tion goes. In an Udana verse, the Buddha explains
this process further, "Just as the great ocean becomes
deeper, gradually steepens,gradually becomes hollowed
out and there is no abrupt fall, in exactly the same
way, in this Doctrine and Discipline, the training is
gradual the working is gradual the path is gradual
and there is no sudden advance into full knowledge."l
In another passage of the Majjhimu-nikdyu,a the
Buddha compares himsef to a trainer of elephants,
who by means of a tamed elephant lures the wild ele-
phant into a clearing and takes out its wild ways through
methodically progressive exercisesto make it "become
accustomed to the environs of the village and to adopt
the manners in vogue among men."
l. M. I, p.445.
2. M. III, p. l.
3 . U d . Y ,p . 5 .
4. M. r. p. 179ff.
25 EDUCATIC,,I'"',
BUDDHIST
To summarize these statements, it can be assumed
that the Buddha assigns for the teacher the task of
designing and administering these "methodically pro-
gresslve exercise.." It is important to note here that
the entire emphasis of the Buddha's course of spiritual
training is one of progressively dillicult mental execises.
Morality or SJ/ais only the foundational preparation.
Starting with simple hee{ulness (by which one learns
to be conscious of everything one does in all his waking
moments), through contemplation on inhalation and
exhalation, the process of exercising the mind advances
through meditation on a varitey of subjects to higher
mental states called dhyanas.
Here, the Buddha recognized the significance oi
individual differences and developed individualized
courses of meditation for his disciples according to
each one's psychological make-up. Concentration of
the mind to which ail this training leads, is again only
a means to an end
The end of this learning process is the supreme know-
led,ge(pahha)with which the disciple reaches the highest
attainment of the realm of deathlessness.Here, the
disciple leaves everything behind including the very
teachings of the Buddha, which were meant to serve
only as a raft. a means of going across, but not meant
to be retained.
2.2 The Saigha as I Learnlng Soclety
Within a few months of the commencement of his
missioq the tsuddha recognized that the spread of a
messagesuch as his needed an organization and some
procedures. With the converts who could join him in
the state of homelessness,he formed the Sarigha - a
very informal organization to begin with.
The procedure, he adopted, was to send the first
batch of sixty members in all directions announcing
the advent of the new doctrine. This very early missio-
nary exercisepaved the way for the rise of the Buddhist
educationalsystemin which every monk was potentially
a telcher, converting new recruits to the Sarigha or
winning lay supporters.
The content of their teachingp came from the Buddha
and so were the methods, in that the monks imitated
the Buddha. The Buddha himself explained occasionally
his methods as well as his concept of learning and
teaching. Aiguttaru-nikuyu. in particular containS very
instructive observations.
 EDUCAfiON, BUDDIIIST
Dhamma-riesani(preaching the doctrine) was develo-
ped as an act of teaching and Dhamma-saDana (listening
to the doctrine) as a lorm of learning. On identifying
monks capable of performing as missionariespropaga-
ting the Dhamma, the Buddha issued the following
instructions which are found in both the VinuvuPitukas
a n d t h e A h g u f ta r u - n i k a y a . "
A bhikkhu is frt to go on a mission when he has
eight qualities. What are the eight? Here a bhikkhu
is one who listens, who gets others to listen, who
learns, who rememhrs, who recognizes, who
gets others to recognize, who is skilled in the
consistent and the inconsistent, and who does
not make trouble. A bhikkhu is fit to go on a mission
when he has these eight qualities. Now Sariputta
has these eight qualities; consequently he is ht to
go on a mission.
'He
does not falter when he comes
Before a high assembly;
He does not lose his thread of speech,
Or cover up his message.
Unhesitatingly he speaks out;
No questioning can rullle him-
A bhikkhu such as this is fit
To go upon a mission.'
The characteristics highlighted are those of a
competent teacher.
The Quality of the listener has also received his
attention: "Then th€ Buddha said; There are
'people
are these sorts of to find in the world:
The empty-head. the fool who cannot see, -
Tho' oft and oft unto the Brethren going,
He hears their talk, beginning middle, end, -
Can never grasp it. Wisdom is not his,
Better than he the man of scattered brains,
Who oft and oft unto the Brethren going
Hears all their talk, beginning middle, end,
And seated there can grasp the very words.
Yet, rising nought retains. Blank is his mind.
Better than these the man of wisdom wide.
He, oft and oft unto the Brethren going,
Hears all their talk, beginning middle, end
And, seated there, can grasp the very words,
Bears all in min4 steadfast, unwavering.
Skilled in the Dhamma and what conforms
thereto.
This is the man to make an end of Ilt."?
Recognizing the diversity of individual differences
of the people who constituted his audience, the Buddha
5 tln. II, pp. 5, 7 ff.
6 .4ngurtaranikcra.VIII, p. 15.
? 4I.p lll.
26 EDUCATION,BUDDHIST
did adopt a variety of individualized approaches. He
would not preach to an eager but hungry and tired
learner until he was fed and rested. He would not discuss
impermanence of life or certainty of death with a woman
whose mind was distraught with grid. He devised
simple exercises for those whose mental capacities
were limited.
Similarly, dhamma-sakacchu(doctrinal discussion)as
a means of clarifying evaluating and analysing the
teachingp of the Buddha" has also been a major intellec-
tual activity of the Sadgha. While the process is not
adequately elaborated. the result of such an activity
is to be seen in the vast exegetical and scholastic
literature which found inclusion in the Tripitaka
itself. The Abhidhamrw.tPitqle is, in itsell a product
of such a process. [n style a work like Katha-
uatthu exemplifies the interactfon and interplay of
diverse points of views which had to be analysed in
the light of the doctrine as enunciated by the Buddha.
Perhaps, we get a limpse of the process of dhamma'
sakacchd from the debates between Ndgasena and king
Menander as recounted in Milindapalnhu. The effecti-
veness of the process as a learning methodology is
beyond question.
As the numbers grew larger and the peripheral units
had their contacts with the Buddha only at intervals,
a system of institutionalized training and updating of
knowledge and experience became necessary.The fact
that the Buddhist Sadgha met this challenge effectively is
proved by the result of their activities, even though
our knowledge d the actual operations during the
life-time of the Buddha is quite limited. But we have
records of incessant literary activity, which evidently
back-stopped the missionary educational movement.
The words of the Buddha were carefully committed
to memory, arranged and designated accbrding to
literary form in a very early classification called thc
"nine elements" (nauaigasatthusAsana).Other arra.neg-
rngnts had also been attempted. Within three months
of the Buddha's demise, the disciples could embark
on a general rehearsal of all teachings and a codification
under quite a systematic classification. The Tripitaka
in its present form was also completed within the first
three centuries. During the life-time of the Buddha,
itself, commentaries on some of the teachings had
already begun to appear. Mnemonical summaries
had been developed to facilitate the recall of narratives.
A system of indexing was established. See AIIGA.
Monks and nuns prepared and delivered their own
sermons and even composed poetic appreciations of
 EDUCATION, BUDDHIST
their wa1' of life and tne Buddha's guidance (Cf. Theru-
gatha and TherigEtha\.They produced a massivescholas-
tic literature in which they submitted the Buddha's
teachings to a thorough and systemaric analysis. All
these could not have been possible over a brid period
of the first two centuriesunlessthe educational function
of the Buddhist Sarigha was firmly established with
almost the beginning of the Buddha's missionaryactivity.
This would mean that even before the monastic
establishments came into existence, the Sarlgha was
an itinerant educational institution. The fact that.
in such a system, some had to specializeis borme out
by designations given to certain monks as specialists
of the doctrine. specialistsof the discipline (i.e. dhamma-
dhuru and uinayadhara).andlearned ina pitaka or ztl
three pitakus (petukt.tipetukt respectirely)In due course
the tenoency to specialize seemed to have extended
lurther for we hear in the inscriptions of Asoka of
monks who were specialistsin particular texts of the
Buddhist Canon (i.e. Dighabha4aka. Majjhimabhi4aka.
c t c .) .
2.3 The Monnstic Estnbllshmentses the lnstftutional Base
for Buddhist Educstion:
Thus through a gradual process,the Buddhist monas-
tery became an educational institution a tradition
preservedup-to-date in that even the humblest Buddhist
temple in the remotest corner of a Buddhist country
rs essentially a centre of learning. In the growth of
this monastic system of educatiorl a number of significant
principles appear to have operated.
The monks and nuns were expectedto have mastereda
minimum quantum of the Buddha's teaching. In the
Bhabru Edict, Asoka recommended them a set of
seventexts for study. Even today in the Buddhist tradi-
lion of Sri Lank4 a monk is tested for his knowledge
of basic texts of the Canon before ordination is granted.
The senior monks and nuns were required to engage
themselvesrcgularly in scholarly discussionsto deepen
their knowledge and understanding and to guide their
practiceswhile, at the samc time, educating new recruits
and novices. The monastery was also to be a centrc
for the formal as well as informal education of the
laity living in the vicinity.
These expectationsmeant that the monastery should
organizeitself into an educationalinstitution in a variety
C ways. First, it had to provide for the initial and con-
tinuing education of the monks and nuns themselves.
In the initial stages,this meant that a monastery should
have at least the periodical services d specialist reciters
of texts. The travelling specialistwas quite a phenomenon
in the early stages. Second, it bad to organize the edu-
cation of the laity. It was possibly restricted to regular
or occasional sermons on religious'themes at the early
27 EDUCATtrffFi.,
BUDDHIST
stages. But with the laity, who either sought deeper
knowledge as a preparation to join the Sarigha or
for engaging themselvesin studies for its own edrllcation.
this service had to assume wider proportions. It was
not very lcng before the teaching of the young becamea
s o c r a l l s s p o n s i b i l i t yo l ' r h e m o n k s .
In the evolving educational role, the Buddhist monas-
teries have recorded a series of remarkable activities
and achievements:
(i) The Buddhists, among all religious groupe of
Indi4 were the first to recognize the importance
of literacy. As far back as 84 B.C. the Buddhist
Canon was reduced to writing (in Sri Lanka)
and the earlier reliance on oral tradition was
relaxed. The art of writing travelled to many
countries with Buddhism. The script used in
early Buddhist writings (e.g. Brhami script of
Asokan inscriptions) became the base of many
Asian alphabets. The monks were keen promoters
of literacy and the reading habit among their
followers. The signilicance of these efforts is
to be observed even today, when the Buddhist
countries of Asia were found to maintain higher
Iiteracy rates than their non-Buddhist neighbours
long before universal education became a national
oblective.
(ii) The searchfor knowledge took Buddhist monks
and nuns on incredible missions across the wilds
of the entire Asian continent. Either they went
on their own in search of teachers and books
as did the famous Chinese travellers or were
invited by distant lands to come as teachers.
Othcrs travelled as self-appointed missionaries,
motivated solely by their keen desire to spread
the message of Buddhisrn Hundreds of such
brave and devoted teachers and seekersare recor-
ded in the histories of almost all Asian countries.
(iii) The monasteries became repositories of valuable
manuscripts and documents. Every Buddhist tem-
ple has its modest library and the older institutions
had turned out to be veritable treasure-houses
of literature. Libraries of the MahA Vihara of
Anuradhapura and Nalandi in India were descri-
bed as vast collections of books on many subjects,
amassed over several centuries. The massive
hoards of books found in Tung Huang Potala
and Korean monasteriesalso testify to the Buddhist
practic€ of building up and maintaining exten-
sive libraries.
(iv) The educational activity which was originally
restricted to religious knowledge extended in
due course to cover all known knowledge. Starting
with linguistic and literary studies.the monasteries
 EDUCATHON,BUDDHIST
extendd their flreldsof'study to includc medicine,
astronomy and mathematics. Centrally lncated
monasteriesdeveloped into the stature of Univer-
sities (Nalandn being a singularly important
example) aod attracted schoiars from ail over
t h e B u d d h r s tw o r l d .
(v) The monasteriesdevelopedinto centresof ltterary
activity. To begin with the literary endeavours
were limited to commentaries. In due course
they became centres of experimentation with
new liter4ry forms. The spirit of search for new
media to spread the messageis clearly exemplified
by the faa that the Buddhist monks did not
hesitate to try out any new literary form for
religious literature. The ornate Sanskrit poetry
and drama were both employed very early in
their development by the Buddhist monks. (e.g.
Buddhucaritu. Suundardnandakduya and S,r,r-
putruprukararyud Advaghosa). Experimentation
with new literary forms by monastic institutions
had continued to this day.
{vi) The monastery perfected sculpture and painting
as eflective visual aids to the teaching of Buddhist
stories and the doctrine. The use of art for both
aesthetic beauty and educational reinforcement
is a significant Buddhist innovation. It even over-
came the earlier reluctance to depict the Buddha
in human form and resorted to a set of symbolic
representations. The Buddhist artist evolved an
exceptionally clever form of artistic shorthand
in the medallions of Bharhut anC Amaravati.
Here, a complicated story could b€ brought
back to the viewer'smind through the mnemonical
use of a few major events of the story, compressed
with exquisite artistic refinement into a single
medallion. To date, the Buddhist temple is the
preserver and promoter of local artistic talent.
The temple murals are really the prime source of
religious information to the common folk.
(vii) The monastery played a leading role in comm,rnitv
activities by being a focal point from which new
ideas and techniques could be propagated. The
Buddhist monks organized the population to
build roads, hospitals, orphanages and such
other community amenities.They promoted coope-
perative undertakings in agriculture and the
construction of private and public utilities. The
monastery continues to be the main meeting
place for the people to organize community
development activities in Buddhist countries. The
monk has been invariably the convenor, patron
and animator.
28 EDUCATION,BUDDHIST
(viii) Through its ceremonials, the monastery has also
been the principal promoter of folk art whether
it be decorative motifs using such local materials
as banana leaf, tender coconut leaves, bamboo.
etc., or performing arts in the form of dance and
drama. Music. too, has received much cncourage-
ment from thesecerernonials.Apart from nurturing
the popular participatoin in and appreciation
of the national cultural heritage, these festivals,
processions, exhibitions and such other events
of the morrastery subscribed to the development
of professional artists, musicians, dancers and
dramatists. The village temple, generally, provides
sustenance to families uvhich pursue these arts.
ln additiog they give a boost to local handicrafts.
2.4 Intcllcctual Llbcratlon of Buddhkm as sn [ncrntlve of
EducaUoral Developmcnt
An overiiding factor which conditioned the Buddhist
attitude to teaehing learning and research has been
the intellecutalliberalism which thc Buddha expounded;
his inju,nction,to his disciples, as pointed out earlier,
was to eschew tradition and dogmatism and to submit
even his own teachings to critical e.'ramination.
From a social point of view, he upheld the capacity
of every individual irrespective ol'caste. class, creed
or sex, to attain the highest intellectual and spiritual
goals of his Path of Devlierance by means of application
and p€rseverance. From an intelleetual standpoint,
he denounced both conservatism and the tacit acceptance
of an idea on someone else'sauthority. In the rules of
discipline for monks, it is laid down that the student
"should combat by discussion any false doctrine the
teacher might hold or get others to hold." The emphasis
was on analysis and investigation.
These principles gave Buddhist education a significant
opennessas regardsboth clienteleand conlent. Monaster-
ies have been open to all classes of people and spe-
cialiy, have catereclfor the socially and economically
disadvantaged. The freedom of analysis and investiga-
tion, while subjecting the Buddha's teachingp to dissent,
innovatioq reinterpretation and even misinterpretation,
promoted a spirit of tolerance which permeated the
Buddhist educational system.Not only have the curricula
included the study of rival religious and philosophical
systems,besidessubjects not related to religious purposes
but the scholastic activity in the monasteries resulted
in the rise of many Buddhist sects and schools.
As Buddhism spread to various parts of Asi4 princi-
ples and practices of educatioq emerging from these
foundations, evolved in responseto needsand challenges
of the intellectual and spiritual life of each host country.
 ET}UCATION.BUDDHIST
3. llktorhsl Development
The historical develcipment of Buddhist education
has been largely determined by the position which
Buddhism held in a given society. Where rival religious
and philosophical systemswere strong and the Buddhist
Sangha had to explain and defencl its doctrines" in
order to retain and auglrrent adherents, the thrust
,rl' the monastic training was directeci to debate. dis-
cussicn, logrc anc! apologia. But, where Buddhism
was unchalienged and enjoyed popular or state patro-
nage, the ernphasis was on the preservation of the word
of the Buddha through reliable moCes of transmission,
with special attention to exegesis.[n both instances,
the education of the laity was pursued by mearrs of
informal sermons, which combind doctrinal exp<lsi-
, ir:ns with illustrative storytelling. Knowledge. thus
c o n v e y e d t o t h e c o m m u n i t y . w a s r e i n f o r c e dt h r o u g h
visual aids in the form of temple paintings and sculp
t ures,
3 . 1 B u d d h i s t F } l u c a t i o ni n I n d i a :
In India" itsell, Buddhism encountered opposition
not only from Vedic Brahmanism but also other religious
and philosophical systems,notably Jainism lnd classical
schools of Hindu philosophy. In the processof "explain-
ng and defending." Buddhisnr, itsell underwent a
major change, bringing into existence the Mahayana
school. Essential to its growth in popularity was the
e{Tectivenesswith which debates and discussions were
conducted with both the exponents of traditional
Buddhism and others. Irrfluencedby this need,Buddhist
education concentrated on the training of the disputant.
resulting in three developments.
ra) the curriculum grew rapidly to consist of a wide
variety of subjects including secular studies such
as medicine, astronomy and mathematics, for a
successful rnissionary had to be a well-informed
and socially usdul person:
tb) dialectics, logic and epistemology received the
utmost attention both in insiruction and in the
production of scholarly [iterature; and
tc) Sanskrit, the language of the intellectual elite and
therdore, the medium of debate, was adopted
for instruction and literary purposes.
Such an expanding system of monastic education
iavoured large institutions where scholarsfrom various
parts of lndia as wel! as from neighbouring countries
:iruld meet and pursue study and research.Three Chinese
A. L. Basham doubts the accuracy of thescfigurcs He sals "Tbc remaim dNilande
have accommodated a thousand monks in anythiog likc tb comfort describod by thc Chinesc travcllcr". Herq Basham has made
questionalbc assumptions m thc uniformity d buildiry metrials usc4 tbc transformation of the institntio including rebuilding
over 6,0 years. tbe crtcdt d destructioo by invaders aod tb completenes d thc present archaeological excavations.
2g EDUCATION,BUDDHIST
pilgrims, who visited some af these institutrons between
the fifth and the seventh century A.C., describe them
as centresof educationaland literary activity. maintained
and supported tfurough royal grants and endowments
from the larty NAlandi and Valabirr in Eastern and
Wester,"rIndia respectively were tire most important
amorrg thern
I{iuen-Tsang's accnunt of Nalandri. where he was a
stutleni tor aver five years.shows that it was a ful-fledged
universit-v rvith schcols of studies, admission and
examination procedures,a complex system of academic
adrrrinistration and requisite facilities such as libraries
and lecture halls. 1500 teacherscatered for 10.000stu-
dents8 (both religious and lay, Indian and foreign),
who studied 100 different sub,iectsincluding philosophy
grammar, astronomy and medicine. "Learning and
discussing they find the day too short." was Hiuen-
Tsang's observation. Whilc the educational efficacy
of Nalandd is borne out by the quality of its teachers
and students,who had left a iasting imprint on Buddhist
history through their writings and missionary acriviries,
the vast campus which has been excavated and conserved
testifiesto its grandgur.
For Vaiabhi our information comes from l-tsing
who saysthat, in status, it was equal to Nilandl. Courses
of studies were of 2 to 3 years' duration and the names
of exceptional graduates were inscribed on the gates.
The uuiversity imparted education in secular subjects
as weil. The government d Valabhi sought graduates
of this university to Frll important positions.
Tibetan records testiff to the prestige ard fame
of two more Buddhist universities namely Vikramadila
and Odantapuri - both associated with Dipankara
S r i j n a n a .b e r t e rk n o w n a s A t i d a .( q . v . ) w h ow a s i n v i t e d i n
the eleventh century to revamp Buddhism in Tibet. He
was an alumnus of Odantapuri and head of Vikrama-
dila, both of which had funclioned for several centuries
an{ in his days, were receiving the patronage of the
Pdla kinp cf Bengal. In VikramaCila, admission had
to be gained by displaying cne's proficienry in logical
argumentation in a debate with one of its six duara-patp-
drru.s(literally "gate-scholars"! On the successfulcon-
clusion of one's studies, one was awarded the degree
of Paq{ita- Odantapuri is said to have been th model
for the earliest monastic educational establishments
in Tibet. Jagaddala, founded by thc Pih King Rama-
pala. in the first quarter of the twefth century. had a
rather short existence of, one and a haf centuries but
made a significant contribution to Buddhist learning.
however, belic Hiucn-Tsang...it could hardly
 EDUCATION, BIJDDHIST
Though not so extensively known and documented.
there had been rnany monasteries in the Indian sub-
continent which could be rightiy described as Buddhist
universities. Among them them were possibly Taxila
and KZnchi which had been centres of learins from
pre-Buddhist times.
3 . 2 I l u d d h i s t E d u c a t i o ni n ' I ' h g a v i d a C o u n t r i c s :
In Sri Lank4 where Theravada Buddhism flourished
with an unbroken history since the third century B.C.,
with no serious rivalry from any other religioris or
philosophical system, monastic education concentrated
on transmission af the teachings and their explanation.
with special emphasis on preserving the word of the
Buddha in the languagc in which he preached. The
Buddhist Canon which the missinnaries of Emperor
Asoka brought to Sri Lanka was in Pali (literarally
meaning 'the text') - most probabiy a formalized version
of the vernacular of Magadha, the region where the
Buddha was most active. Until it was reduced to wrting,
a principal goal of monastic education was its oral
transmissionthrough memorization and regular rehearal
while the text was thus preservedin PAli, the commenta-
ries and exegeticalworks were produced in Sinhala-the
national language. Tbis vast commentarial literature
was translated, in the fiJth century A.C., into pali.
With this movemenr, PAli superseded Sinhala as the
language of literary expression and possibly also, as
thc medium of Buddhist education.
From time to time, Mahayana schools, with Sanskrit
as their medium of expressioq gained grourd in Sri
Lanka. Sanskrit opencd the door to a rapidly developing
secular literature ranging from ornate court poetry
and drama to scientific treatises on medicine, astronomy,
mathcmatics and architecture. The education imparted
in thc monasteries- somc of which" like the Mahavihlra
of Anuradhapura and Alnhaqa Pirivega of Polonnaruva,
had become veritable universities - expanded its scope
from traditional monastic training for monks and
nuns to include a widc range of linguistic, literary and
secular studies- Among them a very important element
was the study of history which brought into existence a
copious literature of chronicles_ Education in these
monasteries was not restricted to monks and nuns.
They catered for the laity too and a number of notable
Buddhist scholars of Sri Lanka were lay people (e.g.
Gurulugomi and Vidye Cakravarti and the kings
Ka$yapa V and Parikramabihu II)
At a particular stage, a concern was expressed over
the growing secular content of monastic education.
A royal decree of the twelfth century actually banned
the study as well as the teaching of "poetry, drama and
such other base subjects." In spite of this concerrl the
monastic educational insfitutions, which came to be
known as Ptrfueqaq continued to provide an all-round
30 EDUCATION,BUDDTIIST
education as couceivable at the time. Several contem-
porary accounts .rf the friteenth century Piriue4astestify
that the curriculum included Sinhala Pali. Sanskrit.
PrAkrit and Tamil language and literature. Buddhist
studies ranging from the Pali Canon to Mahayina
texts, Indian philosophy, mathernatics, architecture,
astronomy, medicine and astrology.
When Theravida Buddhism spread to Myanmar
(Burma), Thailand, Kampuchia and [.aoq th€ Sri
Lankan model of Buddhist education went with it.
Pali (with special emphasis on grammar! as a r ?cessary
preiiminary to the study of the Buddhist Canoq became
w widespread that a history of Buddhism, written in
Myanmar in the thirteenth century, says that grammar
was popular cven among women and young girls.
Another contemporary chronicle describes king Kyas wa
to have "read and become a master of every book,
held public disputations and seventimes a day instructed
his hcusehold."
National languages received equal attention althougb
Pa[ as the ecclesiastical language common to all
Theravada countries, was used in the production of
learned treatises. An impetus was given to the art of
writing and alphabets were evolved with kingr taking
the initiative as in Thailand where king Rama Kham-
haeng invented a Thai script in 12E3. Monasteries,
attracting students from far and wide and engagiug
in a wrde range of literary activity and research,existed
in or near all major cities of the region. A similar pattern
of Buddhist learning appears to have bcen prevalent
in earstwhile Buddhist lands constituting Malaysia
Indonesia and thc Maldivc islands.
A very significant innovation in Mypnmar, Thailand,
Karnpuchia and Laos was "temporary ordination"
which encourage4 if not demandd every young man
to spend at least a few montbs as amonk in a monastery.
Persisting still as an important socio-religious institu-
tio4 this practice ensures that at least thc male popula-
tion is exposed to a period of formal learning.
3 3 B u d d h i s t E d u c a t i o ni n M a h a y a n al l u d d h i s t C o u n t r i e s :
As MahiyAna Buddhism spread through Central
Asia to Chin4 Tibet, Mongoli4 Korea and Japan it
faccd opposition from popular belicfs as well as cstabli-
shed religious and philosophical systcms. Interactions
with Confucianism and Taoism" in particular, re-
emphasized the training of thc debater. Tbe necd to
gain popular support underscored ethical and moral
valueg on thc one hand, and public scrviccg including
lay education, on the othcr. Formal logic dominated
the curricultrm an4 as excmplifie4 for instance, by
the prevailing Tibetan systen, learning was achieved
by teachers and students engaging thcmselvcs in a
debate wherg through strict application of logic, they
 EDUCATION,BIJDDHIST
aimed at reaching an unassailable conclusion The
vast literatwe in ddence of Buddhism against Con-
fucianism and Taoism bears further testimony to this
aspect of Buddhist education. An insight into the scho.
larly life in a monastery is provided by the murals of
Tung-Huang In these are depictcd monks engaged
in reading writing and copying books.
As new schools - particularly those which sought to
S i n o s i z eo r J a p a n i z eB u d d h i s m - a r o s e .v a r i o u s u n c o n -
ventional methods of teaching were developed. Parti-
cularly in thc meditational schools d Ch'an/Zen, the
control of mind and body was taugbt not only through
practice in quiet mcditation, but also (as specially in
LinchVRinz"i school) through beatings and verbal
paradoxcs (namely, kung-an/koan). In Japaq the Zen
approach to education influenccd the training of the
samurai (warrior statesmen).
The monastic system supplemcnted the state-sponso-
red lay education in two significant ways: Firs! it
provided popular clementary education, mainly to
boyc an4 in particular, for @mmoners and poor
sectiong d the population to whom state schools were
not accessiblc. Schools attachcd to temples (e.g Terakoya
in Japan), proyidcd them with basic instruction in
reading writing and arithmetig Sccond, the monastic
systcm foundcd rpccializcd schools for thc liberal
student to engage in study and speculatior\ as in Shu-
yuan in China- Thcse efforts in lay education gave a
further impctus to printing In all thcs€ countries Budd-
hist texts were the first to be printed In Korea, one of
the two books whici king Scjorn utilized to make his
subjccts literate with thc ncw alphaber that he invented
was the life of tbc Buddha.
3.4 Dccline rnd R.cgcneration:
With the expansion of Islamic influence in Asia in
l2th-lsth centuricg Buddhist education along with
Buddhism, itself, declined in the Indian sub-continent
as well as Malaysi4 Indonesia and the Maldive Islands.
Elsewherg it pcrsisted in varying degree of vigour and
effectiveness until the advent of modern education,
whether througb colonial or national policy.
In some countrieg the colonial policy of encouraging
Christian missionaries to take over public education,
on the onc hand, and the incentives provided for study
in the language of administratioq on the other, deprived
monastic cducational institutions of lay participation
and support. Similarly, under tbe impact of moderni-
zatioD, sccular school systerns sprang up in China
Japan, Korea and Thailand. Paradoxically, in almost
all countrics under rderene it is thc Buddhist monastery
that helped the modern system of cducation to become
wide-spread in that the modern school owes its ubiquity
evca in v€ry remote areas to the Buddhist monk who
31 EDUCATION, B{JDDHIST
provided it with the first base. The Japanese Terakoya
rdormed itsef under the Meiji Restoration in 1873
to be a base for universalizing primary education and
their Buddhist character disappearel only with the
new education scheme of 1886. In F{yanmar (Burma),
the British policy of developing secular primary educa-
tion was achieved in 1868-70 by grants of specified
modern books and the appointment of a qualified
teacher to each of the existing 35{il temple schools.
In Thailand,TI.Syo dall schools and 85.6% of primary
schools in 1931 were conducted in monastic grounds
and about a third of the schools in the kingdom are
yet in temple lands. The situation has been identical
in Sri Lanka, eveo though the traditional temple schools
were ordereil to be closed in 1865.
But the two systems did not blend even where they
co-existed in the same premises. Thus, reverting to a
strictly monastic role, Buddhist educatiorL in its formal
mode, could hardly survive. But the informal, social
educational function of the Buddhist monasrery was
not affectd.
Where Buddhism remainqJ the popular religion,
a part of the strategy for nationalistic revival or struggle
for independence was to promote the regeneration
of Buddhist education. Revial and modernization charac-
terized these efforts, which were two-fold:
(a) to streamline monastic education through curri-
cular reforms to incorporate not only advances
in knowledge in gencral" but also the broadening
range of Buddhist studies developed by world-
wide research: and
(b) to develop a system of Buddhist schools for
children, based on the model of Christian missio-
nary schools, but paying dtre attention to Buddhist
learning and practices.
Sevcral new types of Buddhist educational institutions
have come into existence ov€f, the last one hundred
years.
Sri L:nka saw the revival d Ptrtt:entrs which cater
for both monks and lay students. Vidyodaya and
Vidyilankira Piriveqas were established in 1873 and
lE75 by Hikkaduwe SriSumangala Niyaka Mahn
Thera and Ratmalanc Sri Dhammirama Nayaka Maha
Thera respectively.The system d Piriuenus.thus revived,
has resulted in nearly 200 institutions catering for
over 10,0m students. The Buddhairivaka Dharma-
pilhaya a university for monks, was cstablished in
1966 and a Buddhist and Pali University operating
througb traditiond Piriue4us as its constituent colleges
came into existence in 1981. Myanmar and Thailand
developcd Paii schools. ln Thailan( the regeneration
of the traditional system of monastic education began
 EDUCATION, BUDDHTST 32
urrder King Mongkut (Rama IV). Flis scn, Prince
V a . l r r a n a q a v a r o r o es s. t a b l i s h e di n 1 8 9 - lt h e c o u n t e r p a r t
of a I'trtt't't.tLi under the narneMahamakut Rajavidyalaya.
By 1946 it was elevatedto the level of a rrniversity.This
Universityand the Mahichulalongkorn Rajavidyalaya.
dating from 1947as a University, remain the prcmicr
m o n a s t i c e d u c a t i o n a l e s t a b l i s h r n e n t so f t h e c o u n t r y .
Japan. China and Korea set up Buddhist colleges.
In Japaq the iluddhists followed the lead given by
F.nrvo Inouye, who besides wiiting the influential
book BrrAkro Kttttu-ron in 1890, founded his own
cc-llegeof Buddhist philosophy. it served as a model
in the reorganization of Buddhist schools and colleges.
Some of these institutlons have been elevafed to the
!evel of universitiesand provide the Sangha with facili-
ties for higher education in a wide range of subjects.
Their main objectives are to train Buddhist monks
fcrr missionary, scholariy and social service functions
and to f acilrtatescholarsto pursueresearchinto Buddhist
p h i l o s o p h y .l i t e r a t u r ea n d c i v i l i z a t i o n .
Schools and collegeswhich the Buddhists established
for children provide, in general, a secular education
according to respective national policies. At the early
stages of national movements for cultural identity and
independence, these institutions piayed a significant
role. But they are gradually being absorbed in objec-
tives, contents and methods (if not in management)
into the growing systems of national schools, which
have adopted to a ma;or extent, the cultural function
of the Buddhist schools. The impact of the Buddhist
intervention in secular education in a number of Asian
countries is to be observed in the emphasison national
languageg history and civilizatioq on the one hand.
and, quite interestingly, on agriculture. traditional
crafts and vocational education. on the other. Thus it
paved the way for a transition from the narrow civil
service oriented school systems to those refleciing
wider national needs. Religious education of the lay
Buddhist is imparted through Sunday schoois which
in Sri Lanka and Thailand receive staie parronage
and support.
4. Dlstlnctive Features and Currlcular Sped8cadons of
Buddhlst Education:
On an examination of concepts,modalities, methods
and practical approaches in Buddhist education, as
known from both historical accounts and the existing
institutions in Asia" a number of significant distinctive
f'eatures and curricular specifications could be identi-
fied:-
4 . 1 G o a l se n d O b j c c t i v c s :
The ultimate objective of Buddhist educarion and
its process of mental development is the liberation
of the individual from all types of bondages. This libera-
EDUCATION,BUDDHIST
tlon is to be achieved by each individual at his own
paceand at hrs own inrtiative. The teacheris a facilitator.
a g u i d ea n d , n r o r e t h a n t h a t a s k i l l m o d e l t o b e e m u l a t e d
Exampie rather than precept is epmhasieed as the
true medium ol' commurrication between the teacher
and the pupil. 1'he teacher takes nr:te of individua!
differences among students and designs each one's
coursesof training (speciallythe subjectsof meditation)
to suit his particular traits. Learning is not an end in
itself, br.rt a process leading to self-realization.which
is equated in Buddhism to deliverance or libertrtton-
the ultimate aim of the religious life. What leads a
particular person to self-realization is a series of strictly
personal experiences which cannot be reproduced at
random to apply to any other individual. Time involved
in the process is as variable as the techniques.
This same principle, which has feen in operation
with regard to sptrttuul training has been applied to all
learning experience in th0 Buddhist monastic system.
In Buddhisrn, there is no book or a set quantum of
literary material to be studied or mastcred or to be
held as authority. To know just enough to set one's
self on the path of mental training has been the primary
objective. That is to say that knowledge itself was not
an objectrve of learning. The Buddha consistently
discouraged those who wanted to be "masters of the
books." While recognizing the importance of scholastic
achievement and rewarding scholarship with both
honours and material benefits, the monastic system
maintained that learning had to be accompanied by
ethical sensitivity and morat principles. Learning was
valuable only up to the point it made the individual a
better person morally and spiritually.
42 Indlvldusl-centered Leerdrg
ln the monastic system, a class being taught collec-
tively by a teacher is a relatively recent development.
A teacher, ordinarily, met each student individually to
ensurewhether the assignedtasks were correctly accom-
plished and to set new tasks. Teaching in the senseof
lecturing or explai.ring a lesson to a group of students
was rare and was striclty conhned to matters which
students had either misunderstood or failed to com-
prehened.
The student spent almost all his time in self-learning
using commentaries, sub'commentaries, glossaries,in-
dexes and lexicons. The Buddhist literature in rnany
languages is replete with such self-learning materials.
The method of evaluating learning outcoms was two-
fold: The student was required eitherto show his capa-
city to draw from the self-learning materials and present
his own commentary or explanations of a given text.
or to enther into a debate with his teachers and peers
and defend a particular point of view. An original
 EDUCATION,BUDDHIST
composition by the student usually marked tlre culmina-
tion c{ studies.
in tbc monastic systen, no student was deemetl a
iailurc. While the inteliectually gifted ones proceeded
to researdi and teachin& the average students were
prepared for thc task of preserving and transrnitting
the canonical texts either by learning selected texts
by rote or by transcribing or printing textsfor dissemina-
tion.
43 Opcrational Aspects of Conccpt F'ormation:
The maieutic method of questioning and leading
the disciple to realize the limitations of his premises
or conclusiensmade a contribution both to the evolution
of a distinct Buddhist system of logic and to the fashion-
ing through interactioq of the growth of the Indian
theory of epistemology. In the process,the iluddhists
played a pioneering role in delving into the mcchanics of
conccpt formation.
Dcvcloped in greater detail in the Ahhtdhumnw pttuka
subscquent commentaries and treatises,this particular
branch of Buddhist scholarship moves away from a
pure theory of cognition and consciousness to opera-
tional aspectswhich are later exemplified by the methods
of training and meditational observances.particularly.
o{ Zen ard Tibctan Buddhism.
4.4CommittedChangcAgcnts:
The training of the Sangha to be a band of self-rene-
wing change agenrs has been a significant f'eature of
Buddhist education- Thc constitution of the Sangha
as a decentralized dcmocratic organization of' peers
enabled it to evolve according to the genius and needsof
diJlerent peoples at different places and times. The
motivation came from an ideal which bordered simul-
tancously on both personal benefit and altruism. The
Buddhist monk has, primarily, left the householder's
Iif'e for his own spiritual advancement and salvation.
Yet, he is involved in many activities aimed at perpetua-
ting the organization and repaying in service those
that support it. As one of the most resilient organiza-
tions with a proven capacity for self-regeneration.
the Sarigha had bcan an effective change agent not
only preaching change but adjusting itself to ir.
at Tacb.r-Pupll RcHc
Tbe Buddhist concept of the teacher is a very wide
one: anyone from whom one learns something even a
single syllable, is one's teacher. The parents are designa-
ted the ftrst teachers (pubbut'urrlrr)-Buddhist education
promotes the development of an emotional and moral
bond between the teacher and the taught. While no
obligation is cast on the student to agreewith the teacher
or to take him ss an undisputed authority, the Buddhist
tradition requires ttre tcacher to be held in respect.
33 EDUCATION. BUDDHIST
incspe*tive rf the age of the nairic concerned, the
relationsirrp engendered LE thal bet*een parent and
child. As such. the teachcr is i'.{juired not only to protect
the pupii lrorn a,ii kinds of i.::rirger.
br.itai,* to introduce
the pupil !o i'rienctsanil sp.r*acihis reout*tion. A signifi-
cant corr:1i-ril/in tlirs is thai lhr tcacher is never a rival
of the pupri instea*. ihe l, jDt!'s aceomplishments
and successadd to the rr:irutatior r:f the teacher.It
rs cousidered Lradlurrn i;uwi::rx.,for a pr.lpiltc presume
to corrrpsiewith his teacher.?'h,: ;nteipersonal reiatjons
so promoted betweenth" reacheraiid the pupil generated
a wholesome atmosp!:ere i*r stuci,v and search for
knowledge. A salient featurc of rnonastic education
is that learning ls expectedto take place witilout tension.
4 . 6 M c d i u m o f t h c S p o k e nW r r d :
The spoken word wa.r the only medrum which the
Buddha and his early' disciples used. Its use as a means
of instruction in thc formal monastic education was
Iimited. But in the inlbrmal education of the masses.
the Buddhist Sangha down the ages has produced
masterly users of the rhythmic chs55r1the convincing
power and the imagr<;on;uring versatility of the spoken
word.
fhe traditionai pattem t;f ttre sermon comes down
from the tsuddha himscl_t-"Thus, the characteristics
described in relarion to long Ciscoursesof the Buddha
are to be found in nrost sermons even today. But the
variations that have been effectedtestify to a remarkable
c a p a c i t yf o r i n n o v a t i o n .
"Sermon from two seats" is how one of such innova-
tions is designated. Instead of the signle monk who
usually delivers the sermon, two monks take the floor.
They follow one of several alternatives. One would
recite a text from a Buddhist Sutta and the other would
expound it with background information and supporting
narratives. More interestingfrom the point of view
of the audience are the sessionsin which one asks
questions and the other answers them or they actually
conduct an impromptu debate. In another modality.
the second monk rs replaced by a layman, who, to give
dramatic effect, would impersonate the Greek king
Menander. The monk, then. assumesthe role of Naga-
senaand the famous debatesof thesetwo p€rsonalitiesof
early Budhism are re-enacted.The dramatic effect is.
in some instances,further heightened by representing
the twent-four previous lives of the Buddha when he
met each of his twenty-four predecessors and was
assured of becoming a Buddha. These are just a few
innovations of the sermon as practised quite frequently
in Sri Lanka untill a few decadesago. Ousted by modern
entertainment, these modalities have almost disappeared.
In the other Buddhist countries, there have been similar
i n n o v a t i o n s( S e eD R A M A ) .
 EDUCATION,BUDDHIST
Buddhists have been among the earliest to use drama
as a medium of religious propagation. The oldest Indian
d r a m a h i t h e r t o d i s c o v e r e di s o n a B u d d h i s t t h e m e .
The religious drama and wandering drama troupes
i n a l l B u d d h i s t c o u n t r i e sp r e s e r v ea v e r y o l d t r a d i t i o n .
Particularly important as a means of mass education
on Buddhist ethics and ecclesiasticalhistory are the
travelling dance troupes of Myanmar and Tibet.
4.7Mcdium 0f thc l!'ritten Word:
Starting from the edicts of Asoka. wherein the spirit
of Buddhism was conveyed to the people in the vast
Mauryan empire of 3rd century B.C., Buddhists have
pressed the written word into service in a variety of
ways. Commencing from the first century B.C. when
the Canon was written down. the monastic educational
system relied on the book as the primary tool of self-
learning.
The written word became very early an important
medium of the Buddhist informal education. The
earliest books imitated the style of the preachers and
produced what could be called written sermons. Com-
munity reading has remained until very recent times a
regular pastime of the rural folk, both in temples and
in their homes.
In two sites in Mandalay, Myanmar, are hundreds
of marble slabs on which is neatly engraved the whole
of the Tripitaka. This openair "library." by itself. is
an invitation to people to read.
The display of religious writinp in flags,wall-hangings
as in Japan, Kore4 Mongolia and Tibet servesa similar
purpose. A purely religious motive keeps on adding
to the popular Buddhist literature. Both writing and
publishing religious boks is considered a form of
Dhammadana (gift of dhamma) and an aphorism of
the Buddha rates the gift of dhamma to be superior
to all other gifts.
4.t VisualAids:
More than for aesthetic reasons, the Buddhists
employed sculptureand painting as a meansof communi-
cation. The temple wall evolved to be another medium
of informal education. Themes were drawn from the
entire narrative literature comprising the present and
past lives of the Buddha, biographies of his disciples.
and the history of Buddhism as well as figurative accounts
of hells and heavens. A pilgrimage, ofterq is a study
tour to temples which are famous for their painting
and scultpure.
4.9 Mcthods of Formal Learning:
To train scholars and specialistg writers and preachers.
organizers and administrators, Buddhists developed
and maintained a formal svstem of education with
34 EDUCATION, BT]DDHIST
special emphasis on three aspects: namely, memoriza-
tion; calligraphy and clear and faultless diction.
Memorization of large volumes of textual and com-
mentarial materials is resorted to mainly as a means
of training and exercising the mind. With the reliance
on the book, the widespread establishmentof libraries
and the regular exercise of copying manuscripts (or
in Tibet, Korea, Japan and elsewhere of printing from
wood-blocks), the memorization is not an effort to
stoie information in one's head. The ability to repeat
long texts from memory may still be admired as a
feat but is not, by itself, reckoned to be a sign of learning.
Learning is assessedon the ability to correlate and
synthesiz€ what has been acquired through different
media. No Buddhist educator would uphold rote-
learning but he would argue in favour of a very strict
regime of memory-training.
Good handwriting has been regarded as more than
an asset. In the monastic system, it is the very sign of
scholarship. As such, a student spends a major part
of his time perfecting his script. [n Tibetan monasteries,
that is about the main activity, becausememory training
accompanies writing and a student produces volumes
of "copy books" as proof d studying.
With.the importance attached to oral communication,
the student has to acquire the ability to read and speak
clearly and correctly, articulating each syllable. It is a
training needed for group chanting of scriptures (both
as a daily monastic ritual and as a service to the laity)
and for the delivery of sermons. Graduated texts, starting
with simple words and progressing systematically to
very complex words, have been in use for this purpose
alone.
Thus a good memory. legible and well-rounded
handwriting and clear speechare assoiatedwith learning.
The disciplined drill, which is required to achieve them
over years of applicatiorq is regarded worthwhile and
strongly upheld by some scholars to be the very essence
of learning.
{10 Wort Expcrlcaa
In Buddhist monastic education, learning is not
divorced from work. The student, whether religious
or lay, has to perform a variety of tasks relating to the
maintenance and upkeep of the monastery. Frequent
ceremonials entail special types of works. A fair amount
of wood-work, masonry and metal-work has to be
picked up by students to bc usdul on these occasions.
Skills pertaining to painting paper and butter sculpture
and other artistic creations have opportunities for
development. The average alumnus of the Buddhist
monastic system of education is a vcrsatilc worker,
with a wide range of manual and technical skills.In
 EDUCATION,BTIDDHIST
thc Tibetan system, monks actually studied carp€ntry
masonry, sewingand embroidery, tresidestheir examina-
nation subjects.
l c r ri c c s :
4 . I I S o t ' i aS
A monastcry has obligations to fulfill to its lay suppor-
ters in the community. A student monk usually partici-
pates in household ceremonials which bring him in
contact with communitl life.
,A common task is to teach young children" as. in
rnost Buddhist countries, the parents still try to supple-
ment the children's school education with an exposure
to thc traditional literacy and literary training of the
temple- They participatc in community activities whe-
ther they be for development or for relid and rehabilita-
tion. The unstructured programme of studies, usually
with no time-bound requirements like examinations or
promotions, enables the student monks to combine
study. work experience and social service and extend
their period of studentship as long as sircumstances
permit.
{12 Pt,oorodm of &t rd Crft:
Folk arts and crafts and music were informal elements
of monastic Buddhist education, on account of frequent
and elaborate ceremonials. As in social services. the
student's participation was cncouraged by the absence
of ripd timc-tables or examinations.
5. Conclusbn: Need for Research
As this article demonstrates, the information availablc
on Buddhist education-both past and present-is extre-
mely limited. A few attempts have been made to unravel
a Buddhist philosophy of education with modest results
as a comprehensive analysis'of the literature has not
been undertaken. Histories of Buddhist education
confine themselves to vignettes of Indian educatioq as
narrated in Buddhist stories, or to accounts of institu-
tions visited by Chinesc pilgrims. The ouster of the
temple school, thc attempts to revive Buddhist education
and the socio-cultural impacl of thesc developments
rn each of thc Buddhist countries of Asia remain to
l-redocumented and critically studied. Of equal signifi-
;ance is to examine whether concepts, modalities,
nethods and practical approaches developed by Budd-
lhist education are, in any way, relevant to current
{orts in educational development.
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35 EFFECT
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EFFECT. Dictionaries define the word effect as: some-
thing caused or produced; result or consequence.
Several Pali words are used in Buddhist texts to denote
these ideas of etrect, among them being oipaka(q.v.):
result or consequencg phala: effect or fruition, nissanda:
outcome. The ablative form paccayd d paccaya (q.v.)
which means cause or condition b also used to imply
this idea of effect as something causally generatd as in
at,ijja paccuya suhkhiri- i.e- sai*hiras are causally
produced by auijju or they arg in other wordq the
effect of auijja. In thc Buddhist context, thc word uipdka,
which is inseparably tied up with the word kamma or
motivated adivity (sdrcetanika ktnna: A. Y, p. 292)
undertaken by the average worldling Tbe emphasis
here is on the impact it has on the person who is res-
ponsible for ir both with regard to thc modihcation
 EFFEC]T
of the nature of his character and with regard to the
general lgvel of comfort and discomfort hc expcriences in
lifg bere and hereafter. It appears to be possible to
make a general observation hcre that the first of these,
namely the modification of the nature of one's character,
essentially comes into operation in this very life (dittheua
dhamme\ almost with the commission of an action.
The secon{ i.e. the change in the nature of one's experi-
ence (as sukha or dukkha) is generally rderred to as an
effect operating in the life after (sdmparayika) i.e. in a
new phasc cf life or new world (compare such usages
a s . . . l o k u mu p p a j j u t r .A . l . p . 1 2 2 a n d . k i v u s s u b l r c d u
put'unt. mururyu upuyunt. .uppujjuntt op. cit. p. 55).
This question of action and its reaction on the doer
has been one d major concern in Indian religious
thought. Thru says the Brhadarwyyaka Upanisad::
'According
as one acts, according as on€ behaves,
so does hc bccome The doer of good becomes good,
the doer of cvil becomes evil. One bccomes virtuous
by vrrtuous action, bad by bad action.' (Bhr. Up. IU 4.5.).
There are also, on the other han4 those who denied
the impact of good and bad deeds on the doer (natthi
dinnon natthi yittham... natthi stkatadukkatdnwn pha-
lan uipdko: M. III, p. 71). Such views have been generally
ascribed to materialist thinken who rejected the idea
d cthioal import of human action. (See D. I. p.p,52 f.
and 55 for similar ideas ascribed to PDra4a Kassapa
and Ajita Kesakambali).
The Buddhists reject this as a serious misconception
or micchddirthi whidr they wish to combat with the
idea of sammaditthi (M. III p. 72).t They elaborate
their theory of kamma further and trace the origin of
kummu or conscious action to its psychologicalbasis or
motivation- Sincc motivation precedes action and
action of cvcry sort is determind by it (cetayitva kammam
karoti kiyew adcdya manasa: A.lll, p. al5) the Budd-
hists go so far as to idcntify actiorL and very correctly
pcrhapq with motivation (ceranahambhikkhaue kam-
moy odami: loc. cit.). Greed, hatred and delusion, as
mental statcs in their grosscr, unrefined form are givcn
as the major source of motivation for action (lobho
nidanqh kammananr samudaydya dos niddnam...moho-
nidanam...A. I, p. 263). Truc to thc nature of their psycho-
ethical character, thcy complicatc and . ramifr both
thought processes and consequent ac{ion processes.
Thcy contribute to the pcrpctuation of the process
and not to its rcd uct ion (t on kammmn kammasamuday a y a
samuattati rur tarn kammun kammanirodhaya samuattati:
ibid.).
I Bu thc conccPt d samniditthi herc as thet wbict uphol& thc mord ffrcacy d actio b pointd out to bc of a gross (sasar.rr).
down-to-carth typc (updhiucpakkal wbich u eny rstc coatributc to tb proloryrtioo d tb re4sirb proccs$ (scc DITTHII con-
tradicting tbc conccpt of rcl&se or sslvation.
36 EFFECT
Thus conscious actions committed do not ceas€ or
exhaust themselves without impacting the doer. Kunrtrru
(q.v.) in Buddhism bcing defined as and identified with
motive or cemnA (q.v.), it would be reasonable to exp€ct
that the first reaction d kamnu would be. where it is of
unwholesome origi4 the bringing about d moral
corrosion of the individual who sets in motion such
activity. (Compare: manasd ce paduttheru bhdsati t:a
karoti ud: Dhp. t,. I.).It contaminates tbc very sourtr
of its origin Evil actions generated through thought,
word and dce4 on account of their unwholesome
orign, are rderred to as being root€d in evil intentions
(akusalasahcetanika. A. Y. p. 292) and as producing
unpleasant cxperience (dukkhudr aya and dukkhaui pdka :
ibid.). Here one is compelled to note two stageg as it
werc, of the impact d kamtrc on the docr. Primarily,
there is thc psychologically significant moral degenera-
tion of thc individual which is more or less an inward
and internal process. Therc also seems to be the outward
and physical expression of the outcome of this moral
degcncracy (which in fact is th€ intensification of the
already inherent evils cf lobho, dov xnd moha),in plung-
ing the doer to a state of discomfort and displeasure
(sauyapajjhon lokan: A. l, p. l2\. Ane has here to
stress adequately the word 'outcome' for according to
Buddhism, it is not the 'raw ded' (kamma) itsef which
'tooth
one suffers as for a tooth and an eye for an eye'
but the consequences of the corrosion (aipaka) that
has been started by thc acts committd. If it were not so,
it is clearly argud there would be no possibility of
terminating the process of suffering (sce ,{. l, p. 249).
It is further arguod that a man of great strenght of
character (aparitto mahattd\ by virtue of the religious
culture he has acquired lbhhtukuyo hoti, bhduirasilo.
bhAuitacitto, bhluitupuifro). could wear out, in this
very existence, the evil effects of an action committed
by him. He need not nec€ssarily be led to a state of
suflering in a life aftcr (ibid.). It is also worth adding
here that this implies a process of self-correction and
a determination against a possible recurrencc of such
action rather than one of repentance or paying a pcnalty,
for misdeeds done.
In thc casc of an average worldling on thc other
han4 who commits such unwholesome actq thc fruition
or vipdka d his actions is said to takc place at any of
three possible stations in the samsiric carecr: (a) in
this very existence (dittha-dhamma): (b) in the next
birth (upupujjulor (c) at any time in suntsdntin a subse-
quent birth (apare w pariyayel A. Y, p. 292). Thus
 EFFECT
actions d tbe averag? worldling being rooted in greed,
hatred and dclusion, lead conscquently to unpleasant
results as their effec1 and through continuous kammo-
activity contribute to the perpetuation d the samsaric
pr(rcess.
On tbe othcr hand, the opposites of these corrosive
statcs, viz non-gred non-hatg nondelusion (alobhc,
adosq amoha) also lead to action or kamma but kamma
of a different type with a very different reaction, Being
non-involving in character, action resulting from such
motivation as non-greed and non-hate leads to reduction
and elimination of the sanlsdra-building kamma proc€ss
(kamna-nirodhayal. In consequence of such action
therc shall bc pleasant cxperience ( sukhavipakam).Viewed
from a transcendental anglg on the other hand, such
action is non-dcfiling and non-contaminating (asam-
kilittha:S€c M.I, p. 318).That in itsef is the btiss (nkha),
that in itsefis the achievemcnt, in the pursuit of salvation.
At thc samc time it is to be noted that the Buddhist
teachinp are quite clear on the issue that not all experi-
enc€ one goes through in hfe, pleasant or unpleasant
is neccssarily the cffect of kamma done by one in a
previous life. According to a record in the Samyuttu
nikdyq a paribbdjal* by the namc of Moliya Sivaka
once questioned the Buddha as to what he thought of
this position which he said was held by certain con-
temporary religious teachers (S. lV. p. 23Q). The
Buddha their categorically stated that this was not
only untrue (mftclu) but was contrary to what one
-ndtarp
knows through one's experiene $& ca sdmanl
tait ca atidhivanti: ibid.). There is room left for misad-
ventures and accidents d the physical world which are
terrned uisama-pariharajdni. Some disasters also come
about through contrivances and machinations.(opak-
kamikani). Thru according to the Buddhist position
the experience which a being gocs througb in life, if
vicwcd as effect, in conformity to a theory d cause
and dfect, is not always neccssarily produced by one's
own kamma. The possibility also of there being other
iacton which contribute to the quantum of life experi-
ence, bcsides the effect of one's own kamma is clearlv
:ecognised.
In discussing the Buddhist theory of kamma in relation
:o the concept of effect, rderence has also to bc made
:o a view elaborated in the l4suddhimagga (p. 6Ol)
*'hich spcaks of, the effecl of kamma,in relation to its
iruition, being reducd eliminated or enhanced on
account of the influence of other items of kamma which
have been integrated into the psyohophysical .strikhrrrc
,-omplcx of a samsiric bcing. While the upapilaka kammu
Cf. Margucrite--Maric Duboi4 Dictionnoire Moderrc Francais-Anglai (Librairic Larousse), Paris, 1960
EQUALITY, MORAL AND SOCIAL,' TIrr Encyclopaedia { phitosophy. VoL 3, pp 3E ff.
37 EGALITARIAMSM
of thb classification reduccs thc intensity of thc effect
of an act of kamnu and an upaghitaka eliminates its
effect: the upatthambhafut.on the other hand, being
unable to bring about effect by itsetf, props up an act ol-
kumma to bring about the full effect of that other kummu.
In this same discussion the l4suddhimagga also reckons
with certain typcs of kamnw where only the action
takes placc - ahosi-kamma but would find no occasion
to bring about its effect - ru ahosi kammauipdko J
bhavissati kammo vipdlo natthi kammauipako. Thesc
are the situtions of 'no.efect' kamam which rcally are
'action
only, sans cffect' uhosi-ktrmnru.By the time
spccific dead-lines come to be set for the fruition of
k u ntnu (as d it t hutlhu ntntur edu ni y(t and up(tp(r.jj u r ed ttn t t rt l.
those that get beyond the specified points invariably
come into this group of 'written off kamma.'See also
KAMMA.
Jotlya Dhlrasckera
EFFORT. See ENDEAVOUR
ECALITARTAMSM. Derive4 as it is, from the French
term'EGALITAIRE ('EGAL meaning EeUAL),1 egali-
tarianism has come to m€an thc doclrinc of equality
among mankind, and ic primarily social in content.
Whilc the concept of equality is nothing ncry in the
annals of civilized human history, it may be noted
in passing that as a prcsent day social doctrine egali-
tarianism came into its own with the emcrgcncc of
social forccs like class - consciousness resulting from
the Industrial Revolution in the West. What is important
is tbe fact that cquality was, and is, circumscribed by
limitations in actual application; for instancq it has
bcen rightly pointed out that apart from the abstractions
of logic and mathematics, no two things or p€rsons
can be claimcd to be equal in all respecrs2and this is a
matter that has been argued out with great finesse
(loc. cit). The claim that all meD ane equal, for instance,
is more prescriptive than descriptive, and actually
means that "there is some respect, at leas! in which
no difference ougbt to be made in the treatment or
consideration given to all men, whatever differences
there might be in their qualitics and circumstances."
(ibid. vol. III, p. 39). Egalitarianism has therdore to be
viewed within the framework of such limitations.
While recognizing urch linitations, Buddhism sees
firstly a basic equality between man and man in respect
 EGALITARIANISM 38
of man's essential nature, aithough Buddhism notes.
mainly at the intelleaual and religdo-ethical levels.
what it calls a "diff"erene between individuals' (puggulu'
i ' e n ' t ( t t t u t adt h 4 l . p 4 9 s ; . 5 . I l . p p 2 l l t . s p r l n g r n g
from more deepseated human conditions (S. V. p. 200).
I-hrs is owing tc tbe fac that, according to Buddhism
thc histoncal evolution bctwcta two given individuals.
viewed in ttre bralad samsaric context- cannot be iden-
tical. This" in turrt szn lead to the "inequality of indivi-
dual cndowment" as notcd by certain present-day
social scientists,r and would result in inequalities in
social lile However, as observod elsewhere(s.v..DEMO-
CRACYI it b with Buddhism that "the fundamental
equality dall mankin<i as one community" is recognized
for the f-rrst time in human thought, "in the sense that
m a n ' se s s e n t i anl a t u r ei s t h e s a r n ew h a t e v e rt h e r n d i v i c l r r u l
c l i l l ' e r c n c eds u c t o h e r e d r t l ' . e n v i r o n m e n t o r k a r m i c
factors may be.'{ This sense d equality fundamentally
seerns from the Buddhist vierv that (a) all mankind,
in the ultimate analysiq faces th basic problens of
samsaric "becoming" (bhawl v-tz birth (7arr) decay
far@ dissolutim or dezrlh (rutru4a) basic to every other
problem d life succinctly expressed by the compound
tetm so ka par i deuadukkha4o nnnassupyasa and spelt o ut
as the Fir$ Noble Truth and (b) that at tbe same time
man b capablc cf overcoming thcsc problems by attain-
ing the very highest morally and spiritually. sincehumitn
lifc b so placod in the cosmic schem of thinp that
human beings alone eniov the best opportunity of
relcase from samsaric somow. Men are equal in that
they share the samc basic poroblems and a common
but uniqw potentiality to attain the highesr Further-
morq apart frm the distinciom d sex, the psychoso-
matic constitution (nans ad mp) d every individual
being the sanre in large measurq the basic physical.
psychological and emotional needs among two given
w o r l d l i n g s( p u t h u j j u n u l { o r i t i s w i t h t h e m t h a t w e
are actually conccrnr-rl arc never reducc{ rrnd remain
almost identical kt rs hrst cxamire thc main arguments
in support d thb conceptim d cqudity in man's essen-
tial naturc-t*o arguments in particular, yb (a) biological
and (b) anthropological:
(a) Tbe biological argumed points to the faci thal
homosapiensconstitute a single specics in contradistinc-
tion to differcnt species to which variow types of fauna
and flora belong This, incidentallX fu in accord with
tbe modern biological outlooki which tends to restore
3 Inequality of iDdividuat eDdowned b factually trug although som would prefer to dismis it as an elitist theory. Cl. T. B. Bolto-
morq E/ities and Society, Pclicm Books, Rcprint 1917, p. 15 f
4 K. N. Jayatillakq Tls Prircipla d lnternational Law m Buddhis Doctrine, Extract from the "Recueil des Cours.' Vol. II. 1967.
(Private Circulatioo only), L-eidco, p. 518.
5 Cf. L C. Dunn,'RACE AND BIOLOGY',nTfu RaceQuestim in Modern Science,Unesco,Paris. 2nd Impression. 1959,pp. 245 fL
6. Sn. 6Ol. Th Commentar,v m thb verr says: mayan ti4o mavam rukkha ti eL)amprna oatjjdnuntr.
EGALITARIAMSM
the view of ttre unity of man as upheld in many religious
traditions. Human beings, therefore, are l'undamentally
on a par with eactr other. Adducing the biological
argument, tlre, Wsettha Sutta d the Suttanlpfra (Sn ur.r.
6OG611) states that unlike in the case of the plant and
animal kingdom which are characterised by differences
of species Qirtgrunjatimuyam\ notwithstanding minor
d i l l c r en c e sr n t h e c o l o u ro { ' t h eh a i r o r i n t h e t i g m c n t l r t i o n
d ihe skin and other similar visibh aspectq all men
should be looked upon as belonging to one single
species,since in physical and other vital characteristics
all human beinp are the same. What b implied here
is that in thebiologicalscale of evolutioq in due order
(unupubbam)and as thinp really are (yathatatham).
there is a distinction in species $ativibhahgnml for
species are manifold: ahhamaithahi jatiyo (Sn. u. 600).
Firstly, there are (various kinds of) grasses and trees.
with characteristics that constitute (different) species
amongst thern (lihgam jdtrmayrnn tesam\ although
they do not exhibit them: na capi putijanare.o Then
(rcro! there are the worms (kire). the moths l.patangel
and different kinds of ants (kunthukiptllrke);then come
t h e q u a d r u p e d s .s m a l l a n d b i g ( t t t t u p p i d e k h u d t l t r k et t r
mahullake) and serpents like th. long-backed snakes
( p i t l u d t r r e. . L t r t t q ct l i q l r t r p t t t . l t t k. S
t ' r r t. ' r ' . 6 0 2 6 0 4 ) . N c x t
to be reckoned are the fishes in the waters (muc'che
uarigocare\ and the birds roaming the sky (pukkhi...
rtlrtrnqunru\.Although in all these species the marks
that constitute the (different) species are manifold
@uthn\ there aren't in merr many sudt marks which
i n d i c l t e ( d i l T e r e n ts) p e c i e sa m o n g s t t h e m ( e ' t ' r t t rnt' t t t t h t
manussextlingum jatimuyum puth1 - ibid uu. 605-607).
Thuq there are no differences among mer\ in contra-
distinction to o'. (different)specic (lingumjutrmuyam
n'euq yathlt ahiras;.t jarisu ibi4 u. 610). Difference there
is in beings endowed with bodies (poccattun suriresu).
but amongst men this is not the casr (manussesu-etum
ta r tii(ttt.ibid u. 611). To speak of a difference between
man and man h to speak in the common tongue: uokZ-
rahca munussesusamahhaya pauucccri (ibid).
In view of this basicbiologicalequality,distinctiors of
birth between two given persons- sudr as the advantage,
as tlre sutth puts it, of being born to aparticular mother
( 1 ' o n t j t r nm
r u t t i s u m b h a u a mi b i d . u . 6 2 0 I s h o u l d n o t
count in determiningone's station in life. The latter is
really determined either by temporal considerations
(sudr as thc division of labour in society, of change
 EGALITARIAMSM
of profession, ibi4 uu. 612419; 653{50 or through
moral and spiritual criteria (Sn. uu. 620-6$ 653, 656).
In the either case. biologically all human beings
itre born equal. It is srgnificant that Buddhism
found it possible to arrive at the biological truth of
the one-ness of mankind "from searchingp quite other
than those underlying present-day laboratory work"?
indicating incidentally, that the verities it propounds
call for no scientific props. The biological argument is
expandcd in subsequent Buddhist polemics against
social distinctions like caste,for instance, by ACvaghosa
inhis Vajrasilci.
(b) The anthropological argument is best adduced
b y t h e A g g u h h u - S u t to( r[ t h e D i t l l t u - n t k u y (r D
r . III. p. 93 {T.). this division was not rigi{ in that it is said that "lords
In the beginning, says this sutta, all human beings
were "like unto themselvesand not unlike" ,ttiite.sunr
sadrsahheuano asadisam.ESocial distinctions arose in
settled society through a division of labour as a nescessit-v.' further pointed out that in this situation the Brahmin
for its vcry existence, culminating in a contract of
society and a contracl d government (s.v. DEMOCRA-
CY). Unlike in Brahmanic theory, Buddhism would not
say that class-structures were absolute.e Since this
equality among human bcinp is said to be "in accordance
with the universal Norm and not contrary to it" (dham-
men'etano tllnntmenu.D.lll, p. 93), the equality implied
is basic, fundamental and natural. The sutta suggests
that a recognition and appreciation of this fact would
partly constitute a knowledge of the origin or primeval
condition (d. uggahfta)d things; this absolute equality
between man and man in respect of his essential nature
should be recognizedin human affair-swhether conceived
in terms of. the life led here or hrreafter (ditthe c'evu
dhamnv abhisampardyaitca) for the Universal Norm
is said to reign supreme in man's life: Dhammo hi settho
jarc tasmim (loc. cit). Distinctions among two given
individuals could arise through social needs leading to
caste or class and occupational distinctions, but, as a
globc-trotting animal, man has basically been the same.
Whilc thc hunting and food-gathering economy of
primitive man got transformed to one of agriculture.
and settled - life and classdistinctions becamea reality,
all human beings were yet "like unto themselves and
not unlike."
Since there is an equality in respect of man's essential
nature (as buttressed by biological and anthropological
arguments), equality in other respects like the social.
7. Tbe Preface (anonymou;) to G. P. Malalasekera and K. N. Jayatillekg Buddhtn and the Race Questio4 Unesco, Parig 1958, at
p. 6 (from where we qur te) seerm to look down upon hndinp through scicntific, if arrived at by means other than laboratory work.
(it r., p.93, fn 12) should be prderred to anaifitesantin the text of the PTS. Edition.
8. Ibtd.; v.l. alnlnesam
9. Cf. K- N. Jayatillekq The Principla of International Lavy in Buddhist Doctrine, pp. 509-512 et 516.
10. Cf, T, W. Rhys Davidq Buddhist lndic Sixth Ed, Calcutt4 1955, pp 33 ff.
l l . C [ . M u n u s m r t i ,V I I I , 4 1 4 .
l2 G. P. Malalasekera and K. N. Jayatilleke. op. cit., p.47.
39 EGALITARIANISM
legal, moral, ethical and religious or spiritual becomes
meaningful; and this, in turn' makes egalitarianism a
multifaceted concept, relfecting a number of dimensions.
Sociologically just as much as class-distinctions
in human society were not absolute. nor have
e v e r b e e n u n i v e r s a l . T h e , 4 . : s u l d y u n uS u t t u o f t h e
Mujjhima-nikuyu illusrrates the point. (M.II,p.149).It
stat€s that among the Yona-Kambojas (Yona-Kambo-
jesu), i.e. certain states in the early Buddhist p€riod
adjoining North-Western Indi4 and in certain other
bordering districts (uithesu ca paccantimew janapadesu\
there were "only two classes" (due'ua ua44a\ to wit,
the lords and the serfs (ayyo c'eva ddso ca). Furthermore,
(could) become the serfs and the serfs thc lords" (ayyo
hutud ddso hott, ddso hutud ayyo lroti). The basis of
social distinctions being patently relationship,lo it is
claim to superiority is without foundation (d. Ettha...
Brihmu4inum kim balary ko assdsoyad ettha brdhmu4d
euum dhamsu Brdhmqei 'ua settho Da4eo, hino airho
Duq1o...brahmaddyadati : M. lI, p. la9). Elsewhere(D.
l, p. 72; M.l, p. 275\. referenceis made to the possibility
o[ releasefrom serfdom (cf. r,Llsrrlyi nruct,evycr). Even by
(later) diehard Brahmanic standards, a Sidra or an
outcaste, though not releasd from servitude (which is
said to be innate in him), may be emancipated by h$
master.11 Regardless of whcther social distinctions
were still in the making or were an accomplished fact
during the Buddha's day, Buddhism would not regard
such distinctions as universal. The Buddhists uphcld
the egalitarian cause "by pointing to actual conditions
prevailing in the society of the times."r2 as may be
inferred from the above. As the Mudhuru Surra of the
Majjhima-nilcZya shows. services of others are at one's
command due to nothing but one's economic power,
and this has nothing to do with considerations of social
class(Ml II. p. 85).
The legal argument is that an individual, whatever
his or her caste or social distinction be, if held liable
for an infringement of the law, is punishable with the
the same type and degree of punishment, which" inciden-
tally, from the Buddhist point of view, should be rdorma-
tory and not punitive. This argument is spelt out in
the.Madhura Sutta (M. II, p. 88) which adds the constant
refrain that the Brahmin's claim to superioritywas simply
 EGALITARIAMSM 40 EGALITAR.EANISM

i- 3::tl\ (lalrrl with iio sub,stancewhatsoever: ghoso ful. Moral law. as recognizod by tbe Buddha is not
: , . ' 'r 1 . q r | p i . 1 , ' . ; 4 t i m i M . Ipi 8 l i I t i s o n l y p r o p a g a n d a fatalistic
imong the people Whatever his caste or class be, says
The ethical argument states that all men are capable
ihrs sutta. a rr:bber is a ic'bber corot'eua sdikham
of both good and evil notwithstanding thc circumstances
o a c t h a t i . t J i n t h e s ec i r c u m s t a n c e s( e v a m s a n r e )t.h e s e
of life rn which they hnd themselves.The Sangiri Surro
i'our castes (vtz khuttit'a. brahmtt4a r)es.rrtand sadda\
6 the Digha-nikiya (D. IIL pp 250 f.) says that a person
are on a par with one anorher and in this matter there
of evil disposition or of bad character lkunhubhiiitiko
rs no difference whatsoever between thrm: rnr cattAro
:untino\ could easilybegetwhat is bad (kanlrum dhummum
ua4ryhsumusamiihonti n{t sem ettha kihci riltnakara4am....
abhtiayati\; but if he so wisheg he could certainly bcget
{M.. II, p 8} In legal r*iations or in relations betwecn
the good (sukham dhammam). The same holds good,
pcrsons tc rvhnm justrie ts to b€ meted out, no unders-
in the revese order, in the casc of persons of good
tood differencc (such *\ caste in thh instance) should
disposition cr character. Both types of persons could
be a ground of distinctron. It is in this sensethat men
also attain Nibbana, whic[ in identical termq b shown
are equal bsfbre the law. This conception of legal equa-
as being beyond the relative plane: aka4harn asukkam
lity was subsequenrly exemplified by the Buddhist
ntbbanam.Ethical endeavouris thereforeequally possible
Emperor Asoka. In his Pillar Edia IV he says that
"It is most desirable that rhere should be absolute for all.

equality fbr all in legal proceoCings and in the punisb- The religiotx or spiritual argument is to the dfect
ments awarded ."t' This is. however, different from that all human beings are capable of spiritual develop
the rigid Brahmin atrirude. espec.ially towards the ment and final emancipation from dukklu notwiths-
ifrdrus. to whom unequal treatment (as compared tanding their individual capacities and social gradations.
with that for 'higher' castes) was meted our. both in This is referred to as "(the theory of) the purity of the
criminal and civil procedures.rs lour castes" - cdtuva44im yddhim - propoundod by the

The moral argument maintains that all are the same Buddha (M. IL pp. 132, 147). The Ka44akatthala Suttu
before the psycho-ethical law af kammo.Notwithstanding d the Majjhima-nitd'yo states that neitha in terms
the social gradation to which one belongs, the law of of spiritual exertion (iadhLnal nor in terms of actual
kammu is operative with cqua.l forcc. The Madhura cmancipation (oimtttfl is it possible to say that there
Sutra, for instance, states that in terms of moral recom- is a differenc* (nanakara4am)betwecn the individuals
pcnse, all men stand on an equal footing. Whether one of the four castes (M fI, pp. 128 tr).
be a khattiya, brahma4a, uess{ror sudda, morally bad While tbe egalitarian principle may bc discerned in
deeds - mental, verbal or physicai - would lead orrc to looki*g at man in rerms of the foregoing considerations,
unpleasent consequenccs (the corollary being that the samc principle b enshrined rn the conception cf the
morally good deeds lead to pleasant results irrespective ideal Buddhist community as visualued in tbc tcxts.
of caste distinctions). Morality is ,:blective in its tJeserts. Thrs community b fourfold. comprising the monks
While one could accepr this as a logical and rcasonable (bhtkkhu), the nuns lbhikkhu4r\ the laymen (upasaki)
possibility (c.f. euait cu pana me etan erahatom sutam and laywomen (upri.srkrT). In the social plane, distinctions
loc. cit,), sincc thcy possessthe extra-sensory pcrception othcr than the distinction of senionfy - are not at all
noccssary for the purpose, (which is a valid means of recognized within each of the hrst two groups, while
knowledge recognizedin Buddhism),developedthrough such distinctions ought to be minimal within eadr of
an extension of human capacity, Thus "all mert are... the last two (cf. M.Il, p. 128).All distinctions of caste,
equal before the moral law. Men are judgcd in the class or profession are lost on admission to the Order
hereafter by the good and evil they do, and not by the of Buddhist monks or nuns. Just as the great rivers
stations of life in which they were ptaced by virtue of Gariga, Yamuna, Aciravati, Sarabhu and Mahi. on
t h e i r b i r r h . . " " ' W h i l . m o r a l a n d s p i r i t u a la d v a n c e m e n t entering the ocean become one with the ocean, even
ls open to all and within the reach of all. the course of so the people of the four casteg on entering theBuddhist
moral recompense could be influenced for. this is Order of Recluses. give up their former distinctions
*'hat makes religious llfe (brahmacariyd q. v.) meaning- of name and clan Qahanti purimini ndmagottanr)and

II | 88 Munusmrtl. III. 150 refcn to Brahmirs forfeitirry the rights to Brahminhood f they are rhreves.
. : o t ' | s o A u(.A d y a r L i b r a r y S e r v i c e s |p . 9 5 , a s q u o t e d i n G . P . M a l a l a s e k e r aa n d K N J a y a r r l l e k eo. p . c i r . p .
62
- ; t b d D h u r m a s i t r a .i i , 1 6 . l 7 e t 2 7 . A l s o C f R . K . M o o k e r j i . H i n d u C i v i l i z a t i o n . 1 9 3 6 . ,p . 1 3 8 .
P \'lalasekera and K. N Jayatilleke,op. cit, p 50.
 EGALITARIANISM 41 EGALITARIAMSM

come to be known as thc Recluses of the son cf the
Sikyas: sarna4i S-akyaputtiyd tu'epa sahkhan gacchati
(lln. ll, p. 239; l. IV, p. 2O21.While social distincrions
were not allowed within the monastic community. on
occasions, even monks with seniority and authority
are subject to a processof levelling down in their relations
with the rest of the monastic community. This may be
noted for instance, in the Pavdra4a Ceremony in which
bhikkhus stand on an equal footing lVin.I, p. 159)
"ll
or when a pupil (whether anteudsika or suddhiuihdrika\
would find it necessary to tender advice to his teacher
(whether dcariya u upajjhaya) regarding any matter
(H,nl. pp. 46, 49, 61) or even reporting tbc tcacher ro the
Sadgha for disciplinary action in regard to any '.grave
offence" (garudharnma: Vn I, pp. 49, 6l). And in their
relations with the world outside, monks and nuns
preached the doctrine of equality between man and man.
Equality in lay society-whateverthe sphereconceqned
be - presupposes an equality of opportunity. \l'here
the latter b lacking it has to be presumed that the
Buddhist view b that the state should ensure its resur-
gence through propcr state-craft (ariya4 cakkauattt-
uattam: €. D. Il\ p. 65). Equality of opportunity basi-
cally involves an equitable distribution of economic
strcngth among the people, and it is the duty of the
State to ensure this firs! for, "planning th€ economic
welfare was part of the functions of the king or state."r7
And the moral sense of a people necessaryfor spiritual
progress for it is in this that Buddhism ultimately has a
stake-initialydepends on economic and allied factors.
as noted in the Cakkuuattis[hanadaSurra of the Dioha-
n r k u y u .It
Buddhisr4 in the ultimate analysis,values the egali-
tarian ideal (as a social doctrine) not so much for its
own sake, but as a step to the opportunity it provides
in the transition to higher forms of equality for man,
namely intcllectual, moral and spirital. Firstly, any
two persom of thc four-fold community referrod to
above are certainly equal and in thesc matters. scxrs
or spatio-temporal considerations2o do not count by
virtue of the fact that, Buddhism acknowledges, they
posses an inherent potentiality to attain its goal. Those
"pious and good-natured folk" (sikuunto
kalvunu-
dhammd that came later (pacchi samannagata)areall
equal in that tbey trcad thc trail blazed by the Buddha -
the first among those who reached the goal. Secondly.
they are also equal if, intellectually.morally or spirituall.v
they could be proved to have attained the sameplane.For
instance, intellectual equality b recognized when the
Mahdparinibbana Suttu af the Diahu-nikiS,a places the
membrs of the fourfold community on the sanrefooting
in the matter of mastering the Dhammu (D. II. p. lM ff:
1 1 2 f f . ) . H e r e . t h e B u d d h a i s r e c o r d e d a s r e p e a r i n gt o
Ananda, his disciplc and life-long companion. what
he told Mdra, the Evil one, when thc latter, immediately
after the Buddha's Enlightenment wantcd thc Buddha
to pass out of existence: "\Yhen Mira spoke thus.
Ananda." says the Buddha. "l replied him in these
words: I shall not pass away from existence. Evil
One, until tfu bhikkhils, thc blril<khu4is,the upiutkus
and the up<is.kr7.s shall have attaincd (true) discipteship,
become wise, wcll-trained and learncd. and are masters
of the Dhamma and act in conformity with the Dhamnu
(as handed down by their teachers).shall be ablc to
convey it (to others), to preach it, to make it known
to establish it, to opcn it up, to analysc it and lay it
bare and until they shall be able to preach well the
wonder-working Dhamma by rduting the assertions
of others by its own truth..." (D. II, pp. ll2 tr} It will
bc noted that the fourfold socicty was hing lookcd
upon as capable of becoming wise, well-traino( lcarnod
and mastering the Dhantmn L,tJ)uttADUutA ui.s?trdtlit
b u hussutd dhummudhurd.
Moral and spiritual equality, in the Buddhist
sense, may bc said to have been attainod when a cut-olf
point, as it were, on thc path to perfection and emancipa-
tion is reached, above which all are equal in that they
are bound to realize the summurn bonum Thig in the
minimum, entails the attaining to the frrst stage of
sanctity known as 'entry into the stream' and joining
the Path (magga) d the FIow (sarc) - a foothold from
which one dose not fall back: aDinipAtadhammo (D.ll. p.
155). The point is driven home by the same sutta when
it records the Buddha as telling Ananda that even the
l.ri.ter-most (ordained) bhikkhu in that assembly of
f-rve hundred (that the Buddha was addressing) was

l7 K. N. Jayatillckq The Principle;rl Internutional Law m Budtlhist Doctrine.

l8' D III' pp' 65 ff. Also cf O. H. de A Wijcseker4 Buddhiva utd Socrcty, (Tenth Lecture under thc Dona Alpina Ratnayake Trust).
Clolomco, 1952, p. 15.
19 With a fundamental equality d all men Sranted it i superfluous, in thb respect to distinguistr between the sexes woman too
has potentialities similar to that dman. while therc b certainly a parriarchal stamp in its attitudc towards tbe weaker sex. (as
may be ootod from certain monastb rules governing the lifc d nunsl and while early Buddhism had
to contend with an envlron-
ment whic[ as a wholg was prejudiccd again$ womeq Buddhism saw no reasoo why womao should
bc discrimated against, es-
pecially in matten d moral and spiritual uplift Givo thc necessary pre-conditions,
Buddhism asserts that a woman might do
bctter than a man (d S. I, p E5). In thc Buddha's mid "there seemed to have beco no rcal doubt ... as
to thc equahty'*of the
powers of man and woman.'{L B. Horner, Womot lJndq primitux Buddhism London, l93e p.
l0a).
20. Dhirasckera' Jotiya, Buddhis M onastic Discipline,Pb- D. Tbesb submitted to the University of Ceylon, I
964, pp 19 fI.
 EGOISM
destined to attain Enlightenment: imcsott hi Ananda
pahcannam bhikkhu-silanum yo pacchimako bhikklru
so sot apanrw aoinipdtadhamnu n i y a t o sambod h i pur u yu r1o
(loc cit)
L P. N, Perera
EGOISM. In the Buddhist analysis of ethical considera-
tions egoism is pointed out to be a derivative concept
coming in the wake of the mistaken view (ditthitthana:
M. I, 135) of an enduring and eternal sef or soul (Pali:
atra, Skt. dtman\.The crystallization of suc-ha concept
of sef is held to be invariably tbe result of the inherent
weakness of man which is refleaed in his unconscious
struggle for survival, his attemp to defy death and
his desire to seek an identity for himsef (i. e. a process of
individuation whici solidifies the notion of I or ahaftkira
and its dcrivative concept of minc, mamihkdra). Thus
the concept of self, according to Buddhistq b the imagi-
nary mould in which this over-rated separatist identity
'I'
is cast, Once the notion of self as is conceivd there
follows the concept of what belongs to the sef or mine
(M I, p. 135 ff.) with all the concomitant psychological
aberrations such as thirsting for, craving and being
arrogant about (tanhu-ditthi-mana\ which come in its
wakc (summed up as ahafikdra-mamifikira, mdninusaya...
M . l , p . 4 8 6 . S c ea l s o S . I I , p , 2 5 2 f . ) .
On thc other hand what are looked upon as cntities
of existencein the world of maq held by sonrc as products
of a Creator who also presides over their destiny, are
philosophically viewcd in Buddhism as being no more
than the incessant, conjoint functioning of certain
psycho-physical factors which a;re collectively and
severally refcrred to as the Five Aggregatesor pahcakkha-
handha (M. l, loc. cit.). This psycho-physical duality
which constitutes man is also reckoned in terms of
nama-rip and uihha4a and it is their ceaselessinterde-
pendent rolling on, the responsibility for which rests
entirely with each individual, that constitutes the
samsdric life-process of a being (ettdoata uattam t)attatt
it t hatt utt pahhapanaya y adidon ndmarupam sahauiitha4-
ena\.
While a being d the world (i. e. rhe pahcakkhandha
or the complex of hve-fold aggregates)is thus engaged
in its communication with the world of day-today
experience, the unguardod intake of stimuli through
the sense organs leads to the massive build-up ol-
t h c l r v c u p l t d u n u k k l w n t l h uwsh i c h f o r m t h e c o r e o f t h e
unsatisfactorv situation of life or dukkha, arxl which
in turn continue to provide the momentum for the
furtheranceof the sarnsiricprocessof bhauaor becoming
of each individual (upadanapaccaydbhauo of the well-
42 EGOISM
known chain of causation. See M. I, p. l9l). Thus the
existence in samsdra of countless individual bcinp is
no more than the expression of this process d bhaua
in irc infinite plurality. This is the basis of life in the
world which manifests itsef unceasingly as beings,
individuals or persons: bhauapaccayAjAfi. When the
complex of five-fold aggregates is analytically viewed
each in turn, as being transient (anicca) and, therdore,
providing little solace or satisfaction (i.e. duftfrhc. Note
the recommendcd cultivation of this outlook referred
to in anicce dukkhasafthdpariciteru bhikkhaoe bhikkhurc
cetasa...A. lV, p. 52), it leaves no room whatsoever
for a concept of self or what belonp to a sef (Dukkhe
anattasahhaparicitena...cetasd'op. cit. p. 53). Thus
'this
such assertions as is mine, this am I and thb is
'hamasmi eso
my self (eton manu ew me uttuti: M.
I, p. 136; S. II, p. 125) which are but different manifesta-
tions of egosirr, are declared in no uncertain terms to be
i l l o g i c a la n d u n t e n a b l e( S . I , p . l L 2 S e ea l s o M . l , p . a 8 Q .
Is stupidity is unhesitatingly declared: nandyam paripuro
baladhsmmo: M. I, p. 138). The eradication of such
notions leaves one in a healthy state of detachment
(evut virattam khemattalni S. I, loc. crt). In such a situa-
tion, neither with regard to one's own person nor with
regard to thingp of the world (imasmin ca sauihhd4ake
knye bahiddlta ca sabbanimittesu: S. IIL p. 80) would
there be any notion of appropriation or possession
(...ca sabbanimittefl aha4kdr amamaakdr arnininusaya
na honti: ibid.). A person with such a view of thinp is
said to have liberated himsef from rating oneself(in
the threefold rating of over-rating. under-rating and
equating of onese$ in relation to othen which leaves
one in a stirred up and agrtated state of mind (aham-
karamamamkdramandpag atam manascunhoti uidhdsama-
t i k k a n t a ms a n t o r n s u L t m u t t u n o t rp . c i t . p 8 l ) T h e A h g u t -
tara-nikdya too records this same process of purge
but with a more prescriptiveemphasison the cultivation
o f t h e r e q u i r e d o u t l o o k ( A . l V , p . 5 3 ) .T h e S u t t u n i p u t u
(u.842\records it in greater detail when it says:
samo uisesiuda ud nihino
yo mahitati so uiuadetha tena
tisu uidhasuauikampamino
samo uisesi ti na tassahoti.
Equal superior, inferior:
Such thoughts beget argument and dispute
Unagitated through this three-fold rating
Of equal and superior, one thinks not.
In these contexts the use of uidhdsamatikkanta:
'transcended
rating together with sAnta: tranquil and
suuinutta: liberated and uidhasu auikampamdno: 'not
agitated on account of rating' clearly point to the patho-
logical states of mind which this process of rating and
comparing can bring about. The philosophic illegitimacy
of rating, comparing and contrasting of oneself against
 EGYPT
others of which tsuddhism b eloquent irnd emphatic
is further argued out on the basis of the doctrine o[
transciency, unsatisfactoriness and change which is
charactcristic of life in the world. It is pointed out
that within a frame of recurring change, a frame within
which totality of hfe is conceivd no rigiJ norrns for
such assessment can be found (S€e S. III, p. aS f.).
This total purge from expressions of egoism which
manifests itself in diverse ways, marks in Buddhism
the goal of salvation For such a one is referred to as
rheuruhunt(S III, p 80f.) It is to be noted ar the same
time that this ego-effacement as an ethical process
undirlies the entire salvation scheme of Buddhism.
At the stage the Buddhist disciple gets for himsell an
assurane that he is invariably headingfor enlightenment
(niyato sambodhiparaya4o) on becoming a sotapanna.
he has along with it, rid himseff of the initial warped
beliefsin an enduring self,viz. sakkayaditthi.Thephiloso-
phic foundation on the basis of whic*r egoism is combat-
ted in Buddhism is the doctrine of no-soul ot anatto.(q.u.).
With this emphatic awareness of selflessnessas a
philosophic basis running through the entire salvation
scheme of Buddhism on the one hand and the regard
for others as a principle of action in Buddhist ethics.
which is clearly enunciated in the Ambalatthika Rahulo-
vdda Sutta (M. I, pp. 415 f.) on the other. the social
dimension of Buddhist salvation cannot be over-rated.
It brings man to man in a true spirit of equality and
friendship which is also the implication of the basic
virtue c>fmurtri (metta) in Buddhism. In consequenceof
this non-differentiation and the total identificarion of
one-selfwith another, it is clear that within the religious
fold of Buddhism no oue shall stand in the way of
development of another, development being looked
upon as the comllete process of ascendencefrom the
worldly and mrundane (lokiyul to the transcendental
or the plane beyond it. i. e. the lokuttara. Whenever
any positive action of serving others is contemplated
it should be calculated to prop up the other. to musrer
his own strength or augment his resources with regard
to his material as well as spiritual needs, all of which
play their role in the Buddhist salvarionscheme.Altruism
which consequ.ently flows out of complete selflessness
at thb stage is a natural by-product of unquestionable
high quality which at no point can ever turn corrosive
or nnalignant.In Buddhism, it is obviously a producr
of self-correction and is not strained after for its own
sake, as a means to an end.
Jotlya Dhirasekera
EGYPT. [t is most unlikely that there was any conracr
between India and Egypt in the lifetime of the Buddha.
43 EGYPT
though it is possible that there was some indirect con-
tact following the invasion of the North-East region of
India. by Alexander the Great. The earliestreferenceto
Egypt in an India-' document app€ars in the thirteenth
Rock edict of the Emperor Asoka, where it is stated that
the principles of morality preached by the Emperor
were being observed in several border kingdoms some
of them in the Middle East including the territory of
the King Tulamaya identified as King Ptolemy II
Philadelphos. King of Egypt from 285-246 B.C. Refe-
rence is made in this inscription also to territories where
these principles were being followed. even though they
had not been visited by his envoys. and by implication
Egypt appears to have been visited by Asoka's envoys
to propagate his principles of morality lHultzch. p. 46).
Ptolemy II Philadelphos who made Alexandri4 the
C-apitalof Egypt. a leading centre for arts and sciences
had despatchedembassiesto Rome and India (Bowman,
p. 90). The suggestion has also been made that Ai
Khanum in Afghanistan representsthe City of Alexan-
dria establishedby Ptolemy II Philadelphoson the river
Oxus. Further investigations at Ai Khanum are ex-
pected to provide definitive evidence regarding the
origin o[ the Gandhara School of Buddhist Sculpture
(Wheeler. p. 86) which has been a matterof controversy
since the beginning of the presentcentury. Another view
holds that Ai Khanum was established very much
later when the Maurya dynasty came to an end in 184
B.C. resulting in the terminarion of Indian rule in this
part of North-West India (Wheeler.p. 184).
Some characteristicsof the early Buddhist art of India
can be traced to Egyptian sources.The so-calledperse-
politan or bell capital of the Asokan pillars can ulti-
mately be traced to the columns used in Egyptian
a r c h i t e c t u r e .w i t h l o t u s c a p i r a l s ( W h e e l e r , l 4 l ) , w h i l e
the rock cut temples of ancieni Egypt are said to have
influencedsimilar shrines in India. such as the Buddhist
t e m p l e sa t K a r l e a n d B h a j a ( L a n n o y . p . 3 l ) .
Certain conventions employed by Egyptian painters
and sculptors in their work find their parallels rr the
Buddhist art of ancient India. A common practice
among Egyptian painters and sculptors was what is
'continuous
known as narration'.accordingto which
an event would be presentedin a sequenceof incidents
constituting the event. The same convention has been
adopted by ancient Indian painters and sculptors as
can be recognised in the bas-reliefs of the Bharhnt
Stripa. the Sanchi St0pa and in rhe paintings in the
Ajaafa Cave temples and elsewhere (Gombrich. pp.
34-35; Hauser, p. 56, Rowland. pp. 50-51, l4l-142 and
Plate 92). Another convenrion adopted by Egyptian
artists is the presentation of men. animals and objects
conceptually,i.e. as conceivedin their minds and not as
seen by them. A pond. for example, with flower plants
 EHI-BHIKKHU-PABBAIJA
and fish in it would be shown as if the pond is viewed
from right abor,r and the plants and fish as seen from
a side. So that the artist preseotswhat he conccives to be
the pond, tbc plants and fish but not as they would appear
to an observer standing nearby (Gombrich, pp. 35-36;
Hauser, p. 56; Rowland, pp. 5G-51).Persons of impor-
lance such as kinp and princes would be shown in
Egyptian bas-relids and paintings quite prominently
out ofproportion to other figures appealing in the scene.
a convention again adopted by Indian artists in their
work in the ancient Buddhist Stripas and rock-cut
temples such as Karale and Bhnjn (Gombrich, p. 36
and Rowland Plates l8B and 89). These Egyptian
conventions would appear to have been transmitted to
India during a period of over two thousand years stret-
ching upto the region of Ptolemy II Philadelphos or
even beyond his reign. A bronze statuette of the Graeco-
Egyptian god Harpocrates, wearing the unmistakable
double crown of Egypt, made about the 2nd century
A.C. was found in Begram, the ancient KapiCi, in Afgha-
nistan KapiC,nserved as the capital of the Kings of the
Kusdqa dynasty, who were all Buddhists, from the
latter part of the 1st century A.C. (Wheelcr,pp. 110-111).
Bibliography
Alan K Bowmarl Egypt after the Pharaohs, London,
19E6. E H. Gombrich, The Story of lrr, Oxford. re-
printed, 1989. Arnold Hauser, The Social History of
Art,2 vols. London, 1951.Richard Lannoy. The Speak-
ing Tree, London, 1971. Benjamin Rowland, The Art
urul Archrtec.ture o.f India, Penguin books, London.
2nd Ed. 1956. Mortimer Wheeler, Flames auer Perse-
polis, Westport, U.S.A., reprinted, 1979. Inscriptions ol
Asoka, ed. E. Hultzch reprinted, Delhi and Varanasi,
1969.
P. F. E" Fernando
EHI-BIIIKKHU-PABBAJJI, the oldest form of admis-
sion and ordination as a monk by pronouncing the
formula beginning with the words efti Dhikkh! (Skt.
ehi bhiksu, come monk). This was used only by the
Buddha.
When a layman after hearing the doctrine preached
by the Buddha and understanding it expressed his
desire to leave the household lifc and become a monk,
'going
by saying "May I, Lord receive the forth' (paF
'come
bujjam), the Buddha pronounced the formula
monk' (ehi bhikkhu), well taught is the dhamm4 fare
the brahma-faring for making an utter end of ill (suak-
khdto dhamnn curabhamacariyam sammi dukkhassa
44 EIGI{T.FOLD.PATH, NOBLE
antakiriyaya). The Sanskrit parallel of this is ehi bhiksu
(Vrn l, p. L2. Mhuu. III.
c u r a t u t h r l g u t ub r u h m u c u r i y u m
p. 180).
When this formula, which is more like an invitation,
was pronounced by the Buddha the invitee reccived
both thc admission to the order and the ordination.
This points to the fact that at the time when this formula
was used neithcr were thc ordination regulations formu-
lated nor was ordination separated, by a period of
probation, from the time of admission. This may have
been so because most of thosc early entrants had in-
variably attained, prior to their admission and ordina-
tion, some spiritual advancement, and as such the need
for eleboratc ordination regulations and a period of
probation may not have been felt. But this situation
changed during the time of thc Buddha himsef for,
by the time whcn Rihula was admitted to thc order a
different formul4 namely thc sceking of refuge in the
Triple Gem (sara4agamana\and an eleborate procedure
had taken the place of this simple formula (Vin.I, p. 82).
The Frrst to receive ehi-bhikkhu-pabbajja was Afifrita
Ko4$affia- He was followed by the other four of the
paircauaggiya group and Yasa and his companions
(Vin.l, p. 12 f.). As soon as this formula was pronounced
on them they assumed by the iddhr-power of the Buddna,
the form of monks, complete with robes and bowl
( D h . p . A . I , 9 5 ; c p . M h v u I I I , p p , 1 8 0 ,3 7 9 ) .
When two or more laymen were admitted to the
Order and ordained at one and the sametime the plural
of this formula was used (Pali: ethabhikkhauo...:Skt.
etha bhik.cnno ), Even the feminine form ehi bhikkhu4i
is referred to in the Vinav-u(Vtn. lY. p 214\. See PAB-
BAJJA.
S. K. Nrmpklere
EIGHT-FOLD-PATH, NOBLE, (Pxli: Ariya atthaftgika
magga: Skt, ,,{ryc-asfinftgika marga) is the course of
action advocated in the teachings of the Buddha for
human beinp to ensurehappines in this world (dtttha'
dhamma-sakha), well-being in the future existences
(samparaya-hita) andfinal deliverance from the woes in
saitsdric existence (nibbdna-saccikiriyd\.It is called the
Middle Path (majjhinu patipda\ because it steers
clear of the two extrcmes of self-indulgence (kdmasu-
kh al likanuy ogal and self-mo rt ifi ca tion (a t t a k i Iama t hAnu-
yoga'1.lt b called the Eight-fold Path because it consti-
tutes eight limbe or factors, namely, Right Views
(sammd ditthi\ Right Thoughs (samnfi-sahkappal,
Rigbt Spcech (samnu uaca\, Right Action (sammi-
kammanta\,Right Livelihood (sanna-tjiua\, Right Effort
 EIGHT-FOLD-PATH, NOBLE
(sa mmd-ud ydma), Righr-Mindfulness (sammd-sat i), and
Right Concentration of mind (sammd-samfrdftt) - S. V.
pp.42{.'..22.
According to the Mahd Cutturisuku Suttu (M. lII.
p. 72) there are two levels in this path namely. the mun-
d a n e l e v e l ( l o k r y u la n d t h e s u p e r - m u n d a n c el e v e l{ t o k u t -
turul.In the mundane level the bare ability of a person to
distinguish betweenwhat is beneficialto one and all and
what is harmful to one and all constitutesRight-Views In
the supra-mundane level one's ablity to comprehend
t h e F o u r N o b l e T r u t h s ( C u t u - L r r i v u - s r r < ' cr .oan) s t i t u t e s
Right Views.
Thoughts of non-violence, thoughts frce from hatred
and thoughts of renunciation are called Right Thoughts.
Avoidance d falsehood and speaking the truth alone,
avoidancc of slander and gossip and spcaking in a way
to bring about amity and concord among people,
avoidance d harsh speech and using gentle and refined
spccch, and avoidance of frivolous speech and speaking
only what h relevant to the occasion, constitute Richt
Spcech.
Refraining from killing and causing injury to life,
refraining from appropriating what is not voluntarily
given by its legitimate owner and refraining from
wrongful gratification of the senses constitute Right
Action.
Not resorting to wrong and unrighteous pursuits
but resorting only to harmless and righteous means
to carn one's living constitute Right Livelihood.
A four-fold eflort is mentioned in connection with
with Rigbt effort. namely, effort on the part of a person
to dispel evil traits in one (pahanappadhdnc) effort to
obctrud the enrry of evil traits anew into one (s4m-
uarappadhdna),effort to cultivare and develop in one
the good qualities that are not already found (hhiounttp-
padhanal,and effort to safeguard and bring to maturity
the good qualities that are already found in one (unuruk-
khanappdhana D. II. p. 312). Right Effort is involved
in all other stages of the path for, without it, none of
thcm could be cultivatod and developed. For example,
onc ha\ to make a genuine effort to distinguish between
rigl.t views and wrong views. Having done that one
has to make a concentrated effort to dispel wrong views
and cuttrvate nght views alonc. This process appties
to thc lg64ining stagcs d the Path too.
Right-Mindfulness is nothing but awarenesq alertness
and constant vigilane d the mind so that ore can
understand properly everything that passes on in one's
thinking proceq cnabling one to control and dispel
undesirable thoughts whilc at thc sam timc safeguard-
ing and developing thc dcsirablc oncs Lite in thc casc
of Rigbt Efforq Right Mindfulncss, too, plays a lcading
45 EIGHT.FOLD.PATH, NOBLE
role in helping one to develop the remaining factors
of the Noble Eight-fold Path, for, without Right Mind-
fulness, one cannot differentiate between right views
and wrong views, between right thoughts and wrong
thoughts. between right specch ag.d wrong speech,
between right action and wrong action, between right
livelihood and wrong livelihood, between right e{Iort
and wrong eflort and between right concentration of
the mind and wrong conccntration of the mind.
Right Concentration d the min4 tbc eighth factor
of the Noble Eight-fold path b the ner result d trcading
tlrc seven preceding factors of ttre path The more the
strength of practice of the preceding seven factors of
the Path in a person, stronger and more stable becomes
the concentration power of the mind in him. The Buddha
sap in the Muhut'utturisttkS L tu t t a( M . l I I . p . 7 l ) : " R i g h t
Concentration of the mind is thc one pointedness of
mind (citrcssu ekaggata-)achicved through cultivating
the preceding seven stages of the Path."
In cultivating the eight facton of the Noble Eight-fold
Pat[ onc has to keep in mind tbc all-important position
of the first factor, namely Right Views. Right Views
precede (pubbuftgumu-hotilthe development of each
of the factors of the Path. including Right Views
itself. Right Views help one to differentiate between
right views and wrong views, between right thougbts
and wrong thoughts, between right speech and wrong
speech, bctween right action and wrong action, between
right livelihood and wrong livelihoo{ between right
e{fort and wrong effort, between right mindfulness
and wrong mindfulness, and between rigbt concentration
of the mind and wrong conccntration of the mind.
(D.III. p 7l)
The eight factors of the Path are grouped into three
to constitute three phasesof the way leading to emancipa-
tion (nibbana). Emancipation from the woes in samsara
is achieved by a person by developing detachment
(uiraga) from the pleasures d the scnses&nmal. Detach-
ment is thc direct result d the knowledge of things as
they trucly are (yathiblutaharya\ Whcn a person realises
that thinp (ilhamna) are evancscent by nature (anicca),
that they are engrosscd with suffcring (dukkhal that
there is no essenoe or substance in things (anatta) and
that things are causal in genesb (paticca-sarmrppanna),
attachment and repulsion to objects of scffc pleasures
do not arise in hirn To understand thb true nature
of things a person should have in him ernaculatc wisdom,
and this wisdom arises in a person whosc mind has
reached the peak d concentration power (samadhi\.
Concentration powcr develops in a person who has
disciplined himscf thoroughly through practice of
virtue (sila). Hence thc statement:"A wise man having
established himself firmly in virtue, develops concenrra-
 EIHEIJI
tion power and wisdorn, and being diligent and mature,
d i s - e n t a n g l e st h e t a n g l e o f s a m s u r u "i V i s m . p . l ) I n
this grouping Right Spcech. Right Action and Right
Livelihood form the group of vtrtue (sila), Right Ellort.
R i g h t M i n d f u l n e s s a n d R i g b t C o n c e n t r a t i o nf o r m t h e
group of concentration \sarudht) and Right Views
and Right Thoughts form the group o{ wisdom \pahhnl.
The Buddha did not claim that the Noble Eight-fold
Path is an invention of his. He himsef referrod to this
Path as an ancient path (pura4am ahjasam) trodden by
wise people in forrner days. In a very apt simile in the
Nrdano Saryyuttuof the Scmyutta-nikdya(S. II, p. 105i.)
'just
the Buddha says: as if brethren, a man faring
through the forest, through the great wood, should
see an ancient path, an ancient road traversed by men
of former days. And he were to go along it, and going
along it, he should seean ancient city, an ancient prince's
domain. wherein dwelt men of former days. having
gardens, groves, pools, foundations of walls, a goodly
spot. And that mar\ brethrerl should bring word to
'PardorL lord,
the prince or to the prince's minister:
know this. I have seen as I fared througb the forest,
through the great wood, an ancient patb, an ancient
road traversed by men of former days. I have been
along it. and going along it I have seen an ancient city..-
a goodly spot. Lord restorq that city; and brethren,
the prince or his minister should restore that city.
That city should thereafter become prosperous and
flourishing populoug teeming with folk grown and
thriven.
Even so have I. brethren seen an ancient road traver-
''
sed by the rightly Enlightened Ones of former times
The goal of Nibbana and the Path that leads to its
attainment were already there, but were obliterated
by the veils of ignorance (mohaiala\, and the Buddha
only re-discovered them and tread on the Path and
attained the goal ;and to that extent he was the pioneer
(idrmupurrsa). the first person to tread the Path redis-
covered by himself. Having re-discovered the Path
and having tread it and having reached the goal to
which that Path leads. the Buddha laid bare all his
expericncc before the world, so that anyone who is
so inclined may followthatPath and reach the identical
goal reachal by him.. (S.ll. p. 106).S€eATTHANGIKA
MAGGA. MAJJHIMAPATIPADA, SACCA.
W. G. Weerentm
EIHEUI' a ternple located in thc villagc of Shibidani
near Fukui in Echizen in Japan is onc d thc two head-
quarters of the Soto subsect of Zen Buddhism, thc
other being the Sojiji temple at Yokohoma.
46 EKABBOHARIKA
This temple lorrnded by Dogen (1200 - 154 A.C)
is reckoncd pcrhaps as the finesl monastery in Japan
( C l . E l i t ' r t . J u D t t n e s eB u d d h t s m .L o n d o n 1 9 5 9 . P . 2 8 4 t .
It is situated at a fbot of a hill and clairns an areao[
seventv-acresas the temple grounds. "The first gate
lcads to a two-storied gate.flanked by a long colonnade
At the end of the flight of stone-step heading from
the storied gate is another gate c;rlied Chujakumon.
beyond which is the hall for Buddhist images and
another for worship." (Jupun. the official Guide. Japan
Travel Bureau. 1955. p. 504) Turning to the left and
then to the right from the hall for worship one finds
another gate leading to the Shoyo-den (Founder's
tlall) and the refectory.
Eiheiji is an elaborate temple complex consisting
of more than seventy buildinp connected by corridors
extending into a deep forest of Japanese cedars. The
environment of this temple is ideally suited for the
attainment of Zenjo (the \umudhi achieved by medita-
tion). "lt combines the finest in temple design.architec-
"
t u r e a n d l a n d s c a p eg a r d e n i n g . l T h e l o u n q E u s t . Y o l .
VI, No. 23. p. 39).
Among many treasures housed in thh temple. a
picture painted by Dogen, which is listed as a'National
Treasure'. is said to be the most noteworthy.
Hundreds of young monks residing in this temple
are said to lead a well-disciplined and systematic Zen
life on meditation l/,uzenl. The monk's entire existence
is centred around the Zen-Do (Meditation Hall), where
he eats. sleepsand meditates on the tatami lStraw mat).
Their chanting of the sltras in the early dawn is said
to be of exceptionally high standard.
Many outsiders. particularly the Europeans, who
seek spiritual p€ace through meditation" visit this
temple and frequently become initiated into the Zen
Buddhism (d. The YoungEust. Vol. VI. no. 23. pp.38-40:
ibid. vol. VII. no. 26.pp. 18*20: ibid. vol. IX, no. 36
pp. 2 fr.).
C S. Remdnghc
EKABBOH;RIKA (var. Ekavyoharika. ckabbohiri
Skt. Ekavyavaharika Ekottiya). one of the earliest
and short-lived Buddhist sects in India that branched
oll l'rom the mahasanghika school (Dhpy. u. 4O:
Mhu. t,.4; W. W. Rockhill, \le of tlw Buddhq p. 182:
Jiryo Masud4 Origin and Doctrines of Early Indian
Buddhist Scfiools, p. 15). It b short-lived most probably
because the differences it had with the other sects
of the same school were very insignificant: it could
very wcll have merged with one or thc other sect. In
facl, Vasumitra in his Nrkayabhedopacararyacckra enume-
 EKABBOHARIKA
mcrates48 dobtrinal points this school held in common
with the Mahasarighikas and the two other branches
of the Mahisarighikas, namely, the Lokottaravada
and the Kaukkutika (Masuda, op. cit. pp. 18 {L).
The Pali literature is not very helpful in forming a
satisflactoryview of the doctrine of this school: only
the runrsutthuppukustnt.the Mahaucmsc commentary
has made an attempt at giving an explanation but
even that does not throw any light on the matter. It
saysthat the two sectsthat arose from the Mahasanghi-
kas, namely. the Ekabboharika and the Gokulika
misunderstood the passageslike "all, monkg is ablaze...
All conditioned things are full of misery" (sabbam
bhrkkhuueadrttam...subbesafikhara dukkhal and inter-
preted them. without making any distinctior\ to mean
that all conditioned things are hot ashes (kulckulrr)and
are like the hell of ambers (Mhut,I, 173).Seealso DPPN
s. v. Ekabboharn.
According to the Nikayabheda-uibhahga uyakhyana
of Bhavya and the NiknyabhedopadarSanasahgrahaof
Vinitadeva (Ten-Gyur, Vol. 90), the Ekavyavahlrikas
were so named because the members of this sect held
that all the doctrines are thoroughly understood by a
uniqr.re and immediate (ekauyauahdra)wisdom, for all
thc doctrincs of the Buddhas are oomprehended by
thc intellect (Rockhill op. cit. p. 183).
It iq however, Vasumitra who gives a fairly compre-
hensive account of the doctrine of this sect (Nikaya-
bhedopucara4ucakra, translated from its Chinese and
Tibetan versions into English by Jiryo Masuda op. cit.
pp 18 ff.) According to this account, Ekavyavaharikas
held zl8 views in common with the Mahasadghikas,
the Lokottaravadins and the Kaukkutikas Vasumitra'
also gives nine views as the later differentiated views
ot thesc four schools; but, of thesc nine views, he does
not mention the particular views held by the divergent
sects.
The zl8 views they held in common are connected
with the nature of the Buddha- the bodhisattva- the
arahants and the srotlpunnus; mind and mental
stat6 (cjtta and caitasikc),dormant passions{anusayu\
and their outbursts (paryauasthdna),and the uncondi-
tioned (asamskrta\.
They held docetic views about the personality of the
Buddha and the bodhisattva which later on developed
into the Mahayana Trikiya doctrine. Concerning the
nature of the arahants they upheld the hve points of
Mahadeva which declarod that tk arahants are ddective,
the germ that gave risc to the Mahaydna bodhisattva
ideal. as opposed to the Theravada arahant ideal. The
srotdpannus, according to them, are not excluded
from retrogression, and are liable to commit all sinful
acts excefl the hve hcinous oncs (dnzntarya). These
4l EKABIJI
views, which thc Ekavyavahdrika sect held together
with the Mahasarighika school and its branches, clearly
point to the fact that the tendency towards Mahayana
was very early and they can properlv be called the
precursors of Mahayana.
fu far as the mind and mental states are concerned
they rejected the view, held by the Theravidins and
the Sarvastivddins, nf the existence of indeterminate
states (cu.ydkrta-dharma);they accepted only the states
which are wholesome (/cusala)or unwholesome (a/<usalc).
The dormant passions (anasaya) are neither mind
(cit t a -dhar mc) nor mental (cait asik a-dhar ma); they never
become the objects of thought. The dormant passions
are different from their outbursts (pcrr'1,'rrlrr-stfirrnrr) and
vice versa. The anusa.yasdo not combine themselves
'fhis
w i t h t h e < ' r t t a w h i l e p u r y u r u . s t h u n ud o e s . latter
view is opposed to th€ Theravadins and Sarvastivadins
who denied the existence af anusayus apart from purya-
uasthdnas. Regarding thc unconditioned (asamskrta-
dharmal they advocated nine kinds of it as against the
the one'in the Theravada and the three in the SarvAsti-
v a d a ( M a s u d a .o p . c i t . p p . 1 8 - 3 2 ) .
These, in brief, are the doctrines they held in common
with the other sects of the Mahasarighika school. The
nine points enumerated by Vasumitra as the divergent
views that arose later oo among the four scts include
the doctrines that therc are (a) things which are caused
by thc agency of sef (svayamkr.tal G) thingr which
are caused by the agency of others (paraikrta) and (c)
things which are caused by both (ubhayaikrta): (d)
that two thoughts can arisc side by side at one and
the same time. etc.. views which are alien to TheravAda.
See Mahasarighika.
Upa[ Karumretrc
EKABIJI "having one seed,- "germinating only once
more" b the name for one of the three kinds of stream-
winners (sotdpanna\;he has only one future life in which
he will attain parinibbnna V. I, p. 233; S. V, p. 205;
Neff. p. lt9; Kuu. II, p. a7l; KuuA. in JPTS. 1899,p. 137).
The other two kinds of stream-winners are the one
passing from one noble existence to another (kolamkolul
ano the one wltn sey€n reDlrtns at tne most ts4'luKKnur-
tuparama). The drfference betwecn tb ekabiji and the
sakadagami who both are reborn only once before
attaining Nibbana. lies in a highcr degrce of development
of the five controlling faculties (pahcendrit'ani) arrd in
the partial weakening of the fettrs (samyoynul or lust.
malice, delusions in tbe cascd thc sakudAgsmi(5.I p.233)
233).S€€SOTAPANNA.
Updl Kerunntne
 ExinasArvruKHA 48 EKAGGATA

EKADASAMUKHA (Jap. Ju-ichi-men kannon), a form small figure either standing or sitting like the Buddha.
of AvalokiteCvara having eleven faces (ekndaCa-mukha). closely drape<l with the hands covered. She identifies
This fbrm is very popular in the Tibetan rcgion of this figure rvith Kikuta Sanzo, an Indian prince whc
China and Japan. Tlre arrangement cf ttre eleven heads came to Japan by about the 7th or 8th century (Godsol
as well as their facial expressions vary considerably. N o r t h e r nB u d d t us m .I 9 1 4 .p . 8 I ) .
Sometimes the principal head carries the others grouped
The nunnber of a;'ms of EkedaCamukba also varics.
th three rows, each row consisting d three heads, placed
He is often represented as having two, four or eight
one above the other and finally surmounted by a single
arms. When represented as having two arrns the right
hea4 q else tbe principal hcad carries two rows consis-
one is in the wish-granting posture (varada-mudrd\
ting of five and four heads wbich are also surmounted
and the left is made to hold a vasc with a lotus. When
by a solitary head. The most common arrangement
represented as having more than two arms he is madc
seems to be the principal head flanked by two other
to form such gesturesas wish granting-gesture(uarrrdtr-
heads carrying two rows of thrce heads crowned by
mudrd) or worshipping-gesture (namaskara-mudrd) or
two hcads placed one above the other. (For different
safety granting-gesture(ubhu,v-u-mudrul and he is also
type cf representatiorc see The Art Tieasures of Japan,
made to carry various symbols such as a string of beads.
cd. Yashiro Yukio 196O,(Japan) I, plates No.8 137, 138,
a discus.a lotus. a vase.a bow and an arrow which are
140: Asiatic Mythology, d. J. Hackin, New York.
dillerently disposed. (SeePLS. III and IV).
Thomas Y. Cowell Co" plate facing p. 44s.
EkadaCamukha seems also to be represented under
In some representations as in the one produced in the
diJlerent namcs. Thus the form called AryavalokiteCvara
Asiatic l,{ythology {loc. cit.) there are twelve heads in
having eleven heads and 100 arrns with the two main
all, including tbe one at the top which is identified as
hands in the namaskara-mudrd and others arranged
that of Amitebha, the spiritual progenitor of AvalokiteC-
in a halo appears to be one such represcntation. (A. K.
vara Thc arrangement of the heads and the facial
Gordoq lconography of Tibetan lamaism Charles
expression in thb representation, according to Hackin,
E. Tuttle and Co. 1959, p. 67 and plate facing p. 65).
iSl6f religioris symbolic importance In this representa-
There are two other forms under the names Gaganaraja
tion the principal head carrics two rows d six and four
and VajragarbhapramardinAvalokiteCvara(W. E. Clcrk.
heads respcctively, on which is placed tbe head of
Two lamatstic Pantheons, Harvard University Press
AmitAbha. Hackin sap that according to Japanese
1937, IL pp. 268. 269, Nos 174, 177 see also No. 173).
sttras tbc threc frontal faces of EkadaCamukha should
B. Bhattacharayya also rders to a form of AvalokiteCvara
havc tbc expression d the bodhisattvas, the three faces
under the name Mahasahasrasuryya LokeCvara. He
to thc left should bcar fcrocious expression, while the
also has elevcn heads, eight arms and stands on a lotus.
thrce facee to the right should also have the expression
The gestures he shows and the sympols be carries are
of thc bodhisattvas but with teeth protruding from the
typical of those found in the representations of EkadaCa-
mouth. The facc placd almost ar right angle to the
mukha (Indiatt Buddhtst Iconography, 1958, p. 4O0;
principal head should be represented as laughing and
see also the illustration No. 57 (A) p. al5).
the onc at the top, being the head of Amitabha.
should bcar the expression of a Buddha. He says that The mantra Ekadalamtkha or the Ekndatamukha-
thesc df,ferent cxpressions of the elevcl fiaces are to be hrdaya-nanuais probably connected with this form of
linked with thc three sections cf the Garbha-world AvalokiteCvara. This mantra is supposed to have the
1taiz&kai). power of bringing about the well being of onesef as
well as of others. It b said thal even yaksas m rAksasas
According to the same authority the three frontal
could be suMued by this mantra. The Sanskrit text of
faces rcprescnt tbc scction of the treasure (Ho-bu) the
the mantra is published in the Gilgit Maniscriprs II.
thrcc faca to the lcft thc section d the vajra (Kongo-bu).
p. 35.tr
Tbc thre faccs to thc right with teeth projecting are
considercd as rcpracnting the section of thc lotus
(Reng+.bu! the protruding teeth bcing symbolic of S. K. Nerryd*rn
Amita'r grcat power. The laughing face is considered
as rcprcscnting thc section of karma (Katsuma-bu)
while thc hcad at the top b taken as representative of the
sectio,n d thc Buddha Thus thc eleven hcads. as whole.
EKAGGATI (Skt. ekagrata\. a Buddhist technical
are regardod as symbolising tbc five sections of the
term generally meaning one-pointednesq is one of the
Vajra-world (Kongo-kai).
sevcn mental properties common to all forms of cons-
Alicc Getty says that in sorc representations the ciousness (sabba- citt a-sadhar a4a\ Tbe compo ur'd ekag-
ccntral hcad of the lst or tbc 2nd row b rcplaced \ a garh is made up ol the words eka meaning 'one' and
 EKo?]BHAva 49
uugata.the abstracl noun cf agQT meaning 'pre-eminen-
c e ' . ' p r o m i n e n c e ' , ' s u p € n o r i t y " .I n v a r i a b l r , i n B u d c i h i s t
tert-s. this comporrnd occurs in combination with the
worri cifra-or citrassa-and then the whole compound
m e a n s ' o n e - p o i n t e d n e sos{ ' t h e r n i n d ' ( l 4 s m . p 3 l l ; S
! p . 2 1 ; . . { . I V , p 4 0 ) B e s i d e sb e i n g u s e d i n i t s g e n e r a l
mcaning the tei-m is also r,rsedin Buddhist literarure
in its extended meaninp of tranquillity, contemplation
lnd even conccntration.
Primarily. ekuggtatais the mental property by which an
object of consciousnessis individualized. lt is by this
mental property that the mind becomes aware of only
one object and is able to withstand being drstracted
by several objects. Thus ekuglglata.when taken in its
basic meaning,denotesthe germ of all attentive.selected.
lbcussed or concentrated consciousnessand as such.
it is found in all beinp in different degreesof develop-
ment.
Buddhist canonical as well as non-canonical icxts
consider this to be synonymous with sumudh lDhs,
pp. 11. 24,85 DhsA.p. ll8, Cp. also l,ism p. 84, n. 2).
But it is quite apparent thal in their basic meanings.
the two terms ekaggrtta and sumidhi are dilTercnt.
Ekuglgutu,being the germ o[concentrated consciousness.
has to be developed and cultivated for it to atrain rhe
high state of a sumatlhu And as long as thc mind is
perplexed by the presence o[ applied and sustaincd
thought (uitakku-uicurulekuggutacannot be t'ully devclo-
perl into samadhr.Dhammasungtnt1p.24) definesright
conccntration (summu-samadhtJ and one - pointedness
tekuggutdl in the same manner. But thc Nikdya books
seem to maintain some difference between these rwo.
In explaining the ariyan rig)tt concentration (arr1,o
:ttmnut-saw.tdhr), which is associated and equipped
rsu upunisosupurrkkhuro).it is said that it is one-pointe-
dness of min,{ which is equipped with thc seven limbs
,t the Noble Eight-lold I,ath namely Right view. Righr
thoughq Right speectq Right Action, Right Living,
Right Effort and Right Mindfulness (see, S. V p. 2l;
a. IV, p. 4O).Some scholan are of ipinion that ekaggata
is identical wirh ekodibhaua(Skt. ekotibhaua\.But there
is no conclusiveproof to establishtheir identity. However
it is clear that the two forms are very close in meaning
and that ekodibhaua denotes a developed stage of
e k a g g a t a( s e ea l s o E K O T I B H A V A ) .
S. K. Nanavakksre
I.IKOTHIRI{AVA (vars. ekotthhuuu. ekotiblfit:a; Pali
ekodibhaua),a technical term usuall! occurring in the
formulaic statement of the process leading out of the
f i r s t d h y d n ai n t o t h e s e c o n d( M h u u . I , p . 2 2 8 : I I I . p . l 3 l .
EKOTIBHAvA
D a l a b h i a i k a S u t r u ,o 1 4 ' . l ' i s m p. l , { 6 i .l t r s a ! r c n o t i c e a -
ble from n',tmeiorrsoccurrences that the term is of'ten
used to indicate a partrcrriar ,i.:!e lrf n:in<iattained b1,
'78:
meditatiorr (r) t p -t7: lI. r; .&Ci. p I f6: Bbh p
109). Besirin; this c(.'inpc.1r!:{itirm- rhe worcl ekodi
( S k t . e A o i ; ia i o n r ' i s ' r s e c li n a i s - ' * i, n s t a n c e s( A . I I I . p
354: jhannnt LtnL:\rmp.iji,t-,"ktuii nii);Jkosafc, cp. Sn. r.'.
9 2 6 ; S t i r 5 l i i j 1 1 !5 3 i 1 , r - yl i r s i i : u n d c o r n b i n e dw i t h
the rnot k' to do ,.x hiu tr: trc ("[f i. p. 115.S. iV. p 263:
V, p. 196, Mhru. III. p. 2i2: 86fr p t(yt)
The oprnions o{' scholars dilier with regard to the
meaning and the derivation of the term ekotibhauu.
Of the numerous renderingri suggestaj by modern
s c h o l a n a t e w a r e a s f o i l o w s : s t a i e o f c o n c e n t r a t i o no n
cne single trb.;ect.tranquillit.y. biissi'ui serenity (state
of mind. following after conversion: M,:nier Villiams,
S k t . E n q . D r c t . s . v . i ; s i n g l e r n i n d e d . n e s si n t e l l e c t u a l
s i m p l i c i t l ( J . E v o l a - T h e D o t t m e o l A w u k e n r n gp, . 1 8 6 ) ;
unity. preciominance(of mind; see R. C. Childers The
D r t ' t . t N t l i t : [ ' t r l t I . u n q u u q es . I ' i T h e m e a r r i n go f t e n
a s s i g n e dt o t h i s t e r m i s o n e - p o i n t e d n e s s .
Nemerous attempis h;rve been rnade from early
times to explain the .lerivation ot this compound term
ekotibharu ()ne very e;iii, attempi is bv Buddhaghosa.
H e s p l i t s t h e c o m p o n c ii n t o e k : u . d r t t { e i o u d e t it i e k o d t \ .
As to its meaning he sair it comesup as the foremost.
the best because it is not overtopped by applied and
s u s t a i n e dt h o u g h t ( r ' i r . i A A r r I rtcri,rh i a n a j j h d r u l h a t t aa g g o
settho hutt,a udetr tr attho\. He iurther adds that the
last is referred to as unique (ekol in the world; or eko
could be taken to mean single,for. being without applied
and sustainedthought it is without companion. Buddha-
ghosa puts forward another alternative. It evokes
(udayati) associated states (sampayuttadhamme)and.
therefore,it is an evoker (udr); It is unique (eka) in the
sense of best (.setrha)and it is an evoker, too. Thtrs it
comes to be a unique evoker (setthatthenaeko ca so udt
ca it ekodi\. This is a designation (adhiuacana)for con-
centration (samndhi\.Since the second jhana causesto
be or develops thrs single thing (ekodim\ it is called
singleness.But as ths single (thing) is of the mind and
not of a being or of a soul. so it is spoken of as the sing-
l e n e s so f ' t h e m i n d ( C p D A s , 4 .p 1 6 9 ) .
This is the explanation quoted by Childen in his
dictionarv. though Suhutr. who supplied him the
information. makes no referenceto the source.However.
this etymological explanation is rather fanciful and
as such cannot be much relied upon.
The opinion of modern scholars with regard to the
origin cf this word is divided. One group takes this
to be of Pali origin whereas others consider it to be
a term of- Sanskrit origin Richard Morris derive:
it from eka odhi or avadhi meaning cnd, point, aim.
 EKOTIBHAVA
Ar;udhior odhi is from uuu]-the root dhi to place. Thus.
odhi or auadhi could mean putting dowrl fixing i. e..
boundary limiq ertcnt (S€e PTS Pali-Eng. Drcr. under
odhi)- ln support of hft vicw R. Morris cites the Burmese
versions of Pali texts which glve ektdh\ the aspirate
instead of thc dental d. He remarks that the loss of
aspiration in thc term ekodi may be due to tbe following
aspirate inbluoo. Thus, ekodhi-bhiua He cites parallels
from Jaina literature in favour of hb argument Basirg
his view on the observation made by H. Kern (Saa
dharmapwfiariko. SBE. XX[ p. xvi) 'that certain parts
of the nothern Buddhist books, more specially the
verses, have been Sanskritised to a very large extent,'
suggests that the nothern Buddhists Sanskritised the
form ekdi or ekodhi into ekoti which was more intelligi-
ble to them (JPTS- 1885 pp. 32 f.). This view is cndorsed
by T. W. R.hp Davids and William Stde (Puli-Ens.
Dicl., s v-I Thery observe, also, that its combination
with roots k and blu points to a form ekoda, with the
regular change of c to i in connection with these roots.
There are others who attempt to seek a Sanskrit origin
for this term- They split tbe compounded ekotibhdua
into efto-uti-bhauo- According to them the Pali ekodi
b from Sanskrit ekori Tbe word ekotyaf (plural of
ekori) occurs in the Suapatho-brahma4a (xi\ 2" 2" al.
Eggchng commcnting on this particrrlar occlurence
sa)ls thar it means one-webbed He derivcs irr fron
tb root pd to weare and takes it in tb scnsc d web or
wdL However, it should be noted that Monier pffiarne,
in hb S&t.-Eng. Dict- does not mention the roc os in
thb sensc. Weber prders to derirc the word urr from
tbe root ou to f,avour, to impe[ and considers it to mean
'striving
after a goat course.' Eggeling adds that uri
can haw both tbe meaning of web and course (JPTS.
1885,pp. 37 f.).
This word iri b found quite often in the Rgvedu
(r, 10f, 13; iv,44, O to connote both meanings mentioned
abovc. It can bc derivod from both roots, Deto weave,
to plait,'to string a join togethcr and n to favour,
protect, i-p*t, sati$ etc (sce Monier Williams, op.
cit. pp. 96, 1013, and also 221).
R. Mitra, too, favons tbc view that Sanskrit e&ori has
bccomc ekodi m Pali. He cit€s thc Skt word uitatsi
which becomes uidutthi in Pali as an example where Skt.r.
becomes d in Pali. He also splits up the word eftori
into el<s-iti He givcs numerorxi instances from the
Rgvefu where tbc word b usd in the sensc dpreserving
scwing wearing distilling oozing sporq and recreation.
He also citcs tbe authority d Sridhara Swimi who in
hb commcntary m thc Bhagaaata assigns to thb word
'thc meaningr
d attachment to work, and of play.
According to Mitr4 of all the meanings connoted
50 EKorIBu,[va
by ttrc word uti, thc meanings of prescrving, attachment
to work, and play (/rla) sufiice to explain the compou-
nd ekotibhuuu.
He cites an instance from the lnlitavistara (p. 90)
where this compound occurs and takes it to be a term
used to describe the hrst dhyana which b characterisd
by applied and sustained thought (sauitarka-sauicdral
and born of solitude (uiuekaja). He cites paralleb from
Bhoja's commentary on the Yoga-sitra in whid pon-
dering plays an improtant role in meditation Therdorq
he adduces that ekotibfidua meam pondering on a
single objecr. He takes frrr in the sense of objecq and
as that object is calulatod to produce joy, he deems
it quite reasonable to indicate it by a term which implia
recreation, sport or play (Proceeilings d tlu Asiatic
Society S Bengal, lt8( pp. 101 tr).
There is another noteworthy contribution by S. C. Du
on the meaning and the derivation d thb term- He
favours the term ekotibhdua instead d ekotibhioa
with short i. He sap that tbe Tibetan texts as well as the
Mahaoyutpatti, written in the ndgai script, which
is available in Tibet, contain the term with thc long d.
He derives it from eka-uta-bhdua. Uta, according to
him is from tbe root De meaning sew, unitg and the
affx lcrc. The Tibetan parallel of this term is rgpd
gcigu gyur-pa. Rgyud gryr-pa mearr strung or united
together; gcrg mearr one and ru means into. Thercforc,
the compound means Tormed into orr string or line.'
He quotes an observation made by a certain lama who
explains ekotibhaw as thc continued connection of
one with another without a break or division. As an
example he cites the consciousness(uijhuna\ whic*r runs
through an unbrokel line of existencesuntil it b stopp€d
by nirua4a.
According to S. C. Das ekotibhaua connotc a cardinal
doctrire in Tibetan Buddhism In Tibd it is bclievcd
that when a grand lama dies hb spirit reappeanr in some
other person- After thc death of an cminent lam a
committee b set up to identiff thc spirit d the dead
lama with that of the claimant. Thb identifrcation is
rderrod to as rgyd gcigru gyur-p (ekotibhaua :ibid.
1887,pp. 173 fr.).
R. Mitra rejects the form ekotibhaw on thc ground
that the Tibetan language docs not make any distinction
between short and long r (ibid. pp. 75 f .). N. Muker-
jee. who also favours the term ekotibhaoq takes
it to mean absorption into one. Hc derives the term
from eka uta chvi bhEuu Hc cxplair thc long r as due
to the srffrx cftui. He citcs forms sud as ek|&,hiuq
gu4hhdua, bhusmibhtrua. as parallcls Hfo suggestion
is also rejected by R. Mitra wbo is of opinion that
there is no need for a suflir cftui to explain the derivation
d the term (ibid. p. 179 f.).
 EKOTTBTIAVA
Mar l\{ulier puts forward a suggestion" for which
ir claims neither the merit nor the respcnsibility, that
' .s :errn in question could
Le irregular contraction of
,+,i';ottbhluu. lnstead d ekotibhaua he prdcrs the
torm ekotibhnua with a cerebral 1 for be has found it
' crcur so (JP75. 1885, p. 36 f.). F. S. Grousc favours
I'ir-r Muller's suggestion and quotes the grammatical
:uie cf Vararuci that fc, g arfr other consonants when
iimple and non-initial are generally elide4 the frrst
r:t€f, cf tbc latter member of a compound being regarded
.is non-initial. R. Mitra, who rejects Max Muller's
i rg€estion duc to lack of parallcls to prot€ ekakoti
:rrng contracted to e/cotr, also rduses to accept the
:rolanation given by Grouse on tbe ground that Vara-
-..rci's rule is applicable only to Prakrit orthography
.),oteedings of tl* Asiatb Society of Benga\ 1887, pp.
:-ff).
The meanings arrived at by all derivatiom are almost
];:illar. They ultimately connote the hrm resolving
--: fixrng d th€ mind on ore object or course. This
neaning b estab[shed by textual evidence too. Very
rftan thb term occurs in the phrase ('iltusu ekotibhaoa
Pa[ cetaso ekodibham: see M]rure I, p.228: II, p. 131;
lll p. 213; I4sm. 156) Sometimes it is found to occur
: tlr scntene cittant ekdikaroti or karohi (S. IV. p,263
8bt p. 109)- In meaning thb is quite close ta cittam
: nipayat\ cittwtt auasthEpayati or cittam samadhttte
- Sanskrit (Bblt p.109) and cittan santitthari sannisidati
:r sarwJdhiyan in Pali (see S. IV, pp. 196,263 and also
V p lzt4! all connoting the f-rrm lning d thc mind on
re ob;ect.
\{ax Muller and Mitra are of opinion (loc- cit-) that
r:r-so ekottbhaw and citta-ekagratd (Iol. p. 9O) or
.::d-qsdekaggath (A. \ p. 36; IV, P. ,t0) are tbe samc in
:eaning There is no doubt about the fac that they
r:r very closc in meaning YA there is no conclusive
:rrdence to hold than as identical Unlike ekodibhaus.
,-\,rggafi is a mental property common to all conscious-
::ss (sabba-citta-frdhdra4a\ a;ndit has to be cultivated
.r.i developed for it to become sumudhi. Ekaqoatu
s tbe germ of all concentrated consciousness and
, u:dthhaw is a developod form d that germ Textual
:'rdence prov€xt that there is a distinction between
'-rse two mental propcrties. Tfu lnlitauistarc (p. 90)
..:.r: tbal the bodhisarrua acquired one-pointedness of
:-;nd (crtra-ekagratd) evel before he entered tbe hrst
:-..yJna Therdorq ekagratd is not exclusively a mental
r:rrpcrg cf tb'e dhyaru consciousness The Abhidham-
-^;:ia-saigaha (p. 3\ mentions ekaggata as appertaining
': all yhanas The Nikiyas generally do not speak of
r\;eeata even in thc first jharu ad this may be due
:he fact of its being a sabba-citta-sadhara4qand
'= \ikdyas s€cm to take it for granted that it is present
: aN jhanas. ln tbc formulaic statements describing
51 ft]I,EMENTS
tlre process of attatning the differelt dhyanas,ekotibhaua
is assignerl to th€ ser:ond dhyana {On the gramatical
and syntactical problerre :r"-c!veC in thb formulaic
statemenl see Mlrrrretrsl. tr, ,:, :84). Tlerr b one instance
in the Mafinua-*ru(IIL p.2l:; where it is sail tbil ekatt-
bhZtra bclongs to tire fird lh.,-d.rt; "l know also what
my lord Brahrnir means bv e.f:r.;ibiurcr Ii is that a man,
by suppressing a.pplia{ *,sJ susraiued thought through
his mind becoming inwardiy calm anri one-pointed,
enters and abides in the first m;diiatioa which n born
of solitude (uiuekajam\ arxi rq !'utl cf joy ard ease (pirr-
nkham) Thb I know is what tord Great Brahmd means
when be talks of ekotibffita"
It is quite clear that except {rx uiuekajun in place of
sumidhijum the rest is a description of the second dhyana.
As pointed out in the BHS. (s. v.) this sefrn-sto be due
to a strange confusion in the formulas. Except in a
rare occu,rrence as mentroned above, both Pali and
Sanskrit texts take ekotibhcva to be a mental porperty
attained in the second dhyunu which is born of concen-
tration (samadhiiam) Moreover, it is evident that there
cannot bc a firm fxing of the mind on one object or
course when applied and sustained thougbt are still
present. To achieve rhis developed state of concentration
one has to get rid d iltukk-s and uicara and firmly estab.
lish the mind on one object or course: and this is the
state achicved in the second dhyana- T\e Aftguttara
N*nya (I, p. 25a) says that if there happcns to bc any
form of vitakk4 then such concentration is not charac-
terised by onc-pointdness (ekodibhaoa). This strengtlens
the vies that ekodibhavu apperteins [e the second
jlrnna which is reached by suppressing ottakl<a znd
uicara, and also that it b a state of mind more develo@
than that connoted by ekaggata which is common to
all forms of consciousness and which can prevail even
when vitskka and urcara are functioning. See also
EKAGGATA.
S. K. Nanryatlre
EKOTTARAGAIVTA SCCAGAMA, ANGUTTARA-
NIKTYA
ELEMENTS are explained as -'rhar which cannot
be reduced to simpler terms under the conditions of
investigatio ns' (D ictionary of P hilosophy ail p sychology,
J. H. Baldwiq s. v. element). This term is oftcn found
usod to render into English thc term dhan and dharma
as found ueod in Saraastiwda Bud<rhisn Tbe Buddha's
analysis of existence i. e. of individual and thingg into
aggregates (khandha, skandha) elements klhitul and
 ELEMENTS 52
bases (ayarcna) is referred to as the doctrine of elements.
Reference is also made to the ability for elemental
analysis of existence(dhata-kusalataA. I, p. 85).
As the Buddha himself declares the primary aim of
his teaching is to explain the problem of dukkha and
show the way out of it (M. I. p. 1a0). He pointed out
also that ignorance or the lack of knowledge about the
true nature of things (yathabhita-ha4a) is the basic
cause of this dukkha. Due to this ignorance, the Buddha
pointed out, beings are prone to consider that there
exists an ever-perduring permanent self or substance
(crra) behind all samsaric existence. According to the
Buddha's teaching it is this baselessbelidin a permanent
self that generates the misleading notion of "["-ness
'mine'-ness (ahahlcara, mamihkarc), giving rise in
and
turn to craving which makes individuals plunge into
the vortex of life and death i.e., samsara.
To dispel this misleading belid which is the root-
cause of dukkha the Buddha analysed and reduced
existence i. e., both individuals and things, into the
simplest terms possible and explained that existenceis a
compound (sahkhata) of a variety of facton which are
causally inter-connected. It is said that the Tathagata
sees in its true naturc the world which consists, of a
variety of elements (Tuthagato aneka-dhatunand-dhita
I o k a my u t h A b h u t a mp u j u n u t i .M , I , p . 7 0 ) .
In reducing existence into these simple elements
the Buddha did not present them as ultimate realities
of permanent, unchanging nature. On the contrary he
emphatically pointed out that these elements, too, are
subject to impermanenoe (anicca) sufering (dukkha)
and non-substantiality(anatta: Sn v.1l19, S. III,
p. 142; IV, p. 54).
However, it is apparent that a marked change in
interpretation has taken place in Sarvastivada teachings.
According to Sarvastivtrda dharmas are the simplest
elements to which existcnce can be reduced. These
elements which are seventy-firvein number are consi-
dered momentary appearances, momentary flashings
into the phenomenal world out of an unknown source
(Tb. Stcherbatsky, The Central Conception of Buddhism,
Londoq 1923, p. 3). This Sarvistivada explanation
brought about a dichotomy cf an element as having a
substance (srsabhaua)that is unknowable and also as
having a phenomenal app€arance (laksanc) that is
casually conditioned According to the Sarvastivadins'
this substane (soabhaua or drauyc) is ever perduring
(suruada-ustt)an4 hence,their appellation snruZstiuudu.
This teaching however, is in direct conflict with the
early Buddhist teachings of the Niknyas which clearly
state that cverything is non-substantial (sabbe dhamma
o n a t r a ' M . \ p . 2 2 8 ; S . t I I , p . 1 3 3 ;I V , p . 4 O 1 ,A . 1 . , p . 2 8 6 ;
ELLORA
Dhp. v. 279). It is this deviation from the original teach-
ing that came under Nagarjuna's criticism. See also
also DHATU.
S. K. Nanayakkara
IILLORA, a village in the Indian state of Maharastra.
n e a r t h e c i t y o f A u r a n g a b a d . l a t .2 0 " 2 1 ' N . ; l o n g 7 5 " l 3 '
E., is famous for its rock cut temples. The temples are
about half a mile east of the village and lie along the west
lace of the low ridge of the Sahayadri hills, rising up from
the vast Deccan plateau. They extend for about three-
quarters of a mile in a straight line along the sloping
face of the hill. The caves belong to the three leading
Indian religions, viz., Buddhism, Brahmanism and Jain-
ism. The cavesat the southern end are Buddhist; those
at the nothern end Jain. while those between these two
groups are Brahmanical (ERE. Y, 269; Encyclopaedru
Britanica, V, 375).The earliest cave temple at the site is
the Brahmanical cave 21 (Ramesvara), probably dating
from the mid 6th century. The present survey is limited
to the Buddhist temples.
There are twelve such Buddhist rock-cut templesat
Ellora, which have now been assignedto the period from
the 6th to the 8th centuries A.C.. The cave temples here
belong therefore,to a later phase of rock-cut architecture
than the cave temples at Ajarlta, some sixty miles away.
and there is considerable difference in character between
the two groups. Here, in these monasteries the Buddhist
monks of the Mahayana fraternity dwelt and practisd
their religion for some centuries from cir. 450 A.C. -7m
A.C.
The twelve caves may be divided into two sub-groups.
caves 1-5 and caves 6-12. the latter group slightly later
in date than the hrst group. Each group comprise of a
prayer-hall and its attached monasteries. In the first
group religious assemblies seem to have been held in
cave 5 which is a pillared hall of an unusual and entirely
new type.
In the latter groups we have cave 10. the so-calld
Vidvakarma, as the only caitya-hall at Ellora. Of the
twelve cavesthose numbering 2, 5 and l0 are mentiond
as being of special significance.
Cave 1 at the southernmost corner of the hill with
four cells in the southern wall and four in the easternwall
is a residential monastery. It has neither pillan nor
sculpture and is presumed to have been one of the earlier
excavations.
Cave 2 is one of the Buddhist caves of specialsigni'
ficance. Its hall is 48 ft. square and the ceiling is supportd
by twelve pillars. Its exceptional feature is that the celh
 ELLORA
in the side walls are supplanted by galleries which, are
divided into compartments, containing images in bold
relief. These features give the cave a distinguished ap-
pearance, thus converting it intb an elaborate hall-cum-
shrine.
On the left wall of the veranda of this cave is a pot-
bellied figure of Jambala. the Buddhist god of wealth
holding a lotus in one of his hands and a bag of money in
tLc other. On the two sides of the entrance to the hall
are two dudrapdlas (guardian deities) identified with the
bodhisattvas AvalokiteCvara and Vajrapd4i. Inside the
hall. on the back wall of the veranda is a figure of Tara
with a female attendant on either side and sixflying uidyu-
dharas above, carrying offerings. Tera is carrying a lotus
in her left hand In her right hand which is in the abhuya
mudra are seen the remnants of,a rosary. On the two
raised galleries of the hall are seated Buddha figures,
seven in each gallery, in the pralambapada - asana, in
preaching attitude. The figures ofthe Buddha are flanked
by bodhisattva attendants with flying couples above.
The twelve pillars which support the roof are of the
ttmalaka type (i.e. 'chamferred cushion' type). The shaft
is square and is vertically fluted. The upper portion of
the shaft shows a garland desigrr and then becomes
octagonaf showing yaksa figures at the corners.
In the centre of the back wall of the hall is the entiance
to the shrine guarded by two colossal dudrapdlas,identi-
fied with the bodhisattvas Padmapagi, Avalokitesvara
and Maitreya. The former is flanked by a male com-
panion probably Ma4idhara and a female companion,
probably $a{aksari Mahividya. Inside this shrine is a
large seated figure of the Buddha in the prulambapada-
csnna and the dharma-cakra-mudra-,flanked by a bodhi-
sattva on either side.
Cave 3 is a monastery 46 ft. square and ll tt. high.
the ceiling being supported by twelve pillars of the
t huta- pnllaua (i.e.pot-and-folliage)type.
The entrance to the shrine is flanked by two bodhi-
sattavas. Inside the shrine is a seated Buddha in the
: r a Iambapada-asana and the tlharma-cukr a-mudr a, also
lanked by two bodhisattva figures. Above the Buddha
:rc- flying couples, and in two corners of the shrine are a
n umber of knecling devotees with folded hands.
Cave 4, measuring 35 ft. by 39 ft.- is a two storeyed
:nonasterydatable to the 7th century A.C. On the ground
'loor are a few carvings.
The upper storey contains a
shrine and two cells. In the shrine are the Frguresof
'\valokite$var4 Manjudri and Tari. On the back wall
.ri the shrine is a well carved Buddha Frgure seated in
'.hepralambapdda-asana
in the dharma-cakra-mudru. On
:re left of this figure is a standing figure of Maitreya.
53 ELLORA
Cave 5 which was mentioned above as one of the three
outstanding rock-cut Buddhist temples at Ellora is a
large and elaborate excavation, going deep into the rock
base and measuring ll7 ft. by 58f ft., excluding its two
side chambers. The ceiling of the'hall is supported by
twenty-four massive pillars which have square shafts and
ornamental carvings. In the side walls of the cave are
excavatedtwenty-three cells for the residenceof monks.
This cave was used probably :rs an assembly hall or a
hall for the delivering of sermons by learned monks.
In the left side wall of the cave is a small shrine in
which is a statute of the Buddha. The main shrine is
guarded by two huge duarapdlas each of which is flanked
by a graceful female frrgure on either side.
On the back wall of the shrine is a seated Buddha in
the pr a I ambapdda- asana and d har ma- ca kr a- mudra. Th is
Buddha is also flanked by hgures of Avalokitedvara and
Maitreya on either side- Above, on either side of the
Buddha are flying couples, males with garlands and
females carrying food offerings. At the centre of the
central nave, two low stone benches have been left in
the rock extending the whole length of the hall.
Regarding this unusual feature of this cave percy
Brown (Indian Archrtecture, Buddhist and Hindu Perrods,
B o m b a y , 1 9 6 5 ,p . 5 9 ) o b s e r v e s :" . . . . . . D o w n t h e c e n t r e
of the nave, two low, narrow and parallel platforms have
been left in the rock, extending the whole length of the
hall, an unusual feature of which there is only one other
instance, namely the "Mahirdja" or "Durbar Hall' at
Kanheri; from this circumstane it may be inferred that,
althougb many miles apar! both were designed for the
same form of ceremonial usage. What the usage was is
revealed by the Lamastic services in the monasteries
(gumphas) in Sikhim and Tibe! obviously a survival of
those which prevailed in Buddhist India centuries before.
There the priests (lamas) sit in two lines facing one
another on raised platforms, the abbo! on a higher seat
at the head and on the right, with the altar and holy
image beyond all of which confirm to the Mahanwada
plan. It is evidently in order to suit a similar type of ritual
that the Mahanwada prayer-hall at Ellor4 and the
"Durbar Hall' at Kanhen were designed in such a
manner".
Cave 6 consistsof a central rectangul:u hall, two side
halls, an antechamber and a main shrine. The pillan of
t h i s c a v e h a v e a p l a i n a n d s q u a r el o w e r p o r t i o n b u t t h e
upper portion is very decoratively carved with -yrrksir
f i g u r e s .f l o r a l b a n d s a n d t h e g h t t t l * p u l l u L r rd e s i g n . [ n
this cave are also the usual figures of the Buddha and
AvalokiteCvaraand also severalother uncommon figures
like those of Mahamayuri, Mahavidya. Ma4idhara and
Vajrapaqi.
 ELT,OR,A
flave 7 which is alsa datable to the same period as
cave 6 has a ceriing su5,porteiiby forrr pillars. There are
also twelve unfinished cells and the excavation is ap-
parently left inc*mplete.
Cave I is a r:herrel. rum-- monastery witb circumam-
l:ulatory passa8r and a nurnber of cclls rn the side
walls. Gn tbe back waii. in the centre is a seated Buddha
figure in preactring attitudc. flanked by brxlhisattvas anci
their consorls
f)n the back wall d iire shrine is aiso a seatedBuddha
on a lion throne in the pr,.riamhuofuda-hsuna. On the lefi
of this Br-rcidhaimage is Maitreya well adorned and
holding a chnuri. On the right is the bodhisattva Padma-
pigi, depicted herc with four hands in diffe{ent mudris
and with diff*rent attributes in theno- On the ldt of the
bodhisattva Padmapigi are a male and a female devotee
holding offerings. On his right is the figure of Tara
standing on a double-pctalled lotus and having a fleeting
smile on her face and beautifully ornamented. There are
other divinities like thc Mahamayuri, Hariti and Pan-
cika carvcd in the walls of this cave.
'vase
Cavc t has a beautiful facade and pillars of the
and foliage' typc. In the ccntre of thc back wall is a
seated Buddha with Padmapi4i AvalokiteCvara on his
left. In this cavc is also a figure of Tara flanked by five
emblems of danger, viz snake, swor{ elephant, fire and
shipwreck-the only one of its type iri western India.
Clave l0 has been described by Percy Brown (op. cit.
p. 60) as thc most notable production of the whole series
of Buddhist rock-cut temples at Ellord. This cave,
'I4-luakarma' (see
commonly known as the Pl. V) (after
the name of thc God of thc Arts), is the last of thc great
rock-cut Caitiya halls of India (SeePL.VI.). It is a type
of building which dates back nearly 1000 years, to the
2nd century B.C. and is a devclopment on the Mahayana
caitya-hallssuchas caves l0 and 26 at Ajaqta.
The interior of thc hall measures 85 ft. by 44 ft. with a
height of 34 ft. The ceiling is supported by twenty-eight
pillars of the vase and foliagc design. The central feature
of the hall is the stripa 26 ft. 10 in high which at the same
time is a foundation for the support of a large projecting
nitch containing a seatedfigure of the Buddha. The stupa
is profusely carved. It has a three-tiered baseabove which
rises the dome. The height of the base is nearly two and a
haf times the height of the dome. Above the dome rises
the harmiki surmounted by a four tiercd tee.
Many elementsof this caitya-hall are still in imitation
of wooden construction. The ceiling shows cross -
beams cut out of stone. The facade also shows two
beams cut out of stone issuing out of it" appearing as if
t h e y h a v e i s s u e dl b r t h f - r o mi n s i d et h e c a v e a n d a r e h e l d
rn position by nails driven into them. The ceiling too
shows stone ribs carved out.
54 ELLORA
Trac:es of late construction like the perpendicular
pillars and figure sculptures with Tantric influence are
evident. Among these{rguresare Avalokiteivara Mait-
treya.JambhalaTAra.Cunda Mahamayriri and Bhrukuti.
The central door-frame of the hall is carved with a
number of mithuna figures. At the enC of the door jambs
are figures 6 nagas.The stupa at the apsidal end of the
hall is also covered with sculpture.
The sun-window of this caitya-hall is strikingly
different from the usual semicircular windows like those
of Ajagtd, Bhiji and Karle which curve gracefully at the
lower ends and bccome pointcd at the top. Here it is of
the horse-sho€type with a ne*, decorative element on the
two sides. giving it a trdoil shape. Two beams jut out
of the window imitating wooden constructions. On the
two sides of the window are carved beautiful flying
gandharva f-rgures.depicted as having come with their
consorts to pay homage to the Buddha. These f-rgure
sculptures, slim but full and graceful show influence of
Pallava art.
In its entirety, Cave 10 is one of the most beautiful
caves showing great imagination and skill of the archi-
tects of this period.
Cave 1l known as Do Thal (two storeys) is a three-
storeyed monument. It was misnamod Do Thal for until
1876 A.C. the ground floor was hidden under the accu-
mulation of earth" Though it is not as spacious as the
other three-storcycd.cave, the Tn Thal (Cave 121 it is
planned on somewhat similar lines. This temple has no
cells fbr monks. Cave 12 known as 7in Thal 6.e. "Three
Storeys") is one of thc most strikiug temples at Ellora
with suflicient cells to provide residence for at least forty
monks and a large assembly hall providing room for
congregations of many times that number. It rises to a
height of nearly 50 ft. with an ample courtyard in front.
The hall is entered through a rock-cut gateway which
opens on to a qradrangle lffi ft. wide and 6O ft. deep.
On the far side the facade rises in three equal tiers, each
storey having a veranda. The exterior of this temple has
a plain appearance but the interior offers a striking con-
trast in that each hall is richly carved with beautiful
sculpture. It is also signiFrcant that each hall is differently
treated and each is of significant aesthetic and architec-
turai merit.
The ground floor of this vast temple has a pillared
verenda ll2 ft. by 43 ft. The shrine chamber which is
23 ft. by 15 f.t contains a seated image of the Buddha
with other images in relief, on the walls.
The first storey comprises of one large hall ll2 ft.
acrosq 72 ft. deq and lli ft. hig!, dividd into five
aisles by five rows of pillan of eight each. Beyond this
hall is another vestibule 38 ft. wide by 17 ft. deep
 ELI]ORi,
beyond which fo a chembcr 20 fr square, cnshrining a
scatod figure d tbc Buddha The walls right round the
hall and tbc vestibulc are recssod for tbc reception of
statuca in high reli€f.
Staircases on either sidc of thc hall of the f-rrst floor
lcad to the topmost storey. In the centre b a rectangular
hdl 78 fL by 36 ft. dividd into threc aisles by two rows
d pillars dfive each- At the end of thb central hall b a
chambcr 20ft. squarc containing thc usual seated Buddha
image flanted by tbe attendant bodhisattna figures.
The pillan of the cave show simpb design, the two
patterm whicb occur frequcntly being tho* d the lotus
and thc pot Tbe austcrity of decoration and pattern of
tbc hall indicate that this rock-cut temple belongs to the
early pcriod.
Caves ll and 12 bctong to tbc latest phase d Buddhist
rock-cut architecture at Ellori. The Mahiydna com-
munity d Ellori continued and developed the basic
concept d the rock-cut templeq viz the chaitya-hall
(tbe hall for worship) and the monastery @ihara). lt is
in stylistic treatment and iconography that the greatest
change b noticeable, as the deification of the Buddha
permittod the reproduction d hb image in sculpture,
sometimes in colossal proportions.
In its architcctural arrangementq the excavated hall
was transformod into the arrangements found at Cave
lQ where the srupn is almost superseded by tbc Buddha
i*gq and Caves 2 and 5 where there is the combination
d hall and shrinc. In the oihdra pla4 tbe celb which
were oriFnally meant to be used as thc residences for
tbc monks have subsequcntly been converted into sanc-
tuaries for images of the Buddha This marks a signi-
ficant changc in religiow emphasis. It meant that the
urhara wa$ no*' fulfilling the functions d both abbey
and churcb, ard also that relic worship was being sup
planted by image worship.
The technical method usod in carving these tcmples
seernsto hane beerr by cutting thre great trenches down
into thc rock and then carving the temple out of the
isolated blocks of stone that remain. The blocks that
remainod in the middle werc later converted into huge
pillars.
Commenting on the architectural achievement dis-
piayed by the Buddhist rock-cut temples of Ellori,
Percy Brown (op. cit. p. 60) observes: ..In some of the
viharas, notably in the Tin Thal there will be found the
most precise and mathematicalty accurate craftsman_
ship throughout the entire range of rock-architecture.
Lines arc straighter, angles more correct and surfaces
more true than in any oth€r exampleg indicating that at
Ellori rock-cut architecturg in its technical aspect" had
reached its culmination."
55 EMANCIPATION
Ribliography
Brown, P., Indian Architecture (Buddhist & Hindu\,
Bombay, 1965.
Burgess, 1., Ellora Caw Tbmpla (Archaeological Survey
of tndia, Vol., V.), London, 1883.
Guptg R. S., and Mahaja4 B. D., Ajanta, Ellora and
Aurangabad Caues, Bombay, 1962.
Harle, J. C., TrE Art and Architecture of tle Indiur S; t
continent, Harmonds*orth, 1986.
Parimoo, R, et al. (ds\ Ellora Caues; Sctlpture and
Architecture, New Delhl 1988.
Rowlan4 8., Ttc Art ard Architecture { India, Har
mondsworth, 1956.
Secke[ D., Thc Art of tlw Buddhiv4 Londo4 1956.
Spin( W. Ajanta to Ellora, Bombay, n.d.
Spink, W., "Ellora's Earliest Phasc", Builain 6 the
Amcrican Academy of Benares,l, t96Z ll-22.
lL R. Pcrerr
EMAI{CIPAIION. In Buddhisnq tbe concepr of
emancipation or releasg expressed diversely in Pali as
mutti, uimutti, moklq and uimokklw etc seemsto reckon
with two forms of bondage relating to the involvement of
beinp in samsira- One is the morc directly conceivable
phenomenon d man being trappod in the whirl of
samsir4 i.e. of births and deaths Therdorg the termi-
nation of tbe process of birtbs and deatb whereafter
there b no more rebirth is rderred to as release from
sarysira or release from tbe cycle d dukkha.In fact, this
b the basic notion of the Indian concs$ d moky or
emancipation Taking a morc fundamental approaci to
thc problm Buddhism delves decper and discovers that
this involvement in st:msdrais due to ignoranoe or aoidyd
which implies that the mind of man, in that statq is
unabb to realise the true natur€ d things as it b over-
powered by defiling traits (dsaucs) d lust for sense-
pleasures (ldrnasava), craving lor existena (bhauasaua)
and perverse viena (dilrhcsauc! Frceing one's mind from
these asauasb tbe basic and primary emancipation which
brinp enlightcnment and wisdm in its wake which is
the key to release from samfrra.
Buddhism teaches that beings are in bondage, bound
to sat4saric existence by numerous fetters (scnyojuna
q.v.) and that they are consumed by desiresand aspira-
tiors springing out of craving According to Buddhism,
to be in bondage is suffering (d&khal Emphasis laid
on thb aspect of suffering b clear when the Buddha
explaim that tbe whole worH b founded on suffering
(S. I, p. ,tO). This is further made evident by tbc fact that
the two Pali terms loka (world) ad dukkla (suffering) are
usod synonymously in texts (A. Il. p. 48). Though this
 EhTANCIPATION 56 EMERALD BUDDFIA

j r - r u i r t v e sl a l t i L i t h i c . * . d i r d s i : p i y a n t i c o n t i n u o u s l l ' convinced ol- this fact the ego-consciousners gcts com-

- i \ a r € r ! . t l i i r : .[ J ' . r d d ! : i : nBt o i n l - r. , u i t h a t i f a n d w h e n o n e pletci'' erarlicatcd. and thenceforth one hecomes able t<r
:,,)r-s ti':1ll!r,iii;tunww)as thc) &rc I.t,utltthhrJlalt-rnewcluld r c * a r d * ' h a t i s s e e r rj u s t a s t h c s c e n . ' * , h a t r s h e a r c i l u s t a s
; r o t l ; - r i ll . : i , : ; r i i : € t h a l c r c i s i n b o n t ' l i l g ci , r s i t n t \ 1 r ! ' : r t h c h e a r d . r . , h a t i s s e n s e d . l u s ta s t h e s e n s e d a n d u ' h a t i s
Sing-:ortr':' vitr.r's ncrmallv blurrct b_\ igr,r,ritnrx ortc c t i g n i s e d . i r r r ta : t h e c , t g n i s c d .u ' i t h o u t r n d u l g i n g i n a n 1
I'a,i.r.to s,.--c ihc Iri!r nalure ,:'{-things arrtl conscquentl) p r o c e s s o l ' c t i n u c p t u a l r s a t i o nw i t h r e g a r d t o t h e m ( t d . p .
i i r i l st o r e a l i s et h a t * n e r s m b o n d a g et e j i i n t \ a r { r A s l o n g 8t. With this non-conceptualising position the rnind
i . : rr ) n e ' sv r e r r ' i sr e i l e r t b y i g n o r a n c co n r r i : q a r d st h e f l v e becomes emaricipated of all the inflowing irnpulses of'sen-
aggregatertpu.itttk'thundlu). which consiriuic ali physicaI \u()us gratilie alron (kuntl:ut'ul. of bccoming (bltut isLttul.
and rnenta,ipherir.rinenr-:fl (t'c),tsience.as one's own ego" t r l i g n o r a n c e l t t t ' t j j t l s u t L r l .S u c h a o n e i s e n t a n c i p a t e d o f a l l
ard arisir.r. i)r,ii of this ego-consciousnes.s arc other c a n k e r s ( k h t n u s t t t u l .I n s u c h a o n e a r i s e : ;t h e k n o w l e d g e
derivativesr:: the lorm oi craving (k14hal,conceit (ntinul that he is emancipated.and such a one comprchcnds that
and vitws r&ilfir) which iurthe"r otrliterate the true destroved is the birth. brought to a close is the holy-lif'e
n a t u r e o f t h i n g s .L i n d e r r h e i n f l u e n c cc f t h e s ec o n d i t i o n s and that there is no more being such and so (M I. p.438).
orc indulg.t in an evcr-prohfic processof conceptualisa- Onc so emancipated is described as one who has utterlv
tion with rcgard ro all ob,iectsol sensesarxl get entranced clestroyed all l'etters of existence (partkkhi4abhaua-
with them. Thus, hc bccomes still more fettered and surrtyo.junu,M I, pp 4.235).
burdened.

T h e B u d d h a e m p h a t i c a l l ys t a t e st h a l j u s t a s t h e r c i s S. K. Nanayakkara
sufleringthere is also cessationofsulFering{M I. p. l4t)).
and this conception oi emancipation f'rom suffering
(dukklu pumocunum\. from ttrc bondage lmokkhuntimir,t
EMBRYO. See BIRTH. CONCEPTION and GAN-
handhana.Dhp r. -l7t and burdens of existencelDlmutto
I)tJA rlBA
upudhtsunikhttt't,. a II p. 24) is the rarson d'etre o|
Buddhism

From the nature of bondages it b clear that emanci-

pation from ihem dependson the cessationof the process EMERALD BUDDHA. According to the Pali text
of conceptualisation by the mind. This is possible by R u t u n a b t m b a u a m st hde E m e r a l d B u d d h a w a s m a d e b y a
cradicating ignorance (.:ug7ol tbc root-cause of all mis- r/ercrwho afterwards presentedthe image to one of the
conceptions\ and by developing intuitive knowledge arahants named venerable Nagasena in Pataliputra.
(paifial whicb enablesone to seethirigs in their true pers- V e n c r a b l eN a g a s e n ai s s u p p o s e dt o h a v e m i r a c u l o u s l y
pective.This has to be achieved by following the Middle g o t s e l e n r e l r 6 o f t h e B u d d h a t o r e s i d ei n t h e s t a t u t e .
Path (majjhiru-putipada).also ca"lledthe Noble Eight- T h e i m a g a w i x i n P a t l i p u t r a a n d s u b s e q u e n t l yr e m o v e d
fold Path (ariya-atthahgiku-maggu)To win emancipa- to (icylon. Clambodia and from this last-namedcountry
tion from the bondagesand burdens of samsaraone has to Ayudh;"a- Lopburi, Kampaengpet and Chiengrai.
to be equipped with three virtues viz.. ..i/a. samidhr and respectivel,v in Thailand. In order to concealthe precious
puhnu. fu orn progressesaiong the Middle Path one s t a t u e .t h e g o v e r n o r o f C h i e n g r a i h a d t h e s t a t u e p l a s .
becomes able to perfect one's ethical conduct (si/trt. tered.lacqueredand gilded and then enshrinedin a pago-
practise mental culture (bhauunu\and develop mental da in that town.
concentration (samadhi) and sharpen intuitive know- The above story appears to be more or lessa legend.
ledgelpahhd).The more one progrcssu;along this path- Historically speaking. it is known that in 1434 A.C. a
the more one becomes progressively detached l'rom gilt image of the Buddha was found enshrined in a
s a m s h r af o r . o n e b e g i n st o s e e t h e t r u e n a t u r e o 1 ' t h i n g s . pagoda in Chiengrai which had been struck by lightning.
P e r i e c t i o no f e t h i c a l c o n d u c l h e l p s t o d e v e l o p m e n t a l Clonsequentlythe image was removed to a rrihDrc,but
c r r n c e n t r a t i o na n d i n t u i t i v c k n o w l e d g e . W i t h t h c two or three months later the plaster on the nose of the
r i e v e l o p m e not f m e n t a l c o n c e n t r a l i o no n c c o u l d s y s l e - image had flaked off revealing the emerald structure.
maticallv eliminate initial application of' thought The plaster covering was taken off and the fame of the
t r r t t t k k L ra
\ nd investigation(rrcurtr) that givc risc image spread widely attrading many worshippers. At
tc) li complcx process of conceptualisation.With that time Chiengrai was under Chiengamai and the king
t h e s e e t h i c a l a n d m e n r a l d e v e l o p m e n t st h e i n t u i t i v e of Chiengmai sent a procession to bring the image to
knowledgegets sharpenedand perfected.enabling one to his capital. The elephantscarrving the sacredimage. on
s e ' et h a t a l l p h e n o m e n a o f e x i s t e n c e ' a r ei m p e r m a n e n t their own accord, headed for Lampang. Here the statue
ientcta).are subject to suffering (dukkhal and without a remained lor 32 vears. King Tiloka who ruled over
p e r m a n e n te n t i t _ (y, / n { r t t a M
: .I.pp. 4 ft 235 f.).When Chiengmai (1443 1487\ succeededin bringing the Eme-
 EMERALDBUDDHA
rald Buddha from Lampang to Chiengmai in 1468, and
there the image reposed for 84 years. [n 1552 Jaijettha,
king d Chiengma_i the son of the king cf Linchad and
grandosn of the former king of Chiengmai, went back
to rule at Luang Prabang (now in Laos), the capital
d Linchad, and brought the Emerald Buddha along
with him The statue on this occasion was kept in this
city for 12 years. In 1564 the king of Burma who had
become very powerful was having designs of foreign
conquest, and king Jaijetth4 in orcier to defend himself
against the Burmese king removed his capital to Vien-
trane (Laosl Th€ Emerald Buddha was aiso transferred
to the new capital where it was housod for 214 years.
I n 1 7 7 8a w a r b r o k e o u t b e t w e e nT h a i l a n d a n d L a n -
chari, At that time the capital of Thailand was at Dhon
buri. Cao Pya Cakri, (afterwards king Rama I r_rfBeng-
, kok). the generalof the King of Dhonburi, went to arrack
LArichan He captured Vientiane and brought back the
Emerald Buddha and another imagg Pra Bang down to
Dhonburi After ascendingthe throne he founded Bang-
kok as his capital in 1782, and constructed thc temple
of the Emerald Buddha in the presentprecincts,namely,
the Royal Palacg where he placed the precious image.
It has remained there since 1784 in the royal shrine of
Pra Keo or Sriratanasasadaram ( m o r ec o m m o n l v c a l l e d ,
(-'hapel Royal) attached to the Grand Palace. He
designed two seasonalcostumes for the image one for
the summer and another for the rainv season.During
the reign of King Rama III (1824-1851a ) c o s r u m ef o r
the winter season was added. (SeePL. VII).
According to R_ Linga! the French scholar who had
made a careful study of the image the material is not
emerald but a kind of green stone found in the Nan
region in northern Thailand (as well as in southern
China). Probably it is chrysoprase,an apple-greenvariety
of chalecedony,[t was Monkut (Rarna IIII who, so to
say, fixed the identity of the stong for in declaration he
held it to be jade and, therefore concluded that it came
from China.
The image is held in the greatest veneration as it is
regarded as the nation's palladiunl much in the way
that the Tooth Relic was held by the kings of Sri Lanka.
A s w i t h t h e c a s eo f t h e T o o t h R e l i c t h e E m e r a l d B u d d h a
too is in the personal custody of the king. particularl,v-
hecausc it is also the tutalary spirit (so to say) of his
own Cakri Dynasty. lt is he who takes the leading part
n the seasonalchanging of the robes of the image.
The image has been fashioned out of a single block
m c a s u r i n g4 8 . 3c m . b y 6 0 c m . a n d i n t h i s a b o u t 2 f L h i g h .
On the hcad is a painted golden crown; into the fore-
head a diamond has been set serving as the ur4a, the body
I T h e C o n t e p t o l M i n d ( P e n g u i nB o o k s . 1 9 6 3 )p . g l
57 EMOTION
is in a meditational posture.A pyramidal rhrone 10.4m.
high forrns the base. Stylistically it is northern Thai,
ard chronologically it is one of the earliest (rf nor the
very earliest)of Thar images.(PLS VIII and IX)
On da.vsof religious signficance vast crowds of wor-
shippen congregateto pay venerationto their palladirim.
This veneration is most marked on uposathadays when
the precincts are opened to general public.
Bibli<graphy
Ratanabimbauamsa(Pati & Thai); R. Lingat, ..lr culte
de tsuddha d'Emereaude(JSS. XXVIL No. l); Reginald
l - e M a y . T h e C u l t u r eo l S o u t h - E t t s, t4 s i u ; C a m i l l eN o t t o n .
The Chronrcb ol the Emeruld Buddha: W. A R. Wood.
Htstorv of'Siam.
Subhadradls
Dlskul
ENIO1'ION The term 'emotion' is used in the English
language to signify a wide variery of psychological
characteristics which are attributed to human beings.
It is one of the principal psychologicalterms of a generic
nature. In Buddhist usage there is no generic concept
which exactly corresponds to the concept of emotion.
Buddhism has adopted its own mode of conceptualizing
psychological phenomena giving rise to the difficulty of
finding exact equivalents in European languages for the
psychologicalterminology it uses.This is understandable
because concept formation is closely associated with
forms of life, world views and the cultural setting within
which language is used.
Most psychologistsbelievethat motives and emotions
are very closely intertwined. The nature of the relation
between motivation and emotion as well as the precise
definition of emotion itself may be considered as an
unresolved issue in psychology. In the opinion of most
psychologists emotion is the term used to describe
basic af]'ectiveprocesses.Emotions are usually aroused
by external stimuli, and emotions so aroused are expres-
sed towards the stimuli in the environment that arouse
them. According to Gilbert Ryle,who made a remarkable
contribution to the Philosophy of Mind in the Western
world. the term 'emotion' is used to designatea number
of different kinds of menta.i activity such as inclinations
or motives, moods, agitations and feelings.t Although
Buddhism lacks a generic terrn corresponding to the
term 'emotion', it deals extensively with the kinds of
mental activity designated by that term.
 EMOTION
The fundamental problern that Buddhism as a religious
aud philosophical system deals with is the problem of
unsatisfactoriness (dzkkha) as formulated in the Four
Noble Truths presentedin tlre first sermon of'the Buddha.
According to the Buddha, the problern ol dukkhuis
closely connected with a person's level of understanding
or cognition and the nature of the motivational and
emotional structure of his personality. Dukkha is to be
eliminated by the replaccment of ignorance (uuijjul
with wisdom (pahha\ and transforming one's unwhole-
some motivational and emotional nature by the
replacement of unwholesome motives and emotions
(akusaladhamnta)with wholesonrc ones (kusukt dhummul.
N ibbanq thc ultimate goal of Buddhism which is concei-
ved as thc destruction of unsatisfactoines (dukkhak-
khaya) is often definod as the eradication of greed.
hatred and delusion (lobhakkhayo, dosukkhuyo, mohak-
khayo\. According to thc Buddhist analysis of human
behaviour, gred (lobha) and hatred (dosa) resting on
delusion (mohal are the two main motivational roots of
unwholesome human behaviour (akusala sumocaral.
The Buddha teaches that liberation from the predica-
ment of human misery is possible by a transformation at
the level of understanding. A transformation at the
lcvel of understanding leads to a transformation at the
level of motivation and emotion as well, changing the
entire pattern of man's behavioural respons€s and
feelings-In the tcchincal tcrminology adopted in Buddhi-
sm spch trandormation is described as paititdvimutti
(liberation through wisdom) and cetouimuri (liberation
d mindl The latter can be understood as the liberation
consisting of a transformation in the emotional stucture
of personality. Buddhism attempts to identify and
classify numerous mentd phenomena which are suF
posed to be by products of greed and hatred in its deep,
penetrative and somewhat exhaustive analysis of the
unwholesorne emotions that create human misery.
The Buddhist analysis is characterised by an intense
practical and ethical intcrcst and concern. For its attempt
is to distinguish experientially, between the kinds of
emotion that are desirable and those that are undesirable
for man" and between kinds of emotion that are coudu-
cive to his well-being and happiness and those that are
not. Such a distinction is made with a vieir to promoting
the cultivation of thc wholesome emotions (kusalanam
Dhammunambhauanaya)and the elimination of ttre un-
wholesome emotions (akusalDnamdhamnranampahana-
ya). With a practical and ethical end in view, Buddhism
presentsextremely interesting and significant analysesof
man's emotional constitution and despite the fact that
they appear within the context of a doctrine of liberation
which is generally associated with religious world
viewq they are d great psychological significance.
58 EMOTION
Instead of the generic term emotioq Buddhism uses
th€ term dhamrru to refer to mental phenomena in
general, classifying thern ethically N kusalu or ukusulu.
There are a number of Buddhist concepts that hart an
aflrnity to and connection with the concep of emotion
althougb those concepts cannot be saitl to be exactly
'emotion'.
equivalcnt to what is signfied by th term
Therc is in Buddhism an analysis d the origin of emo-
tiong a detailed enumeration of wholesonrc Erswell as
unwholesom emotiong a method of training and
educating human cmotiom and an account d the
nature and consequenc€sof certain emotions. A signifi-
cant question that has drawn thc attention of contem-
porary philosophy of mind in the West has been whether
emotions should be conceivod according to the tradi-
tional theory d mind which afrtrrm a dualism d mind
and matter or whether sudr a dualism entirely miscons-
trues the logical character of our concept of emotion.
Although Buddhism has shown no direct concern
with such logical issues,there b much that is of philoso-
phical interest implied by the references to emotoin in
the Buddhist teachings.
In Buddhism the discussion of emotions usually
occurs in moral contexts. Specifrc emotions are dis-
cussed under terms having a general psycho-ethical
import. Among Buddhist terms that may be said to be
related to the concept of emotion th€ term Zsauab of
special importance. As mentioned above, Buddhism
shows an ethical bias in its classification and enumera-
tion of emotiom and this b clearly seert in ib charac-
terization d asauo^The term b translated into English
'influxes'or'intoxicants'. It does not in the Buddhist
as
usage, have a purely descriptiw psychological meaning:
an evaluatire meaning is also built into ttre terrn There-
forg when Buddhism rders to certain emotional traits
as asatu the term not merely describes a certain psy-
chological m emotional trait but also at the same time
implies a certain evaluation To attain sainthood or the
perfection d character which Buddhisrn calls arahatta
one has to eradicate the asava- Accordingly the person
who has attained perfection is called khi4asauo.The'
knowledge that leads to the attainment of liberation in
Buddhisnr h called dsauakkhayaharya.
The Pali Nikayas enumerate four asau4 namely,
kimisarn (those associated witl sensuality\ bhauasauu
(those associated with rebecoming) ditthdsarn (those
associated with speculative viens or dogmatism) and
auijjasaw (those associated with ignorancel It b appro-
priate to consider asaua under tb Buddhist psychology
d emotions as it is clearly indicated that they are mental
phenomena which create feelingp of anxiety, agitation
and vexation (uiglwta parilaha) to anyorr affccted by
thern In the above enumeration asarit are classified
 EMOTION
in terms d their psychological roots cf a cognitive and
motivational charact€r which girc rir to ttre excitation
cf certain unwholesome human emotions.
Tbe secod conept connected with the Buddhist
psychologr of emotions is the concept of anusaya The
Pali Tcxt Society Dictionary gives th meanings 'bent',
'bias', 'proclivity', 'the
persistence of a dormant or
latent disposition' and 'tendency' as the principal
rnesninp of thb term.3 Describrng people in terrns of
their pcychological tendencies we often rder to thern as
being'hateful','kindhearted''vain','lustful','concer-
ted' and s on According to Rylq thes are emotions
in thc sens that they arc "motives by which people's
higher level behaviour b explained".3 However, as
in tbc ca* d the term asaw tlrc Buddhist term anusaya
also designates certain general dispositional traits of
thc mind which are exclusively d an unwholesome
nature Tb arrusayaare enumeratod as those involving
(l) attachment or lvst (raganusaya\ (2) repulsion or
hatred (pu.ighdnusaya\ (3) dogmatic views (ditthanu-
saya), (4) douh or perplexity (vicikicchdnusaya\ (5) con-
ceit in term of measuring onesef with sudr psychologi-
cal complexes as equality, inferiority and superiority
(manatrusaya) (6) attachment to the round of becoming
lbhavaraganusayal and delusion or ignorancr (avijjanu-
saya),4
The psychological phenomena designated by the
terms dscua and anusaya se€m to overlap. The main
difference between the two appears to be that the former
emphasizcs tbe arising of these emotional phenomena
on th€ occasion of the excitation d the senses and the
latter cmphasizes thcir dispositionat nature. Asuua
are inevitably produced in the activity of sense-percep
tion in an individual wbo has not become cnlightened,
while .anusaya arc dccprooted tendencies or disposi-
tional traits in terms tf whidr people's character and
emotional tendencid could be described Thus kamascua
may be produced in a man at the sight of an attractive
woman whereas someonc may have raganusaya zs a
deep-rootod tendency or rclatively permanent trait of
hb character. Thus tbe term asauadenotes the immediacy
d the psychological responses to the sensory environ-
ment, whereas anusuya denotes tbe dispositional charac-
ter of those responses- Tbe Buddhist vieril is that all
unenlightenod individuals arc not free from the afflic-
tions of such asaua and anusaya. They are thc unwhole-
some aspects of a human being's emotional constitution
ffi nature whidr need to be transflormod or overcome in
L,dited by T. W- Rhp Davids and William Stede (Luzac & Company Ltd,. London (1959) p. 4a
The Concept o.f Mind p 82.
M. I. p. 105.
M I. p. 110.
M I. p. I10.
59 ESfGTION
order to becomea worthy or noble person(urtyupugguktl.
fu long as a person b subjec to their a.ffIictions it is
not onty the cas that hc cannot hclp bcing miserable,
but also h canrot help making othen around him
miserable by hb own unwholesom behaviour. In the
Madhupqlil<a Sutta anusalrr B associated wrth all
manner of conflia that arises at tk societal level, such
as quarrelg strifg debateq violencc, and other moral
evils.5
A third Buddhist concept which can be saiJ to have
some relation to the concept of emotion b the concept
d papahca Papahca ls described in the psychologr of
Buddhism as a psychological response to the perceptual
environmenL It can be understood as a combined comp
lex of a cognitive and emotional response to perceptual
stimuli consequent upon tlre naturc of the feelings
experienced by the perceiver and his evaluation of those
feelings with rderen€ to the ego. According to the
Pali commentarial tradition papaftca is thrcefold as
ta4hapapahca (that which b characterised by craving),
ditthipapahca (that which b characterised by dogmatism)
and ntanapapaftca (that which is characterised by con-
ceit). Here too Buddhism deah with ttre interrelated
dual aspects of unwholesome behaviour consisting of
the cognitive and emotive constitution d personality.
A person who is liberated is said to be free from papahca.
To be overwhelmed by ideas of papuirca is sail to be the
source of many conflicts in society.6
Buddhism pays very little attentb !o an analysb of
the lower level or basic physioloticJ motiv€s sudr as
hunger ard thirst but focuscs ib attention intensely
on the higher levd motives and emotions d a charac-
teristically psychological nature. lt concerm itsef deeply
with sudr psychological concepb as ta46 (craving),
abhijjhd (intense grdl uyapada or patigha (malice or
hatred) becausethey are related so closely to the Buddhist
analysis d the origin rf human suffering.
According to Buddhisrn, no special effort b needed on
the part of the individual in order to effea the arising of
the above mentioned baser or unwholesome emotions.
t hey arise in a kind d a mechanical or instinctive
manner. The baser or unwholesome emotional and
motivational traits become strengthened by the constant
repetition of patterns of behaviour whidr accompany
their expression On tlrc orrc hand a behavioural change
at the level of overt expression of a persons emotional
nature becomes necessaryin order to weaken or eliminate
 EFIOTION 60 EMOTION

the unwholesome emotions On the other hand as cognitive and emotive constitution. According to the
long as a person's motivational arxl emotional constitu- Mulapariyayu Sutta, the problem is that ordinary
tron is of an unwholesome naturc hn overt behavioural beings are struck with the suhha mode of responding
responsesalso tend to be unwholesome.Therefore, the to the perceptual world.T It is this cognitive mode which
predicament cf the unenlightenedperson is one which is gives rise to the emotive responsesof attraction and
viciously circular. He behaves unskiilfully because of repulsion. This has to be replaced by the cbhiirha and
the unwholesome nature of the emotional constitution purihira modes of cognition which egables a person to
of his personality. and those psychological dispositions respond to all the data of perceptual experience with
become further strengthened by repeated unskillful equanimity.
behaviour. This vicious circle can be brokan by the
Buddhism traces all unskilled emotional responsesto
person who with great determination ancl effort treads
the basic response of attraction towards pleasant
the noble path consisiing of si/re samadhi and pahhu.
sensory stimuli and repulsion towards unpleasant
The developmentof si/a involvesan attempt to transform
ones. The psychological process involved is analysed
consciously one's patterns of behaviour: the develop-
in a number of Suttasof the Pa[ canon. According to the
ment of samadhi involves an attempt to attain mental
Mahutu4hasunkhayaSuttu-a person whose sensefacul-
composure preventing the excitation of unwholesome
ties reach maturity, comes into contact with the external
emotiors creating a disturbed and unsettled state of
stimuli and becomesattached to those that are pleasant
min4 and the development of puhin involves an attempt
lpiyuruperfupesAru.jjuti)and shows opposition or repul-
to cultivate the understandingthat cuts offall the unwho-
sion towards those that are unpleasant(upptyurup rupe
lesome motives and emotions at their root. Wholesome
byupujjutr).This way of responding to sensory stimuli
motives and emotions are to be cultivated with great
amounts to allowing the mechanical flow of unskilled
eflort. for one is constantly faced with the danger of
responses unchecked by the exercise of mindfulness
being overwhelmed by unwholesorne emotions and
(.sarl)and wisdom (pairha).It is this process which deter-
lapsing into unskillful patterrs of behaviour. Buddhism
mines the unwholesome aspesl of the emotional life of
offers practical methods of training and educating
a person leading to the undesirable consequence of
human emotions in the form of techniques of mental
clinging (upadana)and rebecoming which bring in its
development called hhuuana.A liberated and enlightened
train all the miseriesof existence.sAs shown in a number
person like the Buddha is referred to as one who has
of contexts where the Buddha explains the psychological
developed what ought to be abandoned (bhauetabbam
origins of dukkha in terms of the principle d paticcasa-
bhuuitam)and abandoned what ought to be abandoned
muppudu unwholesome emotionS are a consequence
(pahutabbam...puhinum\. This means,among other things
of a confused response to perceptual experience. A
that he has abandoned all emotional dispositions ot
s t a n d a r d f o r m u l a t i o n o f t h i s D r o c e s si n t h e P a l i c a n o n
an unwholesome nature and developedthose of a whole-
goesas follows:
somenature.

The origin of all unskilled states(akusuludhumma\is Depending on the eye and material form there arises
explained in Buddhism in terms of the principle of visual consciousness.The coming together of the
l)epend ent Origination (pat.i cc usumuppa da). A uijj a (igno- three is sense contact. Depending on sense contact
rance) and ta4ha (craving) are very crucial links in the there arises feeling. One recognizes that which one
twelve i'bld formula of Dependent Origination which is feels. What one recognizes,one reasons about. One
meant to explain the genesis of suffering. Ignorance gets obsessedwith what one reasons about. As a
and craving are said to have no known beginning consequence of this ideas of obsession relating to
(pubbakoti na pahhayuti\. This shows that suffering past, present and future objects of visual experience
is a beginningless process resting on the interaction o v e r w h e l mh i m . e
between two crucial conditions one of which is cogni- This can be said to be an elaboration of the process
tive and the other emotive but both of which are closely w h i c h i s e l s e w h e r ep r e s e n t e dm o r e s u c c i n c t l y a s" f e e l i n g
interlinked. The problenr, as Buddhism sees it, lies in depends on sense contact {phassupttc(ttv-lttedtmu\ and,
the cognitive and emotive dispositions involved in craving depends on feeling (uedanu pacc'uva tu4hu\.
man's suffering condition. The unskilled cognitive and Unskilled emotional reactions are reactions to the
emotive dispositions persist or disappear together. The agreeableor pleasurablefeelings gukha tedunal and the
solution to suffering consists in transforming one's disagreeable or unpleasanr feelings (dukkhu uedunal

I n t h i s c o n n e c t i o ns e e P . D . P r e m a s i r l " E a r l y B u d d h i s A n a l y s i sd ' V a r i e t i e s o f C o g n i t i o n " . S r t L t n f u tJ o u r n u l o l B u L l d h r sStr u r . 1 , , '

( t s u d d h i s ta n d P a l i U n i v e r s i t l 'o f S r i L a n k a ) V o l u m e l . 1 9 8 7 .
M r 266i
, & / I. . l l l i .
 EMOTION
generated in sense perception. The pleasurable feelings
induce an attachment to pleasant things (raga\, and
the unpleasant feelinp rous€ anger or hatred (patigha).
Emotions which are usually reckoned as unwholesome
in Buddhism are different facets of this attraction
towards or attachment to (arurodha) what is pleasant
and withdrawal from or resistanceagainst what is lelt
to be unpleasant (uirodha)under the influence ofignor-
ance or delusion (mohu/uciiji) the main component of
which is the dogmatic clinging to a b,elid in an ego
(attanud*.thi\.tt
Apart from the principal emotions rugu and dosu
mentioned more frequently than others, Buddhist
scriptures enumerate a number of other unwholesome
emotions particularly in instances where the need for
cleansingthe mind of such emotions to attain happiness
and tranquillity is emphasized.The Vatthupuma Sunu
for instancq considers the mind to be similar to a cloth
full of stains and dirt (uatthan sahkilittham malaggahi-
ram)when it is subject to certain unwholesomeemotions.
It is said that happiness or well-being cannot be expected
by someone whose mind is subject to such emotic'ns.
The unwholcsome emotions mentioned in this instance
are: abhijjhaoisamalobha (intense and uncontrolled
greed) uy apadu (mal ice),kodha (anger). upu nAha (enm i ty ).
makkha (ill feeling),pulusa(spitel issa(.yealous!\,mucchu-
rryc (miserliness), muvu (deceit) shtheyya (treachery).
thumbha (obduracy),siirumbha(impetuosity), manu (pri-
del, atimurut (conceit), madu (intoxication) and parrutdu
{indolence).There are other emotions which do not fall
within this enumeration such as chanda (desire or
favour), dosc (hatredl and bhaya (fear) which are classed
among the agatigamana that hinder a person from acting
with a sense of justice and fairness. Some emotions
can be interlocked in such a way that one could spring
from another. Fear (bhaya),and grief(soka) for instance.
are considered as emotions which are interlocked with
other cmotions like intense attachment or desire. Thus
states of mind like pema (love in the sense of personal
affections such as the affection to one's dear ones as
distinguished from mettd which is of a more wholesome
and spiritually more superior kind), could give rise to
lear and grief. The joy and delight (piti, nandi, ruti)
one experiences in relation to sensuous objects coultl
result in deep states of depression when those objects
are lost.
Buddhism also mentions certain emotions which
could occur in typically moral situations and contexts.
Vtpputisara(remorse) is an unwholesome emotion felt
as a consequence of doing what one considers to be
wrong. It is an cmotion that has to be overcome in
10. For an illuminating discussionon thb theme seePadmasiride Silva An Introducttonto BuddhistPsychology.(The Macmillan Press
L t d . 1 9 7 9 )p . 4 2 4 .
61 EMOTION
order to reach higher levels of mental culture. The
perf'ectronof sl/a (moral practice) is considered to be
conducive to the disappearanceof remorse.The whole-
somenessor unwholesomenessofsome ernotionsdepend
on the nature of the ob.lectsthat they are connected
with. P;rr tloyf, f.rr instance, is a wholesome enrotron
when it rs related to certarn spiritual attainments trut is
unwhoiesome when it is derivoJ from the hankering
after ma-terial or sensuous things. Ssddhn (llith) or
confidence is a useful ernotion when it is properly based.
while it could be misieading when it is improperly
based. It is counted among the spiritual iaculties that
the disciples of the Buddha are expected to culrivate.
Rightly placed SaddhAcould initiate a processof mental
culture leading to gladness(pamojja\.joy lpirr), relaxa-
tion or calmness (passaddhi\ ease (suiclrri)and finally
mental composure (sumudhi\ which is an important
stage in the elimination of unwholesome emotions.
Fear. as an emotion is considered to have a healthy
effect when it is locussedon the consequencesof doing
wrong. Thus one may refrain frcm doing wrong due
to the fear of numerous consequencessuch as the moral
disapproval of others. the remorse one may have to
suller as a result of one's own conscience, possible
retribution in an afterlife and so on. Hiri (a moral
sense of shame to do what is immoral) and, ottuppu
(a moral senseof fear or shrinking with disgust towards
an act of immorality) are reckonedin Buddhismto be
f o r e m o s ta m o n g w h o l e s o m ee m o t i o n s .T h e s et w o m o r a l
emotions are counted among the noble wealth (rrrr-l'tr
dhuna) that a Buddhist is expected to acquire.
The Buddhist approach to emotions is sometimes
misunderstood as an attempt to achieve a state of
emotional vacuity. This is evidently a consequenceof
misinterpreting some stages of mental culture in Bud-
dhism. The attempt in Buddhism is not to dispense
with all emotions but to get rid of those that are unwhole-
some and cultivate those that are wholesome. The
disappearanceof unwholesome motivational roots like
gred (lobha)and hatred (dosa)leadsto the establishment
of the wholesome emotions like loving kindnes (mettu\.
sympathy (karu4u\, sympathetic joy (muditu) and an
equanimous state of mind characterised by emotional
stability (upekkhu). These wholesome emotions are
calleCthe sublime abidinp (brahrnauihara)in Buddhism
and are strongly recommended for meditative cultiva-
tion. U pekkha, as translated in some instances is not
indifference or a psychological state of emotirrnal
vacuity, but a condition of emotional stability under
which other wholesome emotions such as m.tr,? could
meaningfully co-exist.
 EMOTION
Buddhism explains unwholesome behavlour as an
expression of unwholesorne emotions According to
one mode of analysk ta4ha icraing) b at the root of all
unwholesorre behaviour. Ta4hn is threefold as ktrw,t-
taqha (the craving for the enjoyment of sensuouspleasu-
resl bfuruuta4hu(tlre craving to becorne) and uibhuuutu4ha
(the craving lbr destruction or annihilation). It is these
forrns of craving that are designated elsewhere as the
emotiom of gteed and hatred which find expression
in forms of misconduct such as killing violence, variou
forms of aggressive bchaviour, stealing, unchastity and
untrutMul spcech.rr Buddhism pays special attention to
the emotions d greed or lust (lobho/raga) and hatred
or anger (dosa,kodha, patigha\ for they along withrnoha
(delusion) are considerod as the roots cf all unwholesome
states (akusalanatla\. The emotions <f grced and anger.
for instancg are singled out in the Buddhist scriptures
to show how good senseand rationality can completely
be obliterated under their maddening influence. It is
pointcd out that a person who fu under the sway of
anger becomes ugly; he cannot sleep in comfort; his
mind is constantly disturbed. When a person b over-
whelmed by anger, he dots not know what is right and
wrong and is unable to understand even what is beneh-
cial to himself. When anger becomes most intense
one looses all sense of discrimination ad does not
hesitate to kill even his.own kith and kin or in the end
even himself.r 2
What is of paramount importance in the Buddha's
teachinp about cmotion* b ie therapeutic aspcct.
The Buddha insists that we could with effort trandorm
the emotional constitution of our personality. Such
transformation is dircctly bendicial to the individual
concerned and also has significant social consequenoes.
Buddhism asserts in this connection the possibility
of a triumph of moral effort initiative and will over
instinctive tendencics and thc influences of the natwal
environment- A strict mechanistic determinism with
regard to our emotional rcspons€s h rcjected Rational
human beings havc tbe capacity to redircct their emo-
tions by deliberation and choice- The Buddha's teaching
in this conncction is incompatible wiih attempts to
disregard the crucial importance of conscious experience
in the life d mar\ and all attempts to reduce mental
phenomena to purely mechanislic physical processes.
However, early Buddhim does not commit itsef
either to tbe mctaphysical doctrire d monisnq whether
it b monisrn d the materialist type or monism cf the
idealis typg or that of dualism It leaves the question
whether the mind b identical with tbe body (tamjlvum
ll ,{ IV.p.98t
1 3 T h eC o n c e potl M i n d , p . 8 l
62 EMOTION
ttmr suriram) or mind and body are crmpletety indepen-
'each'
dent of other (uirhun jit,un uhhum suriraml us
undeterminal questions lauyukutu). For its concern
ts not a metaphysical one of a choice between monism
and dualisrq but the practicai one of overcoming unsatis-
factorineis (dukkha).
ln accordance with this practical concerrl the Buddha
considers tbe mind to be d paramount importance
in human activity. The minl is considerod to be the
forerunner of mental phenomena (rutnopubbufigama
dhammn\ Th worH is sail to be led and directad by
the mind (cittena niyutilokol. This is not to be under-
stood as an assertion of metaphysical idealism, but a
statement of the experimentid fact that in tbc sphere of
human activity, thc human mind plays a foremost role.
Man's material environment too is recogniz6d in
Buddhisn as a major faclor in determining his psycholo
gical responses. But it insisb that the ordinary perceptual
process unchecked by the rational s rdlective interven-
tiron d man produces undesirable consequenccs Unwho.
lesorre emotions. as shown above arc a conscquence of
thb ordinary perceptual process According to Buddhism
an attempt to tranform the emotional constitution
d man purcly through adjustments in hb material
environment b bound to fail, for in so far as such adjust-
ments involve tbe participation of human bcings, their
inncr mental mnstitution has an important determining
effect upon them. Thk sho*s that the Buddha's teachings
on motivation and emotim have a bearirU eva on
theorics d social transformation.
The therapeutic aspect of the Buddha's teachings on
cmotiore impty a rejection d reductionist theories of
mind whic*r attemfl to deny the significance of conscious
experience and tbe inner mentat lilb of man While
Buddhisrn does not fall in lim Lin strict metaphysical
"
dualism of the Cartesian type. it cannot also fall in line
with the opposite view of Gilbert Ryle which attempts
to ignore altogether thc importance of the mental
origim d emotions and to analyse thern entirely as
mechanically determined material processes Gilbert
Ryle rejects the dualism of mind and matter calling it
'dogrna
the of the ghost in the machine' and takes
great pains to rdute the view that emotions are turbulen-
ces in the stream of consciousness to whictr only the
owner of that stream can have privileged access He
argu€s that it b a logical error to conceive d emotions
as not occurrences whidr take place in th public.
physical world but in people's secret mental worlds.rr
Although tbe Buddhist analysb cf emotion takes into
 EMOTION
account part of what Ryle has to say about emotions.
from the Buddhist point of view Ryle's acc-ount of
emotiors can itsef be considerod as an oversimplifica-
tion.
This point may be further elucidated by considering
an instance from the Buddhist scriptures where the
emoti<rnof anger is discussed.Muhanidde.sa, a commen-
tarial text which has gained canonical status in the
Theravada tradition due probably to the importance
of the canonical suttas includod in the
Suttaniputu
on whidr it commentq offers a detailed analysis of the
emotion of anger. This analysb has an important
bearing on tbe philosophy d mind According to this
analysis anger is a complex process consisting of both
mentd and physical elements. The initial stage d the
processis conceived primarity as a mental and introspec-
tively obscrvable turbulent or disturbed state of the
mind There is a componcnt of anger whidr becomes
part d the experimential content peculiar to the person
* ho n alfected by the emotion, in addition to the overr
bodily processes which are opert to the observation
cf any external observer. This component d anger is
describcd in the Niddesu as ttre mental displeasure
\ drKrttamanata cittassa) direAly and experientially felt
ar ttr initid stage of the proces itself Buddhivn does
r,o( rflak€ the mistake of trying to identiff a simple
entity as what is meant by the term anger. Anger is a
compla series of events which proceeds fron the
nind as ib forerunncr. Tlre problern with Ryle's account
F that b thinks it possible to leave out of account
:he role d the mind altogcther and understand anger
rurely in terms of the mechanical series of observable
rhlsrcal events. The'Nidde.sdlsays that at times anger-
manrfests itsef only as a disturbanc or stirring d the
mrnd (atthi kahci luilurU kodho cittauilakuru1amatto
':orrl But il could manifest itsef in more violent forms
d pbysical behaviour such as the utterance of abusive
*orrb and thc acquisition of harmful weapons to inflict
ln.lury on one's opponent Wh€n anger develop to
:ts hig.hestintcnsity it involves even disregard for one's
,.wr lifg for one would liill one's opponent as well as
.rnesef (Yato kdho purapuggalan glfitetua aftAnam
; hi t et t ; et fi uafi kodho par amussadagato par amauepuI Ia V
:arto hoti).ta
,,\ccording to Ryle when we explain aclions in terrs of
:otlves and emotiom il b a mistake to conceiw of
:hosc motives and emotiom as cxpressing categorical
:arratives d episodes.rs According to him rderence
:o motivcs ad emotions should be construed as elliptical
:rpressiom of general hypothetical propositions d a
\d l. p.215f.
T h eC o n c e p ro . fM i n d , p . 8 3 .
Ibrd p 84.
63 EMOTION
certain sorl Rylc argues that emotiom cannot be
conceivod as mental caus€s of physical ey€nts. To say
that A Killod B becausc A was angry does not mean
that A's ang€r was a mentd cause d his pbvsieal act d
killing B. Ryle argues that "to expiail ac ad as done
from a ccrtain motive is not analogors to sayirry that
tbe glass broke becaus€a store hit ig but to the quite
different type of statement that tbc glass broke, when the
stonc hrt it, b€caus tb glass was brittle."tu Ryle's
objective here b to shory that emotions harc tx) non-
physical status Being dispositional term like "brittle"
emotiom are analyzable into the observable physical
process€s*hicfi arc witnersable public events However.
Ryle's analogi canDot be sail to do justice to emotion
words The actual manifestation of thc brittleness of
glas occurs only at the moment something his it.
This cannot be thc casc wi6 tbe person who b prone to
anger. Tbe gJass does not feel the disturbane d its
brittleness when it is not beirry hit by a steng nq does it
harbour brittle thougbtg but the person prone to anger
harbours countless angry thoughts even at moments
when he has not resorted to any verbal or physical
expression d his anger. This b a poin that b made
clearly in the N iddes analysis It makes it clear that
prior to anger manifesting itsef in overt behaviour
quite a complex mental activity go€s on in the conscious
strean d the angry p€rson To ignore thb crucial stage
d anger b to leave out what b d utmost importance
in the invcstigation of mentd phenomena Besides the
theoretical error involved in the kind of reductionist
approacb that Ryle propos6 it also can harc many
undesirable practical consequences.
It needs to be emphasizcd that unlike theories of
mind which attempt to offer reductionis ard mechanis-
tic accounb of the nature d mental activity, Buddhiim
payr a grcat deal of attention to the rdleciively or
introspectively obscrvable flow of consciors experience
in its treatment d psychological phenomena From a
prattical poim cf vics Buddhism considers man's
ability to cultivate awareness d what go€s on in his
stream d consciow as a very important step in redirec-
tlng a person's emotiom and attitudes" Very often
people are not mindful of the ansing of emotional
experience.Part of the meditative training in Buddhism
invclves thc development cf mindfulness with regard
to all mental as well as physical proc€ss€s cor.nected.
with the activity of a person's psychophysical organism.
Mindfulnes helps to detect ttrc arising of unwholesome
emotiom such as lust and anger at th initid poin of
their mental origin Unwholesom emotiom ane com-
 EMPIRICISM
parable to springs that have their source in rhe depths
of the human mind. Then ouflow can be prevented
by exercising mindlulness (ycnr' sotani lokasmint stttt
tesanrntuara4am).Insight meditation (utpassanabhausnii)
in Buddhisrn is a method of observing the way in which
emotions arise,stav and pass away at the level iif ccns-
cious experience.Such watcMullness over the process of
unwholesorne emotion^s has the effect of preventing
them from passing beyond the confines of the mind
and manil'esting themselves in overt behaviour. The
path oiliirration in Buddhisrnconsistingof .si/a.:unu,lht
und paftin can be seen as one designod to deal with
the manifestationof unwholesomeemotions at driferent
levels of human activrty. Paftha destroys thc cognitive
basis on whictr unwholesorrr emotions spring and as a
consequenceunwholesome emotions are destroyed at
th€ dispositional level itself. Samadhi prevents the
excitation or the initial stirring of unwholesomeemotions
.Si/a prevents the overt expression of unwholesome
emotions in terms of verbal and physical behaviour.
The Buddhist treatment of emotion is selective and
not exhaustive.Forits concern with emotion is governed
by an ethical and practical end in view. Buddhism docs
not pay attention to all the variety of motivational
and emotional facets of life but deals selectively with
those facets which are related to human happiness
and suffering tsut it can be said that even within the
conl'ines cf thb limited concern Buddhism has made a
very significant contribution to psychology and the
philosophyof mind.
P. D. Preoedrl
EMPIRJCISM. In modern Western philosophy. the
Ierm empiric'rsmis generally used to designate philo-
sophical schools that rely upon sensory experience as
the primary source of human knowledge, and is often
contrastod with rationalism which highlights the role of
reason However, becausethe terrn empiricisrn is derived
from the Latin word emprricus, meaning "the expe-
rienced," there is also the tendency !o extend the scope
of empiricism by including under the category of ex-
perience those that are neither sensory nor founded
upon the sensory, that is, experienoe that totally trans-
cendssensoryexperiences.Sometimes.this latter is refer-
red to as intuition. and is more popular with the spiritua-
l i s t r a t h e r t h a n w i t h c r i t i c a l p h i l o s o p h e r s .Y e t e v e n
among philosophen who call themselvesempiricistg and
who consider sensory experience as the primary source
of knowledgg there is no concensui as to tbe nature of
sense exp€rience itself. Thus we have at least three
versions of empiricisrn The first is represented by the
64 EMPIRTCISM
three Britistr empiricists. John Locke, Gecrge Berkeley'
and David Hume. With minor variationg they all re-
cognized the immediate impression as the real com-
ponent in senseexperience.Among thenr" the one who
influencedthe deveiopment d empiricism in the modern
world is Hume. Hume assumerl that the immediate
sense impression as the priman source of knowledge
is undiluted by either memories or by any ideas, the
latter being merely iague copies of rhe immcdilrt._'
imnressicns.l-his was an essenatialistsearch for a pure
percept. and it contributed toward the conceptron of a
reality where relations are confined to ideas rather than
to impressions.This led to extreme skepticism regarding
ordinary human knowledge and understanding. The
subsequentdevelopment known as logical empiricism is
a combination of Lockean and Humean ideas. fu may
be pointed out later, logical empiricism came to a
dead-end as a result of its attempt to formulate abso-
lutely valid. logically consistentuniversal laws of nature
to be confirmed by experience. There is yet another
version of empiricism less popular among philosophers
because it involva; a thoroughgoing analysis of the
psychology of experiencerather than a pure philosophi-
cai analysis. It recognizesthe complex psycho-physical
mechanism involved in sensoryexperienceand, without
attempting to weed out psychological factors, provides
a more holistic description of experience. According to
the conception of reality generated by this form of
empiricism, the events as well as their relations are part
and parcel of human experience. However, it refrains
from interpreting these relations as instances of abso-
lutely incorruptible laws. To distinguish this from the
previous version it is called radrcal empiricisr4 and its
strongestadvocate in the modern world was the Ameri-
can pragmatist, Willam James.
Thus, allowing for the most generous definition of
empiricisrn we are left with four versions:
(1) the transcendentalistversion that takes veridical
experienceto be beyond all sensoryawareness.
(2) the essentialistversion that restricts experienceto
the immediate senseimpressions,
(3) logical empiricism, with its emphasis on logically
consistent theories seekineconformation from ex-
perience,and
(4) radical empiricism which admits both perceptual
and conceptual elementsas inalienableparts of ex-
perlence.
Recent studies in Buddhist thought has provided
sufllcient evidence to indicate that the philosophical
standpoint adopted by its founder, Siddhartha Gautama,
 EMPXRICIS&I 65 EMPiiTIilTSN4

. ' . r : d t o r r n o l ' c m p i r i c i s i r ; . ' Y e t i t c a n r i o t i l l i i e n ; e dt h a t t i J t ' " r rC , . t : , . : : . ' ) i - t : . i , ) i t d r C e l ! €

t s u d C h i s md. u r i n g t h e i r r s tt r + ' oa n d h a i l m : r - r . n i ai.i d n o t Sgf .,,'i' rir : ii i,ttis .rnt-i CtlnditiOnS.
r , : r n a i no n c s i n g l e p h i i o s r l p h r c asl y s t e m .l t i : , a s c o r n p l c x
-l,J vc-riegatc.das any olhei phriosophicel tratJitrr>n^ c!i .11.,;,,..i'fltiir
. t ( - ' i no r W e s t e r n .: i n c e i t s f o r m u i a t i o n b y -t h c B u d d h r
l h ; s i r t h c e n t u r y B . C .a v a r r e t vi - i p h i l o s o p h r c asl t a n d - ::,unted by for
'ir'|i-siilrnparableitl those that are;lvaiiublc rn th.'-
\ \ . r i t e r n w o r l d h a v e b e e n a . l v o c a t e r jb y p h i l o s . : p h e r s, r l i
, , r v h o m c i a i m e r l t h e m s e l v c *t o b c i a i t h J u l f t ) i l o r e r s ( ) f
-i-hus, '
::c iJuddh*. i n i h c ' , ' a s tc a n a n i c a ia n d n o n - c a n o n i - .",r1 ;-i.,acl to e'rlighienrnent
: " i l i t e r a t u r e h e i o n g i n g t o t h e s c - c a l l e dT h e r a v a d a a n d and freedorn.t Thts i,rurrJatron lf his radical
\ { a h a } a n a . o n e c a n p e r c e i v ea r i c h r a r i e t y o f p h i l o - emplrlclSrfl
, . ' p h i c a l s t r n J p o i n t s t h a t r e n c i e r st h e s e a r c hf b r h o n t o -
-l-hr-
- ' : n r c t yr n c a n i n g l e s sA. t t h e s a m et i m e , B u d d h i s mc a n n o t g r ' n e r l t it e , r ; , t r : , , , - ' t iriil u l r l " ; o 1 i' ;o . t t ; o i r a d i c a l
t n l l l t r i c t s n l - r t r mu , c a i t s t r r r , ) n i . , i\ l t . ' i ' r i , . ; n t m i t t e dt t r
" . ; s a t i s i a c t o r i l ye x p l a i n r # a s a g r a d u a i g r o w t h a n c l
: : ' . e l o p m e n t f ' r o m r u d i m e n t a r y b e g i n n i n g st o s o p h i s t r - o L r . l c c t r r i srns t h . r l t i r i sr - sl l n c , i i ; t ;! a r \ i r - r roi i r i l c a l i s m f. l u t
. ,:eri slstems.On the contrary. there is clear evidence t h e d e f - e n d c rosi r a d r c . r e i r r p i r i r i s r n .t i r . .B u d c l h aa s w e l l a s
: rl the systemlbrmulated by the Budclha was complete W i l l r a r n J a m l s . c i i d n o L a i l o q , r c l o m i < ; i -q r i c h c r i t i c i s m
'fhe
: t s e l t . a n d t h a t t h e s u h s e q u e n tp h i l o s o p h e r s r v e r e d i c h o t o m c u s o r " D o l e r p h i l o s o p h r c a i: ; t a n d p o i n t s
. ' : : e r d e v i a t i n gf r o m i t o r a t t e m p t i n e t o r e s u r r c c ti t such as materiaiism anc idc.:ilisrnor realism and ideal-
'\h.:t rs rnost interesting is that thc Buddha himself i s m a r e t i i e i n e v i t l b l e c o n $ e { i r ; n i i i . "ol i a p h i l o s o p h y o f
.'.:'li *rth a radical empiricist approach. and was language udr-r1:tedhrv the c:,:;r.:'i.i:,riist inpiricists. for
r*ed bv the main line of thinkers like Moggaliputta- whom eacl: abstracl iJe;r wirir a nams io it makes a
. - r \ : g A r j u n a , V a s u h a n d h ua n d D i g n a g a .a l l o f w h o m d i s t i n c t s p e c i e s . "f t i u s m r n d a n d m a t t e r . m e n t a l a n d
- - - - . : r r e d f a i t M u ! t o t h e B u d d h a . w h i l e s c h o o l sl i k e t h e p h y s i c a l r : o n s t i t u t e. ! r : 1 i n s tn c r m r n a le s s e n c e sU. n f o r t u -
- ' : - r n t r k ; r sf o l l o w e d t h e e s s e n t i a l i svt e r s i o n o f e m p i r i - n a t e i ) . t h t s e m p r i i , : ' r : tp i t r i r l s i t p h ;l-s n o t m u c h d i f f e r e n t
- : a n d t e r t l i k e t h e L u n k u u o t i r a S L i ,ir r c l s i n s 4 t h . from the r;riionalt:rn r:l i)rscartes whlch it was supposed
: i : e n d e n t a l i s t e m p i r i c a ls t a n c e . to dethrone, The sha4r dichotomies like mind and
m a t t e r w h i c h . f o r t i r e r a t i o n a l i s i .c o n s t i t u t e ds u b s t a n c e s .
:-.:rging as a revolutionary against the absolutist. are now being replacedby nominal essences. The rationa-
- , ' , : i i a l i s t a n d e s s e n t i a l i st ht i n k i n g p r e v a l e n itn I n d i a
list problem in the sphere of metaphysicsnow becomes
- - i t h r s i x t h c e n t u r y B . C . . t h c B u d d h a r e s o r t e ttl o a
the empiricist problem in the area of linguistic philo-
: ' , :p s v c h o l o g i c aal n a l , y s i o
s f h u m a n k n o w l e d g ca n d sophy. The prevalenceofsuch extrerneschoolsofthought
' - ' ' , r r d i n g t h e l i r s t o f i t s k i n d i n h i s t o r y .i n o r d e r t o
like materialisrn" physicalism as well as behaviorism in
:' :..r:ate the lutility of any search lbr absolutes. the modern world is now being attributed to this philo-
' : ' , r . . l \ o r c s s c n c e sT
. h a t p s y c h o l o g i c : l le n t e r p r i s e s o p h ) ' o f l a n g u a g el o g i c ( s e eb e l o w ) .
. . : : h i m t o r e n o u n ( r et w o o t h e r p r - r r s u i tw s hich have
- : : - : : : h e r p o p u l a rw i t h m o s t p h i l o s o p h e r sn.a m e l y .t h e T h e B u d d h a ' s r a d i c a l n o n - s u b s t a i i t i a l i s m( u n u t t t t -
- : - r r r r l r a b s o l u t ec e r t a i n t yw i t h r e g a r dt o h u m a n k n o w - tudul as well as the "middle path" (ntajjhima-putipudtl he
-:i: :-i ',icll as for knowledge totally free from error. a d o p t e d i n t h e e x p l a n a t i o n o f h u m a n e x p e r i e n c ea n d
- : i . i z r i - c t h a t t h e s el a t t e r t e n d e n c i e sa r e c o r o l l a r i e so f a conception prevented him from conceiving of sharp
- . - : : . r ne p i s t e m o l o g yn . a m e l y . k n o w l e d g eo f t h i n g s " a s d i c h o t o m i e s o r b i - p o l a r o p p o s i t e s .F o r h i m t h e r e w a s
. - . - i ,. 1 : i t h e B u d d h a f o c u s s e du p o n t h e k n o w l e d g eo f n o m i n d - b o d y p r o b l e m b e c a u s eh e d i d n o t d e f i n e m i n d
' - r : : E q J i t h c i ' h a v ec o m e t o b e " ( v a t h a b h u t n ) F
. ro r h i m . a s n o n - m a t e r i a lo r m a t t e r a s n o n - m e n t a l .T h a t d e f i n i t i o n
' - r \ r e p r e s e n t e dt h e h i g h e s t k n o w l e d g e , a f i l r m o f was to appearin the tsuddhrstradition with the emer-
. .1 , r r r l e d g et h a t l e d h i m t o t h e r e a l i z a t i o n o f t h e f o u r g e n c e o f r e a l i s t m e t a p h l s i c i a n sl i k e t h e S a r v a s t i v a d i n s
. h l e T r u t h s I ( l r r _( )J. \ ( J((c t ) - J o r t h e e s s e n t r a h set m p r r i c i s t sl i k e t h e S a u t r a n t i k a s .
"

S e eK N . J a y a t i l l e k eL. u r l y ' B u d d h s T h e o r y o l K n o w l e d q eL, o n d o n : A l l e n & U n * r n 1 9 6 1 .w h r c h r e p r e s e n t tsh e f i r s t d e t a i l e dt r e a t -

n e n l r f t h c s u b l e c t .S e e a l s o D a v i d J K a l u p a h a n a -C r i u s u / i t . l .7 ' h e ( ' t , n t r , i l P h t l o s o [ , i t rt t l B u d L ) h t s mH o n o l u l u : T h e U n i v e r s i t r
P r e s so f H a w a i l 1 9 7 5 .a n d N a o i r . j u n u T h e P h r l o s o p h ro^l t l v M u l d l e W i r r .A l b a n i : T h e S t a t e I i n i v e r s i t y r > fN e w Y o r k P r e s s .1 9 8 6
t II p 17.\ pp,422 423.erc
IbrJ \ pp 4?1 423,
I III p 105
i , l l p 1 9 01 1: M I p . 5 5 f l ' .
Sr'c John Locke. ,.1nE.ssrr.y Crrncerntr4 Humon L.:nderstunding,1690, book III, chapter vi. section J8.
 EMPIRICISM
For the Buddha, consciousness(uiirha4a)is an inte-
*eralpart of the human person. It is not an entity, separa-
ble from the body, but a function.? While its occurrence
in a human body is a necessarycondition for that human
body to be considered a human person,s it is also the
most important part of that human p€rson. Thus, along
with the dispositions (safikharu), which accounts for
the individuation of the person, consciousnessfunctions
as the means of maintaining the continuity in expe-
rience.e
How this radical empiricism of the Buddha avoids the
bi-polar oppositions such as realism and idealism,
essentialismand nominalisrn, or subjectivism and ob.
jectivism is further illustrated by the manner in which he
explained the process of sense experience. In a rather
significant and oft-quoted discourse called Madhu-
pi44rkuSurfa,r0 the Buddha drew a causal connection
betweel peaceful living (that is. avoidance of conflict,
na uiggayha tttthutil and one's attitude toward per-
ception" namely. not allowing perception to overwhelm
oneself (sahiw nanusenti).t1 Questioned further, the
Buddha explined:
Where obsessions (papalnca)relating to perception
(sahfta) and conception (sahkha) overwhelm a
person,il-there were to be nothing that one should be
delighting ir1 extolling and committing onoelf to,
that itself is the end of a variety of tendencies such
as lust, hatrcd, dogmatic view, perplexity, pride,
lust for existence, ignorance and that itself is the
end of meting out punishment, taking up arrns,
quarrel, conflict, debate, strife, slander and false-
hood. Hereiq such evil and unwholesome things
cease without remainder.r2
The above passage clarifies the Buddha's view that
perception and conception are not in themselvesreasons
for the unfortunate conflicts in the world. On the con-
trary, it is the manner in which pcrception and con-
ception arc understood and treated that generates such
conflict. When the Buddha ldt the congregation after
m a k i n g t h e a b o v e r e m a r k s .t h e m o n k s w e r es t i l l n o t c l e a r
as to what he meant- It is at this point, the great expositor,
Mahakaccayana, com€s to their rescue by analysing in
greater detail the very pr(rcess of perception and con-
7. M.l. p.292" njAnAti t)ijAnaiti auun uihiru4cnti uuccatt See also James, Es.saysin Radical Empiricisr4ed- Burkhardf Cambridge,
Massachusetts:Harvard University.Press,1976 p 4, "Let rne then immediately explain that I mean only to deny that the word
(consciousness)stands for an entity, but to insist mo$ emphatically that it stands for a function."
8 D. I p. 76; IL pp. 6243.
9 See l. II. p.79 where san/<ftriraatf, uihha4a arc together referred to ts bhaoa. a term used to explain"becoming" implying human
extstence.
10 V I. pp. 108-114.
l1 Ibid.l p 108.
ll Ibid.. I. pp. 109 ll0.
l3 lbid , I. pp. I I l-l l2
66 EMPIRICISM
ception and showing how it leads to obsessions.This
explanation was subsequentlyapproved by the Buddha.
It is from the statement of Kacciyana that one can
obtain a clear underStanding of how the radical empiric-
ism of the Buddha can avoid the criticism of being an
idealism. Kaccayana's exposition reads as follows:
Depending upon eye and visible form arises visual
consciousness. Concomittance of these three is
contact. Depending upon contacl arises feeling.
What one feels, one perceives; what onc perceives,
one reflects about; what one rdlects about, depend-
ing upon that- obsessed perceptions and concep
tions overwhelms a person in regard to visible ob-
jects, past, future and present.t3
Kaccayana's description avoids both realism and
idealis4 since it does not begin either with the object
of knowledge irs something impinging upon the sense
organ and, through that, impressing upon a passiue
consciousness(a view'favouredby the essentialistempiri-
cists) or with consciousnesscreating its own awarcness
of the object which is, therdore, deprived of genuine
objectivity (a theory sponsored by the idealiss). It
privileges neither the object nor consciousness.Instead,
it focusses upon the sensc organ itsetr which serves the
primary role of linking up the object with consciousness.
This emphasis upon the sense faculty is a recognition
of the centrality of senseexperience in human knowledge
and understanding.
A further objection may be raised at this point. If
consciousness is said to arise depending upon the eye
and the visible object. it would mean that consciousness
is a by-producit of the physical or the material. The
Buddha would then be advocating some form d epi-
phenomenalism. However, placed in the context of other
statements regarding the nature of consciousness,es-
pecially those relating to the stream of consciousnessas
an integral part d the human persor\ a consciousness
that come to be located in the human person at the time
of his conception, again conditioned by various factdrs,
the present statemcnt could only mean that this stream
of consciousnessis continually conditioned by the sense
organ and the object of experience.The close relation-
ship between disposition and consciousness(sahkhuru-
 EMPIRICISM
. t i ( u y A u i h - n a 4 u m ) ti a
s a l s o v e r y s i g n i l i c a n t -C o n s c i o u s -
n:ss. which is not competent to deal with the myriad of
)irnsedata presented to it. is said to select its material
r t h e b a s i s o f i n t e r e s to r d i s p o s i t i o n . I n o r h e r w o r d s .
: . r d i c a le m p i r i c i s m i s i n e x t r i c a b l y b o u n d u p w i t h p r a g -
r-,.iLism.Ilpistemologically, it is not that the object is
. l e a t e d a c c o r d i n g t o o n e ' s i n t e r e s t s .I n s t e a d . h u m a n
:ricrest plays a significant role in perceiving and ccin-
- c r v i n qo f a n o b j e c t t h a t i s p r e s e n t e dt o c o n s c i o u s n e s s .
H o w e v e r ,s u c h i n t e r e s to r r u d i m e n t a r y c l i s p o s i t i o n a l
. ' n d e n c i e sc a n g r o w i n t o m o n s t r o u s p r o p o r t i o n s a t t h e
.rre when scnse perceptions occur. especially at the
- : . i s e o f f c e l i n g i n v o l v i n g t h e e m o t i v e a s p e c t so f h u m a n
:',;. thereby creating an ego out of the subject of cx-
- . r i l e n c e -T h e c h a n g e i n t h e l i n g u i s t i c f o r m u l a t i o n
of
'-..sprocessof experiencefrom one of dcpendenceto an
: - i l \ ' € o n e , a s i m p l i e d i n t h e s t a t e m e n to f K a c c a y a n a :
;\ hat one fecls, one perceives"(yam uedeti,tum sct-nju-
' : . : i ) i s i n t e n d e da s a w a r n i n g t h a t w h a t f o l l o w s a s p e r -
- : r t i o n a n d c o n c e p t i o no f t h e o b j e c t c a n b e t h e c a u s eo f
*.ession (pupuircu) with regard to objectivity. Once
-. rause of that obsession,namely, the ego is
eliminated
- : : p e r c e p t i o na n d c o n c e p t i o n
can function without
. : : i : a t i n g u n w h o l e s o m e t e n d e n c i e s( a k u s u l ud h u m m u l
-"-: ds lust (raga) and hatred (dosultoward thc ver_v-.
^ :;t of perception and conception.
i . p o i n t e d o u t e a r l i e r .t h e i n s p i r a t i o nf o r t h e a n a l y s i s
'j\pcrience in the Mudhuprrlfuku Sutttt is not a theo-
: ' . : r l i n t e r e s t .h u t r a t h e r a p r a c t i c a l h u m a n c o n c e r n .
: : : i i \ ^ t h e a v o i d a n c e o f c o n f l i c t ( u r g g h a l .I t f o c u s s e s
.: : senseexperience(sairhu)and conception (saikhZ)
:_:3iting that conflict is the result of obsession(pupuir-
:.rher than of sense experience and conception
- - ' : . ' e l v e s .C o n f l i c t i s a v o i d e d b y a p r o p e r u n d e r s t a n d -
- , ' . i n d a h c a l t h y a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s s e n s ee x p e r i e n c c
' - - o n c e p t i o n . I n t h e A r u 4 u u i h h u n g uS u t t u , a s i m i l a r
' : : : r r i l n d i n go [ a n d a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s l a n g u a g e p r o -
is
- ' - . 1 a \ a n o t h e r w a y o f p r e v e n t i n gc o n f l i c t ( r u 4 u \ . t s
r : n a i n i n g fa i t M u l t o t h i s r a d i c a l e m p i r i c i s m , t h e
: - -::ra explained experience.conception and language
- -.irng dependently arisen (putit't'usamuppunna\.A
-::liion o[ a dependently arisen phenomenon
in-
":i hclth the phenomenon, thing or event experienced
- - ' n c c i v c d a s w e l l a s i t s r e l a t i o n s .T h u s . o n t h e b a s i s
- ' : ' ; r p e r i e n c ea n d c o n c e p t i o n o f s u c h d e p e n d e n t l y
" . : - p h e n o m e n a .t h e B u d d h a w a s a b l e t o f o r m u l a t e
l l p 1 7 .c t c
-: lll p 230ft
..,)ndqottu .lutrc, S. II. p. l7
'lathugatenu
- -."*"'.--tkkuppur)uttunu Sutla or Dutfo, S. V. p. 420 ff.
, ' , . : . . ., h h t i g u S u t t u .M . I I I p . 2 3 0 l T .
.":- .rlr,an Ptnarn The Muny Fuce; tf Rea/rsnr,LaSalle. Illinois: Open Courl 1987,pp.4l ff
67 EMPTRICISM
a u n i v e r s a lp r i n c i p l e , t h e p r i n c i p l e o f d e p e n d e n ta r i s i n g
( p t f i . i c t ' u s r r n t u p p u t l u 'wSt.trh6o u t m a k i n g i t a n a b s o l u t e
l a w . I t i s a p r i n c i p l e o { ' p r i , . 5 r m a t ivca l u e t h a t e n a b l e s
h u m a n t r e i n g st r : d e a l w i t h t h c r i n k n o w n f u t u r e .
I t w o u l c j b e i n t c r c s t i n g t o e r a m i n e t h e r e a s o n sw h y
t h e B u d d h i i c a m e t o f o r m u l a i c r r r a d i c a l e m p i r i c i s mi n s -
tead of anv other fbrm cf. empiricism" especiallyin view
of' the popularity of the other versions in the East as
well as in the West. In fact, thc.tsLrddhacan be considered
the first radical empirici,t and pragmatist in the world.
We have already indrcatedthat radical empiricism was
t h e B u d d h a ' ss c l u t i o n t o t h e p r o b l e m o f h u m a n c o n f l i c t .
It is appropriately called the "middle parh" (mujjhrml-
putrpudu\ that avoids the extremes in almost every
sphereof philosophical speculation,in epistemologyand
metaphysics,lr in nbrmal philosophy or ethicsrs as well
as in linguistic philosophy.tn Does this mean that the
other versions of empiricism are extremes and are.
therefore.liable to lead td conJlict of some sort?
We may begin such an inquiry with the first of the
empiricist philosophies listed at the beginning of this
article. namely, thrt which recognizes an experience
transccnding sensecxperience.Let us assume that such
an experienceis possible.The traditions that recognized
such experienccs almost always argued that it can be
verified by a selectt'ew who are completely dedicated to
the development of a special faculty or faculties not
within the reach of the vast majority of human beings.
even the most intelligent (uritiru).In some cases,it is not
even one that can be developed, but one that a person
comes to be endowed with often through some external
power. The vast majority of human beings, including
the intelligent and the wise ones, will have to accept the
existenceof such experiencesprimarily on the basis of
furth.The Brahmanical notions of atman or the ulti-
mately real relating to all phenomen4 subjective or
objective and brahman or the ultimately real pertaining
to all moral life can be counted as examples from the
early Indian tradition, while a similar moral ultimate
appearsin the speculationsof a more recentphilosopher
from the Western world. Immanual Kant.2o not to
speak of the classical version in Plato. The attempt to
explarn everything on the basis of a sense-transcending
experiencewas known to the Buddha, and was rejected
by him. This is the content of the brief but extremely
 EMPIRICISil'I 68 EMI'Ti-iICESM

'' r1
i - , r . ;n ' l " D i s c o u r s e o n ] r \ r r r \ 1 h i n g " ( S r r b b r r5 r r i , ' r r ) i n g t o S i i r i p u t t a .o n e c i i -t i ; e , : i t r c ir i i . , 1 1 , , , i h e F i r i r J d h : r .
it c v c i v l h r n g ' ( . s a h i r r i n Ir m e i r n t c v e r - v t h i n g i n a l i t e r a l " v r h a t e v e r < l n e i " e e l st.h a t t l n e p e r c e ; v e s w h a l t , . , r r ( ) n c
sense. which has t,: rnclude the things <lf the future as pcrceives thai ont-- is cltnscious c'rf. "I'hereforc,lircse
well. or thr i:..ence ol evervthing in a n-retaphysical d h u m n t u sr t r r a : : ' ; o c j a t c dn-o t d i s s . - r c l : r f eI d t is not possibi.'
'.,rdha u'rll
s e n s e .1 | j , . have r:oitiinq to rlo rvrlir i1. [ror t a i n d i c a t e t h e ; i r i i i s t i n , : t r r : r ri : . , ' i ' r r i e a i r d l v a n i r l v s i r r e
'.,
hisr : r v t h i n g ' m e a n t e v e i r r i d v i s i b l e f o r m . e r L r: r n d t h e m " : : r \ n s l v s i s h a s a l w a y s h c e n e r i s e { l l lt o o l i n t h c
: r . ., , . i i r i . i e L n d s q - . e l l .t r ' n { u e i r n d t a s t e . [ . o d v l l n ] clarrflcati0n of mcanrng oi' r,li:ii,; L'(rriccUtsor even
, : r g r h l t : a s w e l J a s r n i l i l r r n < ic - o f l C e p t s [ f s c l m e t l n c w r r ' s t a t c m e n t sI. h e l l u d d h i i r e r : d i l va c c e p t e (tlh e t m p o r t a n c e
t,. insist that there rr :r.rmcthing t-rthcr tiran what i r r f a n a i l s r s a n d u t r l i z e di t a s a m e a n si ; f ' : : . . c r d i n gm e t a -
'ever\,-
r r a i l a b l e t o t h e s i r . q e n s e sa n d r v h i c h c o n s t i t u t e s p h v s i c a l a s s u m p t i o n si r H e n c e h e e u r - 1 .t:o h e c a l i e d a
l h i n g ' . t h e l l t u i d h a a r g u e s t h i r t h t - -m a v h a v c r t o p i c t c r r t h h t i i j uitl d i n ( " a n a n a l y t i ; a l p h i l c s o p h e r "l . r ' H o n e v c r
talk about luuti tdtihul. bul when questioned he u'ill w h e n i h c a n a l y s i s i s r e p e a t e d l ya p p l i e d r n t h e h o p r eo f
not be ablc to provicie a salisllctorv answer. and there- r e a c h i n g t h e u l t i m a t e c o n s t i t u e n t s .t h e a n a l v t i c a l p r o -
fbre will Lr greatiy ofiended (uituriir cLt t:ulhitLtm upuj- c e s s c a n g , J n r r a t ec o n c e p t i o n so f c i i s i i n c t e n t i t i e s w i t h
ievy'u\.The reason for this bcing that it is beyond thc n o r c l a l i o n s l o o n e a n r ' t h e r . F l u m e a nt m p r r i c i s m i n t n e
sptlerc of experience (clisu.rrir). world recognizeclsuch atomic experiencesand. therei'ort:
was left with a world-view that is appropriatel,. ih;irac-
iiere the Buddha is not dcnying that one who claims
t c r i z e d a s a " s a n d - h e a pw o r l < i . " 2 sI n t h e l a t e r i l u c l d h i s t
to have a sen\e-transcending experience actuall_v dcles
t r a d i t i o n , t h e S a u i r a n t i k a sp r o p r , r s cad w o r l d - v i e w w h i c h
r . ) o th a v e s u c h e x p e r i e n c e ( ) n t h e c o n t r a r y , h e i s a r g u i n g
i s c o m p a r a b l et o H u m e ' s i r e v e r y ' d e t a i l .T h e s t a t e m e n t
t h a l r r ' L ) n ew e r c t o m a k c a n v s t a t e m e n t a b o u t i t . w h i c h i s
of SAriputta ciuotcd abal'e should have been a warning
i..ecr-s!aryfor communicating slrch an expcricncc to
t o t h e S a u t r a n t i k a sa g a i n s tr e s o r t i n gt o s u c h a n a n a l y s i s .
,-rthers. then one r:ught to derrend upon the six sense
I n d e e d a l l t h e p r o b l e m s t h a t t h e e s s e n t i a l i sB t uddhists
f a c u l t i e s a n d t h e i r o b l e r : t s L r e c a r r s e[ a n g u a g e i s r n v a r i a b l l :
l i k e t h e S a u t r a n t i k a sf a c e dw h e n e x p l a i n i n gt h e p r i n c i p l e
associated with these sensreslnd the ob.lects. II-an
of dependent arising (prutiry,tsctmutpidu)ar: the con-
experience cannot be communicated. then thcre certainly
s e q u e n c e so f a b a n d o n i n g t h e B u d d h a ' s r a d i c a l e m p i r i c -
clrnnot be agrcemcnt as to vrhat that experience is. It can
i s m a n d a d o p t i n g t h e e s s e n t i a l i svt e r s i o n
be anything. and this woultJ result in meaningless con-
flicts. The Buddha is hcrc taking a rather strong position A statementin the samediscoursethat wisdom (pafihn)
rcgardirrg cxperiEnccs rhat arc supposed to be in- and consciousness(uiiriritryu) cannot be discriminated rn
i o r n r n r r n i c a L l l r rI t s c e r n s t i l a t t . o r t h e U u d d h a a n l n - a n y a b s o l u t ew a v . 2 6s h o u l d p r e v e n t a n y o n ef r o m a s s e r t -
i . t o l l : t . r ' r u n r c a bcixcp r c r i r ' r r r ;it.' , ! l ( } c r p c r i c n c e i n t h e s e n s e ing that the highest fonn of knowledge recognizerlby
t h i r t i s r e a l l r " ' n o c r b . i e c t . "r r ' h i c h i s t h c l i t c r a l m e a n i n g o f the Buddha transcendssenseexDerienceand. therefore.
t h c t e r m . r - r 1 r , s ( r l ' .Sr o r n u c h f o r e x p c r i e n c e t h a t i s s a i d linguisticexpression.
trt trilnsccnrl senseexperience and linguistic dcscripticln
fhe third lorm of empiricism, namely, logical empiric-
M o r e p r o b l c m a l i c a r e t h e r . r t h r : rt w o v e r s i o n s o f c m p i - isrn gained prominence in the Western world during
ricism. The Ilumean version rthich eriserts the realrty' the early part of the twentieth century, especiallyamong
of the rmmedratc sense impression undiluted b1' any philosophers who were trying to provide a theoretical
rncmoncs rrnd conccptualizations worrltl be too rneta- loundation for science.which was making enormous
physrcal according to the lJud<iha's undcrstandrng ol s t r i d c s .c s p c c i a l l vi n t h c a r e a so f -p h l , s i c sa n d a s t r o n o m v .
experience. Indeed. taking the three most important The accuracy with which the scientists were making
e l e m e r t t s r e l a t i n g t o s e n : i t :e r p e r i e n c e . n a m c l v . { - e e l i n go r predictions regarding the behaviour of phenomena
sensirti<rn (ueduni\. perception ( s L r i r i r c ra) n d c o n s c i o r . r s - triggered a researchprogram by the logical empiricists
n e s s ( r ; i i r r r o r , r at)h. c I l u d t l h a a s s i g n s d i f f c r e n t f r r n c t i o n s t t l drrected at discovcring the means by which universalll'
them. but refuses tcl make absolutc distinstions Accorii valid laws could be formulated in ptulosophicallanguage.

ii t I\' p i5
l-1. M. I a.29.1.Yumh' rlluro uedetr,tttm
r f i { ' i t r i r ' lrh a n r t , j r , : r t , i n i h h A r i i r t l rrl r n r b b h u . j r t rn; a n a k a r u 4 a mp u n - n t t p t , t u m
N o. t e t h e r e p e t r t i o no l ' t h e t c r m t n r b h h u i r t t i i w h i c h e m -
phasiscs reFealed anal',sr:
tl l.t If l n D.\t .1 ll p 46
. 1 1 , ; i ' u l r i r n , . iV
r p i?l. IiLtipttitlt,tn r. p.366. lrhlr.4 p. 130.
rq -larntx. ,r/re aLill to Belurre urul Other F-..vrys rn ['opulur PhihrsLtphy, ed. Burkhardt. (-ambridge. Massachusscts: Harvard Universrtl
P r . - s s .1 9 ? 9 .p p 6 0 6 1
li' 11 I nf' :l()l' 29'l
 EMPIRICISM 69 EII{PTRICISM

Abandonrng the use of ordinary language, they deve- S u c h a f r x i n g o f c rr n c e p t s .t h o u g } t n r c i i : c r u a l l vs a r i s -

ic,ped a more precise technical language, the language
of symbolic logic. The basic assumption on the part of
thosc who formulated this language seems to be that
h u m a n k n o w l e d g e c o n s i s t so f k n o w l e d g e o f t h i n g s o r
events and knowledgc of the relations between such
r l e n t s . 2 r E v e n t h o u g h t h e t h i n g s o r e v e n t sm a y c h a n g e .
t h c r e l a t i o n st h e m s e l v e sa r e c o n s t a n t .O n c e t t r e r e l a t i o n -
' h i p r s c a J r t u r e di.t w o u l d b e p o s s r b l et o f o r m u l a t e l r i n
t c c h n i c a ll a n g u a g ew h i c h c a n t h e n b e a p p l i a t o n a u n i -
r c r s a l s c a l e .T o t a k e a p o p u l a r e x a m p l e : " A s w a n i s
*hite" can be formulated as Pa Qa where P:swan.
t-l - whitc and a : the relationship between the two
Focussing upon the relation which is supposed to be
- o n s t a n t , a n d s e p a r a t i n gi t f r o m t h e t h i n g s r e l a t c d .i t s
: r n i v e r s a l i z a t i o ni s e x p r e s s e da s
( X ) ( P X' ' Q X )
H o w e v e r ,t h e f u t u r e n o t b e i n g a g r e a t c o n s o l a t i o nt o
' : r : e m p i r i c r s t .t h e
discoveryof one black swan would
, r i 3 1 gt h r s u n i v e r s a p
l r i n c r p l eT
. h c o n l y w a 1 't h c l o g i c a l
,;lrpincist can strengthcn the validit-v of the abovc
. - n r r c r s a l p r o p o s i t i o n i s b y s u p p f e m e n t i n gi t w , t h a
-,-,ntraposed negertive :
(x) (- QX > - PX)
i : , r sl a t t e r w o u l d m e a n t h a t t h c c a r l i c r p o s i t r v cJ- s s e r l l o n
. r i , , r L lut l l o l s p a . : e - t i r n eI '.h c n c g a t l v cl ( ) r m u l a t i o na d d s
, , n c w r n l b r m a l . r o nb , u t s i m p l y s t a t e st h a t a t n o p l a c e
, ; : J . l t n o t r m e w i l l w c e v e r e n c o u n t e ra n o b . ; e cw t hich is
- "h non-whitc and a swan.:8 Ail
that the logical
'::llncist has achieved in this instance is the
mani-
- . . i r t i o n o f a c o n c e p t .t h a t
is, providing a dcfinition ot'
: lc-rrilswan in such a wali that lt cen neverbrcassociated
. : : t r n v t h t n g o t h e r t h a n w h i t e . ' l ' o s p e a ko { ' a n o n - w h i t c
. . .: n w o u l d b e a c o n t r a d i c t i o n i n t e r m s . T h u s . t h r o u g h
:ri processofl exc'lusionthc logical empiricist has estab-
.ned the meaning of the term "swan" once and for ail.
. :5 the logical wiry of arriving at the nominal essences.
,.::J which, as mentioned earlicr, was recognized by
'.lie on the basis of an analysis of general terms. f hc
- . , : d h r s tl o g i c i a n D h a r m a k i r t i . m o v i n g a w a y f r o m t h e
:rli,-rnof Dignaga who remained faitMul to the radical
: l l r - r c i s mo f t h e B u d d h a , ? ep r o p o s e ds u c ha c o n c e p t i o n
:*ncral terms.lo
iying. may not protj ,rce the desirerj result. namely. the
s a f r - q u a r d l n(e) [ t r u t i - i f t r u t h r s w h a t r s i * n o w n o n t h c
b l s i s o l ' e x p c r i e n c c .L i s t h i s f i x i n g o l c o n c e p r sa . r " t h i s
a l o n c r s l r u c . c v e r v t r t i n gc l s e i s f a i r c ' l t t l t t n 'rr. i( i , ( i (r ' { i ' r
t n o t l h u n rt t i t t t u t n l h L t h e B u c l d h a r c t C c r r a b j c c u u s eh e
p e r c e i v e d i t a s a p , l e n t r . : a u s eo i c o n i ' l r c t1 ; ' r r n r l i[.' h c
i o l l o r rr n g p l l s s a g lcr c ' r r l h c B u d d h as d r s c o u r s o clt pcace
( t i t t t n i tw
) i l l r i i u s t n t l ch i s a t t i t u d c .
W h e n i t i s s a i d " o n e s h o u l d n o t s t r i c t l y a d h e r et o
the dialect of a country and one should not trans-
gress common parlance." in reference to what is
it said? What. monks. is strict adherence to the
dialect of' a counrr.y and what is transgressir,rlr of
c o m m o n p a r l a n c e ?H e r e i n , m o n k s , t h i s i t s e l f { l u r 1
cr,a. probably relerring to the bowl that he was
c a r r l ' i n g a t t h e t i m e) i s r e c o g n i z e d i n d r J l e r e n t
c o u n t r i e sa s p { t r i . . a s p ( r t t u .. . . a s L . t t t h L t... a s
s t t r i L ' u , . . . a s d h d r ( ) p t l .. . . a S p o r y u .. . . a S p r . s r / c r .
Ithesc being dialectical varianrs for the worcl
'-bowl".
a u t e n s i l u s e d f o r v a r i o u s p u r p o s e sw h i c h
f ' u n c t i o n sa r e h i g h l i g h t e d b v t h e d i l l e r e n t t e r m s l .
W h e n t h e v r e c o g n i z e <i 1 t as such and such in dillc-
rent countnes. a pcrson utilizes this cr:nvention
r i h s l r n a t e icvl i n s r n gt o i t a n d a d h e r i n gt o i t I s a y i n g l :
'I
h r s a l o n c i s r r u e . e v e r \ t h i n g e l s e i s f a l s e" T h u s .
r n t . r n k :l.s s t n c i a d h c r c n c ct o t h e d i a l e c to f a c o u n t r l ,
a n d t r a n s g r e s s i o no f c o m m o n p a r l a n c e . W h a t "
m o n k s . i s t h e s t r i c t n o n - a d h e r e n c et o t h e d i a l e c t o f
a c o u n t r y a n d t h e n o n - t r a n s g r e s s i o no f c o m m o n
p a r l a n c e 'I?n t h i s c a s e .m o n k s .t h i s i t s e l fi s r e c o g n i z e d
r n d i { T e r e n tc o u n t r i e s a s p r r t i . . a s p l l t t { 1 . . . J s
r t l t l ' : u .. . . a Ss t l r r l r c i .. . a s t l h i r o p u , . . . a s r o ? r . r.". a S
p i s i / r r .T h u s t h e y r e c o g n i z ci t a s s u c h a n t l s u c h i n
d i f l ' e r e n tc o u n t r i e s ' " T h e s ev c n e r a b l e o n e s u t i l i z e
it lbr this purposc.' and thus saying he utilizesit
witirout grasping Anrl thus. monks, is strict non-
a d h c r e n c et o t h c d i a l c c t o [ a c t ' r u r r t r ya n d t h e r r o r i -
t r a n s g r e s s i c .or nf c o m l n o n p a r l a n c e . "
'l-rt
S u n t u p : R a d r c a lt : r n p i l r c r s nrrl o , : r n n i ( : ( r r i \ i l i L . l i l j
a n 0 t h e r t h c o r y C r r v i r : w l t l t t t h , r ii n v i t r r i g i L n _ \f L r i r n ( ) i
c o n r m i t m e n (l u b h i n t t e . sat /sto n c t h a t i s l r t g i c a l l ro r r r n o f-
l o g i c a l l y t r u e . b u t , r n l r r i r n e a n so i o l ' e r c o m i n g s u c h
c o m m i t n r c n tb 1 h i g h l i t r n gt h c i n p c r m a n e n t a n d n o n -

S:.: Bertrand Russel! Loguc arul Knowletlge.e<J- Robert C. Marsh Ner.r,york: Caprrcorn B,roks. 196g,p. 107
i,'r thc criticism of loglcal cmpiricisrn in, Harold I. Bro*n's Percepttory 'I'heort t.trulComntttnvnt. The
llev phrlosl.tphtol Scrtnt.t.
'' ,ttto arul london: Tlc Unittersity
{ Chicago /'res-s,1979. pp 16 28
:- David J- Kalupabana Review d Radhika Herzberger'sBhttrtrh,tn tirul tht llutldhrsts..{ne.r.srr1. (i lrlth untl
rn tlu, tlct,t'lopment
, : l . e n t u r v l n d t u n t h o u g h t( 1 9 8 6 I i n I l i s t a r y a r d p h i l o s o p h ) , o l1 . i r r 7 r , . .(9l 9 t j g | . 1 2 5 2 3 2 p p
S- Dharmakirti's Nlrr,vabinda ed F. E Sbcherbatskoi Osnabruck: Iliblro Verlag 1970;also F. Th. Stchcrbatsk-v.ftuJtlltt:r
ioqrc.
- \ols.. Ncw York: Dover Publications.
III pp.214-215
"1
 EMPLOYMENT
absolute nature of experienceand the provisional and
pragmaiic value of conception. It is a meansto enlighten-
ment, freedom and peace.
David .1. Kalupahana
I T M P L O Y M F I N I ' T h e t a s k o [ t s u d d h i s n ri s t o h e l p m a n
to bring about a total revolution within and change
himself, for his own gopd as well as for the good of
others,from what he is to what he ought to be. According
to the Buddha's teaching the Noble Eightfold Path is
the way to achieve this goal (See ATTHANGIKA-
MAGGA). Leading a morally good life is a sine quu non
in this path. Buddhism teaches rhat ethical purity in
life conduces to generate the necessarybackgroun<1f'or
m e n t a l c u l t u r e ( s u n f i d h t )a n d p e n e t r a t i v ei n s r g h r( p u i t i t l t \ .
Since a major part of one's dav to day iife is taken up
by the employment in which one is engaged. it has a
significant bearing upon one's ethical development.This
is precisely why the Noble Eightfold Path assigns
employment or perfect livelihood (utmmi-iiit'(1 as rcter-
red to therein) an important place in its graduated
s c h e m e t o w a r d s t h e e n v i s a g e dg o a l .
It is very clear that cthical perfection advocatcd b1
Buddhism has not only a pcrsonal but also a social
dimension. Therefore. the general criterion employed to
differentiate good (ftusc/a) tiom evil or bad (okusrr/ti).
which has widc social implications, is also adopted to
differentiatc between good (.sonrmrl. right, perfect) and
bad (miccha)mode of living (ujlt:rl. Famous suttas such
i u t h e l r n b n l u t t h i k i R u h u l o u u d u( M I , p 4 5 1 n ) S u h l * u
(M.Il, pp. l14 ff.) and Kuluntu (/. I, pp. 180ff.) clearly
e n u n c i a t ew h a t t h i s c r i t e r i o n i s .T h e b a s i cc o n s i d er a t i o n s
involved in this criterion are whether what one docs
leads to harmful consequencesto oncsclt',to others or
to both oneselfand others.
1'he signilicanceattached to srrrnnru-i1ir-tt is such that
e v e n m o n k s a r e s t r o n g l y a d v r s e d - t os t r i c t l y a d h e r c t o
the practice of the right mode of livelihood; besides.
p u r i t y o f l i v e l i h o o d ( n i l u u - p u r i s u d d h i \s c o n s i d c r e d a
p r i m a r y r e q u i s i t eo f m o n k h o o d ( s e eA J I V A f b r d e t a i l s
on this aspect).
A d o p t i n g t h e a b o v e c r i t e r i o n o f d i f f e r e n t i t r t i n gg o o d
types of employment l-rom bad ones. Buddhism ad-
m o n i s h e st h e d e v o t e d B u d d h i s t l a r - f o i l o w e n ( u p r i . s r r A t r )
n o t t o e n g a g er n t h e l - o l l o u ' i nfgi v e t y p e so f t r a d e( l ) t r a d e
i n a r m a m e n t s( \ d t r l . r - r r n t j i u l (. 2 1t r a d e i n s l a v e s( . s r r r f t r -
r u r t t j l a l . ( 3 . 4 & 5 ) t r a d e i n m e a t ( m a m s a ) ,i n t o x i c a n t s
t m d i t a ta n d p o i s o n( r ' r s c r, 4 I I I . p 2 0 8 ) .T h i s a d m o n i t i o n
c r ) \ e r 5o n l r c e r t a i n t l p e s o f t r a d e . a n d c e r t a i n l y t r a d e
\ \ ; r - sn o t t h e s o l e f ' o r m o f e m p l o y m e n t p r a c t i s e di n B u d -
C h r s t I n d i a . T h e r e f o r e .t h e r e i s n o d o u b t t h a t t h i s l i s t
7Q EMPLOYMENT
of prohibitions is not exhaustive.Slaughteringof animals.
f rshing, soldiering,and those professions that involves
dcceit, treachery, sooth-saying trickery, usury etc. are
said to be included in this list of prohibited kinds of
employment (see BD. s.v. MAGGA). The limitation
of this iist of prohibitions is also proved by the rexrual
defrnition of 'wrong mode of livelihood (miccha-ajit,ul.
Wrong mode of livelihood is defined as any form of
livelihood that involves 'desire of adding gain to gain
by resorting to trickery, fraud and hypocritical talk'
( M . I I I . p . 7 5 ) . T h i s d e f i n i t i o n g i v e sa n i d e a o f t h e w i d e
range of forms of employment and their mode of opera-
tion that would come within the parameters of wrong
livelihood. From this, one could justifiably deduce
that according to Buddhism any form of employment
that brings about harmful consequences on onself
and / or on others is categorized as wrong (micchu\.
To understand the relevanceof the Buddha's teaching
on employment it is necessaryto have a clear unders-
tanding of the social and political changes that have
been iillecting North lndia from a couple of centuries
prior to the time of the tsuddha. Even a casual perusal
of the history of the region during this period reveals
that drastic political changes were taking place in this
region. Four powerful kingdoms were coming into
prominence expanding their domains by annexing minor
kingdoms and aristocraticconfederacies. As an inevitable
consequence of these political changes social and
economic conditions too were undergoing rapid transi-
tion. Rural societies,in which agriculture and cattle-
breeding happened to be the most important forms of
employment. were getting transformedinto more urbani-
z e d s o c r e t i e s ,c o n s e q u e n t l y b r i n g i n g a m u l t i p l i c a t i o n
in the types of employment. In the economic sphere
the barter system was f'ast going into desuetude. and
instcad the use of 'money was fast gaining ground In
ths social and economic background trade gained much
importance. The flourishing of trade gave rise to the
spread of numerous arts and crafts producing saleable
products. Whex a fair sectionof the population moved in-
to the fields of arts and cralis those who remained in the
sphere of agriculture, cattle-breeding and such food-
producing forms of employment had to increase their
production to l-eedthose who were engagedin other pro-
fessionand to increaseproduction. farmen neededmore
a n d m o r e b e t t e r u t e n s i l s ,. , \ c c o r d i n g l ; i-n. t h i s n e w e c o n o -
m y a l l t y p e s o f e m p l o l m e n t b e c a m ea l m o s t i n t e r d e p e n -
cient.
These changes in the economic sphere brought into
being an opulent class of wealthy land-owning farmers.
prosperous cattle-breedersand rich merchants. These
changes brougbt about also drastic changes in life-
styles and social values. The needs and values of the
opulent classes were different from those of the old
 EMPLOYMENT
traditional rural farmers, cattle-breeders and petty-
traders. These well-to-do people were able to afford
luxuries, grand comforts and personal services. These
changes in life-patterns and social values not only
helped the expansion of already existing forms of
employment, but also opend up opportunities for new
types of employment. Thus one beigns to hear more
ireq uently about reed-worke rs (nala.kdrc), potters (kurn-
hhu-kara), chariot-makers (ratha-kdra), gold and metal
smiths (suua44a-kEra, kammira), weavers (pesa-kara).
etc. These workers had to increase their rate of produc-
:ion to meet the new demand.
Constant rderence is also made to those who were
,':l'ering personal services.Thus the servicesof washer-
:nan (rajaka), barber (nahapita, kappaka, kusauutul.
,-ook (a/drika, sudu),garland-maker (muld-karn)seem to
:ave had a great demand among the affluent sections
.i society.
lt is also seen that the rise of great kingdoms. and
:re constant wars that prevailed necessitatedthe main-
:r-nenceof large, permanent armies and a steady supply
rl arms. Thus military service and production of arms
- e c a m e .t w o f o r m s o f p e r m a n e n t e m p l o y m e n t . T h e
:omplicated administrative system opened up the way
'rr
a host of newadministrative positions. Soldiers
r po licemen (r aj a-bhata, r aj a-pur isu).j ail - g u rds (hundhu-
':iuDrikal, village-headmen (gamani) village-overseers
.: anukttl,batmen (khattal, park-keepers(nrarnikrl)were
lst a few of these new forms of employment.
The old. traditional professionsin the held of medicine
.rd surgery (uejju, bhesujja,sallak<tttu)acquired special
';gnrficance in this new set-up. So are accountancy
ntuddal and secretarial (lekhu\ services which
-,.:t.l(ina.
.' 3re not of much importance in the rural economy.
In this new opulent society various forms of entertain-
:ent became a necessaryf'catureand. therefore,a class
..i prolessional entertainers, too, came into being.
It is apparent that, as time went on, these numcrous
lrpes of employment became an integral part of the
society on which depended its smooth functioning.
Therefore,it becamenecessaryto sustainthesenumerous
rinds of employment. The brahmins who were the
ew-makers cleverly exploited this situation to further
.afeguard their own supremacy in the society by aver-
:rng the overt threats to their position from thepoweful
.'rrrior (ks.atriya)and the up and comming monied
rerchant (uaiJyc) classes. To achieve this objective
: . \ s u p p o r t e da s o c i a l p h i l o s o p h y w h i c h t h e y c l a i m c d
' . he a divine decree. This
social philosophy upheld
':3t the socretyis a divine creation with a class or caste
i r ) division, with each caste being assigned with
:.irticular functions which they labelled as suat]harmu
- one's own duty'or employment. Suddharmabeing a
71 EMPLOYMENT
divine decree was declared inviolable and, hence.
employment became"hereditary. And besides. in this
assignment of duties to different classes the brahmins
took special care to assign what they considered menial
employments to the members of those down-trodden
classes which the brahmins themselves had classified
as belonging to the lower runp of the social ladder.
Thus came into being a relation between social status
and employment, the latter indicative of the former.
This does not, however, mean that this social theory
did not have any beneficial effect on employment.
Once various types of employment became hereditary
it induced those who were engaged in them to organize
themselves into corporate bodies and guilds. Such
organizations not only helped them to increese their
efficiency and skills, but also helped them to safeguard
their interests and rights. As there was a keen market
competition.all types of employment demanded a high
level of prohciency and skill which the guilds helped
to provide. Not only those who were engagedin produc-
tion of goods but also those who were engagedin provicl-
ing personal services (i.e. cooks. barbers etc.) had ro
master their profession if they were to survive in the
competetive labour-market. Thus all those who sought
employment had to undergo an apprentice period
under skilful masters (dukkha. duks.ulwho made the
a p p r e n t i c e s( u n r e r A s rg\ o t h r o u p h r h e m i l l . T h i s h e l p e d
not only to produce skilled craftmen and workers
but also high quality products. Constant references
to high-quality silks and sandal-wood products of
Benares is evidence to this.
By 6th century B.C., that is by the rime of the Buddha.
the above mentioned systemof employment had become
still more complex. In such a multifaceted and multiflex
systcm of employment, along with exemplary features.
discrepencies,deficiencies,shortcomings. malpractices
and such other malef-rcfeatures affecting the employer.
cmployeq the consumer and in general the society as a
l v l r o l e w e r e b o u n d t o o c c u r . T h e B u d d h a ' si n t e r v e n t i o n
was to prevent these malefic features in the system and
give proper guidance ad direction to both employers
a n d e m p l o y e e ss o t h a t t h e y a s w e l l a s t h e s o c i e t y a t
large. too, would get benefited.
With his utilitarion and pragmaric approach rhe
Buddha tried to straighten out numerous conflicrs
a n d a n o m a l i e st h a t p r e v a i l e di n t h e f i e l d o f e m p l o y m e n t .
For this purpose he primarily applied his social philo-
sophy based on the concept of universal good and
onenessof mankind. For example the Buddha rejecred
with reason the brahmanic teaching which presented
the society as a divine creation with its rnembersdivided
into four classes or castes (t,a4r1a)namely, bruhnrtt4u.
khuttiyu uessaand sutlduin a decreasingorder of social
 -l /'l
EMPL.OYN'INNT t1 F,ATFI-,f}YMENT

r t : l i i l i i . t C ; n \ r j ( " i i r i - r r ' l;)l ,i '..i 'f t r . : r"i . d l h c r . ' t n i 'l h a i : : ( i / l t i , ' n r u . i:odeof cthics!'or them. iound eniborirer-i
tn lhc ,lq'rilrrrrrt/rr
l r , ; - ) .r j l r t i ; ' " ' ; 1. 1 . i l j . ' i r . r' i:ti . r ' r' . i a r ) ir- F , k , r : l l i z i f i g . h O \ \ ' e v e r . S u r , r rIrI l i I I p p I 8 0 f f .)
tiiri thl] herfjji,rr. sisign) oi cnlpio,!lxent had cettain
'tlt:r':;i . ' \ l c o r d i n g t o t h i s c o d e o f c t h l c s a n e m p l o l , e rs h o u l d
, . ' 1 ' , 1! c i ; i r , r : - ' .: " 1 r 'i i r t t i d h a v , ' ; i ' c, l r L ' i L t l r l t r l ! ' ) { . ' { . ) m p i e -
be an eremplr:i persttn ohserving the five precepts.
t ei l ' " i i s r u p t t i ; r : , : x i s i i f i i : s 1 F ! r ) i r : l i c n q : c w h i l i r r t - : c t r n S l
u n b i ; s * d a n C c a r e f - u l i la v o i d r n g t h e a v e n u c sl e a d i n gt r . r
i l i i r n a i i t i ' i r "l e' a r u : , ' l r l f r e F , i r . - 1 , 1 l ri ,nt d d e u t u o l t h e b e n c i ' i -
-l-hu:,. d o w r r f i r i la n d d i s s i p a t i o n o f w e a l t h ( a p u t ' u n w k h dQ v . )
r':;;ll l-catit:r'is ior il'i.': g:l{id ()l ali ctrnci:rn,:d. he
S u c h . r n e n p l o . . ' e r i s a d v i s e c lt o a s s i g n r v o r k t o h i s
p < - i i r r l r , 'ti; t . r l ! i i i l t c i v r s , ; J i j r r i l S t r o t . i i i s l t o ! : r , J t ' . i n e c r e : r -
c : i r p l tl r c s t a i . : i n g i n t o c o n s i d e r a t i r t n t h e i r p h 1s i c a l
t i o n b t r i a n e c c s s J r ' ,o l l t ( j o r n c o l ' t h e e c r r n o m t L L , . ) n d i i i o n s
c a p a h r i i t i c sT h i s r n c a n st h a l a n i d e a l c r n p l o v e r, s h o u l d
o f ' a g r i v e n t i m c l ' l ; i r . . r i n t r . l , . r i , riii i r l i n c e r t e r n i j ( ) u n t r r e q
n o t a s s i g t a ) ' o u n g b o v a n v w o r k t h a l s h o u l c lb e p e r l o r -
likc Kamtrol,i therc arr r.rnil 1u.'o categories. master\
m e d b l a g r o \ , \ ' nu p m a n d n d i i r ( t ' ( t ' s u S i m i l a r l y h e
a n d s e r v a n t s i ;n d t h a l l i i t s c D L a s i t l o n sw e r e r e v e r t i b l e
s h o u l c ln o t l : ; s i g n a f c r n a l ee m p i o \ e c r a n , r.' i o b o f w o r k
according to ('ric's econ{Jrnic \landing (M. Il. p. 149)
t t r a t i s m e a n t f o r a m a l e e m p l o y e ea n d t ' t i ' e t ) c r . s (Sl :u c h
, ^ r c c o r d i r r gi r . ;i h e l i u d d i i a e n i F i r l l p e n t i s n o t i n d r c a t i v c a n e m p l o y e r i s a d v i s e d t o s e c t h a t a l l e m p l o y e e sa r e
oi onc's casiir ['ie vcr_v fsicelrrlly' e.i'iablished the fact properlvfcd and paid. According to this code of ethics
that dcsignritiorrr. dr:notrilg ilLlmcrous tlpes of employ- t h e p r o v i s i o n o f m e a l s a n d w a g e si s a d u t y i n c u m b e n t
ment in which people aIe rrrSrgl,ed. ir?rvr rnerely a iunc- u p o n e v e r ve m p l o y e r T . h e c o m m e n t a r y( D A . I I l , p . 9 5 6 )
tionai value Then. he pointeli oui thirt it rs natural for a points out that *hat is meant is that lbod and w3ges
man to becomc known b_r'ihe trTlployrnent he perlbrms. s h o u l d b e p r o v r d e d a c c o r d i n g t o t h e n e e d so f t h e e m -
as for example. a cattie-bic:,:cier will bc calleii a hus- p l o y e c . i o r . t h e r e q u i r e m e n t so f a y o u n g i s h e m p l o y e e .
bandman and not a brahinrr. i,rr a warrior. Sirrriiarly an unmarried one and a married one are different.
one who lrves bv archcry wrli oe i(nown as a sclilder T ' h e p r o v i s r o no f m e d i c a ll a c i l i l e s t o t h e e m p l o y e e si s
not as a farmer and s$ on ()n L'isttt.itlt Sutrirl. l'hesc.
a n o t h e rd u t v i n c u m b e n lu o n t h e e m p l o y e r s A . n employer
the Buddha pointed out, are convenll{}nai dcsignations. shorrld relieve an employec durrng times of illnesses
names of mere functi*nai vaiLle. rvith no genetlcal
and see that he is provided with appropriate medical
significance whatsoever To drr,,c this point stiil cleepcr c e r e a d t r e a t m c n l . N o t o n l y ' d u r i n g i l l n e s s e sb, u t a l s o
hc takes the case of l:ilrciling a l'irs and r'avs that brightncss d u r i n g n o r m a l t i m e s t o o e m p l o y e e ss h o u l d b e g r a n t e d
of a ilrc kindied b1' a r;ra;i l:elernging to a caste accepted leave The cornmentary(loc,cit)explains that what is
as high will not l-e difter-nt iror:i thc brightness of a
rnelnl hcrc is th;rt there should be flxed work-hours
f rre kindled by a man ol-thc so-called Itrw castc. Undcr-
a n d t h . , : w o r k er s s h o u l d b e r e l i e v e d a n d s e n t a w a y
lying thrs ir t,hc iact that it grvcn cqual opportunity and o n c e t h c v h a v e c o m p l e t e d t h e i r s h i f t .T h i s i s t o p r e v e n t
rf made to peilbrm a task rrnder similar conditi,rns. all t h e c r n p l c r y e rls} o m e x p l o i t i n g l a b o u r b y o v e r - w o r k i n g
members, irrespectivc crf their caste alliliations. would be e m p l o y e c s .B e s i d e s .t h e y s h o u l d b e g r a n t e d l e a v e o n
capablc of performing a task equally well(M. II. pp. l5l. { ' c s t i v co' c c a s i o n s .A n d . o n s u c h o c c a s i o n st h e w o r k e r s
152). The tsuddha upheld digniry' ol
lahour and in should be presented with beautiful gifts and eatables
k e e p i n g w i t h t h i s a t t i t u c l e h e l i e e l _ va d m i t t e d p e r s o n s o f (04 loc. citi. In fact this code o[ ethics goes a stop
all prof'essions into his Order and trcated thcm alikc
f u r t h c r a n d s a y st h a t i n o r d e r t o f u r t h e r a n d f o s t e re m p l o -
t lhtttt. ut:. 620 fLl. r e r - e m p l o y e er e l a t i o n s h i p t h e e m p l o y e r s s h o u l d e v e n
J'he Lrrahnranic teaching w'hiclr reprcsented cmployer m a k c i t a h a b i t t o s h a r e w i t h t h e i r e m p l o ; - e e ss p e c i a l
tmaster) - empioyee (servant) division as a divine creation d e l i c a c i e s t. h u s p a v i n g t h e w a y l ' o r a n s t m o s p h e r eo f -
*as irrclined in lavour of the employer as againsi the
c o m r a d e s h i pb e t w e e nt h e m .
employee. This teaching gave religious sanction to the The SirTrlloladuSurta futher points out that when sc-r
cmplo'yer to en.joy unlrmitc.d treneflts at the expensc ol' treated the employees.out of, considerationfor thc
tl-ro emplo)ee. Thrs placcd cmploycrs and emplol'ecs employer. would rise early and sleep late.meaning
al cross-purposes. each inlcrested in one's own rights that thcy would put-in their maximum. When so treated
to thc neglect of duties. and each trying to exploit and t h e e m p l o y c e sw o u l d b e s a t i s f i e dw i t h w h a t t h e y e a r n
undercut the other at every turn. It is precisely to evolve a a n d w i l l n o t t r y t o r o b a n d c h e a t t h e e m p l o y e r s .T h e v
harmonious and mutually beneficial relationship bet- u'oultl periorm their assigned tasks well and would
ween them that the Buddha out forward his classic also sprcad thc fame of the employers.

I Dunng the 6th ccntury tbe bulk of the work-fbrcc in North lndia was formed by m e n . T h e r e w a s n o p r o h i b i t i o n f o r w o m e n t o s c e k
e m p l o v m e n l .D u e t o n a t u r a l r e a s o n sl r , o m e nw e r e m o s t l y c n g a g e d i n l i g h t - w o r k a n d i n k i n d s o f e m p l o y m e n t g e a r e d t o p r o v i d e
p e r s o n a sl e r v i c e s .
 EMPLOYMENT 73
'J'his
c r r c i eo i e t h i c sw a s n o t m e e n t o n l y l i r r t h e p r i v a l e
s r c t o r .T ' h i sw a s i i g en c r a l c r r d eo f ' e t h i c sc o v r : r i n ge m p l o -
1 e r - e r n p i o y e Er e l a t i o n s l n c _ i a s s u c h w i t s a p p l i c a b l e
b o t h t o t h e p r i v a t e a n d s t a t es e c t o r s l. n l ' a c tt h e B u d d h i s t
v r e w a p p c a r st o i - ' et h a t t h e p r o v i s i o n o f ' e m p l o y m e r r t o
t h e s u b l e c t si s t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t yo r ' t h e S t a t e ( D . I . p .
I l5n. Buddhist social philosophy identifie's poverr)'
generated through unemployment as a basic cause
o f u n r e s t .g r a d u a l l y l e a d i n gt o c h a o r . i cv, i o l e n t c o n d i t i o n s
i n a c o u n t r y .T h e K u t a d a n t i lS u t r a1 D .I , o p c i t . )e m p h a t i -
cally statesthat for social harmony-as well as for personal
w c l l - b e i n gm a n - p o w e r r e s o u r c e si n a c o u n t r 1 .s.h o u l d b c
utilizcd to thc maxinrum, that the people should bc
g i v e n o p p o r t u n i t r e sf o r p r o d u c t r v e c n d e a v o u r o r t h e \
should be fruitfully employc<iwith adequate renruner.i-
tion. lf not thcrc is the danger of'peoplegetting fiustraied
and turning into anti-social elements. The k[it.ttdttnttt
Sutta very clearly points out aiso that at a time when
a country is harassedand harried, with towns and
villages bcing pillaged by citizcns who have rr-rrned
r n t o a n t i - s o c i a l e l e m e n t st h e s t a t e w i l l n o t b e a b l e t o
b r i n g a b o u t p e a c ea n d o r d e r b y ' r c s o r t i n g t o d i c t a t o r i a l
' T r e t h o d so r b y p e r f o r m i n g r e l i g i o u s r i t u a l s t o a p p e i l s e
s u p e r n a t u r a l b c i n g s . T h e o n l _ vc l J e c t i v er e m c d l i s r o
u t i l i z e h u m a n r c s o u r c e sf r u i t f u l l y s o t h a t t h e r e w i l l b c
p e r s o n a l : r n d s o c i a l w e l l - b e i n g .T h e t e x t s a v s - N o w
there is one method to adopt to put a thorough end to
this dis-order.Whosoevcrthere be in the king's realrn
w h o d e v o t e t h e m s e l v e st o k e e p i n g c a t t l e a n d f a r m . t o
t h e m l e t h i s m a j e s t yt h e k i n g g i v e t b o d a n d s e e d - c o r n .
Whosoever there be in the king's realm who devotc
t h e m s e l v e st o t r a d c . t o t h e m l e t h i s m a j c s t y t h e k i n g
g i v e c a p i t a l .W h o s o e v e rt h e r e h e i n t h e k i n g ' s r e a l m w h o
d e v o t c t h e m s e l v e st o s t a t es c r v i c e t. o t h e m l e t h i s n r a l e s t v
t h e k i n g g i v e w a g e i a n d f o o d . T h e n t h o s em e n . l b l l o w i n g
e a c h h i s o w n b \ s i n e s s ,w i l l n o l o n g c r h a r a s st h e r e a l m :
the state coders will swell; there will be peace and har-
m o n y i n t h e c o u n r r l ' . A n d ,t h e s u b j e c t sp l e a s e dw i t h o n e
a n o t h e r a n d h a p p y , w i l l d w e l l w i t h o p e n d o o r s .d a n c i n g
their children in their arms.
T h e L ) i p 1 l cuo m m c n t a r y( D , 4 .I . p . 2 9 [ ) l i r r t h e r e x p l a i n -
i n g t h e d u t y o f t h e s t a t e t o u t i l i z e m a n - p o w e ri n s u i t a b l e
f o r m s o f e m p l o y m e n ts a y st h a t w h e n g i v i n g c a p i t a l a i d t o
those who are cngagedin trade. the state should not call
for guarantors nor should such grants be entered in
ledgersS . u c h c a p i t a l g r a n t ss h o u l d b e m a d e a s o u t - r i g h t
g r a n t sl n f i l u t t h e j j u - t : u . s e na
onl d . t h c r e f o r e .n o t i u l o a n s .
The commentary is very emphatic also about the provi-
sion of daily meals and monthly wagesfor state employ-
ees.It adds that employeesshould be given promotions
and other forms of rewards and incentives in keeping
with their effrciency.
It is clear that Buddhism accepts the premise that
economic security (atthi-sukha)leads to the generation
EMPLIS} E,TENT
r-rf a congenial atmosphere conducing to spiritual
d e v e l o p m e n t .H e n c e ,i t n o t o n l y s t r e s s e tsh e i m p o r t a n c e
oi'providing employment for the people and building up
harmonious emplo. cr-ernployeerelations but also lays
down guide-lines to achieve economic stability of both
employer and employee, directing them how to utilize
their well-earned income. As an initial step towarcls
economic stability Buddhism insists on personal discip_
line. It admonishesall alike to adhere to five precepts.ro
keep away from avenues leading to dissipation of
wealth, to lead simple lives with few needs and wants
( u p p t t ' c h u \S. u c h a m o d e o l -l i v i n g , t h e B u d d h a h a s o f t e n
pornted out. conducesto a balanced lile
lsLtmuift,ttu\
c n a b l r n go n e r o m a k e e n d s m e e t . O n e w h o l e a d ss u c h a
life will be able to en;oy economic security (utthi-sukhu\.
the pieasure of meaningful use of his wealth (bhogu_
sukhu\,pleasure of not being in debt lrrnanrr-sukhtt. A.
I I . p . 6 9 ) . A p e r s o n w h o l e a d ss u c h a l i f e w i l l n o t y e a r n
for anything that is not essential and will be quite
content (suntutthi)with the fulfilment of his basic needs.
Of}-eringbasic guidelinesregarding the proper spend-
ing of'rightly earned income the Siqalorudu Suttu(D. Il"
p . 1 8 8 ) s a y st h a t o n e s h o u l d d i v i d e o n e ' s w e a l t h ( b h o g u .
here meaning income) into four portions. Clf thesetbur
he should utiltze one portion for his day to day recurring
expences.One is advised to invest two portions in some
productive enterprise,whilc depositingsa1'ely the remain-
ing portion for use in rimes of difliculties.
Naturally a primary concern of any person who
earns his living is his own happiness. But Budclhist
texts point out that besidesmaking himself happy he
has numerous other duties and obligations to perform.
He has to look after his wife and children, his mother
and father and his servantsand workmen. He is expected
to help his f'riends and comrades. treat his relatives
and guests.While doing all this he has also to perform
his religious obligations by making oflerings to the
departetl oncs. deities and to brahmins and sumuntts
But this is not all. The textseven remind one that one
h a s t o p a y t a x e s d u e t o t h e s t a t e .I t i s s a i d t h a t w e a l t h
that i,, flot spent in this manner is "wealth that has
failed to seize its opportunity. failed ro wrn merir.
u n f i t t i n g l y m a d e u s e o f ' . w h e r e a sw e a l t h s p e n t i n t h e
above mcnticned nlanner is called wealth that has
seized rts opportunitl. turned to merit, and fittingly
m a d e u s eo f ' ( 1 . I I . p 6 7 ; I I I . p p . 4 5 . 7 6 \ .
A q u e s t i o n a r i s e sa s t o w h e t h e r B u d d h i s m i n c u l c a t e s
a particular attitude towards employment or work.
Or in orher words. is there a Buddhist work ethic?
The term 'work ethic' in its widest connotation means
attitude to work. It is seen that attitude to work of an
individual in any given society dependson a number o[
variables such as social pressures.economic imperatives.
 EMPTI)YMENT
cuitural and religious influencesetc. Of these numerous
variables, religious inlluence plays an important role.
for, religion in any given sociaty is a major inlluence in
shaping its value system. and work ethrc has a direct
relationship to the value system of a society. There
is a widely prevalent tendency among scholars. mostly
among the western scholars. to consider Buddhism as
b e i n g p e s s i m i s t i ci n i t s o u t l o o k a n d c o n s e q u c n t l yt h e
a t t i t u d e g e n e r a t e db y i t a s b e i n g f a t a l i s t i c .S o m e e v e n
have gone to the extentof pin-pointing that 'traditional
S i n h a l e s eB u d d h i s m s h o u l d b e a r s o m e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y
for retarding economic development (Trevor Ling.
Buddhist Values and Development problems: A case
study of Sri Lanka. World Det,elopmentVol. 8. pp. 557-
5ri6).
There i'snot even an iota of evidenceto prove that the
tsuddhaadvocated that man should resign to fate or
that he should look up to the gracc o[ god. On the
c ( ) n t r a r v t h e r c i s a b u n d a n t t e x t u a l e v i d e n c et o e s t a b l i s h
t h a t t h c B u d d h a c o n s i d e r e dm a n t o b e s u p r e m e a n d
t h a t o n e ' s b e t t e r m e n t o r d o w n f a l l i s d e p e n d e n to n t h e
nttitude adopted by onesell'to the problems one lhces.
Thc Buddha urged everybody alike to put forth effort
(rrrrrrr). and manliness lpurtstttltumu-purixrkurttH \. c
singled out lazincssa*sa cause of downfall (cf. Sn. Pur(tb-
I t u c t t S u t t u l . I n t h e S r g i i o t : t t t t t Jt ' u r t c B u d d h a e x p l a i n s
h o w l a z i n c s si n i t s r n a n i l b l d w a y s r e t a r d s e n t h u s i s a m
a n d e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p r n e n t .f r n a l l y c a u s i n gd i s s i p a t i o n
o f w e a l t h ( D . I I I . p . 1 8 4 ) T h e r e f o r et h e r e i s n o g a i n s a y i n g
of thc lact that the Buddha alwavs adopted a yerv
r c - a l i s r i c ,p r a g m a t i c o u t l o o k a n d e n c o u r a g e d a l l t o
'trive to improve their condition.
This attitude o{' his made him uphold dignity of
L r h o r r r ,I t i s s p c c f i c a l l y s a i d t h a r o n e s h o u l d e a r n o n e ' s
l i v i n g b y d i l i g e n t a p p l i c a t i o n \ u t t h u n u - u d i g u t u )o; n e i s
admonished to earn one's living by the strength of
o n e ' s h a n d s ( b u h u b u f u p u r i c r t ut lh, r o u g h o n e ' s s w e a ta n d
toll lsetlutctkhitta ,1. II. pp. 67. 89, III. 45. 76). What
l o o m s l a r g c o v e r a l l t h e s e i s t h e e m p h a s i so n j u s t i c c
a n d l a i r p l a y o r r i g h t e o u s n c s sl d h u m m u l . O n e c o u l d
. d i l i g e n t l y a p p l y o n e s e l ft o a c h i e v es u c c c s si n a c o r r u p t
p r o f e s s i o nS . imilarly one could diligentlyadopt corrupt
m e i r n st o a c h i v e a g o o d e n d . B o t h t h e s e a t t i t u d c s a r e
decricd in Buddhism. Both employers and employees
irre cautioned that the oblective as well as the means
l d o p t e d t o a c h i e v ei t o r i n o t h e r w o r d s t h e e m p l o y m e n t
engagedin to earn ones living as well as the effort put
forth to achieve successin that particular employment
should be righteous and fair (dhammehidhumma-luddehi).
lt rs this attitude to work that impels one to stick to
\ttmmA-ijicu (good mode of living) avoiding the use of
rncLrrrectweights and measures (tulokut.u. kamsttkutu
, ' r - r . r A u r u .d) e c e i t .f r a u d . c o r r u p t p r a c t i c e sa n d b r e a c h e s
, r i . - o n t r a c t( u k k o t a n a- r t h . c u n u- n i k u t i - s u c t y o g u :D .
I I frl)
74 EMPTINESS
T h i s i s t h e w o r k e t h i c . a t t i t u d e r o e m p l o ) m e n rt h a r
i s s t r o n g l y i n c u l c a t e di n B u d d h i s m . T h r o u g h s u c h a
w o r k e t h i c o n e c o u l d p u r s u ea g o o d m o d e o f l i v e l i h o o d
and lead a contended liie complete with economic
s t a b i l i t y w h i c h i s v e r y e s s e n t i a lf o r s p i r i t u a l p r o g r e s s .
T h e r e f o r e t. h i s B u d d h i s tw o r k e t h i c w i l l n o t o n l y c o n d u c e
t o p e r s o n a l w e l l - b e i n gb u t a l s o r o s o c i a l w e l l - b e i n gb y
bringing about economic progress along with social
harmony. hnally creating a congenial atmosphere for
spiritualpursuits.
S. K. Nanayakkara
EMPTINESS. Although a full doctrinal discussion
on this very important subject will have to wait lor an
e x p o s i t i o n o n t h e t e c h n i c a l t e r m t u n v a t n ( q . v . ) .i t w i l l
not be out of place to show here already the essential
and basic platform of the earliestteachingof the Buddha.
as representedin Theravada as it has survived up to
this date. and of the early developmentsin other Hina-
v a n a s c h o o l s . M a d h y a m a k a . S a r v a s t i v a d aa n d V i j n a -
ptlmatratA covering the first centuries of world-
Buddhism leading to Mahayana.
A l r e a d y t n t h e A n u t t u - l u k k h u n Ju r i r r r r1 l , t n I. . p p . l 3 - 1 4 :
. t . I I I , p . 6 6 l L ) , t h e s e c o n d d i s c o u r s ed e l i v e r e d b y t h e
Iluddha to his newly found disciples. he explains his
doctrine of denial of a theory of the permanent nature
or of the reality of an 'ego' behind the psychical pheno-
mena or of a 'substance'underlying the physical pheno-
mena. ln a purely analytical argument. the individual
is seen as a psycho-physicalcompound, and whatever
there is of body or of mind is further analysed without
discovering anything of a permanent nature.
All conflict is base<Jon the delusion of a permanent
self. and. therefore. the discovery of the unreality of
this delusory self will bring about the solution of all
conflicts. Hence, the teaching of anatta his become
t h e k e y - n o t eo f t h e e n t i r e s t r u c t u r eo f B u d d h i s t t h o u g h t .
C o n d i t i o n e d e x s i s t e n c ei s i m p e r m a n e n t a n d w r o u g h t
with woe (subbesunkhuruunit ti. subbesuhkhurudukkhu),
yet not only conditioned (.sturlihclrrif but also the uncon-
ditioned luuhkhuta), i.e.. Nibbana- is without self-entity
(subbe dhamnw unutta\. And this has never been in
doubt with any school o[ Buddhist thought. This essen-
tial emptinessof mere phenomena (physicaland mental)
was fully understood for all its importance by commen-
tors like Buddhaghosa in his Wsuddhimugga (xix. S 20)
where he follows the orthodox tradition of the Maha-
v i h a r a . o n e o f t h e e a r l i e s ti n s t i t u t i o 6 5i n C e y l o n .d a t i n g
from the time of arahant Mahinda- Advaghosa in his
S u u n d u r a n a n d a( B l . X V I , p . 1 0 2 ) c o m p a r e s N i r v i 4 a
to the extinction of a flame: and likewise when individua-
lity is extinguished, there is no more conflict.
 ENDEAVOUR
Nigirjuna, the great philosopher and founder of
the Madhyamaka svstem of Buddhist philosophy.
holding that truth is attainable by synthetic negation.
also denied the reality of all physical and mental pheno-
mena (scrua-dharma-lunydrt).According to the Madhya-
maka conception, Nirva4a is nothing but Sun,ya(void).
which means a state about which neither existencenor
non-existence could be predicated, for there is no
abiding entity of which such an assertion could be made.
The Sarvastivadins,although holding that everything
exists (saruam usti),maintained also the essentialempti-
nessofeverything that has individual existence(pudgulu-
tinyutul. The great commentator. Vasubandhu, in the
beginning of the 5th century A.C.. formulated an idealism
which arose as a reaction against the extreme passivity
of Nagarjuna's negativism. For him, the middle path
lies neither in recognising the reality of all things.
b e c a u s eo u t e r t h i n g s d o n o t e x i s t , n o r i n r c c o g n i s i n g
t h e n o n - r e a l i t y o f a l l t h i n g s . b e c a u s ei d e a t i o n sd o e x i s t .
The lijiruptimutrdr.l. holding that ideation alonc exisrs.
deniei the reality gf' everything else (b7h1,u-11r11r,,-
sunyatal.The reality of a concept, however. does not
endow it wirh an abiding entity. This idealism was
naturally opposed to the nihilism of the Satl'asiddhi
school where Harivarman maintained that truth is
.rttainable by the recognition of non-entiry. denfing
the reality of individuality (pudquleL) as well as of-martcr
.ind mind (dhurmu\.That truth is the void of Nirvir4a.
E v e n w h e n t h e Y o g a c a r a sp r o p o s e d a m o r e p o s i t i v e
e m p t i n e s sw i t h t h e e l e m e n t o i ' t , i i h i n u i n i t . a n d w h e n
l r r t e r s t i l l a n e l e m e n t o f h a p p i n e s s ( n r r r h c s u k l r cwr )a s
r r d c l e da n d w h e n s u b s e q u e n t l yt h i s e m p t i n c s sr v a st b r m u -
l a t e d a s t h e g o d d e s sS u n y a i n r v h o s ee t e r n a l e m b r a c e
the individual mind luiihinu\ js locked in bliss and
h a p p i n e s s s, h e \ i s s t i l l . o i t . d N i r a t m a . t h e s o u l l e s so n e .
I
It is the doctrine of no-self which gave rise to the
doctrine of compassion with others; and thus Surrycr
a.ndkururlutogether constitute what is called the thought
of enlightenment (bodhicttta\ in which is realised the
t r u e n a t u r e ,t h e s u c h - n e s s( t a t h a t u )o f a l l i n t h e i n h e r e n t
p u r i t y o f t h e n o n - e x i s t e n t ,u n b o r n - v o i d . S e e f u r t h e r
SUNYATA.
H. G. A. r,an Zeyst
ENDEAVOUR TheShorter Oxlbrd Dic.tionury(Ed. C. jl
Onions, 3rd ed. 1956.p. 607) gives the following mean-
rngs to this term: 'to exert oneself.'to direct one's effort's
'to
try''make an effort for a specifiedobject','to attempt
s t r e n u o u s l y . ' T h e r ea r e s e v e r a lP a l i w o r d s w i t h B u d d h i s t
ethical connotations. equivalent in meaning to the term
endeavour,some of them being: L:AyAmu, uiriya, putlhinu
and ussZhrl.
75 ENDEAVOUR
While, Buddhism rejects the betief in divine creation
(rssaranimmarla\it posits aiso that nothing happens
without causes and conditions (ahetu-uppa<'cu1,i1l. ll
maintains that ir.cessant change (anicca) is a salient
characteristic of phenomena and that this change
takes place in relation to causesand conditions (sa/reru-
s a p a c c a y u :M . I I , p . 2 1 7 , A . I , p p . 1 7 3 - 4 \ .M a n i s a l s o
subject to this law (dhammara).But unlike other things
and sentient beings man is endowed with a mind. which.
if developedin the proper way is capableof understanding
the f'unctioning of this law' so that he could utilise
that knowledge for his benefit.
Buddhism explains man's samsaric existence and
suffering present in it as causally,connected and condi-
t i o n c d ( S . I I . p . 4 1 ) S o , i f m a n w a n t s t o m i n i m i s es u f f e r i n g
in sumsura and finally do away with it completely, it
is man himself who can do it Dhp. u. 165). Suffering
in sumsara does not cease by itself. Man has to make
a consistentellort to minimise it and ultimately do away
with it completely. Buddhism accepts the presenceof a
conative ability in man (cetuna: Dph. uu. 1,2: A. lll.
p. al5) which could inspire him to initiate action rhat
would help to minimise suffering and finally eliminate
it complctely.Each and every individual is born with
t h i s p o t e n t i a l i t v .b u t t h e d e g r e co f i t s s t r e n g t hm a y v a r y i n
i n d i v i d u a l s . B u d d h i s m a d v o c a t e sa w a y o f l i f e . a p a r h .
b y f b l l o w i n g w h i c h a m a n c o u l d d e v e l o pt h i s p o t e n t i a l i t y
to its highest peak enabling him to understandthe
true nature of things (Sn. r'. 1130:M. III. pp.75-78).
Endeavour or effort plays an important role in this
way of life. Right endeavour (summa uayumu\ is the
sixth limb in the Noble-Eight-fold Parh, the parh advoca-
ted in Buddhism for man to achievethe goal of religious
lifle in Buddhism. namely. Nibbana.
A practising Buddhist should have in him a four-fold
endeavour or striving. Firstly he should endeavour to
obstruct the entry of unwholesome phenomena (trkusulu
d l u r n r n wi n\ t o h i s m i n d : s e c o n d l y h e s h o u l d e n d e a v o u rt o
drspel from his mind unwholesome phenomena
t h a t a r e a l r e a d y t h e r e ; t h i r d l y h e s h o u l d e n d e a v o u rt o
protect and develop wholesome phenomena that are
alreadyin his mind; and fourthly he should endeavour
to cultivate anew and develop wholesome phenomena
that are not found in him (D. III, p.225: ;{. II. p. 16)
This four-fold endeavour on the part of a person consti-
tutes only one aspect of the sixth limb of the Noble-
Eight-fold Path. Endeavour has another role to pla;-
in the Noble Eight-fold Path. One cannot properly
follow and develop the remaining seven limbs of the
path without the help of this sixth limb of Right Endca-
vour. As rightly shown in the Mulrucuttttr|rrrkuSurrrr
(M. III, pp.72,75),Right Endeavour helpsone to differen-
tiate bc:weenright views and wrong views.right thoughts
and wrong thoughts, right speech and wrong speech.
 EI\[DT.,).RANCE
right actions and wrong actions.right livelihSod and
w r o n g l i v e l i h o o d . r i g h t m i n d f u l n e s sa n d w r o n g m i n d -
fulness arrd right concerrtration c''l' mind and wrong
cencentr:rtion of mind. When one, with endeavour
differentiates bctrleen the right and the wrLrng. one
h a s t o f u r t h e r e n d e a v o u rt o a v o i d t h e w r o n g o n e a n d
cultivate and dcvclop the right one. In this regard it
slrould also bc mentionedthat two othcr limbs of the
Noble-Eight-fbid Path play a similar role, namely
Right views and Right iVlindl-ulnq;s.
I t i s n o t o n l y * ' i t h r e g a r dt o t h e N o b l e - E i g h t - f o l dP a t h
t h a t R i g h t [ - . n d e a v o upr l a y sa n i m p o r t a n t r o l e T h o u g h i t
is not spccificallymentioned. the fivc basic precepts
o f a p r a c t i s i n gl a y B u C d h i s t ,t h e t e n p r e c c p t so f ' a m o n k
i n i t i a t e . o r t h e p u t t m o k k h ur u l e s o f a m o n k . c a n n o t b e
properlv observed without an element of endeavour
in the individual concerned.
T h e i m p o r t a n c ea t t a c h e dt o e n d e a l ' o u ri n t h e t s u d d h i s t
s c h e m e o f s p i r i t u a l d e v e l o p m e n t i s s e c n b - v 'i t s b e i n g
incorporated as one of the ten perlections (f,;ir(/rl;l of
a Buddha aspirant (boclhisatta) The Jataka tales
illustrate the various arduous tasks performcd by thc
bodhisatta during a long period of timc in \(rt?rsir(/.
from the day he received the prediction of becoming a
Buddha at thc ftet of Dipankara Buddha. to the time he
completed his bodhisatta car€er as King Vcssantara
(/. I, p. 22). Even in the caseof perfections.the pcrfection
o f e n d e a v o u r( u t r t y a )i s n o t o n l y o n e o f t h e t e n p A r t t n i s .
b u t i t i s a n e l c m e n t t h a t s h o u l d b e p r e s e n tl n a p e r s o n
i n o r d c r t o f u l l l l t h c o t h e r p er f e c t i o n s s u c c e s s l r r l l l " .
E n d e ; v o u r i s a l s o r e c k o n e da s o n e o f t h e s e v e nl i m b s o l
L , n l i g h t e n m e n\ bt o i l h u h q uD , h s A .p 2 1 1 :D I I . p p . 7 9 .8 3 :
M . l . p p . I l . 6 1 t I t i s t h e l 6 t h o t - t h €t w e n t ) ' { w of a c u l t i e s
( i r r d r r y ao) f a b e i n g t l l t h . p . 1 2 2 ; t ' i s r np. . 4 9 1 ) .I t i s a l s o
t h c s c c o n d o l - l h e f i v e s t r e n g t h s( b r r i r ro) l ' a m a n o n t h e
path to perl'ection ( D . l I I . p . 2 5 3 : S u p 2 5 1 )a n d t h e
fifth of the five facultim \indriy'u S. V pp. 281-22\.
T h u s i t i s c l e a r t h a t e n d e a v o u r( r ' r r l l . ' ai)s a n e s s e n t i a l
ingredient in the life of an individual who is keen to
minimise suffering in .srtrnsrlrtand finally eliminate it
i u l l y b y r e a l i s i n gt h e g o a l o f t h e r c l i g i o u s l f e . a s t a u g h t
in the f)hamma. Seealso EXERTION. VIRIYA and
PADHANA.
W. G. Weeraratne
'the
ENDURAfliCE. Sh.orrerOxford English Diclionurv'
d . - l l n e st h r s t t - r m si . r st h c f a c t . t h e h a b i t o r t h e p o w e r o l -
c n d u r i n g . T h c P a l i w o r d w i t h a n e t h i c a lc o n n o t a t i o n
t h a ! c r - r m erse r r c l o s ei n m e a n i n gt o t h i s t e r m i s k h u n t r
1 7l;r' 5ir,,rrrt', Orio,d Engltsh Dtcttonory. revised ard edited by Cl. T- Onions,
76 ENDURAI{CE
(Skt. ksanti),which again is explained in English as
' t o l e r a n c e ' . ' p a t i e n c e ' , ' i m p a r t i a l i t v ' . ' t o r b e a r a n caen' d
'forgiveness'.The Pali v'ord klruntt is very comprehensive
in meaning anci the above words taken individually
explain only an aspect oi it. The Dhammapada(Dhp. o.
184) says; "Endurance is the highest form of asceticism
o r p e n a n c e " \ k h a n t t p u r u m e t o p o l .I t i s a v e r y s u b l i m e
mental condition of a person who has advanced much
spiritually. Tlrc Dhammasanguni(Dhs. p. 230 section
1 3 4 1 )d e s c r i b e sf t h a n t ra s a b i l i t y o f a p e r s o n t o f o r g i v r :
(khumunuril, to bear up iadhtt;isanutil, gentleness.
(ucuryltkkunr),freedom liom harshness(ancsurupo)and
contentment of mind (uttttnunatu o/ra.t.srt).It is thus
e v i d e n t t h a t k f t t r n f ih a s t h e m e a n i n g o f u d h t t a s t m a t ua n d
u p e k k h itl o o . w h i c h a r e b o l h u s e d i n a n i r n p o r t a n t e t h i c a l
s e n s ei n B u d d h i s m
Khctntris the sixth of tltc ten perfections lprnrrnri|oi
o n e w h o a s p i r e st o B u c l d h a h o , r d( J . l . p . 2 2 . ) . D i p a n k a r a
lluddha. while predicting the future Buddhahood of
Sumedha Pag{ita- requested the latter to practise
this virtue to perfection, to make him competent for
Ruddhahood. In this conlext khunti is descrihed as
the ability of a person to have mental balance in facing
both honour or praise and insult or censurc without
jubilation or dejection. A person who ha-sin him such
a d e v e l o p e dm e n t a l i t f i s c o m p a r c d t o t h e g r e a t e a r t h
( m a h u p a t h a t : i )I .t i s s h o u ' nh e r e t t r a i t h e e a r t h n e i t h e r
loves a person who casts all typc of ciean and pure
things on it, or hates him who casts all types of putrid
\ y a s t cm a t t e r o n r t . b u t a c c e p t sa l l t h o s e t h i n g s w i t h o u t
protest It rs this same menlril attitude that is highly
p r a i s e di n t h e I t u h i m u i r 4 t t l r tS u t t t ti . ! i r . p . 4 7 ) . n a m e l y
the abilitl of a person to matntain perfect control.
e q u i p o i s ea n d c o m p l e t e b a l a n c e o f m i n d i n l a c i n g t h e
v i c i s s i t u d e s o f l i f e ( p l r u t t . h u s s ul o k u d h u m m e h ic f t t u n l
_I'ds.s.r n4 kumputr). Lokodhamma are explained in some
t e x t sa s c o n s i s t i n go f e i g h t t h i n g s o r f o u r p a i r s o f o p p o s i -
tes, i.e. gain and loss (/,rbho utublrc\.ill-reputation and
fame (riyr.rs o))uso\. insult and praise (nindA pusumsa\
a n d h a p p i n e s sa n d s o r r o w ( s u k h ud u k k h u : D . I I I . p . 2 6 0 :
. 1 ,I V . p p . 1 5 7f l l . l t i s s h o w n i n t h e s et e x t st h a t a n i g n o r a n t
worldling (rlssufrturrputhujjuru\ rvho has no recourse
t o n o b l e o n e s a n d t h e i r t e a c h i n g s .f e e l s d e l i g h t e d a n d
j o y f u l w i . : n h e g a i n s s o m e t h i n g a n d b e c o m e sr e s e n t f u l
a n d d e i e c t e di v h e n h e l o s e s( ' { . I V . p . 1 5 8 ) .B u t a n i n t e l l i -
g e n t ( . \ u r ( r r ' ap)e r s o nw h o h a s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y o l - a s s o c i a -
t i n g w i t h t h e n o b l e o n e s a n d w h o h a s t h e c h a n c eo f
k n o w i n g t h e i r t e a c h i n g s ,r e a l i s e st h a t a l o s s o r g a i n r s
a t h i n g t h a t i s i m p e r m a n e n t ,u n s a t i s f a c t o r ya n d s u b j e c t
to change as any other component thing and as such
he should acceF whatever that comes with complete
c o m p o s u r e o f m i n d , w i t h o u t r e s e n t m e n to r j u b i l a t i o n
1970.
 ENDURANCE ll
( A . l V . p l 5 8 i S u c h a p e r s o nt r e a t sa l l b e i n g sa l i k e
\ s u h h u- b h u t e s ut a d i n o l . H i s t h o u g h t s a r e w e l l u n d e r
c o n t r o l l s u n k u p p o t t t s i k u t o ir e g a r d i n g p l e a s a n t ( r l t h a l
and unpleasant (anrtthat things. The best example
f r o m i h e l i f e o f t h e B u d d h a a s p i r a n t ' { b o d h t s u t t u tl o
i l l u s t : a t e t h i s s u b l i m ea t t i t u d eo f m i n d i s t h e r K h r r n t r t a d u
. l u t a k a ( J I I I p p . 3 9 - 4 : i ) .I n t h e v e r y d i s t a n t p a s r r h e
bodhisaitu was practisiilg very 3cvcrc pcnancc in the
R o y a l P a r k i n K a s i . O n c d a y t h r : k r n g o f R e n a r e sw h r . .
was a rJisbelicver,met this ascetic in the Royrrl Park
and to test the ascetic's power of endurancc ordered
'Ihe
his mcir to tortur€ him. king's men subjecied the
ascctrc to various fbrms of physical torture, but the,v
c o u l d n o t c r e a t e a m e n t a i d i s t u r b a n c ei n h i m . F i u a i l y .
the king ordered the men to sever the ascetic'slimbs,
which they did in no time. The asceticwas left with only
the head and the limbless body, but even then he bore
up the pain and agony without protest. with calmncss.
serenity and courage and ultimately succumbed to the
in-ir:riesmindfully. with full mental equilibrium without
any grudge to his torturers, but with a blessingto them
on his lips.
Incidents from the life of the Buddha whcrein he
d i s p l a y e dt h i s n o b l e v i r t u e a r e n o t r a r e . H e * . a s n c t a t
all disturbed by the various cruel altbmpts of his cousin
D e v a d a t t a t o k i l l h i m , t o s l a n d e rh i m a n d t o w r e c k h i s
missionary career, in a diversity of ways. In all these
s i t u a t i o n s h e c o u l d m a i n t a i n m e n t a l b a l a n c c ,e q u i p o i s e
and wish for the welfare and happiness of Devadatta
in the same way he wished for the welfareand happiness
o f h i s o n e a n d o n l y s o n R a h u l a ( S . I L p . 1 5 6 ; I 4 n .l I . p .
184: J. L p. lll). Whcn Aggikabhiradhvaja brahmin
reviled him wirh very harsh. unkind and abusive words.
he remained undisturbed and serene till the brahmin
finished pouring out his wrath over the Buddha. When
the brahmin finished reviling him, the Buddha addressed
him in a very fricndly tone and explained to him the
inappropriateness of his vituperation (Sn. pp. 2l-251.
and preached to him comprehensivelythc sublime truth
he had discovered. Alier the sermon the brahamin
becamequite pleased with the Buddha and accepted
him as his teacher.
On another occasioq a group of wandering ascetics
who became envious of the growing popularity of the
Buddha and his organisation, plotted to bring discredit
on him. They hired a woman to hover around the monas-
tery of the Buddha ard the bhikkhus,to give the impres-
sion to the public that she was a constant visitor to the
monastery.They later got this woman murdered secretly
and buried her near the monastery. When the woman
disappearedmysteriously tbe people around the place
bccame suspicious, and when the body of the woman
was fbund buried in a thicket near the monastery, the
wandering ascetics spread the talk that the Buddha
ENDURANCE
and the bhikkhuswere responsiblefor her death. People
becarne rc furious that tlrc Buddha and the bhikkhus
were scorned and insult'edand were turned away with
e m p t y b o w l s w h e n t h e y w c n t f o r t h e i r a l r n sr o u n d . F o i r
s o n l e t l m et h e b f u k k h u sc o u l d n c t c i ) m ec , . ! to f t h e m o n a s -
tery Thlngs became so intoierable and unpleasant
that Arranda, on heh;if of the orher. hhrkk-ltus. suggested
t o t i r e B u d d h a t l , a t t h e y l e a r e t h a t m o n a s r e r ya n d g o
c l s r w h e r e. f h e B e . l d h a i n h i s u s u a l s e r e n c m a n n e r
explairrld to Anarrd;r that it was no solution (o thc
problern, and that til! sirt:uld bear up with courage.
w i t h o u t r ' e s e n t m e n t t, h e i l l - t r e a t m e n t o f r h e p e o p l e .
for he told them that before long the truth would be
o u t a n d t h e n t h i n g s w o u l d b e c o m en o r m a l ( L , d .I V . p . 8 :
{ ; d A . ? p 2 5 6 i f D h p . . l .I i l . p . 4 7 4 1 "4 t u i o w h e n i i v a l
religious teachcrs charged the Buddha saying that he
was a killer of the embryo' (bhinahul. a nihilist (ucchedu-
l,udiko) etc., he was not offended and did not resent
such charges or made counter charges against those
religious teachers,but patiently analysed and examined
them to show his rivals that those charges actually
could not be made against him (,4. IV" pp. 174, lB2).
His constant advice to his discipleswas that they should
not become elated at praise cr feel dejected at blame.
for, he told them. one cannot discern the truth if one
becomes elated and dejected at praise and blame respec-
t i v e l y .( D . I . p . 3 ) .
With regard to physical pain and uneasinesstoo, the
Buddha has evinced the highest degree of patience and
endurance. Once when his foot was cut with a splinter
of stone, he bled profusely and the wound caused him
acute and unbearable pain: yet he did not show any
signs of agony or bewilderment, but consciously and
mindfully bore up that pain (bhusa-wdam Bhaguttato
uedunu uattanti suririki oeduna dukkha tibba khuru
kutuka asutd amunapa.ta sudambhugauasuto sumpujino
adhit:aseti ctuthahhunfino.(S. I. p. 27). On another
occasion in the last days of his life, there <leveloped
in him an acute abdominal pain, due to an indigestion
caused by a disagreabledish served by Cunda (D. lL
p. 126) Though the parn \!'asacute. severeand unbeara-
ble, he courageously and ungrudgingly endured it all.
Buddhism teachesthat suffering inherent in samsaric
existence is brought about by conscious activities of
mrn himself and that man alone is capableof minimising
this sufferingand ultimately eliminating it by mindfully
treading the path that leads to freedom from sutfering.
Craving, hatred and ignorance are called the three
roots of evil that lead to suffering of marr in samsuru.
Therefore, if one were to minimise suflering and experi-
encesome degree of happiness in this world or ln the
world to come, one has to gradually diminish the power
of craving and hatred in one. by developingtheir opposi-
tes, namely liberality and true friendship to all. It is
 ENJOYMENT
- . r : : . r e t t h a t a l l c o n f l i c t s i n s o c i e t ya r e c a u s e db y t h e
: - r. .)f a t-ricndlyattitude in its members.Il' the members
." rn) societyare friendly to one anothcr. thev would
:,r: onlr refrain from activities that are injurious in
. 1 n \ \ \ a - \ t o a n y o f i t s m e m b e r s .b u t o n t h e c o n t r a r y
* c , u l d c n g a g e t h e m s e l v e si n a c t i v r t i e st h a t w o u l d h e l p
to make the lives of the peoplc happy and content.
TheDltummttpad(JSayS:..Hattedneverceasesbysclf.mortification(uttukilumuthanuv't,,iirr)whichpath.
h a t r e d i n t h i s w o r l d . I t c e a s e so n l y w i t h f b r e b e a r a n c ;
e n d f o r g i v e n e s s . "T h i s i s a n a n c i e n t l a w . ( D h p . t : . 5 1 .
when people become used to forgiving and tolerating
the wrongs done to them by other people. and when
they treat their opponents and enemies in a decent
way without scheming to put thcm in diificulty and
destroy them, the wrong-doers too would gradually
change their attitudes to other people,and try to become
friendly. In this way when wrong-doers become res-
trained regarding their behaviour, any society would
become pcaceful, and the degree of happiness in such
a society would increase greatly. when things take
s u c h a t u r n p e o p l ew o u l d f i n d s u c h a s o c i a lu t * I r p h " r .
q u i t e c o n g e n i a l t o u n d e r t a k e a c o u r s e c , f d i s c i p l i ' n et . t h e c a s eo f h o u s e h o l d e r s( g r i r i )a' n d h e n c et h e d e s c r i p t i v e
control the natural ficklenes o[ mind so that it coul,l
b c t r a i n e d r o c o n c e n t r a r ea r r e n r i o no n a s i n g l eo b-wt,"n
ject ot
thought that is essentialto develop true wiiom.
onc is able to develop wisdom to see things in their
truc perspective. prcjudicial thinking *Jula cease
i n s u c h a p e r s o n a n d t h i s m e n t a l d e v e l o p m e n tw o u l d
help him to destrov craving (tutrhu\.the root cause of
s a m s a r i c e x i s t e n c e .s c e a l s o K H A N T I .
W. G. Weeraratne
FN(ILAND. SeeBRI-IAIN. BUDDHTSM IN
F.\.161'11t I-'l' . When juxtaposed with the reaching on
dukkhu i.e. unsatisfactorinesswhich according to Bud-
dhism is the most outstanding characteristicof existence.
the concept of enjoyment appears to be quite alien to
Buddhism. This seems to be more so if one were to
a c c e p t b l i n d l y t h e v i e w p u t f o r w a r d b y s o m ew r i t e r s
t h a t B u d d h i s m i s p e s s i m i s t i ci n i r s a r t i t u d e r o l i l e .
[ ] u t a c o r r e c t a n q l l s i s o f t h e t s u d d h i s t t e a c h i n g sa n c i
' l t h e p l a c e a s s i g n e dt o e n j o y m e n t i n B u d d h i s m r e v e a l s
m u c h e v i d c n c e t o t h e c o n t r a r y . B y e m p h a s i s i n gt h e
p r e d o m i n e n c eo f t l u k k h ui n s e n s o r ys t i m u l a t i o n { k u m a . . .
huhu dukkhu bahu - upayasu\ Buddhism does not stifle
(rne'shope f or happinessand enjoyment.On the centrary.
h r s t r e s s i n gt h i s a s p e c t a o d a n a l y s i n g i t o b j e c t i v e l y .
Buddhismlshows how one could enjoy life without
anv fear of subsequentlyfeeling dejected due to loss of
en , l o !m e n t .
7B ENJOYMENT
I f b y e n 3 o y m e n ti s m e a n t i n d i s c r i m i n a t eg r a t i f i c a t i o n
of senses by excessiveindulgence in sense,pleasures
( k u m u s u k h a l l r k D n u y o gsuu) c h e n j o y m e n t i s d e n o u n c e d
dorvnrightin Buddhismas being low. vulgar. mundane.
i g n o b l e a d n o r c o n d u c i v et o w e l l - b e i n g( S I V . p . 3 3 0 t .
Uut this denunciation does not amount to complete
n e g a t i o n o f e n . j o y m e n ta n d s u b s t i t u t r o n o f a p a t h o f
i : d e n o u n c e ciln a s i m i l a r v e i n . I n t h e f l r s t s e r m o n i t s e l l
t h e B u d d h a r e j e c t e db o t h t h e s ee x t r e m e sa s b e i n g h a r m -
ful to the well-being of the individual (l,ln. I, p. l0)
who is pursuing the path of religious upliftment. Though
this sermon is addressed to an audience solely com-
prising of recluses.its overall emphasis on the virtue
of lbllowing a middle_path (majjhimu_putrpudu\has
greatly influenced the leneral guaahlst way of life.
It is this middle_path attitude that is generally adopted
by lay Buddhists with regard to enjoyment.
tsuddhism takes for granted that on the whole.
worldlings are given to the enJoyment of pleasures of
l i f e ' T h i s ' a c c o r d i n gt o B u d d h i s m i s p a r t i c u l a r l y s o i n
appelation 'pleasure - enloying householders'(gihi'
kumu-bhogin\A ' c c e p t i n g t h i s f a c t u a l p o s i t i o nB
' ucdhism
speaks of numerous sources of worldly enjoyments
such as sex and marriage (sehi dureht suntuttho),family.
wealth (bhogusukha)and so on' generally resorted to
b y h o u s e h o l d e r sT - hough such enjoymentsare a part
and parcel of day to day life of the lay-folk' Buddhism.
i n k e e p i n gw i t h i t s f u n d a m e n t a lt e a c h i n go f m o d e r a t i o n
ln ways of life, duly cautions its adherents not to over-
indulge in them; and elaborately and methodically
i l l u s t r a t e s t h e e v i l s o f o v e r - i n d u l g e n c e .l t s h o w s h o w
the mind, rf given liee reins, runs amuck and gets.
enmeshed in worldly enjoyments and subsequently
end up in utter dejection and misery.
Though the emphasisis on moderation, Buddhism. in
moulding the lay attitude towards enjoyment, does
not stop at exalting the virtues of moderation. It is
accepted that the worldlings are in general given to
the en.joymentof pleasures.But the fact remains that
amidst such worldlings there are both male and female
lay devotees (upusuka, upusiku) who are more prone
to lead ethical lives. and yet others who are specially
d e v o t e d t o r e l i g i o u s a n d s p i r i t u a l a d v a n c e m e n t .T h e
t e x t s r e f e r t o t h e m a s w h i t e - c l a d h o u s e h o l d e r s( 9 i h i
o d u t u u t t s u n at h) e l a 1 - d e v o t e e(su p i r . skrur . u p u s t k a \l .e a d i n g
religious lives (blolrnutirll as against white-clad lay-
devotees who are given to the enjoyment of pleasures
( u p u s u k u u p i s t k t g t h i o d i t t t t , u s u n uk u m u b h o g i r u : M .
l. p. 491). To such lay-fblk the teaching of moderation
is inadequateas a giriding principle and henceBuddhism
preaches to them a more profound teaching on this
subject of enjoyment. Going deeper into this subject
 ENJOYMENT
Buddhism explains and illustrates what enjoyments
are by analysing the whole psychological process of
enjoyment. According to this explanation a particular
consciousness,is said to produce sensory impingement
(phassa) which in turn gives rise to feeling (uetlana).
What one feels one begrns to perceive and what one
preceives one begins to ponder abour (M. I, p. iii).
Feeling is either pleasurable, painful or neutral. The
general tendency of the being is to withdraw from
painful feelings and get attached to pleasurable feelings.
Therefore it is natural for one to delight in and cling on
to such pleasurable objects perceived through one's
sense- organs (so cakkhuna rupaqt disua piyarupe rupe
'delighting
sarajjuti... M. I, p. 266). These acts of
and 'clinging on' are manifest signs of intrusion of the
false idea of the ego inro the field of enjoyment. With
the rise of this false ego - consciousness,one becomes
inextricably personally bound up in enjoyment. Enjoy-
ment of sense pleasures becomes the main drive in life.
The impulse to satiate the desire to enjoy, leads one
to over-indulgence in pleasures. This enmeshes one.
more and more, in bondage to wordly existence,escape
from which should be the sole aim of all Buddhists.
Thus it is clear that enjoyment and more precisely over-
indulgence in enjoyment is an obstacle in the path of
ethical and spiritual perfection that leads to liberarion
from sarnsdra.Hence Buddhism preachessense-restraint
as the most dfective means of removing this obstacle.
However, responsibilitieg duties and commitments in
lay-life do not quite conduce to the practise of self-
restraint to tbe maximum. LayJife is full of obstacles
(sambadlwghardudso: It(l, p.179) and not so is the life
of the mont (pabbajjQ which is compared ro the open-air
(abhhokasa: loc. cit.).
It is this monkish life that provides the proper en-
vironment to practir self-restraint, and it is primarily
because of the fact that monks lead a life not given to
the enjoyment of worldly pleasures that their vocation
is regardcd as being superior to that of the house-
holders (M-1, p. 460). In this life it is the enjoyment of
renunciation. (nekkhamma-sukha)that is held above the
enjoyment of sense- pleasures (l<ama-sukha;,4. I, p. 80).
By opting to enjoy renunciation, monks naturally
renounce most of the enjoyments pertaining to lay-life.
Yet their life is not morbid and dull, for cultivation of
joy (piti) is a necessity for them. Spiritual enjoyment
enhanch their joy.
Obviously, owing to,the dillerences in vocations the
range and spherc of form of enjoyment permitted for
monks are different from, and in certain respects limited
thaq those allowed to lay householders. The special
code of discipline and ethics (oinaya\ which is far more
stnngent than the one meanr for laymen illustrate this.
But the ethical training and the deeper understanding
of life the monks acquire bring about a total inner
79 ENJOYMENT
revolutio4 eflecting a change in their viewq values,
desires and goals. In this process of ethical and spiritual
growth their sense of enjoyment becomes thoroughly
filtered and refined enabling them to appreciate and
derile a deep sense of joy out of simple thinp in life,
which the average worldling overlooks as being insigni-
frcant or evEnas being,sourcesofcrisery and unhappiness.
The monks thoroughly enjoy their lives pledged to
few wants (uppiccha), and remain content and satisfied
(santuttha) with a frugal living (sc/lahuka-uutti\. They
enjoy living in forestq shady groves, mountain caves
and in hermitages on river banks. Trees laden with
flruits, creepers in full bloorn, long winding rivers and
in'
streams, snow-capped mountains, cooing of birds and
rumblings of thunder are for them sources of deep
aesthetic enjoyment. The Thera-therigatha bears ample
testimony to this. Yet they are not enamoured by any
of these sources, for they have truly graspod what
enjoyment (assada) is and what its evits (adinaua) are.
In therq gone is the ego-centered feeling of possessive-
ness and craving with all is anxieties and fears. Their
sense of'enjoyment is tempered with dispassionateness
(uiruga) which heightens the experience of enjoyment by
arresting personal involvement that diminishes the e{Iects
of such deep experiences by bringing about complex
conceptualisati6rl leading to craving.
Enjoying them in a detached manner the monks utilise
these sources of enjoyment as sourcs of inspiration for
musing Qhana) out of which thcy derive a deep feeling
of ecstatic joy - a profbund:sense of enjoyment never to
be experienced by laymen enjoying worldly pleasures.
, Yet they do not cling on even to such forms of spiritual
en1oyment for, they are aware that these jhanic attain-
ments, too are dfected and thought out, and hence
liable to ceaseand bring about dejection (M.I, p.350;
I I I , p . 2 z t 4 ;S . I I , p . 6 5 ; A . Y , p . 2 4 3 ) . F o r t h e m t h e o n l y
lasting peak experience is the enjoyment of the bliss of
freedom (uimutti-sukha). Eloquent expressions givan to
such ecstatic experiences resulting from the attainment
of freedom from samsnro\ are found in such texts as the
Thera-therigatha and the Udana.In this state of freedom.
gone are their personal biases and evil dispositions;
ego-centered thougbts f-rnd no footing in them The
transmutation brought about by thb attainment enables
them to live in the world and enjoy all pleasant things
seen, heard or congnized without clinging on to thern,
for they are trained to consider what is scenjust as the
seer! what is heard just as the hear4 what is
sensed just as the sense and what is cognized lust
as the cognized (Ud. p. 8). Their sense-resrraint
has reached such a high level of developn:;nt rhat
they are able to enjoy sense-objectswirhout being led
astray by them.
S. K. Nanayakkara
 ENLIGIITENMENl' BO
E\LICIITENED O N E . S C CB U D D I I A
Ef.ILIGIITENMBf{l'. The irlea tl' enlightenmeni
(br'dhrlas final religious attainment. historicall;"speaking.
starts with the Budciha- fbr in thc BudChist wa-v of
thinking he was the lirst to Lx enlightened. The word
Buddha itself (fron the root budh - to know) means
Lrn€ wfio ha^sgained knowledge. krrowleilge aboi-il
the true nature of tbe process or phcnemenon t'rf !iJc.
Coming into berng based on the principle of condi
tionality (idapput'cuydtA).life nroceeds with unfailing
predictability (at'iruthura)and invariability (unuiirathata.
S. II. 26). Ihi^struth or principle is at work in the universe.
irrespective o{' the enlighterrment of persons about tt
ptppadaua tuthagatunarnanuppudauu tathagatunamthttu
tn sa dhitu dhummatthititil Jhrmmunivamataiduppttcca-
vdra S. II, p. 25 l'.). Hence its objectivity (rar:,h.rta). This
conditionality is the unlailing and unalterabie order that
governs the working of the life process.In enlightenment
one comes to know of it (ra,rrtLilnAuuioubhiutmbuilhutt
a h h i s a m e t i . . . i b i d . ) a n d t h e r e b . vt-r a n s c e n d s t h e v e r v
process which is regarded in Buddhisrn in its overall
cstimation. as being unsatisfactory. This cessation ol
the recurring life process which is ,referred to as (bhaua-
niroilhu\is Nirviga, the summum bonum of Buddhism
(See CESSATION). The reversal of the process too, is
based on the same causal principle.
Buddhist texts express this idea ot' the Buddha's
enlightenment, that being the significant first instance.
using several idioms. In an autobiographical account.
speaking about his own enlightenment. the Buddha is
seen making the statement that' eye appeared the (t'rrAk-
'wisdom
hum udapadi[ that arose' (nararn udupdtirpuititd
'there
udapudi vrjju udupddr)and that was illuminatton'
(aloko udapadi: lln. I, p. 11). Hencc the path or the
Middle way (mttjjhrma p,ttrpadrr)which leads to this
N i b b a n i c g o a l o f e n l i g h t e n m e n ti s d e s c r i b e d( M . I . p . l 5 )
t t s ' p r o d u c i n g t h e e y e ' l r ' L t k k h u k u r t L ral Jn)d b r i n g i n g
about wisdom (huryukura4'r). Nevertheless.enlightenment
is not merely the end product of the Buddhist religious
lrfe which brings about release(samnw irr4rtssr.t summi
L rmutti puhott. D. II, p. 217). lt is also rcllected in the
processwhich leads to that final product. The Buddhist
\lrddle way, i.e. the Noble Eightiold Patir in lacl.
r'egins with Right View (samntadft.thr)which means
.rn rnitial enlightened outlook that has to be cultivated
J n i a c q u l r e d b o t h w i t h a s s i s t a n c ef r o m o u t s i d e a n d
rnleilrgent thinking within oneself {parato cu glhoso
, , , n , ' f , . d m a n a . s t k a r oM . . I. 294). This enlightened
, - r u : i o o k * h i c h i s e s s e n t i a l l yt h e b a s i s o f d i s c i p l i n e i n
B u d C h i s m a n d w h i c h a d i s c i p l e i s e x p e c t e dt o a c q u i r e
. i n d d er e l c - r pr n o r d e r t o l i b e r a t e h i m s c l f f r o m t h e s r r r r r -
; . i ; p r o c e s s .r e f l e c t sa n a w a r e n e s so f t h e t h r e e c h a r a c -
ENLIGHTENMf,NT
teristics of !rfe or ttlukkha4a u'hich are impermanencc
(anicctt\. unsaiisl'actoriness(dukkhul and soullessness
(anattu: M. I. pp. \38. 232). This awareness reduces
the over-inllated ego-clnsciousnesi of an indiviclual
( t h u t l k t t r o a n d n ; u m i n f u r r ral ln d c c . n s e q u e t t t iavl s o o f t h c
coirothng manil'estatiop56f ztiachement and aggression
fuhhijiaiand "r'Jpcdc). it heips the ciiscipie in a relined
withrl .-awal irorn involvement in the affairs of thc
worlcj, helprshim to deepen his vision and acqutre total
d e t a c h m e n ia n d f r e e d o m ( a p c t t . p l - - 1 8 iI.n t h e l r l o h l e
tsighrftri<l Fath Right Vtew leads to right thought
pattcrns (summd-sunkupp,s) and thereby to right speech
and right action consequently. Profitable spirituai
attainments like self-posseeslon(sorl) and tranquillitl'
of mind (samadhi)c,:me in the wake of these. Viewing
it differently. disentanglement from the painful involve'
ment in iife comes througb this maturity of vision.
t h r o u g h a r e a l i s t i ca t t i t u d e t o l i f e i n t h e w o r l d l e r a m
e t u m v a t h u b h i t a n t t o m m u p l L i i l i t i v a r i u t t h u b b a n t : i V.I
I p . 1 3 9 ) . f h i s b r i n g 5 t h e n e c e s s a r yd e t a c h m e n t w h i c h
makes release t'rom the bonds of life" and hence of
e x i s t e n c c . a r e a l i t y i e u a m p a s s L t mb h t k k h u u e s u t u t : u
u r r l ' L ts i r u k a r u p a s m i mn t b b r n d u t i . . . n. i b b i n d a mt r r a j j u t r
u r r E q a - t : i m u c c a rirh i d ) .
Ihis enlightenment, also referred to as gaining of
knowledge (ahharudhanli)is said to be thc resull of a
process of culture (stkklra)which is gradual (unupubbu'
srkkhu unupubbukiriyi unupubbupatrpadaahharudhuni
h o t i M l . p . A 7 9 f . ) a n d n o t i n s t a n t a n e o u s( n u h u m
h h k k t e a d r k e n e r , u i t h u r u d k t n a mr u d a m t . i b i d ) . C o n t r i -
b u t i n g t o t h e a t t a i i r m e n t o f t i r i s e n l i g h t e n m e n t( b o d h r l
are a group of seven items referred to as bo.ljhutillus
(q,i'.i or facton of enlilghtmment which in turn have
come to be included in a larger list o[ thirty-seven
q u a l i t i e so r i t e m s c o n s t i t u t i n go r c o n t r i b u t i n g t o e n l i g h -
t e n m e n t ( b o d h t p u k k h i y ud h a m m a .q . v ) . I t i s s a i d o f t h e
seven facton of enlightenment that their steady culti-
v a t i o n ( y e s u mb h t i u r t t t t t ub a h u h k u t a t t a . . . M .l I L p . 2 7 5 )
brings about frnal release or emancipalion (Asat'inanr
k h u v u u n i s a L ) a mc e t o - t ) t m u t t l mp u i t h u t t m u t t r md r t t h e r u
dhummesuyamcbbhihha succhikatl.aupusumpujjacrhuru-
ri. ibid). They are also described as being conducive to
disengagement (from damaging types of involvement
in the affairsof ths world: ttt:ekuntssitam M.l. p. 11).
t < rd e t a c h m e n lt c t r i g u n r s s r r o ni br i d i r n d t o f i n a i c e s s a t i o n
{nrrttdhurussrtarn. ibid.} It tr'cluidbe of interest to observe
t h a t t h e s ei a c t o n o f e n l i g h t e n m e n ti n c l u d e , a t t h e v e r y
o u t s e t ,m e n t a l a l e r t n e s s( - s a t ia) n d a c a p a c l t yf o r d i s c r i m i -
natory analysisof pertinent data relating both to onesell'
and to the environment (dhsmmaurcuya). The energetic
application that is necessaryis brought under uirrya,
and the sustainingjoy or pitr one getsin the procps of this
spiritual upliftment contributes to the composure of
btrdy (pas.saddhi). The tranquilhty of mind (samadhr\
 ENLIG}ITENMENT 81 EN}TITY

which one attains at the erxj of all this and the healthy 1. pubbe nir,rj.strnus.trt,,i httn! or r,:clliection of one's
neutrality of outlook (upekkhu)complete all the lactors f o r m e i l i r . : : : . 2 .. : , t t I i n u mc u l u n t r , t t t . r n L tonri ;v i s r o ni n t o
necessary for enlightement lsatta-bojjhungu). the death and brrth proLess':l .:i frerngsand .j. itsurak-
khayuiraqt <.rrkrtowiedge lc,:i:trg t<; ihc iinal disapnea-
This enlightenment or gaining of knowledge which
rance rrf -il ilrtrlernerii:: lr"hr,:h pr<llong ihr:snsirtc
opens the gates to hnai releaseis the highest expression
process. i'uitt;enn''.tslr/lilijJ.rii ;l;'tit1';r( trq be a tirst-hand
of Buddhist culture referred to earlier as s*kha ft is the
experiencc or t{ii;{l conviut;J:r}ir: the fact of rebirth.
third and final stage of the threefold culiure irr.s.so
verrfledin terms oi ol,es*!!-i: :: or;e ;rsprect rf the truth of
sikkha) and goes under the name of utlhryuh\rastkl:hi
sum:arc.(-utipupi,.tttttlulu,.tn the other hand. is a personal
or culture relating to the develcpment of wisdom.
discovery of the operatiun of' th';- iaw of kilrma, which
This is inevitably ro becausesamsdrafrom which release
is the other complementar5 aspcct of sdmsara. When
is sought is brought about by uurjja or the absence of
viewed from this angle the_-v ars an integra! part of the
this correct knowledge (uuryjn pa(cuyA sumkhuru...
psychology o{. ir-irvaga. Asutukkhay,a,which comes
etc.).[t is clearly stated in the surtasthat in the presence
finally. is the natural outcorne of the two preceding
of this wisdom the foundations of an individual's sam-
phases of knowledge, well-grounded and powerful
saric process or nsnua.sare shatt erd (puithave coss(l
enough to shatter the foundations of srirnsara.It is
dtsud dsaud purikkhl4u hontt. M. l. p. 477: seeing his
explained as the grasp of reality lyathabhutan ubbhufi-
w i s d o r n ,t h e d d i l e m e n t s w h i c h e n s n a r eh i s m i n d t o t a l l l
n i s t t b t C . li n t e r m s o f t h e f o u r :n o b l e t r u i h i .
disappear).
The concept of enlightenmentcame to be subsequently
In the Canonical Pali texts two phasesof knowledge
lookcd upon as consisting of ditTerentgrades and there-
or enlightement seem to be associatedwith the ultimatc
fbre as being drfferent in contrust according to the
release in Buddhisn! one succeeding the other \pubbt,
three modes of liberaiion or v'unu,i.e. of the Buddha.
ktw Sur;,ru dhammatthttt itil4am put'chi nibbune hunrun
pttt'cekubuddfutand dtliant or triuaka. The Buddha's
S. II. p. 124).They are dhummur.tktt-niirutor the initial
enlightenment which is generally reierred lo as samma-
knowledge of th€ law ol causal genesis and nbhine
s u m b o d h rc o n t a i n s . L ' c s r d e ist s b a s i c c o n t e n t s o f y a t h u -
i1luyt or t[e knowledge leading to linal cessation.
hhitttnirlu or knowletlge o{' the true nature of things.
Dhummatthrri undoubtedly forms the basic <-ir mqor
other factors such as lrour Noble Truths, many extra
premise of Buddhisrq for it is the term with which the
powers and pt-rssibilitespeculiar only to the Buddha.
p r i n c i p l e o f c a u s a l g e n e s i si s i n t r o d u c e d ( . . . t h r t t r s r r
culminating in his r;mniscience or sabbuhiutafra4a.
dhatu dhummut.hit ittt dhummunryumuturduppctc'r'ayuta. S. (For these diflerencesand distinctions see ARAHANT.
II. p. 25). In fact, the lirst true initiation into the doctrine
BODH I. BtiDDHOLOGY. OMNISCIENCE andSAB-
of Buddhism which is often referredto as the appearance
e n N N t . Jr .
of the eye of the Dhammu (dhummut:ukitu)is closelv
Jodye lhhrsetera
tied up with this comprehension of the causal principle
which inspires confidence in the disciple by bringing
into his view releasefrom sarasardns a hopelul reality.
ENMITY, a state of hostility and hatred. An enemy.
which in other words means that. of all conditioned
(tnrntttuslis the opposite of a friend (amicus)-But although
things or things that come into bcing. a cessarion
opposites. they have one common basis, the subjective
c a n b e b r o u g h t a b o u t ( C f . . . r , r r t r 7 r rtn, itt u m u l u md h u m n t u -
self. For. it is the 'l' which seekssupport in friends and
c'ukkhumudupadi yarn krhct sumuduyudhumntum subbunt
which shuns those who do not provide such support.
tam nirodhadhammuntiM : . l. p. 380; l. IV. p. 186).
I t i s . t h e r e f o r e ,i n a l a c k o f u n d e r s t a n d i n g ( c u r y j rt7h)a t
The result of this initial gaining of knowledge (drrrfttr-
emmity is born. Hatred (dosul and its many synonyms
dhummo pattadhammo uiditadhammt puriyogulhutlhum-
of anger. ill-will, malice. are hardly distinguishablefrom
no. ibid) is describedin the Buddhist texrsas elimination
one another except perhaps in the intensig of emotion.
of sceptical doubt (tir1ryauicikiccho uigutakathaikatho-
As a state of hatred. enmi,y is naturally far deeper
ibid) and gaining of confidenceand self-assurancewith
rooted tharr an occasionai orrtburst of anger. But basi-
regard to the teaching professed (uesaraljapputtoapura-
c a l l y . a l t h o u g h p e r h a p s n o t e t y m o l o g i c a l l y .a l l f o r m s
puccuyo sutthuslsane, ibid).
of enmity (dosu. dt'esu)are founded on conflict, opposi-
In the higher reaches of enlightenment leading to t i o n a n d d u a l i t y ( d t ' e ) .A n o w n e r e a s e n m i t y s e e k s t o
complete emancipation in Buddhism one meets with solve the conflict of duality by climinating the opponent.
the regular reference to the threefold knowledge or the deeper understanding of the conflict will see its
tisso uijjd. On the attainment of each of these urlrls. 'l'.
cause in the Througb understanding the emptiness
it is said that auijja or ignorance is destroyed (autj.iu 'sell-.
of that the foundation of all opposition and dualit,v-
uihata),darkness is dispelled (tamo uihuto)and light has disappears.and therewith the arising of enmity becomes
appeared (ulolq uppunno M. L p.23). They are an impossibility.
 ENRYAKUJI 82
i r B u d d h i s t P s y c h o l o g y .j o y . e a s e a n d h a p p i n e s s
,r.i imcompatible with enmit-v and hate. In enrnity
' : . r . t t r r o C h a )I i f e i t s e U -b e c o m c s s o u r . ' l i k e g r u e l i h a t
has gone bad' (D.l- l. p.2l I ). temper becomesdisordered
t/)hs.p. 84) and one is thrown off'one', normal state
l D h s A .p . 2 5 8 ) .I t i s t h e c a u s eo f m e n t a ll e t . e r sa n , i r n t r r a l
c o r r u p t i o n a n d c a n n o t b e p u t a w a _ lb y a c c u m u l a l i o n
of good deeds, but only br mind-culture (bhattina,
a n d i n s i g h t ( d u s s a n a 'D h s . p 1 8 4 . ) i . e .t.h r o u g h a m e n t a l
a w a k e n i n g w h i c h i s a n i n t e l l e c t u aa
l n d s p i r i t u a lc o n v e r -
sion. The hostility (putu,trodhrrlof Devadatta against
the Buddha forms a point of discussion betwe.:n king
Milinda and Nagasen,t(Mtln p. 203).and in rhe Dhum-
m u s u i t q u npi . 1 9 0 i t i s s h o w n a s o n e o l ' t h e 2 7 m a i r r l e s -
taions of hate. See DOSA.
H. G. A. Van Zeyst
ENRYAKUJI is on Mt. Hiei. ShigagunDistrict. Omi
Province (presently Shiga Prefecture).Japan. This is
the main temple (Sohonzan) 'of the Tendaishu sect.
It is also called Hieiji, Hieji. Hreizunji. Sunmon (or
temple of the mountain). The name Enryakuji comes
from the fact that the temple was founded by Saicho
(767-822 A.C.) in the 4th year of the Enryaku period
(785 A.C.)..He,then, built the main hall (Konpon-Chid1l
in the 7th year of the Enryaku period (788 A.C.), and
he placed there.the statue of Bhaisajyaguru Tathagata
carved out by himself. He named the main hall Ichijo-
S h i k w a n - i n ( o r E k a y a n a S a m a t h a v i p a d y a n aV i h a r a ) .
and composed an ode for the hall,
" A n o k u t a r a - s a n m y a k u s a n b o d ani o h o t o k e t a c h i .
W a g a t a t s u s o m an i m y o g a a r a s e t a m a y!e"
OR
O b e i s a n c et o a l l t h e B u d d h a so l ' A n u t t a r a s a m y a k s a m
bodhi. Be so good enough to protect the new hall
( w a g a t a t s u s o m ab) u i l t b y m e !
{f'ter that the hall was also called: lllqututsumonlu.
Crnthe third of Septemberin the l3th year of the Enryaku
period (794 A.C.), the emperor Kwanmu visited the
hall for his pnjc. After this imperial visit the [oundation
.rt the temple was completed.
[:s !-ampus was bounded withln 88 acres by the
r:elhcrj of Simabandha and is the hrst Simabandha
' : - - 1 1 r . t \r n J a p a n .
i: :he l6th rear of the Enryaku period (797 A.C.)
S : t t i . r . ' * . s a p p r o i n t e dt o t h e p o s t d c h a p l a i n t o t h e
:-,.- .-ourl and *as given all the taxes of the Omi
P:--i;1--3 es '-he iunds lor the temple. In the following
\--',i:r::'e: he began the ten lectures on Saddharma-
:-:.:.-^- S:.:'-i In the 2-ird vear of the sameperiod
r \ r. t-' Sarcho *ent to China and returned next
ENRYAKUJI
year. Immediately after returning he constructed a
big temple attached to Enryakuji, by the order of the
emperor, whereupon the temple became the principal
one in the imperial capital.
I n t h e l 3 t h y e a r o f t h e K o n i n p e r i o d ( 8 2 2A . C . ) S a i c h o
the founder, passed away, and the themple was given
the right to impart ordination for priesthood, viz..
t h e r i g h t o f u p t t s L r m p r r(rD i aa i j o - K a i d a n ) . I n t h e f i r s t
)t'ar of Jowa period (834 A.C.). Encho. the successorof
S a i c h o .a n d o t h e r s f o u n d e d t h e S h a k a d o ( o r t h e s h r i n e
ol Sakyamuni) by the imperial order of the emperors
Koko and Uda. In the thirteenth year of the same
penod (846 A.C.), the Joshin-in templc was founded
and the next year ten teachers (Zenji) were appointed
to give lectures and chanting: on Muhaprujituparamrtl-
sutras every day, which last up to the present day.
In the frrst year of the Kasho period (848 A,C.) Ennin
founded Yokawa Shurogon-in (shrine room) which
is one of the most distinguished temples annexed
to the Enry'a-kuji temple. After the return of Ennin
and Enchin from China. the sectbecamevery prosperous
and manv buildings were constructed in the campus.
In the eighteenth year of the Jakwan period (876 A.C.)
eight priests were appointed as p€rmanent preachers
of thc temple and they dwelt in the newly built Hotoin
temple. In the hfth year of Gwangyo period (881 A.C.)
about one hundred acres of'paddy land was donated
to the temple by the government.
In the second year of the Engi period (902 A.C.)
the emperor Uda visited the temple and he also donated
i : b o u t t w e n t y - f i v ea c r e so f p a d d y l a n d .
A t p r e s e n t h e t e m p l ec o m p l e xi s c a l l e d" K u - i n J u r o k u -
i n " o r t h e n i n e o r s i x t e e ns h r i n e s .K u - i n i s a s f o l l o w s :
Konpondaijo-shikwan-in, Hokkesanmai-irq lchigyo-
sanmai-in. Hanshrl-Sanmai-in" Kakuisanmai-in, Toto-
in. Sai ttl-in. Ho-to-in. Bosatsukaidan-irl Gokoku-in,
Soji-in, Konpon-hokke-in Jodo-in. Zenrin-in, Datsuzo-
ku-in. and Kt'rshin-in.
Sonretimesit is also called "Santo Jurokutani" or the
three pagodas and sixteen valleys, among which threr
pagodas are Toto (or the easrern pagoda) to which
five valleys belong. Saito (or the western')to which five
valleysbelong and Yokawa-to (or the pagoda at Yokawa)
to which six belong.
In short. the histroy of Enryakuji is mainly the history
of Japanese Buddhism as almost all sects of it are
sprung from the Hieizan or Enryakuji. The founders
of the new sectsof the Kamakura period, such as Nichiren
of the Nichirenshr.rsect (or the Saddharmapu4{arika
sect), Honen of the Jodoshu sect (Pureland sect)and
Shinran of the Jodoshin-shusect (True Pure Land
sect had spent their young days on this mountain.
The Tendaishu sect itsef is also divided into many
 ENTITY
s c h o o l s ,o r s o c a l l e d T t t i m i t . s uJ u s u n r l ' 1(1o r t h c t h l r i e c n
sects of Tendai Esotericisrnl ar Edan Ilut'h:ryu tor the
cight branches of Tendai Frecepts). When the remplc:
enloyed its greatest popularity. it is said rc have had
threc thousand subordinate temples. On account ol'
this enormo'.rsprosperity. in mediaeval ages.the templt:
among its inhabitants many monk soldiers
"i,rrirted
,\ amahoshi) rvho fought against other big temples
. , n , Jb i g D a i m l ' r J . ' ( f e u d al ol r d s ) .F i n a l l y . a l l t h e b u i l d i n g s
rrn the mountain were burnt and more than three
lhousand monks were killed by Oda Nobunaga. the
ruler of Japan in the second year of the Genki period
l57l A.C.). After this destruction the temple became
rimost ruined. But by the dfort of Zenso and Senshun
,i ho were supportd bv the new ruler, foyotomi Hlde-
,.rrshi.the buildings wcre ieconstructed almost the same
.,;cording to the fbrmer plans.
The temple might still be said to be onc of the greatest
..-mplcsin Japan. The existing important buildings
- , r ea s f o l l o w s : ( l ) Y a k u s h i d o o r t h e h a l l o f t s h a i s a . j a g u r u ,
so-called Konpon-chudo: the greatest building
'I-oyo-
n the temple. built in thc l2th year C Tensho by
'-.mr l{ideyoshi
and remodelled in the I lth year of the
K a w n ' e ip e r i o d ( 1 6 3 4 )b y T o k u g a w a I y e n i t s u .I r m e a s u r e s
56 feet each side. (2) Daikodo or the iecture hall was
, i s o b u r n t m a n y t i m e s a n d t h e n e w e s ts n e w h i c h h a d
reen built in the thirteenthvear of the Kwan'er perrod
I 6 3 6 A . C ) w a s a l s o b u r n t i n 1 9 5 7 .N o u , r t i s b e r n g
::huilt (3) Ichij6kaidan-in or the meditation hall of
::ecepts. It measures 30 f'eeteach side. and has a two
.-,rrred pagoda. Besidesthese there are. (4) Sorinto or
:r iron pagoda (5) Yokawa Clhldo or the main hall
.: Yokawa subordinate temple. (6) Anrakuntsuin.
: the hall of Anrakuritsu precepts. (7) Hiye Jinja or
: e S h i n t o S h r i n eo f H i y e . w h o i s a g u a r d i a no f B u d d h i s m .
I n t h e s e t e m p l e s m a n y s t a t u e s .s c r o l l s a n d p a i n t i n g s
. : r p r e s e r v e da n d m o s t o f t h e s e a r e l i s t e d a s n a t i o n a l
''i3SUreS.
S, Kanoekg
[\TITY. a word used by wriicrs on Buddhism ro
:note an ontological existence such as essence.
- litance' a soul, being and so on that is permanently
.-::D€tuating itself and is believed to be exemptecl
-,j tmmune from change: auipctrirlumudhamnw
.s.r.s.\.rIi- o l B u d t l h s m . 1 9 7 5 H o n o l u l u , c h a p . i v . ) . T h o u g h i t i s
. -. Jm tuthe'uat.hassati. Theories of entity was a charac-
:-:s:rc feature of the philosophic thought which was
:iemporaneous with Buddhism. Thus, the Upanisha-
: philosophy - a school sprung from the Brahmanic
-,Jrtron upheld the belid
in a microcosmic entity
. .sl the atman, pratyag-atmanor pudgala-dtmanwhich
- -, ;onsid€red to be the essence.the substanceof the
83 ET.TTITY
i n C i r : t l l : i ! 9 i n r i i a r i y t h r s p h i l n r o p h v p r < ; n r i l g a t e dr t s
c ( ) u n t c r r ' r . r t -hte l r r i i c r o c { r s t n iei n l i i r ' , ! i e m . t h a - i t w ) o r
T t i t r e n i t l , t r ti tl t h e B r i i h r , , ; " i h e r - i - r s , T lei is' s e i t C 1 t i{i./(j-
d i 7 ! o t , t t ',r) r : o u i N o t L ! t , r : r l r t . r h t l , - . r : . n h li r , s r . h o o l s
beiitngrrg rl ihr iil;ihrr,ann ili,:litt,rn i,i1i 3iy-r 5gs1g
h c l r t n g t r ; , . ' t ti 'h r ' : i " . , , 't,,1, , * , , . ' , ' ' ' : i r ( l t t i ( ] r'.. g . A p r v a k . . . .
too. helcl iir iiii.ri(.tsl cirnrlar vii'i,' ilrrd;ihrst.sat the vr-rr
'l'herr
o u l s , r tr c ; e c t f dt h c 'b l e i r e.tn a : r e n t i i y h a s i cd o c r r i n e
(,rlilL'i.iinaCiethfm l* ,-;r Sii,li :i heiief.
A c c o r d i n gt o t h e B u c t l h i s te x n i a n a t i a a ; r l l p h e n o m e n a
or existene are im;rermanent(arrict'a). strb_ject to suflering
l d u k k h u la n d n o n - s u b s t a n i i a(i t t r ; , t t t t t I\ n f a c r t h e c h a r a c -
t e r i : i t i ci : t u ( c t tr s t h e r T l r l Srtr a , p . rt .rr n i . ) n c l r r d t h e o t h e r
t w o a r e c o r o l l a r i e si : r i i l p . { , " i 1l t i s c l e a rf r o n n u m r ' r o u s
\ u r t . l . s u c ha s t h e R r i r h r n u i i l u t f ) . I p I f f \ . I l r c . A l u q u d d u -
p l t t w ( M I p 1 3 5 )a x t t l l r - l l o r j h u p i , l a ( 0 . l . p . 1 7 8 / .
p 2-56) all belonging to ihe earliest srratum oi ttre Pali
C a n o r ; t h l r t e a r l v B u d d h i s r n e r n p h a t i c a l l vr e j e c t e d t h e
b e l i e l i n s u c h a n e n t i t v . b o t h ; , r t h e m i c r o c o s m i ca n d
m a c r r r c r r s m i cl e v e l s . I n i h e : , . . t 1 ; ; l a j J u t i : r.nSr u r ttilthe
Buddha clcariv expl;unr the ir,.s,:l:isness,.rf the belief
r n a ' s e l f . a ' s o u ! ' . ' f h i s r e i e c t : t ' nt x a r r n t i i y o r a b r e i n g
i s v c n ' e l F e c t i v e i r ,r': r : , : di n i b e , 1 r : * r n ' r r r{r.r\i [ . p I _ j s 1
w h e r i :r l ! \ i i l l t l 1 6 ; ' 1r l'r - . r li s l t o ' . : n i i l ro r b c i n Ft o h el i r u n r i .
r t l s- l u s 1l i n o f l l e n c ! r i t u r ';*s r r l 1 ( ic o n n ( ) i et h c l ' i v cd g g r " e g i t -
t e s { k / r u n , l i r )i.t n 1 u : : la h r r r r r i l eo t p e r t ' e p i i o nt . ; u h k h u r u -
p u i r j t t t F r o m t h e P r t u . i 1 1 1 7 .\1u1. ,t ;(1. r{,D ; I. p 178fi.t it rs
e q u a l l v c l e a r t h a t t h , . 'c o n c e r r t i o no f t h e u n r v e r s ei x a n
entitl- wa-sto the Budilha insmuch .r l-iction as an indi-
v r d u a ls o u l .
However. a shift cI' position n discernible in later
U u d d h i s m W i t h t h e g r a d u a l d e v e l o p m e n to f t h e A b h i -
dharma school of thought which irdoptod a method ot
a n a l v s i s a n d c l a s s i f l c a t i o ni n i t s a t t e m p t t o e x p l a i n
existenceor being Buddhism became exposed to non-
Brrddhistic philosophical influences. Consequentll.
Abhidharmikas came to accept such theories as the
t h e o r y o f a t o m s ( p u r u m u r l u c i d a )a n d t h e t h e o r y o f
moments (ksu7u-rudaw l hich were the current philoso-
p h i c a l t r e n d so l ' t h e t i m e T h e e f i e c to f t h e s ei n f u e n c e sa r e
c l e a r l yr e i l e c t q Ji r r S a r v r i s t i v i c l at -h c S a m m r t i r a sa n d t o a
lcsserextent rn the Sautrantika school d Buddhism
T h u s t h e s es c h o o l si n t h e r r a t l e m p t t o p r e s e n ta l o g i c a l
analysis of the doctrine oi untttu (impermanence)
were led to posit a belrel in some sort of an entify (See.
D. J. Kalupahana Cuusulrty,.The Central Philosophs'
true that the Sarvastivada denied an entitv or a being.
a c o m p o s i t ee n t i t y w h i c h i s i d e n t i c a lw i t h t h e i n d r v i d u a l .
it is seen that they held the elements (dhurmu\ lhat
constitute the individual to be ultimate elements or
entities whictr are seperate,disconnectedand momen-
tary. The Sautrantikas too have accepted that there
arentities o r e l e m e n t s( s k u n d f t l t h a t p a s s f i o m
 ENVIRONMENT 84
eristence to existence.The Sammitiyas posited an entity
*hich they called the pudgala whidr they held to persist
from existence to existence.The Sarvastividins and the
Sautrantikas who did not go to the extrernecf positing a
pudgala were forced to posit an underlying entity, an
unchanging everlasting substraturn The Sautrantikas
called this entity the suabhttuaor drauya which according
to them exists during the three periods of time. i.e.past.
present and luture.
In fact, it appears that the Buddha seems to have
anticipated such a developmentand had already illustra-
ted its falsity in the Samyutta(S. III, pp. 7O-73)wherein
he points out that a theory which says that an entity
exists in the past, the present and the future oversteps
the limits of linguistics convention. Even subsequent
t e x t s l i k e t h e K n t h a u a t t h u( K u u . p . l 1 5 f f . ) c o m p l e t e l y
refutes the Sarvastivadins' theory of entities. The two
Assutuui Sumasin the Samyuttu (S. II, 94 ff.) too refute
the conception of an entity. Herein both the physical
body (kaya) and the mind (citta, mono or uth-nar1u\
are analysedand shown that there is no entity underlying
them. [n this context it should be noted that even the
rebirth consciousness(puttsundhi-ctttuor urir-nana\, too.
is not an entity as it was supposed to be by Sati. The
Buddha, while declaring Sati's conception to be false.
points out that he has in many ways spoken of conscious-
ness ils being causally produced and that apart from
conditions there could be no arising of consciousness
(M l.p 2561.
Though an underlying entity is denie4 the endurance
of th€ physical body and the mind which however, are
sublect to change, is granted. Similarly the existenceof
all phenomena b acccpted Sudr a position is arrived
at not as a result d an attempt to seiu the infinitesimal
through metaphysical inquiries or mystic intuition but
through a procesr of empirical analysis. Thug it would
not bc denicd, according to Buddhisr4 that a person
exists in thc pescnt so lorrg as one does not mean by it a
person, an entity enduring in time (see K.N. Jayatillake,
Early Buddhist Theory { Knowledge, London L967
pp. 316, 363, 366).
Though therc appears to be sorre sort of influence
d the theory of momentariness on Buddhaghosa's
attempt to explain tlre perccivod duration of tbe physical
bod;- {S.4. II, p 99) it k quite clear that neither he nor
the subsequentTheraveda commentators sudr as Dham-
mapala and Ananda subscribe to a theory of entities
s€€ further. ANICCA ANATTA CAUSALITY).
S. K. Nnavett"m
EN-llRO\YElrT. Living in a suitable environment
rs reckoned as orE of th€ auspicious
:-:.rttoadesoud-cat
Ef.MRONMENT
thinp in Buddhism (Khp p.3I Tbe commentary explains
patirilpadesa as a place where thc fourfold people live,
namely where the monks, nuns, lay male devotees and
femalc devotees live, wherc meritorious activities such
as liberality prevail and wherc tbc teachings of the
master arc taugbt and studied Sucb a place is called
auspicious (mairyala) becaur people living in such
areas ar€ in a position to acquire merit (Khp,4 p. 132).
Buddhism recognisesthe fact that environment plays
an important part in thc moulding of the character of
individuab as well as of the group, though it does not
believe that it is the one and the only factor. In the
Ahguttara Nikaya (.4. I p. 12O ttte Buddba says that a
person who associates freely thosc who arc immoral
and given to low practiceg himsef will assimilate those
base wap (nihiyuti puriso nrhinaseui\.It b because of
this fact that the Buddha reckoned non-association
with ttre low as an auspiciou thing (mahgala)for a man
who wishes hb own welfare.
People gather experienoe and knowledgr from the
environment in which they live and tlrc temperaments
and inclinations are developed in them in accordance
with thc knowledge and experience they gather from
their particrrlar environmenl So, in an environment
wherc educational facilities' moral guidancg suitable
mearrs of livelihood are not foun4 people grow up.
ignorant of what is good and what is ba4 ignorant o[
duties and obligations to otE another and they indulge
in diverse corrupt practices But in a society where
these facilities are property provided and where means
of righteou livelihood are assurod to all, people grow
up quitc well-informed of what b happening in the world,
conscious of their moral obligations to one another
and efficient in their handling of all work in that society.
Thc way of thinking and temperaments d beings in the
latter society will be quite different from those of thc
former one.
Ttre doctrine of causality (paticcasamuppada)teacha
that nothing happens without conditiom and causc
(S. II. p. 78) and hence by changing those conditions and
causesa change in the result too could be brought about
This is very well illustratod m the Chukkuuutti-Sihanudu
Sufrc wherein it is shown how peoplc becanp corrupted
due to the unfavourdble conditions that prevailedin a
society and how same people progressedwhen thosecon-
ditions that gave rise to corrupiion were changed(D. III.
pp.65-17)
Ttre episode of Angulimal^ (DA.l. p.244; J. IV, p. 1E0),
too, helps tn to understand how the environment can
fully change the nature of a being. Arigulimil4 who was
in his early days called Ahimsakq becarne a dangerous
criminal not through any fault of hb own, bu due to thc
viciousness of his immediate environment. The criminal
 ENVY
Angulimila once again became a virtuous man by his
associatim with tbc Buddha that b with the change of
the environment.
Buddhisiln emphasiscd the importance of the environ-
mental facto'r in thc spiritual developemnt of the people,
at tbc very outset. The Buddha set Lp tbe organisation
m the brotherhood of monks (Bhikkhusangha) in order
to providc tbc adherents with tb proper enyironment
fu spiritual culture. The environment of tbe house-
holder's life is not one that encourages tbe cultivation
dhigb€r virtues (sambadhbyan gharaudso: A.I\ p 208).
In the eovironment of the monastery the conditiotr are
very favourable to tbc cultivation d tbc mind because
it is fret from bonds of lay hfe, no distractions to wean
orE away from moditation ad tbc conditions there
do not arouse one's grcod and hatred.
Mcditation b not possible unless the proper environ-
ment b there. A person wbo b keen on cultivating
higher virtuis to develop the mind has to withdraw to a
place where thc suitable environmental conditions are
found Tbe places mentioned as very favourable for
meditation are: a retnote wilderness (arahha,) the foot
of a tree (rukkhamula), a mountain range (pabbata).
a roc& cave (girigufta-[ a cemetery (susdna] a secluded
placle (uanapattha) away from human habitation. an
opcn spae (abbhokasa\ a heap of straw (palalapuirju; D.
I. p. 71; M. III, p 3).
Even in the present day it is the custom of lay Buddhists
to withdraw to the quiet atmosphere of the village
monastejries to observe the Poya day precepts (slld).
The environment in tbe monastery is quite favourable
to that purposq as it is devoitl d variow distractions
found in tbe environment of the ordinary lay society.
W. G. Weeruetne
EM./Y The shorter Oxford English Dictionary
(edi:ed by O. T. Onions) de{ines the word envy as:
"Mortification and ill-will occasioned by the contemp
lation of another's superior advantages, a longing for
another's advantages". Commentator Buddhaghosa too,
ddines rss4 thc Pali equivalent of envy, in similar terms:
"Envying b envy. It has the characteristic of being
jealous d other's success.Its function is to be dissatidied
with thaf It is manifest as averseness from that. It's
proximate cause is another's success" (issayana issd.
Sa par asampst t i nanr ussi y analak kha4a, t at th eva anab hi-
ratirasd, tato uimukhubhAtn paccupatthfrnd, parasam-
pattipadatthdna l4sm. p. 470).
In Buddhist literature, envy b always shown as
accompanied by avariciousnessand sefishness(macchera
85 ENYY
A. I. p.95). An envious perpon is also considered to be
stingy and seffish. Visuddhimagga(Vism p. a70) ddines
stinginess or avariciousness thus: "Avariciousness is
avarice. Its characteristic is the hiding d one's own
successthat has been or can be obLained lt's function
is not to bear sharing these with others. It h manifest
as shrinking or it is manifest as meanness.Itt proximate
cause is one's own success(maccherabhiuo :nacchariyam
Tam laddhanatnua labhitabbanamua attatn sampattinam
niguhana lakkha4am tasam yeua parehi sddhdraryabhauu-
akkhama4arasar4 sahkopanapaccupatthanarq katukah-
cu kat a paccupat t hanan ua ; at t asampat t i padatJhAnan\ cet -
tan uirilpabhaw ti du.thabban).
Buddhism considers thb psychological phenomena
an obstacle {samyojana)"not only to the spiritual progress
of the individual but also for his social well-being and
happiness. A person who has in him thb disturbing
element becomes distractod and worriod at the sight
d even a slight success of another, and sudr a person is
naturally led to express his uneasiness and ill-will by
word and deed With a view to harming a successful
p€rso& an envious man would resort to falsehood
(musdvdda),harS speech (pharuw raca\ ard slanderous
speedr (pisunaoaca). Such a person would fabricate
stories and spread thern to harm the objeci of his envy,
Not content with this, he would schenre to bring about
tlre downfall or sometimes the physical desrruction
d tbe object d hb envy.
Viewod from its social dimension enrry would cause
damage to tbe individual who harbours it as well as to
the society where he lives. A person who b enviors of
others' success and hides his own, would be despised
by others (Sn u. 102). He cannot win the friendship
and good-will d others. When sudr a person is in distress
others would not com€ to help him or consoh hirn
People would treat him as an alieg an out-caste (ibid.
u. 124\ As such an envious,person would always be
worried and unhappy and would be at conflict with
many in hb society. Such a person would not only-be
the caus d hb own unhappinesg brt also tbc soure of
irritation and unrest for many others.
Envy b also an obctacle to tbc spiritual developement
d an individual fu an envious person would harbour
ill-will, malice and hatrod to others, he would always
be irritated and disturbcd in mind Envy and avariciou-
sness are called ddilements of the mind (issa macchers-
maloq Dhp. u. 242; A.IV, p. 8; A.L p. 105).When the
mind is stained it would not be possible to rd'lect on
an object as it is, even aa a stained or broken mirror
cannot give thc true reflection of an object. Owtng to
his inability to see thinp as thsy arc (yathnblnTta) he
would always harbow wrong views (uipcifiaditthi),
an outcor d ignorance (aaijjAl which h tbe strongest
obstaclc to spiritual development.
 EPICS
-'r prrson whrt is ccn(;ernl1jatrcul lils soc;tl wcil-berng
r i r . 1s n l r ; t u . i l u , - : v c l t j i : t i t : ! l t1.n t " r f l r , ) i ci r.L \ k t g e t r i d O l
i h i s r u a i e v o i * n ip s l c h o l o g i c a lp b c n o m e n i t a n d c u l t i v a t e
ln ii-e place ;iiiruistic 1av lmuditi). Altrurstr Jo)'as
taught in ftuC,Jhismrs the ehiht_l d a p€rson to ieel at
c::1.r',]ritdhapiiy al the si6h: r:{ iinother'i happrrnessor
: ; u c c e s(\D . i p l : i . . r . V l l d , . \ n . { p . i 2 l , [ t t s L ) n i _av
per!;{}nwhosr disposrtroilLsonc d"unreser','ocl
to all. that cirn l'cel hnpp:-,at the happrncucrt itnoth*r
See,ISSA. l"JAt'r-Hi:.R,1 rnC I,lUDiIA.
W. G. lVeeraratne
E P I C S . H p i c - so r e p r c p o e t r y i s t h e C e s i g n a l i o ng i v e n
t o t h a t k i n q l r f n a r r a t i v ep o e t n w h e r e t h e a c h i e v e m e n t s
of a heroic personageof history or lcgcnd are celebrated
at length in a set lileran pattern
In Indian literature. rJ' whi;h [Juddhrst literature
Ibrms only a parl ttre ,llrrlabll{rrdtd and llre, {iunwytt4,t
(of about the 4th anil 2nd ccriiunc B C. rcspectrvell')
have been regardedas the mtrdelsfor thrs kind oi literary
creation, tn the same wa_v- thc iwrr Hc-rmericpoems. thc
Odysseyand the tirc& \d about thc 8th centrrr.r B.C.)
were regarded as epic mociels in the wesi. (X the two
Sanskrit epics mentioned above, it b actually the Rarna-
vurya that has receivetl the currecl epic treatment at
the hands o{ its author. l?lmiki. Cionsequently, the
later rhetr-rriciansan*-l the poets took the Ramlvunti
a-s the first epic (udrkut:,-u)and Valmiki as thc first
epb writer \adikutt\
Coming to Buddtristl.ileraturq the writer who has
created a nafirc as irn eprc writer is Asvaghosa (q.v.).
the great Mah-yana teacher o{ the first or the second
century A.C. He hiu comgxrsed the two eplc po€ms,
tlre Buddhacdril{r(q v.) and the Suundurinundu-kauya,
modelled on the epic traditrons formulated by Velmiki.
Asvaghosa wirs a native o{' Al'odhya. who seerns to
have been a brahmrn converted to Buddhism and
becorne monk And it was in the brahmanrc circles
of Ayodhya that th€ Rarna epr,calso grew. All these
factors make it easy to undcrstand why he felt the urge
to compose Sanskrit ffiuyas on Buddhist themes. The
lJuddhuc'uritadeals with the life of the Buddha who is
thc hero of the epic, whih ttre other lcrlr'1'tlcontains
the story of the conversionof Nanda. the Buddha's
:i i-arolher
I: :tr., rt.r! br rrreievanlf hcre a few words wcre
i : f - l : ; ' , . : : k . . e p r ce l e n t e n t sf ' o u r x lr r B u d d h i s tI i t e r a t u r e ' .
: - . , . : , \ . _ :_ : : . ; , f 1 , ; r r 1 . 1 o l l n d t t n L i l e r u t u r e ,2
. - : - : i . . . , - : : g : \ J . . i l t r ) r }t f - t h e I n d i a n c p i c f r o m
'-.: t.:'t:'.ri .rl:i
: " _ . . t Cr , t n t lt r l -c c l m p o s i t i O nssc a t t e f e d
86 EPICS
u i t h e V e d l c l i t e r a t u r e .I n P a l ; l i t e r a t u r e .t o o . h e s e e sa
s i m r i ; u k l n d o f b a l i a d p c r c t r f ( e . g . \ ' c l r r i : i r .P u b h u j i u
',tni ltudhirn 5ullu-r of the Suii,rrir,?,rfcrt trr whic]r the
epb vcrsion of the tsuddha'slil-ers traceablern mrniature
T h e n r n t h e l , r r l i t o u i s l ( r r a . S a n s k r t t n o r k d e a l i n gw i t h
t h e t l u t i d h as l i f e a r e f o u n d a l i t h e g e r r n - so t a n e p i c .
'fhe
t.v-p of legendsand ballads that must have helped
filendship Asvaghosa in his delineation of the Buddha's life are
also found in rrthcr Buddhist Sanskrit works such :u the
lvltthutust* Dn'S'Arudunitand Jatakamila Although
the sclurcesrJ his /<r.rr',yas were not these books them-
seives. Advaghosa must have drawn from the sarne
sources as the authors of these works made us€ of in
theirnarratives.
,{(vaghosa was both a great poet and an erudite
monk. His poetic talent. his deep reverence and love
for the tsuddha and his correct grasp ofthe Buddha's
t e a c h i n g sa l l h r r v et o u n d f u l i j i m e n t i n t h e B u d d h u c u r t u .
(-onforming to the classicalrequirements d an epic he
drvides his poem into cantos (si.rrgcrlbrinp forth the
herorc nature cf the Buddha's character, presents in
regular sequenoesuch eprc requirements as descriptions
i - l i t r v e - s c e n etsi v . 2 4 5 3 ) . s e r m o n s o n s t a t e - c r a f t( r u r i -
i r r s r l , r i v . 6 2 - 8 2 ) ; h e e v e n p r e s e n t sa b a t t l e - s c e r r i n
canto xiii where the Buddha's struggle with Mara is
described. E.H. Johnston. who has translated the
Buddhu<'uritcr into Englistt (The Budtlhucuritu or Acts
of the Buddha. II, pp. xviv.-xcv). has to say the following
about the epic and its author. "Thb analysisof Advagho
sa's teachnlque suggests thal if we call him rough.
the Ennru to Kalidasa'5 \Irrgil. we do not quite find
t h e c e n t r eo l ' t h e t a r g e t : f a n a n a l o g y b e f o u n d i n E u r o -
pean po€try. I would rather seek it in Milton, equally a
scholar and equally fond of displaying hb learning.
who similarly sought to express his religion within the
limrts of an epic" For where Advaghosa'stext survives
undamaged he polished enough and his work is usually
highly wrought and well finished But his intricacy
and elaboration are those of the primitivg not of the
s o p h i s t i c a t e dw r i t e r . "
It would be no exaggeration to say that the status
gained by ttle Buddhucaritu in Buddhisrq specially
in Mahayana is similar to that of the Ramayutp in
Hinduism It may be mentioned here that just as Valmiki
and his immediate successorswere the predecesson
of A$vaghoSa-the latter himself was the predecessor
o f K a l i d a s a T h e p a r a l l e l i s r m b e t w e e n A s v a g h o s aa n d
Kalidasa u ould perhaps mean that Kalidasa was
iamiliar u'ith the poems cf Advaghosa. But it is also
p o s s i b l et h a t a s b o t h m o d e l l e d t h e i r w o r l s o n V a l m i k i
these parallelisnrsare more or less convergcncesrather
than borro*'ings
 EPIGRAPHY
ln addition to Advaghosa's Buddhacartta ard the
Suundaranunda there is another kauya dealing with
the Buddha's life. This is I'udyucu(amcni ascribed to
one Buddhaghoga(not the Pali commentator) who seems
to have been familiar with Advaghosa and Kalidasa
(Winternitz ibi4 II, p. 276).
The Jataka stories like the Wdhurapa4dirrz (No. 545)
and the Vessantara(No. 5af also have the'epic touch
both in composition and in presentation. Yet it should
be noted that in the l/esscnrara Jataka the hero. the
bodhisatta, b one cf generosity and renunciation and
not of war. The Jatakas like Ghata (No. 45a) and the
Dusarathn(No. 461) show ihat the legend cf Rama was
known to the writers of the Buddhist Jebkas, It may be
mentioned here that some Jatakas have received epic
treatment, (apparently in imitation of the Sanskrit
writers), at the hands of Sinhalesewriters. Parakrama-
bAhu s Kausilumi4a (l3th century) is the best example
c{ a muhukauya (epic) in Sinhala It is the story of the
Ku.ut .latuka and evel a later poet, Alagiyawanna
r l6th century) has written a poem on it. Sri Rahula's
RauyaSekharaya(l5th century). which deals with the
lndubhuru Jatuka (No.62) is another example. A versi-
fied formof the Tessantara Jataka b even today recited
at funeral houses in Sri Lanka reminding ts of simrlar
recitatiors in ancient India.
In the Pali chronicles of Sri Lank4 specially in the
.Vahut,amsa. ttre "Dutthagamani Epic," is seen as an
attempt to fashion an epic poem out of the traditions
c o n t a i n e di n t h e S i n h a l ac o m m e n t a r i a k i h a l a u t t h u k u t -
tl(l I
Bibllography.
Winternitz, History of Indian Literaturc,2 volumes;
K. Chaitanyr, A New History of Sanskit Literature,
Bombav.1962.
A. G. S. Karlyawasam
EPIGRAPHY.
Burma. It is not known exactlywhen Buddhism was in-
troduced to Burma though it is traditionally believed
that Buddhism was introduced to this country in the time
of the Indian Emperor AJoka Unlike in Sri Lanka.
however, the earliest inscriptions associatedwith Buddhi-
sm found in Burma cannct be assigned to a point of
time carlier than the hfth century A.C..
Among these early inscriptiors are two gold plates
found embeddd in a brick found at Maunggun in the
Promc district On these plates are inscribod in Pyu
characterq the formulae expressing some cf the funda-
87 EPIGRAPHY
mental teachings of the Buddha- as ye dhammahetuppab-
haud... and tbe Foir Noble Truths. One plate contains
the well-known fr rmula extolling the virtues d the
Buddha reading Ifi pi w Bhagaat Arahun Samma-
sambuddho... The inscriptiors on two funerary urns.
a very short inscrrption around the lid of a relic casket
and a terra-cotta votive tablet with a Sanskrit legend
are among the rest of the records of thb period he
inscriptions arou:rd the urns are in the Pyu language
and in the same characters. All these records have
been discoverod in the vicinity of Hinawzq a village
close to Prome in lower Burm4 and are of considerable
value as documents relating to the early history of
Buddhism in Burma.
Equally valuable. perhapq is a series of Sanskrit
inscriptiom engraved on stone pillars found at Mro-
haung in Arakan This record has chronicld ttrc events
d the reigns of several kings of Arakan Most d these
inscriptions have been caused to be engravedby a ruler
by the nanrc of Anandacandra.
Most of the inscriptions in Burma which have a
bearing on Buddhism are bilingual. One version of an
inscription being given in Mon and the other in Pali
or Sanskrit. depending on whether the Theravada or
the Mahavana School of Buddhism is the prevailing
religion at the time.
At the Ananda Temple in Pdgan completed at the
end of the eleventh century, the titles of the jitaka
stories illustratsl in the first and secord rooR and the
three terraces above are writtea in Talaing the illustra-
tiors being for the edification of the people at large.
An important inscription of thb period b the great
inscription of the Shwezigon Pagoda at Pagan, of the
reign of king Kyanazitha iA.C. i084-ll12) also called
King Sri Bhuva-naditya-Dharmarija. The first part
of ttre inscription is in Pali with a Mon translatioq the
rest being in Mon In the preamble to the inscription
lay men and lay women are admonished to live a righ-
teous life. The rest of the record gives a long account
d the life and careei or king Kyanazitha- The record
is virtuallya panegyric of the king Most of the inscrip-
tions of the eleventh and twelfth century were sd up
by king Ky'anazitha to extol his own achievements
and good deeds.
An inscription set up by king Alaungsithq grandson
of king Kyanazitha appears to serve the same purpose,
namely to extol the good work of his grandfather.
but its real value lies in the circumstance that the inscrip-
tion has been carved on the four faces cf a pillar, in four
languages.set up at the Myazedi Pagod4 South of Pegu.
The four languages are: Pali Burmesg Mon and Pyu,
eadr of the pillan containing tbe inscription in one
d the four languages The Pali and tbc Burmeseverslom
 EPIGRAPHY
r : h l . s i n - s c n p t i o n d i s c r : v c r e dn l 9 l l h a ' r e t h r o w n
--'nsrderable right on thc Mon and Pyu versionq two
i:rnguages whrctr had not been well understood at the
tlme.
An rnscriptirrc for.rndat the Nandamanna temple at
Pagaq issued in A C 1248 is of' unusual interest in
regard to ihe developrnent of Buddhist Sectsin Burma.
Thb inscripim rocords that a perscn named Shin
Arahan travelled to Tenasserim in ttrc South to enshrine
a r e l i c d t h B u d d h a i n a t e r n p l eo l ' r h c s e c t k n o m a s
Ari. Provision also was m,ade to supply tbe inmates
of the temple with ricg mear and fermented spirits,
both in the morning and in the evening fu fermented
sprits art not pcrmltted to Bruldhist Monks, it can
onty be surmised that the Ari Monks who lived at
Tenasscrim werc probably d the Vajrayana school
d Buddhism who were not prohibited from taking
fermcntcd spirits.
A famous inscription discoveredin i820's at Buddha-
gaya in India describes how a mission was senf to
Buddhagaya where the Sacrcd Temple of the Maha-
bodhi had fallen into decay. with instructions ro take
all mcasur€s to restore the temple as was deemed
appropriate When the temple fell into decay again
somctitrE afterwards a second mission was despatched
to dled repain at Buddhagay4 in the reigt of a Prince
named Dhammaraja. who cannot be identif-red with
certainty. The suggestion ha-s been made that prince
Dhammaraja may tre another name of Prince Klacwa
who reigncd as king from A.C. l2E9 to 1297.
Undoubtedly thc most valuable inscription frsn the
point of vietv cf thc history of Buddhisrn in Burrna is
the Kalyani SimA Inscriptioil set up by king Dhamma-
ceti of Burrna in A.C. 1479-80 at Pegu The inscription
consists d two accounts: one in Mur engraved on four
slabe d stonc and the other in Pali engraved on three
slabs The contents of the two versiorn ar€ morE or
lessthe samq thc Mon version containing som€ additio-
nal material The objea d the inscription was to provide
in permanent forrl for everybody to see, an authorita-
tive ruling on the conflicting views on the condud of the
upusampadaatrd puuara4a ceremonies, based on authori-
tatir'c Pali texts. consequent to a visit of a chapter of
learned monks from Sri Lanka- on the invitatien of a
delegationd Burmese monks led by the Ven. Uttarajiva.
Thc delegation arrived in two batches in Sri Lanka
n th reip d King Bhuvanckabahu VI (A.C. 1470-
1478I Thc account of thc mission's voyage to Sri Lanka.
theb traveb in Sri Lanka and of the directiorn laid
dtrwn in respect of the conduct of the upusuTnpaducere-
mony and other ecclesiastical acts are preceded by a
Iong account of thc history of Buddhism in Burma
irom the tirre of King ACoka- It rnay perhap be mentio-
B8 EPTGRAPT{Y
nsl here that the accuracy cf the contents ol the Kalyaqi
Sima Inscription has been questioned by at least one
scholar.
Prince Sinbyuyin. second son of king Alaunpaya.
t ' r l c r rt h e y e a r A . C . 1 7 7 4 .t r a v e l l e df r o m A v a t o R a n g o o n
to construcl a chutru (umbrella)on the Shwe Dagon
Pagoda. The old chutru had crasheddown being struck
by lightning.
The prince's journey from A.ra to Rangoon together
with the construction of the chutru are described at
some length rn an inscription at Po Vo Daung.
Cambodia. Mahayana Buddhism appears to have been
introduced to Cambodia as early as the filth century but
no inscriptions of such early date. bearing on Buddhism.
have been discovered.The earliest extant inscription of
such a character is the Vat Preivar Stone Inscription oi
Jayavarman I set up in A.C. 665. By this inscription the
king grants to one Subhakirti son of the sister of two
Buddhist Monks Ratnabahu and Ratnasimha a religious
property as a hereditary grant. fu is to be expectedmost
o f ' t h e i n s c r i p t i o n so { ' C a m b o d i ar e g i s t e rg r a n t s m a d e t o
religiousfbundations.The rulers and also the people were
quite eclectic in their vieun though professing to be
followers of th€ Mahayana School of Buddhisrr . In
ther inscriptions it often happens that though the
Buddha b the principal object of their invocations.
Hindu divinities such as Rudr4 Visgu are not forgotten.
The earlie* document that furnishes clear evidence
of the prevalenoeof Mahayana Buddhism in Cambodia
i s t h e P r a s a t T a K a m I n s c r i p t i o n s e t u p i n A . C . 7 9 1 .I t
mentioru the MahayAnic drvinrty Lokedvara.
Perhaps with a view to securing their unswerving
lo;-alty ascetics.bothof the Mahayina and'the Theravida
traditiorl rn all places. temples,monasteri€sand hermi-
tages, were required to transfer tbe merit gained by
thern by their austerities to the king and those who
disturbed the peace of the monks and the ascctics were
informed that they would be expelled and handed over
to the state tribunal ior punishment. These orden
appear in an inscription of king Suryavarman I written
in the Khmer language and set up at the beginning of thc
e l e v e n t hc e n t u r y .
In A.C. lll2 in the reign of king Suryavarman II.
Saka Kamraten An Sri Virendridhipati according to the
Phimai Inscription, installed an image d Tri-Loka-
vijay4 general of the God Vimay4 and provided slava
and land for its maintenance. Virendridhipati has been
identified as Suryavarman II (lI2-52) who built the
Angtor vat Templg famous for ib grand conception.
King JayavartrtanVII (A.C. 1l8l-1201) was an inde
fatigable worker in the cause of MahAydna Buddhism
and hb rclativcly lenghy inscriptiors provide usdul
information nd ooly in respccr d the growth of Buddh-
 EPIGRAPHY
srn in Cambodia but also tn respect of current social
;onditions. The Ta Prohrn lnscription c* this ruler.
lm example, bcgrns with an invocation to ttre Triplc
Gerr1 LokeCvara and to the mother of all Buddhas.
Pra.lna-Paramita. This invocation is followed by a
ceneologr of his line and the victorious campaigns
- ' o n d u c t e db y J a y a v a r m a nV I I . T h e b o d y o f t h e i n s c r i p
t lon enumerates the various materiah required for
ceremonies held in temples and th€ contributions
that farmers are required to make towards these temple
ceremonies. The inscription concludes with a descrip
tion of thc spring festival together with the rules govern-
ing this festival and a prayer that the merit generated
by these good works of the king should assist his royal
mother to secure release from the endless cycles of
brrth. This inscription contains 145 Sanskrit stanzasin
190 lines.
Another lingthy but informative inscription cf the
sanr ruler is the Pra Khan Stele Inscription recording
the consecration of an image of the Bodhisattva Loke$-
r a r a . R e f - e r e n cies a g a i n m a d e t o t h e n u m e r o u s p i o u s
.r'undations
k i n g J a y a v a r m a nh a d s e t u p . a n d t h e l a r g e
sumsof mon€y spent in connection with the foundations.
Ttn king b said to have made 2040 images of gold.
srlver,bronre and stone and built 514 seperatetemples
:nd 2066 accessoriesto temples or minor constructions.
The inscription is nothing but a review of all the king's
good workq not altogether, perhaps free from an element
,-t' exaggeration. The Say-Fong Inscription of the same
ruler records the foundation of a hospital and sets out
:he regulatiom formulated by the king for its administra-
: tLtn,
I n s c r i p t i o n ss e t u p b y r u l e r s w h o w e r e l o l l o w e r s o f
:he Mahayana were, it should be noted, written in Sans-
xnt arxdKhmer languages. After the introduction of the
i'heravadato Cambodia about the latter part of the
:hlrteenth century inscriptiom carE to be written in
PaU and Khmer, One d the first such inscriptions
*nt(en partly in Pali and
Bartly in Khmer is the Kok
Sray Cek Inscription of Sri Klndravarman set up in
\ C' ,230. Thb inscription records the grant of a village
named Siri Sundararatana-garna to the Mahithera
Srnndamoh and the grant of four villagesto a monastery
and eight plots of land to some monks.
l'he Indian Sub-Contincnt:The oldest inscriptions of the
Indian Sub-continentare, generally speakingthe inscrip
tions of the Emperor Adoka which are dealt with else-
*here (see.EDICTS). Th€ inscription writren in Brahmi
characterson the Piprahva Relic Caska is consideredto
be as old as the inscriptions of Adoka and records the fact
rhat the casker contains some relics cf the Buddha- the
Blessodone, enshrinedtherein by a Sakyan famrly headed
bv one Sukirti.
89 EPIGRAFHY
Later in date are the inscnpions. in Brahmi charac-
ters. that appear on the railings around the two l'amous
stupas of BhArhut now dismantled and the several
stupas at Sanci. Central India The latter with their
magnificent torunas(gateways)appear to have provided
many opportunities for numerous shonlnscriptions to
be engraved at appropriate spoti ohe inscriptions
engraved on these railings are mostly of a donatorv
character but provide -rlso usefulinformation in respecl
d the economic and social conditions of the time.
At Bharhut besides the donatory inscriptiom are
short epigraphs identifying the bas-reliefs carved on
the pillars which illustrate sorne of the previous lives.
jatakas of the Buddha and incidents in his own life.
The standing figures of variou divinities in high relief
carved on the pillars that were around the st0pa are
also identified by appropriate titles. Among the titles of
.latakas that appear at Bharhr-tt are Miga-jataka and
M uhukupi-JAtuka The bas- relief illustrating the offering
of the Jetavana monastery to the Buddha by ttre merchant
Anathapiq{ika carries a caption stating that here
Anathapi4dika is oflering th€ Jetavana Monastery
(to the Euddha) after covering the monastery grounds
with milliom (of coins) while the bas-relid illustrating
the assembly of gods in hcaven paying homage to the
Sacred Har Relic of the Buddha carries a similarly
appropriate title.
The inscriptions at Bharhlt can be assigned to the
second century B.C. while those at Sanci are of a
slightly later date, a few of them being assignedto even
modern times.
In the stlrpas of Sanci already referred to, Sonali
and Andher, all near Bhopal, in Madhyapradesh. relic
caskets have been found bearing the names of the
saints whose relics are enshrined in thern Sonr of
these were identified as the names of those teachers
who, according to the Pa[ chronicle. Mahauamsa,
were set to neighbouring countries by the Emperor
Adoka to propagate the teaching d the Buddha. These
identifications have now been shown to be open to
doubt.
r-rrrther south were situated two other well-known
stupar namely the Amaravati Stupaand the NAgarjuna-
koUda Stlpa both situated on the River Kistna Most
of tlre inscriptiors of Amaravati are again da donatory
character and refer to the construction of the various
parts of the Stupa and can be assigned to the period 2nd
century B.C. to the second century A.C. Prominent
among the donon appear the members of the royal
dynasty known as the Sitavihanas The records at
Nlgirjunakog$a have bea set up by or under the
patronage of the members of the Iksviku family. Fore-
most among the lksvaku patrons of Nagarjunakog{a
 EPIGRAPHY
'A.rs
QuL'efl(lhintasrn'vhose name appears repeatedly
ln man) records. described as a most munificent and
charitable lady A record of considerable historical
rnterest is an inscription engraved on the lloor of an
apsrdal tcmple hcre stating that uprT.sikliBodhisiri has
dedicatqj the temple to the fraternity cf Sri Lankan
monks. A Simhala Vihara ior the accommodation of
monks from Sri Lanka is alvr mentioned in this record.
Thus inscriptions at Amaravati and Nagarjunako4{a
provide very valuable evidcnce lbr the history of
t h e S a t a v a h a n a sa n d l k s v a k u s . I n s c r i p t i o r s a t b o t h
these places are in one of the dialects of Prakrt and in
Brahmi characters whose gradua.l evolution can be
.traced in them ior about four centuries.Inscriptions on
tfie relic iaskets tbund in the Bhattiprolu St0pa Guntur
District, have been assigned to the third century B.C.
Inscriptions in the cave temples in Western India.
such as Nasik Bha1a,Karle, Kanheri, Ajaqla and Ellora
are very much similar in character to the donatory
inscriptions found at Amaravati and Nagarjunakoq{a.
They record the names of the donors and whatever
was gifted to the temple. with an indication of the specific
charitl that the donation was to support.
At Nasik an inscription records the donation by a
mcrchant o{' one hundrql kuhupa4us as a perpetual
endowment to the Buddhist Order of monks and it is
stipulated that twelve kuhupurlttsfrom the proceeds
d the endowment be paid to four monk who observe
the las.si( the rainy seasonretreat. A secord inscription
at the same tennplerecords that a Greek named Datta-
mitra caused a caitya-grha. a stupa carved out of rock
insidc a chamber. to be excavated, for securing the
happinessof his fathcr and mother. In another instance
an Army Commander h:rsdonated a sum of one thousand
kuhupu4u of the guild of Odayamtikas and other sums
of money (f rom elsewhere)to be deposited as an endow-
ment to provide medicaments to monks who have
iallen ill. A pillar inscription at Karle states that the
pillar (in question) carrying relics (of the Buddha?)
LS the gft of the preacher Satimita of th€ venerable
rmonks) d the Dhamuttariya (sect) of Sopara These
cave templesand the inscriptions in them can be assigned
eenerally to the period first century B.C. to the second
centurJ A.C., though some inscriptions at A.1aq1[
are as recent as the fourteenth century. These latter
inscriptions are in no way related to Buddhism All
the inscriptions at the cave temple mentioned above
are in Prakrt and written in the contemporary Brihmi
script. though some inscriptiors of a later date are
*ritten rn the Sanskrit language and in Nagari charac-
ln Strulh Indra- rn a few places such as Tiruppara-
nEunram Karungalakkudi and Mettupatti inscriptions
hare b,r'm iound carvsj on the driD-ledses of caves.
90 EPIGRAPHY
These inscriptions are written in Brahmi characters of
2nd century lst century B.C. in an archaic Tamil dialect
and are quite similar in content to the cave inscriptions
in Sri Lanka. These caves are now considered to have
been occupied by Buddhist monks,
'haracters
Numerous short inscriptions m Brahmi
have been found in Mathura. South East of Delhi.
These short records are often engraved on the pedestals
of Buddha or Bodhisattva images. Among these is an
interesting inscription recording the giit of a Buddha
image by a nun named Dhanavati. niece of another
nun named Buddhamitra- tosether with her father
and mother.
Similar short donativc records tn Brahmi charac-
t e r s h a v e b e e n f o u r t d a t S a r a n a t h . B u d d h a g a y aa n d
Sravasti (moclern Sahct lV{ahet). As expressions
of infinite piety an,j clil ritl' towards others these
records provide an insight rnto the spiritual quali-
ties of the people of North India in the first two or
t h r e e c e n t u r i e so f t h e C h r i s t i a n e r a
A t N a l a n d a .t h e s i t c o f t h e f a m o u s U n i v e r s i t yi n B i h a r .
a n d a t V a i s a l i( B e s a r h l)a r g eq u a n t i t i e so f s e a l sc o n t a i n i n g
the names of the diflerent monastic foundations in
Gupta script. or some pithl quotation from the canon.
were found. A tvpical text in a seal would read Sri-
N ilu ndu M uhut i hAr i v-Ar y ub h* susufighus yu or y edhurtrft
hetuprubhut'rr. l he sealslrom NllandA can be assigned
t o t h e p e r i o d t ' r r r ' r5r t h t o 1 2 t h c e n t u r yA . C . w h i l e t h o s eo f
B e s a r hb e l o n gt o a s o m e w h a te a r l i e rp e r i o d .I n s c r i p t i o n s
a r e l o u n d a t N i r l a n d a a n d i t s v i c i n i t v r e c o r d i n gv a r i o u s
k i n d s o f c l o n a t i o n sn t a d c t o t h e L r n i v e r s i t r '
Dunn,e the period ot- the Gupta Emperors a few
i n s c r i p t i o n sw r i t t e n i n t h e S a n s k r i tl a n g u a g ew e r es e tu p
mostly recording the foundation of some monastic
dwelling antl installation of Buddha statues. These
records are found at Buddhagayi. Allahabad. Mathura"
Kasia and Srnci Among these is an inscription at Sinci
which records the grant d a sum of money by a female
B u d d h i s tl a v d e v o t e en a m e d H a r i s v a m i n it o t h e v i h a r aa t
KokanAdabota (Sanci)for the feedingof one monk in the
monaslrr\ ;..ndltrr maintaining lamps in the imagehouse
o { 't h e ' r h r l r a ' f h i s i n s c r i p t i o nw a s s e t u p i n t h e y e a rA . C .
45S 451 The Buddhagaya lnscription of Mahiniman
sct up in the latter part of the sixth century recordsthe
gift of a monastic building or an image house at the
Bodhimanda at Buddhagaya.The personalname Mah['
naman appears twice in this inscription referring to two
different persons.The second person referred to by thts
name has probably to be identified with the Sri Lankan
monk Mahanama who was the author of the Pali chrg
nicle M tthsurlnsrl.though there appears to be somediscro
pancy regarding dates. Inscrlptions set up during tht
mediaevalperiod (A.C. 80O-1200)having a direct bearing
 EPIGRAPHY
o n B u d d h i s n i a r e r a r e . e x c e p t t h c l s ep l a c n l o n s t a t u e so t
t h e B u d d h a a n d B u d d h i s t d i v r n i t i e s .T h e s e r e c o r d s a r e
* ' r i t t c n i n t h c S a n s k r i ti a n . e u a gae n d r n t b , cN a g a n s c r i p t
, , \c o r n p a r a t i v e l yl a r g e n u m b e r o f ' t h e s er e c o r d sa r e l i r u n C
i n W c s t B c n g a l a n d h a v e f r e e ns e t u p i n t h e t i m e o f t h e
r u l e r so f t h c P A l aa n d S e n ad v n i l s t i e sw . h o r v e r eh o w c v e r .
I-lindus by taith A rare but important recorrl of this
perrtxlis thc Niiancli Copper Plateof King l)evapiia-
c i e v ar e g i s t e r i n gt h e g r a n t a t t h e r e q u e s to [ B a l a p u t r a d e v a
o f 'S u v a r 4 a b h a l m(i B u rm a o r S u m a t r a )o f s e v c r a iv i l l a g e s
t b r t h e m a i n t c n i r n c eo f t h e S a n g h ao t t h e f b u r q u a r t c r s .
t o m e e t t h e c o s t o f t r a n s c r i b i n g B u d d h i s t t e x i . sa n d t b r
the upkccp ri themonaster) at Nalirnda.
Whilc the tsrahmi script was being used in wrrtten
r e c o r d si n t h e N o r t h e r n C e n t r a l a n d t h e S o u t h e r np a r r s
of lndia up to about the fifth century from abour rhe
t h i r d c e n t u r y B . ( , 1 .a. n a l t o g e t h e r d i f l e r e n t s c r i p r u a s
employed in writing in the area that today forms thc'
modern States of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It was the
Kharosthi script derived f'rom Aramic that was used
from the time cdthe Emperor Adoka till about the third
o r f o u r t h c e n t u r y A . C i n t h i s a r e a .T h e e a r l i e s tK h a r o s t h i
i n s c r r p t i o n s i n t h i s a r s a a r e t h e r o c k - i n s c r r p t i o n so f
[ : m p e r o r A s o k a w h i c h v a r e d i s c u s s e de l s e u ' h e r eH. o u , -
e v e r . i n s c r i p t i o n si n K h a r o s t h i a p p c a r t o h a v e b e c o m e
popultu m the time oi' the Kusana rulcrs. Gcnerally
t h e s ei n s c r i p t i o n sa r e q u i t e s h o r t a n d r c c o r d r h c d e p o s i t
o l ' B u d d h a r c l i c s .t h e d e d i c a t i o no f a r e s i d e n c et o m o n k s
0r the grant o{' land to rhe Sangha.
P e r h a p so n e o f t h e e u r l i e s tc l o c u m e n t so f - t h i st v p e i s a n
i n s c r i p t i o ne n g r a v e do n t h e l i d o l a r e l i cc a s k e td i s c o v e r e d
. r t B i m a r a n n e a r J a l a l a b a d .i n A f g h a n i s t a n T . he rccord
b e l o n g st o t h e t i m e o f t h e f i r s t K u s a n a r u l e r A z e s w h o
b e c a m ek i n g i n 8 0 B . C l t r e c o r d st h a t t h e B u d d h a r e l i c s
i n t h e c a s k e t w e r c c n s h r i n e db y S i v a r a k s i r ad t h e M u t a -
v a n t l - a m i l yr n h o m a g e t o a l l B u d d h a s .I t i s a c o m m o n
c h a r a c t e r r s t i co f t h c s ei n s c r i p t i o n st h a t t h e d o n o r s b e i n g
members ol' the varit'rusbranches of the Mahivana
s c h o o lc f U u d d h i s m .t h e m e r i t a c c r u i n g{ ' r o mt h e c h a r i t i e s
recorded are ollcred ro the reigning king parents and
o t h e r r e l a t i v e s .F o r e x a m p l c . t h e T a x i l a S i l v e r S c r o l l
I n s c r i p t i o n r e c o r d st h a t s o m e r e l i c so f t h e L o r d B u d d h a
were enshrined by a person named Urasaka of the l'amrly
tl' Intavhria in his own Chapel in the Dharmarajika
C'ompound ot Taksadila- fbr the bestowal oi health
()n the Great Krng.King of Kings. the son ot' Heaven.
the Kusa4ir- in honour d the Buddha- in honour
o{' the Pratyekabuddhas. in honour of all beings, in
honour of father and mother of friends, ministers.
kinsmen and blood relatives and fbr the bestowal of
health upon himself. Finally. he prays that this acr ot-
charity will lead all beinp to Nirva4a_ The Mathura
Lion Capital Inscription which records some charitablc
acts of the queen of the Mahaksatrapa Rajnla Ayasia.
91 EPIGRAPHY
K a r n a i a i s a r a r e i n s t a n c ec l ' a r e c o r d i n I n d n p r o p e r
being u'ritten in Kharosthi characters,
l l a l a v s i a a n d I n d o r , c s i a :T h e a r e a c o v e r e db v t h e s et w r r
m o d e r n s t a t e sc a m e u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c eo f B u d d h i s m
r e l a t i v c l r e a r l y .a b o u r t h e f b u r t h c e n t u r \ . A . C . E v e n t h e n
t h e n u m b e r o f ' p e o p l ew h o a c c e p t e dB u d d h i s ma s t h e r r
religion *'as small.the majority of them being Hindus
I n s c r i p t r o n sr e l a t i n g t o B u d d h i s m . t h e r e f o r e ,a r e q u i t e
rare about this time. The earliestof theseis an inscription
i n S a n s k r i tc o n t a r n i n gt h e B u d d h i s tc r e e db e g i n n i n gw i t h
t h e w o r d s y e d h a r n wh e t u p r t t b h u t rTi .h e c r e e di s e n g r a v e d
o n a s t o n e d r s c o v e r e di n a s t u p a m o u n d a t K e d a h i n t h e
l \ { a l a v P e n i n s u l aa n d i s a s s i g n e dt o t h e f o u r t h c e n t u r } , .
f h r s i s s i r i d t o b e t h e o l d e s r B u d d h i s t e p i g r a p he v e r d i s -
c o v e r e dr n S o u t h - e a sAt s i a .
.,\nother Sanskrit epigraplr- also from the site of a
stupii nc)und at Kedah, has been assignedto the 5th-6th
century. The epigraph consistsof six lines of verse
written in Sanskrit in a script of South Indian Origin.
The versesen lmerate the qualities that a person should
possessto attain to supereme knowledge. The content
of the verses seems to be derived from Mahavanist
teachings.
An inscribed rim f rom a silver vesselfound in one
o f t w o e a r t h e n w a r ej a r s u n e a r t h e di n a n o t h e r m o u n d a t
Kedah bean some writing in Pali or Sanskrit. This
inscription is presumed to be of Buddhist origin The
record has been dated in the sixth or the seventhcentury.
A document of unusual interest is the Sanskrit Inscrip
tion. written in the Pallava script used in South India.
engraved on a slab of stone brought to light in the
ruins of a Buddhist urhurusituated in what was known
a-s the Welleslel Province in the Malay Peninsula.
The slab contains in illustration o{' a stDpa with a
sev.en-tieredumbrella over ir. Below it is inscribed a
Buddhi$ stanza rr Sanskrrt with a prayer for the success
of a voyageplanned by a master mariner named Buddha-
gupta. On Palaeographical grounds this epigraph can
be assigned to the seventh century. An inscription
dated 697 of the Saka Era (A (- 77fl discovered at the
monastery of Wat Semamaung at Ligor m the Malay
P e n i n s u l ac o n s i s t so f s o m e S a n s k r i tv e r s e sc o m m e m o r a -
t i n g t h c -f o u n d a t i o n o f ' a M a h i r y a n i s ts a n c t u a r yb y a k i n g
of Sri Vijaya The importance of the inscription lies
in the clear referenceto a MahAyanist sanctuary indica-
ting the prevalenceof the Mahayana school of Buddhism
in the Malay Peninsulain the eighth cenrury. Of a sligthl.v-
later date perhaps are the short epigraphs appearing
in six silver discs and one gold disc unearthed frorn the
remalns c* a Buddhist Vihara at Kedah. The nanr cf a
Buddha. a Bodhisattva or of sorne other saint appears
on one side of each disc. It is possible that the discs
were offerod in homage to the Buddha or the saint whose
 EPICRAPHY
nam6 appears on each disc. It has also been suggested
that the names are those of individuals who participated
nr the foundation of the vihdra Though the inscriptions
found in Malaysia are few and insubstantial th€y clearly
indicate the prevalencecf the Mahaylna form of Buddhi-
sm in this reign in the period 4th-9th century.
ln the island of Sumatra only a very few inscriptions
relating to Buddhism have been found. The earliest
among ther4 perhaps, is a Malay inscription found
near Palembang in the South-castern corner of the
Island It records the foundation of a public park called
Sriksetra by order of king Jayasena in A.C. 684 as an
act of Buddhist charity. It may be recalled that according
to the teachinp of the Buddha the construction of
parkg bridges and such other amenities is considered
as acts conferring great merit on the donor.
Two inscriptions of a relatively lare date are two
gold plateg orrc of the i2th century ard the other of thc
l3th; they are most probably yantraseach containing a
geometrical device with sonrc Nagari characters. These
were found at Tandjung Medun in Western Sumatra.
Sanskrit inscriptions wrjtten in Pallava Grantha
characters have been found at several places sudr as
Great Karimin and Bukit Seguntang which may be
assigned to the eighth century. These inscriptions
refer to a footprint of the Buddha and to ttre dedication
d sorne religious edifice. Inscriptions found in the
Island d Java are written either in the Old Javanese
script or in the Pallava Grantha used in South India
Perhaps the oldest Buddhist inscriptron found in
construction of a temple there dedicated to the Maha-
yina divinity Tar6" and d a residence for monks well-
versed n the Vinaya and MahAyAna doctrine. It is
dated A.C. 778. Another inscription of about the same
period is a gold plate containing the text in Sanskrit
d the prarlya-sumutryda(dependentorigination) which
enunciates an important teaching in Buddhisrn The
provenance of this inscription is not known with cer-
tainty but ttre probability is that it was found in some
part of Java.
Referenceis made to the Mahayanist divinity Kuvera
in a gold plate inscription discovered in Central Java
al a plac called Tjandigdjo. The script employed in
thb inscription is old Javanese and the gold plate has
beer assigned to the 7th-8th century.
The Ratubaka Inscription found in Central Java
refers to the constrtction d a Vihdra by the nanr of
Abhayagiri by Simhala monks from Sri Lanka. It is
assigned to th€ last decade of the eighth century. It
is to be noted that a vihara known as tlt Abhayagiri
VihAra was constructed at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka
bv King Vattagamini in th€ first century B.C.The rele-
92 EPIGRAPHY
vant part in the record lends itsef to be,construed also
in the sense that the vihara was meant for the use of
Simhala monks.
Yet another gold plate iound in Central Java at a
place called Tjandi Plaosan contains four lines cf a
dhara4i written in Sanskrit. The recitation d dharunis
was peculiar to Mahayina and Tantric Buddhist practice.
Thb goh plate thus provides evidenceof the prevalence
cf Mahayana or of Tantric Buddhism in Centra.l Java
about the 8th-9th century to whidr thb inscription can
be assigned. A pre-Nagari inscription from Tjandi
Plaosan in Central Java in a poor state of preservation,
refers to the ereclion of an image (probably of a Buddha)
and an imagc house in order to get across sumsuru.
It was issued by a devotee probably in the time of one
of the Sailendra rulers of Java and may. be'assigned
to the 9th century. Two inscriptions from Tjandi
Perot written in the old Javanesescrip and language
records the foundation of a sinu for holding ecclesiasti-
cal ceremonies.giving an account of the King and his
offrcials .'-i$ were serving the state at the time. The
inscription concludes with the nam€s of the witnesses
to the foundation with their designations.
Sri Lanka: The earliestinscriptions in Sri Lanka can be
traced as far back as the third century B.C. These are
short inscriptions in Brahmi charactersengraved on the
prepared surfaces of dripledges of caves, distributed
throughout the Island excep in the Nothern Province.
They consist usually of abotrt a dozen words recording
the donation of the caves in question to the Buddhist
Order of monks and contain ttrc narne of the donor
and his or her parentage.The donon are usually im-
portant p€rsonages such as the ruler or members
cf his family. These records despite their brevity reflect
the simple lives of the monks who preferred a life of
seclusion to the comforts of the cities where perhaps
monks lived in structural buildinp provided with
conveniencesand facilities not available to the cave-
d w e l l i n gm o n k s .
Chronologically thesecaveinscriptiorrswere succeeded
by an extensive series of longer records engraved on
rocks, registering the grant of lands, fields or revenue
from tanks and fords to vihiras for their maintcnance
or for special purposes such as the periodical recitation
of prescribed parts of the Buddhist canonical texts.
Transference of revenlE in thb manner to uihoras
apparently became necessary with the developmeni
of these viharas as organised centrc of religious prac-
tice. These inscriptions are written in Brnhmi characters
of a more developcd type than those appearing in the
cave records and belong to the first three or four cen-
turies A.C. A rare document of this clas d document
h the Tonigala Rock Inscription of the tinre d King
 EPIGRAPHY
Srn Meghavag0a (A.C. 303-331i recording the condi-
:tons on which certain quantitres of grain had been
Jepositedin a guild by the son of a member of the Council
.a Ministers of the King With the interest accruing
irom thfu deposit of grain, the guild was required among
..'ther obligations to hold the Dcssrrceremony (retreat)
.it a monastery named Yahisapavaya- The guild was
:lyr required to provide certain specfied iterm of
''ro<j and spices to the refectory of the monastery.
.{ttention may be drawn here to two important
eprgrapts of this period. The earliest evidence we have
a the arrival d Mahinda Thera in Sri Lanka is in the
Palr Dipuuumsu of the fifth century A.D. Mahin{a
Thera who is said to be a son of the Indian Emperor
.\soka is not mentioned in the latter's inscriptions.
But a short epigraph of circu the first century written in
tsrahmi characters found at Rassagala refers to a stupa
'* here tlre ashes of Thera Mahinda and his companion
Thera Itthiya were enshrined. Yet another inscription
:nsraved on a rock at Mihintale where Mahinda Thera
rs said to have arrived first when he canrc to Sri Lanka-
:.lers to Mahinda Thera and some of his companions.
In the subsequentperiod up to about the end of the
:;eth century relatively few inscriptiors appear to have
ireenset up, recording matters of any signficance, with
lhe exception of a series of short records, which may be
iescribed as private records, registering the manumis-
: ioo of slaves belonging to monasteries specifically
ramed in eadr inscription, by the payment of sums of
:oncy by interested parties. A noteworthy feature of
:nese short records is that the donor in almost every
lnstancE wishes happiness to all bei;rp by virtue of
his attaining Nibbarn as an Arahan! a PaccekaBuddha
'--rSummusambuddhu.
Towar& the end of the Anuradhapura period i.e- by
about the eighth century places cf Buddhist worship
starting as simple residencesfor monks. with a srupa.
a Bodhr tree and perhaps an image house, had developed
,n to complex monastic institutions possessed of
:rrnslderable property in the form of land and even
3rrld leading to abuses and malpractices. The state
:herefore,had to intervene to prevent theseirregularities.
\{onastic prop€rty was traditional$ inviolable and
:,on transferablq and thereforc conhrmatory legislation
rad to be promulgated in the form cf inscriptions
:nqraved on pillars known as atfini^ku44 set up in
-:ll parts of the Island where monasteries were situated.
Ther inscriptions usually contained clausesprohibiting
:.leeal activities sucfi as felling of trees in monastic
:nds and taking away cart bulls from monasteries-
\n rmportant record of thh period giving a detailed
::Count of the administrative and the servia organisa-
' r-rflof a largr monastery b the inscription known
as
':e Mihintale Tablets, engraved on carefulty
dressed
93 EPIGRAPHY
slabe of stone set up at Mihintale. about eight miles
n o r t h e a s to f A n u r a d h a p u r a b y K i n g M a h i n d a I V . ( A . C .
956-912). It enumerates the persons employed in the
monastery at Mihintale with the paymenrsthat had to be
made to them in kind or cash.lays down ruies regardtng
the day to day conduct of the resident monks and even
lays down precautionary measuresto prevent irregulari-
ties in respect ct''property and revenue.
A document of unusual intere$ d thb period, howevgr.
is an inscription engraved on the rock-wall of a cave at
Kalu-diya Pokuga in thc Matale Districl Thb inscrip-
tion which can be assigncd to the reign d king Sena
I I ( A . C . 8 5 3 - 8 8 7 )o r K i n g K a s s a p a I V ( A . C . 8 9 8 - 9 1 4 )
records tbe endowments made by some private indivi-
duals to a monastery nsmed Dakinigiri One d the
donors named Dalanq it b interesting to notg who has
contributed some gold as an endowmen! has stipulated
that rice should not b€ given to monks uncooked,
evidently to prevent abuses [t b also laid down that
in caseof dissension among the inmates of thc monastery,
the food intended for them should be t'ed to crows
and dogs.
Small copper plaques not bigger than six square
centimetreg inscribed rvith two or three words extracted
at random from important Mahayana works like
Prajha-paramita and Kdlyapapariuartq harrc been found
at several places at Anuradhapura Of similar import
are the inscription engraved on a rock at Tiriyiya and
the TiikAyastaDa engraved on a rock at Mihintale.
Both these records are in characters similar to the
Pallava Cantha script and may be assigned to the
seventh or the eighth century.
Consequent to the occupation of Anuradhapura at
the end of the tenth century by Colas from South India a
period of instability and turmoil set in The Colas
themselves found it safer to move the capital to Polonna-
ruwa When in due course the invaders were driven
away, and Vijayabahu i (A.C. 1055-110) ascended the
throne, his efforts and those of hb successors were
mainly directed at promoting Buddhism- It b to record
their efforts in this direction that most of the inscrip
tions of the period have becn directed Particular men-
tion must be made here d thc Ambagamuva Rock-
inscription of king Vijayablhu I where he recounts the
improvements he effected at Samanola (Adam's Peak)
and the facilities he provided for the convenience of
pilgrims who travelled from all parts cf the Island to
pay homage to the Buddha's Foot I'iint there. One
of the most important documents for the history of
Buddhism in Sri l.anka was sct up during this period
by king Parikramabdhu t (A,C. 1153-1186l namely
the Gal Vihnra Rock Inscription wherein arc laid down
 EPIGRAPHY
gurdelinesfor the conduct of monks in ther novitiate.
evsn to the extent of prescribing the essentiai text
books rr Pali and in Sinhalesethat they should master
before they can be released from their novitiate.
K i n g N i d S a n k a m a l l a{ 4 . D . l l E T - ' l t 9 6 ) w h c a p p e a r st o
have continued the work of his predecessorParlkrama-
bahu set up relatively lengthy inscriptions in all parts
ol the Island. describing in detail, perhapa not without
an element of exaggeratioq ttre serviceshe had rendered
to the promotion of Buddhism in the Island. His Gal-
pota Inscription engraved on a block of stone 26 ft. l0
inches by 5 ft. 7 inches and 2 ft. approximately. specially
prepared lor the purpose. is largely biographical in
content and recounts some of his good works, besides
uttcring some words of admonrtion to his subiects.
Some Tamil inscriptions relating to Buddhist interests
werealso set up in the Polonnaruwa period. Of these
reference may be made here to some inscriptions at
Velgamvehera in the Eastern Province. One of them
refers to the offering of five oxen and thirtlfive cows to
the vihrra at Velgama and another to the provision
made by a devotee to maintain a sacred perpetual lamp
at the same vihara Others record similar gifts. Of great
interest in regard to the history of the sacred Tooth
Relic of the Buddha is the slab inscription of the
Velaikkaras set up at Polonnaruwa. most probably
in the reign of Parakramabahu I or a few years earlier.
T h e r e c o r d b r i e t l y "r e c o u n t s t h c a c h i e v c m c n t so f K i n g
Vijayabahu I. sets out the donations made by the
VeJaikkara community to the Temple of the Tooth
and regrsters an affirrnaticn liy the Velarkkaras of
therr undertaking to protc.ct the Sacrel Temple of thc
J'ooth at Polonnaruua. Both Tamil and Grantha
characters have been employed in these inscriptions
Another important inscription of about the same
period is the Galapata Vihira Rock -inscription assigned
to th€ reign of king Parakramabahu I or ttr second o[
t h a t n a m e . T h i s i n s c r i p r i o n r e c o r d st h e f o u n d a t i o n o f a
monastery at Galapata" South of Colombo, by a digni-
tary named Mindel (Mahinda) with the support of his
mother and some other relatives. and provides a long
list of various blocks of land donated to the Vihara
for its maintenance.
From about the middle cf the thirteenth century the
capital of Sri Lanka was moved to scveral places. in
successionf,rom Polonnaruwa to Dambadeniy4 thence
to Yapahuwa and Kurunegala and thence to Gampola.
It was ar the last named place that a measure d stability
*as achieved in the country for any major step6 be
taKen to promote Buddhism in the region. Accordingly.
94 EPIGRAPHY
three ma.;or viharas were built. all in the vicinity of
Gampola, wrth the active support of the ruler. King
B u v a n e k a b a h u I V l A L ' l 3 4 l - 1 3 5 1 . )A c c o u n t s o f t h e
c o n s t r u c t i o nc l ' t h e s ev i h a r a s a n d t h e p r o v i s i o n s m a d e
lbr their maintenanceand the maintenancecf the monks
who resided in these vrhara are to be fbunl in several
inscriptiom engraved on stone and orr copper plates.
These are the Niyamgarnpaya Rock Inscriptior\ thc
Gadalade4iya Rock Inscription and a set of rock
inscriptiors at the LankAtilaka Vihara and a set of
.sdnnos(rs engraved on copper plates relating to the last
named vihara
Perhaps one of the last lithic records of significance
in the history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka is the Slab
Inscription d the Pdpiliyana Vihnra recording the
lbundation of a monastery by king Parakramabahu
VI (A.C. 1412-1467) for ttre particular purpose of
ollering merit to his late mother. Queen Sunetra Devi.
This inscription while giving a very detailed account
of the grants made to the monastery for its maintenance
and stipends in cash and kind paid to tbe monks resident
in or on visit to the monastery. provides an insight
i n t o t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o no { ' a m e d i e v a l B u d d h i s t m o n a s -
tery in Sri Lanka. Related to this inscription is the
Veragama Sannasa,a coppsr plate land grant confirming
an ealier grant made by king Parakramabahu VI to
Dharmalanklra Paqdita who had been employed as a
scribe to transcribe palm leaf manuscripts at the Sunetra
D e v i V i h a r a a t P d p i l i y a n a .T h i s s u n n u s an o w g r a n t e d
by King Vijayabahu l'I of Kotte (n.C. 1509-1521)
transfers the benefits of the earlier grant to one Bodhi-
naya who was currently employod in the same capacity
at the vihara The Mddavala Copper Plate snnnasa
was issuedby King Kirtr Sri Rajasimha(A.C 174'l-l'782)
of Kandy to provide for the maintenance of the image
house completely built anew at Md{avala not far
l r o m K a n d t T h e s r i n n n s at r a c e st h e h i s t o r y d ' t h i s v i h A r a
from the time of King Vattagamaqi (first century B.C.)
and gives a very detailed account of the architectural
features and the mural paintings of the new image
house.
'l'hailand:
T h c c a r l i e s te x a m p l e so f i n s c r i p t i o n sr e l a t e dt o
tsuddhism are formulae quoterJ fiom Buddhist texts
engraved on clay tablets, on one side cf whicb appeared
a statue cf the Buddha Tbe formula very commonly
engraved on these votive tablets is ttre so-called Buddhist
creed beginning with the words ye dhunmruhetuppubhauit
tesam hetu tathagato alrc. Bricks engraved with the same
lbrmula als<r have been foun4 particularly at Pra
Patborn These tablets can be assigned to tb€ 5th cen-
tury or the 6th century. The script employed b a sort
cf proto-Thai scrip related to tbe later tsrahmi Script
used in South India.
 EPIGRAPHY
A mone substantial document is an inscription
irscovered at Rdjablrl recording the installation cf a
Buddha statue by an ascetic named Samiddhigupta.
ihis inscription b assignedto the 6th or the 7th century.
The script employed is a proto-Thai script.
{n inscription that throws very valuable light on the
:eligious intercourse betwcen South India and Thailand
:s a short epigraph appearing on the socle of a standing
Buddba statue found at the Mahadhatvdrarna in Lop-
bnri What b most interesting in this record is the
statement that the statue was caused to be set up by a
person named Niyaka fujav4 the adhipathi (lord) of
Jan.;aur (Tanjore in South India.) This inscriprion
has been assigned to the eighth century A.C
Siamese inscription of exceptional interest is the
\oen Sa Bua Inscription d Dong Si Maha found at
Prachinburi, about fifty miles north east cf Bangkok.
Tbe inscriptim b engraved on a slab of storr in a
scrip quite similar to the Pallava script of South India.
rnd had been set up in A.C. 761. The inscription consists
of twenty-seven lines, whidr incorporale three quatrains
irom a Pali poem called Tblakatahagaflracomposed by a
Sri Lankan author. Though this work has been assigned
to the eleventh century the instant inscription proyes
rhat it had been composed some time before A.C. 761.
The sectionsof'the inscription which do not lbrm apart of
tlrc Telukatahagathi are written in the Mon script.
An inscription assignedto the year A.C. 1377 records
the establishmentof a sect known as theSjnrhala-Sungha
th€ Sri Lanka Order of monkg in Siam by a delegation
d monks who had visited Sri Lanka_ This inscription
had been set up by the Burmese King Ramkhahaeng
*ho had conquered Siam earlier. Several other inscrip-
tiorr were set up during the fourteenth century, rdlecting
the devotion and religious fervour cf the Thai people
who werc now followers of the TheravAda school of
Buddhism,
Vict-Nam: Though it has been suggestd on tbe evidence
ot the Va-Canh Inscription of King Sri Mara of the
secondor the third century A.C. that Buddhism had been
known in Viet-narg known in ancient tim as Champn,
the clearest evidence of the presenc of Buddhism in
th:s country k an inscription assignod to the second
quartef, d thc ninth ccntury, sd up by a Buddhist of a
place called Pa4{uradg4 Samantha by nam to record
rhe dedication d two shrin€s and two monasteries
to Jina and Siva. The name Jina in this inscrrption refers
ro the Buddha Buddhism being * this stags closely
associated with Buddhism" The pralasti recording the
,jedication has been significantly, written by the donor's
son Sthavira Buddha-Nirvi4a Buddhism in is Maha-
''ana form most probably, prevailed
in Viet-nam till
:bout the second quarter d tb thirteenth csotury.
95 EPISTEMOLOGY
Assigned to thb period is the Kim Choua inscription
of King Jaya Paramesvaravarma[ its main interest
being a list of Buddhist divinities held in grear reverence
by Vietnamese Buddhists at tlrc time. sudr as Srijina
LokeCvara Sri Saugatadevedvara.
Blbliography
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. Ilistary ol Indian und
Indonesian Art, reprinte{ |'iew York. 1965. Artibus
Asiae, Ascon4 Switzerland, tbL XXIV, MCMLXL
Corpus Inscriptionwn Indicurum Voi. IIl, Gupta Ins-
criptions ed. J. F. Fleet, Calcutta, 1888. Corpus Inscrty
tionum Indicarur4 Vol. II, Kharosthi Inscriptions, ed.
Sten Konow. Oxford 1929. Alexander Cunningham.
The Stupa of Bharhut. London, 1879. Epigraphia Bir-
munica. Vols. I-IV, ed. C. Duroiselle, Rangoorl 1919-
1928.Epigraphia Indica, Vols, I XXIV, Calcutta 1892
1938.Epigraphia Zeylanicc, Vols. I-VI, London, Colom-
bo, 1912-1973. Indian Antiquary, Vols. XXII-XXIV,
1893-1895.Indiun Ilistorical Quarterly, Vols. II and III.
l92Fl92'1. Inscrrptiors Du Cambodge, ed. G. Coedes,
Vofs. I-IV, Paris, 1937-1953. Inscriptions of Ceylon.
ed. S. Paranavitan4 Vol. I, Colombo 1970; Vol. II,
Part I, Colombo, 1983.lnscriptnrusof'Kumbuja,ed. R. C.
Majumdar, Calcutt4 1953.Journal o.f the Siurn Society,
Vol. Bangk ok. Malalasekera Commemoration Votumi,
ed. O. H. De A. Wijesekera,Colombo, 1976. John
Marshall and A. Foucher, The Monuments of Sanchi.
Vol. l, London, n.d.p. Paranavitane Feficitation Volume,
ed. N. A. Jayawickreme, Colombo, 1965.Selected Ins-
criptions from 7th to the 9th Century, ed. J. G. De
Casparis, Bandung, 1956. University History of Ceylon,
V o l , I , e d . H . C . R a y , U n i v e r s i t y o f C e y l o n , P r e s sB o a r d ,
I 959-I 960.
P. E. E. Fernando
EPISTEMOLOGY
l. lntroducdon Epistemology or theory d knowledge
is that branch of phitosophy which inquires into the
nature and scopeof knowledge.It attempts to analyzethe
concept of knowledge with a vieq' to determining the
criteria applicable for making the disrinction between
valid and invalid claims to knowlekge. It examines the
variety of alleged means and sourcesof knowledge and
lays down the conditions under which claims to know-
ledge could be acceptedto be reliabie. In the history of
the Buddhist philosophical tradition considerable atten-
tion has been paid to episremologicalissues.The teach-
inp of early Buddhism have shown an interest in
philosophy as a way of life. and this b reflected among
other things. in the discussiors concerning epistemo-
logical questions as well. The primary concern of
Buddhism was tlre attainment of emancipating know-
ledge.The discussionof epistemologicalquestionsoccurs
 EPISTEIVTOI;OGY 96 EPISTEMOLOGY

rn vr far as it is related to the attainment of the ultimate hfe (cakkhnn udupadr hu7rnt udopadil expressed in the
goal of Buddhism. This approach is more marked in the f o r m o f t h e F o u r N o b l e ' l r u t h s ( q . v ) . B u d d h i s mc o n t r a s -
carly Buddhist teachinp than in the later ones where ut t e d s u b j e c t r v ec { l n v i c t i o na b o u t t h e t r u t h o f a n y a s s e r t i o n
certain instances questions of logic and eplstemoiogy with direct personal knowledge and understanolng.
seem to be discussed for their own sake. The way cf A fundamental question of epistemological importance
life advocated in Buddhim b based on rts theory of that can be rarsed in connection wtth the Buddhist
'the
reality,and its theory of realitl' has an epistemoiogical position is hcw aileged knowledge of truth and
foundation. Although the Buddha himsef, was not reality in Buddhism is to be characterized. Is it a special
concerned with raising philosophical problems about kind of religiors knowledge describabie as a kind of
the nature and scop€ of knowledge purely in the mystic intution? what role doEs ordinary sense know-
form of an academic pursuit and arn exercise tn logical ledge or empirical knowledp play in tbe ultimate
analysis.to the extent that the way of life recommended understanding claimed by the Buddhist saint? Does
in Buddhism was claimed to depened on statements Buddhism rejec the validity of ordinary senseexperience
about the nature d man and ttre universe which were and recommend other sources of knowledge sudt as
believed to be true, it became necessaryto specily how revelation or intellectual intuition as the meam of
the alleged truths of Buddhisrn were to be known. discovering truth? Answers to such questions as these
could be obtained by a cardul study of the Buddhist
At the time Buddhism emerged in India as a distinct
doctrines that were formulateri in the different periods
*'orld view. a plurality of mutually contradictory theories
of the historical devclopment d the Buddhist tradition.
about tbe nature of man and tbe universe were advocated
by other schools of religious and phrlosophical thought. More attention will be paid in tbe sequd to the
Indian thinken had already developed a considerably ideas contained in the titerature preserved in the Pali
high level of critical and analytical inquiry and if the Niklyas on the assumption that it contains the teachings
message d the Buddha was to win the acceptana of of Buddhisrn which are closest to those expressedby the
the intelligent truth seekersd that tim it was necessary Buddha himself. It is reasonable to assume that the
to state clearly the epistemological foundations of Pali Nikayas as well as the Chinese Agamas agree in
the Buddhi$ world view. In presenting an alternative content and go back to a common source. The fact
world vicrp as well as a goal of ultimate happiness and that the Pali Nikaya literature was preserved by the
liberation in terms of it the Buddha criticized not Theravada school of Buddhism need not lead to the
only some of the existing theories about the nature of prejudice that the Buddhist teachings contained in this
reality. but also the epistcmological foundatiors on corpus d' literature presents a partisan point of view
which thesetheories were claimed to be based Buddhism about the original teachingsof the Buddha.
also claimed that the teachings of the Buddha were
meant for the intelligent or the wise and not for the
2. The pre-Buddhlst Background
stupirJ or the unwise. The Buddhist rheme of emancipa-
tion consisting of three stages has the cultivation of Examining the pre-Buddhist background of Indian
wisdom (pohhQ as the final stage ln rderring to the thought K. N. Jayatilleke shows that thinkers of the
knowledge of the Buddhist saint" ttte Pah canonical period belonged to three principal classesaccording to
sources app€ar to us€ a special set of cognitive terms the epistemologicalground accepted by them for their
to mark thc distinction between such knoweledgc and truth claims.t The first class of thinkers may be called
other modes of cognitive activity. Panna (Sanskrit- traditionalists or those who depended on authority of
prajitdl is one suct term which occurs very frequently some kind. There were some who derived thetr know-
in ttre Buddhist literature of all periods. Buddhism ledge wholly on the basisof a sacredscripturai tradition.
also uses various qualifying prdixes and adjectives The foremost among this class of thinken were the
'to
*'ith tbe verbal root jn4: know' leading to derivations Brahmins who believed in the sacred authority of the
such as asarukkhayaharya uimuttfiaryq abhiitha,parihha. Vedas.To the second class belonged those thinkers who
,.;":n:a.ppith-nc. etc. to signi& ttre specific knowledge may be called rationalists. They propounded their
:::: Buddhisrn considers to be directed to th€ attain- theories on the basisof reasoning and speculation.They
:rr: cl rbe goa.l of emancipation According to the can be identified with some of the metaphysicians of
ts-Ccbist teaching human bondags and suffering are a the early Upanisadic period and other independent
.r:!eeusor€ of ignorance luuijja\. The enlightenment thinkers who denied the reliability of the orthodox
: ' . . r r h e B u d d h a i s b e l i e v e dt o h a v e c o n s i s t e di n t h e Vedic tradition such as the materialistsand the sceptia.
J : * r . t l r 86 ; 1l n p * l e d ! e a n d v i s i O ni n t o c e r t a i n r e a l i t i e so f Thirdlv. there were thinkers who claimed a direct

;,'- : r:i::.ri d r s . u s s r , - .,n, r ft h e P r e - B u d d h i s tb a c k g r o u n d s e e E u r l y B u d d h i s tT h e o r v o l K n o w l e d g e( E B ' f K \ . K . N . J a y a t i l l e k a

I : : : : C L : i * r n . L . r n d L r n1 9 6 - 3()l h a p t e r sl - 3 .
 EPISTEMOLOGY 97
p e r s o n a lk n o w l e d g eo f t h e t r u t h s t h e y p r o p o u n d e d .T h e
l n d i a n m a t e r i a l i s t sw h o a c c e p t e dp c r c e p t i o n a l o n e a s a
r rilrd means of knowledge belonged to this class o1'
: h r n k e r s .W h a t i s m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g i s t h a t t h e r e w e r e
,rthers who based their claims to knowledge not on
, , ; d r n a r ) 's e n s ep e r c e p t i o n .b u t o n s o m e k i n d o f ' s u p e r -
, , r p n i t r v ca b i l i t y a c q u i r e dt h r o u g h t h e p r a c t i c eo l m e n t a l
cuiture. It is to be noted that in the Middle and lare
L punrs.adsthere was a belief in the super-cognitive
powers of the meditative person or the Yogi. Verbal
;irms fiom dr.(- to see were used in these Upuntstrdsto
rrgnify a kind of seeing which did not make use of the
e 1 e b u t a k i n d o f d i r e c t i n t u i t i v e a p p r e h e n s i o n .T h i s
xrnd of knowledge was claimed. specially when referring
: o t h e k n o w l e d g e o f t h e t r a n s c e n d e n t a lt r u t h < 1 t h e
: c a l i t y o f A t m a n . I t w a s c l a i m e d t h a t s u b t l e s e e r sh y
' h e i r s u b t l ea n d s u p e r i o ri n t u i t i o n s e et h e t r a n s c e n d e n t a l
:cality ldrlyute tuuqrld buddhvu suks.muduriibhill. K,rthu
i - p , t n t ; q d1 . 3 . 1 2 )S. u c h k n o w l e d g e w a s r e f e r r e dt o i n t h e
L pttnrsqdsas jhunu. The Atmun is said to be obtained
D_\ right knowledge (samyug-jhunu\. In addition to
L.panisdic secrs who claimed such knowledge there
uere other teachersoutside the Vedic fold who claimed
t'nowledge of, a superhuman kind including omni-
sclence.
K . N . J a y a t i l l e k e ' sd i s c u s s i o n o f t h e P r e - B u d d h i s t
b a c k g r o u n d i n t e r m s o f t h e a b o v e c l a s s i f i c a t i o nw a s
most probably influenc.d by the kind of classification
*'hich the Buddha himsef rs reported to have made in
ilnswer to a question raised by a Brahmin named
S a n g a r a v ar e g a r d i n g t h e n a t u r e o f t h e k n o w l e d g et h a t
r h c B u d d h ac l a i m e d( M . I I . p . 2 l l ) . T h e B u d d h am e n r i o n s
r n t h i s c o n t e x t a c l a s so l ' t e a c h e r sw h o m h e d e s c r i b e da s
t t n u s s t u , ) i kKd.. N . J a y a t i l l e k e t r a n s l a t e si h e t e r m r l r u . s -
, i r l r k ui n i t s b r o a d s e n s ea s t r a d i t i o n a l i s t sT
. h e s et h i n k e r s
.rre identifiedby the Buddha himself as the Brahmins
rrho were versed in the three l'edds lbrlihnttttluterrilil.
The secondclassofteachersare referredto by the Buddha
.ts tttkkl t,imuntsl.rendered into English by K. N. Jaya-
t r l l e k e a s r e a s o n e r sa n d m e t a p h y s i c i a n sr e s p e c t i v e l r ' ?
The Buddha identifies himself with the class of teachers
who base their teachings about the good life on what
r h e y h a v e u n d e r s t o o d b y s o m e s u p e r - c o g n i t i v em e a n s
* i t h o u t d e p en d e n c co n h e a r i n gf r o m t r a d i t i o n a l s o u r c e s
rpubbesuununu.\sutesu dhummesusumumt,ecuubhihhi t',tI.
It appears that this third class of thinkers referred to
b y t h e B u d d h a w e r e n o n e o t h e r t h a n t h o s ew h o c l a i m c d
s u p e r - c o g n i t i v ep o w e r s t h r o u g h m e d i t a t i v e c u l t u r e o f
the mind or j'ogLt.The Pali Nikayas throw much light
o n t h e B u d d h i s t e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e t h r e e a p p r o a c h e st o
t r u t h a n d k n o w l e d g ea c c e p t e db y t h e t e a c h e r sb e l o n g i n g
t o t h e t h r e e g r o u p s m e n t i o n e da b o v c .
: l'.8'ft(. see p. l7l lbr K. N. Jayatilleke'stranslarion of the Sunquruu(tSuutt pitssase
EPISTEMOLOGY
3. Th€ Buddhist Attitude Towards Authoritv
'I'here
a r e s e v e r a li n s t a n c ei n t h e P a l i N i k a - v - ' awsh e r e
t h e B u d c i h r s t c r i t i c i s m o ! rh s t e a c h e r s d e s c r i b e d a s
a n u . s . s r r r r lo: ac c u r s . O n e s , : ' - i r i n s t a n c e o c c u r s i n t h e
c o n t e x t o l a m r : r a l d i s c u s r i o n .H e r e . t h e B u d d h a i n s i s t s
o n t h e i m p o r t a n c : :, t f b e i n gg u i r l e d i n a m o r a l s i t u a t i o n .
by one's own flers()nalknou'ie.igcand understanding.He
s p e a k so f t t n u s s t t r ,aLst t h t : i i r s t o f t c n g r o u n d s o n w h i c h
one sh<.ruldnot base one s ni{)ral behaviour. What is
i m p l i e d b 1 ' t h i s d i s c u s s r o ni s t h a t t h e r e i s a d i s t i n c t i o n
betweenthe ten ways of claiming knowledge headed
by unu.\sut'tL and what the Buddha ref-ersto in this ins-
'know
tance as by yourself' (uttuniitu junel'1'uthu\.Six
w a y s o f ' c l a i m i n g k n o w l e d g em e n t i o n e d i n t h e K u l u m t t
Surrrrincluding rrnussZrt'a could be considered under the
general heading of authoritv Authority was accepted
a s a p r u m i l n u ( a n e p i s t e m o l o g i c a lg r o u n d ) i n s o m e
n o n - t s u d d h i s tI n d i a n p h i l o s o p h i c a ls c h o o l so f t h e p o s t -
B u d d h i s t p e r i o d u n d e r t h e c o n c e p t o f - ( u b d u( i b i d . p .
l 7 2 l l . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e P u rr r r - t l i n r u m s uJ r r b d ad e n o t e s
t h e a u t h o r i t l - o f t h e l ? d r r . ra l o n e T h i s r e f l e c t st h e a t t i -
tude of' the ritualistic Brahminsrgainst which the early
B u d d h i s tc r i t i c i s m r v a sp r i m a r i l y -d i r e c t e d .T h e M i m n m s a
s c h o o l u p h c l c i t h e a b s o l u t ea u t h o r i t y o f t h e V e d a sT. h e
N ; - a y a s c h o o l t r e a i c d t h c s c r i p t u r a l s t a t e m e n t so f t h e
l . e d r r sa s a s u b c l a s so t ' v t ' r b a l t e s t i m o n y w h i l e t h e V a i -
s e s i k a s c h o o l t r e a t e d t h e m a s a s u b c l a s so f i n f e r e n t i a l
p r c r p o s i t i o n sA. c c o r d i n g t o t h e N a i y a y i k a st h e V e d u sa r e
r e l i a b l ee i t h e r b e c a t r s c( l o r i { / \ r ( / , { / w
t h o r e v e a l e di t i s
t r u s t w o r t h v . o r b e c a u s et h e s e e r sw h o a r e i t s a u t h o r s
a r e t r u s t w o r t h y . T h e N , f i m u m s a k i tosn t h e o t h e r h a n d
d e n i e d a n v p e r s o n a la u t h o r s h i pt o r h e l u ? d r ra.ni d c l a i m e d
that thc l,?r^lrrr are eternal. The importance ol-iubdu as a
m e a n so f k n o w l c d s e i n t h e p o s t - t s u d d h i spt h i l o s o p h i c a l
t r a d i t i o n s h o w s t h a t c l a i m s t o k n o w l e d g eo n t h e b a s i s
of authority took manv different forms. fhis is also
indicated in the Kilumu Sultrr where six different forms
o l ' d e p e n d e n c eo n a u t h o r i t v a r e m e n t i o n e di n t h e f o l l o w -
i n g o r d e r ; ( 1 ) u u l u s r r r u e r (u2. 1p u r u m p u r u y u1. 3 \r t i k i r u y a .
( 4 \ p t t . u k u s u m p u d u v(t5t .1b h u rj , u r i p u t A v ua n d ( 6 ) s a m u , l o
t1iiJ (l(!t ll.
.{ilu\r(i(/ appears to have been used specialiy to
d e n o t e t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e V e d i c s c r i p t u r e sa s . ( a b d a
w a s u s e d i n t h e p o s t - B u d d h i s tM i m a m s a t r a d i t i o n . T h e
C u h h S u t t u r e f e r st o a d i s c u s s i o no f t h e B u d d h a w i t h a
B r a h m i n y o u t h w e l l v e r s e di n t h e V e d i c s c r i p t u r e sT . he
B r a h m i n v o u t h w i s h e s t o k n o w t h e B u d d h a ' so p i n i o n
o n t h e a t t i t u d e c f t h e B r a h m i n s w h o c a m e a b s o l u t e l yt o
t h e c o n c l u s i o n ( e k r l n r - s e nnut t t h u m g u c c h u n t t \t h a t o n l y
what is contained in the l'etlusis true and everything
e l s ei s f a l s el t d u me r t rs u c c a mm o g h u mu h i r u m \I.n r e s p o n s e
to the Buddha's criticism that the Brahmin attirude
 EPISTEMOLOGY 98 EPISTEMOLOGY

:1',iuotS to one of blindly following a tradition the superficial reflection and ditthrnijjhanukkhunrr:appro-
: r u t h o [ w h i c h h a s n o t b e e n p e r s o n a l l yt e s t e da t a n y v a l o f a t h e o r y u p o n s p e c u l a t i v er e f l e c t i o no r t h i n k i n g )
point. the Brahmin youth retorc that it is not merely i s t h a t t h e s e g r o u n d s a l o n e d o n o t g u a r a n t e et h e t r u t h
on faith that the Brahmins claim the 'ai:dity of the of the relevant statements.The content of a revelation
leda.sbut also on the basis of rrnus.raua.fhis suggests may be held in very high esteemfor having been faith-
that for the Brahmins of this period Vedic scripture fully preser*rod(suilnussutam\.but it may be empty.
r e p r e s e n t e da s a c r e d . h o l y o r r e v e l a t i o n a l t r a d i t i o n . hollolv and false (rittarn tucchammusal,while something
During the time of Early Buddhism unussuuuhad come else which is not the content of such revelation may be
to mean the sacred Vedic tradition. When ref-erringto factual and true (bhutamtacchamanaiitatha).The Buddha
this tradition the Pali suttas use words which suggest points out that the only claim that one can legitimately
that it had already become a sacred tradition which make with regard to what one has acuired from cnus-
'such
was systematized. ceremonialll' chanted. and autho- .sauois is what I have acquired from unussuuu'
ritatively handed down by a successiveline of teachers but he is not entitled to make an absolute and exclusive
(gitum paDuttam sumihrtum trul unuguyuntt tud unubli7' claim to its truth. It is a person who does not make such
s u n t i b h A s i t a m a n u b h u s u n t iu i c r t u m u n u u a c e n t r :D . l . an illegitimate claim that can be called one who pre-
p. 241 M. I\ p.'169). The Veduswere often believed to servesthe truth (succcunanurakkhati).3What is implicit
have had a divine origin. The creation of the Vedusis in this criticism of the Buddha is that none of the above
attributed to Prajapati or Brahma. grounds logically imply the truth of the statements
based on them. If one claims to have heard something
K. N. Jayatilleke has identified three possible senses
from some source or to be firmly convinced of the truth
in which the term unussul)ahas been used in the religious
of something. it does not logically follow that what he
literature of the time. First. as used of the Vedic tradi-
'divine has heard or what he rs firmly convinced of is true On
tion the word could mean revelation'.'syste-
the other hand if one claims to know something; and
matically handed down. Secondly it could have meant
rf he actually knows it. it must be true.
authoritative tradition'. the source of its authority
being the Vedic or any other tradition. Thirdly. it could
In. the Sundske Surua Ananda mentions the distinc-
h a v em e a n ta ' r e p o r t ' c o m e f r o m m o u t h t o m o u t h ( E B T K .
tion that the Buddha is said to have made between two
p 182).
classes of thinkers who gave instruction on a way of
There are several suttas in the Pali canon which state life to be followed by others. According to the Buddha.
the Buddha's reasonsfor rejecting anussuuuas a reliable as reported by Ananda in thb sutta" the world view allir-
'ned by one class of thinkers cannot be accepted
means of knowledge. In the TeuijjuSu/ta the Brahmani- as one
cal claim that the Vedashave a divine origin is criticized which implies a noble way of life. They are therefore
on the ground that not even the original composers of described as ubruhmuccirr,!'alri.srr.
The world views con-
the Vedic scriptures have had direct personal know- demned by the Buddha as ubruhmucuriyaudsawere the
ledge of Brahma by seeing Brahma face to face (D. I. materialist world view which denied individual survival
p 238). The originators of the Vedic tradition them- alter death, and those world views which denied moral
'We
selves were not in a position to claim know this. values, moral responsibility and free will. Another
we se€ this' (muyum etun junamtt. muvum etunt pttssunru\ group of teachers is referred to as those whose world
with regard to the existence of Brahma. [n the Cttnki view implied an unsatisfactorydoctrine about the noble
Surra the Buddha's criticism is at a different level. Here life (rrnr.rssasikam brahmatariyaml. Those who hold to
the Buddha rejects the absolute validity of Vedic scrip the truth of unussauaare said to belong to this group.a
ture on the ground that none of those who handed The Buddhist criticism here of enussauais that such an
down the tradition could claim direct personal know- authoritative tradition may or may not sufler from lapses
iedge of its truth. They are compared to a string of blind of memory on the part of those who are responsible
men (undhaveluparampqnr).Yet another criticism which for handing it down, Moreover, even if it is properly
:ire Buddha found to be commonly applicable to handed down without lapsesof memory it may be true
-- -.... as uell as four other grounds on which one or false (anussuuikussukho puna ... sutthuno anusso-
r r : . r 3 . l r \ e l n t h e t r u t h o f a s t a t e m e n (t s u d d h a : f a i t h . u ( r s l c c d s s as u s s u t u m p i h o t t d u s s u t a m p rh o t i , t u h A p i
- - . = p € r s u r r x l l i k e o r i n c l i n a t i o n , a k a r u p a r i u i t t a k :a hoti uirhuthupihoti: M. l, p. 520).

'
:-- a :. :ir'. - . ! . \ ( , t l D t t e L u m m e t t n u s . \ u L t o l ru u t l u n s u c t ' u n a n u r u k k h u t i n tLteua ttttu ekumsenu nttthum gucchurt tdum eut
 EPISTEMOLOGY
T h e B u d d h a d i d n o t r e j e c t r h e V e d i c t e a e h r n go u t .
r g h t . b u t c o n s i d e r e di t t o b e p r o p o u n d i n g a n u n s a t i s -
: . , c t o r y t e a c h i n g a b o u t t h e n o b l e l t f e b e c a u s ei t w a s
:rsed on enussuuu.The rnatcrialist criticism of the
\ cdic tradition was much stronger when compared with
ihat of Brrddhism. The materialists condemned the
a u t h o r s o f t h e V c d a sa s i g n o r a n t a n d v i c i o u s . s T h e
tsuddhistswere much more moderate in their criticism
.! the Vedas. Buddhisrn recognized that the Vedic
:eaching contained factual and moral truths opposed
:o a purely nihilistic world view. The Brahmin teachers
were criticized on epistemological grounds for not
having personally verified the truth of their beliefs.
Purumparu and pitakusumpud.A also denote forms of
triditional authority. These terms are also used in close
.rssociation with the Vedic tradition (bruhmanunum
puri4am muntupudumrtrhitihu parampuraya pit.ukusum-
puduya; M. II, p, 169). Purampari may have stood for
the unbroken successionof a teaching belonging to the
Vedic tradition or outside it. Pttukusumpudualso may
have stood for an authoritative scriptural tradition in
general. Itikird which also occurs in the Kulumu Suttu
as a separate ground is probably connected with rri-
h r t r h aw h i c h h a s a l r e a d y b e e n m e n t i o n e d i n c o n n e c t i o n
w i t h t h e o t h e r t e r m s d e n o t i n g r e v e l a t i o na n d a u t h o r i t y .
Both kira and hu are particles which generally occur
i n t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f a n e c d o t a lm a t e r i a l .T h e B u d d h a ' s
t e a c h i n gi s o f t e n s a i d t o b e u n i t i h a( T h a g . u . 3 3 l ; , 4 I I .
p. 26), which meant that it was not based on hearsay
or tradition. Consideration of the contexts in which
the term ilikiru occurs in the Pali canon and other
occurrencesof terms related to it in other Indian lite-
rary works shows that the translation of itikiru as
hearsayis reasonable.
The other two forms of authority rejected in the
Kalama Sultu are denoted by the terms bhabburupul
and samu4o no garu. According to the commentarial
explanation of bhabbarupati, it standsfor the acceptance
of someone'swords considering him to be a competent
person (uyum bhikkhu bhabbarurro,inrassukutham guhe-
i u m y u t t u m . A A . l l . p . 3 0 5 ) .T h e o t h e r g r o u n d o f a c c e p -
ianee.sumu7ono guru. which may be translated as 'our
prestigiousteacher' is similar to the lormer. Both forms
o 1 - a u t h o r i t yc a n b e c o n s i d e r e du n d e r v e r b a l t e s t i m o n y .
*hich as a matter of faa came tcj be recognized iu a
r n e a n so f k n o w l e d g e i n t h e l a t e I n d i a n p h i l o s o p h i c a l
lradition under uptopadlsu or aptauucana.The criticism
levelled against anussauaapplies to all other forms of
r u t h o r i t ya s w e l l a l t h o u g hi t i s n o t e x p l i c i t l y . s t a t ewdi t h
it--icrence to them.
j Suruudurtunusungruhu.
p. l4
99 EPISTE&{OI,OGY
In determining the eariy BudCiucr attitude towards
authoril] { q . v ) i t i s i m p c r r t a n t t o s E - el h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h
Br"r.ldhi:;:ii ".i*i.enrieri un f h. , 'thi-rtior iear--hin;r; nt the
'vr.',.1ia
pre-Budilirtrl l r a d i i , r ' r i ! h ( . i , ' r : r ; : t r l ; r t i i . r :. r f i i s
own do:;1i,,'ri's !t has r'rf-tenL,r'rit 1t!.:.grlste(jthat thc Bud-
d h l r u n c r i . i , : * i i - r , ' ' . : . ' y : r e d i L - : r i \ e, ; i ' l h r d o g r n . s o f U r a h -
manism rEiS'i!. p li)ti ii L : l'ht;rrias. lcr tnstance.
s a v s t h r r i F J L i J c i t i i s r nt r : , J , l o : g r a i i l { i j s o r r i e c i t h e p r e -
B u d d h i s t I n r l i a n b e i i e l s i i k e t h e b ei i e i r n t r ; i n s r , i . i g r a t i o n
and the doi--trine of the retnL--uiiun crf aciion. FIo,,vever.
an examination tf the nre-tsudri"lisi hackground shows
that these do.ctrines *ere neirlier fuily deveioped nor
runiversally accepted at the time oi rhe emergence of
Buddhism There is no evidence rhar the tsuddha admrt-
ted them on the authority tt the previous tradrtion
( i b i d . p3. 7 2f )
A question that may be raised with legard to the
B u d d h a ' s a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s a u t h o r i fy i s w h e t h e r h e
expectedf-rom his disciples with respect to his own
t e a c h i n g st h e s a m ec r r t i c a la t t i t u i . et h a t h e r e c o m m e n d e d
towards external traditions. Sorn: scholan suggest
t h a t r e v e l a t i o na n d f a i t h a r e a s m u c h c e n t r a lt o t s u d d h i s m
a s t o o t h e r r c l i g i o r i s r r - a d i t i o n so f a t h e i s t i c c h a r a c t e r .
-fhe
b e l i e f ' t h a t t i r c [ ! u d d h a w a s i i n o m n i s c i e n tt e a c h e r
( : u b h u h h u il s s a r d t L 1l e a v c n o r ( ) o m t o r c r i t i c a li n q u i r y .
I n t h e e v a l u a t l o i to f i h e p l a c e o t ' . ; u d t l i t tat .t e r r n w h i c h i s
t r a n s l a t e da s ' f a i t h ' .i t h a s b e e ns u g g e s t e d that tsuddhism
a l s o i n v o l v e d a f a i t h i n r e v e a l e dt r u t h s ( i b i d p . 3 8 3 0 .
K . N . J a y a t i l l e k es h o w s t h a t o m n i s c i e n c ew a s a t t r i b u t e d
t o t h e B u d d h a i n a m u c h l a t e r s t r a t u mo f t h e P a l i c a n o n i -
c a l s c r i p t u r e s .I n t h e e a r l i e r s t r a r u m d t h e c a n o n i c a l
literature the Buddha not only denied that he was
o m n i s c i e n ti n t h e s e n s eo m n i s c i e n c ew a s c l a i m e d b y
some of his contemporaries, but also affirmed that he
possessedonly a threelbld knowledgeee"-i.ittlwhich was
also shared by a large number of his disciples as well
(ibid, pp. 317-381).
I t i s a l s o c l e a r t h a t i n t h e e a r l y s e c t i o n so f t h e p a l i
canon suddhi in the senseof trust. confidence or faith
i s c o n t r a s t e d w i t h k n o w l e d g e \ h a n u l .I t i s a l s o t r e a t e d
as an emotion instrlllcientfor salvation. Buddhism
v a l u e sk n o w l e d g ea b o v ef a i t h H o w e v e r .a s a p r e l i m i n a r y
s t a g ei n t h e s p i r i t u a lp r o g r e s so f a d i s c i p l ef a i t h i s b e l i e v e d
t o p l a y a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e . S o m e t i m e s p r t s t t d ui s u s e d
a s a s y n o n y m o f s u d d l u rT h e P a l i s u t t a s o f t e n u s e t h e
e x p r e s s i o nu u L ' e c ( e i p p l t s , rw
dh, ri.d i m e a m ' f a i t h c o n s e q u -
ent upon lnqulr\'. Buddhism speaksof some forms
o f f a i t h o f t h e B r a h m i n t e a c h e r si n t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e
l ' e d u s . T h e B u d d h a c o n t r a s t s s u c h g r o u n d l e s sf a i t h
w i t h i a i t h b a s e do n i n q u i r y , a n d c a l l si t i k u r t t t : u t i s t u l t l h u .
 EPISTEMOLOGY
l k , r r t r t L r t is u d d h u a n d ( t t e ( ( L t p p t t s u dr trrp p e a r t o b e
r e f e r r i n gt o s i m i l a r s t a t e so f m i n d . S e e B H A K T I .
I n t h e C t r r t A i . \ r r t t r rt h e B u d d h a i s r e p r e s e n t e da s
applying the same reasonfor rejecting both unussuru
a n d s r r d d h i ra s g u a r a n t e e i n gt h e t r u t h o f a s t a t e m e n t .
He says that one may have firm faith in the truth of a
statement but that statement may be false.It is unlikel-v
t h a t t h e a t t i t u d e e x p r e s s e dh e r e e x c l u d e st h e d o c t r i n e s
preached by the Buddha. We tind the early Buddhist
a t t i t u d e r e - e c h o e di n a m u c h l a t e r w o r k w h i c h s a y s :
"Just as wise men test gold by burning. cutting and
r u b b i n g s o O m o n k s . s h o u l d m y s t a t e m e n t sb e a c c e p t e d
after examination lnd not out of respect fr,i- me.b In
t h e V i m u n t s u k uS u t t ( r t h e B u d d h a i n v i t e s h i s d i s c i p l e s
to test him in order to discover whether he is enligh-
t e n t e do r n o t ( t i m u n t s u k e r ubth i k k h u n a. . t a t h A g u r sc u m u n -
nesutu kutubbil sammlsambuddhoru no uu iti t'ihhlryltv-u.
M.I p.317). The inquiry is to be made into the condi-
tion of the Buddha's mind by observingthe Buddha's
b o d i l y a n d v e r b a l b e h a v i o u r u s i n g o n e ' s e y e sa n d e a r s
(dttsu dhummesu IilIhItgutu sumunnc.sittrbbo crtkkhuso-
t t t t ' r h h e v v - e sduh u m m e s u l l.n t h e C u h k l . s u r r r ta s i m i l a r
processof inquiry is proposed to someonewho wishesto
d.ependon a teacher in one's inquiry into truth. Before
one profcssesfaith in a teacher one should. according to
the Cuhki Suttu. examine the character traits of the
tcacher to see if he is a person who has a greedy.hatetul
or deluded psychological disposition or not. In the
l/imumsukuSuttu the Buddha calls upon his disciples
t o d o t h i s i n q u i r y o n h i m s e l fb y o b s e r v i n gt h e B u d d h a ' s
b e h a v i o u r a s s t r i n g e n t l y a s p o s s i b l et o e n s u r e t h a t h e
is possessedo{- absolutely pure psychological disposi-
t i o n s . T h i s s u t t a s u g g e s t st h a t e v e n t h e B u d d h a ' sc l a i m
to full enlightenment is not an impenetrable mystery.
but one that could be tested by an external observer.
If the Buddha is enlightened.he must be free from greed.
hatred and delusion. If observation of the behaviour
of the Buddha shows that he is not free from those
evil traits of mind. then the claim to be enlightened
can also be judged to be false. ln this sutta inquiry
into the claims of the Buddha is not condemned but is
strongly recommended before one professesfaith in
him. Yet this is given merely as an initial stage in the
development of one's faith. After such inquiry one
becomes convinced that it is worth approaching such a
t e a c h e rf o r i n s t r u c t i o n . B u t f a i t h i n t h e t e a c h e r i s s a i d
to become firm hnd unshakable only when one partially
6 T , t t lri, r r i r n r , r r , r l t a3 .5 8 8 .
1 S,uddhurrid bhuiute dhtrrnant
p r ttjiru t t i tl t e | | t I Lttt L Lttdh
P ,r L t h i o r L d
t h i n ( tm t Lu' n u . \ o
' h
. \ , u L i dh i P u r I r t n , lu m t t ; t t t I u
I h e R . r r n , r r . , r /oi t . \ ' u q t r u n r r . e d G Tucci. "/RlS. April 1934. p.309
100 EPISTEMOLOGY
v e r i f l m i n o n e ' so w n e x p e r i e n c et h e t r u t h s t a u g h t b y s u c h
a t e u c h e r .I t i s s u c h t a i t h t h a t i s e s t a b l i s h e da s a c o n s e -
q u c n c eo l ' i n q u i r y t h a t B u d d h i s n :c a l l e d' r a t i o n a lf a i t h '
( i k i r t t t ' t t t i s u d d h u \a s o p p o s e d t o t h e b a s e l e s st a i t h
( u m u l r k 4 s u d d h u \o f t h e B r a h m i n s
In Buddhism faith (suddhrr) was considered as a
p r e l i m i n a r y r e q u i r e m e n t .f i n a l l y l e a d i n g t o k n o w l e d g e
lpuiriru or harlu\. Some sutta passagesclearly suggest
that ultimately suddlw has to be replacedby knowledge.
Citta. a lay disciple of the Buddha is represented as
saying in answer to Nigantha Nitaputta's question
whether he believed in the Buddha's statement that
there is a state of meditativerapturc rn which there
is no discursivethought and reflection (xtdtlhuhusitt:um
s u m u n u s s uG o t c u r r r r s strrrt t h t u r i t u k k o u r i t ' i r o s u m u d h i
u t t h i t : i t u k k u t : r c u r u n un itr o d h o r i ) s a y s t h a t i t i s s o m e -
t h i n g h e d i r e c t l y k n o w s a n d s e e s .a n d t h a t t h e r e i s n o
need for him to accept it on faith in any teacher (so
klrcuhumeuunt ianunto euatnpussuntokussttititusstt sumu-
ttrrr.str ur-i bruhmu\ussu t,u suddltit,l rr ttrrmi.s.srrnrr). It is
also said in this context that knowledge is better than
t ( o 1 l t ( t l((rtD l :S . I V . p . 2 9 t t
f i r i t h( s r r r i d lur v ' uk l r o h l r y t t nerL ( p
f . ) T h e B u d d h i s ts a r n t m u s t b e i n a p o s i t i o n t o c l a i m t h e
h i g h e s tk n o w l e d g ew i t h o u t h a v i n g t o d e p e n d o n { a i r h
I uitit u t r u suddh u,-u uititum uy ukt r e v vu l. The D h,rntmt tpud tt
( 1 . 9 7 ) d e s c r i b e st h e A r a h a n t a s d e v o i d o l ' l a i t h
( u s s u d d h o/:. i i i . p . 3 9 : D . i i . p . 1 5 5 )T h i s e a r l y B u d d h i s t
attitude towards faith is expressedlater too in the words
o f N d g i r j u n a w h o s a y s :" O n e a s s o c i a t ew i t h t h e t e a c h i n g
out of faith. but one knows as it realyis through under-
s t a n d i n g : u n d e r s t a n d i n g( p r u . l i r u il s s u p e r i o r a l t h o u g h
f a i t h p r e c e d e si t . r
However. this evaluation of faith as inl-eriorto know-
ledge appears to belong to an earlier stratum of the
Pali canon. With the later attribution of omniscience
to the Buddha and the attempt to sharply distinguish
t h e e n l i g h t e n m e n to f t h e B u d d h a f r o m t h e a t t a i n m e n t
d - t h e d i s c i p l e sw h i c h b e c a m em u c h m o r e p r o n o u n c e d
i n t h e l a t e r M a h d y a n a l i t e r a t u r e .t h e B u d d h i s t a t t i t u d e
towards the Buddha'sauthority and the evaluation of
laith in Buddhism came closer to that o[ theistic reli-
g i o n s . I n t h e o p i n i o n o f K . N . J a y a t i l l e k et h e a t t e m p r
t o d i s t i n g u i s ht h e k n o w l e d g e o f t h e B u d d h a f r o m t h a t
of the aruhunt has already begun in the later phase of
the development of the Pali canon. The emergence
of the concept of a saint who is released by intellectual
 EPISTEMOLOGY 101 EPISTEMOLOGY

r . n o w l e d g ea l o n e ( p u i t i r u t t i m u t t tits) e x p l a i n e d b y ' J a y a - v a l i d a n d i n v a l i d r e a s o n i n ga r t h i s r i m e . C e r t a i n r u l e s
: r l i c k e a s a c o n s e q u e n c eo f t h e d e v e l o p m e n td t h e o f a r g u m e n t a t i v ep r o c e d u r ef o r d e t e r m i n i n gt h e v a l i d i t y
- c l r e lr n t h e o m n i s c i e n c e o l ' t hBeu d d h a .A c c o r d i n gt o t h i s
o f ' a n a r g u m e n t a l s o s e e mt o h a v e b e e n a c c e p t e d( E B I K
- i r n c € p to t ' t h e e n l i g h t e n e ds a i n t .o n e c o u l d b e c o m ec n l i - p. 20l')
;hiened purely through intellectualconviction ol' the
:uth of' the specilic (cachings of rhe tsuddhawithour B u < f , j h a g h o s ac-o m m e n t i n g o n t h e w o r d r r r k l , / l i s t s
- , . r \l n g t o d c v c l o p t h e f o u r t , rp e s o f ' r e a s o n e r s .n a m e l . v . ( l ) u n u s s u t i k o .
s u p e r c o g n i t i v el a c u l t i e sr e t c r r e dt o el
: . s e w h e r eu n d e r r h e c o n c e p r o l u b b t n i r uI E B T K p . 4 0 0 1 . j i t t t . s s t t r t r r L r(k3k) rI.u b h i t u k k i k oa n d ( 4 ) : u d t l h t t t t t k k t k t t
The first r),pe reasoned on the basis of traditional
4, The Buddhist Attltude Towsrds Reason a u t h o r i t v . r e p o r t o r r e v e l a t i o n .T h e s e c o n d a n t i t h i r d
t y p e s r e a s o n e do n t h e b a s i s o f s o m e s u p e r c o g n i t i v e
O u t o f t h e t e n g r o u n d s r e j c ' c t e di n t h e K i l l l n u r S u u u
' ' u r g r o u n d sc a n b e i d e n t i f i e d experience obtained by means of meditation. The
as involving somekinclof
- . . . r s o n i n go r r e f l e c t i o n . fburth type depended on pure reason. According to
These four are (ll tukktthetu.
w h a t B u d d h a g h o s as a y s .a p u r e r e a s o n e ra r g u e si n t h e
) t n u t ' u h e t u (. 3 1i i k n r u p u r t u i t u k k e nat Ln d ( 4 ) d r t t h i n i i f i n -
'.-/.khantryc.
{brm "lf A is true then P is true and if B is true then
ln the Brtthnttrjultt .\ultrr whcre the
P is not true." It is not clear from the u,av tsuddha-
. . : r o u S p h i l o s o p h i c a ld o g m a s w h i c h a r e s a i d t o h a v e
- : : n i n e x i s t e n c ed u r i n g t h e t i m e ghosa puts it whether it is a strictlv deductive form of
of the Buddha are
argument based on self-evident premise; as in the
: : . , t m e r a t e ds. o m e d o g m a sa r e c a t c g o r i c a l l ys t a t c d t o b e
^ . r r r r l o n r e a s o n i n gi r n d c a s e o l ' r a t i o n a l i s t m e t a p h y s i c i a n si n t h e W e s t e r n
s p e c u l a t i v er e f l e c t i o n ( t u k k u -
p h i l o s o p h i c a l t r a d i t i o n . H o w e v e r . t h e d e s c r i p t i o ns u d -
. . ,t . y ' u h u t u nrt: i m u m s u n u c u r i t u m
s ( t v u m p u t i b h a r y u n Irn\ .
dhutakktko used bv Buddhaghosato distinguish this
: d e r t o d e t e r m i n et h e e a r l y . B u d d h i s t a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s
-iilson it is important to examine type of reasoner suggeststhat the rel'erenceis to those
t h e r e f e r e n c e si n t h e
w h o d i d n o r d e p e n do n e m p i r i c a lp r e m i s e so r s t a t e m e n t s
: ) . r l i c a n o n t o t h e c l a s so f t h i n k e r s w h o a r e d e s c r i b e d
based on traditional authorit-\,in their reasonrng.
, i , , r A k ia n d r i m u m s i .
T h e e x p r e s s i o nn a 1 ' a l t e t ui s a l s o u s e d t o d e n o t e a
T h e r e i s e v i d e n c eo f ' p e o p l ew h o w e r e s k i l l e d d e b a t o r s .
k i n d o t - r a r i ( ) n a l i s rc r i t e r i o n f o r a c c e p t i n g s o m e t h i n g
I i r e - ra r e s a i d t o h a v e p a r t i c i p a t e d i n p u b l i c d e b a t e s .
irs true. The Jains were $ell knou,n during this period
..rmctimes with the intention of proving their own
a s a c l a s s o l - t e a c h e r sw h o t a i k e d a b o u t a d o c t r i n e o f
rcses or with the intention of rationally demolishing
're theories of- s t a n d p o i n t so n t h e b a s i so f w h i c h t h e r r u r h o f a p r o p o s i -
others. One such person mentioned
tion is to be.iudged.
: r t h e s u t t a ; i s S a c c a k aw h o i s d e s c r i b e da s o n e w h o
::splayed his wisdom and skill in debate (bhassuppa-
T h e n e x t t e r m w h i c h d e n o t q ; s o m et o r m o f r e a s o n i n g
J r t k r tp 1 1 1 . 1 e l 1 1 1srel reral ol s o D E B A T E ) . T h e p a l i s u t t a s
i s u k u r L t p u t ' i r i t u k k uT. h e c o m m e n t a r y e x p l a i n s i t a s
, , , s os p e a ko f r e c l u s e sa n d B r a h m i n sw h o h a d m a s t e r e d "acceptlng something thinking this is a good
reason
:ie theories of others. wise and subtle hairsplitters.
lor accepting it" lsundur.untidun kiruntm It eL.u,ttkit.t|,lu-
, i h o w e n t a b o u t s h a t t e r i n gt h e t h e o r i e s o f o t h e r s w i t h
' nL'rrrntelligence(punlitu purit:itukkenuA . A . l I . p . 3 0 5 ) . I t i s m o s t p r o b a b l . va
nipuryt kutupuruppuuaduuutu- reference to a superficial examination ol' reasons.
ed hrru p.7 uobhi ndu ntu muhite puhlnugut erw tl i t t.i ll u t u n t
Another ground falling within the same categorl, is
, l . p 1 6 ) . T h e P a l i s u t t a s c o n t a i n e v i d e n c er o t h e
d i t t . h i n i . i i h u n u k k h u uTt .h e c o m m e n r a r y e x p l a i n s i t a s
:lect that somethinkersduring the time of the Buddha
o c c e p t i n gs o m e t h i n g b e c a u s ei t a g r e e sw i t h a v i e w t h a t
..'-:-irmed dcfinite theories about the nature of man and
o n e h o l d s w i t h c o n v i c t i o n a f t e r r e f l e c t i n go n t t ( t t m h u k u n t
:e universe. Some of these theories were constructed
n i j j l w v t t t : uk h u n i t t u q u h r t u d i t t h t t i s t t d t l h t s m
s ( r n r c t t.. 1. 4 .
-', tukku and also defendcdby means
of it. The 4ttlrttku- I I p . 3 0 5 ) .T h e r e i s n o r e a \ o n r o t l o u b t t h i s c o m m e n _
. ; r / r /d t h e . s u l l r r r r p c r r wr r h i c h p r e s e n t st h e B u d d h a ' s
t a r i a le x p l a n a t i o n
, ' r i t u d e t o w a r d s p h i l o s o p h i c a lc o n t r o v e r s i e sa n d d e b a -
'3i. says that people
come to judgements about the O u t o f a l l t h e a b o v e t e r m s u s e dt o m e i i n s o m el b r m o f
: u t h o r f a l s t t - vo f s p e c u l a t i v et h e o r i e s i n t h e c o n t e x t r e a s o n i n g t u k k u a p p e a r st o t a k e t h e f b r e m o s t p l a c e .
v t h e d e b a t e b y e m p l o y i n g t u k k a ( t u k k u h c ( t, l t r t h i s r t T h i s i s p e r h a p sw h r i t i s t h e f l r s t r o b e m e n t i o n e da m o n g
lakuppuvitttft suct'um Inll)(rI i rlrul,rr dhamnvtm uhu. Sn. flour terms occurring in the Kulumu Surtu. i\ccording
886). There is evidence that there were proponents to the SundLrku Srtlrr a system based on reason and
-,i' dill-erent theories about the nature of reality and speculation like one which depends on revelatron.
:hat these theories were publicly propounded and t r a d i t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y o r r e p o r t . L s u n s a t i s f a c t o r y .F o r
:efended by adducing reasons in favour of them. The s u c ha s y s t e mm a y o r m a v n o t b e w c l l r e a s o n e d( . s u r r r l k i -
.rseof the terms sulalckrrrr (well reasoned)and duttakkita t u m p rh o t i d u t t u k k i t u n r phr o t t \a n d w h e t h e ri t i s w e l l r e a s o -
ril reasoned) suggeststhat there was a conception of ned or ill reasoned will have no bearing on its truth or
 EPISTEMOI-OGY 102
! ; r i : r l r i t u t h i l p t i t r r t t, t n n t ; t l up1r t l o t t l v l. l . p . 5 2 0 ) , T h e
s a r i ' r ,c:i i . i c i \ r i ! a p p l r t s t , - ro t h t r i o r r n s o i t h e a p p l i c a t i o n
of rerson tLl c()me to conclustionaboui what is trtre.
f 1 1 , 33 h o v c r : r i : i c i s mo { -t i r i r i r r n r a l ' h . : c o n t t r r t c c id s a
l , - r ! , ' . l Lo:,; ,ai ln s [ ' r i r l c m o l o g i c acl t i t t c i s m .E a r l y B u d d h i s m
< r p p c a i st o l t a l ' : c r t t t c i z e d t h e a t i c m p t t o c o n s t r u c t
n i e t a p l i y s i c a lt h e u r i r : c r r t h e a t t e m p t t o e i e f e n dm e t a -
p h y s i c a l d o g m a s a i t e a r - J vh e l d b y r c s o r t i n g t o t c r A A r r .
T ' h i s i s i n i p l i c i t i n t h e B u d d h a ' sr c f u s a l t o a n s w e r c a t e -
g o r r c a l l y .c e r t a i n q u e s t i o n sd - a m e t a p h y s i c a lo r t r a n s -
cendentai naturrr by' ieiiling them aside '4s a.rtyukutu
( u n d c c l a r e d f A p a r t f r o m t h e l o g i c a la n d e p i s t e m o l o g i c a l
r e a s o n s t a t e t l i n t h t - S u n d t t k tS u t t u i b r r e j e c t i n g t h e
c o n s i s t e n c - vo 1 - r e a s o r t i n ga s t h e s o l e g r o u n d f o r t h e
d e t e r m i r r a t i o nc { ' t h e t r u t h o l ' a p a r t i c u l a r t h e s i s . t h e
lluddha aiul hatj nurlrerous empirical reasons for
r e j e c t i n g i t . I n t h e . 4 t .ht u k u t u t l g r r , l f t h e S u t t u r t i p u t t r
wherc the Buddha's attiiutle tou'ards philosophical
d e b a t e s i s e x D r es s c c l .r c a s o n i s c o n s i d e r e d a s a t o o l
useC b-v most peoplc to ralionalize thcir prejudices.
p r o p e n s i t i e s .p r o c l i v i t i es . i i k e s a n d d i s l i l : c s . I n m o s t
instances reason functions onl,v-as arr aid to safeguard
thc dogmas that one alreadv clings to. Those who
rely on their argumentative skiil havc little respect
f o r t r u t h . a n d o n c e t h c l c l i n g t c ' ra n o p i n i o n t h e y g e t
strongly attached to the opinion itself. The Buddha
c o n s i d e r e dt h i s a s i l s o L l r c eo f i d e o l o g i c a lc o n f l i c t . S u c h
c o n f l i c t w a s c o n s i c i e r c dh y t h c t t u d d h a t o b e s p i r i t u a l l y '
h a r m f u l . I n t h e C u l t t t r t ' u h uS u t t t t t h e B u d c l h a s a v s :
" O n e s t a n d s i n . l u c l g e r l e n at c c L ) i d i n gt o o n e s o w n
c r i t e r i a .a n r l e n t c r si n t o c o n t r o v e r s \i t r t h e u ' o r l d B u t
l e a v i n g a s i d e a l l j u < l g er n e n t s . l c t n o t o n L - c o m c i n t o
c o n U i c t i n t h e w o r l d " ( . S r rr 8 9 4 i The Mah;tviy'uha
S u r t < i . u ' h i c h a l s o d e a l s r v i t h p h i l o s o p h i c a id e b a t c s
'The
savs: d o c t r i n e w h i c h i s c l a i r n e dt o b e t h e h i g h c s t
b _ r s o n r e i s c a l l r ' d i n f e r i o r b 1 o t h e r s .w h r c h a m o n g
t h c s c r l o c tr i n c s i s t h e t r u e o n e ? T h e y a l l c l a i m t o b e
e \ p er t s - ( . S r ru . 9 0 3 ) T h e t l u d d h a s e L - st h e s p i r i t u a l l r
m a l u r e p c r s ( ) n .t h c r e a l s a g e( t ' r r r n ia) s o n e w h o s h u n s
d e b a t t - s a n d p h i l r - r s o p h i c acl o n t r o v e r s v ( . S n .v . 9 l 2 t
I n t h c C u l t t r t t ' i h uS u t t t t i r i s s a i d : " E a c h c l a i m i n g
o n e s c l l t-o h c a n c \ p c r t c l i n g s t o o n c s ( ) w n v i e w a n d
c o m e i i n t o d i s p u t eu i t h o t h c r ss a - v - i n g ' O nweh o u n d e r s -
t a n c l s t h i s k n o u s t h c l r u t h : w h r t e v e r r e j e c t st h i s i s
'this
i m p c r l c c t "l S r r i S T , ! t a t t r t u d e .a c c o r c l i n gt o t h c
B u r - ! t ' l h ar r n l r r c s u l l s i n m r r k i n g a p e r s ( ) n p u t i - e d u p
w i t h p r i d c S u c h p c o p l c a r e o v e r w h c l m e t ib y t h e p a s s i o n
t b r t h c i r o n n v i e w s ( s u n d i t t l i r u g e r ulti t e b l r r u t t u l a n d
t h i s o b s e s s i o rrt v i t h t h c i r o w n c l o g m a sb e c o m e ' s. r g r e a t
s o u r e c o t - d e . 1 c - c t i oann d d e s p a i r .T ' h u s i n t h c B u d d h a ' s
o p i n i o n / r r 'A r r i s n o t m e r e l ) ' n n u n r e l i a h l em e a n s o {
knowledgeb . u t a l s o a m u c h a b u s e di n t e l l e c t u ailn s t r u -
mcnt d'thc spiritualll immatureperson
T h e t c a c h i n g o t - t h e f l u d d h a i s s o m e t i m e sd e s c r i b e d
irs r)ne bevond the scope tf tukku ancl one that wise
EPISTEMOLOGY
p e o p i e a r e c a p a b l e o i r e a l i z i n g ( a t u k k u u u c a r op u 4 Q i t u -
i e d r r n i . r ' ol t) . i s s o m e t i m e ss u g g e s t e dt h a t i t i s w i t h r e f e r -
c - n c et o t h e a b s o l u t ea n d u l t i m a r eT r u t h t h a t t h e B u d d h a
c i a i m e d t h i s t r a n s c e n d e n c eo f r e a s o n . T h i s a b s o l u t e
T r u t h i s s o m e t i m e si d e n t i l l e d w r t h l V i b b c n a .T h e B u d d -
d h a ' s r e l u c t a n c et o s p e a k a b o u t t h e a f t e r d e a t h s t a t e
o f t h e p e r s o nw h o a t t a i n su l t i m a t e l t i b b i r u ti s i n t e r p r e t e d
. r ss u g g e s t r n a g t r a n s c e n d e n t aol n t o l o g i c a lr e a l i t y w h i c h
i s b e y o n d t h e g r a s p o { - l a n g u a g ea n d l o g i c . . H o w e v e r .
it rs dilllcult to find any evidenoe in the Pali canon
to conclude that the Buddha considered N ibbunu to be
anything other than the elimtnation of suffering and the
attainment of tranquillity. As far as the attainment of
lirbbinu concerns the living experience of the person
who attains iL it can be described by means of language.
There does not seem to be any evidence in the Pali
Nikayrs to suggest that the Buddha believed in an
i n e x p r e s s i b l eo r i n e l l a b l e u l t i m a t e r e a l i t y a s o p p o s e d
to what could be expressedand understood in terms
o f - l a n g u a g ea n d l o g i c T h e B u d d h a ' sc r i t i c i s m o f t u k k a
applies mainlr to those who attempt to construct
m e t a p h ; - s i c at lh e o r i e sw i t h o u t a n y c o n c e r nf o r e x p e r i e n -
t i a l l a c t s .T h e N o b l e T r u t h s o f B u d d h i s m a r e d i s t i n g u i -
s h e df r o m t h e m e t a p h y s i c a ld. o g m a st h a t a r e t h e p r o d u c t s
ol spcculativc reason.lbr the formcr are believed to be
based on intersubjectivelv verifiable experiential facts
w h i l e t h e l a t t e r h a v e n o e x p e r i e n t i a lb a s i s .a n d c o n s e -
q u e n t l y a r e u n v e r i { i a b l e .I t i s t o c o n v e v t h i s s e n s eo f
rhe erperiential verifiability of the teachingof the Buddha
that lt is said to be beyond the scope of reason.
A l t h o u g h t h e i l u d d h a h a s s o m e t i m e s b e e n c a l l e da
r a t r o n a l i s tt h e r e d o e s n o t s e e m t o b e a n v j u s t i f i c a t i o n
'rationalist'
ior this rl the term rs laken in its strictly
'rationalism'
p h i l o s o p h r c a l s e n s e .T h e t e r m i s u s e di n
t h e u ' c s t c r np h i l o s o p h i c a lt r a d i t i o n t c s i g n i f y a n e p i s t e -
m o l o g i c a ld o c t r i n e w h i c h i s i n d i r e c t o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e
o n e d e s c r i b e da s e m p i r i c i s m{ q . v . ) R a t i o n a l i s tp h i i o s o p
h e r s i n t h e W e s t w e r e t h o s e w ' h o c o n s t r u c t e dd e d u c t i v e
s)'stemsof philosophy based on self-evidentfirst princi-
ples According to rationalist epistemologl' human
k n o w l e d g ei s a s u p e r s t u c t u r eb u i l t o n t h e f o u n d a t i o n s
o l ' t h e d e l i v e r a n c e so l - r e a s o n . T h e b a s i c p r o p o s i t i o n s
o t ' r a t i o n a l i s ts y s t e m sa r e n o t s t a t e m e n t so f s e n s ee x p e r i -
ences.but of intcllectual intuitions which have the
s t a t u s o f i n d r r b i t a b l et r u t h s . T h e r e i s n o e v i d e n c et h a t
t h e B u d d h a t b u n d c d a n l o t ' h i s t e a c h i n g so n s u c hs e l [ -
e v i d e n t p r e m i s c s .T h e B u d d h a r e l e c t s t h e c r i t i c i s mo f
S u n a k k h a t t a w h o d e s c r i b c sh i m a s o n e w h o d o e sn o t
d e p e n do n a n ! e x t r a o r d i n a r yk n o w l e d g e b . ut dependsfor
h i s t e a c h i n g so n r c i r s o n i n ga n c ls p e c u l a t i o n( , t / . I . p . 6 8 l
A l t h o u g h B u d d h i s m d o e s n o t a d v o c a t c r e a s o na sa
sure wav ol- reaching truth. the Burldhist tcachinp
h r r v eo f t e n b e e np r e s e n t e di n s u c ha w a v t h a t t h e yh a v e a
r r t i o n a l a p p e a l . l n t h e . l p L t r r r t r . tSkaut t r r t o r i n s t a n c e
 EPISTEMOLOGY
\.there the Buddha addresseshis teaching to the rational
elite of the time (uiitiru).who were inclined to be sceptical
about the Buddhist teaching of rebirth he advisesthem
to lead a good life purely on rational considerations.
The Buddha points out that il there is another birth. as
affrrmed by those who claim to have knowledge of it. a
person who does not lead a good life will lose both
w'orlds.while a person who leads a good life will stand
to gain in both worlds. On the other hand even if there
rs no rebirth. if one lives a good life one is honoured
bv others for one's moral qualities in this life itself.
There are also instancesin which the Buddha reasoned
with those who held views that contradicted his teaching.
In the Upuli Sutta for instance, the Buddha is seen to
bc arguing in Socratic fashion. leading his opponent
5,' a processof questioningto contradict his own assump-
: i o n ( M . L p . 3 7 G 3 7 8 ) . A l t h o u g h l o g i c a l c o n s i s t e n c yi n
rrself was not considered to be a mark of truth. the
Buddha believed that what one holds ro be true needs
:d bc logically consistent.
5.1. The Buddhlst Analysls of Knowledge
Wc have seenthat the Buddha rejectedboth authority
-rndreasonand recommendeddirect personalknowledge
rs the s6re way of reaching truth. The Buddha rejects
ther grounds for accepting a b€lid as true. For a
.relief based on those grounds could tum out to be
:rue or false.Emphasison personaland direct knowled-
re is found throughout the Nikdyas. Direct knowledge
and vision of what is claimed to be true is frequently
artributed to the Buddha. The Buddha is described as
.''ne who knows and seesQanunljanuti passampassati,
\f I p. III). He is often called the knowing and seeing
tne Qanutu pttssatu.ibid). Even those who follow the
roll life prescribed b-y the Buddha are expected to
io so in order that they may know. see.attain realize
:nd comprehend what they have not so far known.
: e e n . a t t a i n e d . r e a l i z e d o r c o m p r e h e n d e d( y a n t . . . u i t i r t t -
'rnr udit,t,humappattum usucchikutunt
unabhisametunr
'.r, ;u hdr1d.yu tlassanayuputtiyA sut'chtkiriyayi obhisumu-
.Jt,,t bhaguuuti bruhmacariyamuussrltiti.,4.IV. p. -184).
.: is important to see that the Buddha was interested
:: a special variety of truth. namely. truth that leads
' , . l i b e r a t i o n .T h e t r u t h s o f t h e
Buddhaaredistinguished
: o m o t h e r t r u t h s b y d e s c r i b i n gt h e m a s n o b l e t r u t h s
-:,tvusacc?ni). While using a variety of terms signifying a
..rnety of cognitiveactivity, Buddhism seemsto disti-
:ruish a form of knowledge in evaluative terms, as
:.,,,b.lecrr higher knowledge (ariyahurya).What is of
.rccral importance to Buddhism is this emancipating
..nowledgefor the cultivation of which Buddhism pres-
::r'ns a systematicand detailed proeedure.From a
C ukkh-ucupatcca itw ca uppajjuti cakkhuui-n-nfunum
Ti44am sartgutiphusso. Phassapaccayluedana.yam uedeti tant sanjanati.M. l. p.293
103 EPISTEMOLOGY
general epistemological standpoint it is important to
see how this speciitl knowledge is different from other
forms of knowledge that Buddhism itself refers to by a
variety of cognitive terms.
The Pali Nikayas express distinctions in modes of
knowing by varyirg the prelu which is attached to the
root jhA. each variation signilying a difference in the
level of cognitive activity or a differencein the perspec-
tive tiom which the cognitive activity is perfon C.
The terms that oc:ur most frequently in the suttas are
the following:
sami i'na : sahhi (noun). suhjunati(verb)
ur+ jira : uiititu7a (noun). uijunati (verb)
abhi+jita : abhihha(noun).ubhfianati (verb)
pari -tjit7 : purihhd (noun). parijanati (verb)
pral-jira - pahha(noun). pajanati (verb)
Like the English term 'knowledge', haryain pali can be
taken as the cognitive term used in the most generic
sense.From the Buddhist point of view the same objec-
tive existence can be cognized from a variety of ways.
The manner in which cognitive terms are treated in
Buddhism suggeststhat all knowing does not conform
to a single parterr but that knowing is relative to the
various needsand purposesof consciousrational beings.
The world of experience can be known in the saitiru.
r:iititunu or the paitiru ways. Sanna and uiithuna are not
forms of knowing which give emancipating knowledge.
These two forms of cognitive experience are to be hand-
led cautiously as they could lead to bondage and sulfer-
ing- The noble truths are to be grasped not by the ordina-
ry cognitive processesof saftha and uihharla, but by the
special cognitive processes called abhihiru. puriiritu
and pahhu.However theselatter processesare distinguis-
hed from dependenceon authority. speculativereasonor
faith.
5.2 Ordinary sense cognitlon, saflf,iand viffililne.
A brief examination of the variety of cognitive terms
used in early Buddhism is useful to gain clanty about
the Buddhist concept of knowledge. The pali Nikayas
explain sohha as that mode of cognition which arises
on the occasion of the meeting of a particula5 sense-
organ with the corresponding senseobject. The standard
description ol this process of cognition as found in the
Pali Nikayas is as follows:
"Depending on the eye and
material forms there
arises visual uiitiranu. By- the coming together of
these three arises sense impingement. Depending
on senseimpingement arises sensation . That which
one sensesone "knows in the sartrtc way."8
 EPISTEMOLOGY
T h c - q u e s t i o n t h a t a r i s e sh e r e s w h a t ' ' k n c w i n g i n t h e
.runnuwe-l" liignifies.It is possible ro intcrpret t:iirharla
rn the passagequoted above as mcrc sensory awareness
and stlniri as a rubsequcnlstagetn the processof percep-
tualactivitv'
Suifiu1may be considcral as a stagewhere drstinctions
are introduced intr: the primirive sensation by selective
attention. Although this interpretation docs not seem
to agree with the commentarial explanatron d' the
Theravada tradition it appean to be justifiai by the
Pali canonical suttas. t he activity of suhiw seerns to
depend on repeated perceptual experience as well as
the mind's ability to tormulate ideas and recognize
the sensorvenvironment in terrnsof them. The treatment
of sainf in the Nikayas suggeststhat there h no uniform
manner in which the sensory environment shouh be
cognized from the srrnru'i perspective According to
Buddhism sahhfrdo nor represent indelible Forms or
Ideas in thc Platonic sense imprinted in the Soul of a
p€rsor\ but they are variable depending on the way
one trains oneself,Scnni response.like other perceptual
responsesn a conditioned response.According to the
PotthaphdaSuttu. by training some types d sahha
could emerge and dther types could cease to be (sikkha
eka safthd uppajjanti, sikkha eku sahhu niruiihanti
D. I, p. 183). The training mentioned in this contexr
probably refers to the systematicmeditative cultivation
of the mind to expcriencc reality in certain menially
determined rnodes. Sshivl is altered in accordance
with these mental determinations. According to the
Potthoplda SuIrd it is possiblefor a person to transcend
altogether lhe sahiw experience of materizrl forrn put
an end to the experienceof the resistanceof material
objects. withdraw the mind's attention from the experi-
ence of a pluraliry of objects and enter into and abide
in a state of mental rapture in which tlre sahhaexperience
would be of infinite spaffi lsabbaso rupasa-nlnanam
samatikkamnu patighasahhanamatthagana ninatta--
sahhanon amanasikaraananto tkaso ti dkisanahcoyata-
nam upasampalja uihurati... akasunahcayatana sukhu-
masaccasaftitdtasmimsamaye hoti).
SahftA from the tsuddhist point of view is a way of
cognition whidr has to be transcended. Buddhism
recognizes a stage of meditative rapture of the mind
in whic*r sruifri completely ceases. Sairito is believed
to lead to bondage and suffering through the process
ctf papahca, a processwhich involves a proliferation of
concepts in the mind linked to the notion cf self and
L0. Yam sahjanati. tom Ditakketi, yant uitakketi tam papahceti
utitanagata-pac cupp anne sa cakkhuuiithey yesu ripe su : M. l, o, I l.
104 EPISTEMOLOGY
a s s o c i a t c du l t h t h e u n w h o l e s o m ee m o t i o m o f c r a v i n g
(a4hn\ conceit (mana) and dogmatic belid (dirrAi).
The Madhupirlfika Sutta describesthis psychological
process as follows:
That which one "knows in the scnna wa)'' one thinks
about. One gets obsessedwith that which one thinks
about. Due to this (obsession)one is assailed by
the ideas of conceptual proliferation with regard
to the past. present and future material forms which
are cognizable by means of visual uihhayu.tt
Earll' Buddhism considers saitha as the characteristic
cognitive response of the unenlightened individual.
According to the Mulupariyaya Sutta. the saifra res-
ponse to any category of experience inclusive of the
four material elemenb to which the whole of material
reality can be reduced all the data of the senses(dinha.
suta, muta\ meditative experiencesand even the highest
spiritual category conceptualized as Nibbcrnainvolves
an unenlightened response and consequently leads to
b o n d a g ea n d m i s e r y ( M . L p . 3 ) .
Sanruris here contrasted with two cognitive perspec-
tives of a different type called parihin arld abhihha.
These latter cognitive responses are those that the
Bucidha'sdisciples are expected to cultivate. The disci-
ples are advised to cultivate parihha with respect to
.sanfraitsef in order to attain emancipation (sahham
parihin t:itareyya oghant Sn u. 779).
llhhuryt too. like sah-nais distinguished from the
cognitive perspectives referred to u abhihha, parihha
and pairiru. liniti4u. as represented in the standard
lormulation of the perceptualprocessin the Pali Nikayas,
appears to refer to the perceptual awareness of the
respectivesensesprior to conceptualization. However.
usage in the Pali canon appears to vary according to
context and there are instances where uihlnarlaoccurs
in the senseof ordinary perceptual knowledge as dis-
tinguished from pah-na,the higher knowledge of the
saint. The uihharla response, considered in the suttas
as requiring no special effort for its cultivation, unlike
the pahina response is also said to be associated with
dangers like the saiia response.
5.3. Hfglrer forms of Cognltion - the concept oI ebhh'bfli.
Referencc has already been made to the Buddhist
claim that thc Buddhist way of life and the world view
on which it is based is derived from a special way of
knowing called abhiifia. According to the Safigaraua
yam papaitceti tatonidhnam purisam papahcasahhasahkha samud-acaranti
I I l.
 EPISTEMOLOGY 105 EPISTEMOLOGY

. \ u t t r r .t h e B u d d h a c l a i m s t o b e o n e o f t h c l s ew h o h u s e t ' l p h u s u t t t o ( h A s u m u h r t e c t t t e u n e k u t : t h r t t t n rp u b h e n t t ' l t s t t t u
t h e t e a c h i n g sa b o u t t h e h o l y l i l ' e o n ' a p e r s o n a l h i g h c r L r n u s s u r ut \t . S p e a k i n g of the progressive meditative
k n o w l e d g e ' .T h i s s u g g e s t si h a t t h e r e w e r e o t h e r s t o L ) devekrpment ol' the mind
the Buddhist attempt in
h r e f o r ea n d d u r i n g h i s t i m e w h o m a d e s i m i l a r c l a i m s to incline the mrnd 1o the attainment ol-the super-cogni-
. \ c c o r d i n g t o K . N . J a v a t r l l e k e .t h e t h i n k e r s o f ' t h e tive knowledge and vision it is said in the Pali Nikayas
\{iddle and Late (.ipttt'ttsudiswho emphasized, jitintr that this becomes possible when the mind reachcs a
t t r k n o w l e d g e .f a v o u r i n g t h e i h u n u m u r q ui n s t e a d o f t h e ver)-' advanced stage o[ composure. claritv. purit_r.
c i r r l i c r k u r m u m u r q Lcr a n b e i d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h i s g r o u p pliability and steadfastness (so et.anr sunnhrte ( rtt(
, r f -t h i n k e r s . M o r e s p e c i f i c a l l -Jva y a t i l l c k e b e l i e v e st h a t pLrrtsuddheptrrtvodute dnilhudne rtqutupttkktlese mudtt-
: h e l w e r et h e I i p a n i s a d i ct h i n k e r sw h o r e j c c t c dh o t h t h e bhute kumtnunty't' thrte ltnehjupputte pubhentuu.srrnus-
' r r r c l r t i o n a la u t h o r i t y o f t h e l i e t l t t s a n d t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l \(tttitdr.ta!'u (tn(un ttbhrnihtrrrttr ttblttnrnnunrctt. D. I.
r r -r a t i o n a l k n o w l c d g e o f t h e e a r l v [ i p ( r n r . s a dasn d h c l d p nrt.
: h a t a c c e s st o t h e d e e p e s t r u t h s a b o u t r e a l i t l c a n b e
lddhiridlu (q.vt the first ttbhihhu recognized in
. r r d i n t h e r a p t u r o u ss t a t e so f y o g u m e d i t a t i o n( E B I ' K .
B u d d h i s m c i t n n o t s t n c r l y b e d e s c r i b e da s a f o r m o f
: p 6 1 . 4 1 7 f . \ I t w a s b e l i e v e dt o b e a k i n d o l d r r c c r
knowing the content ol which can be formulated in
, n l u l t i v e k n o w l e d g e .S u c h c l a i m s a p p e a r l o h a v e b e e n
p r o p o s r t i o n s .I t i s e x p l a i n e da s a n e x t r a o r d i n a r ya b i l i t y
: r a d e l ' r y o t h e r c o n t e m p o r a r i e so f t h e B u d d h a a s w c l l
t o p e r f o r m c e r t a i n a c t s l i k e w a l k i n g o n w a t e r .I e v i t a t i o n .
. : . 3s o m e o l t h e A j i v a k a t e a c h e r sa n d N i g a n t h a N a t a -
r L rl l a . J a y a t i l l e k c a r g u e s t h a t d e s p i t e t h e s i n t i l i r r i t r
' - i r u e e n t h i s c l a i m t o a n e x t r a o r d i n a r ym e a n s o l - k n o u ' - Dtbbucukkltu (clairvolance q v.) and drbbusotu
' : , . 1 cm e a d e b y t h e B u d d h a a n d o t h e r c o n t c m p o r a r ) ,l c a - ( c l a i r a u d i e n c e 9 . v ) c a n b e c l a s s e dt o g e t h e r i n t h a t
- : r L ' r ' st h e l l u d d h i s t s d o n o t t r e a t s u c h k n o w l e d g c a r they merel.vinvolve an extension of the sensorycapaci-
' r ' . \\ t l c a l . b u t a s n a t u r a l c a u s a l a c c o m p a n i m e n t s o t
ties of the visual and the auditory sense.Dibbrlcukklru.
rental discipline and composure. o f w h i c h c u t u p t r p u t u i t u r u( q . v . t h e k n o w l e d g e o f t h e
-superioritr" p a s s i n ga w a v a n d a r i s i n g o f b e i n g s )i s s a i d t o b e a p a r r i -
The prefix ubhr in ubhiiriti signifies
, n e c i a l i t y ' . ' e x t r a o r d i n a r i n cosrs' g' r e a t n e s s A
'. ccording- c u l a r a p p l i c a t i o n . i s t h e a b i l i t y t o e x p e r i e n c ev i s u a l l l , .
- , . t h e t c r m u b h t h h uc a n b e s t b e r e n d e r e di n t o E n g l i s h c o n t e m p o r a n e o u se v e n t s b e . v . ' o n d the range of one's
: s ' s u p € r c o g n i t i o n ' -A n e x a m i n a t i o n o l ' t h e v a r i c t y o { ' normal power of visron. The passingaway of other
:.gnitive powers comprehendcd under ubhihiti in beings and their arising in accordancervith their charac-
. '.ddhism is useful in understanding this concept. ter traits is said to be seenby means cf this super-cogni-
f h e P a l i N i k A y a se n u m e r a t et h e f o l l o w i n g s i x l o r m s o [ tive ability. The experiential basis for the Buddhist
- : i t r t t t ( 1 ) i d d h r u r d h u .( 2 \ d i b b ( s o t u . ( 3 ) p ( r u ( t t t( t ' theory' of kummu is believed to be cnupupatuitunu.
t i L r l d . ( 4 \ p u b b e n i l r r , s i n u . s s r(r5l r\ . t l r b b u t ' u k f r i r ua.n d which is a specialapplication of dibbucukkiru.According
- . ' t t t u k k l u - u r r(.q . v v . ) .O u t o l - t h e s e .w h a t i s s a i d t o b e to the evidencecontained in the Pali Nikayas dibbut'uk-
'knowledge o[
..ruL-to Buddhism is the sixth one. khu can be exercised only for the purpose of seeing
- r r ' i L - s t r u c t i oonf t h e c a n k e r s .
contemporaneous events. and therefore. it is not a
3 u d d h i s m r e c o g n i z e da c a u s a l r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e means by which one could directly witness the past
: ' . . i l n m e n t o f m e n t a l c o m p o s u r ea n d t h e e m e r g e n c eo f o r t h e f b t u r e . I t i s a l s o a n o t e w o r t h y f e a t u r eo f t h e B u d -
' . : c r ' - c c r g n i t i v ea b i l i t i e s . E x c e p t f o r r J . s r r r r rl /t .uAt , u h u n t r dhist theory of ubhiiriruthat it is admitted that in order
. , r. r , . - hB u d d h i s m c l a i m s t o b e i t s d i s t i n c t i v ec o n t r i b u - to develop and exercise dibbucukkhu the ordinary
'','n. it acknowledged p h y s i c a l e y e i s n e c e s s a r ya s i t s n a t u r a l c a u s a l b a s i s .
t h e g e n u i n e n e s so f t h e c l a i m s
, l o t h e r s t o h a v e p o s s e s s e ds u p e r - c o g n i t i v e a b i l i t i e s . According to the Itit.tuttuku.lhe presenceof the physical
I he Pali Nikayas mention certain doctrines held by eye is necessaryfor the operation of drbbut.ukklulmuntsu-
r r e - B u d d h i s tt e a c h e r so n t h e n a t u r e o f t h e w o r l d a n d t h e t'ukkhussuuppudo nuggo dbbussu t'akkhuno.It. p 52}.
rndividual on the basisof super-cognitiveexperience.The This idea is confirmed in the following MiltndupLthhu
:lernalisttheory that the soul and the world are eternal passage:
' , / \ \ ( / r ou t t A c u l o k o c u )i s s a i d t o h a v e b e e nb a s e do n t h e
It is said in the sutta that when the causal ground
r u p e r - c o g n i t i v ea b i l i t y o f s o m e r e c l u s e sa n d b r a h m i n s
is destroyed.in the absenceof the cause.in the absence
:Lr remember their previous existences(D. I. p. l4). This
of the basis there is no arising of dtbbtt<'ukkhu
erperience of the memory of previous existences(pub-
( h e t u s u m u g g h u tu
e h e t u s m i mu u u t t h u m h in u t t h i d i b b u -
.,enruusr.rnussafa) is said to occur in the rapturous state
c a k k h u s s uu p p l d o t i s u t t e L ' u r r u m p
. . ll9).
.rf mind generated by means of effort. exertion and
.ipplication of the mind (crtrrppamunuuyu pudhurutm What i; ref'erredto as the causal ground here is clearly
.,nriv'u unuvogum anu|yu tuthurupam cetosumudhrm the physical eye.
 EPISTUMOLOGY
l'he Pah Nikiyas do not speak of the possibility
o f e x t e n d i n g t h e c a p a c i t y d t h e s e n s e so f s m e l l t a s t e
and touch by ubbfiiul but only of vision and hearing.
T h e r e s a l s o n o a d m i s s i o n o f a s u p e r - c o g n i t i v ep o w e r
c a p a b l e o f d i r e c t l _ vc o g n i z i n g t h e p a s t o r t h e f u r u r e .
The past is known only by retracrng the mernory. the
experience of which is characterized ns sat7nusArt
ui'nha4etm. The only certain knowledge that the Buddha
claims about the future is what he claims to be the
knowledge born out of his enlightenmenr that there
is no rebecoming for him in the future (unagatanrkho
a d d h u n u mu r u b b f u tt u t h A q u t a s s h u a d h i j u mh u r l u mu p p u i -
j u t i u y u m t t n t i n u t. j u t t n u t t h d u n i p u n u b b h u u o t rD . l I I .
p 134\. Dibbacakkhu was not admitted as a means
of direct accessto the past or the fbture althougfr this
is how it is often popularly conceived.
C e t o p u r i y a n a 4 u( q . v . \ e n a b l e s a p e r s o n t o e x a m i n e
directly and comprehend by one's own mind the mental
t r a i t s i n t h e m i n d o f a n o t h e r . B y t h i s m e a n so n e c o u l d
know whether another person's mind is lustful or
free from lust. hateful or free from hatrd and so on
(so parusattanam parapuggaldnamcetasu ceto puri(cd
pa.janatrsaragam ta cittam saragamcittan ti pa.jdnati...
D. l. p. 79t.
P u b b t n i u u s a n u s s u t i h a(nqu. v . )i s s a i d t o b e a n e x t e n s i o n
or one's memory into the past beyond one's present
lifc experience.It does not enable a person to have
any direct access into a past occurrence, but only t<-r
r e c a l l o n e ' s o u n p r e v i o u s m e m o r ) e x p e r i e n c e s j.r r s t
as one would recall the past experiencesof the present
life. This is what was refcrred to above as srrtr-irtusrrri
t'iititu1tm. This typ€ of super-cognitive ability was
considered as one of, the experiential bascs for the
Buddhist theory of rebirth
What remains to bc examined is usutukkhuvuiturtu
( q . v . )t h e h i g h e s ta n d t h a t w h i c h i s c l a i m e d t o b e u n i q u e
to Buddhism. The terrn itsclf contains the meaning
that it is a kind of sell'transforming knowledge. Where
the Pali Nikayas refer to this knowledge it is invariably
associatedwith the insight into the Four Noble Truths
of BuciChism-the understanding of the three charac-
teristics of being and the comprehensioq of the law of
d e p e n d e n t c o - o r i g i n a t i o n ( p a t i c c u s a m u p p u d uA) .s u t a k -
khul'ahunttcan be understood first. as the knowledge
which brings about the eradication of the cankers
and secondly. as the introspective knowledge of one's
liberated condition of mind.
It is clear from the above acccunt that the early
Buddhist notion of abhihha leavesno room for any
r n - r s t e r i o uos b . j e c t st o b e a p p r e h e n d e db y a n e x t r a o r d i -
n a r \ l n t u i t i o n . O u t o f t h e s i x s u p e r - c o g n i t i v ep o w e r s
rr-cognized i n t s u d d h i s m i, n ( 2 t t o ( 5 ) t h e r e i s n o r c c o s n i -
106 EPISTEMOLOGY
tion of a cognitive content that is other than material
forms (rupa), the data of visrorl sound (sadda\. the
data of hearing, or some mental content such as a
memory experienceor the mental condition of another
p€rson. In Buddhism these super-cognitive powers
are valued merely becausethey are believed to augment
our factual knowledge of the world which is ordinarily
restricted due to certain natural limitations in our
sensory capacities.However, Buddhism does not consi-
der these cognitive powers as inherently capable o[
leading to infallible truths about the nature of existence.
Some recluses and Brahmins who possessed these
powers are said to have reached erroneous conclusions
about the nature of reality on the basisof the data of such
super-cognitive experience.In the Brahmajala Sutta for
instance, some metaphysical theories described as
eternalism and semi-eternalism are said to be based
on'the super-cognitive experience of the memory of
past livtls Buddhism appears to have given special
importance to three of the abhihna classing them under
t h e c o n c e p to f t e u i j j u . I t i s t o b e n o t e d t h a t t h e B u d d h a
himself preferred to becalled one possessel of teuijja.
rather than being called 'omniscient' (subbahiru)in the
senseomnisciencewas claimed by some of his contem-
poraries. The three kinds of knowledge included under
teurjji in Buddhism were (l) pubbeniuasdnussatihA4u.
(21 cutipapataha4u and (3) asauukkhayaftarya The first
two had a special significance to Buddhism because
they were believed to be the means of experientially
verifying the truths of rebirth and karma. which in
turn was believed to contribute to the attainment
of the final knowledge described as asat,akkhhyahdrla.
Asutakkhot'aha4u.which is claimed to be unique to
B u d d h i s m i s i t s e l f n o t a m y s t e r i o u sv i s i o n i n t o a s u p r a -
sensible or absolute reality. but a cognitive approach
or perspective with reference to experiential reality
which tends to bring about a certain psychological
and attitudinal transformation. It is constant meditative
reflection on certain observable realities, observable
even by the methods of ordinary observation. that
produceswhat Buddhism calledusauakxhayuha4u. Analy-
tical and introspective observation of the physical and
mental nature which constitutesemptrical reality, direc-
ted to iirJ corrpr€hension of their aniccu. dukkha ar,d
enuttu chirracler as recommended in the satipatthanu
method ol'developing insight is what produces the
self-transforming knowledge described as asauakkha-
1tuha4a.
5.4 Higher forms of cognltbn - ol pariflfiiand paflfra.
According to the Milaparil,u!-u Sutta (M I, p. I li.)
enlightened persons like the Buddha and the saints
who have eradicated the cankers have attained parihh7
with regard to all the data of experience.It is because
 EPISTEMOLOGY 107 EPISTEIVfOLOGY

they' have known things in the pariir-naway that thcy the kind of moral discipline that is required of the
irre lieed from all dukkha. Parrftituis a cognitive term person in search of'self-transformingwisdom. However
lrequently used in the Pali Nikayas to signify the com- there is an empirical content to puhhAas it is developed
prehensive understanding of- the nature of things. o n t h e b a s i s o f ; n t t i a l e m p i r i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n so n t h e
A c c o r d i n g t o t h c M a h d d u k k h u k k h a n t l h a S u t t u( M . l . nature of mental and material reality. The validation
p 8 3 f I ) o n e g a i n s c o m p r e h e n s i v eu n d e t s t a n d i n g o [ of this kind of knowledge depends partly on the fact
kimu. rupu and uedunu. by knowtng them in terms that it succeeds in achieving the anticipated goal.
of their satisfaction (assr.rrla), their harmful or perilous namely that of transforming oneself. and ovcrcoming
consequencrs(idinuuu\ and the possible freedom from suffering. The three cognitive terms abfrinha, parihira
b o n d a g c t o t h e m ( n r s s u r u 1 u \H e r e p a r i h i w i n v o l v e s and puirira are clearly distinguishable from the other
n o m y s t e r i o u s i n t u i t i o n b u t a c o m p r e h e n s i v eu n d e r s - two srrifrrrand uifi-nu4uin the sensethat the former are
tanding of the nature of kttma, rupu and uedarw by an forms of cognition which are specially cultivated direc-
empirical observation of their multifarious aspects. ting them towards the achievementof a particular goal.
Puititu as a stage in the Buddhist path to spiritual
perfection is said to be developed on the basis of slla 6. Buddhism and Emplricism
(good conduct) and samadhi (mental composure). In
The Buddhist rejection of authority and reason
indicating the difference between pahha and uihharyu.
and the emphasis on direct personal knowledge has
Ihe MahuuedallaSutrrr ;ays that unlike uihlnitryu. puititi
led some scholars to consider Buddhism as a form of
is a cognitive capacity that ought to be developed
empiricism. K. N. Jayatilleke and D. J. Kalupahana
(pahiw bhuuetabba: M. I, p. 292). In the same context
are o[ the opinion that perception, normal and para-
the content of the pahha way of cognition is given as
normal. and inductive inference are considered the
the four noble truths. Buddhism also uses the term
m e a n s o f k n o w i n g i n t h e P a l i N i k a y a s . t ?J a y a t i l l e k e
puithu when ref'erring to the knowledge of rnoral dis-
expressesthe opinion that the lerm anumana has been
tinctions (kusalahca pajanati kusalamulahca pujunati. D.
used in the Pali Nikayas in the senseof inference.There
I. p. 83). It is the emancipating knowledgg which is
is no dobt that in the later logical schools of Buddhism
insightful and goal-directed,culminating in the destruc-
such as that of Digndga and Dharmakirti. the term
tion of the cankers that Buddhism calls paifia. To know
unumana had the technical senseof inference based on a
something from the perspective of pahin does not
general premise establishedon the basis of observation.
involve any mysterious intuition, but merely a self-
The Pali Nikayas do not explicitly mention the use of
transforming understanding as a result of repeated
unumLna in that sense. However. Jayatilleke observes
meditative attention paid to certain empirical features
that a distinction made in the Pali Nikaya period in
of the nature of reality. A repeated admonition of the
terms of two types of knowledge called dhamme itA4u
Buddha found in the Pali Nikayas is as follows:
and antuve har1a. could be interpreted as knowledge
O monks, material form is impermanent. That which of speclfic instances of a causal correlation and the
is impermanent is unsatisfactory. That which is knowledge of a general inductive law covering the past.
unsatisfactory is devoid of substantiality.That which presentand the future (EBTK. p. 441f.).
is devoid of substantiality is not mine. I am not
that. that is not my sclf.One ought to seern this manner D . J . K a l u p a h a n a r e f e r s t o t h e S u b b uS u t t u { S .I V ,
as it has really come to be with proper pahin lS. p. 15) in support of his view that the accepranceof
III. p. 32). paranormal experience in Buddhisrn. does not affect
Puiritu involves much more than a mere knowledge of i t s e m p i r i c i s t p o s i t i o n . I n t h e S t r h b uS u r r r r : h e B u d d h a
empirical facts. It involves an intelligenr systematiza- a s s e r t st h a t t h e q u e s t i o n " W h a t i s e v e r v t h i n g ? "c a n b e
tion of those facts and an insight into the various a n s w e r e db 1 's a y i n g " E v e r y t h i n g i s t h e e y e a n d m a t e r i a l
connections between the known facts with selective f o r m . e a r a n d s o u n d . n o s ea n d o d o u r . t o n g u e a n d t a s t e .
attention in order to achieve a certain goal. It is also b o d y a n d t a n l i b l e o b . 1 e c t sm. i n d a n d o b j e c t so f m i n d . "
to be noted that there arc certain prerequisites for The Buddha adds in this context that anyone who
the development of the kind of special knowledge speaks d anything over and above these sensesand
which Buddhism calls pahita.It requiresmoral discipline t h e i r c o r r e s p o n d i n go b j e c t sc a n n o t m a k e o n e s e l fi n t e l -
and mental composure, which is not a prerequisite l i g i b l e . I n o u r d i s c u s s i o no f u b h i h i r u( 2 ) t o ( 5 ) a b o v e
for the kind of knowledge that a natural scientist mav i t w a s p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e c o n t e n t o f t h i s k n o w l e d g ei s
have in the form of scientific knowledge. The natural not considered to be any mysterious objects. The data
scientist may need a different kind of discipline but not of tlibbut'ukkhufor instance is nothine but runc. which

lt M t d d l e L e n g t h S u y i n g s( P a l i T e x t S o c i e t y ) V
. ol I. p. I 16.
tl E B T K . p 4 6 3 . S e e a l s o t s u d d h i sP t h i l o s o p h y ' . DJ . K a l u p a h a n a( U n i v e r s i t yP r e s so f H a w a i i . 1 9 7 6 ) p. 2 2 i
 EPISTEMOLOGY 108 EPISTEMOLOGY

i s a l s o t h e d a t a o f o r d i n a r - vv r s i o n ,T h e u h h i n h ui n t h e Attention is often drawn to some special features of

powers
c o n t e x t o f - t h eo p e r a t i o n o f t h e s es u p e r - c o g n i t i v e the Buddha's doctrine in support of the thesis that
c a n b c c o n c c i v c d m e r e l y a s e x t e n s i o n so f t h e s e n s o r ) Early Buddhism can be describedas a iorm of empiricism
c a p a c i t i e sb y m e a n s o l - y o g t t ' t r a i n i n g . W h e t h e r s u c h o n e p i s t e m o l o g i c agl r o u n d s . B u d d h i s m d o e s n o t p o s i t
t r a i n i n g i s i n f a c t p o s s i b l eo r n o t c a n n o t b e d c t e r m i n e d a first Qeginningof existence.It also rejects the theistic
A p n o r L b u t o n l y o n t h e b a s i so f e m p i r i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n . doctrine involving the notion of a creator God. It
I 1 ' s u c h s u p e r - c o g n i t i v cc a p a c i t i e sd o i n f a c t e r i s t . a s explains existential reality on the basis of its principle
s o m e t i m e s a t t e s t e d b y t h o s e r e s e a r c h i n gi n t o p a r a - d dependent co - origination (patircusumuppuda) which
p s y c h o l o g i c a lp h e n o m e n a ,t h e r e c o u l d b e n o o b j e c t i o n cautiousl.vavoids the notion of an uncausedl-trstcause.
t o c o n s i d e r i n gt h e m a s u s e f u li n s t r u m e n t si n e x t e n d i n g Buddhism does not posit an absolute beginning for the
t h e e x p e r i e n t i a lc o n t e n t o f o u r k n o w l c d g e .I t i s d u c t o individual or the universe. Where the Buddha speaks
t h i s r e a s o nt h a t i t i s m a i n t a i n e e dt h a t d e s p i t et h e a d m i s - of the universe.he talks only about relative beginnings
s i o n o f u b h t n n u .t r u t h s i n B u d d h i s m h a v e a n e m p i r i c a l withrn a cyclic process of evolution and dissolution
l o u n d a t i o n . A . B . K e r i t h d o e s n o t a g r e ew i t h t h e a b o v e ( s u n r u u r . t u m u hkuu p p u a n d t : r c u t t . u m i n uk a p p u \ . W i t h
p o s i t i o n .H e t r e a t st h e s p e c i a li n s i g h to f t h e B u d d h a a s a regard to the recurring process of, becoming which
m y s t i c a l o n e n o t o p e n t o a n y i n t e r s u b j e c t i v ee m p i r i c a l Buddhism calls san.snrait holds that there is no known
verification. According to Keith: beginning. This position is consistentwith the Buddhist
T h e B u d d h a .l i k e t h e s a g eo f t h e U p a n i s a ds e e st h i n g s theory that the main accessinto the past in experiential
as they truly are (vuthabhitun)by a mystic potency. t e r m s i s t h r o u g h m e m o r y .T h e B u d d h a h e l d t h a t e v e na
w h i c h i s q u i t e o t h e r t h a n r e a s o n i n go f t h e d i s c u r s i v c person who has developed the super-cognitive ability
t y p e . T h e t r u t h o f t h i s i n s i g h t i s a s s u r e db y i t a l o n e . to recall his past existencesto the highest degree is
for it is obviously incapableof verification in anr incapable of finding an absolute beginning. In the
e m p i r i c a lm a n n e r . '' Buddha's opinion. some advocates of the theistic beliel
were misled by their limited super-cognitiveexperience
K e i t h ' s c o m m e n t sd o n o t s e e mt o a p p l y t o t h e c o n t e n t of the memory of past lives into thinking that they
of the higher knowledge claimed on the basis of the were created by an eternal God. The Buddha appears
ubhiirirtt(2) to (5). for it may be argued that at least to have been critical even about the so called mystical
someof that content is verifiableby meansof the ordinary or religious experiencesas a valid ground for the theistic
methods of senseobservation. Logical objections raised beliefi.becausehe conceived the possibility of misinter-
a g a i n s tt h e c l a i m t h a t o n e c o u l d u s ep a r a n o r m a l p o w e r s preting such experiencesand drawing erroneous con-
to observe certain phenomena that cannot be observed clusions from them. He rejected the Brahmanical
by the ordinary sensessuch as the occurrenceof rebirth doctrine about the path to the attainmentof the world
a n d t h e e x i s t e n c eo f o t h e r r e a l m s o f c x i s t e n c c w e r c of Brahma on the ground that none of thosewho spoke
countcred by early tsuddhism by pointing out that about such a path had direct personal knowledge
the mere fact that some people do not experiencethem of the existenceof Brahmi inutthi kocr teurjianambruh-
is no reason to reject them. According to Buddhism muninqm v-at,usuttumtl icuriyumuhal'ugu yena Brahma
the acquisition of the paranormal powers of perception sukkhidrttho D. l, p. 239). He compared the effort of the
a r c a n a t u r a l c a u s a l c o n s e q u e n c eo f t h e a p p r o p r i a t e Brahmins with that of one who constructs a ladder to
mental training. The expenenceof thesefacultiescan be climb a mansion of which the location and dimensions
s h a r e d b y t h o s e w h o a c c o m p l i s ht h e r e q u i r e d t r a i n i n g . are unknown.The doctrine of an immortal and immuta-
I n t h e S u b b aS u t t u . a B r a h m i n y o u t h n a m e d S u b h a ble soul also finds no plaoe in the Buddha's teachings.
e x p r e s s e st h e o p i n i o n o f a B r a h m i n t e a c h e r n a m e d The Buddha analyzed'the person into ltve component
P o k k a r a s a t it h a t t h e c l a i m o f s o m e r e c l u s e sa n d B r a h - aggregates(puhcakkhandhQand showed that in none
m i n s t o p o s s e s sp a r a n o r m a l p o w e r s i s a n i n a d m i s s i b l e of theseaggregatesis to be found an immutable substan-
f a l s e c l a i m . T h e B u d d h a ' s r e s p o n s et o t h i s w a s t h a t tial nature which was then commonly assumed to be
those who deny the knowledge of people who possess the nature of the metaphysical atmun and conceived
paranormal powers are like blind men who deny the as the real essenceof the individual. The Buddha refused
existenceof visible forms. colours and objects merely to employ reasonbeyond the limits of human experience
b e c a u s et h e y c o u l d n o t e x p e r i e n c et h e m ( M . I I . p . 2 0 1 ) . and left all questions of a metaphysical nature unans-
It can bc argued that there is no reason why the sphere wered. He like Kant. left the question whether space is
of the empirical could not be extended to include the finite or infinite unanswered because answering that
data of such super-cognitive experience.provided that question would involve an illegitimate use of reason.
such data can be found to cohere with the other sense The Buddha's denial in the SubbaSurra referred to
erperiences of human beings. above.that there could be anything that can be meaning-

l - 1 B u d d h t s tP h i l o s o p h yI n I n d i a u n d C e y l o n .A . B . K e i t h . ( O x f o r d 1 9 2 3 ) .p . 9 0
 EPISTEMOLOGY
f t l l y t a l k e d a b o u t . b e y o n d t h e s i x s p e h e r e so f s e n s e .
a l s o p o i n t s i n t h e s a m e d i r e c t i o n .T h e s ea r e v e r y s t r o n g
reasons in favour of concluding rhat the tsuddha's
teaching contained certain positivisticand empiricist
t-eatures.
H o w e v e r .t h e r e a r e o t h e r f ' e a t u r e os f B u d d h i s mw h i c h
c o u l d r a i s e d i l T i c u l t i e si n a n a t t e m p r t o i d e n t i f y i t s
cpistemologicalpositir-rnwith what came to be regarded
a^slogical positivism and empiricism in the Western
p h i l o s o p h i c a l t r a d i t i o n . P h i l o s o p h e r si n t h c W c s r c r n
philosophical tradition have for a long time beenengaged
in the search for the indubitable foundation of all
knowledge combined with thc pursuit of a single para-
digm to which all knowledge could conform. The
rationalistsadhcred to the view that knowledge has
the naturc of a deductive system founded upon the
indubitable and self-evidenttruths of reason. while the
e m p i r i c i s t si n s i s t e d o n t h e v i e w t h a t t h e m o s t c e r t a i n
and indubitable knowledge claims are those about
-fhe
.rur immediate sense data. consequenceof both
polnts of view have been scepticism with respect ro
;crtain areas of human knowledge. The admission
o f t h e m i n d a s a s i x t h s e n s ee n a b l e sB u d d h i s m t o c o n s i -
,ler reason as a function of the mind. This appears to
.iissolvethe absolute distinction between sense and
:eason on which the rationalist-empiricist distinction
: e s t s .B u d d h i s m i s n o t i n d i s a g r e e m e nw
t ith the empiri-
,'rst insistence on the significant role of the sensesin
r u m a n k n o w l e d g e .H o w e v e r ,B u d d h i s m d o e s n o t m a i n -
:-rin that the indubitable objects of knowledge are
:he deliverancesof the senses,for it does not get involved
.n the pursuit of knowledge in the absolutist sense.
i r s t e a d o f t u r n i n g i t s a t t e n t i o n o n a b s o l u t eo b i e c t so f
\ r o r r ' l e d g e ,e a r l y B u d d h i s m g i v e s a v a l u e o r i e n t a t i o n
: . ' t h e a c t i v i t y o f k n o w i n g . A c c o r d i n g l y .i t s s e a r c h i s
l:rected to forms of knowing whidr in its view servcs
r 3 s r t h e h u m a n i n t e r e s t .T h e r e a r e n o f o r m s o f k n o w i n g
* hrch have epistemological finality, whether they be
- : n d c - d o n t h e s e n s e so r o n r e a s o n .T h e e a r l y B u d d h i s t
::3etment cf the concept of knowledgc leaves op€n the
r,-rssrbrlrtyof' admitting varieties of knowing relative
:,-.the needs and purposes of human beings. In stating
::e earl\ Buddhist position in more modern terms. it
:rrr tr said that from the early Buddhist point of view.
: h e o r d i n a r l ' s e n s o r y k n o w l e d g eo f t h e t a b l e a s a s o l i d
r ' r i e c t h a v i n g c e r t a i n s e n s o r yp r o p e r t i e ss u c h a s c o l o u r
: n C s h a p e i s a s v a l i d a s t h e s c i e n t i s t ' sk n o w l e d g e o f
: : a s a n o b l e c t c o m p o s e do f a m o l e c u l a rs t r u c t u r e .T h e
r n o w l e d g e o [ t h e p r o p e r t i e so f t h e t a b l e . a s k n o w n i n
-'rr ordinary sense experience sufices for the various
. , ; : r r i t i e st h a t w e p e r f o r m w i t h t h e t a b l e a t t h e l e v e l o f
. : d r n a r v d a v t o d a y e x p e r i e n c e .S o i s t h e s c i e n t i s t ' s
r ro*ledge of thc constitution of the physical world
^ rrch is validated by the various practical consequences
. - : s u c h k n o w l e d g e .E a r l y B u d d h i s m t o o . b y i t s n o t i o n s
109 EPISTEMOI,OGY
o f u b h i i r i t up. u r i i r i t i . p u h h a .u s u t u k k h u t ' u h i n ua n d u i m u t -
t inunutlttssttnc presentsa form of goal directedknowledge
which involves the seeingof the empirical world as
h a v i n g t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c so f c h a n g e .u n s a t i s f a c t o r i n e s s
and insubstantiality.It claims thar thrs knowledge
w o r k s i n t h a t i t s u c c e e d si n a c h i e v i n g t h e a n t i c i p a t e d
g o a l . a n d a s s u r e st h a t i t w o r k s f o r a n y o n e w h o c a r e s
to come and test it in his own experience(efirpassiko
p(t((uttum t'edrtubbo) Early Buddhism combines a
p r a g m a t i ca p p r o a c hw r t h a s e n s eo f r e a l i s mi n a d m i t t i n g
t h e r o l e o f t h e s e n s e sa. s w e l l a s t h e i n t e l l e c ti n t h e v a r i o u s
forms of human cognition. Puhha in early Buddhism
i s n o t c o n s i d e r e da s a f o r m o f k n o w i n g c o m p l e t e l y
divorced from sense cognition. For accordiirg to the
a n a l y s i s p r e s e n t e d t n t h e M u h u t , e d u l [ uS u t t c t o f t h e
principal terms having a cognitive import. puhha and
u i i r h u n ua r e n o t a b s o l u t e l ys e p a r a b l ec o g n i t i v ea c t i v i t i e s .
(lZr crr...ptririruyuir ctt. uiirirurlomtnw dhamma suntsutthu
rio t:isumsutthA.nu cu ktbbhu imesumdhummanumt,inib-
bhujrtuu L:tnibbhujitt:uninikarunum puhhapetum: M.
l. p. 2921 The objects of puiritu and uihhu4u are not
diflerent. That which is the object of uthhanu itself
becomcs thc object ol' puiritiilas well (Yum ..pujunutt tum
ut.junutt. yum t,tiunutr tam pujunuti). The difference
lies onlf in the nature of the cognitive response.As we
have already mentioned the puitirrl response is not a
mere passive responseto the sensory presentation.
but a specially cultivated and goal directed response.
In this respect there is an implicit difference between
the Buddhist concept of knowledge and the classical
empiricist concept according to which knowledge is
conceived as a superstructureerected upon the indubi-
table foundation of the primitive elementspassively
received through the senses.Unlike in the case of con-
temporary Empiricism and Logical Positivism. early
Buddhism should have no difficulty in accounting flor
moral or aestheticknowledge. For it allows for a variety
of cognitive perspectiveswithout confining itself to an
absolute perspectivealleged to possessepistemological
finality.
7. Later Developments In Episteoology
The central concern of early Buddhism was the
attainment of inner peacethrough the eradication of the
u n w h o l e s o m ep s y c h o l o g i c a lt r a i t s a n d t h e c u l t i v a t i o n
o f w h o l e s o m eq u a l i t i e s o f m i n d I t v a l u e d t h e k i n d o f
knowledge and insight which was found to be conducive
to that goal. All activity which posed a hindrance to
this objective was not encouragedin the early teaching.
l e b a t ea n d c o n t r o v e r s )w a s t o b e a r r i d e d
P h i l o s o p h i c ad
b y t h e B u d d h i s t s a g e .H o w e v e r l a t e r B u r l d h i s ' , : : r e h e r s
who were confronted with the intelie,. .i-l ehiiilenges
from other systems of Indian Philosuphy, sought to
introduce greaterintellectual precisionand logical clarity
to the doctrines of Buddhism in order to meet those
 EPISTEMOI-,OGY 110 EPISTEMOLOGY

c h a l i e n g e sT.h u s D u e t o t h e c o n t i n u i n g d i a l o g u e . . defend a theory <lf eternal sound in order to safeguard

r n t e r a c t i o na n d i d e o l o g i c a l c o n l - l i c tb c t w e e n B u d d h i s m the authority of the I edus. The,v believed that the
a n d o t h e r s c h o o l so f I n d i a n P h r l o s o p h .lvi k. .e t h e S a n k h y a . m e a n i n g o l ' a w o r d ( s d b d a r t h uils a n e t e r n a l o b . l e c ta n d
Y o g a , M r m i m s a a n d V e d a n t at r a d i t i o n s .a v a s ti i t c r a t u r e h e l d t h a t t h e V e d i c s t a t e m e n t sr e p r e s e n t e t e r n a l a n d
d e a l i n g w i t h l o g i c a l a n d e p r s t e m o l o g i c ails s u e so n a n enduring truths The Buddhists did not use the term
argumentative basis emerged vvithin the Buddhist urths. in the sense of an eternal object. Therefore the
tradition as a parallel developmcnt with those other Buddhist del'inition of knowledge was opposed to the
schools. All principal schools of Indian Philosophl idea of absolute objects of knowlecige,and it inclined
w e r e e n g a g e di n t h e t a s k o f d e t e r m i n i n gt h e n a t u r e o l ' more ttrwards a pragrnatist definition According to the
r r g h t k n o w l e d g e ,a n d e x a m i n i n g t h e g r o u n d s l b r a c c e p - o p i n i o n o f t h e s e B u d d h i s t t e a c h e r sr i g h t c o g n i t i o n i s
t i n g t h e v a l i d i t y o f k n o w l e d g ec l a i m s .A c c o r d i n g t o t h e successfulcognition. It is cognition followed bv a success-
I n d i a n u s a g eo f t h a t t i m e t h e y w e r e i n t e r e s t e di n d e t e r - ful action.16According to Dharmottara, right knowledge
m i n i n g t h e v a l i d p r a m u 4 u sr e s u l t i n gi n w h a t w a s k n o w n is twofold. It is either instinctive or discursive. In the
a s p r a m u 4 v u - u a d a( e p i s t e m o l o g t c a lt h e o r y ) I n t h e s e case of the latter. we direct our attenion to a possible
developments an effort has been made by renowned object of successfulaction through a process of remem-
Buddhist teachers far removed from the time in which bering. willing acting and reaching the desired goal.
the Buddha lived. to preservethe fundamental elements B u d d h i s t t e a c h e r su n d e r t o o k t o a n a l y z e t h i s d i s c u r s i v e
o [ t h e e a r l y t e a c h i n g . d e s p i t e t h e s o p h i s t i c a t i o na n d thought. leaving aside caseswhere purposive action
a n a l y t i c a l s k i l l d i s p l a y e d i n t h e i r t r e a t i s e ss o m e t i m e s a p p e a r s d i r ec t l y a n d a i m s a r e a t t a i n e d s t r a i g h t o f f
e x c l u s i v e l yd e v o t e d t o t h e t r e a t m e n t o f i s s u e so n l o g i c a - si n t h e c a s e o f i n s t i n c t i v e k n o w l e d g e ( i b i d . p 6 l )
a n d e p i s t e m o l o g y .T h e m a s t e r s D i g n i g a , D h a r m a k i r t i . A c c o r d i n g t o t h e i r a n a l y s i s s e n s i b i l i t yi s t h e p r i m a r y
Dharmottara, Santaraksita and Kamala$ila for instance source of our knowledge of reality whereas the intellect
can be considered as fbremost among the illustrious produces the forms of this knowledge. and the verbal
t e a c h e r so f l a t e r B u d d h i s m w h o c o n t r i b u t e de n o r m o u s l y expression of the cognitive process is made in terms
not only to the philosophy of Buddhism but also to of the syllogrsm.
I n d i a n I o g i ca n d e p i s t e m o l o g yi n g e n e r a lT. h e s eB u d d h i s t
teachers engaged in the discussion of epistemological The Buddhist insistenceon the empirical foundations
i s s u e sw i t h t h e i n t e n t i o n o f r e v e a l i n gt h e n a t u r a l a n d of human knowledge, which is a characteristic of early
general logic of the human understanding.They did not Buddhist teachings is reiterated in the discussions
i n t e n d t o d e r i v e t h e i r d o c t r i n e sd i r e c t l y f r o m B u d d h i s m of these later Buddhist philosophers.The Mimamsaka
as a religious system or as a path towards salvation. view that scriptural statementsneed no further validation
Therefore their discussions are not confined to the but are self-validated is criticized by the Buddhist
validation of Buddhist notions, but have a general teachers.Kamaladila-lbr instance rejectsthe view of the
philosophical significance. An atrempt will be made Jaiminiyas who maintained that all our sources of
in the sequel to treat very briefly some principal aspects knowledge in general are right by themselvesin their
of these later developments. a t t e m p t t o e s t a b l i s ht h e a u t h o r i t y o f s c r i p t u r e .A c c o r d i n g
to the Buddhist teachers,right knowledge is eflicient
In the ,V_vcrya Bindu of Dharmakirti and the commen- knowledge, and it is through consistent experience
tary to the sametext by Dharmottara, there is an attempt that truth becomes established.
to analyze the two main sources of knowledge that
l a t e r B u d d h i s m r e c o g n i z e d . t oA c c o r d i n g t o D h a r m o t - In the N yu1,a Bintlu Dharmakirti says that there are
tara's commentary to N yuya Brndu all successful two varieties ol- right knowledge. namely. perception
human action is preceded by right knowledge. Right and inference (duiuidhum samyugjhlnam pratyaksum
cognition is deflned as successflul cognition. It is knowled- unumanunca).In Dharmottara's commentary perceptual
ge that is not contradicted by experience.Knowledge knowledge is explained as any knowledge that makes
is right when it makes us reach the goal which it points the oblect appear before us directly (yat kimcidurthusya
l o ( p r u d u r ! i t u ma r t h a m p r a p u y a n. s a m u t i d u k uumt y u t e l . t s saksatkarijitanam t utpratyuksamucy(lte\. Dharmottara.
Buddhism retained its opposition to reliance on the observes that although according to th€ etymological
authority of the Vedus arrd criticized the Mimamsakas. meaning of the term pratyuksre it stands for sense-
the most orthodox theologians ol'the old Brahmanrcal knowledge. by usage it includes other forms of direct
sacrificral religron. The Mrmamsakas attempted to knowing. Dharmakirti and Dharmottara recognize

l'1 Dtn'rdham samy-ugjhanum pratyuksamanumfunamca, Nyaya Bindu, editd by Peter Peterson.(Bibilotheca Indica Calcutta, 1889).
Chapter i
l 5 Buddhsr Logrc.Tb. Stcherbatsky(Mouton & Co Printers,The Hauge, 1958),Vol. Il. translation ol N yaya Bindu and its commenrary.
p . 4 : . V l a y a B i n d L T l k A . e d i t e d b y P e t e r P e t e r s o n , ( B i b l i o t h e clun d i c a C a l c u t t a .1 8 8 9 ) p
. .3.
l6 B u d d t u s tL o g i c . T h . S r c b e r b a t s k y( L c n i n g r a d 1 9 3 2 ) .V o l . I . p . 5 9 .
 EPISTEMOLOGY
:',rur varieties of perceptual or direct knowledge. They
.ire (1) senseknowledge (indriyujhunu\ knowledge of the
irve senses, (2) mental consciousness (manouijhAnul.
.'ihich corresponds to the sixth sense admitted in the
c a r l y B u d d h i s t t e a c h i n C q ( 3 ) s e l f c o n s c i o u s n e s sw i t h
: c s p e c tt o a l l i n n e r m e n t a l p h e n o m e n as u c h a s p l e a s u r c
.,nci pain (cittacaittunttm Atmusumt:edunam)and (4)
:iie knowledge of the Yogi which ariscs on account of
:irc-di tat ion on reality (bhntar t habat,anap r akursu p ur y un-
:.i.iLm yogijhanam\. It is important to note that the
:ter Buddhists in keeping with rhe early Buddhist
- , , s i t i o n t h a t e v e n t h e h i g h e s tk n o w l e d g eo f t h e B u d d h a
.r experiential and perceptual include under their
: 'r:ron of direct perceptual knowledge {prutyaksu\.
r hat early Buddhism included under super-cognitive
: or cognition by the sensesis only the llrst moment of
"perience.
Erplarning the term anumanu used in the technical
icnce of infierence Dharmottara says:
rThe word for inferencemeans etymologically "subse-
\juent measure"). The word "measure" suggests an
rnstrument (by which an object is measured.i.e..
;ognized). A source of knowledge is thereby indicated.
* hose characteristic essence is coordination. It is
;alled subsequent measure. becauseit appean after
rhe logical mark (or middle term) has been apprehen-
Jed and its concomitance (or major prernise) has
5esn brought to memory. When the presence of
the mark upon the subject (i.e.. minor premise) has
'reen
apprehended, and the concomitance between
:he minor and the major terrg (i.e.,the major premise)
:rought to memory, the inference (or conclusion)
'c.ilows (ibid. II. p.
13)
l.rus inference is defined as cognition of an object
'::ough its mark.
Inference is also considered as the
-,,snrlion of an invisible, concealed object. Inference
::.:brl€s us to cognizn an object that is not present.
: :he definition given by Vasubandhu in his Vudautdhr
-.: ,ars stressupon the observed
inseparableconnection
-:r:rng the mark with the inferred object. A person
*:o has previously observedthis inseparableconnection
-.:\r'een two occurrences,
applies it to make a new
rierence. Thus when one has observed the inseparable
::usal tie uniting smoke with its causef-rre,one cognizes
:: concealed fire whenever one finds the presenceof
':no ke It is evident that the inferential knowledge
':'::red to by the Buddhist teachers
is a kind of inductive
,:,:*ledge based on the assumption that there is a
-:riormity of nature which entitles rrs to infer the
- - : r p e r i e n c e d o n t h e b a s i s o f g e n e r a l i z a t i o n sf r o m
: , r i r l e D C € .W e h a v e a l r e a d y n o t i c e d t h a t a l t h o u g h t h e
:::i..tnumAnuwas not usedin the later technical sensein
: . , t m u 4 a s a m u c c h , r yLa .J .
3uddhrsL t ogic.Yol. I, p. I 52.
:, ;mi4asamucchuyu
lrttt. l. 4.
111 EPISTEMOLOGY
t h e P a l i c a n o n i c a l l i t e r a t u r e .r t e x p r e s s e dt h e n o t i o n o f
r n f e r e n t i a ik n o w l e d g e b a s e d o n e x p e r i e n c ei n t e r m s o t
rutve hilutr. according to which one could use one s
k n o w l e d g e o [ a n o b s e r v e dc a r . r s acl t . i n n e c t i o n( d h u m n e
n u y u lt o i n l e r t h a t t h e s a m ec o n n e c t i o nh o i d s w i t h r e s D e c t
to the past and f'uture.
L a t e r [ ] u d d h i s t l o g i c i a n sl i k e D i g n a g a a n d D h a r m a -
kirti introduced a nunrber of ref-inements to the epistemo-
logical doctrines of lluddhism. One such notable refine-
m e n t w & s t h e s h a r p d i s t i c t i o n t h e y m a d e b e t w e e nd i r e c t
a n d i n d i r e c tk n o w l e d g e .A c c o r d i n gt o D i g n a g a ' sa n a l y s i s
of perception pure perceptual knowledge is non-cons-
t r u c t i v e ( n r r t ; t k u ! p a k u J . tA
' ccording to th€ Buddhist
teachersof'the school of DignAga. real sense-perception
perception.l'he function of senseperception is to make
the object presentto the senses.Its object is the particular
thing (sua/akSuryul. The construction of the image of the
object whose presencehas been made known is another
function consisting of a subsequent operation of the
understanding.Senseperception in itsef is non-construc-
tive and is followed by the construction of the image.
DignAga and his followers attempted to identify the
pure sensationalcore of perception. We do not se€such a
treatment of perceptron in the early Buddhist teachings
representedin the Pali NikAyas. Although terms like
uihlnfurla, suhiw and urtukku may be interpreted as repre-
senting severalstagesin the perceptual process,there is
no attempt to distinguish them sharply from one another
in the Pali canonical tradition.
Buddhist philosophers made a special attempt to
establish the reality of what they understood as the
sensational core of perception. One such attempt by
Kamaladila is presenteclby Stcherbatskyin the following
q u o t a t i o n f r o m K a m a l a d i l a ' sT A r t L t . t s d n g r u h a - P a h i i k u .
At the very first moment when an object is apprehend-
e d a n d i t a p p e a r si n i t s a b s o l u t ep a r t i c u l a r i t y ,a s t a t e
of consciousnessis produced which is pure sensation.
It contains nothing of that content which is specified
b y a n a m e .T h e r e u p o n .a t a s u b s e q u e nm t o m e n t ,w h e n
the same objecf has been attentively regarded the
attention deviates torvards the conventional name
with which it is associated.After that. after the object
h a s b e e n a t t e n t i v e l y r e g a r d e d a c c o r d i n gt o i t s n a m e .
the idea ol' its (enduring) existenceand other quaii-
fications anse; we than f-rr it in a perceptua.ljudg-
m e n t .t 8
According to Dignaga a man who n absorbed in the
contemplation cJ a patch of blue. perceivesthe blue. but
h e d o e sn o t k n o w t h a t i t i s t h e b l u e . ' e W h a r t h i s s u g g e s t s
 EPISTEMOLOGY 112
i s t h a t p u r e p e r c e p t i o ni s t o b e d i s t i n g u i s h e dl r o m t h e
p c r c t - p t u adl e t e r m i n a t i o no l ' t h eo b j e c tw h i c h i s a f u n c t i o n
o l t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n gA . c c o r d i n gt o t h i s a n a l y s i si n e v e r y
c o g n i t i o n o n e p a r t i s s e n s i b l ea n d t h e o t h e r i s i n t e l l i g i b l e .
T h e s e n s e sc o g n i z et h e t h i n g i t s e l f .I t i s t h e i m a g i n a t i o n
(irrlr,rrni) which constructs its relations and general
c h ar a c t c r is ti c s .
T h e l a t e r B u d d h i s ta n a l y s i so f t h e n a t u r e o f k n o w l e d g e
a n d r e a l i t y w a s c o n n e c t e dw i t h t h e d e v e l o p m e n t si n t h e
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n so f f u n d a m e n t a lB u d d h i s tn o t i o n s l i k e t h e
n o t i o n c l ' i m p e r m a n e n c ea n d c a u s a l i t yw h i c h p l a y e d a
c e n t r a l r o l e i n t h e e a r l y t e a c h i n g so f B u d d h i s m . T h e
e a r l y B u d d h i s t i d e a o f i m p e r m a n e n c e( a n i c c n t a )w a s
i n t e r p r e t e di n l a t e r B u d d h i s m i n t e r m s o f a t h e o r y o f
momentariness (kp-n4clcda).The later Buddhist theory
of causation was also influencedby the theory of univer-
sal momentariness.Reality interpreted in terms of these
two theoriqi is reduced to point-instants of effeciency
arising in functional dependence upon other point-
instants. Real existenceor ultimate existenceis consider-
ed to be nothing but efficiency.Only the present moment
of physical efliciency is ultimately real. The particular
'here'
alone which is only the present,which is the and
'now'
is real. Universals are unreal and are mere names.
However. the later Buddhist teachersrecognize another
level of reality. When an image arising fqom the first
moment of perceptualis objectivizedand identified with
some point of external reality it receives an imputed
reality. Even from this specialpoint of view there are real
and unreai substances.From the point of view of these
teachers.an example of a real substanceat this level is
some object like a cow. Examples of unreal substances
are metaphysical ones like God. Soul and Matter (in
the senseof the Primordial Matter of the Sankhyas).The
Buddhists of this period recognized two kinds o[ rcality.
the one pure of ultimate reality consisting of bare point
instants. the other consistingof objectivized images.The
latter is supposed to have a position in time and space
and possess all the variety of sensible and abstract
qualities.Thus a distinction was drawn betweer ultimate
reality which is unrepresentableand unutterable (unabhr-
Iapyu\ and phenomenal or empirical reality (samurtisut\.
The treatment of epistemological issues in early
Buddhism is confined to a clarification of the kind of
knowledge essentialfor attaining the goal of the holy
life. Earlt, Buddhism insisted that what is essentialfor
attarning such a goal is a kind of knowledge that has to
be developed on the basis of an arduous process of self
discipline. Ordinary sense knowledge at the level of
sanntt and uihha4a and pure intellectual reason, faith
and reliance on external authority are inadequate to
bring about the self-transforming wisdom whicir is
signified by the Buddhist terms pailiw and asauakkha-
v a h a 4 u E a r l y B u d d h i s md r d n o t t a k e a n y i n t e r e s ti n t h e
EPITHETS
argumentative discussion of general epistemological
i s s u e sb u t w a s c o n c e r n e dw i t h t h e m o n l y t o t h e e x t e n t
t h a t s u c h d r s c u s s i o nw a s f o u n d t o b e r e l e v a n t t o i t s
i m r n e d i a t eg o a l . I n t h i s r e s p e c tl a t e r B u d d h i s mi s n o t a b l y
different in that the Buddhist intellectual geniuses of
l a t e r c e n t u r i e s t. o o k u p t h e a r g u m e n t a t i v ed i s c u s s i o no f
epistemologicalissuesas a general philosophical exer-
c i s e . M a n y s o p h i s t i c a t e di d e a s a n d t h e o r i e s e m e r g e d
in the course of these discussionswhich could be com-
pared with the finest intellectual achievementsin Western
philosophy
P. D. Premasirl
EPITHETS of the Buddha, Dhamma- Sadgha and
N i b b a n a . E p r t h e t s c h a r a c t e r i s i n gt h e s ef o u r i m p o r t a n t
topics in Buddhism are so numerous and varied that it
would not only be tedious but also of little value to
collect ail of them. f'herefore it is intended here to give a
cross-sectionof them presenting them in such a way so
that they would bring forth various aspectsof the subject
described. It may be noted here that. in general. the
epithets describing these four topics are very often not
svnonvms but words referring to their different aspects.
Buddha:
At first when the literary descriptions of the Buddha
were not numerous the number of epithetsdescribing
h i m w e r e l i m i t e d . B u t w i t h t h e i n c r e a s eo f B u d d h i s t
w r i t i n g s t h e w r i t e r s w e n t o n i n v e n t i n g e p i t h e t st o c o v e r
every possible aspect of his personality. The important
aspectsofhis personality that have been coveredby these
_epithetsare mainlv concerned with his intellectual and
ethical eminence while there are many terms having
metaphorical. allegorical and ancestral references.
The most general and the most important of these is
the term Buddha (from the root budh to be awake)
meaning an enhghtenedone. This is not a proper name
but a generic term used to describe all those who are
enlightened by themselves. without the help of any
extraneousagency. In order to distinguish between the
Buddhas and pucceku-buddhus the term sammL sumvuk
or sum is prefixed to the term Buddha which then means
the perfectly enlightened one, who, by his self-realtsed
knowledge of the Truth. is superior to all other beings
both human arrd divine. Gautama Buddha is sometimes
called the Buddhasettha or the Buddhavira, meaning
the best or the excellent Buddha. The term arahant.
w h i c h i s a p p l i e d t o a n y o n e w h o h a s r e a l i s e dN i b b a n a
and meaning the one deserving (of respect etc.) is also
applied to the Buddha in that sense. This is a pre-
Buddhist honorific title adopted by the Buddhists.Some
of the other epithefs expressinghis intellecl or wisdom
 EPITFTE'I'S
' - i ! / 1 1 . / n f . / d ( , - i shr reL w h o s e ( r n t e i l t c t u a l ) v i s i o n r s
. - i : n r t e d : a n o m u p a n n ah. e w h o s e w t s d o m r s s u p r c m e .
. ' . : , ; n h u . o r e x t e n s r v er v l s d o m .i s e x p i a i n e da t I ' . i l l .
-
i ! e n d o w c d w i t h w r s d o m . c x t c n s i v ea s t h c e a r t h :
. : r e re p i t h e th a v i n g t h e s a m ef i l e a n i n gi s b h u r i m e d h u s ;
. ' . . : . , n h u i S k t . m u h A p r u l n u lo. r g r e a t w i s d o m : r r t r r c -
: : . , r r t l t i g g u p u h h uo. f c x c e i l e n tw i s d o m -a r e t r v o o t h e r
. . used. sirrihupri{nu.of gocxl wisdom. is also uscci.
. i : i ; r e n d o w e d w i t h w i s d o m . p u i t i t u d u d u .b e s t o w -
. * isdom. ars some others of this ciass. The
. ' :' \LiIumbfiri 1Skt. st.)ityumbllu\ is commonly used
- . : : r p r e s s e st h e i d e a t h a t t h e B u d d h a r e a l i s e d t h e
'- r,n hr.sown. The f act that he can read the past.
' -:::.r aod the future. has made him to be called
' -. . /,u rknower of the three periods of time), Epithets
.: -';huJifinm (o[ great wisdom). utjitu (knower].
' - . . ' ' " ; d h t i ( t h c g r e a t B u d d h a ) .p r u j i t u ( w i s e o n e l a r e
- = r d E p i t h e t s d e s c r i b i n gh i s k n o w l e d g e a r e a l s o
- . . ' r s e d W h i l e s a r u a T r u( P r a l i . s a b b a h n ue\ xpressing
- ' i : - t € n c r i s t h e c o m m o n e s t o f t h e s e .a f e w m r l r e
. : --ti.S are: lokuun (Paii. Iokuudu knower o{' the
- - - ' t b b u d u s s a t : (r h e w h o s e e se v e r y t h i n g ) ;s a b b i r -
: -:::j ln the ueda. meaning knowledgein general);
- - . . i ' i r k n o w i n g t h e k n o w a b l e l ,d h y u r u & o u r d(ov e r s e d
:.i states of mental absorption)', surttuuidr-idipu
-:iiir ol all the various kinds of knowledge) pru-
. f r o m a t t a c h m e n t ) :n t r u t , u d t ' iltf r e e f r o m t a i n t s ) ; p a h i n a -
: . . ) . - r . ; s r a b h r l k r r(riul l u m i n a t o ro f w i s d o m
and know-
-
a : t r t a s a r s d a( n o t u n e x p e r i e n c e di . e . ,w i s e ) ;u i p n . s . s r n (good in every way): oitntupiptt{free from evill. sattman
- : ; * i t h i n s i g h f i e . , w i s e ) ; u i s u r a d a( s e l f - c o n f i d e n t ,
- : :tt't.i1u (possessedof the threeford knowledge
' - i a t , 4 . I , 1 6 4 ) ; u e d a( k n o w e r ) "C a k k h u m u n r .
along
- ": ,-.mantacakkft4also refers to the intuitive know-
- i : - 1 : h e B u d d h a .I t i s t h e a l l r o u n d ,a l l - c o m p r e h e n s i v e
- - - :. -t the Buddha that is relbrred to as his super-
, ; i - s e e i n ge y e . T h e B u d d h a i s s a i d t o h a v e f l v e
':. i ,uch eyes
{ , \ d . I I . 2 3 5 ) a n d h e n c eh e i s c a l l e d
^: ihtr has eyes)m . u h a m u t i( v e r v w i s e ) a n d n i p u 4 u
. , - : . : . : s h c r iI . D h i r u i s a t e r m e x p r e s s i n gh i s l l r m n e s s
- r : 3 . r - r e i r a n c el.l r s p o s s e s s i o no f t h c r i g h t k r n d o f
. - ' * r e d g er s e x p r e s s e di n t h e e p i t h e t j i t u n i n . T h e f a c t
- : ' , l i r s g r v e r t o t h e p r a c t i c eo 1 ' m e d i t a t i o n( l l u l n a )h a s
- j : 3 h l m t o b e c a l l e dj h a y i n a n d h i s f r e e d o m f r o m a l l
- : r . r i . , t r s t r u c t i o n si s e x p r e s s e dr r t h e c p i t h e t p a b h t n -
:ioln! to his powers of understandinghas given him
:ie common epithet dusubalu (dutubulu\.
The Buddha's teaching being one of ethics pur ex('el-
''-: it is natural that hrs ethical attributes are so
---:rx3fous and varied. Basedon his quality
of compassion
'the
: i:e are innumerable epithets describing him.
-t ,hhuruml'ura describeshim as the giver of safety.
: . i : n e r s n o t a s o u r c eo f ' d a n g e rt o a n y o n g w h i l e n k u r o -
^ - . - , - q u a l r f i e sh i m a s t h e o n e w h o r s n o t a f r a r d o f
113 EPIl'HETS
a n y o n a a s t h e f ' e a r l e s so n e i n a n v s e i l s e .I b e e p r i h e t s
u p p a t t : h u y , t( a p r t t t r h h u v ' na )n d n r r o h u v ua r e ; r l s cer x p r e s -
s i v e o f . h l s i e a r i r r s n c s ) .S i , r r r l .o l h e r s c f t h i s c i a s s a r e :
p u r u m u h t t u n u k u n t ; ' r t i (' us tu ; ' ,: r n e l f i i r e n d l y a n d c o m -
passionale): mah,tkttru4rkntd f:rsirt ccmp:rlsirin): ftaru-
rrri*.r(compassion:1te.}: {;u'ult;rtChunn (scurc€ of com-
p a s s i o n | .k t ; r u n J t i t t . i i . tot "r rk t i r t n i t k , t r ui 1 c e 3 ao. 1f - C o m p a S -
'pe
sioni; lthen urikttr,t t glvcr i,{ .r, cl: Srt:uhkuruigiver of'
happinessl: L:Ltrutit:{gir i ct boons), ktirutlvud.henu
(giver of compassio n | : kur unit nruk a (t'itllof' compassion);
premudur!m {exhibiting krndn,:ss}; alt,ctsuku (he who
c o m f o r t s ) : I o k a n u q r u h a p r u i l d { ! i t(rw i s h r n g : n e w e l f a r e
o f m a n k r n d l : k u r u 7 a t , u d Z r r( ro f p u r e c o m p a s s i o n ) T . he
eprthet ukuhu refers to hrm as the honest and upright
one. while rrrreladescriueshis state of f reedom from lust.
Some other examples of his ethrcal attributes are:
u n i q h u ( t h e c a l m o n e i ; b h a l r t u t ; ( t o r b h a u t t a t m a n( s e l f -
composed or sober one): gufiindrtvu. jitindriya and
bhauitindrivrr(whose sensc-organsare weli-r;ontrolled);
duntu (self-restrained); dhonu (purifiedl, guryasagara
(ocean of virtues): hutuduii lwht'rseanger is gone);
unusuutt khi4isaoulwhose defilemerrtsare gone); khqa-
sumyojurut(whoscfettersare broken). manatthidtr(whose
a r r o g a n c e i s g o n er : m i n u m a k k h a p a h a v n ( f r e e f r o m
arrogance and hvpocrrcy); mudrtu (joyful)l nikkama
l d e s i r e l e s s )n. f t k u n l , t ' i l r e e t ' r o m d o u b t ) ; n t r u d u r u ( f r e e
mulamohu(freefrom tarnts and delusion): samnntabhadra
( m i n d f u l ) : . ( i t r - ( s r r r - ) b h u(rccor o l ) : s u r i . s u d t l l w( p u r i f i e d ) :
I ttitt,'s1u- tunfutccihdtt.r,itulobhu. t iturigu (free fronf
craving); trrdosupuhu(free flrom lust. hate and delusion);
ru-srfrr(contented): ttantado$a(free from hatred); uera-
bhayatita {gone beyond hatred and f'ear). uigatamoha
(free from delusion): uigaturujus. uiruju (free from
d e l i l e m e n t s ) :s u d d h d c u r a( o f p u r e c o n d u c t ) . T h e w e l l -
known epithets. utljut'ura4u-sumpannu(endowed with
wrsdom and virtue) along wrth yuthauudr-tathakurt
practistng what he preaches.are also important as his
ethical attributes. A few other epithets belongings to
t hrs category ar e'.tr rcidhadumdta- uastuku! ala (with body.
m i n d a n d s p e e c h c o n t r o l l e d ) ; u r l u d d h u d l u( o f c l e a r
w i s d o m ) ; m u h u d h t r u l v e r y i n t e l l i g e n t ) ; t ' u t s A r u t l y uo r
r d u l s k i ll e d )I k r t u .rj u (g r a t e f u l ) .
t ti S a u
The fact thar the Buddha is regarded as rhe best
a m o n g a l i l i v i n g b e r n g sh a s r e s u l t e d i n t h e c o u n t l e s s
e p i t h e t se x p r e s s i n gt h r s f a c t . T h u s h e i s u d t t t y u ( s e c o n d
to nonc'): nLtruggu.nL)rdL'rtrLt. nuruuiru, nurottunu, agga-
pugguln. etc. (best among menJ; aggappatta (wbo has
reacherl the hrghesU. unomunutlrcl(superior teacher);
unutturLt. unupumu. uppQ.ibhAgu@pratibhagul. upputt-
pugguLa-upputtsumu.upputtmu.asuhuyu.asumu.usumu-
samo- utulu <tr atulyu. nrrduanduu,utterrutpugguLi.etc.
all meaning 'the incomparable one' apuru.Litrr (undefea-
 i . :' i " i i { F ' i i { 114

r n w i s d o n r ., i u t ) m t n t o r i u t t t i i n t { ir b i l g h t c - - n c! i- i 9 ch) a s t h e
s a m e i d e a . A n i m a l s l i k e t h e l r o , r . t h e e i e p h a n ta n C t h e
:t:l1i ;:1lti,,.:, "':,' .', .i' .iil(i tiien (:ttllltil buli are taken as meiaphors rri descnbing him. Thus
di'l'.tut11lt!li', . it: .. ',: i , , , , r v i 1: r i r l t ' , l s e d . he is called tht BuddhunutiL:i leiephant among the Bud-
Whetr ltr. l' ,';:.,;i, i cihasi or merely tlie elephanl {kuitjcra,naqu rsrmuhAnlttttt
{ t l r eg r e a t e l e p h a n t )o r m u r y t k u - n i a{real e p h a n ta m n n g t h e
. ,". 'i,: iit,jli l1'llalgl!iii,,/* sages}.naru.sthuilion arnorrg men!, nrsabfiaor nar1sabhu
., i1i Li!.\i..riile rile qr(,r lbull among men) or merely thc LrulllrSabhaor usabfra),
ileilri:,. iro' rir.: .,iir,r. : ':'ir,. ': , ii;.: ti(fId i,.;kti ,,.' t'arilw (boar). nurtsalch'na" \janiva (horse anrr:ng men),
';!t
.tt!:t.! ; , t i , , : , - . ,. , l , rt .i i r l C y - r r ' , : t t Sh . . rV , ; i t k y ' r t p u n q t t t c( ti h e l e a d i n g b u l l a m o n g r h e S r i / < . y r r . s ) .
i , r J i : J l ; , 1 1 , . . , ' . 1; .: i , . . :.
" i
:.":.: ,i r:lt \\iri],ii. lOiriiit : r u v u m b h u . s t h u( l i o n a m o n g t h e s e l f- e n l i g h t e n e d l .
i f q . t i i ( ; ] - i {, ., r l ! r i : : l : , v i 1 ; , 1 1 , 1i i e a t i t : t ft thg ( ) r m e r e l l t h e i i o n l i i l r u ) . r ' [ t d t s t h ,l tl r o n a m o n g t h e
V , , r i i i , j ) , . , , . : 1 , . r ; r , , . . t ,. . 1
i , ,1, 1 : ! , r i l , i ; . , ' r r i . , r n i . r r ll h
rc r.ie tiattrrs) l l,: is also brought into comparison with
whi; i-ra:l i::-;'lli: r r ;l,l: 'r, ., .l', '.,i',li:;i. Of g o d s a n d o t h e r s u p e r h u m a nb e i n g s .F o r i i r s t a n c e h . e is
irrrroiliitit'
,' j,,: : t , : ' ; i . ' 1{ : i n i , l t u i c a l l e d i h e b r u h n t l t .h r u h m u b h u t uo r b r u h n t u p u t t uw . here
. i t t q O i . l t l - l t !, 1 ; , ; , 1 , , . i l r !' t, ,. ift }}ali
l / - t & i l . : i l ' ; , l r iitl ii i :' ;,)).1'j' ! , r{ .r,i)i i , lr r l i t l l . : i t q u t l t ; i o k u - b r u h n wm e a r r se x c e l l e n t H . e i s a l s o c a l l e c tl h e g o d d ' g o d s
hhu,tu {l.hc irghi ci :hi 'i"i.!-i,j',
irir;,'rtlritrJlrri (lcader ol the (det,atideru. deuudeuu).god among men (narurie;t*1.
wOfl'lI; i g 1 i 1 , y : l i yi ' ,
" ".',,:i.r.
' ;ii"!t ..i , i ,: rv,;rl,-jl. F{e iS t,isuddhtdectL (the blemishlessgod) The name of tlie king
S i n : i l i V . . : i r t J . . " ., : , ' : i ' i , i , . . . , t , ' ( ; r i . . : : i : ' r . f r - lr . t g C ) . [ - { g i S a l S O o f ' g o d s( S a k L , .S c f , r a ) i sn o t l e f t o u t . f o r h e i s c a l l e dS a k k a
'
called irii;ili !lr:t(i!'t i,iiit r:r'?:ii 1.,'iriti. theretry implying or Purindada
that t F r r i F . i t : i 1 l i " ! , J s :l i i i ' ; i . ' . 1 l,r ir':ir: ii. n'ti ltrnited t() one
The Buddha rs lery often connected with the solar
.lspcct. [-lt: r:; lil; :;rgr.' i; ;ri i:i ihc grr":itl sagc-- (ntalresr-
d_rnasty (surt'ttuumsu)and the epithets adrccabandhu.
fttAhur5' r - ,, i ' ;:i . t r ,, , i ' , , ' 1 ' 1' ;, 1: ' ; i ; 1 , ; 1 ' ; ; i 1 r j e t r l i i O f ( n u t h u '
urkubundhu ctr urkabandfirrua(krnsrnan of the sun) are
tradtt , .: jr : :a. . '..'j iJoil.. j+fLtl ' lS
ofien used Sometimes s{rryauuntsu in itseI is used. Like
oftfrr u;ei iq-, r1'1q1 iir {ril;1 i/)fir:-:t.lIiifs !;r: ts reicrred to
.rirrr Or '"1 the epithets Sakya and Gautama" which indicate his
aS ttrJg gCr"li.ii,rf ,rli-r !* ji.i;.!i! Of mArCrttO[hAnu\
q r : i i , r t i . r , i ! , { . r' i . , : : j i . { - l i ,1 . { i ; : i : t a l r .j jl r! { . r f t ) { ' i h C W O f l d
clan and family respectively,and Siddhartha his personal
Or tfi'thC
name. the Buddha is also called Angirasa, which seems
(lokaiit) eir sinif lv the r,li:ir,i rr-'!\ ;,;irt: it:ijri l'rn) li jitttsun'
'l!(' to be a patronymic, as the Gautamas belonged to the
garul {hrt t ! " l u t ii r ; r 1 , } , i . } i 1 f i l l i l i r . i . t , . : j r i t j r : ; r r t . } . ,i iw h t , r h a s
'!'I(l:r; Angirasa tribe. The epithets urtya laryu\ and brahmar4a
won lhe ]'y! ititii i., r;,,, I,h" ','lili.,i:;ril\ ,lni,') are also
also have some historical significance.The term brdh-
used. I"he fr€rsortai rg:ii-;: r','i i.i:ri:iari-i.; iiu{jil}'}ii ,\ildhdt-
m i r 4 a .u ' h i c h w a s o r i g i n a l l y a n o n - B u d d h i s t t e r m , w a s
tha ar SiddhilrtJla ihllvillg tieii!i:v'-,.1 tilr ;:urp,;:ei i:; also
g i v er r a n e n t i r e l l e t h r c a lc o n c e p tb 1 it h e B u d d h a .A n o t h e r
very often used. Siir|i;r'iiruslrirlrrir ii also s,Jn1cllmes
e p i t h e t w i t h a n c e s t r a ls i g n r f i c a n c e
is ik,sua/<ukulanandana
found, C)onceiving hirn as the riisp.;iler oi thr darkness
( ^ * 't h e w o r l d . d a r k n e s s f i g u r l r t t v r : 1 1 'r n c a r ! l n g i i r t t r t r ; r n e c { i o l d t h e f a m i l l o f t h e l k p v a k u s ) a sw e l l a s o k k a k a k u l u -
santbl'tLrttt (born rn the family of the Okknkas). Epithets
he rs calleC tapnsnus,ii,ti iir irrni,',r'rt,iil1:i'hr: iiitl-lc r(-iea is
like Sakyaputt4 Sakyasiha or Sakyamuqi are also
exp{"essed b,y tix- *pithe l.5 ;r,liri..rril-''.i u'tti ,r,rf,rtiitttktiru.
rekited to his clan. He is called the 7th seer (isissttarfla)
I{e is calletl Llittinl,i:t[]!:1i:.jaft: {nr-ibie rinr'tl I n{l thc worthy
-l'ht as he is the 7th Buddha since the Buddha Vipassin
o n e ( u r t h a t ' i . i . { r J rl.r . l f i i r l r , ; . r t i : i i*rms l.;tral and
( M 4 l l l 9 7 ) S o m e t i m e st h e m a t r o n y m i c M A h a d e v i s u t a
uibftu, meaning sovere:trTranci whrcli al;: use(l a., epithcts
and the patronymic Sauddhodana,Sauddhodani or
of the important \/ellii: iiiiil:;. ii'e ilisl iciind. t{c- is called
S r r d c l h o d a nai r e u s e d .V i d v a n t a r a( V e s s a n t a r a w
l, hich is
rr(lanlilrrr i all-subct'trr;:g::, r'r,'n.;r.tki i *ne q iio drsciplines)
also used.is explained at M A. III. 96. as having crossed
ir,;td tLtduntudamuka {t;,-l:;',it,:i ,1r: irtrlalntl{i). l'ltrt (hero}
the uneveness(r'r.su) of passion.Gotama his family name.
r . - c t r r r i : i Yi i i r l ( { i a . - - l i i i ; ;I ' h e l . :c i i f r , : i h t : 1 r o n l \ a p r c i l c h ( j r . 'Buddha.'
is mostly used along with

V a r i o u s e p i t h e t sc o i n e d i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e B u d d h a ' s
doctrine are also of frequent occurrence. An off-used
epithet o{ this krnd ts adtyauudrn(teacher of non-
jli '1,'a d u a l i t y ) . i n d i c a t i n g h i s d e n i a l o f t h e d u a l t h e o r i e s .T h e
, r . i , i : , . ' . , i i : i : r1 ' : * : . ,i - , . ' : t..llFF thg lamef
'-i i,l.i ...?' , ,- : ti,l , r ; ' . i i r : r : ' {j
word dhuntmu (dhurmu) meaning his doctrine is very
: ; - } :f - l \ S L A h i S
- often prefixecl to various words to describe: him Dham-
t . i r i f ! 1 . 1 , . 1 r ; r ' i l ;t 1r r l i : l l ' r l e f p e f
rnassami(Dharmasuiirmin) (lord of the Dhamma), Dham-
.-t;.i ;,irri:g;ilr,t:, ii e vt:r, i;ill.i havc br.en used maraja (king d the Dhamma), Dhamadhatu (essenceof
. .i:,:ll CfrinDaf ed the Dhamma). Dharmakara (ocean of the Dhamma),
: . r i
" 1 . : ! - L
: i ; r u u d h u r n e - s l c r{ai o r d o f ' a l l t h e d h a r m u s \s u b h a d h a r -
 EPITIiE]'s 115

.'.i i'.ttra (sour cx ol' good d hctmmr \ t .tr udh,-:ftuilt;pprr,r,,r,rLr-r

- e . i c i L * ;o f t h e n o L r l er l i r r - , r n r r ,ci ;l .c . d i ; ) r : . : Lr - i li i , , - r s t
, iie r ' ,f r : : r ' r r f i ! t ' ! r)l ciiscinies
.,, nEirig trr this caiegol'y. r,. r'f lii:n!i:
:' l!:;ttkkhu-
r : ; - ! r ' ; 1i ! i ( ' i i l i 1 l ' c r n ( ) r g o r
i l-^ircare some mcrrecpithcts wirir:hiJrr L{:i-\,' a{_jnlrni.)n-
':rC For instancethose iike hlr:tcril'rl .ir:,r;rt iiie li;,lii ;r;tmbet
{ h l e s g e do n € ' } .
. i w t - i l - g c n e l .t a t h i r ; a t u t i . r : ; . t i l e p u t ' i r i a rf o r r n u l a
i t h u s g o n c ) .r : i r ' i i r r i m i r o ; -
' r-l,r ierrn hliatiLurr : j , . ,t 1 i , i t ,i , " w c : ' r h i p p i n gt h e
is one of th'. comrron,_'stJ.nd
r.,.-i.;.1.'i.. :i:,':. lt ...i1lir_ i ), l l h t i , r i i i l b u i e s
: . r ' t h e r n o s l r e v e r e n t i a lo f e p i t h * t s .I n E n g i i : h r :
'n-s lrtrd or the rich or ilic trii:ssedl:,irt: ,liri.lctc. ol lttt- ijrii.,il:.r,i (:,:r,;irr,". itri' ,.:',ifitie{j i.! t j.1'l l.)

' n i n g o n e w h o h ; r s a t t a i n e r i b l i s s .i s a l s o c o r n r n . u l r l r tl Il .. i )l Y v 1i (, -- --i i: :. . . il li ii' 'l r 'i ii lti il ,r !_ r , .. 1r "" i ,, ,,i lr r, t, rr_t .-, . , ti {t ii , irj 1
\ i& i "' :, :l :i lqKll 't r" !gH'l i J 1O 1n g1 $
the ptilh ,.1r ,6; 1q1li t:r1;,.bi,'.:lrcxi ili ri't"tr
-'.1 Tuthuctutt,.one c*- the most irnpcrtant o{- lhe ctlr i(tei ivayS aS

:iha's epithels. is significant :n another aspectin that
." :he terrn used by the lluddha when he refers to
^-.:Lf A few rnore general oncs ar€: otlhatiryryt
t h e B i r i " l d l i l ts g i ' i i i i i n , . : i ; r s c r n l t 1 , : , , , . , : ' r . r i i D u n t ! : lrlii;e i ' a r e
hOnesi. 11 ; r " i q l . . ! i i l L l l t j i ! ' 1 , t t ' t : i r . r , . r ili.i;i r l , - : : h i d i n gt i f t V U -
(he who
p r t I i p u n n ( t l ' l * i r t ' - r ' , ' i , :h , . i i ] r : i i s . i i : t h e l r 1 i ' ; , , , qo i . l l v l t t g

. r,.rssetlthe ,.rcean.i.e.. ,rf samsiru).antimu-sutiru. I t [ t n : i ,i l i t . t { t t t t i t : , r T \ 'ilr ,,,i'i '1. i :l;i,; ;'rt' {:n \ufe Way

;irr b€flfs hb last body, pannadhuja,he whose flag
- ic. i.e , whose fight is over. in the sensethat hc has
,lerj his struggle in sumsfrru:su<:cauhava,
r a m e . i e . , B u d d h a , t n c l i n ,s u c h - l i k e i n 5 w a 1 ' s( d e e
I p 2O2). bhuuantakrt. he who ha-s put an end to
.:ilt Ltsamsaya,fiee lrom doubt, akuiieyv,a and
.. deserving rf worship and oflerings, gam-
- '"htryeyy4
. the deep ona i.c, in wisclom.r
rr€um8:
. i , c i e r m t h a t i s c o m m o n l y u s e d i o d e s i g n a t ei h e
:r phrlosophy taught by the lJuddha is Dhamnra
' r r t e a c h e r l i v e s t h r o u g h h i s t e a c h i n gi t i s n a t u r a l
'.i,e dhummr came tc be treattxl with the same
- ' ; ' . a n d s i g n f i c a n c ea s t h e B u d d h ah i m s c l fa n d m a n y
.is iirE coinecl to describe it from various angles.
tO relcasc l,i r:\prr:sritri lry'l}n,t 1,;;tF rtifffefi tO aS the
i b u r p a i r s o r t h e e l g h t l ' l n i i : , r l f - l r i r n { . . J i t r ; rt i , u . r r r a y u g a n i .
utthupuri.:tltitrteti!ii\, r:ttrh ;:.ri; hrr.tnfl ,:ttrr.,artrqedOl" the
deserving
o n e i n e a c i r , r l t h e l o ' : l p i i i h l i { i - l r i l { { i i r )r n , . l r h e o n e i n
each ol'lh; l o u r l r r i . t i c r n ; ( L r h: , , , r A s : r l i c h t n e y a r e
d e s c r v t n g t ! i - l r . r g p t - : ct:i th u n c l ) , . , , . . . ' . , {r):ri v n i - h o i p i t a l i t y
( p a h u r y e y v ' . t tw o r i h v
o f o f l c r i n g s ; r i a i t i n r 1 : ' v , r ' r r i ,w o r f h - v
o{' worship (uitjulikuritnr-',r-a l rn f i t h u t t h e y c r : l n p r i s e a n
tncornparablr: 1ir:iti rrr ,!\r.:irl t1 lill-r worid {i;ngttururn
pUnnt*khetrurr;. AS ii $,.rr l! )iitlfC qtcrt Ci'the
" ' i U :{ i i i l l c i
e p t i h r l r i r . r . . e <i 1. i i , i r : - : ; r u r e : l r r i n a i i t l v a p p l i c a b l e t o
u r a h u n t : , a r , d t i t e I i . ' ' i , , ! i ] a t ; , r . . , i , r o . l e l l c r t b et h e n t g O o n
increasing entll,.-l'sii .-::.lh'... ,iit :'r'e-e
1 :l ' n l c i c t l l e m e n t s
t h e y a r L - t' - r l l m r e l t : r ! . \ 1 : ( i r . , .i j t r l i ; r i : i . / , . : ; i i : t i t t t t ' r ' r t a n d
ntkkilesu or nilikiea:t i h.:rr wisd,;rri has qiralifred them
to i)f rcti'r-r-eti i0 aii {i' l.:rr:lit tv!li,irJi]l \rnahttptujitul. ot

' i r -( i l t h c c o m m o n e s tp a s s a g e(sD . I . 6 2 . S . I . p 1 0 : 4 w i d e r v i r d o m l p r i h u r r t t i n L , i . u l r l e e p i ' ,l i i c l o m ( ; 1 , t r n b h i r t t "

j- clc.). praising the dhamma is thc one which 1tittjitu\.,.1-i:t.'i-rrn;l,rnrtriervisclorn Ir!tttnltiIriijit r), of quick
wit (r?suprcrTitttand j,-it'u,tupruiiui) etc. T'hey are well-
-:rres it a-slovely (kalyutlu\ in the beginning lovely
informed (htthuiryti clr !rutudhrtrul and free fiom
:: mrddle. lovely in the end. which is full of' both -firerr
' - and of letter (s1ttlu tnd sabyahjrrra).which is burdens or wi)rries ilhitahlrlrrri wishes have been
' . l i e h e n s i v e i n a l l a s p e c t s ( k e u u l t t p u r i p u n n r rp)u. r e {'ulfille<i (pariyrurryascnkaipa\ an<i rhcy have donc what

' :r.iJlr,r)and pertaining to the pure life (bruhma- h a s l u h c ( i ! ) n c l i i i l . r A r r ' , , r i. , r t , i A ; . r r i r , l l .

. .\ {nother vcry common formula (/-) II. 93: IIll

l c e t c ) . w h i c h i s a l s o u s a l b y t h e B u c l d h i s t si n t h c i r Nibbina:
- : r v w o r s h i p o f t h e ' d h a m m a .i s t h e o n e
in which Being the stlite of thr: mtn *ho hut luhi:vej pericction
: : r i s e d a s w e l l p r o c l a i m e d ( s u u k k h o t us u p r u u e d i t u . according lo the iluddbisr rdeal. Nihbarut is lavishll,
: r r . w e l l - s e e n( s u n d t t t h r k a )a. p p l i c a h l ea t a l l t i m e s describal in Buddhist irteralure anrj hence its epithets
, . . i r .i n v i t i n g a l l t o p r a c t i s ea n d v e r i f yf o r t h e m s e l v e s a r c l n n u m e r a b i e . N e g a t i v e l y l t i s d c s c r i l - r c da s t h e c e s s a -
- . , ' ; i . r r ) . l c a d i n g t o r e l e a s e ( o p a n a r k u \a n d t o b e tirrn of becoming lhltti',Lt,.irt,Jhu!. lt:; ihe overcomtng
. ' : , : ; . l l ) ' r e a l i s e d b y t h c w i s e ( p r i c c a t t t t mt ' e d r t u h h c t of craving ttanhukkh,:.,'ri r.'irit- srriT*ring ldukkhukkhaya.
a1:yttpuj.jhtt) \\'hile the tena biitrb;1na or Nirva4a itself
\ p I. l0: .4 V. p 2al) and great(naha S lV. is a ncgativr: descriplion meanlng the extinguishing of
- . i r i s h e a l t h - g i v i n g( n t r . i t : u r a \ . l e a d i ntgo f r e e d o m the fires of lust tlobhul. hatred (dosa)and delusion (moha),
-- -()ndage lniyamika: natrv|ntku\ and needs no rt is alrcthe state of deathlessness and changelessness
- . i e i p l u p r u t i s u r u 7 r i )T. h e f a c r t h a t t h e t s u d d h a ' s and hcnce <1 eternity (ematu, akkhar(\ accuta\. It is a
- :i i: honestly and openly promulgated is aiso state free from craving (r:irag* unalayu\. without form
- : r . : r i l u t t i n a - t : i t u t u . p u k i s i t u , c h t n n a p r l o t r ko ur (arupu\ and also wrthoirt attributes lanidassana) in the
sense that it cannot be described in words but has
-..= ,r=th" B"dah"-;"t'rl"Ji"
tt.-*.ff-*no*n torrnria rtr'prso bhuaar,ii ;tr* riis,:ussetl
in thcir appropriate places
 EQUALITY 116
t o b e r e a l i s e di n p r a c t i c e . O n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t
e € p e c ^ -osf N i b b a n a i s t h a t i t i s a s t a t e t h a t i s u n c a u s e d
(akata) and unconditioned (asankhatal, in the sensethat
i t i s b e y o n d t h e l a w s o f c a u s a l i t y .l t i s t h e s t a t ef r e e f r o m
worldly ties (mokkha, vimutti) and hence a state of
indifference were in one remains undisturbed by the
effects of worldly phenomena and can face life calmly
(nibbida, viraga). Positively it is very often described as
thc state of highest happiness(parama-sukhaland as the
refugc or the island in the flood of samsara (sarana,
khema, tina, Ie?aand dipa) and also as the final rest, the
goal of Buddhist life (pariyana, spavaEga/. As a state in
which perfect peaceand safety is achievedit is frequently
referred to as yogakkhema.It is the further shore of the
sea of samsara (pirima-ira), the true, peaseful, aus-
picious, permanent and accomplishedstate(sacca,santa,
siva, dhuva, nipuna), which once realised,cannot be lost
(appativAniya).It is the state free from samsaricsojourns
and therefore not subject to change (vivatta). lts quality
of complete purity (suddhi, visuddhi) is very significant
as it signifies its tital freedom from defilements. It is
d;fficult to be realised(sududdasa)but once realisedit is
the complete realisation(abhisamaya).And as a statefree
f r o m t h e f e v e r o f s a m s a r i ci l l s i t i s c a l l e d t h e c o o l s t a t e
\itiUnita, nibbuta).In the ultimate senseit is a state not
lacking or deficient in anything and therefore a state of
totality of completion and of perfection, kevala.zSeealso
EULOGY.
A. G. S. Karhawrem
EQUALITY. Buddhism recogniseslhefact that all humen
beings are equal in birth and that their conduct in society
makes them exalted or low. It rejects the idea of
privileged classesor individuals. ln the V-asetthaSutta
(5n. pp. I 17-9)the Buddha extends the idea that, though
distinct differencescould be secn among various type3 of
birds, quadrupeds, reptiles, trees, crcepers etc., such
distinctions canilot be observed among human beings.
All human beingsco-habit in thc same way. The concep-
tion of a child, its development in the womb, its birth, its
growth, its instincts etc. follow the same pattern. With
regard to hair, head, ears, mouth, teeth, nostrils, eye-
brows, lips, throat, shoulders, belly, buttocks, back,
chest, private perts etc. all human beings are the same,
and the only distinction to be seen among them is the
difference of sex.
People are given diverse names according to the
variou3 activities they engage in, in order to make a
2. ForreferenceofthePaliformsoccuringinthiseuayseePED,endfortheSanrkritformsscr'Mhvyut,sectionr4t,53and95.Seceko
A b htd hi n app ad ipiki end A padina,
EQUALITY
l i v i n g . O n e w h o c u l t i v a t e st h e l a n d i s c a l l e da f a r m e r ; o n e
w h o p r o d u c e sv a r i o u s u t e n s i l sa n d i n s t r u m e n t si s c a l l e da
c r a f t s m a n ;o n e w h o s e r v e so t h e r s f o r a l i v i n g i s c a l l e d a
servant;one who servesin the army is called a soldier; one
w h o l e a r n st h e b o o k s a n d i m p a r t s k n o w l e d g ct o o t h e r si s
c a l l e d a t e a c h e r ;o n e w h o r o b s o t h e r s ' t h i n g s i s c a l l e d a
r o b b e r ; o n e w h o r u l e s a c o u n t r y i s c a l l e da k i n g ; o n e w h o
c o u n s e l sa n d h e l p s t h e k i n g t o r u l e a c o u n t r y i s c a l l e d a
m i n i s t e r .W h e n o n e c h a n g e so n e ' sp r o f e s s i o no n e w i l l b e
k n o w n a f t e r t h e n e w p r o f e s s i o nh e t a k e s h i m s e l f t o , f o r
instanceif a king fails in his duty towards the people and
b e i n g d r i v e n a w a y b y t h e m t a k e st o b e g g i n gf o r a l i v i n g ,
he will be called a beggar; if he takes to stealing he will be
called a thief; if he takes to farming he will be called a
farmer. Therefore the birth is of no consequencein this
matter. It is his activities that determine his social status.
'By birth one is not a brehmin or an
The Buddha seys:
o u t - c a s t e .I t i s h i s a c t i v i t i e st h a t m a k e so n e a b r i h m a n o r
'braman'is uscd
a n o u t - c a s t e ' ( S n ,p . 2 3 ) . H e r e t h e w o r d
t o d e n o t e a v i r t u o u s m a n , w h o r e f r a i n sf r o m a l l a c t i o n g
that are harmful and injurious to others and engagesin
activitiesthat are beneficid to oneselfas well as to others.
Onc whose activities are injurious to oneselfas well as to
others is an out-caste,(vasala) according to the Buddha.
Thc Buddha strongly criticized the brahman's claim,
basedon birth, for supremecyin society.lnthe Aggaf,fra
S u t t e( D . l I I , p p . 8 l - 2 ) h e s c o f f sa t t h e c l a i m o f b r a h m i n s
to have been born through the mouth of the Creetor
(Brahma), saying that when it is quite obvious that
brahmin women, like all other women, becomepregnant
with child and deliver children in the natural way, it is
absurd on the part of brahmins to claim that they are
b o r n o f t h e m o u t h o f t h e C r e a t o r . E x a l t i n g o n e ' so w n s e l f
(attukkamsanal taking into considerations one's own
a b i l i t i e s ,s o c i a lp o s i t i o n ,f a m i l y , w e a l t h ,l o o k s , e d u c a t i o n
etc. and despising others (paravambhana) on similar
grounds is declared by the Buddha as a grave wrong (M.
I, p.402; Sn. v.132). A person who does so should be
regarded as an enemy of society, an out-ceste(vasala).ln
the Tuvataka Sutte (Sn. I. 179), the Buddha says that a
true recluse should not engage himself in comparing
'l am
himself with others, thinking: superior to him
(seyya)inthis attainment','I am his equal (sadisalin this'
and'I am inferior to him (nica)intbis', but should aim
only at bringing about internd cdm (ajjhatb-upasamt).
ln the Order of monks founded by the Buddha no
restrictions,regarding birth were placed on mcmbership.
Anybody who wished to follow the Dhamma could enter
'[n
the Order. The Buddha seys: as much as the waters of
various rivers, such as Gangi, Yamuni, Aciravati, once
 EQUALITY 117 EQUANIMITY

ibev entcr the see will be called sea-water, evcn so, all those who could understand a thing quickly, Bhaddi
geople, from whatevcr family they come, would be Kapilani as the best of those who poss.ssedthc power to
r: own ar the recluses(of the fraternity) of the sou of the recall past births and so-forth. The TherigAdra is full of
Sili'an (A. IV, p" 202).It was recognisedthat anybody instances of theris who had atained arahantship (Thig.
;ho had the inclination and the rvill to follow the pp. 126, 129, l3l). Mrs. R_hyrDavids in her inrroduction
)hamma could attaiD eyeD the higbest fruit of fhe to the translation of Thcrigpthf statesthat the instances
-:.:gious life. The Buddha rays in the Ariyapariyesana of theris declaring the attainment of arehantship are
S;:u (M.l,p. I69) that the gatcsto immortality (amatassa- more in the Theigitlri than monks doing so in the
:r afi) ere wide open aid that anybody wishing to eDter Theragatha.
:a1 put forth faith (in his tcachings). [a thc Buddhist
Thus we see that Buddhism does not recognise the
l,:cer of monkr rcspcct and veneration was shown not
supcriority of a person by birth, sex or socialposition. All
:::sidering the sociel background from which I parti-
people are born equal and it is their conduct that makes
:.:.ar member entered the Order, lt was virtue and
them noble or ignob[0. See Casfe, Egalitarianism.
:s:aing a.lone that won respect and veneretion for a
=:ak. Any one who follows the path conscientiously
* :.rld reach the loftly heights reached by the Buddha
:.-!eL[, end no one is debarred from aiming at such
W. G. Weerantre
: ::3 h ts merely becauseof ouek so<allcd low-birth. ln the
'tittnga Jltaka (J. IV, pp. 375-90) it is shown how
*'1i: alga, an out<este by birth, attained to great spiritual
- : .3b t s and how even reputed brehmin
teacherscame to
EQUANIMITY (upckkhE, q.v.) is a detached stare of
r I .::ehim aad waiJ upon him. Among the great disciples
- i ' :e Buddha Sunita (Thtg. w.62V3l) was a mind which may cause a person to eppear disinterested,
scavenger
or rather unbiassed,without however, losing his watch-
: : : : : e e n t e r i n gt h e O r d e r , a n d U p i l i ( V i n . l I , l 8 3 ) w a s a
fulness and self-possegsion.lt is an intelligent wey of
: i:b,er, In the account of Upili's entering the Order, it is
being aware without becoming nttached and, therefore,
r e:rc that Upili was ordained e monk bcfofe the six
i u ar lads, Upali's former sirca,so that they would first the mind remains evenly balanced. Although this con-
'r -:: " dition of the mind is always there in any stegeof mental
and respcct Upali as a monk before becoming
- : : x : t h e m s e l v e s( V i n , l l , p . 1 8 3 ) . absorption Qhina), it is not obviously observeblewhile
So it was recognised
thc mind is immersed in the early stagesof concentration
: r: ;., en equal opportunities and the necessaryguidence
(uitakkavicira) or when it is elatcd in spiritual ecstasy
r:,: ::coursgement enybody could rise to an exalted
(piti), or relaxed in well-being (sukha). And tbus, it
: : ! . :: : n, irrespectiveof the status of the family to which
':e ::.t:lged, becomes the characteristic of the final stage of mentd
absorption in the rpheres of form (rupa-jhiaa). The
l : - : : c r c e p t o f e q u a l i t y w a s e x t e n d e da l s o t o w o m e n . commentary (DhsA. p. 177) compare this selection by
- : :.:: were nol treated as inferior to mcn with regard to meaDr of elimination with that of a cowherd who does
' : :: tentialities of spiritual development (Thig. y. not attempt to capture directly a particular bull of the
5l).
. : : : t h e B u d d h a t o l d k i n g P a s e n a d iK o s a l a ( S . t , 8 6 ) herd, but who allows all the animals to come out of the
'r' r caughter wcll{isciplined and educated pen one by one, till the bull of his choice presents itself.
would
- . : r : a better asset than a son. The Buddha
extended
-::":c:ship to women in the It is thus far from that kind of disinterestednesswhich
Order founded by him. A
is prompted by ignorance. Such lack of intcrest as a result
: u r - . : l O r d e r o f n u n s w a s e s t a b l i s h e dw i t h M a h B
' , L rrl Gorsml as its first recruit (Vin.ll, pp.253-7'), of leck of understaading(af,Einalis afdse manifestation
of loving kindness (Dis.A. p, 193).The proper function of
r' : :a:rv were the women who entered tbis Order and
equanimity is based on the appreciation of others end is
I L : ? c C i s t i n c t i o n i n t h e d i s p e n s a t i o ntohfe B u d d h a .I n
menifertcd as well ut coDsummated in the quieting of
; : : : a: agga Vagga (q.v.) of the Anguttara Nikiya (A. I,
- - : ':: B uddha mcntions the names of averuion and flattery (loc. cit.), It is, therefore, the
female disciples
- intellectual control of emotional feclings which cen
" ' : r: gaiTd distinction in various fields iu the Ordcr.
- i i:rami was acclaimed the most experienced producc a balanced attitude of equanimity, thc ecceptence
' :. ( r : - - Khema a! the wisest, UpprlevannC as the of pleasure aad pein, of prosperity and ill fate, when all is
' -"i : i 'L rse who porsessedpsychic powers, seeDur the heritage of kamma (loc. cit.),
itirticiri as
"! :r-.: cl those who were experts in thc nrles of Equanimity does not always carry aD ethical implica-
: : -?. Dhammadinni as the belt preecher,Nandd as tion, for it may simply indicate a neutral feeling, when it is
:: ::!: oi those who meditated,.Soni as the most grouped togcther with other indeterminate (aVykata)
-'r!icus, Satuli as tbe best of those who posresscd factors, such as contBct, sensation and perccption (Dir.
-:r 3:\rne cye, Bhaddi Kundalakesi as the cleverestcof 431) to constitute a mental state.
 i:,iJ{'{[]{.}ISli 118 i.,I{A.tsUDDHIST

i C t t a : r l r r , i i . " t : , : . , 1 , . .,r- : l ' l t l i i t ' . t : : i t a l , a - r a p . : : S t t i O n A n d these are expected to regulate one's behaviour and
irfCe r:l lr:liaitirf ii.,il' . :.,'-::,,+.,i. r.', I and 15 aS SUCh a c t i o r r sa l l n g t h e l i n e se x p e c t e di n B u d d h i s t ! : r a c t i c e ,t h e
incorporaterj :;r i hc "rri ir* ;,rri'orp.t!'ral. raus?li.,' rnductd ! - c a n n c ri n w h r c h t h i s s h o u l d h a p p e n a s s u m e ss i g n i f i -
'I
5 t & i E , ( " l ! ' t " i . ; : : - : : : i - . -,;: , : { . ) J : .i !i / ,. i . l i j ' , . . f t r l f r e ; r i ltl-ihi pAliCCA- c a n c c . h i s m e a n st h a t t h e r e a r e t w o p a i r s o f f a c u l t i e si n
ta:nL!itp,l1111.i .l':.;.',,,'.- ,.i1,:,i;f:ri::l ilh,. i, p. ::) lt i:t eX- each of whir:h both Iacultiesshould function in cquai
( j t r t ' t . l ft { ' , " 1 r r ! i er i l i i i ; , i r a b a i a n c e r - , . i ' n t i n d w h i c h
lii:trrf is m a n n e r c o u n t e r - b a l a n c i n ge a c h o t h e r , T h e f i r s t o f t h e s e
-il;!i? ;.1il t w o p a r r sc o n s t i t u t cs a d d h i a n d p a f f f f a . I f a p e r s o nw e r e
tr Uerrlf B.iilv rt.q.fi cus staigs. rl: iUnctiOn iS
rileal. ing tlrficlr-li;', -:;:.1 ::it-'ass, or {'irtlii.{j '-ri1 partisan- t o h a v e e x c - r s s i v ce o n f i d e n c ew i t h d e f i c i e n t w i s d o m h e
S h i J ' . i 3 V v ) : t L l f r t : i , , r ; - , 1 i , l 'f; ' g ; t i ' r r l g g . f l r n P ; :l tSCiOUSneSs w c r u i cat c t i i k e a n ' h o n e s tf o o l ' w i t h b i i n d b e l i e i .S i m i l a r l y ,
anii menliii fr;;t)fir;i' i , r i , : , . 1 i , .i i' r e r r : r l l r C t d t s a c h a r i ( , - e x c c s s i v ew i s d o m w i t h d e f i c i e n t c o n f i d e n c ec a n l e a d t o
tecr wh('t;rats qith i,'r"rt:a,lit.{ thc rr,ell-irainrd horses h y p o c r a c y .W i t h t h e o t h e r p a i r w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e n n y a
heisdiivrrg(ll,4r-c,q .: i-li and samadhr too, excessiveexertion without the corres-
p o n d i n g d e g r e eo f c o n c e n t r a t i o nw o u l d l e a d t o r e s t l e s s -
Equanrrrlit] or poir\ ;L:.prlikilltis the dcvclopment of
ness and fruitless fatigue while excessiveconcentration
what : r ! : c a i l e d t h e , n f , n i t ' ; r .ri s rappantana or-
w i t h o u t t h e r e q u i r e d d e g r e eo f e x e r t i o n c o u l d r e s u l t i n
ailpa/f'.afifii,; (lr the iuur C:vine stater i&ra.hmavihara.
lethargy and indolence, Accordingly an equal degree of
q v . ) , v i z . . h e n c v o l : : i t : , i r r r l l a i . . , 1 1 1 i ; , a s s i o l]k| ta r u n a i .
i n t e n s i t vi s r e q u i r e df o r e a c hf a c u l t y s o t h a t t h e y f u n c t i o n
s y mp a t hc t I c j c I i r."r'u,Ji;.r.)a ::i] r q'riar i, ri: rt l, .,r"rl-'clk h i. U.
s m o o t h l y p r o d u c r n gt h e r e q u i r e c ie q u i p o i s eo f c h a r a c t e r
i, p 250:.4/. t. p..Ji, .i, ', f. ii}t. 4 i",;r i9iJi. lt rs a s a w h o l e ,r e r u l t i n gi n a v e r v h i g h d e g r e eo f m i n d f u l n e s s
through dweiiing in ll;t'r'' ..,:'ir;ra " i - ' o C t st n i r r l r e r d r . ; r n c ! '
( s a t )t i a n c ,c o n L ' etnr a t r on t sa m a dh t) ,
m i n d ( c v r a - ! ' t , ' n i J I ; ^ .t i.. \ ' .;lr lie ittati^rcil
T h e r e i s e n ' . . i h e ra n g l e f r o m w h i c h e q u i p o i s e o f
c h a : ' a c t c rc e u l d b e r ' i e w e d ,n i u n e l v , t h e u n s h a k a b l e n e s s
tt. C. A. van Zeyst
a n d s t e a d f a s t n c s os f t h e i n d i v i d u a l i n t h e f a c e o f v i c i s -
s i t u d e so f l i f e . I n t h e f a c e o f w o r l d l y c o n d i t i o n s ( L o k a -
Dhamma s.!',) such as gain (labha) and loss (alibha),
ill-fame (a-yasa) and fame (yasa), blame (nindE) and
EQUIPOISF, nr ce::diti,:rri,.t1pcrfcct balance or equili- praise (pasamsa),happiness (sukha) and sorrow (duk-
b r i u m i n t h e i r i e i l e i : t u a l r n d e r n o l t o n a l a s p e c t su f kha) the mar rrf integrity is expected to remain unper-
c h a r a c t e r . 1 ' l i t s ; : t i r r r ' r t l { s t h e ( i o n c e p to f a w e i l - t u r f r c d m a i n t z r - i n i nogn e ' se q u i p o i s e .I t i s s a i d ( S n . v . 2 2 9 )
i n t p g r a t r d n n d w e l i - a d . J u s t er d h a i a c t e ( a . su n d c r s t o o d i n t h a t t h r r i g h t e r r u sr n a r t ( s a p p u n s a l m a i n t a i n s h i s e q u i -
t s u d d h i s tc i h i c a l p h v c h c . ' i r i g iP. e r f c c tc q u i p , ; i s er n s L r c ha poise firrrlr' like the column of Indra (indrakhila-a
s e n s cc o u i d b c f o u n d o n i r " i i : a p er f e c t e d c h a r a , r : l citt-k e s v m b o i o f i i r m n e s s )a t t h e a n c i c r r tc i t - vg- a t e .
t h a t o f a B u d d h a o t ' l u t a i . : t i r g n iI.l u t r n t h e g e ; r e r a is e n s e
o f a m a n a i m i n g a t s t r c hp t t t e c t t t r n .a d c t t a l n d e g r e eo i Y e t a n o t h e r a n g l e i o v i e * ' t h i s c o n c e p to f e q u i p o i s e
e q u i p o i s er s e x p e r . r t eaCl r d i s n c c e s s a r - vA.t t e m p t i n g a woulci be fr'rm the angle of male and female duility. The
d e f i n i t i o no f e q u i p o i s ei n t h a t s t n s ci s c o n s i d c r e dp r o f t t - unspiit characterendowed with full equipoise should
able here. have both male and female qualities in equal measure
w i t h o u t a n v i m b a l a n c e i n f a v o u r o f e i t h e r a s p e c t ,T h i s
O n e f a i r l y 'c o m p r e h e n s i v ct n c t h o d w h e r e b y t' h i s p r o b - c o n s t i t u t e sa n i m p o r t a n t c h a r a c t r r i s t i co f s a m i d h i ( c o n -
l e m c o u l d b e v i e w e di s t t r d e i l n e e q u i p o i s ci n t e r m s o f t h e c e n t r a t i o n )a s u n d e r s t o o di n B u d d h i s m .
five spiritual faeulties lindriya) which are taught in
Buddhism as a group of rnoral faculties or powers Equipoise could still more succinctly be defined as the
a s s o c i a t e dw i t h t h e e m i > t i o n a la n d i n t e l l e c t u a j l i f e o f a perfect balancebetweenthe head and heart (intellect and
p e r s o n a n d w h i c h s h o u i d c o u n t e r - b a l a n c cw i t h e a c h s o e m o t r o n )o f t h e r e l i g i e u x s. e e U P E , K K H A
that thc desircd rqillpolse of character is achieved
ltndnya-sanlattapatipadana. Vism. pp, 129-30). These A. G. S. Kerlvewassm
c o n s r s t o f c o n f i d e n c ei n t h e B u d d h a a n d h i s t e a c h i n g
t s a d d h A ) ,e f f o r t o r e x e r t i o n i n a v o i d i n g e v i l s n d c u l t i v a -
ting good (viriya), correct mindlulness at a-lltimes (satf,
r i g h t c c r n c e n t r a t i o ttr, s a n a d h i )a n d w i s d o m ( p a f r f t a ) . F o r
ERA, BUDDTIIST. The main tradition for the passing
detarls see Indrt.+a.
away (parinibbana)with which the Buddhist Era starts is
A , sr +h c r l e s o miek u s a L a ) m o t t v a t i npgo w e r st h a t s h o u l d t h a t o f t h e S o u t h e r n B u d d h i s t s .l t i s f o u n d f i r s t i n t h e S r i
g u r d e a p e r s o n ' se c t i o n s t h e s e f a c u l t i e s p l a y a v e r y Lankan chronicles, the Dipavamsa and the Mahivamsa
i n ' l p c r t a r r tr o l e i n t h c c o r r e c t f o r m a t i o n o f a p e r s o n ' s as well as the historical introduction of the Samantapi-
c h a r a c t e ri n t e r r n so { B u d d h i s te t h i c a l p s y c h o l o g y .A s sidika, Buddhaghosa's Commentary on the Vinaya
 ERA. BTJDDHTST 119

Pitaka, the two first-named separatedby about a ccntury Aithough the r,,'*ntsc rro-lnrciertrv rhc frniuhed *r-nrkdo
from each other, with the Commentary intervening. I-hc n o t g o f r e ro u C i i t r i t n : : r . ' {h ' ! e i ; ; u r e ni a ??!-i!t0 A.C.}. the
c a l c u l a t i o ni s b a s e do n t h e l i s t so f k i n g s a n d t h e l e n g t h so f w o r k r t s e j ii s c o n : i r i , ' . r 1a. :r, ! i k e l l ' i s b e i s n At o s p e r i u Cn o t
their reigns according to the Buddhist traditions of lndia l a t e r t h z u tt i r e f L r i l r f l : , : : n i i " t r .' ;{ , i . .
(including Sarvastivadins) and Sri Lanka. According to
rcccnt critical opinion, the Mahivam,ra was probably f i r e f i ; i , . : y a n : s , 1 ::ir , ; t u a j i v ; r e c i a ! " t r cor f t h e r n a ' t e r i a l
written about thc 6th century A.C, Thc chronology w h i c h h a t J b e r : r :i : r j , - i j . i ! " 0 n r r j r - j e rw s r k " a s c r t o l
c h r o n i c l e . . r l i i ; r i r l i i . ' . :( i . lt i i r i s i , i . . , ,i d
ir;nr its iegendary
c u r r e n t i n B u r m a a n d S i a m c l o s e l vf o l l o w s t h a t f o r t h e
event in Sri Lanka. This date is reckoned from the beginriiutrqs ir i"\i.'i.i ir.r :', r.::F,i: ii'f LiSolCerwOfk, known as
Althakatri-fulrt:a', ,;, . ,:,"i:aij b*'enwritten !n Old Sinhn-
parinibbina (death) of the Buddha in the middle of 544
l e i e p . a s e I t p r c s ; r t : r . , il a r u t d o w n t o t h e a r r i v a l o t
B.C, The first year of the Buddhist Era computed from
t h e s et r a d i t i o n s i s 5 4 3 B . C . M a h i n d a i n t h e f i r s i ' ,: " r , c i k i n g D e v e n a n i p i y a T i s s aa n d
appears trr havc r::r;;;i-i brr,ri,r the Vinayatfia*atlra was
Thc traditions of the Jains, whose last irthahkara 'fviu
writtcn in thc Iiili, , c,,'tu:, r.'." e n r i n e n ts : : ' i t i c a l
Mahivira was a contemporary of the Buddha, Bre a '.- r,, ,.rl;,i :inha]e.lt Ati*x.&.stftss-.ifr the
auti:oritics a.,::pi
secondary source, They give chiefly 527 B.C. as the same as those srslcu ilrlra.'Jls ;rnd tirs ancient corn-
rradition for Mahiivira's death. But this figure is nr:t mentar] entitietl i:'r'r,r.r:r.ai{ila-ff airi.s. R eseons,-have re-
consistenl,ss 468,467 and $veral others are also current. cently been given to srppcri that the Dipavamsa
Based mainly on a list of kings and dynasties who are originally was not based o:r thr Sinlialeservcrlcson which
s u p p o s e dt o h a v e r e i g n e d b e t w e e n5 2 8 a n d 5 8 8 . C , , t h e depended the S"amantapastili*a and the Mahivamsaand
l i s t i s r e g a r d e db y s o m e s c h o l a r sa s a b s o l u t e l yw o r t h l e s s , that it clearly beiongedto an eariier siratunr of tradition,
c o n f u s i n g ,a s i t d o e s t h e r u l e r s o f U j j a i n a n d M a g a d h a u n d o u b t e d l v t h e e a r t i e s if c r r n .
and <rtherkingdoms. On this tradition theparinibbana of
S a m a nta p asao.i.{-,,,i Lr,r r . ; i ] l i , i ' , , . i i . , :, i i q r ' , i ' l f w l : j c h
t h e B u d d h am u s t b e p o s t - d a t e df r o m t h e r e c k o n i n go f t h e
was base<i ol thu ,t-r, i lti.: t:!l_h( ir i'r,^!tiiiri{l ing the
Southern Buddhists, which found its strength in Sri
work aricl addin;; i* f i;l-:{ ';i/fii i1 , ,,':iij fuaVg
l a n k a , t h e t e x t s t h e m s e l v e ss t a t i n g t h a t M a h a v i r a h a d
becn nirectly " r , r ; i f i, t, . * :. : ,..' \. ,|f ii. thc
! r e d e c e a s e dt h e B u d d h a . B u t t h e J a i n d a t e i s c o n t r a -
S i n h a , r s c . +; t ! , e* ; : r h a ,.it"l{rg,i.,,S:..'g
i i-.J,r,:r Wr,fk WeS
dictory and unreliable as a basis of calculation. 'r
completecl ln d.l'i fi 'i-.'.r
T h e t r a d i t i r - r no f t h c N o r t h e r n B u d d h i s t si s l i n k e d w i t h vear cf Mahan.rr;:a. ii::
the Chinese Dotted Record which is discussedbelow, the reign of Vattagirnani
T h e s ea r e t h e c h i e f c h r o n o l o g i c a lp o i n t s i n r e g a r d t o I n a c l d i t i o nt t r t h e i : b . v e , i i ; _ , .
the initial year of thc Buddhist Era. The others wili be s u c c e s s i o n; f l f t e : € sf 1; i ; s ; i ; , . ; r - :;
noted in passinS. porsry, lo i*aii;;r,.-il;.i :, i ,;..;r,.:j.,,,-
I t m u s t ' b e n o t e d t h a t t h e r e s e a r c hd o n e i n I n d i a old MahivatnJii. rii l:,',i,* t*';

p a r t i c u l a r l yi n A s o k a a n d h i s l n s c r i p t i o n s ,a s w e l l a s i n whrich our P*ii ilir;:;i,;:::,. ;

c o n n e c t i o nw i t h t h e G r e e k i n v a s i o n so f I n d i a , h a s b e e na bascd." (Aiiika:,,,r'" . ' ,, .,

vcry larSc factor in computing dates, The Buddhist an import*nt p,r1 in th;: ..h',r

r e c o r d sw . h e t h e r i n t e x t s o r m o n a s t i ca n n a . i isn S r i L a n k a the ilrpavrJ,ils4 irr;:!i ; f :!" .!-:i

have provided the first definite statement of an interval intcrestircuct. - i'

b e t w e e nt w o e v e n t s w i t h o u t w h i c h n o s t a r t i n g p o i n t tion betwern thr ; ,:' ''

w o u l d h a v e b e e n p o s s i b l e ,T h e P u r a n i c a n d t h e J a i n a r e n o t i n d i c a t e C ,l i : . : :
t h ep r i n c i p a lI n d i a n t r a d i t i o n s .T h e N o r t h e r n t r a d i t i o n i s f a l l i n g a s t h e y $ , - ,' ' ] : ' i : : ,

lcd by the Sarvastivadins. [,ankan hister.v f]';i ;i1,,;

l n d i e t t $ e i f c x . n i ii r ' : - . l ' " ' - .
543 B.C.
W h o n l h , - i . : ; .: . r , . ! ' ." : I i c o r r s i d e r e d ,
Strictly speaking, the traditional year falls within
t h e i n d t C a t i ^ i : , i l i : t . " ;: : . , ; . : i { .i :i r : . , r - , ; , - : : i : I - y nt _i ' l2 ! I y e a n
5 4 4 - 5 4 38 . C . , a c c o r d i n gt o t h e p r e s e n ts y s t e mo f d a t i n g .
may alsri hc ':irtlrr-l t i; i r:rr:i;;..j t r :,.:i:,,'rge a$ir:g, ihere is no
A t w h a t s t a g ed i d t h e t r a d i t i o n a r i s ei n S r i L a a k a ? . I ' h e Indian evidelrcr lcr li Br,ri li1er,: se?rns te be nothing
e a r l i e s tm e n t i o n o f a n i n t e r v a l o f t i m e b e t w e e n t w o demo ns lrs h lr: t gni r s' t hr:,.-rl;b at: ri ri y fnp t tlre-,qrearlicSt of
memor-ableevents of interest to Buddhists occurs in the Sri LSnkar: Cjl.i.l:;ltr r.jgii:Hj ;:si-*i*;;rclrt: anr{ ;.tf the SucceS-
Pali Dipavamsa. This interyal is 218 ycars between the sion of thera; irEvr ernanais;- irr-rn: ;nlija- iforr whiCh
parinibbind of the Buddha and the ablrsc,ka of Asok-a. counlrv thc rr:ligiol wns intr$dutxil trr .jri i,an.ka.

The DipavamJa waEa compilation, perhaps by several I hc year iri wtricb fota.hiii,l; xt::1v(d v'ng t.iri first vrar of
ruthors, and its rnaterial was added from time to time. I)a'r'ana*i1.,'v". l::3r:, ,.'1,,. -.' - ;;:,',;; ", 1..r !.ulfkAn
 ERA, BUDDHIST
chronologv, was consecrater1 2,16years aftrr the passing
a w a v o f t h r B i r C . d h aT h i s f i g u r ei s t h u s s e e nt c b e m c r e l y
'fhe
s continuatirinof the traditional reckoning.
t i o n a l r e c k n r r ; l r gf r l ' r r n di t s e a r l i e s te x t e r n a lc o n f i r m a t o r y
s v n c h r c n i r n -iln t h c l r i l h c e n r l r r vA . C . I n t h e m o n o g r e p l i
r : n S r i L a n k a r e l a t i n g t h s h i s t t n ' o f t h e S o u n g c i v n a s t yi n
P i c u - T ' i e na, n c m b a s s vf r o m S n L a n k a n k i n g s t v l e dl - s ' a -
I M o - h o - n a n , i s r e c c ' r d e da s h a v i n g b e e nr e c e i v e di n t h e
f i f t h y e a r o f l u e n - k i a w h i c h s c h o l a r sh a v e t a k e n a s 4 2 8
-Ihe
A.C. Sri l.ankan king has been identified with
M a h a n a m a ( 4 0 6 - 4 2 8A C . ) w h o w a s r h e o n l v S r i L , a n k a n
k i n g b y t h a t n a m e . ' f h e e m b a s s yc o u l d b e d a t e d t o 4 2 8
A.C., onlv if the traditicnaldate of 543 B.C. for the
parinibbina of the Buddha wrre accepted.
A n o t h e r C h i n e s er c c o r d p r o v i d e sa n I n d o - S r i L a n k a n
s y n c h r o n i s mw h e n i t m e n t i o n s a r e q u e s t o f S i r i m e g h a -
vanDa to the Indian emperor Samudraguptafor per-
m i s s i o n t o e r e c t a m o n a s t e r va t B u d d h a g a y af o r p i l g r i m
m o n k s f r o m S r i L a n k a . T h e r e g n a ly e a r so f t h e t w o r u l e r s
f a l l , h o w e v e r ,w i t h i n b o t h o f t h e p e r i o d sc a i c u l a r e df r o m
5 4 3 o r 4 8 3 B . C . f o r t h e p a s s i n ga w a v o f t h e B u d d h a .
T h e s e s y n c h r o n i s m sa r e s t r p l e m c n t e db y a t l c a s t t h r e e
others.
The first Chinese svnchronism, however, provides
i r r e f u t a b l ep r o o f t h a t i n i r f t h c e n t u r v S r j L . a n k at h e y e a r
of the Buddha's parinibbana was reckoned as 543 8.C.,
whether or not the a,;tua.levent took place in that year.
'lt3 B.C.
T h i s i s t h : m o s t w i d e i i ' k n o w n d a t e ,I t s c h i e fa d v o c a t e s
f o r S r i L a n k a h a v e b e e n G e i g e r a n d P a r a n a v i t a n aw h o
d i s c u s s e di t e x h a u s t i v e l y i n t h e l n t r o d u c t i o n t o t h e
English translations of Mahavamsa and of
Cilavamsa(Pt. II), and in the Epigraphia ZeylanicaY ol.
l l l r e s p e c t i v e l yT. h e s t a n d t a k e n b y t h e m l e d t h e m t o t h e
b e l i e f t h a t t h e S r i L a n k a n c h r o n i c l e r sm a n i p u l a t e d t h e
dates in the regnal years of Sri Laakan kings, which
rendereda period of 60 yearsthat neededto be explained,
This adjustment was tentativcly (e.g.from Devanampiya
Tissa to Elara) traced back to certain periods which they
c o n s i d e r e dv a g u e ,s o t h a t w h e n t h e " e x c e s s "w a sd e d u c t e d
f r o m 5 4 3 B . C . , t h e 4 8 3 B . C . w a s r e a c h e d .T h e y a l s o h e l d
t h e v i e w t h a t t h e r e w a s , i n S r i L a n k a t h e t r a c e so f a n e r a
r e c k o n e df r o m 4 8 3 B . C .
Thir view that Sri Lanka shows traces of the use of an
era starting with 483 8,C., has since been completely
r e j e c t e d .A s s h o w n i n t h e d i s c u s s i o no n 5 4 3 8 . C . , i t i s
certeinly clear that 483 8.C., is incompatible with the
Chineserynchronism of 428 A.C,
The consecretion of Asoka took place, according to
thc earliestSri Lankan sources,in the 2l9th year after the
panntbblat of the Buddha. Reckoned from 543 B,C. this
120 ERA, BUDDHIST
would fall in 324 B.C. Asoka was precededby his father
Bindusara who in turn ruled after his father, Chandra-
tradi- gupta, the founder of the Maurye dynalty. The traditions
of lndia, Sri Lanka and Burma completely agree on the
length of Chandragupta'sreign to have been24 years.But
to that o[ Bindusrira the Indian Puranic tradition assigns
2 5 . a n d t h e o t h e r s 2 8 - s o t h a t t h e r e i s a d i f f e r e n c eo f 3
years.We may take it that Chandragupta, reckoned from
543 8.C., came to the throne in 382 B.C. (Puranic : 379
B . C) .
Here there eppears to be a difficulty. The names of
ccrtain Greek kings appear in some of Asoka's rock-
edicts, more particularly at Girnar (XIII-r-e), and their
regnal years have been considered and fairly fixed from
Greek and Roman sources. The Greek king Seleucus
Nikator, who invaded lndia after the death in 323 B.C. of
Alexander the Great, was halted by the Indian king
"Sandrakottos of Palimbothra" with whom be made a
t r e a t y . " S a n d r a k o t t o s o f P a l i m b o t h r a " w a s i d e n t i f i e da s
Chandragupta of Pataliputra, that is, Asoka's grand-
f a t h e r , T h e d a t e o f t h e t r e a t y h a s b e e nf i x e d a s 3 0 4 8 . C . ,
again the according to Greek and Roman chronology.
Chandragupta would have ascendedthc throne between
the 323 and 304 B.C. being the points of time indicatcd
between the death of Alexander the Great end the tresty
with SeleucusNilator. Asoka's consecrationdependson
that of Chandragupta snd the latter can hardly be placed,
a c c o r d i n gt o t h i s r e c k o n i n gl a t e r t h a t 3 2 0 B . C . ( P u r a n i c :
3 l7 B.C.). The upper limit for Chandragupta's accession
being the death of Alexander the Great, and the lower
b e i n gt h e P u r a n i c d a t e , ( i . e . b e t w e e n3 2 3a n d 3 1 7 B . C . ) , a
w o r k i n g d a t e o f 3 2 0 B . C . h a s b e e n a c c o r d i n g l ya c c e p t e d
f o r t h i s f o u n d e r o f t h e M a u r y a d y n a s t y .T h i s w o u l d b r i n g
d o w n b y 6 0 y e a r s t h e d a t e o f t h e c o n s e c r a t i o no f A s o k a
(which took piace four years after he had mounted the
throne) and place the event in 264 B.C. (Puranic: 261
B C.). Thus there is greater reasoDto incline towards 483
B.C. than to 543 B.C. as the vear of the Buddhal
parinibbana.
It will be seen that the dating above arrived ct rest on
the primary assumption that the Greek and Roman
chronology is, more or less fixed fairly securely. But a
reputed Indian authority on the Calendar opined that the
Olympian era of the ancient Greeks and the era of
foundation of Rome are artificial eras,whose beginnings
are shrouded in mystery.
ln the face of this it would be unscientific to use Greek
and Roman classicalchronologr as our measures.
The Srvacdvidfor Trrdltlon :
Against the interval of 218 years adoptcd in the Sri
Lankan tradition, between the Buddha's pariaiObaaa
and the consecration of Asokq the ServastivCdin tradition,
ag reflected in A vadana dataka (repeated in the
Divyivadanal, attributes 100 yee6. This school of
 URA,BUDD}TIST
thought, too, is of the Hinayena and the trndition was
taken over to the Chincscfrom the Sanskrit and thereafter
to the Tibetan which repeatsit, Besidesthe difference rn
the lcngth of the intervai, the seascn in which the
Buddha's parinibbana took plece is also variantly des-
cribed, the Sri Lankan sourcescailing it Vaiiakha (May-
J une) and the others implying the lnonths of Deccmber-
January, following which seemsto be supported by the
botsnieel evidence of the off-season flowering of thc
shorca robusta (sa,la,)trees by the death<ouch.
If the Northern tradition, be its origin an Indian
s o u r c e ,w e r e a l i g n e dt o 5 4 3 8 . C . , w e s h o u l d g e t 6 6 2 B , C .
as the year of the Buddha's parinibbina occurred so far
back in time as 562 B.C. As a matter of fact, the trend is in
the opposite direction, to place it cqnservatively latcr.
I hertfore 662 B.C. should not be seriously considered.
For the other two datesto be admissibleit must be shown
lhat the Sarvastivadin tradition excels the Sri Lankan
r r a d i t i o n , w h i c h h a s y e t t o b e d e m o s t r a t e d .O n t h e o t h e r
hand it is generally acccpted that the Sarvastivadin
tradition is not canonical, whilst the other manifestly is;
and it has been stated(in some instnnccr, at any rate) that
"thc Pali version of the school of the Theravadins proves
rtself to bc the most faithful pneserver of an earlier
rradition" (E. Waldschmidt), an opinion to which
{ermann Oldenberg had earlier tended after his
examination of the Vinaye Pitaka. Furthermore the
irgure 100is mentioned, in thesetwo Sarvastivadin books
and thcir Tibetan translation, in connection with a
p s _ e u d o - p r o p h e c yw, h i c h i s a l s o i t s c o n t e x t i n t h e
Dtipavamsa, where the same figure is specified or
l m p l i e d i n t h c e a r l i e rp o r t i o n . I t i s n e c e s s a r yh, o w e v e r ,t o
:rote that thc ligure was ignored in Sri Lanka if not
:ejected,when plain and simple chronological statements
: a m e t o b e c a t e g o r i c a l l ym a d e i n r e g a r dt o e v e n t sa s s u c h .
s o t h a t t h e S r i L a n k a n t r a d i t i o n p e r s i s t e di n t h e f i g u r e 2 1 8
: n i t s s u b s e q u e n lti t e r a t u r e ,a n d d i d n o t g o b y 1 0 0 .
f h e s a m e r e a s o n i n gc a n b e a p p l i e d t o 5 0 1 B . C . B u t
a g a i n s t3 6 5 B . C . a f u r t h e r o b j e c t i o nm i g h t b e m a d e .T h i s
date is less than half a century prior to the death of
. A . l e x a n d etrh e G r e a t o n t h e s u p p o s i t i o nt h a t t h e G r e e k
datee are final. It is difficult, therefore, to be rid of the
:mpression that it is too "modern", comparatively-
s p e a k i n g ,t o o c l o s et o c e r t a i n" h i s t o r i c " e v e n t sb y G r e e k
a n d R o m a n r e c k o n i n g .A t a n y r a t e t h i s d a t e r e q u i r e st h e
b a s i c a s s u m p t i o nt h a t t h e N o r t h e r n s o u r c e sa r e p r e f e r -
able to the Sri Lankan which is not warranted bv the
:tsults of critical scholarship.
The incompatibility of the seasonof the Buddha's
eannibbAna is not vital to the argument. The clear-cut
: s s u ei s o f t h e y e a r o f t h e e v e n t .A l l t h e e a r l ys o u r c e sb e i n g
n e r e l y c o m p i l a t i o n sb y d i f f e r e n tp e o p l ea t d i f f e r e n tt i m e s
irom different meterial, it is easyenough to explain away
s u c h i m m a t e r i a l p o i n t s i n t h c a b s e n c eo f i r r e f u t a b l e
121 ERA. RUI}DHIST
evidcnce to thc contrary. This is particularly the case
when it seemrthat there was a manifest desireto place the
Buddha'g parinibbina, birth and Enlightenment to the
same seesons, t[.rt is vaiiakha. (May-June) to fix
artention on an inconsequentialdeteil is to lose the sense
of proportion.
We may thus conclude that there is less reason to
attach ourselves to the Sarvistivadin tradition which,
translatedinto our systemof chronology, would placethe
parinibbana of thc Buddha to B.C. 662 or 501 or 365.The
round figure 100, which gives rise to thesedates,is more
artificial and suspiciousthan the odd 218 found in the.Sri
Lankan sources which were derived from the Pali. It is
aiso wcll to remember that the scholars who removed
sixty years from the regnal years of certain early Sri
Lankan kings in order to arrive at 483 B.C., wereled to do
so by the roundness of the figures given to the lengths of
their reignswhich figures they held to be specious.If their
attitudc is justified, it should be equally applicableto the
Sarvastiviidin figure of 100. It is also pertinent to
consider the supposition that the Sarvistividins
confused Asoka with Kalasoka.
Oilrer Prhdpel Detel
Among the three best known of other dateswhich have
been offered by scholars, both Eastern and Western, are
4E5, 4E6 and 487 B.C. This sequenceis obviously brsed
on the Chinese Dotted Record about which a few words
ere necessary,
After the Vinaya recital st the First Council lsangtUl,
which was held on July lsth following the Buddha's
parinibbina Upali signed the closure of the assemblyby
placing a dot. The succeedingdisciplesaddedto this, with
one dot for each year, Sanghabhadra, "who is said to
have bcen a samand of the Western region, a name often
used for "lndia!' of course including Sri Lanka
(Takakusu) was China in 489 A.C, He is said to have
asked the samand Kung-ku why the marking had not
beencontinued from that year, after which it is claimed to
h a v e b e e nk e p t u p t i l l 5 3 5 A . C . S a n g h a b h a d r g w h o h a d
Ihe SamantapEsadikE translated into Chinese, placed a
dot in 489 A.C. to mark the end of his labour, There was
r h e n e t o t a l o f 9 7 5 d o t s , w h i c h w o u l d g i v e4 8 6 B . C . f o r t h e
year of the Buddha'sparinibbana, This is the note currEnt
in thc ^Siushotenki(The Dotted by Many Disciples).
Now in regard to the year of the saigiti there are two
opinions, one that it took place in the year of the
parinibbana and the other in the year following - as
accepted by Ta-t' ang-hsi-yu<hi. "Sanghabhadra'sdate
of the Buddha, B.C. 486, was not quite unknown to the'
B u d d h i s t w r i t e r s i n C h i n a . b u t w a s n e v e r c o n s i d e r e da s
authoritative" (Takakusu). Authoritative opinion has
been expressedthat it was most unlikely that it was free
from elror seeingthat the marking had extended over a
period of nearly one thousand yean.
 ERA' il{IJDI}HtrST 122
It is interesting to noie that one form of the K-trat"an
L r a d i i i o np l a c e sA s o k a 2 5 0y e a r sa f t er l h c p a r i n i b . h i n a a f
S n ! - a n k a : ro n q .
-I
h e i , e t r s ? 4 q , 4 5 . - ?3, 8 6 a n d 3 8 J R . C . . t n l a ! - e
c r r ' n t i i m c sa s s i S i r e db,u t t l ' , e vh a v en o s c l c n ? i l i ' ' altri
"ar;!c
: ; ' t i n t e i e s l i n gl n l v i o s h o w t h c d i f { r r e n e r s" ' } ;a p i n i o r i
* h r c h c x i s l i n ; c g a r dd i n s o r T i h e t a n ss n d i s s u p r i : i n n l 1
- l o s et o t c a n r r n p o r t a r lc v . n ! .
Concluslon
I n t h e c a r l y d i s c u s s i o n st h e v e a r a d o F , t c dw a s 4 7 ? B . ( l
It was based on an errcneous reckoning of thc date *f
Chandragupta's accessi*nas 315 B.C.
It will be seenfrom rhe foregoing that there is a grcater
degreeof agreementamong scholarsthsn there irad lreer.
s o m e d e c a d e ss g o . l n f a c t , s h o u l d 4 8 3 B . C , b e a c c e p t e d .
the differencesof opinion is mainly in tl:e range r:f rome
two or three years. Nevertheless,ttris is nc: ground fnr
accepting the year 483 B,C.
ln fine, ajl that car be presErrth,stated is lhat errch
'fh-.re
major dnte is beset with own difiic..rlties. ig nrr
consenrugofopinion, bccauseunirnpcnrhablceviC*ncr rs
wenting, that thr parinibbata of the iluddha ocsrrrrcdiil
such rnd such a year. [n the presentstate of knowledge it
would Bppcar that we shali have to revert to 543 B.C. as,
nt least, a sign-post. It mav be mentioncd as a rnaxterof
record, that the year 2500 Buddha Jayanti), calculateC
from 543 B.C. ns markmg the parinihbane of the BrrCdha
ald commenccment of the Buddhist ErF, was inaugurateo
on VaiCakhaDay (May-23nd/24th lg56i in all'I'heravada
crruntricswith wide celebrationg.The Buddhist groups in
Western lands, as well alrmost Mahayana lands, partici-
pated in them in deference to the early traditional date.
B|bnqraply
Adikaram, E. W. : State of Buddhism in CeJlon as
revealed by the Pali Commentaries of the Fifth Century,
Barua, b. M. : The Year of Commenccment of the
Buddha Era in University of &ylon Review, Vol, V.
Cowell, E. B, and Ncill, R. A,: Divyavadaaa, Carnt,"id3e.
l 886.
Geiger, Wilhelm : The Mahavamsa, Culavamsa, in English
translations
Hultzsch, E. : The Inscriptions of Asoka in the Corpus
Inscrption Iadicarum.
Levi, Sylvain : Les Missions de Wang Hieum Tse dans
l'lnde translated from 'Journal Asiatique'for 1900 by
John M. Senaveratnein Journal of the Ceylon Branch
of Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. XXIV.
Malalasekera, G. P. : The PeIi Literature of Ceylon.
Max Muller, F. : Sacred Books of the,Easr Vol. X, 2nd
ed, 1908.
Mendis, G, C. : The Chronology of the Early Pali
EP"{. BIIDI}FT}ST
Chronicles and the Replv to B. lv{. IJarua. Uniwrsity of
Ce.ylonReviev', !'cl. iV ane'!\i.
Mochizuki, Shinko : fiskkvo Da: titen, \roi. IIl.
Oldrnlrerg, tl. : .[)ipavansa
P a r a n a , , ' i t a n aS. : F . o t e r n C h r o n o l o g y t o t h c T a m g o d a
Fillar lnscription in l:ptgraph:a Zeylanica, Vol. V, Pt, L
S a h a . M . N . : C a l e n d a rt h r o u g h A g e s a n d i t s R e f o r m , i n
N. t !.aw Commemoralrc Vol. ii.
Spcyer, "1.S. : Av'adana-Sataka being ].e. III of Series
B i h l i t , ' r h r c aB u d d h i c a ,S t . P e t e s b u r g ,1 9 4 9
'T
a - v . s k L l s"ul.,: F a l i [ : ' t r n c n t s r n C h i n * s e F u d d h i s m i n t h e
-lotlrrxi al iicval Asiatic S*:l'cry, 1696.
T trniiras,E. J , : The Life of the Buddha,l952. Theravadin
ani Sarvastivaiin Dates of the Nirvana in B.C. Law
.!/,-rlurneFart IL
Wickrernasinghr. D lv{.cl,:Z. : CeyloneseChronology in
Epigraph ia Z.+'lan ica. 1.'r'ri.I U,
Winternitz, lv'l. . 4 History o{ lndian Literature, Vol. II,
t932.
5nr;th, \' A : 7 he iarly Htlstorv'tti lndia {!924).
J a y a s w a l .K . P . : H a t h i - g u m p h a I n s c r i p t i o n o f t h e
E m p e r r : ,K h a r a v e l a( 1 7 3B . C . - 1 6 08 . C . , !A F u r t h e r N o t e
the Bihar and Orissa Research Society
{on thc same) in
-foumal lll.
B e n e r j i ,R l ) . : N o t e o n t h c H a t h i g u m p h a I n s c r i p t i o no f
tr''.aravela in the Bihar and Orissa Research Societv
Javrnal lll
M n j u m d a r , R . C " : t l a t h i g u m p h e i n s c r : i n t i o n& A S e c o n d
N o t e o n t h e H a t h i g u m p h a l n s c r i p t i c r : a f K h a r a v e l ai n
the,Indian AntiquarJ'for 1918-i9 19 rcspectively.
E). T. Ilevendra
'fhe
L"ldnese Trrdltlons question of the date of the
Buddha's parinimLna has been engaging ttle attention of
the Buddhists rn China ever since its official intro,iluction
into that country in 67 A.C. Owing to the multiplex
variant traditions in India and ebroad" it is rather a
diflicult task to arrive at a suitable solution acceptableto
all. This was keenly felt even at the time of Hsttang Tsang
when he made the following observation:
"All the Buddhist schools (in India) have their own
versions concerning the Buddba's parininiaa. Some say
(l) Now it is more than 1,200 years after tbe parininana
(2) Othen sey it is over 1,300 yeers. (3) The third group
rays it is over 1,500 yearr and (a) Yet aaother group
maintains that over 9,00 years but leu than 1,000."(IIsi-
yu+hi, Ch,6.)
'The rccord of the Westera Regions'
This trIrb-,w<hior
of HsUan Tsang wes completed in 647 A.C. On the basis
 ERA, BUDDHIST 123

of ths foregoing pslsage, thc following datar may br This traditirrn indicates that tbe parinirvaag of the
conEtructed: Buddha took placc 92 years eerlier than the prevnlent
l. 5J3 B.C. Sinhaia tradition.
2. 653 B.C.
fd. yg B.C" A rrrnsrrk aitached to thr end of thr
3. 853B.C.
Buddha-painirvana Sltra, a Sanskiit tcrt transtater.i try
4. 353 B.C.
P'o-fa-tsu (290-306 A"C. Naajrb, No. 552) gives the
Naturally thc figures illustrated sbove will not nnean
fo llowing calcrrlation :
that any ol'them is the actual date of the event. [t would,
however, show roughly a range of difference of I000 to "From the time of thc puinnvanaof thc Buddh* upto
400 years. As Hstlan Tsang found it difficult to unravel 5 3 EA . C . i t i s a t o t d o f E 8 7y e a r s , 7m o n t h s n n d I I d 8 y s . "
theseintricacies he did not recommend thesedates. Subtracting 538 from 887, we arrivc at 349 B.C. lt is
obvious that scme one in 538 A.C. made this observation
However, in the 5th century, other Buddhists in China
by following e certair tradition, the sourcc of which rgnot
rried to work out the dates on dcfinite lines. on the basis
clearly mentiurred.
of early lndian snd Sinhnla traditions. Thrce such
!ttempts are given belowl The difl'erenee among the three foregoing date*, from
one to the other'chronologically, is about three to four
L 1ffi5 B.C. This is from the Travels oI'Fa Hsien. Fu hundred vcers. Apparcntly they workcd out their results
Hsien informs us that he spent l5 ycars abroed from the from independent sources based on varient traditions.
time when he commenccd his historical journey in 399 Unfortunately, in ntost of the cases,we ar€ not provided
A,C. until he returned to China in 413 A.C. He paid a with the perciseinformation as to the method of reckoning
visit to Sri Lankain4l I A.C. and remained thcre for two and the authorities from which they drew their con-
leris" While in the Islard he witnersed a grand and clusions. The year 636 B.C. as the date cf the Buddhr's
pcmpous procession of the Teioth Rclic in Aluradhapura parinin;*aa is cornparatively a little clear in its position,
aird heard the statement from thc official announcer to because it claims that it is b'asedon the reckoning of
the effect thah Kunrarajiva who wcrit to China in 401 A.C" aatl thc
"lt is the 1497 year aftcr the parinirvind cf the Pillar Inscription of Asoke. If we think that 1086B.C. is
Buddha." On the basisof this annouRcemellt-we at r it'c at placed too far back in time and 349 B,C. is lacking the
1 0 8 5B . C , a s t h e y e a r i n w h i c h t h e B u d d h a p a s s e da w a y , support of any historical or inscriptional evidence,
C.rnsidering the later Sinhala tredition of 544 B.C. thc should we s8y that 63ti B.C^ may represent one of the
prinirvana of the Buddha must have taken placc 542 early Indian popular traditions which is independeutof
v e a r se a r l i e r . T h i s , h o w e v e r , d o e s n o t a p p e a r t o b e t h e either the Sinhala or the Ssrvastivadin reckoning?
popular tradition in Sri Lanka in the 5th century A.C. Mlnor mlctrlet In rnclordqg h the &r#ed Refrrd
after the arrival of Buddhagosha. lt also does not belong Itlany years sgo the present writer pointed out lhe
to the Chinesetradition. becausethe earliestChinesedate minor mistakes in calcularingr the date of the Buddtra's
ever mentioned in this connection is 949 B.C. as it was parinirvtina as found in the Dotted Record. In the
recorded in the Chow-shu-yi<hi. Chinese TripitakatherE arc two literary works conccrning
this document. One is Ci\t-san-tsang-chi-ch'i or A
tr.535 B.C. In the 8th chapter of Kweng'hung'ming-chi
collection of the records af translations of the Tripitaka
or An enlarged collection of writings for the porpagation
compiled by Sheng You in 520 A.C. (Nanjio l.{o. 1476),
of Buddhism collected by Tao Hsuan in 664 A'C'
, ,\'anjio, No" l48l) we find a treatise entitlcd Erh-chiao' and the other Li-tai-san-pao-ch'i or A rccord concvrning
,'un or On the two Religionsby Shih-Tan-An of the T'an8 the Tdratnas in successive dynasties by Fee Chang-Fang
[)vnasty, It is in this treatise, that the author made the in 597 A.D (Nan/o No, 1504),The former provides us
i o l l o w i n g s t a t c m e n tc o n c e r n i n gt h e d a t e o f t h e B u d d h a ' s with the following information:
parinirvina: " I n t h e t e n t h y e a r o f Y u n g M i n g ( 4 9 2A . C . ) o f t h e C h I
Dynasty (479-501 A.C") a bhiksu (of Nanking) by the
" Moreover, accurdingto the reckoning of Ku marajiva name Tsing Hsiu lcarnt that Sanghabhadratogetherwith
a n d t h e P i l l a r I n s c r i p t i o n o f ( A C o k a ) ,w e f i n d t h a t t h e y Sheng Wei bad translated the .Samaafapisidiki into
agreewith the dcscription of Chun Chiu that Tathigata Chinesein 18 chapters at Canton. He was anxious to see
w a s b o r n i n 7 1 5 B . C . a n d p a s s e da w a y i n 6 3 6 B . C . the work (and copy it), becauseit was not yet availablein

' , A n i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n t o t h e d a t c o f t h e B u d d h a ' s p a r i n i t v i n a " ( i n C h i n e s c ) b y P e c h o w . H a i - T s a o - Y i nV o l . l 8 , N o . 1 0 , 1 9 3 7 .

 ERA" BUDDHIST
the capital. In the 5th mcnth of tbe rrme yeer (vi2.,192
A.C.) Sairglrthhadra returned to the routh.z He (tsing
Hsiu) went to Centon and copicd the newly transletcd
Vinaya commentary end brought it back with bim to
Jtlankingin the 4th month of the I lth year of Yung Ming
(493 A.D.). He paid homage to the text by worshipiag
and reciting it and also tricd to make more copiee of the
same.In the l5th of the 7th month (in the sameyear) after
the end of the observanceof vassa,he looked et the years
after the parsing eway of the Buddha, and placed adot in
the presence of the assembly. Imagining that this was
done annually (by former sages),he was deeply moved
and tears camc to his eyes.' (Nea;ib No. I 476 ch, I I ). This
description gives us sufficient ground to comprehend that
firstly the Dottcd Record tradition is closely acsociated
with the translation of. Samantapasidrtiwhichwe know,
wa! composed i! Sri Lanka by Buddhagosha and later
made available in other South-East Asian countries
including Burma and Si"m, and secondly that Bhiksu
Tsing Hsiu was fully awsre of the number of ycars as
represented by dots, efter the panb irvaneof the Buddha.
But unfortunately the number of dots wEsnot mentioned
in the forcgoing passage,
We now come to consider the second work. The same
swnt mentioned above has been amplified with inaccurate
deteils and inexcusablennistekesin dates. For instance,
Fee Chang-Fang changed the I lth year (493 A.C.) of
Yung Ming into the 7th year (489 A.C,) and forgot that
the Citr.sar-tsang+hi+h f from which he had drawn
materials war composscd 77 years earlier than his own
work, Further, he put Saighabhadra in the place of
Bhiksu Tsing Hsiu to mark the last dot in the Dottcd
Reord and presented not to know thet Sairghabhadra
had returned to his homeland in the south in the 5th
month of the sameyear (493 A.D.) which was much prior
to the concluding ceremonies of the ya.rsa.Under such
circumstances,naturally Sairghabhadra could not have
possibly put down the last dot in the said Record. The
only point that is worth our consideration in this
document is the mentioning of the 975 dots ending in 493
A,C. as already stated489 A.C. is a mistale. Accordingly,
482 B.C. is the date of the Buddha's parinirvana which is
the corrected version of 486 B.C. as reckoned bv
Takakusu.
ln introducing the Dotted Record of many sages
Tekakusu failed to refer to Chb-san-tsang-chi-ch'i but
only drew his materids from the Li-tai-san-pao-chI of.
Fee Chang-Fang which is definitely an inferior compila-
2. It may be that his native land is in the South seas.
3. Under the titlc of Samantapasaaita in his Collectioq he srys: Refer to Chlt-san-tsang-chi<hl.
4. See JRAS. p. 436-437. 1896.
124 ERA, BTJDDIIIST
tion both in authenticity and eccuracy. The translation of
the seid Record made by Takakuru is not an exccllent
one and reveral places therein need correction, erpecially
the sentencc.4 *Thc ascetic Chau, the marking dfl 535
A.D. when there were 1020dots", The original text never
ceid thet Chau, the escetic continued to put more dots,
but it simply sayr that he used to calculate the'total
number of yearr from the last dot in 489 A.C. upto 535
A.C. and thcrcby hc arrived at e total of 1028 yeerr.
Tbe Slftrb Trrdldd rnd tbe Cbcrc TnwBec
The authenticity of the Sinhale tradition of 483 B.C. or
543 B.C. will mainly dcpend on whether Asoka was
consecrated in the 219th year efter the pariniruina of the
Buddha end the mission of Mehinda and Saighamitti to
Sri [,anka. Meny rcholers have expressed their viewr
either in fevour of 483 B.C. or 543 B.C. However, from
the records of the Chinese trevcllers, it appears that there
wer I general belief among the Buddhists in lndia during
the Sth and the 7th century A.C. that Asoka had reigned
about 100 years after the parinirvana of the Buddha. As
they c"me from China and were in no way partial to any
particular Buddhist rect at that time, the difference of
tradition as registered in their writings should be treated
with due attention.
To begin with, we would like to seewhether enything is
mentioned by them ebout Mahinda's mission to Sri
Lanka and the bringing of the Bo-sapling from India. [n
the I lth chapter of Hsrlan Tsang's Hsi-yu-ch t referring
to the Sinhala Country, he says:
"Previously this country was devotedto the worship of
deities. ln the first 100 years after the parinirvina of the
Buddha" Mahinda" the young brother of King Asoka
who had renounced the world and attained the six
supernatural powers, came to the Island by air and
propagated the Saddharma of the BlessedOne.,.'
ln the Travels of Fa Hsien, there is a description about
the Bo-tree which was 200 feet in height at Anuradhepura.
This tree, according to the author, was growD from a seed
acquired from India by an envoy of a fordrer king. He did
not say anything about the mission of Mahinda and
Sanghamitti. Both the Mahivamss and Samantapisi-
dikitgreewith the recording of Hsilan Tsang with rcgard
to Mahinda's mission but they differ in the interval
between the Buddha's parinimana and the consecration
of Asoka. Moreover the relationship between Mahinda
and Asoka is also stated differently, This difference of
date is a gap of about 100 years.
 ERA,,BT]DDHIST
Thc Northm Trdldoil
The intewal of I00 yearr between tbe ,pariainila of
the Buddha rnd the consecration of Asdka as found in
the Serrastividin or Nortbern tredition har been ignored
by thc early Buddhist rcholarr. As a result only e very few
lcholan, like E. J. Thomas, recognizes the importance of
thir tradition. Thece scholars, on the baris of materirls
collectedfrom both tbe Southern ead Northern traditions,
have argued rearonably well. Regerding the number of
years asrigned to tndian Kings mentioncd in the Mahi-
vtmst, they suspectcd the authenticity of the Sisunaga
dynarty, because that nrme is not found in the Jaina
tradition and the Alokivedana list of kings.5 It ir found
in the Puranic list, but he (Sisunaga) ruled some 136years
before Bimbioars, e coDtemporary of the Buddha. The
pali choronicles place Sisunaga in such a position which
is three kingr aftcr Bimbisara and four kings before
A5oka. Commcnting on this, Rhys Davids wes of the
opinion that thc Sisuniga Dynasty wes inscrted in its
present place in the chronicles in order to fill up the 218
years.6 If such is the case, the trustworthiness of the pali
chronology would require further careful consideration.
Besides,E. J. Thomas points out thet nthe Dipawmse
(1.21-27) we have the shorter tradition of the interval of
I l8 yeersinstead if 218 years,though it is told in the form
of eprophecy. Howwer, if we admit that rhe Dipawase
was compo{red earlier end has presen'ed more ancient
material than that of tbe Mahivtmsa, we should not, at
this stage, accept the tredition of the one and reject that of
the other without further thorough investigation.
Regarding the question whether the Sarvastivadin
tradition is basedon canonical literature, the ensweris in
the affirmative. To supplement what seems a mere
pseudo-prophecy as found inthe Avadina-fuuk4 Divya-
vedina and the Alokivadina (Naajio Nos. 1343 and
l3U), I would likc to add one more text v:z., Astidala-
nikiya-Slastra by VaJumitrg translated into Chinese by
Paramirthe in 557-569 A.C. (Nanjio No. 1284). This
{astra is principally concerned with the origin of the l8
Buddhist Schools in Indie. At the beginning of the text it
is said:
"When it was one hundred and sixteen(116) yearsaftcr
tbe parinirvana of the Buddhq iIr the city of Pitaliputrg
Adoka becrme king of Jambudvipa and was universally
recognized.'
Vaiumitra, the author of this work, es wc know, was a
contemporery of Kaniska end both werc closely associeted
with the 4th Buddhist Council held in Kashmir.
The date of Kaniska's acccssion to the Kushina throne,
5. W. Geiger: Table of lndian Kingr in thc Introduction to Mahivamsa.
6. B.C. Law Volume, Part lI, p. 19.
125 EROTTCS(I)
rccording to the majority of scholan, war 18 A.D. If ther
bc the case,then, we may rey, we heve the earliert definite
information concerning the date of the Buddhe'r pan:
ninina, and lhat, too, crme from th; prcnof no legs en
eminent celebrity than VaCumitra hirnseu'. in e wey, we
may tsy, it mey excel the leter cornpositions such 8r the
Mahavamsa and Sema ntapasid"iki, beceusethc works of
Bud<ihagoshaand Mehaneme were composed in the Sth
century A.C. It is iikely that VaCumitra posressedmore
authentic traditions as lx was comparetively closerto the
cvent of the Euddha'r death. Thus, if we accept 210 B.C.
as the date of ASoka's consecration (8, M. Barua: Noka
and his Insciptions p,7) rnd l16 years es the intervel
between rhis event and the pessing away of the Buddhe,
we then arrive at 3t6 B.C. which woulci be the date of thc
Buddha's parinirvana.
Blbfiqrphy:
Fa Hsien: The trawls of Fe Hsiea.
Hsuen Tsang: Hsi-yu<hL
Sheng You: Ct tr-s an-tsangchi-ch L
Fee Clrang-Feng: Li-tai-san-pao<hI.
Vesumitra: Ashtieas eni*iya-{astrrr. Nanjio No.
1284.
Asokivadan4 Nanjio Nos. 1343 and I367.
Pachow: An investigationinto tbe date of the
Buddha's Parinirvana (in Chinese). Hai-Tsao-
Yin,Yol.18, l,lo. 10.1937.
Yin Shuan: On the date of tbe Buddhab Dezth.
t940,
Nu Chen: On the year of the Buddba's deeth. (in
Chinese). Hsien-tai-fu.hsueh. No. 6 (in Chinese)
Buddha-pariniruana+ utrt. Nanjio No. 552.
Tao Hsuan: Kwang-hu l Nanjio No
1 4 8L
W. Frcbow
EROIIICS(l) in eerly Buddhist art and sculpture. As an
expression of art, erotics is found right from the very
beginning of art and sculpture in India.
Such early depictions of erotic themesin art ere found,
in rculpture especially,of the Buddhirt religiow monu-
ments at Sifici, Bharhut, Buddhagayi and Amarivati,
whicn date from the lest few centuriec of the pre-
Chrirtian millenium. These themes were closely and more
elaboratcly followed by the artirts of Gandhdrg Matbura,
l,lagarjunatonda, Aja.nt , Bhaje, Elloraetc., in India and
in other countries of tbe same period and later on,
 ERO',TTCS(I) 126 nRoTrcs(1)
T h c m e d i u m f o r s u c h e r o t i c e x p r e s s i c ; nisn t h c f i e l d o f e a r l y l n d i a n r r a r l ! r i o qo f t h e v e g e r a t i v ef e r t i l i t y c u l t w h i e h
a r t a n d s c u l p t u r e . * e s "v c r y o f t e n , l h e n u d e , o r t h e s e m i - g o e sp a r a l l e Jr v i t h t h e r n o t h e r - g o d d e scsu l t . ' l r a i t s o f e a r l y
nude femalc figure or the tradltionai 'Mithuna', the o r i g i n sf o r s u c h c u l t s a r e c l e a r l y f o u n d i n t h c p r e - A r y a n
s m a t o r - vc-o u p l e "r o m e t i m e s w r o n g i v i d r n t i f i e d a s d o n o r c i v i l i z a t i o n so f t h e I n d u s - v a l l e y ,a n c i e n t S u m n r , E g y p t
couples; bacchanalian scrnes and scenesfrom secrrlar e n Ci n t h e M e s a p o t a m i a nr e g i o n . .
incidents,loo, were intcrwoven alcng wrth the main 'ihe
'fhe e a r l y s c u l p t o r sa n d a r t i s t so f t h : B u d d h i s t p e r i o d
l h em e . a b r r n d a n c eo { s u g } 'f i 9 1 1 - pdei s p l a y i n gv o i u p -
tuous, sensuouspcstL!r'es, y;f1ir-'h could strictiy he terroe<: who wer"eresponsihiein carving out ttieseIigures which
erotic, in the earlv f rie?-rsand carvir,gsin the rol,nrJsnd in we term erotic, had only iollowed an eariier tradition and
p a i n l i n g s , s p e a k o f a v e r v e a r l v t r a d r t i r " ' no f s y m h o l i c u t i l i z e r i t t o r g i v r n gc x p r e s s i o nt o B u < i d h i s t t r e m e s .
"l
r e p r e s e n t a t i o ni n a r i . ' h e r n t r i n s i cq u n l i t y o f t h i s a r t , a t
s u c hp l a c e sl i k e S i f f c i , e t c . ,i s r e a l i s t i ca n d s e n s u c u s !, n ' l f h u s i t h a d b e c o m ea m e d i u r n o f t h e a r t i s t n a r r a t o r . o f
t h i s i s o n l y m o r e e v i c l ? n ti n t h e c a s eo f d r y a d s - y a k s i s , d e s c r i b r n gB u d c l h i s t l e g e n d s , a n d t o i n t e r p o l a t e w i t h
n a g i n i sa n d d c v a t a s :s u c h e x p r e s s i o n so r e r o t i c t h e m e s s y m b o l i cr c p r e s e n t a t i o n st o g i v c m o r e c o l o u r a n d o r n a -
i n t h e s p h e r eo { e a r l y B u C d h i s tA r - tp r i d S c r r l p t r r r es ? e m! r l m e n l a l i o nt o h i s n a r r a t i v e .
have appeared innurnerablv. 'fhe
mit4una couple, bacchanalian scenes,the birth of
The identification of these rvorks with Burldhisrn Laksmi-Sri from the lotus, cornrnonly termed Gaja-
o r t o a t t r i b u t e t h e m t o 8 r - ' c i d h i sst o r r r c r s i v a s f e r r n d l a k s n r i l n l e r , t h e S a i a b h a f l j i k ac l r y a d s( t h e g i r l l e a n i n g
d i f f i c u l t t o s c h o l a r st o < , rw , he had drne i;search in the a g a i n s ta t r e e c a u s i n gi t t o b l o s s o m b y t h e v e r y t o u c h o f
f i e l d . T h i s i s e x p r e s s i v ei r : t h e w o r d s o f A . K . ( . ' o o m a r a - her feet), \'aksis, Apsarases,Devatas, found in the Sailci
s w a m y w h o c o m m c n t s , " i f r v e r c c o g n i s ei n t h i s v e r y tarana carvings and in the architfdves of Bharhut,
s c n s u o u s n e s sw i t h w h i c h t h e a . r t i s s a t u r a l e d , a t n r c Buddhagaya,, A.maravati, Nagarjunakor.lda etc., all
rcligious ieeling, then it is religiorrson a plane far comprise to form the influence of the early symbolic
r e m o v e df r o m t h a t o f t h e a r i s t a c r a t i ep h i l o s o p h v o l t h e representationof religicJusart coupled with the cult of
U p n n i s a d sn n d B u d d h i s m . 2 fertility, on the Buddhist narretor who had utilised the
mcdium of art for his expression.
Several scholars and art criaicshave found that erotic
sceneshave taken such prominent places in these early
These religious symbols are endowed with an almost
works of art, that thcre is scarcelya single fcrnale figure
incrcdible life force . Thr:y are evcr n&sc?nt.In the words
r e p r e s e n t e di n t h c r n w : i t h o u t r r o t i c s r g g e s t i e r nc f s o m e
of Heinrich Zimmer, "they ouilive eras and declines of
kind, implied or explicitly expressedanil ernphasised.3
, e w g e n e r a t i o n sa r e f a g c i n a t e db y t h e m a n d
c i v i l i s a t i o n sN
T h e s eh i g h l y s e n s u o u se x p r e s s i o n so f t h e f e r n a l en u d e they migrate to distant regions frorn Mesapotamiq for
or scmi-nude figure and the emaicry couple which e x a m p l et o C a m b o d i a ,i g n o r i n g s i l e n t l yt h e l a p s eo f t i m e .
i n c l u d e ' m i t h u n s ' a n d b a c c h a n a l i a nc o u p l e si n t h e a r t o f They can rcmajn alive from the third millenium B.C. to
'fhey
enrly Buddhist monuments couid never he taken as being the secondmillenium A,D. are the receptacles,ever
originated by the Buddhists. On thr c*ntrary these ready to receiveand hold the essenceof a new meaning"
e x p l e s s i o n si l r t h e a r t s p e a k o f n n c a r l y o r r a t h e r v e r y ( H , Z i m m e r ,o p . c i t . p . 6 6 0 ,

( A . K . C ' o o m a r s s w a m y- L . a S c u l p t u r e d e B o d h g a y a ,F l a t e : X l V , X V l l , X X X l l , X X X I V , X X X V t l l , L l l l , L V ; R a j e n d r a l a l
Mitra,Buddhaga-r'a,PlatesXIl,XXXVtt,XLVllI,p, l5Sf.;V.A.Smith, AHistorvof FineArtinlndiaandCeylon,p.32f..
P l a t e s :1 6 F . , 2 1
, 2 8 , 2 9 , 3 8 , 4 4 a , 4 6 , 6 7 A , B , 6 8 , { , 6 9 , J 1 , 1 2 , 7 3 8 , 7 4 , H . Z - i m m er , T " h eA r t o f I n d i a n A s r b ,P l a t e s ,8 , 1 5 ,3 6 A , 7 4 , ? 5 ;
D. T. Devendr\ Classical Sinhalese.Sculpture,Plates 49, 50,64,56. Benjamin R.owland, The Art and Architecture of India,
Plates I ?, 92; Ilistorv o{ Ce.vlon"U niversity ol Ceylon Fublicstion Volume l, Part I[, Plate XLIII; A. [I. Longhurst, The Buddhist
Antiquities of Nagariunakonda, Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of tndia, No. 54, Plates XXVII onwards; Albert Skira,
P a i n t i n g o f I n d i a p p . 2 5 f . 3 6 ' ^ A . K . C o o m a r a r w e . m yH, i s t o r y o { l n d i a n a n d l n d o n e s i a n . A r t , f i g u r e s 1 3 , l 4 , 1 5 , 2 8 3 ; H . Z i m m e r , o p .
c i t . p , 1 2 8 :J e m e s F e r g u s s o n ,I r e e ; t n c i S e r p e n t l V a t s h i p , l r i r . 1 5 . 1 ,l ? 1 " f .l r l a t e s : ( ) i V l i . l - X I l , L X I X ; I . o u i . sF r e d r i c , T h e A r t o f
!ndia, Plat.ell, p.52).

Histnr.v of Indnn and lndonesian Ar l p.-16.

H. Coetz. India, Att of the Wi:rrlclSeries,pp.96f; r\. K. (loomarRsv,amy op, cir pp.64f: Frinn Rhys, 6ro(ic Sculpturcof .lndia,
p p . l 0 i ; I { . Z i r n m e r , o J r ,c i t . p . 1 2 8 ) .

Benjamin Rowland, op. cit. Flstes 2, 3, aA; Sir John Marshal, Mohenjodaro and the Indus Civilization, Plates XLIV, XLV; E.
Mpcl.ev, The Indus Civi!tsation, platc I: Stuart Piggot, Pre-Histaie !ndia, plate 8).
 ERrlr[c${u 127 EROlrC[;(l)

There lemalc figui'es exprcssririi erot;c gcstun:s and
6r"i&torycouples found in the early phaseof lluddhist art
are to h* regardcd both as expressic:le of auspicior.rs
emblcmr of vegeiative fertilitv es weil a$ (:ontrivaneesof
the narretor to dcpiet scenrs irorr the Euddha iegend
with ainretion (4, K, Coonnnr*rwa{n}', cp. cit, p"36},
'!hus,
sr-: {rrund in thesc ear}y erc;lic therues, i* nn;l
-eated cr inspirerj b'EBriir-tirsrn, trrrt is early lndian eri
sriap{rd to edyf',ri:rqenclt,arrti Liierewlihrctriring its nwn
L'rtrinsicqua.irties
A chnn.qedf Ettitude wss apFaffnt il thc iater phar::s':f
iludrjhist art where erotic thern*s deaii xrth the frnriit.v
cuJtor thc vegetativcsymbolirm wa$ shrr:uejcciwiiir mar;
elaboretion *rrd rnysticism. This wns iieer-rwith ihe
rriergcnce ol'"Fantric Buddtrism in Rengi, tlrissa and i;l
other placesor western India. With the ;rse slf Mahaynna
and later the iccnic represcntation of the Buddhn by
sbout the bcginning of the Christian era Buddhist nrt and
rculpture, too, hed taken ngn' trenrls of <ieveiopment"
Little prior tG this drasitr: change cf the rescierism
of Tantrayina the expressibc capacity of the nitist rryas
used further fnr eiaboration rsther than on representing
.I'hc
the symbolism. ruai:r irnpact is marie by the subtle
and detailed interpretation of the animate grrrfaceof the
fi gure. Ttre Gup te" later Amarav ati, M ath r"rra-li agarj un a-
konda, Ajrgla, Eliori, Bhaja etc. scenc! r-riiernnleiiryacs
and amatory couples show exnrnplesof th*se traik.t
ln thc field of painting, toe, th,esetraits nre evident..
The Ajartta c.eve freecocs exhihit the developmcnt of
lrainting in paralleiism with that cf srutptur*, cspecially
in regard to eroiic thcmes. This is slso :oticeable in tlie
paintings of Buddhist shrinesfound in the Gandhdra arua
of North Western India.6
During the period of the impcrial glory of the Gupta
cinilisation, in the few centuries that followed the Chris-
tian era" Indian Art had reached its summit of deveiop-
ment. But here it was difficult to scperat€the inlluencirrg
traits of tbe early cults closely welded with art. It is
notewcrthy that, the ert of msst cf the TheravEde
countries rvhrch folioweti clorely the petterns ret by
Indian p! cdeccasors,wss nog so ttrickiy returated with
arotic thcmes.A goud example lor tirjs rc,uid be had lrorn
the Buddhjsi zu'i of Sri i'urkq M-va*:rsr, i.aanpuchea
'Ihc
nnd Jiva. most, if nol the onl:, eiExieth:nie br.ldly
rxhihitr'C ir eerly .f+riiri Sri i,anka rr rbf emgtcry cr':ple
from IEururnuniya. i-iut eompered te his lndien counter-
grart thc Srj [,ankr'c sr.liptor shcrwr rnlll'h restrnint ia
,Jepirrinl: j,:nsu&; uruoii ,:i the maie sn{i famale, rather
thnn cxiri-cit!ng i.rs skiii in bringing out I m$terpice in
eculpture, ss if the puritarrism of Theraviida elcierswas
placirrg a cheekrng hanci on hrrn.? This tould also be a
rssr-'!tsI ttresectruie-ndevrlripment af tsuddhism,without
beirg rnuch influenccd b1'th* various cults sud conL'€pts,
prehistcric or ather wisc, o! the rirainlald lndia. The sarne
coultl be toiC cf the Buddhist Art Gf Myenrnar, Thailanci,
Kampuchec and Java, where foreign Indian influences
could not havc superscdedthe predominent concepts of
the local artist. In frieze carvings et Barabudur, Ananda
temple, thc themes which provided much opportunity to
the hdian artists to display their skill in depicting erotic
sccnes! were hendled with much restraint.Thesecarvings
lnck the sensue!itybut are expressiveenough of serenity.l
It is only with the Ecivsncementof later Tantric beliefs
thrrt Buddhist Art, too. was fLrrther saturated with
m v s t i c i s m a s s e c ni n t h e w c r k s t h a t d a t e f r o m t h e P i l a
period (8th century A.C,). Thl patterns estabfished
during theseperiods, whlch wcjr shroud;d with Tintrism,
both cf the Buddhists and Hindus, l*ere to inspire the
works of l{cpalese art evcn reaching Tibet and China
tirrough Nepal. (H. Zirnrner, op. cit. p. 127$. The
representaiion in nrt of the Union of Prajfiipirnrniti as
Sakti with the male counterpart (Adi Buddha or Bodhi-
sattva) was never found in the early phasesof Buddhist
Art in the same expressivemnnner cf the union of the
male and the female.e The Tantric examplescould not be
evaluated with the suggestivesymbolism of the earlicr
erotic themes in Buddhist Art, although as, Heinrich
Zimmer puts it, "It could be something that had emerged

5. The Wey of the Buddha, Covernment cf lndian Publication p,49,9; Brian Rhyr, Erotic Sculpture of India,p,B;8. D. Mahajan,
Ajanta, EIIora and Aurangabad Cavrx, platesXXII, XXtX, XLVtl, Llll, LtV; V. A. Smith, op. cit. plates,44A, 46,67A, B, 6EA,
'',!4).
71,"t28,

6. A. K. Coomarsswamy, op. cit. fig. 283, platcs 674,, P, 68A, 87f,8EA; V. A. Smith op. cit. plates87f, 884; Madanjea Singh, Iie
Cave Paintings af Ajanta, plutes 20, 27.

7. History af Ceylon, Vol. 1., Fart I, University cf Ceylon, Prrblication XXV A: D T. Devendra,op. cit fig" lt4.

8. fhe Way a{the Buddha, Govt. of tndia Publicatiorr, p.49; Dietrich Seckel, The Art of Buddhtism,plate 17.

9, K. Antoinette, Tibeten Religious Art, frontispiece, p. 60, 62, Ihe \r\/a,yof the Buddha, op. cit., p.97, p. 20E; H. Zimmer,
Myhs and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization pp. 99f.
 EROTTCS(2)
from the depth of an age - Iong popular tradition going
back to primitive timel'(op. cit. p.130). Erotic themes
end expreuions in art end sculpture of Tintric Buddhism
harrcto be cvduered on the basb if the underlyrng philosophy
of eech piece of ert which mly very from phce to place
and from period to pcriod of thc rerpective Tantric
school ofthought.
B,ft[ognpftyr
Heinrich Zimmer, The Art of Indian Asl'a; V. A.
Srnith, A History of Fine Art in ladia and C*ylon:
Rajendralal Mitra, Buddhagayi; Benjamin
Rowland, The Art and Architecturc af India; A. H.
Longhurst, The Buddhist Aatiquities of Nagir-
junakonda, (memoirs of th: Archaeologicai Survey
of lndia No, 54); A. K. Cocmaraswtmy, History af
Iadian and Indoaesian Art Brian Rhys, frotr'c Sculpture
of lndia; James Fergusson, Tree and Serpant Worship;
K. Antoinette, Tibetan Religious Arq Dietrich Seckel,-
The Art of Buddhism,' Hermann Goetz, Five Thousand
Yean of Indian Ar4 Heinrich Zimmer, Myths and
Slnbols in ladian Art and Civilisation; SteUaKramrisch,
T-heArt of India; Albert Grunwedel, Albert Grunwedel,
Buddhist aft in India; Ludwig Bachhofer, Early Indian
Sculpture; B. Bhattacharyt, Indian Buddhist
Iconography; AIbert Skirg Paintings of India, Treasures
of Asit Series.
A. D. T. E Perere
EROTICS(2) in Buddhist litergture, Trac:s of erotic
themes in the literature of thc Rgvedic period could be
considered as sole survivsls of such expressionswhich
preceded the Buddhist era and as such Buddhist lite-
ratunE.
These early erotic themesof Vedic literature are found
i-n the legend of Yama and Ynmi.t
These erotic themes of the Vedic era which antedated
the beginning of Buddhist literature in lndia, however,
had no relation to eny literary expressionsor themes in
Buddhist literature, unlike in the field of sculpture where
pre-Buddhistic idess have been absorbed by the
Buddhists.
Moreover, erotics 8s e part of Indian literature had to
play a greater role later, when poets and critics compiled
I Rg.-vda. X, l0 Puruvar and Urvasi (ibid. x, 95).
2. Thtg. vt. 370-99; Thig. A.215f.
3. Psalms of the Earll' Buddhists, translated by Mrs. Rhys Davids, pp. 150ff.
128 EROTICS(2)
treatiseson rhetorics, demarcating ruler and cstablishing
concepts to be iolicwed by the literati. Hence, in the
concept of Resa ss Rssavfor of the Indian poets, erotics
(Srngira) was considered en integral part of literary
expression. Thus, in the later clarsical pcriod (Srhgira
comee to play a prorninent role in Indian literature.
Outside ruch usageof erotic themesor expressions,in the
early cenonical texts, too, tracls of erotic themes are
found. But these themes were specifically meant for
edifying end enlightening purposes. Hence these early
examples of crotic themes, as found in the Buddhist
canon, have to be considered not as expressions to
illustrate the Indian poetic concept of Srhgara or erotic
sentiment. Hencc, in theseexamples ffom the canonical
texts the erotic themc is a flimsy, fragmentary part of a
more predominant theme set for the edification of
l a y m e n . S u c h a n e x p r e s s i o ni s t h e e p i s o d e o f S u b h i
Theri.2
Here the Buddhist narrator puts in the mouth of the
l i b e r t i n e , e a S e rt o s e d u c et h e t h e r i S u b h a , e x p r e s s i o n s
l a d e n w i t h p a s s i o n a n d e r o t i c s u g g e s t i o n s' Y o u n g a r t
thou, maiden.,... cast off that yellow raiment and come!
i n t h e b l o s s o m i n g w o o d l a n d . . . s e e kw e o u r p l e a s u r e .
Filled with incenseof blossoms the treeswaft sweetness.
See, the spring's at the prime, the seasonof happiness!
Come with me then to the flowering woodland, and seek
w e o u r p l e n s u r e . . . . T h o ul i k e a g o l d - w r o u g h t s t a t u e ,l i k e
nymph in celestial garden, movest, O peerlesscreeture-
Radiant would shine thy loveliness.Robed in raiment of
beauty, diaphanous gear of Benares,I would live but to
servethee, and thou would'st abide in the woodland.
D e a r e r a n d s w e e t e rt o m e t h a n a r t t h o u i n t h e w o r l d i s n o
c r e a t u r e ;t h o u w i t h t h e l a n g u i d a n d s i o w - m o v i n ge y e so f
a n e l f o f t h e f o r e s t . . .I f t h o u w i l t l i s t t o m e c o m e w h e r et h e
joys of the shelteredlife wait thee.,. Eyes hast thou like
the gazelle'slike an elf 's in the heart of the mounteins..,.
'Tis those eyesof
thee,sight of which feedeththe depth of
my passion...Shrined in the dazding, immaculate face as
i n c a l y x o f l o t u s . ' T i s t h o s e e y e so f t h e e , s i g h t o f w h i c h
feedeth the strength of my passion...Though thou bc fsr
from me how could I ever forget thee, O maiden! thee of
the long drawn eyelashes,thee of the eyesso miraculous?
Dearer to me than thoseorbs is nought O thou witching-
eYed fairy."l
E v e n i n t h e a t t c m p t o f t h e t h r e e t e m p t r e s s e s t, h e
d a u g h t e r so f M i r a , t o i n f a t u a t e t h e B u d d h a , t h e r e i s a
semblanceof erotic portrayal, This particular episodeis,
however, erotically depictedin the carvingsand paintings
 EROTTCS(2)
in many Buddhist shrinesdating from the earliest rimes.
The text gives t dcscription as to how the three daughters
of Mara approached the tsuddha in diversrfied forms in
their attempt to dlure him, and it concludes as follows -
"If we had approached after this fashion any recluse or
brshmin who had not extirpated lust, either his heart
would have cleft alunder, or hot blood would have
flcrwed from his mouth or he would become crazy, or
would lose his mental balance.s In this episode,too, the
Darrator of thc Peli canon has confined the erotic theme
to an cdifying end as usual.
It is only with the cmergenceof the classicalperiod of
Indian litereture that erotics play a predominant role as a
part of literery expression under Srigara,lhe Indian
concept of passionate love depicted by the po€t or
artist.6 But unfortunately no examples of works by
Buddhist writers of repute could be had belonging to this
golden era of lndian literature which had its beginning in
the third gr fourth century A.C. and saw its efflorescence
in the Gupta period.
As if to compensete for this, in the works of the
Buddhist Sanrkri( poet ACvaghosa,we find the concept
oI Srhgera being ured as a medium of poetic expression.
Aivaghosa belongs to the pcriod which preceded the
clessical ege of Sanskrit literature. In his two major
works Buddhecarira and Saundarinandakavya be
followr the traditionalconcept of the usage of Sritgaraor
erotic lentimcnt in embellishing ccrtain episodes having
themcs of passionate love and amatory behaviour.
However, this famous Buddhist poet who set standards
which were followed by elmost all later Sanskrit poets of
repute, had never hesitated to use his major theme, as in
the care of thc Pali canon, towards and edifying purposc.
'Stundarioandl'
In his ACVaghosahed_to depict the
smatory love between Nanda and Sundari, which is also
the mejor thcmc of the stoty. But the poet contrives to
depict prsrionete soenesonly in sclect inrtances.T Almost
all there vcrres ebound with extreme erotic idear, as for
example in describing Sunderi - in Canto IV - "A very
lotur pond in thc rhepe of a woman, with her laughter for
the !mn!, her eyes for the bees end her swelling bressts
for the upriring lotur buds" (v4).
Agein in the rrme canto the dalliance of the two lovers
"The twein dallied blindly together, as if they were e
target for th god of love and Rati, or a nest to hold
delight eod joy of verselr for pleasure and satisfaction."(r.
r)
4. RajendralelMitrg Buddht Gr-ytpl. ll.
5. .S.I, l21f; A.Y,161.DhA.lll, l95f; Ltl. 19O(37E).
S. Srngrra<rotic rcntiment,i.rone of the eight or ten Re.rasof tndian poetry.
7. c a n t ol V , v e n t c s1,, E , 9 , 1 0 ,l l , 1 2 ,1 3 ,1 9 , 3 5 3, 6 , 3 7 , 3 8 , 4 0 , 4 1 ,
".g., transletedby K. M. Joglekar,p.7;t* also CeafoV,verar46,50,55.
E, Euddhacande,
129 EROTTCS(2)
"T'he pair attracted each other mutually, with their eyes
engaged solely in gazing at each other, with their mindr
intent solelv on each others r:onvercationend with their
body-paint rubbed off by tbeir mutual embracrs." (29)
"The pair brought ecstasy to each othcr with the
increase of their mutu&l passion and in the intervals of
exhaustion they sportivcly intoxicated each other by way
of mutual refreshment" iy.l l).
"She clasped him with her arnls, so that the strings of
pearls swung loose from her breasts, and raised him
u P , , . , "( v . 1 9 ) ,
"Should you, however, delay longer, I shdl inflict a
grievous punishment on you, as you lie asleep, I ihall
repeatedly waken you by beating you with my breastsand
shall refuse to speek to you." (r35).
ln describing the divine damrels of Indra's paradise
A3vaghosa further excells the erotic sentiment in canto
X.
"They (apsarases)wereever young, wer busied in love
elone and enjoyed jointly by those who havc earned
merit; celestial beings, union with thcm was no sin..." (v.
36)
"Then he (Nanda) followed their celestial forms and
graccful movements with his mind and with eyes full of
excitement es if thint for their embraces had engendercd
passion in him" (v-ltJ).
"He longed to quench that thirst (passion) with thc
draught of the apsarases,for he was afflicted by the
despair which held him of possessingthem. Confured
with derire, thet chariot of the mind, wbose steds are the
restlesssense!, he could not control himself" (y. 4l).
lnhis Buddhacarita, too, Advaghosadoes not hesitttc
to interpolate expressionsof erotic themes.This he does
in order to make his work a complete mesterpiece, a
'Mahikivyai
an epic pocm, according to every criterion
of Indian poetics.
In canto V, ACveghosadescribeshow Suddhodena wei
meking arrengements to have all the allurementr of the
s€nsesconstantly prescribed to the prince in ar varied and
attractive formr as porsible: 'The youth war continuous-
ly engirt by beautiful youDg women attired and decorated
in such farcinating e manner as humrn ima8rnalisas.ul6
devise, with the role purpore of keeping him downed in r
vortcx of pleasurc and enjoyment.!
 ESCHATOLOGY
Apart from the works of Advaghosa there are hardly
any other examples from secular literature of the
Buddhists in the earliest period that could be considered
of any value for the study of eroticsin Buddhist literature,
In conclusion it could be noted in the strrdyof eroticsin
Buddhist literature, that just as in the case of Buddhist
rculpture and painting erotic or sensual themeg were
utilised primarily for symbolic representation of the
fertility-fecundity cults, likewisein Buddhist literature of
the earliest phase, too, of both religious and secular
origin, sensualthemes were utilised for the pnmary aim
of edifying ends.
A. D. T. E Perera
ESCHAIIOLOGY. This term in its theologicd sensc,
which is its primary meaning, denotes the theory or
science (logos) of the ends (esc.baton).Tbeseends accor-
ding to Christian theology are the four last things namely,
death, judgemcnt, heaven and hell. Besides,in this rather
individualistic sensethat denotes thc destiny that awaits
each individud after death, the term eschatology is
sometines used in a wider meaning to connote the end of
the world end the destiny that follows, specially the
destiny that bcfalls man. (cf. Encyclopaedia of Philo'
sophy ed. Peul Edwards, London, Vol. 3 & 4, p. 48;
Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. 1970 s.v.
Eschatology; ERE. Vol. V, p, 187f.).Both theseconcePts
are found in Buddhism and the term eschatology used in
Buddhist litereture, therefore, covers both these8sp€cts.
Tbe earliest beginnings of eschatologicalidees in the
lndian religious thought are traceable to the Rgteda.
Theseincipient referencesdo not convey clearly what the
Vedic lndian conception of deatb was or what they
considered to be the destiny of the dead. From the
available scanty references it is seen that to the Rgvedic
Aryans death connoted some sort of a fall into a dark
abyss. It is also seen from Rgvedic hymns that this is a
fate thet they abhored and drcaded. Hence, the sole
attempt of the 4gwdic Aryans we.sto keep away from
thic dreeded fate. This is the reason for their constant
arpirrtion of longevity (dirghiyutve; Rv. X,62,2) or
stated in a more poetic menDcr,to live for a'hundred
autumns' (laradah datam Rv.I,98,9; X, 18, l0). This was
merely 8 postponement of an awful fate and therefore, at
I later stage they ere 3een to aspire for immortality
ramflrtva) which they thought possible to attain in the
kingdom of Yama, the lord of the dead.
I t i s s e e nt h a t t o a t t a i n i m m o r t a l i t y i n t h e k i n g d o m o f
Y a m a o n e h r d t o b e b o r n t h e r e , e n d i n t h i s s e e m st o b e
l a t e n t t h e e a r l i e s tt r B c e so f t h e i d e a o f r e b i r t h i n s o m e
sphere.
130 ESCHATOLOGY
The eschaiological ideas of the Vedic Indians under-
went certain important changes es a result of the
development of ethicel and moral ideas. Once ethics
becamean important aspectof an individual's life such an
individual's efter-life came to be conceived as closely
correlated to his elhical behaviour in this world. This led
to the belief in a happy after-death destiny to the
virtuous,
The average Vedic Indian scems to have believed, as
reflected in the Atharvaveda V, 6, ll; XVlll,464), that
the deceasedpassedinto the next world with the whole
body and limbs (sarra tanu! s-ahgah)and enjoyed the
same pleasures he used to enjoy in this world. The
speculative philosophical view is a little more compli-
cated. According to it the path that led to immortality is
called the path of gods (devayaaa). Tlrc very virtuous
who were destined for this patb, reached the goal and
enjoyed immortality. On the analogy of this was formed
'Path of the fathers or the
another path called the
departed ones' (pitryanal which had as its destination a
state where pleasuresand enjoyments were qualitatively
and quantitatively lessthan in the stete reached through
devayina. Those who were destined to follow the
pitryinacould remaih in the world of pitrsonly as long as
their merit lasted. Once the merit got exhausted they had
to return to lhe earth the vcry same way. This is a very
important eschatological developmcnt because this
seemsto reflect the earliest traces of the belief in rcbirth in
this world.
Besidesthese two bournes which were meent for the
virtuous of varying degrees,the Vedic Aryans conceived
of a unhappy bournc reservedfor the wicked (ree A. A.
Macdonell, The Vedic Mythology, Varanasi (India),
1963,pp. t67, 169).This third bourne i.e. the hell, comes
into prominence in the Atharvaveda and the Upaaisads.
Still later in the Brihmanas, the Puri?rs and the Epics
one finds graphic descriptions of both heaven and hell,
the destinies that await the virtuous and the wicked.
Other than these major bournes belief in birth in animal
kingdom, birth among demons and lower spirits etc. also
formed a part of the early Indian erchatological views.
As a result of the development of theseeschatological
beliefs which posit both good and bad bourner as
destinies awaiting individuds, the primary concern of the
everage individud bcc"me the attainment of e happy
rcbirth. The religious teachings thet preveiled laid down
ccrtain specific means through which one could ettain
this desired goel. For example, the eerly Vedic tredition
put forward sacrifice as the most effectiw means to
achiew this end. The efficacy of sacred scriptures and
even knowledge were considered as suitable meenl to
achieve a happy afterJife. Some non-Vcdic dramane
traditions held self-mortification as the moct dependeble
path. From all thesewhat is Bpperent is that there was a
 ESCIIATOLOGY
belief prevalent that if one so dcsired one could mani-
pulate and mould onel destiny after deeth.
Thus it is apparent that by the time of the rise of
Buddhism in lndia there were feirly developed eschato-
logicd vie\r!, most of which were ebsorbed by Buddhism
witb ndcessary modifications. According to Buddhism
death is the termination of a single phese of life which is
only a gmrll fraction of the bcgininglesssamsiric process.
Sarnsiqa being a continuous proc*r, death is inevitably
followed by birth. The Buddha himrelf is said to have
verified with his higher knowlcdgc (abhififfi q.v.) or
divine-eye (dibbecakkh4 q.v.) the fact of rebirth and
how brings fare after dcath according to their actions
(kamma). Thus it ig seen thet the Buddha did not blindly
adopt.the prevailing eschatological beliefs, but did so
only on personal veri{icetion (D.1, p. 82; lII, p.111).
Buddhism speaks of five bournes or courses of exis-
tence (gati,q.v.) that awaits en individual after his death.
These are birth in hells, animal kingdom, gtrost-realm,
human world aad heavenly worlds. Of these the first
three are considered bad bournes (duggati q.v), whereas
the next two are consideredto be good ones.A worldling
(puthujiana) becomes destined to one of these bournes in
consequenceof his actions (kamma). A stream-entrant
(sotipanna q.v.) k exempted from birth in hells, animal
kingdom, in ghost-realms or in such other miserable
states (A. IV, p.405). An arahant (q.v,) who has put an
end to rebirth is not subject to be born in any of these
dcstinies and his state after death is not knowable.
Though birth ir heaven docs not eppear to have
formed I part of the schemeof spiritual salvation presen-
red in early Buddhism it did attract the attention of the
messer as a worthy destiny, and sometimes even as an
ideal to be posed in popular Buddhism. Thus the usual
espirations of the Buddhist masseshappened to be the
enjoyment of heavenly bliss till the time of attainment of
find release(Nibbena). With the hope of being heirs to
such a destiny the Buddhists have become more bent on
acquiring and piling up merit. Popular Buddhist lite-
rsture abound in stories presented solely to inspire the
devotees,illustrating the fulfilment of such meritorious
aspirations. Popular BudiJhism appears to have freely
drawn from the prevalent brahmanic literature to enrich
its own popular eschatological ideas of good and bad
destiniesthat await beings after death. This processhas
been in operation from very early times as evident from
referencesfound in canonical literature. The A'nguttara-
nikiye (A.1,p.138) presentsone such graphic description
about the afterJife fate of those who lead immoral lives.
Such an individual after death is born in the purgatory.
The wardens of the purgatory seizehim by both arms and
bring him before Yama, the Lord of Dcath, sayingthat he
had no respect for mother and father, recluses end
131 ESCILA,OLOGY
brahmins. He showed no difcrensc to the eldcrs of his
clan. Let vour Mnjesty inflict ciu: pr-rnishmcnton him,"
Then it dcscriheshow Ynrn* .rervnrinutely quesricnshim
and makrl hirn reslizc hc''r,''.:e, througb his own negli-
gence, has becomr an hcir t.r lhis desriny. tJn.rcthe guilt
on the part of the cierxasedie thal estebiishedthe wrrdens
of the purgstory mele ollt tlue i:orForal punishment to
him, The Petevazthu aru' |lm*nav'atthu too ebound in
stories narreting the dcstin:es of those who had led
corrupt lives. Stories describing happy destiniecgrined
by those who had led virtucus iivc!, too, are frcquently
met with in Buddhist literaturs. "lt'e JVt*a book con-
t a i n s n u m e r o u s s u c h s t o r i e s( J " I , p . l 9 8 f f . ; c { . V i n , l l ,
p,I l8; DhpA.l, p. 263ff, etc.), Wliat is significant herc ig
the emphasir placed on the correlstion between one's
action (both good and bed) in this life snd in the destiny
that awaits him aftcr death.
As already pointed out the origin of the befief in such a
correlation is traceable to the late Veciic period, In
Buddhism, which primarily is an ethical teaching, this
correlation found greater emphrsis. And this emphasis
was further enhanced by the Budcihist teaching which
upholds the supemacy of mrn. As Buddhism considers
man to be his own mast€r who is solely responsiblefor his
purity as well as impur:ty - both in this life and in the next-
it strongly advocatesthe view that one could mould in a
desired menner the after life destiny that awaits one.
Hence Buddhism discarded the thcn prevalenl asuhato-
logical views which were mostly influenced by theistic,
fatalistic and deterministic religious teachinp. lnsteed it
not only showed the way for one's present life enabling
one to attain finel deliverancein this life itself but elso put
forward an eschatological doctrine thet inspircd indi-
viduds to shape their future lives, es well.
As already pointed out, when used in the wider sense
the term eschatologymeens the end of the world and the
destiny that awaits man. It is seen that cosmological
theories regarding the involution (samvatta) and evolu-
tion (vivatta) of the world have nothing purely Buddhis-
tic in them, and they by no means form part of the
fundamental teachings of the Buddha. On the contrery
the Buddha explicitly declard them as having no direct
relevence to the primary question in which he was
interested,namely, the problem of suffering and freedom
from it.
However, it is evident that though thesecosmological
theories are of no doctrinal significance thcy are pri-
marily basedon the Buddhist teachingof impermanence.
According to Buddhism everythimg is in a state of flux,
ever changing from one thing to another in accordance
with a causallyconditioned process,and henceaccording
to the Buddhist explanation, the universeis a result of a
regular cyclic processof involution and evolution occur-
ring at the end of cosmic eras (kappa, q,v.).
 ESOTERISM 132
Thousand years before the involution is due divine
messengerscallcd Lokabyuha appear in the world in a
state of great distress and urgency and proclaim the
impending destruction of the universs and warn the
beings to practise virtue (J. l pA\. Then in the course ol'
t i m e a l l b e i n g so t h e r t h a n t h o s e w h o s er o o t s o f m e r i t a r e
completely destroyed are born in higher worlds which are
not yet destined to be destroyed. Those beings who are
suffering in hells of the universe whose destruction is
imminent are reborn in some other hells whose des-
truction is not yet due. Subsequentlythe whole universe
gets destroyed a number of times over by water, fire and
wind, and the whole universe is reduced to utter chaos.
The time for the evolution of the universe seems to
coincide with the exhaustion of the merit of those beings
who are born in higher worlds, Their merit being
exhausted they are reborn successivelyin a descending
order in the lower region finally reaching the earth and
p o p u l a t i n g i t ( s e eE R E . Y . p . 1 8 7 ;s e ef u r t h e r K A P P A ) ,
S. K. Namyrklsrr
ESOTERISM. The term is very loosely used by present
day writers. It is quite often used by them, though not
correctly, as I synonym for mysticism, Thereforc, in
order to give an idication to the reader about the matter
that would come within the purview of this article it is
necessary to state the sense in which the term is con-
sidered herein. The Oxford English Dictionary explains
'designed for, or appropriate to an
the term esoteric, as
inner circle of disciples;communicated to, or intelligible
by, the initiated only." Thus, esoterismis the holding of
doctrines meant for an inner circle. The same dictionary
explains the term esoteric Buddhism as "a body of
theosophical doctrine handed down by secret tradition
among the initiated." It is in this sense that the term
esoterism is considcred in this article.
Writers also use this term to denote later phases of
Buddhism such as Mantrayina, SahajayCnawhich are
collectively referred to as Tantrism. Tantric Buddhism
contains features that make it fit to be called esoterism.
Besidesits teachingswhich are meant exclusivelyfor the
initiated, it also incorporates mdntras, mandalas, rites of
initiation, propitiation of deities and such other features
all of which are of an esoteric nature.
Though modern scholars agree in calling these later
phascsof Buddhism esoterism,their opinion differs with
regard to the question whethsr there is esoterismin early
See also B. Btrattacharyya: An Introduction to Buddhist Esoterism, pp, I 8ff . lt is a fact that some salient features in Tentrism can
be traced to early Theravida Buddhism. But, none of there were looked upon as being essentialfeatures of early Theravada
doctrine.
ESOTERISM
T b e r c v i d a B u d d h i s m ( s e eT , W . R h y s D a v i d s , B u d d h i -
sm, Its History end Literature, pp.207 f .;cp, R. Kimura,
Hinayana and Mahiyana and the Origin of Mahiyana,
U n i v e r s i t y o f C a l c u t t a , 1 9 2 1 ,p p . 9 , 1 6 , 2 9 , 4 9 , 5 5 e t c . ) .
Rhys Davids is of opinion that it werethe Mehayanists,
with the sole intention of fathering on the Buddha
teachingsdifferent from those which he actually propa-
gated, who first aJlegedthe presenceof esoterismin early
Theravida. On the other hand Kimura contends that
esoterism is an intrinsic feature in early Theravida
Buddhism.t He says that whcn the Buddha attained
enlightenmcnt he realisedthe truth of the universewhich
could be presentedfrom two points of view. One is the
truth of the physical nature ofthe universeand the other
the reality behind it. Kimura calls thesethe phenomeno-
logical perception and the ontological or introspectional
perception respectively.He further adds that the rcligious
a n d t h e p h i l o s o p h i c a lc o n d i t i o n s o f t h e t i m e p e r m i t t e d
the Buddha to preach publicly the truth based on
phenomenological perception, and that, his ontological
doctrines were left in the hands of his disciples to be
manifested when the time becameripe for it. As evidence
he citesthat bcfore delivering a discoursethe Buddha was
always in the habit of considering certain factors per-
taining to his listeners and preaching what was most
suited for the occasion.To strengthen this point Kimura
citesthe Nikiya referencewhich describesthe Buddha es
being endowed with five particuler qualities. There it is
said that, the arahant, the fully enlightened one, knows
what is good (atthaf,frA), knows what is true (dham-
mafrffi), knows measures (mattafrfri), knows time
(kalafffiu) and knows the assemblage (parisaflfiu; A. Ilt,
p . l a 3 ) . T h e c a n o n i c a l r c f e r e n c ct o t h e B u d d h a ' sh e s t i t a -
t i o n t o p r e a c h t h e t r u t h h e r e a l i s e di s a l s o c o n s i d e r e db y
Kimura as indicative of the fact that the Buddha did not
preachabout the ontological pcrception. Finally, Kimura
concludes that the Buddha preached those ontologicd
doctrines in an esotericgarb to his advanced disciplcs,
Kimura's opinion is mort or less the same as thc
Mahayina view on this qucstion. The evidence put
forward by Kimura to substantiate his view is not
convincing. On the one hand he relies very much on
evidencefound in later Mahayana texts, and on the other
hand he misinterprets certain canonical references,in
support of his view, treating them out of context. By
doing this he also overlooks glaring evidence which
directly go against his vicw-point,
Primarily the assumption that the Buddha preached
two types of truth, the phenomenological and the onto-
logical, is not corroborated by early Buddhist texts. Such
 ESOTERISM 133 ESOTERISM

a position was &ssumedby the Mahiyanists to attribute sing the first sixty arhant disciples the Buddha said:
their teachingsto the Buddha for sale of authority.z "Tour, monks, for the blessingof the many folk, happi-
ncss of the many folk, out of comparsion for the world,
I t i s a f a c t t h a t c e r t a i nc a n o n i c a lr e f e r e n c e (sM . l , p . 1 6 7
for the welfare, the blessing and the happiness of devas
f . ; V i n . 1 , 4 f . . )r e v e a lt h a t t h e B u d d h a h e s i t a t e dr o p r e a c h
a n d m e n . L e t n o t t w o o f y o u g o b y t h e s a m ew a y . M o n k s ,
t h e d o c t r i n ea t t h e o u t s e t .K i m u r a l a y s m u c h s t r e s so n t h i s
teach the Dhamma which is lovely at the beginning,
as well as on similar references oCcurring in later
lovely in the middle and lovely at the ending. Explain
Mahiyana texts to prove that after his hesitationthe
with spirit and letter the noble Iife completely fulfilled
Buddha preached only the phenomenological doctrines
and wholly pure. There are beingswith little dust in their
and that it was later that he peached the ontological
eyeswho, not hearing the Dbammg are decaying; but if
doctrines to his advanced disciples. Though the Pali
they are learners of the Dhamma they will grow, And, I,
r e f e r e n c e sr c c o r d t h e B u d d h a ' s h e s i t a t i o n t h e y d o n o t
monks, will go along to Uruveli to the camp townshipin
e v e nc a s t a s l i g h t h i n t t o s h o w t h a t t h e B u d d h a w i t h h e l d
order to teachthe Dhamma" (Vin.l,20).
from preaching,from the beginning, the truth he realised
by attaining enlightenment. This passage is significant in that it shows that the
Buddha's intention rf,acto teach for the wellbeing of the
The Nikiyas do not contain any evidenceto show that
many and that the Buddhl from the beginning of his
esoterismformed a feature in early Theravada Buddhi-
c a r r i e r a s a r e l i g i o u st e a c h e r ,d i d n o t l i m i t h i s t e a c h i n gt o
sm. On the conlrary they reveal that one of its most
an inner circle but aimed at teaching as many as possible.
marked features is its exoteric nature. From numerous
This spirit he cherished throughout his life. There are
d i s c o u r s e sf o u n d i n t h e N i k a y a s i t i s e v i d e n t t h a t t h e
n u m e r o u s r e f e r e n c e st o s h o w h o w h e w e n t o u t o f h i s w a y
Buddha spoke quite openly on all matters he choseto
t o p r e a c ht o t h e p e o p l e ,E v e n o n h i s d e e t h b e d p r e a c h e d
speakon. He elaborately cxplained all subtle points in his
a n d c o n v e r t e d S u b h a d d a . T i l l d e a t h o v e r c a m eh i m h e
teachingsby using parables, similies and other kinds of
d i s c o u r s e dt o A n a n d a o n n u m e r o u s d o c t r i n a l m a t t e r s .
l i g u r e so f s p e e c h .H e u s e dt h e s ed e v i c e sn o t t o p r e s e n th i s
And in his finat advicehe told Ananda, quite emphati-
teachingsin an esoteric garb as it was done in Tantrism
c a l l y , t h a t h e h a s n o c l o s e df i s t o f a t e a c h e ra n d t h a t h e h a s
hut to prescnthis teachirigsin the simplestform so that all
preached the truth without maling any distinction
c o u l d g r a s pt h e m e a s i l y .B u d d h i s m d o e sn o t p r e a c hb l i n d
between exoteric (anantaram) and esoteric (abahiram;
faith. lt is qualified as ehipassika,inviting to'come and
d o c t r i n e( D . l l , p . 1 0 0 ,c f . D A . p . 5 4 7f . ) . T h i s s t a t e m e n t
s e e ' ,t h u s o p e n i n g i t s p o r t a l s t o a l l w h o a r e w i l l i n g t o
attributed to the Buddha is quite in keeping with his
inquire. There is no evidence to show that the Buddha's
character as revealed in the Nikayas.
teachingwas limited to a special privileged group. It was
the Buddha, who for the first time in the religious history I t i s a f a c t t h a t t h e e a r l y P a l i t e x t sq u a l i f y t h e B u d d h a
o f l n d i a , a d m i t t e d i n t o t h e o r d e r m e m b e r so f d i f f e r e n t a s k n o w i n g t h e g o o d , t h e d o c t r i n e ,t h e m e a s u r e ,t h e t i m e
social status and preached to them a.llalike, irrespective a n d t h e a s s e m b l a g eB . ut it is not correct to hold this as
o f c a s t e ,b i r t h a n d s u c h o t h e r s o c i a l b a r r i e r s t h a t u p t o evidencein support of the view that knowing all theseand
t h e n d e p r i v e da c e r t a i n s e c t i o no f s o c i e t yo f t h e r i g h t t o realising that the religious and philosophical conditions
hear the religious teachings which wcre treated as the of the time were not conducive to impart his higher
secretsof a previlegedfew, t e a c h i n g st h e B u d d h a p r e a c h e do n l y t h e p h e n o m e n o l o -
gical doctrines. The fallacy of such a view becomes
T h e B u d d h a ' s t e a c h i n gw a s n o t e v e n l i m i t e d t o t h o s e o b v i o u s , w h e n t h e r e l i g i o u sa n d p h i l o s o p h i c a lh i s t o r y o f
who entered the Order, On the contrary the Buddha the time is considered.
e m p h a t i c a l l ys a i d t h a t t h e r e w e r e l a y m e n a n d w o m e n
R o u n d a b o u t t h e 6 t h a n d 5 t h c e n t u r i e sB . C . a d e e p
leading family lives, who followed his teachings and
intellectud stir was felt throughout many parts of the
a t t a i n e dh i g h s p i r i t u a ls t a t e s( M . 1 , 4 9 0 f . ) . T h e P a l i c a n o n
world including India. [n India the effects of this
r e f e r st o a n u m b e r o f l a y m e n a n d w o m e n w h o a t t a i n e d
i n t e l l e c t u a la w a k e n i n g i s s e e ni n t h e r i s e o f a n e w s e t o f
a r a h a n t s h i p .T h e B u d d h a d i d n o t l o o k u p o n h i s d i s c i p l e s
free-thinkers who broke away from orthodox Brahma-
as a privileged classor a inner circle who alone had access
nism. The Upanisads record the philosophical specula-
to his teachings.
t i o n s o f o n e s e c t i o no f t h i s b a n d . B e s i d e st h e U p a n i s a d i c
'Ihe
Buddha's sole aim was to propagate the truth he thinkers there were others, such as wanderers (parr-
discoveredfor the good of the many. lt is with this aim in vrajaka), iramanas and so on, aJI whose aim was the
view that he set rolling the wheel of the doctrine and sent attainment of final liberation from the evil of life. The
o u t h i s d i s c i p l e st o t e a c h t h e d o c t r i n e t o o t h e r s ,A d d r e s - Buddha, too, was one such free thinker.'Further, the

2' Even later Tantric works are attributed tc the Buddha himself for thc s&me purpose. Thus the Guhyasamijasa.ys thst the Buddha
rcfrained from communicating Tantras becausc the people were not prepared to receive such doarines(p.g7).
 ESOTERISM 134
M agadha region w hicb formed the centre of the religious
activiter ot'the Budrjhs was comparatively less brahme-
riired then Ku.ru end Pa.flc[la. The people of Magadha
tbrreforc, rvere lets sntagcnistic towards new doctrines
wbicb went tgeinrt orthodox !1a[6nni36. Therefore, it
ir incorrcct to hcld thet the unsuitable religious and
phiiosophical conditions of tbe time prevented the
Buddha from preeching hie higher tcachinp.
It is e faet, as Kirnura tuggetts, that thc Buddha
followed diff;rcnt mdes of prerching suited for the
occalion, time, assembly etc. This he did out of mere
necesrity. All were nct equelly nnentaUy maturc or of
favourable disposition to receivl his tcachings at onc€'
Those whom he considered es msture enough and ablc to
think freeiy, lo them hc preached hir doctrine dircctly. To
olhers, who werc attechcd to Brahmenirm and other
schools of thought and, therefore prejudiced in mind, he
discourced'in due orde r' Q n upubb ik athi) frntprepering
their mindr to receive hir teachingr and thcn delivering
his doctrine.
Buddhism though influenced by contemporsry
thoughtr end beliefs w8! r new doctrine, a new wey of
life. Therefore, before preaching ther new ideer, tbe
Buddha had to rouse faith in the mindr of the lirtencrr
for, without this initial faith one could not punue elong
this new linc of ftinking. Even when preaching to the
paf,cavaggiyts. his formcr rssociates, he hrd to meke
them accept the fsct thet he hrd attained enlightenment.
Therefore, thc Buddhe by conridering vriour frcton
ruch es thc timc, essembly end ro on, dopted dillerent
modes of preaching which deemd mort suited for
p erticul rr occrs ionr. To the pedca vtgiy ts, whoc e Pow er
of comprehenrion wer known to hinq he prerched
directly without much prcamble. But before preaching to
the Jatilas, who werc under the micc€nccption that they
w"t" i.b.ots endowed with rupernaturel powen, the
Buddha had to resort to hir rupernrtural powert in order
to kindle faith in their mindr' When dircoursing to
Pokkhrrar-di, en orthodox br-hmin, the Buddha,
before preaching on the Four Noble Tnrthr spoke to him
of ggnerority, of rigbt conduct' on beaven' on the
dengen, tfuq vrnily, and the dcfilemcnt of lust end on
advantager of rcnunciation. And whcn the Buddha rew
thrt Poklharasidi had bccome prcpared, soft'hearted,
unprejudiccd, erultrnt and believing in heart' then he
pre ecbed the doctrine of the Four Noble Truthr.r There
is no evidencc in early litereture to rhow thet after his
prcembk on general subjeas he refrained from prcaching
hrr doctrine.
Bcrides thir iaitid mentel prcparetion bror4bt rbout
in tbc nrnncr dicctibcd rbove there was no necd for one
Tbe Buddhr quitc ofton introduccdhir terching by mar of thb 3rrdrrtcd rcrmon(inupubbikrtfi)
cffcctive in kindling frhh io thc mindr of brihmes rho formcd tb b'ult of hir convertr'
Scc S, Dutt . Tbe Buddhtn,J Fiw Aftet-enturics, Loodon 1951
ESOTERISM
to receive any initiation by mcans of a formd rite or r
eremony which made one belong to the exclusive group
who rre qualified to rcccive the higber teaching'
Inspite of all thesc exoteric cbaracterirticr, thc doctrine
of the Buddhacame to be divided into two as exoteric and
esoteric. When and how this division took place is not
known cxactly. lt ir clcer that this division had becomean
accepted fact by the 3rd century A,C. for, Nagirjune
spcaka of thir. Negirjuna seyr in hrs Pnjf,-ptramiti
'there arc two Linds of Buddhirm: one is
destra that,
eroteric (Srrhyt) end aoother ir exotcric (vy*tt).ln the
esoteric doctrine which he preached for only bodhiratvu,
it hac been rairl tbet it ir only the bodhirattvrr thet ettain
reality which is beyond birth rnd derth' ln the cxoteric
doctrine it har been preached by him thet all enhearrc
puaya-ksetru'(fields of rerit: el quoted by Kimurq op.
cit.'p. 57j. lt ir evident that thir ir not en erbitrary divirion
made by Nagirjune himrelf. He recmr to have followed
the eerlier Mrh-yine tredition whict tcemt to contein
the germr of thir divirion, The SrddDumt puaduikt
SErresayr that the intentionel rpcech Qndhi'bfisya)
of Tathegatar are difficult to bc understood, beceure thy
explein lews thet havc ceurcl in themrclver, they do ro by
meenr of rkilfuineu by the dirpley of khowlcdgc. ' '. ' rnd
ruggcstionr..... None but r Tathigatr cra impart to r
Tlthlgata thore lawr which aTathigetl tnowr. All lawr
erc taught by the Teth-geta" rnd by him done; no onc
but hc knows dl lawr, whlt they rtc, how they rre..."
(Sdmp, pp. 2*9). Nigirjune'r esrertion of the two
divirionr sppeEr! ,o 6" Sgcd oa this rort of ttrtemcnt
found in ebundance in Mrhiy-rnr tetr. The ceurer thrt
led to such a tndition rne not obviour. But I clorc
Sdutiny of the eerly textr end rubtequeat rcligiour
devetopments rhow the ferturer thet promptad thc
Mebiyinists to bring rbout ruch e divirion in thc
Buddha'r doctrine and dro thc gredual ptoceu whicb
roulted in Tantrirm, which ir generally refcrred to u
eroteric Buddhism.
Probebly it wes with the rire of the Mehiringhiku
thet certein feeturel, which htcr forncd thc molt
essentid cbarecterirticr of esoteric Buddhirm cuc into
the forefront. The Mahinnghikar broke ewry from thc
ortbodox Theravidinr et a very eerly dete, about r
csntury after thc Buddha'r demisc. Though thc rqaron for
the rchism ir given as the dicqrecment that rrorc
bctween the orthodox monkr end thc Vejjirn monlr
rcgerding thc teD point! of dircipline, it ir quitc rppuut
that there were realon! other then thir. The new doctrind
devclopment! thd canc into tbc forefront roon rfttr the
rchird hint at other ceuler thet led to it. The origin of thc
Mahalinghikrr rppean to bc pertly due to the result of
imrporating populer ideu iato Buddhirm.{ Thor4l
for it wrr found tobcvcry
,99. 132f.
 ESOTERISM
eerly Tbcravide ir not compktely dcvoid of such llcrs,
they did not acquirc eny rignificucc at the time rr mern!
of etteining the ultimate goel. With the formation of the
Mehuinghila school the populer featurer found in
Thcravida were given prominence and brsing on there
n cre populer featurcs were introduced into Buddhism
from outside. This is reen ftoEr the grert rignificancc
attachCd Io mtntraseaid dhertnisin the Mehrsiirghike
rchool. The efficacy of mantras in warding off dangers,
calamities, illnesses and so on wes acceptcd by the early
Therevida Buddhism. [n the Nikayas there ere suttas
uscd fdrsuchpurposes(e.g. D. tII, l94ff.), The Majjhima
Nikiya recordr how the Buddha caused Angulimila to
rclievi a woman of her labour pains by mearu of an act of
truth (stcc*iriyi).s Probably baring on these, the
Mahisiighikar d_evelopeda rpecial collection of maa-
feras and dhirais under the title Dbarsni Pitaka,c
Another important conccpt originated Ui'tne tr{"Uf-
riirghitas and which became a salient feature in Tantrism
is thcdocctic tbeory regarding the Buddba's personality.
By idolising the Buddha, they had to bring in the
bodhirettva concrpt end with this came in the concepts of
caryis, bhumh, bodhicitta and so on.
Numerous schools came into existencc about two
crnturies after the Buddha. T}ie Kathivafflu records the
existenccof twelve different schools with various suF
divirions. These divisions resulted in tbc growth of two
lcperate schools which leter came to be known er
Hinay[na and MahCyCna,T The innovations brought in
by the MahaseilShikas were taken up by the Mahiyi-
nists. They formulated new doctrines based thereon,
which were quite different from those of the TheravCda.
This reculted in the change of the final goal. Tbe
Therevidins aimed at sttaining arahantship while the
Mehayanilts aimed at attaining Buddhahood. With this
changcthe bodhisattva concept, as well as other conc€pts
affiliated to it, gained much importance. The bodhi-
uttval were looked upon a:lsaviourg of all humanity. To
eccomplish this purpose the teaching had to be brought
down to the popular level and this necessitated the
incorporation of popular elements. In this way mantras,
dhinyis, gods, godde3ses, various ritcs, rituals and
practicesbecameesscntial features of Buddhism.
With the development of Yogicira these feetures
attained grestcr significance. This school of Buddhism
5. M' tl, p' t00 ff. The early Theravida Buddhism acogpted the efficacy of protective charms (paritta) tuch as the Ratane Sulfa
5' ThisiselsocelledVidhyidhzraPitaka.TheMafrjulrimulakalpawhichprobeblybelongrtothelstcenturyA.C.,too,containl
numcrour dh-aranis rr.antrr,s, -"oal"s utd mudrk,
7. The term Hinayina denote the orthodox school of Buddhism better known as Theravide, while the term Mahiyina denoter
later rchook rrrch as Midhyamika, Yogicira etc.
t. See /IfQ' lV, l92t pp.267ff.; P, C. Bagchi: Srudrcsrn Tantrqpp.2Tff.The
Budilha preeched in sandii -bh&s;. A ltrey reference, for example v,84 in tlrc Dhammapada, does not suffice to establilh that
the BuddhE, too, used ruch an enigmatical language when prcrching (ree Lama Anagarika Govinde, Foundations of Tibetan
Myticism. pp. l0l f).
135 ESSENCE
cmphasiscd thc impcrtane, of Yogt er the mst effective
mcan! of ettaining enlightenmcDt. The importence
ettrched to uijf,eaa iconsciousner) end it! iultivetion
through yogr, brougat in revcral esoteric dcvelopmentr
in Buddhism . The a antas, dhareais ud elso q' nd das
lrrrd mudri, essumcri rpeciel siginificance to the ybAo.
Mort probrbly it war among thesc Yogac-trins tha;t
esoterism or Tantrisrr originated as areperrte eult. Once
esoterism ceme to be ertablished as a anlt, it war four .l
ncceslary to restrici its teachings, riter and rituals to r
small group of initiates. To maintain its continuity it wrs
also necrrsary to introduce the inrtitution of marter and
pupil (gruru and cula). To prescrve its sesret Dature r
particular type of language called sendhi-bhis* (inten-
tional speech) was used. This phase of Buddhism is a
mixture of philosophicd ideas of different Mahiyine
schools, popular religious beliefs and praaicer that were
prevalent at the time (for further details sce TANTRISM.
Bfblfography: B. Bhattacharyya, An Introduction
to Buddhist Esoterism, Oxford University Press, 1932;S.
B. Das Gupta" Obscure Religious C\tlts,Cdcuttg 2nd ed.
1962; An Introduction to Tantric Buddhism, University
of Calcutte, 1958; R. Kimurq Hinayanaand Mahiyana
and the Origin of Mahiyina Buddhism, Univarsity of
Calcutta, 1921; E. J, Thomas, History of Buddhist
Thought, London, 1933, pp, 230ff,; Lama Anegarika
Govindg Foundations of Tibetan Mysticiam, London,
I959.
S. K. Nenryr&trn
ESP. Se€ EXTRA-SENSORY-PERCEPIION
ESSENCE in its widest senseis that by which a thing is
what it is. In other words, it is the very nature of a thing,
and not I mere mode of exfutence.Any direct knowledge
will not give a full comprehension of such reality, which
has been given various names.The term'esgence'isfrom
the Latin verb ?ssei to be; the term'reality'is derived
from the Latin noun 'res'the thing, meaning the thing in
itself (Kant's 'das Ding an sich\, the term 'naturc' is
connected with the Latin verb onasci',to be born, rnd
Mahlyanic texts (ex. Sdmp. p.2t) suggest that the
 ESSENCE 136
t h e r e f o r e i n d i c a t e st h e c o n d i t i o n o r c o m p o s i t i o n o f a
thing withcul subsequentexternal influences or modifi-
'quiddity'is formed from an artificial
cations; the term
'quidditasi
Latin noun based on the interrogative pro-
'what?'
noun guldi
The essence,therefore, is the answer to the question:
what is the natural state of a thing in itselfl In Oriental
philosophy this is referrcd to in Pali and Sanskrit as
'such-ness',the true
lathata, that is the 'thus-ness' or
nature or state of things. The Buddha refers to himself
alweys as the Tathagata, the one who has gone into the
real nature of things, who has come at the essenceof
things (athi * igatal
The search for truth which is the basic quest of
philosophy is doomed to fail from the very outset when a
definition of truth is set up in advance.The method and
the goal ofsearch vary with the objectsand theoriesof the
m a n y s c h o o l so f t h o u g h t w h o m o d u l a t e t h e t r u t h a c c o r -
d i n g t o t h e i r p r i n c i p l e s ,w h e t h e r m o n i s t i c , d u a l i s t i c o r
p a n t h e i s t i c , i d e a l i s t i c o r m a t e r i a l i s t i c ,e t c . W h e n e v e r
truth is made an objective goal it becomes a pre-
d e t e r m i n e do b j e c t i v ew h i c h i s n o t l i k c l y t o b e t h e t h i n g i n
itself, the red truth,
And so the search for the essenceis not to be a search
for a substance hidden among and covered over by
phenomena.
Essenceig the constant and necessarynature ofa thing
!r c-ontrarted with its accidents, Frequently the term is
ured with the same meaning as'substance'.'Substance',
ho\rever, ir the entity which underlies (sub-stare) the
properties or phenomena of a thing, The confusion can
be traced to Aristotle resulting from his doctrine, con-
ceiving substence e! the essential qualities of a thing,
distinguishedonly from their essenceby the fact that they
exist, e confusion between the logical subject and that
which remains permenent througbout accidental
chenger. It was agnin {1is1otle who first made the
dirtinction between metter and form, for it is the
philorophicd conception of matter which marks the
metaphysics of Arirtotlc. Matter, for him, is thc undiffe-
fcntirted element, unknowable in itself , but determinable
by form through which it becomes knowable and errcn
'form', have found a
rsnrible. These terms,'matter'and
placc elso in Kantian philosophy, where {orm'constitues
the rrtional end intelligible elements of cognition of
'mltt!r' a! the'thing-in-itrelf.'
Unfortunrtely, writen heve lometimes ured there very
termr in trenrlating the Pali terml airne end rfipr
rbcreby tltpa, tbe mrterial element, is prercnted u thc
l. He who hrr ron (througbto the)truttu C. A F. Rhyr Davidr, DDr. tnl. 1099,a. 2. Onc who her com et thc resltruth: Chdmen,
JRAS. lE9E,pp. 103-15.Buddheghon har eight other interpre{rtiou, most of them rether farriful.
ESSENCE
'form'given to matter by the a:jnd (nama), which gives a
'nam' (nzma/ to matter.
The essence,the nature, the thus-ness(rarlrari) is the
actuality, the true (utba) condition of a thing, And thus,
as the nature of all things is conditioned end imper-
manent, impermanence and conditioned existenceform
the essenceof every component.
Essence,therefore, is the ebstrsct nature of a thing in
existence,whether such existenceis logical, ontological
or metaphysical, being or becoming, This had led to a
philosophical distinction betweenesseDoe and existence,
verious schools giving their varied speculations, but
mostly agreeing in considering'essence'Es the abstract
counterpart to the concrete entity in existence.Whereer
existence,whether actual or potential, real or functional,
substantial or phenomenal, is merely an affirmation of
what is already,'essence'isthe very neture, construction,
c o m p o s i t ! o r , c a u s a t i o n .E s s e n c et,h e r e f o r e ,i s n o t m e r e l y
r e l a t e dt o e x i s t e n c e a, s p o t e n t i a l i t y t o a c t u a l i t y ,f o r i n t h e
p r o c e s s o f e x i s t e n c ew h i c h i s b e c o m i n g , t h e r e i s t h e
n a t u r e ,t h e e s s e n c oe f t h a t p r o c e s sO . n t h e o t h e rh a n d ,t h e
essenceof a thing, of a process,etc. can be thought of, and
therefore exists logically, even without that thing or
processbcing or becoming in existence,physically.
When the Buddha gave his solemn utterencesthet all
component things are impermanent (sabh sa'nkhiri
anicci) and that all component things are conflicting
(sabbesankhari dukkha), he gave the essential nature of
a complex. Such essencehas no physical existence,yet is
actual as the only reality, the only truth (farlara) and as
s u c h i t i s a b s o l u t e ,f o r i t s e x i s t e n c ed o e s n o t d e p e n d o n
relationship; it is always true, cven if there wcrc no
e x i s t e n c e ,n o c o m p o n e n t s , n o c o m p l e x e s . O n l y i t s
actuality, i.e., its existence,in the processof becoming is
dependent on the fact of composition (sa'nkhira).
It is then the essenceof dl component things to be
decomposable,but this impermancnt nsture (which is the
essence)is in itself permanent, becauseit is the nature of
elscncc to be unchangeable. Hence truth, Nibbina, or
whatcver name may be given to the absolute, is per-
manent, is non-complex, becauseit is the essenceitself,
but it is never to be thougbt of as a metaphysical entity
(sabbe dheormi anata).
And that is the difference between the essenceand the
substance,although, loosely used, they appearsometimes
ar lryDonyms. For, a substance is a definite entity which is
the basis of the dependenl phenomena. A substance
cnnnot be thought of without its properties, qualities, or
phenomeng and it doer not have, therefore, even I
 ESUKARISUTTA
logical separetc. independent existence. In thc teaching
of the Buddha oD anatta it is totally denied, and in the
d eveloped teeching of (i ny a the voidness of everythin g is
punued to its furthest logical conclusions.
Essence,on the other hand, always remains an abstract
mental concept and exists only as such. Therefore, we
may rightly spea}'of the essenceof the Buddha's teaching
being his doctrine of the unsubstantiality of everything,
including Nibbana.
The unconditioned nature (tathati-asamskrta-
dharma) is called by Vasubandhu "the transcendental
essenceof everything artd it is termed 'suchness'because
its essentialnature is real and eternal; but it is beyond
reach of human language;it is indefinable" (Yamakami
Sogen, systems of Buddhist Thought p,229, Calcutta
I 9 I 2). The essentialnature or suchnessis unconditioned,
becauseit does not stand in need of the assistanceof any
agency.In fact if it connot manilest itself, it is becauseit is
obscuredin the presenceof conditions. Hence only in the
elimination of conditions the true nature or essencecan
be discerned.And if in this processof elimination the core
proves to be an empty shell, then emptiness(-unya)will
havc to be accepted as the essenceof all things, and
unsubstantiality (anatta) as the essenceof all phenomena
(dhamma).
T h e p r o c e s sa d o p t e d b y t h e B u d d h a t o a r r i v e a t t h e
essenc!is the processof analysis(vibhajja). The individual,
the self, which is an empirical fact from which all
i n v e s t i g a t i o nm u s t o f n e c c s s i t yt a k e a n o r i g i n , i s t h u s
analysedas a physico-psychicalcomponent, in which the
body with its component parts and the mind with its
s e n s a t i o n sp, e r c e p t i o n s i,d e a t i o n sa n d t h o u g h t s p r o v e t o
be mere passing events and phenomena without a
s u b s t a n c ew , i t h o u t a p e r m a n e n t e n t i t y . T h e p a s s i n go r
changingnature of all eventsis their essentialnature and
t h a t i s b a s e do n t h e u n s u b s t a n t i a l i t yo f a l l . T h i s u n s u b s -
t a n t i a l i t y , t h e r f o r e , c o n s t i t u t e st h e u l t i m a t e n a t u r e , t h e
essenceof all things and events or components, even of
t h e o n e u n c o m p o s e da n d a b s o l u t e N i r v a n a . A n d t h i s
teaching of unsubstantiality (anatta, fiiyata) is rhe
essenco e f t h e t e a c h i n go f t h e B u d d h a ,i t s r e a l n a t u r c , n o t
to bc found in any religious system which has the search
and salvation of a soul as is goal.
H. G. A. vm Zeyst
ESUKARI SUTTA. This stutta occurring in the Maj-
jhima-nikiya (M. ll, p. 111 ff) throws light on the
Brahmanic theory that divides the societyinto four castes
and also clearly reflects the position taken up by the
Buddha regarding this theory. The sutta shows how the
137 ETADAGGA VAGGA
brahmins by positing four typer of waiting upon (pari-
ciriya) and four types of penonal wealth (sendhina),
symbolic of the assignedprofessions,attempts to estab-
lish their claim to superiority ebove the rest ofthe society,
The BuddhapoiDtl out that thesetheoriesare proclaimed
by the brahmins without popular content and the
approval of the true religious men. It is by force, the
Buddha saysthat they attempt to enforce theseviewsjust
as one forces on a poor, needy,destitute man a morsel of
meat which he did not waDt, saving "You must eat this
meat and you must as well pay a price for it."
ln this sutta the Buddha elaborateshis teaching that it
is neither birth, nor complexion nor wealth that decider
one's position in the society. According to the Buddhe
thesecriteria of birth, dcsignation and wealth are of no
consequencein this matter and are mere conventions.
The criterion that should be applied in deciding one's
position in the society,according to the Buddhh" is one's
actions, behaviour.
To further establishhis position of total rejectionof the
brahmanic theory of caste and the superiority of brah-
mins, the Buddha convincingly arguesthat irrespcctiveof
thesecastedivisions all are equally capable of attaining
spiritual development. Seefurther CASTE, EGALITA-
RIANISM, EQUALITY.
S. K. Namydrkare
ETADAGGA VAGGA, the l4th chapter of the Efra-
nipata of the A'nguttara-nkEya (A. l, pp-23-26). The
importance of this chapter liesin the fact that it contains e
list of the Buddha's disciples fthkkhus, bhikkhunis,
upasakas and upasikasl who have attained distinction
above the rest in some respector the other. In all, eighty
such spheresof distinctions are referred to and names of
seventy-fourdiscipleswho have attained pre-cminencein
theseeighty spheresare enumerated.
O f t h e s e s e v e n t y - f o u rd i s c i p l e sC u l l a - p a n t h a k a a n d
S u b h u t i a r e c r e d i t e d w i t h p r e - e m i n e n c ei n t w o s p h e r e s
each, while Ananda is credited with pre-eminencein five
spheres,Forty-one of these seventy-four are bhikkhus,
thirteen are bhikkhufls, ten are upasakasand ten are
upasikas.
A l l t h e a s p e c t si n w h i c h t h e s ed i s c i p l e sh a v e a r t a i n e d
pre-eminenceare not connected with spiritual develop-
ment. Some are connectedwith personaJcharacteristics,
some are indicative of the seniority in the Order or the
superiority of social status of the particular disciple
involved and some dcnote sublime spiritual attainments
or virt.rous conduct of the disciplesconcerned.
 ETADA#GA VAGGA 138 ETADAGGA YAGGA

Most of the scventy-four disciplesnemed in the list are (16) Sona-Kolivisa wbo have put forth effort
familiar figures who are often met with in Buddhist (araddha-uiriyaaam).
literature. The whole list as such appears to be a late (17) Sona-Kutikenna of clear utterence
compilation made-up by putting together material found (k aly an a- vi k k an n a n am).
rcattered in the Canon. The following are the names of (18) Sivali who are recipients of gifts
the disciplesand the particular spheresin which they have (Iibhin4n).
attained pre-eminence. (19) Vskkali .. . . who are of implicit faith
(saddhadhimuttinam).
BIt*,Lhtrs (20) Rihula . . . . . . . who are anxious for training
( l) Afifiikondafifia foremost among disciplesof long 6ikkhekananary).
standing (rattaff fr un am).t (21) Ratthapala who haw entered the order
(2) Sariputta foremost smong disciplesof great wis- through f.uth (saddhipabb ajitanam)'
dom (mahapaflfrinam)' (22) Kunda-Dhana . who are first to reccive
(3) Maha-Moggallana . . . of supernormal powers fo od4ickets (path amam salikam ganh amunam}
(iddhimaatanam). (23)Vangisa ....... t h o s e w h o a r e o fr e a d y w i t
(4) Mahi-Kasstpa . who upheld strict obser- (patibhinavantanam)'
(24) Upasena Vangantaputta who are plcasaat
vance of ascetic practices (dhutavidanam),
(5) Anuruddha . . . . who are clairovoyant (dibba' in all respecB (sdmanbpAsidiknam)'
(25) Dabba Mallaputta who assignquarters
cakkhukanam).
(6) BhaddiyaKaiigodhaputta .. . . of aristocratic (seni san ap afi fii Pak an am).
(26) Pilindavaccha who are deer to devas
birth (ucca kul *i n am).2
(?) Lankuntakr Bhaddiya who are of sweet (devatin am pitam anaPenn),
(27) Bahiya Daruciriya who are capeble of
v oice (m a.f,jussarin am)
(8) Pindola Bhnradvaja . . . . who are lion-roarers comprehending the tru(h instantly (khip-
(sihantdikina4t).3 pibhif,franam).
(9) Punna-Mantiniputta who are Dhamma- (28) Kumara-Kassapa . . . . those who are eloquent
preachers ( dh amm ak athiki nam). (citukathiknary),
(10) Maha-Kaccina who are capableof ex- (29) Mahakotthita
pounding in analytical detail what is said in brief logical analysis (patisambhidEppattanam).
(sa'nkhi t ten a bh asi tassa vi t thi re n a a t th em w bh a- (30) Ananda
janunem).
(D . . . . those who are well learrcd
( l i ) C u l l a - P a n t a k a ( i ). . . . . . . o f t h o s e c a p a b loef
(bahussuunam)'
creating mind-made forms (man om ayary kayaqt). (ii) .. . . posscsingretentive memory (catr-
(ii) . . . . . . ofthoseskilled inexpandingmind
msntanam)'
(cet o -vi va t ta-k usal-anam) . (iii) . . of good behaviour (gatimentann)'
(12) Mahi-Panthaka of those capable of ex- who are resolute (dhitimnt-eaam)
(iv)
pansion of perception (saf,fli'vivatta-kusa- (v) . . personal attendants (upatth*nim)'
IEnam).5
(31) Uruvela Kassapa of large folloryings
(13) Subh;ti (i) of those who lived in seclusion
(aranaviharinarr,), (ii) . . . . of those worthy of (mahiParisinam),
gtfts (d * k h i neyyi n am ). (32) KClud"yto . . . . . . . good at appeasing families
(14) Revata Khadiravaniya of thosc who are (kulappasidakinam)'
fo restdwell er s (ara f,fri ki n am).6 (33) Bakkula . . . of good health (appabidhaaem)'
to recall pest eixr-
(15) Kankha-Revata of meditative power iflj Sottrita . . . . . . who are able
tences ( pubbenivisam 8n ttstrantaaam)'
(ihayinam).

the mort renior.

Thh incyitrbty has to bc ro boctusc he was the first to be sdmitted to the Order and hence
being ro why the rrirtocretic birth of
Birt h, whether it is erirtocretic or otherwire, ir of no consequenccin the bhikkhu Order, Thir
(AA. p. 193)sayr that he ir the foremort in this
thu particuler dirciple ir highlighted ir difficult to underrtend. The commentary
time. Besides,he had been kingfor five hundred
f..pect becausehe happened to be the son ofthe most renior sakyan lady ofher
!uccrsstve births and this too qualify him for pre-eminence in this respect.
whatexactlyisthetignificanciofthirqualifrcationirnotquiteclesr.Thecommentery(AA'p. 196)recmrtoruggestthathewer
and proficiency'
full of self a:rlurance and, therefore, alwayr ready to meke e claim for hir ability
Sarrputta too admired this ability of Punna-Mantiniputtl 6A' P'zry'
These two *ere brotherr, otrc tn expertiirupa-jjn-+9! othcr in antp>ijhana'
eraftfitka i: an aspect of.dhutanga(q.v.) of which Mshi-Kagapr ir srid to bc the foremoct'
 ETADAGGA YAGGA 139 ETADAGG^A,VAGGA

(35) Upeli who are profieient in Vineye (57) Citta, the householder of Macchikesanda. . . . .
(viaayadharanam). who are dh"mma teechers.
(36) Nenda who advise bhitlhunis (bhikkhun' (5E) Hatthaka of Alavi who obtein lnrge
ovidakinam) following by the four modes of treetmen t (cat-uhi
(37) Nanda . who guard the faculties of senses sahg ah av a t th-uhi ep ari s an' sang anh an ta n am).
(in d riye sugu tta d van n am). (59) Mahanamg the Sakyan thosc who offer
(38) MahA-Kappina . . . who advise bhikthus choicy llms (p ani t adiyaki nem).
(bhkkhu ovidakinam). (60) Ugga, the householder those who offer
(39) Sigate . . . who are proficient at contemplation desirable gsfts (ma napadeyak rn em).
of the heat-clement (rcjo4hitu-kusalEnam). (61) Uggats, thc householder . . . who attend on the
(a0) Ridha who are impromptu speakers raigba (sa1 gh up atthi* an ag)
(patibhaneyyakinam). (62) S[ra Ambatlha . " . of those having faith born
(4t) Mogharija who are wearers of coarse robes of underst an drng ( aveccapp asida).
(likh aciv an dh ar an am), (63) Jivaka Komarabacca . . who are liked by the
people 1p uggalap p asana aaaa).
Bt ftLtut b (6a) Nakulapitq the householder . . . . . . . who are
(a2) Mahipa.liiati Gotaml foremost among faithful (v is sasak aa am).
bhikkhunis of long standing.
Ufrrffiu- lay female followen
( 4 3 )K h e m a . . . . . . ofgreatwisdom.
(4.4) Uppalevanna . of supernormal powers. (65) Sujite, daughter of senini, first to take'
(45) Paticiri . . . . . . who are proficient in Vinaya. refuge.
(46) Dhammadinni . . . who are dhamma-preachers. (66) Visikhi, Migira! mother . . . . of donors.
(47) Nandi . . . of meditation power. (67) Khujjutlari . . . . of those who are well learned
(bahussulanam).to
(48) Soni who have put forth effort.
(49) Sekuli (68) Simivati . . . . of those who porsessthe sub-
who are clairvoyant.
(50) BhEddi Kundalakesi . . . . who are capable of lime quality of loving-kindness (mettil.rr
(69) Uttar4 mother of Nandq of medi'-ative
comprehending qhe truth instantly.
(51) Bhadda Kapilini power.
who are able to recdl
past existences. (70) Suppivisa of the Koliyan . . . thosc who offer
( 5 2 ) B h a d d i K a c c i n i . . . . who have attained great choicy alms.
(71) Suppiya . . who nurse the sick (gilanupttthaki-
ruper-normal powers ( m ahi bh i fl f, ap p a t ti n am ).1
(53) Kisigotami who are wearers of coarse- nam).t2
(72) Kitiyani . . . . . . of those having faith born of
robes.
(54) Sigalamati who are of implicit faith.r understanding.
(73) Nakulamiti . . who are faithful.
(74) Kili, the lay follower of Kuraraghara . . . who
Upisakr:- lay male followers develops faith through hearsay itself. (aaussa-
(55) Tapassu-Bhallika who first took refuge vappasanninam).tt]
(in the Buddha and Dhamma).
(56) Sudattha, the householderAnathapindika- . . . . Besidesthis list of seventy-fourdisciplesof the Buddha
who are donors (deyakanam). who have reached excellence in certain respectsthert is,

7. There ir no parallel to this in

the bhikkhulist, Thc commentary rays thst durinS the time of a particular Buddha only four posers
suchpoxersi.e.thepowerof recollectingeventruptoEperiodofhundredthousand aeouftappa)andone asamkeyya,Thefour
who possesred such power during the time of Buddha Gotema are his two chief disciples, Bakkula Thera gnd Bhaddi Keccina
Theri (AA. p.377).
t. Twelve out of these bhiLkhunis have exact counter-prrt! among the bhikkhus as i! rhown in the above lict.
9. The four are liberality (danz) pleasarrrtspeech (piyau-acana), good behaviour (-atthacariyi) and equality (saminattati).
10.Her exact counterpart is noqfound in the Dir?llunilist. In the bhikkhu list Ananda is s&id to be foremost in thir respect.
l t . No counter part of Simavati is found in either the'bhikkhu or bhitkhunilisu.
t2. She too has no parallel.
r 3 .Shetoo har no parallel.The Commentary (AA, t, 45E)nanatinB her story tells how she developedconfidencein the Buddhs" the
Dhamma end the Sangha by over hearing a discussion, in praise of the Triple Gem, between Satigira and f{emavata- lt should
howcver be noted thalBuddhism doec not encourag! faith based merely on hearsa! (see Kilama Sutta, A. l, p. l8E ff),
a
The Manorathapirani(AA, t, p, 124ff) deals elaborately on each of these disciplcs giving their previow lives and also narrating
eventsthat conduced to their high attainmentr. The Gradual Sayings(1, p. l6 ff.) in its footnotes makcr intererting observations
o n t h e m a n d t h e i r E t t a i n m e n t s . T h e D P P N . a l s o g i v e s d e t a i l e d b i o g r a p h i c a l s k e t c h e r o f t h e s e m o n k s . C f a l s ol lS, p. p . l 5 5 f ; 2 3 5 f .
 ETADAGGA VAGGA 140 ETADAGGA VAGGA

comrng down from acomparatively early period, perhaps 7. Lakuntaka Bhaddiye

as a commentarial tradition, another list of disciplesthat 8. Pindoia Bharadviia
givesthe nemcsof thosewho are categorizedas the 'Great 10. Maha-Kaccana
D isciples' (m abi siv ak a : m aha-k av ak a). The D h amm a- I l. Culla-Panthaka'
pada commentary, (DhpA. ll, p. 93) referes to these 12. Maha-Panthaka
'Great
Disciples'. So does the Divyivadana (p. a89). 13. Subhuti
Saddharmapundarika ,Sutra (chp. l) shows that this t4. Khadiraviniya-Revata ( l)
listing originated in the Indian Buddhist tradition itself. 15. Kankha Revata(2)
The Vidud{himagga fix their number at eighty and refer 16. Kolivisa Sona (l)
to the whole group as asitimahisivaka.l' 17, Kutikanna Sona (2)
"
The concept of eighty great disciplesis fairly common 18, Sivali
in the Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition, Tlte Dharmapra- 19. Vakkali
20. Rahula
dipikiv2,rs'a Sinhala text belonging to the medieval
p e r i o d , e n u m e r a t e sa l i s t o f g r e a t d i s c i p l e s .B u t t h i s l i s t 21. Ratthapata
22. Kundadhana
fall short of the number eighty, According to this text all
23. vanfisa
t h e s e' G r e a t D i s c i p l e s ' h a v ea s p i r e df o r t h i s p o s i t i o n f o r a
period ofone hundred thousandr6 aeonsand the Buddha 24. Upasena
25. Dabba
h i m s e l f h a s p r o c l a i m e dt h e m a s ' G r e a t D i s c i p l e s ' o f h i s ,
26. Pilindavaccha
F u r t h e r c a c h o f t h e s ed i s c i p l e sh a s a f o l l o w i n g - o f f i v e
27. Bahiya-Diruciriya
hundred bhikkhus.
28. Kumara-Kassapa
This list inthe Dharmapradtpixavaconter.insoni, the 29. Maha-Kotthita
n a m e so f b h i k k h u s , t Tt h u s g i v i n g a v e r y n a r r o w i n t e r p r e - 30. Ananda
tation to the term savaka. Many of the names of the 31, Uruvela-Kassapa
forty-one bhikkhus listed in the Etadaggavagga are 32, Kiludayi
' G r e a t D i s c i p l e s ' .C o n s p i c u o u sb y
i n c l u d e di n t h i s l i s t o f 33, Bakkula
omission ar? the names of Up-ali, Kaludayi B-ahiya 34. Sobhita
diruciriya ard one of the Sona theras. 35, Upali
36. Nandaka
' E i g h t y G r c a t D i s c i p l e s ' i sf o u n d
A c o m p l e t ei i s t o f t h e 37, Nanda(l)
'Sinhala
in the modern Sinhala text called Sravaka 38, Maha-Kappina
Caritaya.rt This list repeatsin the identical order a-llthe 39. Sagata
forty-one names of bhikkhfis occurring in the Etadagga 40. Radha
v a g g aa n d a d d a n o t h e rt h i r t y - n i n en a m e st o c o m p l e t et h e 41. Mogharija
f i x e d n u m b e r e i g h t y ,T h e f o l l o w i n g i s t h e l i s t i n g a sf o u n d 4 2 , B h a d d i y a( 2 )
therein. 43. Vappa
L Aflfii-Kondnafiffa 44. Mahinima
2. Sariputta' 45. Assaji
3. Moggallana 46. Kimbila
4. Maha-Kassapa 47. Bhagu
5. Anuruddha 48, Cunda
6. B h a d d i y a( l ) 49. Nala

I 4. The number of great dirciples docs not seem to be fixed in the Sanskrit tradition. The Sdmp. name! twenty-six of th3:mand addr,
'and
others'which clearly indicater the number is larger. lt is interestingalso to note that in this particular inctanceAnanda is not
includedamongthe mahi-lrivzkasbutsingledoutandmentionedasetraince (!atksa). tntheSanrkrittraditionthereisakoalilt
'Great Female Dircipler'. For further referencc see 8Il'S, s.". rnaitfurivtl.".
cf Mahilrivikas

:: SeeDharmapraipikava ed. by Baddegama Vimalavamsa thero, publ. of M. D. Gunasena& Co., Colombo, 2nd ed, 1936,p.

15. ;; Vtsuddhalanavitasini 6p.1. p. 142)too mention this fact. Howorer, it says that thc aspiration of the two chiefdisciples
extends up to one asankheyyaandone hundred, thousand acons,whereasthe a.rpirationof the'Eighty Diriples'extend up to one
h u n d r e { t h o u s a n d a e o n s . T h e c o n t e x t s e e m s t o s u g g e s t t h a t t h e t w o c h i e f { i s c i p l e( sa g g a s i v a k a ) w e r e e x c l u d e d f r o m t h e g r o u p o f
'ErEhn
Creat Duciples'.
'Great
17. There seerru to be a reparate list of Female Disciplec' or bhiklhunis a.! lccn from the refererrcel in thc 8ItS.
l8 Ths book was written by Ratmalane Piyaratana Sthavira and published'in 193L
 ETERNALISM 141 ETERNALISM

50. Seludayi insistenceon the latter at the sane timo show already the
51, Bhaddali weak ground on which these dogmes of creation and
52. Todeyya immortality are founded.
53. Kappa One solution has been tricd by the cc;cept of 'eternai
54. Jatukanna generation'which, however, is usuaily confined to the
55. Posalarb' theologicalview in Christianity of the continuous process
56. Punnaka of generation of the Son of the Father, opposing the
57. Dhotaka emanation of the same according to the Gnostic view.
58, Nanda (2)
59. Ajita Schelliqgs'sdefinition of eternity as 'existenceoutside
60. Tisse Metteya time' and Hegel's 'absolute timelessness'point to an
61. Metteyya enduring and changelessessence without reletion to
62. Upasivaka beginning,creation, succcssionor cessetion.
63. Hemaka The idea of etcrnity is, therefore, a negative coDcept
64. Bhaddiavudha which the imagination endeavoursto picture by removing
65. Udaya the limits of experience.But, however far the limits are
66. Pingiya pushedback and forward, Do concept is possiblewithout
67. Meghiya limitation and hence eternity will remain for ever beyond
58. Channa experience end it must of necessity be non-ectual.
69. Upavana
70. Bhaddaji All argumentsto prove the existenceof eternity cither
71. Yasa in God or in the soul are but verbd gymnasticsand cen
72. l^akkhana easilybe turned into proofs of the vcry opposite. E.g,, the
73. Gavampati proof from the law of causation does not lead to an
74. Punnaji eterneluncausedcause,for that 'concept'would upsetthe
75, Nadi-Kassspa vcry law of causation which is quoted in support.
?6. Aigulimila On the other hand, the refutation of eternalism or
77. Gaye-Kassapa rbrolute eternal existenct does not necessarilyleed to an
78. Acela-Kassapa absolute origination or spontaneous self-creation. For
79. Sabhiya there is the Buddha's solution of dependent origi'nation
t0. Satuludiyiro or evolution which does not require an etcrnal entity to
exist as a first cause,but allowr for individual origination
M. Knhvlmc
from pre-cxisting conditions without an ebsolute end
ultimate origin. [n this scnle, eternity is a fect, becauseno
beginning in the absolute senseis discernible, but it is an
ETERNALISM, a doctrine which believes in a beginn- eternal process of evolution and involution, i.e., of
constant change,of a permanent impermanence, however
iaglessend inccssant exirtencc, infinite both in past and
paradotical that may sound.
future. This doctrine is rarely found in the full strength of
application, but is usually restricted to infinitc existence In this eternel procels there is bound to recur e
in the future, i.e,, immortality, or infinite duration in rccombinstion of forces with a cyclicel recurr€noe which
time. Thir limitetion of eternal exirtence to the future her given ground to the doctrine of remsira, in which
only hes two grounds: a phyrical ground which rees and even the teaching of the Buddhe will recur and disepeer,
expericnces the relrtive beginning and -the arising of without continued eiistence of a soul. whether itama or
things around, and apsychological ground which refucer ptrtfrkmt.
to rcc€pt the cessation of exirtence centred round the
l-conccpt. Plato's eternd ideas, Arirtotle's eternel forms and
Whiteheed's eternel objects are but qualitetive charecter-
Yet, logically there should be no greater difficulty in iltics of actuelity, incornpatible with the vrry nature of
lcceptiDg an eternal exiltence in the past without rctudity. Action is esscntirlly chrnge, and if there be
creetion,then an eternal continuation at least of e'soul' enything of the nature of eternity in action, it must be thrt
in the future. The refusal to rccept the former and thc of eternal change.

It. The Dhermaprdiprl-vr give Fplle r^r e ver. reading.

20. Scc rlro thc erticle'Ac[mrhrnwo" by Henpitrgedcra l{ininre Sthevire in thc Sinide Vilv*onyt(publ. by the Dept. of
Cuhurd Affeirr, Sri Lrnkq 1965) Vol. ?.pp.327-329.
 ETERNTTY
Eternalism is as old ag man's desire for continued
existence (bhava-anhil and already during the time of
the tsuddha a school of philosophy was found who had
made this thesis of eternalism the basic tenet of their
views (sassata4itthi).It was this doctrine which Acela-
Kassapq Kassapa, the unclothed, discussed with the
Buddha at Rajagha(^5.lI, p.20) who pointed out that the
view thet it is one and the same person who acts and who
'suffering
experiencesthe results,which is the doctrine of
self-wrougbl' (sayamkatam dukkham,), amounts to the
eternalist theory. This theory is further expanded as the
belief that this is the self (so ata), this is the world (so
Ioko),this I shsil become hereafter (so pcea bhavissEmi),
pcrm anent (n ie o), everlasting ( dh uv o), eternal (sassato)
and not subject to change auiparinana-dhaamo; ^S.[II,
p.98). But this view itself is a compound mentel formation
*By
(nizkhira) which is conditioned. whet is it caused,
from what is it born, by what is it produce d? (kimnidine,
kiasamudayi, kinjatika, kimpabhaval. Nourished by
feeling, born of contact with ignorance, there arises
craving, which produces this mental formation" (ibid,
p.96).
T\e BrahmalTla Suttanta (D.I, p. l3f0 distinguishes
four kinds of Eternalists who on diffcrcnt grounds
procleim thet both the soul and thc world sre eternal, and
partial Eternalista who maintain that the soul and the
world are partly eternal and partly not (ibid. pp. l7 ff.).
But the Sampasidaniya Suttanta (D.lll,pp. t0?-10) has
selected only three classes of Eternalists for refercnce,
who have in common their belief, based on remem-
berance of previous lives.
H. G. A. vt 7*7A
ETERNTIY in general would meen everlasting existenct
or andhss duretion of time. But ruch a conccption
imptier conditionality and relativity and thcrdore rubject
to temporel change. This senre of cverlasting exijtence
could be permitted only in the gcnse that the conditioned
world with rll itr vicirsitudes Soeson indefinitely in what
is called saml-araasexpressedin the ltstement'beceusc of
its uninterrupted continuity it is cdled raqnira:' (abbu-
chinnam vattnn-anam samsiroti ptwccati: Visa. p.
5441
In Buddhism, however, the term eternity could bc
gplicd for a deeper concept to mern tbe timehunas
L Soc rbc Atth.s-tlini p. 57 vcrr: stmtSa Ei&isi cittaa cittent s.uyta
throug! mird he dercribod Time).
7. wll6anrn tnidssanen-tnent:,m sabhto pabhem+tthi tpo ca plhavi
thil.m subhesubhant, ettha niiafi ca rupat uptrujjhati villlTasst
"na;ollrar
142 ETERNITY
inherent in the unconditioned state of Nibbana, the
Buddhist Absolute. lt is the Timeless Reality trans-
c e n d i n gt h e l i r n i t s o f t e m p o r a l d u r a t i o n . l t i s E t e r n i t y a s
opposedto Time, as the Absolute is opposedto Relstivity
or Conditionality. Thus the concept of eternity, in thig
senseexpressesthe transcendentalnature of Nibbana in
the temporal aspect.Nibbana as a statewhere everything
worldly has beentranscendedis transcendentalregerding
not only time and spacebut as regards congciousness8t
well and accordingly it is impossible to conceive of it
(anZrammana: IJd. 80). Consciousness dso, Iike all
component things, is a conditioned phenomenon end ir
not self-existent. While all conditioncd thinking is che-
racterised by these three dimcnsions of time, rpace end
consciousness,lwhen the human mind achieves Nib-
banic liberation it ettains to a condition where all these
erc transccnded,thereby becoming supra-mundenc. Here
all conceptualisations elco become unconditioned and
hencc totally free from all the limitations of time tplcc'
and the individualiscd mind' Hence it is called trenscen-
dental or unconditioned in coDtrest to the mundrae or
the conditioncd. This franscendentel Redity cannot bc
precticslly experieneduntil thc mind achicvcsliberrtion
and attains to the unconditioned stBte (nbtttkh-ngttea
cittam). This is clearly demonstrated in our orrn expc-
rience when we know that all our imaginations are alwayr
limited in time and space. All our sttempts to imagine
without these limits fail. It is only with the liberation of
the mind that theac limitations vanish.
As thc subject under dissussion is etcrnity let ur leave
out the psychicd and the spetisl sspect end confine
counelves to the temPoral rspect and observe how
Nibbina becomes eternity in this realm s! E ttrtc
independentof all time conditions'
These observationr can be substantiated with stetc-
mentr of the Buddha found in the Nikiya tex$. Oue ruch
instancc that may bc quoted here is the well-known
Itatement in the Keva dda sutta (D.I,223) where eternity
rs uiderstood in Budiirism is clearly implied when the
consciousness of the released raint is deccribcd u "in-
demonstrable, limitless, completely lucid, wbcrein the
four great elements weter, earth, fire end wiad find no
foothold, where all duslities like long and rhort, small
end large, good and bad etc. ar well u mind rnd mrtter
completely cea!e,'2 Thls is a good dercription of the
tnnrccndental state wberein thc eternrl nature of Nib-
brna ir clearly indicated. A similsr stBtemeDt comple-
nrcntery to this ir found Ufraa (p' 80) wherc thir
unconditioned state ir refcrred to 8s en iyatua\herein
muar'(fhrough Timc the ra3o dctcribcd the mind end
tjo vZyo ne gidhati, atht dighafict nsslfrcr,*.num
nirodhcaa-atha etam upufijhtti: D. 1,223.
 ETERNITY
Dcitherthir world nor the the other, neither the sun nor
the moon, neither going nor coming neither stability nor
ootion nor birth are found and which is unsupported,
non-existent and not capable of being conceived that
itself is the end of suffering.'R This iyatana is further
described as un born ($eq, un beco me (a bh uta), unmade
(aLata) and unconditioned (asahkhata), explouring the
supra-mundene neture of this which is accordingly
beyond time. All this could be sumrned up in the
statcment "nothing muadane is wholly freed from time
and everything supra-mundane is totally free from timc."
Our erperiencr shows that all our thinking proctsses
are inevitably intervowen with the three dimensions of
mind, space and time. Whcn the mind, as the thinking
agent, achievcs frecdom from rll worldly bondage it
breaks asunder dl limitations and bccomes uolimited or
infinite (uanta) as described in the Kevaddht suttt
Jtlnza quoted above. Here the lerm anantt siinifies itr
complete freedom in not being confined by the limited
pcrsonality of an individud. It denotes thc spatiel atpect
of Nibbena. tt is infinitc in space it is infinite in time as
wcll. Such e condition es free from all spatial, temporal
rnd prychological limitrtionr and alco from ell g6enge i!
rternd and thus Nibbane can quite logicdly be described
u the Blis of Etcrnity. lt is in this scnsetbat the Buddhr
ir dcrcribed ar'unlimited in spece' (anantagocara: Dhp.
v" 180).
ln the Buddhat teaching of the Lew of Conditionelity
implied in thc Formuh of Conditioned genesir (Pagicce'
eamuppida) it ir seen how the ordinary world continues
inctssrntly, rccording to I certein rhythm as it were, in en
unbroken seriesof ceusal co-reletions. Here the perrege
of time comer to be idcntified with chenge. The naturc of
ordinary conscioulness ((vifrfrina)) k most obviour
bere. Oncc thir conscioulnc$ oealet with the cessation of
bccoming (bhnenirodha/ the procett oeete! and Eter'
nity ir redired.
An importent ulpect of this realisation of Eternity is
how the particular individud that achieves it releaces
himrelf from thc mundrne world. lt should be clerr from
whet hes been ssid so fer thet the individual es the subject
crnnot think of the external world as thc object without
the help of conrciousnels ut the mcdium of thougbt. And
with the attainment of the freedom of Nibbina, which is
free from dl relationr, the subjective objective dudity
ceilrcn to operatc and such a peroon't thinking becomes
free from ell bonds to the objective world. Thus the world
ceuet to exist for him who has acrordingly attained to
tbe rtete of permenent freedom as Eternity.
Vicwing the problem from enothcr angle bered on
thac considerations one cu understend how Nlbbina ir
3. aiytalokontputlokoobhoqadimmriy\tdthunbhiLLbvenenryttiavdlrrtintgrtimalthitimntantimuupttim,
ryiitttrm rpp.v.tttm anittmmaaam evt t m n"'hbto
143 ETERNITY
r ttete free form change. As chenge mcens the passageof
time n rtate free frorn change is a state free from the
effects of time and hcnc? Eternrl.
The concepts of beginning, end, char"i;:"duration etc.
invofuing tirne arc all pert of the conditioned world, for
Eternily,like Infrnity has neither beginning nor end. The
pcrson who has realiscd ltribbana is free from birth,
decay, desth and dl uhange" To him "who was freedom
through the cessetionof consciouEnessand the destruc-
tion of craving the liberation of mind ir like the extinction
of a lamp (4. I, 236)". Thus thc releared person
experienccs e rtete of permanency (nicca) as opposed to
tbc worldly stete of impermanenct (anicca). Because of
its changeless or eternai nature (dhuva, aicca) it is the
state of bigbest happincss (paramasuk^6e,).An othcr
epithet of Nibbana that aptly describesthfu etcrDelnature
as l,ccutt (immovable) is when Nibbena ir dcscribed 8s
teutem thinary @hn 225).
Timeceales to bc a perishable commodity with arhants
unlike in the caseof ordinary mortals becausethe former
have trangcendedit and'exist" out of time asit were. All
the negative definitions of Nibbene quoted above negrte
the time-riddcu worlds replacing it with e pertrlancnt,
changetesr,steble and eternd rtate. Very often Nibbina
ir referred to as eternrl blirs but it would be morc corrcct
to dercribe the Eternity of lt{ibbina itrelf ar blirs. Bcing r
stetc bcyond time it ir tnre freedom and rccurity fron dl
unheppimss.
The foregoing account chows that Eternity as Nibbine
ir an entirely timelers strte in thet it tranrcends it while, it
mry be seid, including it ar well, Eternity in thir senseir
tbe rtete of Rcality undetermincd by eny of tbe limitations
of ordinery human expcriencr end hencc above Time. It
mey elso bc dercribed es the timclcsr ultimete Reality
underlying the phenomenal world, The finite world existr
in the conditioned scnse (iei&i ata) and Eternity ir thus
the timeless Absolute. As such this rtete ir not rubject to
ateing or rny form of change. The Buddha could
accordingly be describcd as en intermediary bctween
Eternity and Time and- efter btd prrinibhiar he Eerg?r
into Eternity which ir expressed in early Buddhist textt
by such phrares ts brahaabhitt, dbtaaabhitt,
parinibbutaetc. The Buddhe principle is eternd likc the
Dhemma and this eternal Buddha il immanent in human
bcings in varying degreer of menifestiation. It ir the
perronification of thir eternal Buddhe principlc that has
led to the belief in en eternd Buddha rmong lome
Meheyana schoolr like the Nichiren in Jepen.
Ip the Udam palttge quoted rbove it is stetcd thet in
this eternel rtate the rua and the moon do not exirt (aa
ubho aadimuurif).[t ir common knowlcdge thd iD
dulthssili.
 ETHICS 144
o u r o r d i n a r y a f f a i n T i m e i s m e a s u r e db y t h e m o v e m e n t
o f t h e s et w o h e a v e n l yb o d i e s a n d a n y s t a t e w h e r e t h e s e
t w o d o n o t h a v e t h e i r i n f l u e n c em u s t b e a b o v e T i m e a n d
hencc Eternal without beginningsand ends.
'soul' that passes
In Buddhism there is no permanent
f r o m t h e t e m p o r a l t o t h e t i m e l e s sr e a l m . O n c e a p e r s o n
c o m p l e t e t yo v e r c o m e s h i s e g o - c o n s c i o u s n e s( s a k k i y a -
digyhi),his consciousness( (viffftina),), as the medium of
repeated birth, ceasesto function (nirujjhatt) and be-
comes un-established (appatitthita: S. l, 122) and thc
i n d i v i d u a l i t y a l s o c e a s e st o e x i s t a s a s e p a r a t ee n t i t y "
When this happens the individual realisesNibbanic
freedorn thereby becoming one with the realm of infinity
a n d e t e r n i t y . l t i s t h e r e a l i s a t i o no f s a v i n gk n o w l e d g e o r
gnosis1(parifrfiA:M. l, p.\ lieading to complele frcedom
and Enlightenment, By freeing himself from the round of
repeated births and deaths the individual becomes one
with Eternity.
A. G. S. I(grlvewasanr
ETHICS. l. Plrce of ethlcs In Buddldsm: Ethics is gene-
rally understood as the inquiry into the evaluation of
humen conduct, behaviour, goals, dispositions, inten-
tions, ways of life and institutions. The ethics of a
particular community, cultural group or a religious
iystem cen be empirically studied by following the
methods of social scienceto discover what in fact are its
valuesand why those vaiueshave come into being. Ethics
dso signifies a mode of philosophical inquiry which
r t i e m p t s t o a n s w e rc e r t a i n g e n e r e lq u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e
mbaning of moral terms and the criteria of moral
e v a l u a t i o n .I n c o n t e m p o r a r yp h i l o s o p h y a d i s t i n c t i o n i s
m a d e b e t w e e n t w o a p p r o a c h e st o p h i l o s o p h i c a l e t h i c s .
T h e f i r s t i s v i e w e da s I n o r m a t i v t i n q u i r y w h i c h a t t e m p t s
t o d e t e r m i n gt h e d i s t i n c t i o n sb e t w e e nr i g h t a n d w r o n g '
good and bad and ought not in relation to the moral
evaluation of human action. The second approach is
viewed as an analytical and logical exercisecalled meta-
ethics attempting to clarify the meaning of moral words,
analyzemoral conceptsand describc the logical status of
moral utlerances. Although the ethical content of the
Buddhist doctrine cannot be classifiedstrictly according
to the above distincitons, viewed from all these perspec-
tives, Buddhist thought can be said to contain much that
i r e t h i c a l l ys i g n i f i c a n t .
Thc Buddhist scripturesdo not contain treetisesexclu-
s i r e l v d e v o t e d t o s y s t e m a t i cp h i l o s o p h i c a l i n q u i r y i n t o
e t h i c sc o m p a r a b l ew i t h p h i l o s o p h i c a lw o r k s o f t h e e a r l y
G r e e k s s u c h a s t h e N i c h o m a c h e a nE t h i c s o f A r i s t o t l e '
B u t r . n t e r e si tn e t h i c a l q u e s t i o n ss e e m st o b e a p e r v e s i v e
c h a r a c t e ri n a l l o f t h e B u d d h a ' st e a c h i n g s l.t i s p o s s i b l et o
r e c o n s t r u c ta c o m p l e t em o r a l s y s t e mo u t o f t h e m a t e r i a l
scatteredin the most authentic scriptural sources of
ETHICS
B u d d h i s m T h e B u d d h a ' st e a c h i n gd i d n o t p a y s t t e n t i o n
to theoretical intricacies which contemporary philo-
s o p h e r sw i t h a n a c a d e m i ci n t e r e s tw o u l d w a n t t o i n q u i r c
i n t o . S u c h i n t e r e s tw a s s e c o n d a r vt o t h e a c h i e v e m e not f
o f t h i s a t t i t u d et h e r ei s
p r a c t i c a lr e s u i t s .A s a c o n s e q u e n c e
no attempt to pursue philosophical issueswith the
strictness, regour and argumentative zeal which is
c h a r a c t e r i s t i co f t h e W e s t e r n p h i l o s o p h i c a l t r a d i t i o n
N e v e r t h e l e s st h e r e a r e c e r t a i n p o s i t i o n s t a k e n i n t h e
B u d d h i s tt r a d i t i o n w h i c h a r e w o r t h t h e a t t e n t i o no f t h o s e
i n t e r e s t e di n t h e s t u d y o f e t h i c s .
B u d d h i s m c a n b e v i e w e d a s I s y s t e mo f t h o u g h t t h a t
has made a lasting and significant contribution in the
history of moral thinking. Both in its origin and in its
later development ethical concerns have played a central
r o l e i n B u d d h i s m . B u d d h i s m c o n s i s t so f a r i c h m o r a l
vocabulary, a distinct normative basis for moral action,
doctrines that are of great significancc to the moral
p h i l o s o p h e ra n d t h o s e i n t e r e s t e di n t h e d e v e l o p m e n to [
m o r a l i d e a s ,l n t h e h i s t o r v o f l n d i a n t h o u g h t , B u d d h i s m
e v i d e n t l ya s s u m e dt h e r o l e o f a m o r d r e f o r m m o v e m e n t ,
directing its mord critique against the superstitionsand
rituals of both the {ramana and brahmana traditions of
the fifth century B.C. The scriptures preservedunder the
Suttapitaka of the Theravada pali canon, which have
parallels in the scriptures of other Asian Buddhist
scriptural traditions preserved in languages such as
Chineseand Tibetan can be viewed as the most authentic
s o u r c e sf o r t h e r e c o n s t r u c t i o no f t h e e t h i c a l d o c t r i n e so f
Buddhism.
Among the Buddhist doctrines one can distinguish
between wbat contemporary philosophers call descrip
t i v e s t a t e m e n t sa n d e v a l u a t i v e s t a t e m e n t s .T h e f u n d a -
mental tenets of the Buddhist ethical system are closely
Iinked to the Buddhist world view and its theory of
reelity. The way of life that Buddhism prescribes is
derived from its beliefs about the naturc of men, the
nature of the universeand the nature of human destiny'
These beliefs can be considered as the factual content of
the Buddhist teachings, with the qualification that
'flctual'is usedhere to include lhose'facts'establishedby
the methods of knowiDg accepted in Buddhism. The
Buddhist scriptures also contain ccrtein evaluetive and
practical utteraDcca invotving the apprairal of human
actions, behaviour, practiccs, modes of life, and enjoin-
ing people to adopt ccrtain modeg of behaviour, cultivate
certain mentel dispositions and aim rt certein rpccific
ends in life. It is theselatter statementsthat conrtitute the
content of Buddhist ethics.
According to the Buddhist claim, the ultimatc goal of
Buddhism consists of en attainmcnt which hEs threc
principal and interrelated espects. Fint, it is the attrin-
ment of emancipation (vimutti), which from the indivi-
duall point of view, has the consequencc of delivering r
 ETIIICS
person from a condition of suffering or unsetisfactori-
nesl. Secondly, it is the attainment of a kind of under-
standing or insight which in itself has an ethical value.
This insigbt is cdled right knowledge (sammafiEna)
wisdom (pafrfra),, the knowledse and insicht into things
u they have come to be (yatabhuaflinadassana), the
knowledge of the derturction of the influxes or cankers
(asavakkhayafrana), Thirdly it is the attainment of
mord perfection, a moral transformetion of personality
which entitles one to be described as an arahant (q.v.).
The freedom from suffering, the insight and the perfec-
tion are concomitant or simultan"orr3 gllqinments, It is
the ultimate attainment consisting of these three aspect3
that Buddhism describesgs the attainment of Nibbina.
One becomesa Buddha by discovering and revealing
the path to the atainment of this goal. The most
praiseworthy individuals, apart from the Buddha are
those who have attained the same goal of perfection by
following the instructions of the Buddha contained in his
teaching (dhamma). According to the Buddhist tea-
chings,thosewho attain the goal of arahanthood can do
no wrong. They are the most qualificd to guide lesser
moral beings on the path of morality.
Nibbine the surnmum bonum of Buddhism has an
ethical significar:ce. For it is represented as a kind of
mord perfection. There haw been attempts on the part of
rome recent scholars to misinterpret the role of morality
within Buddhism due mainly to a mistaken under-
Itending of the mcanings of some ethical terms in
Buddhism. One such misinterpretation which has passed
unchdlenged for a considereble time is the view ex-
pressed by S. Tachiabang in his Ethics of Buddhism.
According to Tachibana, the enligbtened person in
'beyond good and evil'. He believes thet
Buddhism is
according to both the Buddhist doctrine and the teaching
of the Upanishads, the highest spiritual attainment is
rbove moral distinctions.
According to the idea set forth in the Upanishadr
knowledgeexempts the knower from both good and
evil ald emancipates him altogether from the region
of moral distinctions...The omnipotent Upanishadic
knowlcdge elevates the knower beyond the range of
ethical, aesthctical and logical distinctions. I
Thc Bhikkhu, the Brihmanq the Buddha (satthi,
muni) are said to be free from such distinctions as
good bnd evil, pleasantness and unpleasantness,
purity and impurity and so on.... When one reaches
l. S. Tachibana,Ethia of Buddhism,(Colombo,l9a3) p. 37-38.
2. Ibid. p. 38-39.
l. A. W. P. Guruge,'SomeProblcmrin BuddhictEthics",Afijsli O. H. deA, WijaekereFecilitetion,Volume,ed. J. Tilateliri
(Colombo,1970),p. 5; GunapeleDharmariri, A Buddhist Critique of the Aristian Conept of God, (Colombo, 1974),p. 106.
145 ETHICS
this state of culture, dirtinctive ideas will be
absolutely abolished... He has reached the mental
condition where thcre is nc consciousncasof moral,
aesthetical or logical distinction; the relative ideas
therefore of good and cvil, pleasure and pain,
agreeablenessand disagrecableness,right and wrong
are all snnihilated for him.2
Tachibana's assertions inrpiy thet the highest goal of
Buddhisrn is amoral anri suggests that it only has a
personal and mystical significance, Contrary to
Tachibana's belief the evidence in the Buddhist scriptures
shows that the ultimate knowledge admitted in
Buddhism has a moral purpose. It is the kind of
knowledge that puts an end to the evil dispositions that
rre deep-rooted in the human mind.
It is difficult to see what Techibane means by saying
that the perfected saint in Buddhism transcends all moral
distinctions. If he means that the Buddha was indifferent
to all moral distinctions after becoming enlightened, he is
quite wrong. For it was after his enlightenment that he
did confidently assert the distinctions between what is
good and bad, right and wrong, and spent the rect of his
life instructing others about these distinctions. The
Buddha criticized some of his contemporarics for
adopting a sceptical attitude towards moral questions.
Tachibana's view, which has been reaffirmed by a
number of other scholars on Buddhism is a conlequence
of an erroneous rendering of Peli terms.3
2. PrlrcfprlEthlcdTerm Krrl& -,n htffit :Thereare
severalinstancesin the PaIi canon where it is Bserted that
the enlightened person transcends both pufifrr and
papa. lt is on the authority of these inrtancer that
scholars have held the view that the ultimate requirement
in Brrddhismis to transcendgood and evil. However, this
view is misleading unless the actual significance of the
Buddhist evaluativeterms is undentood in the context of
their dsc. Most rcholars have rendered the terms pufrfla
and pipa into English as 'good'and 'bad'without eny
quafification. Puf,ffa and pipawere terms used both in
the Buddhist and pre-Buddhist lndien traditions to
evaluate human behaviour. But it is to be notd that
Buddhism used another pair of terms, which in their
original usage in the Buddhist tredition evidently
conveyed e meaning that could bc distinguished from
that conveyed by puflf,a and pipa. These werc the
terms ftusa/a and akusala which came to be the primary
terms of moral evaluation in Buddhism. Thesetwo terms
 ETHICS
werc rerely uled in moral coDtexts in the pre-Buddhirt
rcripturd tredi tions.'
The term pufrEa has been gcnerally used in the Pali
rcripturel tmdition to denote that w.rich benefits the
perton who ir intent on bettering his future stete of
existenccwitbout renouncing the plcarurcr of bouschold
lile, The rignificancc of the tcrms pufrda and pipa
crnnot be understood except in the context of the
Buddhirt doctrines of. kamaalnd sr,nsZn, This senseof
puf,la ar a word in the evelurtive hnguage of
Buddhirm has been inherited from the earlier Brahmanic
urage of the term although the Buddha's view wEs
conriderably different from thc Brdhmanical view regard-
ing whrt corutitutcd pufrfra.
Act! of pufrf,a in Buddhism are looked upon e! tholc
deedr which have the tendency to promote a person's
happinerr in the future life. Pufrila belps a percon to be
reborn in a pleasent form of exirtencc (sugati), whereas
pipa leads to regression in the ramsaric cycle. It is
bclieved that those who have an abundance of puf,f,a
are reborn in heawnly rpheres of existence, while those
who havc an abundance of pipa are reborn in woeful
states of exiEtencc (niraya). Acts of socid welfare, such as
plenting of plearure groves and forests, makiag ol
bridges, wclls and drinking pleces for the welfare of the
public ere said to increase , pufrila , and couequently, to
lerd thc penon who performs such deedr to rcbirth in
heavcnly rpheres. (,S.I, p. 33) All portalr are raid to take
a ncw birth according to their pufrfra or pipa
dccdr.(ibid. p.197)Tbe DhammapadasByr that I penon
who has done pufrfra delights both here and hereafter,
end that he is intensely delighted when he goes to a
pleesant stete of existence. (Dhp.v. l8) In the ^9attr-
paf,ha sufta Paflcasikha wishes that be reaps whetever
pufrfra hehasdoneinrelationtothe steadfastarahantr
(srints) in sensuous enjoyment with the one whom he
loved.(D. II, p. 266)
An exasrination of the terms kusalaand atusa/ain the
Pali canonical scriptures shows that there is a noteworthy
difference in their 6seniag wben compared with that of
the terms pufrf,a rnd pipe.The term Kusr/aappeers to
have been uled more frcquently in the evaluation of
actioD leading to the higher spiritual goal of Buddhism.
The Ahguttara-aikiyavbtch uses evduetive language in
cbarecterizing the specific modes of behcviour and
conditions of mind which conduce to the attainment of
thc ultimate goal bf Buddhism" omitr tbe term Puf,f,e
but includer the term kwale. (4. V. p. 240f.f.;p. 273ff). A
person endowed with ten qualities is called one who is
endowed with tusde. (M.lI, p. 280. These qualities are
thc ones directty connected with the attrinment of
4. Sec dircuerion of thir in P. D. Prcmariri, Intcrprctrtion
the Humtnitia, Volume 2, Numbcr I, June 1976.
146 ETIIICS
Itlibbr$. Thc Buddhr s$ert! thet the practiea thet uc
kusale grrdually bad a perJon to thc higbat rtrte,
6grning the dteinment of Nibbena Thc trrdr rtater
rre sometimer enuneratcd es the four berer of mind-
fulncss (ctttiro-tatipa!.**il the four moder of rigbt
endeavour (canim nmmrypadfiar) the four brset of
prychic power (cattito*tdhipidi), the five fecrrltier
(paficindriyini), the five powers (pefrcabal-ai), tbe
reven factorg of enlrgbtenment (err;nbojjhrrlg- / and thc
Eightfold Prth (ariyo anUizgito Etgo: D. III, p. 102).
In the same context it ir rakl thet thc higbcst tusde strtc
ir the final frcedom of miad and freedom througb
wisdom which one attainr by thc eliminaiion of dl mentd
impurities, Nibbane" the higbert rpiritud attainment of
Buddhism is the condition in which greed Qobhe), melicc
(dosa) and ignorance or confurion (moha) are raid to be
absent. Greed, malice and iguoranoe arc dewribed as
akusalewhile tbe absence of them is described u kwala.
Kusala, unlikc Pvf,f,a ir not to be dircarded, but to be
cultivated. The Buddha is said to have rcflected on the
fect that he himself abandoned the numerour evil end
unwholesome qualities and ettained perfection in the
numerour kusala qualitics (Ud.p.66). The Buddha was
venerated for porreming morally good qualities. He ir
referred to ar one who cultivated that which ougbt to be
cultivatcd and eliminated that which ought to be
elimeneted, which may be understood .-ong other
things as e reference to his cultivrtion of tusr/r rnd
climination oI akusala. ln the contcxt sf em\f,gring
trtain guestionr ruked by king Pesenedi of Kosdq
Anandg one of the chief dirciples of tbe Buddhe, rays
that the Buddha is one who has discarded all rtetes that
cre ekwela and porsessedof ctater which arc kwalz(M.
Il, p.ll6).
The use of these principal evaluetive tcrmr in the PaIi
rcriptures clearly shows that acts of Pufrfra were con-
ceived in Buddhism as deeds of positive merit which briag
about, as their consequence, enjoymentr of a sensuous
kind. Kusda on the other haad emphasised the non-
scnsuous spiritud bliss, which results from it. Kusala
culminates in the eradication of the defilements of lobha
(greed), dosa (mdicc) end moia (ignorance). The term
thet was inveriably used in specifying tbe good actionr
which lead to the spiritud bliss of Nibbine war tuee.le,
whereas the term more frcquently uscd for rpecifying the
good actions which lead to rensuouE enjoyment and
happiness in samsire ws pufria. Perhapr thir cxplains
why the Buddha rnd hir dirciphr r$lgn e tomewhat
lower rtatus |o puf,f,a. Thur when the Buddha hears
the warning sounded by Uttaradevaputta:
Life to itr doom is hd.
Our yean are few.
of Two Principal Ethical Terrnr in Early Buddhirm , Sri ltnka fownd of
 ETHICS
For us led to decay no shelterr rtand.
Who so doth csntemplate this fear of death'
Let him so acl that merits (puflflEni) bring him
bliss.
He exprrsces his lack of concern f.or pufrf,a and says:
....Lct him reject the bait of all the worlds,
Lct him aspire after the final peecc.r
Expressing a similar ettitude Ratthapile who wished to
rcnouDoe the plearurcs of the household life refuses to
egrec witb his parents when he is urged by them in tbe
following words:
Come Retthapila, eat and drink and amuse yowself,
You can cnjoy divcrting younelf with sensepleesures,
urd pcrforming puf,fra deeds (M. II, p. 57)
From the above consideration it is reasonable to
conclude that Buddhism used the terms tusa/a and
pufrf,a with distinctive meanings. Both terms had an
evaluetive function, Pufrf,a in its canonical use
generally signified thc actionr whict were believed to be
conducive to e happy conlcquneoe to the ageDtin a future
cxistence(bhue).The enligbtened person tranrcends the
level of pufrfra , for he loses all interest in egoceatric
motives for action. Kwala, on thc other hand, was
generally believed to be thore qualities conducive
to spiritual bliss culminating in the ettainment of the
highcst blirs of Nibbina which leaves no room for the
fruition of any prrtf,a or pipa ec'tions. Although an
enlightenedpcnlon puts away both putrda nd pipabe
remeins to be the very embodiment of kusila.
Tachibenal erertion thet for the enlightened person the
rclative idear of good and evil, .,.. right and wrong ere all
ennihileted is every mideading way of presenting thc role
thet morality plays in Buddhism. The Buddha is
describedin the Pdi canonical scripturer Bsone who hed
inright into what war good and bed. The goodness of the
actions of enlightened personr is believed to follow
!pontBneourly from the inner trsnrformation that occurs
in thc culmination of thc spiritual path. Such persons do
not face the mord struggle thet the unenlightened have to
facc due to the conflict between whet is known to be the
right thing to do end the inclinetion to do the wrong
thing. For all egocentric impulses have been eradicated
by thc eolightened perlon.
Thc belief that the ettainment of the tupreme goal of
Buddhism involves the transcendence of moral distinc-
tionc cen rerult in losing sigbt of the fact that there is a
close relation betwecn the ultimate spiritud goal of
Buddhism and the moral life irelf. To be enlightened is
not to be indifferent to moral concerns. From the
Buddhist point of view, it is in the enlightened state that e
perron can be of the grertert rewice to mankind. lt is rn
5, The Book ofthc Kindrod Styings, Part I, p. 79.
147 ETIIICS
enlightencd person who ir fully moral, who does not
cuffer from morel weakncsr. For it ir who has completely
geincd control over the psycfo*logicalimpulsesthet drive
someorieto the kind of behnviour that could be charac-
terised rs unwhoiesome or immoral. To attain Nibbena ir
to cffect a radicrl trangformstion of a perront disposi'
tions. It is to eliminete the unwhslesome dispositionsand
to cultivate the wholes.]m€ ong$. This rerults in the
trensformation of e pcrson who is prone to cvil into e
perron who ir cepable of acting morally in a spontaneous
manner. The enlightened perron doec not lose, after
enlightenment, the mord qualities he hes cultivated in his
long endeavour to perfect himrelf. Such trrala qudities
ar mindfulncls, comp*lsion and wisdorn becomepart of
hic naturc. Nibbana was conceived in the Buddhist
tradition not merely rs a Fensformation or personality of
ruch a kind that one becomes oneself liberated from
ruffering, Under such a transformation of penondity
onc dso cealrssto bc instrumental in producing ruffcring
to others because onc has overclme one'g own moral
depravity. Buddhism meintains that it is personswho are
free from morel dcprarity that can be of the grestest
service to all mankind. It is after the Buddha found that
there were rixty disciple who had attained the same
degreeof moral perfeaion thet he himself attained, that
he urged them to wander for the welfare of all retional
b e i n g s .( V i n . l , p . 2 l ) . B u d d h i s m r e c o g n i r e sa c l o s e t i e
betwren morality and genuine social commitment.
3. Ethlcd V.frcrofBuddhko: It is evident thet in the
Buddhist schemeof moral values Nibbana is the higbert
level of mord perfection thet a person can attain. It is in
reletion io this attainment that Buddhism attached moral
significance to all other human conoerns. The attainment
of Nibbing is supposed to be thc immediate or remote
goal of every Buddhist layman and monk, The life
described as the holy or the higher hfe (brahmacariya)
was to be lived under the direction of the Buddha tb
attrin this goal. (M. I, p, 148), Early Buddhism did not
attempt to cheracterize Nibbane metaphysicelly. It laid
greet emphslis on the experientid characteristics of the
sttainment describing it in ethical and psychological
ttrms. Nibbana wes conceived as a positively blissful
condition artainable in this life itself. However, later
forms of Buddhism teem to have been influenced by the
ebsolutigtic and tranrcendentalist views stemming from
thc metephysical schools of Indian philosophy, resulting
in an undue emphasis on the metrphysical aspectsof
Nibbana, and undermining its ethicd signilicance.
ln the evduation of per3ollt, one who hes attained the
god of Nibbena is judged to be thc most praiseworthy
pcnron. Such e person ir to be commended a! one who is
fully endowed with kwtlt- The Buddha says:
 ETHICS
A ksqtriya is (said to be) the highestby those who trace
back their ancestry. But among gods and men, he (the
arahant) who is endowed with knowledge and conduct is
t h e h i g h e s t (. D . I , p . 9 ) .
ln another instance the Buddha says:
Out of thesefour castes.whocver is n monk, who is an
arahant, who has eradicated the cankers, is fully
trained and accomplished, who hes laid down the
burden, is freed through right knowledge, he amongst
them is reckoned as the highest in terms of righteous-
ness and not in terms of unrighteousness(D. II[, p'
83).
The Dhammapada refers to the arahant as the highest
being because he has attained the highest goal of
Nibbana. (Dhp. v.97).It is said that as far as the abodes
of living bcings extend, as far as the end of the realm of
bccoming, the arahanF ere the highest, the supreme
beings in the universe. (S. III. p, 83). The Buddha is
considered as the highest being ever to be born among
living beings. This value is attached to him due to his
being the founder of the supreme goal of Nibbina and the
most competeDt person to guide others towards that
goal.6
Buddhism values the truths, underrtanding and reali-
zation of which ensure the attainment of Nibbinq as the
'noble truths' (ariysacriai),Tbe path to the attainment
of it is crlled the noble p*h (ariyaaag$). Each item of
the Noble Eiglrtfold Path is prefixed with ,rrzmi mea-
ning'right'.
According to the Buddha, all that is morally evil is
reducible to the three character traits, greed (lobhr),
malice (dosa) and delusioa (moha). Whcn the Buddha is
asked to declare in brief what a.kusa/a is, he mentions
these three psychological states. (M. l, p. 489). These
three are considered as primary dispositions which result
in diverse kinds of moral evil. The Dumerous patterns of
bodily, verbal and mental behaviour characterized in
Buddhism as a&use/a arc said to be the natural expression
of these dispositions.
There are rcveral variant forms of presenting these
basic unwholesome dispositions sometimes elaborated
into more numcrouE categories of psychological dis-
position. The canonical scriptures gometimes mention
five hindanDces to the atteinment of Nibbina as a heap
of akusala, They are (l) the intense urge for seDsuous
gratification (kimacchanda), (2) mdiciousneu (ryi-
pida1,(3) sloth end torpour (thinamiddhal. (4)flurry and
worry @ddhae*ukkucca) and (5) doubt (vicikicrhZ).
The last three have a specific reference to the Buddhist
petb of action leading to the supreme attainment. [f one is
6. Bhqavi hi fuhuno janassa ar!rc naye patitthiptiydidan
148 ETIIICS
overcome by laziness,instability of mind and rccurrent
doubt about the efficacy of the path to lead one to
Nibbana they becomehindrances,aDdtherefore akusala,
from the Buddhist standpoint. On the other hand the four
bases of mindfulness (caturo satipatthina/ are con-
sidered as a heap of kwala. (,S. V., p. 145), The
unwholesomedispositions arE sometimesenumerated as
varieties of isava (influxes or cankers) a,nd anusaya
(dormant evil tendencies of the mind). The Dhamma-
dayida Sura and the Sallekha Sutta of the Majihima
nikiyaenumerate long lists of svil dispositions, the letter
mentioning also the virtues which are the exect opposite
of each evil disposition. (M. l, p. l5f; p. 40f). These
scriptural references contain material which is of great
importance from the point of view of mord psychology,
According to Buddhism, evil disposition are mani-
fertcd through the activity of the body, word and the
mind. The evils manifested in bodily behaviour are (l)
killing, associatedwith various forms of violent beha-
viour involving bodily injury to other living beings, (2)
steding, involving the violation of the propefty rights of
another to satisfy one's own greed and selfish instincts
and (3) unchartity, involving the wrong indulgence in
rensuous pleasures specially relating to oneb sexual life.
The evils manifested in verbal behaviour are (l) flese
speech, (2) hanh or unpleesent rpeech expression of
anger and ill will, (3) slanderous speech intended'ct the
c'reation of dissension and conflict bctween people, and
(4) gossip or frivolous talk which serve! no meaningful or
useful purpose, The evil manifested in mental activity are
(l) thoughts of intense Bred, (2) thoughts of ill will end
(3) wrong or misteken beliefs harmful to one'3 moral life'
These coffititute the standard list of ten e.kuse^faenu'
mereted in the Buddhist canonical scriptures. The moral
prectpt3 end prectices that Buddhism prescribes are
meent to get rid of the above negatiw forms of behaviour
and replace them with compassionete sction. Moral
living consists, according to Buddhism, primarily in the
ebctention from the above akusala.
What Budhism has formulated as the Noble Eightfold
Peth end alternatively as the threefold rcheme of training
consistsof the practical method by which the behaviourel
expressionsas well es the deep-rooted dispositions of'
those moral evils ar€ to be eradicated. The Buddha
described thc Noble Eightfold Path as his practical
Middle Way avoiding the two extreme ways of life known
to him. One extreme was the immoderate indulgencc in
sensuous pleasures practiced by the common folk who
did not s€e the possibility of any happiness beyond the
limits of sensuous existence (kimasukhallikanuyoga)
end the other was the path of rclf mortification practiccd
kalyanadhammataya kusaladhammauya (5. V. p. 66).
 ETHICS
by arcctics who willfully inlticted intcnse pain on their
bodies in order to redeem their rouls (attakilaaathinu-
togs).
3.1 Thc EbtfoH Peffr: The Noble Eightfold Path of
the Buddha can be viewed as the quintessence of thc
Buddhist ethical doctrine. The first iiem of this path,
right view (samaiditthi) draws attention to the ideo-
logical basis neccssaryfor a satisfactory outlook on lifc.
Although Buddhism does not encourage a dogmatic
ideological staDce (ditthi) and rrrch a stance is often
morally condemned, a right view is bclieved to bc
pragmatically necessary for moral progress. Buddhism
seems to hold that ideology is the basis for most
significant espectsof human behaviour. The right type of
ideology is at the base of ell right forms of human
behaviour.'Buddhism viewed the primary importance of
a wholesomeideology as a basis for the transformation of
the character of not only the individual but also of man-
made social organisations and institutions. An ideo-
logical approach to life whicb invotves a total denial of
moral responsibility end free will, and of the efficacy of
willful human effort and initiative in morally trans-
forming oneself is condemned in Buddhism. Forms of
Itrict determinism and fatrlism (aiyativida) on the one
hand and forms of strict indeterminism (ahetuappac-
cayzvida or adhixasamuppannavida) on the other,
wcrc secnby the Buddha as damaging to the ethical life of
man. He rejicted the belief in theistic predertination, the
vicw that all human experience is determined by the will
of arupreme God (issaraniaminahetu), and the belief in
karmic determinism according to which all human
experienc is determined by past karma (pubbckata-
futu).Tbe strict determinism of Makkhaligcilq a well
known contemporery of the Buddhq war considered by
him to be very damaging to tbe moral aspirations of
mankind in that it persuaded pcople to subscribe to an
attitude of absolute inaction (akiriya). A mrterialistic or
nihilistic world view, rejecting the efficacy of the moral
and spiritual life in improving the lot of mankind and
denying the good or evil consequences of volitionally
performed action.and the reality of personal survival
efter death, is considered in Buddhism as a false view.
In the sphere of ideology, especially in that which
affectr the moral lifc of man, the Buddha thought that
there were t\r'o extrem}r in existence.(l) The doctrine of
cternalism (sassatavTda) asserted that there is an
enduring entity which ii the suprcme essenceof every-
thing. The Buddha rejected this view at both the micro-
cosmic as well as the macrocosmic levels. The Buddha
rejectedthe notion of epcrmanentrr-,tf.(atte), as the under
lying object of all experieace. He explained the nature of
penonality in terms of thc doarine of relations (paticca-
nmuppida). According to this doctrine, thele can be no
independent e$cDoe in anything including our own
149 ETIIICS
selves, Everything is conditioacd by, and is related to
other thing$ Tbc nligious doctbc of scf-mortification appesn
to have been supported by the belief that the gelf ir
immonal and that it could speedily bc redeemedfrom its
entanglement with the body if the body is tormented. The
Buddha considered the belief that therc is an enduring
substancc in one's peruoDality (s*kCyadiCthi) ar a root
cause of evil that has to be etiminatea. gudOhism traces
egoism, selfishnessand limited sympathies of men to the
notion of.atta which erects a barrier bctween the self and
the other.
According to the doctrine of annihilationism
(ucchedavida) associated with materialism, all coirti-
nuity and personal identity after death is denied. This
doctrine is believed in Buddhism to lead to a lack of a
senseof moral responsibility during a person's present
existence.The common outcome of such a belief is an
exremely materialistic and sensualist approach to life.
The Buddha considered the bclief in personal survival
after death and the law of kamma as conducive to
progress in the moral life, for human beingp can be
motivated to lead e moral life only if they can be urged to
act on considerations of enlightened self-interest, espc-
cially in the initial stages of their moral progress. The
doctrine of ennihilationirm (ucchedavada,) does not
encourageI pcrson who thinks in purely prudential terms
to lead a morally balmeless life.
Sammisahkappa(ngbt thougbt), the second factor in
the Eightfold Path, consists of thoughts free from lustful
sttachment or greed or thoughk associated with renun-
ciaiion (nekkhamma-Eairkapp4, thoughts frec from
mstevolcnce or hetred (avyapCdasa'nkappa,) and
thoughts free from violent intention (avihimsisah-
kappa), According to Buddhism, such thoughts form thc
psychological basis of benevolent morel action. Actions
which are socially harmful spring from cherishing the
opposite kind of thoughts.
Right speech (sammivica,) consists first of the
avoidance of flase speech (mwavada)and the cultivation
of trutMulness and trustworthiness.Secondly,it involves
the avoidance of slanderous speech (pisunivica) intent
on causingdissensionemong pcople and the cultivation
of speechwhich promotes amity among those who are
Civided end strengthens the bonds of those who are
alreadyunited in bonds of friendship. Thirdly, it involves
the avoidance of harsh spcech (phantsivica) and the
cultivation of speech which is pleasant, lovely and
dcligbtful to hear. Fourthly, it consists of abstention
from frivolous or vain talk (samphajpal-apQ and the
cultivation of meaningful, purpceful, useful and timely
rpeech.
The fourth item in the Eightfold Path, right action
(sammikam-anta) involves abstention from wrongful
 ETIIICS 150
bodily rction rnd the crltivrtioa of rigbt moder of bodily
bebrviour. It recomenda first of ell abrtention from
injury to life" ebrtention from violenct end actr of
terrorirm, the laying aride of all weaponr ured to caure
injury to living beingr and the poritive cultivrtion of e
mind full of love and compusion leading to compenio-
nete rction. Sccondly, it recommcDdr rbrtention from
thcft and frrudulent bebaviour end tbe cultivrtion of
honerty. Thirdly, it involves abrtention from unchertity
rnd wrongful gretificrtion of leuuour derirer, erpecielly
with rerpect to rexual beheviour.
The fifth item of thc pat\ rigbt livelihood (srr,lr,a-
TjivQ empherizer the necerrity to adopt r rmordly
rcceptable nnelnr of livelihood evokling thore occrrpr-
tionr whlch naight be mrterielly rewerding but morelly
reprehenrible. Engeging in any occupation which may
rerult in hermful rociel contequcnces ic conridered in
Buddhism a! \f,rong meent of livelihood (micchiijiva).
The lay followers of the Buddha arc expected to avoid
trading in weepons, mimal!, flerh, intoxicaats aod
poisons (4. Ill, p.20E).ln tbc cesc of the Buddhist monk,
conditions for right livelihood ere much more stringent
thaa those for the layman. Right livelihood for the moul
ir determined by the conrideration thet his life rhould
be in conformity to a life of detachment and renuncia-
tion.7
Tbe sixth item of the peth, rigbt effort (sammivayama)
recommnds coDltant vigilance over onel cieracter, and
determinetion and effort to prevent the growth of evil
dirpositionr, to cultivate wholcsome dispositions, and
to rtabilize the wholesome disporitions of character already
ecquired, The moral egent coDstantly confronts inner
conflict in chooring bctwecn what he considen to be
the right thing to do and whet passions,emotions, and
inclinetionc prompt him to do. Rigbt effort ic considered
in Buddhism to bc a vital fector n€cesssryfor thc triumph
of tbc moral will over the baser emotionr,
The reventh factor in the path, rigbt mindfulness
(sanaisati) ir the attention that keepa watct over the
mind and prcvent! evil thoughts entering it. It guidcs
dl 8lpectt of mental, wrbd and bodily behaviour gving
them the right moral direction. It may be described es
the alertrrss rccasery to obosru and dreck evil tendencis.
Sincc Buddhicm, especially in its early form did not
Bccept a raviour who could saye man from sin, and
rtressed tbe importence of human dfort and will, mindful-
ncsr is a quality which has to bc ryotematicelly cultivated.
Speciel metods of mental culture (bhivani) ue
recommended to rchieve this end. A rpecial tsainilg i3
believed to be necesrery to mindful. For the nature of
the mind is to b€ swa)redby the passionshadiog e pc$on
to rct erithout being mindful of what one is doing.
1. Se ErrtmqZlzS;l:'eof the Dighanikiyaf6rrdaritcddercriptionof
ETHICS
The cigbth factor of tbc path, right conccntration
(uamaumidhi) ttrrrdl for the clerr, compored end
unconfounded mentd condition \rtich conducel to the
dawning of wisdom rerulting in the final eliminrtion of
dl evil dirporitions rad culminrting in the perfection of
morel character. In thir connection too, effectivc
methods of mentel treihing lrc reconmcnded in
Buddhirm. Mental comporure, cultinted througb effort
end mindfulnesr ir bclieved to bc effective in purging
the oind of unwboleromc dirpuitionr.
3J lbc Schcac of lhccfold ffi3 : An dternrtivt
formulation of the Buddhirt rcheme of mord develop
ment ir presented in tbe form of three progreuivc end
mutuelly dependent facton of morrl traiaing. Tbey uc
cr'lr, consirting of morel practicer involving the
conrciour and voluntery trenrformation of oml pettcrm
of bodily end verbal beheviour, samidhi, tbc devclop
ment of mentll comporure ud ptfrfr\ tbc crrltivation
of the inright that hads to moral perfection. Sr/r ir
bclieved to be the foundetion on which the othcr two
ttage! in ihe path are to be devclopcd. Thir formule-
tion of the path rewah nof only the pngmetic charur
tcr of Buddhism, but alro tbe prychologic{ ia3ightr oa
which the practi:al !!pect! of the Buddhbt mord tyrten
are bered. Thc Buddha spcakr of the prth to rpiritud
perfection, or the rttainmnt of Nibbinr rr a grrdur-
ted one leading ryrtcmeticdly from one rtep to the
other. Tbe perfecrion of srla ir recognfucd rr the founde-
tion or the brsir of all rpiritud cndeevour. An intelli-
gent man ir rupposed to ertablirh himrelf in Jfr rnd
develop his mind (cittta) and cultivate wirdom (ptfrEi).
It is ruch e perroD who is seid to be able to dircntagle
the tanglesof evil.(4. V. p,66).
If tbe entire Buddhist rpirituel treining ir undentood
er an ettempt to transform the mord nrturc of mu,
sr,la can be considered ec the beginnhg of this con-
sciour and deliberatc proccr! of_self trenrformetion.
Berides the foremost phce of sila in the threefold
scheme of training, it occupie! a prominent phcr
smong other list of spiritual quditier recoomeaded in
Buddhirm. It is the fint of leven thgtt of purilicetion
(satta uisuddhi) end the recond of the ten perfecionr of
a perron aspiring to become _r Buddha
(bodhiuttt-pinmi). Thc ctltivation of n/r conrirtr
of en attempt to chaDge our prttcrnr of bcheviour in
such e wey that it will ultimete$ lced to r rrdicd trrnr-
formation of our dirporitiond tniu. The Pali rcrip-
tur$ cDumereter e/a in grcat dctril in relation to thc
rpirilud rtationr rnd eimr of a pcnon. The Buddhirt
community ir tradiiiondly divided into two brord
clarrer ar (l) tbe bhikkhu community and (2) the lry
co--unity (gihi) depeadiat on the reriournar with
whatconcthuterrightlivclihoodforthc bhikthu.D.I,pfi.
 ETIIICS
\rhich the goel of emrncipation is rought. Bnddhism
sterted al l movemcnt of liberaton leekerr. It was a
spirituel movement of thorc who were elready diren-
cheoted with the ordinery plersurer of the world end
were'recking for romcthing b€lisrcd to be higher. A life
of renunciation of the ordinery renluous plersurer was
concider€d to bc r pqery rcquirerncat if oncb imdiatc
goel,wu to attrin mord perfection.
Pabbajfi (goiog forth from the lifc of the household)
wes conridcred in the carly Buddhirt tredition to be
both a symbolic and an ectual break away from the life
of sbnse pleasurer. One war expected to shave off thc
hair aad bcard, don ycllow rober and krve all housc-
hold ties and posrisriong end enter into the life a
bhikkhu. The Buddha conridered hourehold life er a
hindrance, as an encumberance to the practice of the
higher life in its complete purity. The Buddhist scrip.
tures often mentioD the conviction expressed by lirte-
nen to the Buddhal message that it is difficult to lead
thc highcr life prescribed in Buddhism in itr complete
purity while living in the household. If immediate pro-
gress ir intended one ir expected to join the
bhikkuseitgha. However, Buddhism never held thet the
fruits of thc Buddhist path crnnot be reaped by people
who lived a hourehold life.
Thc most exhaurtive list of t /" is p..r.nted for the
moral guidance of the monk. Perfection in thesc t l, it
said to be one basic reuon why the Buddha is praise-
worthy. (D.1, p. 9ff). Tbe foremost srla are those
meent to restrain s person from performing those
deedswhich Euddhism includes under thc tcn *usala
mentioned eerlier. The more elaborate s/a mentioned
in relation to thc life of the bhikkhu characterisg tbe
life of renuncietion which E Buddhist monk is expected
to live. Tbe monk's life is also expected to be governed
by a sct of institutionel rules called s**Dipad4 enumere-
ted in the Buddhist cenonical literature known as
Vinaya,thc bookr of discipline. These rules came to be
rccited by the Buddhist community of monks et fort-
nightly meetings of the uposetha to ensure the moral
purity of their conduct and remedial action was taken
if any member of the community was found to be
guilty of any trlnsgression. The moral quality of the
bhikkhu who observed these rules was expressed in
terml of the description pZtimokkha samvara ssmwto
(one restrained aceording to the rulcs of pitimokkha).
ln the commentarial tradition of the Theravida this
espectof e bhikkhub morality was called pitimokkha-
samvarasila. The function of the pitimokkha rules of
the Yinaya wat to restrain the bodily and verbal beha-
riour of the bhikkhu with a certain degree of legal
coercion exercised by the collective authority of the
bhikkhu community. The Buddhist lay community
cocs not come within such an institutionalised and
151 ETHICS
cocrcive type_of moral codc. [n the case of the Buddhist
lay person srla usudly consistr of five abstentions,
namely, abstention from killing, steding, unchastity,
falre speech and the taking of intoxicating drinks.
Howcver the lay person is encouraged to extend the
range of srla practice at leest when occacion permits
by observing additional pr€ccpts which apply to the
bhikkhu community. The ultimate eim of the
bhikkhu as well at the lay penon in the practice i,I
s/a ir to lay the foundation for moral perfcction by
orltivating new prtterns of bodily and verbsl behaviour.
The srle, samidhi, paf,fi-rcheme of moral pcrfrction
is based on a crrtain psychologicel theory ebout tbe
levels et which immoral treits of the mind function.
According to Buddhism immoral bchaviour cen be ex-
plained al I more fundamental lewl by rtference to its
deeper psychologicel roots. Buddhism gives a very im-
portlnt place to paychology in its ethicd system. The
progressive path of sila, samidhi, and peflli is in-
tended to be a lystcmatic way of tackling the problem
of moral evil with deep psychological insight. Immore-
lity in overt human behaviour is, rccording to
Buddhism, only a manifestetion at the surfrcc level, of
man's deep rooted evil disporitionr. Buddhism speaks
of the existence and activity of moral evil at three
different levels. At the most deep'rooted hvel they are
dormant or dispositional traits (aausaya). Even a
penon who does not exhibit violent behaviour at a
particular moment in his life has the tendency to do so
when he meets with a certein situetion. This is because
he has not overcome the disposition to behave in evil
ways. Tbe second level at which moral evil functions is
the one at which there is o mene excitenment of feeling
and emotion. One often feels the turbulencc, dis-
comfort and heat of anger end passion without letting
such feeling boil over in the form of observable overt
behaviour. Buddhism refers to this psychological level
as (pariyuglhina). lt is at the third level that evil is
manifested in the form of overt action through word
and deep leading to the transgression of the moral
norms of rociety (vitikkama). It is at this lcvel that
human action has a greal deal of social significance.
The function of srTais to deal with immordity at the
progress level at which it manifests itself. lmmordity
become more tangible at thir level than at the concealed
lwels oJ the mind. Hence Buddhism advises E pcnon to
make s/a the starting point of moral progr6c. One is
noi expccted to move from one stage of the path to the
other only after atteining absolute perfection in each
preceding stage. Thby are to be cultivated concurrently.
The cannoncial teeching maintainr thet the fruitfulness
of each succeeding stage depends on the degree of per-
fection attained in each preceding stage. Mental com-
posurc_which attains growth througb wholesome prac-
 ETIIICS 152
growth
rice (s/e) and wisdom @anfr| which attains
compocure are said to be very fruitful'
through mental
Akusala deeds of body and speechproceed from un-
wholesome tendencies which are deep-rooted in our
minds. These dcep-rooted tendencies in turn are the
consequenceof certain repcated patterns of bcheviour'
Ahy single action performed has the tendency to be
repeated and to be gradually built into a general
pattern of behaviour' Particular acts of body and
speech feed the unwholesome dispoistions and evil
traits that are already deep-rooted in our minds, and
strengthening them. Practice of. sila is a method by
wilicf, a person could be vigilant about his overt beha-
viour through abstention and conscious self-contrnl'
and the practice of the opposite type of actions, so that
transformation occurs 8t the Srossestand most tangible
levcl of one's personality. The function of samidhiis to
deal directly with evil at the more subtle level of the
human mind, ln samidhi there is an attempt to bring
about one pointedness and composure of the mind to
prevent the excitement of the unwholesome
emotions. Here, one tales full consciouscontrol of one'g
mental activity and fixes the mind through voluntary
effort on a single object dctermined at one's will' The
f.our jhanadescribed in Buddhism exemplify the charac-
ler of.samEdhi. By means of' samadhi certein unwhole-
some emotions are eliminated from the mind, at least
temporarily, and certain wholesome emotions such es
compassion, mindfulness and equanimity are cultivated'
Pafrfii is believed to deal with moral evil at the very
rource. Pafrfri is the understanding that eradicates all
evil tendencies in such a way that they are not born
again. In its most elevated senseit is emancipating
knowledge. lt is wben this knowledge dawns that one
can confidently declare, "What ought to be done has
been done, and the goal of the higher life has bcen
accomplished." At this stage occurs' what in Buddhist
terms is calted the eradicatiorl of asava (asavakkhaya)'
The isava persist as long as there is ignorance about
the naturc of thittgt' The Buddha says that the asava
arc conditioned by ignorance ("uiiia samudayi isava
saaudayo). The ignorance that has to be overcome in
order to put 8n end to the asava is the mistaken belief
rhat empirical things including one's own personality
have permancnce (nicca), that they are productive of
happiness (sukha) and that they contain an enduring
rubstence or can be owned by an enduring substancc
(atta). Everything that exi3tt has to be understood as a
thing tbat
'ha! come to be" due to e variety of ceuses
rnd conditions. Things thet have the nature of arising
rnd existing due to interdependence rnd
intcrrctation of causesheve the nature of disintegrating
rnd ceasing to exisl when the ceus€s and conditions ere
ETIIICS
removed (ytm kif,ci samudayadhemntem nbbemtam
nirodhadham'ma\). When this insight becomes firmly
cstablished,unwholesomc dispositions ere cut off at the
root. The Buddhist position can bc compared with the
Socratic view that immordity is due to lack of knowledge'
However, the knowledge required in Buddhism is not
of abstract forms to be apprehended by the intellect rs
suggestedby Plato, but knowledge of thc conditioned
n_etureof all empirical phenomena' The practice of
Ja is I preparatory stagc for the attainment of the
final ernancipating knowledp. Thc kind of condua rrsttioned
under srJadoes not require any voluntary effort after
the final emancipating knowlcdge has been attained'
Buddhism speaksof the person who is in the processof
fulfilling the requirements of the path as a trainee
(sekha) and one who has fulfilled all the requiremenls,
a pcrson who needs no further moral training as an
asekha.
33 Posttlve Ylrtues : The entire process of training that
a seeker of the Buddhist goal is required to fulfill can
be secnas an anempt to eliminate unwholesome disporitions
(akusala dhamma) and to cultivate wholesome dirposi-
tions (kusa/a dhamma)' The Buddhist path emphesises
not only abstention from certain activities that are
prompted by evil dispositions but also the cultivation
of pcitiw rts whictl strcngthen tbe wholeson: dispositions'
Among the positive virtues recognised in Buddhism love
or compassion can be considered to be the foremost'
The concept of. brahmavihara (q.v.) which is a cardinal
concept of Buddhist ethics' consists of three positive
virtues which, can be comprehended under the conclpt
of lovi, Tbey are metta (q.v' friendliness), lanrai (q'v'
sympathy) and mudita (q.v. sympathetic
joy)' Thac
virtues oppose the evil traits of mind sucb ar hatred,
malice, envy, jeatousy, vengeance etc' Buddhism
considered non-injury to all sentient bcings as a cudinal
virtue. Metti, karuni and muditishould he rtrengthened
as primary dispositions through constant cultivation'
Brtthmavihira are recommended as an effective basis
for meditative cultivation of wholesome mental dfu-
positions. According to the Buddha, superior beings like
those living in the brahma spheres of cxirtence, bave
thesequalities, and it is as a consequence of cultivating
them that beings can attain birth in those spheres of
existence.(D. l, P. 235ff)'
The-positive virtue oI metti is incorporated into the
nrst slla under abstention from killing and thc culti-
vation of a compassionate mind towards all living bcingr'
The first sita is intended to restrain e person from
indulging in action whict proceeds from the abcenc! of
compasrion and incensitivity to the pein of aoother
rentient being. The observance cf this srTarequirer not
on-ly relf restraint but rlso tbe conrciouc cultivation of
r comprssionate heart. Killing and various forms of vio'
 ETHICS
lence proceed from the fact that the virtue of compas-
sion has not attained maturity in a person's mind. Com-
passion in Buddhism does not operete within restric-
tions or limits. Love is to be extended to all living
beings that feel pain and possessthe instinct or desire
to survive. Buddhism does not confine compassion only
to that shown towards human beings, but extends it to
all living beings having consciousness and feeling pain.
ln cultivating compassion the Buddhist is expected to
extend his thoughts of love with a mind free from
enmity, in all directions eDcompassingwithin him
thoughts of friendliness,sympathy and sympathetic joy,
to all beings great and small. No limit should be re-
cognised regarding the extent to which this boundless
compassion should pervade. According to the Metta
Sutfa one is required to universalize the kind of love a
mother has towards her one and onlv child. The Metta
.Suttasays:
Whatever living beings there be: feeble or strong,
tall, stout or medium, short, small or large, without
exc:ption, saen or unseen, those dwelling far or ncar,
those who are born or those who are to be born,
may all beings bc happy!
Lct none decieve another, nor despise any person
. whetsoever in any placr. Let one not wish any harm
to another out of anger or ill-will.
Just as a mother would protcct her only child at
thc risk of her own life, even !o, ht one cultivatc a
boundlers heart of compassion towards all bcingr.
Let onc! thoughtr of bouodless comparsion pcrvade
the whole world: aboye, bclow and across without
any obrtruction, without 8ny hatred, without any
enmity.
Whether one stands, walks, sits or lies down, as
long ar one is awake, one should develop this mind-
fulness. This is the noblest living here(.9a. r. 146 ff),
Buddhirt mctti rtands for an attitudc of friendliness,
a loving kindness which is boundless and all+ncompas-
sing, not limitcd by the common bonds of attachment
familiar in narrowly defined human relatiouships such
as thor of family, rrcc religon etc. Hatred is, according
to Buddhism, an unwholesome trait that creater suffer-
ing to the pcnon who pcsesses it as well as to memberc
of thc rociety which he or sbe inhabits and with whom
he or she intersctt. Genuine acts of social welfarc end
benwohncc can proceed from an individual only if that
pertoD has cultivaled the virtue of metti. According to
the Buddhe one who 3utteiD! e loving mind even for
tbe duratlon of e moment docr something which is of
grcrt conrcquence (4. t. p. I l3).
t. Sc thc rtory of Punnr who is reportedto hrrc trrnrformd tb violcnt pople Sunrpertfr
153 ETHICS
Buddhism does not advocate the conquesr of lratred
thrcugh hatred. Instead the Buddhg both in theory and
practice, emphasisedthe need to conquer hatred through
love. According te the Dbnnmapada:
Hatred can never be appeasedin this world through
hatred. But it is appeasedby means of non-hatred,
This is an eternal law.(Dhp. v. 5).
ln the same work, the Buddha recommends that a
more worthy as well as an efficacious way of winning
over persons who are envious, greedy and untruthful ir
treating them with love, generosity and truthfulness.-
(ibid. v.223). Love is considered as an extr€mely impor-
tant social virtue. The Buddha's advice to his disciples
was to live merged together in their minds through
mutual love like water and milk mixing together. (M.1,
p.20'l) Love is not to be restricted merely to the-
thoughts. It is to be cultivated at the level of thought so
that it will find expression at the level of bchaviour.
According to Buddhism, a personl overt bchaviour is
always the most objective test for his inncr nature.-
Those who practice love in a living community can live
so harmoniously that they could feel that even though
they are differcnt in bodies, they are one in mind. Each
one in such a community taker care of the other person
rr if he is hic ou'n penon.
The Buddha's advice to hir dirciples was to adhere to
hir instruction regarding love even in the most extreme
circumstances in which one may be tempted to react
with hatred. Once, in inrtrusting his disciples the
Buddha insists that their raining in the praaice of com-
passion should be such that they would not havc acted
in accordance with his instructions if they were to
cxpress the slightest irritation or anger even if wily
robbers were to gct hold of them and cut them limb by
limb with a double handled saw (M l, p.129). This moral
had been sincerely adhered to by the carly disciples of
Buddha" and it had proved very fruitful in their mission
of establishiDg men from various culturer in the path of
r i g h t e o u s n e s s . rA n o t h e r B u d d h i s t v i r t u e t h a t h a s a
close relationship to mettiis khanti (forbearance q.v,).
It is givcn as the sixth perfection of the Bodhisatta.
Forbearance is called the greatest form of religious
awterity (khaati param@ ttpo).
Karuni is defined as sympethy that arises in a good
pcrson when thet pcnon becomes ewane of the luffiring
of otlrcrs. As thc TbcravCda commcntator ddines karuna;
khen there is ruffering in othen it causes good people's
bcarts to bc mowd."'It hr! thc cbaractcrirtic of devotion
to removing the suffering of otbcn" (Vism. (PTS)|, g
318).
through mettr- (M.IlI, p. 267f).
 ETHICS
Muditi is to be cultivated as an antidote to jealousy.
It is understood as sympathetic joy. This meens the
abiiity to feel happy end joyful et the successof another.
It is cfeer thet the first three bnhmavihira are related
to the notion of love. But a question might arise re-
garding upekkha, the fourtb one. Upekkhi is also one
of the perfections of e Bodhi3atta. It is recognised as
the most noteworthy psychological factor in the
rBpturous state of the fourth /rina. Tbe role of upekkhi
in Buddhism has sometimes been misconceived. A
common translation of upekkhi has been'indiference'.
But indifferencc denotes lome attitude which we would
normally consider to be unethical. Those who under-
rtand the fourth item of the brahmavihari as indiffer-
encc try to interpret Buddhicm as an ethicd system
which ultimately transceods whotesome dirporitions like
lovc. It is true that Buddhicm ir a path of rpirituality
which empharizcr detachment. Thig detachment,
however, doer not imply an indifferencc towards tbe
rocid environmcnt. Buddhism is merely warning us thet
love should not degrlde itself into partiality, personal
httechment and ruffering. Love must be univercal, and
in ruch love pertiality cannot enter. (lpekkhi stendr
not for indifferenct but for impertidity. lt alro implies
from the nngh of the individud who cultivates these
virtues, a belence of mind. Love of the more mundane
and circumrcribed variety involves ruffering. That kind
of lovc can easily turn into hatred. UpekkhZ is equani-
mity, a mental state in which one is unruffled by gain
or lo!s, fame or infame, praire or blarnc etc. upekkhi
docs not rmount to a liquidation or denid of love in
thr wholcsome renrc in wbich love is Edmitted in-
Buddhism. Upekkhi helps a person to love but yet be
detached. Buddhism strongly recomrnends tlrc cuhivetion
of dl there four brehmavih-ara to become god-like in
one! cbaracter.
The next ret of rocially significant moral virtues to
be cultivrted by a Buddhirt rre celled sa'agahavatthu
(q.v. brser of benevolencc). The sahghhavattiu may be
conceived es the behaviourd expresrion of the braama-
vihira.The bnhaauihara rtrers the conscious cultiva-
tion of lovc and equanimity or impartiality at thc mntal
level. The sigahtvttttu recomrnend their cultivation
rt the behrviourel levrl. Buddhirm bclbver thu therc ir
r mutud proaer! of feed-brck end interaction betheen
the purely inner mental or thought plane and the oyert,
bchevioural or rction plane, ed mct of tbe mord pnc-
ticcs recorrlmended in Buddhirrn rrc bard 6s rhir belief.
Tbe fint nhghantthuis 6aa(q,v. cherity). lt occurr
as the first perfection of tbe Bdhisttr. The literal
meening of the term ir 'gpving'. The racrifice of a-
pcnonal poue*rion for tbe bcncfit of othen, whatever
the possarrion may bc, materid wedth, knowledge,
exp€rti3eor labour is conridered in Buddhirm es 6n*
154 ETHICS
The dissemination of the dhanma is considered ac thc
Steatest dina (sabbadinem dhanrmadanem jiniti: Dhp.
v. 354) for ir is a gift that wes considered to be most
beneficial to the recipient, Dina hEs acquired a spccial
ritualistic significancc in Buddhist communities and
sometimes is narrowly conceived as the gift made by
laymen to the community of monks. Traditionally, such
gifts are considered as productive of great merit. The
higher the spiritual Eltainment of thc individual the
greater is the pufrffa acquired by a person who donates
any material requisite to a spiritually clevated person.
However, the ethically more significant coDctpt of diaa
in Buddhism stands for a virtue which has a much wider
connotation, Dina is considered er the bcst rntidotc
for the unwholesome character raits srrch as grccd, miscr-
liness, selfishness, melic-e and lack of conccrn for the
welfare and well being of othcrr. lt ir one mode of the
practical expression of meni.
The four modes of evil rpecch mentioned under the
abstentions required under sr7a,namely, fdre rpeech,
hanh speech, slanderous speech and frivolous rpeech
can all be seen as opposed to piyavacana. Piyevacaaa
standr for the cultivation of gopd speech.One ought to
rpeek pleesant words conducive to the promotion of
harmonious social reletionships. It dso makes the indi-
vidual who practiccr this virtue a lovcable and rocially
acccptable penon.
Atthaariyi rtands for conduct that conduccr to tbc
well being of otherr. lt means cervice for the welfare of
otben. Saminattati, the fourth saizgahavztthu standr
for equd rcspcc'tfor all or non{hcriminarory behaviour.
Moral action il to be guided by the seDtiment tbat other
pcnon! are the runc l! my own persoD. Samina mcrn!
equd or'r!l!e' and attati means 'personhood'. ln mord
contertt the Buddha often eppeelr to the fact that other
bcing5 are persont like ourselves having similar feclingp,
ingtinctr and interestr in penurding us to avoid rctionr
which might be harmful to otherg. Othcr beinge like to
live just rr wc do. Other beingr do not like if tbev rre
harmed jurt as mrrch as wc do not like to bc hermod.
So wc murt avoid harm to oihcrr, Salninrnafl involves
Mnrc of equdity when dealing \pith otk humeo bcin$.
It ir e virtue which calls upon us to rerpcc.t the rightr of
other livin3 bcin$. According to the Buddh!, there four
bascs of benevolent action rre litc tbe lynch pin of thc
chuiot of rociay, Without there rociety crnnot progre$
or cven lurtain itlelf.
There arc a number of other rupporting virtuer which
ere bclieved to bc ureful in thc maintenuce of thore
dreedy mentioned end tbese ere conridcred to bc no
lers importent in the mord life of I p€non tben the
former. Effort (viriyQ, hecdfuhs (appmdt), initietive
(pankkama),firmrc$ (th7n4 end will or dacrminrtion
(tdilthane) in one'! adherencc to mord principler, rrc
 ETIIICS
con3idered a! extremely importent virtues" Whatever is
conducive to the elimination of egotistic inclinations and
greedy disposition is considered to bc a virtue. Hence
gratitude (kaufrf,uti) ir rated B! e veay important virtue.
Frugality (tppirchati)t contcntment (santutthr,) and
meeknerr (sorttr., nivZu, sovacasatZ) are rlso esteemed
virtuer, l-earning or listcning to mord teachings (dhaa-
rztstvant, bihwtrcry', associetion with persons having
moral knowledge and insight (puditanam sevaai) and
dircurrion of the good dhemma with knowledgeable
penon! (dhrmmasikacchi) are highly rccommended.
Faith and confidence in a spiritual teachcr in whom
onc cln have a reasoned confidencr (ikaravati saddhi)
ir conridered as importrnt. Seddti (confidence) in the
Buddha, the dhtmma and the sairgie (the spirituel
community ertablished by thc Buddba) is considered rs
a mark of a virtuouc percon.
Ettdcs : Buddhirm
l. Rrtlonrl Foondrtlar of Bdhlil
not only recommends certein counes of morel action
and behrviour, but alro reeks to support these moral
judgcments and prercriptions with rome congistent
pr(tces of reasoning. In the early canonical scriptures
of Buddhism there are severel noteworthy inslanccs
which cxemplify the principal modes of Buddhist rea-
rdning on mord questionr. The most importent of these
instances b the didogue referred to in the K-alinta Sutta,
(A. I, p. lt9). Whin the Buddha visited the community
of people known as Kesaputtiyi Kilamq thcy com-
plairled that thcy receive widely divcrgent mord advice
from different rager who visit them. They pointed out
that they wcrs lt e loss to determine how they should
behevc beceuse the moral advice they had reccived from
variour tercherg war muludly contradictory. "How',
they uked tbe Buddha, "arc we to determinc what ir
reelly good and really bad when various teachen assert
diverce opinionr on these metten?" The Buddha ans-
wered tbet their doubts were justified under such sir-
cumttanc€! and .went on to give an eutonomous cri-
terion of morality whhh he thought would help them
to leave eride authoritarian moral codes and determine,
in accordrnce with their own ressor\ what is really right
or wrong. In this instrnce the Buddha rejects es meny
rs ten grounds on which moral decisionr were generally
made. Thir dialogue has e signilicence from the point
of view of moral epirtomology. The ten groundr rejected
were: (l) tnwstvt, (2) panmpafi, (3) pitakasaapada,
@ itikirt, ud (5) Ermtao tro gtru, which rtend for
revelation rnd euthority of some kind; (6) takkahetu,
(7) nayahetu, (8) iL-araparivitakka eoid, (9) bhabba-
ripati, dl of which suggcst some form of argumentative
or rpeculrtivc reasoning nd (10) ditthiniijhtn*khaati,
ruggcrting a personel prcjudice of some kind.
155 ETHICS
The Buddha told the KalCmar that there is a way in
which they could know by themselveswhat is right and
wron8.
Now what do you think, KilImas, when greed
erises within e man, doer it arise to his benefit or
harm?
To his harm. Sir.
Now Kilimas, when a man is greedy, is overcome
by greed, when his mind is completely sweyed by
greed, does he not kill e living creature, take what is
not given, commit adultery, tell lies, and induce
others too to commit deeds that would conducc to
disadvantage and unhappiness for a long timc?
He does, Sir.
The Buddha mede the same remarks witb reference to
malice and delusion. The Ko'limas frnally edmit that
greed, hatred and ignorancc are the traits that are akusala
(morally bad) end that ought to be avoidci (siveiia).
They also admit that they sre the traits that ere c=nrured
by the wise and that to act from those traits of chencter
involve ill and ruffcring.
The KitanaSufta is philosophically signigicant in thet
it draws attention lo the possibility of independcnt
inquiry into moral qucttioDs. Moral philosophy begins
when people qucstion their existing'mord ruler. The
Buddha is instnrcting the Kilames not to depend on
moral authorities, but to mske their own sutonomout
judgement on moral questions. However, in uring thcir
judgement in coming to autonomous morel decisions, the
Buddha assumcs that there are grounds that rationel
beings in general need to concider' They are required to
pay ettention to the happiness or unhappinesr produced
by the course of conduct thu they decide to follow.
Another instance which clarifies the Buddhist method
of moral reasoning is found in the BEhitika Sutla of the
Majjhima nikiya. (M. lI, p. I ta). Here, Anandq a
renowned dirciple of the Buddhais interviewed by a king
named Pasenadi Kosala. The question raised by the King
concerns the rationel criterion necessary for making a
distinction betweenpraiseworthy and blameworthy beha-
viour. Anende is asked, what bodily, verbal lnd mentd
conduct is censured by spiritually elevated pcrcons
(samana br-ehmana) end wire men (vif,fli} Initially
Anenda answers that they celsure behaviour which is
akusala. The king wishes to push his questioo further,
for, to say that some type of bchaviour is a.kruaJeis to
cenrure it, and it does not answtr to his satisfaction wby it
is censurable. The king asks Ananda' what type of
conduct is e-krre/a. Ananda antwers that it is tbe type of
conduct that ought to be evoided. This enswer, too, does
not satisfy the king, for the answer is still within the
 ETHICS
'ought'. On being questioned further,
sphere of the
Ananda finally defines akusalabchaviour as that which
involves injury or harm (savyipajiha). It is further
explained as behaviour which has harmful consequences
to the agent as well as others who could be affectedby the
a g e n t ' s a c t i o n . T h e s u g g e s t i o nm a d e i s t h a t i n d e t e r -
m i n i n g r i g h t a n d w r o n g o n e h a st o l o o k i n t o t h e a c t u a lo r
p o s s i b l e c o n s e q u c n c e so f t h e a c t i o n i n r e l a t i o n t o t h e
agent and those affected by the deed.
The same criterion is presented in the Ambalatthi'
k ara h ul o vad a S ut t a of *e U a7 ni m a n ik aya. ( M. l, 41 5)'
According to this discourseof the Buddha, wheneverone
wishes to do an action by body, speechor thought, one
would consider the action in terms of consequences.
Before an aclion is done one can consider the typc of
a c t i o n t h a t o n e i s g o i n g t o d o a n d i t s t e n d e n c yt o l e a d t o
certain consequences,ln this case one has to depend on
past experience, experience of his own and of the large
majority of mankind. In a world governed by causal
regularities human action also enters into the causal
nexus. Leaving aside the question of human choice,
w h e t h e r i t i s f r e e o r d e t e r m i n e d ,i t i s p o s s i b l et o o b s e r v e
that a certain type of action bas the regular tendency to
produce a certain consequcnce,So before deciding to act
in a certain situation, the Buddha adviseshis disciplesto
reflect on the likely consequenceof the action. Checking
on lhe consequenct is recommended as a nece$ary
requirement for the moral agent beforc, while and after
performing an action. lf any action found to lead to
harmful consequencesto oneself, to othen and to botb,
that is, harmful consequencesin gerneral it is to be
determined to be an akusalaaction' tf it is found to have
the opposite consequenceof promoting one'sown happi-
nessand welfarc and the happiness and welfare of others
it is to be determined to be kusalaaction.From the above
instancesit becomesevident that Duddhism consistently
held that moral commendati'on nceded justification in
Grms of the conrquence of whatancris comrncnded.Buddhirt
ethics can therefore be said to be advocating a consequen-
tialist approach in moral reasoning.
The Buddhist consequentialist approach draws stten-
tion to the immediate at well ar the long term con-
sequencesof action in determining what actions ought to
be end ought not to bc done' There is also a strong
prudential basis for the Buddhist evaluation of action,
especialty when action is evaluated in terms of their
kammic conlcqucnce. The Buddha refers to several ways
in whict the conscquence of action could be harmful to
the agent. ( l) tn performing a certain type of action onel
own self may sometimet o?nluns ft (anapi attincm
upavadati).This invohes the edmission of some form of
moral consciencc. (2) lf one does somethiag thet meets
with the common disapprobation of the persons con-
ridered to be thc wice oner in tbe society in which one liver
156 ETIIICS
(anuviea vifffri garahanti) one may suffer loss of favour
within one's own community. (3) There could also be
laws in community which prohibit the performanct of
certain deedsconsideredto be morally reprehensiblewith
penalitiesattached to the violation of those laws. But the
harmfulness of the consequencesproceedingfrom these
sourcesdoes not appear to hold universally. Feelingsof
guilt may not be regular accompaniments of certain
specific types of behaviour. Whether one feels guilty or
one balmes oneself for doing something bad depends
largely on one's own conditioning regarding moral
attitudes. So are social-and legal sanctions. lt is not
universally the case thaiall societiesand all lcgal systcms
condemn or prescribe penalities for the same type of
behaviour. We can easily imagine societies in which
certain acts which tbe Buddha considered akusuala ate
not socially disapproved, and consequently,no social
sanctions in the form of legal penalities or social ceDsure
of the fellow memberg of the community would follow.
However, the further consequencewhich the Buddha
draws attention to is consideredas involving an obsened
causal regularity in nature not dependent upon human
conventions. This concerns the phenomenonaf kamma.
There is, according to Buddhism, I causal regularity
between actions and their consequencewhich goes evcn
beyond one liletime of the individdal. This ic a claim
which distinguishes Buddhism from thc mord sttitude
usually associated with scientilic humsnism. Like the
recognition in theistic religions of a world order created
and govcrned by I supreme God, Buddhism has the
recopition of an order of sentientexistencegovernedby
the law of kamma. This is a Buddhist affirmation about
the neture of reality, We have teen that Buddhism giver
foremost importance to consequencesof bchaviour in
making moral disti:rctions. Belief in the process of
rebecoming (punabbhava) ir conridered in Buddhism to
be important to motivate people to bchave morelly. This
is bccause self-interest determines to a Sreat eitent the
way human beings behave. Deniel of gome form of
survival after death, whichis assoicEtedwith the doctrine
of annihilationism, is considered in Buddhism to lead to
an irrespo''lsible attitude in a penonl moral life'
In determining the worth of human action in terms of
consequences,Buddhism pays ettention to two principal
considerations. It raiscs the questions: (l) Is tbe contem-
plated action directly or remotely connected with
Nibbdna? (2) Does it improve one's positionin saasiric
cxistencc? tt is in conDection with thc recond conride-
ration that the doctrine of kamaa bccomes relcvent to
Buddhist ethics.
Buddhism clriml thrit ktma,air a'\erifiable"law. K.
N. Jeyetilleke believls that it is a doctrine derirrcd rr an
inductive inference on the barir of tbe dete of cxtre-
 ETHICS
senlory perception.e It is said in the Pali canonical texts
that the deceaseand survival of bcings (nttanet! cutipa-
pito)is to be verified by a kind of supercognitive faculty
(tbhifrfra) callcddibbacakkhu (q.v. clarivoyancc). A
percon possessingthe faculty of clairvoyance is seid to be
cepable of seeing the occurrence of rcbirth of beings in
accordance with their good or evil conduct, It is this
correlation between good character and a happy con-
s€quence and bad character and an unhappy conse-
quence that came to be held as the /<ammrccorrelation in
Buddhism. This corrclation is admittcd as a regularity of
oature, and to be unlike the three former types of
ranctions depending on individual whim or social conven-
tion.
One principal sensein which kaaaa is understood in
Buddbism is as volitional action producing I particular
disposition in the mii"d of the individual agent. The
physical force generatedby volitional ection isjudged to
have the quality of being eilher pudf,i/kusala or papa/
akusala depending on whether it has a felicific con-
sequenceor a painful consequence respectively. [n some
canonical sources the notion of kamma is presented as a
psychological law of conditioning which determines a
person's desitny, In the Kukkuravatika Sutt4 for ins-
tancc, the Buddha explains the workings of .kammain a
way somewhat different from the way it is undentood in
the popular eschatological teachings, According to the
popular conception of kammd, it is believed to be a
mysterious kind of law, according to which someone who
performs a good or bad action r?aps a reward or
punishment closely resembling the action performed.
This somewhat mechanical connection between action
and result is ignored in the Ku*fruravatika Sutta. lnstead
the Buddha speaks of kammeas the processof generating
certain types of psychological dispositions, through one's
bodily, verbal and mental conduct. lf the dispositions so
generated are of a harmful and injurious type, one is
likcly to choose an environment where harmful and
injurious activity is predominant. [n choosing such an
environment on becomes subject to painful experiences
which involve injurious activity(M. I, p. 3891).
Kamma is believed to be one of the significant causcs
that determincs a person's material as well as spiritual
well-being when considered from the point of view of the
long range consequnces of action. According to the
doctrines of kamma and samsira an individual's future
becoming is dependcnt on his character. [f one indulgcs
in certain patterns of conduct which may be thought to be
to his advantage from a short term point of view, they will
havc an inevitable effect on hb cheracter which would, on
9. K. N. Jayatillekg Eurly Buddhis Theory d Knowledgq (Georgp Allen and Unwin Ltd London 1963)p 459 ff.
157 ETHICS
the one hand, male him remote from the goal of Nibbana
aDd, on the other hand, bring about undersirable con-
sequcnces in his samsiric existence. Any pattern of
coduct having the tendency to harm other$, is said to
degrade the agent spiritually and estrange him from
Nibbana. It also brings about suffering in his future
existencear a consequenceof the character traits that he
himself has cultivated. Positive action intended at bring-
ing about the happinessor the alleviation of the suffering
rr. ?thers, such as charity (dina), generosity (caga)aswell
as preventing the unhappiness of others by abstaining
from injury, is said to draw the agent closer to the
spiritual perfection cukninating in Nibbana. [t also
assuresthe agent a pleasant birth in samsira frce from a
predominance of painful experience.
The doctrine of kamma and Nibbana are essential
elements of the Buddhist theory of the nature of reality,
The doctrines of. kamma Nibbana and samsara as they
were understood in Buddhism, were doctrines rejectedby
'[he
the materialists of the Buddha's day. Apannaka
Suffa of the Meiihima nrfriya shows that there were other
thinkers during his time who did not accept the
doctrines of Nibbaan, kamma and samsira. Since
Buddhist morality is theoretically founded on these
doctrines which are accepted as factual, there is bound to
be a differcnce in the moral beliefs of anyone who rejects
them and yet accepts the principle that whatever con-
ducesto happinessis good. There surely is little empiricd
evidence to show that the conscquences of action des-
cribed as akusala will be bad for the agent in his
immediate existence, when the consequenc"eg are looked
at purely in terms of the material conditions of happiness,
no matter what happens to his inner character. The
Buddhe himself expressly rejectsthe view that everyone
who conducts oneself badly in this life, suffers the
consequencesof it in this life itself. He points out that the
king's soldiers who win bordering lands for him by
committing many muders and atrocities receive great
material benefits, while others, of course, who commit
crimes against the laws of the state are duly punished.(.S.
IV, p.3a3f . Consideredin terms of purely material gains,
therefore, the Buddha agreesthat at least in some csses
those who conduct themselvesin an immoral manner do
not experienceunhappinessin this life itself. Hc admitted
that they do experience happiness (sukham somanas-
sam). However, the Buddha admitted that a person who
is free from gfeed, hatred and delusion, contented and
possessedof detachment, wisdom and compassionis the
happicst person even in this immediate life. The immcral
man will, in accordance with kamma experienct. un-
happinesssooner or later.
 ETHICS
One principal pattern of moral reasoning reprerented
rn tbe Buddhist doctrine cen be formulated as follows:
Action A conducesto the happinessof the agent as
wrll as thosc Bffected by the action. Therefore action
A ir good, praiseworthy, end ections exactly similar
to that ought to be done,
Thir ir not thc only pattern of practical moral decision
maling thet is edvocaled in the Pali can<.'aicalscriptures.
If Buddhism hed based its moral evaluations entirely on
the happiness criterion it would have been open to the
usual objections raiscd against utilitarian systems of
morality. But Buddhism admits anothcr pattcrn of morel
reesoning which lcavesno room for such objectionr, This
pattern of moral reasoning conformg to what is gcnerally
known as the Golden Rulc in ethics. The Pali Nikivas
present it in the following form:
I do not .tpsntX to be done unto me.
Other beings too who are like myself in this respcct do
not want X done unto them.
I ought not to do unto others what I do not like to be
done unto myrlf.
Therefore I ought not to do X.
According to the Dhammapada there are somethings
that onc does not like to be done unto onesclf,luch as to
be killed, tortured or subjected to sny bodily or mental
pua(Dhp. w. 129-131).The sevenvirtues of absteining
from killing, stealing, rdultery, felse rpeecb, slanderous
lpcech, hanh spcech and vein and frivolous talk are
cxphincd on thc basir of thir Golden Rule pattern of
rnoral reasoning. A! thc Saayutre nikiya puts it:
Here e noble disciple reflects tbus: I like to live. I do
not like die. I dcsirc happincss and dislike unhappi-
nesr. Suppole tomcoDe sbould kill me, since I like to
live anddo not like to die it would not be pleesing and
dclightful to me. Suppose I too should kill another
who liker to live and does not lite to die, who desires
happiness and does aot desire unheppinesr it would
not be plersing and delightful to thet other penon es
well. What is not pleasant and delightful to me is not
pleasant and delightful to the other person either'
How could I inflict upon another that which is not
pleasant rnd not delightful to me? Having reflected in
thir menner, he (the noble disciplc) on his own
refrein! f3s6 lilling, and encoureges others too to
refrain from killing, and rpeaks in praise of refreining
from killing. tn thir menner, his bodily conduct
bccoies pure in three ways (S.V, p.351)
If one rarses the question of formal vslidity with
rerpect of cuch rearoning it is easy to lce that it is not
formally valid. To realon in morel mrtterr is, according
to Buddhirm, not to conform to ruler of formal valirdity.
It is to give e Bmd, or commonly accepteble reeson for
onc'r judgement,
158 ETTIICS
An examination of tbe Buddhist ethical systemshows
thrt in Buddhism morality is not urderstood as confor-
mity to the commandments of asupremc mordlawgiver.
The character of an euthoritariu morel ryttem ir not
found in Buddhism. There is a sensein which Buddhism
can be said to heve admitted oord rutonomy in that it
leaves room for the mord sgeDt to solve hir own moral
problems by his own intelligent enalysis of e moral
situation, However,, this freedom greoted in Buddhirm
docr not allow a moral rgent to meke his moral
commitments according to his whims and fancies. There
are facts about hrrmaD nature and criteria which any
rational moral rgent should be consciour of when he is
making his own moral decisions. Thc morality of an act ir
Dot to be determined on the balis of conformity to the
commands of a moral authority. One can claim to be a
moral authority only if one makes the appropriate morel
judgements. The Buddha ir to be rrcnerated rs a moral
authority and his advice is to be tdcen seriourly becaure
of the knowledge he hes of rigbt and wrong. He cennot
make anything right by a mere act of commanding its
rightness, The Buddha's undentrnding of mordity is
claimed to be linked to his understanding of human
neture and the human predicnment. Thi! is en under-
standing which is shered by all enligbtcned beings who
are entitlcd to an cqual claim to the kaowledgc and
insight into moral truthr.
I Monlty rd n+phrrc The concept of happinesr
playr a centrsl role in thc Buddhist ethical systcm. For
conducivenessto happinessis a principal criterion nsedin
Buddhism to determine what is right orwrong. There are
many philosophers who reise objeaions rgainst basing
morelity on happiness on the ground that happiners is an
extremely indeterminate conccpt. lt is argued that strte-
mcnts ebout what constitutes happinds themlelves turtr
out to be eveluative stetements end thet therefore the use
of happiness a! a criterion turnr out to be a circuler
proccdure. It is widely held that judjcmentr regerding
whet conctituter happines! arc themrlvrr subjective,
relativistic, attitudinal, emotive or prercriptive as much
ar mord judgements ere. Buddhilm sppcrrs to heve
talen e different porition on this issue. Buddhism holdr
thet people cen bc mistelen in their judgementr ebout
whet constitute! happinesr. It wer the Buddhe'a position
thet mort unenlightcned ordinery bcings ere deluded in
thinking that thc life of scnre pler,rurer constitues happi-
ners. The Buddhareyr that there b diragreement between
the penonr heving the noble inright end others who do
not have it on whrt c(mltituc! happiners (S. ry, p.127).
According to Buddhirm, tyiifq(ignonnce) ir inrbility
to underrtand whrt dukkha (q.v.) rcally ir. One who
mirtater wkhafor dt*kha or viae versa is laid to ruffer
from perverted percrption, perverted views end perr?r-
ted mind. (/. II, p.52), Dt*kht, according to Buddbism,
 ETHICS
ir aaid to bc one of the three fundamental characteristics
of ramsiric exirtencr. tt is the persistencc of a certain
psychirlogicel sttitude towards the impermenent things
of the world thet, according to Buddhism, Ieadr to
dukkhe When the dirturbing passions and the c.easeless
thirst for thc porrewion end enjoyment of impermanent
thingr is completely gotten rid of, there occurs the
happiners which Buddhirm celled the happiness of
Nibbana. Thc Buddha's rttempt \ras to bring a change in
the humen ettitude which leeds to dukkha stemming
from contea with the impermancnt things of the world.
Dukkha ir causally conditioned. The elimination of the
crule8 of dukkhe leadr to the cessation of it. The
prychologicd facton which cause unhlppincsr in this
life, are precirely the facton thet bring about a continued
ceries of existence in caassra. Thc Buddhist view is that
semsiric existence brinls elong with it a whole mess of
dukkh+which in thc formulation of the four noble truths
is deccriH as followr:
Birth is dukkha, decay is dukkha, sickness isdukkba,
deeth is duLkha, association with thore that one does
not like k dukkha, reperation from the beloved is
dukkha, in brief the five eggrcgates of grasping are
dukkha. (S. V., p.421).
According to Buddhism, the life of senre pleasurel
consirtr of thrce upccts, all of which, a realirtic asses!-
meat of humen experience sbould not fail to take into
rccount. Objects of senseproduce delight (assidr/. But
they also have hermful consequences (idiaava), PleF
lurct at the levrl of senruality can be tranrcended and a
higber level of happiners cen be attiened. This is callcd
nissanaa or freedom from the hermful conlequences of
thc lower pleasures. With reference to the common
plcrsurer of rense the Buddha says that they consist of
littlc delight aad much unhappiness sld anxiety (appas-
id t ktmi,..... b ah ud ukkhi b ahil'piy rs a ldi a av o etthe
bhiyyo. M.l,p.l32). Uncnlightencd beings ere raid to
suffer conrteatly from psycbological dirtresr, which ir
cyen more painful thrn phyrical sicknesr, It ir, eccording
to the Buddhq when r pcrron atteins Nibbine" thet he or
rhe becomer perfectly happy.Thc Buddhedocr not egree
witb the commoD esrumption that happiness can be
found only in seDluour enjoyment. Spceking from his
expcrience of the higber rtates of mental culture, the
Buddhe effirmr that in the states of couciousness
ettained in the highest stat6 of jhina (q.v, meditative
repture) thert is the posribility of experiencing far
rupcrior leveb of happiness. (S. IV. p,nSD.
Although rsnluourl things can be productive of enjoy-
ment, vhmd from a wider pcrspective rnd taking into
conridcretion their long renge oonsequcncar, they are
vicwcd ar underirable. Tbe Buddha believer thrt a
comprcheosive undentanding of the naturc of senrc
pleerures and the realisation of a heppiness whicb
159 ETIIICS
tranrcendr the mcager happiness which is found ia
rcnruous delight males an ecligbrcned penon to take e
differeat view of the nlture of sensepleasures.From the
enlightened pcnpcctive of the Buddha it ig clrimed that
the enjoyment of the plensurcs of a scnsuour kind is
comparable to the infent's pley with dirt (A, V, p. 203).
Tbe relevencc of bappiness or well bcing to moral
eveluation ie clearly recognired in Buddhism. But the
Buddhict position regarding what constitutes real happi-
nesr is beced on its vicws about the nature of man end the
human predicement. Consrquently, although eny secular
morality may apped to hcdonic crit"ria for the moral
justification of action, diregreement between thc
Buddhist position and the rccular position is likely to
oosur on subrtantive morel issues due to the disparity
thet may exirt regarding questions ebout the neture of
happiness.
The Buddhist attcmpt can be reen a! one of integrating
an ided of iadividual sdvation with the conccpt of moral
living. An objection thst some critica of Buddhist mors-
lity have levelled againrt it ir that its morality is reducible
to an individudism which violates thc very notion of
morality. One who aspires for the goal of Nibbena is
viewcd es a pcrson who leaves all commitment to society
and leadr a life of solitude. He is not one who rningles
with rociety and uses his energy and ability to improve
society. In brief, the accusation ir that Buddhism prea-
ches some path of enlightened self intercst a.nd thercby
fallr rhort of a univerrally acceptable moral ideal lt is to
be admitted that in Buddhism thcre b constent emphasir
on the attainment of the individual's well-being or bappi-
negg. However, in most instanccl where moral concepts
like tusala are explained in terms of happines or well-
bcing the Buddha's conrftlcrations are univenalistic.
The Buddha spgalcsoffour types of perlons:
(i) Persons who engage neither in the punutt of their
own well-bcing nor in the pursuit of the well-being
of othen.
(ii) Penonr who are engaged in the pursuit of the well-
being of otherr, but not in the pursuit of the well-
being of themselves.
(iii) Personr who are engaged in the pursuit of the well-
being of themselves, but not in the punuit of the
well-being of others.
(iv) Penons who ere engaged in the pursuit of the well-
being of themselvesaswcll a! that of othen (A. II, p.
e5).
The Buddha's evaluation of the four typer of perrons ir
important in detcrmining the Buddhist stand on egoism
and altruirm. Hc considen the first type of penlon as the
mort inferior. Whet may eppeer to be puzding is the
Buddha's evaluetion thet the lecond type of penon ir
 ETIIICS
inferior to the third. Understandably, the fourth isjudged
to be the best. Wby is it that the third type of person ir
judged to be better than the second?The Dhemmapade
too, one of the principal texts presentingBuddhist moral
ideas, maintains: "One should not abandon the well-
being of oneself for the well-being of another," (Dhp. v,
166). Can this statement be correctly interpretted as one
veluing self-interest more than eltruism? The answer to
this can be found in the Sallekha Sutta of the Majjhima
nikiya. Here, addressing a penlon called Cundg the
Buddha says:
lt is not pocsible,Cunda for him who is stuck in the
mud to pull out another who is stuck in the mud. But
Cunda, it is possible for one who is himself not stuck
in the mud to pull out another who is stuck in the
mud, (M. I, p. 45).
The important meslege of the Buddha contained in
thir statement is that those who suffer from moral
depravity, and who are Dot at pcace with thcmselves are
incapable of scrving society in any ugeful or meaningful
msnner. The most sublime and exelted form of service to
society can be rendered only by people who have
perfected their undentanding and morsl character. From
the Buddhirt point of view the Buddha and his disciples
pfue sttnins{ moral perfection are such persons. Accor-
ding to Buddhicm the most effective menner in which one
can serve society is by harmonizing the goal of one's
personel rpiritual life with social action. One's own
happiness depends on the degrec to which one diligently
cultivates one's owD inuer purity. A wise man does not
intend to harm himrelf, others or both; he intends his own
god, the good of others, the good of both aad the good
of the entire universc. (/, II, p, 179). The welfsre of
oneself and the welfare of others depend equally on what
kind of peruon one is. [f one is greedy, envious, selfish,
end deluded, onc's behaviour will do no good either to
oneself or to the rest of humanity. The Buddha saysl
Monks whether one wants to seethat one's own good
or the good ofothers, or the good of both should be
brought about it is necessary to cultivate one's
character diligently. (S. tI, p. 29)..
Monks, one who takes care of oneself takes care of
others, and one who takes care of others takescare of
oneself. How monks, is it that one who takes care of
oneself takes care of others? It is by moral training,
moral culture, and moral development. And how,
monks, one who takes care of others takes care of
oneself. It is by forbearance, by harmlessness,by
good will aad compassion. (r'Drd.V, p. t69).
The point made here is that a persoDwho is cultivating
himself rpiritually is by that very reason taking care of
others. For spiritual cultivation involves elimination of
greed, hatred and delusion and all other unwholesome
160 ETHICS
states of mind which find expression in man's social
behaviour, through acts such es violence, steiling, un-
chestity, false speech etc. Spiritud cultivation involves
not only self-restraint and ehtention from cvil but also
positive action which finds exprcrsion through compas-
sionate decds.This explains why, coDtrary to the opinion
expressed by some critics that Buddhism is an escepist
ideal, a self centred attempt for individual sdvation,
Buddhism became a missionary religion that worked
with greet zcal in establishiag people in thc psth of
righteousness.This was considered to be the mejorrole of
the Buddhist monk and especially of the Buddhist saint.
It is with this purpore in mind that the practice of bcgging
meals from housc to house was adopted by the Buddhist
spiritud community.
The Buddha conridered morally and spiritually ele-
vated beings to be e neceslary component of society as
they are the most qualified to give moral direction to
society. Although the Buddha end the Buddhist seints
renounced the material bonds with society, they did not
abandon society,The perfectedperson is expectedto live
in society,like the lotus flower which grows in the muddy
water and rises end steys unteinted ebove the level of the
muddy water.
Buddhism as a moral teaching insists that there must
be a firm end secure mord for.rndetion for all social
action, including the regular performance of one's allot-
ted social role under a given system ofsocial orgniration.
People need to resolve their inner conflicts in order to live
in peace with society, When an increasingly larger
number of pcople having no mental composure,no moral
discipline, tale up positions that require the fulfilment of
certain social roles that effect the community at large,
they produce more harm than good. Even those who gre
overtly committed to social action are in need of gome
basic understanding of their own moral neture.
6. Morellty, Knowledge md Truth- A question that has
drawn considerable attention of philosophers in r€cent
moral philosophy is whether distinctively cthical judge-
meDts can be known to be true or false. Contemporary
ethical theories that admit tbe possibility of ethical
knowledge are called congnitivist theories, and those
theoriesthat deny its possibility are called noncognitivist
ones.Viewed in terms of the congnitivist/ noncognitivist
distinction Buddhism is obviously cognitivist in its
approach to mord issues.Buddhism assertsthe vicw that
we can know what is morally right and wrong, and good
and bad. According to the Buddha, to harrca right view is
to understand the distinction between good end bad.
"Killing is bad" is for Buddhism, a valid ethical judge-
ment to which all rational pcople must give their assent.
A person is said to be ignorant and deluded if he or she
does not know the difference between aright ection and a
wrong action (4. III, p. 165).
 ETHICS
Ethicel noncognitivism in recentmoral philosophy is a
result of the developmcnt of an empiricist epistemology,
According to empiricist epistemology genuine know-
ledge can be obtained only by means of empirical
observation. Only matters of .fact can be empirically
observed. Distinctively ethical judgements do not state
facts: they are speciesof evaluative utterances.Contem-
porary meta-ethical analyses draw a rigid distinction
bitween factual and evaluativestatements.While factual
strtements are said to be capable of being establishedby
empiricd observations, evaluative judgements are re-
duced to expressions of emotion or to prescriptive
utterances Cevoid of any truth value,r0 Noncognitivist
analysesof ethicaljudgements reduce them to avariety of
noh-rational discourse.They take the position that any
fundamental major premise can serve as a premise for a
moral argument. These analysesimply forms of relati-
vism which deny the universal validity qf moral judge-
ments. Buddhism takes the position that although factual
reasonsare relevant to moral conclusions, any arbitrary
fact cannot be adduced as a reeson for a moral judge-
ment. There ere, es we have already seen, two main
criteria admitted in Buddhism for the purposc of res-
tricting the range of facts that can be adduced for or
against a moral judgement. They are: ( l) the tendency of
what is morally evaluated to promote thc general well-
b e i n g ( u t i l i t y ) a n d ( 2 ) a c o n s i d e r a t i o no f f a i r n e s so r t h e
application of the Golden Rule. The function of the
moral agent is to balanccthesetwo criteria intelligently in
some situations where they may secm to yield conflicting
j u d g e m e n t s ,T h e i m p l i c a t i o n o f t h e B u d d h i s t v i e w i s t h a t
rational men cen achieve a high degree of moral con-
s e n s u sa n d d i s c o v e r a c o m m o n c o r e o f m o r a l v a l u e s i f
they adhere to thesetwo criteria,
I n t h e c o n s i s t e n ta p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e t w o a b o v e m e n -
tioned criteria for the evaluation of human behaviour
Buddhism offered a notable moral critique of the pre-
B u d d h i s t r e l i g i o u sv a l u e s .B u d d h i s m a l w a v ss t r e s s e dt h e
importance of the inner purity of man. According to
B u d d h i s m h u m a n h a p p i n e s s ,w h e t h e r a t t h e i n d i v i d u a l
level or at the societal level depends on the inner purity
and moral development of the individuais constituting a
society. Buddhism emphasizesthe importance of self
reliance for the development of this inner purity, In its
early form, Buddhism doesnot have the characteristicsof
a religion of grace. [t repeatedly emphasizesindividual
effort. Even a Buddha can only be helpful as a good friend
(kalyanamitta) and a guide having a bencficial influence.
The Buddha says: "You need to make an effort your-
selves,for the Buddha only show you the way". (Dhp. v.
216). He also insists:"Be islands unto thyself, be refuges
unto thyself, do not take another as your refuge". (D. ll,
10. C. J. Warnock, Contemprary Moral Philosophy,(Macmillan,
161 ETHICS
p. 100).Faith in the Buddha in the form of confidencein
him is sajd to be important as n starting point, but the
higher spiritual attainments 'rre not dependent on faith.
One's claim to have realisedthe ultimate goal of Buddhi-
sm can be a genuine ciaim only if onc is in a position to
say without basing oneself on faith alane (af,f,atra
saddhiya) that one has realised it. it is due to this self
reliant approach of Budchism that in its early stagesit
rejccted all ritual with a mystical significant as supers-
tition.
The Budhist moral critique was directed against the
practicesof the two principal religious and philosophical
traditions of the day which were known as the Brihmana
and the Sramana traditions. Brahmanical practiceswere
criticized for their involvemcnt with sacrificial ritual
resulting in injury to animal life, reflecting inscnsitivity to
the pain of other sentient beings,and Sramana practices
were criticized for their involvement with meaningless
vows and penancesresulting in the afflictions of the body.
The body, in the Buddhist opinion, ought to be kept in
best possible health even as an aid for developing the
spiritual potential of man" In Buddhism there is deli-
berate punning on the words Sramana and Brihmana
with a view to give a moral redefinition of theseterms. A
Brahmana is redefined in Buddhism as on€ who has rid
himself of moral evil (bahita pipatta brihmano) and a
d r " . " n " i s r e d e f i n e da s o n e w h o h a s c a l m e d d o v l n t h e
evil dispositions (samita pEpatta sarnano).(Dhp.III, p.
84).
The significance of Buddhism as a moral reform
movement in the context of its contemporary Brahmana
and Sramana traditions is amply demonstrated in the
following canonical passage:
T h a t , K a s s a p a ,i s a c o m m o n s a y i n gi n t h e w o r l d t h a t
the life of a Samana and of a Brahmana is hard to
l e a d . B u t i f t h e h a r d n e s s ,t h e v e r y g r e a t h a r d n e s s o
,f
that life depended merely on this asceticism,on the
carrying out of any or all of those practiccsyou have
detailed,then it would not be fitting to say that the life
o f t h e S a m a n a ,o r t h e B r d h m a n q w a s h a r d t o l e a d . I t
would be quite possiblefor a householder,or for the
s o n o f a h o u s e h o l d e r ,o r f u r a n y o n e , d o w n t o t h e
slave girl who carries the water-gar, to say: "Let me
now go naked, let me become of low habits," and so
o n t h r o u g h a l l t h e i t e m s o f t h o s et h r e el i s t so f y o u r s .
But since, Kassapa, quite apart from these matters,
quite apart from all kinds of pennnce,the life is hard,
very hard to lead; therefore is it that it is fitting to sey:
"How hard must Samanaship be to gain, how hard
must Brihmanaship be!" For from the time, O
Kassapa,when a Bhikkhu has cultivated thc heart of
St. Martin's Press, 1967).
 ETHICS
love that knows no anger, that knows no ill-will from
the time when, by the destruction of the deadly
intoxications (thc lusts of the flesh, the lust after
future life, and the defilementsof delusion and
i g n o r a n c e ) ,h e d w e l l si n t h a t e m a n c i p . , t i o no f h e a r t ,i n
that emancipation of mind, that is fr:c from those
intoxications, and that he, while yet in this visrble
world, has come to realize and know - from thar
time, O Kassapa, is in that the Bhikkhu is calied r,
S a m a n a ,i s c a l l e d a B r a h m a n a . l l
Buddhism rejected the view that purity results from
clinging to various vows and rituals (silabbata-
parimisa)having no connection with the transformation
cf a person's inner menlal nature. Bathing in sacred
rivers, keeping to rituals of fasting and adhering to
v a r i o u s k i n d s o f t a b o o s i n c o n n e c t i o nw i t h f o o d , g o i n g
about naled, wearing one's hair in a particular way or
d r e . s s i n go n e s e l f i n a s p e c i f i e d m a n n e r , p e r f o r m i n g
various sacrificial rites in the forest praying to super-
human deities, have no value at all if a person who
performs all theserituals and keepsall thesevows has not
eliminated the greed and ill-will in his or her heart and not
cultivated a compassionatemind.
7. Ethlcal Norms speclally appllcable to the Lay
Buddhlsts: The Buddhist community is traditionally
regarded as consisting of all the disciplesof the Buddha
who express confidence in the Buddha, his teaching
(dhamma) and the spiritual community (sangha)estab-
lished by the Buddha. The identity of the Buddhist lay
person in the Buddhist community is established
through the expresspronouncement by him or her of the
undertaking that he or she takes the Buddha, the
dhamma and the sahgha as the refuge. Lay persons are
referred to in the canonical tradition as houscholders
'(gihi
who enjoy the pleasures of sense kama bhogino).
Buddhism considers the lay person as one leading a
household family life, engagedin activity productive of
material pleasures and comforts. The Pali canonical
scriptures contain many moral teachings which are
specially directed to this lay Buddhist community. It was
expressly admitted that the perfect life of brahmacariyais
difficult to be lived by the lay person. However, the
possibility of higher spiritud attainments by lay ptrsons
w a s n o t d e n i e d .A l t h o u g h t h e B u d d h a d i d n o t a t t e m p t t o
r e g u l a t ea l l a s p e c t so f l i f e i n l a y s o c i e t y ,h e e x p o u n d e da
very valuable moral teaching in the interests of the lay
community. He taught a basic morality which helps the
lay person to lead a satisfactory, contented, useful and
h a r m o n i o u sc o m m u n i t v l i f e .
The Buddha's moral teachingsfor the lay community
19I! d.!TnT:{ large extent by the world view
]g "
l l . S B . B . V o l .2 , y 2 3 4 ,
1 2 . T h e C a k k a v a t t i s i h a n i d a S u t t alllD
l . .5 E f f . ) a n d t h e K i t a d a n t a S u t t a ( D . l . p . l 2 7 f f ) c o n t a i n t h e B u d d h a ' s t e a c h i n g t h a t p o v e n y
couldbe oneof the majorcauses of moraldegeneration.
162 ETHICS
c o n s i s t i n go f t h e k a m m a a n d r e b i r t h d o c t r i n e s ,H o w e v e r ,
t h e d o c t r i n e o f k a m m a h a sn o t r e s u l t e di n p r e o c c u p a t i o n
w i t h l i f e a f t e r d e a t h . B u d d h i s m r e p e a t e d l ye m p h a s i z e s
t h a t i t s e t h i c a lt e a c h i n g sa r e [ o r t h e c o n q u e s o
t f t h i sw o r l d
as well as the world hereafter (ihalokavijayaya, para-
Iokavijayaya). One needsto be victorious in this world as
w e l l a s t h e n e x t w o r l d . A s f a r a s t h e w e l l - b e i n go f t h e l a y
p e r s o ni n t h i s i m m e d i a t el i f e i s c o n c e r n e dB u d d h i s mp a y s
m u c h a t t e n t i o n t o t h e m a t e r i a l w e l f a r ea s w e l l , E v e n t h e
doctrine of.kamma taught that a considerableportion of
actions performed by the individual produce results in
rlris immediate life itself (ditthadhammavedaiya).
The layman is also considered to be capable of
a t t a i n i n gt h e h i g h e s tg o a l o f B u d d h i s mi f h e c u l t i v a t e dr h e
threefold training or the cightfold path ro its fullest
perfection. But household life and its responsibilitiesare
consideredas an encumbrance to fulfil the requirements
o f t h e h i g h e r s p i r i t u a l l i f e . T h e r e f o r e ,d e p e n d i n go n t h e
a i m s a n d i n t e r e s t so f t h e l a y p e r s o nw h o d o e s n o t i n t e n d
to give up the pleasuresof sensealtogether, the Buddha
gave valuable moral guidance to make that kind of life a
s u c c e s st o t h e h i g h e rs t a g e so f s p i r i t u a l t r a i n i n g . l f t h e l a y
person's life is not properly guided, Buddhism main-
tained that there is a possibility ofregressioninto statesof
existencefrom which liberation would be verv difficult.
(,4. III, p. 353).
The Buddhist teaching takes into account two main
aspectsof the life of the lay community: (i) the economic
life; (2) the spiritual or moral life. Buddhist moral
teachingsare intended to strike a good balance between
thesetwo aspects.The greatestobjection of Buddhism is
against disregarding the moral aspectof life in favour of
e c o n o m i c o r m a t e r i a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s .M o r a l v a l u e sa r e
consideredin the Buddha's teachingas overriding values.
They should not be subservient to any other values,
economic, political or aesthetic. Moral value is con-
sidered in Buddhism as the supreme value of all human
beings.lt is not to be sacrifiedin the interestsof any other
value.
T h e s e n s e o f r e a l i s m c h a r a c t e r i s t i co f t h e B u d d h i s t
teaching does not encouragepeople to disregardentirely
lhe economic and material Bspects of human living.
Buddhism does not praise poverty, although it praises
contentment and detachment towards wealth. BUddhism
views poverty as an evil not only because people can
suffer as individuals in poverty, but also becausepoverty
brings about social instability and lhe generd deterio.
r a t i o n o f m o r a l s t a n d a r d so f a s o c i e t y . l t c o u l d b r i n g
about social upheavels, rebellions, catastrophic wars
and, even eventually, thc total destruction of human
civilization.tz
 ETHICS
The Pali canon refers to I person callcd Dighajanu
who requeststhe Buddha:
Lord, we houreholders are immerced in the round of
pleasure; we trc cumbered with bed-mate and sons:
we delight in the muslims from Benares and in
sandelwood; we deck ourselves with flowers, with
garlendr End cosmetics; we enjoy the use of both
silver end gold. Lord, to such as us, let the Exalted
One elso teech Dhammq teach the ihings which will
be conducive to our advantage and happinesshere on
earth and to our advantage and happiness in the
world to come.ll
In responseto this request, the Buddha speaksoffour
achievements which are conducive to happiness in this
lil", (l) Utthinasampadi (achievement in effort); (2)
Arakkhasampefi (achievement in variness); (3) K_alyina-
mittad (having noble fricnds) and (4) Samajivikata
(bafanced living). Explaining Utthinasampadi, the
Buddha seys that it is the honest effort needed to earn
one's living. One mult bc energetic and not given to
laziness. By u,fiatever occupation one eBrns one's living
onc must be energetic, tireless, of an inquiring turn of
mind and capable of organising and carrying out one's
work systemeticallyand efficiently. Secondly,one should
see that the wealtb one has earned is duly protected
Qrakkhasampadi). The third requirements refers to
good compeny (kalyinanitteta). The human tendency is
to imitate, and to be influenced by, others around oneself.
So the Buddha recommends that wherevera householder
dwells he should associatewith people who are virtuous,
who are faithful, charitable and wise. One should ettempt
to emulate the character of noble friends. Fourthly.
spcaking of the balanced life (samajivikati), tbe Buddha
recommends that one should neither be unduly extra-
vegant nor unduly miserly ln one's living. A proper
balancein one's handling of the economic aspectof life is
very important for setisfactory l-iving.One should handle
one's earnings in such a way thet one's expcnditure does
not exceed one's income. The Buddha points out four
channelsthrough which amassedwealth could flow away
w i t h o u t b e i n g p u t i n t o p r o p e r u s e : ( l ) l o o s e n e s sw i t h
women, (2) addiction to intoxicating drinks, (3) gambling
and (4) companionship with evil minded people. The
Sigilovida Sutta gives a detailed analysis of the types of
friends thatone might encounter, distinguishing between
t h o s ew h o a r e n o b l e a n d v i c i o u s ( D . I I I , p . l 8 4 I ) . T h e
Buddha recommended that a lay person should avoid
t h e s ef o r m s o f c o n d u c t . S u c h c o n d u c t i s c o n s i d e r e di n
Buddhism to be ruinous to one's material as well as
spiritual welfare.
Speaking of the spiritual arpect of a person'slife which
rs specially important in promoting the welfare of onel
Book of the Gradual Sayings by R. M. Hare (P. T. S.) Vol. lV, p. I E7
163 ETHICS
life hereafter, the Buddha speaks of four principle
achievementr (l) Saddnisempadi (faitb in the spiritual
path of the Buddha); (2) ,S.rfcsampafr (cultivation of
good practiceslike abstention from the fiw baric evi.lsof
e lay person'slife, kjlling, stcaling, unchastity, lying and
the taking of intoxicating drinks; (3) Ggasampadi
(charitable ection) which involves living with e mind
freed from the stain of avr rice and a persont readinessto
share one's eernings with othen; () Pdf,asampadi,
living wisely, cultivating detachment,reflecting the tran-
sient and fluxional nature of ewryting (4. lV, p. 283 f).
The Buddha rpeaks of four kinds of happinessthat a
la-v person can attain. They are (l) the happiness of
possersing abundunt wedth (atthisukha), (2) rhe happi-
ness of enjoying one's wealth making oneself, one's
family, end one's friends and relatives happy (bhoga-
sukha), (3) the happiness of not being in debt (anaae-
sukha) and (4) the happiness of living a righteous iife
(anavajjasukha: A.ll, p. 69), Out of these four types of
happiness the last one is said to be the most important.
All material wealth should be earnedby righteous me8ns,
with_out indulging in wrong means of livelihood (mlb-
chijiva), without exploiting others to one's own per-
sonal advantage, or causing pain and suffcring to other
J e n t i e n t b e i n g s .O n e w h o d o e s n o t h a v e t h e v i s i o n t o
improve oneself in materid wealth Dor to improve
oneself morally is compared to a totally blind penon,
while one who has the vision to produce only material
wealth disregarding the moral basisof one's economic life
is compared to a single eyed person. One who i5
comparable to the person having unimpared vision in
both eyesis one who is capableof improving oneselfboth
materidly and morally. (,4. l, pp. 128-129).
The Sigilovida Sutta and the Paribhava,Suffa con-
tain detailed expositions of moral virtues thEt the ley
person ought to cultivate and evil ways of living he ought
to avoid both in his own interest and in the interest of the
society. In the former is given an important social ethic
which appearsto have universalvalidity, consistingof tbe
mutual performance of duties. It shows how pcople's
rights are to be safeguardedby the mutual performance
o f d u t i e s . T h e m o r a l p r e s c r i p t i o n si n t h i s s u t t a c o n c e r n
the duty bound relationshipsbetweenparents and child-
r e n , h u s b a n d s a n d w i v e s ,t e a c h e r sa n d p u p i l s , l a y c o m -
munity and the spiritual community. The emphasishere
is on one's obligations, In fact Buddhism lacks an
equivalent for the term "right"when usedin the senseof a
claim. Probably, Buddhism approached the problem of
social injustice by emphasizing people's mutual duties
instead of emphasizing"rights" in the senseof claims,due
to its insistence on a philosophy of detachment and
egolessness.
 ETIIICS 164
The family is considered in Buddhism rs a social unit
within which many Buddhist values cap be put into
practice, thercby achieviug a considerable degree of
spiritual progress. The institution of the family provides
the lay penon with the opportunity of satisfying one of
the strongtst of the urges for sensuous gratification
within a sogial sctting which promotes a responsiblc and
dutiful rclationship of mutud love and respect.The ideal
recommended for lay persons in Buddhism in the sphere
of sexual morality is the satisfaction of the sexual urge in
a wholesome and lasting relationship bctweenpersonsof
the opposite sexes brought together by mutual love.
Parental love and care which grows naturally within the
family unit is to be consciously cultivated. Sexual
relationship should not be degraded into a relf centred
pursuit of pleasure seeking. Parental care and love that
children receive within the family is considered to be
extremely important for the moral and psychological
development of children. Buddhism considersparents to
be worthy of respect. Caring for one's old and disabled
parents is an important virtue for the children' The
parentr ought to bc responsible for the moral and
material well-being of the children in their formative
years of growth. The parent<hild relationship recom-
mended in Buddhism is mcant to promote a mutual sense
of security to both parents end children. lt is a similar
relationship of mutuality of respect in the performance of
certein ersentiel duties that is expected in Buddhism
between teachers and PuPiIs.
There is evidence that Buddhirm attempted to have a
distinct moral impact on society through a critique of
existing social and political institutions. The Brahma-
nical value systemwas rejectedby the Buddha by denying
that the worth of a human bcing depends on his birth or
caste.Buddhism maintained that the greatestman is one
who is endowed with knowledge and ethical conduct
(vijjAcara?asampdnDo so settho devaminuse: D.L,p. 99).
The Brahmanical myth of creation which led to the belief
that castedistinctions are divinely ordained is replaccdin
Buddhism with its evolutionary account of the world,
societyand social institutions.la In presentingthis evolu-
tionary account, Buddhism attempts to uphold its ethicd
stand by showing that attachment or craving is the ceuse
of regressionfrom an excellent to a baser condition of
human [fe. Buddhism maintains that the moral dgre-
^cpment of those exercising the highest authority in
socletv such as the rulcrs (kings in the context of the
widely prevalent monarchical order of society in which
the Buddha preached) and administretors, is a prime
r e q u i r e m e n tf o r a s t a b l e , h a r m o n i o u s a n d j u s t s o c i e t y .
\ [ h e n t h o s e e x e r c i s i n ga u t h o r i t y a t t h e h i g h e r l e v e l so f
socter\ are rrorally corrupt, it affects the entire moral
i c b r i c c i s e c i : n B u d d h i s m m a i n t a i n st h a t i m m o r a l i t y o f
l1 S e et h e B u C C h u t s t o r y o f G e n e s k i n D , I I l . E 0 f f '
ETHICS
the rulers can ultimately affect even the regularities of
nature. (A, lI, p, 74f). Rulers are called upon to abide by
the ten virtues of rulership (dasar-ajadhamma/which are
derived from the morel ideals of Buddhism' Th1:desariia-
dhamma ere enumerated es dina (giving), sila (moral
practice), paricciga (liberality), ajjava (straightness),
maddava (gentlenoss), taPs (restraint), akkodha (non-
anger), avih im si (n on-injury), klea u (fo rbearance) and
auirodhani (non-opposition), Although the widely pre-
valent political order of the time in which the Buddha
preached was monarchical in structure, Buddhism
attempted to show that in its origin kingship was
necessitetedby a societalnecd to servetheinterestsof the
people. According to the Buddhist myth of Geneds,
which relatesthe origin and evolution of society,the first
king is said to have been elected by the people (mahaja-
neDa sammeto: D. ttl, p. 80 f')' The ideal monarchical
structure recommended in Buddhism is described under
the Buddhist notion of the universal monarch (c*ke-
vattirija) who conquers territory not by the might of
arms but by means of mord principles (adandena
asatthena dhammena abhivijiya)' A cakkavari (q'v.)
ruler is said to be guided by principle-s of justice
(dhamma). The five moral precepts (paf,casila) are held
to be the mord basis on which the conduct of a
cakkavatti ruler is governed. The Buddhist ideal of a
stable aad hsrmonious lay society built on the founda-
tions of a sound spiritual and mord culture and a just and
equitable economic order is presented through the c*ka-
vaftrided of kingshiP.
8. Tfre Arshrt nd the Bodldsrttve ldeds:- The moral
a n d s p i r i t u a l i d e a l s o f B u d d h i s m h a v e s o m e t i m e sb e e n
conceived as consisting of two distinct ones called the
Arahant end the _Bodhisattvaideals. This distinction is
based on the Hinayina and Mahiyina distinction
which came into being in the historical development of
the Buddhist tradition. The early Buddhist teaching
emphasised the importance of self-reliance in the spiri-
tual journey towards moral pcrfection. The Buddha was
considered as a guide or e tcacher, being the discovercr,
the pioneer in the attainment of supreme enlightenment
(pathamibhisambuddho). ln Theravida and other
schools of Buddhism which came to be called the schools
of Hinayina the emphasis was on the goal of Arhant-
ship. Arahantship assureEa person of final Nibbana, and
one who attains this goal war believed to have eccom-
plished what ought to be accomplishedby way of moral
and spiritual transformation, It was also believed that it
can and ought to be attained in this lifetime itself,
However, due to certain psychological needs, such as the
need for external supports to owrcome moral wealnas,
and thc difficulty that the ordinary laymen found in
responding to the cdl of immcdiate renunciation of all
 ETHICS
worldly things, the doctrine of vicarious salvation
appears to have taken the place of the earlier doctrinc of
individual moral initiative and self-reliance. The result
was the development of a somewhat novel doctrine which
came to be known es the Bodhisattvs ideal. The concept
of a Bodhisatta originated from thc early teachings of
Buddhism connected v-ith kamma and rebirth. lt was
believed that in order to become a Buddha a person's
individual ttream of consciousnesshas to be perfected
over an incalculable series of rcbirths acquiring the store
of.puf,fia necelsary for such an attainmcnt. It was not
viewed as an attainment realised in one lifetime but e
gradual spiritual evolution through many lifetimes, effec-
ted by the fulfilment of the perfections (parami) of. a
Bodhisaiiu. Thc Theravida tradition too admitted this as
a superior spirituel ideal to be pursued but docs not imist
that it ought to be pursued by everyone. The JEt*a
literaturt, admitted into the corpus of the Theravida
scriptures, put forward a distinct moral ideal which could
be followed by the Buddhist believer if he aspires to
become a Buddha like Gotama at some future time in
samsiric rcbirth. The Mahiyinists insisted that libcra-
tion can and must be attained only by mears of the
Bodhisattvaideal. This distinction came to be interpreted
later in ethical tcrms, the Arahant ideal being identified
with an egoistic pursuit of individual liberation, and the
Bodhisattva ideal being identified with an altruistic and a
morally superior one. Early Buddhist teachingsdid not
make a distinction between the character of the en-
lightenment attained by following the Noble Path of
Buddhirm. Enlightenment was gcnerally referred to as
sambodhi, and what was emphasiscd was the urgent need
to reach this goal as early as possible.The perfection of
the arahant was considercd to equip him with the
steadfastnessand strength of moral character necessary
for disinterestedservice to society. This is made clear in
the Buddha's call to the first sixty Arahants, indicating
that they were equally capable of serrice to society as he
himself was, for they were free from all bonds both
human and divine (mutto , . . . sabbapisehi ye dibbe
ye ca minuse).
The presenceof a Buddha, a discoverer of the Path,
was considered as a great advantage to others, for they
could follow the Buddha's instructions and attain the
goal of cnlightenment in their lifetime itself. However,
within the Theravada tradition itself a certain dichotomy
came to be admltted which justified the Mahayanist
contention that thc Bodhisattva ideal is morally superior
to the Arahant ideal. Mahiyina Buddhism transformed
to a great extent the mctaphysical foundations of
Buddhist morality and gave a new religious character to
it. Yet the core of moral values in the Mahaydn_aare not
different from those admitted in the sorallcd Hinavana
schoolsof Buddhism.
165 ETIOI.OGY
A striking feature of the Buddhist tradition is the
richness of its ethical content. Its ethical content is
established on the foundations of a tbeory of redity
which is claimed to be based on a higher from of
cognition (abhif,f,i). The Buddhist teachings consist of
moral values which have a universal application, The
supreme virtues of Buddhism can be summed up in
negative terms as the absence of greed, malice and
ignorance, and in positive terms as the perfection of
compassion and wisdom. In practical terms it is an ethics
of self transformation. In formal terms Buddhist ethics
appear to contain some featurescommon to consequen-
tialist and utilitarian theories of ethics. However the
recognition of the Golden Rule B! one principal criterion
to be used in moral decision making frees the Buddhist
ethical system from the usual objections that can be
raised against a purely utilitarian system. In the coDtext
of lndian thought Buddhism made a major contribution
to Indian ethics as a moral reform movement.
P. D. Premadrl
ETIOLOGY (Var. Aetiology), the doctrine of causesor
the scientific investigation of causes of things, has a
central bearing on Buddhism, which is fundamentelly a
religious philosophy founded on an etiological basis,As a
system of thougbt and action it actually begins and
develops on such a basis.
The main aim of the Buddha's teaching is to offer a
practical solution to the problem of human suffering. tf
the suffering of man is to be overcome and eliminated the
first.requisite would be thc investigation and analysis of
its causes.Once this is fulfilled a method has to be devised
to remove these causes,for, with the removal of a cause
its effect too.becomes removed. And this was exactly
what Gautama Buddha achieved,Accordingly, the sys-
tem he presented to the world revolves round this
eriological principle of cause and its effect.
The principle involved here could be symbolically
presented as an abstract formula thus:
Whenever A (cause)is presentB (effect)is also present.
Whenever A (cause)is absentB (effect) is also absent.
The main cause of human suffering, according to
Buddhism, is craving (ta$a). The removal of this cause
in its entirety (asesa-viriga-nirodha S. V. p.421) 3etsman
free from his inherent bondage to existence and conge-
quent suffering. This was the main messagethe Buddha
presented to the world in his first sermoD the Dhamma-
cakkappavattana Sutta (Vin. l, p. lOff; S. V, p. 420fq
through the doctrine of the Four Noble Truths.
 ETIOLOGY
T h a t e t i o l o g , vo c c u p i e sa c e n t r a l p l a c ei n t h e B u d d h i s t
s)'stemas is a-ls,rproved by the many synonyms such as
hetu, paccaya, samudaya, nidina, karana etc. used to
' c e u 3 e ' i n B u d d h i s t l i t e r a t u r ea n d h e n c eB u d d h i s m
meen
can safely be defined asan etiological systemaimed at the
eradicationof huruan sufferingbasedon a highly practical
methodolcgy. This etiological law as it operates in
relation to the eristential predicament of living beingsis
presented as a general theory in Buddhism through the
celebrated theory of Conditioned Genisis (paticca'
sanuppida). Ihis theory, which is a analysis of the
human person in his existential process, presents the
Buddhist theory of man's genesis and continuity in
samsira as a psycho-physical entity through a series of
twelve links or nidanas.
According to this etiological andysis human suffering
in all its Bspectsis traced back to ignorance of the true
facts ebout samsiric existence(avffi)due to which there
oomes sbout dl forms of psycho-physicd formations
collectively designated as sahkhira in the world as all
such formations are conditionally produced (sa'nkhata).
Hence the first phase of this twelve-phasedformula is a
very generalexpressionof the existential condition of the
world based on the ctiological law of cause and effect or
conditiondity of all phenomena. In the second phase the
forrnula is applied to the genesisof the living being as an
individual entity when it is said that these sahkharas
causethe production of consciousness(vifdina/which is
followed by the psycho-physical entity called the indi-
vidual (nima-rupa), This becomes responsible for its
next stage of the six sense organs (salayatana) which in
turn cause contact with the objective world (phassa)
resulting in felling (vedani). This causesthe next stage of
craving (uyhi) in its innumerable forms thereby be-
coming the cause of grasping (upadina). This becomes
the causeof existential becoming (bhava)which results in
birth 6aOin the world thereby causing an entire mass of
ruffcring (dukkha-khandha)to appear which is characte-
rizied by every form of human suffering such as disease,
decay, death etc. etc,
This is the progressive operation of this etiological
formula wherein the cause produces the effect which in
turn becomes the cause of the succeedingphase. The
process continues cyclically with repeated birth aad
d e a t h . I n i t s r e g r e s s i v eo r r e v e r s eo p e r a t i o n i t c o m e s t o
mean that through the cessation of ignroance (avijja-
nirodha) there results the cessation of sahkhara and in
this manner the twelve nidanas disappear one by one
thereby bringing about the complete release of the
individual from the bonds and sufferings of the cycle of
r e p e a t e db i r t h a n d d e a t h ( V i n . I , p . l f | .
It has been sometimes observed quite correctly that
:his formula is meant to strengthen the Truths regarding
,he origin of suffering and its cessetion(H. Oldenberg,
166 ETIOLOGY
Buddha, p. 22a). However, in reality, the formula
c o n t a i n sa l l t h e f o u r T r u t h s b y i m p l i c a t i o n ,I t i s s e e nt h a t
the first two Truths (suffering ard its cause: dukkhaand
samudaya) are directly admitted in the progressive
operation of the twelve links. The third Truth of the
cessationof suffering (dukkha-nirodha)is admitted in its
regressiveoperation when it is said that the cessationof
one cause leads to the cessationof the succeedingcause.
T h e f o u r t h T r u t h o f t h e P a t h l e a d i n gt o t h e c e s s a t i o no f
suffering (magga) is implied in the assertionof cessation
in the regressiveprocess.
That the Buddha's main concern was the eradicationof
human suffering and that his approach to this problem
was primarily etiological is clearly borne out by the
foregoing discussion. ln further collaboration of that
point one may refer to the offquoted stanzapreachedby
vernerable Assaji in his summing up of the Buddha's
teaching to Upatissa (later Sariputta) which runs as
follows:
ye dhammE hetuppabhava
tesamhetum tathAgato aha
trs"flc" yo nirodho
evamvadi mahEsamaao(Vin.I, p. 40).
"Those things which proceed from a cause,of thesethe
Truthfinder has told the cause,
And that which is their stopping - the great reclusehas
such a doctrine (trsl. I. B, Horner, The Book of the
Discipline IV. p, 54).
Here the two polar concepts of causal genesisaad
cessation (genesis of man's suffering and its cessation)
have been very succinctly juxtaposed. The observation
made by that great admirer of the Buddha, King Pase-
nadi of Kosala, also may be quoted here: "The Blessed
One speaks like an etiologist: heturltpam bhagave
-a:ha
saheturupary Bhagava (M. II, p. 127-30).
From this etiological theory there emerges anotller
cardinal doctrine that Buddhism has acceptedas a basic
component of its soteriology. This is the tenet that
"Whatever that is conditionally arisen is inevitably
subject to cessation" (yaq kiflci sanudayadhammam
s a b b a mt a m n i r o d h a d h a m m a m : V i n . l , p , l l ; M . I , p , 3 8 0 ;
D, II, p. 28'8).
The Buddhist doctrine of soteriology maintains that
the practical realisation of this truth personally is tanta-
mount to obtaining super-knowledge.This is attested
historically by the very first instance of venerable
Kondafifia whose insight into the Truth after listeningto
t h e ' d u d d h a ' s f i r s t s e r m o n , i s d e s c r i b e db y t h e B u d d h a
himself as having attained the higher vision or the initial
step towards saving knowledge, which is designatedas
the Eye of Truth (dhammacakkhu: Vin. l, p. I l) Thc
u n i q u e f e a t u r e o f t h e B u d d h i s t s y s t e mi s t h a t t h e p o s s i -
 ETIOI,OGY
bility of this realisation is constantly asserted quite
optimistically as its final aim, which is freedom from all
bondage and suffering characterisedby repeated birth,
decay, disease,death etc. etc.
The foregoing discussion shows that in Buddhism
etiology is not a problem as in other systems but is e
means for the solution of the ultimate problem of man.
Buddhism elso becomesunique in this respect as in its
attempt at solving this vexed problem. It not only
discovered the nature of the inert causal power of all the
psycho-physical phenomena of the universe, but also
discovered the strategy of exploiting this power to solve
the problem. Through this strategy it also laid bare the
secrets of the universe and of the human mind. Also
through this discovery the path of immortallity was
found out and proclaimed for man as declared by the
Buddha just after enlightenment when he said "Open are
the doors to immortallity let those who have earsdcvelop
confidence (apiruta ematessa dvari: ye sotdvanta pa-
muflcantusaddham: Vin. l, p. 7).
The abstract etiological formula that a causeproduces
an effect end when the cause is removed the effect also
disappears,being a universal phenominon, is applicable
to any given case. For instance, the Buddha himself
a p p l i e si t t o t h e F o u r N o b l e T r u t h s w h e n h e s a y s t h a t
human suffering has to be rcmoved by removing its cause
which is craving (S. V. p. 421).Or elsewhere(M.l, p. 190)
sense-cognition is defined on this principle when it is
stated that it is caused by the simulataneouspresenseof
three factors which are the particular sense-organ,the
relevant sense-objectand appropriate sensory impact.
For instance,in the caseof visual contact it would be the
eye,the form and the eye - contact. The absenceof one of
the causes makes it impossible to have the particular
sense-cognition.
Sometimes cffect may be brought about by the causa-
t i v e f u n c t i o n o f a n u m b e r o f c a u s e sa s i n t h e c a s e o f
sense-cognitionjust quoted. The conditionality of all
phenomena thus becomes an established doctrine in
Buddhism. This conditionality (idappaccayata: M.l. p.
l 6 ' l ; V i n . I , p . 5 ; D . l l , p . 3 6 e t c . )w h C n a p p l i e d t o n o r m a l
existential life aiso comes to mean that it is the result of
conditions generated by the individual himself, for it is
the individual who is responsiblefor his volitional
(kammic) activites which become causative for the con-
d i t i o n w h e r e i n h e f i n d s h i m s e l f . T h i s i m p l i e st h e m o s t
intelligent attitude to life in the light of the Buddha's
teaching as it also offers the possibility of releasefrom it
in the cessationof this causal conditioning (nirodha) as
was shown in the regressiveoperation of the paticca-
samuppida series,
Conditionality as operative in all types of situations is
enumerated and explained in the last book of the
167 EULoGY
Abhidhamma Pitala, the Patthana under the term
PACCAYA (s.v.)SeealsoCAUSALITY, PATICCA-
SAMUPPADA.
A. G. S. Krtyewsam
EULOGY Skt. praCasr from pra * {amsati, Pali,
pasattha, Tib. bstod pa to praise,laud extol or commend.
Eulogy is high praise, in the form of speechor writing in
commendation of tho qualities or characteristicsof an
object, event or person, living or dead. The practict of
e u l o g i s i n gh a s c o m e d o w n t o u s f r o m t h e e a r l i e s tt i m e s
when people thought that praise and invocations ad-
d r e s s e dt o g o d s e t c . w o u l d l e a d t o t h e f u l f i l m e n t o f t h e i r
desires.Thus it is possible for us to conjecture that the
idea underlying the term eulogy is quite akin to the
invocation, The Pali Nikayas and the later Buddhist texts
contain a large number of eulogiesof the holy Triple Crm
(Buddha, Dhamma, Sairgha)and of various objectssuch
a s s a c r e dm o u n t a i n s e t c . . S o m e o f t h e c u l o g i e s s e e mt o
have been uttered in the presenceof the Buddha himself
by various persons.
King PasenadiKosala having paid deep respectto the
Buddha says "Reverened Sir, for me there is a logical
consequence of the Lord's Dhamma. The fully self-
awakened one is the Lord, well taught is Dhammaby the
Lord, the Lord's Order of disciplesfares along well". (The
Middle Length Sayings, trs. by Horner, L B.; London,
1 9 5 7 ;I I , p . 3 0 3 ) . K u m a r a K a s s a p aT h e r a i n e x t o l l i n g t h e
virtues of the Buddha and the Dhamma says in the
Theragatha (v.201)
"All hail the Buddhas, and all hail the Norms.
Hail the blest system by our Master wrought
wherein he that doth hear may (be enrolled and) come
t o r e a l i s ea N o r m l i k e o u r s . "
(Pslams of the Early Buddhrirs; trs. by Mrs. Rhys
D a v i d s ; L o n d o n , l 9 5 l ; p . 1 4 9 ) .A l t h o u g h t h e S a m a n t a -
kitavannana of the Vedeha Thera of Sri Lanka,
* . i t t . n i n t h e l 3 t h c e n t u r y( E d . G o d a k u m b u r a ,C . E . ;
L o n d o n , I 9 5 8 ) c o n t a i n st w e n t y t w o v e r s e sd e v o t e dt o
e u l o g i s et h e S a m a n a l a R o c k ( S r i P a d a o r A d a m ' s
Peak in modern use) it gives pride of place to the
life-story of the Bodhisatta Siddhatta upto the En-
lightenment and in this work is found at the beginning
o f t h e t e x t , a h e a r t - t h r o b b i n ge u l o g y o f t h e T r i a d a s
follows (ibid. w l-3-:
satatavitatak itti m d hasta - k and app adappam
ti bh avahi tavid h an am sab baIo k ekake tum
am i ta m a ti m an aggh'am san tid am Me rui arant
Sugatam aham udaram rupasaram namimi.
( l w o r s h i p t h a t e x c e l l e n tf i g u r e , t h e n o b l e w e l l - g o n e
one whose fame is spreadalwayst','ervwhere.who has
 EULOGY 168 EULOGY

d e s tr o y e d t h e p r i d e o f C u p i d , w h o h a s b e e nb e n e f i c i a l q u a l i t i e s , M e l a j i n a T h e r a e u l o g i s e st h e B u d d h a
i n t h e t h r e e s t a t e so f e x i s t e n c e s a , nd who is like a as all-knowing (sabbaftfii), invincible (apa-
s i n g l eb a n n e r u n t o t h e w h o l e w o r l d , w h o i s e n d o w e d ralita), caravan leader (satthavaha),mighty hero (maha-
w i t h i n c a l c u l a b l ew i s d o m , t r a n q u i l l e da n d s t r o n g l i k e vira) driver of men, peerlessand grand , (sirathinam-
the Mount Meru). v a r u t t a m a ; T h a g . v . 1 3 2 ) . T h e r a J e n t a e u l o g i s e s st h e
H atad uri a tusaram mo h ap a n k op at apam B u d d h a a s t h e g u i d e ,L e a d e r s u p r e m e !t h e p e r l e s sc h i e f
manakamalavikasam jantunam sesakanam a m o n g m a n k i n d a n d s h i n i n gl i k e t h e s u n f o l l o w e d b y t h e
kumatikumudanisam Buddha - Pubbacalagga Order of bhikkus (ibid. v. 426), The Thera Kaludayin
uditanahamud iram dhammabhanum namimi e x p r e s s e st,h e v i e w t h a t t h e B u d d h a i s a h e r o w h o l i f t s t h e
(l worship the Sun oi the Doctrine arisenfrom the l u s t r o u s p u r i t y s e v e n g e n e r a t i o n sp a s t w h e r e v e rh e b e
Buddha of the Easternmountain, which has destroyed born, and he is vastly wise (bhiripafffta) and is the god of
all the evil and has dried up the mud of infatuation, gods (devadevo) and in the word of truth he is really a
'pitu-pitE
which has made the lotus of the minds of a-llbeingsto Seer ( Thag. v.533). Further he says mayham
blossom forth and has destroyed the kumuduflowers tuvamsi Sakka, dhammename Gotama Ayyako siti (ibid.
of wrong views. _ v. 536),
S ak al avi m al asi lam dh utapa p arij alam
surdn aram ah ani yam pa hu neyyah uneyyam "And father of my father art thou, Sakiyan,
uj up athapati p an n am p ui 6 ak hettam j a n an am T o m e t h o u G o t a m i d , a r t g r a n d s i r ei n t h e N o r m " ;
ganamahamabhivande siradam sidarena
( I s a l u t ew i t h a f f e c t i o nt h e e n t i r eO r d e r o f t h e S a i r g h a M r s . R h v s D a v i d s ,o p . c i t . p . 2 5 1 ) .A n e x c e l l e net u l o g yo f
endowed with unstained virtue, who have driven t h e B u d d h a h a s b e e n m a d e i n t h e N a g o p a m a S u t t a( A .
a w a y t h e e n e m y o f e v i l , w h o a r e p r a i s e db . vb o t h m e n l l l , p . 3 4 4f f . ) b y t h e T h e r a U d - y i n w h e n p e o p l es t a r t e dt o
and gods, who are worthy of hospitality and of p r a r s et h e e l e p h a n tS e t a o f K i n g P a s e n a d io f K o s a l a .
offerings, who live uprightly, who constitute the field
of merit of the people, O n c e b r a h m i n n a m e d S e l a w i s h i n gt o € n t e rt h e O r d e r
o f t h e B u d d h a e u l o g i s e dh i m t h u s : " T h o u a r t t h e B u d d h a ,
T h e s e l f - i n t r o d u c t i o nb y t h e B u d d h a t o C u l a S a k u l u - o u r T e a c h e r ,t h e m i g h t y S e e rw h o s u b d u e dM a r a ( M a r a -
diyi Thera (M. ll, p, 38) referring to himself in the b h i b h i ) , w h o h a s p u r g e d a l l t h e e v i l t e n d e n c i e sh, e l p e d
following manner, such as, the perfected one (araham), t h e p e o p l et o c r o s s( t h e f l o o d o f l i f e ' se t e r n a ls e a ) ,w h o h a s
fully Self-awakened one (sammasambuddho),endowed t r a n s c e n d e de v e r y c a u s e o f b i r t h a n d s h a t t e r e de l ' e r v
with right knowledge and conduct (vijjicarana s e n s e- p l e a s u r e( i s a v a ) a n d w h o l i k e a l i o n b a n i s h e d
sampanno), well-gone (sugato), knower of the worlds everv source of fear and dread (pahinabhayabheravo;
(lokavidi)incomparable (anuttaro), charioteer of men to i b i d . r ' r ' .8 3 9 - 8 4 0 ) .
be tamed (purisadamma-sarathi). Teacher of the
devas and men (satta-devamanussanam) A g o o d m a n v e u l o g i e so f t h e B u d d h a h a v e _ b e e snu n g
the Awakened One (Buddho) the [-ord lBhagava). b y 't h e T h e r i s a s w e l l . T h u s t h e s t o r y o f V a s i t t h i w h o w a s
w o u l d h a v e b e e n t h e b a s i sf o r t h e p h r a s ef r e q u e n t l yu s e d pacified bv the Buddha at the loss of her child by
b y t h e g e n e r a l i t vo f B u d d h i s t st h e w o r l d o v e r , t o e u l o g i s e preaching his doctrine, eulogisedthe Buddha in the
the Buddha. It runs as follows "ltipi so Bhagava araham f o l l o w i n g m a n n er . I s a w h i m a sh e w e n t i n M i t h i l a , G r e a t
Sammasambuddho vijjacaranasamp_anno sugato T a m e r o f u n t a m e d h e a r t s ,t h e B u d d h a , t h e B a n i s h e ro f
lokavidi anuttaro purisadamma sarathi sattha deva- fear (adantAnam demeti-ra1t- Sambuddham akutoh-
manussinam Buddho Bhagavati. " At the end of the h a y a m ; T h i g . v . 1 3 5 ) .T h e r i S u j a t ar e f e r st o t h e B u d d h aa s
d i s c o u r s eS a k u l u d a y i T h e r a i s s a i d t o h a v em en t i o n e d " l t the light of the world (oka pajjotam; ibid. v. 148).Theri
i s e x c e l l e n tR e v e r n e dS i r . . . . , .l t i s a s i f , . . . . ,o n e m i g h t s e t M a h a p a j a p a t iG o t a m i r e f e r st o h i m a s t h 6 : d i s p g l l s l r t s f
u p r i g h t w h a t h a d b e e nu p s e t ,o r m i g h t d i s c l o s ew h a t w a s the burden of our ill (dukkhakkhandham byapanudi;
c o v e r e d ,o r p o i n t o u t t h e w a y t o o n e w h o h a d g o n ea s t r a v , i b i d . v . 1 6 2 ) .F u r t h e r s h e s a y st h a t t h e B u d d h a ,b e i n gt h e
o r m i g h t b r i n g a n o i l - l a m p i n t o t h e d a r k n e s ss o t h a t t h o s e worthiest of all beings, has releasedher and every being
w i t h v i s i o n m i g h t s e em a t e r i a l s h a p e se v e n s o i n m a n y a that hath life from all ill and sorrow (yo mam' v .dukkhi
ligure is the Dhamma made clear by the Lord (abhi' pamocesi aflftaftcabahukam janam; ibid. 157),
kkhantam bhante; abhikkhantam bhante seyyathApi According to Theri Cala Buddha is incomp_arable among
bhante n'ikkuliitam va ukkujieyya, paticchannam t'a men (appatipuggala: ibid. v. 185), and Theri Upacala says
nv'arevva, milhasa va maggami-cikkheyya, andhakare that the Buddha is wholly wake and invincible. (ibid. v,
t'a telapajjotamdhareyya cakkhumanto rupini dakkh- l 9 l ) , I n P a t a c a r a ' sv i e w , t h e B u d d h a w a s t h e G u i d e o - f
intiti: evamevam bhagavata anekappariyayena men who have to be restrained (purisadamma sarathi:
Chamma pakAsito ; loc. cit.). While explaining to i b i d . v . 2 1 6 ) .O n s e e i n gt h - ea r r i v a l o f t h e B u d d h a S u n d a r i
tbc bhikk-brx how be had acquired supernormal t m o t h e r s a y st o S u n d a r i :
 EULOGY
"Passa S undari Sattharam
hemavantam harittacam
adantZnam'dametaram'
S atn buddham ak utobh ayam "
( S e eS u n d a r i , t h e M a s t e r f a i r i n h u e , H i s c o u n t e n a n c e
as fine gold clear and bright, Him who is All-enlightened,
Buddha, Best Tamer of untamed. never tasting fear
(Thie.v. 333).
Upali Sutta of the Majjhima nikaya (M.1, p. 371 ff)
r e c o r d st h e e v e n t st h a t l e d t o t h e c o n v e r s i o no f U p a l i , t h e
h o u s e h o l d e ra f t e r l i s t e n i n gt o w h o s ee u l o g i e sh i s t e a c h e r ,
N i g a n t h a n a t a p u t t a ,v o m i t t e d h o t - b l o o d a n d d i e d t h e n
and t'here. He referred to the Buddha as wise (dhira),
whose confusion is gone (vigatamoha| whosc mental
barrenness is split asunder (pabhinnakhila), who has won
to victory (vijitavijaya), who is without lll (anigha), who
is of very even mind (susamacitta), and.who is of grown
moral habit (vaddhasila). He is of lovely wisdom
(sadhupafrfial, is stainless (vimala), is without doubts
(ak atha'nka th a), r ejoicing ( tusita), and has renounced the
material things of the world (vantalokamisa.),hewhois of
joyful sympathy (mudita)who is a recluse(katasamana)a
human being (manuja) who is sure (asamsaya), skilled
(kusala) driver of_ passions (venayika), an exccllent
charioteer (sarathi-vara), incomparable (anuttara),
shining (r ucirad h amma), d ou b tl ess( n i k k a it k/ra), brin gi n g
light (pabhasakara), braking pride (manacchida), a hero
(vira), the noblest of men (nisabha), immesurable
(ap psmeya), deep (gam bh i ra), w on to knowled ge (m o nap-
paita), bringer of security (khema'nkara/, knower (veda),
self-controlled (samvutta), freed_(mufal,suprem e (naga),
has destroyed the fetters (khina-samyojana) speaks
amiably (patimantaka/purified (dhona) onewhose flag is
laid down(rannadhaja), passionless (vitaraga) tamed
(danta), without mental impediments (nippapfica), of
three-fofd wisdom (tevijja), Brahma-att atned(Brahma'
patta), skilled in the lines (pada.ka), tranquilled(pas-
saddha), whose self is devcloped (bhavitatta), attained
the attainable (pattipatta), the expounder (velyakarana)
the one with recollection (satimato), gifted with insight
(vipassi), attained to mastery (vasippata), gone to the
highest (sammaggau), the meditator (ihayi), inwardly
unobstructed (anaugatantara), cleansed (suddha), un-
attached (asita), unaiming (appahina) aloof (paviviu),
the attainer of the highest (aggappatta), crossed over
(tirlrla),helper across (tirayanta.l, of great wisdom (mahA-
(tinna), helper across (tarayanta), of great wis-
dom (nahipafrf,a) confidcnt (visandd accomplished
(vitadhuma), the best of pcrsons (uttamapuggala),
bcyond meurure (atula) and attained to the height of
glory (yasaggappatta) etc. ln eulogising the Buddha
S a k k a s a y s ," I w o r s h i p H i m w h o h a s d e s t r o y e dt h e d a r t
of craving, the peerlessBuddha, the mighty hero, the
169 E{ILOGY
kinsman the sun @dicca-bandhu), Enlightened One, the
S u p r e m e T e a c h e r ,w h o c o u l d n o t b e c o m p a r e d w i t h a n y
other in the worlds of godsand men (D.ll, pp, 287ff).
Matrceta's Satapafica(ataka (ed.. Shackleton Bailel,
C a m b r i d g e ,1 9 5 1 ,w . I - 1 5 0 )w h i c h i s w i d e l y p o p u l a r i n
many Buddhist countries, presents an eulogy of the
B u d d h a i n t w e l v e s e c t i o n sn a m e l y , t h e p r a i s e o f c a u s e s
(hetustava), of incomparability (niripamastava), of
wonders (adbhutastava), of form (ripastava), of pity
(karunastava), of speech(vacanastava), df teaching ((Esan-
satava), of the benefits he confers on the world (pranidhi-
stava), of guidance (margavatirastava), of hardships he
bor e (d usk arastav a), of skill (k au! al asta va) and of freed om
from debt (anrnyastava).
l n p r a i s eo f c a u s e st h e B u d d h a i s s a i d t o b e a f r i e n d o f
s t r a n g er s , a k i n s m e n w i t h o u t a f a m i l y t i e , w h o h a s g i v e n
h i s o w n f l e s hw i t h o u t e x p e c t i n ga n y g r a t i f i c a t i o n .I t i s n o t
from the fear of the evil way (durgatibhayit), nor seeking
after the durable way (abhiprirthayata), but from mere
p u r i t y o f h e a r t h e h a s m a d e r i g h t e o u S n e shsi s h a b i t , t t i s
m en t i o n e d a t o n e p l a c e" L o r d , t h a t p i t y w h i c h r c g a r d l e s s
o f p a i n t h o u g h c u t i n p i e c e sy o u o f t e n s h o w e d e v e n t o
m u r d e r o u s b e i n g s ,t h a t s e e do f f u l l E n l i g h t e n m e n t ,y o u r
j e w e l o f m i n d , y o u k n o w i t s e s e n c e0, B r a v eO n e ,T h e r e s t
a r e f a r t h e r e f r o m "( i b i d . p . 1 5 5 ) .
"yad rujanirapeksasya
cchidyamanasya tesakrt
vadhakesv api sattvesu
k aru nyam a b hav atp:rab ho :
samy ak sam bo d h i bij asya
cittaratnasya tasya te
tvam eva vira sarajffo
dure tasyetarojana"(ibid. w. l8-19).
The Buddha is said to have fostered energy (virya)
w h i c h w a s s u p e r h u m a n .B y s t r i v i n gf o r t h r e ei n c a l c u l a b l e
periods of time he has gained the supreme place.
Eulogising his way of incomparability ('niripama),
Buddha is describedas having attained pre-eminencein
t h e w o r l d n o t b y e n v y i n gt h e d i s t i n g u i s h e d n, ot despising
t h e l o w l y a n d n o t c o m p e t i n gw i t h e q u a l s ,b u t t h r o u g h h i s
d e v o t i o n t o t h e c a u s e so f v i r t u e a n d n o t t o t h e i r r e s u l t s .l t
is said of the Buddha thus:
-Tathitma pr"r"lru^ nit",
tvaya sucaritair Yatha
pu nyayatan atam PraPtinY
api pZdar$amsi tc"(ibid. v' 29)
 EULOGY
*You raisedyourself to such aheight by good actionsthat
e v e n t h e d u s t o f y o u r f e e t b e c a m eI r e c e p t e c l eo f m e r i t . "
The author says that the virtues accumulatedby the
Buddha have been accumulatedby no other person.
Further he says,that the darknessof ignoranceis stunned
by the light of Buddha's knowledge.He is being com-
pared to the jewel of the law, by gaining which hc became
pre-eminent.
Regarding the praises of the Buddha's vtonders (adb-
huta), the author mentions that the Buddha'svictory over
Mira is trivial but his vast slaughter of impurities
accomplished that same night after conquering Mira is
rq-ally wonderful. His victory over the false believers
(tirthaka) is also considercd as a wonder. Further the
author says"what praise could be found for you who has
no revulsion or inclination towards both arahants or
tirthakas". He is said to have had no attachment to
virtues or virtuous, Buddha's form is said to pleasethe
eye of him who has seen it a hundred times as well as of
him who views it for the first time. both alike,
In the praise of compassion (karuna) it is mentioned
that the Buddha was held so long in samsaraknowing its
evils so well by the great compassionhe had for others.
ln eulogising the Buddha's speech(vacana)the author
says that it was wholly swect; when necessaryit was
somewhat otherwise, but every word of his was well said,
becauseit achievedits purpose. The words coming out of
his mouth have been compared to the ncctar flowing
from the oceBn, and to a rain-cloud laying the dust of
passion and thc sun thrusting aside the darkness of
ignorance. His speechis said to be free of falsehood, of
confusion and it is easily understood,
His words are said to cheer the afflicted, strike tcrror
into the heedless,alarm the lovers of pleasure,pleasethe
wise, strengthenthe intelligent, and dispel tbe darknessof
the slow-witted. In author's word:
'apakarsati drstibhyo
nirvinam upakarsati
dosan niskaranti gunZn
, i,* uy to b hi p r avarstr " (i bid, v.79)
"*
".t'our sayingsdraw men away from false opinions, draw
thcm to nirvina, draw out their faults and rain down
't
lf tUeS' .
l r C u c u s s i n gt h e p r a i s eo f t e a c h i n g( { a s a n a )i t i s s a i d :
":iat anam sukhopayam
s van ubandhi niratyayam
i ! rn a 7 h )' a n u ka lv an ati
t a r a n a n v a s y af r s a n a m ( i b i d , v . 8 2 )
170 EULOGY
"Your teaching is the only path pleasantin method, good
in result, free from moral fault, fair in beginning, middle
and end. 'Buddha's teachingis said to have brought fear
to all the tirthakas, agony to Mara and cheer to gods and
men.
In eulogising the vow (pranidhi) of the Buddha, it is
stated:
'iravaTam tarpayati te
prasadayati darlanam
vacanam hladyati te'
vimocayati dasanam(ibid, v. 92).
"To hear you brings satisfaction, to sea you brings
tranquility, your speech refreshes and your teaching
liberates". Further it is said that his birth rejoices the
people; growth delights them, activity benefits them and
ceasingdestroys them. Buddha has been compared to a
lake of merit pure through perfect conduct, calm througb
perfectmeditation and unshakablethrough perfectwisdom.
He is said to be the refuge of thosewho fear existence,the
r e s o u r c eo f t h o s e w h o d e s i r e r e l e a s e .H e i s c h a r m i n g ,
becauseblameless,lovely for excellenceof speech and
[orm, wealth-bringing from the accomplishmentof every
aim and propitious because of the receptacie of his
virtues.
In eulogising his guidance (margavatira), the Buddha
is said to be one who admonishes the stubborn, bridles
t h e h e a d s t r o n g ,s e t ss t r a i g h t t h e c r o o k e d , u r g e s o n t h e
slow-paced, and puts under the yoke the tamed etc. He
had pity for the afflicted, good-will towards the happy,
compassion for those in calamity, benevolenceto all,
a f f e c t i o ne v c n t o t h e h o s t i l e ,t e n d e r n e s se v e nt o t h e f i e r c e
and granted all hospitaiity to all inspite of their birth, age,
caste,place or time.
Praising the ardous (duskara)deedsof the Buddha, the
author mentions that he has even partaken insipid food,
h a s b e e nw i t h o u t f o o d , t r o d t o u g h p a t h s ,s l e p t o n m u d
trampled by cattle and for the sake of those who were to
be trained he has even undertaken service attended by
insult and changed his dress and speech.He acted as a
friend intcnt on good towards an enemy intent on ill and
overcome the revilers by paticnce, the malicious by
blessing, the slanderers by truth and the injurious by
kindness,
When speaking about the skills (kaulala), it is men-
tioned that as a result of the Buddha's skill in expedients
the harsh becamegentle, the niggard bountiful, the cruel
tender-hearted,and he brought about tranquillity of the
sensesin Nanda, humilty in Minastabdha and mercy in
Airgulimala. Sometimes he is said to have not spoken
when questioned,spoken after having accostedthem and
 ETJLOGY 171 EULOGY

spoken later after arousing their desire well knowing the Lcngth Sayingsyol.lI, Trs. Horner,I. 8., London, 1957,
time and the moods of various people. It is thus said of p.303).
the Buddha, that he first applied the law like dye on alear
garment, having first produced mental health by prtcepts
'
of charity and so forth, for it is said; It is not only uf the Triad, but also of the leading
-piruam discipies of the Buddha such as Sariputta, Moggallana
danakathadvabhi(
cetasyuipidya ,u-rrh"r"- and Kassapa' one comes across of eulogies in the
tatodharmo gataiale Buddhist texts' The Anupada Sutta (M.III, pp. 25ff), is
v a s t ; : er a h g a i v a r p i t a h " ( i b i d . y . l 2 g ) . F u r t h e r i s i t onelongeulogyof SariputtabytheBuddha.ltidealswith
seid that the Buddha i.i.a io ."r"u. ,n. .i..r"Lfl a praise of his learning and understanding and discusses
*"rf]
from
the
dreadfur
he'ofsamsira. ilJ::.'Jt",ffi.1.Hr[ ffi,:l;'ff::'ffi::::.::
In Matraceta'slast praiseof the Buddha dealing with tration, noble perception and noble deliverence.Buddha
the Buddha's freedom from debt (anrnya) he sayi that is said to have told the bhikkhus that Sariputta was
even those who have attained parinirvina are not free proficient of great wisdom (mahipafrfrol, wide wisdom
from debt to the Buddha. He is said to have roiled for the @uthu) bright wisdom (hasu) swift wisdom (avana),
sake of others, made the heedlessheedful, declared the acutewisdom(tikkha)and piercingwisdom (nibbedhika).
destruction of sins,laid open the delusion of Mdra, told For half a month Siriputta is said to have had uniter-
the evil nature of samsira and showed them the region rupted insight (anupadadhammavipassanam/intothings
free from fear. For iong time rhe Buddha promotej his and therebyattainedarahantship(MA.IV,p.'46;. nuaOn"-
Doctrine on earth" out of compassion for the world, describesthe various stagesasto how through Siriputta's
brought up many worthy disciples able to help the zealouspractice he attained to this stageof life. He is said
three worlds. Buddha is said to have deciared to have attained to mastery going beyond the Ariyan
at one place thus "my Body of the Law and my moral habit (ariyasmin silasmin), Ariyan concentration
Body of Form, both exist for others' sake f t a m a a h i s m l A r i y a n w i s d o m ( p a f r f r i y a )a n d A r i y a n
(parirthav eva me dharmaripi kayuity;ibid. y, I4j). On freedom (vimuttiyi). Buddha mentions further that Siri-
ttiis statement the author says that the Buddha has putta is the Lord's own son (Bhagavato putto), born of
attained parinirvina after having transformed his Body his mouth (mukhato jito),bornof Dhamma (dhammajo),
of Law in its entireiy to the virtuous and having split his formed by Dhamma (dhammanimitto) and heir to
Body of Form into tiny fragments, Dhamma (dhammadayido),not an heir to material
things (no Emisadayado).ln his own words the Buddha
The following verse uttered by the Buddha to Thera says '^garlputto bhikkhave, Tathigatena anuttaram
Dhammikahastheflavourof aneulogyoftheDhamma: dhammacakkdm pavattitam sammadeva anuppavateti,,
-Dhammo have
rakkhati dhammcirim (ibid. p. 29); 'isaripurta, monks roll on rightly the
dhammo sucinno sukhamivahati: incomparable wheel of Dhamma set rolling by the
esinisamso dhamme sucinne Tathagata), An eulogy of Moggalldna was sung by a
na duggatim gacchati dhammacari 1fh"g, ,, celestial-nymphwho was in her previous birth a Candali,
303)' who at the requestof Moggallina, having worshipped the

Dhamma
protects
him,whopracrices
it andhappine.ss
,t"1fli"j;T,::H:1'nTffi':;:i1;::li:Hff:i,il;
comes to him who lives accordingly. This will be the
homage ro vou who are canker free Gi;;':",;#;,
reward to him who lives according to the Dhamma and
stainless(vigatarajam),imperturba bre(anejam)and who
such a person would never go to a miserable state'
is searedirirrir"i. i-nthe forest ( vva. p.107).
"i"ne
An apt example of aa eulogy of the Order of bhikkus
could be traced in the Dhammacetiya Sutta (M.ll, pp. While praising the virtues of Kassapa Thera Bhadda
I l8 ff .) where king Pasenadi,while having a conversation Kapilani Theri states:
w i t h t h e B u d d h a s a y s" [ , R e v e r e n dS i r , s e em o n k s h e r e "Son of the Buddha and heir is he,
faring a perfectly fulfilled (ipinakitikam), perfectly Great Kassapa,master of self. serene
p urfi ed (p ari p p -
ry I ary a risud dh am)B r airm a-fari ng ( br ah The vision of far, bygone days is his,
macarlyam), all their lives long until their last brcath Ay, heaven and hell no secretshold for him.
(yZvajivan), I... seemonks here living on friendly terms Death too of rebirth hath he won, and else
(samagge.)and harmonious (samnrodamane) not quar- A s e e ri s h e o f m y s t i c l o r e p r o f o u n d .
relllng @yivadam1ne), like milk and water blending By thesethree arms (three wisdoms)
(khirodakibhito) regarding one another with the eye Of learning doth he stand
of effection (afrframaftflam piyacakkhlthi: The Middle Thrice-wise, among gods and men elect sublime"
 EUTHANASIA
r Pslams of the Early Buddhrits, Trs. Mrs. Rhys Davids,
L o n d o n , 1 9 4 8 ,p . 4 9 , v v . 6 3 , 6 4 ) .
A large number of euiogiesare also found in the
Tibetan Tripitaka as well. These eulogies are mainly of
the Bodhisattavas, gods and goddessessuch as Avalo-
kitedvara, Mafljughosq Tira, Vajravarihi etc. ( Im.
Nos. 2739; 27 12; 1693; 1603).
Indumed Karumratrre
EUTHANASIA (mercy killing or aid in dying) is the
administration of easyand quiet death, solely on humani-
tarian considerations, specially on terminally ill indi-
viduals who are undergoing great pain and suffering.
Generally a doctor or such a qualified person is supposed
to administer euthanasia,and the means adopted for this
is expected to be merciful. Sometimes euthanasia is
a d m i n i s t e r e dw i t h t h e c o n s e n t o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l w h o i s
suffering, and in such instances it is referred to as
voluntary euthanasia.Euthanasia has the characteristics
of a positivc act involving induccment of,death, whereas
the act of refraining from needlessly prolonging, by
medical means, the life of a person whose death is
imminent, seem to be a rather negative aspect of eutha-
nasia.
This brief explanation clearly distinguisheseuthanasia
from both intentional murder and willful suicide,for, on
the one hand it is devoid of murderous intention and on
t h e o t h e r i t h a s t o b e a d m i n i s t e r e db y a n o t h e r ,o r o n e h a s
to be assistedin dying. Hence enthanasia is sometimes
referred to as assistedsuicide. It is also clear that
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f e u t h a n a s i ai n v o l v e s i n t e n t i o n a s a n
e l e m e n ta n d , h o w e v e r h u m a n i t a r i a n t h i s i n t e n t i o n i s , i t
has deprivation of life of another (even with his consent)
as its consequence.Hence euthanasialends itself liable to
both ethical evaluation of secular as well as religious
ethicists and legal judgement of jurists.
It is seen that in the early stages the propriety of
administering euthanasia had been a problem mainly
confined to medical ethics. At present,however, due to a
number of reasons, this problem has overstepped the
boundaries of medical ethics and spilled over into the
area of general ethics, generating much public interest.
This is so mainly in Western countries, specially in the
United States, where numerous organizalions such as
'
A mericans Against the Human Suffering," lnternational
A n t i - e u t h a n a s i aT s s k F o r c e , ' h a v e b e e n f o r m e d t o r e p -
resent interestsfor and against euthanasia.
A general survey of the problem of euthanasiareveals
that it is being viewed mainly from three different
perspectives.There is one group which is in favour of
172 EUTHANASIA
e u t h a n a s i aw h i l e t h e r ei s a n o t h e r t o t a l l y o p p o s e dt o i t . A
lhird group that adopts somewhat an intermediate
a t t i t u d e b e t w e e nt h e s ee x t r e m e sh o l d s t h e v i e w t h a t t h e
law, at least, should adopt a neutral approach.
Those who are in favour of euthanasiaand support its
morality are influenced by the sympathy towards those
who are suffering. They are impelled by humanitarian
reasons. They arguc that no one has a moral right to
prolong needless,protracted pain of terminally ill
patients who are destined to be in'permanent vegetative
state'for the rest of thcir lives.They insist that the patient
or his doctor should ba-allowedto decide whether such a
patient's life should be mercifully terminafed. It is cruel,
thev opine, to prevent sufferersfrom getting aquick, easy
death, and that it is nothing but proper that wishes,
aspirations and interestsof every human being ought to
be taken into account by every other human being who
has dealings with him.
A s a g a i n s tt h e s eh u m a n i t a r i a n p l e a st h e o p p o n e n t so f
euthanasia adduce arguments based partly on religious
and partly on pragmatic grounds, Basing their arguments
mainly on Christian theology they point out that life
belongs to God alone and that it is not permissilblefor
a n y o n e , i n h i s o w n a u t h o r i t y t o t e r m i n a t ei t . R e g a r d i n g
the suffering undergone by the terminally ill they point
out that some suffering is necessaryto make amends for
the sins of life, and that the God knows how much
suffering each man deserves. According to their view
suffering is a means of spiritual growth and, hencenot an
a b s o l u t ee v i l .
T h o s e w h o o p p o s e e u t h a n a s i af o r p r a g m a t i c r e a s o n s
g i v e v e n t t o s o m e v e r y j u s t i f i a b l e a p p r e h e n s i o n sr e g a r -
d i n g t h e p o s s i b l ea b u s i n g o f e u t h a n a s i a .T h e y e n v i s a g e
situationswhere patients might be forced to undergo
e u t h a n a s i a .T h e y a l s o p o i n t o u t t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a
p a t i e n t c o n s e n t i n gt o o r a d o c t o r r e q u e s t i n gf o r e u t h a -
nasia for a illness diagnose as terminal which sub-
sequently turns out to be wrong. Further they are
apprehensive of doctors who are professionals, them-
selves turning out to be hired killers, running clinics
set-up solely for the administration of euthannsia.These
fears have increased due to the fast decline in socid
values, loosening of family end social bonds, spiraling
cost of medical care and maintaining disabled and old
persons. (See lie Encyclopeadia of Philosophy, Ed.
Paul Edward, Macmillan Publishing Co., 1967, Vol, 8,
p p . 4 3 , 4 4 : .E R E . q . v . e u t h a n a s i a ) .
The few who adopt the intermediate position are also
prompted by humanitarian reatons and advocate legal
non-interferenceon this issue.
What it the Buddhist attitude on a vexed problem of
this nature?Like almost all other major religions Buddhi-
 EUTHANASIA
sm too does not condone any act that results in the
deprivation of life of any living being. This is more so
with with regard to casesinvolving deprivation of life of
human beings, and specially when the act is performed
with intention or awarenessof thc ensuing result i.e. the
deprivation of life. lt arrives at this ethical standpoint of
abstention from killing on reasons completely different
from those relied on by Christianity. Buddhism, unlike
Christianity, does not believe in a supreme God and,
therefore,does not eccept the view that God has supreme
dominion over life. It proceedsfrom the basic, practical
assumption that life is most dear to all and that every one
has a fundamental right to enjoy a fear-frec life. To
guaranteethis fundamcntel right it has enjoined a precept
which its followers to abstain from des-
"6slsnishes
troying life. To facilitate the practice of this precpt
Buddhism encourages the cultivation of non-violence
Qhi4tsi) end compassion (kar,,ni,) towards all beings.
Besides.Buddhism does not consider individuals to be
reparete, non-related solitary entities in a society. Indi-
viduals are units of an integrated whole, relatcd to each
other, inter-acting and influencing each other, dependant
an each other and bound to each other by varied family
and social bonds creating duties and obligation. There-
fore any matter that pertains to life as weU as death of an
individual bas family and social repurcussions. Hence
dcprivation of life of an individual naturally has wide
social dimensions. Thus it is natural for Buddhism not to
condone any ect that involves deprivation of life irres-
pective of the motive behind it.
Though one could easily see the justification for not
condoning euthanasia, one may wonder whether a reli-
gion that promotes the well-being of all and inculcates
compassion towards all could possibly favour the pro-
longation of pain and suffering of terminally ill persons.
In response to such a querry one could, besidesciting
pregmatic reurons such as the non-infallibility of medical
diagnosis, the possibility of administering euthanasia
against the wish of the patient etc., also adduce religious
reasons which clarify and explain the Buddhist stand-
point on this issue.
According to Buddhism the whole samsaricexistence
is suffering (dukkha)of.which illness (vyidhi)is only one
aspect. Death is only a violent break in this continuous
sBmsaricprocess,and brings about only a temporary end
to suffering which is bound to recur with the next birth,
There is no assurance that the next birth or the ones that
follow will bc free of such terminal illnesses.Therefore,
an attempt to put a total end to suffering by deprivation
of life is futile for, it is only a temporary remedy, a remedy
which might sometimes prove to be unwarranted.
Instead Buddhism suggests a different remedy. [t
encouragesthe inculcation of a realistic ettitude to the
173 ELTTHANASIA
problem of life. When one truly understands that life is
subject to all type of suffering and that life is imper-
manent, one will be ablc to develop an attitude of
enlightened detachment which will enable one to remain
without being unduly purturbed by the mass of suffering
including grave illnessesone has to undergo during the
life span.
Against this explanation one could pausethe question
whether a terminally ill person could view life and his
suffering in this enlightened perspective?All terminally ill
p e r s o n sa r e n o t m e n t a l l y ' d e a d ' .E v e n t h e m e n t a l s t a t eo f
a person who is virtua.lly in a 'vegitative state' is not
exactly known. lf such a person's mental faculties
function then he could be made to reflect about his
c o n d i t i o n o n t h e s el i n e s e n a b l i n g h i m t o c o m e t o t e r m s
with it. What is more relevant herein is the fact that if a
person had through-out his life developedsuch a realistic
a p p r o a c ht o t h e p r o b l e m o f l i f e h e w o u l d n o t b e d r i v e n t o
a s t a t e o f u t t e r d e s p a i r c o m p e l l i n g h i m t o c o n s e n tt o o r
request for euthanasia. An everage person who has no
realistic vision of things will in all probability prefcr
euthanasia to suffering. Apparently such an attitude is
unBuddhistic, for such an attitude is the result of lack of
true understanding of the problem.
T h e r e j e c t i o no f e u t h a n a s i aa s a r e m e d y t o a m e l i o r a t e
suffering does not mean that Buddhism is adopting a
non-humanitarian attitude towards the terminally ill. tt
rejects this becausc it is futile, unrealistic, harmful and
involves deprivation of life, In rejecting euthanasia
Buddhism does not advocate also the abandaning of the
patient. On the contrary it admonishesall those who are
concerned with the patient to show him kindness,
compassion, to nurse and care for him tenderly making
him feel wanted.
One may point out that it is highly authoritation on the
part of the society to prtvcnt a terminally ill person from
requesting for quick, easy death, This may sound a
reasonable argument when considering the fact that
Buddhism upholds the principle that one is one's own
master and that one has the freedom of choice. But a close
a n a l y s i so f t h e i s s u ew i l l m a k e i t c l e a r t h a t s u c h a r g u -
ments are ill-founded. Primarily, as shown earlier, such
request and consent for euthanasia itself is totally
unBuddhistic. and are basedon lack of a true vision of the
problems of life. Besides,a persom in such a statecannot
by any means be competent to decide on such a vital
i s s u e .H e i s m a k i n g a d e c i s i o n i n f a v o u r o f e u t h a n a s i a
b e c a u s eh e i s l a c k i n g a t r u e v i s i o n o f t h e p r o b l e m L t u e t o
this ignorance of his he is unable to thoroughly reflect on
the problem and, therefore, arrives at thil d..;r;lctt only
being goaded by one of the evil courses of actions or
biases(agatiq.v.) i.e. impulse (chanda) animosity (dosa)
fear (bhaya) or ignoranct (moha). He may be impelled
through frustration; his pain and suffering may be such
 EUTTIANASIA
that he develop an animosity towards his ownself and
others and this might prompt him to take such an
u n r e a l i s t i ca t t i t u d e .S i m i l a r l y t h e i m p e l l i n g c a u s em a y b e
fear or total ignorance. Such a decision is arrived not by
thorough reflection (yoniso manasikira)but through the
dictates of the above nnentionedbiases.This applies also
to those others who take decisionson behalf of the
t e r m i n a l l y i l l p a t i e n ; . s "T h o u g h t h o s e w h o d e c i d e a r e
convinced that they are arriving at such a decision efter
e v a l u a t i n gt h e p r o b l e m o b j e c t l y , t h e f a c t r e m a i n s t h a t
t h e i r o u t - l o o k i s s u b j e c t i v ? ;t h o u g h t h e y s i n c e r e l yf e e l
t h a t t h e y a r e a c t i n g u n d e r t h e d i c t a t e so f m o r a l r E c t i t u d e
they are really being motivated by personal interest.
This Buddhist attitude is not one adopted in vaccum
nor applied only in the abstract. Incidents approximating
euthanasia are referred to in Buddhist texts such as the
Vinaya Pitaka (ll, p. 68 fD, One such incident refersto a
c a s e o f m a s s e u t h a n a s i a .S o m e m o n k s w h o a f t e r d e v e -
loping contemplation on the impurity of the body
becameso ashamcd of their bodies that they became
c o m p l e t c l l d i s g u s t e dw i t h l i f e , T h e y w e r e n o t p h y s c i a l l y
ill but mentally upset that they could not bear to live any
longer. Life was a misery for them and_sothey deprived
one another of life (affframafrfla! Oi jiuiti voropenti).
Some even approached a sham recluse called Migalan-
dika, whom the tcxt describesas a hireling for a bowl and
robe, and induced him to deprive them of their lives.This
i s n e i t h e r m u r d e r n o r s u i c i d eb u t a f o r m o f e u t h a n a s i a
though the means adopted may not have been merciful.
As thc victim monks as well as the who administered
e u t h a n a s i aw e r e a w a r e o f t h e c o D s e q u e n c et h a t w a s t o
follow this lend itself to ethical judgement. When the
'What-
m a t t e r w a s r e f e r r e dt o t h e B u d d h a h e d e c l a r e d :
e v e r m o n k s h o u l d i n t e n t i o n a l l yd e p r i v ea h u m a n o f life or
should look about co as to be his knife bringer(i.e,one
who is instrumental in deprivation of life) he is also one
who is defeated (par-aJiki), he is not in communion
(asamvasa).
The same text ( Vin. ll, p. 73 t.) rtcords another
jncident where the group of six miscreant monks (chab-
baggiyi)with the corrupt motive of enjoying the pleasure
o f t h e c o m p a n y o f a w o m a n i n d u c e sh e r h u s b a n d w h o
u a s i l l t o d e p r i v e h i m s e l f o f h i s l i f e . T o a c h i e v et h i s t h e y
praisedeath as againstevil, difficult lifc that was being led
b , ' h i m C o n v i n c e db y t h e s ei n d u c e m e n t st h e i l l h u s b a n d
taxes de(nmental food etc., and,brings about his own
ceEth
f h : s : s : ' n c : ea c a s eo f l ' o l u n t e r y e u t h a n a s i at h a n s i m p l e
s . : : : : i : T h e r : c t r m d o e sn o t d i r e c t l yc o m m i t s u i c i d eb u t
b : r r s s a b cu t g r a d u a l a n d s o m e w h a t e a s y d e a t h o n
h : r : s e l i a r c t h i s h e d o e sw i t h a w a r e n e s s .
R e g a : C l r 8t h r s B u d d h as a y s :W h a t e v e rm o n k s h o u l d
i n t e n ( i o n a - i ]d e p r l ! ' ea h u m a n b e i n go f h i s l i f e o r s h o u l d
174 EVAM ME SUTAM
look about so as to be his knife-bringer, or should praise
the beauty of death, or should incite (anyone) to death
'Hello there, my man, of what use to you is this
saying,
evil difficult life', or should deliberetely and purposely
(iticittamano cittasahkappo) in various ways praise the
beauty of death or should incite anyone to death he also is
one who is defeated (pirijika), he is one who is not in
communion (asaryvasa).
The samesourcerecords another instancewhich comes
still closer to a casc of euthenasia. This refers to some
monks who out of compassion (kirufrfiene,) induce an
gravely ill monl to give up his life. Unlike in previous
instances in this particular case their intention is purely
humanitarien, to help a colleagueof thcirr to put an end
to his suffering. But even this humanitsrian act of
inducement, as it results in deprivation of life, is cate-
gorized a! an act involving defeat (parijikQ. This clcarly
illustrates the Buddhist criterion adopted to evaluatethe
ethical quality of an action. Motivation alone is not the
criterion. Consequence (vip-aka) of an action too is
equally important in such an evaluation.
All instanccs cited herein are from the Vinaya end
involving monkr. Yet it could be rafely surmircd that this
is the general Buddhist attitude to the question of
euthanasiawhether it involves clergy or lay and whatever
is the motive behind it. This illustrates also tbe Buddhist
position that humanitarianism and deprivation of life do
not go hand in hand.
S. K Nrnyttrrr
EVAM ME SU'IAM, meaning, thus have I heard, is a
stereotyped formula usually occurring at the beginning
of a sutta. It is generally held that this formula was
introduced by the recitor who rebearsedthe suttar et the
first council. Tradition regards AnandE, the treasurerof
the Dhamma(Dhamma-bhandigirike,), to be the recitor
of the ^SurtaPitaka at the first council and attributes this
formula to him (DA. I,26ff).
But J, Filliozat does not endorsethis traditional view.
He suggeststhat this formula reems to originate from the
compiler who is supposedto have written down suttas at
the council where it was recited. Further, he rejccts the
traditional view-point on the ground that this formula
would fit badly in the words of the recitor who was a
witness of the events, who spoke of himself as an eye-
witness, and not as having heard (L'inde classioue,ll,p.
333). Though his suggestionis not quite improbable the
evidencehe citesin support of his suggestionaswell as the
ground on which he rejectsthe traditional view-point are
not convincing.
 EVAM ME SUTAM
In the first place it is extremely doubtful whether
scribes were present at any one of the councits. tf the
recitor was an eye-witness of the events, as Filliozat
t h i n k s , h e s h o u l d h a v e b e e n t h e p e r s o n w h o r e c i ( e dt h e
suttas at the first council, namely Ananda. It is quite
evident that Ananda was not presenton all occasions
w h e n t h c B u d d h a p r e a c h e d .O n e o f t h e c o n d i t i o n s o n
which Ananda agreed to serve the Buddha as his
p e r m a n e n ta t t e n d B n tw a s t h a t t h e B u d d h a s h o u l d r e p e a t
t o h i m a n y d i s c o u r s e d e l i v e r e d i n h i s a b s e n c c .T h i s
s t r e n g t h e n st h e v i e w t h a t h e w a s n o t a n - e y e - w i t n e os f a l l
e v e n t s ,a n d t h e r e f o r e ,i t i s p o s s i b l et h a t A n a n d a m a y h a v e
u s e dt h i s f o r m u l a , a t l e a s t ,w h e n i n t r o d u c i n g s u c h s u t t a s .
Even if he was an eye-witnessthere is no reasonwhy he
could not have used this formula. Though the description
of the proceedings of the first council does not throw
much light on the manner in which the rehearsingof the
Dhamma was donc, it is quite probable that besides
answering the questions regarding the place and the
ptrsons to whom the particular suttas were preached,
Ananda must have recitcd the suttas as he had heard
thcm from the Buddha. In doing this Ananda was not
merely detailing a seriesof eventshe had witnessed,but
reproducing verbatim what he had heard from the
Buddha. Therefore, it is quite likely that he began the
recitation of the suttas by using this introductory for-
mula. This also makes it clear why only the Dhamma was
introduced with this formula and not the Vinaya which
was rehearsed in the same council. Unlike doctrinal
discourses delivered at different places matters of dis-
cipline were discussed in assembliesconvened by the
Buddha himself and, Upili, bcing the chief repository of
the Vinaya (vinaya agganikkhitto),may have been pre-
sent in these assemblies.Thus, in the first council Upali
wes speakinS es an eye-witness,and therefore, may not
have felt the necessilyof using this particular formula.
I t i s a l s o p r o b a b l e t h a t A n a n d a p r e f a c e dh i s r e c i t a t i o n
with the formula evam me sutam in order to attach
authority to the Dhamme he*as r.h.arsing for, the only
authority he could cite was the fact that he had heard ir
from the Buddha himself. On this point the reply given by
P u r a n a t o m o n k s w h e n t h e y r e q u e s t e dh i m t o s u b m i t
himself to the chanting is note worthy. Purana said "well
chanted by the eldersare Dhamma and Vinaya. But in the
w a y t h a t I h e a r d i t i n t h e B u d d h a ' s p r e s e n c e ,t h a t I
recievedit in his presence,in that sameway will I bear it in
mind" (yathbva mayi bhagavato sammukhi sutam,
sam m uk hi p a ti g g ahi u m t at h'e vah am dhE ressami : Vi'n.
Il, 290). The Dhamma, regarded as the only refuge after
the parinibbina of the Buddha, had to be rehearsed
authoritatively. The task of rehearsingthe Dhamma fell
upon Ananda who had been a learner (sckha) until the
day of the council. Therefore, it is still probable thar he
cited the fact he had heard it from the Buddha himself.
175 EVOLUTION
I t i s n o t k n o w n e x a c t l y w h a t s u t t a sw e r e r e h e a r s e d
in the first council, Tradition as well as textual evidence
show that the Suffa Pitaka,aswe have it now. has beensub-
j e c t i o m u c h e d i t i n g .l t m a y b e t h a t t h e r . ! i t o r s ,e i t h e ri n
keepingwith thegeneralpattern followcd in thc first recital
or for the purposeof citing authority, prefixed the formula,
e v a m m e s u t a m t o s u t t a si n g e n e r a la n d t h i s i s w h y e v e n
t h e s u t t a sd e l i v e r e db y A n a n d a o n h i s o w n i n i t i n t i v e a r e
p r e f a c e r Jw i t h t h i s f o r m u l a ( M . 1 , 5 1 3 ) . H o w e v e r , i r
s h o u l d b e n o t e d t h a t t h e r e a r e s o m e s u t t a sw i t h o u t t h i s
formula.
The Sanskrit Buddhist sfitras seem to have followed
the general pattern of Pali suttas in prefixing the formula
evam mayi {rutam. This formula is found in both
Mahayana and Tantric sutras.
S. K. Nanayakkara
E V I L . S e eG O O D A N D E V I L .
EVOLUTION is a term which, in general, means unfold-
ing, opening out, sequence or development. It has
applications in one or more of the above sensesin fields
like mathematics,chemistry, cosmology, biology and the
social sciences.In biology the term evolution rcfers to the
development of the living organisms, particularly as
outlined in the Darwinian Theory of Evolution; in
cosmology to the origin and the development of Earth
and the heavenly bodies; in chemistry to thc evolution of
different chemical elements and compounds since the
origin of the universe.The evolution of societyand social
structuresand organisationscome under social evolution.
The psychological aspectsof evolution are two fold: the
*olution of psyche from biological or other bases and
the role of psychologicalfacton in evolution. The present
article will deal with biological, cosmological and chemical
evolution as well as the relevant social scienti{ic and
psychological aspectsof evolution. In each of the above
areas,evolution has two related but distinct aspects:the
origins, and the evolution since the origins.
The article will first outline the Darwinian Theory of
evolution, indicating the ideas of evolution in the West
which preceded it, 8rd devclopment of the Darwinian
view up to contemporary times, leading to what could be
called neo-Darwinism. This will also touch on the
relevant ideas of cosmology and chemical evolution and
Iinally on the spill-over to the sociological and the
psychological evolution. It will next touch on criticisms
of Darwinian Theory on religion and philosophy in the
West. The article will then go oD to views of evolutionary
 EVOLUTIOIY 176
t h e o r y i n C h i n e s ea n d I n d i a n s y s t e m sp a v i n g t h e w a y t o
o u t l i n e a v i e w o f e v o l u t i o n s e e ni n t h e B u d d h i s tl i t e r a t u r e .
A c o m p a r a t i v es t u d y o f m o d e r n v i e w sa n d t h e B u d d h i s t
account will conclude the article,
Hlstory of th€ lder of Evolutbn In the West The way life
o r i g i n a t e do n E a r t h h a d b e e nv i e w e di n t h e W e s t i n t w o
m a j o r w a y s : s p o n t a n c o u sg e n e r a t i o no f l i f e f r o m m a t t e r ;
creation (by Gtld). Both thesevicws could accommodate
the spontaneous generation or crcation of a few species
(of organisms) and their evolution into other speciesIater
on. For once generated or created, pro-creation could
guarentee the continuity of the same speciesand there is
room for other speciesto evolve from the original species.
But a theory of creation, in particular, could also take the
view that all the different species in existence were
created.Christians for example, believein the creation of
all speciesby God, and this view implies the absoluteness
of the species. Aristotle seemed to have believed in
s p o n t a n e o u sg e n e r a t i o n , b u t w h e t h e r h e b e l i e v e di n a
p r o c e s so f e v o l u t i o n i s n o t c l e a r .
T h e i d e a o f e v o l u t i o n o f s p e c i e s- t h a t i s , t h e d e v e l o p -
ment of onc species from anothcr - seems to have
occurred to some naturalists in the post-renaissance
E u r o p e . S w e d i s hn a t u r a l i s t C a r o l u s L i n n a e u s( 1 7 0 7 - 7 8 ) ;
French naturalists Comte de Buffon (1707-88) and
Chevalier de Lemarch ( I744- 1820);German poet Goethe
( 1 7 4 9 - 1 8 3 2 )E
; n g l i s h s c i e n t i s ta n d p o e t E r a s m u sD a r w i n
( 1 7 3 1 - 1 8 0 2- C h a r l e s ' g r a n d f a t h e r )a; r e s o m e o f t h e e a r l y
contributors to this view.
At thc very beginning of the nineteenth century, in
1801, Lamarck published his views and developed them
in his subsquent works, In these he held that dl speices,
including man, descendedfrom other species.In the first
half of the nineteenth century many others held or
discusseda view of evolution of species(see,for example,
the Historical Sketch which Darwin givesat the beginning
of his llre Origtn of Species)but it had little acceptancc
until the mid-nineteenth century. Then, in July 1858,
b o t h A l f r e d R u s s e l l W a l l a c e ( 1 8 2 3 - 1 9 1 3 )a n d C h a r l e s
Robert Darwin (1809-82)geve addressesto the Linnean
Society in London enunciating the principle of naturel
selection as the basis of the evolution of species.And
Darwin, after an year's hectic writing, published his
classic, Tbe Origin of Species by means of Natural
Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Race in the
Struggle for Life, a work that condensed findings of
research for over 20 years, in 1859, and since then,
Darwin's Theory of Evolution has been the paradigm in
biological science.
Drrbkm nd NoDerwHsm: The Origin of Species,
Dot only provided a body of evidencethat existing plants
and animals csnnot heve been created in their present
EVOLUTION
forms and that these must have evolved by gradual
t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f e a r l i e r f o r m s , b u t a l s o e s t a b l i s h e da
principle or mechanism by which this transformetion
would take place, viz: natural selection. This printiple
m a i n t a i n e d t h a t s p e c i e sp r o d u c e l a r g e n u m b e r s o f p r o -
geny, and in the struggle for existence,those members of
t h e s p e c i e sm o r e a d a p t a b i e t o t h e e n v i r o n m e n t o r t h e
conditions of life, i.e., those who could cope with the
environment better, survived and the others perished.
Although Darwinsin gnined ground during the second
h a l f o f t h e n i n e t e e n t hc e n t u r y , i t c a m e i n f o r a l o t o f
criticism by biologistsduring the first quarter of the
twentieth century. Some thought the principle of adap-
tation was teleological,others criticized it as too materia-
listic and not taking sufficient notice of will and other
psychological factors; the geneticiststhought mutation
\f,es responsible for positive evolutionary change and
assigned to netural selection only the negative role of
gctting rid of unsuccessfulvariants.
But these objections petered out. Once it was shown
that acquired characterswere not inherited, psychological
f a c t o fs l i k e w i l l w e r ed i s c o u n t e d .L a r g e m u t a t i o n s - e r r o r s
in self copying are rare and the blending of h:redity
due to crossingand the regressivecharacter of mutants as
explained by the "particulate theory" of inheritence were
considered to solve the problems that Darwinism faced.
"Neo-Darwinism, as we may call the modern theory of
gradual transformation (of species)operated by natural
sclection acting on a Mendelian genetic outfit of self-
reproducing and self-varying genesis fully acceptedby
the great majority of the students of evolution." (Sir
Julian Huxley in lntroduction to the Mentor edition of
the Thc Origin of Species,l958, p. XV).
Chemlcal and Cosoolqlcel Evolutbn: Darwinism postu-
Iated that living organisms on Earth first evolved from
matter-probably in the seasand theseorganisms grew in
complexity by evolution through billions of years. The
origin of life from matter leads to the question of
chemical evolution which made life possible and this in
turn takes one to the problem of the origin and the
evolution of the universeitself. The view of cosmological
and inorganic evolution that the contemporary scientists
favour could be outlined in the following terms.
The Big Bang Theory of the origin of the universe(at
least the phasc of universe that wc are in) hypothesizes
that when the universe had its origin about l5 billion
years ago all the matter and energy in the universe was
created by the huge explosion of a primordial "atom"
which had all matter in a physically singular state, Soon
after, the whole of matter was a densehigh temperature
plasmd consisting of particles and antiparticles and
radiation,The plasma expanded leading to the formation
of the nuclei of the simplest and the lightest elements,
 EVOI.UTION
hydrogen end helium, resulting in clouds of atoms of
hydpgen rnd belium. Grevitational forces made these
clorls colhpro into lumpr of matter leading to the
formation of nebulae, gelaxies and stars. The stars burn
conwrting bydrogen end helium into heayier elements
including nltrogen, oxygen and carbon, Ageing stars
collapse and blorp off their outer shells spraying the
elements thus forrned into space and gravity again pulls
them together leading to the formation of other stars and
planets.Earth is e planct which was thus formed, circling
about the Sun, nenrly five billion years ago. Earth, as it
formed, we.t a volcanic mass and there was no life on it.
The rolar radiation, lightning, and volcanic ectivity on
Earth lcd to the formation of chemical compounds, once
Earth'r surface cooled and sufficient water was formed,
Thir chemicd bonding led to the formation of amino
acids, the building blocks of proteins, Md organic
compounds like adenine, which, with other nucleotides,
go into the construction of DNA, which storeshereditary
'information,
and RNA, the worker that makes proteins
in accordance with tbe DNA instructions. The process
led to the formation of a chemical combination which
could make copies of itself. This ability of organic
compounds to reproduce is, in a sensc,the first form of
life.
The first living being is thought to have been a uni-ccll
organism-bacteria or blue green algae - Iiving in the
spread of oceens that covered most of the Earth at the
time. Life is considered to have begun on Earth over 4.5
billion ycarr ago. It thcn evolved. passing th:ough the
ages of reptiles and dinosaurs, and gradually, life con-
quered land and air. Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for I00
million yeers and with their extinction mammals emerg-
ed, About somc 5 million years ago, the pre-humans or
hominids would have appeared, after they diverged (or
evolved) from the great African apcs. One hominid
speciesmade it to the Homo Sapiens- the modern man.
Psycho-Soclel Evolutlon: Scientists now extra-polate
Darwinian evolution to covcr the psycho-social or the
human sector, in addition to the biological and the
inorganic scctorconsideredearlier.As inorganic evolution
led to biological evolution, the latter, in the line leading to
man, developed an organization of awarnessto a level at
which experience could be stored in the individual and
t r a n s m i t t e d t o l a t e r g e n e r a t i o n sT , his initiated the psy-
chosocial phase of evolution. It produced laws, philo-
sophies, machines, works of art and science.The human
phase is thc phase of self-reproducing mind. The evolu-
tion in this phaseis the evolution of different cultures
which comprise of social organization, agricultural and
industrial techniques, values and ideals and so on.
Cultural evolution also has a selective mechanism -
psycho-social selection - but unlike biological natural
s e l e c t i o nw h i c h o p e r a t e sb l i n d l y , p s y c h o - s o c i asl e l e c t i o n
177 EYOL[rTION
always has an awareness of aim or purpose and the
principles of psycho-sociai seiection also evolve with
evoiution. increasingly the ai*: is gctting away from mere
survival or complexity of or4anization or control over
environment and reaching towards fuller reaiization of
the potentialities of the humnn speeies.
Crttlcc of Dsrwlnko: Mrjoriry of the scienrists today
consider that neo-Derwinisrn,has genetic, palaeonto-
logical, morphological, phylogenetic and other evidence
in favour of it. But Darwinism had critics from its very
inception, and as was seen,through to its del'elopmentto
neo-Darwinism. I g materialistic,reductionst and'evolution
by chance" approach hag been criticized, and the
mechanism it outlines hes been considered to be inade-
quate to eccount for evolution by some scientists.
Pensperda Thory: Whiie Drrwinism maintains that
life on Earth originated here, versions of panspermia
theory - the view that life originally reached Eerth from
outcr space - have come up for centuries. [n contem-
porary times, two distinguished sstronomers Fred Hoyle
and Chandra Wickremasinghc have attempted to revive
it. The position argued for by them is that, periodically,
sperms from outer space reach the Earth. Orginally Iile
had to reach Earth by way of these sperms, although
evolution on Earth could have led to dcveloped species.
Sincesome of the ideas of thesetwo scientistswould be of
interest for the discussion later in this article, a few
quotations which exemplify their position is put down
here.
"The advantage of looking to the whole universe
(for the creation of lifc) is that it offers a sraggering
range of possibilities which are not available here
on Earth. For one thing it offers the possibility of
high intelligence within the universe that is not
God. It offers many levels of intelligence rising
upwards from ourselves.
...Genesare to be regarded asCosmic. They arrive
at the Earth as DNA or RNA, either as fully
fledgedcells,viruses,viroids or simply asseparated
f r a g m e n t so f g e n e t i cm a t e r i a l .T h e g e n e sa r er e a d y
to function when they arrive.
, . , L a r g es t o r e so f g e n e t i cm a t e r i a l b e c a m ef r o z e n
and so preservedindefinitely in the outer regions
o f t h e s o l a r s y s t e md u r i n g t h e e a r l y d a y s w h e n o u r
system was formed about 4.6 billion years ago,
...Thegenesride around the galaxy on the pressure
o f l i g h t w a v e sf r o m r h e s t a r s . , (. G e n e t i cm a t e r i a li s
o f e x a c t l y t h e r i g h t s i z et o r i d e o n t h e l i g h t w a v e s
o f s t a r s . ) " ( H o y l eF, . a n d W i c k r e m a s i n g h eN, . C . ,
Evolution from Spacq London, J, M. Dent &
S o n s ,l 9 8 l ) .
 EYOLUTION
Grkdrdty and Derwlrdsm. The origin of life from
matter, and then the evolution of life inlo complex forms
leading to mBn was such a revolutioner) concepttbat the
Christian Church in Europefound it difficult to accedeto
it, although some Christians, both Protestant
and Catholic, welcomed it. The idea of creation by God
was, at least apparently, at stake. Clergymen like Bisho I
Wilberforce ( 1805-73)opposedit. Although the Catholi.'
Church could depend on their authority than on thc
literal Biblicd texts, Papacy indirectly condemned the
idea of Evolution in the Syllabus of Errors issuedby Pope
Pius IX in 1864. The Christians had to reconcile their
faith with evolution or reject evolution, Some attempted
reconciliation. But "The irreconciliables of both parties
-the one rcjecting Darwinism because it demeaned reli-
gion, the other embracrngDarwinism becauseit demeaned
religion - were as comtemptuous of the efforts of the
reconcilers as they were hostile to each other. Huxley,
engaged in debate with the clusive Gladstone, finally
p r o t e s t e d ," T h e r e m u s t b e s o m e p o s i t i o n f r o m w h i c h t h e
reconcilersof scienceand Genesiswill not retreat"' The
God of reconcilerstoo often resembledthat of Coleridge:
"A something - nothing - everything which does all of
which we kno\p." (Gertrudc Himmelfarb, "Darwinism,
Religion and Morality"in Rise of Science in Relation to
Society, ed. L. M. Marsak, Macmillan, New York 1954).
Christisn theologians and philosophers in contem-
porery times have moved to reconcile sciencewith their
faith. Two basic aproaches could be seen in these
ettempts. One could be called the non-cognitivist, neo-
Wittgensteinian approach. It gives up literal sensc to
theological or religious expressionsand deny the applica-
tion of truth-value or existenceclaims to statementsin
religion. For thesestatementsare claimed to be in a realm
different from that of empirical science. Further, they
'existence,'Theother
deny any abrolute senseof the term
approach ettempts at reconciling scienceend religion and
in this instance, Christianity and Evolution. "A century
after the publication of the The Origin of Species
Catholics were able to essert with impunity the entire
teachings of Darwin, even on the developmcnt of man,
provided only that they did not tamper with the divine
origin of aoul (since Derwin did not speak of a'soul' this
was no great hardship)" writes Himmelfarb. (op. cit. p'
92) Teilhard de Chardin's writings, for example, recon-
cile Chrisrian theology and Evolution' Cherdin thinks in
terms of cosmic, and not only a biological evolution, and
that in principle agree3with the scientific view' He thinks
that God is immenent, evolution is orthogenetic and it
*i11,in the future, culminate in auniversalconsciousness
evolved through love, at what he calls point Omega'
Tbus. for him God is the pole towards which man in
tendrng, by' a convergenct of evolution'
178 EVOLUTION
lVlodern Western Ptdbsophy urd Evohrtlon: Evolutionary
ideas have had immense impact on thinking in general.
H e r b e r t S p e n c e r ( 1 8 2 0 - 1 9 0 3 )w h o d e f e n d e d D a r w i n ' s
hypothesis was influenced by it and employed its argu-
m e n t s i n h i s p h i l o s o p h y a n d d e v e l o p e da n e v o l u t i o n a r y
theory of ethics. ln Henri Bergson'sphilosophy which is a
vitalistic doctrine, there is an original life force that has
passed from preceding gcnerations of beings to the
sugceedingones by way of developed individual orga-
tti/.r. Creative Evolution, as he calls this process,
#nserves this lifc force in every line of evolution of living
6eings, creating numerous varities of species'and divid-
ing itself again and again. But the evolution is not moving
towards any fixed end. lntuition plavs a large role in the
activity of living beingsin Bergson'sphilosophy and any
teleology, if at all operative. can only be immanent in this
conception.
Evolutlon and Eastern Thought: The idea of evolution is
not alien to Eastern thought. Ancient Chinese writings
give strikinS accountsof organic evolution' There are
e c c o u n t s o f s e e d sb e c o m i n g d u c k w e e d w h i c h b e c o m e
lichen and somewhere up this process. butterflies and
i n s e c t se v o l v e .S t i l l f u r t h e r u p t h e l i n e b i r d s . t h a l e o p a r d
and the horse emerge and finally from the.horse man is
produced. The universe,and evervthing in it is generated
or evolved by the interaction of Yin and Y ang (the fcmale
and the male principles).
Of the Indian religions and systemsof philosophy the
Vedic aystemhas a doctrine of evolution from spirit (and
not from matter). The llpanisads speak of the evolution
of the world out of Atman. Thus the Taittariya Upanisad
says that akifu (space) came out of Atman, air out of
space, fire out of air, water out of fire and earth out of
water. Plants came out of earth, food out of plants and
man out of food. This does not explein, however, how
man camc from food or the origin of the other living
species.
The Cirvaka - materialists believed that life and mind
arose when material particles got togetber and formed
structurcs. Jainism maintains that the world is eternal
and undergo sequenceof six ages,good or bad, bul not
periodic crcation and destruction'
The BuddtfttYler: There is no doubt that Buddhism has
absorbed some of the mythology of the lndian systems
but the Buddhist literature alone, among the lndian
religions, provides an sccount which could bc considered
an account of cosmological, inorganic, biological end
social evolution. Though it is not unambiguout' in some
weys at least it superficially resemblesthe current scienti-
fic eccounts of ttrc aspects of evolution.
Before this account in Buddbist literature is outlined, it
is best that another accouDt, sometimes labelled the
 EVOLUTION
Buddhist account of the formation of the world is
mentioned briefly and disposedof. This is the doctrine of
paticca samuppida (dependent origination) which con-
sistsof twelve conditions stated in sequence, from avffi
to jari-mararra. It has been considered as giving the
world-process, and in that sense, a.!tan account of the
'rising
end passing away' of the world. Although the
precedihgconditions give rise to thq succeeding.condi-
tions listed in the sequence,it can hardly be consideredan
evolutionary procegs in the sense that we have been
considering. It outlines an intriguing psyqhological evo-
lution of being, man and the world but it would be
outsidethe confines of this article to discussit.
It is the account of the development of the world given
mainly inlhe Aggafrf,a Sutta that calls for our attention
here.
The cosmic, inorganic, organic and psychological
e v o l u t i o ns e e m l o b e s o m e w h a t c o n t e m p o r a l e o u s a n d
inter-linkedinthe Aggfifia Sutta account. It begins at the
s t a g eo f t h e d e s t r u c t i o no f t h e e a r l i e r" w o r l d " . T h e w o r l d
u n d e r g o e tsw o s t a g e s :a s t a g eo f e v o l u t i o n , a n i l a s t a g eo f
collapseand destruction.The former is called the vivatta-
minastageand the lattcr the samvattamirastage. When
at theendof the samvattantanasiage
desturction,many'beingsfrom this world are born in thr
Abhusara (Brahma) abode (world). These beings ar
born spontaneouslyin the .,{bfiassaraabode, being bor
of mind, and are h"ppy and they dwell in the skies witr.
luminousbodies.They are of a pleasantand a disciplined
neture,and they exist in this state for a very long period.
After this period, the world (of the human beings)which
had undergonedestruction begins to be formed again.
Then the bcings in the Abhas.saraworld leave it and are
rebornin the world (of human beings).Even in this world
they are born spontaneouslyand are born of mind, and
livc more or lessin the way they did when they dwelt in
t h es k i c .
At this inception of the (human)'world, everything
(includingthe outer space)is in a fluid state,and darkness
reigns.The Sun, the Moon and the stars are not visible.
Thereis no (distinction between)night and day. There are
no fortnights, no seasonal differences,and no distinc-
tions bctweenyears.There is no differentiation into sexes
(as male and female). Every one is a living being, and a
living bcing only.
After a long period, the (nourishing) earth evolvesout
of the (fluid or) watery material. The way the earth forms
is analogousto the coagulation of milk on the surface
when boiling milk cools. The earth as it formed was
coloured and had a pleasantodour. It was also tasteful,
A being which had much greed scrapedthe earth with
his finger and tasted it out of curiosity. This made him
greedyfor it. Other beings followed suit. They started
179 EVOLUTION
eBting lurnps of earth. It made them lose their radiancc.
Once their body radiancewas lost, the Sun and the Moon
a p p e a r e da n d t h e n t h e s t a r s _a n d i n c o n s e q u e n c d
ea y a n d
night and morrtlis and yerrrr came to be reckoned. The
world was thus'reborn'.
The beings continued consuming the earth,.and then
differencesin their body complexions appeared,The fair
complexioncd looked d,rrr-cupon the dark ones and this
unabated pride made thc earth crust vanish. Once the
earth crust vanished there appeared a soft soil with
mhshrooms. The beings startcd eating mushrooms, and
again, the pride of the fair-complexioned led to the
vanishing of mushrooms. Creepers (by the name of
badilat) then appesred. As the beings continued to
consume thesecreepers,their bodies got coarseand they
lost much of their earlier fine complexion. The creepers
vanished and the paddy plant appeared. The beings
continued to consume rice which appeared naturally on
uncultivated land and their bodiesgrew coarser.Then the
male and female features appeared on their bodies.The
malesand femalesfelt mutual attraction and this endedin
a sexual intercourse. This was considered as degrading
a n d a b o m i n a b l eb y o t h e r s w h o s t a r t e d t h r o w i n g s t o n c s
etc., at those who indulged in sexual intercourseand were
ihe world undergoes
not allowed to cnter the habitats of others for months.
Since beings wanted to indulge in intercourse for longer
periods under cover they began to put up houses.
Some people started bringing in paddy necessaryfor
more than one meal and storing them. The natural
growth of paddy dwindled and people divided the land
b e t w e e nt h e m s o t h a t e a c hc o u l d r e a p t h e p a d d y i n h i s l o t
and his lot only. Then thefts of paddy took placc and the
populace congregated and appointed a chieftain to
enforce law. That is the beginning of the mahE-sammata
(electedor approved by the congregation of people)rule,
Subsequentlythesechieftains becamekhattiya, the term
deriving its meaning f.rom khetta(paddy fields), and still
later kingship evolved from this process.
Some groups gave up immoral or inferior practices,
took to a mendicant's life, practised dhyana and they
became br-ehmana.Others continued with agriculture
and mcrchandise, and they were called the vessa(or
merchant class). Those who had rough (raudra)
appearancectc.. were termed the sudda, But all theseare.
after all, the same people.
In the setting of the Aggafifta Sutta, where two
Brahmin disciplesof the Buddha, one of them Visettha
by name, tells the Buddha of the conceit of the Brahmins,
and their contemptuous talk about the people who leave
the Brahmin order. It is clear that the Buddha is narrating
to them how life and society evolved, in order to show
them that the Brahmins' contention that they sprung
from the mouth of the Brahm[ and are a super cless is
 EVOLUTION 180
mistak?n. lndeed the sutta ends with the account which
gives the "evolution" of the four vdnna or the castes,and
at one stage in the sutta, mina (pride) in vanna (com-
plexion) is what makes the mush.ooms and creepers
vanish. Four other'immoral'factors bring about changes
in the physical body, the environment, and the society;
the first is tanha or greed, and the second is kima taga
sexual desireand intercourse, the third is lazinessand the
tendency to hoard food, and the fourth, theft' While these
elementshave their own significance,it is undeniablethat
this sutta gives at least some speculation on the cosmic,
biological and social evolution and this is fully worth our
attention.
It is sometimes held that the- Aggafrfla ^Suffa was
perhaps a later addition to the Digha Nikaya. But the
view that bgings leave this world when it collapses and
reach the Abhassara abode and come back when the
world originates again occurs elsewherein the Nikiyas,
including the Brahmafala Sutta' In any case Buddha-
ghosa himself records the account in the Aggafrfia Sutta
in his Visuddhimagga, and it certainly is a Buddhist
account.
Buddhlrt Ylews srd the Contemporary Ylews: A compari-
son of the accounts in Buddhism and the contemporary
views would bring out the salient featuresof the Buddhist
viewpoint and some possible criticisms of Darwinism
from the Buddhist and other standpoints.
At the very outset one has to ask whether the notion of
this world (ayam loko) in the Aggafffra Sulfa refer to
what we would today call the universe. In examining this
question we should remind ourselves that the Buddha
and the Buddhists had a correct view of the immensity of
the world systemsalthough the Buddha observedsilence
on thc question of finitude or infinitude of the universe'
ln the Visuddhimagga it is said:
"On the following day the BlessedOne stood on the
Summit of Sineru and surveycd the eastward world
elements.Many thousand world sphereswere visiblc
to him as clearly as a single plain. And as the eastward
world element. so too he saw the westward, the
n o r t h w a r d a n d s o u t h w a r d w o r l d e l e m e n t s ' ' ' ( P a t ho f
Purification. tr. Bhikkhu Nanamoli, R. Semage,
Colombo, p.429).
There is referenceto different levels of loka dhatuin
rhe Ahguttara Nikay4 the Salrassi CuJeniki loka dhatu
(-Thousand-foldMinor World System), Dvisahassi Maj'
Middle Sized
thimika toka dhatu (Two thousand-fold
\\'orld Svstem), Dasa sahassiIoka dhitu (Ten thousand-
f o l d \ l ' o r l d S y s t e m ) , S a t a s a h a s slio k a d h a t u ( H u n d r e d
Thousand-fold World System) and so on' There are
r e f e r e n c e st o t h e s h a p e o f t h e s ew o r l d s y s t e m sa s w e l l '
One *ell known term for a world sysemis cakkav-ala
EVOLUTION
(wheel). The Buddhist conception of space and tirhe is
immense, and these world systemsare comparable with
the conception of nebulae and galaxies in modern
a!tronomy.
That the term loko is used in a number of sensesin
Buddhism is clear. Thus, atthi paro /o/ro means there is a
next world in the senseof a person'sexistcnceafter death'
However, this type of meaning is not directly relevant for
us here. But in the aYyikata (unanswered) question on
finitude of ttri world referred to earlier /olo has to be
taken as the universe, as lokoin any limited sensewill not
be meaningful there. lf. the ayain loko in the Aggafrffa
Suffa is taken as the universe itself, the account of
Samend Vivattamana lokagiven there has the ring of the
model of the oscillating universe in mo{ern cosmology'
The oscillating theory could accept the Big Bang, but
suggeststhat it is repetitive' The matter flying out from
the exploding primordial'atom'to form the galaxicswill
fly out far away according to the Big Bang Theory. The
oscillating theor.v accepts the fact that the universe is
expanding now but it holds that this expansion will not
go on indefinitely, it will cease.At some point the force of
explosion will spenditself, and then gravity will take over
and the universc will begin to contract back to the
primordial form again. This processwould repcat'
Indeed a passagein the Tliuddhimaggahas almost the
tone of this account:
"But in the caseof many aeons of world contraction
e t c , . i t s h o u l d b e u n d e r s t o o dt h a t t h e a e o n o f w o r l d
c o n s t r u c t i o ni s a n a e o n o f d i m i n t r t i o n a n d t h e a e o no f
w o r l d e x p a n s i o ni s a n a e o n o f i n c r e a s eH . e r e i n ,w h a t
supercedesthe contraction is included in the contrac-
t i o n s i n c ei t i s r o o t e d i n i t , a n d s o t o o w h a t s u p e r c e d e s
the expansion is included in the expansion
Bhikkhus. there are four incalculables of the aeon.
What four? The contraction, what supercedesthe
c o n t r a c t i o n , t h e e x p a n s i o n , w h a t s u p e r c e d e st h e
expansion." Visuddhimagga,lrs. Nanamoli, p. a55).
Indeed the Visuddhimagga passage seems to say
that the forces which lead to this contraction and
expansionare inherent in the systemitself- although
incalculable,
Oscillating theory of the universeis not favoured by
the scientists today, one argument against it being
that the density of matter is too negligibleto check the
outward expansion of the universe,ln spite of the fact
that the tone of the Buddhist account resemblesthe
account in the oscillating theory, the senseof expan-
sion and contraction in the oscillating theory is
slightly different from that of. vivattamdna and
salmva-ttaminaas the terms occur in Aggafrfia Sutte'
r e f i r s i o t h e s e p a r a t i n go u t o f S u n , M o o n , S t a r se t c '
 EVOLUTION
'expansion'.
but not to Samvattamana refers
to destruction by fire (or water or air)'and not exactly
to 'centraction.'This discrepancy vanishes, if aya4t
Iokois understood not as the universe, but as part of
t h e u n j v e r s e- s o m e t h i n gl i k e t h e S o l a r S y s t e mo r t h e
Milky Way. The passages quoted above, amply
suggestsahst syam lokorefers to only the part ofthe
universewhere man is. If the destruction of the whole
universe is meant it is not possible for beings to be
born in. the Abhassara abode. The passagesquoted
earlier, suggeststhat Ablrassarais best understood as
a p a r t o f a n o t h e r w o r l d l s y s t e m .A l t h o u g h A b h a s s a r a
is elsewherementioned as a Brahma lika, once this is
stripped of the mythological element, it falls into
place as another part of the universe.Indeed, the
Visuddhimagga indicates that Abhassara also come
under this process of generation and destruction.
"Herein. there are three kinds of contraction:contrac-
t i o n d u e t o w a t e r ,. . . d u e t o f i r e , a n d . . . ,d u e t o a i r . . . . .
when the aeon contracts owing to fire, all below the
A b h a s s a r a( B r a h m a W o r l d ) i s b u r n t u p . , . w h e n i t
contracts owing to water, it is also dissolvedby water
up to the Subhakinha (Brahma world) ...." (- Visud-
dhimagga, trs. Nanamoli p. 455),
Given this interpretation, the, vivattamina and
samvattamina could be understood as'referring to
t h a e v o i u t i o n a n d d e s t r u c t i o no f , s a y ,a l i m i t e d p a r t o f
t h e u n i v e r s e , l i k et h e S o l a r S y s t e mo r t h e M i l k y W a y ,
There is evidence that the Buddhists were aware
t h a t p a r t s o f t h e u n i v e r s ea r e e v e r d y i n g a n d o t h e r
parts ere ever being born. Garland Sitratn Mahayana
s t a t e s t h a t ' s o m e w o r l d - s y s t e m sr e m a i n b u t f o r o n e -
kalpa, while others for hundred. thousandsor infinity
o f a e o n s . ' I t a l s o s t a t e s ," M " n y w o r l d s a r e n e w o r a r e
d e c a y i n g .W h i l e m a n y o t h e r s s o o n w i l l c e a s et o b c " .
(See Davis, F. M,, "Buddhism and Cosmology" in
Buddhism and Science; ed. Keerthisinghe, B. P.,
D e l h i , M o t i l a l B a n a r s i d a s s1, 9 8 4 ) .
T h e s ei d e a st a l l y q u i t e w e l l w i t h m o d e r n c o s m o l o g y
which upholds the creation and destruction of systems
of stars. While the Aggafffia Sutta seems to be
describing the forrpation and destruction of the
something like the Solar Svstem the Vr'suddhimagga
account indicates that larger areasoI the universe
c o u l d u n d e r g o d e s t r u c t i o na n d r e f o r m a t i o n .T h a t t h e
B u d d h i s t a c c o u n t d i d n o t t a k e u p t h e q u e s t i o no f t h e
o r i g i n o r d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e w h o l e u n i v e r s ei s ' u n d e r - -
s t a n d a b l e , a s t h e B u d d h a o b s e r v e ss i l e n c e o n t h e
questions of finitude/infinitude, eternity/non{ter-
nity of the universe although later Buddhism con-
sidered the universe as infinite. Referring to the
Sattasuriya Sutta, the Visuddhimaggasays that seven
s u n sw i l l a p p e a r a n d ' b u r n ' t h e w o r l d . N o w i n r e g a r d
181 EVOLUTION
to our Solar System as well as other systems,modern
astronomy holds that first an increasein the energy of
the suns takes place and then the suns die out
ebsorbing their planets in the process.Consider the
following Visuddhimagga (trs. Nanamoli, p. 458)
ptulsage:
"After that, at the end of a long period, a seventhsun
appears. And when that has appeared, the whole
world-spheretogether with hundred thousand million
other world-spheres catches fire,,,. As long as any
formed thing (formation) the size of an atom still
exists it does not go out, but it goes out when all
formed things have been consumed. And like the
flame that burns the ghee and oil it leavesno ash."
These ideas have some analogy with the contemporary
accounts of possibleways of the end of the univerbe.
" . . . i n t h e e v o l u t i o n a r yc o s m o l o g i e st,h e p r e s e n td a r k
a n d r e l a t i v c l y e m p t y u n i v e r s ei s d o o m e d t o g r e a t e r
d a r k n e s s ,a n d e m p t i n e s s I. f t h e c o s m o sm u s t f o r e v e r
expand the glory of the early universe has departed
for ever, an eternal future lies gripped in a frozen state
of meaninglessdeath. But if expansion is followed
eventually by collapse, thc future is obscured by an
e s c h a t o l o g i c a ls h r o u d . . . , a s t i m e p a s s e sm o r e a n d
m o r e g a l a x i e sw i l l b e s e e na p p r o a c h i n g . ,e, i t h e r d y i n g
or dead,,.. in a universe that is catastrophically
c o l l a p s i n g .A s t h e e n d a p p r o a c h e s f, i r s t t h e g a l a x i e s
a n d t h e n t h e s t a r s a r e c r u s h e di n t o e a c h o t h e r i n a
cataclysaicinferno, in which ultimately the collapsing
c o s m o sr e v e r t st o t h e p r i m e v a lc h a o so f t h e B i g B a n g ,
W h e t h e r t h e u n i v e r s er i s e sa g a i n p h o e n i x - l i k e i s n o t
known." (Encyclopaedia Brittanica, Volume 18, pp.
1002 ff.)
Consider similarlv, Visuddhimagga (p.a58) on the
evolution of this /o*a.
" T h e u p p e r s p a c ei s n o w a . l lo n e w i t h t h e l o w e r s p a c e
i n a v a s t g l o o m v d a r k n e s s .T h e n a t t h e e n d o f a l o n g
p e r i o d a g r e a t c l o u d a r i s e s . .T. h e n t h e w i n d s ( f o r c e s )
beneath and all around that water risc up and
contract it and around it, like water drops on a Iotus
leaf. How do they compact the great massof water?
B y m a k i n g g a p s ;f o r t h e w i n d m a k e s g a p s i n i t h e r e
a n d t h e r e . . . . . ,A. s i t s i n k s ,t h e ( l o w e r )B r a h m a W o r l d
r e a p e a r si n i t s p l a c e ,a n d d i v i n e w o r l d s r e a p p e a r . , . . , . "
As water can be understood to stand for fluiditv and if
o n e c o m p a r e st h i s w i t h t h e m o d e r n a c c o u n to f f o r m a t i o n
o f g a l a x i e s ,s t a r s ,e t c . , f r o m t h e ' c l o u d ' , a s w a s o u t l i n e d
e a r l i e r i n t h i s a r t i c l e , t h e a n a l o g y b e t w e e nt h i s p a s s a g e
and the modern view is striking,
The Aggafifta Sutta account also hints at the evolution
o f p l a n t l i f e - w h e n i t s a y st h a t a t t h c b e g i n n i n gt h e r ew a s
 EVOLUfiON
water end then land, tben mushrooms, then creepen end
so oD until paddy appeared.
The important question of the origrn and evolution of
life in thir Buddhist tract dererves close analysir. Tbe
eccount certainiy is not the most clear and consistent. [t
seem! to telescopc certain developments, and inter-twine
othen, in addition to use of metaphor and an admixture
of lndian mythology. The account could be bascd on
rpeculation, and it is somctimes archaic, but the surprising
thing is that in spirit and outline there is no dedying that it
oompares favourably with thc ideas of biological evolu-
tion in contemporery sciencc. Moreover, this account is
claimed to be besed on the knowledge gained through
abhif,f,i (highcr mennir of knowledge) of the Buddha
Onc troubl*ome queltion ir the nature of the beingr
(sattZ)tbet come to be er the world begns to evolve, It ir
suggerted by the dercription that theseare something lile
uni-cclluler beings - likc the geneswhich'ride around
thc galexy on the pFe$ure of light wevcE'which Hoyle
rnd Wickremaringhe speak of, But they arc dso bits of
'mind!'. Here egain one is taken back to the Hoyle-
Wickrcmesingbe thesis, that higher intelligences opcrete
in outer space in, say, thc Abhassara Brahma abode, in
thc context of the Buddhist account. But the Buddhist
lccount certainly does not dcpend on these higher
intclligenccs in the outer tpeoe for its theory of life, for
there bcings were here on Earth before it was destroycd
end it ir the forcc of. kamma which brings them back to
Earth. There is nothing in the Buddhist account which
preventr life originating here on Earth. [t stands to rcalon
that thcce beings with no sexuEl differentiation are a
'primitive'organism like bacteria but, on the other hand,
not only the "born of mind" espect of them, but many
other characteristics of their Dature and behaviour al-
ready make them appear as humen beings. Metaphor is
obliterating much of the story. Indeed the transition of
these non-sex differentiatcd beings to human beings is
sudden and telescoped. For soon after the two sexes
appear some of them indulge in sexual intercouse and
others, their moral sensehurt, throw stonesat thosewho
thus "misbehave,'
The main difference between the Darwinism account
of evolution of life and that in the Agafff,a Sura is
psychological, or psycho-ethical,in a number of ways.
Darwinian evolution begins with matter, and mind or
mental powers develop as a result of evolution. In the
Aggaf,f,a Sutt4life bcgins with beings equipped with,
"mental" powen. Darwlnian evolution has no real driving
force or factor - no c&usebehind it. The distinguishing
feature of life is abi.lityto reproduce,and reproduction of
the species- the continuance of the species- is the
pnmerv factor there, and it lends a hand to natural
s e l e c t i o nt o o p e r a t e . l n t h c B u d d h i s t a c c o u n t , i t i s t h e
182 EVOLUTION
t.a (grecd) which at thc beginning mrta the beinp
conrume earth, and miar (pride) whicb leter melc their
bodies corrrcr, make the errlier plentr venish end finelly
lead to rcxud differentietion, rcxud urge rnd inter-
'tdl" looked down upon by
courEc, end thir hst is a
otben. Thus the mind end emotiont play a role in this
evolution. In a recut Buddhist critique of Derwinian
evolution, the urge for sukfra in the sense of senrual
satietion, end not the reproduction of tylles, ir argued to
be the forcc behind evolution, writcs the author of the
critique,
"Whet we have... is en urge at furthering our !?ntory
frontierc, a lerrory evolution...' (Wccrasinghe, R.
M., A Cosaic,9tnrggy'e,New York, Vantege Presl,
'19M, p.39). He reminds the reader of Buddha's
statement in the ,Sem.yunaNkiya,'By attechment to
body, bretheren, consciousness,if it gets a rtanding,
may persist, with body for its object, with body for itr
platform, ceeking melrns of enjoyment, it mny come
by growth, increase, abundance" (p.69) and empha-
sizesthe "individualistic basis"of cvolution rs against
the basir of'propagation of specier.'
Indeed one major cirticism of Darwinism has be=n that
it is a materialistic reductionism, which leawr oo room
for mental fectors until et leart thc rtege of evolution of
social phenom?na. Darwinian wolution also cerrics with
it a senseof progresc or development of complcxity with
evolution, though not orthogenelis. The Buddhirt
account incorporates prychological end ethicalfacton es
involved in the evolutionary forcer and, while evolution
suggests the common origin and equality of ali humen
beings, it is seen to be a fellow traveller of morally
undersirebleelements.
Finally, we turn to the evolution of rocicty end rocial
structurer outlined in the Aggafrf,a Sura. The eccount
there is naturalistic and, at least the report of the relcaion
of leaders based on popular acc€ptsnct which ultimately
leads to the Mahi sammata kings, rings true. One main
interpretation of the evolution of the caste system is that
the occupations or activities of different groupr wt! the
basir of the division of community into different ca^stes,
and the Aggaf,f,a^9ufta accouDt teems to subscribe to this
view.
R. D. Grmentrc
EXALTEDONF- SeeBUDDHA,
 EXCOMMIJNICATION
EXCOMMIIIfiCAIION, rc{ of cxpelling from comms
nion, e word ured' with perticuler rcferanLt to the
expulrion of a mcmbcr from the Christieu Church; it
mertrs the deprivation of Church privilcges. One of the
meanings attached to the word communiou is "body of
people who profes! one faith, who unite in religiour
serivce." According to tbis usagc, thc word communion
meetu dl the fsithful, both the clergy and the laity; dl of
them erc members of the Cburch. Tbc Church could
excommunicate any of its memben who ir found to be
undesireble; e member, for exemple, who holds hereticel
viewr.
Whera Buddbirm ir conccrned, thc word comnunion
her to be undentood on a different kvel. Unlikc Chris-
tianily, Buddhism is not an organired religion. Thcre ir
no organiration, ccntraliced or otherwiuc, which is vested
with powcrs to dcel with ell the fairhfut nor ic it corrcct to
ure thc word communion with refcrcucc to all followers
of tbe Buddha. Wc cen speak, if at all, of a Buddhist
communion only with rtfcrence to the members of the
clerg5r, callcd he bhikkhu<nd bhikkhuni-sa'agh4 the
Order or conmunity of moukr and nuns. Thc lay
disciples erE hot included.
Provirion is mede in the Vinaya Pit*a as to how the
Saigha mey take dilciplinary action against its undesir-
able members. It is netural that any community would
havc to expel any of its unworthy membcrs, Herc egain
there is no organisation to carry out these ecclesiastical
acts. Any member of the Order could participate in
performing there ectr. Minium ,number! of monks re-
quired for carrying out these ncts erc laid down. A
quorum depends on the significance of the act, While the
quorum for certain acts is four, for the others it is twenty,
celled the catuvagga- or the visativagga-bhikkhu-
sahgha, the group of four monks or that of twenty
monks. These groups represent the entire Sangba in
performing their respective eclesiastical acts. Any flaw-
less member of the Order is entitled to membership of
these groups. They heve the authority to deal with any
member of the Order; but nof with the lay disciples. The
only action the Seigha could take against an undesirable
layman is to refuse to accept his food, called the
psttanikkuiianr, i.e., turn the alms-bowl upside down.
The Sairghs, as waf pointed out, is empowered to tale
disciplinary action against its guilty members. [t can
deprive them of crrtain rights and privileges enjoyed by
flawless members. The nature of the punishment depends
on the gravity of the offence committed. A monk, for
instance, who brings families into disrepute (kula-
d-usaka) shall be banished from the locality where the
offence is cpmmitted. A monl who does not see or
remedy an offence committed by him shall be suspended.
But thesepunishments do not amount to excommunica-
tion. Suspension (u.ktlrepana) is the most rigourous
183 EXCOMMT'MCATION
punirhment imposed oa e membcr of the Srngba n
monk undergoing thrt punirhment loser rlmort dl the
privilige! he war entithd to es a member of the S-gh.;
but he doer not thereby lole hir reclumhip; he ir rtill e
monl. Oae of the con Litions ettrched to thir punirhmcnt
ir that tbe one undcrgoing that punirhmeat rhould not
weer tbc coltunc of leymen. Once he fullft the condi-
tionr attached to it, the punirhment is revoked (Vin.ll,p.
2t f0. Onc of thc rightr denied to I rurpcaded monk ir
livins under one roof, togetberwith othermonkr (Via.l
p. 22) but the Mahavagga (Vin. l, p. 97-t) ellowr the
trstoretion (osaraqi) of a moak even if he her left the
Order, beceure he was surpended, provided he correclr
himself; if he does not he may bc suspendcd rgain, if tbe
Order il useni6es3 on thir point; if it ir not" there is no
offencc for him in eating (sambhoga)or being in commu-
nion (saarrlrsr,l with thc Sdgha.
There are offences rome of which are punishablc witb
conditiond excommunication and rome with permancat
cxcommunication. Tbe criterion by which e monk is
excommuuicated is the ability or otherwise of the guitty
moak to progresl in the Saigba, i.e., to ettaiu spiritual
and tranrcendentd statec rlrch es jhiaa, sl.lr.ipr/;ti,
mtggt, and phala, [f the offence committed negater thir
ability, the monk is permantly cxcommunicated; if thc
offencc is remediable, the excommunication ir condi.
tional.
The Peli term used rnthe VinayaPlta.ka with refercDcc
to excommunication is nisaai,6ganing "causing der
truction." Thc ,Saarantapasidiki cxplains tbe term by
gving three kinds of aisani, namely, (I) Sealrzre
'lia'g-
n-asaai, denid of the right to live rogether, (2)
nlasani, deniat of characteristics and (3) dead*ammt-
nasaa4 excornmunicetion as a punishm ent (VinA, lV,
pp. 870-l). The first ir'idcntified with lulpension,
(ukkhepani)which d oes not amount to reel excomnuni-
cation. The recond is permanent excommrrnication and
thc third, conditional excommunication.
Excoomdcetlon of Nonlcs:
Let us take the third kind of excommunication first; es
a punishment thie seems to be meant for novices called
samaneras ot samanuddesas. It is carried out bv a
proclamation which reads as follows "From today,
novice, the Buddha can neither be referred to as your
teacher nor can that be yours of which other novices get
the chance, namely, the laying down to sleep for two or
three nights with monks; get away with you, depart, " As a
concrete example, the case of the novice Kandaka is
cited; he wru excommunicated for holding a p.rniciou.
view (pipakam ditthigatam/ that misrepresented the
B u d d h a ( V i n . I Y , p p . 1 3 8 - 9 ) .F i r s t t h e n o v i c e w h o h o l d s
the perniciousview should be advisedto renounct it; ilhe
still persists, he should be excommunicated with the
declaration given above. This is not a linal excommuni-
 EXCOMMLINICATION 184
cation. It is something like suspension,for, the moment
the noviec abandons his pernicious view and intinates to
the Ssnghn his wiilingnegs to be corrected, he could be
reinstated.
There arc ten offences for which a novice shall be
permrnently cxcommunicated Qi'nga-nisanal, namely,
(l) killing, (2) theft. (3) unchastity (4) falsehood, (5)
drinking liquor, (6) spcaking evil of the Buddhs, (7) of tbe
Dhemma,(8) of the S*eh", (9) heresyand (10) seduction
of nuns (Vin.l" p. 85).
The first five are the first five of tbe ten precepts (dasa'
sikkhipade) for noviceg. Thc breach of any one of these
five precepts results in the novice losing his recluseship,
only the characteristicsof a recluse,namely, the yellow
robe and the shaven head remain. The .9amantapasiai*i
expressly states that such a novice should be eliminated
( V i n A . V , p . l 0 l 4 ) . [ f t h e n o v i c e b r e a k so n e o f t h e m b y
mistake and immediately seekscorrection by ihe Sangha"
he shall not be excommunicatedbut is given the threefold
refuge which means reinstatement(ibid). The other five
preccpts are not so Sraveand the breachofthem doesnot
require excommunication (VinA. V, p. l0l5).
If a novice speaksevil of the Buddha, the Dhamma or
the Saigba hc shoutd be advised not to do that; if hc
obeys, it is well and good; if he does not he should be
excommunicated. This procedure applies to the heretic
noyice too. Heresy here means such wrong views as
eternalism (sasata4itthrJ or annihilationism (uccheda-
di!!hi). [f the novice gives up his heresy when advised,
there is ho excommunication, if he persists he shall be
e x c o m m u n i c a t e d( V i n A . Y . p . l 0 l 5 ) .
Unchastity, the third offencein this context, consistsof
s e d u c t i o no f n u n s . A d i s t i n c t i o n i s m a d e o n t h e g r o u n d
t h a t t h e u n c h e s t en o v i c ec o u l d b e r e i n s t a t e di f h e r e g r e t s
his offence and seeksimmediately readmission,whereas
the seducerof a nun shall never be readmitted. Seduction
of a nun is consideredmore sinful than sexual intercourse
' , v i t ho r s e d u c t i o no f a l a y w o r m a n ( V i n A . V . p . 1 0 1 5 ) .
Exoommunlcatlon of fufl-nedged Monks
There are eleven persons who should not be given
higher ordination (upasampada) ii they have already
beengiven, they should be permanentlyexcommunicated.
They are ( I ) eunuch (pa7laka),(2) hermaphrodite (ubha'
tobyafljanaka), (3) matricide (matughataka), (4) patn'
cide (pitughitaka), (5) killer of an arahant (arahanta-
ghataka), (6) one who has maliciously causedTathagata
ro bleed, (tohituppidaka), (7) schismatic (sangha-bhe-
daka). (8) imposter (theyya-samvasaka),(9) renegade
riittfuyapa*kantaka), (10) seduccrof nuns (bhikkhuni-
,lusaka) and (11) the "beast" (tiracchEna-gata)(Vin. l,
88fl Thev are either moral wrecks or/and by nature
: n c a p a b l eo f t m p r o v e m e n t ,o r s c o u n d r e l sw h o h a v e n o
EXCOMMUNICATION
genuinedesireto improve or those who have deliberately
givcn up the course of training for improvement. All of
thcm share the common factor of inability to improve,
i.e., to attain spiritual and transcendentalstates;hence
they arc called impossible persons (abhabba-pugala).
The eunuch is denied membership of the Order; and if
one is alrcady sdmitted, he has to be excommunicated,
The reasongiven is that an eunuch monk has misbehaved
himself; he had tried to induce young monks to pollute
themselveswhich he failed but succeededin inducing
some laymen. The reason is not quite convincing unless
we accept that the eunuchs are, by nature, of that
behaviour. There were some male and female membersof
the Order who behavedsimilarly. Guilty members were
no doubt dealt with individually not on ground of sex,
but on ground of offencescommitted. Here, in the caseof
eunuchs,the criterion was sex; ruling was that no eunuch-
guilty or not guilty-shall be ordained; and all eunuchs
-guilty or not guilty - who are already members of the
Order shall be excommunicated. The SamantapisidikA
says that the eunuchs are by nature, overwhelmed wilh
passionsunquenched;they always try to find somebody
w i t h w h o m t o q u e n c ht h e i r p a s s i o n s ( V i n A ,V , p p . 9 9 l - 2 ) ,
T h e c a s eo f h e r m a p h r o d i t e i s q u i t e u n d e r s t a n d a b l e '
The reason given in the Mahavagga f.or excommuni-
cating the hermaphrodite is the sarrrc,i.e., misbehaviour;
i t i s s a i d t h a t a h e r m a p h r o d i t e - m o n kh a s s e d u c e do t h e r s
a n d g o t o t h e r s t o s e d u c eh i m . A s t h e y p o s s e s sb o t h t h e
male and the female organs, they could not be admitted
e i t h e rt o t h e o r d e r o f m o n k s o r t o t h a t o f n u n s . U n l i k e
\ \ ' o m e n w h o d e m a n d e d a n d s u c c e e d e di n g e t t i n g a
s e p a r a t eO r d e r e s t a b l i s h e df o r t h e m s c l v e st,h e h e r m a -
p h r o d i t e sf o r m t o o n e g l i g i b l ea f r a c t i o no f t h e p o p u l a t i o n
c s r o h a v e a s e p a r a t eO r d e r e s t a b l i s h e df o r t h e m s e l v e s '
E l ' e n i f a s e p a r a t eO r d e r h a d b e e n e s t a b l i s h e df o r t h e m ,
t h e p u r p o s ew o u l d h a v eb e e nl o s t , b e c a u s es u c h a n O r d e r
w o u l d h a v e c o n s i s t e do f b o t h s e x e s ,
T h e c a s eo f t h e " b ea s t " i s a p p a r a n t l yp e c u l i a r ,H o w c a n
a beastpossiblyenter the Order? lt is reported that a
s er p e n t ( n a g a ) w i t h s u p e r n o r m a i p o w e r s . w i t h t h e
intention of freeing himself from that existenceand of
b e i n g r e b o r n a s a h u m a n b e i n g ,h a d e n t e r e dt h e O r d e r i n
t h e g u i s eo f a h u m a n b e i n g .T h e s i t u a t i o n d e m a n d e dh i s
excommunication for two reasons, ln the first place a
(naga)could not make progressin the Sasana;his being a
m o n k , t h e r e f o r e ,w o u l d h a v e s e r v e d n o p u r p o s e . A n d
secondlyh , i s p r e s e n c ei n t h e S a n g h ac r e a t e dc e r t a i nd i f f i -
'f
culties. he nagascouldnot perform certainof their bodily
functions, such as sleeping,except in their true form: the
form of a snake.A monk who was living togetherwith the
snake-monk saw him sleep and was frightened. [t was
that monk who reportedthe matter to the Buddhawho
 EXCOMMUNICATION
gave the sbove ruling. The Samantapasidiki says that
"beast" in this contcxt means ndgas, supannas and even
deva.rincluding Sakta (VinA. V, p. 1022).
Five personswho have committed the five heinoussins
@nantariya-kamma), namely matricide, patricide, the
killing of an arahant, causing the Tathagata to bleed and
bringing about schisms in the Sangha are regarded
ag moral wrecks who cannot progress in the Sisana,
and are certain to be reborn in the Avici as soon
as they die. The imposter has no genuine desire for
progress in the Sasana whereas the rtnegade is the one
who has given up the course of training in the Sisana.
The lart person is the seducerof a nun. Seduction of a
nun is an grave a sin as the live heinous crimes. What has
been said ebout thc novice (Simanera) who has seduceda
nun applies to the full ordained monks (upasampanna)as
well. Although the seductibnof a nun amounts to the first
pinjiki offence as far as an upasampannd monk is
concerned, it is given as e scparate item on the ground
thet seduction of a nun is much more heinous than thc
scduction of or sexual intercourse with a lay woman.
Sexual intercourse (methuna4hamma), is of course,
one of the pirijiki(q.v) offences that would disqualify a
m o n k f o r m e m b e r s h i pi n t h e S a i r g h a .A n y m e m b e r w h o
commits a,pirijiki offence is considered automatically
excommunicated. The Pali term used in this connection
is asernyisa, meaning "not in communion".
The pir-ajikisare explained as taboo (akaraniyam) to
monks (Vin. l, p, 96), rN causesthat require complete
severanceof ccnnections with rhe Sangha(chejja-vatthu,
Vin. LIl, p. 109). The monk who commits one become a
non-recluse (assamana),not a son of the Sakyan (asakya-
puttiya), even as a man with his head cut off could not
live, or as a withered leaf, freed from its stalk, could not
b e c o m eg r e e n a g a i n , o r a s a s t o n e b r o k e n i n h a l f c o u l d
not be put together again, or as a palmyra palm cut off at
t h e c r o w n c o u l d n o t g r o w ( V i n . l , p . 9 6 ) .T h e f a c t t h a t a
monk or a nun who has committed a par-ajika offence has
to be excommunicated is expresslystated in the detailed
explanation of the first parajiki, the word nisetabba,
"should be excommunicated". is used in this connection
(Vin.Iil, pp,29 tf).
There i, iso the verb nissareti,meaning"to causeto go
away, to send away." The Sa'nghidisesa (q,vr) offences
for nuns are associated with the word nissEranivam and
the phrase aissiraiyam sanghadisr"u- ...iirrg "a.n
offence entailing a formcl meeting of the Order lsaizg-
hidisesa) involving being sent away" (nissiraniyant).
The phrese "involving being sent away" does not at all
imply that the offending nun is to be sent away from the
Otder for good, to be excommunicated. [t would seemto
mean that rhe would be sent away for the time being,
proba6ly becauseadmonition, although it had been tried,
185 EXCOMM!.JTiiCATIOIT
had failed, and that during this time shewould ceaseto be
regarded as a full member of the Order. The Order
imposes the manatta (q.v.) discipline for her offence,
sends her back tc the beginning of her probationary
course (parivasa) as nun, not as probationer, and then ir
rehabilitates (abbhana) her. This definition of sahghadi-
sesais identical with the monks' sanghidhisesa.Lapse in
full membership is of a temporary nature and lasting only
a fortnight (Vin. lY, p. 2al. Nissaraniya "involving
being sent away", adds nothing new to the penalty. It is
not something extra to the sahghadisesa.
The verb nissareti, "sends away", is used in another
contcxt as well. The Order "sends away" its offending
members by five ecclcsiastic_al acts, rebuke (taljaniyd),
of reconcilliation (patisiraniyfl), of guidance (nissaya|)
and of suspension (ukkhepaniyaq). These are penalties
i m p o s i n g c e r t a i n d i s a b i l i t i e s ,b y w h i c h t h e p e n a l i s e d
m o n k o r n u n d o e s n o t l o s e h i s o r h e r m e m b e r s h i po f t h e
Sairgha; the penalties are not irrevocable and do not
amount to excommunication. The verb nrssirerris used
with an implied opposition to osEreti,to be restored(Vin.
l, p.322; VinA. Y, p. I147),
The Vinaya is more strictwith nuns than with monks.
T h e n u m b e r g f o f f e n c e sf o r n u n si s g r e a t e rt h a n t h o s ef o r
monks. There are eight pErajika offences for nuns
w h e r e a st h c r e a r e o n l y f o u r f o r m o n k s . l n s o m e c a s e s ,
what is pArnjika for nuns is only a sanghadisesafor
monks. This strictness is evident also in the matter of
excommunication. The nun Mettiya, for instance, was
excommunicated for making a false charge against
Dabba Mallaputta, saying that the latter had seduced
h e r , B u t t h e m o n k s w h o i n s t i g a t e dh e r t o d o s o w e r e d e a l t
with accordingly, but were not excommunicated( Vin.ll,
p. 79; tII, p. 162).It is only a sanghadisesaoffence for a
monk to make a false charge of parajika against another
m o n k ( V i n . I l l , p . 1 6 3 ) .T h e e x c o m m u n i c a t i o no f M e t t i y a
adds one more disqualification which would require the
excommunicationof nuns. The other disqualific4tions,
namelycommitting parajikaotfencesand beingan eunuch
etc. are common to both monks and nuns.
I t w o u l d b e c l e a rf r o m t h e f o r e g o i n gd i s c u s s i o nt h a t t h e
P a l i t e r m s u s e d w i t h r e f e r e n c et o e x c o m m u n i c a t i o no f a
member from the Buddhist Order is asamvasa and
nasana.The term asamvisa does not imply the active
a s p e c to f e x c o m m u n i c a t i o n .l t i s u s e dw i t h r e f e r e n c et o a
member who has committed a par-ajiki offence and it is
considered that he has lost or destroyed by himself his
right to be in communion. The term nisani has three
applications; one is suspension of an upasampanna
monk. the second is conditional excommunication of a
novice z.s punishment and the third the permancnt
excommunication of monks, both samanera and, upa-
sampanna, who do not possessthe potentiality to pro-
 EXERTION
gress ir the saseaa. Whiie there are ecclesiastical ects for
imporing other penalitics, such as suspension, there are
no ruch scts to be pcrformed or procedures to be
followed in excommunieeting. The Buddhe has rimply
ordered thc Sairgha to excommunicate (aasetucr nise-
tabba) its undesirable members, There ir only on6
indication, however, that could be considered a method
by which a guilty monk may be excommuniceted. [t
occun in the commentary to the Pitimokkh4celled thc
Kahkhivitara- (p. tSS), in its cxplanation of the seven
methods to be adopted in rettling legal disputer (adhi-
karanasametha)tbrt have arisen among the memben of
the Saighe. This perticular method which ir termed'the
act for the decision for specific depravity" (wsapipiy-
yasikt, Vin.lY,p.207),is to be employed against emonk
'having denied an offence acknowledged it; having
who
acknowledged it dcnied it; who shelved the quertion by
asking enother question, and told a delibsrate lie" (Via,
II, p. 85). The fdktivitaranisa,ys that by this me thod
is meant the cxcommunication (nasaai) of the monk, if
he hes committed a piriijiki offence, or his posrible
rectoration (osiranl) if the offence was a leller one. But
this method does not apply to the other cares of
excommunication. It bas also been pointed out that the
term nrsirani (from verb aissiretr), dthough it meens
"scndiug lway" does not amouut to excommunicetion.
Upnn Krrumrf
EXCIJLPATION. Sce .ADHIKARANA SAMATHA.
EXPCESIS. SCCATTHAKATHA, COMMENTARIES.
EXERTION (padhina viyama" viriyQ nrcens the exer-
cise of greet effort for the achievemcnt of Englightenment
and complete freedom from conditioned existencewhich
ir thc s,'rrlDy6 fi62rtm of the Buddhist way of life. In
other words, it is the unswerving stnrggle and endeavour
to solve thc problCm of suffering (dukkha), once and for
all.
The world at large is generally given over to the
enjoyment of sensual pleesures (kamfihogino: Vin. L
pp. 203, 287;D.III, p. 124)er it is the ordinary way of the
world which is "lacking unsatisfied and enslaved by
craving' (-unoloko atitto anhCdeso: M.II, p.68) based
on the ignorance (Auiiiq s. v./ of the true fects of life. The
attractions of the seDse - objects end the consequeot
involvement in their acquisition rnd injoyment prolongs
186 EXERTION
thc conditioned existence of men which is inveriably
accompanied with suffertng Gukkhalin its divene forms
such as birth (Ati) illness, (vyedhi) old-age (iui), death
(marary) fear, stress, anxiety, etc. etc. for which thcre is
no lasting solution other than the achiwement of full
freedom as taught in Buddhism. That alone is the
conquest of all sorrow (dukkha-nirodha: M.I, pp. 195;
lI, p. l0 etc.) in the real senseof the term. The Buddhahas
compared the entire gemut of scnse-attraciions to a
flowing stresn (soa) end manb succumbing to thlm er
moving downstream along with flow (aausotqpai : . A.
I[, pp. 5, 6). He rccommends moving uprtrerrn in thc
opposite direction againrt tbe current (patisotagami: , S.
I, p. 136; A. II, p. 6) by not eving into tbcm indirc'rimi-
nately but to bccomc the master of onesclf so that one can
ultimately acapc thcir temptations altogether by redising
the uaconditioned state of Nirvlna, free from all lorrow
(d ukkhakkh aya: M. I, p. 9 3; ll, p. 211). This rimile clearly
showr that the Buddhist concept of exertion ir negatively
theeffort to evoid all that prolongs samsaraand positively
the effort to devclop aII that brings one towardr the
freedom of Nirvane,
It is through continued exertion that thir can be
achieved. How this should be done is synopticelly
expresrcd in a verle recited by the Buddha in reply to thc
query of e ccrtain deity (S. I, p. 13) rnd which also is the
verse with which Buddhaghosa opens hir cclebratcd
thesis, the Yisuddhimagga The vrrse run! ar followr:
sile ptilghiya aaro npaf,f,o
,itt"g paf,f,efr ca bhivayam
idpi nip*o bhikkhi
so imam vijayayejaya4 (S,I, p. 113 Vism. p. l).
I"n English this would b€:
Wben e wise man firmly established in virtuc
Develops his mind and understanding;
Then as e, bhikkhl\ ardent and sagacious,
He rucceeds in discntangling this tangle.
(Bhikkhu Nanamoli's translation slightly alared).
The negative aspect of this exertion fundamentally
comprises of the disciplinary mordity concerning the
restraint of the tensc-attrections (iadriya-samvara-sila)
while the positive aspect consists bf tne cultivation of
various ethical and intellectual qualities such as mindful-
ness (satr), mental concentration (samadhi), wisdom
(pafrf,i\.tu. that promote the dewlopment of charrcter
leading to perfectio_nand release. These negetive and
positive arpects of sila should be the basis upon which
one has to establish oneself before one undertaker the
practice of religious exertion.
One well-known end early formulation of this concept
of exertion is what is known as the Four Right Effortr
(attaro samaappadhini: M.ll, p. I l; S, Y,p.2111' A.LI,
pp. l5-256), the correct practicc of which is said to bc
 EXERTION
unfeilingly bent towerds Nirvanic freedom just as the
river Ganges flows towards the East (S. V. pp. 2U fl.
These are; (i) avoiding the arising of cvil and unskilled
stetes of mind that have not yet erisen. (ii) abandoning
thoge tbat harrc already arisen. (iii) production of good
and wholesome state! of mind not yet arisen aad (iv) the
development end bringing into pcrfcction the good and
wholesome rtatec dready erircn.
The perron who undertakes exertiug himself according
to thir method is dercribed rs cxerciringwlJ^l (chaadaa
jneti), putting forth effort (viyemati), beginning to
meke exeruon (viriyaa arabhati) and applying snd
exerting hir mind (citaq pagaahiti pdahati loc. cit.).
It ir implied thet this formula be applied in all the fields of
one's ectivity ro that one't mentd verbd and physical
activiticr promote oae'l welfare instead of obrtructing or
reterding it. Such a personb ectivities become Nibbina-
odcntcd and always of rervice to oneself and to otherr as
thorc of the ideal Bodhirattva (s.v.). tt is actiou bered on
right views (samai4itthi,), the first conrtituent of the
Noble Eigbtfold Peth.
The restraint of the senserreferred to earlier is the basis
on which the first two aspectt of this four-fold formula
ere founded. [t is a processof clearing onesclf of dl moral
ippuritier (kilesa)withreference to all tbe three periods
of time pa!t, present end future. By the practise of these
two erpects one not only clean tbe past but safeguards
the futhre as well..
Elscwhere (.4. II, p.l6) in a deteiled account of how the
first of there exertions (designeted here es stmvtrtpa-
dhina) or the exertion of restraint is to be prectiscd it is
raid that when a.penon who practises this restraint seer
en attractive physhcd form with his eycs he does not
become entranced by its general features nor by its
deteik. Owing to the fect thst "gvil and unprofitable
rteter of mind like covetousnels and dejection" (abhijihi
d o aan assi pi pa kE akw ali d hammi)mi ght fl ow in upon
one who dwells with his eye-faculty uncontrolled or
unguarded, he applier himself to such control and sets
guard over thc eye-faculty thereby achiwing successin itr
control. Thic rame formula he applier to all the six
facrrlties (6th being the mind: aana) and thuc exerting
himself in their control until the proper discipline with
regard to them becomes his second nature ec it were.
The second typc of exertion is here (A. II, p. 16)
designated as the -exertion of abandoning" (pahina-
padhena) and is explained as the giving up of all forms of
unwholesome end evil thinking consisting of scnsual
th oughts (k ama- vi t ak ka), mdcvolent tho ughts (vy ap ada
vit*ka) and cruel thoughts (vihimsi-vitakka).In order
to emphasile the need for its continued end relentless
practice for the achievement of complete tucc*s the text
187 EXERfiON
usesseverel synonymous verbs expressive of this idea of
fighting against such evil thoughts. Accordingly the
practiser tolerates not (nEdhivasatrl, renounces (paja-
hati),flitpeis (viao,Ieti), gets rid of (vyzntkaroti) zad
destroys (aaabhivam gameti) them. The commeDtary
(A A, lll, p. I 9) correctly d escribesthis kind of exertion es
the effort generated (uppanna-viriya) to perform eech of
the four forms of exertion.
The third form of exertion, which is positive in
cheracter, is called the exertion to develop (bhivaai
pedhaaa), the factors to be developed being the seven
constituents of wisdom (Bojjhangas.v.,)which are min{-
fulness (sati), investigation of the doctrine (dhama*
vicaya), energ/ (viriye), zal (piti), tranquillity l(pts-
saddhi),mentel concentrati on (samidhi) and equenimity
(upkkhi).
The fourth type is celled the exertion to wetch ever
(aaunkkhaai-padhCna) which is aimed at rafeguarding
the stages of mental concentration that one hes already
attaincd. [f one were not vigilant enough one may lose the
meditation object and relapseinto a lorver rtage. The idea
is that whatcver spiritual progrcss one har echieved
should not be ellowed to relapsc until one reeches the
goal of final release in the complete cesration of ruffering
(khayam dukkhassa: A.Il,p.l9), from where thcrc ir no
relapse. This cannot be done without exertion thet ir
continuous and persevering. An important term that is
uscd in this context is -tapi which is quite relevent rad
meaningful in rclation to this conccpt of exertion. [t ir u
adjectivd lsrm 6srning zealous or strenuour in the renrc
thet religious exertion expected in Buddhirm rhould bc
continuously mainteined till the final goal is reached(Cp.
the op:ning stanza of thc Visuddhiaqgaquoted errlicr).
Tbe conquest of the evil side of man cennot bc
successfully achiwcd unless the religieux excrts himself
on the basis of this four-fold formula (.4. lt, pp. 256-7)
which is quite a practical working hypothescsfor him. No
weak-hearted penon can do this with succcrs and
accordingly the person who undertakes thir responsi-
bility has to summoD all available couragc eDd cxert
himself with the highert degree of steadfartnessporsible
fo r m an (cp . ar ad d! a uir iye n a thim a va ti p wi s athT o, en a,
p lu';risa uiri ye n a, p ui sap ar ak k ame n a p uri sad h or ahyrca a;
D . [ [ I , p . I I 3 ; M . I , p . 4 8 l ; S . I I , p . 2 8 ) .[ f o n ew e r en o t t o
exert oneself in this manner one would not realise the
Truth. (no cc tam padaheyya nayidatT stcctm enu-
pipuneyya: M. lI, p. 174).
Confidence (nddbi), good health (appibqdhe), sin-
cerity of purpose (asalha), encrgy (viriyd and wisdom
(paf,f,i) are given as five factors constituting religious
exertion (padhaniya'nga: A,III, pp. 65-7). Therefore it
cannot succeed with the man who has little wirdom
 EXPEDIENCY 188
rduppafii,assana padhanam ijihati: AA,lII, pp. 258).
Being a personal struggle with one'sown lower nature the
best place for its practice would be the forest groves (A.
I V , p . 3 5 5 ) . T h e b e s t a v a i l a b l e i n s t a n c eo f t h i s k i n d o f
supreme struggle is the bodhisatta Gotama's six-year
struggle in quest of full Eirlightenment. In the Padhana
Sutta (Sn. v. 42549) occurs a dialogue between the
Buddha (ust before his Enlightenment) and Mara (s.v.),
Tbe Evil One, wherein the former defends his suprtme
struggle hgainst the latter's words of discouragement.
The bodhisatta describedhimself as performing religious
exertion on the banks of the river Nerafrjari with the firm
resolution of winning the state of feedom from all
exertion (yogakkhema/ ultimately. Mara tricd to dis-
courege him further by describing the path thc bodhisatta
had adopted as "rough, difficult and hard to attain"
(duggo maggo padhiniya4ukkaro durabhisambhavo :
Sn.: v.429). The bodhisatta's reply was that as he was
equipped with confidence,courage and wisdom he wouid
continue the struggle undaunted and expressedhis firm
resolution further ss fir'!i,.r'dis: "While dries the blcr:d, my
bile and phlegm dry u",. Whilc wasthes tha f'lerh ;nind,
morc seren becomes,steadierawarcness,wisdom, mind-
intent (Sa. v. 4J.l; Harc's translation). A statement very
much similar is also found in a stock passagefound in the
P a l i N i k i y a s e x p r e s s i n gt h e s a m e t h e m e " C o m e w h a t
may, let skin ancibone and sinew but remain, let flesh and
blood dry ' p within my body, until is won what may be
w o n b y s t r c n g i h o f m a n , b y t o i l o f m a n , b y p a i n so f m a n ,
t h e r ew i l l b e n o s t a yi n e n c r g y " (M . l , p . 4 8 l ; S , I I , p , 2 8 ;
,4. Iv, p. 190),Similar ideasconcerningreligiousexertion
are found in the Buddhist Sanskrit work Lalitavistara
(Lat, BST. p.ztt).
Exertion in tbis sense is represented in the Noble
Eightfold Path asits 6th constituent, right effort (sammd
,,Ayima),which is defined as cutting-off illness, as having
the characteristicof striving: it obviates unskilled states
and is manifested as the abandoning of the wrong kind of
exertion (Vism. XVI, p. 81). Its continued practie is the
only way for the realisation of the Buddhist ideal
(sadattha) culminating thc weariq4 journey of semsira
( s e ea l s o E N D E A V O U R , P A D H A N A ) .
A. G. S. Karlyawassm
EXORCISM. See DEMONOLOGY
EXPEDIENCY is a word commonly used to render into
English the coined Sanskrit term upiya-kaulalya) Pali:
upilz-kosalla/ which literally means skilfulness in ex-
EXPEDIENCY
pendicnts or means, The Saddharmapundarika Sitta
devotes one whole chapter (chp. 2) to this subject. Kern
who translated the Sdmp. into English, renderedthe title
of the 2nd chapter Upaya-kar{alya merely as 'skilful-
ness'.In a note he explained it further'able management,
diplomacy'(SBE, XXI, p,3l fnl).
'fhe
Buddha, according to his own admission, was
ncithcr a traditionalist {anussauika) nor a rationlist
metaphysicitn (takki vimamsi) but an expcrientialist
whose teachingsare basedon personal higher knowledge
(samamyeva dhammam abhiflf,aya ...M.lI, p. 211). This
revealsthat Buddha was of a different mould than most
of his renowned contemporaries. His approach being
new, his teaching tco contained many novel features. In
fact the truth he realized is described by the Buddha
himself as not heard of before (pubbe ananussutesu.',S.[I,
p. I l). A perusal of his teaching makes it clear that his
central philosophy which is known aspaticcasamuppida
(q.v. seealso CAUSALITY) is a totally new doctrine and
also that his social philosophy goes against the basic
traditiond teachingsof the brahmins.
The Buddha with his novel approach to the predica-
ment of man and his place in the universe,however, had
to contcnd mostly with a tradition-bound audiencc of
varying degrees of mental proficiency and differcnt
religious inclinations. Therefore to put across his novel
views effectivelyin a way intelligible and acceptableto his
audiencehe had to evolve devicesthat suited the listners'
mental level. the occasionon which such discourceswere
given, the religious ideologies which they dearly che-
rished and so on. Thc Buddha's immense suctess as a
teacher and the rapid spread of he Dhamma within a
c o m p a r a t i v e l ys h o r t p e r i o d ,w e r eu n d o u b t e d l yd u e t o t h e
Buddha's unique ability of using appropriate expedients.
His biography abounds in episodesand anecdotesthat
graphically illustrate this unique ability of his. The
conversion of Nanda - his half-brother - by employing
an effective expedient is quite illustrative of this feature.
Nanda entered the order reluctanly, purely in order to
please the Buddha. Such being the case he was totally
disinterested in the monastic life, Ajl_the time he was
pining for his fiancee,Janapadakalyani Nanda, whom
he had to leave behind on the day he was to marry her,
The Buddha realized that Nanda's mind had to be
weaned away from Nanda if he were to be made
interested in monkhood. Accordingly, one day the
Buddha is said to have taken Nanda to the Himalayas
and shown him the charred remains of a female monkey.
The Buddha very casua$l is said to have asked Nanda
whether Janapadakalyani was more bcautiful than that.
Nanda had quickly replied in the effirmative. Then the
Buddha is said to have trlken Nanda to Tivatimsa heaven
and shown him charming divine damsels living thcre.
 EXPERIENCE
Once again in replying to a question of the Buddha
Nanda had admitted that thesedivine damsels were far
more charn-ring than lrlanda, and even volunteered to
compare Nanda with the charred remains of the female
monkey. The Buddhe noticing the mild change of heart
on Nanda's part, had taken the opportunity to wean away
Nanda's mind from Nanda. The Buddha promised
Nanda to obtain one of those divine damselsas his wife if
he propcrly lived thc monastic life. Nanda acceptedthe
bargain and kept to his part of the promise, At the
fulfilment of the promise, however, he was no more
interested in worldly attractions. So he went up to the
Buddha and absolved him from fulfilling his part of the
promise. Similar episodesillustrating the Buddha's abi-
lity in the use of expedients to help others, are found
scatteredin Theravada texts.
In Mahayana where the altruistic qualities of the
Buddha find greater emphisis his use of expedients to
guide sentientbeings and help them to cross the ocean of
sams-arais given more prominence than in Theravida,
See further U PAYA-KAUSALYA,
S. K. Namydrkarn
EXPERIENCE. The entire messageof Buddhism can be
summarised as a statement of the analysis of human
experience and & means of going beyond. For, by
observing with mindfulness (safr/the component parts of
human experience, the Buddha was ablc to anelyse the
human personality, and realise its true nature and a
meens of escaping therefrom. For a concise trratment of
thc subjict of experience this cssay is devided into 4
headings as follows:
L Sense-experienceof en ordinary worldling
2, Progressive experiences of the trainee
3. The liberative experiencc
4. Sense-experienceof a liberated being.
l. Smrcerperlerrce of n ordhary worldlhg:
The Madhupindika Sutta (M. I, p. I I l) records in
detail the process of sense perception of an ordinary
worldling (puthujjana). It states: "Depending on the eye
and material objects there arises visual consciousness
(cakkhuvif,f,iqa). The coming together of these three is
contect (phassa). As a result of contact there arise
feelings/sensations (rndani). What one feels oneper-
ceives/recognises;what one perceivesone reasonsabout;
what one reallons about one proliferates conceptually
(tam papaflcetl. What one proliferates conceptually, due
to that, conccpts charrcterised by the prolific tendency
assail him in rcgard to materisl objects cognisable by the
eye belonging to the past, future and present (yam
189 EXPERIENCE
p ap afl e ti tato ni d a n am pap afic asafi fi asan* na semudace-
ranti atitinagatapaccuppan nesu cakkhuvifif,eyyes u
'There
^p"su), are three phasesin this processof scnse
perception. Phase I is characterised by ao igrpersonal
note and it ends with vedana. It seemsio be a processof
automatic activity taking place becauseof the presenceof
scnsereceptorsand senseobjects.PhaseII which displays
deliberate activity ends with tam papaflcerr. Here the
perceiverplays aa active part in the processofperception.
PhaseIII is characterisedby the passivityofthe perceiver
and concepts start assailing him. The man who was
grammatically the subject of the statementin pheseII has
bccome the object in Phasc IiL
Thus the untrained ordinary man is dominated by his
sense experience and therefcre the senses are called
indriyas in Pali meaning lords/masters, As a result of
being pulled in various directions by sensefaculties man
is very much confused and tensed. This confusion is
beautiflly illustrated inthe Chapana Sutta(S, IV, p. 198)
with an eloquent simile. According to this simile six
animals having different habits and diverse fields of
action are tied together irr one firm knot. The six animals
are a snake that tries to creep into an ant hill, s crocodile
that tries to run to water, a bird that tnes to fly in the sky,
a dog that tries to run to a village, a fox that tries to flee to
a cemetary and a monkey that tries to escapcto a forest,
These enimals are constantly struggling to reach their
respectivehabitats. Similarly the six sensefaculties are
seeking gratification in their own spheresand the man
who has no control over his sensesbecomes terriblv
confused.
Pleasureablesenseexperiencehas craving as its latent
tendency,unpleasantsenseexperiencehas aversignas its
latent tendency and neutral senseexperiencehds igno-
r a n c e a s i t s l a t e n t t e n d e n c y( M . I , p . 3 0 3 ) .A s s u c h s e n s e
experience normally generates unwholesome inotiva-
- tional roots.
Sensations/feelings(vedani) demarcatethe body from
the rest of the environment and give the body the aenseof
self. For, the l(hendhasdmyutta(S, III, p. 46) says:"when
the untrained worldling is impressedby a sensationborn
of contact with ignorance, the idea'l em', occurs to him,
the idea "I am this (body)", occurs to him" (avffisam-
p hassajen a vedayiten a p hutthas sa Elts utavato puthujj a-
nassa asmitipissa hoti, ayam aham asmiti'pissa hoti),
Looking at the congnitive experience of man from
another perspectiveBuddhism maintains that the humaa
mind is obscured by five hindrances (nivarand.) of
emotional and cognitive biases. They are desi'e for
sensuality,anger, indolence,worry and perplexitv. Iheir
c a p a c i t yt o o b s c u r et h e t r u e n a t u r e o f s e n " , : ' i - , i c n c e i g
illustrated by the water simile (,5. V, pp. l2l-124). The
five hindranes are compared to coloured water, boiling
 EXPERIENCE
wrter, moss-coycred water, turbulent water and muddy
water plaed in derknesr rcspectively. Under all these
circumstanoe! Frter fails to give the true picture of a
thing reflccted thereou. Similarly tbe mind overpowered
by thcre hindranccs fails to undentend the true nature of
experieaces that come within i'.! embit,
Buddhism teechesthe methodical elimination of man's
confusidn and ignorancc, and a way of understanding
human experience as it realiy is by the practiae of moral
habitr (sila) ud a graduated ftrocess of mental r culture
(srmidhi/bhivani). Thelandmarks in the experiencc of
this courcc of trait';qg ere explained in tbe tutttt.
2. Progrcdvc cxpcdema of tbe TI&c
According to the Semafrf,aphala Sutta (D. I, p.?0 ff)
the unblemished cultivation of moral habitr generater the
pleesure/happiness of leading a blameless l:f.e(anevejja-
eukha). The next step in the process of training is the
restraint of the senscsand that brings the experience of
uncontamin ated ple asure/ h appiness ( avy asekasukh a).
What is meant by this seems to be the pleasure derived
from bting free from the dictates of sensc faculties. The
subrequcnt steps in the course of training bring the
expcriences of mindfulness (satr/, clear comprehension
(nmpaj afrfrQ and content ment (sen t utt hi).
When the frve fi"u"o", subside the disciple I expc-
riences a great sense of ielief and this sense of relief is
illurtreted with fivc menningful similes. It is as (a) when a
burinessmen peys off the capital loan and makcs a
hendsome profit in his business, (b) when a patient
recovers after a prolongcd serious illness, (c) when a
prisoner is releasedfrom prison, (d) when a slave is freed
from rlavery, and (e) when a man lost in a fearful desert is
rclcued end brought to safety.
_With this senseof relief great delight{pimojja)arrd joy
(piti)rnse, end the joyous mind geB concentreted.'The
mind thus concentreted develops jhanas, and the
Samailf,aphala Sutta gives a glimpse into thde medita-
tionel experiences through tbe medium of illustrative
similes. In tbe first jbane the meditator experiencesjoy
and pleasure/ happiness (bliss) born of the seclusionfrom
sensepleasures (uivekjan pitisukham). Furthermort he
fills, permeates, sajurates and suffuses his entire body
with this vivekajapitisu.klra.This blissful physical expe-
rience is compared to the coolness of moisture that
permeates through and through a wet ball of bath
powder, aad it is said that no part of the meditator's body
y3n6einsuntouched by this bliss. In the second jhanahe
experiencesjoy and bliss born of concentratton (samidhi-
jam pitisukha.m,),,and he, as before, Iills, pcrmeates,
saturetes and suffuses his entire body with this sarDid[r'-
jzpitisukha, Just as in a lerge pond filled to the brim r with
cool waters weiling from underground springs, where no
pert of the pond remains untouched by the cool waters,
190 EXPERIENCE
the meditator's body gets completely pcrvaded with thil
blisr. In tbe third jlaaa there is a similar experience with
joyless bhss (nippitikast*ha) and the body is compared
to a lotus blorsom submerged in the water, no part of
which remains untouched by the cool waters, In the
fourth jhina the pure brigbt mind pcrvedes the entire
body and the simile compar* the experience of this
jbaaicsute to the entire body being covered with a pure
white cloth from head to foot.
3. IbcLbcn$vcerpedere
After the fourth-lbine it is possible to direct the mind
for the attainment of higber supernormal knowlcdges
(abhif,f,i) ruch as the ability to perform mirecles (iddhi-
vidha), divinc eu (dibbasola,), thougbt-reading (eto-
pariyafliaa), retrocogni tion (pub benivisiaussatif,iaa),
clairvoyance with the special ability to rec the working of
kamma when beings are reborn (cutipapitaf,iaa) and
the knowlcdge of the destruction of defilemen ts (esavak-
khayaf,ana). The first three attainments ate not essential
for liberation while thc lsst named is a srbc qut non,
Some aratraafs have all six supernomal cognitivc cxpe-
rienccs (chalabhifrf,i), while others have only the lart
three (teuijia), or only the very la.rt (paf,fr7uiauta).Tbere
are still others who are proficient in the rlpa and eripa
jhaaes ar well and they are called ubhatobhigaimutta
(S. I, p. 19l).
When the adept dircoven the four uoble truthr through
his owu penonel experience his mind gets releesed from
the intoxicants of sensuality, continued existence and
ignorance. [n freedom he gets the cognitive experiencc
that he is freed, and he compreheirds that birth is
destroyed, the higher life has been succegsfullyled, done
is what has to be done. and that there is no more of this
worldly existence (D. l, p. 84 ctc.). Libcration is a
supramundane experience which is achieved in this very
life itself (dig9h'eva dhamme setlam abhiilf,i
sacchikatvi vihiiati) and it is such e blissfulexperience
that some arehants are reported to heve enjoyed this blisr
of emancipttion (vimuttisukha) for sevcn continuous
days without changing posturc (Vi"y" Thcrigithi, Thig.
v. 169 ff).
lntbe Migaadiya Sutta(M. t, p. 504) the Buddhasays
that he experiencessuch bliss apart from sensepleasures
and unwholesome states, bliss which turputles even
divine plcrsures, that hc does not wish for lower forms of
(senre) pleasures and docs not find dclight in them.
a. Selle cxperleocc of the lterebd behg
The contact (phassa) e liberated being make with the
external world seemr to bc qualitatively different from
the contact an ordinary puthujiaaa malces,
According to the edvice given to Bihiya Diruciriye
(IJdEa+ p. E), a liberatcd bcing is trained in ruch r wey
 EXPERIENCE 191 EXTRA.SENSORY-PERCEPTION

that there is only seeingin what is seen,only hearing in terms prlassaand vedana_ofthe ordinary worldling. (See
what is heard, only sensingin what is cognised.His sense PHASSA and VEDANA),.
experience seems to be such that be does not esteblish
contact with the external world, and this conjecture LQ'de S[va
seemsto be substantiated by the statement that destruc-
tion of fetters is far removed from those who are steeped
in contact with the world (tesam phassaparetinam ...ira
samyojanakkhayo, -Sn.v. 736). The (tppadasImyutts(S. EXPIATION AND ATONEMENT. Sce ATONEMENT.
I I l , p . 2 3 0 )s t a t e st h a t t h e a r i s i n g a n d p e r s i s t e n c e
ofsense
contact is the cause for the appearance of old age
and dcath (cakkhusamphassassa uppado thiti
...manosamphassassa uppado thiti jarameranassa'pEtu-
EXPTJLSION. See PABBAJANiYA XNVUA,
bhivo), Another significant statement is that contact
(with the external world) is estabhsheddependent on
upadhi. How can contact be estabiishedfor one who is
free from upadhll (Phwanti phassE upadhim paticca,
nirupadhim kena phuseyyum phassi, Uddna, p. 12). EXIINCTION. See UCCH EDAVANN.
According to the Anguttara nikiya (A.ll, p. l6l) one
becomes an arahant with the cessation of conceptual
proliferationsw , h e n t h e r ei s c o m p l e t ec e s s a t i o no f t h e s i x
EXTRA-SENSORY-PERCEPTION (ESP) is perception
faculties of scnse contact and detachment therefrom
(channam phassayataninam asesaviriganirodhi beyond the range of known scnsory processes,and it
extends beyond the range of normal perception through
papafrcanirodho papaflcipesamot/. Similarly a libe-
time, space and plane of experience.The belief in the
rated being's experience of sensatons/feelings(vedana)
possibility of this type of extra-sensory-perceptionhas
too seemsto be qualitatively different from that of the
puthujjana. been prevalent in lndis from very early times. Earliest
trsces of this belief are found in the Vedas wherein
'fhere paranormal powers are ascribed to constive and cog-
are two types of sensationswhich the ordinary
nitive abilities of the individual.r ln the Upanisads this
mari experiences,they are physica-land mental (kayiki ca
belief is further developed,but the emphasisshifted from
cetasiki,.t. lV, p. 231). The impact of thesetwo types of
thc perception of visual empirical objectsto perceptionof
sensationson the individual is explained with ihe help of
spiritual 'things,'Thus, the Upanisadssuchas Katha and
a s i m i l e .A m a n e x p e r i e n c e p s a i n w h e n h ei s s h o t w i t h o n e
Mundake clearly state that the Atman cannot be per-
a r r o w , h e e x p e r i e n c e sg r e a t e rp a i n w h e n h e i s s h o t w i t h a
ceived through the normal sensory process.The Katha
secondarrow. The first arrow is the physical pain and the
(ii, 3, 9) says that the Atman cannot be perceivcd with
second arrow is the mental pain (of fear and anxiety as
eyes (na caksusi pa{yate kalcinnainarn/, while the
when an immature child is slightly wounded). By adding
Mundaka(iii, i, 8) declaresthat the Atmaa'isnot grasped
the mental component the untrained ordinary man
(grhyate)by the eye (caksusa), byspeech (vica), by other
doubles the pain he has to endure (S. IV, p. 208). ln-
sensory-org ans (nanyair devaih), by austerity (tapasa) or
contrast the liberated being experiences only physical
pain and not the mental counterpert (so ekam vedanam by work (karmani). Again both these Upanisads agree
that the Atman cannot be attained (labhyo) by instruc-
vediyati kayikam na cetasikan, S. lV, p.'209), Thl
lion (pravacanena), intellectual power (medhya) or by
statement that dukkha does not arise when there is
much learning (bahuna (rutena: Katha, i, 2, 23;
complete cessationof vedani and detachment therefrom
Mundaka, iii,2, 3), implying thereby the use of extra-
(vedaninam asesaviraganirodhi natthi d ukkhassa sam-
sensory powers or faculties to perceivethe Atman. These
bhavo, Sn. p. 143) becomes meaningful when it is
Upanisads basically accept that this form of extra-
understood that the mental component of scnsation
sensory perception is attained through meditational
becomesextinct with the attainment of arahantship.
practices.Thus, the Katha(ii, 3, 9) says that the Atman
Thus it is clear that lhe senseexperienceof the liberated w h i c h d o e sn o t c o m e w i t h i n t h e r a n g eo f n o r m a l v i s i o n i s
being as portrayed in the Pali Canon is qualitatively apprehended by heart (hyda), by thought (manisa) and
diffcrent from the sense experiencr expressed by the by mind (manasi). While in the Xaria (i,2,n) it is stated

l. On this ssftcct sce O. H. de A. Wijesekera, Upanishadic Terms for Sense Functions, UCR. Oct. Vol. | & 2, pp. 14-21.
 EXTRA.SENSORY.PERCEPTION 192 EXT RA.SEI{ SORY-PERCEPTION

t h a t t h c A t m a n i s s e e nt h r o u g h t h e t r a n q u i l l i t yo f m i n d 3 2 3 ) c o m m e n t i n g o n t h e l e r m a d a k k i i s u g g e s t st h a t i t
a n d s e n s e s( d h a t u hp r a s a d a ) , t h eM u n d a k a ( i i i , 1 , 8 ) s a y s c o u l d c o n v e y t h e s e n s eo f s e e i n gw i t h t e l e p a t h i ck n o w -
t h a t t h i s i s p o s s i b l et h r o u g h t h e p u r i f i c a t i o n o f k n o w - ledge (paracitta-fiana), retrocognitive knowled ge (pub-
Iedge (jfianaprasada) by the practice of meditation. benivisanussatiftana), human-eye (mearysacakkhu) or
However, it should be noted that the Upanisads, while divine eyt ldibba-cakkhu). Verbs such as passatr and
a c c e p t i n gm e d i t a t i o n a lp r a c t i c e sa s t h e i m m e c i i a t es o u r c e pajiinatimeaning seeingand knowing are also frequently
o f t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f e x t r a s c n s o r y - p e r c e p t i o ne,m p h a - usedto bring out the meaning of extra-sensory-percep-
tically declare that irs ultimate source is the grace of t i o n ( c f . D . l , p p . 8 2 , 1 6 2 ;M . l , p . 7 ) . T h e l e r m d a s s a n a
Atman (Katha, i, 2. 23, Mundaka, iii. 2, 3). The meaning 'percepticn' and particluarly the term fan-
a c c e p t a n c eo f t h e b e l i e f i n e x t r a - s e D S o r v - p e r c e p t iavbei - d a s s a n aa r e a l s o u s e d i n t h e w i d e r s e n s et o i n c l u d e b o t h
l i t y b y t h e . l a i n a s i s b a s e d o n t h e i r a c c e p t a n c eo f a sensory and extra-sensoryperception.3
p e r m a n e n t ,i n t r i n s i c a l l yo m n i s c i e n ts e l f ( i v a ) . I B u d d h i -
A s m e n t i o n e d e a r l i e r t h e c l o s e s tP a l i e q u i v a l e n t f o r
s r na l s o i r c c e p t e dt h i s a b i l i t - "o- f e x t r a - s e n s o r y - p e r c e p t i o n
E S P i s a b h i f f f i a . , l J n d etrh i s t e r m a r e i n c l u d e d s i x i t e m s , a
b u t i t d i f f e r e d i n c o n t e n t a n d s o u r c eo f o r i g i n f r o m t h e
and these are ddhividha (psychokinesis), dibbasota
p a r a l l e l U p a n i s a d i ca n d J a i n a b e l i e f s .I t i s e v i d e n t t h a t
(divine-ear or clairaudiance), cetopariyayafrana (tele-
a c c o r d i n gt o B u d d h i s m t h i s a b i l i t y , i f n o t a n i n b o r n
p at hy), p u b ben ivis an ussa ti fii na (retroco gnition), di bba-
q u a l i t y o f a n i n d i v i d u a l , 2 i s a t t a i n e do n l y t h r o u g h j h a n i c
ca.k.k/ru(d ivine-eye o r cl airvoyance) and asa vi n am kh aya -
practices.Being an atheisticreligion Buddhism com-
fiana (knowledge relating to the extinction of defile-
p l e t e l y r e j e c t st h e i d e a o [ g r a c eo f a n e x t e r n a l p o w e r . I t s
m e n t s ) .T h e s ci t e m s a r e o f t w o m a i n k i n d s . T h e f i r s t i t e m
b a s i c t e a c h i n g_ o ns o u l - l e s s n ess( a n a t t a ,q . v . ) r e f u t e st h e
iddhividha connotesa psychokinetic power, and hence,it
J a i n a i d e a o f J i v a , a n d h e n c et h e b a s i so f t h e B u d d h i s t
d oesnot strictly fall within the category of extra-sensory-
c o n c e p t i o no f t h e E S P a b i l i t y i s d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h a t h e l d
p e r c e p t i o n .l t i s m o r e a b r a n c h o f p a r a p s y c h o l o g yw h i c h
b y t h e J a i n a s a n d t h e U p a n i s a d i ct e a c h e r s .
i n c l u d e s b o t h p s v c h o k i n e s i sa n d E S P . T h e s i x t h i t e m
asavAnamkhayafrina is an important technical term in
I t i s , p e r h a p s ,i n B u d d h i s m t h a t t h e a b i l i t y o f e x t r a -
Buddhist psychologyconnoting the realization as well as
s e n s o r y - p e r c e p t i ocno m e st o b e d e a l t w i t h s y s t e m a t i c a l l y
the internalization of the fact of the extinction of all
a n d e l a b o r a t e l y .B u d d h i s t e p i s t e m o l o g ya c c e p t s ,b e s i d e s
defilements of samsaricexistence.This in other words is
n o r m a l p e r c e p t i o n ,a m o d e o f p e r c e p t i o nw h i c h i s b e y o n d
the summum bonumof Buddhism. Hence, isavinamk-
t h e r a n g eo f t h e k n o w n s e n s o r y - p r o c e s s eTsh. i s p a r t i c u l a r
hayafrata,too, is not strictly a form of ESPin the senseit
ability is generally connoted by the Pali term abhififta
i s f o u n d u s e d i n m o d e r n w r i t i n g s o n t h e s u b j e c t .T h e
(q.v.) in one of its numerous shades of meanings.
remaining four items, clairaudiance,telepathy, retrocog-
According to the Buddhist theory of knowledge
n i t i o n a a d c l a i r v o v a n c e ,i t i s a p p a r e n t , d i r e c t l y c o m e
a b h i f l f r a i n t h i s s e n s ei s a m e a n s o f d i r e c t k n o w l e d g e .
within the definition of ESP,
Buddhist texts refer to'things' (dhamma) that are to be
acquired_and perceived through abhififta (abhifrfiasac- Dibba-sota or clairaudiance, according to Buddhist
chikaraniyA dhamma: A. lll, pp. l7-19). In the PEyasi texts, is the paranormal power of hearing and disccrning
S u t t a ( D . I I , p . 3 2 8 )i t i s c l e a r l ys t a t e dt h a t t h e o t h e r w o r l d s o u n d sb o t h h u m a n a n d d i v i n e w h i c h a r e n o t a u d i b l et o
(paraloka) cannot be perceived(na datthabbo) with the the auditory organ (D. Ill, p. 38; M. I, p. 502),
physical-eye (mamsa-cakkrlul but has to be perceived Cetopariyayafiina (i.e. telepathy) according to Buddhist
with the divine-eye (dibba-cakkhu, q.v.). f'extual evi- textual description is thought or mind-reading, than
dence shows that the qualifying terms drbba meaning t h o u g h t - t r a n s f e r e n c(eD , t , p p . 8 0 , 2 1 3 ) .T h e A n g u t t a r a '
'divine' and atikkanta minusaka me aning 'surpassingthe
nikaya (I, pp. 170, l7l) states that one can know
human' are invariably prefixed to describe and diffe- another'smind through the processknown as-desanapitihaisa.
rentiate this mode of extra-sensory-perception from Therein it is also explained how this could be accom-
n o r m a l p e r c e p t i o n(.c f . D . l , p p . 8 2 f . , 1 6 2 ; l I , p . 2 8 8 ) . plished either through the normal or paranormal process,
F ; o m t c x t u a l e v i d e n c ei t a l s o s e e m t h a t w o r d s s u c h a s Pubbenivasanussati-fritra, generally rcndered as retro-
d i t t h a . t l a s s a n a a, d a k k h i . u s u a l l yc o n n o t i n g t h e s e n s eo f cognition, is the paranormal ability to recall one's
n r r i l r l s l p e r c e p t i o n ,a r e a l s o u s e d t o c o n v e y t h e s e n s eo f manif old p ast existences.,Dib ba-cak kh u i.e. clairvoyance
e x r r a - s e n s o rpye r c e p t i o n( c f . 1 r ,p . 5 8 ) . T h eN i d d e s a ( 1p, . o r d i v i n e - e y e ,i n t h e w i d e r s e n s e o f t h e t e r m , i s t h e

C ; t h e c a - * eo f V i p a s s i ( D . l l , p . 2 0 ) . H o w e v e r , s u c h i n s t a n c e sa r e n o t n u m e r o u s , a n d i n t h e c a s e o f V i p a s s i h i s E S P a b i l i t y
' : l a r r l o v a n c e i n t h i s i n s t a n c e )i s s a i d t o b e t h e p r o d u c t o f h i s f o r m e r g o o d d e e d s .
Se: K \. Javatilleke, Earll'Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, London, 1963.p. 43 I f.
T l ' e s es r x i t e m s w i l l b e d e a l t s e n a r a t e l vu n d e r t h e r e s D e c t i v he e a d - w o r d s .S e e a t s o A d h i f i n a .
 PTION 1 9 3 E X T R A . S E N S O R I ' - P E R C E P T T O N
EXTRA.SENSORY.PERCE
paranormal ability to see things _which are beyond the
range of the physical ey-c.The Digha'nikaya (II, p. 20)
says that princc Vipassi was endowed with this para-
normal power and that he could see a distance of one
yojeaaall round whether during the night and day. In his
casethis ability was the result of his former good deeds.
Tbe Arahant Anuruddha who had deliberately deve-
loped this ability was ranked formemost among those
disciples of the Buddha who were endowed with djbba-
cakkhu (A. I, p. 23). The Buddha utilized this ability to
d i s c e r nc o n t e m p o r a n c o u se v e n t s( M . I , p . 1 7 0 ;A . I I I , p '
336). tn its limited functional sense drbbacalklru also
connotes the paranormal ability of seeingthe deceaseand
rcbirth of beings, which ability along with pubbe-
nivisinussati-frina and isavinamkhaya-fiana (tisso
vijja) are basically essential for the attainmeni of final
release.
This ability ui i.;:owing the deceaseand rebirth of
beings is also known try the functional name cutipapita-
f,ina,knowledge regarding deccaseand rebirth. Allied to
this is the paranormal perception of the working of
kamma. This, the texts categorise as a separate faculty
known as the'knowledge as to how beingsfare according
to their deeds' (yathakarnmipaga-ftay; Vism, p. 358; cf,
Compendium of Philosophy). T'be power of prophesing
or precognition (anagatamsa-fiZna), too, is an aspect of
clairvoyance,and this is regarded as the speciaJability of
the Buddha (Compendium of Philosophy, p. 63).
An analysis of thc f.ov abhifrdas shows that these
could be broadly divided into two groups with clair-
audiance (dibba-sota) on the one side and the three
remaining faculties on the other. It is clear that function-
ally telepathy (cetopariya-ffi1") has much in common
with clairvoyance and this fact has bcen observed by later
cxegetical writers (cf. Yism. p, 344). As observed earlier
the knowledge regarding the decease and rebirth of
bcings (sattinam cutipapatafrana) connotes only arr
$pect of clrairvoyane ( di bb a<akk hu) dehberately deve-
loped and directed to a particular sphere and with a
specific purpose. Such an analysis also brings to light that
there ere three sense-faculties(indriya.) namely the mind,
the eye and the ear, that serveas basesfor the functioning
of these paranormal abilities. From Buddhist textual
evidenceit is seenthat the ear and the eye becomehelpful
only at the early stages of the development of the ESP
abilities, and of these,too, the ear, as the physical basisof
clairaudience (dibba-sota), plays only a very minor role'
It is the faculty of the mind developed through medita-
tional practices that is of paramount importance'
Early Buddhism as well as the contemporaneous
lndian religious tradition accepted the position that the
mind could be raised to a high level of development
through meditational practices whereby it acquires the
ability of perceiving things that are beyond the range of
normal senseorgans through space, time and plane of
cxperience. Even in the Vedic period the mind was
consideredto posscsslntent paranormal abiiity of seeing
and knowing. The Llpadsads treat the mind as the sense
'Ihe
par exxllence. Chandogra (viii, 12, 5) refers to the
mind as thc divinc-cye (daivary cakl\).Budhist texts
uphold the view that mind hus tcleFathic powers,and this
is evident from the Bu<idhist Textual description of
cetopariyarlana. And mcr:eovcr, according to Buddhist
texts, it is the mind that is directed to seethings which are
not within the range of normal perception as well as
events connected with formcr births of oneself and of
others (cf..M. l, p. 296; A. Y. p. 3). Hence, it is reasonable
to assume that the paranormal ability connected by the
term dibba<akkhu as well as dibbasota refers to this ESP
ability of the mind. Exegetical description of. dibba-
cakkhu found in such texts as the Visuddhimagga
s t r e n g t h e n st h i s a s s u m p t i o n .T h c r e i n ( V i s m . p , 3 5 7 ) t h e
'[t
dibba-cakkhu is explained as, is an eye in the senseof
seeing. Also it is an eye since it is like an eye in its
performance of an eye's function"' Further thc same
source (p. 362) describes it as the eye of knowledge
(fianacakkhu). The Milindapaftna (p. 153) calls it the eye
produced by contemplation (bhavanamayacakkhu)
whereas the Palriambhidimagga (I, p. ll5) refers to it
:
srmply as panna.
It appcars that, according to Buddhism, the mind is
said to possesslatent paranormal ability of seeing and
knowing. This pow_eris made inoperative by thc five
defilements (pafrcanivaranal which cripple the mind and
w e a k e nw i s e d o m( M . 1 , p p . l 8 l , 2 7 0 , 2 7 6 , 5 2 1D ; .1,p.76,
cf. A, l, pp.254,255). Therefore, in order to activateand
bring to surface this latent ESP ability one has to rid the
mind of these defilemnts, This is possible only through
mind-culture which sharpens wisdom (paflf,i), and this
involves practice of virtue (sila),lhe Buddhist vicw being
t h a t w i s d o m a n d v i r t u e g o h a d i n h a n d ( D . l , p . 1 2 4 ;c f . A .
I , p . 1 0 2 ) .W h e n f r e e d f r o m t h e s ed c f i l e m e n t st h e m i n d
becomessuitable for further development through medi-
tational practices that tranquil the minlj (samatha-
bhavana, cf.. MA. II[, p. 202). When one reaches the
fourth jhanic state or its equivdent (cf. M. l, p. 494)
through thesemeditational practicesone'smind becomes
concentrated,pure, cleansed,free from blemishes,purged
o f a d v e n t i t i o u s d e f i l e m e n t s ,s u p p l e , p l i a n t , s t e a d y a n d
u n p u r t u r b e d( D . l , p . 7 6 ; 'A . I I I , p p . 1 6 , 1 7 ) E . venat this
s t a t eo f d e v e l o p m e n to f t h e m i n d t h e l a t e n t E S P . a b i l i t i e s
do not automatically become operative. It is only if one
desires (sace ikankhati, A. III, p, 17) that one could
d e l i b e r a t e l yt u r n a n d d i r e c t o n e ' s m i n d t o u t i l i s e E S P
abilities.
It is evident from thc foregoing discussion that
according to the lndiaa view, specially as it is found
enunciated in Buddhist texts, ESP is an ability probably
 EX TRA.SENSORY-PERCEPTION
194
l a t e n t i n t h e m i n d , a n d t h a t s e n s e - f a c u l t i essu c h a st h e e y e
a n d t h e e a r a r e o f l i m i t e d u s e i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n to f t h i s
a b i l i t y . W h i l c a c c e p t i n gt h a t i n r a r e i n s t a n c e st h i s l a t e n t
a b i l i t y b e c o m e sa u t o m a t i c a l l y m a n i f e s t a s a r e s u l t o f
f o r m e r g o o d d e e d so f t h e p o s s c s s o o r f ESP, Buddhismas
a g e n e r a lp r i n c i p l e , a c c e p t st h e p o s i t i o n t h a t o n e h a s t o
put forth deliberate,conscious and methodical effort for
its fruition.
A s s e e na b o v e t h e m i n d h a s t h e p o t e n t i a l t o p e r c e i v e
things beyond the range of normal perception. This
p o t e n t i a l i t y i s s u p p r e s s e da n d s t i f l e db y a n o v e r g r o w t h o f
five obstaclesor defilements (pafica-nivarana).These are
covetousnesrs (abhijjhi), ill-will (vyapada), sloth and
t o r p o r ( t h i n a - m i d d h a . ) , r e s t l e s s n e s sa n d s c r u p l e s
(uddhacca-kukkucca) and sceptical doubt (vicikiccha).
T h e i n i t i a l s t e pi n t h e p r o c e s so f t h e d e v e l o p m e n to f E S P
i s t h e e r a d i c a t i o no f t h e s em i n d - c r i p p l i n g o b s t a c l e sT. h i s
i s t o b e a c c o m p l i s h e db y c u l t u r i n g t h e m i n d t h r o u g h
j h a n i c p r a c t i c e s .F r o m t h e f a c t t h a t E S P i s p r i m a r i l y a
producl pertaining to jhanic consciousnessit is evident
t h a t , a c C o r d i n gt o t h e B u d d h i s t v i e w , i t i s n o t a m e r e
h u m a n a b i l i t y , T h e B u d d h i s t t e x t s t h e m s e l v e sr e f e r t o i t
as a super-human achievement(uttarimanussadhamma),
and in content it is more a spiritual attainment than a
miraculous feat. Ttrc purpose of achievingESP ability
also is spiritual, and the Buddha,clearly lays down an
i n j u n c t i o n p r o h i b i t i n g t h e d i s c i p l e sf r o m m a k i n g p u b l i c
d i s p l a y o f t h i s s u p e r - h u m a na b i l i t y ( V i n . I I , p . l l 0 ) . T h e
M a h a l i S u t t a ( D . I , p . 1 5 5 )e m p h a t i c a l l yp o i n t s o u t t h a t
the Buddha's teaching is not meant for the
'mere'
attainment of this super-human power.
Buddhism, while acceptingthe possibility of developing
E S P a b i l i t y , p o i n t e d l y s t a t e st h a t i t s h o u l d b e d e v e l o p e d
f o r t h e s o l ep u r p o s eo f o b t a i n i n g ,d i r e c t k n o w l e d g ea b o u t
phenomena (dhammi) which are beyond the reach of
n o r m a l p e r c e p t i o n , w h i c h k n o w l e d g e c o n d u c e st o t h e
a t t a i n m e n t o f r e l e a s ef r o m t h e v o r t e x o f b i r t h a n d d e a t h
(samsira).lt is spccifically in this context that Buddhism,
whcn speaking of ESP, lays emphasis on sattinam-
c ut up apit h a -fi an a an i p u h ben i v asi n ussa t i -fi an a, which
are both aspectsof dibtacakkhu, f ar theseare helpful in
obtaining asavanamkhaya-fiana. Hence these three
knowledges (tisso vijja) are said to contributc to the
attainment of Enlightenmcnt leading to final release.
O n t h e o t h e r h a n d t h e r e s e e m st o b e e v i d e n c ew h i c h
point to the possibility of reaching final liberation
'the way
through what is referred to as of wisdom'
(paflfli-vimutta), wherein one does nor appear to mak:
use of these ESP faculties (S. II. pp, I l9f). In the
C o m m e n t a r i e s( . S A ,l I . p p . 1 2 6 f . )t h e d i s t i n c t i o nb e t w e e n
t h e s et w o m e t h o d s i s e x p l a i n e d b y s a y i n g t h a t w h i l e t h e
\ormall.vBuddhistfablesareinamixtureofproseandverseandonlvrarelyaretheycompletelyinverse(seeNo.JatakaNo.430,
FABLES
f o r m e r p u r s u e st h e p a t h t o l i b e r a t i o n v t a t h ej h a n a s , t h e
latter is the method of direct intuition (sukkhavipassaka)
which has little need of jhana ln4jhanaka). The lattcr
p e r h a p sa s s u m e sa n a d v a n c e ds t a g eo f r e l i g i o u sd e v e l o p -
m e n t i n h e r i t e d f r o m p r e v i o u s l i f e o r l i r , e so n w h i c h t h e
a c h i e v c m e n t so f t h i s l i f e a r e f o u n d e d .
S. K. Nanayahkara
FABLES. The opinions of scholars with regard to the
structure and character of the fable are different to a
considerable extent. The Oxford English Dictionary
g i v e st h e t e r m a n u m b e r o f m e a n i n g ss u c h a s : a f i c t i t i o u s
n a r r a t i v e ,a f o o l i s h o r a r i d i c u l o u ss t o r y , a s h o r t s t o r v
d e v i s e dt o c o n v e ys o m eu s e f u ll e s s o n ,a p l o t o f a p l a v o r a
poem. L. Magnus, 7'Dictionarl' of European Literature,
[ - o n d o n , p . l 5 a ) d e f i n e st h e f a b l c a s a s h o r t c o r n i c t a l e i n
v e r s ei n w h i c h i t i s a n a l m o s t i n v a r i a b i ec o n d i t i o n t h a t t h e
s u b j e c t ss h a l l b e d r a w n f r o m c o m m c n l : f c a u d s h a i l
imitate nature in its phi'sica!,if not in its moral and
psychological manifestaticrrs. The Fnt:3'clopaedia
Britannica (IX, p. 21) considers the fable and the
a p o l o g u et o b e s i m i l a r , a n d s a y st h a t a f a b l ei n i t s g e n u i n e
state is a narrative in which beings, iirational and
s o m e t i m e si n a n i m a t e .f e i g n t o a c t a n d s p e a kw i t h h u m a n
i n t e r e s ta n d p a s s i o nf o r t h e p u r p o s eo f m o r a l i n s t r u c t i o n .
l n A R e a d e r s ' G u i d e t o L i t e r a r y T e r m s( K a r i B e c k s o n
a n d A r t h u r G a n z . p . 6 6 ) i t i s s a i d t h a t t h e c h a r a c t e r si n a
fable are often animals but not invariably sc And it is
further stated that a fable should contain a moral and
t h a t i t c a n b e c o m p o s e de i t h e r i n p r o s e o r i n v e r s e . l A
d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e t e r m a s i t i s g e n e r a i l yu n d e r s t o o d a t
present is found in the .9randard Dictionary of Folk-lore-
Mythology and Legend (Funk and Magnalls Company,
N e w Y o r k , I , p . 3 6 1 ) .T h e r e i t i s s a i d t h a t a f a b l e i s a n
animal tale with a moral.
However, from the definitions cited above,it can be
s u r m i s e dt h a t a f a b l e i s a s h o r t n a r r a t i v ee i t b e ri n p r o s eo r
in verse intended for moral instruction and that its
charactersare often animals.
T h e d i d a c t i c n a t u r e o f t h e c o n t e n t si s a m a r k e d f c a t u r e
o f t h e f a b l e . Y e t t h i s c a n n o t b e c o n s i d e r e da s a c r i t e r i o n
w h i c h d i s t i n g u i s h e sa f a b l e f r o m o t h e r t y p c so f l i t e r a t u r e .
A l m o s t a l l s t o r i e sf o u n d i n B u d d h i s t l i t e r a t u r eh a v e a s
their main purposethe pointing out of a moral. Yet all
s u c h s t o r i e s a r e n o t c o n s i d e r e dt o b e f a b l e s .O f t h e v a s t
numbcr of Buddhist talesa certain group, whosemain
characters are animals, are categorisedas fables.
T h e r e f o r e ,B u d d h i s tt a l e si n t e n d e df o r m o r a l i n s t r u c t i o n ,
 FABLES
with their mnin charactcrs es animals, are here considered
as fables. Yet there remains aaother group of tales in
which enimals and hurnrn beings take part. Such tales,
too, due to the presence of animals as charactcrs are here
treeted r.r fables.
Ncthing definite can be said about the origin of the
fsble literaturc. Some are of opinion that the fables are of
Sernitic origin (The Standard Dictionary of FolHore
Mytholog and legend, Funk and Wagnalls Company;
!,r. cit.). Tbe Encyclopaedia of Britannica (loc. cit.)
suggeststhat the fables of lndia end Greece are derived
from the beest fables of savages.[t is probable that the
fables, er we have them now, are a development of the
animal tale which is one of the enrliesstfeatures of folk-
lore. These dnimal tales in the beginning msy have been
completely devoid of ar"y kind of moral instruction and
nray have been mere explanatory stories, as for example a
story related in order to explain why the crow is black,
*'hy the peacock is beautiful and so on. Laier thesevery
talesmay have been used to inculcEte a moral lessonfor
human beingsor to satirize their conduct. When and who
changedtheseearly explanatory animal tales into didactic
fables cennot be exactly known. It can be conjectured
that this changewas effectedby a pcople who belongedto
a sophisticated culture than primitive folk<ulture, The
srructure of the fable itself reveals developed liternry
traits which are alien to the genuine and the earliest forms
cf folkJorc.
The origin of the fable literature in lndia, too, has not
vet been conclusively established.Thi popular Buddhist
belief is that all fables, more preciselyall tales, found in
Buddhist texts, specially the jara.ka, are the inventions of
the Buddha. lt is said that on Dumerous occasionsthe
Buddha, in order to explain and comment on eventsthat
took placeamong the Sairgha,narrated storiescontaining
limilar eventesaid to have occurred in the past. It is a well
acceptednotion among the Buddhists that the Buddha
could visualizeexperiencesof an innumerable number of
previous births of his own as well as of others.The stories
he narrated are regarded as illustrating these previous
experiences. Thc Buddha narrated these in order to
:mpart a moral legson to the Saigha. But, this popular
belief which attributes the authorship of all thesestories
ro the Buddha caDnot hold ground when examined
ciosely. [t is quite possible that the Buddha himself
:nvented quite a number of stories. Bcside those stories
r bere are a large number of tales, specially fables, which
rhe Buddha secms to have drawn from the popular
^rrerature.Oue such fable is the Eeka JEtaka (No. 38).
There is nothing Buddhistic in this story except for the
Fresence of e treedcity who is identificd with the
Bcdhisatta. It is quite apparcDt that the character of the
r:eedeity has no placc in the main story and that he had
195 F'ASLEg
b e e ni n t r r . r i l u c c da r a i n t ; r s i s g et o g , ; c ' . h i sf a b l e .s ; h i c hi n
e s s e n c ei s n o t B u d d i r : ; t r t . a B q l r ' ! i i h i l t rgc a r h , " i b c r e a r e
q u i t e a n u m b c r o f f a t l l e sw i ' : r ' ; l i $ . r . '1 : . . : ' i h l ipt ga r t i c u ; a t - l !
B u d d h i g f i c a b r r ' - tirh e m b u ' - , , :{ r s . . 1i u j irnpart Br.Jdhist
moral trach:ngr t.r ;i;':ng tr:r'r;;..rhris"ldhjstiiapl).Ernnee.
The K.he;er1t'!zs J*t::ia {N.; :1, thc i;'pallatthamig-
j i t a k a t , : ' r o . i 6 ; , i t J e - " . - i , ; n " ; t 'i:r i t e A s i i l o " 3 0 ) , t h e
Vanartndajatrfs :,:i,r i .,;r:ll nr;tr{$/ErajkeiNo, ?57)
are a fcw cithc febles ihnt !i;t it'.rdrjhaanri ni:i disciples
migbt havc dra*n frorr":a c...]rr:rn:;l irr[Hsr,i lli;arr:g f able
literature.
T h e l i v e sl e d b y t h e I n d i a n : a f l h e f i r s t a : i l l e n i u mB " C .
s t r o n g l y s u g g e s t h e p o s s i b i l i t vo f I h r e x i s i e : : i co f a n i m a J
t a l e s a t I v e r y e a r l , vC e t e .T h e l i v e s o f t h r r $ . r ! vI n d i t n l
-[hcreforr,
werc very closcly con.:cctedwiih nlcrrre. ?hrv
had the opportunit,r to c,bsc:-vet!:c rimilarities and
differencesbetween thc working of natirrr: p"rdtheir own
lives. Especiallythe a-uima.is, both damisticatcd and wild,
must have drawn their attention and tirey must havc
observed certain characteristics .pirich are peculiar to
them and still other cheracterisilrgr*hich are commoD tcl
men and beasts,They may have rnvenied simpie taler to
explain thesc characi€r"isticsand probably the fables ol a
l a t e r d a t e h a v e d e v c i c p r c if r o m t h e s c .H o w e v c r , t h i s i s a
mere coniecture an6 the:e is no textual evidenceto prove
this, It is not at a.llsurprising to find that in Indiafoik-iore
did not find a p!acc in the earliest iiterarurc, namely the
Vedic literature, which on the whole is represcntativeof
the thoughts and beuefs of brahmin priests.
Yet, there is textual evidenceto show that the lndians,
from very early times, were keen observcrs of nature.
Thus in the Rg Veda(vli,l02) occurs an analogy in which
the croaking of frogs is compared with the chanting of
hymns by brihmin priests. From very early times they
were not hesitant to attribute certain human character-
istics to animals. The Chandogya Upanisad (i, 12)
mentions how the dogs searchedfor a leader to obtain
food for them. In the same Upanisadit is mentioned how
Raikva's attention was drawn by the rcmarks made by
the two flamingoes (iv, I ) and again how the sage
Satyakima was instructed by a bull, a flamingo and
finally by an aquatic anima.l (v, 7),
The earliest textual referenccto fables is found in the
Epics. M. Winternitz (History of Indian Literature,l, p.
405 ff.) has cited numerous fables that occur in the
Mahibbirafa. Here the fable is used for the purpose of
instruction. If fables had not been current emong the
people as a medium of instruction and moral teaching it
would not have been used for that purpose in the Epics.
Among the numerous fables that occur in this Epic are
the tales about the bird whjch laid golden eggs;about the
birds being united, were able to fly away carrying the
fowler's net and when disunited fell into the hands of the
 FABLES
fowler; about the bypocritical cat which feigned to
practise lrvere eusteritier and devoured the unsuspecting
micc, andrlso about the hypocritical flamingo which ate
the birds'eggs, All thcse fables rsqppeet in leter litera-
ture. Yet, es Mahibhirataisfull of interpolations and as
its exect dete is not known these references do not help
one in fixing a date for the existence of the fable as a
medium of instruction. Proverbial expressions found in
htefijali's Mahabhasya which is assigned to sbout 150
B.C. too suggest the existence of a developed fable
litcrature (A. 8. Kcith, A History of Sanskit Literature,
p.2a!. However, the most important evidence for the
existence of fables is the monumental evidence of
Bhirhut. Thc jatalas which are sculptured in deep bas-
relief on the railings of Bhirhut provide undisputable
evidence for thc existence of the fable as a medium of
instruction at the end of the 3rd century B.C.
Though the fable was prevalent, before the time of the
Buddha, as a medium of instruction on worldly wisdom
and morality, undoubtedly it was the Buddha who first
used the fable, on a very wide scale, as an effective
medium of instruction on worldly wisdom, morality and
above all on religious matteru. tt is quite well known that
the Buddha in order to make his new doctrinal teachings
clear and lucid to the listenersvery often employed old
phra.reology and concepts with which they were well
ecquainted, In the temc way, in order to present in a
simple mrnncr his teachings on karma, rebirth and such
other topics he used fables and other types of tales which
hc could frcely draw upon from current literature, The
Indianr were by Dsture very fond of listening to stories.
This must have given the Buddha a further impetus to
make use of these taless which he hed alreedy found to be
a vsry effective medium of instructing the masses.The
fact that the Buddha oftcn used apologues and fables and
even analogies drawn from animal life in the course of his
discoursesto explain difficult points is quite clear from
numeroug occurrencesin canonical texts other than the
' . L , 1 6 2 ; I V , 1 3 8 ;S ' l , 1 2 4 ;I V , 1 4 5 ,
j i t * a Q c r - M . 1 , 3 3 4 1A
148; Vin.Il, l6l).
Thc adaptation of the fable for the purpose of moral
instruction and elucidation of difficult points in the
doctrine was mede still easier by the Buddhist teachings
on rebirth. This doctrine of rebirth made it possiblc to
transfer any extant fable into a Jataka by the mere
identilication of the main characters of a fable with the
previous lives of the Buddha and his disciples, or by
introducing a completely new character and identifying
him with a previous birth of the Buddhs' as for example
the Treedeity in the Bake iEtaka (No' '38)' ln such
instanccs the bodhisatta plays the role par excellence as
2. Vin.l, I t8 rcems to luggelt thrt romc monks of stric dircipline were against the practice of narrating stories. Yet there is
enough evidence in canonicd textr to rhow that the Buddha him.relf used analogies, fables etc. in his discourtet.
196 FABLES
the illustrator of the crrltivation of various virtues, These
numcrous fables which the Buddha drew upon from the
popular literaturu of that time are found to occur in the
fataka, Not only the Buddha, but also his eminent
disciples may have followed the example of the mester.2
This, very probably, is the cause for the vast number of
tdes in Buddhi.rt literaturc. Afterwards, the brahmins,
too, followed the axample set by the Buddha. Whilc the
Buddha employed these popular tales mainly as a
medium of teaching his doctrine, the brahmins used the
very same tales to impart worldly wisdom and it is at the
hands of the latter that the fable developed into a very
effective melns of imparting knowledge with regard to
tbe principles of staie craft, polity, diplomacy and in
general with regard to all aspects of practical life. When
the Sanskrit language began to reassert itself in the latter
part of the 2nd century A.C.'as the court language, the
brahmin teachers,to whom was entrusted the education
of princes, felt the need of text books which taught the
young princes the management of political and public
affairs. To satisfy this need they copiously drew material
from Buddhist tales and by stripping off the Buddhistic
garb of those tales used them to scrve their purpose.This
is the reason why the vcry same tales occur in both
'Thc
Buddhist and brahmanic literature, Paflcatantra,
thc Tantrikhyiyiki, the Hitopade(a and a host
of other collections of fables came into existence to
satisfy this need,The talesthat occur in thesebooks show
to what extent thcy are indebted to the Buddhist
literature, and at the same time they also reveal the
popularity the fable had gained by that time,
The very fables that appear in Buddhist texts reappear
not only in Sanskrit literature but also in western
literature. This is due to the fact that most of the fables
prevalent in the west are of lndian origin and that thcy
were introduced to the west by the Arabs. By about the
middle of the 6th century A.C., the Pafrcatanta or to be
more precise the Proto- Pafrcatantra was rendered into
Pahlavi, the Persianlanguage.The translatorwas Barz6e
or Berzuyeh, the physician of Chosru Anosharwan
(Khosru Nushirvan, 531-79A.C.), the king of Persia.
This translation was named after the two characters
Karatala and Damanaka who appear in the original
version. By about 570 A.C., the Pahlavi translation'was
rendered into old Syriac by one B[d. An Arabic version
of the Pahlavi rendering was made by Abdallah ibn
Almokaffa of the court of Khalif Almansur (754-15
A.C.), under the title Kalilah wa Dimnah. lt was this
Arabic version which helped the lndian fable to migrate
into the west.
 FABLES
By rbout 1080 A,C. a Jew nemed Symeon Seth
trrnrlrted thir Arabic text into Greck, In 1250A.C.
roother Jcw namedRabbi Joel rendercdthc Arabic text
into llebrew. Betwean1263-78A.C. thir Hebrewversion
wrs rendercdinto Latin byJobannerCapueandthis war
printed end publirhed h l4E0 A.C. uoder the title
Dircaorium Vitac Humenae.From thc L^atinweremsde
tbc Germrn traarlatioa entitled Das Buch der Bytpcl der
dten Wy*a by Antboniu! von Pforr, end the ltdian
rcndcringr by Firenzuola (154EA.C,) rnd A.F. Doni
(1552 A.C.). Therc wcrc retrurleted into French and
E Ulbh beforc thc ead of the l5th ccatury.
After thc conqucrt of Spein by thc Mohammedans,
Arrbic literature fouad itr way to Spain and es early as
l2t9 A.C. The Arabic Book of Fabks war tranrlatedinto
Spaairh under the titlc Crlila C Dlnna, end alother
wnion appeeredb 1193A.C.
Oncof the mort importrnt l-atiDversionswasmadeby
BrHo'romewhsrc in thc l4th ccntury under the titlc
Aercput Alter. Thit it importaat becauschcre the fgbles
err attributcd to the treditional Greek fabulirt, Acsop
end thcucr tbere frbler of Indian origin crme to be
rcgerdcdu inwntionr of Aesop.
Howeyer,Jean De Le Fontdne's (1621-95A.C,)
collcctionof fablesin Frencbir thc mostwcll known of all
ruch collectionr. Le Fountainc in hir introduclion to the
reventh book of febler rayr that he owes the largest
portion of thc fablcs to an Indian sagenamed Pilpay,
which ir conridcred by moderu rcholars to be a corrupt
form, through thc Arabic, of Sanskrit VidyCpati which
could have been a honorilic title of the Indicn who
collectedthe fables. La Fountaine's collection of fables
lecn! to havebeeninfluencedby numcrougvercionssuch
rs the GreeL,Italian end early Frenchwnions. Tbe work
thrt eppean to heve influencd him mort is the French
wrrion thet war publirhed iu 1544under the title 'Liwe
da ltaie2rcs, ou Ia Cooduite des Roit, coaposi par Ie
Sr,gePilpty, Ind.ir.a by Devid Sahid of lspahan. This
itrelf ir e Frcnch venion of thc Aaviri Suhar/rofHuscein
bcn Ali, en cerlergedvenion of Nasrallih's renderingof
Abddhh ibn Almokal?r work.
Aerop, to whom thc febler of the weEtare co"'monly
rttributcd, ir believedto havc lived romewherebetween
620ud 560B.C. end he ir raid to be tberlaveof ladmon
of Semor.The plecr of hir birth is uncertainthoughsome
coilidcr him to be a native of Aria minor (sceJ. J.
Shipley, TheDictionary of World Literature,New York).
If thir ir conect thereis rome porsibilityof his coming
into contectwith the Indian fable,for therecould have
bcencontact rmoDg countrier like Indig Persia,Syria
end Arir Minor under the dominetion of Archacmenid
p6trienr whore dominion rpread from the Induc to the
routhera fronticrr of Egypt.
197 FABLES
Aerop is several times mentioned in Greek clersical
literaturc. Plato says that Socrate! lpent his impriron-
ment turning the storics of Aesop into verse, Aristo-
phanes referr to him. Aristotle quoter some of his stories
(tee, Encyclopaedit Brittanica, under Aesop). lt is
probabh thar Aesop did not commit his fablcs to writing,
and wen if hc did, they are now lost. The collcction made
by Demetrius of Phalenrm (345-283B.C.) is alro lost. The
carliest collection Dow extant ir that of Babrius who
turn€d the febler iato choliombics in the early part of the
3rd ccntury A.C. This war dircovered by Mynas at Mt.
Athot in l8Z A.C. There is every possibilityfor Barbrius
to have become acquainted with the Indian fables. From
tbc cnd of the 4th ccDtury B.C, there were frequent
journeys bctwccn Grcek dominions in the East end
adjoining parts of lndiawhich were then Buddhist. After
the invarion of India by Nexander the Grcat, Dutncrout
Buddhist tales must harrc reacbed Greecc. The Greeks
may also have brought with them a few isolated tales
prevdent in their country. There is eviry possibility of
their carrying home a larger number of fables than the
number they introduced to India. Thus, the poetical
versions of fables prererved in Babrius' collection could
be of Buddhist origin, The fablcs of Babriug are said to
have been translated to Latin by Phacdrus probably in
the 4th century A.C. In the l4th century Planudes, a
monk from Constantinople, wrote a work which hc
called e collection of Aesop's fables. It is quite appsrent
that by this time the tndian fables \pere current in the
west, for the firrt Greek version eppeared in l0E0 A.C.
and Planud$ mult have copiously drawn material from
numeroun versions that appeared beforc his time. Thus, it
is evident that the fables commonly attributed to Aesop
in fact are of lndian origin.
Jurt as the Buddhist did, so did the Christians too, use
therse tales for the purpore of moral instruction. The
Gcsta Romaaotam, a Latin collection of tales compiled
about the cnd of the l3th or thc beginning of the l4th
century, which ir lergely indebted to Buddhist sources,
war profusely used for this purpose.
Buddhist tales were also carried to the eastern parts of
Europe such as Russia and Hungary by the Mongolians
under Genghis Khan. [n these countries thesc tales
underwrnt ccrtain changes. Yet thesc changes do not
completely conccal their Indian origin.
The fitaka is the repository of Buddhist fablcs. The
fables that are found in it show the depth of insight of
thore who closely observed animal life and employed
animd characteristics and behaviour to inculcate a moral
lesson for the human beings. They noticed a close
resamblance between human life and animal life and this
madc it easy for them to attribute human characteristics
ruch as rpeech to animals. When inventing fables they
 FA8I,F,S
l'rrrari:rd t h e a r r ; : r i * i r r a c e n l p l e t e l yt h a t t h e a n i m a l s
,l-.. their ratLirsi trailx Thig was possiblc becauge
a-Driileis forsr*d e gert and parcel of their own day to day
i:ie. la thr fal"ies oi the qrs(, of course, rhough animals
act q,r hunnn bcings" usually tbe"vretain thcir natural
trnits. Thrs, tcc. hints ai the secondary nalure of the
f*hler of lhe west.
T l : e p ' r w r r o f t - r b s t r v Ei ol n o i t h e e a r i y l n i j i l n f n b u l i s t s
tr shown by t!:r elrver selee:lionof animaiswhaseintrinsic
traits weie r;,artr ln ilrrgr:sg with thc human charac-
terirtics ettrjbutcd ic iLrii). A vast ra:rge of animals
Eppearas ciraractersir the fabies.Of the wild animals the
most frequcntlv mentii,.rredare the elephant,the lion, the
tiger, the beai" tire monkey, the jackal, the stag, the deer
and tbe Coe. [iccusionaily the snake and the mongoose
are referred to {seejataka No. 165).Among the domesti-
cated animds thc frequently mentioncd are thc ass, the
h o r s e , t h e o x , t h e p i g n n d e1 ' q ni h e d o g . i s e ej a t a k a N o .
27). Even the cat is not overlooked for, the Babbu jataka
( N o . 1 3 7 )r c l a t e sh o w t h e c a t w e $o u t w i t t e d b y t h e m o u s e ,
The Munika jitaka(No. :l0i is a taie abour the ox who in
vain cnvied the fatted pig wbicb was being well fed only to
be killed at the end (seealso No, 286).
Birdr, too, are often employd as main charecters in
fables, Thc peacock, the swan, the woodpecker, and the
parrot are mentioned ofter:. The owl is also referred to
though rarely (Jitata No. 226). The partridge and the
quail are ofttn mentioned. Tbe Vattakajitaka(No. Il8)
narrates how a quail, when caugbt by a fowler, star''/ed
until it was so emansieted that people refused to brry it.
Tbe S*unegghfra,ka (No. 168) reiates how a quail beat
a falcon by kecping to its own ground, The crow and the
c r a n e e p p e a r i n a n u m b e r o f f a b l e s .E v e n t h e f i s h , t h e
o t t e r , t h e t o r t o i s e a n d t h e c r o c o d i l e d i d n o t e s c a p et h e
sharp eyes of the tndian fabulist.
From among tie numerous animals, the fabulists have
selecteda few to whom are attributed particular modes of
conduct which appear to be the most prominent features
of their character3. Thus, dignity and cleanlinessis e
marked quality of the lion. The S-ukara jitaka (No. 153)
illustrates how a lion through dignity and cleanliness
refuses to fight e boar besmearedwith filth but instead
*isbes to accept defeat. The crow is often mentioned for
I t s g r e e d i n e s s( s e e N o n . 4 2 , 2 M , 2 7 5 , 3 9 5 , 4 3 4 ) . T h e
jackal's prominent quality is cunning (sec,Nos. 128,129,
400), and foolishness and heughtiness are attributes of
the monkey (seeNos. 46, 116,268, 178,404).The hare is
known for its timidity (Daddabha jitaka, No. 322).
Often, good qualitiec such as gentlenessand self-sacrifice
are attributed to the deer and the swan (seeNor. 12,533).
Yet, these animals are not represented as stercotyped
characters, for, the Indian fabulicts heve not failed to
obserrc airo the diversity that prevails among animals of
the same kind as emong different individuals. Thus, the
198 FABLES
crows are klown also for their unity (see No. 46). The
jackal is not always bent on harming othen. Thougb in
one place (No, 397)it is narrated how a lion ir enticedby a
jackal, in another place(N o, 157)it is narrated how a lion
is saved by a jackal. Tbey are not alweys ruccessful in
outwitting cthers for they themselvesare rt times out-
witted (see I.{o. 437) and at times they mect with
dcctruction due to their vain pride (No. 143). All the
monkeys are neither foolish nor naughty. At timers
monkeys act very wisely (sec l.{os. 20, 177) and outwit
crocodiles (seeNoa. 57,208). The MahikapiTite*a(No,
407) narrates how a monkey acts in an exdted tDanner
and saves the livcs of tbe rest,
Buddhist fables are mainly meant to illustrate the evil
results of excessive passion, ettachment, greed, vrirt
conceit, and such other human weaknesser. Thus, a lion
dies becauseof his love for a doe (No. 93); a young jackal
meets with untimely death because of hia love for a
lioness(No. 152). Becauseof excessiveattachment to hir
dwelling place a tortise is destroyed (No. 178). Greed ir
the causeof great misery, Numeroug fables illustrate the
fate that befalls the greedycrows (Nor. 42,271,395,434).
Through vain conceit a jackal briags about itr owu
destruction (No.l43); a similar fate befalls the bjetle
which challenges the elephant (No, 221). The Vir*e
,yEta.ka(No. 204) relates how a crow mct with ir death as a
result of vain conceit. Telkativensesr ir enotber commoD
human weaknesc that brings about evil consequencer.
Thc Xsc€fi apa jiuka (No. 215) narrates how a tortise
died through being unable to guard its mouth. Iu thc
Kokalika jirata (No. 331) there is a short fable about a
younB cuckoo which by uttering a cry-at the improper
time war attacked by the crows, Tbe Sihaamma jiUka
(No. I 89) nerretc! how the asr dressedin lionrkin betnys
itself by its bray (see elso Nos. 172, lt8). Thc Nacca
jit*a (ttlo. 32) is meant to illurtrate the lors that rccruer
to a person who is devoid of any rense of lh"me and fcar
of censure.
There ere a numbcr of fables which illustrate the value
of true friends. The Mahi-ukkwa jiak" (No. 486)
relates how a lion, a tortise and an osprey jointly rtrived
to save the young hawks. Tbe Kutt'nga-migafitaka(No.
fr6) na;r*es how a deer wes saved by a tortoise and e
woodpecker from a hunter! trap. The Abh;lht jtt*t
(No. 27) shows the closc dnd affectionstc friendlhip that
existed betwcen an clephant and a dog, Numeroul ere the
fables employed to illustrete the proverbid raying thet
unity is rtrength. One of the fabler rhowr how the quailg
when united fly off carrying the fowlert nct and when
disunited fell into the hands of the fowler (see'No. 33),
Tbe Rukkha4hammajifa.ka(No. 74) too, pointr out the
rame moral. But the characten in it are inenimate
objects, namely trees. Presumably, it is in order to include
this type of tales under the category of febles that the
 FABLES
dslinition of frbk in the Ercyclop*dit Britaania(loc.
cit), nyr thrr r fabk crn hevc beingr irrational and
inrnirmte rf itf chrrrtcn,
Intcrcrting uc the frbler which extol the actr of self-
rrrlilice curicd out by rnimrb, Thcy rre so forcefully
Drrrtcd thu tbey becomcquite crpable of inlluencing
tbc rnindr of the devout Buddhirt. The Nigrodhtabe
(No. 12) ir rn cxtremcly touching feble of thir
ftt*t
kind. Not only tbe dccr, but r firh (No. 73) rnd a monkey
(407),too, rtriv: to nvc tbeh tinrfoll rt thc rirl of their
owDlivet.
Tbc frblc mertrt to erpos? ad ridieub tbe importon
rnd hypocritel rrc, rho, equally intererting. The
M*ktt jatrtr (No. 173:.see dro 250)rclater tbc talc of
r moakcy thrr clothcd irclf in ucctic gerb rnd trhd to
cotcr r hut in order to revc ibelf from the biting coH . The
Bifrnfit*t (No. l2t) ir a much more intercting fable
rbouf e jrckd which prcrcntedto bc e grint fs1 the role
purpofc of dcvouring thc ntr. Thc Agtikt yite.ka (No.
129) i! r rimilrr fable which not only ridiculer tbe
importcn but rlro ratirizct the brrhmin uccticr. Tbe
frblc rbout thc ur in lionrtin dro rhowr the mirerable
frte tbet Hrlb rn importer (No. lt9; rce rcrtoB*t
jtab No.3t).
Therc ere e numbcr of feble.rin which both enimdr
rnd men rppcrr rr cberrctcrr. A number of tbcre are
norc lilc fdry tdc withmrrvtllour end fenciful incirJentr
normrlly not found in frbler (rcc Nor. 73,U1,.t3t, f84
5l6). Of thercroEG rra rolcly for the purporc of exporing
tbc cvil nrlurc of humrn bcingr. Thir if rccompfirhcd by
coatnrting tbc vile nat_ureof mrn with thc good quditia
fouad in bcrru.lhe Silnr,a1gr,ffrrta(No.72) ir rbout
ra ungrueful mu *to rcelr to hrrm thc kiad elepbant
rhrr on rrrrd hlr tile. Tbc Srez,hkin jZt*a(No. 73)
illrutrrtcr in contnrt thc Fttitude of arn*e, I rlt ud a
prrrot rnd tbc ingrrtitrrde of e prince. T}c Tininjlt*a
erpotcr thevile nrturc of mcn ed extolr the good nrturc
of bcuu.
Buddhirt litenturc ir rich ia febler. Yct ell fabler are
not cquelly intererting nor rrc tbey rptly uscd.Tbere are
e numbcr of frbler which do not hrw mrch of e rtory
vrlue. (Sce for slrrnplc Nor. 75, 173, 250,430). The
rptDcrr of thc f$lc rcleaed rccmr to heve dapeaded
oottly on thc powcr of dircriminrtion of tbc pcnon who
urcd tbc frblc. Tbe Buddhr sr well u hir dircipler largely
drcr mrlcriel from thc feblc literature currcnt st the
timc. Tbc fablcr thur drrwn wcrc not dwayr uccd to
insukere tbc mord hrsonr tbcy reelly rttcmpt to terch.
Tbe B*aj7a.kr (No. 3t) prov* thir frct. This jitake is
l. SccC.A.F.RhyrDridt,BuddhbtPtychologicdEthiq,gp.ltlfn-2,1%,228;CompdiuaofPffiosophy,thcIZIS.rnl.
of tbc Abhk bmnthutitgth4 p. lTlft. ud BD. rrv. Frcultier rnd lndriyr
199 FACULTIES
relrted to illurtratethe previousbirth of a monk who was
rn cxpert in roba.teiloring rnd wbo ured to cheatotbcrs
by cxcbangingwith tbem robesmrde of regsfor brrnd
new cloth. The B*a jire.ka is an intercrting feble mernt
for the purpole of exposingthc importer who seels to
eern onet living by pretcndingto be a saint. There is
hardly any rimilarity betweenthe conductof tbe monk's
life and that of hir prcviousbirth.
Someof the fablesarerepeated,sometima with slight
modifications. (see,Nos.44,45; 128,129;172,188;173,
250;30,2E61.294,295). Whetherthesemodificationsare
thc work of Buddhist monkr is not quite clcar. Thc
modificetionr brought about are !o inrignificant and
uninterestingthet they do not, however, rewal the
ingenuity of tbc modificaton.
As mentioncdearlicrfabler do occurin other partr of
the Cenon. In most of theseoocurrcncesthedividing line
bctwecnthc fablc and parable ir not quite clear. The
Cariyipit*a, the last book of the Khudd*a Nikiya,
contrias a numbcr of fables pcrhapr rdopted from tbc
jitaka collection. Thcsc sre purporcly nerrated to illus-
trate the cnltivetion of p-nmiti (pcrfecrion) by tbe
bodhisattva.Though the didrctic vduc of thcrefabler are
not totelly lost otherrentimcntrruch ar homour, pathos
etc. are not propcrly expressed.Hcnca thair ability to
rouse feelingsin the reader is drasticrlly rcduccd. (See
dro ANALOGIES; JATAKA).
Bb$ogrryhp Beridesthc workr referredto in rhebody of
the uticle rce dto, T. W. Rhyr Davidt, Buddhist Birth
Stories;Colleaed Wqk of Mtx MdIIer,IV, pp.4l3-E9.
F. Edgerton, The Panchattntra Recoa,ttructcd,ll;
Theodor Benfey, Paatschataatra1., F. Anton Ven
Schicfnerend W. R. S. Relston, Tibetea le.lcs,London,
IEE2.
S. K. Nrryrffrn
FAC{ILIIES. The word faculty along with terms ruch rs
controlling powcr, controlling force or principh ir used
to render into Englirh the Pali (and aho Sanskrit) word
iadriya.r Thir word has the followiag dilferent eppli-
cations: (a) with references to sente perceptibility; (b)
with refercncc to objective alpccts of form and metter
(kind, characterirtic, dctcrmining principh, sigp" mErk
and ro on; (c) with refercncc to mood of rcasation; (d)
 FACTJLTIES
with refarencc to mora! power or motiver controlling
rctiou rnd (e) with reference to cognition and inrightz.
There fecultiac whicb are twenty two in number are either
phyrical or mental or both physical and mental,
(l) Eyc (c*khu), (2) Eer (sota), (3) Nore (ghina),(4)
Tongue (jivhi) and, (5) Body (kiya) arc cetegorired as
sensoriel facultics and collectively refcrred to as the fiw
senrc faculties (paf,ciadirya). To this is rometimcc added
the (6) Mind (meno,) making it e group of six. (7)
(itthindriya)
Femininity and (8) Merculinity (puris-
indriyr)refer to tbe nature ofrexual characteristic ofthe
body. (9) Life or Vitality (Tvitiadriy) mey be either
phyrical or mental, a doctrinel development peculiar to
Therav-ada Buddhicm. (10) Pleasure (St*h-o),(l l) Pain
(dukkh-o), (12) Joy (somana6sa-o), (13) Grief
( d o a t aassa -" ), (l 4) hed onic id iffe rence (upck kh - o) re
groupcd under the category of moods of searation. (I5)
Futh (saddh-"), (16) Energy (viriy-o), (17) mindflia43
(sac-o), (18) Concentration (samadh-o), (19) wisdom
(pafrf,*"), are five spiritual facultier dirtinguished from
tbe corresponding group of five powen (pef,cabala),tbe;t
rcpre$nt the firmnegs of these five rpiritual faculties (see
BALA). (20) the thought, I shall come to know the
unknown (anaflfritafr-f,assiaiti-"), (21) gnosis
(rfifro) finally (22) one who knowr (afrfriun-o)
ue
descriH as three ruper mundene faculties; no. 20 arising
et the rnoment of entering the path of a strcam entrant
$otipatti-magga);no.2l arising on reaching the fruition
of sotipattistage end the last, the faculty no.22 arising at
the attainment of arahantship.
The following is a discursion of the five spiritual
faculticc. (For more details on faculties rce tNDRIYd
SENSE ORGANS). The group of five moral facu.ltiesor
powers (i.e. Nos. 15-19 above) emerging from the
emotionel and intellectual life of a person are to be
utilised for the regulation of the religious life of a
Buddhist. Thesc in due course acquire sufficient strength
(bale) to bring about the attainment of the goal of
nirvane which is intended by such a course of living.
These live faculties are confidence or faith (saddhi),
energy (viriya), mindfulness (sati), concentration
(samilhi) and wisdom (pafrfri) In the canonical. lite-
r r t u r e ( e . 9 .D . l I , p . 1 2 0 ;^ 9 .I I I , p p . 9 6 ; I 5 3 ; A . L V , 2 0 3 : P s .
II,86 etc.) they very often occur as the fourth ofseven
groups of 37 factors that lead to Enlightenment or bodhi
(bodhi-pakkhiyi dhammi), which is the sumum bonum
of dl Buddhist treining. As these37 factors comprise the
vitsl elements of the Buddha's teaching as edmitted by
the Buddha himself when he refers to them as the
" D h a m m a p r e a c h e d c o m p r e h e n s i v e l yb y h i m " ( S , I I I ,
p,96),they have beencorrectly designatedby the technical
2. See PED. s,v. lndriva
200 FACTJLTIES
rerm bodhip*khiSn dhammZ (q.v.) in leter literature.
ADd it ir from the point of view of thesc requirites of
Enlightenment that the five faculticc dso ersume signi-
ficence in tbc ethicd life of the Buddhist. Accordingly,
their mention in rcriptures is very often in the coDtext of
tbese37 (e.g. S. IIt, 153;365fn.; A.LY,203 etc.) which are
compared to gcmr in the ocean of the Buddhist rystem of
training (dhamaa-uiaaya) propounded by the Buddha
(/. IV, 203). And their announccmcnt, exposition,
classilication etc. are declared as the most excellent kind
of preaching (dcsana-aq(a Ps.It, 86),
The role playgd by each of there five faculties in
Buddhirt psychological ethics is explained inthe Indiy
Samyutta of the Se.oyutta nikiya(S. V, 196). According
to thi! explanation thc first faculty, viz. seddhi, should
be understood and eveluated fundamcntally from tbc
point of view of the four constituents of ltresm winning
(cetususotipaniyehgesu)which are (es given at.9. III, p.
69 fn.): unrwerving futh (aveccappasidQ in (i) the
Buddhq (ii) Dhammq (iii) Sangba rnd (iv) the porsession
of the virtuer loved by the nobles oaes (ariyakentehi silehi
saaaaaigato hoti). This meens that unrhakable con.
fidence in the Buddhist method of salvation constituter
one of the characteristics of one'8 entry into the peth of
salvation (sotipetti). [n otherwords, when rperson gainr
the conviction that the Buddhist method is the only
comprehenrive rolution to the problem of existenct,
there arises in him a firm conlidence about its efficacy
resulting in the unswerving frith in the teacher, in bi!
messageand in the lives of those who lived accordingly
i.e., the Buddha, Dhnmma and the Sangha. This givel
him e clear and I sterdy mind, not dlowing it to reek
other systemsof thought to guide him. It is irnportant to
note that without thir kind of. saddhi the mind of man
inclines not towards wholesome activity (kusala-kamma)
for, its natural tendencyis to seeksensualenjoyment and
not for its control and sublimation. Thus, as a result of
this confidence, he lives e life of ethical purity which is thc
fourth characteristic mentioned above. By way of further
clerification the commentary (.9.,{,IIl, 233) explainr that
the faculty of confidence (saddhindriye), ivhich hu
clarity of intent es its main cheracteristic (adhimokkhal.
akkhanam saddhindriyan) ascumer seniority and thc
leading role (ietthakam hoti pubbahgamam)in bringiDs
about the fourfold characteristics associatedwith strerm-
entry (sotaprra). Thi! metns that in acquiring the four
characteristics of stream-cntry the faculty of sadhireigu
supreme. Tbe other f.our indriyas'are a.ssociatedwilh il
(sesini tadanvayini honti: ibid.). A more generd
definition of this faculty as given in the sutta thet followr
(.S.V, 1964) is that it is the unwavering confidence in thc
 FACULTIES
Buddha who posresser the nine celebrated qualities
enumerated in the formula ltipi so bhagevi...-
The second faculty of energy (uiiya)h,as been defined
in relation to the four right efforts (cattiro
sammappadhiai/which summarily rcprerenr thc kind of
effort expected from one who follows the Buddhist
method of ralvetion. (For details see EXERTION),
Thece four are (i) preventing the ariring of evil and
unskilled states of mind that have not yet ariscn; (ii)
ebandoning those unskilled states of mind that haw
already arioen; (iii) production of good and wholesome
stater of mind tbat havc not yet erhsn and (iv) the
development and bringing into perfection the good and
wholerome !trte! of mind tbat have alrerdy arisen (M. [I,
ll; S. V,2A etc.). Excrtion is girrcn as the mnin
cheracterictic of thir feculty (pagghalakkhanam
uiriyiadriyaa.' ^54. ltl, 233), which in the fourfold
cultivation jurt enumerated, assume! retroirity and the
leeding rcle (etth*em
hoti pubbahgaana/. This feculty
rcprcrcnt! the dirappesrance of sloth and torpor and the
appearatrceof enthusiesm and vigour. It should operotc
both physically end mcntdly, A oore general definition
of thir frculty given iu the reme Stmyuta (5. V, 195 f.)
explrins it ar the disciplel relentleu effort for the
eliminrtion of the unskilled rtatct (ekusafraam
dbaamiata pftiniyly' ead for the development of the
rlilled rtatcr (&use/ia tm dhnntn-aaam upastm p diya)
The feculty of mindfulness (sati-indriya) arsumes the
predominant role in the four-fold epplication of mind-
f ulners (c attaro satip atthani/ w hich rc present! the en tire
mind culture cxpccted in Buddhirm. There four conrict of
thc development of mindfulnesr regarding (i) the body,
(ii) fcclingr, (iii) mind and (iv) mind-objects. It is through
the constant practicc and development of thesc four that
thc unsettlcd neture and turbulence of thc mind can be
dispelled end correct ialight developcd, There four ere
given rr weiting ugoa (upattfina) tbe rcligeux in hi!
religious cxercilcs (Sd. III, 233) usuming the lcading
role in his attempts at gaining mindfulncss. Thb faculty
too ir more teDerrlly defiaed e! thc porreslion of the
highest echievement regarding mindfulners (partmcna
satiaeptkkeae/ including the ebility to remember and
recall to hir mind \rhst he hrd srid and done cvcn long
rso (S. v. llX f).
Tbe fourth feculty, thet of conctntrrtion, which dirpelr
the dcrtractions of the mind, llsumer the predominent
role in the practicc of thc four trencet (hana) througb
which eight formr (i.e., rtages) of emancipetion equani-
mity (Vimokkha s.v.)ue ltated to be atteiaeble. Mentel
cdmaerr equraimity (avikkhepj ir given as the mrin
charrtcrirtic of thir faculty, which in realising thor
eight strger of emancipetion through the.,;benas,a.ssumer
thc leading role in thc sphere of all forms of right
201 FACULTIES
concentration (sammi samadhi) The general definition
applied to this faculty (S. V, t96 f) is thar it is the
concen tration of one I mind (ci a as a ek agztam )obtained
through relinquishing the object of tbought (vossagga-
irammaaam karitvi) for the purpmc of attaining the
goal of tiiUbana (NibbCniramnanam katvi 5.,{. fif . p.
231.).
The lifth faculty, tbat of wisdom, formr the pre .ri-
nant factor in the reeligation of the Four Noble Truthr
thereby assuming the leading role in undentanding tbc
Truth. lt dispcls confurion and lcthargy^This faculry is
defined also es the endowment of noble iorigbt which is
capable of tracing tbe procers of coming into being and
parsing away and which is penetrating and leading to the
perfect destruction of lorrow (udayatthagimiaiyi
pafrfr-aya samtnnigato ariyiya nibbedhikiya saaaZ
dukkhtkkhaygfiminiyi, S. V., l9?).
The commentory (,SA. ltl, 233) rayr thet thir distri-
bution of faculties in the different prycho-ethical
categorier rhows the ruprcmtcy of each feculty over its
own field, during e particulrr phe.rc of religiour devclop
ment. One whore religious endeavourr rre controlld sDd
guidcd by therc fasulticr continuourly ir bound to
ecticve the god of Buddhirr religious life by achieving
releese and EnlighteDmcDt, becaure hir activitier would
be Nibbana-oriented. By cultivating end making much of
rhete ( bbiv itatti, b ahuli krtttti) rbe rcligeux anachieve
release in this very lifc by putting an end to hir inllurcs
(-asava:S. V. 203; 220 etc.). By their developmcnt he cen
declare gnosis Gf,f,am vyZkaroti) giving wnt to tbe
frmour declaration "destroyed ir rebirth, lived ir the
higber life, done is what rhould be done, there is no
further tedencier to bring me back to ryprin ftio:
jZ ti, vwi um braha ac ariyem kataa k erl,ajj u aipuin
itthattiy-''ti ptjinimi S. V. pp.' nZ; 2il).'Diligenc;
(rypamida) is given ar the one conditi on (ekadhamaa)
being establiched in which there faculties could bccome
welldeveloped (ruDiivita: S. V. Z3Z). Therefore one
rhould be extremely diUgent regarding tbeir continuous
development if the detired rerultr ue to be obteing6.
Thcy inveriebly leed to the ttstc of to
\rthleuners,
tranquility end En glightenment ( u pts aa.aud sa b od hi
ibid,). One can achieve tbat unique freedom from all
bondr (enuttaraa yog*eharea/thror'gh ruch cultivation
(ibid. 234). In tbe rucceeding luttu of rhc Samyutta-
nikiyethis leme idca of the attainmeut of emeacipation
through their practice is exprerrcd in vrriotu ways i.c. rs
lerding to the abondoning of fetterr (nmyojanl, to the
destruction of the influxet (is*a)etc. Their flltivrrion is
invariably bouad to lead to nibbine like thc flow of the
river Ganger towerdr the Eart (ibid. 239).
It rpould bc ureful to mate rrferrnct to a few of thc
epitbets tbat occur frequently in the rtock descriptions of
 FA{ LTLTIES
faculties as found in the Nikayas. One such frequent
combination is "essociated with detachment (viveka-
nissita),with dis prssion ( viriga)wi th ccssation ( ai rodh o)
and ending in renuncietian (vosstgga-pariaami). lt it
important to noie that theseepithets exprccr the generel
characteristics of Budd hist religio us practicc, app licablc
in many other conlexts of similar nature e.g. five Bowcrg
(bate), geven facton of EnlightenmeDt (bojjhehgas)s.v.
the Eightfold Path etc. (ibid).
The der elopment of the five fgculties is never barren of
'fhe
results. earnert student achievescomplete or pErtial
successdepending on ihe degreeof his efforts (5. V. p. 200
f,). And it is also said (cf. p.202) that he in whom thesc
'en
controllinB faculties are totally abrent is celled
outsider. o n e o f t h e m a n i f o l d ( > o n e e m o n g lhe
w o r ld I in gs; bih ir * o p u t h ujj an epa k* IE thi to) " implying
that sucb l penon'3 religious developmenl is at zcro.
ln a discourse ettributed to Siriputta and approved by
the Buddha (ibid. pp. 225 f.), it is rbown how in tbe crse of
the energetic disciple the development of one feculty
leads on to that of the next. Accordingly, when the
disciple har seddia he nrturelly mekes en elTort to free
himself from all unwholesome tendencier in him
1'ak usalE n arT d h amaEn n rn p ah inly a) and t o d evelop t he
w hohro me tend encies (k usali a am d h tmm r.n, T up astm-
ptdiyr). Endowed thus with srddtiand uiriyahecomet
to polrelr the highrrst maturity of mindfulnan (penment
stiacp*kcnr,) that is capeblc of recollecting cvcn what
wrs rrid urd done loug long ago. Tbir ir followcd by
conc'entrrtion (smldhi) gving risc to insight (pilfr)
cnabling him to see all thc facts ebout existencc end
emancipation in their truc Deturc,
Those who heve not reelired them through pcnonal
expcriencc bevc to heve faith ia olherr es rcgerdr thcir
vdidity. But once rll the livc ere fully. devcloped end
penonelfy reelired in practicc, the rcligsux feelr that
those terchngs (dhammil which he had known from
othen earlier trc now known to him through penonal
experiencr. Thc dircourse No. 53 (ibid, p.229)dso mekes
r distinaion bctw"en intelhctual perception and pcrronal
rediration of the faculties by dlocati4 the former kind
of knowledge to tbe learner (sckha)nd the lettcr kind to
the edept (ase*ht). As their perronel realisation tekes
one above the world they are celled transcendental
terchings (lokuttori dhaatmi: Ps. l, p. 650) which the
Tethageta hes preechcd for tbe good of the world (D. Il,
p.120).
Just ar a hen cannot produce chickcns out of her eggs
merely by wishing thet chicks should come out of thcm
but bas to hetch tbem well, in the rame lf,ry the rcligeux
bas to eD8r8! himself diligently in thcirdewlopment for
the rchievement of thc desired aim. A mere wirh thet hir
mi-nd be freed from the influxer (anve)wtllnot produce
r c s u l r ! ( . S .l l l , p , 1 5 3 ;A . [ v , p . 1 2 5f . ) .
202 FACULTIES
The degree and the speed of a person's sucoelsin the
realisation of the ideal depends on the severity of his
defilements and the keennescof his feculties ( Ylsm. p.87).
The penon whose defilements are acute (tibba-kilesa)
snd the faculties dull (nudundriya) spiritual progress
(paftpadi) is difficult to achieve (dukkhQ and direct
knowledgc sluggirh (dandhi ca abhif,f,i) but if his
faculties are rharp direct knowledge would be swift, Even
if his defilements ere not to acute he would take a long
and diflicult period to realise thc aim if the faculti?! ate
not sharp. This rhows that if the faculties ere rharp his
successis assuredwhatever be the degreeof tbe rcverity of
hir defilemcnts.
An important feature regerding this doctrine of facul-
ties in the ncccrsity of maintaining a balancc among them
(iadriysamattaptipideaa: Vsn p. 129t,). A singh faanlty
should not be ellowed to be rpecidly rtrong at the
expcnlc of another. For instencc, if saddhi becomes
rtrong and the otbcrr weal thcrc others would be unablc
to perform their functions properly. Thcreforc it tbould
be modified ro that the rcligeux would not become
oyercome with devotion a! wut the crre with venenble
V*krli who rcmained parsionately dcvoted to the
Buddha without maling thc requirite religiour effortr.
tt ir elso said (ibid, p, 129f,) that the bdrncing of
seddti with p fi 67 ud raaidlr wi th vi riy a ue of rpeciel
importancc. One strong n tddhl and weel in pailfri
could polrctt hit stddhi uncriticdly rnd ground-
lerrly. One rtrong b pdfrZ ead wcat in saddhi could
becomc e cunning individurl rnd bc difficult of curing
"lile a perron ruflering from e direere caured by
medicine." lt it by balancing thc two (ubhiantT
stmttayt)thrt legitimete sddhl couH bc dcvclopcd. lt
ir dro raid thet wfuga srrrlidtr'ir rtrong end uhye we*
there rcrults lezincr (kossajja) r;nd whcn viriyt ir rtrong
with wcak rl.mlrd,hitberc rcrultr rgitetioa or excitenment
(uddhaca).It i! by bdeocingthe two thrt true ebrorplion
Qppul) ir pouible. lt ir further ctrted thrt in all these
inrtanccs ltroDg mindfulness (stti) b csrcntid for it
protects the mind from hpring into rgitrtion, illcaesr
ctc. It regulates end controls tbe mind without ellowing it
to go rstrry. Therrfore it ir derinble in dl inltrncc! rt i
seeroning of sdt in reuccs or l! t primc minirter in dl
king's businers for it hrs been declared rs rppliceble
everywhere (sabfutthika) by the Tathigete.
Although the five faculties are treated together, the
faculty of pafrf,-a es thc underlying principle or the
psychological ultimate of evrry form of knowledge,
naturelly gei's Preccdence over the othen. Tbus the
Buddharayr(^S. V. p.222) tbat by thedev:lbpmcnt of this
one faculty oDGcetr declrre gaoris by meling the famouc
declaretion "destroyed ir rebirth....'ctc. referrr{ to
eerlier. ln such s pcnon the other four fecultics er€
esteblirhed rs a matler of course. The fanrlty of. pafrfriis
 FACULTIES
regarded as chief of ell the 37 Faaors of Enlightenmcnt
just as the lion is regarded as the king of bearts (S. V, p.
227 f .). This faculty is slso referred to as (ibid. p. 228 f.),
noble insigbt (ariytfraaa) in the sensc of the inruitive
virion that the Buddhiit theory of snlvarion is rhe only
ultimete solution to the problem of life. Once rhis
knowledge has arisen the other four facultier automati-
cally become estabfisbed. Ariya-flana in this sense is
compared to the peak or the ridge pole or the main beem
(ku!t) thst meker the twin roof-beams (gopZassi) of e
gabled houre GntigtrQ stable (ibid.). Uke rhe tfrre that
holds the entire roof intact it is the ariya-friie that
promotes thc dirciplc! progress elong the correct path.
Thougb ell the five facultiel ue factors (padini) that
conducc to Enlightenment (bodhi), the factlty of ptf,f,i
iJ reckoned chief emong them (tesam tggn)
ar the
elephantb foot print is the largert among the fooiprints of
dl tbe jungle crarurer (ibid. p. 231) or as the red-
ruddwood (lohita<aadane,) ir regarded e! the bert of
trcer in ladia (ibid p.237)
It rhould bc mentioned hsre that these rame five
feculticr are dro treated e! po\rerr (bda) among the 37
Fectorr 6l f,ngtightcnmcnt. Thir dual reckoning of the
rrnc rct of prycbologicd rtata is donc by treating them
from two differcat englcr. By the time these faculties
rcquire the aecauary rtrcngth (iddUye to ovrrpor*rr
rnd errdicrte thcir opporita, viz. ficllenus of faith,
incrtir, lrct of meotd dcrtneu end coaccntretion, and
frct ofjudgemcat rnd dircarument (tsttddhiSa - kostjia
- ptaHt - viLLhcpt rnrrlmohr,aara tbhibhutnato...
Yba. p.679) rnd rlro be Dot o_verpowcrcd by them
(tnddhittdihi ct ntbhibhavuiytto * rlmp iytttfu a t
bdn., ibid.) tbey come to bc 6llcd bah (tatmi
ptfrciddhiytai b.Lai ti nrccaati, ibid.). In thir manncr
the fivc bdrr rrc rcleted to the five frcuhie! (,S . ItI,
2A7). They rrc ia fect, prerented u hrviag e rcciprocal
rclrtionrhip. It i! importent to ncntion here thet the
Buddbr hirnrclf crpleiur thb, reckoning by meanr of r
rimilc(S. V, p.2l9f.). lf eriver,flowingrowardl the Earr
hu rn irland in the mildlc the wilcrr to the Erstern and
thc lVqtera rider of thc irhnd rrc trerted ar those of e
ringle river while thorc on the Norther rnd Southern
rider re regrrded r thorc of two rtreemr.
Thir conccpt of mord fecultier b found in the Bddhist
Senrlsig tradition es well(MivyttlgT6fI.
Suttz.l XV, iii,
55,Dhtag.47). Tbeir eignificance 8! mern! to Ealighten-
mcnt ir rdmitted in tbc Lalitauistare (LaI.p.24) wherc
tbcy are enumerated in a list of Doctrines that hetp one to
l. AR*ordoftheDuddhbtCountia,ulnrlatedfromthcChinerebyLiYung-hri,Petingl957,Foreword,p.6(rbbrwirtod
hcrcafter s RBC)
2- RDC. p. 5f.
3. Ibid. p. 7f.
203 FA.HSIEN
gain admisrion into 'the light of the Doctrine' (Dnar-
malokamukhai.
A- G. S. Krrlyrwram
FA-IISIEN. The informarion{urnirhed by Fa-hrien in
his travel account entitled, ,A Recotd of the Buddhist
Countries'occupiera unique place ar I louroe for the
study of Buddhirt hirtory in the countricr he virited
during hir arduousjourney to Indil and bacl home to
China, [t alro giver ur valuabtcinformetion on rociel,
economic, cultural, edminirtretiv?, gcogrephicrl ssd
climatic conditionr of thc oouDtricswhich he virited. In
all he had virited tbirty countricr. Frhricn approrched
the task of writing his travel rocoun$ witbout meking
velue judgemcDt!; hir mein purporc wN! to rcport wbat
bc raw and herrd.
Fr-hsisn wg not thc fint rravelterto virit Indie in
leercb of Buddhirt teechingl. Buddhirm wrs introducrd
into China, according to Chinerc hirtoricel tredition,
during thc reign of Empcror Ming (A.C. 58-7j) of tbe
later Hrn dyna^rty.tTrrde router whicb conncctcdEr.rt
Asie with the wert hclpedpromote Buddhirt mirrionrry
rctivitier from very early timer. The wrngelizing zeal
with whichdcdicatcdIndien moalr proprgrted Buddhirm
in the cert ceured rippler in Chinerc rcligiour lifc. One
rEsroDwar undoubtedly,the miuionrry Etivitb of King
Kenirhta The movcment of prlsrimr from the rccond
century A.C. betwesn Indir rad Chinr rcrulted in thc
introduction of thc crnonicd woilr to Chinr. Ln thc
eerliert phrle, mort of the crnonicd worlr rcecheti
Ching tbrough the Ccntrrl Arirn kiagdomr end not
directly from India. tn fac! the rprerd of Buddhirm to
Centrd Asie took plu during the teign of Emperor
Asoka (272-232B.C.;,z
The Chinerc monls who werc intot on rtudying
Buddhirm thoroughly werenot coDtcntwith the numbcr
of workr rvailable tt thc timc. Thir mrde them go to
lndie in scarchof more book"r.The Chincrc moakr rlro
felt the needfor rdditionrl monutic nrlcr for the rceron
thrt the dirciplinary conduc{ rmong tbcm wu not
satisfactory. Monrrtic dirciplinc deteriordcd u tbc
Buddhirt monks in Chinr tcpt on incrcuing in numbcr
thercbyporing frcrh irsues.:
Fa-hsien whore rcular name wrr Kung cntered the
Order et the ege of three. He wu I netivt of Wu-yang
 FA-HSIEN
country in the prefecture of Plng-Yang. It ir laid that he
wa.sailing badly whenever he wes at home and kept good
health whencver he was et thc monastery. Thur he scldom
went back home. After the death of his parents, when he
reached maturity at the age of twenty, he received the
Higher Ordination.'
Fa-hsien was extrcmely mindful of thc disciplinary
conduct of Buddhist monks in Cbina lncompleteness of
the Chincse translations of the Viaaya howcver,
ctood in the way of preparing a complete code of
disciplinary rules and it was to fill this gap that he
resolved to risk the journey full of edventure to lndia
The main purpose of his journey wat to seerch for the
complete collection of the Vinaya Pit*a.t
lncredible thougb it may eppcer Fa-hsicn was sixty-
five years of age when he leuncted upon hir project. Hc
was seveDty-nine yean st the completion of his micrion.
He set out from Ch'ang-en in Ccntral Cbina in A.C. 399
during the reign of Empcror An of the Tsin dynesty
accompanied by four collcaguer Hui-ching, Tao-cheng,
Hui-ying and Hui-Wci." As wril appear in the s;quel,
another group of five pilgrimr joined the lint group
later.T(Sce Pl. X).
"Fa-hsien carried through for the faith's sake, a
supremely dangerous expedition, in the glow of which the
journeys of St. Paul melt into insignificence.'tr He
practically walked frorn Central China scross the Gobi
desert, Khotan, Pdmir plateau and over Hindu Kush to
lndia and ajso to Sri Lanka. On his voyage back he met
with even u,orse experiences and reached his destination
after many heir breadth escaPes.e
Having set out Chang-an in Central China Fe-hsien
and his party traversed a long route before they reached
the garrison town of Chaagyeh' Due to political unrect in
Changyeh the roads were impassable. The pilgrims could
not have gone ahcad but for the kind intervcntion of the
king of that city. Here they met the second group of
pilgrims comprising Chih-yen, Hui<hien, Scng Shao,
Pao-yun and Seng-Ching who, it ir raid, shared n'ith the
first group one common purpo!€. The party of tcn
pilgrims went together up to Tun-huang at the end of the
4, An unpubli,rhed article on Fe-hrien; RAC, p. 8
5. RBC. p.7
6. lbid. pp. E, 15
7, See note l0 below.
E, The Truek of Fa-hsien,pg-llruleted by J.A. Giles, Vusnsli/ Delhi, 1972,Introduction, p.v. (abbreviated hereafter ar TF.)
9, Ibid, p.v.
10.RBC p. l5
ll . TF. p.2. The dirtence of one Ij equab one fifth of a mile.
l2 lbid. p 2. RBC. p. 15. According to RDC. p. l7 Chih-yen, Hui-Chien and Hui-wei returned to Kenrhahr (Kerrrhar) to
procure nesitict whereu TF. p.3 rayr that thcy went to Turfan.
13 TF. p. a
204 FA-HSIEN
Great Wall and Fa-bsien with four otben went ebcrd
leaving tbe rest behind.'o
Fa-hrien describer the difficulths encountercd in the
journey, particularly, in crocsing the dcrcrt of Gobi thur:
"[n thi! desert there are a grcat msny evil spiritr rad alro
hot winds; thore who cncounter them perirh to a man.
Tberc ere neither birds above nor bcests below. Gazing
on dl sides, ar far ar thc eye can reacb in order to mrrk
the track, no gui.dance ir to be obteined revt from thc
rotting boncs of dead men which point tbe wey." Aftcr
travelling ssventeen dayr covering a dirtenct of one
thourand and fivc hundred /r they rcachcd Shan Shen
(Shen-rhcn) to the south of Lop Nor aad thcn Kara
Shrhr (Agni). Monks in both plactr bclongcd to tbe
l,crrer Vehicle and there were four thousead of them in
each. Both laity and the clergy prectised religion in
somewhat modilied form. In Kara Shahr monkr followcd
religiour obrervanccs oo rtrictly that the monkr from
China were either not dispced to accept such riter or
were not permitted to take part in those rites. Fa-hrien
w8t enterteined tbere for over two monthr by a Chinere
monk until he war rejoined by Paeyun end the othcn,
Pilgrims got the impression that the pcoplc of Krre
Shahr were lacking in courtesy and werc mean in their
treetment of rtrangers. Here rome meobers of the pany
went back towards Turfan in geerch of fundr. Fa-hrien
end the rest being provided with the neoeslrry meaa!
were able to procced on their journey towardr the
southwest.t2
Again after a monthl tedious journey they reached
Khotin, a rich and prosperous country in Centrd Asia-
All th€ inhabitants therc wcre Buddhirts and moct of the
monks belonged to lhe Greeter Vehicle. The monks who
were several tcns of thousends in number were friendly.
and provided lodgings end other facilities for the guat
monks. Fa-hsien was highly imprersed by the demeanour
of the monks who assembled to prrtakc of their medr.
'Whea they
They are described in the following mrnner:
enter the refectory their demeenour is graw end ccremo-
niour; they sit down in regular order; they all kecp silencl;
they make no clatter with their bowlr..."r3
 FA.IISIEN 205 FA-HSIEN

Hui<hingTao<ten and Hui-tewsnt ahead to Karhgrr As a pilgrim dedicated to thc promotion of Buddhirm
(Khalcha) a.r Fa-hrien end othen remained behind for one could cxpect Fa-brien to record only religious
tbree monthr to lce a procersion celled the image conditions in the countries bc virited. It is intcresting to
procrssion. Fourtem large monarteries each in its turn note that his ettention was drawn also to reculer aspects
cclebrated th proceuion for fourtecn dayr, one after the of divene nature. With regard to the vegetetion in
othcr, _the opcning oercmony being cclebrated by tbe Kashger he seys that except for bsmboo, pomegranate
G6mati vihirr The most striking feeture of the image and sugar cane, tbe other plants differ from those of
procesion wa! e four wheeled cer in the shepe of a China. No grain other than wheat would ripen there,
moverble pdace u fouud in tbe processionr of Hindu People living east of the hills in Kashgar dresed like
templer in Indie even upto prclcnt timer. The proccsrion thosc in China except that they worc felt and serge.il
begen on thc first of the fourth Eontb end ended on the
Dangers that could bcfall'the pcople travcrsing the
fourteenth. I'
Pamir range from Kashgar towards India are described
by Fa-hsien thus: '"There are also yenomorr:l dragonr
After the processions were ovcr Scng-rheo set out with which, when incensed, breathr out pestilential wind, rri"
e Terter Buddhist towardr Kashmir. Fa-hrien accom- and snow or caule most fearful send storms, Not one man
paaied by rome of his colleaguer wcnt on to Karghalik in ten thousand can eccape from these with his life."zt
(Chekula) where there wcrc morc than one thousand
This description appesr! to be the perlonilicatiou of
monkr moltly belonging to the Grreter Vehicle. They nlturc's crueltier.
tpcnt tbe lummcr retreet at a placc called Ta.sh Kurghan
and then reeched Karhgar (Khalcha) in the middle of the Amidstdangen, the pilgrims managed to reach Darada
Pamin, where tbey mct Hui-ching and others who bad on the borden of lndia. Monks there rtudied HLayina
ret out in advence. The-re werc more then one thotnand Buddhism. Fa-hrien rrw aD imege of the Maitreya
monkr belonging to Hinayana in Krshger. The king of Bodhisettva eighty fect high and eighty feet broad at the
that country held an a.srembly calleJ the Great Five year bere. According to Fa-hsien Buddhism spread east after
Auenbly (Pafrcavanha) to which monkr were invited the retting up of that image which took placc 300 or 350
from dl quarters.lr In the seventh century, Ywang years after the parinirviaa of the Buddha.z From that
Chwang saw ruch anemblies being held in North lndia point egain the journey was a difficrrlt one. The party
journeyed on for fifteen days over a precipitious and
under thc patronage of King Harshawardhana.16 fui
importrnt item of this oeremony wes the offering of cloth dangerous road. *The side of the mountain being like a
and of all kinds of jewels and such thingr as needed by stone wall ten thousand feet in heigbt. On neering the
monkr: rome of these offerings were laterredeemed from edge, the eye becomes confused end wishing to advance
them.lT Giving annual tithes to monks was another the foot finds no resting place."The next barrier was the
cultom which prevailed in Kashgar. In much the same river lndur which they crorsed with a suspension bridge
way offeringr were made to monks in the Middle of roPes.23
Kingdom as well as in Sri lanka.tr Fa-hsien refers to The country which they reached after crossing the
various relics of the Buddha in end outside lndia. One of Indus was UdyCna which, according to Fa-hsien,was the
thesewas thc Buddhe's stone spittoon which the Kashgar northermost point of lndie. All the inhabitants there
Buddhists hed come to possess.Thir country also has a spoke the languege of Central tndia which they called the
srupa built enshrining one of Buddha's teeth,re Middlc Kingdom.zr The laymen's clothes and food were

14.IE p.5
15. R.RC.pp. fr-22; TF. p.7
16. Majunder,RC. Thc CltssicalAge, Bombay7, 1962,p. I l8
17. TF. p.7, RBC. p. 2l; In India rnd Sri Lnnte too the custompreveiledin ancienttimer.
18. IF. p. E. lt ir intere*ing to compareannualtithesrsferredto herewith cmolumentrcalledvasag'occurring in the ninth and
tenthcenturyinrcriptionrin Sri Lrnka (EZ.Vol.I, p. 9l; lbid. Vol. lll, p. 19l; Vol,V, pt. 2, p.165;Gunawardhane, R.A.L.H.
Ro}c and Plough,Arizona, 1971,pp,l/+E-l5l)
t9. RBC.pp. 2lf.; TF, p.8
f r . R B C .p . 2 2
21. rbid. p.22
22. tbid. p.23t
23. TF.p.9f.
2 1 . T F . p .l l . T h e u s e o f t h e r e g i o n a l n s m e , C e n t r a l l n d i a b y F a - h r i e n i s c o n flunsr ei ncge.n t h i s t o r i c a l w r i t i n g s t h e n a m e i s u s e d
to denoteAvanti enditr adjoiningcountriel.But in onecontextFa-hrien's CentralIndir or the MiddleKingdomlay on the
routetakenby him betnecnMethura and Sankarya.This CentralIndia forms part of the MadhyadetaAitereyaBrihmana
(ltl-l,l; lA. X. p. I l0). ln anothercontextFe-hsein iocaterCentrallndia in the territoryin whichPataliputrais situated.
 FA.HSTEN
like thosc in the Middle Kingdom. There were ebout five
hundred monesterier (sahghirsmes/ of the Hinayine
rchool. A guert monk ir entertained there only for three
dayr and thereaftcr hc hed to lind a placc for himself.
Whilc Hui-ching, Tao-chcD and Hui-tawcnt on eberd to
the ccuatry of liaganharg Fa-hsien end othen re-
meined behind for the lummer retrrat"2r
Setting out from Udyana the pilgrimr reached Suvastu
and then Gandhira and Tekre$ili. tiinayane Buddhism
flourished in those countries. All thcse countrier were
essociated with the former cxistsnccr of the Gotama
Buddha and srDpes had been bu:lt in honour of hir
rcvered qualities.
Upon his arrival in Parushapure (Peshewar) Fa-hrien
was highly impressed by the srDpe built therc by King
Kanishka None of the rlupas and temples thet hc hsd
scen on his way could compare with thb srupa in
magnificencc and stateli-Derr.Fe-hsien releter an epirode
according to which the King of Selas (Ephtalites)
invaded Pururhapura in order to cerry off thc Buddha'r
dmrbowl which was found thcre, but bc did not succeed.r
Heving rteyed in Pururhepura s! long er thy wisbed
Hui-cbing, Jui-ta end Teo-chsdg went ahead to Nagrre-
hara. Thcn, Hui-te joined Pao'yun ud Scag{hing to
rcturn home. tlui-yingn did in Buddhe'r Bowl nouu-
tery. Fa{rien procccded done to tbc tcmple of Buddhrb
Skull.
The city of Hilo wrs unique in ar much as it posscrrcd
the Buddheb rkull, e relic not mentioncd in eny other
rourcc. Tbc rlull ir pale yellow, about fout incher acroE!
rnd be^r r lofty crrnium. The king of tbc city htd
appointcd cight men of noblc families, each witb r sed, to
rcal the tcmple in order to rafeguard the relic. The ling
tbe lay devotees and elro thc elderr ettended to thcir
duties or hourebold afiairs eftcr meking tbeir offeringr to
the Skull.r
Thc city of Naganhen (Jchlibd) end itr rdjoining
ereer within oneyojanP of the city chim to hrvc
pouered certrin relics, romc of whicb ere not much
known. They were the pewter toppc{ rtdf of the Buddhg
25. RBC. p.23
26. Ibi.J.9p.23-28;TF. pp. 12-11
n, TF.p. l5.AccordiqtoRDC.p.29thepcnodwhodicdinthemonrrteryofBuddhrlBowlwrrHui<bing;'Thir evldentlyir
a! error, Both R.FCend If tell ur tba Hui<hing rctudly ditd letsr whcn crorrins the Little Snowy Mountrinr (R BC. p,33;
TF p,t9).
RBCp. B{.
lbrC p. -1lf. Th€exactlength
of ayojaneirhardtodacrmine.lti!equstodto4givuteenditcouldrengefromiEilcrto 16
mrler.
T Ray, H. C. and Pereneviteng S. Universityof Ceyloa,Hbtory of Ccylo4 Colombo, l9(f., p.762
_fl R B C p, , 3 2
Ibid p. 32f.
1 3 . lbrd. p. }a
_r,1.lbxi. o. ]4
206 FA-TISIEN
his robe, hair and nails. Devotees bclieved thet when the
robe was taten out and offeringr made to it heavy rains
fcll in timer of drought.
The Tooth relic in Sri Lenla also ir believcd by tbe
faithful to poilcas such powen.s
HalI r, yojaaa south of tbc city oi Nsgarahere ir a cave
in which the BuddhE is said to have left hir chadow which
looked exactly like the Buddha at e dittaDcc of ten pacer
or Eo. It is also believcd that a rtEpe near the ceve had
been built by thc Buddha and hir dirciplcr a.r e modcl for
future stiupts. 3r Thc historicity of there, howwer,
lgsleins to be estrblished.
Sctting forth from Nagarahara Fa-bsien and hir two
compenion! went routhward rcro*t the Little Snowy
Mountains (Safed Koh) in bittcr cold. Being uneble to
bear tbe cold Hui-ching breathed hir last, Fa-hrien
caressed him iernenting bitterly cnd cried saying 'You
have failed in your purpose. Yet ruch is fate." Fa-hcica
and Teo.cheng, the only compenioa of the former group,
from that point onward, wcDt ahcrd viriting tbecountrier,
Lrtki (Afghrnistan), Hanna (Felana or Banni) end
Uchcha (Bhide in Penjab_).Exccpt in Herana where thcre
werc threc thour-and Hinayana monk!, tbe other two
countrict had monls of both vehicler. The locd pcople
were xr emrzed to see monks from dirtent Chine who
bad come ro far in rcarch of Buddhirm.u
The ncxt important centrc virited by Fr-hrien wrr
Methuri. On thc way to Mathun he raw e lerge number
of moarrtericr with rome tcn tbounad montr. In
Methuri it*lf thcre werc about thrcc tbousand moatr
with twenty monuteries riturted on sither ride of thc
riwr Jumnrll
Fe-hrien'r rccouDt on the Middle Kingdom, whhh
eccording to him hy routh of Methurl,x rhow! tbrt of
thc countrier he hrd virited thet country \rer the tnort
egreeeblc with regrrd to ctimete, living conditiou of the
inhali js56, their religiour upbringing; rdmiairtrrtion
ctc. The climrte wu tempcrete without frort or tnow.
Tbc inhebitantr werc rich urd contentad. Kingp gowrncd
thc country without recourse to cepitd punishmeat. Tbc
 FA.HSIEN
people of thir country tiil no living crcature!, drinl no
wine nor eat onion or gerlic. Mention ir alro made of the
use of "cowrie!' as a medium of exchrnge.
As for the Buddhist monks Fa-hsien rayr that from the
very days of the Buddhe kingr and other de.rotces
pronded monks with beds and beddings, gardens, fields
as well as husbsndmcn and cattle. Lends were donated bv
title deeds whicb none dared to anntri.rs
Guest monks were treated in keeping with the Vinaya
rules. When a guest monk came to B monasrery
resident monks used to welcome him; carry his robes end
elms-bowl for him. They al*o used to bring water to wash
his feet and oil to anoint them. Facilities for lodgings
were provided in accordancc with his seniority.re
Stipas built in honour of the two chief d-isciples,Siri-
putra (Pali, Sariputta) and Maudgaliputra (pali,
Moggallana) and also of Ananda are mentioned together
with other stupas built in honour of tbe three-fold
division of the Canon,tbe Abhidhsrnmtttbe Vinayaend
the Surras. Another intercating reference is made to the
slagrng of religious drama. One play had as its theme
Sariputral going to the Buddha to ask for ordination.
Similar plays wcre staged to characterise Maudgaliputr"
and-Ki$yapa. By Kiiyapa is probably meant MshA
KiCyepa.
Even more interesting wa! a ritual pretice performed
by nuns and novices. They made offerings respectfully
at the stdpas built in honour of thc etders Anenda and
Rihula. Similarly the teachers of each of the three
divisions of the Canon made offerings at the srDpar built
in honour of the Abhidhamma, the Vinaya, and the
.S[rras eech to the srlpa pertaining to his speciatity. The
followers of the Mahdyana school made their offerings to
the Saints, Prajili Piramiti, Maiju$ri and
Avel6kiteivara.
As shown above the custom of monks receiving annual
tithes pievailed in other countries such as Kashgar.
According to Fa-hsien the custom prevailed also in the
Middle Kingdom. It is interesting to note that even
Brahmins offcred robes and other requisites to monks. A
special feature of the occa.sion wa.s that monks made
offerings to one another.3T
Fa-hsien Iocates Sarirkasya to the south east of the
Middle Kingdom the place where the Buddha is,said to
35' lbid. p' 34. ln Sri l,anka too land gtantr weremadein medievrl timer in the ramy way.
3 6 . I b i d .p , 3 5 f
3 7 . t b i d .p . 3 6 f .
3E. Ibid. pp. 37-{l
39. Ibid. p. 1X; TF. p.29.
,m. lbid. pp, 13,1'7.According to the Therevedacrnon, there wereonly rixty two yiec.!.
41. Ibid. pp.14,1;6
1 2 . l b i d .p . , t 9
207 FA-HSIEN
have dercended from the Traya.rtridJat (Tivatimsa)
heaven after preaching the Law to hir mother for three
months. This place eppearr to have becn clcely e.sociated
with the Buddha, for according to Fa*hsien, severel
monumerts had been built in hic h+no,rr there. Here
about one thourand monkr and nuns ctudied bcth Hi
neyina and Mahiyina.tr
Fa-hsicn meations the city of Kanyatubja (Kaaoj), th.e
village Hari (Arijafavana) end the country of Veijitrhe
(Visikha or Ajudhya) as important crntrer of Buddhism.
Refercnce to Buddhal wiilow chewing rtick end its
growth to a height of seven feet in the country of
Vaidakha has a special significancc. What is important
hcre is that the Buddha had used e willow chewing rrick
to clean hir teeth just like other ordinary' monls.n
When Fa-hsien visited the city of drivasti in thc
country of Kosala the city had been sparsely populaad
but its glory was still there. Among the religiour,monu-
mentt such as the Jetavana monaltery found at Srivesti
two stipas had been built to commemoratc Aigulimila;
(q.v.) one stupa being built at the sitc of his conversion by
the Buddha and the other at the site of his cremation.
Among other sf[p-as onc was at the site of the murder of
courtesan Sundari and another on the upot where the
Buddha debated with the teachers of ninety-six heretical
sects.o Carving of the first Buddbaimageis attributed to
King Prasenajit (Pasenadi). The king in his eagernescto
see the likeness of the tsuddha whcn he was away in
TrayastrimCat Heaven for nincty days carved an image of
the Buddha. The authenticity of this is quertioned by
modern critics. On arriving at tbe Jetevena Retreat where
the Buddha spcnt tweDty-five rainy season, the greatest
number of rains residenceshe lived in one single monas-
tery, Fa-hsien and his companion were immersed in deep
thouSht. As they gazed at the pleces in which the Buddha
oncr lived, but where he was no longer to be oeen,they
were deeply moved.{r
According to Fa-hsien Devadatta,s followers made
offerings to three formcr Buddhas except the
Sakyamuni Buddha. This indicated tbe continuanct of
Devadattal religious EovemeDt cyen up to the fifth
century A.C. That the wonhip of former Buddhas had
been a popular cult in mary other placesin India is also
revealed by Fa-hsien.rz
 FA-HSIEN
At thc time of Fe-brient virit Krpilevrstu looked
complctely dcrcrtad erccPt for e fsw moulr end e fcw
dozrn frmilic of thc leity. Among thc ruinr of the pdacl
of King Suddhodanl rer rn imrge of thc princcb motber
rhowieg tbc princc riding e whitc clephent coming to
cntcr hif motbr I womb. Sewr rl *ipt bd bem erectcd
to muk importrnt cwntt of thc Buddhr'r lifc bcforeand
rfter hir enlightenment. Frhrien dro Dlner the four
plrcer which rre dwtyr prodaermined for Buddher:
wherc thc Buddhu rhell tttrin Budddhehood, where
tbcy rhrll begia to prerch, wbarethey cxpound tbe Lew
end rcfutc hereticr rnd wherethey rhdl derccndfrom the
Tnyrrtridlrt Herven.r3
A monrrtery rituetedin R-magriEtfle yoitaueett
of Buddhe'r birth pleccir reminirccut of the forest callcd
P-rileyyavur whrc thc Buddhr ir laid to havc bccn
rttcnded on by anelephantrnd a monkcy. It ir raid that a
hcrd of elcphutr tued to wrter the ground and offer
flowen !t the Eonutery there. A monl wbo virited the
placa rtepped down to thc rrnk of a simraerr and
lerformcd dl tbe duticr conuectedwith thc ooo.rt.ty.
The porition of ebbot et that mon$tery, rs e metter of
fact, war held by o ei,lntoen thereeftcr.+t
Fe-hricn locrter thd lpot on whicb the Buddha-cntercd
Puininiaa to tbe nortb of thc city of KuJinagrra
(KruinirD. Stuprr hrd beea crectcd at thc sitcr wherc
Subheddq thc hrt dirciplc of thc Buddhe eutered the
Ordcr end whcre thc Buddhrb coflin rcccivcd homage
for rcven dryr. Even thir city hed beca alnort deserted
with only r fcw monkr end hymcn er iu inbabitantr.'5
Frbricn rsfcn to a number of importlnt siter in
Vrifil. Such for inrtrnce rre the veDucof the Second
Couacil rnd thc ritc of thc CIpCla cctiyr (pagoda of
Discuded Armr) ar which tbe Buddha made tbe pro-
DouDoenentthrt he would entetryrinirueatthrec months
hter. With regrrd to thc caure that led to the Second
Council, he rgreer with the ten pointr edvaaccdby the
Soutbcrnrchool.{
_ A rtory not found in Prti litcraturq concernr elder
Aoaada'r puring rway. King Ajitaiatru followed
Anrnde up to the confluenceof five riven' fle yojanae
east of Vria-rli. Ucchavir were on the other ritle of the
rivdr expectinghfu arrivd on that cidc. If Ananda chose
13. RBC pP.,l9-5t
,14. Ibid. p. 52f.
a5. Ibtd. p.5f
16. Ibid. p. 57;TF. 9p.124
17. RDC.p.57f.
4t. Ibid. p.5tf.
19. tbid. p.6of.
50. lbld. p.5l
5 1 . I b i d .p . 6 l
52 lbid. p.62f.
208 FA.HSIEN
to ent?r parininin on thir bant or the otber bank it
would heve led to e chsh bctween tbe two p"t$.!. tn
order to avoid aa impcnding clrsh between them Anenda
entered pariainiaa by burning himscU in tbc middle of
the river by enteriug the element of fire (teiodhitu).Tbe
two kings on either banl apportioned the reliq in two
halvcs and built sritpasover them.rT
Fa-hricn rew the ruins of the royal pelecc of Empcror
Aroke in the city of Pitdiputra. A Brahmin called
Ridhuvimi who bclonge.i to tbe Mebiyiaa schoot and
who hed mEltcrcd dl thc knowledge of hir dey did mucb
to proprgrte Buddbism and it wes due to his efforts thet
hcrctics were kept in ebcyence. There were about rix or
rcvcn hundrcd monks of both vebicles whose bchaviour
wll lnolt decorour and orderlY.'l
Pitafiputrawas, according to Fe-hsien, the lergest city
in thc whok of Middle Kingdom." Tbe people tbcre
were rich and prosperous. Every ycEr they held en image
proc:lrion on thc eighth day of the recond month. A four
wheeled car (chariot) decorated like a pagods wer taken
in the procession. On each of the four rides of the car wer
e seated Buddha imagc attcnded by standing Bodhi'
lattvas. About t\PeDty such cars were paraded, each
decked out in e different wey. Mention is made also of
chariteb-lehospitels and a tcmple of Buddhab Foot Print
in Pitaliputraso
The redemption of giftr made to the saughe prcvailcd
in Negarabara and also in Sri Lauka. Probably Asokaset
the precedent for the practicc. Fe-blien tells us thet King
Asoke offered Jambudvipa to monks from all parts of the
world and theu redeemed it agEin with rilvcr on tbree
occasions.sl
In a valley surrounded by five hills was Girivraja the
old city of King Bimbisera. lmportant siter lre
mentioned in the foll-owing fashioo:
'"This is wbere Siri
putra and Maudgaliputra fint met AJvajit (Asseji),
wbere Nirgrantba mede a ficry pit and prepared poisoned
ricc for Buddha, and where King Ajatadstru gavc wine to
e black clephent in order to injure Buddha'"'z Even this
city hed been without inhabitants when Fa-hsien wr.r
there.
 FA.HSIEN
Tberc were geveral hundreds of cavegincluding thet of
the Buddba i:n the Grdhratlta Mountain. Fa-hsien
claims to hrvc reen th; stone which Devadatta rollcd
down the precipicc causing injury to Buddhal toe.
Among the ruins of the old city were lhe cave of
Sataparna (Sattapnnniguhi) where five hundred monks
recited the scriptures after the Buddha's Parinirvilz, the
cave of Devedetta and the black-rock on which e monk
wes about to commit suicide.sr
The city of Gaya had been virtually deserted during the
fifth century. Prince Siddhartha lived ar Bn ascetic in the
vicinity of Gaya. Of the seven weeks during which tbe
Buddhe enjoyed the bliss of emancipation after his
enlightenment referred to in the post canonical
literetufe,s. five are mentioned by Fe-hsien.They are (l)
His fixed glze at the Bodhi-tree (2) His wdking from east
to west undcr the Bodhi-tree (3) the dcvas making
offerings to the Buddha on L terrace adorncd with rcven
precious things (tt) the blind dragon Mudalindab coiling
around the Buddha and (5) Buddhat sitting on a square
rock facing eart under a,nyagrodha tree when Sahipati
(Sahampati) Brahma camc to invite him. At the site of
Buddhal Enlightenment there were three monasteries
meinteined by devotees. Monks living there adhered to
monastic rules with meticulous care.55
Asokab conversion to the Buddhist Faith is attributed
by Fa-hsien to the exposition of the Law by an arahant
who was about to be punished by the keeper of Asoka's
Hell. A legend had it thct Asoke causcd a hell to be built
for punishing criminals.s6 This may be a veiled allusion
to Asoka'r being cruel at the beginning of his reign and
hir change of policy later on in his reign.
King Asoka used to go to the Bodhi-tree under which
he repented his sins and observed the eight precepts.
Asoka's observing a strict religious life referred to in his
Minor Rock Edict I may point to the same.57Howwer,
his queen Asandhimitta being jealous that the king
visited the Bodhi-tree often employed a man to fell the
tree. It is seid that the king found a device to restore the
tree and again it grew to a hcight of hundred feet.st
Travelling westward dong the Ganges Fa-hsien and
his only companion reached Varinasi in the country of
5 3 , r b i d .F . 6 3 f ,
91. Stmantaptsidika,pfi, I, ed. BaddegamePiyaratanaThera, 5II8. Colombo, 1929.pp. 714-7l9
55. RrC. pp.66{8
56. lbid. p. 59f.
37. Corpw InsctiptionumIndicarwn,Vol. I, E. Hultzsch,Delhi, 1969,pp, 166,167;TheIndian Antiquary,Vol. XX, FlestJR,
and Temple,RC, Delhi, 1985,p. 23,1f.
5 8 . R B C .p . 7 l
5 9 . t b i d .p . 7 2 f .
60. Ibid. p. 74f.
61. Ibid, p.76; TF. p.E1
62. TF. p. I l; RBC. p. 25
209 FA.HSTEN
Kasi. Tracing the history of the Deer Park Retreat Fe-
hsien also narretes how Kau?d{ye (Kondrf,fie) end hir
four companions criticised the Buddha rs he war
approaching them and how they could not abidc by their
agrcement not to receive him in the usuei manner es he
wes epproaching nearer and ncarer. He elso locates the
rpot on which the Buddha deliwred his first lcrmon.se
The next important piace which Fa-hsien visited wrr
KauJambi. The Garden of Ghoshire (Ghoritirima) is
mentioned as e monortery in which the Buddha lived for
some time. Most of the monls in KeuCrnbi study Hi
nayina Buddhism. Althsugh Fa-hrien describes the
Dakkhina and the Parvati monutery therc ar a remark-
able achievement of stone masonry he only reprodrrces
what had been related to him by the people of thet
country,6o r
Fe-hsien, with his companion, came back to Pitali
putrs once again and with that they had completed their
tour in North India. However, Fa-hsienb 6nin purpose
of obtaining a complete code of Vinayarules could not be
achieved from any place in North India as there were no
written books. Therefore, he had to go to Ccntral India
where in a Mahiyina monastery he was able to obtain e
copy of the collection of Vinaya rules. Both Li Yung, as
well as Giles have translated Fa-hsien'sChinese original
into English to convey the meaning shown above.6r Never-
theless,the use of the regional name Central lndia in the
above pa.ssagegives rise to confusion. Fa-hsien tells us
elsewhere that people of Udyina, the northern most
country in lndia, called Central India the "Middle
Kingdom.'62 Tbus, it appears that what was known to
the pcople of UdyIna as the Middle Kingdom was known
to Fe-hsien as Central tndia.
Fa-hsien's contention that he had to go to Central
lndia for obtaining a complete code of Yinaya rules
app€ars misleading for he has given us the impression
thst he had already been to that region. The country he
reached after MathurC was the Middle Kingdom. Again
the account, just following that dealing with the books
obtained, saysthat Tao-chengwas reluctant to go back to
China as he was so impressedby the disciplinary conduct
of the monks in thettiddle Kingdom or Central India
where they were living at thc time of copying the textr. [t
 FA-HSTEN
app€ar! that the nrmes, Central lndia and Middle
Kingdom used here differ from those referred to earlier
by Fa-hsien himsclf.
Something has gone wrong some'rhere, perhaps in the
English translations or cven in the Chinese original. Fa-
hsien had been extremely careful to mention the time,
distance, direction etc. when he went from one place to
another. In this context he merely says that he went to a
monastery in Central India to obtain a copy of the
complete Vinayacollection. Absence of the usual statisti-
cal data in this particular instanceleavesus in doubt as to
whether hc actually went to any place in what he earlier
called Central-lndia or the Middle Kingdom after his
r€turn to PCtaliputra.el
According to Fa-hsien the copy of the MahasEhghika
Vinaya which he obtained had been handed dowu in the
Jetavana Retrcat.6f Docs it, then, follow that Fa-hsien
obtained the relevant text from the Jetavana Retreat in
Sivetthi which he had visitcd on his way towards east?
But he does not claim that he obtained a copy from the
Jetavana Retreat either. It is possible that although the
relevant text had been handed down in the Jetavana
Retrcat its copies were also available in later times in
distant parts of tndia.
Fa-hsien'sjourney to Champi could offer some clue to
the question under review. He went to two important
countries in Eastern India before he completed his tour
in India. He went first to Champi end then to Tamluk.6s
Champi was eighteen yojanas to the,east of the place
from which he had set out after copying the Vinaya
texts.66 The distance and the direction tallies with P;tali
putra from where he had not gone to any place prioi to
his going to Champa, It may, therefore be surmised that
he actually obtained copies of.the Viaaya and other texts
from some monastery in Pitaliputra itself,
Whichever be the place or the monastery from which
the books were obtained there were six rcriptures in all.
(l) Rules of the MahasinghnalZl Sanastividavinayain
about 7000 verses (3) Sahyukibhidharma - hrdaya
(astra or Abhidharma ia about 6000 verses (4) Nirvaaa
s-urra or Yen sitra in 2500 verseE(5) Vaipulya - pai-
nirvana sitrain about 5000 verses and (6) the Commen-
taries of the Mahasilghika school. Fa-hsien spent three
5-1 CP fF p,?ft.;RBC.p.34'f.
t4 RBC p. 76
6-( Ta-nluk is locsted by Fa-hrien to the es$ of Champft ln fact, it h situarcd to the South of that city,
t RBC. P rr
a ' T F ? . ' . a : R B C ,P . 7 6
'?
5i RBC p
A l!iC pn rE+l - Sannipara is rendered into Englirh ar a cplhction of extrasts from the Canon on p.76 of IE
'1,
Banat. P.\' 2-W Yeats o{ Buddhism, New Delhi, 1956,p.261
'l
RBC pp E'-92.
210 FA-HSIEN
yean in studying written and spoken Senrkrit end in
c-opylngthose books. As mentioned above Tao-cheng
remained bchind in the Mebiyina monastery being
reluctant to go back to China6T Fa-hsien went ahead
with determinetion until his main objective was achiewd.
From Champi, Fa-hsien, went to Tamluk, a renowned
centre of Buddhism. He stayed two years in Temluk
copying sitras and drawing images of the Buddha and
then set sail for Sirirhda (Sri Lanka)n
Fa-hsien describesthe size,the climatc and the products
of the country including pearls and gems, The kingt
share in pearls and precious stoner was three-tenthr. He
says that this island became a large kingdom owing to the
attraction of merchants from other countries who came
in large numbers.
At the time of his visit the Abhayagiri monasterywas in
its heyday. There were five thousand monks there. Fe-
hsien tells us that the splendour and magnificence of an
image of jade, some twenty feet high, defied description.
Having seen a white silk faa offered to the image by a
Chinese merchant his eyeswere filled with tears. Possibly,
this reference is to the Samddhi Statue which is within the
precincts of the Abhaygiri monastery, Fa-hsien also
refersto the Tooth Relic temple and the exhibition of the
To oth Rel ic in thc midd le of the third month at tbe Abhayagiri
monastery. An interesting allusion is made to store-
houses of monks which were filled with precious stones
and jewels. The descriptiort of a monartery on a hill forty
li to the eest with two thousand resident monks is
evidently about the Mihintale. [n the Mahivihira mon&t-
tery there lived three thousand monks. Fa-hsienhad seen
a funeral ceremony of an arahant who belonged to the
Mahavihara. Fa-hsien stayed two yearsin Sri Lanka and
obtained a copy of the Rules of the MahiJasatas. He also
procured a copy each of the Dirghagaurr the Sadzyukti-
gamaand tbe Sannipara all of which were in Senskrit and
were new to China.o
On his voyage back across the unfathomable occan full
of dangers his chances of reaching the home country
appearedremote. On the way he staycd five months in a
country called Yavadvipa (Java)?o where there were very
few Buddhists. The next stage becameeven worse. In the
midst of heavy rains whilst the provisionr were exhausted,
 FA.SHIEN
the pilot chartercd a wrong course. But, despite every-
thing, Fa-hsien may have heaved a sigh of relief when he
L.new tbat he had set foot on Lhe Southern shorc of
Laoshan in Changkuang prefecture in China?r and
reached his journey's cud,
Cmchrbn: Fa-hsicnt travel accounis deal with nearl;r
thirty countries, These accounis provide us with valuablr
i n f o r m a t i o n o n r e l i g i o u sa sx e l l r s c t h r r a J p e c t sc o i ' e r i n g
s wide variety of subjecu.
We are grcatly indebted to Fa-hsien for tlre knowiedge
of certain beliefs, customs, cults ceremonials etc. pre-
vri.ling in the countries he_visited.FIe provides us with
inJormation on the Elder Anarrda's parinirtina through
Fire Meditatian (teJekasroalin the middle of a river, the
cuttom of building .,' ' i:i honour of the three chief
divirions of*the Carrn. p*;:lr" h;rnage to sfupas built in
honour of Ananda and Rihu-s ii;n:ctiv:ly by nuns and
ncvices as their favourite objects of homage as is
cwtomery in ttie Middle Kingdom, the participation of
Brahmins in Budcihist re[gious affairs in and outside tbc
Middle Kingdon, cerrain articles used by the Buddba
such ar itre stone spittoon (at Kashgar) and the pewtcr-
topped staff (at Nagarahara) and the relative strength of
;he bhikkhu popuiation of the Abhayagki and tbe
-\,iahavihara in Sri [,anka. Much of this information is
.are, and 3ome Ere rot found in other sources.
Specific reference made to the two vehicles and their
numerical strength in thc countries visited by him shows
that in his day the LesserVehicle had spreadmore widely
than the Greater Vehicle.
Fa-hsien also Craws our attention to the decline in
glory of come renowned centrcs of Buddhism during the
fifth century. He says .that at the time of his visit
Kapilavistu, Rijagrhe, Sravasti and Gaya were virtually
deserted and abandoned. To what eztent. the hereticai
movement, alluded to by Fa-hsien, was responsiblefor
bringing about this decline reeds furtber investigation.
The persevercnce, undaunted courage and determi-
n a t i o n o f F a - h s i e n w e r e n o t s h s r e d b y m c s t m . e m b e r so f
i r i s p a r t y , l ' b i e e m e m b e r so f t h c p a r t y , H u i - t q P a o - Y e n
and Scng-Ching went back tc China without
fulfilling their objectives.Some membersparted with the
main group tc visit placts of their own choice.
Unifortunately for Fa-hsien, two members, Hui-Ying
and Hui-Ching died on the way. Tao-cheng accompanied
Fa-hsicn upto Pataliputra artd decided ne','erto rcturn
home. 1'he party which originally included ten mernbers
was reduced to one. It was onlv Fa-hsien who carried out
; 1 . R B C .p p . 8 7 - 9 2 .
211 FAIRY TALES
tl:e mission undaunted untii thc achievement of his
, i,,,:clives.
Yatedola*'ette Dhsrrrnvl*uddtd lbert
FAIRY-TALLS. Althoug.r the term fairy-tale is used to
refer to tales about fa.iriesit is also generally used in a
much brcader senseto incluCe tales which have nothing
to do with fairies but which arc highly imprcbable and
fanciful. The writen in English who attempted to translate
the &rman term 'mfi.cher' or the Swedish term 'sFge'
seemto have generally uied the term fairy-tale. In current
usagea large number of wonder-tales,which baveneither
fairies nor such beings who have fairy traits, are referred
to as fairy-talcs.
The question regarding the origin'of the fairy-tale has
not yct been fully investigated and thercfore, nothing
defrnite can be said about it. tt ie quite apperent that the
fairy tale war aD integral part of the early folk-lore.
Scholars have come across a collection of Egyptian fairy-
tales which they places in the 13th €ntury B.C. (Standard
Dictionary of Folk-Mythology aad lrgend, pp. 355 ff.
Funk and Wagnalls Co. l.{ew York). The researches
carried out so far by eminent scholars do not make it
possible to pin-point any particular country or a limited
region as thz original home of fairy-tales.It is extremely
doubtful whether any particular country can ever be
named as the original home of fairy-tales. There are a few
centres of disscmination of fairy-tales, the major ones
being India, Greeceand Western Europe. In other centres
like Asia Minor and Eastern and Nothern Europe there
are new tales alongside those that heve come from
outside. Therefore, auy Ettempt to trace all the talesor at
leastall the major fairly-taie motifs tc a particular region,
either in the East or in the west is bcund to be futile.
India is quite well known as a rcpertory of fairy-tales.
The relating of tales has been a regular feature in early
indian society. The Vcdic literature rcvealsnot only the
existence of iegends and fairy-tales but also religious
ceremcnies in which the telling of tales formed an
intcrgra.l part, 9esides these wonder teles tbat werc
p r e v a . i c n ta m o n g t h e e l i t e p r i e s t h o o d t h e r e m u s t h a v e
been similar tales current among the masses.Some of
theseseem to appear in the epicr.
Certain tales that appear in Buddhist litereture, too,
can he cla:sed under the category of fairy+ales when the
terrn is '.eken in its broader scnse.The Buddha and his
disciplcs used fables, narratives ard othcr types of taler
 FAIRY TALES 212
*hich they drew upon from folk-lore. These tales are
found in the fira.ka'book which is the main repertory of
Buddhist stories. A close scrutiny of the tales found in it
revealsthat the fairy-tale was not the favourite medium
of instruction restorted to by Buddhist monks. Fairy-
talcs that appear in Buddhist texts, mainly in the Jitaka,
the Cariyi-pitaka and the Jitake-Maliare on the whole
neither so numerous no so well developed as the fables
that are'found in them. The structure of the fairy-tale
which is generally devoid of a didactic nature, did not
quite suit the purpose for which the tales were uscd by
Buddhist monks. However, they have, with some measure
of success,used the fairy-talejust as they did usethe fable,
for moral instruction and the elucidation of difficult
points in the doctrine.
In those Buddhist tales that can be classified as fairy
tales, fairies are conspicuous by their absence. The
characters that appear frequently in thesetalcs are man-
eeting goblins, demons, ogresand ogresses,supernatural
animals such ar garuda.s,nigas and kinnaras. Although
some of these have fairy-traits they cannot be identified
as fairies. Buddhist literature and beliefsdo not revealthe
existenceof a group of beingswho can be called fairies as
they are known to the west. Those that come very closeto
fairies are the tree-deities (rukkha-devete), nymlths
( rcch ara, Skt. apsaras/ and d ivine-damsels (d eva-dh i ta).
Sometimes gods, specially Sakka, assume human and
animal formc and play roles typical of those played by
fairics in western fairy-tales. Not only supernatural
beingr and enimals but even magic objects are present in
these fairy-tales.
There are certain fables which are more like fairy-tales,
The tales in which animals and men appear as clbaracters
ere full of fEnciful and incredible happenings. In one of
these there appears a learned partridge tbat instructs
younB pupils on various scienccs(No, 438); in another, a
wonderful dcer which savcsa man from drowning (.L No,
483) and in still another tale a great monkey that rescuesa
man who has lost his way in the thick jungle (-L No, 5 t6).
Nurmerous other animals which surpasshuman beingsin
virtuous qualities, too, eppcar in them. Many of ihese
animal cum fairy-teles are narrated to expose the vilc
nature of men.
Apart from these are a number of other fairy-tales in
the JVtaka. But when compared with thc well-known
fa.irv-tales that appear in later Sanskrit collection of
wonder tales such as the Kathassritsagara or the
l'etilepaflcavimlati or even with those that are prevaJenl
outside lndia, many of these Buddhist fairy-tales fail to
fell into that category. Though almost all the popular
f u r y - t a . l em o t i f s a r e f o u n d t o e x i s ti n B u d d h i s t f a i r y - t a l e s
thel' have not receil'ed the litcrary treatment their
FAIRY TALES
c o u n t e r p a r t si n S a n s k r i tl i t e r a t u r ea s w e l l s s i n l i t e r a t u r e
o u t s i d e l n d i a s e e mt o h a v e g e n e r a l l yr e * i v e d ,
The Buddhist mcnks rrsedfairy-taiesmerelrvas illustra-
t i o n s i n t h e i r i n s t r u c t i o n n n d g e n e r a l l yt h e y d o n o t s e e m
t o h a v e u s c d t h e i r i r n a g i n a t i o nt o e n r i c h t h e t a l e . I n s t e a d ,
t h e . i rs o l ea i m w a s t o i m p r e g n a t et h e t a l e w i t h e t h i c a l a n d
m o r a l i n s t r u c t i o n a n d t h i s r e s u l t c d i n s u p p r e s s i n gt h e
fairy-tale motifs that were presentin them. The Vidhura-
pal(ta fitaka (No. 545i has allfairy-tale motifs that are
capable of elevating it tc the standsrd of a fascinating
fairy-tale. But on thc one hend these motifs are not
developed erroughand presentedin a mnnner capable of
rousing the curiosity of the listner or the reader and
transferring him into a wor{d of fancy; and on the other,
these motifs are overshadowed and pushed into the
background by lengthy sermons end didactic sayings
introduced into the body of the tale for the purose of
moral instruction and elucidation of doctrinal points.
The Bhiridafta Jataka(No, 543), too, suffers in the same
manner. When considered as a fairy-tale and not as a
jitaka it, too, contains a great dcal of irrelevant details
which do not by any means help to enrich the story.
Besidesusing this as a medium of moral instruction, the
preacher also has attempted to useit to criticise brahmanic
beliefs and dogmas. A number of tales such as the
Mahasutasoma JZtaka (No, 537) and the Devadhamma
Jataka (No. 6) have suffered in the sainc manner.
There are a few tales which can be grouped under the
categolJ of fairy-tales merely becausethey are based on
popular fairy-talc motifs, The Samiddhi fira*a(No. 167)
is one such tale. It is the tale of a fairy (devadhiti)vtho
t r i e s t o w i n t h e h e a r t o f a h a n d s o m e ,y o u n g a s e c t i c T. he
love between fair:es and men is a very common theme in
fairy-tales of the East and the West. But this Buddhist
fairy-tale falls far short of the standard of the average
fairy-tale with a similar theme. This story seemsto be a
creation of a Buddhist monk and does not in any way
rcveal the ingenuity of the author. T}r'eSamiddhi Jitaka
is related with referenceto an extremely pious Elder who
has forsaken worldly pleasures,love, cven that of a fairy,
is an obstacle to his goal, The preacher who tried to
explain the exemplary characterof this F,lderby meansof
a tale had to bc within certain limits when doing so. He
h a d t o i n v e n t a t a l e w h i c h e x p l a i n e d t h e E l d e r ' sp r e s e n t
experiencewith thc help of a similar past experienceof
his. The extremely pious characterof the Elder concerned
and the uneventful incident in the presentlife of the Elder
prevented the preacher from inventing a fascinating
fairy-tale, by setting up restnctions to his imagination.
Moreover, a fascinaling fairy-tale was not the main
concern of the Buddhist preacher. Much lessinteresting
are the tales regar{ing tree-deities.They have no value as
s t o r i e s( s e eN o s . 1 0 9 ,3 1 1 , 4 6 5 ) .
 FAIRY TALES
However, the Jataka book is not completely devoid of
interesting fairy-tales. The Telapettha Jataka(No. 96) is
one such interesting tale. It relates the story of a prince
who winr a kingdom by resisting the fascinations of an
enchanting ogress. The tale is made more interesting by
relating the fate that befalls the king who falls prey to the
temptations of the ogress.The Dadhivihanafltaka(No.
186) is an extremely enchanting fairy-tale that can be
compared favourebly with any fairy-tale of that type. tt is
a typical specimen of the type of wonder tales that centre
round magical objects. [t narrates the extraordinary
manner in which the hero acquires the magic objects and
usesthem to win a kingdom.
Three ascetics received from Sakka, who had been
their brother in the previous birth, three magic object
namely, a raizor which could be used as a razor or as aD
exe; a drum which when beaten on one side drove away
elephants and when beaten on the other made friends of
them; and q bowl from which a str?am of curd flowed at
its will. At that time in an island far away lived a wild boar
that possesseda gem which enabled its possessorto travel
through the air. A ship wrecked seilor from KCsi, who
happened to come to this island, stealthily took posses-
sion of this gem. He trevelled to the Himilayas through
the air. Therc he saw the three asceticswith magic objects.
In exchange for the gem he obtained the magic razor by
which he killed the asceticand reeovered his gem. Having
obtained the other two magic objects he finally waged
war against the king of Benares whom he defeated with
the aidof the magic objects. He completcly destroyed all
his enemiesby drowning them in a river of curd produced
by his magic bowl end ultimately sscendedthe throne.
The other episode has been appended merely to transfer
this popular fairy-tale into a jataka (sec T.W. Rhys
Davids, Buddhist Birth Stories I, pp, xvi-xxii). The
knowledge of animal speech is widely used as a fairy-tale
motif in the east and the west. One of the earliest tales
which uses this motif is the Kharaputta JEtskd (No. 385
for varicnts of this story see Benfey in Oricnt aad
Oeident,Il, pp. 133 ff. and also the second rtory in the
Arabian Nights).
Once Senakq king of Benares, saved a Naga-king from
death and in gratitude the latter gave the king a Niga
maiden to minister to him. One day the king found the
Niga maiden making love to a \rater snake, and struck
her. She went and reported to the Niga-king that she had
been ill-treated. Enraged at this the Naga-kilg sent his
attendants to destory Senaka. However, when the truth
was revealedthe Naga-king confessedhis error to Senaka
and in order to make amends taught him a charm which
gave him the knowledge of all sounds. He also advisedthe
king not to divulge this charm to any one else for thet
would cause his death. One day Senaka's queen dis-
213 FAIRY TALES
covering the supernatural knowledge possessedby hcr
husband entreated him to teach her the charm even at the
coct of his life. Being unable to dissuade the queen he
finally decided to teach her the charm. Jurt at that
moment the Bodhisatta who was born as Salka assumed
the form of a goat and convcrsed with his wife who had
assumedthe form of a she-goatabout the stupidity of the
king, in the presenceof the king, Ultimately Sakka taught
Senaka a device by which the latter was eble to prevent
the queen from inquiring about the charm.
This, too, seems to have been borrowed by the
Buddhists from a popular fairy,tale of the time. Thc
introduction of Satka, who is indentified with the
Bodhisattq was solely for the purpose & transfcrring this
into a Jitaka.
ln the Cullapaduma fitaka (No. 193) neirher feiries
nor goblins appear. Yet, the incidents involved, specially
the miraculous escapeof Cullepadumg are sofascinating
that it can be classed as an interesting fairy-tale. [t is one
of the few fairy-tales that have been aptly used in the
Jdtakefor moral instruction without impairing the story.
Some of the tales about shipwrecked mariners aDd
their adventures are quite fascinating. The Valihassa
Jfraka (No. 196)is one such tale. It relatesthe adventurcs
of some shipwrecked mariners who were cast ashorencar
of man<eting she-goblings.Some of the sailors
" "ity
who were unable to resist being fascinated by the she-
goblins fcll prey to them and others who resirtcd them
were laved by a supernaturai horse which flew off
carrying the sailors (see Divy. pp. 120 and 524 ff. and
Karanp. 52. cp, also J. No. 463),
The CatudvEra Jitaka (No, a39) is another tale thst
related the incredible things that heppened to Mittavin-
daka who by accident landed in an island where the
inhabitants enjoy divine bliss for seven days and inexpli-
cable woe for another seven days. In typical fairy-tale
style it further narretes how Mittavindaka sailed to
several other similar islands and how he finally reached
the Ussida-hell. Then it narrates in very graphk manncr
how he undergoes punishment for hig excessive
covetousnesg.
One of the most interesting fairy-tates of this category
that appears in the JVtaka is the Losaka J-ataka$o.4l).
The incidents are so well-woven and the presentation is so
lively that it is capable of rousing the curiosity of the
listener or reader and transferring him tomporarily to a
world of fancy, It relates the story of a monk who as a
result of his jealousy and greed is first born in hell and
then as an orge, a dog and finally as a begger. But in that
birth he brings so much of ill-luck to his family that his
parents are forced to drive him away. He goes off and
settles down among somc other folk to whom also he
 FAIRY TALES 214
b r i n g si l l - l u c k . H e i s d r i v e n a w a y o n c ea g a i n . U l t i m a t c l y
h e d e c i d e st o s a i l a n d e m b a r k s a s h i p . [ n m i d - c c e a nh e i s
c a s t o v e r b o a r d a s h i s f e l l o w s a i l o r s c o n s i d e rh i m t o b e a
s o u r c eo f m i s f o r t u n e . H e , c l a m b e r i n go n t o a r a f t , l a n d s
in several islands similar to those mentioned in the
previous tale. Eventually be comes to an ogre-island
w h e r eh e s e i z c st h e l e g o f a n o g r e s sw h i c h h a d t h e s h a p eo f
a s h e - g o a t .A s s o o n a s h e l a y s h i s h a n d o n t h e s h e - g o a t ,
shekicks him so hard that he is at once thrown back to
B e n a r e sw h e r e h e f a l l s a m o n g t h e k i n g ' s h e r d o f g o a t s .
T h e r e h e i s t a k e n t o b e a t h i e f a n d c o n d e m n e dt o d e a t h .
N o t d e v i a t i n g f r o m t h e t y p i c a l s t y l e o f f a i r y - t a l e sw h i c h
c n d s o n a h a p p y n o t e , h e i s r e c o g n i s e da n d r e s c t t e da t t h e
last momcnt.
The Samugga JEtake (No. 436) is another fairy-tale
t h a t r e m i n d s t h e r e a d e ro f t h e g i a n t s t h a t a r e s o c o m m o n
in Eastern and Western fairy-tales. lt narrates how a
m a n - e a t i n gd e m o n f a l l s i n l o v e w i t h a m o r t a l w o m a n a n d
i n o r d e r t o s a f e g u r a dh e r p u t s h e r i n a b o x w h i c h h e
s w a l l o w s .T h e w o m a n , b 1 's o m e d e v i c ci n d u c e sa m a n t o
e n t e rt h e b o x a n d w i t h o u t t h e k n o w l e d g eo f t h e d e m o n
enjoys his love while being in the belly of the demott,
There is nothing Buddhistic in thesefairy-(ales.They are
u s e d i n l h e J i t e k a m e r e l v b e c a u s et h e v p r o v e d t o b e a n
effective medium of instruction.
T h e r e a r e a n u m b e r o f t a l e st h a t h a v ea st h e i r t h e m et h e
u n i o n b e t w e e n h u m a n a n d s u p e r - n a t u r a lb e i n g s .T h e
Samugga Jitaka mentioned earlier as well ns the
Padakusalamanava Jitaka (No. 432) relate the union
between yakkhas and human beings. The Bhiridatta
J i t a k a ( N o . 5 4 3 ) t e l l sa b o u t t h e u n i o n b e t w e e nN a g a sa n d
human beings.'the KakatiJatala (No. 32)and Sussandi
f i r a . k a ( N o . 3 6 0 )r c l a t eh o w G a r u d a k i n g s k i d n a p w o m e n
a n d e n j o y t h e i r c o m p a n y . H u m a n c h i l d r e na r e b r o u g h t
up by an ogress(seeJayaddisa Jataka, No. 5 13).But verl-
rarely does anv o[ thesetalesrisc to the standard of a
fascinating f airy-tale.
T h e r e a r c a l s o a n u m b e r o f t a l e s t h a t d e s c r i b ee n -
c o u n t e r s b e t w e e n p r i n c e s a n d m a n - e a t i n gd e m o n s ( s e e
N o s , 1 5 5 . 3 4 7 , 3 9 8 , 5 3 7 ) . I n t l t e s et h e p r i n c e ,w h o i s
identified as the Bodhisatta, always emergesvictoritrs at
the end, These man-eating demons are never subdued by
u s e o f s t r e n g t ho r w e a p o n sb u t b y t h e u s e o f s u p e r i o rw i t
and preaching about the'godlike' wty (deva'dhamma).
Even princc Paiicavudha(see PafrcavudaJVtaka No. 55)
* h o f i r s t a t t e m p t st c o v e r - p o w e rt h e d e m o n b y a t t a c k i n g
ECirh Ludc*yk-Gyomroi, "The Valualion of Saddhi in Eerly Buddhist Textl," Univenity of Ceylon Review,Vcl' 2, No' 2,
October 1941, op. 3249.
'Note 'pasidati" University of Ceylon Review, Vol. I, No. One, April
E Crrh Lud owyk-Gyomroi, on the Interpretation of
1 ! r - t .p p . 7 4 - E ! .
{l:c s:e for rnore detaift on faith: K. N. Jayatilleke, Early Buddhist Theory o{ Knowldge,
I -rr'l:r l9r5l nn.381-40L
Ci. i'c sotavetto patnuflcantu saddham Vin, l, p. 5; M. l, p. 169
FAITH
him with weapons finally resorts to preaching' This
Buddhist attitude which considersthe power of intelligence
and virtue as stronger than that of weapons or bodily
strength seemsto have been a major causefor the absence
qf adventurous episodesin Buddhist fairy-talcs'
Some of the Buddhist fairy-taleshave paralielsin fairy-
tale literature outside India (see Arabian Nights; Gesta
Romanorum; Benfey,loc. cit.). This parallelism is partly
d u e t o t h e m i g r a t i o n o f t h e f a i r l ' - t a l e sa l o n g w i t h t h e
m i g r a t i o n o f t h e l n d i a n f a b l e s .B e s i d e st h i s , t h e g e n e r a . l
c a u s e st h a t b r o u g h t a b o u t t h e d i s s e m i n a t i o no f f a b l e so f
t h e E a s t a n d W e s t s e e m t o h a v e e f f e c t e dt h e s p r e a d o f
fairy-tales also. Just as taleswere carried elsewherefrom
l n d i a a g o o C n u m b e r o f t a l e s m u s t h a v e r e a c h e dI n d i a
f r c m o u t s i d e . T h i s i s q u i t e p r o b a b l e\ n t h e c a s e o f
mariners' fairy-tales which relate the adventures of
s h i p w r e c k e dm a r i n e r si n m y s t e r o u si s l a n d si n h a b i t e d b y
m a n - e a t i n g J g r e s s e sa n d g o b l i n s , F l o w e v e , i t i s n o t
p o s s i b l e ,w i t h t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a v a i l a b l e a t p r e s e n t , t o
d e t e r m i n e e x a c t l v , _ t hree s u l t o f t h i s r e c i p r o c a li n f l u e n c e
( s e e .F A B L E S ; J A T A K A ) .
S. K. Nenayakkare
FAITH. The Pali equivalent of the word faith is saddhi,
but all the connotations of the English word faith do not
apply to saddha.It is also important to note that saddha
i s n o t a s s i g n e dt h e s a m ev a l u e i n B u d d h i s m a s f a i t h i s i n
Christianity.r Anoth:r set of words that is sometimes
translated as faith is pasida/ pasannaTpaidaa; it is
d e c i d e d i l ' r ' e r vd i i f e r e n t f r o m f a i t h a n d o c c u p i e sa m u c h
higher status than saddhi as a positive religiousemotion.2
s a d h aa l s o h a s t h e c o n n o t a t i o n o f " c r e d u l i t v ' r .
Suttas record in stereotypelanguage how people
express faith after listening to the Buddha. Those who
wish to become oniy lay followers generally say: lt is
excellent revered Sir, it is excellent. The dhamma has
been made so clear in various methods that it is like
setting upright what has been set upside down, it is like
disclosing what has beenconcealed,it is like pointing out
the way to one who has.losthis way, and it is like bringing
an oil-lamp in the darknessso that those with cyesmigbt
be able to see material objects. Now I take es refuge,
revered Sir, the Exalted One, the dhamma and the Order
of monks, May the Exalted One consider me from this
George Allan rnd Unwin Ltd',
 FAITH
day as a lay follower who has taken refuge for life. (D. I,
p. 85).
A pcrson who decides to become a monk is said to
gencrally reflect with confidence (saddhi/in the Buddha
that the household life is cramped and confined, it is a
path of defilement,The homelesslife is open and free. It is
not easy for one who leads a household life to live the
higher life with absolute fulfilment, and absolute purity
like a polished conch-shell, Having gainad confidencein
t h i s m a n n e r h e r e q u e s t st h e B u d d h a f o r o r d i n a t i o n ( M . 1 ,
179, 267,344). The Nidinasamyufla4 states that one
gains confidence in the Buddha when one secsthat life is
full of suffering. In the Bodhiri jakumira sutta(M.ll, p.
94), the Buddha shows with the help of a sinile that just
as muctras one has to learn the art of riding an elephant
and handling the good by reposing faith/confidence/-
trust in the teacher, this Dhamma too has to be mastered
with faith/confidence/trust in the teacher and his
Enlightenemnt. There saddhi is reckoned as one of the
five factors contributing to spiritud striving (padhaniyah-
Saai).In the Kitigiri Suttas the Buddha saysthat a monk
who lives with faith, conducting himself according to thc
instructions of the teacher finds growth and strength in
the dispensation.According to the Alagaddipama Sutta
( M . I , p . I 4 2 ) t h o s ew h o h a v e m e r e f a i t h i n t h e B u d d h a ,
mere affection for him are destined to be reborn in'
heaven.As mere faith too is beneficialfor the welfare of a
h u m a n b e i n g t h e B u d d h a t a l e s c a r en o t t o p r o d t o o m u c h
those who lead the higher life with mere faith, as they
might lose even the little faith they have and that would
not be for their well being. Just as frieu<lr and relations
s h o u l d p r o t e c t t h e e y e o f a p e r s o nw h o h a s o n l y o n e e y e ,
care should be taken to safeguard the faith of those who
fare on with just faith only (M.1, p. 444).
Occasionally rrmaa'nd pasida are usedsynonvmouslv
with saddhA (A.lll, p.326; M.l, p. 142), but pema also
has a connotations of decidedly inferior value.6
Puggalappasida or iajth in a persona-lsense is said to
have evil consequenccsas Ernindividualcan be moved to
a n g e ri f t h e p e r s o n o f h i s a d m i r a t i o n i s f o u n d f a u l t w i t h ,
o r t o d e p r e s s i o ni f t h e p e r s o nc o n c e r n e dg o e sa w a y o r d i e s
(4. III, p. 270). Vakkali was a monk who entertained
f a i t h i n a p e r s o n a ls e n s et o w a r d s t h e B u d d h n . H e g a i n e d
much satisfaction by admiring the Buddha and the
Fuddha admonished him saying: What is the use of
gazing at this rotten body of mine. He who iees the
Dhamma seesme, he who seesmc aeesthe Dhamma (5.
I I I , p , I 2 0 ) . l t i s s a i d t h a t f a i t h i t s e l fw a s a n i r n p e d i m e n t
for Vakkali to attain ara.bantship(ThagA.II, p. 148).
4. S. II, p.3l- dukkhupanisa saddha
5. M. l, p. 480- rumhanivam satthuslnam hoti ojavantam
5. A. Il, p. 213 - pema dosofiyati; Dhp. v.213; pematoiiyati soko
215 FAITH
The Buddha does pot expect blind faith from his
disciples.In the Can*i Sutta (M.II, p. 179) he criticises
the faith which brahmins have towards the Vcdas snd
calls it amiliki saddhi, groundless faith. He compares
the brahmanic tradition to a proccasion of blind men as
none in the entire tradition can claim to have seen or
known about the qualities of Brabmau with whom they
aspire to attain companionship, In the Teuijja Sutta (D.1,
p.2al) the futility of the brahmanic artitude is illustrared
with the simile of. a man who professeslove for a ravi-
shing beauty (anapadakalyni)whom he has never seen
and does not know at all.
In the Kilama Sutta(D.I, p. 189)the Buddhaexflains
in dctails the open-mindednesswhich a person should
bear in listening to thc propositions put forward by
another as true. He admonishes that one should not
acccpt the statements of another as true on grounds of
revelation, tradition, hearsay,scriptural authority, logic,
inference, superficial observation, agreementwith one's
own accepledviews, plausibility or the prestigevalue of
the teacher. This does not mean that the statements
should be rejectedstraight a\ryay,but that their truth and
utility values should be weighed impartially. One should
be guided by one's own experience, the attitude of the
wise and the consequencesresulting from the acccptance
of thoseviews. Whcn one is personallysatisfiedthat these
views are true and useful onc may acept them provi-
sionally. This provisjonal acceptanceis called saccinur*-
khana in the Cah*i sutta, (M.lI, p. l7l) a:l one is in a
posiiion to safeguard the truth with such aD attitude.
Thus the type of.saddha that the Buddha expectsfrom his
disciplcsis a non<ommitted open-mindedness,a willing-
n e s st o t r y o u t h i s m e s s a g e I. f w h e n h e t r i e s o u t h e f i n d s
the teaching useful and truc his faith gets more firmly
established.
In rhe V-imamsakaSutta(M.I, p. 318) the Buddha says
that his disciplesshould not tske his claim to enlighten-
ment at face value. Those who do not have the ability to
r c a d t h e t h o u g h t s o f a n o t h e r ,s h o u l d e x a m i n e h i m w i t h
regard to those patterns of beha'riour observablethrough
visual and auditory faculties. When observing him for a
l o n g t i m e i f t h e y f i n d n o c o r r u p t c o n d u c t ,n o r a m i x t u r e
o f g o o d a n d c v i l q u a l i t i e s ,a n d t h e y f i n d o n l y v i r t u o u s
c o n d u c t t h e y c a n c o m c t o t h e c o n c l u s i o nt h a t t h e B u d d h a
is truly enlightened. We do find rccorded in the Pali
C a n o n s u c h a n d s i m i l a r o b s e r v a t i o n sm a d e b y e m i n e n t
members of the society. The BrahmEyu Sutta (M, ll, p.
135) records that the young man Uttara followed the
Buddha for seven months investigating the Buddha's
 FAITH 216
conduct to see whethcr the fame that has spread about
him is justified or not. In the Dhammacetiya Sutta (M.
I l l , p , 1 2 0f f . ) K i n g P a s e n a d iK o s a l a m a k e sa n u m b e r o f
o b s e r v a t i o n so n t h e s t r c n g t h o f w h i c h h e c o m e s t o t h e
c o n c l u s i o n t h a t t h e B u d d h a i s f u l l y e n l i g h t e n e d ,t h e
Dhamma is well expounded bv the Buddha. and the
S a n g h ai s w e l l s e t o n t h e p a t h ( t o l i b e r a t i o n ) .
i n t h e C a h k i S u t t a ( M . l l , p . 1 7 2f , ) t h e B u d d h a s a y s
that disciples should examine to see if the Buddha is
reaching out of selfish motiv-es(lobhaniyehi dhammehi),
malicious motives (dosan-iyehi dhammehr,) or from
delusive tendencies (monahiyehi dhammehr) whether he
claims to know and seewhen in fact he doesnot know and
s e e .I f t h e y f i n d t h a t h i s p h y s i c a la n d v e r b a l c o n d u c t d o e s
not betray such evil motives, that the Dhamma he teaches
a p p e a r st o b e p r o f o u n d , e x c e l e n ta n d a p p e a l i n gt o t h e
wise, and it is such that it could not be preachedby one
having base,evil motives, then the disciplesshould repose
faith in him,
T h u s t h e B u d d h a e n c o u r a g e sc r i t i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n o f
h i m s e l f a n d h i s t e a c h i n g sa n d t h e s a d d h a h ee x p e c t sf r o m
his disciples is an enlightcned confidence/trust in the
teacherwhich motivates him to take the teachingseriously
and put forth strenuous effort to practise accordingly.
T h i s c o n f i d e n c e / t r u s ti s s a i d t o b e o f g r e a t b e n e f i tt o t h e
beginner (saddha bahukari; (M. Il, p. 176).
T h e w o r d s a d d h a i s s o m e t i m e su s e d i n t h c s e n s eo f
self-confidence too. According to the Ariyapariyesana
S u t t a( M . I , p . 1 6 4 )t h e r e c l u s eG o t a m a w h o l e a r n t a b o u t
t h e m e d i t a t i o n l e v e l a t t a i n e db y A l a r a K a l a m a r e f l e c t e d
t h u s : I t i s n o t o n l y A l a r a K i l a m a w h o h a s s a d d h a ,I t o o
have saddhi, it is not only Alara Kalama who has viriya..,
sati...samadhi and pafffia, I too havc them. Thus he
r e s o l v e d t o p r a c t i s e m e d i t a t i o n a n d a c h i e v et h e s a m e
spiritual level which Alara Kalama had attained.Herc
the context shows that recluse Gotama meant self-
confidence by saddha and not faith in Alara K-alama.ln
t h eP a d h i n a S u t t a ( S n . v . 4 3 2 )t h e B o d h i s a t t a ,i n r e p l y t o
Mara, says: Itflrr saddhe tuta viriyam. This means that he
has confidencein himself from which he derivesenergyto
qo on with spiritual striving. The A'nguttara nikaya (A.
flt, p 9) enumeratesfive tathigatabalaniendowed with
w h i c h t h e B u d d h a c l a i m s a p o s i t i o n o f e m i n e n c ea m o n g
men (6sabham thanam) and proclaims his teachingswith
'fhe
the fearlessness of a lion (sihanadamnadati). first of
t h e s ei s s a d c i h i l b a l a n d i t n e c e s s a r i l y
h a s t o be power
b o r n o f s e l f - c o n f i d e n c eT. h u s i t i s c l e a r f r o m t h e i d e a s
c o n t a i n e di n t h e P a l i C a n o n t h a t t h e c o n c e p to f s a d d h a i n
B u d d h i s m c o n t a i n s a n e l e m e n to f s e l f - c o n f i d e n c t o o .
S a d d h a ,f a i t h i n t h e t e a c h e rs e e m st o g e td e e p e n e di n t o
p a s i d a , i n t e l l e c t u a l a p p r e c i a t i o n /c o n v i c t i o n a s o n e
p r o g r e s s e sw i t h b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n go f t h e d h a m m a .
T h u s t h e , ) { a d h u p i n d r k aS u t t a ( M . 1 , p . l l a ) s t a t e st h a t
FAITH
when one investigatesthe dhamma with intelligenceoie
experiences joy (atumanatan) an{ inteilectual satis-
faction (cetaso pasEdam). Pasada also means clarity of
mind as the sameword is also usedin associationwith the
rr&nsparent clarity of limpid water. According to the
A n g u t t a r a n i k i y a ( A . I , p . 2 l l ) w h e n a d i s c i p l ep o n d e n
over his own qualities such as saddha, sila, suta,'ci.ga, and
paflfri he experiencesclarity of mind/intellectual appre-
ciation (cittam pasidati). This generates delight
lpamu1iary) which causesthe elimination of defilements.
Thus faith deepenswith spiritual progressand pqves the
way to mental purity.
There are five spiritual faculties (ptfrc'indriyini (5. Y,
p. 193f.)of which the faculty of faith (sadh'indriya)isthe
first, This faculty seemsto comprise acombination of faith
in the Buddha, Dhamma, Sarigha and self-confidence.
Just as much as confidence in the teacher is essentiel,
confidencr in one's own ability and strength of character
is a sine qua non to carry through the arduous task of
conquering temptations and gaining self-mastery. This
saddh'indriyagrows into a power, saddhibala (M.ll,pp.
ll-12), Perhaps the stabilised form of saddhabala is
cailed akaravati saddha which is translated by K. N.
J a y a t i l l e k e( K . N , J a y a t i l l e k e , o p , c i t . p . 3 9 3 ) a t r s t i o n a l
faith, The l'imamsaka Sutta (M. t, p. 320) explains how
this rational faith grows in a disciple iri the following
w o r d s : A s t h e B u d d h a g r a d u a l l yp r e a c h e st h e D h a m m a
progressingfurther and further, going from excellenceto
excellence,explaining dark and bright qualities with their
countcrparts, one gains insight into the Dhamma with
higher knowledgc and achievesfulfilment in one aspectof
t h e D h a m m a . T h e n i n t e l l e c t u a la p p r e c i a t i o n/ c o n v i c t i o n
d a w n s o n h i m t h a t t h e B u d d h a i s f u l l y e n l i g h t c n c d ,t h e
Dhamma is well expounded by the Buddha and the
S a n g h a i s w e l l s e t o n t h e p a t h ( t o l i b e r a t i o n ) .O n e w h o
r e p o s e sf a i t h i n t h e B u d d h a i n t h i s m a n n c r ' w i t h t h e s e
words and phrases, has his fs.ith well rooted and esta-
blished. This is called rationai fa'ith (akarevati saddhi)
which is rooted in insight, firm and irremovable by any
recluse, brahmin, deity, Mara, God or snyone in the
world.
Because ikiravati saddha is described as dassana-
m-ulika,rooted in insight, one may conjecturethat it is the
s a m e a s a v e c c a p p a s i d a , f o r ,a s K . N , J a y a t i l l e k e( K . N .
J a y a t i l l e k e ,o p . c i t . p , 3 8 6 ) p o i n t s o u t a v e c c a p p a s i d a c a n
be translated as appreciation based on understanding.
According to the Sotipatti Samyutta (^S.V, p. 3a3)
aveccappasadatn th,? Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha
c o u p l e dw i t h n o b l e m o r a l v i r t u e c o n d u c i v et o c o n c e n t r a -
tion are the characteristicsof a stream winner.
-s/lr
S ad d h a, p asi d a, ar a v at-ise d d h a $d avecc ap p asi da
are different degrees of the same religious emotion of
faith, It starts with an open-minded willingnessto try out
 FAITH
t h e t e a c h i n g sa n d i t c u l m i n a t e si n a d e e p - r o o t e du n s h a k -
able conviction. But paflfra (wisdon) is far sup:rior to
even the highest level of faith as it is paflfli which
guaranteesfull !iberation finally. The fact rhat saddheis
l t h ei n i t i a l v i r t u c w h i c h a c t i v a t e st h e p r o c c s so f s p i r i t u a l
dcvelopment, and that paflfia is the culmination of that
proc:ss sccmsto be evidentfrom iistsof virtues mentioned
i n t h e P a l i C a n o n a s r e q u i r e m e n t sf o r l i b e r a t i o n .I n t h e s e
enumerations it cannot be a coincidrnce that saddha is
nrentioned as lhe first menber while pafifia is mentioned
a s t h e l a s t . T h e f o l i c w i n g l i s t s h a v e b e e nc c l l e c t e db y K ,
N . J a y a t i l l e k e :( K . N . J a y a t i l i e k e ,o p . c i t , 3 9 6 ) .
l. Saddhi, slla, suta,caga.pafifia(A Ii, p. 66, ill, pp. 6,
4 4 , l 8 l ; ' { t v . p p . 2 7 0 , 2 7 1 , 2 8 4 , 2 8 8 :M , I , p , 4 6 5 , [ I , p .
1 8 0 ,l l l , p . 9 9 ) .
2. Saddha, viriT'a, sati, samadhi, pafifia, (M. 1, p. 164,
I I l , p . 9 9 ; - 9 . V , p . 1 9 3f f . )
3. Saddhi, sila, caga, pafifia, patibhina, (A. Y, p.96')
4. Saddho, appabadho, asatho, araddhaviriyo,
p a f i f t a v a ,( M . l l , p . l 2 S ) .
5. ,9addho, hirima, ottappi, akodhano, pafrfiava fS. IV,
p.2a3).
6. Saddha, hiri, otteppa, viriya, pafifia (A,Itl, pp. 4, 9),
'1.
Saddha, araddhaviril'a, upatthitasati, samahita,
p a f i f i a v a ( A . V l , p p . 3 2 9 13 3 3 , 3 3 5 ) .
8, Saddho, hirima, ottappi, bahussuta, araCdhaviriya,
u p a t t h i t e s a t i ,p a f f f r a v a ,M . l l l , p , 2 3 ;A . l l , p . 2 1 8 ; I V ,
p p ,2 3 ,38) .
9. S addho, silava, bahucsuto,patisallino, araddhaviriyo,
satimi, pafrflava, (,4. IV, p. l'85).
10. Saddha, silata, bahussuta, suvaca, kalvanamitta,
araddhaviriya, upatthitasati, appiccha, sammi-
dillhika (A.v, pp. 153,154).
It is also noteworth,v-that saddha does not form a part
in the ari-va atthahgika magga, perhaps for the sinnple
r e a s o nt h a t i t o n l y i n i t i a t e st h e p a t h . N o r i s i t o n e o f t h e
bojjhangas.The conversation of Citta gahapati with
NiganthaNitaputta (.9.IV, p. 298)dso ievralsthe superiorfv
of paf,fta over saddha. Citta says he dces not merelv
believe that there is a jhana where vitakka and v'icara
c e a s e ,b u t h e k n o w s i t a s a f a c t t h i o u g h e x p e r i e n c ea s h e
t o o c a n a t t a i n t o t h e s ej h a n a s r + h c n e v e h r e wishes.
The Anguttara nikil,a (A. V, p. 23) mentions ten
s p i r i t u a . . l l ya d v a n c e d i n d i . r i d u a l s w h o a r e w o r t h y o f
honour and who are describedas fields of merit, in
desccnding order. They are Samrnasambuddha,
paccekasambuddha, ubhatobhagavimutta, palifri-
vimutta, kayasakkhi, ditthippatta, saddhivimutta,
dhamminusari, saddhanuiiri and, gotrabhil. There is no
d o u b t t h a t t h e f i r s t f o u r p e r s o n a g e si n t h i s l i s t a r e f u l l y
l i b e r a t e d .E l s e w h e r e( A . I , p . I l 8 ) t h e q u e s t i o nc f w h o i s
superior of the next three, viz. kZyasakkhi, ditthippatta
217 FALSE SPEECH
and saddhavimutta is discussed. KAyasakkhr, one who
has physical proof, hss samidhindriya best developed.
Ditthippatta, one who has acquired right view, has
pafrfrinciriya best developed. Saddhivimutfa, one who
!:asattaiaed (a certain degreeof) Iiberation through faith,
|.tn saddhindriya best developcd. When the Buddha
i s a s k e d t h e q r i e s t i o na s t o w h o i s t h e b e s t a m o n g t h e s e
t h r e e ,t h e B u d d h a e x p l a i n e dt h a t i t i s n o t p o s s i b l et o e i v e
a c a t e g o r i c aa l n s w e rt o t b a t q u e s t i o n ,a s a n y o n e o ; se
persons may be a sakadigami, anigimr or one on the
p a t h t o a r a h a n t s h i p .A s s u c h ,a l l s e e mt o h a v ep a s s e tt h .
stageof sotapatti.The Kitagiri Sutta (M.I, p. 478) clearly
s t a t c st h e s p i r i t u a Ja t t a i n m e n t so f t h e s a d d i a v i m u t t a . H e
i s c n e w h o h a s n o t p h v s i c a l l y e x p e r i e n c e dt h o s e n o n -
m a t e r i a l p e a c e f u id e l i v e r a n c e sw h i c h t r a n s c e n dm a t e r i a -
l i t y . H e h a s ,w i t h w i s d o m , s e e na n d d e s t r o y e ds o m ea s y a , s
( i n f l u x e s ) .H i s f a i t h i n t h e B u d d h a i s f i x e d , d e e p r o o t e d
a n d e s t a b l i s h e d .S u c h a p e r s o n i s c a l l e d o n e l i b e r a t e d
ihrough faith. But he has some more to accomplish
through diligence. According to thc Alagaddupama
Sutta (M.1, p, 142) ail those who are led by the dhanma
and saddhE are heading towards enlightenment (ye te
bhikkhu dhamminusirino saddhinusirino sabbe te
sambodhiparayaga)
When full liberation is attained finaJly saddha is
replaced b-vpaflfiE an arahant is therefore described as
o n e d e v o i d o f f a i t h ( a s s a d d h oD
: hp, v.92)..k is onlv an
arahant who ca-'r claim highest knowleCge (Pafiffa)
rvithout relying on faith. (5. IV, p. I3E).
Lllv De Sllva
FALLACIES.SeeLOGIC
FAI,SE-SPEECH, referred to jn Paii as musar.ada,is
c a t e g o r i s ead sa f o r m o f a b u s eo f s p e e c hc r i g n o b l eu s a g e
o f i a n g , r a g e( a n a r i y a - v o h a r a ,D A , I I I , p , 8 9 1 ) u n d e r
rvhich cat.gory is included dso malicious-speech (pisuna-
v Z c a ) , h a r s h - s p e e c h( p h a r u s Z - w c a . ) a n d m o n s e n s i c a l
b a b b l e( s a m p h a p p a l a p a : D .I l l , p . 2 3 2 ; D A . l I I , p . 1 0 2 5 ) .
Indulgence in false-speechis regarded as an evil habit
h a r m f u l t o b o t h t h e i n d i v i d u a l a n d t h e s o c i e t v( D , I I I , p .
9 2 ) , a n d a b s t e n t i o nf r o m i t i s ! i s t e d a s t h e f o u r t h o f t h e
f i v e p r e c e p t s .F o r m o n k s i t i s s a i d t o b e a f o r m o f
m i s c o n d u c tt h a t r e q u i r e se x p i a t i o n ( V i n . l Y , p , 2 t f. )
Commeniarial tradition gives a very comprehensive
d e f i n i t i o n a b o u t f a l s e - s p e e c hb y t r e a t i n g i t u n d e r t h e
wider conccpt of deception. Th:refore, though false
speech is basically a particular form of conduct or
 F,{MILY 218
behaviour pertr.idDg to speech(bhsssa-samicara:D.lll,
p, l0O it ir pointed out thet in this wider connotation it
ilcludes verbel actr er well a,: physical acts or gestures
cerried out with the intention of decciving others (DA.l,
p . 7 2 ) . T h u s i t i s s e e nt h a t t h e e m p h a s i si s o n i n t e n t i o n
than on the mode of performance of the act.
This intention is the intention to deceiveby distortion
o f f a c t s ( a t t h a b h a f , j a n aD
: A.I,72,cf . DhpA.lII, p.356).
It ir thir intention tbat distinguishes false speech from
othcr types of abuse of speech.This deception by using
felse-spcechcould be carried out by representingwhat is
non-existcnt and unreal as existentand red or by denying
what one has scen,heard, sensedand conccived or elscby
affirming what one has not seen, heard, sensed or
conccived as seen ?tc.
This is c:rsidered such a basic evil that the Buddha
h i m s e l f s q v s ," . . . . o f a n y o n ef o r w h o m , t h e r e i s n o s h a m e
at intentiona.l lying (sampajana mwEvada) of him I say
that there_is no evil he cannot do" (!,{. i, p. 415). See
MUSAVADA, PANCA SiLA, PRECEPl'S.
S. K. Nmavaklare
FAIvflLy. Buddhist literary sourcesfurnish considerable
informetion on the social conditions that prevailed in
I n d i a i n t h c 6 t h C c n t u r y ' 8 . C . T h e s e s o u r c e sp r o v i d e
evidenceto show that, of the numerous social institutions
that functioned at the time, the ftimily formed the basic
unit of the social fabric. In Pali texts the family is
gcncrally denoted by the term ,tula which also has other
nuanccs of meaning attached to it (see KULA). The
frmily unit denoted by the term kula is not a nuclear
famiiy consisting of man, his wife and their unmarried
c h i l d r e n , b u t a s o r t o f a n e x t e n d e df a m i l y c o n s i s t i n go f a
man, his parents,his wife and children, daughters-in-law
( i f t h c r e a r e m s r r i e i ' s o n s ) ,h i s s i s t e r sa n d p e r h a p so t h e r
'family' unit is
dependent close relatives. But this
'houschold'unit,
dilfercnt from iJie a l s o d e n o t e db y t h e
term kuia, wlr:cn \Aai more expansive in rnembership.
T h e ' h o u s e h o l d ' u n i t i n c l u d e de l ' e ns l a v e s .a n d h o u s e h o l , l
'household'
s e r v a n : s s .i t i s s e e ni h a t t h e c o n c e p t o f t h e
'living togethcr',
unit was bas:C on the idea of whereasthe
famiiy emphasised'kinship'.
Apparcntly thc man and the wife formed the pivot
round which the farnill'g ' r e w . I t w a s a p a t r i a r c h a Js o c i e t , v -
and, therefore, the man occupied the prime position in
the family, and as such be was generally referred to as
K u l a p a t i l A . I , p . 1 5 2 ;I I i . p . 4 4 ) . H i s s u p e r i o r i t . vi s a f a c t
taken for granted and in keeping with his superior
p o s i t i o n i n t h e f a m i l y , h e i s a d d r e s s e db y t h e w i f e a s
nn'aputta. or more commonl-v,as sfmr(lord, chicf). The
terrn used to refer to the wife is bhariya,literally meaning
FAMILY
one u'ho is supported, and perhaps at an earlier period
p u r p c s e l yu s e dt o c o n n o t eh e r s u b o r C i n s t ep o s i t i o ni n t h e
f a m i l y t o b h a t t a ( b h a t t a t h eb r e a d w i r n e r : D , t l l , p . 1 9 0 ) .
B u t b y t h e 6 t h c e n t u r y B . C . t h i s c o n n o t a t i o n s e c m st o
have lost its original significance,frrr the role of (he wifc
b y t h e n h a d u n d e r g o n ec o n s i d e r a b l ec h a n g e .B e s i d e st h e
tzrm bh_ariya,terms dira (masc,) kalatra (ncut.) or even
pejipati are applied to the wife.
As poiygamy prevailed constant referencesto co-wives
(sapatti, sabhariya) are found in texts (D. II, pp.45, 2-1:),
245, 334; M. Il, p. 64; A. IV, p. 120; Thig. v, 225).
Numcrous :pisodes show that the state of a co-wife was
not an en.,'iableone (Thig. v. 216; ThigA. l7[), That the
state of a co-wife is regarded as a state of misery is seen
from the Samyutta nikaya (S.IV, p. 249) which saysthat
a w o m a n w h o h a s n o m e r i t t o h e r c r e d i t w i l l n o t b e a b l et o
avoid falling into the state of a co-wife. The meanings of
hostility and rivalry connotei bv the term sapatta are
i n d i c a t i v co f t h e h o s t i l er e l a t i o n s h i p st h a t e x i s t e da m o n g
g ' r - . : , i ' ' 1 ' sT. h o u g h p o l y g a m y w a s y e t i n v o g u e i t i s ,
h o w c v e ; .: - r i t r : c a b l ct h a t t h e s o c i a la n d e c o n o m i cc h a n g e s
that were rapidil' taling place in the 6th :enturv B.C.
w e r e c r c a t i n g a n e n l ' i r o n i n c n th c i p f u l l ; r i l o r : o g a m y t o
r e p l a c ep o i y g a m y ( , 4 . I l i , p p , 5 7 l f . 2 9 5 f f . ; V i n . I , p , 2 l 6 f ;
240f. lII, p. l?).
T h e h u s b a n d - w i f cr e l a t i o n s h i pw a s c o m m o n l y b a s e d
on mutual respect,trust, understandingald co-operation.
T h i s i d e a l r e l a t i o n s h i pi s e p i t o m i z e d b y N a k ' - r l a p i t aa n d
N a k u l a m a t a , t h e i d e a l o f h u s b a n d a n c iw i f e " ( A . I I I , p .
2 9 5t f . ) . T h e S r g a l o v a d aS u t t a ( D . l l l , p 1 9 0 )l a y s d o w n
g u i d c l i n e tsh a t a r ec o n d . . : c i l teo n u r t u i e t h i sr e l a t i o n s h i p .
I t s a ' , ' s",l n f i r ' e * a v s s h c u l d a w r f e a s w e r t e: n q u a r t e i b e
m i n i s t e r e dt o b _ r ' h ehr u s b a n d ;b _ "r c" s p c c tb, v c o u r t e s y b, y
f a i t h f u l n e s s ,b ; ; h a n d i n g o v c r a u t h o r i t y t o h e r . p r o v i d i n g
h e r w i t h o r n a m e n t s ". R c s p e c t( . ,am m i n s n a ) a n d c o u r t e s y
( a v i m i n a n a ) w e r c c o n s i i e r e d c r s e n t i l i f e a t u r e si n t h i s
r e l a t i o n s h i pi n d i c a t i n g t h a t a r v i . i es h o u l r l r r o t b e l o o k e d
d o w n u p o n a s i n f : r ! c r i n s t a t u si n t h c f u n i l ! ' s t r u c t u r e .
B u d d h i s m c o n s t a n t l i ' e n j , ^ r i r ;t h a t t h e w ' i f r s h o u i d b e
r c g a r d e da s c o - p a r t n e ri n t l t t f a ; r i i i yu n i t . T o p u t t h i s i : r t o
practice the Sig-alov'adaSaita aClises that a husbalc
s h o u l d h a n d o v e r a u t h c l t l r v h ' c h t h c c c m m e n t a r yv e n '
l u c i d l y e x p l a i n s a s a u t h r i r i i ' . 'i n h c u s e h o i d a f f a i l s i D A .
l l l , p , 9 5 5 ) .I t i s g e n e r : ; . ": t r o u q h t h a t f i d e l i t l 'i 's a q u a l i t y
exp:cted more iror:r 'i:t uife than thc husbandand the
c h a s t e w i f e i s h e l d i n h i 1 . 1e' s t e e m .B u t f r o m t h i s i t i s
c l e a r l ys e e nt h a t t h e h u s b a n dt c o s h o u i d b e f a i t h f u l i f t h e
f a m i l y u n i t i s t o s u n ' i v c w i t i r o r r tS e t t i n gd i s i n t e g r a t e d .
When a wifc is so treated, the Sigalovada Surta says
t h a t s h ew o u l d r e c i p r o c a t eb y p e r f o r m i n gh c r C u t i c sw c l ! ,
by showing hospitality to the kin of her husband and
hers, by being faithful, bl' careftrlly managing his weli-
 FAIVILY
earned wcalth and by skilfully and diligently discha;ging
ell her dutier er hdy of the house.
In all family affaris she enjoyed equal status with her
husband, ln fact a wife war exp€cted to deputise her
husband in all family affairs. In this regard she had to
shoulder rdded rerponsibilities. It is said she should even
gain proficienry in industry and business carried on by
her hurband so thet she could efficiently deputise him
when the need arirea. [t appeerss thet a wife had to
rhoulder comperatively a greater share of responsibility
in family effairs than the husbend whose main function
war thrt of a breedwinner. Even in creating an emotional
environment that conducive to clorer family bonds the
wife wrr expected to play a pivotal role. Thus she is
expectedto rire eariier than the husband and retire last to
bed. She rhould willingly help him, csrry out his wishes
and speak to him in an affable msnner, She should adapt
hcrsclf to thc thinking pnttern and habits of her husband
by gctting used to honour, reverc and respect all whom
her husbend respects such as his parents and religious
men, This melnt tbat she should, for the well-being and
bnppiners of the family, totally merge r*ith the husband
end sven adopt hir religious faith if she, by chance,
happened to belong to a different faith. It is she who held
the rerponsibility of managing the slaves ard servants,
cering cqually for both sick and ablc,distributing their
rcquirements according to their needs.She was expccted
n o t o n l y t o b e a b l e t o g e t t h e w o r k d c n e b u t a l s ot o k n o w
the work herself so that she could well srrpervisethe
worknen. Besides, whe wes expected to manage the
family affairs efficiently and at the same time seethat her
husbandr! wealth is not wasted (4. III, p. 36ff.).
A husband's addiction to liquor, gambling and women
are commoD failings that contributed to bring about the
ruinrtion of a family (.Sn. v. 106). Similarly, bad-
tempcred and iil-mannered wives, too, are said to cause
disharmony and disunity in the family, The Buddha
addresring Sujati. a very hct-tempered and ill-mannered
daugbter-inJaw of Anathapindikq enumerates seven
typcr of wives some of whom promote family wellbeing
anC some othcrg the ruin of the. family. Some are
p r a i s e w o r t h y ,o t h e r sa r e n o t . T o t b e l a t t e rt y p e b e l o n gt h e
vadhake(lit thc torturous typci who are pitiless,corrupt,
and qegJect the husband ar,d spend their ti;re *ith
parsmours. So are the cora (thief type) who rob the
husbands of their wealth thus causing famill' downfall.
The alya (bossy type) are those who domi:rete and
behave lazily, engaged in gossiping and high-spending,
A l l t h c s e t h r e e t y p e s a r e d i s e p p r o v e d .T h c n t h c r e a r e
thoce falling into the category of mitu (motherly' type)
who are compassionaretowards their hrrqbandsand care
for them as a mother would do for her only child. The
bhagini (rister tpye) wivcs respect their husbands as
younScr sisterswould respecttheir seniors.Those wives
219 FAI!!ILY
who are gentle like friends fall in to the category of satrti'
(friendly type). The last an_dwhich sppearsto be the most
approved type is the disr. To this category belong the
wives who are suhmissive,obedient and patient even to
the extent of tolerating, for the sake of family wellbing,
i - l l - t r e a t m e nbt y t h e b u s b a n d ,( A . I V , 9 2 f . ) .
The greatest ambition of a wife was to bear childrcn,
especially sons who would continue the family lineage
and perform other obligationeexpectedof them (5. IV, p.
249),The religious,social and economic conditions of the
time favoured more the birth of sons than that of
daugtrters. The state of the mind of a father to whose
family a daughter is born is clearly reflected int the
behaviour of king PasenadiKosala who on hearing that
his consort had given birth to a daughter, rushes to the
Buddha for consolation. In this instance the Buddha
offers some consolation saying that even a daughter
m i g b t p r o v e t o b e a d o r a b l ei f s h e h a p p e n st o l i v e u p t o
expectations(,5. I, p. 86).
A son was considercda necessityfor a family. It is a son
who could continue the lineage,and who could perform
the lraddhaceremony for departed parents observing the
appropriate rituels. The theory of successionoperated
on thc line of males and so did property devolution, All
t h e s ef a c t o r s c o n t r i b u t e d t o e n h a n c et h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e
son over ald above that of the daughter in the family.
The SigilovEda Sutta clearly lays down how the son-
parent relationship should be regulated to facilitate
family welfare. "ln five ways a son should minister to his
perents (mEta-pitaro paccupatthatabbE) as the eastern
quarter: Once supported by them I will now be their
support, t will perform duties due to them, I will
s a f e g u a r dt h e l i n e a g e ,I w i l l s u c c e e dt o m y i n h e r i t a n c c ,I
wiil perform the religious rituals due to the departed
o n e s , "( D . l l l , p . I 8 9 ) .
The parents are said to reciprocate in thc following
mann€r: restrain the son from vice. set him on the
ririuous path. train Fiim in various crafts, contract a
o r r i t a b l em a r r i a g e , a n d a t t h e p r < . r p clli m e h a n d o v e r h i s
i n h e r i ts n c e .
This rnannero : f r e c i p ro c a l t r e a t m e n t h e l o e d t o f o s t e r
t h e n a t u r a l b o n d t h a t e x i s t s b e t w e e ns o n s a n d p a r e n t s .
I h e B u d d h r s tt e x t s a b o u n d i n e p i s o d c si i l u s t r a t i n gg r a t e -
ful, obedient sons who lookeC after and cared ior the
parents in their old age. NaturEliy ail families did not
foilow these gui<ilinessand Buddhist texts themselves
r e c o r d i n s t a n c e so f s o n s i l l - t r e a t i n g t h e i r a g e d p a r e n t s
(i{. II, 50 f.; 185f. S. I, pp, 176f.,181; l'in. l, p.272).
Though sons were preferrcd for certain reasons the
parents showed equal affection to all children irrespective
o{ sex differences,Among the children it is the feeling of
brothcrhood and sisterhood that lcd to the smooth
functioning of their interpersonal reiations. Seniority in
 FAMILY
age was of great importance and it is seen that the eldest
son QetthapurtQ was considered second in importance
only to the parents, and in crucial decision making,
second only to the father. Though various forms of
marriage were prevalent, in ordinary circumstancls it
was the duty of the parents to contract suitablc marriages
for their chiidren, and as such parental consent was
usually necessary for marriage. This must have been
strictly so with regard to the marriage of daughtcrs who
are generally considered as being in the custody of
p a r e n t s , b r o t h e r s o r n n y o t h e r o l d e r r e l a t i v e .( , 4 , l V , p .
264). The daughters after marriage (vivaha) l:ft the
parental home and took up residenct with their husband
while the sons after their marria ge (it'-aha),..oi"it.d in
the family with their wives. The two are differentiated:
viv-ahabeingcalied kaflfiadine,'giving away of a maiden'
arrd ivaha, kaf,fiZgahana, acccptance of a maiden (.9n4'
p.u9I
Even at that tirne tire in-law relationship seem to have
b e e na m u c h s t r a i n e do n e . o i t e n t h a t b e t w e e nt h c m o t h e r -
i n - l e w u n d t h e d a u g h t e r - r n - l a w ,r n d c o n s e q u e n t i io' f t h e
h u s b a n dt o o w h o n a t u r a l l y t o o k t h e s i d eo f h i s m o t h e r i n
such conflicts. As the family is based on kinship, there
appears to have been a tendency to consider the
daughter-in-law as being an outsider in the family.
Therefore, she had the added responsibility of making a
deliberate and sustained effort to help the smooth
functioning of this tricky relationship between herself
and the in-laws, especially that with the mother-in-law
(sassu). The adjectival form sassu-dcvi (one who
considers tire mother-in-law as a divinity) speaks
eloquently of the role of the daughter-in-law in the
placationof her mother-in-law.
I t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t b e s i d e st h e s e m e m b e r s t h e f a m i l y
sometimesincluded within its fold such close relatives as
paternal uncl:s and aunts (if thcy happened to remain
unrnairied). As the generalnorrn of conduct that regulatad
the varied relationships between different members of a
family was based on the honour and respect to elders'
t h e s em e m b 2 r st h o u g h t h e y w e r e o n t h e p c r i p h e r y o f t h e
family proper, were treated with due honour and respect.
Strict adherenceto this regulative norm is made evident
bl' honour, respectand affection shown to grand-parents,
and also by the particular terms used to indicatc their
relationship. The grand-parents were thus refcrred to as
pitimaha and miti-maha or ayyaka tnd ayyaka
indicating their relative seniority and the high esteemin
| , Etth'e14qlgn'eva muLhadovanamnasarirapatijagganam naiharaki*am
ev,aca vzttn-emai(l'in.l, p E0),
220 FASTING
w h i c h t h e y w c r e h e l d . ( V i n . I l , p . 1 6 9 ,S . I , p , 9 7 ; J . l I I , p .
i 5 5 ; I V , p . 1 4 6 ;V I , p , 1 9 6 .
S. K. Nenavaklera
FASTING. Fasting is generally looked upon as a purifi-
c a t o r y o r p r o p i t i a t o r y r i t u a i a n d s o m e t i t n e se v e n a s a
penitential act. This is mainil' :.rr with religions that
rrcognise the dichotomy of body end soul, the body
regarded as evil in cppositi'-1n to the soul wltrich is
considered pure. lt is held that the mortification of the
body by starvation is an effective means of purifying it.
Buddhisms not only rejects such a belief in a soul but
also denouncesself-mortification which includes fasting
as one of its aspects-_practisedby Brahmins, Jains and
'painful,
followers of severalajivaka sectsBs ignoble and
harmful' dukkho anariyo anattahasamhito: S. Y. p. 421.
In fact it is throrrgh personal experiencethat the Buddha
arrived at this conclusion, for he observeddifferent forms
of fasting while he was engagedin various forms of
self-mortification (attakilamathanuyoga), during six
years of his striving (padhina). To begin with he totally
abstainedfrom taking any food for a considerableperiod
-aharupacchediya
of time (sabbaso patipajji). As this
proved to be futile he began to take food in small
quantities, drop by drop (thokant thokan 1haram
ahiresim pasetam pasatam),yetstarvingthe body by noi
providing it with the normal nourishrnent it required,
This accountof the bodhisattva'sself-mcrtification found
in the Mahasaccaka Sutta (M. I. p. 245 f,) describes in
detail how fasting adverselyaffectedhie body, emaciating
i t , d r a i n i n g o u t a i l s t r e n g t hf r o m h i m , a n d c o n s e q u e n t l y
cbstructing his attempts at rnental zurdspiritual culture.
Tbe JEtakanidana(J. I, p. 80) recordsanother occasion
o n w h i c h t h e B u d d b a t o t a l l y a b s t a i n e df r o r n t a k i n g f o o d .
Therein it is said that during the seven weeks after his
a t t a i n m e n to f e n l i g h t e n m e n t h e B u d d h a d i d n o t p a r t a k e
of any fcod, Apparently this is neither an act of penance
n o r a p r o p i t i a t o r y r i t u a l . T h e t e x t i t s e l f g i v e st h e r e a s o n
for his abstention, It says that during this period the
B u d d h a w a s e x p e r i e n c i n gt h e b l i s s o f j h a n a s , o f t h e p a t h
a n d f r u i t i o n o f t h e p a t h a n d , t h e r e f o r e ,t h e r ew a s n o n e e d
for any food, nor was there any necessityfor ablution and
normal tendingof the body.r
Whiic fasting as an act of self-mortification, penancc
or propitiation is not accepted, Buddhism lays much
emphasis on moderation in food (bhojane mattafrfiuti:
ahosi,jhanasukhen, maggasukhena phalasukhen''
 FASTING 221 FASTING

A , L p . l 1 4 ; S . I I . p . 2 1 8 ) . W h i l c t h i s p r a c t i c ei s r e c o m - and numerous other reasonsthe Buddha found it neces-

mended for all, bhikkhus are specificeJiy advised to sary to regulate the food habits of the bhikkhus.
strictly adhere to this practice, for it is said that religious
life cannot be successfullyled without such adherence(A. This he did first by himself sctting an example and
IV, p. 166). advising the monks to follow suit. Thus inthe BrahmalEla
Sutta (D.I, p.5) he declaresthat hc refrains from taking
The practice of bhojane mattaf,frura is explained as
food at improper hours (rzkala bhojana patiuirata), th*
taking food thoughtfully and prudently, knowing rhat it he abstains from taking meals ar nigfit (rauiparata)Xnd
is not for sport nor for indulgence, personal charm and that he subsistson a singJemeal a day ( (eka-bhattikaf
adornment but merely for support and upkeep of the On another occasionrecortledin the Ka*acfipama Sutta
body, to allay pangs ofhunger, to help the observanceof ( l r l . L p . 1 2 4 ) t h e B u d d h a s a y st h a t h e i s i n t h e h a b i t o f
religious life, knowing that "in this way I shall dispel the taking one meal a day, aham kho bhikkhave ekisana
former pangs of hunger and not allow new pangsto arise,
bhojanam bhufr-fimi.t The Buddha explainsr that as a
I shall keep my self going, blamelessand at ease"(A. I, result of this habit he experienccsgood health, buoyancy
I l4). Herein it is clearly stated that pangs of hunger and strength and also comfortable living.
hinders the pursuit of the religious life aird therefore
should be allayed. Thus it is seen that the Buddha's objective was to
e n c o u r a g ea n d t r a i n m o n k s t o s u b s i s to n a s i n g J em e a l a
The Visuddhimagga makes avery detailed and analy- d a y ( s e eM . 1 , p p . 4 3 7 , 4 4 8 , 4 7 3 : I I . p p . 9 1 , 1 2 5 , l 4 l ; D . I ,
tical study of this practice and shows how immoderate pp. 5, 2O4; lI, p.72 etc.).
eating leads to boredom, sloth and torpor and also invite Apparentiy the Buddha's restrictions of food habits
the censure of the wise ( Vism. p.3l ff.). Further. it cites
did not find favcur with dl the bhikkhus. Such advice
also an uttcrance of Sariputta Thera occuring in thc
caused much heart-burn even among those bhikkhus
Theragitha (ThaS.vv, 982-82), wbere he says that a
'go about'with e who looked up to the Buddha wirh veneration. They
bhikkhu should belly not lilled to the however, reluctantly followed the Buddha's advice(M. [,
f.ull ftna-udara,)but with room for four or five mouthfuls p. 447, cf.. p. 414). There may have been many who
more. ignored it, Thus when practice and precrpt failed and
Canonical evidenceshows that at the early stagesof the public criticism mounted, the Budoha had to prescribea
inccption of the bhikkhu sisana there were no accepted Vinaya rule on the matter. Therefore it was laid down
norms regularising the food habits of the bhiklthus. They that 'whatever monk should eat o_rpartake of solid food
ate as and when they wished (see M. I,124,438, 448 ff.). (khidanayamf soft food (bhojaniyan)at the wrong time
The Buddha found this habit extrernely unsatisfactory, (vikila) thcre is an offence of expiation (apatti, Vin.IY,
for numerous reasons.As pointed out before,the Buddha p. 85).
k n e w t h a t i m m o r i e r a t e e a t i n g c a u s e ss l o t h a n d t o r p o r Obviously this is a very broad rule. It does not specify
thcreby obstructing the practice of religious life (brahma the mealsto be taken at the proper time. Interpretation
cariya). The bhikkhus incurred the censureof the wise for depcnds on the definition given to term vikila-
eating at all odd hours. Besides,this habit induced the bhojana.c In Vinayaitself it is defined as (once) afternoon
bhikkhus to go in search of alms at unseemly hours, has passed (and) until sunrise" (Vin. lY, p. 86). ltis
exposing them to numerous perils and risks (seeLatukiko- shows that according to the Vinaya the bhikkhus were
p a m a S u t t a ,M . I , p , 4 4 8 ) .V e r y o f t en t h i s h a b i t c o m p e l l e d permitted to partake of any hard or soft food only
the monks to cook their own food at night, for it was between sunrise gnd noon. This definition considered
difficult to go begging for alms in thc night.z For these along with other referencescited above where the Buddha

2. Yi kici bhante simitiyo sabbi tc rattim, appi divi, (M.l, p. aal.)

3. The Sumangalavilasini(DA.1.p.77)defining eka-bhattikasaysthat.herearetwokindsofmeals,thebreakfast lpitarisa

bhatta)and suppcr (siyamka-bhanal. Of thesebreskfast is the meal that is permitted to be taken up to noon time. The other,
that is rupper, is the mcal taken in betwecn after mid day and dawn. And the commentatcr's observationsreflect an obvious
relaration of thc rulc, that even if one were to eat tcn times bcfore noon he falls into thc cstegory of eka-bhattika.

1. ThePapetcasudani(MA. II, p.97) explains ekkana-bhojara &s one morning meal (ekam pure bhatta-bhojanam)which
according to the context appear to meEn a meal taken before noon has passed.ln this instancetoo it is raid that even i[one
were to eat seven times in between sunrise and noon he will come under the category of,ekisana-bhojana. Thus the terms
eka-bhattika and etasana-bhojana refer to one end the same practice.

5 . S e e V i n A . p . E 3 2 f .f o r w h a t t h e s o l i d f o o d s a r e ; d t h e B o o k o f D i s c i p l i n e , p t . 2 , p . 3 6 6 ,f n . l l 2 .
6. The term vikala has di{Ierent shades of meanirg dcpending on the context in which it is used.
 FASTING 222 FEAR

savs that he observes the practice of cka-bhattika or The view that fasting is an important Buddhist practicc
ekisana-bhojanaand that he refrains from taking a meals a p p e a r st o h a v eg a i n e dg r o u n d d u e t o t h c m i s c o n c e p t i o n
at night (rattiparata/ strengthenthe aboveview that the of the true significance of the Buddhist uposatha
forenoon meal is the only recommendedmeal for observation.The uposaria which the Buddhists adopted
bhikkhus. Thie forenoon meal is also referred to as the from the theory prevailing in the brahmanic prectice of
patarasa bhaftawhich sometimesis mistakenly considered 'upa-vasatha'-
in r+hich fasting formed an important
as another meal taken before the forenoon meal. This fcature - was given a new twist with greater emphasison
confusion is perhaps due to the English rendering of the the observanceof moral preccptsand the rrcitation of the
term pitarisa as 'breakfast' which is suggestive of a Pitinokkha (q.v.). But many early Western writen on
morning meal, besides the forenoon meal. Only the Buddhism, though they have noted the change in the
drinking of.yiga(gruel or conjey) was allowed before the manner tbe uposathais observedin Buddhism, have been
forenoon meal ( Vin. I, p. 46; II, p. 223), 'fasl
in the habit of referring to it as day' (see ERE V. p.
837; PED. s.v, upavasati). J. A. MacCulloch writing on
In a somewhat similar context rhe Sumahgala uifasini ' f a s t i n g ' o b s e r v e st h a t , ' m o n k s m u s t e a t b u t o n e m e a l , B t
(DA.l, p.77) defines the term vikilabhojara as" (once)
afternoon has passed (and) until sun-set' (atikkante mid-day, and nothing after it; they must fast on the days
majihantike yiva suriyatthagamani), which definition is of the near and fuil-moon (a derivative from
contrary to the one given in the Vinaya. Brihamanism), giving thcmselvesalso to public confes-
sion, and hearing of the law. A fast with confessionof sins
A p l a u s i b l ee x p l a n a t i o no f t h i s c o n t r a d i c t i o ni s t h a t t h e four times a month (sic) is now more usual the uposatha
c o m m e n t a t o r i n t h i s p a r t i c u l a ri n s t a n c ew a s d e a l i n go n l y days, which the laity are invited to observe" (,ER^E.V. p,
w i t h t h e p e r i o d b e t w e e n p o s t - n o o n a n d s u n - s e t ,f o r h e 764). This kind of mis-statementsand incorrect vie*s
d e a l sw i t h p o s t - d a w n a n d p r e - n o o na sw e l l a sp o s t - s u n s e t have been responsiblefor the belief that fasting forms an
and predawn periods when defining cka-bhattika anC important feature of Buddhist religious practices. see
rattiparata practices respectivcl)'.As such he may have' further UPOSATHA.
restricted "vikala"in this particular instance to the time S. K. Nanevakhare
b e t w e e np o s t - n o o n a n d s u n s e t .
'wrong time
The problem of what exactlyis meant by
for partaking of food' (vikala bhojana) is made a littlc FATALISM. See DETERMINISM and
m o r e c o m p l i c a t e db y a r e f e r e n c em a d e t o " w r o n g t i m e f o r iNDETERMINISM.
partaking of food during day" (diva vik-ala bhojana) nd
"wrong time for partaking of food at night" (ratti-vikEla
bhojana). Such a referenceis found inlhe Latu]:ikopanta F A T E . S e eD E T E R I v { I N I S M e n d I N D E T E R M I N I S M .
S u t t a ( M . t , p . 4 a 8 ) ,T h i s t w o - f o l d d i v i s i o n i s m e n t i o n c d
in the commentory op the Kitagiri sutta (l{A. ill, p.
-Iherein FEAR, is rererred-toin Pali in diverseterms such ag
186). t h e c o m m e n t a t o rs t a t e st h a t t h e B u d d h a
e n j o i n c d t h e s er e s t r i c t i o n so n p a r t a k i n go f f o o d i n s t a g e s . bhaya, bhiru, bhiti, uttasa, bherava, chambhitatta,
It is pointed out that the Buddha first directed his lomahamsa etc. The term hhaya derives from the Pali
a t t e n t i o n a t r e g u l a t i n gw r o n g f o o d h a b i t s p e r t a i n i n g t o root I bhi ) bhayari to fear. Fear generally arises as a
c i a yt i m e a n d t h a t t b i s i s _ f o u n dt n t i r e B h a d d Z l t , S u t t a a n d r e s p o n s et o a d a n g e r w h i c h i s o f a s p e c i f i cn a t u r e , I t i s a
s u b s e q u e n t l yi n t h e K i t - g i r i S u i t a h c d e a l t w i t h t h c , p e r c e p t u a le m o t i o n f e l t o n t h e a w a r e n e s so f a n o b j e c to r
p r a c r i c et L i e a t i n g a t w r o n g t i r n e sd u i i n g t h e n i g h t . recognition of a situation of some definite kind and
c o n n e c t e dd i r e c t l y w i t h t h e p e r c e p t i o no f t h e o b j e c t .F c a r
The ruie concerning diva-vikala bhojanz is clearlv
i n i t s m o s t g e n e r a ls e n s em e a n 3 a n t i c i p a t i o n o r c i p e c t -
a E a : n s te a t i n g a t " w r o n g t i m e s " d u r i n g t h e d a v - l i g h t
ation of harm, peril, disaster or pain as hope is the
h i ' ; . r r sw h i l e r a t t i p a r a t a c a t c g o r i c a l l y p r o h i b i t s ea t i n g a n t i c i p a t i o no f g o o d .
c',r ing anv part of the night.
Fearcould be cal.egorised into various dcgrees.Timidity,
* h r ' t e v e rt h c p o s i t i o n w a s . i t i s q u i t e c l e a r t h a t t h e
t h e g e n e r a lc h a r a c t e ro r t e m p e r a m e n tf r o m w h i c h f e a r i s
B u r l c i : af a r o u r e d t h e p r a c t i c eo [ h a v i n g o n e r n e a la d a y , likcly to spring may be regarded as a mild form of fear,
t h a t : s . r h r p r e - n o o n m e a l . a n d t h i s p r a c t i c ew a s n o t Astonishmentis slightly a strongerform of fear. Embarass-
c o ; l s : . . j e r c3rsa n a c t o f f a s t i n gb u t a s a m o d e o f r e g u l a t i l : g ment and shynessare social forms of the same emotion.
a n d : n o r j e r a t i n gt h e f o o d h a b i t so f b h i k k u s t o h e l p t h e m A n x i e t y , a n o t h e rd e g r e eo f f e a r i s u s e df o r a r e a c t i o nt o a
s u c c : s s l u l l vD r a c t i s et h e r e l i g i o u sl i f e . danger which is not clearly seen. Terror is usually

R . a t t t b h o , t a n a mt a t r i . T a t o u p a r a t c t tr a t t i p a r a t o . D A . l , p . 7 1
 FEAR 223
employed for more extreme and sudden onsets of fear
a n d h o r r o r , f o r t h e d e e p : s td e g r e et o w h i c h t h e e m o t i o n
of fear attaim.
F e a r a r i s e sf r o m o n e ' sc o n s c i e n c ew h i c h i s t h e r e s u l to f
thc known. Knowledge is having ideas of things and
p e r s o n s .P e o p l e h a v e f e a r o f l o s i n g t h i n g s a n d p e r s o n s
near and dear to them. Fear exists so long as thcre is
accumulation of the known. The common variety of fear
c o m e st h r o u g h i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .S o l o n g a s o n e i s c o n s c i o u s
'ego'there
of the i s t h e c o n t i n u a n c eo f f e a r . T h e B u d d h a
s a y st h e r e i s a m o r e b a s i ct - v p ec f a n x i e t y d u e t o o u r d c e p
r o o t e d a t t a c h m e n t t o t h e e g o . T h c s e e m e r g ef r o m t h e
n a t u r e o f t h e b a s i c h u m a l c o n d i t i o n s .S o m e t h i n gw h i l e
being pleasant is tied up with anxiety, s:rore is afraid to
lose it. Buddha trEcesthis predilection of 'anxious m&n'
to gra.spthe bagic truth of egolessness, which is thc ket to
understand any form of anxiety. The belief in'I'and
'Mine', though gives
it a superficiai freling of security is
the cause of fear anC worry, In the highcst form of
couiage, fear still persistsas an element; therc is at least
the consciousnessof the transitorinesr of everything that
is worldly and thereforc the anticipation of danger,
F e a r i s o n e o f t h e m a n y e m o t i c n s a r i s i n gi n t h e m i n d s
of any living being.both in thc human and thc animal
w o r l d s . A n e m o t i o n o c c u r s g e n e r a l l y ,w h e n a n o b j e c t : i s
c o n s i d e r e d a s s o m e t h i n g a t t r a c t i v e o r r e p u l s i v e .T h e
generaltendencyis that peoplewhile impelling themselves
towards the suitable objccts, move away from the
harmful objects through fear. This specific emotion of
fear has been discussedby the Buddha on very many
occassions.
There are various types of situations which caugefear,
Fear is often causedby strong desiressuch asendearment
(piya), affection (pcma) attachmenr (rati), lust lkEma)
'Io
and creving (tanha; Dhp. vv,212-216). those people
whose minds are devoid of such desires fear does not
o c c u r , g t r o n gd e s i r e sa n d a t ; a c h m e n tt o e i t h e r p e r s o n so r
t h i n g s c a u s ef e a r . T h c d e s i r ef o r p o w e r , l u s t ,j e a l o u s ya n d
p r i d e a r e i n t i m a t e l y r e l a t e d t o t h e e m e r g e n c eo f f e a r . [ n
the Bhayebherava Sutta(Ciscourseof fear and dread; M.
i, p. 15 ff.) the Buddha says that purely objective
conditions can causefear in a reclnsewhc has gone to the
forest. Such a teclusewhcse heart is filled with desireand
ionging, who is restless,witless and drivelling b:comes
frightened at the rustling of failen leaves, by rvind or a
breaking of a twig by an animal. According to the
Buddha. fear arisesin those peopie whose minds arc full
of lust (c!anda),ill-will (dosa) rnd foolishness (moha). ln
the DussrIa Suf [a of the Sotapatti SamJutta (,5.V, p. 3 86)
v e n e r a b l e. 4 n a n d ad e c l a r e st o A n i t h a p i n d i k a t h a t t e r r o r ,
trembleing and fear of death, as to what may be berer.fter,
come upon the uneducated whsn they think of their
disloyalty to the Buddha" Dhamma and Sairgha,
FEAR
T h e e m o t i o n o f f e a r E p p e e r st o b e u t i l i z e di n B u d d h i s m
b o t h a s a d e t e r r e n tf o r c e a s w e l l a s a s t i m u l a t i n g o n e . I n
t h e p s y c h o - : t h i c a ls p h e r e s t, a k i n g u p f c a r a s- d e t e r r a n t . . .
t h e L n g u t t a r a N i k a i , a ,( I I , p . l 2 l ) r e f e r st o f o u r k i n d s o f
fears:frar of s:lf-repro ach (attanuvidabhaya) where one
blames cneself for committing an evil; fear of others
reproach (paranuvadsbhaya), where one having
ccmmitted an tvi! would iear that others would soeak
a b o u t i t a n d h e w o u l d f c e l r . r n c o m f o r t a b lien t h e c o f ; r p a n y
of others, fea: of the sitck (rlandabhaya.)where hc seesthe
p u n i s h r n e n t sg i " ; en t o t h e o t h e r sb y t h e x i n g a n d h e w o u l d
dread the idra cf himself being punishedin the same
m R n n e r .T h c f o u r t h k i n d o f f c a r i s t h e f e a r o f d e g r a d a t i o n
in the life a{ter, of being borr in the misrable existences
a f t a r d e a t h , l n t ! : i : c c n t c x ' . t h e s ef e a r s l c a d a p e r s o n t o
- " , ! r a x d otnh e p r a c t i c eo f c v i l c o n d u c t i n t ' o d i ' , s p e e c ha n d
t h i , ' , r ? h ta u d t c d c v e l : p t h e p r a c t i c e o f g t r o d c o n d u c t .
T h t s r d i f i ' : r e n t t y r c s o f f e a r c f e a t ei n z m a n a l i l ' e l y s e n s e
cf :r':cral,lrcaC and shame (hiri-ottappa/which prevents
a peison frorn taking to an evil life aad createsa basisof
pcrsonai anc s.;cial responsibility and a civic sense,for
this sen:: rha'.:.rc (h:ri) and fear (ottappa/ coulti be
r e f e r r e i j t L rE s v i i l u e : w h i c h r e g u l a t et h e m o r a l o r d e r i n
t h e w o r l d . I " l r e a da n d s h a m e i s a p o s i t i v c a n d a h e a J t h y
r e n s ew h i c h m u s t b e c u l l i v a . t e da n d d e v e l o p e db y e v c r y -
o n e , b c c a u s r c n e w h o l a c k s i n t h e s ep o s i t i v e e m o t i o n s
l a c k s c o n s c i e n c : ,W h : n I D : f : r - . ; ' sc o n s c i e : r t i c u s n e sa sn d
f e a r o f b i a r n : . . . r : i e : k : i , g . t h r c o n t r o ! o f s e n s e sm , cral
practice (si'14),i-tht concentration (sammi-samEdhi),
knowledge and t ision fflanaiassana), aversion, dis-
passion and detachm ent hibbidAviriga)have no basisof
g r o w t h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t .T h e s t i m u l a n t a s p e c to f f e a r i s
weUexplainedby the Buddha in the following manner.
The bhikkhu who delights in heedfulnessanci is fully
aware of the dangers of heedlessness, advarrceslike fire
burning allfctters greet and smd).,Appamidarato bhikkhu
pantida blayadassivi, safiflojanam anum thllam
(ahary aggiva gac-chati(Dhp. t,. 3l).
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e B u d d h i s t c c m m e n t a r i a l i t e r a t u r et h e
tern:'bhikktu'has been ciefinedas one who seesfear in
rhe chain of births and deaths(sansire bhayam i*XnaiU
bhikkhu). Cultivating faith in the Triad and having
gained right concentration by following the noble-
eightfold-patb (ariyatthangikamagga) these bhikkhus
atta,n arahantship at which stngc they shun all fear and
'akutobhay'a'(with no fear from
hence they are called
a n y w h e r e ;S . I , p . 1 9 2 ; T h S . I , v . 5 1 0 ) . T h c B u d d h a s a n d
t h e P a c c e k aB u d d h a s a l s o b e l o n g t o t h e s a m ec a t e g o r v .
They have gained full confidence in themselves and
therebv have shunned all the fearsin the cycle ofbirth and
d e a t h . l n t h e B u d d h i s t ) i i k a y a s B u d d h a i s r e f e r r e dt o a s
the dispeller (apanu.ditE) of the dread (ubbcgal panic
(uttisa)andfew (bhaya; D.lll,p.laS). Absenceof fearis
the hall-mark of afully developedcharacter,The Buddhas
 FEAR 224
ard the arahants are described as being abhayappatta,
k h em app atta and vesarajj appatta.
Fear has the nature of creating diverse psychological
problems in an individual. This could sometimesdrive a
person mad. An overdosc of fear, if instilled into a
persoq could bedbastrors and would drange hb attire draractcr.
An apt example could be brought out from Buddhist
literature where let alone the laymen even bhikkhus have
given up their entire carecr, becauseof too much fear.
While preaching the Aggkkhandhopama Sulta to the
bhikkhus, at the sight of a blazing fire the Buddha
declared to them, that it were better for a man to take
shelter in, enrbrace and lie down upon the raging flames
than to live in the guise of a bhikkhu enjoying the alms of
the faithful while being guilty of evil-conduct (4. IV, p,
128f ). It is said that while this sutta was being preached
sixty monks vomitted hot blood, sixty left the Order in
diffidence and sixty others became arahants (ibid. p.135).
This is a clear instance where enlarged vision of fear,
whilc acting as a stimulant on one Sroup of personshad a
crippling and deadening effect on another.
Fear of birth (iti) and death (mara4a) are two other
forms of fear which arc being often discussedin the
Buddhist books. The fear of death is in the nature of
psychological pain and this has been discussedeven by
the western scholars who are mcre moral philosopheis,
According to Olson'Although death may be precipitated
by painful disease,death itself is perfectly painlessloss of
consciousness,no mor€ to be fearcd than falling asleep,
Death terrorizes us not becausewe fear it as painful, but
we are unwilling to lose consciousnesspermanently."
(Encyclopaedia of Phyilosophy: Vol, 2, p.308), The idea
of concentration on death (marananussati) which is a
favourite topic of meditation in Buddhism, is quite alia
t o t h e i d e a e x p r e s s e db y S e n a c ao f t h e S t o i c sw h o s a y s" t o
overcome the fear of death, we must think of it constanly.
The important thingis to think of it in the proper manner,
reminding ourselves that we ere but parts of nature"
(ibid. p.308). Hcidegger and Sartre likc most cxistentia-
lists urge us to cultivate the awartnessof death as a means
of heightening our senseof life. According to the former
the awarenessof death confers upon I man, B senseof his
own individuality (ibid. p.309). In Buddhism, the
cons:ious and wilful awareness of death serves as a
stimular,t and promoter of the ethical life. In the aware-
n e s so f d e a t h , g e t t h r o u g h y o u r a c t i v i t i e si n l i f e a st h o u g h
vour head were ablaze', says the Samyutta nikiya (1, p.
1 08 )
Fear could be both advantageousand disadvantegeous
i n o n e ' sl i f e . l t h a s b e e n p r o c l a i m e d b y t h e B u d d h a , t h a t
whosoeve; does not transgressthe Dhamma overcoming
iust, il.l-will, fear and foolishness,his fame would become
perfect and full. If on the other hand, he were to
FEAR
transgrris the Dhamma his fame would be destroyed(D.
III, p. 182). It is mentioned in the Dhammapade(v.258),
that a person does not becomelearned merely becausehe
talks too much. But he who is secure,without hate and
fear is calledlearned,Buddha has declaredthat whosocver
follows the Dhsrma, does no evil; who has no desire,
ill-will and fear is reborn in heaven while tbe one who is
t h e o p p o s i t ei s b o r n i n h e l l ( A . I l , p . l 5 ) . T h o s e w h o s e c
fear in what is not to be feared and see no ferr in thc
fearsome embrace flase views and go to mirerrble
existences (Dhp, v. 317).
The Buddha is said to have admonished his followen
as to the ways and mcans of getting rid of fear. Hc sayr in
the Dhajagga Sutta: should any fear arisesin the mind of
a monk he should recall to mind the exctllences of the
Buddhq of the Dhamma or the Saigha and peect would
come to him. (5, l, p. 2.l8ff.). Further he says he whose
mind is not soaked (by lust), he who is not rfllicted (by
hatrcd), he who has transcended both good rnd evil, for
such a vigilant one there is no fear (Dhp.v, 39). The
Buddha's advice to his followers was that, if we erc keen
to get rid of fear we must cut down the forest (of thc
-Vanam from which arisesfear.
passions)
chindatha ma rakkham vanato jiyai bh"y".
chetvi vanall ca vaaathafl ca nibbani noina
ohikihave.
(Dhp. v.283)
Altbough the utterencesof the Buddha were'be ye an
island of refuge unto yourselve_sO bhikkhus and do not
take rcfuge in others" (auadipi viharatha bhikkh*e
attesarani anefrfrasaranal, the sverage Buddbist
immersed in worldly life, sought refuge in outside
agencies, sometimes to overcome various fears which
constantly assailed him. lt is mentioned in the
Dhammapada "men driven by feer go to many a rufuge,
to mountain: and to forests, to sacrcd trees and rhrina,"
The Buddhist monks who were eager to cetcr to thcir
needs started chanting the benediclory verses (parina).
The very meaning of this tcrm, protection or ward-runc
make it obvious that people always live in fear. A leyman
'May you chant the
invites the bhikkhus by saying
benedictory verue!, so that it would bring us fortune and
dispel all our fears."
In the course ofchanting theseversesthe bhikthus ray
"May all fears be overcome and may there be no danger,
but long life". One of theseyeruesrcveah that peoplewert
even afraid of evil and inauspicious things ruch as
unpleasant cries of birds, bad planetary combinltions
bad dreams etc. end these fears they believed could bc
dertroyed by thc power of the Buddha, Dhamma rad
Sairgha.
Fear on the whole is destructivc to thc indivklual and it
paralyzes activity and debasesthe quality of thought. All
 FEMALE PRINCIPLE
!tr&iD, doubt, hesitetion, worry mental and to some
extent physical fatigue, fall away when thc thought of
'self bas been banished. The result would
be, that it
would ircrease not only the happiness, but also the
efficiency, courag? and confidence of the individual.
Bb[ogrrghy:
ERE.; The htddhist Volr. XLVII, XLVIII; Encyclopaeliaof
Philosophy, Vol. 2, Mary Lytyenr, The. Pengtin Krishnamwti
Retder, Grest Britian, 1970;Mzhipiruvani pot vahanse;ed.
Rrrrapena Sri SumangalaThero, Colombo. 1957.
In&nrilc Kerunrntr
FEELING. SeeVh,DA]riA.
FEMALE PRINCIPLE (in Buddhist thought), The dual
nature of the human being as the male and the female
witb their physical as well as intellectual and emotional
differcnccs is a fact that has to bc admittcd in any system
of human thought. The problem of life is more or lessthe
problem of the relationship bctween the two aspectsof
life, tbe male and the female, as symbolised by man and
woman respectivcly in the phenomenal world. The
teaching of Gotama being a practical solution to the
problcm of life's conflicts, the question as regards the
place he has accorded to the sexual polarity of man in his
teaching is an important one.
In early Buddhism as handed down in the Pali
literature of the Theravadins the comprehensive term
brahmecariya (pure life) covers the entire content of the
noble life as undcrstood by Gotama, The most important
feeture of this higher life was the sexual purity of thc
practiser. It meant chaste living. See BRAHMA-
CARIYA.
From one point of view it can be said that man,
symbolising the male principle of the universe,represents
the active sidc of lifc while the woman, symbolising the
female principle of the universe, reprcaentsthe passivc
side of life. [n other words they symbolisethe positive and
the negative aspectsrespectivelyof one life-principle. But
the two symbols cannot be torn asunderfrom each other,
Their apparent separationin the empirical world is only a
relative truth (samm uti sacca) or an illtrsion (maya) or a.
mere actudity. In an absolute sensc there is no duality
and tbe realisation of this non-duality is the purpcse of
thc religious life. In the world of actuality it is the
combination of these two represeitatives oflife-force
thet produces the individual and in the absolutesenseit is
225 FEMALE PRINCIPLE
t h e r e p a r s t i o n o f t h e o n e f r o m t h e o t h e r t h a t c r e a t e st h e
s e x u a ld u a l i t y i n t h e w o r l d o f e c t u a l i t y ,W h e t h e r w e v i e w
i t f r o m t h e a b s o l u t eo r f r o r n t h e r e l a t i v ep o i n t o f v i e w , i t
b e c o m e sc l e a rt h a t t h e m e l c h a s h i s f e m a l cn a t u r e a n d t h e
female ha.s hergaie nature within their own psycho-
physical organisations. The fundamental difference is
that in the mele the active qualities predominate while in
the female pa:sivc quaJiticsare preponderant. In other
words in every man his ft.inininity is prasent within him,
while in evcry woman her masculinity is preseDtwithin
her, The purpose of the religious life is the realisation of
this unity in the apparent d uality. [f any man were able to
bring about a perfect balance between the male and the
female natures within him, he would become a complete
man who has transccndedsexual duajity. This appliesto
t h e w o m a n a s w e l l , T h i s , i n s h o r t , i s t h e m e a n i n go f t h e
observancesofchastity as a road to perfection as taught
by Gotame Buddha under the term brahmacariya.This is
the reason why sexual offences (i,e., like the first pinjika
offence involving expulsion) are said to make a bhikkhu
fall away from the pure life he is expected to follow. A
bhikkhu who has had sexual intcrcourse with a woman
ceasesto be noble (ariya). A man who undertakesto lead
the pure life honestlv must try to realise the unity of the
male and the female qualities that arc within him. For
him there is no man or woman othcr than himself. This
h o l d s t r u e f o r t h e w o m a n a sw c l l . I n a w a y t h e r e a l i s a t i o n
of the perfect union of man and woman within oneselfis
the true "sexud union" fcr him or her. This kind of
union, appropriately designatedas yoga in lnciian philo-
sophy, instead of tying one down to samsirareleasesone
from it. It is a psycho-physical meditational procesg
aimed at realising the non{ual state of the individual. tt
is the complete sublimation, but in no way the suppres-
s i o n o f c a r n a l d e s i r e s .T h i s i s t h e p h i l o s o p h i c a l
truth based on which Buddhism upholds monogamous
sexual relations betweenman and womsn. A personwho
can sublimate his sexualdesiresthis way by seekingunion
with the male and female qualities within onelselfwould
be extremely rare. One way of attaining arahanship
would be the perfection of personality this way, The
s e x u a la t t r a c t i o nb e t w e e nt h e t w o s e x e si s s o m e t h i n gt h a t
is extremely difficult to regulate. let alone transcendit.
T h i s m u t u a l a t t r a c t i o n i t s e l f i s t h e r e s u l to f t h e n e c e s s i t y
a n d t h e d e i s r eo n t h e p a r t o f m a n a n d w o m a n f o r u n i o n .
But mere seuxal union ne'rer offers a solution to the
p r c b l e m . I n s t e a d i t i n c r e a s e sp r o b l e m s i n m a n y w a y s .
The iruth ig that so long ari a mar cr woman has not
c c n p l e t e d h i s o r h e r o w n s e l fb y r e a l i s i n gt h e u n i t y o f t h e
two sexeswithin oneself one has either to give in to thr
desires or supprcss them. The true union betweenman
and woman is something that transccndscarnal nppetite
(raga)and the reelisatronofthis kind cftranscendent love
is the purposc of true love between the mde and the
female. The Greek conception of Platonic love is some-
 FEMALE PRINCIPLE 226
t h i n g a n a l o g o u st o t h i s . t l t i s t h e u n i o n w i t h t h e E t e r n a l
Female, the mehamudri.
I t i s p o s s i b l ee i t h e r t o s u p p r e s ss e x u a ld e s i r eo r t o p u t
a n e n d t o s u c h d e s i r e sb y p a n d e r i n g t o t h e m , F r o m t h e
B u d d h i s t p o i n t o f v i e w b o t h t h e s em e t h o d sw i l l i n c r e a s e
one's dukkha and in psychological language the victims
o f b o t h t h e s et e n d e n c i e sa r e s p l i t - p e r s o n a l i t i e sH. e w h o
s u p p r e s s ehs i s d e s i r ei s b o u n d t o b e c o m ea m e n t a Jp a t i e n t
or a pervert and the one who panders to every desire
would end up as a physical and mental wreck. Safisfying
the fiesh in the latter way cornes within the extreme of
self-induigence (kam asukhal Ii kan u;,oga),while the killing
o f a l l d e s i r e s b y s u p p r e s s i o ni s t h e o t h e r e x t r e m e ,
designated as self-m ortifi catio n (atta k il am ath an uyo ga).
For the achievement cf truc yoga both these extremes
h a v e t o b e a v o i d e da n d t h a t i s t h e p u r p o s eo f t h e B u d d h i s t
way of life,
While the term brahmacariya in early Buddhism
t a u g h t t h i s p a t h t o p c r f e c t i o nb y s u b l i m a t i n gt h e s e x u a l
d e s i r e s ,i n t h e l a t e r p h a s e o f B u d d h i s m g e n e r a l i y d e -
signated as Tantrism,the question is looked from a
d i f f e r e n t a n g l e .I n e a r l y B u d d h i s m , a s c o u l d b e g a t h e r e d
fronr the pitakas, the concept of the female principlc is
not treated as a separatetopic. Not even the male
principle has been a serious topic of study for those
t h i n k e r s o f . G o t a m a ' sc a l i b r e . ' f h i sm i g h t h a v eb e e nd u e t o
t h e f a c t t h a t t h e i n t e l l e c t u a le n v i r o n m e n to f t h e B u d d h a ' s
time was one in which the problemsor life werc viewed
f r o m o t b e r a n g l e s ,a t l e a s ti n B u d d h i s tc i r c l e s .I n g e n e r a l ,
c e r t a i n s e c t i o n so f s o c i e t y s e e m t o h a v e b e l i e v e di n t h e
s u b l i m a t i o n o f s e x a n d t h e a c h i e v e m e not f y o g a t h r o u g h
a l i f e . l f c h a s t i t l 'a n d t h i s i s t h e m a i n t h e m e o f t h c p i t a k a s ,
too.
W h e n o n e c o n s i d e r st h e r e l a t i v e a s p e c t so f e a r l l ' 'a n d
! a t e r B u d d h i s m , a sd e s i g a a t e db y t h e t e r m s H i n a y a n a a n d
\{ahaydna, onc can see that the idea of the female
piinciple has been given more significancein later
t s u d d h i s mi n c o n i ; a s tt o t h e p l a c eg i v e nt o i t i n t h e c a r l v
t e a c h i n g . l n e e r l r ' 3 r - r d d h i s mw , ith thc Buddha 3s thc
c e n t r a l f i g u rc . t h e m z u ep r i n c i p l ei s m o : c e m p h a s i s e ct hi a n
i t s c o u n t e r p a r t ,l ' h c B u ' i d h a ' sp e r s o n a i i t l 'p r e d o m i n a t e s
i n t h e c n f . i r er e a c h i n ! a r : ' ! h e b : i n g a m a l c , t h o s e w h o
' f h e r a ' ,l d a
p r e s e r v e dt h e .raiition :etm to have ovcr-
l o o k e d t h e s i g n i f i c a n c ei ; f t h e f e m a l e a s p c c to f e x i s t e n c : '
l n t h e T h e r a v i d a t r a d i t i o n i h e B u d d h a h i m s e l fc a m e t o
b e t r e a t e da s a r a s c e t i cw h c t r a n s c e n C c dt h e w o r l d , t o b e
w o r s h i p p e d a n d r e v e r e d ,r a t h e r t h a n a s a p r a c t i c a i m a n
' , ' ; h oh a d p e r f e c t e dh i s c h a r a c t e r b o t h i n t h e o r y a n d i n
p r a c t i c e . T h e r e w a s m o r e t h e o r y 't h a n p r a c t i c e a n d t h e
F o r d iscussion of some of the Es."ternand Western themesdealing with the male and the female principiesseethe ert icle "T}e
-byJulius
.\{.tsterteso{ il'oman in East and West, Evolq in EASTand WEST, new selies,Vol. 9, No, 4, Decernbrr 195E,pp.
,149fi.
FEMALE PRINCTPLE
Theravada monks more or less became int:llectual
reclusesdivorced from the practicalities of iife. tsut to
counterbalance this ttrere developed wbat is commonly
called the Bodhisattva-ideal which attached equal
importaf,ce to both theory' and prnctice. Those who
a d v o c a t e dt h i s i d e a lt r e a t e dt h e B u d d h a n o t a s a n e s c a p i s t
a s c c t i cb u t a s a p r a c t ; c s la n d a p e r f e c tm a n , ' l f B u d d h a i s
the symbol cf such perfection of the ma.leprinciple, why
cannot therc be a similar symbol of perfaction of thc
female principle, these later Suddhists seem to have
argued, [t is truc that there was no histoncal female
B u d d h a o n r : c o r d . B u t t h e f e m a i es i d e o f l i f e a l s o c o u l d
a c h i e v ep e r f e c t i o na n d e n l i g h t e n m e n t T . h c B u d d h a , a sa
male, has achievedperfect cquilibrium betweenthe male
a n d f e m a l ea s p e c t so f l i f c b . vt r a n s c c n d i n gs e x u a lC u a l i t y .
A n d i I t h : B u d < i h as l m b o l i s e st h i s r a r e p h e n o m e n r ) na sa
rnan there can easiivbe a symbol represcntinglhe lernale
achievcingthe sarne perfection. This rssultcd ln the
concept of the personalises'Prajf;aparannra,clcyrictcdas
a f e m a l e s 1 ' m b c l i s i n gt h e p e r f e c t i o n o f w i s d o ; n , a n C
which is onc of the most important clrncsntsof thc
Mahayana. Just as the BudCha, as a metapirvsirel
c o n c e p t ,s y r n b o l i s e tsh e p o s s i b i l i t yo f m a n ' s a c h i c v e m c n t
o f p e r f e c t i o n i n t h e m a l e i ' o r m , i t s y r n h o l i s e st h r t f f n e
p o s s i b i l i t y i l r t h e f e m i r J ef o : m . B c i h a l c a b o v e l h e
mundane differ:nces of scr. Sophia of tlle Christian
G n o s t i c sa n d .S a r a s . . , aot if l h : ! i i n d u s a r ; r . , v oo t h e r w e i l -
k n o w n c o n c e p t s a n a ! , : r c ; u st o i h i s B r t i C h i s t i d e a s o f
Prajfraparamita.
A s i t w a s - o o i n t c do u t e a r l i r r , o r i g i n a JB u d i i h i s n :p a 1 ' s
iittlc attenticn to ien:alc iieitics, althr,ugh the gods
r e f e r r e ctio a r e n u m c ; o u s . W h a t e v e r n t i g i r : i . : * - eb e e r rt h e
r e a s r n s f t r r t l r i s , B u C r . i h i sItn d i a s e e r n st o l r a r . ep a i d l c s s
a t t c r l i o n i t l i e m e ] e d c i t i e s t h a n t t - rr h e m a . i eo n e s . T h i s
s a m r t r r n d o f t h c u g h r i s r s f l e c t e di n t h e e a r l v B u d d h i s t
l i t e r a t u r : o f t h e P i i - l i C a n c n , t o o , H a r i l i _ va n y .p l a c e i s
:-1i.,'en to ferrrs-le d:ities a-ndas such it is natural that therc
wirs no possibiiity for a concept lil:e thar of Prajffa-
'fhe
paranita to dcvclop in it. p r a c t i c eo f w o r s h i p p i n ga
g o d d c s s ,r v h i c h m i g h t h a v e b e e n a s a l i e n tf e a t u r ea m o n g
t h e p r e - A r y a n i n d i a n s o f t h e l n d u s V a l l e y ,s c ? r n st o h a v e
g r e a t l yC i m i n i s h e di n V c C i ct i m e s a n d i o s t i i s s i g n i f i c a n c c
jn Buddhist India. But. with the developmrr,t rf rhc
i \ { a h a y i n a , t h e w o r s h i p o f g o d d e s s e si n , f l u e n c e da l s ob y
t h e S a k t i c u ! t o f t h e H i n d u s . g r a d u a l l y a s s u r n e ds i g n i -
ficance in Buddhisrn. There werr two sides to this
d e v e l o p m e n tw h i c h c a . ' rr o u g h l y b c a s s i g n e dt o t h e 7 t h
c e n t u r y A . C . B o t h a s p e c t sa r e t o b e s e e n i n i l h a t i s
popularly known as Tantric Buddhisrn. One line of
 FEMALE PRINCIPLE 227 FEMALE PRINCIPLE

develcpment was in the direction of popular religion, (tIc spirituai BTitude of unification, the realisation of
wherrin magicel practices such as mentras mandalas, Sinyata), Herewith rhey reject the basic idea of Saktism
mudris were given a place, lt was in rhis same foim cf a n d i t s w o r l d - c r e a t i n ge r o t i c i l m ."
religion that at times erotic exclsJeswerc also resortedto.
I t i s t h i s k i n d o f p e r f c c t a n d u n d i f f e r e n t i a t e du n i o n o f
As can bejudged from certain statementsin texts like the
thc male and the fcmnle principles that is portrayed in
Guhyuamija-tantrt, the symbolic meaning of ttrc reali-
Tibctan ut asyab-yum or yuganaddha. The visual artist
retion of perfect wisdom seems to have been forgotten
could not portra!' this all-impor(ant idea of yoga with-
end a kind of magical Buddhism invented,2 The idea of
o u t s h o w i n g m e n a n d w o r n a n i n a n e m b r a c eo f e t e r n a l
Prajfliparamitiwas the other line of devctopment,where u n i o n . I n s u c hp o r t r a v a l st h e f i g u r e sa r e n o t s e x u a lb e i n g s
p u r e w i s d o m w a s r e g a r d e da s a c h a s t ea n d u n a p p r o a c h -
a n d " e v e n t h e i r a s p e c to f u nj o n i s u n d o u b t e d l ya s s o c i a t e d
able goddess, transcending all sexual differencesand as with the highest spiritual reality in the process of
s u c h r c g a r d e da s t h c f e m a l e c o u n t e r p B r to f t h e B u d d h a .
e n l i g h t e n m e n t s o t h a t a s s o c i a t i o n sw i t h t h e r e a l m o f
I n t h i s c o n c e p tw h e r e i n t b c B u d d h a a n d P r a j f r a p a r a m i t i p h y s i c a l s e x u a l i t y a r e c o m p l c t c l yi g n o r e d " ( i b i d . p . l 0 l ) .
are regarded as sy'rnh.'lscf perfcction of the male and of
I t i s b y t a l i n g t h e s ef i g u r e s o n t h e i r f a c e - v a l u ea s s e x u a l
the female principlcs ,-. ,fe, respectively,the two terms beings that they are very olten interpreted as crude
perfection and enlightenmerl hsve becomesynonymous.
c r o t i c i s m o r r e l i g i o u s b l a s p h e m y .S e x u a l a t t r a c t i o n
U n l i k e o r d i n a r y g o d s a n d g o d d e s s c sw h o e m p h a s i s e b ,y between the male and the female merelv for the flesh is
their bi-sexuaiity the polarity of the male and the female d u e t o t h e a b s e n c eo f s a m i d h i w i t h i n t h e i n d i v i d u a l s
principles, the two concepts of Buddha and of the concerned.The union of the two in a transcendentalsense
Prejfiapiramita both reveal the ecstatic state of undiffe- means the sublimation of all base emotions and the
rentiated sex, the "original man and woman" asit were,in Buddha and PrajflEparamita symbolise the acme of this
their undivided (Pa.li: esaitkhata Sk. asmskrral state of
s u b l i m a t i o n i n t h e r n a l e a n d t h e f e m a l e ,r e s p e c t i v e l yl.n
non<iuality.
t h a t s t a t et h e r e i s n o r a g a ,d v e s a o r m o h a n o a v i d y a a n d
I n t s u d d h i s mt h i s c o n c e p t h a s n o t h i n g t o d o w i t h t h e n o f r s n a , aI t i s t h e s t a t eo f b e c o m i n go n e w i t h t h e h i g h e s t
p r a c t i c e o f w o r s h i p p i n g a g o d d e s sa s a s y m b o l o f t h e ftraimabhuta).
creative energy of the universe in a divine form as in
P h i l o s o p h i c a l l fi t w o u l d b e q u i t e c o r r c c t t o s a yr h a t t h e
S a k t i s m . T h e H i n d u c o n c e p t o f S a k t i s y m b o l i s e st h e
s t r - u g g l eo f m a n c € n t r e sr o u n d h i s p e r e n n i a l a t t e m p t a t
creative power of the universe in female form whereasin
a c h i e v i n gp e r f e c t u n i c n w i t h t h e s e c o n dp a r t o f h i s s p l i t
B u d d h i s m P r a j f i a p a r a m i t a s y m b o l i s e sp e r f e c t w i s d o m ,
p e r s o n a l i t y ,t h e f e m a l e . I t i s t h e s a m e f r o m t h e p o i n t o f
w h i c h b y i m p l i c a t i o n i s t a n t a m o u n t t o r e l e a s e ,t o o ,
v i e w o f t h e f e m a l e t o q . I f t h i s u n i o n i s a c h i e v e dp e r f e c t l y
because,sherepresentsthe female aspect of the Buddha.
i n a t r a n s c e n d e n t ds e n s ea s s o f a r d i s c u s s e dt h e s t r u g g l e
H i n d u S a k t i c o r r e s p o n d st o t h e f e m a l e a s p e c tn o t o f t h e
c e a s e sw i t h t h e c e s s a t i o no f t h e c o n f l i c t b e t w e e nt h e t w o
Buddha, but of Siva as a personalgod. The following
p n n c i p l e s . S e x u a l d i f f e r e n c e sb e t w e e nt h e m a l e a n d t h e
words of Lama Anagarika Govindas may be quoted in
female are obtained only in the world of relativity
t h i s r e s p e c t : . " , . . . B u d d h i sTt a n t r i s m i s n o t S a k t i s m . T h e
( s a m s a r a )a n d t h e e x i s t e n c eo f s u r : hd i f f e r e n c e si s o n l y a
c o n c e p t o f S a k t i , o f d i v i n e p o w e r , o f t h e c r e a t i v ef c m a l e
relative lruth (samvrti-satya). One who transcendsthis
e s p e c to f t h e h i g h e s t g o d ( S i v a ) o r h i s e m a n a t i o n sd o e s
s t a t e o f d u a l i t y r e a ] i s e st h e a b s o l u t e ( p a r a m a r t h a ) , , t h e
not pley any role in Buddhism. While in the Hindu
u l t i m a t es t a t eo f i n t e g r a t i o n ,w h e r cn o d u a l i t v w h a t s o e v e r
Tantras the concept of power ({akti) forms the focus of
exists. It is the uncreated state (asarnrkrta-dhitu) of the
i n t e r e s t ,t h e c e n t r a l i d e a c f T a n t r i c B u d d h i s m i s p r a j f f ' a :
v o t d ( { u n . v a r aw j h i c h i s a p t l v d e s c r i b e db v G o v i n d a ( i b i d .
k n o w l e d g e ,w i s d o m . "
p p . 9 7 - 8 ) i n t h e [ o l l o " r i n g r v o r d s :" T h e b e c o m i n g
"To the lluddhist i"krr ir maya, the very power that conscious of this !in:ati t Iib. Sron-pz-nid) )s prajna
creates illusion, from which only pra-ifracan liberate ( T i b . s c s - r a b ) . ' h i g h e sktn o w l e d g c .T h e r e a l i s a t i o no f r h i s
u s . . . . " E l s e w h e r e( p . 1 0 0 ) h e f u r t h e r s a y s " . . , e v e n I h o s e highest lnowledge is enlightenment (bodhf Tib: byang-
B u d d h i s t T a n t r a s w h i c h b u i l d t h c i r s y r n b o l i s mu p o n t h e chub). i.e., if prajna (or finyatE), the passive, all-
polarity of the male and the female, never representthe embracing lcmale principle, from which everything
female principlc as t'a.{rr, but a.lways as its contrary, r e c e c i e si,s u n i t e d w i t h t h e d v n a m i c m a i e p r i n c i p l e o f
namely pra.ifli (wisdorn), vidya (knowledgc) or mudra e c t t v e u n i v e r s a ll o v e a n d c o m p a s s i o n ,w h i c h r e p r e s e n t s

2. SeeLamaAnagarikaGovinda'sremarksonlhisinhisFoundationsof f i b e t a n M . v ' s t i c i s m , p p .l 0 l - 2 .
3. Ibid. p.96
4 . A c c o r d i n g t o l h e A g g a f r f i a S u t t e n t a ( D . i i l . 8 0 f f . ) . w h i c h o f f c r s a B u C d h i s t t h e o r v o f e v o i u t i o n , i t i s w i t h t h e g r aidnucar el a s e
cf tanha that bixesuality appears in bein3,o..rntilwhich time they *'cr: self-born.
 FESTryALS
the means (upiya; Tib. Thabs) for the realization of
prajfiatnd {unya4then perfect Buddhahood is attained'
Because intellect without feeling, knowledge without
love, reason without compassion, !eadsto pure negation,
to rigidity, to spiritual death, to mere vacuity, while
feeling without reason. love w,'hout knowledge (blind
love), compassion without understanding,leadsto confu-
sion and dissolution. But where both eides are united,
where the great synthesisof heart and head, feeling and
intellect, highest love and deepcstknowledge have taken
place, there completenessis re-established,perfect En-
lightenment is ettained.
*The processof Enlightenment is thereforerepresented
by the most obvious, the most human and at the same
time the most universal symbol imaginable; thc union of
male and female in the ecstasyof love-in which the active
element (upiy") is represcntd as a male, the passive
(prajfri) by a female figure-in contrast to the Hindu
Tantras, in which the female sspect is represented as
fukti,i.e., as thc active principle, and the male aspect as
'being',
Siu", the pure state of divine consciousness,of
"s 'resting in its own
i.e., as the passive principle, the
nature.',
"In Buddhist symbolism the knower (Buddha) becomes
one with his knowledge (prajfit), just as man and wife
become one in the embrace of love, and this becoming
one is highest, indescribablehappiness(mahasukha:Tib:
bdc-mchog), The Dhyani-Buddhas (i.e', the ideal
Buddhas visualized in meditaion) and Dhyani-
Bodhisattvas as embodiments of the active urge of
enlightenment, which finds its expression rn upiya, the
all-embracing Iove and compassion, are therefore
representedin the embrace of their p rajfli, symbolized by
a female deity, the embodiment of highest knowledge",
It is in this way that the ettinment of Nirvina, the
u n c o n d i t i o n e d s t a t e ,a s t h e s t a t eo f a b s o l u t eb e a u t y ,h a s
to be explained from the standpoint ofthc sexualpolarity
of the male and the female principles, which, of course,is
a mere incident of universal polarity.
A. G. S. Kadyrwesam
arefeasr
bydefinition
FE^srrvArs, (< r-a1i.nf,:",:;i:?1,,"il::, T:TT.oil':ir"Jrti;. "J.t:l;
days..
festtvalis;cf. alsoTibetan dus-ston,'feasttime')llT,t"*
to the primitive communalrepast, at times otSt"tttt(tl'
'de), held specially after a successfulhunt.
Teutnjc 01,
was, lare,u-"r;'pp;Tf1
during
reasring
surcpruous
*'ith music, dancing and other forms
"f i"*y--*lq
l E r t h ' m e r r y ' C h r i s t m a sb e i n g a n y e t c u r r e n tc o n c e p t i o n )
and even of offering and sacrifice, necessitating the
pa:rrcular dav or days being accepteda.sholidays with the
advancement of cjvilization.
228 FESTIVAI6
Ftstivals, initially were consciously aimed at fertility
(hence the offerings and life-sacrifices) which were
specially meant to Bppcsse a super-human or cxtra'
human power (gods and demons) and the acceptanceof
physical attributes (such as fire, water, shells, fruits,
leave3, animals, colours, gesturesetc.) to represent
associated concepts and forces. Further, the apparent
migration of the sun and the phasesof the moon tbat werc
found to have a signilicant bearing on human activities
(and even the movement of other stars and planets,
during later stages of civilization) began to guide the
pcriodicity of festive cvents. During this long process
diverse rituals came to bc formalized,
A moral philosophy such as Buddhism, rational and
objective, with an emphasison self-reliancefor spiritual
release and with the exposition of the Doctrine and
meditations as the only two forms of religious exercise,
does not hold activities of this description (of which
sensual Sratification and forms of worship aPpear to be
the key note) with any degree of importancc in its
essential teachings. Nevertheless,in the course of the
transformation of this philosophy into a popular religion,
roots of which processare traceableto the life-time of the
Buddha himself, such accretions were natural and in-
evitablc.
The earliest such rite was the uposatha held on
important days of the lunar calendar, the new-moon and
the full-moon days, corresponding to the pitnamasa and
rhe darlaof the Vedic Aryans who held the soma festival
of upavasatha in honour of the moon. The bhikkhus
gathered to proclaim and learn the new doctrine
leading to the increaseof their own numbers, and to recite
the p1timokkha from which function the sick only could
k e e p a w a y . W i t h t h e e l a p s eo f a s h o r t p e r i o d o f t i m e t h e
two intermediatequarter-moon days were added to make
the number of uposathadays four per month'
T h e l a y d e v o t e e st o o p a r t i c i p a t e d b y c l o s i n g t h e i r
placesof work and stopping normd day-today activities,
wearing clean clothes, and by observing the moral
prccepts.
The vassaor the rains retreat came to be observed by
the monks as a three-month stay-in period during the
rainy season, starting on the "ull-moon day of Asalha
farticularly to instruct in the dhammathe lay followen
lho -"d. more frequent visits to the viharas.on the
'::r:#3;"fr,}1t
::::*"j;'":tfriltt;' "r: *!::
pres.ntcd
r- to the Sangha
Of greeter significance as a festivity and as one that
positively marks the growth of Buddhist ritual is the
recitstionoftheRatataSuffaandthesprinlJingofwater

FESTTVALS
sanctified thereby carried in the Buddha'g alms bowl
along tbc ltreetr of Veiili when this city war stricken by
the three-fold calamities of famine, pestilence and
demoniac influence. The Buddhe entrusted this magical
tark to his disciple Ananda, and with the speedy
appearance of the anticipated results the citizens
constructed a beautifully decorated, perfumed and
canopied a.rrcmbly-hell in which the Buddha, the monks,
royalty and the people took appropriate seats. The
Buddhe himself preached tbe Ratrna .9uffa for ssven
consecutive dayr, and recommended the performaace of
this ritual in the event of a future occurrence of such
cdemities, 6rting ure of the customary folk-ritualistic
paraphernalia (KhpA. p. 164).
The desire on the part of the adherents to hoDour and
worrhip wortby perroDagcs and sacred sites (which
nnturally lendr to rituals and festivals) is manifest in the
founding of etiyas,In thesemonuments were enshrined
the arhes of eminent peffioDs such as the Buddhq
Paccekabuddhao, Arahants and Cakravarti (universal)
rulero. This was sanctioned by the Buddha Himself (D, I,
p.142;5. II, pp. 5834) when he approved the construction
of cctiyas s6atnining tbe relics of a few of his leading
disciplcr (DhpA, III, p, 83; V. lI, p. 554). Afte_r rhe
Buddba's parinibbiaa the three-f.old etiyas-saririka,
piribhogika and uddesika (enshrining bodily relics
articler used by Him and objects signifying Him,
rcspectively) were constructed. Homage to them through
simple ritualistic activities such as salutation, circum-
ambulation, ctrewing sand, offering of flowers naturally
followed, and they wcre regarded ar meritorious acts
( D h p A . I l I , p . 8 3 , 2 5 1 , 4 4 8 ) .T h e r e i s n o d o u b t t h a t e a r l y
Buddhists visited thesemonuments especiallyon uposetha
days, as referred to earlier, and held small and large scale
religiouc festivals during the three centuries thet preceded
Aioka (3rd century B.C.). In the course of his revivalistic
activitier, Aioka himself recommended through the
Girner Edicts the pcrformanct of.divyanirupim'heavenly
!hows', conrirting of the display of cbariots of gods etc. in
place of thc usual items (some even bacchanalian and
erotic) of the.customary samaja (i.e. samajja) festival
(Huf tzsch. lg25. | & 6). There is dso no doubt rhar he
held appropriatc festivals of offering and
devotion at the numeroutr religious institutions that he
founded.
These practicer took frm root in Sri Lanka consequent
to thc introduction of Buddhism to the island (in the 3rd
century B.C.) by the Arahant Mahinda, son of Aioka.
Withthis mission c&me not only the Doctrine but also the
forms of outward obsenrance; and thore of the latter
pertaining to the early phase of Sri Lankan Buddhism, no
doubt, conformed to the tndian pattern itrelf.
The proccsr of the growth of ritual and ceremony in Sri
Lankan Buddhism and their formalization as festivals is
'FESTIYALS
f
229
well reflected_in the Pali commentaries, the chronicles
such as the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa, contemporary
Sinhala epigraphic records and Pali and Sinhala lit.."ry
works of later times. Evidently the requirement on the
part of the devoteesfor something tangible to worship (as
referred to above) led to the acceptanceof the three forms
of. cetiyas as appropriste for the purpose.
Dome-shaped and pinnacled constructions called srupa
(Skt.) thipa (Pl) and dajrrb(Sin,), and even cetiyaitself
(Skt. carrya, Sin, sdia) were founded to enshrine siiri*a
relics (such as bits of bone) and paribhogka relics (such
as robes) whilst the bodhi trees (ficus religiosa) and
images of the Buddha were considered as being of the
uddaikacategory. ln addition to the tlsaraae-the formula
for seeking refuge in the Buddha, the Dh'amma and the
Sahgha, and the precepts (sikkhapada), sranzas (githi)
to be recitedat the rituals of worship were also composed.
All these requisites of worship, at least in their early
forms, together with the panr bs (suttddiscourses such as
tbe Ratana,Suffa already referred to used as ward-runes)
were known in Sri Lanka during the life time of the
Arahant Mahinda himself.
The eventsconnectedwith the introduction of Buddhism
to Sri Lanka themselves appear to have constituted a
festival-and that under royal patronage. The eDtry ofthe
mission headed by the Arahant Mahinda to the capital at
Anuradhapura to be welcomed reverently by the king,
the gift of alms to them, the gathering of a vast concourse
of the city people to seethe theras, the decorated halls, the
preaching ofthe discourses(suttas)at gathering ofnoble
lpomen in the Nandana Garden, the gifting of the
Mahimegha Park to the brotherhood of monks, the
admission of a host of lay people to the Order, the pin-
pointing of locations for edifices for the sacred bodhi
tree, alms-hall, refectory, tanks etc., the conversion of
hosts of people inclusive of members of the roya-ltyto the
new faith, the adornment of the city etc. for a period of
seven days (Mhv. Ch. XIV - XV) would certainly have
been investedwith an air of unprecedentedfestivity,
Such festivalsof a non-periodic nature, but relevant to
a given occasioncertainly took place during the recorded
period of well over two millenia of Sri Lankan history,
and are, a! may be expected, too numerous to mention.
Tbey were mostly religious, such as those held to
consecrate a cttiya or stipa (Maricavatti: Mhv Ch.
XXVI, Mahathupa: ibid. XXIX - XXXI) or a uihara
(Lohapasid a: ibid, Ch. XXVII), or held in honour of the
bodhi tree during the l2the year of a king's reign (ibid.
Ch. XIX, XXXIV, v. 59 and XXXVIII. v.57), an image
of the Buddha,(ibid. Ch. 100 w. 185),tbe nlms-bowl relic
(ibid. Ch.74, vv, 147,167 , Ch, 89, vv. 17, Ch. 90, v.75),
the hair relic(ibid.Ch.39, r.51, Ch.50, t.7l), or the
commcmoration of a venerable arahant. The Mahinda
 FESTIVALS
festival held by king Dhatusena (5th ccntury A.C.) for
instlnce, was marked by the setting up of an effigy of the
sage at the place where his body was cremated, and
meking costly offerings (rbid. Ch. XXXVIII, v. 5E).
Thc annual Buddhist festival with the longcst history
appenr! totr' Vesek(Vaidakhaor Vesikha) falling on the
full-moon day of May, celebreted to mark the triple
eventc of the birth, the attainment to Enlightenment
(Buddbahood) and the demise (parinibbina,) of the
Buddha. It is possible that this festivel was held in Sri
Lanka from the earliest years of Buddhism in the island
though the earliest reference to it in the Mahavalnsa (Ch.
XXXII, v. 35) pcrtains to the rcign of king Dutthagamani
(l0l-77 B.C.) who is reported to have celebrated it 24
times. King Bhatiya(38-67 A.C.) and King Vesabha(127-
l7l A.C.) celebratedit 28 and 44 times recpectivelyand
fivc more kingt - Voharaka Tissa (3rd century A.C.)
Gothabhaya (4th century A.C.) Jettha Tirsa (4th century
A,C.) Dalla Moggaltana (7th century A.C.) and Sena lI
(9th century A.C.) are reported to have organised Vesak
festivals. By the 4th century A.C. the celebration of this
festival had become an established tradition - cirittinu-
g a t l q ( M h v . C h a . X X X V I , w . 4 0 , 1 0 9 , 1 3 0 ;C h . X L I V ,
v. 46, Ll, v. 84), when kings mede offcrings of robes to
monkg a-ndfood and clothing to the poor,
The British rulers who occupicd the island in 1815,in
thcir punuit of a policy aimed at the impoverishment of
its indigenous culture withdrew the holidayfacility which
the Buddhistr enjoyed on this sacred day, but during the
Buddhist revivalist trend pioneered by Colonel H. S.
Olcott, the American theosophist of the last quarter of
the l9th century, tbe Vesakholiday was restored in 1885.
The festival as held at the present day displays seversl
popular charecteristics: ritual observanccs in temples
with more devoteesparticipating than on any other holy
day with considerable members in pure white attire
obsen'ing the eight precepts (ata-sil), the offering of food
and drink at tcmporary alms-halls (dan-s{I) to devotees
and right-secrs,the lighting at night of rows of coconut
oil lamps and peper lanternr of various sizes and shapes,
rome fantertic (even in the rhape of jet-plan?s and spacc
rocketr), some with debcate and intricate workmanship,
the enactment of street corner dramas depicting the
J i t e k a s t o r i e sa n d e p i s o d e sf r o m l i f e o f t h e B u d d h a a n d
the history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, the erection of
elaborete archwayr (pandal ot torana), some evcn over
5 0 f e e t i n h e i g h t w i t h a r t p a n c l sd e p i c t i n gs c e n c sf r o m t h e
Jitakas or the life of the Buddha, with the moving
petterns of electric lights (producing at times a garish
effect on the eye), the construction of tableaux depicting
scenes alr above and even of hells, the singing of
devotional songs by troups of girls and boys, temple
processionscarrying flags, flowers images of the Buddha
230 f FESTTVALS
etc. The custom of scnding beautifully printed 'Yesak
cards'eachwith a Sinhaia verseconveyingthe'sentiments
of the season',to rclations and friends,now well rooted, is
of comparatively recent origin. Large happy crowds may
be seen,speciallyin the bigger towns and cities,travelling
in vehicles and on foot to seethe "sights of Vesall'. This
visual aspect may prevail nightly for a few days after the
full-moon, in the cities.
Vesakin Sri Lanka is primarily & seesonof piety, with
quict merriment in short attendance. This is a festival
celebrated in all southern Buddhist countries in
particular. In Thailand, the Yarslra*a Hji is marked
specially by the decoration of temples and homes, the
offering of alms and the release of captive birds and fish
(ERE) Similar devotional activities are performed in
Burma and other South East Asian lands. In Japan rphere
severalBuddhist sectsflourish, the birth of the Buddha is
celebratedon the 8th of Aprilwhen afestivalcalled }/ana
'flower festival' at
matsuri (q.v.), which, among other
obseryances,children dance bcfore images of the Buddhq
is hcld. In Tibet, Vaishaka is celebrated specially to
commemorate Padmasambhava - the eighth century
founder of Lamaism a-ndthe reformer Tgongkhapa (l4th
- l5th ccntury A.C.). Lamas refrain from food, and lead
the laity in acts of piety (ERE).
ln l.lepal where a strong Buddhist-Hindu syncretismis
evident, the Bahiravajatri festival is celebrated during
the holy month of May (Vcsak). It is marked by dancing
and the sacrifice of buffaloes (ERE).
AII Buddhist communities living in non-Buddhist
lands of all the continents gather at their uihCras or
Buddhist centresto perform actsof piety and devqtion on
this day, The offering of oil lamps, flowcrs and incenge
before an image of the Buddha" the delivcrance of a
religious discourse by a monk and the lighting of papcr
lanterns (as in Sri Lanka) are the items of this celebration.
A Sri Lankan relic-festival (dhitu-utsava/ that has
persisted for the last l5 centuries slmost uninterrupted is
that connected with the Tooth Relic of the Buddha. Thc
relic was b-roug[t to Sri Lanka in the 9th year of the reign
of King Kirti Sri Meghavar?a from Kalinga in Lndia and
was depositedin aspecial building at Anuridhapura. The
king spent 90,000 kahapanas for a great festival in
honour of the relic and decreed, that it should be
conveyedceremonially to the Abhayagiri Vihara anually
for public exposition (Mhv. Ch. 37, vv. 92-97;
Dhituvamsa 406). The Chinese traveller Fa hsien (q.v.)
who visited Anuredhapura at the beginning of the 5th
century A.C. records that this festival was held during the
third month, and that both the monks and the laity madc
ready the processional path, decorated the lanes and by
ways and gatheredflowers and incense.On either sideof
the road were 500 splendid tableaux depicting sctnes
 FESTIYALS
from the Jatakas. Offerings were made en route and at
the exhibition hall ceaselesslyfor ninety days. Fa hsienb
compatriot Hieun Tsiang refcrs to the splendid mansion
at Anuradhapura where the relic was housed during the
rest of the year.
The Tooth Relic is the most precious of the bodily
relics of the Buddhe found in Sri Lanka and becamc the
palladium of the royalty and the Sinhala people. When-
ever the capital of thc kingdom changed a new mansion
was constructed for it in thc chosencity wherc the annual
festivities were maintained. In the face of the pcrsecution
by the Portugeseduring the latter half of the l6th century
A.C. it war secretlyconveyed to the hill country where it
was enshrinedin various placesof safetyand finally in the
Temple of the Tooth - tbe Daladi Maligava - at Kandy,
where it remains until this day. The festival connected
with it eppears to have been performed, if on a low key,
during the troubled times that ensued,to be resrrscitated
during the middle of the l8th century A.C,
The British, consequentto their occupation of the Hill
Country, though they pledged to sefeguardthe'rcligion
of the Boodhoo', prohibited the pcrformance of this
festival ( I 8l 5) in pursuance of their policy of eradicating
the indigenous'heathen'practices.A continuous drought
intensifying after 1821,it is reported, took hold of the Hill
Country for severelensuing years.As a last resort, on the
request of the chiefs, the festival was rcvived in I828. At
the termination of the procession which brought the 7
day rites to a close, a mighty down-pour spilled the lake
and flooded the streets of Kandy, This deluge that came
to be called the daladi vatura,lit. 'inundation of the
Tooth Relic', also washed away the bridges over the
Mahavflli river at Peradeniya and Katugastota. Sir
Edward Barnes - the Governor, decreedthat the festival
henccforth should be held for l4 days.
An important cultural feature associated with the
festival of the Tooth Relic is its importance &sa rain rite.
It is interesting to note here that the l3th century Pali
poem, tlte Dithavantsa, notes how a torrential down-
pour occurrld or the occasion of the ceremony held by
the King Sri Mcghavarna to receive the relic at the
Meghagiri at Anuradhapura (3 t0 A.C.):
Sam si b bit am raj atarajj usati n ukari
d hir1satehi vasudh am baramam buden a
Sa b b a d isi j ala d akiuan ah agghiyes u
di ttati rajj up atipadip agha a vabh asa: v. 37 |
( I t a p p e a r e da s t h o u g h b o t h t h e s k y a n d t h e e a r t h w e r e
enveloped in a hundred-fold resembling hundreds of
silver threads. All directions were lit by hundreds of
lamps of lightening that shone brilliantly from the great
e a v e so f r a i n - c l o u d s l
231 FESTTVALS
Note also the name olthe viheraabove: Meghagiri,'Rain
or Cloud Mountain'.
The .Srnlrale Dalada Vamkya (w. *7) composed
during the rcign of King Paiakrama Bihu IV (1302-26
A.C.) notes the manner in which this monarch performed
the festival of the Tooth in his capital city Kurunegala"
and decreed that 'the dalada (Tooth Relic) should be
propitiated during periods of drought in this very mBnner:
vdsi no vasanZ kala de memd lesin deladi piji karavanu
r,ri.
T h e l i k e l y e x p l a n a t i o no f t h e o r i g i n o f t h e c o n c e p t i o n
lies in the fact that the doctrine of thc Buddha is at times
referred to as dharma varsi, dharma vrsti and daham
vtssa, 'the rain of the Doctrine', and that His teeth came
in contact (sparfu) with the 84,000 sections of the
dhemma (asuhAradahasdharmaskandha).lt is likely that
this direct associationwould have led to the acceptanceof
the Tooth Relic as being invested with thc magica.l
powers of producing rain.
The idea persiststoday as it did at leastduring the l3th,
I4th and the l9th centuries.
Sri Lankan Buddhists also hold the full-moon day of
Poson (Je!!ha, May-June) with a sanctity second only to
the full moon day of Vesal, It was, indeed, the day on
which the Arahant Mahinda visited MihintalE bringing
in the Word of the Buddha, which is sufficient reason for
the venerable arahant himself, to be regarded as aru-
budu - 'the deputy Buddha'. Celebrations are centred in
the sacred city of Anuridhapura and MihintalE itself
where about a million devoteesgather during the week, a
considerable number to observe the eight precepts (afa
srl,) mainly in the grove around the famo us samidhi
buddha image at Abhayagiri. For miles over all the
routes (inclusive of the railway) leading to Anuridhapura
and MihintalE and at these two centres as well. alms halls
@ansll supply food and drink to all those that seek
them, specially on the two days that mark the full-moon.
M o s t p i l g r i m s r e s t o n t h e v a s t o p e n s p a c e sw h e r e t h e
many religious and historical sites are situated.
Another holy city where the Poson festival is held is
Tissamahirama in South-East Sri Lanka where, too, the
religious institutions founded during the pre-Christian
times were closely associatedwith the capital city of the
ancient principality of Rohana.
It is also interesting to note that King Dutthagamanl
( l 6 l - 3 7 B . C . ) w h o s e b i r t h p l a c ew a s t h i s c a p i t a l c i t y , h e l d
water-festil'al in a village called Pajjota or Posona in the
month of. Jettha (Mhv. Ch. XXV, v. 5l) and that his
e q u a l l y c e l e b r a t e da n c e s t o r ,t h e K i n g D e v a n a m p i y a t i s s a
(250-10 B.C.) also held one - a salila kila in the same
month about a century earlier.(Mhv T. p. 329). Jetthamila
 FESTIVALS
nakkhatte, Esit Bppearslwas a festival held in the month
of jettha in Sri Lanka d ating from the pre-Christian tirires
and which took a Buddhist complexion after the introduc-
tion of that religionto the island.
T h e f o l l o w i n g m o n t h - A s a l h ao r A , s a l a i sa m o n t h o f
w i d e s p r e a df e s t i v i t y i n S r i L a n k a , f o r i t i s t h e m o n t h o f
celebrations held in honour of specially the various
d c i t i e sw h o s es h r i n e sa r e l o c a t e di n d i f f e r e n t p a r t s o f t h e
i s l a n d , s o m c o f t h e m i n c h ) s ea s s o c i a t i o nw i t h B u d d h i s t
temples.
A t K a t a r a g a m ao n t h e S o u t h - E , a sits l o c a t e dt h e m a i n
s h r i n e o f t h e s y n c r e t i c d e i t y ( g e n e r a l l , vr e f e r r e d t o a s
K a t a r a g a m a D e v i ) - m a h a s e n a( o r M a h a s e n ) o f t h e
B u d d h i s t S i n h a l a p e o p l ea n d S k a n d a o r S u b r a m a n i a ro f
the Hindus. It is situated within the precinctsof the
B u d d h i s t V i h a r a , w i t h t h e K i r i V e h e r a ,o n e o f t h e l a r g e s t
a n d e a r l i e s ts f D p a s o ft h e i s l a n d .T h e d e i t y i s c o n c e i v e da s
p o s s e s s i n gs i x f a c e sa n d t w e l v e h a n d s , h a s a p e a c o c ka s
h i s c h a r i o t ( v a h a n a )a, n d r e d i s h i ss v m b o l i cc o l o u r .B o t h
B u d d h i s ta n d H i n d u d e v o t e e sp a r t i c i p a t ea c t i v e l vi n t h e
festival. Bathing in the holy river - Mlinik Ganga,
o f f e r i n g s o f v i c t u a l s , r e d g a r l a n d s , i a m p s , i n c e n s ea n d
e v e n m o n e y a n d v o t i v e o b j e c t s t o t h e d e i t y a - l o n gw i t h
s o l i c i t a t i o n so f w o r l d l y w e l f a r e ,t h e c r a c k i n go f c o c o n u t s .
r h y t h m i c d a n c e sw i t h t h e k a v e d i - .s h o u l d e ra r c sa d o r n e d
w i t h p e a c o c kf e a t h e r s .A s e l f - i n f l i c t i o no f b o d i l v t o r t u r e s
(mainly b1' the Hindus), the fulfilment of vows on the
r e a l i z a t i o n o f a d e s i r c d o b j e c t i v e ,p r a y e r s m a r k e d w i t h
'haro
shouts of hara', fire-walking and a series of
p r o c e s s i o ntsh s l a s to f w h i c h e n d sw i t h t h e ' w a t e r - c u t t i n g '
( d i y a k l l p i m a l i n t h e M l n i k G a n g a c o n s t i t u t et h e f e s t i v a l
p r o c e e d i n gasl o n gw i t h t h e u s u a lB u d d h i s tr i t e s( i n c l u s i v e
o I t h e a t a s l p e r f o r m e d a t t h e r l . h a r a ,t h e s h r i n e sa n d t h e
kiri Vehera).
D e v i n u v a r a- t h e s o u t h e r nm o s t t i p o f t h e i s l a n d ,i s
a l s o k n o w n o n a c c o u n to f i t s f a m e t o a n o t h e rs y n c r e t i c
d e i t y . O r i g i n a - l l vt h e d i v i n i t y w a s U t p a l a v a r n a ( - v a n n a )
o r U p u h ' a n - ' h e o f t h e c o l o u r o f t h e b l u e l o t u s ' ,a l o c a l
c e r t l r v h o c o n s e q u e nt o t h e i 5 t h e c e n t u r yc a m e t o b c
i d e n t i f i c dw i t h V i s n u - t h e b l u ec o l o u r c dg o d o f t h e V e d i c
p a n t h e o n .T h e s h r i n e ( d e v , i l a y a )i s l o c a t e da l o n g s i d et h e
B u d d h i s t V i h a r a a s a t K a t a r a g a m a .R i t e s a r e l i m i t e d t o
i h e u s u a lo f f e r i n g s ,p r a v e r s ,v o w s a n d a p p e a l sf o r w o r l d l v
' , i : l i a r e . o f f e r i n g so f f l o w c r s , i n c e n s ea n d v i c t u a l s ,t h e
- - : a c < i n go f c o c o n u t s a n d p r c c e s s i o n s O , n the final
: . : : : : g f o r m a l i z e Ct r a d i t i o n a l r i t u a l d a n c i n g - t h e
: : , a : o t r a , r { d e v a s t o t r a ) s t a r t st o t e r m i n a t e a f e w h o u r s
, . r : : s u r : i s et h ef o l l o w i n gd a y .T h e r ei s a l s of i r e - w a l k i n g .
: ' . : : a : t : : t h e c e s s a t i o no f r e l i g i ' . l u sc e r e m o n i e sa g r a n d m o n k s w e r e a s s e m b l e d( o n t o t h e m ) ,
' . : - : : t : r ' . r . si n t h eo p e n s p a c ae d j a c e ntto t h es h r i n e sA.
: : . 3 t . : : - : : : a r t , r i i l c e a n d p e a sc r o k e di n - i a g g e r l ' a n d
- -: --
a , : : . : : : s i : " i t i e tso a c l o S e .
232 f FESTTVALS
It is customary for people for many miles around to
light pan plil - traditional clay lamps set in cylindrical
baskets woven of tender coconut leaf set facing the
direction of Devinuvara, specially on the finaJ day of the
festival. The citizens have theirs turned towards the
shrine and have therd lit for more days.
A fcstival in honour of Saman - the Great Buddhist
deity of the holy rnountain,Samantak[ta or Samanala
( A d a m ' s P e a k ) t a k e s p l a c e i n t h e S a b a r a g a m u w aM a h a
Saman Devalaya at Ratnapura. Usual festival rites are
performed with a grand procession (perahllra) where
traditional dancing peculiar to the area (Sabaragamu
ntfum), and large effigies(of cane aad cloth called Maha
ba(m)bawith two facesturned to tbe front and rear) may
b e s e e n .l h e f e s t i v a l e n d s w i t h t h e w a t e r - c u t t i n gi n t h e
Kalu Ganga.
A f e s t i v a l i n h o n o u r o f t h e s a m ed e i t y i s h e l d a t t h e
Alutnuvara Dcvalaya off Mavandlla on the road to
K a n d - " "I.t i s u s u a l l y h e l d i m m e d i a t e l y b e f o r e t h e K a n d y
perahtra is held.
T h e m o n t h o f A s a l l a a l s os e e st h e f c s t i v i t i e sp e r f o r m e d
i n h o n o u . o f t h ef o l k d e i t . vD , e v o l , a l l o f w h o s es h r i n e sa r e
l o c a t e db y t h e s e ao n t h e S o u t h W e s t c o a s to f t h e i s l a n d
( a s a t U n a v a r u n a ,D o d a n d u v a a n d A m b a l a n g o d a ) ,w i t h
t h e p r i n c i p a l o n e a t S i n i g a m a- a n i s l e to f f t h e c o a s tn e a r
H i k k a d u v a . A p r o c e s s i o n ,a r i t u a l d a n c t p e r f o r m a n c c
a n d a f i r e - w a l k i n gb r i n g t h e a c t i v i t i e st o a c l o s e .
A n o ( h e r S r r L a n k a n f e s t i v a lt h a t f i n d s l i t e r a r ym e n t i o n
is the Grribhandda Puja performed at Cetiyagiri
( \ l i h i n t a l i ) b v K i n g M a h a D a t h i k a M a h a n a g a( 7 - 1 9
A C ) A c c o r d i n gt o t h e M a h i v a n s a ( C h . X X X I V , w .
7 5 - 8 4 ) a r o a d w i t h f o u r g a t e - w a v sw a s m a d e r e a d y
a r o u n d t h e r n o u r t a . i nw ' i t h s h o p sQ p a n a ) , o n e i t h e r s i d e
a n d d e c o r a t e d w i t h f l a g s , a r c h e s a n d t r i u m p _ h ag l ates
(dhajaggikarorana),lit with chains of lamps (dipamala).
M i m i c d a n c e s , s o n g s a n d m u s i c ( n a t a n a c c e n ig i t a n i
'f
v a d i t a n i ) w e r ec o m m a n d e d . h e a p p r o a c hr o a d f r o m t h e
Kadamba river was laid with carpets (attharana), and
g r e a t l a r g e s s( n a h a d a n a m ) w a s d i s t r i b u t e t l a t i h e f o u r
g a t e s ,a n d g i f t s a n d a l m s a t e i g h t p l a c e st o t w e n t v f o u r
t h o u s a n d b h i k k h u s .E i g h t g o l d e nd r u m s w e r eb e a t e na n d
prison penalitieswere remitted. Chains of lamps were
h o i s t e do v e r t h e w h o l e i s l a n d .a r d o v e r t h e w a t e r so f t h e
o c e a nw i t h i n a d i s t a n c eo f y o j a n a a r o u n d .
'Ihe
!ater work Pijavaliya (725) elaborating on the
performrnce in the*ocean, savs that platforms were
e r e c t e do n t h e c a n o c ss t a i o n e dc o m p a c t l ya n d t h a t 2 4 , 0 0 0
This Pijasamagama ('assembly of offering) held to
m a r k t h e c o n s e c r a t i on o f a s t i p a . t h o u g h c e n t r e da r r : u n d
 FESTIYALS 233
the Mihintala Hill (located seven miles to the east of
Anuridhapura), appearsto have been held on a national
scale.
T h e r e i s n o e v i d e n c eo f a n y s o r t t o t h e r e p e t i t i o no f t h i s
festival.
A great festivsl to celebrate the preaching of a sutta
called Ariyavamsa has been noted in several literary
sources. The Mahavamsa (Ch. XXXVI, v. 38) records
that the Ariyavamsawas preachedat severalplacesin the
island during the reign of King Voharika Tissa (209--ll
A . C . ) f o r w h i c h h e e s t a b l i s h e dt h e s u p p l y o f a l m s . T w o
c e n t u r i e sl a l . e r ,a c c o r d i n gt o t h e T o n i g a l I n s c r i p t i o n( E Z .
I l I , 1 7 7 ) ,a p e r s o nn a m e d D E v a m a d e a g r a n t i n p a d d y
and seeds,the interest from which was to be utilized for
this festival held in a vihira nearby. Two inscriptions of
t h e 5 t h c e n t u r i e s( E Z . l l l , 2 5 0 - 5 1 ) t o o r e f e r t o g r a n t s i n
money for the same ceremony which also finds mention
in the Ah gut t ara A tt h aka r/ra (3 85-8 6) an d t he Ra sa vahi n-i
( I I , 4 , 1 8 3 , 1 9 0 ) ,t h e s e c o n do f w h i c h r e f e r st o i t a s a
periodical festival held half-yearly or annuallv at certain
vrhiras. According to the Tonigala Inscription it was
h e l d i n t h e m o n t h o f N i k i n i ( A u g , S e p t . ) .T h e r e c i t e r so f
t h i s s e r m o n , t h e A r i l ' a v a m s a - B h a n a * a sa p p e a r t o h a v e
b e e n g r e a t l y h o n o u r e d a s a u t h o r i t i e si n t h e d h a m m a .
T h e A r i y a v a m s a w a s a s e r m o n r ; n t h e c s s e n c eo f t h e
q u a l i t i e so f a b h i k k h u o n w h i c hd e p e n d e dt h e p e r p e t u a t i o n
of the sisana.
'fhe
preaching of Ariyavamsa is not altogether
u n k n o w n t o S r i I - a n k ao f l h e p r e s e n d t a y , t h o u g hi t i s n o t
a c c o m p a n i e dw i t h a n y f e s t i l i t y .
A n o t h c r f e s t i v a lt h a t i s m e n t i o n a di n t h eM a h a v a m s a i s
t h e G a h g a r o h a n ah e l d b v K i n g U p a t i s s aI l ( 5 t h c e n t u r v
A.C.) when the island was afflicted by famine and
'fhe
disease, monks cited the example of the Buddha
c a u s i n gt h e r e c i t a t i o no f t h e R a t a n a S u t t aa t \ / e s a l iw h e n
this city was simiiariv afflicted, and the Venerable
A n a n d a s p r i n k l i n gt h e c h a r m e dw a t e ro n t h e c i t y s t r e e t s ,
-f
h e r e u p o nt h e k i n g h a d a n i m a g e o f t h e B u d d h a w r o u g h t
i n g o l d , a n d p l a c i n g H i s s t o n eb o w i f i i i s d w i t h w a t e r i n
the hands placed it on a chariot. A iargeretinue of the
s a ' n g h af o l l o w e d t h e c h a r i o t c h a n t i n g t h e R a t a n a S u t t a
a n d s p r i n k l i n gt h e c h a r m e dw a t e ro n t h e s t r e e t so f t h e c i t v
of Anuradhapura one whole night. The king too accom-
p a n i e d t h e m . A g r e a ta J m s - g i v i n g w a s a . l s oo r g a n i s e d . - [ h e
rains came, and the king decreed that the ceremonv
s h o u l d b e p e r f o r m e d i f e v e r s u c h d i s t r e s sr e - v i s i t e dt h e
i s l a n d( M h v . C h . X X X V I I v r 1 8 9 - 9 8 ) .
I t i s l i k e l y t h a t t h e c e r e m o n i e sp e r f o r m e d b y S e n a t l
(9th century) in the event oi an epidemic(at which an
i m a g e o f t h e s a g eA n a n d a t o o k t h e p l a c e o f t h a t o f t h e
Buddha) when he evenhad the Ratana Suffa inscribedon
g o l d p l a t e s( M h v . 5 1 , v v . 7 9 - 8 1 )a, n d b y K a s s a p aV ( l 0 t h
FE$TIVALS
c e n t u r y )i n t h e e v e n t o f a p l a g u e a n d b a d h a r v c s tw e r e i n
the tradition of this very festival.
A n e v o l v e dc u s t o m ( w h i c h m a y b e n o w r e g a r d e da s a
m a g i c a l r a i n - r i t e ) h a s p e r s i s t e di n S r i L a n k a u p t o r h e
prcscnt times in the chanting of many parittas (i.e.
inclusiveof the Ratana Sutta) continuously for a r. ' or
evcn a fortnight in the event of such distressat rcb ,-ral
level.
J'he construction of a large haJl (pirit maduva) at an
o p e n s p o t , a n d o i a b e a u t i f u l l v o r n a m e n t e de n c l o s u r e
(pirit ntandapa), generallyeight-sided.in the center, the
confcrment of alms to monks, the partaking and the
sprinkling of charmed water (pirit pdn), procrssions,
d e c o r a t i o n s ,t h e b e a t o f d r u m s , a v a s t c o n c o u r s eo f
p a r t i c i p a n t s ,d e v o t e e se t c . a r e r h ep o p u l a r f e a t u r c so f t h i s
gam pirit festival.
A significant character of all thesefestivalsis that they
a r e g u i d e d b y t h e l u n a r c a l e n d a ra n d t h a t t h e y c u l m i n a t e
o n t h e n i g h t o f t h e f u l l m o o n o f a g i v e nm o n t h , a n d t h a t
e v e n i f o n e i s h e l d i n h o n o u r o f a d e i t y , i t t e n d st o t a k c a
Buddhist complexion becausea super-human being
h o n o u r e d b y t h e S i n h a l a B u d d h i s t s i s r e g a r d e da s o n e
w h o h o l d s t h e B u d d h a i n t h e h i e h e s th o n o u r .
O t h e r f u l l - m o o n d a y s t o o a r e f e s t i v a ld a y s i n g e n e r a l
w h e n d e v o t e e sg a t h e r i n t e m p l e si n u n u s u a ln u m b e r sf o r
v a r i o u s r e l i g i o u s a c t i v i t i e s : t h e o b s e r v a n c eo f t h e f i v e
precepts (pafica {ila or pansil), the offering of lamps,
f l o w e r s , i n c c n s ea n d f o o d t o t h e B u d d h a ( t h e b u d d h a -
p t { a ) i n t h e m o r n i n g , a t p r e - n o o n a n d i n t h e e v e n i n g ,t h e
general offering of such items at the srlpas and bodhi
t r e e s ,t h e o b s e r v a n c eo f t h e e i g h t p r e c e p t s( s r 7 o ra t a s i l ) ,
the offering of the midday meal (dana) and light
refreshments (gilana paccayaor gilanpasa) after the noon
t o m o n k s a n d s r T d e v o t e easn d t h e l i s t e n i n gt o s e r m o n s i,n
t h e m a i n . O n t h e f u l l - m o o n d a 1 'o f D u r u t u ( J a n u a r y )t h e
v i h a r a a t K i i l a n i y a ( n e a r C o l o m b o ) i s t h e v e n u eo f t h e
n:ain festival, because the Buddha is said to have
s a n c t i f i e dt h i s p l a c e b y H i s v i s i t o n t h i s p a r t i c u l a rl u n a r
day. T'he vihara at KottE - the fifteenth centurycapitat
c i t y ( a l s o n e a r C o l o m t o ; n o t a s i t s s p e c i a lf e s t i v a la l m o s t
c o r r - c u r r e n t l y ,A m o d e r n v i h a r a i n C o l o m b o the
G a n g a r a m a , h a s o f l a t e b c c o m c t h e s p e c i a ld e v o t i o n a l
center on the full-moon dav of Navam (Ferbruary).
Mahiyangana on the interior lowlands on the East is
a n o t h e rs a c r e ds i t e w h i c h a l s o i s s a i d t o h a v eb e e nv i s i t e d
by the Buddha. and holds its annual festivai orr the frrll-
moon day cf Yap (September). Ufiduvap - the full-moon
d a v o f D e c e m b e r .i s c e l e b r a t e di s l a n d - w i d ei n h o n o u r o f
tlte theri Sanghamitta the Ven. Mahinda's sister
arahant who brought the sapling of the Sacredtsodhi
T r e c ( a t G a y a ) t o A n u r a d h a p u r a 2 3 c e n t u r i e sa g o .
 FETTERS
The usual observances at these sacred places arc.
enriched by one or more perahfrras - religious pro-
cessions, marked by the customary pageantry: the
Navam perahtra of the Gangarama is a display of the
'cultural rcgions'
traditional dances of all the Buddhist
(the Kandyan Hills, the S. W, interior lowlands of
Sabaragamuva and the Southern end S. Western coastal
area) of the island; and that at Mahiyaigana includes
ritualistic itcms of the Viiddis - the now disappearing
tribesmen of Sri Lanka.
VHe Ylth*rem
FETTERS. The search for Truth, for realisation, emanci-
pation and enlightcnment assumesin most pcople the
form of a posilive quest.They evenpersonify the object of
t h e i r s e a r r - ' . ,w i : , i h b e c o m e s a p u r s u i t o f G o d o r t h e
'f
Absolui. b c i u g hg l r . : : : p i r i l u a l r n c n ! ; i . ' ; . - l 1 e ! 4 r etdh a t
" r 1 t af t i ; r 5 t l o mo i G o d i ; - , l l l i . : i r l t " , i : ' . t i i , i . i ' r : T r e s parimasa, kamariga, vyipada, itpariga,
".
a pursuit of an objectified imr,;:-'..r un. iirtl ,r "ru.:ning
aftcr" is also a running-awa-y,an cscape.ln thrs pursuit
however, and not before, man feelsthat hc is fettered,and
his longing to be free, in order to becomeunited with the
object of his spiritual desire, becomesstronger.
his impotency to break those chains with which he is
-
fettered lrhcnce he knows not he triesto obtain help - rpiritual stages(see$AMYOJANA).
from outside. But in relying upon outside help he goes
further and further away from the'kingdom"within, and
he merely makes new bonds which tie him down even
stronger than before,
It is only the man who searcheswithin that feels the
weight of his fetters. There are millions who percieve
bond whatever and feel themselvesfree in the gratifi-
catioD of their sensedesires.Still, their very search for
ever greater satisfactionof the senseproves the emptiness
of their lives, which are bound by the grosschains of the
flesh.
True freedom, rea.l emancipation, cannot be had by
running away with the fetters,with which we are shackled
nor by amusing oursclveswithin the prison walls, nor by
clinging to them, but by breaking thosefetters and prison
w e l l s , w h i c b h a v e b e e n f o r g e d b . vt-r a d i t i o n , c o v e n t i o n ,
society and religion. To break thesefetterswe must know
them, realisethat they are fettersand not supports.When
this is understood, it producespure action (kriya),i,c. not
action (kamma) which produces rcaction (vipaka), as
s u c h a c t i o n i t s e l f i s a r e a c t i o n t o a n e n v i r o n m e n tw h i c h
we have not understood.And this pure action without
purposeful striving will brcak the spell of delusion, the
f e t t e r sw h i c h k e e p u s b o u n d .
Delusicn is intensificd by the abuse of language,
S a r c a s t i c a i l yi t h a s b e e ns a i d ,t h a t w o r d s a r e u s e dt o h i d e
234 FETTERS
our thoughts, lf we mean one thing, but we say something
else,it can only lead to gr€aterconfusion. In the following
p a g e sw o r d s l i k e " m i n d ' a n d " c a u s e "h a v en o t b e e nu s e d ,
except in connection with the views of'others, because
there is nothing corrcspondingto theserounds. "Mind" is
the act of thinking, which may be more or lessperfect in
Rwercness,but remains action nevertheless.Mind in the
sense of something which can think, is non-cxistent.
Similarly "ceuse" in the ultimate sense does nct exist
outside the faith of the pious believer in God, Hence
preference is given tc expressionslike "condition". It
would have been good, if words like "1" end "Self'could
have been omitted, for they too rcpresenta non-existing
cntity; but their avoidanccwould cripple the languagero
much that spcaking and writing would becode
impossib!e.
According to Buddhism therc are tcn fetters that bind
beings to thc samsiric existence.The texts enumerate
them as follows: sakklya ditthi, vicikieha, tlil"bb"t"
adtpariga,
l.L{ina, uddhacce, dvijjA. The first five of these are callcd
tf r'iower fetters' (orambhigil'a-samyojana) as they bind
'higher
b r l n g s t o t i : r s e n s u o u sw o r l d . T h e l a t t e r f i v e ,
frtters' (uddhambhagiya samyoiaael because they bind
b e i n g s t o f i n c m a t e r i a l and immaterial wcrlds, These
Fecling
fctters are gradually got rid of with the attainmcnt of four
l. Corceptlon of an Ego+rdty (nhlfig4ffi$ The
m o s t f o r m i d a b l e f e t t c r i s n o t t h e " l " c o n s c i o u s n c sosr t h e
consciousness of self, but the delusion of self. The
consciousnessof sclf would be thc awarcnessof the real
nature of ourselves, This is extremely rare, as we are
no
mostly awsre only of ccrtain reactionswhich the environ-
ment has caused. Frequently we are not cven aware that
we react at all, rnd our actions amount to little more than
mechanical responles to certain stimuli. This, of cour3e,
can never lead to the understanding of reality for as long
as the current thoughts cannot detach themselvesand arc
merely products of thc environment, one cannot have a
detached view, one but form I part of the mechanistic
proccs of the universe, which one sees from inside,
moving with and moved by thc current of eventswithout
individuality, without the consciousnessof self. It is the
absenceof such consciousnesswhich producesthis fetter
of misconception of individua-litv.
The mechanisticworld-view does not consider the
m i n d a s s o m e t h i n gs e p a r a t ef r o m m a t t e r , a n d i n t h i s t h c
Materialistsare quite right, But are they not going too
far, v'hen they try to reducemental reaction to the simple
level of chemical reactions? Certeinly, matter and
material objects form conditions on which depends the
arising of thoughts. Again, the grey matter of the brain
together with the nervous system form the necessary

FETTERS
instruments by which man thinks. And yet, all these
materials brought together artificially, i.e. outside a
l i v i n g o r g a n i s m ,d o n o t p r o d u c e t h o u g h t ,
I t i s w i t h t h e r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e s ef a c t s t h a t t h e t h e o r y
of annihilationism (uccheda-vddaJisrejected.But many,
while freeing themselves from the rigid bonds which
reduce man to a machine, havc run away too far, havc
g o n e t o t h e v e r y o p p o s i t e .w h i c h i s t h e f e t t e r o f m i n c o n -
c e p t i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l i t y a s a s e p a r a t el - e n t i t y . l t i s t h i s
g l o r i f i e d " s e l f ' w h i c h b e c o m e sa s p i r i t u a Js o u l e n d o w e d
w i t h e v e r l a s t i n gl i f e ( s a s s a t a - v a d aq,. v . ) . I t i s t h e d e l u s i o n
of self.
A n d h o w d o e sc o n s c i o u s n c sbs e c o m e" s e l f ' - d e l u s i o n ?
'Ihoughts
a r i s ed e p e n d e n to n c o n t a c tw i t h s e n s eo b j e c t s .
The impressions of the environment on thc senses
p r o d u c e r e a c t i o n s i n t h e i n d i v i d u a l . R e p e a t e d( e a c t i o n s
are differentiated and classified in different groups
a c c o r d i n g t o s o m e c o m m o n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c si,n w h i c h
p r o c € s sm a n y p a r t i c u l a r sa r e o v e r l o o k e d ,s o t h a t f i n a l l y a
s e n s a t i o ni s j u d g e d a s a c c e p t a b l eo r n o t . i . e . a g r e c a b l eo r
d i s a g r e e a b l e .S u b s e q u e n t e v e n t s a r e s i m i l a r l y j u d g e d ,
c o m p a r e d , r e g i s t e r e d ,b y w h i c h p r o c e s st h e f a c u l t y o f
memory is born.
M e m o r - v i s t h u s a r e t e n t i o n o f p a s t e x p e r i e n c e sB . ut
t h o s e p a s t e x p e r i e n c e sh a v e b c e l rr e t a i n e do n l v p a r t l y t o
m a } ' e c l a s s i f i c a t i o np o s s i t ' l e. I n c t h e r w o r d s , w h a t t h e
m e m o r y h a s l e a r n e df r o m e x p e r i e n c ei s c x t r e m e i yi m p c r -
fect and entirely based on reactions to a changing
e n v i r o n m e n t w h i c h w a s n o t u n d e r s t o o d ,w h i c h w a s
a c c c p t e db e c a u s ei t w a s a g r e e a b l eo, r r e j e c t e db e c a u s ei t
w a s d i s a g r e c a b l e .T h e r e g i s t r a t i o n o f t h e s e r e a c t i o n s ,
b a s e do n h a l f u n d e r s t o o du n t r u t h s . f o r m s t h e s t a n d a r d
j u d g e d
b y w h i c h n e w e x p e r i e n c e sa r e a n d c l a s s i f i e dT. h u s
it happens that no event is judged purely on its own
m e r i t s , f o r i t i s a l w a y s m e a s u r e da c c o r d i n g t o t h e o l d
standard.Every new thought is thus guided by past
p a r t i c u l a r t o t h a t m e n t , d i s s o l v e st h e d e l u s i o n o f i t s s e p e r a t e n e s sd,i s p e l s
thoughts,conveyedin a direction
i n d i v i d u a l , s h a p e da n d m o u l d e d u n t i l f i n a l l y , t e n d e n c i e s
a r e f i x e d a n d o n e ' s c h a r a c t c rs t e r e o t y - p e d ,
I n t h i s p r o c e s so f f i x a t i o n o f c h a r a c t e r i s b o r na s e n s eo f
s e p a r a l e n e s sw h i c h c a u s e s a l l i n n e r l i r n i t a t i o n s a n d
i s o l a t i o n sw h i c h l o r m s o m a n l ' b o n d s a n d f e t t e r s ,
p r e v e n t i n gg r o w t h a n d m o v e m e n t .\ f , ' h e r ec i l n s c j o L r s n e s s c r e a t i o n ,n o t
o f s e l f w o u l d s c r a p r o c e s so f a c t i o n ,e v e r b e c o r n i n ga n d
a l w a v sn e w , t h e r et h e d e l u s i o no i s e l f .s e e sa - c e p a r a t i o n ,
p e r m a n e n ti n d i v i d u a l i s mc. r e a t i n ga " s e l f " o r a " s o u l "
u ' h i c h i s n o t o n h t h e r e c i p i e n tb u t a l s o t h e c u s t o d i a no f
a l l p a s t e x p e r i e n c e sl h. e r e t e n t i o no f p a s l e x p e r i e n c e s n e s s , l e a d s o n e n a t u r a l l - vt o p e r p l e x i t v , r e s u l t i n g f r o m
p r e v e n t s t h e f u i l u n d e r s t a n d i n go f p r e s e n t a n d n e w
e x p e r i e n c e sw, h i l e e v e nt h e o l d o n e sh a v el o s t t h e i r v a l u e
b e c a u s et h e v a r e d e a d a n d p a s t a n d w e r e n e v e r f u l l y
u n d e r s t o o d .A n d v e t t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n qo r r a t h e r t h e
r e a l i s a t i o no f t r u t h i s o n l v p o s s i b l e ,i f t h e i n d i v i d u a l
r
235 FETTERS
p r o c e s si s u n d e r s t o o d .B u t a s l o n g a s t h e r e a c t i o n t o t h e
past preventsthe full comprehensionof the present,there
cannol be true intelligence, though there may be
knowledge.
Naturally, from this unnatural way of living in a dead
past, from this lack of understandingthe presentenviron-
ment, arises disharmony which is a conflict which only
s t r e n g t h e n st h e o p p o s i t i o n b a s e do n t h e d e l u s i o n o f s e l f
b e c a u s et h i s v e r y c o n f l i c t i s c l a s s e da s u n d e r s i r a b l e ,i . e ,
n o t i n h a r m o n y w i t h t h e t e n d e n c i e so f " s e l f ' . T h u s t h e
d e l u s i o n o f s e l f a s a s e p a r a t ei,s o l a t e d ,p e r m a n e n te n t i t y ,
which looks at the environment rvith the hostile eyes
w h e r e w i t h a h o u s e - o w n e rw o u l d v i e w a n i g h t l y i n t r u d e r ,
b e c o m e s s t r o n g e r w i t h e a c h n e w e x p e r i e n c e ,a l w a y s
w i t h d r a w i n g d e e p e r a n d d e e p e ri n t o t h e s e l f - p r o t e c t i v e
shell of its dead past.
W h e r e t h e d e l u s i o n o f s e l f s e e si s o l a t i o n a n d p e r m a -
n e n c e i n u n d i v i d u a l i t y , t h e r e t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s so f s e i f
s e e s a n e v e r n e w b e c o m i n g p r o c e s so f a c t i o n . W h e r e
delusion of self lives on the past, consciousneso s f self
l i v e s o n t h e p r e s e n t ,- a n d i s t h e p r e s e n t .T r u e a n d f u l l
intelligenceshows itself in the perfect action of the
p r e s e n tm o m e n t , w h i c h s o l v e st h e a c t u a lc o n f l i c t - n o t b v
f o r c i n g i t i n t o t h e m o u l d o f p a s t e x p e r i e n c e s t, h e r e b y
k i l l i n g t h e p r e s c n t ,n o r b y p r o j e c t i n gi t t h r o u g h p u r p o s e -
ful striving into a future not yet born - but by the
understanding of "self" as a process of reaction to
e n v i r on m e n t . I t i s t h e b i n d i n g o f o n e ' si n d i v i d u a l i t yt o t h e
d i c t a t e so f t h e e r i v i r o n m e n t ,e x p r e s s e da s l a w s o f s o c i e t v
a n d c o n v e n t i c n , r c l i g i o u sp r o h i b i t i o n s a n d s e l f i s hf e a r s ,
traditions, habits, and customs-it is the binding to thc
e n v i r o n m e n t ,w h i c h c o n s t i t u t e st h e f e t t e r o f t h e d e l u s i o n
of self, a fetter which can be broken only through the
undcrstandingof that environment of which the indi-
v i d u a l i s a m e r ep r o d u c t . T h e u n d e r s t a n d i n go f " s e l f " a sa
reaction makes it one with the ever changingenviron-
t h e m i s c o n c e p t i o no f o p p o s i t e sa n d t h e r e b y e n d s t h e
conflict.
'f
o s e e ka m et h o d o f b r e a k i n gt h i s s p e l lo f s e l f d e l u s i o n
rvotrldamount to the forging of a new fctter. The only
t h i n g t o d o i s t o l i v e c o m p l e t e l yi n t h e p r e s e n t .t o c h a n g e
o v er f r o m r e a c t i o nt o a c t i o n ,s o t h a t e v e r vm o m e n ta n e w
b r o u g h t a b o u t b 1 ,r c a c t i o n sl i k c a t t r a c t i o n
o r r e p u l s i o n ,b u t a n i n d e p e n d e n at c t i o n w h i c h a l o n e j s
c a p a b l eo f g i v i n g t r u e f r e e d o r r a n d d e i i v e r e n c e .
2. Perpfexity (vlclklcchil. fne delusion of separate-
t h a t d u a l w o r l d - v i e w . P e r p l e x i t v a r i s e sf r o m n o t f a c i n g
the problem wholly; it is a lack of reflection (r'r'-
cikicchita). Most people either confr:ont a problem with
their intellect alone, without consuitingtheir real
f e e l i n g s ;o r t h e y a r e g u i d e d b y t h e i r e m o t i o n s ,s e p e r a t e
 FETTERS 236
from their understanding. When one enters the conflict
with the intellect alone, it becomeslike a dissectingknife,
analysing, criticising, dislocating, dismembering and
even taking away the vital breath of life. Knowledge
makes man cold and heartless.And a solution thus forced
upon a problem can only bavc the effect of a psycho-
logical supprersion which results in the bursting of the
bund elsewhere.
ItIone can afford to ignore bis feelings and tendencies.
But to be guided by emotions r+'ithout understending is
even worse than calculated crime; it is raving madness;
for emotions are blind and none can sgv whcre they mav
lced to.
Perplexity then is due to the fact that brain and heart
are in conJlict. Reason tries to find motives wberewith to
describe itsclf, but the heart within feels the wrong and
cries out in protest. If the heart predominates, evil
incfinations might try to overcome the resistanceof the
knowledgc of duty, and the conflict is felt as a vioiation of
sacred rights This iak':', plaec in the person who is
intellectually convinced of the right coursc of action, who
does not waver in agrtation and worry @ddhacca-
kukkucca), but who feels thc lack of strength to act
accordingly. This lack of strength is only imaginative; it is
due to the tendency to preserve energy, to a certain
reluclance to lct go cornpletely,The approach is partia.l,
either intellectual, or cmotional, and in this vacilation
perpiexity increases, bewildermcnt which paralyses
action, induces postponement and lets the gol{en
opportunity pass by.
U n d e c i s i v e n e s si s s u c h a s t r o n g f c t t e r b e c a u s ei t i r
mental inertia, producing unwieldiness of thought,
checking ell lnitiative, blocking all progress. Though
often cloaked as conservatism, it actually is fear for
change, fear to break the routine establishedby religion
and society,fear to differ from otbers, lo appear eccentrjc.
'fhus
people prefer to cmbrace a ready made religion
which was probably good only for the original founder,
People are rather carried away downstream, even if thev
suspectdisaster in the end, than to work themselves
across the flood. It is a lack of self- confidence, a secret
desire for snug self-security and comfort, which makes
man refuse to tale risks, to be disturbed even.
A l l t h i s i s d u e t o r e m e m b r a n c eo f p a s t w e a k n e s s e s ,
when trials were made, follor*ed by failures. And thus,
even if a new trial is made, it is with much hesitation and
diffidencc; a backdoor is kept open to return to old ways
of living, either intellectuallv or cmotionaliy, and the new
s i t u a t i o n i s n e v e r m e t w h o l l y . R e m e m b r a n c eo f t h e p a s t
bccomesa fetter on the mov€ment <lf the prcsent.
ln perplexity we run away fron discomfort to seek
self-satisfactioe n l s e w h e r en, o t r e a i i s i n gt h a t " I " - c o n s -
c i o u s n e s si s a t t h e r o o t o f a l l s o r r o w a n d c o n f l i o . w e r u n
FETTERS
away from transiency to look for the eternal truth, not
realising that the whole significance of truth is in the
transient; we run away from suffcring to find a possible
cure through the help of others to whom we pray, not
realising that none can help us but we ourselves;we run
away from conflict in the hope that the imitation of
others in authority can solve our problems, not realising
t h a t b y t u r n i n g t o o t h e r s t h e p r o b l c m so f d u a l i t y i s m a d e
only more complicated and pcrplexity intensified.
It is this doubt whicb makes us search for the truth,
thcreby always missing it, Our search for truth is but a
trial to escapefrom conflict, but it is not a solution therof.
It is this spirit of escapism which makes us study
philosophies, practise systems of mind-control, follow
codes of ethics, set up a standard of conduct, traditional,
conventional, religious, or otherwise. In these, with
"ostrich-policy", we take shelter so as nol to see the
conflict eny more. We have even made for ourselvesnn
idea of truth, and we strive for its attainment. That goal
some call "God" or "Brahfiran", but others Enlighten-
m e n t o r N i r v d n a . I t i s n o t t h e t r u t h o r i t s a t t a i n m e n tw e
are disputing here, but the falsity of striving. Striving for
a g o a l w e d o n o t k n o w , i s l i k e s e a r c h i n gf o r a t h i n g w h i c h
has not even entcred the {leld of our imagination. But on
the other hand, if the goal is known, we are in possession
of the truth and searching becomesimpossible.Thus all
our striving is finally not for attainment but is a searchfor
a shelterto find there comfort, consolation, an escape,As
Nirvana is independent from conditions (asahkhata)and
carnot be produced (akata), all striving must fail and
o n l y c a u s eg r e a t e rp e r p l e x i t y .
We search in the past by means of our memory,
recalling previous experiences;and distilling them like
some elixir of life, we form with them a standardof living,
a n o t h e r p r o p t o s u p p o r t u s i n o u r p e r p l e x i t y ,w h e r e w i t h
to conform to our daily life. Or we try to penetratethe veil
w h i c h h i d e s t h e f u t u r e , t o b u i l d u p s e c u r i t i e si n c o m i n g
lives. Thus our belief in rebirth or our constant
q u e s t i o n i n go f i t s p o s s i b i l i t yi s b u t a d i s g u i s e dc r a v i n gf o r
self- continuance. Rebirtb understood as a process of
action and effect, of conditioning environment and
r e s u l t i n gr e a c t i o n ,w i l l l e a v en o r o o m f o r e n q u i r i e sa b o u t
o t h e r s p h e r e s ,a b o u t s a l v a t i o n o r d a m n a t i o n . B u t i n
p e r p e x i t v t h o u g h t s a r e r e a d y t o f o l l o w a n y l e a d ;t h e y * i l l
a c c e p ta n y d o c t r i n e w h i c h h o l C s o u t s o m e h o p e f o r t h e
future. Then one might think that perplexity has been
overcomein faith. In reality thosedoubts have merely
b e e ns u p p r e s s e dT. h o u g h t s a r e n o t a l l o w e d t o r u n f r e e l v
a n d i n t e l l i g e r - . l l tyh e i r n a t . u r a cl o u r s e ;t h e y a r e s u b m i t t e d
to religious iruthority, and thus blind faitir blocks the
r o a d t o m c n t a l d e v e l o p m e n ta n d t o t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n go f
the truth
Perplexity shouid not be confusedwith the skiiful
d o u b t w h i c h i s e v e n a f a c t o r t o e n l i g h t e n m e n t( s a n t b o . t -
 FETTERS 237
jhanga), namely the spirit of enquiry, of investigation of
the nature of things (dhammavicaya). Perplexity has a
p a r a l y s i n gi n f l u e n c e ,b u t d o u b t s p u r so n t o i n v e s t i g a t i o n ,
t o f u l l e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g .T o r e a c ht h e s u m m i t o f k n o w i n g
the truth of everythin8, we have to start at the bottom by
d o u b t i n g e v e r y t h i n g .P e r p l e x i t y i s s c e p t i c i s m b, u t d o u b t
i s a g n o s t i c i s m .I n t o l e r a n t d e n i a i o f e v e r y a s s u m p t i o n
i t s e l f b e c o m e sd o g m a t i c ; b u t a c t i v ed o u b t w i l l s o l v ei t s c l f
by deeper awareDessof actuality. To escape from the
bewilderment of perplexity people take their refuge in
la,ith, in authority and in religions based thereon. They
mould th.eirlives on revelation which is the experienceof
somebody else, Thus perplexity is a formidable fetter,
preventing intellectual freedom, for truth is intuition and
realisation for oneself.
3. Attrchment to Rltes and Rttual (sllebbata-prinesal.
T h e I o n g h i s t o r y o f t h e h u m a n r a c ei s d o m i n a t e d , b yb e l i e f
in and servitude to the supernatural, The speculationsof
the primitive man on the nature of strangeforces around
him have been replaced by theological arguments; the
i d o l o f r o u g h l y h e w n s t o n eh a s g i v e n r o o m t o t h e s p i r i t o f
God: but the fear which created the one as the other
r e m a i n st h e s a m et h r o u g h o u t . P h i l o s o p h e r sh a v cd i v i d e d
t h e m s e l v e si n t o t h e g r e a t c a m p s o f M a t e r i a l i s m a n d
Idealism, and the line of division remains the unknown
nature. Even where wc see atheistic syst?msof thought
like the Sankhya philosophy on which both Buddhism
a n d J a i n i s m I a r g e l yd r e w , o r s c h o o l so f s c t p t i c i s mw h i c h
flourished in Grcece,in all of them we find a developmcnt
in a direction not intendedby their originator,notwith-
s t a n d i n gt h e g r o w t h o f e x p e r i m e n t a ls c i e n c ea a d f r e e d o m
of thought and expression.
Ma:r is a social animal. His inborn herd-instinct makes
him fecl uneasy when alone, and this need for comfort
a n d c o n s o l a t i o n h a s p e n e t r a t e dh i s m e n t a l a s w e l l a s
p h y s i c a lc o s m o s . F o r a i s o i n h i s w a y o f t h i n k i n g m a n
fears to be alone and in the dark. His different religious
systemsare merely a reflection of this primitive need.
F e w a r e t h o s ew h o d a r e d t o t h i n k i n d e p c n d e n t l vb, u t i n
their lifetime they were not universallv appreciated,
S o m e , l i k e G o t a m a t h c B u d d h a w e r e h a r a s s c d ;o t h e r s
l i k e J e s u sw e r e c r u c i f i e d o r t h o s el i k e S o c r a t e sp o i s o n e d ,
o r l i k e M o h a m m e d e x i i e d . A f t e r t h e i r p a s s i n gt h e s c e n e
c h a n g e s ,h o w e v e r . T h e n t h o s e w h o d i d n o t h a v e t h e
courage nor the intellect to think independently for
t h e m s e l v e sf,o u n d c o n s o l a t i o ni n f o l l o w i n g t h e m a s t h e i r
m a s t e r s .E v e l r t h o u g h s o m e l i k e G o t a m a t h e B u d d h a
e x p r e s s l yd e c l a r e dt h a t e v e r y o n eh a s t o w o r k o u t h i s o w n
s a l v a t i o nh i m s e l f ,s t i l l t h o u s a n d st o o k a n d w i l l c o n t i n u e
t o t a k e t h e o p o r t u n i t y o f s e e k i n gr e f u g ei n h i m , t o r e l y
u p o n h i s w o r d s w i t h o u t e v e nt r y i n g t o m a k e t h o s ew o r d s
live within their own lives.
FETTERS
This searching for mediators and comforters has
become so essential to religion of any type that those
original thinkers would hardiy recognize themselvesor
their doctrine,if they would return to find their images
worshipperi and their instructionsconvertedinto dogmas,
T h e c r e a t i o n o f a u t h o r i t y i s a s i g n o f w e a k r i e s s ,B u t
i n s t c a d o f t r y i n g t o o v e r c o m e t h a t w e a k n e s sb y i n n e r
growth and development,man has made himself crutches
o n w h i c h h e c a n l e a n , w h i c h w i l l g i v e h i m c o n s o l a t i o ni n
t h e s o r r o w o f h i s o w n m a k i n g , o f h i s o w n d e l u s i o n .I t i s
mental weaknesswhich induccd man to make spiritual
c r u t c h e s .B u t w e a k n e s si s n o e x c u s e ,i t i s a d e f e c t ;a n d
defects are never essential.Religious systems,instead of
h c l p i n g m a n t o g r o w , k e c p h i m d o w n i n i n f a n c y ;i n s t e a d
of giving the truth, they offer a meirns to escapefrom
actuality by concentrating on a future life. Postponement
a n d e v a s i o n a r e t h e c h i e f a c c u s a t i o n st o b e l e v e l l e d
a g a i n s t o r g a n i s e dr e l i g i o n s .T h e y p o r t p o n e t h e d u t y o f
t h e p r e s e n tm o m e n t b y m a k i n g m a n l i v e f o r t h e f u t u r e ,
and thereby they evade the natural conflict, which
torments every man who has not realisedthe truth,
lnstead of understanding sorrow, they merely point out
an escapefrom sorrow into a supernatura.lbliss.
To obtain this bliss much effort is required, much
a s s i s t a n c ei s n e e d e d t o o ; a n d o r g a n i s a t i o n s ,w h e r e t h i s
striving is done in common and where it is assistedby
s u p e r i o r a u t h o r i t y , c a t e rf o r m a n ' sn e e d s .l n h i s d e s i r ef o r
security man grasps at fhe opportunity, thus forging
link by link the fetters of attachmentto rites, rituals,
ceremonies,dogmas, prayers, sacramenls, offerings,
sacrificcsinto a chain which no effort can break. For even
methodical effort to free oneselfis only a nerv bond, asthe
m e t h o d i t s e i f b e c o m e sa n c w c r u t c h o f d e l u s i o n .w h i c h i s
more reliedon than freedomis sought.
T h e b o n d a g e i n w h i c h w e l i v e i s a m e r e d e l u s i o n ,a
d r e a m . A n d a s l o n g a s w e a r e i n t h a t d r e a m - s t a t en o
a m o u n t o f e n e r g yw i l l w a k e u s u p , f o r e v e n t h a t e n c r g y
w i l l b e a d e l u s i o n .T h e a u t h o r i t ; lo f p e r s o n s o, f d o g m a s ,
o f r e l i g i o u sp e r fo r m a n c e s ,o f t h e d i f f e r c n t p a r a p h e r n a l i a
o f r e l i g i o n a n d d e v o t i o n ,h a s b e e ns e t u p f o r o u r o u , n
c o n s o l a t i o n ,i . e . f o r t h c s a t i s f a c t i o no f o u r s e l f i s h n e s st o
,
g i v e t h a t s e n s eo f s e c u r i t yw h i c h i s a c r a v i n gf o r c o n t i n u e d
e x i s t e n c e , ' f opr e r m a n e n c eT. h u s r e l i g i o n s ,a t t h e c o s t o f a
c e r t a i na m o u n t o f s p i r i t u a le x : r c i s ec o n f e rh e a v e n l yb l i s s ,
f o r E l v es i n s a n d p r o v i d e a s h o r t c u tt o p e r f e c t i o n .B u t t h a t
s h o r t c u t i s r e a l l y a m e a n s o f e s c a p e .I n s t e a do f g o i n g t o
o u r t e a c h e rL i f e , - e v e n i f l i f e m e a n ss o r r o w , - w e t r y t o
r u n a w a y f r o m s o r r o w , n o t r e a l i s i n gt h a t w e c a n n o t r u n
a w a y f r o m l i f e . H e n c e r e l i g i o n ss h o w a n o t h e r ,a b e t t e r ,a
s u p e r n a t r . r r alli f e , a n d t c g e t h e r w i t h t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n t
m - e a n so f a t t a i n m e n t . H o l y v o w s a n d a s c e t i cp r a c t i c e s
(sila-vata) are frequentlv obsen'ed for the purpose of
a c q u i r i n g m e r i t . B r r t t h a t r e a . i l vm e a n s t h a t t h e g o o d
a c t i o n i s n o t p e r f o r m e d f o r i t s o r v n g o o d n e s s b, u t f o r t h e
 FETTERS 238
s a k e o f s o m e u n d e r l y i n g m o t i v r , c . 8 . t o s e c u r eh e v e n l v
b l i s s .I n t h a t c a s e ,t h e a e t w e s n o t a p u r e a c t i o n ,w a s n o t a
complete action, and therefore not a true action. [t was an
a c t o f s e l f - s e e k i n g ,a s e a r c h f o r s e c u r i t y b a s e d o n
ignorance and born of fear. Such actions are oniy
substitutes; and even if thcy produce the desired effect;
t h a t t o o w i l l b e a m e r e p r o l o n g a t i o n o f t h e p r o c e s so f
d e l u s i o n .I f a n a c t i o n i s b u t a m e a n st o w a r d sa n e n d , t h e n
that action itselfhasno valuc,An action isonly pureand
c o m p l e t e . i f n o t h i n g f u r t h e r i s e x p e c t e d ,i f t h a t a c t i s
p e r f o r m e d s p o n t a n c o u s l y ,g r o w n o u t o f t h e f u l l u n d e r -
s t a n d i n g o f t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e sw , hich calledfor such an
a c t i o n . T h e n t h e r ew i l l b e n o l i m i t a t i o n o f t i m e , n o t r y i n g
to escapcfrom actuality, and in that full awarenesswill be
the comprehension of reaiity.
A s l o n g a sv i r t u o u s a c t s ,r e l i g i o u sp r a c t i c e sd, i c i p l i n a r y
r e g u l a t i o n s ,m e t h o d i c a l e x e r c i s e sa r e v a l u e d a s m e a n so f
a c q u i r i n gm e r i t , s o l o n g a l s ow i l l r e l i g i o n sb e c o m m o d i t i e s
o f c o m m e r c c .S o c i a ls e r v i c ea s a m e a n so f a c q u i r i n gm e r i t
i s n o t s e r v i c eo f t h o s c i n n e e d , b u t a n e x p l o i t a t i o n o f
them, as they arc used as a means to profit ourselves,
P r a y e r i s a n i n d i r e c t a d m i s s i o no f o n e ' s i n f e r i o r i t y a n d
s u b m i s s i o nU . t t e r i n gs a c r e dw o r d s w i t h o u t u n d e r s t a n d i n g
m a y h a v e a p s y c h o l o g i c a le f f e c t , b u t t h e n t h e y a r e n o t
b e t t e r t h a n a d r u g w h i c h t e m p o r a r i l y r e l i e v e st h e p a i n
without curing the disease.
T o f r a m e o n e ' sc o n d u c t a c c o r d i n gt o f i x e d r u l e sm a y
a p p e a rn e c e s s a r yi n s o c i a ll i f e , b u t t h a t i s o n l y i n a s o c i e t y
which does not understood itself, If Iife is understood
f u l l y , v i r t u e w i l l c o m e a u t o m a t i c a l l l 'a: t r u i y w i s em a n i s
a l w a y sa g o o d m a n . E v e r l ' m o m e n t o f l i f e i s a f r e s ho n e
w i t h d i f f e r c n tc o n d i l i o n s .a n d t h e r e f o r ea r u l e c a n n e v e r
b e a p p l i e d t o a l l s i m i l a r c a s e s ,C e r e m o n i e ss e e mt o b e
g o o d f o r c h i l d r e n ,b u t i s i t n o t t h e d u t y o f a t e a c h e ra n c ia
p a r e n tt o s e et o i t t h a t t h e c h i l d r e ng r o w u p ? A t e a c h i n g
w h i c h b e c o m e sa s y s t e m( a n d t h i s a p p l i e st o a l l o r g a n i s e d
r e l i g i o n s )i s a d e a d a u t h o r i t y , w h i c h c a n h a v e n o d e a l i n g
with the living.
T h c d e l u s i o n t h a t g o o d w o r k s s u f f i c ei s a c o n t a g i o n
(paramasa). a moral corruption which affects the very
r o c t s o f l i v i n g i n t h e t r u c s e n s cW . i t h o u t t h e b r e a k i n go f
t h i s f e t t e r n o t e v e n a b e g i n n i n go a n b e m a d e t o e n t e r t h a t
s t r e a m o f l i f e ' s f u l n e s s ( s o t a p a t t i ) ,w h i c h l l o w s o u t i n t o
t h t o c c a nc ' f d e l i v e r a n c e ,
4. Excftement of Smsual Pleasure (frmacrhanda)- Ol al1
t h e p r o b i e m sw i t h w h i c h m a n i s f a c e di n t h i s r v o r l d ,t h e
socialproblem, which is the mutual relation between
d i f f e r e n t s 3 x ? s i, s r e g a r d e da s t h e m o s t d i f f i c u l t c n e . A n v
problem wj.il arisc frorn a duality, i,e. a division of
i n t e r e s t sb e t * ' e e nb r a i n a n d h e a r t .b c t w e e ni n t e l l c c ta n d
e m o t i o n . A s l o n g a s t h e i n t e i l e c ts e t su p a s t a n d a r dt o
c o n f o r m w i t h , t h e n a t u r a l f c e l i n g s ,w h i c h c a n n o t b e
s t a n d a r d i s e d .b e c a u s et h r v a r e r e a c t i o n s t o a n e v e r
FETTERS
c h a n g i n g e n v i r o n m e n t , w i l l r i s e i n r e v o l t . A s t a n d a r di s
s o m e t h i n go f t h e p a s t , b u t r e a c t i o n sa r e p r e s e n t ,H e n c ea
c o n s t a n tc o n f l i c t w h i c h i s s o r r o w , s h o w se v e r v a s p e c to f
life as having two opposites.
S e x - r e l a t i o n st o o f o r m a p r o b l e m o n a c c o u n t o f t h e
placing of sexesas opposites,But femininity (itthindriya)
and masculinity (purisindriya) are expressed in many
ways basidesthe generativeorgans.Some psycho-analysts
have evcn maintained that a sex problem lies at the
bottom of any mental problem. If the problem is a
reaction, then sex itself forms the action. To solve the
r e a c t i o n a r yp r o b l e m , o n c h a s t o c o m p r e h e n dt h e a c t i o n
in its fulness.
Female activitv is that which gives form to the
f o r m l e s s , w h i c h d e v e i o p s ,g r o w s a n d m u l t i p l i e s . B u t i n
o r d e r t o d o t h a t t h e r e m u s t b e t h e p a s s i v ea t t i t u r i eo f
receiving and assimilating;and also the action of
e x p r e s s i n g . T h u s f e m a l e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c sa r e s u b -
m i s s i v e n e s sd, o c i i i t v h u m i l i t v , g e n e r o s i t y ,e m o t i o n a l
r e l i a b i l i t y , a n c ia i a c k o f a s s e r t i o n .
M a l e a c t i v i t vo n t h e o t h e rh a n d ,i s t h a t w h i c h i n i t i a t e s ,
d i r e c t sa n d i n t e n s i f i e s I. n t h i s i s s h o w n t h e a c t i v ea t t i t u d e
w h i c h g i v e ss t r e n g t ht o g r o w t h . g u i d a n c et o s e n s a t i o n ,
r e a s o n t o a c t i o n . T h u s m a i e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c sw i l l b e a
f e e l i n go f s u p e r i o ri m p o r t a n c e ,a g g r e s s i v e n e srsu,l e r s h i p ,
p r i d e , e g o t i s m .m e a n n e s ss, t i n g i n e s sb, u t a l s o r a t i o n a l i t y
t h o u g h i t o f t e n l e a d st o i r r a t i o n a l d e e d s ,w h e n c m o t i o n s
are excluded.
F r o r r t h i s a n a l y s i si t w i l l b e s e e nt h a t t h e r e i s m o r e o f
c o m p l e m e n t a n d i n t e r d e p e n d e n ctch a n o f o p p o s i t i o n .
I n d e e d , t o b c p e r f c c t t h e p a s s i v ea n d a c t i v e e l c m e n t s
s h o u l d n o t o n l v b e b a l a n c e d f, o r t h a t i s s t i l l o p p o s i t i o n ,
i g r o w t o g e t h e ra st c f o r m a c t u a l l yo n l v
b u t t h e ' , ' s h o u l sc o
o n ew h o l e .T o f o r m u l a t ea n u m b e ro f c h a r a c t e r i s t i cmsa v
simpiifvthe unCerstanding of a thing,but it can never
c o r r e s p o n dt c a c t u a l i t r ' .F o r b ' r 'd o i n g s o o n e a r r e s t sa
c o n t i n u o u sd e v e l c p m e n ta t a p a r t i c u l a rp o i n t , a n d t h i s
n a r r o w s c r n e ' sv i c w p o i n t t o a c r o s s - s e c t i o nt h , rowing
l i g h t o n t h e o p p o s i n gh a l v e s b, u t f a i l i n gt o s e et h e p r o c e s s
a s a r v h o l e , - i h ep r o c e s si s i i k e t h a t c r fw a t e r i n a r i v e r ,
n a t u r a l l yf i o w i n gd o u ' n .Y e t i n j t s v e r va c t i o no i f l o w i n gi t
i s o b s t r u c t e db v i t s e l fi n s o f a r a s t h e d i l f e r e n tp a r t i c l e s
causea friction bv their motion. Hence the reaction
a p p e a r sa s a c e r t a i n i r r e g u l a r i t y ' a. i a c k o f h a r m o n y ,
o u i n g t o u n i e r c u r r e n t s f, o r m i n g u ' a v e l e t a snd eddies.
S c i t i s w i t h t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i cosf t h es ex e sw h e nt a k e n
a p a r t . l ' h e n s e n s u a pl l e a s u r eb e c o r n e e s moiion without
i n t e l l i g e n c ea n d t h a t i s p a s s i o n t. h a t i s t h e b c g i n n i n go f
c o n f j i c t . W h a i i s u s u a l l v u n d e r s t o o db 1 ' l o v e , i s a
s e n s a t i o no f i n c o m p l e t e n e s \sA. ' i t h o u tr e a l i s i n gt h a t t h i s
f e e l i n g o f i : r s u f f i c i e n c ivs c o n c i t i o a e Cb v a n i n n e r d i s -
c o n t e n t m e n t' . v i t ht h e s u r r o u n d i n g so f d a i l v l i f e - w i t h o u t
r e a l i s i n gt h a t t h i s d i s c o n t e r : t r n e n[ itn d s i t s o r i g i n i n t h e
 FETTERS
lack of understanding of life-sensationsgrow and stretch
their feelers to find something to fill that emptiness.An
image or an ideal is formed of what would complete the
dificiency. According to this ideal a searchis being made,
and finally the idcal image is imposcd on the selected
object. It does not follow that the selectioncorresponds
in full to the imagination. But as the sensesseek their own
satisfaction, they are more concerned with their need
than with reality, Anyhow, love is based on selection,
which meens egreemcnt with sclf.
And why is this selection made? Love is not outgoing,
except for a few sentimental expressions;and therefore
selection is made for obtaining the sole right of posses-
sion. If love were truly for the good of the other,
unfaitffulness could never change that love into hate. But
as things stand, a mere suspicion sufficesto make all love
fade. Love is greed for possession,and that exclusively.
But a desire to possesslimits the affection, and will never
fill that sensation of empti.ness.
Truth, on the other hand, knows no love which is
partial; which is a selection, which is an expression of
egoism, Truth knows no distinction of sexes,for Truth
seesthe completenessof life. Truth understandsthat the
formless cannot exist without a form, that intelligence
and feeling cannot be seperatedwithout causingconflict,
that life is only complete with head and heart united in
one individual, that in a process of change, growth and
evolution there is no real difference between giving and
taking, that in the fulness of life there is only action
without reaction, that in the completeness of under-
standing there are no oppositesand henceno objects for
love. Truth is not concerned with self and others: that is
the sphere of delusion.
This may not appesr as very practical; but if the world
has no place for understanding, who is the loser? The
world loves for a purpose, namely for the satisfaction of
self. And thus the lust for sensualplcasure becomes an
essential clement in the emotiona.l attitude of human
lovers.
Is there then no altruistic love? As long as love is not
altruistic, it is of course pure selfishness.And even when
love is altruistic, it is far from perfect, becauseit is based
on a delusive distincition which preservesthe separation
between self and others. The fact that the motives in the
question of others'happiness are so much more compli-
cated than in the case of our own personal interests,
shows the presence of the conflict between opposites.
Self-love comes sponthneously; it is pure craving. Love
for our neighbours, however, does not come so naturally;
it needs argument, which is a proof that the division is
maintained. ln the case of selfJove we do not even
percieve it as love. The hand brings food to the mouth;
239 FETTERS
the eyesdirect the feet on the path; but this is not love, it is
the perfect, spontaneour harmony of nature.
A feeliag akin to this natural harmony is sometimec
experienc-edat the right of suffering. It is not sexud love,
but compassion, sympathy, Here a liking to help rirer
spontaneously. As long, howevcr, es this feeling originates
in the imagination, which pictures ourselves in that
miserable state, compassion again would be selfJove.
Perfect sympatby feels the sorrow of all without dis-
tinclion; it is not interestedin the individual, but in the
caule of suffering. As soon as a particular interest is
evolved there must be seiection, which is separation,
isolation and selfishness.No sublimatiori of the sex-
instinct will dissolve this fetter. but the realisation of the
delusion of separation will malre all distinctions dis-
appear in the comprehension of the whole process,in
which there are no integrating parts of a combination or
union, but only different aspcctsof thc fulnessof life,
5. Averdon (ryapida). In common parlance we speak
of love and hate as emotions, but they are more then that.
An emotion is an excitement B passing phase, or alt we
called it earlier, a reaction. But love and bate - though
they show themselvesas reactions each time the bcloved
or hated object presentsitself physically or mentally - are
r a t h e r d i s p o s i t i o n s ,i , e . m e n r a Ja t t i t u d e s w h i c h a r e t b e
summing up of many raactions.[t is again on dispooitions
that a character is based. Characterc can be an irascible
disposition which is well expressedby the word aversion
(vyapada), which indicates a turning away from (rz'-
ipajj*i). lt is a iiability to experience emotions of
disagreementbetween subject and object. This emotion
may arise and pass off, but the disposition remEins owing
to the turncd-off attitude. This disposition of aversion is
due to the mental attitude, which as in the caseof love is
basedon e distinction betweenself end others. Herc too,
it is a separation betweenthe intellect and the heart. As a
matter of fact, the two scntiments of love and hate,
though appearing to the opposites, comprise so many
idential parts, that this is already an indication of their
common root. Though affection is only proper to love,
and aversion to hate, still both attraction and repulsion
are the results of an underlying instinctive feag with the
"self" as object. The hope of exclusivepossession,which
is callcd love, is tingcd with fear as much as the repclling
instinct in hate. Fear common to both, is conditioned by
ignorance; and here again we are back at the very root,
viz. the delusion of self. Though love and hate have
"others" as their direct object, it is really the "self'as a
m i s u n d e r s t o o dd e l u s i o n ,w h i c h i s a t t h e b o t t o m o f t h e s e
dispositions. Emotions, like reactions, come and go;
characters can be changed and altered; but dispositions
are when deluded, and without delusion thev are aoL
Most of what is called love is actually nothing but
predilection, favouring one more than another. But that
 FETTERS 240
n e c e s s a r i l rye s u l t si n t h e e x c l u s i o no f o t h e r sw h o a r e l e s s
f a v o u r e d ,A t u r n i n g t o o n e n a t u r a l l y c o m p r i s e sa t u r n i n g
a w a y f r o m a n o t h e r , w h o t h e r e b y b e c o m e sa n o b j e c t o f
aversion. Thus particular friendship easily evokes
j e a l o u s y . I t b r i n g s a b o u t t h e m i s t a k e ni d e a o f e x c l u s i v e
r i g h t s ,w h i c h a r er o o t e d n o t i n t h e o t h e r , b u t i n " s e l f ' . A s
long assympathy and antipathy, conversionand aversion,
furn round the centre of self, they are only different in
degree,like heat and cold, but not in kind. Both arc
e x p r e s s i o n so f s e l f i s h n e s sA . g r e e m e n tw i t h s e l f i s l o v e ;
d i s a g r e e m e nw t i t h s e l f b e c o m e sh a t e ,
I t w i l l b e s e e nt h a t t h e r e i s g r e a t c o n f l i c t w h i c h m a n
finds it difficult to solve in himself; and thus hc projects
himself outside himself as it were and fights his battle
t h e r e ; h e w a n t s t o p o s s e s sh i m s e l f j n o t h e r s .T h u s e v e n
a v e r s i o n ,o r t h e r e a c t i o nw h i c h i s h a t e ,i s a k i n d o f d e s i r e
t o t h w a r t a n y h a r m f u l i n f l u e n c e ,l t i s a d e s i r et o d e s t r o r
t h e o p p o s i n ge l e m e n t ,i n o r d e r t o e l i m i n a t et h a t w h i c h i s
c o n s i d e r e dt h e c a u s eo f t h e c o n f l i c t . T h e c a u s eh o w e v e r
d o e s n o t l i e i n t h e o b j e c t ,b u t i n t h e a c t i o n o f t u r n i n g
a w a y . F o r b y t h a t a c t i o n a r e c r e a t e dt h e o p p o s i t i e s w
, hich
produced the conflict. To eliminateone party does not
s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m ; b o t h p a r t i e sm u s t g o . T h e n a v e r s i o n
w i l l n o t b e c o m el o v e , b u t i t w i l l b e c o m ei m p o s s i b l e .
B u t a s l o n g a s " s e l f " w i t h i t s i m a g i n e de x c l u s i v er i g h t s
of possession d o m i n a t e st h c s c e n cj,e a l o u s ya n d e n v y a r e
b o u n d t o a p p e a r .T h e n i t i s d i s c o n t e n t a b o u t t h e p r o s -
p e r i t y o f o t h c r s . l t d o e s n o t n e c e s s a r i l yf o l l o w t h a t o n e
wishesfor onesclfthc honour of the gain acquired by
someone else. For it may be that one possesses
already the object or the title, which was recently
obtained by the other, Thus envy is not greed,but
d i s c o n t e n ta n d i l l - w i l l . I t i s t h e f e e l i n gt h a t e v e r y o n em u s t
b e t h e s a m e a n d h a v e t h e s a m e ,s o t h a t n o o n e c a n p u t
himself forward. Many times it poses as virtue in a
demand f or equaiity, or esprit de corps,social conscience,
s o l i d a r i t y ,e t c .
E n v v , h o w e v e r ,m a y g r o w o u t i n t o a c e r t a i ns a t i s f a c t i o n
o v e r t h e m i s fo r t u n e o f s o m e o n ee l s e ,c v e n i f t h a t b a d l u c k
d o e s n o t m e a n g a i n t o o n e s e l f .T h i s i l l - w i l l m a y b e c o m e
s o a c t i v e t h a t i t b e c o m e sc r u e l t y , i n t h c s a m ew a y a s l o v e
e x p r e s s e ist s e l f i n a f f e c t i o na n d t e n d e r n e s sT. h e p l e a s u r e
d e r i v e d f r o m c r u e l t y i s c a l l e d s a d i s m .I t i s o f c o u r s en o t
t h e p a i n i n f l i c t e d u p o n o t h e r s ,w h i c h i s e n j o y e d ,b u t t h e
accompan,"-ing sexualexcitement,produced by the success
r n m a s t e r i n gt h e o b j e c t . t n t h i s i m p u l s i o n t h e b e h a v i o u r
t . r \ !a r d s t h e o b j e c t - w h e t h e ri n l o v e o r i n h a t e - a p p e a r s
l . ' . b : a n - r a t t e ro f i n d i f f e r e n c e , a s l o n g a s m a s t e r y i s
r : t 3 r r c c l f t h e o b j e c t c o - o p e r a t c si t i s l o v e ; i f c o -
: ; : : e t l c r : s i a c k i n gi t i s h a t e .
F s i c h o i o e vm a v t r \ t o e x p l a i ns e n t i m e n tos f h a t ea n d a
c : s p c s i t i o n o i a r e r s i o n a s p r i m a r v , i n s t i n c t i v ef e a r .
FETTERS
M o r a l i s t s m a y s h o w m e a n sa n d m e t h o d s t o c h a n g eh a t e
into lovc. Rationalists may show the originating con-
d i t i o n s o f a v e r s i o ni s p h y s i c a ld i s h a r m o n y .A l l m a y t r y t o
o v e r c o m eh a t e ,s o m eb y w a r , o t h e r sb y l o v e . B u t t h e t r u e
solution of this fetter is the solving of the distinction
betweensubject and object.
H a t c d o e s n o t a l w a y s n e e d t o h a v e s o m e o n ee l s ef o r
o b j e c t ; i t m a y e v c n t u r n a g a i n s to n e s e l f .I t s e e m ss t r a n g e
t h a t t h c s e l f - p r e s e r v a t i vien s t i n c tc a n s o f o r g e t i t s e l f ,a s t o
develop hate for onself, But the craving to destroy ajl
o b j e c t s w h i c h a r e a s o u r c e o f p a i n , a p p e a r ss o m e t i m e s
s t r o n g e rt h a t t h e s e n s eo f l o s s s u f f e r e db y t h e f r u s t r a t i o n
o f o t h e r d e s i r e s ,l i k e t h e s a t i s f a c t i o n o f t h e n e e d s o f
self-preservation,Asceticssceingin their body a sourcr of
sin, have inflicted on themselvestortures which appear
e x p r e s s i o n so f h a t e , b u t w h i c h g a v e t h e m i n r e a l i t y
i m m e n s es a t i s f a c t i o ns, o t h a t t h e y c o u l d s m i l c h a p p i l y i n
the midst of their self-inflicted mortifications. This
pleasure,derived from imposing suffering on oneself,is
c a l l e dm a s o c h i s m .
H a t e i s a k i n d o f h o s t i l i t y a n d i t s o r i g i n m u s t b es o u g h t
in conflicting desires.The antithesis of self and non-self
f o r m s t h e b a s i sf o r t h e o p p o s i t e so f p l e a s u r ea n d p a i n .
When self becomesidentified with pleasure,non-self,i.e.
t h e o b j e c t , t h e o t h e r o n e , b e c o m e si d e n t i f i e d w j t h h a t e .
Henceit follows that the disposition of hate has developed
e a r l i e rt h a n t h a t o f l o v e . A n d i t f o l l o w s r o o t h a t l o v e o n l y
arises becauseof the pleasure it gives to self; and hate
arises because of the satisfaction it gives through self
assertion.
Therefore it is not the object of hate that should be
e l i m i n a t e d , b u t t h e s e l f i s ha c t i o n , w h i c h p r o d u c e d i t . l f
one tries to overcome feelingsof antipathy towards a
certain personby sendingout thoughts of loving kindness,
o n e i s m e r e l y h e a t i n gt h e e m o t i o n s ,p r o v o k i n g r e a c t i o n s ,
w h i c h m a k e p u r e a c t i o n a n i m p o s s i b i l i t y .B u t w h e n b o t h
hate and love are understood to be the outcome of false
v a l u a t i o n s ,b a s e do n a m i s c o n c e p t i o no f s e l f a n d o t h e r s ,
this fetter will have been broken, not by a changed
disposition, but by its vanishing in the face of true
intelligence.
6. Cravfng for Form - (Rupanga) lust for rupa,'World of
f o r m ' i . e , r e b i r t h i n w o r l d o f f o r m . F e a ra n d w o n d e r i n t h e
crude inteiligence of primitive man at the startling and
i r r e s i s t i b l ep h e n o m e n ai n n a t u r e g a v er i s e t o t h e b e l i e fi n
t h e s u p e r n a t u r a l .B y e x p e r i m e n t i n gw i t h t h e l e s sf e a r f u l
objects of perception and by succeedingin controlling
them at least partlv, fear decreasedto make way for awe.
A n d f i n a l l y , e v e n a w e h a d t o y i c l d t o s c i e n c ew , hich had
only wonder and admiration for the still undiscovered
'egionsof nature, without calling them supernatural.But
 FETTERS
t h c p r i m i t i v e i n s t i n c t si n m a n , w h i c h f o r r n a p a r t o f h i s
n a t u r e , c a n n o t b e c o n q u e r e d b y s c i e n c e ,f o r t h e m e r e
r e a s o n t h a t t h e c h i l d ' s i n t e l l e c t i s n o t c a p a b l eo f u n d e r -
s t a n d i n g ,w h e n i t c o m e si n c o n t a c t w i t h t h o s ep h e n o m e n a
a t t h e t i m e o f i t s g r e a t c s tm e n r a l p l a s t i c i t y ,T h u s w i t h t h e
disappearncc of fear of nature man's belief in the
supernatural did not disappear.And his imagination
crcated the heavensaccording to the crude conceptionsof
his childhood.
R e l i g i o nd o m i n a t e d t h i s w o r l d a n d i t s p o l i t i c si n p e a c e
a s w e l l a s i n w a r . I n o u r p r e s e n td a y w e s t i l l h e a r o f p r i e s t s
blessing tanks before going into battle, kings are still
c r o w n e d b y b i s h o p s ;j u s t i c e so p e n t h e a s s i z e sb y p r a y e ri n
church or temple. So religion will continue to dominate
man's life to come.
S u r v i v a l i s a l w a y s t h e m a i n m o t i v e i n a n y s t r u g g l e .I f a
s t r u g g l e i s n o t s u c c c s s f u li n t h e p r c s e n t , t h e r e a r i s e sa
n a t u r a l h o p e t o b e m o r e s u c c e s s f uol n a f u t u r e o c c a s i o n .
T his struggle for survil'al combined with the hope of
s u c c e s si n t h e f u t u r e t h r o w n a g a i n s t a b a c k g r o u n d o f
f a i t h i n t h e s u p e r n a t u r a l ,i s a s u f f i c i e n t e x p l a n a t i o n o f
m a n ' sd e s i r ef o r r e b i r t h , c v e n i f h i s s e n s u a p l a s s i o n sh a v e
c o o l e d d o w n . T o s p e a k o f a r e l i g i o u si n s t i n c t a n d a t t h e
s a m et i m e t o s u b s c r i b et o t h e t h e o r v o f e v o l u t i o n ,w o u l d
forcc one to admit religious inclinations even in thc
animals. But religious feelingsare not instinctive,not
i n n a t e , a n d h e n c e n o t n a t u r a l a n d e s s e n t i a lt o m a n .
Religious needs,growing out of the instinct of flight,
c o u p l e sw i t h t h e e m o t i o n o f f e a r , g i v e a s u f f i c i e n t b a s i s
f o r r e l i g i o u sf e e l i n g s .T h u s i t w i l l b e s e e nt h a t t h € p a r e n t s
of relgion aie emotional fear married to the instinct to
flee from danger which is always lurking in the
unknown.
Indeed, religions are mainly a means of escapingfrom
conflict. Conflict being actual and present, an escapeis
s o u g h ti n t h e f u t u r e . I t i s t h u s o n t h e f u t u r e t h a t r e l i g i o n s
c o n c e n l r a t e .A r e l i g i o n w h i c h w o u l d d e n y a f u r u r e l i f e i s
u n t h i n k a b l e ,O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , i t w o u l d b e t o o h a r d f o r
many I rclgionist eyen for those with an intellecttralbent,
to admit that religions are merely the outcome of an
intrinsic desire to flee from danger, i.e. that they are
purely mcans of escape.Hence a purposive psychology
h a s b e e nd e v e l o p e di n w h i c h e s c a p eh a s b e e nr e p l a c e db y
purposelful striving.
The sceking of a goal is an undeniable part played in
the process of evolution; and the purely mechanistic
viewpoint of a rigid law of cause and effect had to be
modified and partly abandoned. Incentives and stimuli
are acknowledged side by side with reflexes, so that
causality has become conditionality, to allow for the
personal element of striving. As this striving in man is
largely responsible for man's successin the material
world, any development rerulting therefrom is now
241 FETTERS
considered as progress. But it has been completely
o v e r l o o k e d . t h a t a s s o o n a s m a n h a s r e a c h e dt h e g o a l o f
his striving he sets up a nelv E,raj.so that he remains a
s e e k e rf o r e v e r .
T h i s i s a l s o s e e ni n m a n ' ss t r i v i n g f o r t h e a t t a i n m e n to f
spiritual perfection. Even if he has overcome all craving
for sensual pleasures (kamacchanda), his striving does
n o t c r a s e , b u t i s s u b l i m a i e d . t r a n s p o s e dt o a h i g h e r
sphere, where the grosscarnaljovs have beenreplacedby
the refined sense of delight in lorm (ripa) and bcauty.
Craving for form (riparaga) n:ay have transcended
lustful desires,but it remains craving and desire. It may
be a morc refined craving, but as all craving is a bond, so
t h i s t o o i s a s t r o n g f e t t c r , s t r o n g e r p e r h a p se v e n t h a n
sensualpleasurcsfor the very reason of its sublimation.
The more subtle and refined the form of craving, the
more difficult to recogniseit and to uproot it.
I n t h i s s e n s eo f d e l i g h t i n b e a u t y t h e r e * ' i l l b e s o m e
r e c o n c i l i a t i o n , a s y n t h e s i so f t h e l o w c r s c n t i m e n t s o f
c r u d e e g o i s ma n d l o f t i e r e x p r e s s i e i o
n f s e l f J o v e .T h o u g h
on a higher plane, felt as aestheticadmiration, it remains
h o w e v e r e g o i s m .l t i s n o t e a s yt o r e c o g n i s et h e f a c t t h a t
pleasure obtained frorn the contemplation of an ideal is
n o t a l t o g e t h e r o b j e c t i v e , b u t i s d e p e n d e n to n t h e h a r -
m o n y a n d j u s t p r o p o r t i o n b e t w e e ns u b j e c ta n d o b j e c t ,s o
t h a t t h c " e g o " s t i l l o c c u p i e sa p l a c e o f h o n o u r . T h u s a
dcsire to bc reborn in happy stateswhich are free from the
lust of the senseswill appear very virtuous and praise-
worthy. A striving to obtain those mental states of
absorption (jhana), where thoughts are submerged in
spiritual beautv and joy, may apperr as truc spirituality
and perfection. In reality its only usefulnessexists in the
weakening of the different obstacles on the road to
perfection.
Far from being perfections themselves,these mental
states may or may not become helpful means thereto. lf
skilfully handled they may be_a great help in the
overcoming of the hindrances (nivarana), but not more
t h a n t h a t . l f p r a c t i s e dw i t h a t t a c h m e n to r s o u g h t f o r t h e
purpose of spiritual delight, they will merely create new
obstacles which may prove insurmountable, owing to
their subtle and spiritual nature. A discursive tendency
(vitakka) may easily become a speculative tendency,
where higher truths are merely analysed for one's intel-
lectual satisfaction, without being lived and realised.
Sustained application of thought (vicin) might develop
into attachment to onels own opinion and become
stubbornness. Rapture (piti) is frcquently inebriating to
such an extent that further progressbecomesimpossible.
The bliss of well-being (st*ha)might createthe spirit of
self-contentment which produces stagnation. One-
pointedness of thought (citta-ekaggata) might still fail to
seethe real nature of the object and thus in the tranquility
of the thought-processcreate the illusion of attninment,
 FETTERS 242
* h i c h m i g h t b e n o t h i n g b u t s e l f - c o n s c i o u s n e swsi t h o u t
h a r i n g g r a s p e dt h e n a t u r e o f s e l f .T h u s o n e m i g h t b e f r e e
f r o m s e n s a t i o n sb, u t s l a v et o e m o t i o n s .
'fo
e s c a p ef r o m t h e f e t t e r i n g i n f l u e n c e so f t h e s e n s e s
and then to be caught in the nel r;f beautyand form by
c l i n g i n g t o t h o s c d e l i g h t s i s a c h a n g eo f p r i s o n , b u t n o
f r e e d o m . W h c t h e r o n e a c c e p t st h e s es p h e r e so f f o r m a s
some kind of heaven in a different place,or as mental
s t a t c si n w h i c h t h e b o d i l y s e n s e sd o n o t p r e d o m i n a t ea n y
more, males very little difference.The fetter to get rid of
c o n s i s t si n t h e a t t a c h m e n t t o t h e s em e n t a l d e l i g h t s , i n
w h a t e v e re n v i r o n m e n t t h e v m a v b e f o u n d .
7. Cravfng for the Formless (arfipiliga} When all
s e n s e - p l e a s u r casr e e x c l u d e d a n d e v e n d e s i r e sf o r p u r e
beauty have bcen overcome, there seemsto be no further
o b s t a c l ei n t h e w a y o f t h e s e c k e ro f t r u t h . T h u s a d e s i r e
f o r v i r t u e , f o r p e r f e c t i o n ,f o r w i s d o m , f o r t r u t h , i n s h o r t ,
desire for the formless (ariparaga) seemsto be not only
q u i t e h a r m l e s s ,b u t e v e n e s s e n t i a tl o a s p i r i t u a l l i f e , B u t
e v e n a d e s i r ef o r w h a t i s g o o d , i s s t i l l a d e s i r ea n d a s s u c h
i t m u s t b e a h i n d r a n c e a n d a f e t t e r . D e s i r e sf o r v i r t u e .
w i s d o r n , o r t r u t h , c a n n e v c r l e a d t o t h o s eg o a l s ,b e c a u s e
as long as there is striving for the attainment of a goal,
there is acquisitivenesswhich can only be basedon self.
A c h a n g e o f p h y s i c a l d e s i r e si n t o e m o t i o n a l d e s i r e s
cannot be called progress in perfection, for though the
e x p e r i e n c e sh a v e c h a n g e da n d h a v eb e c o m em o r e s u b t l e ,
t h o u g h t h e o b j e c t so f d e s i r eh a v e b c c o m em o r c s p i r i t u a l-
d e s i r ei s t h e r e a l l t h c s a m e . D e s i r e f o r v i r t u e w i l l n e v e r
p r o d u e g o o d n e s s ,b e c a u s eo n l v t h a t w h i c h g r o w sf r o m a n
inner necessitycan be called virtue.
Actions which are producedby striving are artificial,
are not natural and cannot be called virtuous. It is a
m i s t a l e t o c a l l n a t u r e e v i l a n d t o p r a c t i s ev i r t u c f o r t h e
s a k e o f o v e r c o m i n g e v i l ; f o r t h a t m a k e sv i r t u e a m e a n s
towards a negativeend, and the practice of virtue an
incomplete action, or rather a reaction. Desire for
w i s d o m m a y p r o d u c e l e a r n i n g a n d k n o w l e d g e ,b u t n o t
u n d e r s t a n d i n g ,i n t e l l i g e n c ea n d i n s i g h t . D e s i r e f o r t r u t h
w i l l c m a n a t e t h o u g h t s a n d s c a t t e rt h e m i n a l l d i r e c t i o n s ,
s e a r c h i n ge v e r y w h e r e ,b u t f a i l i n g t o c o n c e n t r a t ca n d t o
r e a l i s et h e t r u t h i n o n e ' s o w n n a t u r e . T h r o u g h g r a d u a l
c h a n g e so f t h e o b j c c t o f d e s i r e ,t r u t h w i i l n e v e rb e f o u n d .
l n c r e a s ei n v i r t u e a n d k n o w l e d g ec a n n e v e r l e a d t o f i n a l
deliverance, for all ideas of change, of growth, of
p r o g r e s s ,p r e s e r v ea s t h e i r b a s i st h e i d e a o f " s e l f " . [ t i s t h e
"[" which wants to acquire virtue, to grow in under-
standing and to come nearer to the truth. It is ihis
s e p a r a t i o n o f t h e t r u t h . l t i s t h a t e l e m e n to f c r a v i n g , o f
[-ness,which forms the real fetter here, all the more
d i f f i c u l t t o o v e r c o m e ,b e c a u s ei t i s s o c u n n i n g l yc o n c e a l e d
and camouflaged.
FETTERS
To unify the "mind" with unbounded space
@kasanaflca/ is a delusion, for it brings the uncreated,
unconditioned lasa'nkhatal within the fimitations of
t h o u g h t . l t m e r e l yl e a d st o t h e e c s t a t i ct h o u g h t o f i n f i n i t e
consciousness (viflflinanafrca), which soon will be
realised as a delusion in the sphere of nothingness
(ikifrcafifrayatana). No wonder that thoughts will
'nothing'is takcn as an object
become suspended,if even
a n d a g o a . l .T h o u g h t m a y c c a s ct o s u c h a n e x t e n t t h a t
eyen perception will become imperceptible (n'cva-
safrfiinasaflffa) and is incapable of effective functioning.
All this scemsa growth in purity of thought. But in
freedom there is no growth, It is, or it is not; and only
when all fetters are broken, freedom is there in ell its
fulness.Whether a bird is tied to the carth with a thread of
s i l k o r w i t h a c h a i n o f i r o n , i t w i l l n o t b e a b l et o f l y , u n l e s s
t h a t b o n d i s b r o k e n . I t m a y b e e a s t e rt o b r e a k t h e s i l k
thread, but unless it ti broken, there is no freedom.
Similarly, it may be easierto dispel the delusion of
" n o t h i n g " t h a n t o b r e a k t h e s p e l lo f " s e l f " ; b u t a s l o n g a s
t h e r e i s c r a v i n g , b e i t o n l y f o r t h e f o r m l e s s ,t h e r e i s n o
freedom possible.
Why then do people have craving for thc formless, as
there cannot be anything attracting them there? Becausc
they have been disappointed by the world of form,
B e a u t v p r o v e d t o b e i m p e r m e n a n ta n d c h a n g i n gi n t o i t s
v e r y o p p o s i t e .D e i i g h t sp r o v e d t o b e r e a c t i o n st c e n v i r o n -
m e n t , a n d h a v i n g r e a l i s e dt h a t . a n o t h e r w a y o f e s c a p ei s
t r i e d i n s t e a do f f a c i n g r e C i t y . B u t t h i s e s c a p cc a n n e v e r
I e a d t o a s o l u t i o n . P e o p l ea r e i n t e r e s t e di n l i f e h e r e a f t e r ,
l h e y c r a v e f o r r e b i r t h i n b e t t c r s p h e r e s ,b e c a u s et h e y d o
n o t k n o w h o w t o l i v e i n t h e p r e s e n t .B e c a u s et h e y h a v e
n e v e rl e a r n e dp r o p e r l y t o l i v e i n t h e w o r l d o f s e n s ed, e s i r e
a r i s e sf o r s p h e r e so f p u r e f o r m . A n d b e c a u s ee v e n p u r e
f o r m d i d n o t g i v e t h e a n s w e rt o t h e i r l o n g i n g s ,t h e y s e e k
an cscapein the formless and even in annihilation, if that
were possible. This annihilation, however, they under-
stand sccretly as a removal of all obstacles,so that the
pure "self" can continue to live for ever in unmarried
conditions.The individual, iimited "self" is admitted to
be a delusion to get rid of. But instead,a universal soul, of
which all that lives and breathes and moves, is only a
manifestedemanation; it forms a new delusjon, a stroDger
fetter. That imagined world-soul, through which each
man finds himself even in the smallestblade of grasswith
the cry: "That am I", has indeed done away with the
s e p a r a t i o no f a n i s o l a t e dl - n c s s ,b u t o n l y t o m a k e w a y f o r
a permanent universality in which thc dynamic force of
n a t u r e ' sp r o c e s si s v i e w e da s a d e l u s i o n .I f t r u t h i s s e e na s
a delusion, there then is a fetter indeed.Any delusion
would be less serious than the one which seesthe truth
and turns away from it, mistaking it for untruth. Thus
craving for the form-less (aruparaga) is through its very
detachmentfrom sense-pleasures and beauty an extremely
 FETTERS
dangerous obstacle to freedom. It is this fetter which
narro\ps man's outlook, so that he does not discover the
truth within himself, but'searches it elsewheie.
In craving for the formless, truth is made an object
apart from the individual, who is viewed as the subject.
Tbe very methods employed to bring the subjectnearer to
the objective truth lead only to further estrangement and
isolation, binding man to rebirth. But as continuation of
lile ic wished for, this fetter is not understood as an
obstacle, but becomesilt ornBmentra stale of perfection,
a mental state comperable only with the highest heavens,
The objectification of truth makes it something external,
worth striving for, worth running after, but in reality it
forms a motive f...: cscaping from the complexity of
prescntproblems. In thc detachmentfrom both senseand
form is lessenedalso the opportunity to understnd the
environment, which has form to which the sensesreact,
To discard the form from the environment and to seekits
r e a l m e a n i n g i n t h e f o r m l e s s ,i s t o l o o k f o r a s u b s t a n c e
under the phenomenq for eternity in time-concepts,for
pennanence in a changing process, for an everlasting
u n i v e r s a l s o u l i n a c o s m o s ,w h e r e u n i t y i s o n l y o n e o f
action, interaction and reaction,
Y e t i n t h e t r a n s i e n t s e n s a t i o n st r u t h i s m o r e e v i d e n t
t h a n i n s h e l t e ro f p u r e j o y , w h e r e e v e ns u f f e r i n gc c s s e st o
be a problem. For this reason,craving for rcbirth - be it in
the spheres of form or in the formless spheres-is even
worse than craving for sensuousjoy, becauseit is less
actual. lt needs the perfection of an Arahat to do away
with this last vestige of possessiveness.A desire for
rebirth with better opportunities is in reality arr ill-
d i s g u i s e dm e n t a l l a z i n e s s p, o s t p o n i n gt h e s o l u t i o n o f t h e
problem facing us here. He who cravesfor another life, is
a l r e a d yd e a d t o t h e p r e s e n t ;b u t f o r h i m w h o l i v e s i n t h e
prcsent, which is eternally new because it is always
beginning, the hereafterdoes not exist. Thus craving for a
better life becomes a fetter to the present life, which not
being under-stood fully, remains incomplete, and in its
incompletencssproduce a new conflict with false values,
d e l u s i o n sa n d a t t a c h m e n t s ,p e r p e t u a t i n gi g n o r a n c ea n d
making the chance of deliveranceever rnore remote-
t. Concelt (mene). Even if self-delusion has been
overcomeand an individual is fully awarethat personality
i s n o t h i n g b u t a p r o c e s so f a c t i o n a n d r e a c t i o n ,c o n d i -
t j o n e d b y i n n e r t e n d e n c i e sa n d o u t e r e n v i r o n m e n t ,t h e r e
may still remain a strong fetter of self-assertionor pride.
For, though "self'be recognizedas a fleeting processof
change,it does not follow that all individual action must
be understood as produced by universally common
factors. Though a river is a constantly changing current
of flowing water without any abiding substance,yet there
are different rivers flowing in different directions.
Similarly, while denying "self" as an abiding, permancnt
243 FETTERS
entity, one should not deny the differences between the
changing phenomena of action and reection, which are
the conditions which product, selfdelusion,
That conscio\rsnessof "self" cen become the delusion
of "sclf'was shown in the discussionon S*kiyaditthiars
due to living in the past, which binds present action to a
past expcrience which is deed. Evcn when this is not
done, the mere comparison between different processcs
of action may lead to aE ernation of elation, when an
opportunity offers itself to display one's skill. Then an
ideal self will be set up, elaborated from past experiences,
which showed in their failings the weaknessesof the
actions of the moment. Self-respect represses those
failings, remembering only successeswhich actually
turned out well, or which might have been successes, if
action hed bcen more efficicnt. And thus an ideal
stendard is erected.
Conceit is a tendencyof ostentatiouslydisplaying, like
a banncr over all other flags, qualities one has or -
perhaps more frequently-which one presumesto have. In
this last caseconceit will hide the proper motive of an act
with pretension, simulation, deceit and hypocrisy. Its
working is many timrs so subtle that the real motive
remains hidden even to ourselves. Then material aad
p e r s o n a l i n t e r e s tw i l l b e d i s g u i s e da n & s e n s eo f d u t y o r
justice, thc right of freedom, the progress of the nation,
the safeguardof democracy, etc. Especiallythe leadersof
nations at war f,re vcrj prone to use similar catch-words
to camouflage their less unselfish motives and to subli-
mate their murdeorus instincts, Manifestocs circulated
during an election campaign are usually manifestations
of conceit,
Conceit is an idealisation of the subject,which requires
sublimation of primitive instincts and fundamental needs,
which are not seenas defects,but as high perfection. This
is an escape,a way out, by which the claims of nature can
be conceded without having to be ideal light; and it
measures everything by that ideal. Pride itsclf, which
involves alwayscontempt for another, is by utilitarianism
and rationalism considcred necessary and inherent in
human nature. In the proccss of sublimation conceit is
called the source of many virtues and talents,which only
has to be directed to right things, Personal interests
present objects to us onlv under those aspectswhich it is
useful for us to perceive.This ego-centricity leads to the
delusion of thinking ourselves to be indispensable, a
focus of attention and the centre ofsociety. Even anxiety
to help others may easily be asubtle kind of conceit which
tclls us that we are better, financially, intellectually or
spiritually, that nobody elsewill be able lo give this help
ro efficiently; that we have more experience,a superior
position, greater opportunities or stronger karmic
tendencies.These subtle considerationsmay appear and
 FETTERS 244
s o m e t i m e sa r e p a r t l y t r u e . I t i s e x a c t l yt h i s b a s i so f t r u t h ,
though grosslyexaggerated,which makesit so difficult to
detect aad still more difficult to loosen this fetter. Even
when those self-reflectionsare corr?ct, they are thoughts
of possessiveness which is actually craving and clinging,
Actions performed in this spirit rrrayappear excellentlike
social service, preaching, teaching and nursing, But as
l o n g a s t h e i r f o u n d a t i o n i s s e l f - c o n c e i th, o w e v e rs u b t i ei t
may be, the effects will suffer thereby and thc bcneficiary
w i l l e v e n b e h u r t w i t h o u t k n o w i n g t h e r e a s o n ,T h e n i t
becomes a cruel exploitation of an apparently rnore
f a v o u r a b l e p o s i t i o n . T h c n t h e h e l p g i v e n t o o t h e r sf e e d s
only our self-love, as it resultsfrom an anxiety to give or
t o s h a r e w h a t h a d b c e n a c q u i r e d b y i n t e n s ec r a v i n g t o
possess.
Subjectively conciet is a certainty and a conviction of
righteousncsswhich is fatal to development, becauseit
p r o d u c e s s e l f - c o n t e n t m e n ta n d s t a g n a t i o n .C e r t a i n t y o f
o n e ' sc a p a c i t yt o a t t a i n l c a d st o p o s t p o n e m e n t C , ertainty
of righteousnessis reliance on the past. And thus both
miss the unique opportunity of the present.Thus
arrogance and presumption seemto contain somekind of
regret of having denounced the 'self' as a delusion at
earlier stage. [f oncc a delusion is understoodas such
thoughts cannot go back to it. And thercforeanother,
more subtle view of 'sell is introduced under an ideal
form, to replace the crude, almost material self, which
was abandoned with the first fetter. The idea of a
personal soul has been discarded,and its placeis taken by
w h a t e v e r i n o u r n a t u r e i s i m p e r s o n a l ,b u t s t i l l d i s t i n c t
f r o m o t h e r s . Q u a l i t i e s a n d c a p a b i l i t i e sa r e a s s e r t e di n a
b o l d a t t e m p t s o m e t i m e st o b a l a n c ei n f e r i o r i t y .T h e r e f o r e
it is called conceit which sa1's;I am (asmi-mana).
Misconception of self (sakkaya4itthi) - conception of
a n e g o - e n t i t y w a s b a s e do n a w r o n g i n t e r p r e t a t i o no f t h e
environment by the senses,These produced reactions
which developed the memory with its reliance on past
experienceand incompletcnessof action in tbe present.lt
is never associated with false beliefs (mircha4i.tthi),but
has always a grain of truth in it from which it devlops.
M o s t p e o p l ea r e t o s o m ee x t e n t h o n e s ti n t h e i r c o n c e i t ,i n
so far as hypocrisy and pretension have become a second
n a t u r e , h i d i n g i n t h e s u b - c o n s s i o u ss o w e l l , t h a t t h e r e a l
motives are actually unknown.
N o w i t m a y b e u n d e r s t o o dt h a t t h e i s o l a t i o n i s ' s e l l ' -
delusion was the surface-result of these unknown
tendencies,worked upon by, and reacting to an environ-
m e n t w h i c h w a s n o t u n d e r s t o o d .C o n c e i t o n t h e o t h e r
hand, as an idealisation of self, is lessclosely connected
with perception and consciousness.It is frequently the
necessityof giving up some object of attachment - which
always quits with some part of self-which reinstatesthat
self in a sublimed form. Religions especiallyabound in
facts which show the truth of this statement. Like
FETTERS
cannibals who ate the flesh of their victim if he had shown
much corrrage,so that they might assimilatehis fearless-
ness, so our modern, civitized faithful go to church to
partake in holy cominunirn of the flesh of the son of man.
The sublimation and idealisatioiref self, not projccting
it in some form of existenceor other, but establishingit in
a super-relationship to others is so tenaciously holding
on. that oniy the perfeclll' holl' one is completely free
from this fetter.
9. Agltotfon (Ltddhs&:he). Agitation is a lack of under-
standing of the eni'i:cnmenl as a constantly changirg
processin which we are not a fixed rntity, but in which we
change with and are changed by the different conditions
which constitute life. Conflict ariscs when the world is
scen as change and the self as static. In the friction which
ensueswe try to stop the changing events and cling to
them. That struggle is the fetter of exitement which is a
ceaselesseffort to escapefrom conflict.
Exitcment is a fickleness of character, a lack of
b a l a n c e , a d i s p r o p o r t i o n o f d i s p o s i t i o n s , a b s e n c eo f
per$stenceand independence.Its arising is due to a high
degree of susceptibility to the influence of pleasure and
pain. In other words, agitation is the expression of
sensitiveness,leading in turn to elation and depression.
Fickleness shows shallowness of thought, high affect-
ability and low intensity. Exitement is always emotional,
and never intellectual, hencenot a complete action. For
where the intellect is excluded, an action can hardly be
called human, it becomesan answer to a stimulus which
resemblesmachine-work, unlessthe intellectud thought-
p r o c e s si s a b l e t o c o n t r o l t h e b l i n d f o l d p r o c e s so f t h e
passions,Thus it becomesa fetter, preventingtrue action,
and production mere reaction.
ln a materialistic life agitation showsitself in eagerncsg
to excel in learning, to succeed in business, to make
progressin the world, and in short to out do others. It is
the spirit of competition. In a spiritual life agitation
shows itself in eagerness to attain perfection soon, in
striving for spiritual virtues, in religious zeal to reform
social conditions and wrongs of self and others, in
employrntnt of methods for spiritual development, in
searching for truth by means of reading, learning,
questioning and discussing the many problems, which
different religions offer. In short, agitation is thc intrin-
sically compelling force, which drives man on in his
pursuit; it is the purpose which he seesin life that makes
him strive for its attainment.
The purely mechanicalworld-view is untenable,for in
the world of mechanicsit is evident that no development
takes place, wherc thought does not drive on to action.
On the other hand it must be admitted that thought
would not even arise, if r:'t for the working of an external
 FETTERS
world, In other words thoughts arise as a reaction. The
environment acts as a stimulus. Hencc, also the purely
idealistic view point must be repudiated, that man is frec
to choose his own wey. It is this delusion of freedom
which blinds man with the fetter of agitation, which
rnakes him strive after an ideal wi.th mcans which arc
truly ends in themselves.It is the mistake of mixing up
purpose and method, which is responsible for this
delusion. A means is selected,a method is used for thc
purpose of attaining something better. But by doing so it
is ovcrlooked that neither the method nor the end exists
already. If the end existed, striving would be superfluous.
For, when travelling the object of the journey is not the
goal, but the attainment of the object. [f attainment is
achieved,the journey thereto is impossible, The method
or means does not exist either, but is being made every
moment. And as cvery moment brings some new attein-
ment the purpose of striving cannot be attained except in
this present moment.
Planning with a purpose follows from the awarenessof
a need in a certain condition in which man imagiues he
might find himself beforc long. It is like a prediction of a
moon-eclipse which is sure to take place, if meanwhile
nothing has gone wrong with the sun. But some day
something is surc to go wrong even with the sun, the heat
of which is measurably decrtasing. Thus thesepredictions
based on calculations arc rc[able only up to a certain
extenl. How much less therefore will be the reliabilitv of
planning of incalculable thoughts.
This purposeful striving is a silent admission of one's
imagined freedom of will. Free will is of course I gross
delusion, for there is no will to be free, as'will'like'mind'
is thought arising at the moment of contact, when choice
is made possible. But even that choice is not free, as it is
hfluenced and conditioned by the objects of choice. That
is why agitation and planning ahead lead so many times
to the disillusionment of a wrong choice, when reason
was clouded by passion. Plnnniag aud purposeful striving
are assertions of n separate self which can errange thingp
for itsclf and which can modify the environment. It is
therefore a lack of urtderstanding the fact that we are
ratber the ones who are shaped by environment.
To let oneself go without understanding like a piece of
machinery, is the other extreme, which never leads to
freedom though it does away with individualism,
Freedom, and striving for freedom in the absolute seDse,
requires an absolute being to be free. This is self-delusion.
Mechanistic views kill both individual and freedom. But
the understanding of the environment leads to the
understanding of the delusion produccd by it, And that is
freedom, becauseit breaks the fetter of purpose, which
drives man on whilc keeping him bound like a slave. This
understanding breaks down the barrier which irolates
man from his world, and that is freedom.
245 FETTERS
But purposeful agitation is a striving in the spirit of
possessivenesswhich can only produce more felfishners,
isoletion and delurion. For nritetion insists on the
introduction of a mediating factor which is similar to the
employment of tools. Thir belongs to the region of reason
and logic, and involves tbe desire of attainment as a kind
of possessiveDess. Religionl havr always failed assoon as
they bccnme organirations. For, orgenisstitts ere based
on methods which are of no value, unless they are,an end
in themselves. When this'principle is reverred however,
the goal is reached not by striviug but by the setting aside
of the obstacles, by thc breaking down of prison-walls
and fetters. To save a burning house there is only one
thing to be done, viz. to cxtinguish the fire. This action is
not conccrned with the house but with the fire, which is
the immediate obstacle. lf that obstacleis overcome,the
house is saved neturally.
Thet many people do not feel that driving force as a
fetter, but see it rather ar a perfection, is due to their
narrow outlook confincd to thc pettiness of the trcadmill
whicb they work al a recreation from the lonelinessof life
which they dread, [t is, howevert the same desire for
self-realisation which drives some into monasteries and
caves, and many others into the whirlpool of the world.
Agitation can never lead to insight because it is a
distraction of thought away from the present, and thus it
stands opposed to mindfulness (catl), Awarenessdoes not
know anything of a "rttind', nor of metter in itself, but
only of material qualities in ro far ar they come within thc
field of the senserand produce thcrc a processof thought.
Awareness, living in the preseat, without worry about thc
past, without agitetion about the future, prevents a
cleavagebetwecn mstter and mind, which has lcd somc to
mechanistic laws which are sclf-subsisting and absolutely
rigid, while it has led othen to abstract speculations
about the composition, rpiritual or otherwise,of a mind
like a soul, in idealirtic conceptions.
The overcoming of the fetter of agitation must naturally
lcad to mental rest which is required for the under-
standing of tbe situation and the environment, which
thus comes within the region of inteUigenceand insight.
10. [normce (Avtfe). Most forms of ignorance, and
certainly all ignorance which forms a fetter, is not a lack
of knowledge, but insinccrity of thinking. Fear to dis-
cover one'g errors, fear that one's vanity might be hurt
and fear to be obliged to chaage one's li[e, are at the root
of all mental reservetions which stand in the way of an
open approach which alone can remove insinccrity of
thinking. Strong views are not a sign of wisdom, but
frequently bctray the presence of prejudices which have
arisen from experiences in the past. They are therefore
views ba.gedon the past without containing any under-
rtanding of the present. Ignorance is not a tack of
 FETTERS 246
. r F . ? r i e n c eb.u t a l a c k o f i n s i g h t .T h i s l a c k w i i l m o s t l yb e
p r o d u c e db v s o m e p e r r o n a l b i a s ;i t w i l l b e t h e r e f o r ea n
a r t i f i c i a l l y p r o d u c e d i g n o r a n c e . P e o p l ed o n o t w a n t t o
k n o w , f o r k n o w l e d g e i s f r e q u e n t l y i n c o n v e n i c n t .A n d
thus the fetter rcmains.
It needs indeed imense courage to live in integrity
a c c o r d i n g t o o n e ' s u n d e r s t a n d i n g .T h e " b l i s s o f i g n o -
r a n c e " a n d t h e " f o l l y o f w i s d o r n " i s m o r e a c t u a lt h a n t h e
p r o v e r b m i g h t s u g g e s t t. s u t i f o n e r e a l l y w i s h e st o r e a l i s e
t h e t r u t h , o n e m u s t b e g i n t o b e t r u e t o o n e s e l f .W i s h f u l
t h i n k i n g m u s t b e r e p i a c e d b y a b s o l u t es i n c e r i t y .M o s t
r e l i g i o n sh o w e v e r , t h o u g h p r o f e s s i n gt o l e a d t o t h e t r u t h
m e r e l ys h o w t h e r o a r i t o h a p p i n e s sa , n d f r e q u e n t l yt r u t h
is sacrificed for the sake of bliss. To overcomc this
o b s t a c l eo f i g n o r a n c e o n e h a s t o b e g i n w i t h a c o m p l e t e
p r e p a r e d n e s tso a c c e p tt h e t r u t h w i t h o u t a n y r e s e r v a t i o n ,
w h e n c v e ri t m a y b e , w h e r e v e ri t m a y l e a d .
T h e d i f f i c u l t y o f t h e p r o b l e m i s : H o w s h a l l w er e c o g n i s e
t h e t r u t h w h e n i t p r e s e n t si t s e l f t o u s ? R e a s o n i s n o t
infalliblc, and hence the reliance on the authority of
others grows almost naturally. But then, if personal
reason can fail, there cannot be more security in the
reason of others. Ignorance cannot be conquered by
reasoning, becausethe field of ignorance is wider than
that of logic. Life, sorrow and their conditionsare not
logical but facts. We cannot say that facts are illogicaJ,
b u t t h e y a r e n o t b a s e do n ! o g i c . I t i s r a t h e r l o g i c t h a t i s
b a s e do n f a c t s .A n d t h u s i t h a 1 ; p e n tsh a t t h e r e a l i s a t i o no f
the truth is something which rs entirelyindividual and
w h i c h c a n n o t b e p r o v e ' " it u o i h e r s . B u t t h e r e w i l l b e
a b s o l u t ec e r t a i n t y i n t h e s u b . y e cw t , h i l e c e r t a i n t e s t sm a y
r e v e a l w h e t h e r o r n o t s r ; m e d e f ' . i e eo f d e l u s i o n i n s t i l l
remaining.
" T h e k n o w l e d g e o f d e l i r " e r a n c ew i l l a r i s e w i t h d e l i v c -
r a n c e " . B u t i f t h i s k n o w i c d g e i s e n t i r e l y s u b j e c t i v e ,m a y
t h a t n o t e q u a l l y w e l l b e d c l u s i o n ?T ' h i sm i g h t b e s o , i f t h i s
k n o w l e d g eo f t h e t r u t h w o l r l d b e a r e c o g n i t i o n .B u t t h i s
u n d e r s t a n d i n gi s n o t t h e o r e t i c a !o r s c i e n t i f i ck n o w l e d g e ;
it is thc actual clearing of all dcubts, the actual over-
c o m i n g o f a l l o b s t a c l e sA . n d t h a t c a n b e t e s t e d ,f o r i f t h e
c o n d i t i o n s o f i g n o r a n c c a n d i t s e f f e c t sa r e s t i l l p r e s e n t ,
i g n o r a n c ei t s e l f h a s n o t b e e n e x p e l i e d .
W h a t i s t h e c o n d i t i o n a n d o n g i n o f i g n o r a n c e ?" A f i r s t
b e g i n n i n g o [ i g n o r a n c e i s n o t d i s c e r n i b l e "a n d t h e v e r y
q u e s t i o n a b o u t t h e o r i g i n o f i g n o r a n c ep r o v e s i t s e x i s -
tence. Ignorance has no first beginning, but it is
b e g i n n i n g a l w a y s , a s i t i s a p r o c e s s .T h e n o t - u n d e r -
s t a n d i n g o f t h e n a t u r e o f a p r o c e s sw h i c h c a n h a v e n o
b e g i n n i n g b e c a u s ei t i s n o t a n e n t i t y , t h a t i s i g n o r a n c e
which is always new together with the processwhich is
n o t u n d e r s t o o d .I n t h e n o t - u n d e r s t a n d i n go f t h e e n v i r o n -
ment all action becomes delusion of self. Thus all life
which is not lived in the actual prescnt is ignorance and
FETTERS
t h e s o u r c e o f m o r e d e l u s i o n ,T h e n e e d a n d t h e d e s i r et o
k n o w t h e b e g i n n i n go f i g n o r a n c ei s i g n o r a n c ei t s e l f ,f o r i t
i g n o r c s t h e p r e s e n t .T h u s i t c a n e a s i l y b e f o u n d o u t ,
w h e t h e r a l l d e l u s i o n h a s b e e n d i s p e r s e d ,b y f i n c i i n g o u t
the interest which is taken in, and the place which is
o c c u p i e d i n t h e t h o u g h t - p r o c e s sb y p a s t , p r e s e n t a n d
future.
T h e p a s s a g ef r o m i g n o r a n c et o u n d r s t a n d i n gi s n o t o n e
f r o m m e c h a n i s t i cm a t e r i a l i s mt o m e t a p h y s i c si;t i s r a t h e r
like the opening of a heavy curtain, not revealing
something new which was hidden behind it, but
a d m i t t i n g m o r e l i g h t w h i c h e n a b l e so n e t o s e et h e o b j e c t s
in the room in a diffcrent light. The sameworld, the same
environment, but valued anew,
The fetter of ignorance is the reason of life which is a
processof grasping. lt is in ignorance that the two factors
of life, the objective world and the subjective self, are
r o o t e d . [ t i s i n i g n o r a n c e t h a t o b j e c t i v e s c i e n c ea n d
subjectivesel[, are rooted. lt is in ignorance that objective
s c i e n c ea n d s u b j e c t i v ef a i t h a r e o p p o s i n g o n e a n o t h e r .
l g n o r a n c ei s t h e l a y i n g h o l d o f t h e w o r l d a n d o f s e l fi n t h e
w r o n g w a y . T o o v e r c o m et h i s i g n o r a n c ec a n n e i t h e r b e
done by conceiving the truth, for truth is not a con-
ception, and conceptual thinking is still a thought with
craving.
Ignorance is life with partial knowledge of it; truth is
Iife with the full understanding thereof. And because
ignorance allows one to live only partially, it produces
sorrow. And becauseunderstanding makes one live fully
i t p r o d u c e sb l i s s . B u t t h a t b l i s s i s n o h a p p y f e e l i n g o r
s e n s a t i o n , n o t c v e n m e n t a l s a t i s f a c t i o n ,b u t j u s t t h e
f u l n e s s .t h e c o m p l e t e n e s os f l i f e , t h e r e s t a n d e q u i l i b r i u m
o f p e r f e c t i o n ,I t i s t h e p e r f e c t i o no f t h e o p p o s i t e sa s t h e
m a t e r i a l f r o m w h i c h o u r f e t t e r s t h e m s e l v e sw i l l h a v e
d i s s a p p e a r e dw i t h a n y s t r i v i n g o r e f f o r t . l n i g n o r a n c e
s u c h p e r c e p t i o nb e c o m e si m p o s s i b l e ,f o r i n i g n o r a n c ca
s o l u t i o n i s s o u g h t i n p a s t e x p e r i e n c e so r i n f u t u r e h o p e
with agitation and craving as driving forces towards a
goal. But suffering and life and all its problems are
neither in the past nor in the future, and they will have
therefore to be solved when they arise,
This can be done only by full awareness,by watching
o u r a c t i v i t i e sa n d f i n d i n g o u t t h e i r m o t i v e s . T h r o u g h
i n t e g r a l a w a r e n e s st h e t r u t h o f t h e p r e s e n tw i l l b e c o m e
c l e a rw i t h o u t t r y i n g t o e s c a p ef r o m t h e w o r l d o r f r o m l i f e .
R e n u n c i a t i o n o r p o s s e s s i o nlse a d sf r e q u e n t l y t o a t t a c h -
mcnt to opinions and methods, which are self-made
v a l u e s ,B u t i n c o m p l e t ed i s c e r n m e n to f t h e v a l u e so f t h e
w o r l d a n d s e l f ,o f t h e i r r e l a t i o n ,o f t h e i r n o n - o p p o s i t i o n ,
will this processof ignorance be brought to an end.
The fetters themselvesare a delusion.To becomefree is
n o t s o m u c h a q u e s t i o n o f h o w t o b e c o m ef r e e , h o w t o
break those fetters. The question rather is: Why am I
 FINE ART
bound? lf we try to break this fetter, it is only a processof
more ignorance, for tryrng and striving are only other
works for the process of obtaining, gaining, accumu-
lating. The question: How to delude a dclusion? must
necessarily proCuce more delusion. The problem can
only be solved by fully understanding ,,theoreticallyand
practically, the reasonwhy we are deluded. This can only
be answered, if we are fully aware, again theoretically and
practic-ally,of the f.sct that we are deluded. Theoretical
knowledge by itself is ignorance.This awarenesscan only
be in the prescnt moment, Here and now thcrefore, in this
present momcnt we have to face the problem and
cvcryone carries his own key to the solution,
Life should not be a processof learning and accumu-
lating. Life is meent to be lived, to be met in its fulness,
evcry moment anew. The solution once known, mu3t be
put in practice. Then v,'ith the disappearance of ignorancc
will have gone also all sorrow, fear, doubt, craving,
egoism, wrong views and all fetters; and that is bless
everlesting, the finel awakening to the Truth. See also
SAMYOJANA.
H. G. A. van Zeyst
FINE ART. Opinions differ as to which arts are to be
regarded as fine arts, but it is generally agreed that the
arts regarded as fine arts should appcal to one's senseof
beauty. Thus painting, architecture and sculpture are
considered to be fine arts to the exclusion of those that
are merely utilitarian. This article will, therefore, confine
itself to a consideration of the place of thcse three arts in
Buddhism.
Poetry and drama are sometimesconsideredfine arts,
but generally excluded.There are however some authori-
tics that have made a casefor excluding architecture from
the fine arts. The heavinessof the materials employed in
constructing buildings and the quantity of technical data
necessaryfor planning of rconstructionr have led to the
conclusion that architecture is hardly spontaneous,not
easily appreciated and therefore, the product of the
craftsman, (Bussagli,p. 7). All arts subservesthe spiritual
and material welfare of society.There was no concept of
an art for art's sake (Coomarruiwamy, (1956), p. 46).
lndians including Buddhists, however, appear to have
had a completely different view, recognizing no dis-
tinction between what is art as defined above and crafts
which are of mere utilitarian value. [n some instants
lndians recognized sixty four kinds of artistic activity,
including crafts, painting (citra-karma,) occupying the
thirty eighth place in this classification, These were all
called kali. There was also another classification
according to which there were eighteen arts and crafts
247 FINE ART
known as {ilpa. Painting seemsto be placed first among
them. (Jataka Atuva Giitapadaya p. 27). In neither of
t h e s e g r o u p i n g s d o e s a r c h i t e c t u r eo r s c u l p t u r e f i n d a
place, they may perhaps have been taken for granted as
being of no particular significance.
Painting, sculpture or architecturcwirs not considered
a s . o fs p e c i d s i g n i f i c a n c eT
. hey were all lumped together
as filpa or kala. Training of elephants and horses,
swordsmanship and archery w_ereall consideredas filpa
(Sam an tap asEdi k a, B h i k k h u ni vi bhahgavann ana, X- l).
There were among the filpins, men of creative ability of
an exceptionally high order (Patibhanasampanna) wrd
they were recognised as such, (Samantapisadika, Maha-
vaggavannana,Y1,40, p. I 103.The Hindu tradition that
the artist (filpin) is the intermediary who transmits the
revelation of Vijvakarma, the divine artificer to society
secms to have found acceptancealnong the Buddhists
too. Art or {ilpa includes the full spectrum of creative
activity: ritual, skill, craft, the formative imagination and
other similar faculties. Artists belonged to a caste or a
field and were en integral part of the social order. There
were no such persons as individual self-sufficientartists
as in the West (Lanoy, p. l7).
In Buddhism the enjoyment of sensualpleasuresis not
encouraged and in respect of monks and also laymen
observing eight precepts these pleasuresare completely
p r o h i b i t e d . N u m e r o u s i n s t a n c e sa r e r e c o r d e di n t h e P a l i
Canon, particularly in the Vinaya and the Sutta Pitaka
when the Buddha admonished monks against thc uie of
anything with artistic or decorativefeaturessuch asbeds,
chairs and other articles of furniture carrying decorative
material. An instance is recorded in the Senisanak-
khandhakaof the Vinayapitaka,whenthe group of recal-
citrant monks known as the chabbaggiya were getting
some figures of men and women painted in their dwelling.
Devotees who visited the Vihara grumblcd and became
une$y in thcir minds when they saw these paintings
saying that thesesix monks were behaving like ordinary
laymen, taking delight in the pleasures of sense and
complained to the Buddha regarding the conduct of the
monks. The Buddha forthwith prohibited monks from
getting patibhana cira (imaginary forms) consisting of
figures of men and women and even figures of animals,
(Cullavagga, Vl. 2,3). Commenting on this incident the
Samantapasadika says that painting or causing to be
painted figures of even animals down to the lowest earth
worm was not permitted. lt was not permissible for a
monk, according to the commcntary, cven to ask a
layman to make the figure of a janitor (dvarapala) to be
placed at the entrance to a vihara, though monks were
permitted to ask laymen to paint or make pictures of
subjects from the jatakas,or occasions such as the
asadisa-dina, and other subjectsleading to the creation
in the minds of vienrcrsaversionto sensualpleasure.Even
 FINE ART 248
monks themselves, however, were pcrmitted to paint
subjectssuch as floral designs, (Samantapasadiks"UI, p,
t2l9). Monks wert also prohibited from even touching a
female figure, made of substnacessuch as metal, ivory
and clay, (Samantapasidike,Il, p. 542). Thus it is clear
t h a t i n i t s e a r l y s t & g e s ,B u d d b i s t s i m p o s e d c e r t a i n
restrictions on the practice of painting and sculpture by
monks and the use of objects of art and employing
decorativeart in articlesused by monks and nuns alike' It
has to be pointed out that these restrictions became
necegsarybccause monks and presumbly nuns as well
were found engagingthemselvesin the practice of the fine
arts and using the products of thcsearts in their daily life'
Evidently no restrictions \perc placed on the use by
monks of the products of architecture.In fact lhe Vinaya
itself cnjoins upon wisemen in the interests of their
spiritual welfare to build delightful dwellings and cause
Iearned monks to dwell in them, (Cullavagga, Samanta-
pasidika). This relaxation perhaps may be explained by a
possible ergument that any building, unadorned by
Iigurcs or paintings of human beings and anirnals wers
not consideredcapableof generatingundesirablefcelings
of lust. But monks certainly did appreciatethe desirabi-
lhy of well-proportioned dwellings of good design(.9n' v.
305). A mural painting coloured with yellow or pigment
on the other hand would provoke in the mind of a
Buddhist nun only an impressinon,in the mind, baseand
of no prolit, (Thig. v. 392).
After the demise of the Buddha, as time passedon, the
restricitions imposed on the fine arts, as describedabove
w e r e g r a d u a l l y r e l a x e d .T h e o r t h o d o x v i e w t a k e n b y t h e
early Buddhists came to be tempered by the changing
needs of the time. Besides, the Buddha's life and his
dispensation and the legends that grew around his life
werejust waiting to be pictorially representcd.Buddhism,
according to Anesaki, offered three sourccs of artistic
inspiration. The first was the conception of life implied in
the Buddha'spersonalityand proclaimcd by his teachings,
The secondwas consequenceof thcseand consistedin the
pious memory of the master, cherished among his
foliowers and the third, also a corollary of the first, was
the practice of dedication based on the idea of universal
communion,(Dubash,p. 69, f.n' I).
The invasion of the North Western part of lndia by
Alexander the Great also servedas an effectiveimpetus to
rhe almost unexpected upsurge of Buddhist art and
a:chrtecturcin lndia, ldeals, conventionsand techniques
e n p i o l e d b 1 'G r e e k s ,R o m a n s a n d e v c n b y E g y p t i a n so f
o . C p : r c o l a t e d i n t o t h e B u d d h i s t c u l t u r a l s c e n ei n l n d i a "
s : l n , c o l t h e m b 1 ' w a , " -o f P e r s i a .I t t o o k s o m e t i m e f o r
thes: new irfluencesto be blendedinto a new artistic
t : a c l t i o l , w h r c h r * a s t r a n s l a t e di n t o c o n c r e t ef o r m i n t h e
: 3 g : c : , so i t b e \ { a u n a a n d S u i r g a r u l e r s i n t h e p e r i o d
: - t - : ' - B C T b e b a s ' r e l i e f isn t h e r a i l i n g so f t h e s t [ p a o f
FINE ART
Bhirhut and those on some of the st[pas et S-uici in
Bhopal, lndia, have been executed with a zest and skill
defying the restrictions formulated ear[er in respect of
figures of human being and animals. Siluous figures of
femalcs in alluring poscs appear in the sculptures found-
at these places and in the remains of the Amarivati
and other stfipas of the Kistna valley in South lndia.
There se€msto be, however, onc restriction consistently
observed in all these sculptures. No where in these
sculptures has the Buddha or Prince Siddharthq been
shown even where eithcr should have becn the central
figure, the Buddha and the Prince being represented by
some symbolic figure, such as a seat, a pair of feet, or an
umbrella, This restriction seems to have been rendered
invalid in the first century A.C. when the ligure of the
Buddha app€arsin Buddhist shrinesnot only in bes-reliefs
but also as figures in the round as a sacred object to whicb
homage could be paid by devotees.Sculptors and their
patrons were not allowed to take liberties in the making
of imggesof the Buddha. Strict adhcrenceto certain rules
was required of the artisl in order to prevent them from
indulging in personal.
It may be recalledthat earlier homage could be paid to
the Buddha by worshipping the relicsof his physicalbody
({irirka), articlee used by him such as his almsbowl
(paribhogikal and the Buddha as conceived in his mind
by the devotee, (uddesika) (J. tV, 228). The Buddha could
be conceivedin a devotee'smind in someabstractform or
in the form of e human being, the form depending on the
individual. This was all thc more rcason why when thc
image of the Buddha came to be made strict rules had be
laid down both in regard to physical features and
2roportions of the various parts of th: body.
Perhaps it may not be simple coincidence that the
invention of thc Buddha image around first century A.C,
wa.!iaccompaniedby a new trend in the systemof Buddha
teachingthat had existcdso far, called the Theravdda, the
Tradition of the Eldcrs. The Theravlda was a very strict
orthodox systemboth in theory and practice.It neededto
be popularised in its appeal to the people at large and
those who came to acccptthis view separatedthemselves
into the branch of Buddhism that has come to bc known
as the Mahayaaa. To the followers of Mahayana art
became a handy tool to proPsgatetheir new faith among
the people, a tool which had already been employed by
the builders of Bharhut, Safici and Amarivati to good
effect.In the hands of the Mahiyinists the simple Buddha
of the Theravadins proliferated into an extensive
pantheon with an equally wide literature written in
Sanskrit. This pantheon consisted of a- variety of
Buddhas, such as Manusi-Buddhas and Adi-Buddhas
and numerous Bodhisattvas,their female counterparts
and a host of numerous godlings, each of them invested
with distinctive characteristics,
 IiINE ART
It would have been, howcver, necessaryto embody
there dirtinctive cbaracteristics together with the pro-
portions of tbe different elements of a statue in some
rcadily essinileble form so thrt individual ertists would
not deviate from what wes well-establishedand epproved
by tbe pioneers in thc field. Such e device would also
ensure that this knowledge would passdown successive
generations of painters and sculptors. At first these
details may have been orally handed down end later
converted into hand books on Iconography and lcono_
mctry, but nonc of theseseenu to havesurvi ved. pratim anC a_
\"qtry may, perhaps, be an example of such a handbook
o f a l a t e r d a y , ( J . N . B a n e r j e a ,p p . 3 g l _ 4 1 3 ,a n d f o o t n o r e
2 on p. 393).
It may also be rccalled that the pali Canon itsclf
sometimes r;fers more of lessincidentally to some of the
charactcristicsof the Buddha's physical appearance.For
instauce the thirty two signs of a mahapurisa rre
enumerated in the LakkhanaSuffa of the Digha nikiya,
though ell thesesignsmay have beenaccommodatedin a
Buddhaimage without producing some distorted form of
the human body, (I). III, pp. 143-179).
It may perhaps be pointed out at this stage that
painting could not be separatedfrom sculpture, because
all sculpture, free standing or in the form of relief
s c u l p t u r e a s w e l l t h e i n s i d e o f t e m p l e s ,w h e t h e r t h c y b e
carved out of rock or structurally built, were pairited ovcr
in appropriatc colours. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy has
pointcd out that Indian literature: of all kinds and at all
periods, at any rate after the Maurya makes incidental
referencesto painting. Hc has further commented that it
may be taken for granted that from a very early period,
not only were sculpturesand architecturaldetailscovered
with their plaster and coloured, but that the flat walls of
tcmples and palaceswere decorated within and without
w i t h p i c t u r e so r w i t h p a i n t e d w r e a t h sa n d c r e e p e r s , " ( A .
K, Coornaraswamy, 1965,p. B7).
With the appearaDceof the Vajrayana branch of the
Mahayana in India around the eighthcenturyBuddhist
a r t h a d t o a c c o m o d a t em o r e a n d m o r e d i v i n i t i e s i n i t s
a l r e a d ye x t c n s i v ep a n t h e o n .H i n d u i s m w a s u n d e r g o i n ga
r e v i v a l a b o u r t h i s t i m e a n d B u d d h i s m ,p a r t i c u l a r l yi n t h e
eastern part of India, imbibed Hindu Tantric-ideals
together with Hindu deities. Meditation and various
esotericritually playedaaimportant part in Tantrism and
this necessitated the making of an unusually large
number of different cult imagesof the deitiesthat formed
t h e T a n t r i c p a n t h e o n , ( R . D . B a n e r j e a ,p . g 7 ) .
Buddhist Tantrism also produced a seriesof sidhanas,_
iconographic formulae to direct the making of the images
of the various major and minor deities of the Tantric
p a n t h e o n , l t m a y b e p o s s i b l et h a t a t f i r s t t h e s e s d d h a n a s
w e r e i n t e n d e d t o s e r v ea sg u i d e l i n e st o i h e d e v o t e e sw h e n
249 FINE ART
engaged in meditation to cuccptualise the particular
deitier they wirhed to mcditate upon, but when they
found that the sidhanes were inadequate to serve the
purpoce for which :hey were intended, it becamenecessary
to transform them into a concrete end tangible form as
images,(R.D. Banerjea,pp. E7-100,for some sadhanas).
The painter, the sculptor and the architect do Jt
appcar to have occupied a respected position among
Buddhists in ancient tndia. Their attitude towards the
fine arts is cxplicably statd intbe Visuddhimagg4 apali
Work of Buddhaghosa,the aurhorof severalpaliComment_
aries, where it is said that living beings, on account of
their love and devotion to the scnsationsexcited by forms
and the objects of sense,give high honour to pnin1s13
musicians, perfumers, cooks etc. who furnish thcm with
objects of sense.This vicw of arts and artists seemsto be
supported by tbe Dasa4hamma Sutta of the A'nguttara
nikiya (A.V , p. 87f.) which declaresrhat beauty is of no
value to a Buddhist, neither the beeuty of the body nor
that which comesof dress,with the admonition that form.
sound, taste,smell and touch intoxicate beingsand that,
therefore, yearning for these should be completely
eliminted, (Anand, p. B2).The architect, (vatthuuijji-
cariyo) however, appears to have commanded some
respect even from royalty becauseit is he who inspects
l a n d t o s c l e c ta p l a c e s u i t a b l ef o r c o n v e r s i o ni n t o a c i t y .
(Sant an tapised i k a. S u t ta- Vi bh anga van n an a 1.3).
The work of arrists, i.e, painters, sculptors and
architects,was not consideredof any great significance,
and except in a few instancestheir names have not been
recorded an3rwhere.Nobody knows the names of the
great sculptors who fashioned the great Buddha sta.tues
at Avukana and R&vehera in Sri Lanka" nor the names
of the painters who executedthe famous pictures at Sigiri
in Sri Lanla, or the authors of the paintings et Ajanta in
Indiq though history has recorded for all to know, the
name of the farnous sculptor who executed the statue of
Athena in the Parthinon in the fifrh cenrurv B.C, His
name was Phidias.
I n s p i t e o f t h e r e l a t i v e l yu n i m p o r t a n t p l a c ea c c o r d e dt o
thc artist in society in India probably as well as in
neighbouring Buddhist countries,the artist was required
to undergo a period of training under a suitablemaster as
a trainee, antevasi. According to Tantric hand books on
art, of around the twelfth century containing traditions of
a v e r y m u c h e a r l i e rd a t e , t h e a r t i s t sb e f o r c u n d e r t a k i n g
the making of an image was required to proceed to a
solitary place, after purificatory ablutions and wearing
newly washed garments. There, he should perform the
'seven-fold
office,' beginning with the invocation of the
h o s t s o f B u d d h a s a n d B o d h i s a t t v a si n t h e o p e n s p a c e
before him, and the offering to them of real or irnaginary
flowers, and ending with a dedication of the merit
 FIRST CAUSE 250
acquired to thc welfare of aJI beings. Then he has to
realizc in thought the four infinite qualities of loving
k i n d n e s s( m e t f i ) , c o m p a s s i o n( k a n t n a ) , s y m p a t h e t i cj o y
(mudi.ta) and equanimity (upekkhi). He must then
e l i m i n a t e b i s p e r s o n a l i t y - v i e wa n d t h e n i n y o k e t h e d i v i -
nity desiredto be represented.and to attain identity with
t h i s d i v i n i t y , w h i c h l a s t c o n d i t i o n w a s s t r i c t l ; re n j o i n e d .
C o m p l e t e c o m p r c h e n s i o nw a s o n l y p o s s i b l e w h e n t h e
consciousnessis thus identificd with ao object of cog-
n i t i o n . A l l t h i s t o c k p l a c ci n t h e i m a g i n a t i o n .T h e d i v i n i t y
w o u l d t h e n a p p e a rl i k e a r e f l e c t i o no r ' a s a d r e a m ' . V e r y
rarely indeed was any drawing made use of, even in thc
m o s t c o m p l i c a t e dc o n c e p t i o n s .
The principle personageis surrounded by disciple in
the centre of a mandala. lt was only when the mental
image was thus defintd that the artist began to mould or
p a i n t ( C o o m a r a s w a m y( 1 9 2 7 ) ,p p . 5 l - 5 3 a n d ( 1 9 5 6 ) p .
5 6 ) . T h e f o r e ; i o , i ; r ga c c o u n t o f t h e p r o c e d u r e t o b e
followcC bv an image maker obviously refers to practices
o f M a h a y a n i s i s , a n d ! h r ; ; : c c c d u r e s l o l l r - . * ' e db y t h e
f o l l o w e r s o f t h e T h e r n i ' r d a w o , , i J h a v r * : n s i r r : r l a r .I n
S r i L a n k a c v e n a t t h e p r e s e n td a l i n , ; g c m a k e r sf o l l o w a
similarly complicated prodecurc.
l,ike Hindu artists,Buddhist artists too sought ins-
piration frorn Vidvakarrnar, the god of arts and crafts. It
is said in the-MahEvamsa, the Pali Chronicle recording
the early hi;tory of Sri Lanka, that ViSvakarma was
dirccted by Sakra the lord of the gods, to make bricks to
build the Mahathlpa" (Chapter XXVlIt, 8-9).
Bib[ography:
JAtaka Atuva Gltapadaya. ed. D.E. Hettiarachi a a/,
U n i v e r s i t yo f C e y l o n P r e s s ,1 9 6 0 .M u l k R a j A n a n d , I f i e
H i n d u V i e w o f A r t , L o n d o n , 1 9 3 3 .J i t e n d r a N a t h B a n e r -
jea, The Development of Hindu Iconography, University
of Calcutta, 1941.R.D. Banerji, EasternIndian School of
Mediaeval Sculpture, Delhi, 1933. Mario Bussagli,
Oriental Architecture, London, l98l. Ananda K.
Coomaraswamy, Essays in National ldealism,
Colombo N.D.P."probably 1910, Ananda K.
Coomaraswtmy, History of India and Indonesian Art,
New York, 1927. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, The
Transformation of Nature in Art, New York, 1956.
Perviz N. PeerozshawDubash, Hindu Art in its Social
Setting, Madras, no date of publication, Author's preface
date 1936.Richard [.annoy, The SpeakingTree, London,
T' / T
P-E.E. Fernendo
tIRST CAUSE. fhis rs a problem which is not directly
c o n n e c t e dw i t h B u d d h i s m . w h i c h i n i t s d o c t r i n e s o [
FLAG, THE BUDDHIST
evolution and samsira docs not admit a "first". and
w h i c h i n i t s d o c t r i n e so f c o n d i t i o n a l i t y a n d d e p e n d e n t
o r i g i n a t i o nh a s n o p l a c ef o r a n " a b s o l u t ec a u s c " .B u t a s i n
p o p u l a r w r i t i n g s o n c o m p a r a t i v es t u d i e so f r e l i g i o n t h i s
s r r b j e c lo c c u r s f r e q u e n t l y ,i t w o u l d b e w e l l t o g i v e h e r c
some brief explanation o[ its implications and the
B u d d h i s t s t a n d p o i n ti n t h i s r e s p e c t .
A cause is that which produces an effect, and a first
c a u s ei s t h a t w h i c h p r o d u c c sa n e f f e c t w i t h o u t h a v i n g
b e i n g p r o d u c e d i t s e l f .T h e p r o d u c t i o n o f a n e f f e c tb y a n
a b s o l u t e c a u s ei s a s e l f - c o n t r a d i c t o r yc o n c e p t ,b e c a u s e
there is no causewhich is not related to its effect. lf it is
r e l a t e d .i t c a n n o t b e a b s o l u t e .l f t h e r ei s n o e f l e c t ,t h e r ei s
n o ( q u e s t i o no f a c a u s ec i t h e r .H e n c et h e r ei s a n i n h e r e n t
c o n t r a d i c t i o nb e t w e e na c a u s ea n d t h e a b s o l u t e A . nd yet,
t o b e a f i r s t c a u s e ,i . e . , a c a u s ew h i c h i s n o t c a u s e db y
s o m e t h i n g e l s e , w o u l d n e c e s s i t a t ea n a b s o l u t c s t a t e
without origin.
The Buddhist viewpoint is that in an ever-changing
p r o c e s st h e r e c a a a r i s ea p h a s eo f b e c o m i n g ,d e p e n d e n t
c n c c n d i t i o n e da n d c h a n g i n gp h e n o m e n aT. h i s p r o c e s s
o f c h : n g ed o c sn o t c o n t a i na n y s' u b s t a n c oe r e n t i t ya st h e
b e a r e r o [ p h e n ' - r m e n aa, n d c a n n o t , t h e r e f o r e , b e c o n -
s i d e r e da s h a v i n g a b e g i n n i n g ,w h i c h i s a s l a t i c p o i n t i n
t i m e . T h e r e f o r e ,t h e B u d d h a h a s s a i d t h a t t h e b e g i n n i n g
o f t h i n g s c a n n o t b e k n o w n , n o t b e c a u s eo f t h e e n o r m o u s
t i m e - e l c m e n tw h i c h w o u l d b e i n v o l v e d , b u t b e c a u s eo f
t h e i n h e r e n t c o n t r a d i c t i o no f a s t a t i cs t a r t i n g p o i n t i n a
d y n a m i c p r o c e s so f e v o l u t i o n . T h e p r o c e s si s t h e a c t i o n
a n d r e a c t i o no f p h e n o m e n aw h i c h a r e n o n e x i s t e n ti n t h e
a b s o l u t e s e n s e ,b u t w b i c h a r e a r i s i n g a n d c e a s i n g
c o n s t a n t l y , a r i s i n g f r o m p a s s i n gc o n d i t i o n s a n d g i v i n g
w a y t o n e w c o n d i t i o n s a r i s i n gf r o m t h e m . I n t h i s s e n s e ,
t h e r e f o r e ,t h e r ei s n o a b s o l u t eb e g i n n i n g ,b u t t h e p r o c e s s
i s r e l a t i v e l yb e g i n n i n ga n d c e a s i n ga l l t h e t i m e . S i m i l a r l y ,
t h s r e i s n o f i r s t c a u s ei n t h e s e n s eo f a n a b s o l u t ec r e a t i o n ,
b u t a c o n d i t i o n e d p r o c e s sw h i c h l a s n e i t h e r b e g i n n i n g
nor cnd, but which ri beginning and ending always.
H. G. A. van Zeyst
FLAG, THE BUDDHIST, and emblem or symbol of the
B u d d h i s t s o f S r i L a n k a _ ( C e y l o n ) ,f i r s t p u b l i c l y a n d
c e r e m o n i a l l yh o i s t e d a t D l p a d u t t a r a r a m a .K o t a h e n a b y
M i g e t t u w a t t cG u n a a a n d aT h e r a o n t h e V a i s h a k a( V e s a t )
d a y w h i c h f e l l o n 2 8 t h A p r i l , 1 8 8 5A . C . T h e F l a g 1 \ ' a sa n
i n d i r e c t r e s u l to f t h e B u d d h i s tr e v i v a l i s tm o v e m e n to f t h e
second half of the nineteenthcentury which occurred in
Sri Lanka as a result of a challengeto wcstcrn missionary
activities in the Island.
T h e i d e a o f a B u d d h i s t f l a g t o s y m b o l i z et h e u n i t y o f
t h e B u d d h i s t sa n d t h e t r i u m p h o f t h c B u d d h i s tr e v i v a l i s t
 FI,AG, TTIE BUDDHIST
movcment was con€ived by the membersof the Colombo
Committee which organised the Verak day celebrations
in 1880. This Committee consisted of the following
members;Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera (Chairman),
Ven. Migettuwatte Gunenanda Thera, Don Carolis
Hewavitharana, Muhandiram, A. P. Dharmaguna-
wardena, William de Abrew, Carolis Pujitha
Gunawardena (Secretary), Charles A, de Silva, N. S.
Fernando, Peter de Abrew and H. William Fernando.
In the words of Col. Henry StceleOlcott, "It was at this
time that our Colombo colleagueshad the hrppry thought
of devising a flag which would be adopted by all Buddhist
nations as the universal symbol of their faith. Our
Colombo brothers had hit upon the quite original and
unique idea of blending in the flag the six colours alleged
to have been exhibited in the aura of the Buddha."
The Buddhist flag was born on ITth April, 1885,when
it appearedfor the first time in the 'Sarasavi Sandaresa"
ncwspaper of that day. The proclamation did not name
t h e d e s i g n e r ,H o w e v e r ,i t r e f e r st o d e s i g n e r sA. s K . H . M ,
Sumathipala observed,"Perhaps the idea of a flag came
from one, the colouts camefrom another and so on. " The
Buddhist Theosophical Society in its Centenary Volume
in 1980 paid a tribute to Carolis Pujitha Gunawardena
w h o w a s t h e S e c r e t a r yo f t h e C o l o m b o C o m m i t t e e a s t h e
dcsigner of the Buddhist Flag. In 1928, the journal
"Sudanamina" referred to the same fact and identit-red
the designer of the Buddhist Flag. Ncvertheless, it is
accepted that members of the Committee appointed to
organise the Vesak celebrations in 1885 heve been
credited for the designing of the Buddhist Flag.
The Buddhist fl_agwhen published in 1885,consistedof
six colours; vu. nila (saphire-blue), pita(golden yellow),
Iohita (crimson), odita (white), maEjestha (scarlet), and
prabhisvara (mixture of these frve, biight and resplcn-
dcnt). The origin of thesecolours is attributed to the six
hued rays that emanated from tbe body of the Buddha
forming a fathom long halo. According to Col. Olcott,
thesesamecolours were used in the standard of the Delai
Lama of Tibet. The shapeof the flag was rectangular.(see
also AURA).
C o l . O l c o t t w h o w a s i n I n d i a w h e n t h e B u d d h i s t so f S r i
Lanka celebrated the first Vesak holiday under the
B r i t i s h r e t u r n e d t o t h e i s l a n d o n 2 8 t h J a n u a r y , 1 8 8 6 .H _ c
saw the Buddhist flag for the first time at the Di-
paduttararama,Kotahena.Olcott recordshis first impres-
sionsof the Buddhist flag in the following manncr; "As
the Colombo Committee had sketched the flag, it was of
the inconvenient shapeof a ship's long streaming pennant
which would be quite unsuitablefor carrying in procession
o r f i x i n g i n h o m e s . " H e t h e n s u g g e s e dt h a t i t s h o u l d b e
rnade of the usual shape and size of national flags and
w h e n a s a m p l ew a s m a d e , i t w a s u n a n i m o u s l y a p p r o v e d
251 FLAGS A}ID BANNERS
by the superior monks. Accordingly, the amended
Buddhist flag appeared in the "Sarasevi Sandaresa"on
8th April, 1886. This arnended flag was hoisted on the
Vesak day in l8b6 in almost every temple and manv
dwelling houses in Sri Lanka.
The flag was introduced to Japan in 1889,by Anagarika
Dharmapala and Col. Henry Steele Olcott and subse-
quently to Burma. It wasofficially acceptedas the flag of
the Buddhists all over the world on a request made by
Late Professor G, P. Melalasekera and was adopted by
the World Fellowship of Buddhists when they met in
Colombo in 1950. It now occupies the status of an
international Buddhist symbol. (see Pl. XI).
Bfb[osrrphy: H. S. Olcott, OId Diary Leaves, tbird
s e r i e s , 2 3 r de d i t i o n , p p . 3 5 1 , 3 6 3 , 3 7 4 ;B . 7 ' . S . C e n t e n a r y
l'olume(1980), p, 80; Sudanaminq Vol. 5, 1928.01.05, p.
80; K. H. M. Sumathipalq "The Kotahena Riots and
their Repercussions,' Ccylon Historical Joumal,Y ol, 19,
Nos. 14, July (1966-70),p.76.
K. D. G. Woahratrr
FLAGS AND BANNERS. Usually flags are made of
bunting or similar material of vario-usshapesand colours
and often marked with some kind of symbol, In keeping
with thcir shape they are called by different nemessuch as
banners,standards,pennonsand strcamers.The common
Pali terms are dhaja (Skt. dlva.Ta),patika and keru.
Flags originated, perhaps, from totemistic insignia of
people of early cultures. Their primary usagehas been to
express identity, superiority, self-essertion or victory.
From very early timer, however, flags have beenusedfor
both secular and religious purposes.
There is literary evidenceto show that flags are usedin
India for these purposes from very early times. The
Atharya-veda refers to the sun-flag (sirya-ketu). The
Mehibhirafamakes reference to the monley-flag (vanan-
kciu/. While Vrsabha-dhvaTa(the bul-fleg) is used as an
epithet of Siva, the god of love has the epithet makara
ketana (see ERE II, p. 349).
B u d d h i s t t e x t s t o o c o n t a i n a b u n d a n c eo f r e f e r c n c e tso
flags being used both on secularand religious occasions.
Numerous referencesand found to use of flags in the
battle field. The flag was the symbol of the chariot
(dhajorathassa paf,franam), for when the flag is seen at a
distance it enablesone to identify the king to whom the
chariot belonged The flag was used not merely as a
rallying point but also as a moral booster. The texts
describes how in the legendary wer between suras (the
gods) and asur* (demons), fear among the followers of
 FLAGS AND BANNERS
godsvanishedat the sigbtof the flag of Sakkaand other
leadinggods.(,S.t, pp. 42, 218f; SA. L p. 97; J. VI. p,
ue).
The use of flags in celebration of importsnt ev€ntstoo
wat common in India and texts make referenceto such
occasions.Thus, when Mahimayi went to her parental
home for confinement the road from Kapilavistu to
Dcvadaha was decorated with flags and banners (L L, p.
32). Vimiaavetthu Atthakatbi mentions how a house-
holder decorated a paviiion which he built to receivethe
Buddha and his disciplesw , i t h f l a g s a n d b a n n e r s( V i n A .
p. 173). Apadana (I, p. I08 f; records instanceswhere
flags were uscd to honour the Bodhi-tree and the Buddha.
It mentions two monks. one who honoured the Bodhi-tree
of Padumuttara Buddha and another who paid homage
to Tissa Buddha with flags. Thesetwo are aptly referred
to as Dhajadayakadonors of flags.
The use of flags on secular and religious occasionsis
quite common in Sri Lanka, The Mahivamsa (xrxi. v.
42f.) refers to one thou:rnd and eight vouths in festal
array, carrying multi-cci.:ured flags,accoilipanvil,gKing
Dutthagimani when he went for the enshrinement of
relics in the Mehithilpa. On the occasion of the grand
fcstival calleC Giribhanda-p[ja, in the reign of King
M a h i d a t h i k a M a h a n a g a ( ? - 1 9A . C . ) , t h e r o a d s a r o u n d
the Cetiyapabbata were decorated with flrys (Mhv.
'i
xxxiv, v. 761 he SinhalaBodfu'vsmsaya (p, 179 ff) says
that flags were extensivelyusedto decoratethe path; both
in India and Sri Laakqon the occasion of the arrival of
the branch of the Bodhi-trec, and that at the end of the
c e r e m o n y t h e k i n g a p p o i n t e d a l e a d i n g h o u s e h o l d e rt o
r a i s eg o l d a n d s i l v e rb a n n e r st o t h e B o d h i - t r e e .T h e s a m e
source records flags being used at ceremoniesperformed
to mark the Buddha's descent from Tavatimsa heaven
aft:r preachingthe Abhidhamme and also on the occasion
of planting the Anandabodhi as well as wheD Mahavihsra
was dedicatedto the Sairgbaby King Devinampiyatissa,
The fact that the use of flags in honouring the stlpas is
en age old practice is seenby a representationfound on
the railings of the Bharhut stipa(cir. 2nd cen. B.C,). This
representation depicts a st[pa with two streamers on
either sidc of the chattra. On such occasionswhether flags
were used purely for decorative purposes or as votive
objects is not quite clear, However, in Sri Lanka, even at
present, flags are generally used as votive offerings to
Bodhi-treesB , u d d h as t a t u e sa n d s t i l p a sa n d t h i s c o u l d b e
a practice that has its origin in very early times.
Flags are also usedin religious processionsand this is a
r en c o n s p i c u o u sf e a t u r e i n r e l i g i o u s p r o c e s s i o n so f S r i
Lalka
H. R. Perera
252 FLOWERS
FIIOWERS. The use of flowers for purposes of personal
adornment, decoration, veneration, etc. has been preva-
lent from very early time as a feature of various cultures
of the world. This has been a very prominent feature in
Indian Culture and in the cultures of other countries thet
cnme under the influence of Buddhism.
It is the fragrance and the natural beautv of flowers
with their variegated hues and shapesthat attracted the
ettention of the peoplc. The earliest use of flowers
appears to heve been for personal adornment. Use of
garlands and chaplers made of flowers has been a
common feature among all socicties.As the use of flowen
spread they were used for decorative purposeson festive
and other important occasions. to show veneration,
respect and honour to those deserving such esteem and
also as objects of votive offerings.
The practice of using flowers for personal adornment
later developed into a much cherished feature of the
mcmbers of the affluent classes.The wide prevalenceof
t h i s p r a c t i c ei n l n d i a b y t b e t i m e o f t h e B u d d h a i s e v i d e n t
from the referencesfound in Buddhist texts to florists.
(malakara D. l, p. 5l) who provided flowers to a rich and
well to do clientale(cf. also Pv.II, p.4). The demand was
not only for flowcrs but also for other products made out
of flowers; flower-pillows and cushions (puppha-
c um b attak a m-alEguI a) fl ower p arasol s (p upph a-ch atta)
etc. Flowers were used even to be spread on beds and
couchesto obtain a cool, soft, comforting effect. It is also
seenthat the richer classesof lndian society took pride in
maintaining pleasure groves (ujiana) planted with
flowering treesand fruit trees.There wcre garden-keepers
(ujjana-p1laka) appointed to see to their proper
m a i n t e n a n c ea n d p r o t e c t i o n ,( J . [ , p p , 1 2 0 , I 4 9 ; I I , 1 0 4 ,
105 etc.) The birth of the Bodhisattva as well as the
P a r i n i r v a n a o f t h e B u d d h a t o o k p l a c ei n a g r o v e o f S a l a
(Shorea robusta) fl owers,
The antiquity of the practice of offering flowers or
garlandsmade of flowers irsa gestureshowing veneration,
honour and respectis well attestedin literature as well as
sculptural reprcsentation. Though malE (flowers
or garlands made of flowers) is included among the items
of gifts to the brahmins and sarnanas(4. lV , p. 239), it is
clear that the bhikkhus were not expectedto usc flowers
for adornment. Abstention from the use of mili, scents,
o i n t m e n t e t c .i s o n e o f t h e t e n p r e c e p t su n d e r t a k e sb y t h e
bhikkhus (Vin.l, p. 83).The Buddha himself is said to
have been one who abstainedfrom the use of these(D. [.
p.5). The precept as well as the Buddha's conduct in this
regards shows that the use of flowers, perfumes etc. for
personal adornment was not allowed for the bhikkhus.
But this does not mean that the devoteeswere prevented
from demonstrating their veneration and respect by
offering flowers. The Kali'ngabodhi JVtaka (J.lY , p.228)
 FLOWERS
say! that the people were in the hebit of coming to
Jetavana carrying perfumes, garlands etc. to offer to ttrc
Budddha Erorn this Jltaka it could be surmised rhat
once the Ananda Bodhi wes planted the devotees
consideredit as asymbolic representationof the Buddha,
and in the absenceof the Buddhq nrade their offerings to
the Bodhi tree. The Mahiparinibbina sutu (D. l. p. 159)
describes how the Mallas of Kusindri took perfumes,
garlands etc. and went to the Sila Grove, wherc Iay the
rcmains of the Buddhn, to pay homage and veneration. [n
Sifici there are sculptural representationthat depict the
event of the attainment of Enlightenment at which
celestial beings are depicted as offering garlands and
trays fulf of flowers (see The Way of the Buddha,Govt. of
lndia, I956, p. 70, pl. 76). The event of the preaching of
the lDhammacakkappavattana Sutta too is _similarly
depictedin sculpture at Bharhut and Amarivati. [n these
sculpturcs too celestial beingsare representedas making
offerings of flowers and garlands (see EncyB lnr. Vol. I,
PI. XXXIV, II, PI. LXXVIII).
The Apadana contains accounts of a number of
arahants who in their previous births arc said to have
offered flowers to the former Buddhas. The Arahant
Puppha cangotiya is said to have sprinkled flowers over
Sikhi Buddha (Ap. I, p. ll8). The Arahant Puppha-
chattiya is said to have made a parasol of flowers which
h e h e l d o v e r S i d d h a t t h aB u d d h a ( i b i d . p . 2 6 4 f ) . A n o t h e r
arahant Pupphathfipiya is said to have made a th[pa of
f l o w e r si n h o n o u r o f V i p a s s iB u d d h a ( i b i d . p . 1 5 5f . ) . T h e
arahant Pupphadhara is said to have held a canopy of
flowers over Sikhi Buddha while arahant Pupphasaniya
made a flower seatfor Siddhattha Iluddha (ibid. pp.2M,
254). Such offering of flowers specially to the Buddha is
consideredan extremely meritorious act.
lt is apparent that the offering of flowers to demonstratc
respect and veneration is not a practice af Buddhist
origin, but it goes back to further antiquity and adopted
by the Buddhists. Whilc adopting this popular practice
the Buddhists, however, have given it a totally new
dimension, While retaining its original objective of
showiag veneration they make use of it as an exercisein
meditation. At the time of offering flowers the devotees
are expected to contemplate on the impermanency of all
phenomena, and to help such contemplation the flowers
that are offered are used on objects of contemplation.
The devoteesare a.skedto contemplate on the withering
of flowers and through that to reflect on the evanescent
nature of everything. The stanza uttered on the occasion
of offering flowers to the Buddha helps to achie're this
objective..
frjemi buddham kusumenbna
Puflfrena metena ca hotu mokkham
Puppham miliyiti yathE hi dhamme
Kiyo tathi yiti uinasabhivam
253 F'LOWERS
Venn a-gaadh a gun opettgt etam kusuma santatiro
Puj ayEai m un i n dassa siri pad asaro ruh c
With this flower I wonhip the Buddhn
May the merit accrued therefrom brrng about my
freedom
Just as the flower withers away according to nature
Similarly the body, too, wiihers away
With this colourful fragraat garland of flowers I
worship the lotus like feet of the Buddha.
Not only the Buddba but also the Bodhi tree (as a
piriphogika cetiya, a relic of personal use of the Buddha)
and the thlpa (as s,seririka-&f.r/s becauseit contains the
bodily relics of the Buddha) too have become objects of
such veneration.
In Buddhist countries,even at present,flowers are pro.
fuscly used for the same purposes for which they were
used in ancient times. These practices are very comrnon in
Sri Lanka, where devoteesalways make it a point to take
flowers when they go to the temple to worship. Specid
daises called 'mal asanas' erccted for the purpose of
placing the floral offering, are found in all temples.These
mal isanas arefound in the shrine room, at the th[pa and
also near the bodhi-tree. The devoteesafter repeatingthe
stanzss and contemplating in the said manneri place the
flowers on the dajs. Normally on full-moon days these
malEsanasoverflow with flowers offered by the devotees.
On the occasions of Bodbi Puji, too, flowers are
profusely used, devoteesoffering festoons and trays full
of flowers.
Similarly flowers are usedin other Buddhist countries.
This is speciallyso in Japan where under the influence of
Zen Buddhism offering of flowers has almost becomc
:ult. A special ceremony called the Hanamasturi is held
on the 8th of April to celebratethe Birth of the Buddha.
The appreciation of the flowers in these countries is
seenalso from their extensiveusein art and architecture,
as well as referenceto them in literature. Floral designs
are a common feature in all forms of art. Buddhist
literature abounds in similes connectedwith flowers (sce
JPTS. 1907, p. l?j)
Fcr the Buddhists the lotus seem to be of special
significanceas an object ofvotive offering, the subjectof
floral design, ud also as a symbol of purity and
emancipation. The Buddhists in Sri Lanka consider the
offering of lotus flowers as e special offering. The lotus is
a common subject of very intricate, decorative floral
designsusually in temple art snd architecture.The origin
of the coDccpt of the lotus as the symbol of purity and
emancipation could be tracid to a simile employed of the
Buddba himself,
 FONDUKISTAN 254
As recorded in the Puppha Sutta or the Vaddha Sutta
of the Samyutta Nikaya (S. Ill, p. l38l) the Buddha
c o m p a r e sh i m s e l ft o a l o t u s . H e s a y s ," J u s t a s b r e t h e r e n a,
d a r k b l u e l o t u s o r a w h i t e l o t u s , b o r n i n t h e w a t e r ,c o m e
t o f u l l g r o w t h i n t h e w a t e r , r i s e st o t h e s u r f a c ea n d s t a n d s
u n s p o l l i e d b y t h e w a t e r , e v e n s o , b r e t h e r e n ,t h e T a t h a -
g a t h a ( h a v i n gb c e n b o r n i n t h e w o r l d ) h a v i n g c o m e t o f u l l
g r o w t h i n t h e w o r l d . p a s s i n gb e y o n d t h c w o r l d a b i d e s
unspollied by the world (cf . Kindred Sayngs,lIt, p. I l8).
i n p a s s i n gi t s h o u l d b e n o t i c e d t h a t t e x t s r e f e r a l s o t o
celestialflowers (dibbe puppha.)'Cf thesethe frequently
mentioned are the paricchattaka(the coral tree, Erythrina
Indica) which is said to be a flower of a tree growing in
I n d r a ' s h e a v e n( V i n , l , p . 3 0 ; A , I V , I l 7 f ) a n d M a n C a r a v a
(the cora! tree, Erythrina fulgens).The Mahiparinibbana
,Surra records that there was a shower of Mandarava
f l o w e r s w h e n t h e B u d d h a l a i d h i m s e l fd o w n b c t w e e nt h e
t w i n S a l a t r e e sj u t p r i o r t o h i s P a r i n i b b a n a .( D . I , p . 1 3 7 ) .
S. K. Nanavakkara
FONDUKISTAN, a site of Buddhistic importance in
Afghanistan, not very far from Bamiyan. It was a resting
p l a c ea l o n g t h e r o u t e f r o m G a n d h a r at o C h i n a t h r o u g h
C e n t r a l A s i a a t i t s w e s t e r n m o s t e r m i n u s( S e c k e l ,A r t o l '
B u d d h i s m , A r t o f t h e W o r l d S e r i e s ,L o n d o n , 1 9 6 4 ,p p .
62f.).
B u d d h i s t f i n d s f r o m F o n d u k i s t a n , a r e e x t r e m e l vf e w
a n d h a v e b e e n d i s c o v e r e df r o m t h e s i t e o f a n i s o l a t e d
monastery,but they are of high artisticvalue. Among
t h e m i s a t e r r a - c o t t ab o d h i s a t t v af i g u r e a s s i g n e dt o t h e
7th century A.C, B. Rowland (the Art and Architenure
of India, Great Britain, I956, p 103) in describing this
figure states: "The perfect realization of this entircly
relaxed and warmly voluptuous body, sunk in sensuous
reverie,is asexquisite as anything to bc found in the art of
Gupta lndia. The modelling, in its definition of softness
of flesh and precision of ornament, is only the final and
entirely typical accomplishmentof a tradition going back
to the beginningsof Indian Art,'C. Sivaramamwti (2500
l'ears of Buddhism, Govt. of lndia, 1956, p. 295)
d e s c r i b e st h i s a n d o t h e r b o d h i s a t t v a f i g u r e sf r o m F o n d u -
Listan as wearing flowing garmenls on their youthful
bodieswhich are so modelled a-sto suggestsoftnessto the
touch and bcing seemingly animated and having a rare
E r a c et h a t i s s e e n i n G u p t a w o r k s o f a r t o f t h e c o r r e s -
^^-.,r:-- ^.;^,{
FL,rrur./5
From Fondukistan has aiso bcen found a fragmentary
Buddha wbich is a.lsoof intercst both stylistically and
i c o n o g r a p h i c a J l y 'B . R o w l a n d ( l o c . c i t . ) c o n s i d e r st h i s
FONDUKISTAN
figure as a reflexion of the Gupta st1'lein severalaspects.
T h e h e a d i s a c o m p r o m i s c b e t w e e nt h e d r y , m a s k - l i k e
treatment of Gandhara and the fullness of Kushan
B u d d h a s a n d t h e h a i r i s r e p r e s e n t e db y s n a i l - s t r e lcl u r l s ,
f o l l o w i n g t h e o r t h o d o x l n d i a n s t y l e ,T h e i ' o b e i s i n t h e
G a n d h a r a ns t y l eb u t t h e b o d i l y f o t m i s e n t i r e l y I n d i a n .
T h e m o s t s i g n i f i c a n t i c o n o g r a p h i c a lf e a t u r e o f t h i s
f i g u r e i s t h e p a i n t e d ,j a w e l - s t u d d e dc h a s u b l et h a t i t w e a r s
over the monastic robes.The figurr is aiso shown as
wearing heavy ornaments.
T h e s ea t t r i b u t e s ,s e e m i n g i yi n a p p r o p r i a t ef o r o r i e w h o
has renounced worldly riches are a symbolical device to
indicate that this is the Buddha in his transcendent,
glorified form, the apotheosisin which he revealshimself
t o t h e h o s t o f b o d h i s a t t v a s .B . R o w l a n d ( l o c . c i t . ) i s o f
opinion that it is quite possible that statues of the
Buddha, originally of Hinayana werelater transformed
i n t o M a h l y i n a i c o n s b y b e i n gd r e s s e du p i n a c t u a lj e w e l s
and garments.
I t i s a l s o t h e o p i n i o n o f C , S i v a r a m a m u r t i( o p . c i t . p ,
295) that this bejewelledBuddha from Fondukistan
represents a compromise between the emperor and
monk, perhapsan artistic representationof the prediction
b y a s t r o l o g e r so f t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e so f p r i n c e S i d d h i r t h a
b e c o m i n ge i t h e r a B u d d h a o r a u n i v e r s a lm o n a r c h .
This type of bejewelledBuddha is a special feature of
B u d d h i s t a r t f r o m F o n d u k i s t a n a n d i t i s p r e s u m e dt h a t
t h e m o r e c o m m o n c r o w n e d B u d d h a i n P a l a s c u l p t u r eo f
later times was a replica of this earlier Fondukistan
v a r i e t y , t h e o n l l ' s i g n i f i c a n td i f f e r e n c eb e t w e e nt h e t w o
categoriesbeing that rn the Fondukistan bejewelled
B u d d h a t h e c u r l s o f h a i r a r ei n t h e o r t h o d o x s t y l ew h e r e a s
t h e P a l a f i g u r e sh a v e a c r o w n , F i g u r e so f t h e b e j e w e l l e d
B u d d h a b e l o n g i n gt o t h e p e r i o d f r o m 8 t h - l 2 t h c e n t u r y
A.C. arealsofound in lndia, Tibet, Nepal and lndonesia
( c p , a l s o C R O W N E D B U D D H A ) . S e c k e l( o p . c i t . p p .
62f) observes that the close similarity of Fondukistan
s c u l p t u r et o t h e l a t e G u p t a a r t s h o w st h e i n f l u e n c eo f t h e
latter on Fondukistan art and suggestswith some proba-
b i l i t y a d a t e n o t e a r l i e rt h a n t h e 7 t h c e n t u r y t o t h i s s i t e .
They also provide evidence of the continuous stimulus
afforded by lndia, According to B. Rowland (op. cit.
p.79) Fondukistan is one of the centrcs wherc the final
phase of Gandharan art was continued at least as late as
the 7th centuryA.C.
It is observed (B. Rowland, op. cit. p. ll3) that
sculptures of Kashmir of about the eighth century show a
close resmblance to the terra-cotta figurines from
Fondukistan. At Tumshuq, a site north of Khotan and
east of Kashgar terra-cotta reliefs and individual figures
are said to closely resemblc those from Fondukistan
(Seckel, op. cit, p. 66; Rowland, op. cit. p. 106).
 FOOD
The Fondukistan finds are among the most original
products of this northwestern border area.Their subjects
and types display the greatestvariety of lively modelling,
Thc sitc was discovered at the bcginning of the
twenticth century in the course of expeditions undertaken
by Aurel Stein, Albert Grunwedel, Albert von Le coq,
Paul Pelliot and others, Most of the finds discovered by
them ere presently exhibited in the museums in London,
Paris, Bcrlin and New Delhi (Seckel, op. cit. pp. 62f).
H. R. Perere
F(X)D. Material or physical food (kabali'nkare-ahara),
being a primary nged for life itself, constitutes the
physical basis of ell action. It is food that nourishes lhe
eightfold corporeality namely the solid, liquid, heat,
motion, colour, odour the taste and the nutrient essence
(Vrcm. p. 341).
Food is divideC into various categories. A basic
categorization is into solid and gross food (olirika) and
fine and equisite food (sukht,ma), Khajjaand bhojjatoo
appeer to denote the sarne division. A further sub-
division of this is khajja, bhojja, Ieyya (to be sipped) and
perya (to be drunk). What is eaten (asita), drunk (pita)
chewed (khayita) and what is tasted (sayita) also is a
similar division.
From this it is clear that food, in thc broader senser
constitute not only of what is eaten, but also of what is
drunt. Hence the common term (anna-pina (food and
drink) could be taken as another term for food in general,
though pana by itsclf could mean water (cf, Sn, v. 485,
487)
The ^Sutfanipita atthakatha explains anra as gruel,
rice etc, (yagubhattEdi: SnA. p, 378). In meaning, anna-
pinais similar to anna-bhojana, bhojanain this instance
d e n o t i n gs o f t o r m o r e l i q u i d l i k e f o o d . ( D h p . v . 2 4 9 , T , I ,
p.20$.
While food is a basic necesslity of life, the Buddha
points out that over eating leads to physical discomfort,
ill-health and dulling of sense faculties. Thus, on one
occasion the Buddha, observing King Pasenadi Kosala,
who came to seehim, breathing heavily and puffing after
a heavy meal, uttered this stanza.
"To sons of men who ever mindful live
Measure observing in the food they take
All minished becomesthe power of sense
Softly old age stealson, their days prolonged"
It is recorded that the King, when he heard this stanza,
asked his nephew who was with him to memorize it and
repeat it regularly at dinner time. This, it is said, helped
255 FOUR-FOLD ALTERNATIVES
the king to moderate his eating-habits and maintain his
figure and health. (S. I, p.8l; Gradual sayinrsd p. t08).
Abs temious ncss(b h oj anem atafr f, u ta) is much emp ha-
sised by the Buddha. He strongiy reccmmended the
monks to be moderate in esting. The Buddha explains
that partaking of alms food sbould bc neither for
pastime, nor for indulgence,nor to become beautiful or
hendsorne,but merelv to maintain and support the body,
to avoid harm and to assist noble lile. (A. I. p. llH)
The Buddha usesfood evcn as an object of meditation,
which we call 'the reflection on the loethesomenessof
food' (ihare patikilasafifla). [n the practice of this
meditation one has to resort to a solitary spot und rcflect
and review the repulsivenessof food in ten aspects,The
proccssinvolved in this meditation is elaborately discusscd
inthe Visuddhimagga, chapter xi. Further seeAHARA,
BHOJANA.
H. G. A. van Zeyst
FORBEARANCE"SeeKHANTT
FORFEITI.IRE.
SCCNISSAGGIYA PACITTIYA
F0RM. SeeRUpl
FOUR-FOLD ALTERNATIVES,C'atuskoti, rhe four-
fold alternatives occuring in Buddhist texts, has been
variously referred to by writen as the Buddhist four-fold
I o g i c ( H o f f m a n , 1 9 8 2 ) ,t h e B u d d h i s t t e l t r a l e m m a( S t a a l ,
1976),the four-cornered negationsin lndian Philosophy
( R a j u , 1 9 5 3 )a n d t h e B u d d h i s t d i a l e c t i c ( l t l u r t i , I 9 5 5 ) .
Catuskoti statementsoccur both in early lJuddhist and
M ahiyana w:itings. [n particuiar, tbea+yal afa qucstions,
t h e q u e s t i o n s o n w h i c h t h e B u d d h a o b s e r v e ds i l e n c e ,
occur in the form of.catuskoti alternativr:s, For example,
the followin g catuskoti is an atyakata,
The world is eternal
The world is not eternal
The world is both eternal and not eternal
The world is neither eternal nor not eternal (Digha-
nikaya I, p, I3 ff, The fourth alternativeis not seenthere,
but appearsin later literature).
The origin and development, the logical form and its
interpretation and the applications of catuskoti have
 FOUR-FOLD ALTERI{ATIYES 256 FOUR.FOLD ALTERNATIVES

d r a w n t h e a t t e n t i o no f t h e s t u d e n t so f B u d d h i s mt i m e a n d c a t u s k o t i ( K e i t h , 1 9 2 3 ,p . 3 0 3 , S t a a l , 1 9 1 6 ,p . 1 2 4 ) a s
again. Thc present article will deal with each of these s o m es t a t e m e n t sa s c r i b e dt o h i m a p p e a ri n t h i s f o u r - f o l d
three aspects. form.

The Ortglns of Catuskod: Two other systems of state- B u t S a f f j a y a ' sv i e w s a r e k n o w n o n l y t h r o u g h B u d d h i s t

ments current in lndia during and probably before t e x t s a n d i t i s p o s s i b l et h a t t h e B u d d h i s t si n - n o v a t e da n d
Buddha's life time show striking similarities with a d o p t e d t h i s f o u r - f o l C s c h e m ea n d e x p r e s s e dt h e d e n i a l s
catuskotia,lthoughthesealso are seento diffcr from it in of thc Sceptic Safljaya in catuskoti form (Jayatilleke,
fundamental aspects.The two systemsare the svidvada 1 9 6 3 ,p . 1 3 8 ) .
of the Jains and the five-fold negationsof the Sceptics'
The four dternatives in the catuskoti are very likely
The saptabhangi ot the seven-fold predication of the based on the differcnt views about'subjects such as the
Jains, which gives expression to syidvida or non- w o r l d , t b e s o u l , c a u s a t i o na n d m o r a l l i f e e x i s t e n ta m o n g
a b s o l u t i s m ( a n e k a n t a ) , c o u r l db e i l l u s t r a t e d b y t h e the various groups at the time.
following example.
Alex Wayman, for example, has maintained that the
The pot certainly (evy' exists in some respect(syad)' views on causation in the caf us^ko&alternativesrepresent
T h e p o t c e r t a i n l yd o e s n o t e x i s t i n s o m e r c s p e c t ' respectively the Samkya, the tivaravadin, the Nyaya
The pot certainly existsand does not exist in some VaiSeska and Lokiyata views (Wayman, 1977, p. I l).
rcsp€ct, And jayatilleke too has expressedthat the alternatives
The pot certainly is indescribablein some respect. are drawn from the views in actual existenceat the time
T h e p o t c e r t a i n l y e x i s t sa n d i s i n d e s c r i b a b l ei n s o m e (Jayatilleke, 1963,p. 344).
respect.
T h e S c e p t i c sr e j c c t e dt h c a s s e r t i o no f a n y o f t h e f o u r
in
T h c p o t c e r t a i n l yC o e sn o t e x i s ta n d i s i n d e s c r i b a b l e
altcrnatives, as it was not-possibleto know the truth of
somerespect.
any of them. The Buddhists at times re,iectedall the four
vii, The pot certainly exists and does not exist and is
alternativcs explicitly (Kaccayanagotta Sutta, 5. Il, p.
i n d e s c r i b a b l ei n s o m e r e s P e c t '
l6f.) and at times implicitly (Buddha's silence on
The Ancient Indian Sceptics,some of whom also lived avyikata questions) but they also accepted one (or
a t t h e t i m e o f t h e B u d d h a a n d J a i n a s a i n t sl i k e M a h a v i r a more) eleternative(s)to be true in some cases.
( 6 t h c e n t u r y B , C . ) h a d a f i v e - f o l d s y s t e mo f n e g a t i o n ,i n
contrast with the seven-foldsystem of affirmation of the t oglcd form and Interpretadon: Much of the interest in
Jains, The five alternativesin this negation take the form: the catuskofr has been generated by the problematic
nature oh iti togical form and its interpretation' If we
i, I do not s a ys o
take, for example, the avYakata.
ii. I do not saythus
iii. I do not say otherwise i. The world is finite
iv. I do not sa.yno ii. The world is infinite
v. I do not say'no,no'. iii. The world is both finite and infinite
iv. The world is neither finite nor infinite (Digha nikayal
The cafusfrorr, the Jaina sanfabhangi and the five- pp. 22-3) it appears as though (i) the third alternative
fold negations of the Scepticsseem to be three forms o[ is self-contradictory and (ii) the fourth is equivahnt to
a t e r n a t i v ew a y s o f p r e d i c a t i o n w h i c h w e r e i n u s e a t t h e the third and hence is also self-contradictory, if the
time and theseseem to have had some affinity. The first Laws of Excluded Middle and Double Negation are
four alternativesof the saptabhairgi correspond closely opcrative. This has led to much controversy and the
to the four alternatives of the caruskotu. Again, it has views expressedon this could be summarised in the
been argued, for example, bV k. i, Jayatilleke, following menner.
( J a y a t i l l e k e ,1 9 6 3 , p p . 1 3 7 - 8 )t h a t t h e f i r s t f o u r o f t h e
i i v e - fo l d n e g a t i o n so f t h e S c e p t i c sc o u l d b e v i e w e da st h e (a) Catuskorr statemcnts ignore the laws of thought
negations of the first four alternativesof the catuskoti. a n d h e n c ec a n n o t b c u n d e r s t o o d( P o u s s i n ,1 9 1 7 ,p .
\ { o r e o v e r , J a y a t i l l e k ei n d i c a t e st h e r e t h a t e x c e P tf o r t h e r1 r ) .
S c e p t i c s 'w i t h h o l d i n g o f j u d g e m e n t o n t h e b a s i s c f (b) Carus.kori statements Bre expressions of the Laws
unknowability of any situation, thc Jaina saptabha'ngi of Thought (Mrs. Rhy Davids,EREVol. 8, pp' 133
a n d t h e S c e p t i c s ' n e g a t i o n s e e m t o c o r r e s p o n dt o e a c h B a r u a ,1 9 2 t ,p . 4 7 ) .
o t h e rq u i t ew e l l , (c) Catuskoti statements constitute a mutually
exclusive and together exhaustive disjunction which
S o m e s c h o l a r st h i n k t h a t t h e S c c p t i cS a f i j a y aB e l l a t t h i -
can be analysedin terms of a Boolean classalgebra.
p u t t a w a s t h e i n i t i a t o r o f t h e f o u r - f o l d p r e d i c a t i o no r t h e
 FOI]R-FOLD ALTERNATTYES
They are, to an extent, related to the Aristotellian
A,E,I,O forms. Catwkoti also has a pedagogical
u s e ( R o b i n s o n , 1 9 5 7 ,b . j O : 1 .
(d) Cafus*otr statcments constitute a mutually exclu-
sive and together exhaustive disjunction. They can
be analysed in terms either or both non-quantified
end quantified propositions, and it constitutes a
"two valued logic of four-alrernarives" (J ayatilleke,
I 9 6 3 ,p . 3 3 9 ) .
(e) C^afuskotrstatementsdo not always exhibit consis-
tent logical form, They must be understood by the
purposes for which they werc employed. There are
threee kinds of Catuskoti :
i. a disjunctive system
ii. an instrument of meditation on causation
iii, an instrument of meditation on existence.It is a
dialectic rf negation which rejectsreason and/
or leads to tr uth (Wayman, 1977, pp. 4ff, 14 ff).
(f) Catuskoti is besi r;garded not as a statement, but
as a pedagogicalor therapeuticdevice.Yet, it is not
to be considered an irrational system, for the
irrationality is avoided when the predicate occurring
in the alternativesis not taken in the same sensein
all the alternatives. In. the caseof Nagirjut q he may
have accepted some contradictions in his struggle
with the limitations of language and the miad
(Staal, 1976, p. 127).
(g) Catuskotr statements ceaseto have a contradictory
character when the negations are interpreted not as
pEryudasa but as prasajja pratisedha (Matilal,
1971,p. 164).
(h) Catuskofi statements, in general, cannot bc given
aDy symbolic or logical rtpresentation (except in
t;rms of intuitionistic logic, but this is irrelevant).
The cafuskofi merely shows that as long as one's
own view'is held to be ultimate one can never avoid
dogmatism. The carusfrotr is not a Buddhist logic;
Buddhists are only its critlcs and they rejectit. It is a
dialcctic which makes use of the fact that four
positions are possible in regard to eny statement.
The cafuskoti is applicable to metaphysical
speculation only (Chi. 1974, pp.295-98).
(il Catuskolr is a dialectic which shows the conllict in
r e a s o n( M u r t i , 1 9 5 5 ,p p . 4 O 4 t ) .
lt must be emphasized here that some of these
comments have beenmade consideringonly lhe catuskoti
occurring in early Buddhist literature, and some only
those in Midhyamika literature and a few considering
both.
Of these views (a) and (b) have been shown to be
implausible (Jayatilleke, 1963,pp. 333) and hardly need
consideration; (g) too has been well contested (Staal,
1976,p.126). The position in (h) that catwkoti cannot
257 FOUR.FOLD ALTERNATTVES
be given a symbolic or lngical representation,has been
constestedby the present writer (Guneratne, 1980).The
rest of the views, viz. (c), (d), {.eJ,(f} and (i) make oDe or
more of the following poiats.
i. The catuskoti is a disjunctivc system whose logical
form couid be studied.
ii. There is no irrrationality in the catuskoti-
statements.
iii. The catwkoti has a Cialecticalaspect.
iv, It has a pedagogicallspect"
It is possibleto substantiate(i) and (ii) by bringing out
what could be considered the logical form of catuskoti.
fuchard Robinson and R. S. Y. Chi gave some formula-
tions as representing the logical forms of the catwkoti,
but since these writers themselves later on admitted
weakneses in their formulations these need not be
considercd, Among others, K. N. Jayatilleke, in his
papers and the bookr, formulated a number of quantified
and non-quantified forms as giving rire logical form of the
alternatives in the carus,kodbut these were also found to
be not completely satisiactory (Gunaratne, 1980,pp.2l6
ff.). The work of Robinson, Staal, Chi, Jayatilleke and
many others brought out the view that thc predicates in
the different alternatives need not be and sbould not be
taken in the same sense and the alternatives are best
considered as contraries, The present writer, in a paper
published in 1980,developed two key forms which could
be considered as giving the logical form of catuskoti
occurring in early Buddhism. Tbe forms are in terms of
class logic and the lirst form, mcant for cafustotj with
singular statements, is
( i )x E 4 n B
( i i )x E A n B
( i i i )x E 4 n !
( i v )X E A n B
w h e r e ' E ' s t a n d sf o r ' i s a m e m b e r o f ' , O f o r c l a s sp r o d u c t ,
X for an individual thing, say, the world and A, for
example, the classfor all things which have finite sspects
and B, the cl_assof all things which have infinite aspects
and A and B are the complements of A and B respcct-
ively. On this notation the symbolization given above
represents the four alternatives in the cafus,koll.
The world is finite
The world is infinite
The world is finite and infinite
The world is neither finite nor infinite.
The symbolization will mean that the hrst alternative
states that the world has finite aspects but no infinite
aspects,the secondthat the world has infinite aspectsbut
no finite aspectsand the rhird that it has both finite and
infinite espects.The fourth alternative could mean that
'finite' and 'infinite'
do not apply to any aspect of the
 FOTJR-FOLDALTERNATIVES 258
world. The symbolization gives a mutually exclusive and
together cxhaustive set of four statements for the four
alternatives of the catwkoti.
For sentenceswhich could be gilen an interprctation
which turn the alternatives out to be univcrsal proposi-
tions the following symbolizationrof the alternativeswas
given.
( i )x n ( { n n ; : s
(it Xn(AnB):0
( i i i )x n ( 4 n ! ) = 0
( i v )X n ( A n B ) : 0
This symbolization can represent catusfrotr Ike
The soui is wholly happy
The roul is wholly unhappy
The roul is wholly h"ppy and unhappy
The soul is neither happy nor unhappy
Wbich could bc given a universel interpretation to read
AII souls nre wholly happy
All souls are wholly unhappy and so on.
X bere is the class of all souls, A the class of all things with
happy espects and B the calss of all things with unhappy
'o'symbolizes
aspccts and the null class.
Here again we get a mutually exclusiveand a together
exheustiveset of statements,While "infinite"and "finite"
thus turn out to just opposite in the earlier exarnple,
"happy" and "unhappy" are opposites in thc last
synmple.
T h e s e t w o f o r m s , n a m e dx a n d p , c o u l d b e m a d e t o
apply to most of the catuskolr and theseand a few other
symbolizations outlined in that paper could provide the
logical form of the catuskofi in early Buddhism.
F. J. Hoffman, in two morc reeent publications has
given an interpretation which evadesthe contradictions
in the third and fourth alternatives, on iines somewhat
similar to that taken in the symbolizations given above,
but without the formalizations given here and probably
unewere of the same. Hoffman says, "I think they can be
understood properly as existential statements viz., there
existsan X such that y obtains, there exists a X such that y
does not obtain but z cbtains, there exists an X such that
y obtains (in part) and z obtainr (in part), there exists an
X s u c h t h a t n e i t h e ry n o r z o b t a i n s ." ( H o f f m a n , 1 9 8 2 ,p .
3-l3). Hoffman's approach seems corrcct, but a more
ccmprrhensive and a formalized solution was given in the
p r e s e D tw i - i t e r ' se a r l i e rp a p s r .
le riew of the foregoing one is able to see that the
catwkoti could be understood as a logically consistent,
n u r u a . l l v e x c l u s i v ea n d t o g e t h e re x h a u s t i v eg e t o f a l t e r -
natr!es. Ihe catuskotr thus is also a disjunctive system
a l d a t i e a s t i n . " i l t b u a d h i s m , t h e a l t e r n a t i v e ra r e n o t
FOUR.FOLD ALTERNATIVES
each true in turn from different standpoints as in the case
of the Juna syadvida. But there are rare examples of
catuskoti - where all four mutually exclusive slter-
natives are true and are together exhaustive. Such an
example is the following:
Some persons are tormentors of themselves
(Ya) Some (other) pesonsarc tormentors of others
(Yet) Some (other) persons torment themselves and
others
(Yet) Some (other) persons neither torment themselves
nor torment othen (M.1, p. 3al).
It has been ergued by the present writer that this
catuskoti can be symbolized by form a (i.e., X E A n B
and so on, seeGunaratne 1980,pp, 226-7).It is clear thet
the Buddha considered that all the four alternativec of
this disjunction are true et the same time, although the
Buddha would have edvocated that beingsshould try to
attain the state described by the fourth alternative.
Cetuskotl of Ni girJune md the lV6dhyedka: The interest
in the cafuskotr was partly generatedby their occurreDce
in Nagarjuna's works. The Madhyamika rejects almost
all of the catuskoti but there is one exception, and this
anomalous case will be talen up later on.
The way in which catuskoti occur in Nag-arjuna's
works like the tlilamidhyaai*" X"tit; has led some
Western writers to Escribe an irrationality or a mysticism
to it. "Becauseof its explicitness,the Buddhi st catuskoti-
appeersto provide the strongestsupport for the view that
Indian philosophies and religionc tend to violete the
principle of non-contradiction and are, in that strong
sense, irrational. lf the tetralemma. however, can be
made good senseof by means of a simple and rational
interpretation, it becomes much more hazardous to
maintain the irrationalist intcrpretstion of Indian
thought end of oriental thought in general" writes Frits
Staal (Staal, 1976,p. 130)who thinks that such irrationa-
list interpretations should be laid to rcst.
There is evidence that Nigirjuna did not deny any
principles of logic (Robbinson, (1957)p. 307) and leastof
all the principle of non-contradiction, lndecd the full
weight of the reductio ad absurdum arguments in the
KArike rests on the invocation of that very principle.
Whether the Madhyamika rejectedthe Laws of Excluded
Middle and/ or Double Negation will be consideredin the
following.
The rationality of the Madhyamika system has been
defended in many ways. For example, Stanl (1975, pp.
40-53) maintains its rationality on two grounds. One is
that sincc the Midhyamika negatesall the catustod it is
not accepting any contradictory statemen$ occurring in
the third and fourth lemmas and henceit is not irrational.
The other ground is that, in Staal's contention, the
Madhyamika rejected the Laws of Excluded Middle and
 FOUR-FOLD ALTERNATIVES
Double Negation, so that the third ald fourth lcmmas
thereby ccste to be self-contradictory or equivalent, The
llrst of thesecontentions has a problcm in that there is at
least one catuskoti which does not seemto be negatedin
tbc Karika. As well noted by Staal, Robinson and
others, this is the verse,
Sanem tethyam na va tathyam citathyam eva ca
Naivitathyam naiva tathyam etad buddha-
n u.{-asaa am ( Mltl am a dhy am i k a K ari k a X V I I I . 8).
This versehas been variously translated.Robinson, for
example, renders it as "everything is real or unreal or
both real and unreal or neither real nor not unreal," This
anomalous case, as already indicated, will be taken up
later.
That the Midhyamika rejected the Laws of Excluded
Middle and Double Negation is, to say the least,
controversial.
It is true thet if theseprinciples were rejectedthe third
and fourth lemmas csasc to be self-contradictory or
equivalent. This has been well expounded and'defended'
by Murti (1955, pp. I46-4E) and he is quoted bere at
lcngh as the passagewill elso be useful for discussions
lrtcr on in this articlc.
"Another line of objection may be adopted to confute
the Midyemika. When one elternative ir reje6ed or
accepted the other is eo ipso accepted or rejectcd, elsethe
Law of the Excluded Middle \flould bc violated. The
M-dyamikaflagraatly violates this law at evcry step; wc
find him cuttint dowa all the laternatives that are, by
clooar of formel logic, both exclurive and exehustive.
For inrtance, four rlternetiver sre frn-ed by him with
rGFrd to causetion, but none is accepted;"Neither out of
themrelvcr not out of otherr, nor from both, nor at
rrndorn heve entitier comc into bcing rnlmhere." Ir not
the rcjcctioa of, srl},irytride (tdentily of cause and
cffcct) trntrmount to accepting asefllryavid*
(difference bctrccr crura ead this bcing the
"ff"ct)
contrrdictory? Docr Dot thc rcjcction of motion cDtail the
rcc"ptrDcc of rert this being itr meterial contradictory?
Tbe Mldhyemike rcjccr both.
Tbc M-dhyemika ir Dot the only rinner in rejecting the
Excludcd Middle. Kant docr not scccpt it when he
forouluar hir rntinomicr and rejectr both of them, e.g.,
"the world hrr e beginning in tpscc End time" and "the
world hrr qo ruch bcginning etc. " llcgel himsclf docs not
recognizc thc Law; hd he donc ro, he rhould hrve choren
eitbcr BcinS or Non-beiag inrtead of sceking e third.
No logicel flow ir involved in not obsening the
Excluded Middle. If any onc went! to vindicate this law,
he outadt only rerolvc the antinomies which a dialectic
prGrcntt, but rhow thet in rejccring one eltemative, wc do
ro by covertly rccepting itr contndictory or yicc-yersa."
259 FOUR.FOLDALTERNATIVES
All the same, Murti's (and Staal's)contention that
I t l a g i r j u n a ( M a d h y a m i k a ) r e j e c t e dt h e P r i n c i p l e o f E x -
c l u d e d M i d d l e s c er n si m p l a u s i b i ea n d i t i s n o t a c o n t c n t i o n
necessarylor the defenceof thr rarionality of Nagdrjuna's
system. The prcsent writer's niguments iGunaratne,
1986) indicatc ttiat Nagarjuna n*:t only acceptsthe
P r i n c i p l eo f E x c l u d e dM i d C i e b u ah c a l s os e e m sr o a c c e p t
t h c P r i n c i p l eo f D o u b l e N c g a t i o n "M o r e o v e r ,t h c r a t i o n a -
l i t y o f t h e s v s t e mi s n o t t o u c h e d b y t h i s s i t u a t i o n .
I t w o u l d b e b e t t e rt o o u t i i n c t h e r n a i n c o n t e n t i o n o f t h e
p a p e r r e f e r r e dt o ( i , e .G u n a r a t n e ,1 9 8 6 )t o a p p r e c i a t et h i s
position, It considersthat it is bestto view that catuskoti-
in the tv{utamadhayamika Karika as having a two
pronged interpretation; first, the early Buddhisr one,
s y m b o l i z a b l eb y f o r m s x a n d B o u t l i n e d e a r l i e r i n t h i s
article; Second, a Nagarjunian one, termeda(n and go,
which are in a sensethe limiting classcsof the symboli-
zations x and F when the two classesA and B used in
those symbolizations coalesceand reduce to one clasg.
say,A.
This suggestionha-stwo prcliminary bares. First, it is
important to empheize that, for centuries, catuskoti-
alternatives were entertainedbythe Indians and were not
thought to bc self-contradictory or causing logical
problems. They were understood and interpreted to be
such. (seee.g.,Staal 1976,pp, 127-8).Nagarjuna was well
varsed in the early Buddhist literaturc and he well knew
the interpretations which made these catuskotibe enter-
tained. Consider I stBtement kke'Nirvaaa ii both real
and unreal.'We could symbolize this by<rnd in form X
E A n B where X is Nrrvana, A is the class of all things
with reel aspectr and B is the clessof all things with unreel
arpectr. This symbolization, as indicated earlier, corres-
ponds to the early Buddhilt interpretetion.
Nagirjuna entertains this early Buddhist position in
the Kiriki,but he rejects this as self-contradictory. This
ir besausefor him, and in the caseof more general type of
predicatc like 'real'that he considen-(ike those in the
avyika0) - the predicate has to be asscrted of the whole
subject. This is noted by Robinson (Robinson, 1967,p.
54) who says, -It is a striking feature of the ^Sranzesthat
all predicat?s teem to be asserted totally of the whole
subject. Exirtential qulntificetions are denied because
tbe discusrion ir concerned, not with the denial or
eflirmation of commonsense assertions srrch es "some
fuel ir burning, and some is not" but with the conccptsof
own being and essence. r#hat perteins to part of an
arcDce murt of courEepertain to the whole 6!ence.'
ln early Buddhism the different or "oppoiite"
charocteristia ot dhatma marks were considered to be
ebh to cocxirt in the same object. A rituetion of thet
nrture has no room in NCgirjunab philosophy of
rclativicm end dinyata- Tbe minimum that is required for
 FOUR.FOLD ALTERNATIVES 260
\ a g a r j u n a ' s a c c o u n ts e e m sn o t t o b e t h e s t r o n g p o s i t i o n
that there are different qualities in an object, then each of
thesequalities has to be one with the object through and
through. This disallows contradicrory predicates being
predicated of the same thing.
Thus, although there can be two classesA and B, where
A is the class of all things with real aspcctsand B is the
class of all things with unreal aspects,the members of A
and B will have to be different; that is. the same member
c a n n o t b e l o n g t o b o t h A a n d B . F o r t h e o p p o s i t ew i l l s a y
that some objects have both "being real" and "being
u n r e a l " t h r o u g h a n d t h r o u g h o r e l s eh a v e b o t h o f t h e m a s
esseDces. That cannot be, for "real" and "unreal" cannol
be in the same place at the same time. [f the two
predicatesexist in one thing they have to be one with that
thing and with each other. But how could "real" end
"unreol" be one with each other? This is the basis on
which Nagarjuna saysthat nirvana cannot representthe
place of reality and nonreality simultaneously,
T h i s m a k e st h e t w o c i a s s e sA a n d B m u t u a l l y e x c l u s i v e
E n d " r e a l " a n d " u n r e a l " c o n t r a r y p r e d i c a t e s l. t c a n n o w
be argued that it is proper to consider the classesA and B
corresponding to predicates lile *real' and 'unreal' as
having been considered by Nigarjuna to be together
exheustive as well.
What has to be shown is that "reel" end "unreal"
cannot be denied together of an object, according to
Nagarjuna. That would amount to showing that "not
reel" and "not unreal" could not be assertedof the same
object. That this was Nagarjuna's view is seen by the
following considerations.
Nagarjuna was aware that there is logical similarity
between the third and the fourth dternatives. Thus, for
example, in the case of the predic'ates"limited' and
"nonlimited", he says:"If both the limited and the non-
limited could be established (conconiitantly) then,
similarly, neither the limited nor the non-limited could
also be establishedat wi-ll.'(lnada, 1970,p. 17l).
This clearly indicatesthat while limited end nonlimited
could not be predicated together (as this leads to
contradiction), "neither the limited nor the nonlimited"
also could not be predicated of a thing (as this also leads
to contradiction). For the argument, in effect,saysthat if
you establish one contradiction (the third alternative),
vou could prove the other contradiction (the fourth
a.ltcrnative).
The argument is general enough, and this shows thet,
(X is) rcal and (X is) unreal
ar well as Dot (X is) real and not (X is) unreal
are contrad ictioDs,making "reel" aDd'unreal"contradic-
tory-predicates,This shows that A (the classof all objects
with real aspects) and B (the class of all objects with
FOUR-FOLD ALTERNATryES
unreal aspects) are mutually exclusive and together
exhaustive. Thus B reduces to A, the cornplement of A.
That Nagarjuna considered real and unreal as
exheustive of the universeof discourseis strikingly seen
in versesl5 and 16,in the examination of nimina. Inada
(1970) renders these verses as, the proposition that
ninana is neither existencenor nonexistence could only
be valid if and when the realms of existence and
nonexistenceare established.
If indeed nirvana is assertedto be neither existence
nor nonexistence, ihen by what means are the assertion to
be known?
Verse l5 indicates that for the fourth alternative to be
assertedin this instance,that there is a realm (that is, an
area of discourse) outside the realms of existence(real)
and nonexistence(nonreal) should be shown. Verse l6
says that there is no way of understanding the assertion
that nimina in neither existencenor nonexistence.This
indicetes tirat Nagarjuna considersthis statement not to
be referring to anything in the universe of discoune; that
is, its "referencc'is outsidethe universeof discourse.This
position is very significant and illuminating when one
takes into account the fact that of all things, nirvana was,
and is even today, considered to be one of ihe few
congpts in Buddhism which Buddhists have "defined" or
"understood" in terms of "neither existence nor non-
existence"(fhomas, 1933,p. 12l). Nigirjuna refusesto
understand this, since such a sentence, if seriously
asserted,takes onc beyond the universcofdiscourse, that
is, beyond language. Of coursc, that is exactly what he
meaDt to do - to lead the reader beyond languageend to
paramarthaor nirvine. He is really killing two birds with
this one shot. For on the one hand, he ir showing the
"clo3edness"of language and its inabi.lity to give meaning
to nirvaaa or parami.rtha. On the other, he uses this
argument to reject the fourth elternetive. For the discus-
sion, though purportcd to direct one to the paramEnha
level, has to be maintained at the samvrti level (to avoid
paradox), as Nigirjuna explicity acknowhdges. That is
why thc contradiction (and the nonunderstandability)
helps Nigarjuna to reject it.
Thus for the purposes of Nagarjuna! philorophy and
his rejection of the alternatives, it is ncccssaryto under-
stand the "opposite'concepts in the altcrnativesas given
by complementary classes.The forms of the cafus.ko& on
this interpretation can be consideredas limiting carer of
xand $, where B is the complement of A, that is, A. The
two classes now become A and A, and the form ar
correspondinr to< will be
( D x _ E A n I ( i r )x E A n A ( i i i ) x E A n A ( i v ) X E
A n A whichreduce to (i) X EA (ii) X EA and(iii) and
(iv) get rejected es therc will ray that X E O, whorc O ir
the null class.
 FOUR.FOLD ALTERNATIVES
Thus, it is seemthat Nigirjuna does not reject the Law
of Excluded Middle. Indeed he makes use of it. What he
does is to point out that whcn one does not use it - as, for
example, when one asserts niryina to be neither exis-
teDce nor non-cxistence (i.e,, suggestion of a third or
middle position) that createsproblems, as one is led to a
situation which cannot be captured by language,
The analogy that Murti seesbetween Kant's rejection
of both "world has a bcginning in space and time" and
"the world has no such beginning" and Ndgdrjuna's
position is misplaced. Kant shows the possibility of
proving either of thesehencetheir untenability as a result
of this antinomy of pure rcason. Nagarjuna docs not
provc that the world is real or unreal, he rejects each of
these, their conjunction and the conjunction of their
negations,And he rejec:r 'rch ajternativeseparately.The
rejection of the thrid alternative amounts to an acccpt-
ance of the Law o{Non-contradiction and the rejection of
the fourth to an acceptance of the Law of Excluded
Middle.
The two-strand interpretation of the catuskoti of
Nagarjuna brings into focus the generally agreediacithat
Nigirjuna is criticizing and denying the plausibility of
the early Buddhist position from the point of view of
$tnyati philosophy. One could also look at the KErki
as a work where the samn'd truth is being included in
the paramirtiatruth Uyitris technique (Gunaratne, I986,
p.22e).
There remains the question as to why Nagarjuna did
not reject the alternatives of the catuskoti sarvam tattyam
and so on (Milamadhyamika K;rike,kvttt, S1q"ot.A
earlier. This verse gives the samvrti level assertions
dialectically negating each preceding altcrnative, This is
not the "truth" but this is the way of instruction of the
Buddha leading one towards the paramirtha. That is why
it is explicitly stated as "etad buddhinu!-asanam (it is the
instruction or advice of the Buddha), Gunaratne ( 1986p,
234) and Kalupahana (1986, p. 269-70) have made this
point and Robinson (1967) observesthat this versehas a
pedagogicalvalue. Kalupahanaconsidersthis as"advice"
(anudasana) in regard to the manncr in which specula-
tion about "everything" can be resolvcd, namely, by
demonstrating the inevitable contradictions in it (p.270).
Interpretrtlon of Cilu*otl: nme prcHw Buddha,s
possible preference of the fourth alternative of the
catuskoti in some caseshas led to the misunderstanding
that prefcrability of the fourth lemma could be a fairly
general situetion. Thus in the example "some persons
tormcnt themselves"and so on, the Iast alternative,"The
person who neither torments himsclf Dor torments
others" seemspreferable to the Buddhist. But this should
not lead one to think that, for example, in the catuskoti
relevant to the Kaccayinagotta Sutta in the Stmyutti-
261 FOUR.FOLD ALTERNATIYES
nikd-va, (II, p. l6f.) the fourth alternative "Everything
(or the world) neither exists not does not exist"- is
perferable, from the Buddhist point of view. One must
also note that tbe acceptance of the fourth alternative
could apparently look similar to the negation or rejection
of the predicates making it difficult to distinguish
between these two carcs. And this impression of the
fourth alternative was perhaps instrumental in the
Madhyamika's consideration of the catuskotl as a dia-
lectic leading to {unyati. S-ometimes'Madhyamika
writings like that of Chandrakirti suggcstthat the fourth
alternative e.g.,'Evcrything is neither real nor unreal'is at
least a view of the enlightened or a view preferable to thc
other three. But here again, it is well to rememberthat the
Madhyamika reject dmost all the catuskoti and all their
alternatives.
There seemsto be three main attitudes that the Buddha
adopted towards the different catwkoti. One of them is
the well-known silencein the caseoi avyikata. But he has
given two verbal Enswers in other ca.ses.The answer na
h'idam ("It is not so') has been given in caseslike, "lt is
the case that one attains the good by means of
knowledge." [t is the case that one attains the goal by
means of conduct and so on, where, although the terms
knowledge and conduct are applicable to what is being
discussed,the positions are not comprehansivelycovercd
by them. Here the alternatives are negated. In thapaniya
peflha or the casesin which the elternatives are rcjected,
the term used in answer is, mi hbvam("do not say so).
In these the predicates seem to be not appicable to the
subject at all or the subject class is empty.
Catuskotl as a dldectle: Catuskoti has often been con-
sidered a dialectic. It is seen that there is a "dialectical
progrcsseion" in the four alternatives.In the first alter-
native a predicatc is affirmed of the subjcct, in the second
it is denied of the subject,in the third a sort of a synthesis
or conjuction of the two is affirmed and in the fourth of
t h e s t a t e m e n t si s d e n i e d .T . R . V . M u r t i c o n s i d e r st h a t t h e
dialelctic was born when the Buddha observedsilencein
regard to the avyikafa questions (Murti, p. 40).
M u r t i s a y s t h a t t h e B u d d h a " w a s c o n s c i o u so f t h e
interminable naturc of the conflict (in reason),and resol-
vesit by rising to other higher stand point of criticism"(p.
40). Catuskoti as a dialectical device wur more in vogue
in the Maahyamifa than in early Buddhism, Murti
considers thc Madyamika philosophy originated by
Nigarjuna as a dialectical system. And Nigarjuna used
catuskoti extensively in this dialectical system, the four
alternatives occuring again and again in the critiques of
causality, nirvina, and other topics examined by him in
tbe tv{ula-Midhyamika Kerikt and the other works.
Crtuskod es e pedryo3lcel, medtrtload rnd thenpeudc
devfce: Catuskoti has been an instrument in the instruc-
 FOUR.FOLD ALTERNATIVES 262 FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

t r c r no f t h e f o l l o w e r s i n t h e r e a - l i z a t i o no f t h e t r u t h s i n Central Philosophy of Buddhism, London, (t955).

B u d d h i s m .I t h a s b e e nu s c r if o r t h e a t t a i n m e n to r r a t i o n a l Poussin, L. de la Vallee: The wayto Nirvdna,Cambridge,
realization and as a device in meditation. the dialectical ( l 9 i l ) . R a j u , P . T , , ; T h e P r i n c i p l e so f F o u r - c o r n e r c d
p r o g r e s s i o no { t h e s t a t e m e n t sb y n e g a t i o nh a s t h u s b e e n Nagation in Indian Philosophy, Review of Metaphysics,
p u t t o u s e , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n m e d i t a t i o n o n c x i s t e n c ea n d /, Rhys Davids, C.A.F. Logic (Buddhist), Encyclopaedia
causation (Wayrnan., 1977j. of Rcligion and Ethics ed,, Hastings, James. Robinson,
T h e r a p e u t i cv d u e o f t h e f o u r - f o l d s c h e m ei s a s s o c i a t e d R i c h a r d , : S o m e L o g i c a l A s p e c t so f N a g a r g u n a ' sS y s t l m ,
PholosophyEast and West6,(1957).Robinson, Richard,:
with the pedagogicaiand the meditationnl. The absurdity
of some of the Zen Koans, seemto echo the Nigirjunian Early Madhyamika in India and China, Madison, (1967).
techniques and caf usrkofr'cutterances.St aal, comment in g Staal, J .F.,: Exploing Mysticism, Penguin, (1975) Staal,
on cetuskolr as a pedngogical and therapeutic device, J.F., Making senseof the Buddhist tetralemma Philo-
sophy East and Wesf; Essays in honour of T.M.P.
says, many mantras, the mahivikyas of the Upanisads
and the koansof Zes Buddhism are preciselythis. They M a h a d e v a l e n ,E d . H . D . l e w i s , ( 1 9 7 6 ) . T h o m a s , E . J . , :
&re not intended to elucidate, but they may cause a The History of Buddhist Thought, London (1933)
Wayman, Alex,: Who understandsthe Four Alternatives
sudden transformation in a person who is suitably
prepared and who has an intense desire for spiritual of the Buddhist texts, Philosophy East and West,27,no.
l' (1977)
illuminarion, Robinson, ,... has suggestedsuch an inter- R. D. Gunarebc
p r e t a t i o n o f t h e t e t r a l e m m a . , . . . "( S t e a l , 1 9 1 6 ,p . l 2 ) '

Reftremes
Brrur' B.M.; A History of Pre-Buddhistic Indian Philo-
s o p h y ,C d c u t t a , 1 9 2 1 .C h i , R , S , Y . , :T o p i c s o n B e i n ga n d FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS. The Four Noble Truths are
Reasoning, Philosophy East and West,24, No. 3. (1974), the four fundamental categorical statements, proPo-
Gunrratne, R.D.: Logical Form of. Catuskotr A New sitions or axioms (ekamsikE dhammi)r of the Buddha
solution, Philosophy East and West 30, no.'2, (1980). regarding the man's progtess in his samsaric existencc
Gunaratne, R. D.,: Underst andin g NiBErj u na's Cat usk o ti, and the way out of it and, hence forms the essenceof his
Philosophy East and West,36, no. 3, (19E6). Hoffman, teaching.2 Thesefour categorical statemcDtsare (i) There
F.J.,: Rationality in Early Buddhist Four fold Logic, is dukkha.t (ii) There is its arising (samudaya). (iii) There
Journel of Indian Philosophy 10, ( 1982)Inadq Kenneth, is its cessetion (nirodha,). (iv) There is the way (magga)
K; Nagirjuae- Atranslation of His M-ulamidhyamika leading to its cessation.The Buddha's teaching on these
Kariki with an lntroductory Essay, Tokyo, (1970) four Truths form the theme of his fint dircourse, the
Jayatillcke, K.N.,: Early Buddhist Theory of Knowledge, Dhammacakka ppavattanaSutfa(q,v. 5, V, p,420f Vin.
London, (1963) Kalupahana, David J.,'. NVgarjuna, I, pp. IOf defivered to his erstwhile companions, the
Albany, (1985). Keith, A.8.,: Buddhist Philosophy in paf,cavagg:iya bhikkhus. This Sutta refers to these axioms
India and Ceylon, Oxford, i923. Matild, Bimal K.,: as'Noble Truths' (ariya sacca)or the'Four Noble Truthr'
Epistcmology, Logtc and Grammar in Indian Philo- (cattiri ariyasacciai).' [n the sarne Sutte the Buddhe
sophical Analyis, The Haguc, (1971). Murti, T.R.V.,: introduces these statements a! a teaching not heard of

l . B u d d h a r a y r t h a t h e h r s p r o m u l g n t e d d o c t r i n e r o f w h i c h i t i s p o s r i b l e t o m a k e c a t e g o r i c . a l e s s e r t i o n r( e k a n t s i k i p i ' . . m t y -
dhznmz iesiul zta of which it ir not pouiblc to make categoricat a.rrertionr (anekamsiki pi,... mayl dttaizmZ dcsitZ).To
thc former group belongr his teachingl on the Four Noble Truthr and to the latter hir declaretion on the avytk|'tts, the
quertionr left unanrwercd. (D, l, p. lE9f0, Thi.r teaching ir also refsrred to as the slmuLttnsikE dhunmadcsni (otdly
eleveting tceching) as oppoccd to inupubbikttii - the gradueted dircoune ( Vla' I, p' I E)

2. On many en occa.tion the Buddha har pointed out that his teaching ir mainly concerned with dultfir end itc ce$ation. Hc
*A! I did formally Gwn now I preach ebout duttha and the c,cssetionof duL,tht (M. l. p.140; .S' Ill' p.l l9)'
sayr,

3, The pali tcrm dutkha har different rhedes of meaningr and dcnotes a very complcx concept. It is gcnerally rendered into
Englirh ee pain, ill, diserrc, unlatilfsctorinew, conllict etc. a! opposed to domaarssa'rorrow'whith is exclusivcly mental.
While gome of there English term! rre mi.sleeding, none of them bringr out the exact meaning of the term duktha which ir
both physicri end mentel. Thercfore it ir bft untranslated. For a deteil dircusrion ccc DUKKHA.

r B o,i Buddheg.hore and Dhammapala explain why these ere referred to as anie(noble). The general explenation they give ir
rhrt eech of therc rruth! crulc nobleneg or that they are penetreted by noble oncr and hence thcryare prcfixcd with the term
t:t.vt (DA. p.112, AA.Il, p. 2tl; Vism. p. 195;AA.l, E5). Sce elro K. R. Norman,'Whyare the Four Noble Truthr called
Noble,' Anlrr,d+ Esstys in Honour of Anuda W. P. Gwuge, Colombo, Sri Lants, 1990' p' ll f.
 FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS 263
before (pubbe ananussuta), suggesting thc novelty both
of the analysis of thc pedicnment of man ris well as of the
proposed solution.
Te Dhammac*kappevtttana .Sura itself gives a
brief description of the Four Noble Truths.s It runs as
follows:
(i) The Noble Truth of dukkha (dukkha ariya sacca).
Birth is Dukkha,decay is dukkha, sicknessis dukkha,
death is dukkha, (like wisc sorrow and grief, woe
lamentation and despair we dukkha), association
with things disliked, separation from things liked is
also dukkh4 not getting what we desire too is
dukkha. [n brief the five aggrcgatcs of grasping
(paficupadinakkhaadhi) are dukkha. See
DUKKHA.
(ii) The Noble Truth of the arising of dukkha
(dukkhasamudaya ariyacacca). It is that craving
(tanha q.v.) leading to rebecoming bound up wirh
passion and attachment, finding delighr here and
there namely (a) craving for sensepleasures (kina-
taqha) (b) craving for continuous becoming (bhava-
ta4hi) and (c) craving for annihil ation (vibhava
talha).
(iii) The Noble Truth of the cessation of dukkha
(dukkha-nirodha ariyasacca): Ir is the complere
cessation,with detachrnent, of that very craving, its
forsaking, renunciation, and its utter dispassionate
cessation.
(iv) The Noble Truth of the Path leading to the
cessation of d ukk h a (d uk k h a ni r odh a gi mi ni -p a ti p adi
ariyasacca); It is the Noblc Eightfold Path'(ariyo
dtthd'Dgiko maggo) namely, (i) Right Understanding
(ii) Right Thought (iii) Right Speech (iv) Right
Action (v) Right Living (vi) Right Effort (vii) Right
Mindfulncss (viii) Right Concentration. Sec
ATTHANGIKA MAGGA.
The'thoroughness with which thc Buddha analysesthe
predicament of man and prescribesa solution makes him
eminently suitable for the epithet bhisakkf - the
physician. There is much similarity betwecn the mcthod
5. For a daailed description see Mahasatipatthina Sutta (D. II, 304 ff) and Saccsrnbf iga
6' A' Iv, p.140; cf A' IIt, p. 238; Maaphorically the Buddha is regarded as the physicien who cures manb ruffering caured
nurnerou! ilh of life, end thi! subsequently resulted in the robriquet, Sall*ttto Nruttaro the rurgeon par exelhne.
7. The Dhemmacakkappavattana.Sutra(S.V.p.420Qitselfsayrthatthedukkhasacreirtobecomprehended(parifr6eyya),rhe
samudtya Sacca (i.e. tyh;) is to be given up Tpahitabba), the nirodha-secca is to bc reatired (sacchikitabbri.nO
m.s.a-sac:ce is to bc cultivated (bhiveubba). There are differcnt modes of actions and attituder that ere to bc adopted with"
regrrd to therc truthr. But the comprehension of all four is of fundamental importance ar it constitute the final knowledge.
'....... c*khu1t
t. udapidi, iZaaq udepidi, pafrfii udapidi,
FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
adopted in the scienceof medicine in India for diagrrosis
and treatment of patients and the method adopted by thc
Buddha is diagnosing and removings the ills that efflict
man. Perhaps the Buddha's above-mentioned fourfold
propositions are bssed on the prevalent system of
medicine which also advocatcd asimilar fourfold formula
for the treatment of disease,namely roga(disease),hetu
-
(cauec) ntwtfi (cessati o n) tnd sid h an a(ad ministrat
ng-of
medicine to effect a cure). It is seenthat the dukkha-sacca
is a clear statement of a universal truth, the duk&la that
man is subjected to in his samsaric existence (patho-
logical). The samudaya-sacca traces and explains its
cause (diagnostical). The nirodha-sacca brings into focus
the existence of a cure and the possibility of curing
(ideal). The magga-sacca lays down the remedy that
should be adopted and strictly followed (prescriptive).
As axioms or propositions the Four Noble Truths are
all of the same qualitative value and this is precisely why
all four are designated as ariya sacca.Therefore they are
not be treated on a hierarchicalbasisbut to be considered
as being co-ordinate and of logical sequence, and
necessarilyto be comprehendedin combination.T
It is the comprehensionof the Four Noble Truths that
made the bodhisattva become a fully enlightenedone, I
Buddha. The Buddha himself says in the Mahipari-
nibbana Sutta (D. II, p.90) that it is through not
understanding the Four l.loble Truths that we have had
to wander so long in this wcary path of samsira. The
enlightening impact he fett at the comprehension of the
Four Noble Truths is clearly indicated by the Buddha's
own description of his awakening to the unsatisfactory
conditions of life and to I way to overcome it. He says,
*..... there arosein me the
vision, knowledge,wisdom and
insight, and there arose(in me) light.r With the attaining
of this knowledge his vision became straightened and
clear enabling him to seethings as they have come to be
(yathibhita).
The tranquility and the internal peacehe felt with the
attainment of this knowledge was such that the Buddha
spent a considerable period of time, seven long weelcs
according to the tradition, experiencingits ecstaticbliss
Sutta (M. lll, p.2,tS ff).
by
,t
viijA udapidi, doLo udapidi, Vin.l, p. ll).
 FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
(J I, p.80). As he himself became awar€ of the novelty
and the abrtrurc nature of thit new enlightening know-
iedge, he war initidly a iittle hesitaDt to share it with
othen. However, oa populer request and promptcd by
his comparsion he overceme this initial hesitatione and,
he ventured tc communicate bis experience ead selccted
the pancragiya monkr as his first audience, It is quitc
clear from textual evideoces that tbe tsuddha communi-
crted thit knowledge to the otherg beceuseit is profitable,
ir concerned with thc norm, pertains to the fundamentals
of noble living and is conducive to disenchantmcnt, to
detachment, to cessation, to pacification, to insight, to
enligbtcnment, and to nibbina (D. I, p.189).
Ar pointed out bcfore, the knowledge regarding the
Four Noble Truths is referred to as uijji (howledge)
oppored to auijjE(q,v. ignorance) that keeps man bound
to the rar-siric existence. Thc carly Canonical texts
themsei , d.fio, vijja x knowledge iegarding the Four
'iiuths
Noble (S. V, ,'. 429) and av,:i-r as ignarance
regarding these truthr (S. II, ', c, iV, p. 256). This
knowledge is neitber mere intcllectual grasping of the
Four Noble Tmths nor rnere acceptanceof their validity
on faith. These porpositions have to be seenand compre-
hcnded (Sn. v.229).
The spiritual course that leads to this comprehension
of the Four Noble Truths is discusscdin numerous suttas.
The Buddhe has often declared that this final knowledge
cannot be won at thc very out sct. [t is to be attained by a
gredual process of training, gradual mode of action, and
pursuit of thc path.r0 The Aiyaptriyesane Sutu (M.l,
p. 163 ff.) dcscribes how the bodhisattva Siddhatta
Gotema being eware of the unsatisfactorinessof his own
life and the world around him, embarked upon the noble
quert to find away out of it. He subjectedhis ownself to a
critical analyris using both the normal as well as the
paranormal faculties of perception. This long processof
9. The popular tradition ssyr that it is Brahmi Sahempati who implored on the Buddha to preach his new found teaching (J. l,
p.El).
10. Niham bhikkhue idikenbva fifiar-adhanent
patipadi af,niridheni hoti: M.I, p, 479 lt.
I L There are six such formr of higher knowledge of which the first three arc not at all nooessaryfor the attainment of this
knowledge. The later three help its attainment.
l?.. l'imuttasnim imuttamti flanm hoti: D. t, p.84.
264 FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
the noblc quest beginswith the sublime corpu! of moral
pr actices ( ari yas il ak k ha nd h a) accompanied by rer traint
of the senses(indriya+amvara)f.ollowed by cultivation of
mindfulness (satisampajaflfla). Tben gne should clear
one's mind of the five hindrancts (nivarana,l. Having
attuned the mind thus, one should practice jhlnas, thc
'absorptions.'With the attainment of the fourthTteaathc
mind bccomer plaint and rupple so that one becomesable
to direct it to the development of higber knowledge
(abhif,f,a g.v.).rt Three types of this six fold higher
kn owl edge n ame ly, retr oco gniti on (p ub ben ivis-anw s ati
EEna q.v.) clairvoyance (dibbacakkhu q.v.) and the
knowledge of the dertruction of defiting impulses
(-asavakkhaya f,ana q.v.) help one to realise this final
knowledge. It is redly this last mentioned higher know-
ledge that directly enablcsone to verify the Four Noble
Truths. When this higher knowledge is attained one's
vision becomes so clear that one seesthe Four Noble
Truths a! a men standing on the bank of a river with
clear, serene,translucent water perceivesthe oyster and
sheil, grevel and pebbles and shoalsof fish in it. (D. I, p.
84). When one thus brows and sees,onet mind gets
emancipated from thc inflowing impulses of sensuous
gratification (kimisava), of lust for life (bhavasava) end
of ignorance (auijiasava), When thus emansipated, there
arises the knowledge that emancipation has been
attainedr2 and the adept understand that'Birth has been
Jestroyed. The Noblc life has been led. What has to be
done has been accomplished.There is nothing further for
existencein this condition (i.c. samsara).Once birth (fati)
is put to an cnd the vicious circle oi samsdric existencetoo
ir brought to an end. This is the end of dul<kha, the
rttainment of which is the goal of Buddhism.
S. K. Nuuyeklan
vadami, e.pi ca bhikkhave anupubba sikkhi, anupubba-kiriyi enupubba
 FRANCE, BUDDHISM TN
FTANCE' BUDDHISM INI
Erdy Nodcer: It was exactly three hundred years ago
that the earliest known referenceto Buddhism was made
in e Frcnch book.t It was Du Royaume de Siam by
Simon de la Boubepc who war the Ambassador of Louis
XIV to the Kingdom of Siam (presently Thailand) from
I 6E7-1588). He giver an account of the monastic lile witb
rpeciel reference to rules of Pitimokkhe and the Vinaya
in r rection entitled in English translation as ..an
explication of the Patimouc or Text of the Vianc-rhe
principd Maxims of the Talapoins of Siam". But ir took
almort two centuries beforc serious and sustaincd studv
of Buddhism took root in Frence.
The motivation for Buddhist studies came from the
atablishment of Chairs in Sanskrit and Chinese in l8t4
and l8l5 in the College de France. Whih Antoine-
Lconerd de Ch€ry wer the first Professor of Sanskrit thc
correrponding distinction as regards Chinese went to
Abcl-Remusat. Thc Soci6t6 Asiatique in Paris began the
publication of thc Journal Asiatique in 1822. Original
texts with notet and transletions catne to be published,
and with that France, though late by almost half a
ccntury when compared with Britein and little lesswhen
compared with Germany, Iaunched itself into the field of
Buddhist studics in earnest.
Plonccrlng Schobre The greatest pioncer of Buddhist
rtudier wrs Euglne Burnouf who war not only a student
of de Ch€zy but dro his successor as Professor of
Sanskrit in College de France - a post he assumed in
I833. His Essal sur Ic Pafi 0826)written in collaboration
with Christian Lassenlaid the foundation for the study of
Pali and Thersvida Buddhism not only in Francc but
also in the West as a whole. Burnoufs deep interest il
PaU was further dcmonstreted by the translatiou of the
Sri Lankan Chroniclc, the Mahivemsainto Frcnch. This
work, howcver, wes unpublisbed because arrang€mentt
were afoot in Britain to publish the text with an English
tranrlation. He had alro begun to analyse the Pati
manurcripts of Sri Lanka and commenccd work on a Pali
dictionnry ead grnmmar.
Thc discovcry of invaluable Mahayana Sanskrit
Buddhist menuscripts by B. H. Hodgson in Nepal and
their distribution to institutions of learning in Calcutra'
London, Oxford and Peris had an impact on Burnouft
rescarch interests. He rwitched from Pali studies to
Buddhist $enrfu-il studiesand his monumental translation
of Sadd herm apundari k a-Slttra was completed around
I840 and published in 1852.Thir happcns to be the very
t. Psrt! of thir articlc are br.red on notes and drafts found among thc papers of Cunapala Malalasekera and O. H. de A.
Wljtrekere- Thq writer rcgrctt that the authorship of these note! could not be traccd. Verification and updating of the
informrtion hrr bocn done mainly with the help of writingr of Rusrel Webb and invaluable information in his 'Euddlrrit
Srudr'6 Review.'
265 FRANCE, BLIDDHISM TN
first Buddhist work to appear in Western translation.
Viggo Fausbdll's translation of the Pali Dhanmapada
into Latin (the first Theravida work to be translatedinto
a European langrragg)was published three years later,
AIso significant as a contribution of Burnouf is his
substa^ntid work on Buddhist histofy entitled ,,L'intro-
duction A I'histoire du Bouddhisme Indien" (1844). Thit
undoubtedly was a pioneering work in a field in which
Western scholarship had just bcgun to take an interest.
A junior contcmporary of Burnouf was philippe
Edouard Foucaux, Professor of Tibetan of the Biblio-
th€que Nationale. Hc edited Lalitauistara in Tibetan in
184748 and published its French translation in lg60
under the titlc "Histoire du Bouddha ffikya Mouni". Six
years later, he published a criticd edition of the Sanrkrit
and Tibctan texts of PralnottararatnamilE A very
important contribution of Foucaux to the understanding
of Buddhism in the West was the study of Nirvina. Jules
Barth€l6my Saint-Hileire, as a virulent crittic of
Buddhism, had written a series of erticles to the Joirnal
des Savants in 1854-55 attacking the Buddhist doctrine
of Nirvina a! total annihilation. Jean-Baptiste Francois
Obry, a itudent of de Ch0ry had argued against it in a
comprehensive paper in 1856 entitled 'Du Nirviaa
Indiea ou de I'affranchissement de I'eme aprts Ia mart,
selon les Brahmanes et les Bouddhisfcs'i Fogcaux came
out with a strong support for Obry in his "Doctrine des
Bouddhistes sur Ie Nirviaa". Adopting e historical
doxographical approach, he showcd that Ninena was
not nihilist in the pure doctrine of the Buddha even
though later developments,which he termed "Buddhist
metaphysics' introduced an element of nihilism.
Pali studies in France, which were eclipsed by
Hodgson's dircovery of Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts
in Nepal regained tbeir lustre only when Paul Grimblot,
French Consul in Sri Lanka from lE59 to 1865,collected
a large nrrmber of PaIi menuscripts and sent them to
Paris. What Grimblot planncd was to have them
published n a Bibliotheca Palica, But he died before
achieving it. Published larer were his Extnits du Paritia
(1871) and Scpr.9uttasP_alis(1876). The latter comprised
seven 3uttas from the Dighanikiya.
Leon Feer. who succeeded Foucaux as Professor of
Tibeten in 1864in BibliothequeNationale and transferred
with the Chair to L'Ecole des LanguesOrientalesthe next
year, was lecturer in Tibetan and Mongolian in College
Ce France from 1869 until he joined the Manuscript
 FRANCE,BUDDHISM IN 266
d e p a r t m e n to f B i b l i o t h i q u e N a t i o n a l ei n 1 8 7 2 .F o r t h i r t y
y e a r st h e r e ,h e b e c a m et h e m o s t p r o l i f i c e d i t o r o f n o t o n l y
Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist works but also thosein
Sanskrit and PaIi. His extensiveknowledge of Buddhist
literature in many languages is best reflectcd in his
articles in .Iournal Asiatique between I866 and !875 on
Buddhist Studies, Jatakas, Siltras, and Avadanas. In
1883he published "Fragments extrdits du Kandjour"and
a translation of Prajnapiramita-hrdaya-Sitra'
Avadana.lafafrawas translated afew yearslater. He also
editcd the Tibetan version of Dhammapada. His monu-
mental work in the last years of his lifc was the critical
edition of Samyutta-nikaya in fivc volumes for-the Pali
'Paffcagati-Dipani"which
Text Society. He also edited
was published in the Journal of the Pali Text Society ir
1s84.
One of the most versatile French scholars of the
nineteenth ccntury was Auguste Barth whose prolific
contributions of the period 1880-1900to all branchesof
Indological studiesare to bc found in the five Volumes cf
-Quarante ansd'Indian tme: Ocuvrrr de Auguste Barth"
pubfished from 19l4 to 1927. The monograph t.r receive
the widest attentioo was "Religions of India " which was
reprinted in lndin in 1889. As fer as Buddhism was
conccrned, his knowledge was extensive. But un-
fortunately he could never overcomehis many prejudiccs
against Buddhism, lnmy "From the Living Fountains of
Buddhisn ", I have reproduced his caustic and provocative
letters which he wrote to Ven. Alutgama Seelalkhandha
Thern. He thought that the Buddha was not an authentic
person. He denounccd the Buddhist emphasison detach-
ment and renunciation. He ridiculed his contemporaries
who promoted Buddhism and even challengedthem as
hypocrites. He would reject Buddhist Sanskrit works
such st PnjflipEnmiri as "it{onsense". Despite all this
ncgative ettitude to Buddhism, his searchfor knowledge
of its litcrature and philosophy was genuine and pains-
1eki1g. The Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika
Dharmepelq however, admired his work as splcndid and
called him "one of the most cautious and far-sceing
orientalists. "
Emile Charles Marie Senert wes an equally versatile
scholar in both Pali end Sanskrit. What distinguished
bim most from Barth was his very sympathetic attitude to
Buddhism. [n fact, one of the most widely and frequently
qu oted rtatements in defence of the authenticity of the Sri
Lenkan Chronicles is by Senart. Besides translating the
Pa.ligrrmmar of Kacceyana'he made astudy of the life of
t b e Bu dd ha in'Ersar sur I a ltge nde du Bouddh a"( t 875).
His mrgnum opus wer the edition of the Buddhist
Sa-nsknt work Mahivastu'rn three volumes. Two other
workr of Senarl which Ereyet consulted ar authorities are
'Lcs Inscriptions de Piyadassi"on Asokan Edicts (1881),
'Ls '(1896),
Cestcsdus l'lnde
FRANCE, BUDDIIISM IN
An account of the pioneering contributors to Buddhist
Studies in France in the nineteenthcentury would not be
complete without reference to the translation of the
Mongolian Kasyapa Matanga's Sutra of 42 Scctions by
Gabet and Huc; Stainslas Julien's translation from
Chinese of lost Avadinas (1859); Victor Gauvain's
translation of Bishop Bigandet's most informative book
*Vie
on Elurmese Br,rddhism entitlcd ou Ugende de
Gaudama, le Bouddha des Birmans"(1878) and Lcon
Wieger's monumental works on Chinese Buddhism:
-Bouddhisme Chinois: I Vinaya, Monachismc et discr-
pline. Hinayana, vthicule inftricur and lI Les vies
Chinoises du Bouddha" published in 19l0 and 1913
respectively.
Sylvain Levy, who became Prolessor of Sanskrit in
College de France in 1894,was undisputetlly the grcatest
o r i e n t a l i s to f t h e p e r i o d . H e t r a v e l l e dw i d e l y i n A s i a a n d
d i s c o v e r e dm a n y n e w t e x t s . W h a t i s m o s t i m p o r t a n t i n
h i s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o B u d d h i s t s t u d i e si s t h e n e w l i n e o f
e m p h a s i sh e d e v e l o p e do n t h e c o m p a r a t i v es t u d y o f t e x t s
of dilferent sectsand schoolsof Buddhism, He recognized
t h e i n d i s p e n s a b i l i t yo f u t i l i z i n g s o u r c em a t e r i a l si n P a l i ,
Sanskrit,Tibetan and Chineseto establishthe authenticity
of the Buddhist Canon in each tradition. His earlier
s t u d i e sw e r e o n t h e w o r k s o f A 6 v a g h o s as u c ha s B u d d h a -
caritarnd Sitr-alankara. ln 1905he explored the librairies
of Nepal and published his famous book "Lc Nepa!". He
also made a critical study of Divyavadana and various
recensions of the Dhammapada. His discoveries of
fragments of Buddhist books in Kuchean and Tokharian
l a n g u a g e sb r o u g h t t o l i g h t t h e m a g n i t u d eo f t h e i n f l u e n c c
of Buddlusmin Centra, Asia,
S y l v a i n L e v y ' i s r e m e m b e r e dm o s t g r a t e f u l l y f o r t h e
admirable work be did on the Sanskrit texts of the
Vijffanavada school. which until his discovery had
remained unknown. Asanga's Mahiyanasitrilankira
expounding Mahayana Buddhism of the Yogicara school
was edited and translatedinto French. lt was publishedin
'Biblioth(que de I'Ecole des Hautes Etudes"in 1907 and
l9l l, Vasubandhu's Vimlatikakarikiprakarana and its
commentary were published as "Vijfraptimatrasiddhi,
deux traitts de Vasuband.bu" (text and translation) in
1925.Sylvain Levy's lead in highliSbting the evolution of
the Yogacira school was soon followed by a galaxy of
students, whose researchesshowed conclusively that
Yogicara marked lhe final phase of the growth of
B u d d h i s t P h i l o s o p h yi n l n d i a .
Sylvain Levy collaboratqdwith S. yamaguchiin editing
the Madhyantavibhaitgaiki in 1934' Another of his
collaborative efforts with a Japanesescholar (namely J.
Takatusu) was the compilation of the initial fasciculesof
the "Hobogrin "an Encyclopaedia of Buddhism based on
Chincsc and Japanesematerials. This massiveintellectual
venture has been continued steadily though slowly by
 FRANCE, BUDDHISM IN
Paul Demieville and Hubert Durt. Sylvnin Levy's multi-
faceted contribution to Buddhism was further enhanced
b y h i s d i s t i n g u i s h e da n d d e v o t e d s t u d e n t sa m o n g w h o m
[,a Valle Poussin was indeed the most prolific and
profound.
A Scholarly Trrdltlon of Openness and Compre-
hendveness The French tradition of Buddhist studies
w h i c h b e g a n s o a u s p i c i o u s l yw i t h a g a l a x y o f p i o n e e r i n g
s c h o l a r s w h o s e i n t e r e s t sw e r e w i d e - r a n g i n g c o n t i n u e d
into the twentieth century. Edouard Chavanneswopked
on the Chineseversion of the Jitaka, which he published
in French translation in three volumes under the title
Cinq Cent Contes ct Apologues(1910-191l), He followed
it with a general work in I92l entitled Conteset Ltgtndes
du Bouddhistc Chinois.The fourth volume of his Jataka,
including his linguistic and historical notes and
appendiceswas published Iater in 1934.While Chavannes
w a s a S i n o l o g i s t ,h i s c o n t e m p o r a r yL o u i s F i n o t w a s m o r e
versatile. His works ranged from the translation of
Miliadapafrha from Pali to those of Bodhicaryivatara
and Ris t r api I apa ri p yc hi fro m Sanskrit. Concen t rati n g
on Buddhism in Indo-Chinq he publishedan introductory
work celled Le Bouddhisme : son Origine, son Evolution
( P h n o m P e n b , 1 9 2 8 ) .F l l i x L a c o t e c d i t e d a n d t r a n s l a t e d
t he Sansk ri t B rh a tk a ti{ I o k asam graia of B udd h asvamin
while Edouard Flubert translated from Chinese
Sitrilankire nnd the Sarvistividin Pritimoksasitra.
The latter was rep_ublishedin l9l4 with the bhinesc
venion of Kumirajiva.
To illustrate the widening intercstin the way Buddhism
is lived in traditionally Buddhist Countries, referencc
may be made to several l;rench nationals who had
undertaken in-depth studiesnot purely via library sources
but through living experiencein different social milieus.
A most remarkable among them was Alexandra David-
Ncel who traversed Tibet in the guise of a lama and
provided insightful information on a tradition which was
l i t t l e k n o w n . L ' E c o l e d ' E x t r e m e - O r i c n t e s t a b l i s h e di n
Hanoi in 1900 provided an institutionalized basis for a
similar approach. ln this connection, the contribution of
its Director, Georgcs CoedEsis particularly significant.
His publlcations include Les Etats hindouistes
d'Indochine et Indoiesie (1948) and Catalogue des
manuscrits en pali leotienne et siameseprovenant de la
Thailande (1966).
In Paris, Sorbonne and College de France maintained
the highest standards of Buddhist research.Paul Mus,
whose early studies were on the Buddhist Sanskrit text
Sadgttikaraka of Dhirmika Subh[ti, was director of
studies at I'Ecole Pratique des Hautes-Etudes, Paul
Demieville, who was Professor of Chinggs and Director
of Buddhist Studies in Sorbonne, concentrated on the
study of the late eighth century debate between Indian
267 FRANCE, BTIDDIIISM IN
and Ch'an Buddhists and published in 1952 I_,eConcile de
Lhasa. Already mentioned above was the role played by
Demieville in continuing the preparation of Hobogrin.
T h e m o r e i m p o r t s n t o f h i s w r i t i n g s h a v e b e e np u b l i s h e d
by J. Brill in two collections entitled Choix d'Etudes
Bouddhiques and Choix dEtudes Sinologiques (1973)
Though primarily a Sanskrit or even more precisely
Vedic scholar, Louis Renou contributed to Buddhist
s t u d i e s t h r o u g h h i s r e s e a r c h e so n A s o k a n i n s c r i p t i o n s .
He is also credited with an introductory work I-c
Bouddhisme (1953).
The most remarkable French Buddhist scholars of
rccent times had beenJean Filliozat, a student of Sylvain
Levy, Alfred Foucher, Jules Bloch and Louis Renou -
reflecting through this spectrum of intellectual
experiencesthe most advancedtraditions of scholarship.
Succeeding Renou as Professor of the Languages and
Literatures of lndia at College de Francc, Filliozat
proved himself to be a versatile scholar and his contri-
butions range from surveys and catalogues such as
Fregments du Vinaya des Sanastivadin (wth Horyu
Kuto in 1938)and Catalogue des Manwcrits sdnskritsct
tibttains de Ia Soci(t( Asiatique (194142) to indepth
studieson Asokan inscriptions and spccificphilosophical
and psychologicalconcepts of Buddhism (e.g. .,The
psychological discoveries in Buddhisrn" - (Jniversitv
of Ceylon Reuiew,l955 and Sur le domaine du punya in
Lamotte Felicitation Volume (1980). L,lnde classiquell
( 1 9 5 3 ) w h i c h h e c o e d i t e dw i t h L o u i s R e n o u , p r o v i d e s a
most comprehensive section on Buddhism. Filliozat
functioned et the early stagesof the Encyclopaedia of
Buddhism as a consultant editor and among his contri-
butions is the entry on Bstan-Hgur (1972).
A colleagueof Filliozat and Renou in the production
of.L'Inde ClassiqueIl, Marcelle Lalou was a specialist in
Tibctan studies. In 1930 she colleborated with Jean
Prryluski (a Polish scholar working in France, whose
work on the legends of Asoka is well known) in the
preparation of.Bibliographie Bouddhique, She compiled
Rtpertoire du Tanjur(1933) and Inveatairc des manus-
crits ibttains de Touenhouang Vols. I-[II (1939{l) and
wrote an introductory work on Les Religions du Tibet
( 1957).Her predecessoras Director of Tibetan Studiesin
Sorbonne, JacquesBacot wrote on Milarepa and Marpa:
Le potte ti*tain Milarepa (1925) and Le vie de Marpa
(1937). [n addition to editing historical records of Tun-
huang, he published in 1962 Introduction a Lhistoire du
Tibet. Anothcr specialist in Tibetan Buddhism, R. A,
Stein is credited with two general works Recherchessw
I Qop{e et la barole Titut (1959) and Lr Avifisation
tiWtaine (l%2) The tradition of Tibetan studies was
carried on further by Mme A. W. Macdonald as Director
of S tudies in Tibetanllistory and Philology in Sorbonne
 FRANCE,BUDDHISM IN 268
and as Director or researchin CNRS (Centre National de
ia recherchescientifique)and Ariane Spanien as Director
of Studics in Tibctan History and Languagein Sorbonne.
The exploration of Tuang-buang cavesby Paul Pelliot
had given a significant filip to a spectrum of Buddhist
studies, generally referred to as Central Asian Studies.
Robcrt Gauthiot and Pelliot had published Le Sitra des
Causes et dcs Effets du Bicn et du Mal (three volumes,
1920, 1926, 1928). Hackin had worked on Formuleirc
Sanskrit Tibetan du Xc Sitclc (1924). Bernard Pauly
transcribed and rcconstituted Fragments Sanskrits de
Haute-Asie in six volumes from 1957 to 1965. While
M arie Ro bert Guignard edited Catal ogue des M an uscri ts
chinois de Touen-houang(1970), Louis Hambis, reputed
as the chief coordinator Central Asian Studies in France,
published severalillustrated volumes on Kuch4 Tumchuq
and Tun-huang (1965-1976).This work Mission Paul
Pclliothas beencontinued by CNRS, Musie Guimet and
others under the overall direction of Andr€ Bareau.
C o n t e o p o r a r y S c h o i , r 3 i A s a c c . : a i n r e dd o v e n s o f
Buddhist studies in Francc, Andre Ba:eau and Jean
Boisselier proviCe guidancc and inspiration to a signifi-
cant number of scholars who continue to maintain the
momentum which Buddhist researchhad gained over the
last century and a half, Andr6 Bareau, who is the
Professor o!' Buddhist Studies in College de France, has
been as ve;satii: as hc is prolific. Apart from his major
work on thc biography of the Bu$dha, i.e. Recherchessur
la Biagraphic du Bouddha dans les Sitrapitaka ct les
Vinayapitaka Anciens (1963, 1970, l9'71) and several
introductory works c.g. Bouddha,1962: Lc Bouddhisme
in l.es Religions de I'lnde, Vol. lII, 1966; En Suivant
B o u d d h a , ( 1 9 6 5 ) , h i s r e s e a r c h e sc o v e r a w i d e r a n g e o f
philosophical and historical themes. Mention may be
rnade of L'Absolu en Philosophie Bouddhique, Evolu-
tion de la Notion d'Asamskrta (1951) Les Premien
Conciles Bouddhiques (1955), La Vie et I'Organisation
des Communaut(s Bouddhiques Modernes de Ceylan
(1957); and : Sur lOrigine des HIIien dits dAsoka, des
Stupa et des Arbrcs Secrts du Bouddhisme Prinitif
(te74).
J e a n B o i s s e l i e r ,w h o r e t i r e d a s t h e P r o f e s s o r o f t h e
H i s t o r y o f A r c h a e o l o g yo f S o u t h a n d S o u t h - e a s tA s i a ,
r e p : e s e n t si n h i s w o r k t h e c u l m i n a t i o n o f a d e e p a n d
a b i C i n g i n t e r e s tw h i c h F r e n c h s c h o l a r sh a d d i s p l a y e di n
rhe er olution of Buddhist art. His illustrious predeccssors
:n this fielChad beenH. Focillon (L'Art Bouddhique-
: ?:l), A. Foucher (L'Art Greco-Bouddhique du
G an d h er a, 3 r o ls,, 1905, 1922;La uie du Bo uddha d hprts
les textset les monuments de I'Inde,1949)and J. Auboyer
, x-rlh Fouch er ', Les uiesanttrieures du Bouddhe, 1955).
B l i s s e l i e rs u p e l i s e d t h ec o n s e r v a t i oonf A n g k o r V a t a n d
e n q a s e d i r i l e l d s t u d i e s i n s e v e r a lo t h c r l o c a t i o n s i n
FRANCE, BUDDFIISM IN
South India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, Among his major
works are l-a Sculpture en Thailande (1974; translated
into English ss The Heritage of Thai Sculpture, Ceylon
(Sri Lanka) in Archaeologia Mundi, 1979 and his
substantial contribution to UNESCO's The lmage of the
Buddha,1978.
Often encounteredin scholarly circles are many other
contemporary scholars such as Colette Cai.llat,Solange
Thiery and the young Filliozats, Pierre-Sylvain and
Jacqueline.
Even a brief survey of Buddhist studicsin France such
asthis is not completewithout referenceto the interaction
which French scholars have maintained with traditionally
Euddhist countries. Buddhist studies in Cambodia and
Laos were inspired and assistedfor over two decadesby
Suzanne Karpeles, who in 1930 had the Buddhist
Institutes of Cambodia and Laos establishcdin Phnom
Penh and Ventiane. She played a major role in the
publication of the Tripitaka in Pali and Khmer. Francc
had attractedseveralSri Lankan Buddhist scholars,both
religious and lay, Dorawaka Sumanaratana (now
Leparge) was associated with the University of Lille
wherc Jean Nadou, the author of Lcs Bouddhistes
Kasmiriens au Moyen Age and l* Bouddha (both
publishcd in 1974) was the Professor of ladian Civilj-
zation, Walpola Rahula wzrsconnected with Sorbonne
for severaidecades. During this period, he published a
French translation of Asaiga's Abhidharmasamuccaya
( I 97 I ). He is best known for his most sucessfulintroduc-
tory work I'Enseignementdu Bouddha(Whet the Buddha
Taught, 196l). Kosgoda Sobhita worked on k Ci
varaskandhaka d u Vinayapitaka des Mulasanistividin
in Sorbonne while Mohan Wijayaratna, under the
direction of Andre Bareauof Collegede France,published
Le Moine Bouddhiste selon les Textes du Theravdda
(1983) end also completed an analytical study of popular
religious practiccs of Sri Lanka.
France has thus had a very competent and conscien-
tious galaxy of pioneering Buddhist scholars to lay in
academiccircles a solid foundation for serious Buddhist
studies. Their notable distinction is their catholicity as
regards the study of the texts of djfferent traditions of
Buddhism in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, Tibetan,
Mongolian, Kuchean and Tokharian. This catholicity
made French Buddhist scholarship the most comprehen-
sive and this breadth of coveragehas made France even
today the most convenient centre in the world for
comparative study of the evolution of Buddhist philo-
s o p h y w i t h d i v e r s e l i n e s o f e m p b a s i s .T h i s t r a d i t i o n
continues unabated and the more reclnt luminaries have
persisted in maintaining what has become the typical
:haracteristic of Buddhist studies in France; namely,
opennessand comprehensiveness.
 FRANCE, BUDDHISM IN
Fmm lntdlccttnl Pur$tt to Spldtual Quert Writing in
1902,Auguste Barth said, "In France, there is not a man
of learning, having a true acquaintance with Buddhism,
who may be said to bc a Buddhist. There is, it is true,
much talking about Buddhism; there are also many
among us, who disbelieving the tenets of Christianity,
male gomeshow of a would-be Buddhist.....T . here arc
perhaps some Buddhists of L more serious type in
Germany, a few also in England, and many more in
America". ln order to emphasizethe distinction between
Buddhist studies as an intellectuel pursuit and Buddhisr
propaganda for spiritual purpose, he told a Sri Lankan
scholar monk "your wants and our wants are not the
same: yours are rather practical; ours arc, before all,
historico-critical". But with a growing cooperation and
collaboration betwcen scholarswith intellectualaims and
the clergy and scholarsof traditionally Buddhist countries
in Asia, such a water-tight compartrnentalization had to
be shortJived, When exactly the French beganto take an
interestin practising Buddhism in addition to or in lieu of
studying it, the data available to us do not permit us to
determine. But an evsnt in 1928 servesas a convenient
statting point.
In that year, the renowned Chinese missionary monk
T'ai-Hsu, whom P.V, Bapat describesas "a great living
force in the revival of Buddhisrn" visircd France and
delivcred a lecture at the Musie Guimet in Paris. In the
audience was Grace Constant Lounsbery, an American
Army nurse who after the First World War had dccided
to settle down in France. Her interests aroured in the
practice of Buddhism, she underwcnt training in mcdita-
tion in Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Returning to Paris, she
launched an association of like-minded students of
Buddhism under the name Les Amis du Bouddhismein
January 1929, In the same ye&r, Comtesse Prozor
convened a Buddhist study circle in liicc. Of the two, lts
Amis du Bouddhisme proved to be better organized,
more broad-besed and capable of attracting some of the
scholarc from Sorbonne and other centres.
Although the association had no sectarian bias and
Mahdyinawas given due attention,its exclusiveemphasis
in practice was on Theravdda tradition. Severalscholar-
monks from Sri Lanka (i,e. Parawahera Vajiraflana and
H. Nandasara) held office or were associated in iu
activiti?s. Suzanne Karpeles who was a leading light in
the revival of Buddhism in Indo-China, found support
for it in the East,
The most important contribution of Les Amis du
Boudddhisme aput from popularizing meditation
techniques,was to publish severalbasic texts for the use
of the general reader: e.g. a prose translation of
Dhammapada by R. and M. Maratray in l93l ; Buddhist
Meditation by Lounsbery in French aad English and
Frcnch translation of Nv[natiloka's Word of the Buddha
269 FRANCE, BUDDIIISM IN
by La Fuente iD 1935. Its quartcrly journal, La peas&
Bouddhique, edited by La Fuente was rtarted in 1939,
Equally important were the Buddhist functions
organized by Is Amis, (e.g. Vesakha end Fctc de
Metteyya) which provided opportunitier to relly togcther
Buddhist scholars, the gradually increasing number of
French Buddhists and diplomats from traditionally
Buddhist countries. In 1945,Gunapala Malalasekerawas
a guest of honour at, the Vesakhacelebrationsconducted
at Mus€e de l'Homme. Lounsbery, Bccording to
Malalasekera, happened to bc one of the earliest to bc
consulted by him on the foundation of the World
Fellowship of Buddhists. She representedFrance at the
i n a u g u r a t i o n o f t h e W F B i n C o l o m b o i n 1 9 5 0a n d w a s
elected the Vice - President for Europc. [n some of thc
subsequent General Confereaces, Suzanne Karpeles re-
prcsented France.
Lcs Amis du Bouddhismc deciined snd ceased to
function cffcctively by the end of the 1960'sin spite of the
efforts of Nelly Kauffman and Paul Adam. Incidentally,
Adam is, to the best of available information, the fint
French nationaj to be ordained a Theravida Bhikkhu.
He entered the Sanghr in lndia in 1953 with the name
Aryadeva, in a.ssociationwith the Theosophical Society
of France, brought in Hindu, Mabayana and Vajrayina
tendenciesinto its sucoessororgnni2slisn which is now
called I-a Socittt des Amis du Bouddhisme.
The tradition of Lounsbery wes maintained by her
pupil Teisen Perusat Stork who embrsced Buddhism in
l94l and took an active part in the propagation of
Theravida through study groups, classes and publi-
cations. In 1908,she wes ordained in Soto Zen tradition
and since I972 has been associatedwith tbe work of the
WFB through the Centre Francais de lAssociation
Mondiale des Bouddhigues. A prolific writcr, hcr works
include Chents des Arahets de Jadis, Initiation au
Bouddhisma (a series of booklets translated from publi-
cations of the Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy) and
the quarterly journal Le Bodhisat. Her Le Bouddhisme,
p u b l i s h e di n 1 9 8 6 ,i s u n d o u b t e d l y t h e m o s t c o n c i s ea n d
readable French introduction to Buddhism and the
history of its evolution. Stork established tbe Temple
Bouddhistc Zcn near Cannes in 1968.
Like Teisen Perusat Stork, several French Buddhists
have moved from one Buddhist tradition to another. In
the processit was usually Theravida which first attracted
them to Buddhism through its intellectual appeal. But
progressivelyZen and Vajraydna, with their cmphasison
meditation and, to someextent, symbolic ritual are found
to be more satisfying. Besides, Zen and Vajrayana
traditions have been propagated in France by intensely
dedicated and capable Masters whose example and living
testimony have proved to be most inspiring,
 FRANCE, BUDDHISM IN
Aslan Buddlrlst Masters h France: Zen urd VqJrayine
O n e s u c h m a s t e r w a s T a i s e n D e s h i m a r uo f J a p a n w h o
s e t t l e di n F r a n c ei n 1 9 6 7 ,A p r o l i f i c w r i t e r , h e h a d s e v er a l
important publications to his credit such as k Trtsor de
l a V r a i L o i ( a c o m m e n t a r y o n t h e a p h o r i s m so f M a s t e r
Dogen, the founder of Soto Zen), TextesS'acrCs du Zen(2
volumes) and Le Sitra de Ia Grande Sagesse(translation
of Japanese PrajfrZparamitahrdayasitra).
P r a c t i c a lm a n u a l sa n d g e n e r a lw o r k s c o m p r i s e V r a i Z e n ,
Zen et Cerveau, La Pratique du Zen and his discourscsin
Zen Informations. He founded in I970.1'AssociationZen
d ' E u r o p e , w h i c h s i n c e 1 9 8 2 ,i s k n o w n a s L ' A s s o c i a t i o n
Z e n l n t e r n a t i o n a l e . I t h a s e s t a b l i s h e dd o j o s o r z a s e n
c e n t r e si n m a n y p a r t s o f E u r o p e a n d i t s T e m p l e Z e n d e l a
G e n d r o n n i i r e a c c o m m o d a t e su p t o 3 5 0 p a r t i c i p a n t s i n
r e t r e a t so f l o n g d u r a t i o n .
Among the collaborators of Taisen Deshimaru in
France wcre Joily (also known as Taigen) and
Prajffanandawhose Mahayana Buddhist Zen Temple,
constructedin 1963and consecratedby Taisen Deshimaru
i n 1 9 6 8 ,i s r e p u t e d t o b e t h e f i r s t Z c n T e m p l e i n E u r o p e .
Jolly edited a substantial quarterly journal Sagessefor a
s h o r t t i m e a n d a F r e n c h t r a n s l a t i o no f t h e D h a m m a p a d a
w a s s e r i a l i z e d .H e a i s o w a s a s s o c i a t e dw i t h i n i t i a t i v e so f
M aurice Salen, who f ounded Connaisance du
Bouddhismc in 1969and Yannick Gauthier who in Mid-
1970's formed the Association Zen dOccident.
Also assoicatedwith Taisen Deshimaru was J.P.
Schnetzler who continues to operate from Grenoble.
Convincing writer on Buddhism and sciencc,he continues
to be a popular exponent of Buddhist meditation and has
reached out to an innfluential circle of intellectuals and
p r o f e s s i o n a l s .A n o t h e r p u p i l t o a t t a i n d i s t i n c t i o n i s
FranCois-Albert Viallet. the author of Zen-l'Autre
Versant.
As could be expected,the popularity of.Zenresultedin
the proliferation of centres among which some rivalry
and dissension cannot be entirely ruled out. But the
scrvice they render in the promotion of Buddhism in
practice in France is indeed substantial. The most
significant charactcristic is that 7*n orguttsations are
headed, staffed and patronized mainly by French
nationals unlike other Buddhist traditions which continue
to involve and evendepend on immigrants from Buddhist
A s i a . A m o n g m a s t e r so f t h e F r e n c hZ e n m o n a s t i cs y s t e m
are Taikan Jyoji, the founder of the fint Rinzai Zcn
monastry in France, Roland Rech and Philip Taiho.
The lntroduction of Tibetan Buddhism to Francc is a
major contribution of Paul Arnold, who retired a3
P r e s i d e n to f t h e C h a m b e r o f t h e C o u r t o f A p p e a l . H e h a d
risited Butia Busty Lamasery in Darjeeling between 1959
and l97l and received instructions from Kargypa
teachers.At the end of a ten ycat effort, he establishedthe
first Tibetan Gelugpa meditation centre in France at
270 FRANCE. BUDDHISM IN
Forts-les-Bancsin Ain in 1971. Lamas Gishl Rabten,
Gonsar Tulku and Yonten Gvatso servedin it as medita-
tion masters.
With the increasingarrivals of learned and experienced
Tibetan Lamas as exiles, Vajrayana centres increased
steadily and attracted substantial numbers of Frcncb
enthusiasts.Lama Kalu Rinpoche founded Kagyu Ling
i n T o u l o n - s u r - A r r o u x , a m o n S i t s r e s i d e n tt e a c h e r sw e r e
L a m a s T a l o R l n p o c h e a n d S h e r a b D o r j e . A d i s c i p l co f
Lama Kalu, I-ama Karma Gyourme directed Kagyu
Dzong in Paris. Kargvupa centres had also been
c s t a b l i s b e di n A i x < n - P r o v e n c e a n d S a i n t A r r o m a n ,
A s a c t i v ea s L a m a K a l u R i n p o c h e w a s L a m a P h e n d e
R i n p o c h e , h e a d o f G n o r - p a s s e c t o f t h e S a k y a p a ,w h o
h a d b e e nd e s c r i b e da s" a p e r s o n a l i t yo f g r e a t w i s d o m a n d
e x e m p l a r y f a i t h . " H e e s t a b l i s h e di n 1 9 7 3 a c u l t u r a l
associationin Fresnes under the name Pratique du
Bouddhisme Mahayana Tibetain and founded along
with his wife Marie-Hiline Ahni the E-Wan Phend( Ling
near Evreux in Normandie.
l n t w o d e c a d e s ,t h e n u m b e r s b o t h o f t h e m o n a s t e r i e s
and meditation centres and of the adherentsand practi-
tioners of the different traditions of Tibetan Buddhism
have increased in France to the extent that practically
every region has a minimum of one or two very active
centreswith significant conSregationsand major centres
are being planned and establishedon the most ambitious
scale. For example, the current issue of Kunchab, the
quarterly journal of I'Institut Tibtain announces pro-
grammes ranging from week-end meditation courscs by
Lama Kalu Rinpoche to long-term study programmes
and elaborate rituds like Mahakile in severalcentregin
France. Likewise,Karme DharmaChakra, which, among
the different Buddhist communities, has been the first to
receive the recognition of the French Government as a
religious congregation, not only conducts as intensive
programme of study, meditation and rites in its many
centres in different regions but is planning to set up in
Dordogne an extensivemonastic complex called Dhagpo
Kagyu Ling, under the direction of Lama Jigme Tsewang
Rinpoche,
Like Zen, Vajrayana" too, has a large following of
French origin and most of them are professionals end
intellectuals. Reference was already made to Paul
Arnold's affiliation to Tibetan Buddhism. He was equally
fervently associatedwith both Kargyupa and Zen as his
most informative and interestingworks show : (e.9. Avec
Ies Lamas Tib&ains, 1970 and Lc Zen et Ia Tradition
Jdponaise,l973. J,P. Schnetzler,who bcgan with Zcn in
associationwith Taisen Deshimaru, pleyed a major role
in setting up Karma Migyur Ling as a centre of Tibetan
studies in Montchardon, Jacques Martin, the President
of the Buddhist Union of Francc affiliated to the
Buddhist Union of Europe, is not only an ardent
 FRANCE,BUDDHISM IN
adherent of Tibetan Buddhism but also aseriousresearch
student of its philosophy and traditions. This remnrkable
ecclecticism of French Buddhists has engendered closer
cooperation and collaboratioD among the different
traditions. On account of this rignificant fact, the original
unity and the onenessof doctrinal content and emphasis,
which is lessnoticed in Asia due to the isolated growth of
each tradition, are best observed and appreciated in
Frence,
Towrrdr Unlversal BrddHsm: French lrddsdve. A iand-
msrk in this spirit of intra-Buddhist cooperation
ha.r been the initiative of Paul Arnold who founded l^a
Tredition Bouddhiste to represcnt all schools and sectsof
mainstream Buddhist thought. Arnold's home in Paris
was thc vcnue for its fortnightly meetingsand meditation
clalres. A monthly Buletin, too, was published. Thc
internrtional confercncehe convened in December 1913
in collaboratioq with Nelly Kauffman brought togetber
Theravdda, Zen and Tibetan traditions. In it, the French
BuddhisB wcre refrrwented byTaisen Deshimaru, Phende
Rinpoche, Anne Berry, Taisen Perusat Stork, J.P,
Schnetzler, Didier Garenger, Ren€ Jolly and Mauricc
Selen. The immediate result of the conference was the
founding of La Commuaautt Bouddhique de Frene
with Paul Arnold as Cbairman and Ahni Kauffmann,
Stork, Jolly and Schnetzler as Vice-Chairmen. Another
rubridiary result of this conference arole tlnough a
hclure tour which, Somboon Siddhiyano, aThai Bhikkhu
who rcprercntcd England, undertook in central Francc
under the rponsonbip of Michel Dufour. An attempt
mede by Dufour to cater for those interested in Theravada
led to lhe creation of the Pali Buddhisi Union, through
which Dufour continues to maintain his contect with
Thcrevida Buddhistr.
Paul Arnold's indefatigable dfort to enhancr communi-
cation and cooperation among the growing Buddhist
otlrnisllisnr and institutions not only in France but dso
in Europe produced the fint Europcan Buddhist congress
in Octobcr 1975, It resulted in the formal establishment
of the Buddhist Union of Europe of which Peul Arnold
wes thc Founder-President.
Idlrn froo dltlorf,y Budftbt comtrles of South end
6ootb-EdACe. The ercalation of the political upheaval
ia Indo-China rad the cventuel rise of Communisi
regimcr rftcr the Vietnam war had a signilicant impact on
Buddbism ia France-the third phare of what the writer in
hir rtudier callr the Buddhist Diasporawbich began with
thc dirpenel of Chincse Buddhists in 1949 end Tibetan
Buddhirb in 1959.The mid-1970'r raw an unprecedented
inllux of refugees from the region and the majority werc
Buddhirts. Those from Cnrnbodia end Laor profeued
Therevida wblle thc Vietnamcrc Buddhistr worr for tbc
mort plrt adberents of Mahiyina Ch'aD tradition.
271 FRANCE, BUDDHISM IN
Modest temples and monasteries were established in
large numbers not only in and around Paris but in most
of the major cities in France. A sizeabieclergy from these
countries and Thailand was available in c,rchtradition to
cater for the religious needs of a burgconing immigrant
population, who rccognizcdin their Buddhist hcritage an
indispensableingredicnt of their cultural identity. Their
ranks were further strengthened by a few thousand
Sinhala Buddiristsfronr Sri Lanka, who too, were served
b y s e v e r a ly o u n g b h i k k h u s .
Within barely fifteen years,the progressmade by these
new Buddhist communities has beenspectacular,The Sri
Lankans, Cambodians and l-actians have been collabo-
reting in mainteiningtheir common Buddhist tradition
and as a result of th:ir dispenr.l throughout tbe country,
have succeededin resuscitatingTheravada in France. It
was for decadesovershadowedby the French enthusiasm
for Zen and Tibetan truditions.
It is, however, the Vietnamese Buddhist community
which has attained a unique lcvcl of visibility and
influcnce, even though unlike the Tibetan tndition,
Chbn has yet to attract significent numbers of French
nationals. Three organizationswhich came into existence
around the same time in mid-1970 were Nrcm-Phat-
Duong Khanh-Anhf.ounded by Thich Tri-Tinh; Associa-
tion Culturelle Bouddhiquc Linh-Son; founded and
directed by Thich Huyen-Vi and Assocr'atioa Bouddhique
Franco-Yictnamienne of Thich Tam Chan. Manv more
have since arisen.
The most impressiveis the record of Thich Huyen-Vi,
whose movement is world-wide nnd basic concentration
is on higher leerning, research and training in Ch'an
tredition on an admirable bslance bctween academic end
spiritual objectives. Hims€lf a scholar of repute in
Chinese and Pali, he rupports several important inter-
national Buddhirt Bctivities which include the Buddhist
Studies Review editcd by Russell Webb and published
from London. His original temple in Joinville-le-Pont
hal grown into e substsntial monastery and his currcnt
efforts are concutrated on creating a large-scde Buddhist
University - (DhammauiJle, near Limoges in centrd
France.
Thich Huyen-Vi's early collaborators in Association
Culturclle Bouddhique Linh-Son heve established their
own monastries and pagodas in France. Specid mention
needc to be made of those founded by Thich Thien Dinh
in Meneille, by Thich Minh L e in Slvres, by Thich Minh
'l
Tam in Bagneur and by hich Tenh Thiet in Lyon.
Thougb none of the Thcravida inrtitutioar established
by Cambodian, Laotian or Sri L^ankan communities
rivdr thesc monastcrier in grendeur, the efforts of
Somdech Bou-kry Thera of Creil, Ajlhn Boripart Thera
 FRATERNTTY
in Choisy-le-Roi, Chou Kim Chen Therain Bagneux and
Parawahera Candaratena Thera in I-e Bourget merit
;ecognition.
Buddlftm In France todey. The prescncc in France of
Buddhism in its rich doctrjnal diversity and of fervent
Buddhists equally varied ethnically and linguistically is
not only marked but often highlighted in expos0s of
French tolerance and cultural catholicity. France has
alweys welcomed Buddhists. L6on de Rosny is quoted in
1 8 9 0 a s e s t i m a t i n g t h e n u m b e r o f B u d d h i s t si n P a r i s a s
30,000. In 1990. Jacques Martin, the President of the
Buddhirt Union of France, estimatesthe Buddhist popula-
tion of France to be at least one million. Months of May
and October witness colourful ceremoniesof Vesakhq
Kathina snd, F|te des Morts which attract media
attention and wide participation,
tsuddhism is no longer regarded an exotic or strange
forcign importation. Its philosophical sophisrication,
ethical primacy and cultural heritage are widely known
and recognised.
Paris has become the popular venue for periodical
B u d d h i s t c o n f e r e n c e sI.n O c t o b e r 1 9 8 8 ,f o r i n s t a n c e ,t h e
Third Congress of the Buddhist Union of Europe was
held in UNESCO with the writer as the chairman. The
International Associationof Buddhist studieshad decided
to hold its Tenth International Conferencc again in
UNESCO in July 1991.
The annual Vesikha celebration in the magnificent
B u d d h i s t t e m p l e i n B o i s d e V i n c e n n e s ,n e a r p a r i s , w i t h
the perticipation of all Buddhist traditions and the
prerenceof distinguished publicfigures in French adminis-
tration and society reflects symbolically the placc which
Francc has acorded to Buddhism.
fuiedr W. P. Guruge
FRATERMfY.
The Sairghe or the Buddhist Order is a
fraternity in the senseof a religious institution governed
by a code of discipline and mord cbnduct. With a history
as far beck es tbe 5th or 6th cutury B.C. the Buddhist
fraternity may be regarded as oDe of the earliest such
movements in the world, with perhaps the exccption of
pre-Buddhistic Indian ascetics known es paribbajakas,
w h o w e r e n o t d e v e l o p e dc o m m u n i t i e so r b r o t h e r h o o d s ,
but who excerciseda considerably important influencc
on the formation of the former.
The Buddhist fraternity began as a band of wandering
monkg pledged to vows of cclibacy and poverty like the
Indiar paibbijakas; its earfiest orign ir traccd to the
rrxt)--t\po erahant monks who gathered around the
Buddha duriag the reins-residenceimmcdiately after his
E r r S h t e n m e n t . T h e s em o n k s f r e e f r o m d e f i l e m e n t sl i k e
272 FREEDOM
the Buddha himself,were exhorted thus: "Go ye, monks,
and wander forth, for the good, the happiness, of the
m a n y , o u t o f c o n s i d e r a t i o nf o r t h e w o r l d , f o r t h e w e l l
being the blessingand happinessof gods and men, preach
ye the doctrine glorious in the beginning, in the middle
and in theend,,....."
Thus was the first monastic fraternity establishedin
B u d d h i s t I n d i a , w h i c h l a t e r , w i t h t h e i n c r e a s eo f i t s
members grew rnore and more complex, and finally
developed into a large organisation, governed by the
Vinaya. As a code of discipline the Vinaya was enacted
after twenty years of the formation of the Order, and
aside from its purely religious or monastic rules and
principles, it constitutes also the legal and judicial
fremework in which the Buddhist fraternity ie cast, and
has its being as a monastic or social organisation.
U n l i k e t h e b r o t h e r h o o d sk n o w n t o a n c i e n t E u r o p e o r
the pre-Buddhistic Indian paribbajakas, acelakas iji
vikas,nigagt.hasandothers, the Buddhist brotherhood is
governed by flexible rules and retulations compared to
the rigorous practicesofasceticismofthe stoicsand early
semi-Christian Esenes.For Buddhism recognisesthe life
of moderation, free from rigorous asceticism as the
essential pre-requisite for attainment of Truth. Of the
ancient division of thc-Buddhist fraternity into monks
(thera) and nuns (theri) the latter has today ctased to
function as an institution, whereas the division of the
Buddhist fraternity into irimika (i.e., those living in
monasteries,seeM. II, p.5) andiraf,ftaka(those living in
forestsor hermitages,M. L 30; III. 30) is still a recognised
division in present Buddhist fraternities.(see also
DHURA)
Buddhist fraternities in the Theravdda countrieg like
Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia etc. adhere to the
original teachings, allowing little modifcations either in
esotericteachingsor monastic life. They seekto prcerve
the ancient tradition and life amidst modern changes,
The countries of the North however, have undergone
considerable secularisation, in their attempt to accom-
modate rcligious teachings and monsstic life, in the social
and economic changes of the modern world, Hence a
differencr in external monastic life and conduct of
southern and northern Buddhist orden is conrpicous,
although most of the underlying basic teachings of the
primitive doctrine remain preserved. in all Buddhist
fraternities of the world. See also, SANGHA.
Nevllle Gunnhr
FN.EEDOM
Frec wllt Somescholarshavemainteinedthat freewill
hasno placein Buddhism.E.J, Thomashasstatedthrt
 FREEDOM
"Buddhism does not eppeer to have solved the antinomy
of free will, except by teaching without any subtlety thut
right action is a part of the Noblc Path."r Walpola
Rahule mekes the following observations:"The question
of free will has occupied an important place in western
thought and philosophy. But according to conditioned
Gencsis, this question does not and cBnnot arise in
Buddhist philosophy ... Not only is the soralled free will
not free, but even the very idea of free will is not free from
conditions."2 G. P, Malalasekera also expresses the
same view when he answersthe question which he poses
'What
does Buddhism have to say regarding free will?
The question does not seem to have been askedof the
Buddha, but, if he had been asked, he would probably
have answeredthat the question does not ariseor that it is
inaccurately put. There can be no guch thing as a free will
outside the causalsequenct which constitutesthe process.'1
(See further FREE WILL).
As opposed to these scholars Trevor Ling maintains
that "the Buddhat insistenceon the real possibility of
human choice and freedom of action, and his opposition
to_fatalism differentiate his teaching from that of the
Ajivaka3.'r It is K. N. Jayatilleke who has investigated
the problem in depth. After a searchingstudy he comesto
the conclusion that Buddhism asserted the reality of
human freedom or free willwithout denying at the same
time that this frce will was conditioned but not wholly
rhaped or determined by factors which affected it.
Freedom of choice is the very basis of Buddhist ethics.
The very possibility of our refraining from evil and doing
gmd, depends on the fact that our choices and dccisions
arc not strictly and wholly determined and in this sense
are free. Thus Buddhism upheld a theory of non-
deterministic causalconditioning along with the doctrine
of free will.s
The Buddhist theory of causal genesis (paticca-
samuppida) lteers clcar of the two extrcmes of strict
determinism and indeterminism. lnthe Devtdaha Suttf
the Buddha criticises pubbekatakammahetu which
upholdr the view that all our prcsent experienccs of
pleasure end pain are entirely due to our past actions. If
Nder
l. E. J. Thomar, The Life of Buddh4 London, 1956, p.207
2. Walpola Rahuh, Whtt the Buddha Taught, Gordon Fraser, 1959, pp, 34, 55
3. C' P' Malalasekerg'The Statur of the Individual in Theravada Buddhist Philosophy," in The Status of theIndividual in East
ud Wes\ ed. Charler A. Moore, Univerrity of Hawaii Prerr, Honolulu, 196E,p. 73
4. Trwor Ling, Ihe Buddht, Penguin Bookr, 1976, p. 14l
5. K. N. Jeyetilleke, Ethia in Buddhist Penpective, wheel No. l7s I l'.6 Bps, Kandy pp. l - 14
6. M. fi,n2
7. D. t,53, DA. t, 16l
t. z{. I, p. 2E6
9. D. I, p. 55
10. D. l, p. 2Eff.
lf . A. I, p. 173-173
273 FREEDOM
past actions entirely control our present experiencesman
has no chance of shaping his destiny. Another theory
rejected by the Bucidha is rssaraarrzminahetu which
maintaius that ail our expe:icnccsare due to creation by
God. If suchwcre the casemarrcarinot be hcld responsiblc
f o r t h e g o o d a n d e v i l t h a t h t d c * s , b e c a u s eu l t i m a t e l yi t i s
God who is responsible for evrrything in the universee.
Sangatibhivahetu is an,riher rcjected theory. It means
t h a t b e i n g sa r e d e s t i n c dr o € x p e n e n c ep l e a s u r ea n d p a i n
d u e t o f a t e . I f s u c h f a t a i r s mo p e r a t e si n t h e u n i v e r s ei t i s
just not possibleto make an end of suffering, and leading
a religious life becomcs meaningless,Abhijitihefu, the
thcory that holds that all experiencesar€ due to hereditary
physiological causesl" also rejrcted by the Buddha.
Makkhali Gosilar maintained that beings ger defiled
and purified without any causeor re8lion. Beingshave no
initiative, will or effort of their own. Thcy experiencc
pleasure and pain goilg through a process of deter-
ministic natural evolution, divided as they are into six
species. Criticising Matkhali Gos-ala'stheory of the
absenceof moral responsibility and free will the Buddha
says thet he-is bor:n for the woe of ma-'xkind.r Ajita
Kesakambali was a materialist who denied moral
causationaltogetherand upheld a theory of annihilation.e
Another theory rr.lected by the Buddha is adhicca-
samuppannavadatl or accidentalism,which denies
caulation a.ltogetherand marntaiDsthat eveDtstale place
fortuitously. Perhaps yadrcchEvida, do-as-yu-like is
similar in effect to this view of accidentalism.
Id the Ahguftara-nikayatt the Buddha criticises those
who h old p ub b ek atah etu vid a, i ss aranim miaa he tuvi da
and ahetu-appaccaya-vada. He questions whether it
could be the case that they indulge in misdeedssuch as
killing, stealing etc, on account of actions done in the
past/because of creation by God/or without any
apparant reuron or cause. He argues that those who
acccpt the position that cverytbing happens as a result of
past action/becausc of creation by God/or without any
cause, would have neither the will (chanda), nor thc
initiative (vayima) to do something which should be
done or not do something which should not be done,
 s'np:ru{l{}ng 274 FREEI)(OM

f n g e t i r ; i p , . t _ r " r i r p l ii n r e n l i i V , t h e v h a v e n o S u C h i d e a a S Becauir man has the freedom to choose his actions he is

r r r r g h f 1 q , ' t " , + n c i r - " i ! i i ) r r ; r r I i , . _f]i L , , t h e y l i v e i n B S t a t e o f responsible for his deeds and he reaps what he sows.15
lrcwilr{',r rrlrnr, \ry'ilh r1;-rg,ln;'rlrrisense fsculties, and they Therefore the Buddhe exhorts meD to choose what is
{.rnpy1ft r, r1rl,,.',fr ri e ri V fl tqYr";r ;re; t!l1gp1 ei aim to recluseship, conducive to his own well-being and happiness end live as
an island/lamp unto oneself, hc must help himself,
? u r j , l h i s r * i r : . t r q : l sa l ! r h e l . i r : . . . . ' i : i c hd e n y t h e d o c t r i n e
another cannot help hirn.te
n f f r r e : , r ; i i l . i f 1 . r - i i ; 6 : 1 . , t " "1i q
! ,9r : . ; - r f c a u S a t i o n , p a t i C C A -
.!,'qiFru,-'t,.t.r{* !ri rii:tt,.r,.iil : . ! i :1r::flrgninistic theories, as
The man who is given to evil habits loscs much of his
. ' : i ' , l ir r t . ' r : i : - ' ' t r " r " : f ; 1 ! r ; . , , , r . i "ri:' 1; ,d e n i e d C a U S a lC o f f e -
free will. One addictcd to drugs or alcohol is a slaveto his
ini:i:l.i i.: : 'i - r 1 ! " r f f : lf, r . i . I a k i n g t h e m i d d l e p a t h ,
habit, he has no control over himself. Though he suffersa
l i e * . , i ; r g , . i ' . . rr l,:";:ir,l;*tc (:pp()$ing eXtfeme3, the great deal physicdly and mentally because of his evil
pqtrt'cs.ss't$t];?;o-,.ifllfti!t,:,,rics that human actions are habit, ,tre has no strength of character to shed the evil
t:firtditioftrtf L.iri: liii ri.r"rrfi.1.,drterrnined by the factors habit. He is not free to do so becausehe is conditioned to
ttint nffert rri. 1i:rl'n---lrrre,
rr'"{cr{iing to Buddhism, man has the extent of bcing unablc to use the element of free will
an ,,'inrrlrut rif frlc wiii "it",ir:!rilrnkes it possible for him to with which he, as a human being, is cndowed, He ir
tjhif ose L,rI 'l,;t tt frJtfr!irii.r,:!'f:g,
bound and fettered by his evil habits (safrfrutto hoti).The
Oncr e hrnhmin spr:ro$ched the Buddharz and said A'nguttara-nikiyarT explains how a fetter (samyajana)
thni hr hnlqlq tl."r-uiiErv thRt.rnen has no free will (natthi is formed: One ponders over end entertains thoughts of
grte&xr:r, n*{/Jt: .rrqre"t-q'.:} l'}ien the Ruddha asked him those things which provoke exciting dcsire. As he doesso
horv he coffFsi t* sirr:h F vir:lp when he c&n, on his own craving arires in him. When he craves for those things he
nr<:i'relo i'ol;iF {.i"lR:.il '.1. gq hrrck (Sayam abhikkantO gets fettered (saf,f,utto hoti). This is what the Buddha
^t 'f
sg.tt'et"-1, ii.t ntttn"i. l-.e iirrrjdha goes on to explain that calls a fetter (samyojana).
{!rrrir,r in en or*"rrent .rl initiative firabbhadhitu), afr Killing, stealing etc, are evil dceds (akusala) and they
elel!:{".qf n$ q:51i{iqr,i1 i'nikkewadharu,} an element of are prompted by unwholesome motivetional roots
4fldr:rrl;'rrr dfcr,e &Aarnr'f,l,S[1t\ fln element Of reSiStanCC (akusalamila) such ar lust (raga), hatred (dosa) and
{thfrrnprf * etn,!, r;r, riernent ot- persistence (thitidhetu,)and dclusion (moha).rr It is eignificant thet these rnotiva-
p u i: Ie nr pn i rr{' rlirli f i r,,rrnl *ff r: r t ( n p ak k a m ad hit u) in man.
'l tional roots are said to circumscribe e mrnrE frcedom of
he,ri*"n if is ,.'hvi"uls that man ha:r the capability to action - rigo paaia*arano, doso pam-r,aakaraao,
r;hr.rr.rlptieiverjn aiternnfives, them is free will on the part
moho paminakanro.le The' Maggasamyudr2o rtricr
r' I hitnteii 4r {ra,&.ann)nnd on [L'e pan of others (parakira).
that covetousnelr (abhijjhi), ill will (byipidt),
Ia f lie 1t*ha{efthik6 Fg/rufcvada SuttatJ the Buddha adherence to rites and ritud (silabbatepenarase) end
e.1[r*r'tt fhq( t]rre qhntrld reflenf trcfnre doing an action irtellectu 8l dogmatism (id am-saccabhiaiva a) alco oouti-
rsft*tt1qr it ic c'lndrrcive tn harm to oneself and others. tute veritable bonds which control even physical ection
{lne rhnrrlrl aRrrv o!,rt only thosc sctions which neither (kiyagantha).
l."qrm *lr.e.r"it nnr r:rtberg Tn cultivile sammivayama,t. One who has no control over one's sensefaculties nlco
r {p'lr! *l{, r rt o:.i' f he nohle rightfold path one must stimulste
has very littlc freedom. Sense faculties are called
ih, .rlli rn-{ rndqry(t!'l-: indriyini in Pdi beceuse they domin*e (indn mcrnr
r''r,: !i':rr t'r nllq"rri evii rf.stes which have not yet arisen to lord) man so much. Tbe ChapTaa.sutte of tbc Safayr,tr.aa
atj;e enew, ssmyutt'rt illustrates the state of the untrained man with
(b) tn €r'ndicate the evil states which have already arisen, an eloquent simile. Six animalr who have diffcrent hrbitr
{.} t.r rnco!'rn36 wtrolescme statet which have not yet and divcrse fields of action are tied togcther in one firm
orirrn, knot. Thc animals are a snake which tries to crecp into an
(el trr Erroliferatrq wholerome state! which have already anthill, e crocodile that tries to eccepeinto water, a bird
. r-:".rfl. tbat rtruggles to fly in the sky, a dog that tries to run to t

i/' i ill, r,. iI

1:l rr l'.t tl:'
l,{ ; ' . ! , ! . Y
1:- \ i t , . 2 2 , 1 "'sdisan v'eryte biiem trdlirrm hulc phdea
l ( , - : : .t c n . .i;! : , ihgt6i!":s 11tl*trlAi
1.. a ,. r .tF,
' I t 4l

!!: ,i V, p r\7
'n s. .>-1-;
Jo It. c. 230
"'
?' <.::. _. t:rQ
 FREEDOM 275 FRAETX)M

buman retilement, a fox that tries to flec to n cemctcry
and a montey that attcmpt! to jump into a forest. Just sr
there ir much turmoil with the activities of these different
animrl6, the rensc laculties of the untrained men err
constently trying to reach their rcspective fields of action.
fhe nnan who har no control over bis sense faculties is
much confused. It is the men who has control over his
senre facultier who is more free to choosc bcru,cen
alternetives. For instance the man who has curbed his
toDguc can exercise hir will and wittrstand the temptation
for savoury food if eeting it is harmful to his health. Thc
man who has no control owr his senseshas hardly the
freedom of choice as he is so much overpowered by his
ten3e3.
\\e L4ehasafayatanika Suttdz explains in detail how
msn gets fettered by his sense faculties. He does not
undentand as it really is, the nature of the eye, the nature
of virual objects, the neture of visual consciousness,the
naturc of visual contsct, the nature of pleasurf,blc,
painful srd neutrel scnsationr that arise as a result of
visual contact; without such reelistic understanding he
getr attached to the eye, visible objects, visual conscious-
ness,visual contect, and the sensationsthat arisc thereby.
When he is attached (saratta)he getsfettered (samyutta).
That mernt he loses much of his free will. Being deluded
he livcs secing the pleasurable aspect of rhe visual
experienct and thereby his rebirth personality builds up
Gyatt4 paf, c' upidinakk h an dhi upacayam g acchaa ti).
His phyrical and mental tensions (darathil increase,
physical and mental torments (santipi) increase, and
physicd and mental fevers (perilihi) increase. He ex-
pcricnccs suffering (au*ruQ of borh body and mind.
The Mahitenhisahkhaya Suttazr explainr tbe same
truth when it states that the man who gets attracted and
repclled by pleesent and unpleasent scnse data respec-
tively, hes a mind thet is limited (parittacetasol, which
mean! that his freedom of action is limited. On the other
hand, the man who does not get attractd by pleesurable
rense dstp end retrreiledhv unpleesant rcnrc date hu e
mind thnt ir rlcrcribed elrdimrted (eppamiatataso).zt
Anothar rpcthod ef developirg.r mind thrt il urrti-it.O i,
by cultivn'ilg tbe rubiimc r::tint:ilnlr a{. metta ktruni,
mud,iti ac.r! upekkks tc rnffur* sfl t';r€rtlsru.:r
Concepl.:tx;:rrsrirq frexic,:r c;irhoicc guch rs eners/
}. rfi 2rt 1:.ii*'im q), pr6?re?rtncc
{vi ri 3,a), will 1'c'*.on,Cr
(ussiha) and er{:rtlo n fttstnihiYo t'ily a prcm,inent mle
in the Buctdhistsr;iiarnscr !itrern;:on. Man is adviaed to
asrert his freedom even b','i?vrrprwering ar,ilrtetet of the
mind just as a strrng man wcinjd overpower a wcal
mru0.27One murt try to take the rnind under cnet c"ontrol
(cittsm vasam vattatt) and not go under the *tnrrtroi of the
mind (ro ce cittassa vlrcnE r"frudl ,t 'I'ha eremplary
monl is the cne who is never lnx in the orltivstion of
virtue, who just does not entcrrain the iqleaof giving up
(the upward struggle) and who perseveresra nttain what
has not yet been attained, to unrjerstand r*'N:aths3 not yet
been understood, to realise whEt hnt n,:,f r,el bean
realired.t?
The man rho commits evil n.n<iintlulger in sen!€
pleasures ig deacribcd s-s on? whcs is going down the
gtream {anuso(.egirc";}t+ iikr nnt .xh']!is drifted elown
by
tbe strrem.!t .fle harrli:",rrqqehjs fr.eerr.:ll Succ"rmhingte
natural inciinati.:nr3l hr pet: rornpl:tely entalglarlnnd
fettered within anrl xrthnut.:i 'fhe *ne who crrltivntet
moral habits and rertrnins his sens.gr: wall on ihr path to
freedom and is deslribed Bs onr going uprtream
(patisotag;imr).r 5ubduing his physicrl rcnre llacultier
he develops spiritual faculties (indriya q.v.) ruct er
saddha, uiriya, sati, sunidhi, paf,fti.ts Wh",n therc
spirituel faculties get further rtrengthened they become
spirilual powers (balaq.v.) sueh es seddhibata, uiriyabala
etc.3aSome of these powers are then dewloped to
become factors of cnlightenment (boiihlngeq.v,)r which
bring about total unshatable liberation of mind (*uppi
xtovimutti). I'hus it is possible to mainrnin rhat by
exploiting the element of free lr'ill with which n rnrn is

22. M. il1,287
73. M,l, p. 266
21. M. r, p.270
U. D.l, pp.25O-251
26. A.lV, p. 3X)
27' M. I, pp. l2Gl2l - etasi citttm abhiniggenhitabbam
abbinippiletabbam
ahhisntipaabbam
U. M.I, p.2l.f
29.A.I, p.213
n. A.II,p.5
31. It. p. ll1
32. A, IlI, p. 5 - Stbhuylrna satti kancsu paitliti
33. .9,I, p. l3 - ntojau behijatzjatay jatiti pji
y. A.II,p.5
35. S.v, p.n2;- M. II, pp. l l-12
3 6 . S , V , 2 1 9 ;M . l I , p p . l l - 1 2
3 7 . . SV. , p. lll; M.ll,pp.ll-12
 FREEDOM
eudorod bc crn aeil himrcff uprrrdr to cmplctcly
dcconditioo Hmrclf from tbc frcton tbrt rficct hin rDd
thur dbjoia tb. chrin of culuim. He thcn brr cmpkrc
control ovcr hir dd (dovtsipmU).lr lle ir $le to
cotcrtrir rbrlcsw thoughb/iDtsDtioDr h rirbcr to
strtGrttin, bc b cqudly crplble of not cotart.i'i't
whrtrrcr thor4bu/intcotionr vhict hc docr nd rmt to
Gatcnrin. tle hrr coue to r ilrtr of mcoditioncd
(lrirhll,tuP frccdoo from boodrye (pgrLlhan),.
ud tbrt rrrte ir ;ercnlly known s aibbinr-
Frrdr et lbofE T}re KZIiat Sundr ir thc bcrt
exprcrrioa of th freedon of tloujlt ia Buddhifln. Tbre
thc hddhr rdoonirhed tbc Kllinrr not to rc€pt r
propolition at lruc ontbc criterhof rcrclrtion, trrditioo,
hcrnry, ffiipturrl rrrthorlty, logic, infcrencc, nrpcrficirl
obrcrvrtioa, rgrecn?at \ritb oae'l rcceptcd vicrr,
phdbility rad tha prertigc-velue of the tercher. Ooc
rhotrld rcccpt only on grouadr of pcrrond convictioa,
rrd rhcu thc rcrultant oonrequenccrof ruch rcoeptrna?
rnaF?a to bc urdul in the ligbt of axpcricrce.Oneir ako
rdvircd to bc guided by the rttitude of the ri!c. Tbc
Buddhr Grpcctr hir tcechingr too to bc rubjectedto tbc
nmc inwstigrtionr u thorc prcrcribcd to the Kil-Err,
md bc dcccribd bir doctrine ar inviting invertigation and
verifircetiron(ehipurika). In the Vimmn*tSucrr'l rnd
thc Cdttisutttlt tbc Buddba invitcchir dirciplcr to rca
whcthcr hfu phyricd aod vcrbd bcbrviour betreyr tbc
pr6cno? of rny difilcmcntr ruch es trtcd, hetnd and
ig.orrnce. ln the Bnhmiyu Suttf w? Ee?t with tbc
youngman Uttare who rayr that hc followedthe Brddha
like e rhedow for sevenmonths to vcrify tbc valfttity of
the fenc tht hd spreadabout the Buddha
Thc Buddhr want! that dogmetism (idrm ttcctbhini-
wo)ism intellcctuelfctter. Tlre Atth*tiaggts of tbe
Sutttnipia too emphrrirer thrt obstinatcclinging to
vicwr thet thir elone i,r truc and all else in fake ir a
hindrancc to the rcquirtition of Laowledge. Ditth\pa-
fraaa or fsnaticirm ir enothernemeby which dogmatic
rdhereoc to viewr ir introduccd in tbe .9uffrs.
X. A.II, p.36
39. S. IV, p. 359ff.
tO.A.Il, p. 12
1 1 .A . I , p . l t 8
1 2 M . l , p .3 1 8
43,M lI, p. 172
r4 M.Il, p. 135
.J 5n w. t32- 76G7t7;E7t ff.
4 D ltt,p.29
VI,p ltl
at A lll. p.63
t9 D lll.p 6l
J0 D II,p ?1
(l Linll r l1Q
276 FREEIX)M
&ddbbm reofnirr thrttkc rrdctP rootcd ery6o-
bd;rl birrcr rbich retrrdJrtcdon of tha4bt_- d.e
,ryt*tita pann dab0rfl'btare.d Th fiw ainnar
or rentrl hindrrncarn nmcty d&rc for rcorc pkuurq
(kfurrrs.tad,{, ill-ri[ (byapA4,rloth rod torpc (ttr'
arlm*ldhr4. rcdlerr.rl rnd rorry (udldhffitutL-lta)
ud doubt (*-tiefi) ob.curc thc Eind3ad hinder tb
rrbin3 of rbrlgp. tU litgtuna*art erphinr in
dadl hor tfu aivrra sobrqrc frccdoo of tb_oughtrnd
thc rrliat of rirdori. Thc furction of th ruz.rnauh
bcrililutt i[urtrucd ritb r cinih of rrcr mAei fvt
circumrtracet whcn it fiib to rbor it! d4th lnd
coltsntr. Coloued Flter, boiting tltst, morr-covercd
wrter, turbulcnt ntsr rnd muddy mtcr in dtrl.ml
rcrpcctivcly illurtrrtc the obccuriry lrlurc of tbc ar
yttzn.t. For reel intclkcrud frsedom one Butt rftl oncl
mind of there cmotioaal rnd cogiitirc birs. In frct thc
vcry rim of the counc of reotd trddng ia Euddhirm ir
thc crertion of ruiteblc coad.itionr to dlow tbc frce
rriring of wirdom rDd thrt rtrtc i! crllcd pfifrTvimuni
fracdom througb wirdom.
Frccdm o{ Erprc-r Buddbiro sncourtgc! thc frec
expression of ideu. Under thc idcd celtrvero rulc
philorophen ud rcligious tcecben rre given righteou
protection and prroaege end the crt&IatO king b
obligcd to vbit them from tirae to time to iaquire lbout
morel value3, what is good, true Bnd u!cful." Tbc
Vrjjirar ebout whom the Buddharperks in prairc in th
Mth-tptrinibbiaa Sunas arc rild to asrcmblein unity
periodcally, evidently for dircucting freely tbe e$ein of
tbc rtrtc andcommunityproblcmr.The Buddbereyr th*
theywill continueto protpcr ro long rs thisinrtitution oI
frecdiscussioncontiauerto funaion. It ir recorded5lthtt
thc Buddhe har beenageinrt the idce of rcaderingthc
buddhavecaae vedictnetrci.e. Searkrit, the lugurye of
the elitc of the dey. lnsteadhe allowedthc monlr to leern
the dhnmma each in his/her own lengurge pcrhepr
becaure he believrd that thc mothcr tonguc dlowr
anybody to udentand and expresr irlcc! bctter !d
 FREEDOM
morc frecly. Tbc Buddhe speatr in praisc of criticirm
where criticisa in duc; rnd it is equelly imporrent ro
rpcak in rppreeietion of thore who dererve such
appreciation.sr Tbc Buddha! attitude ro criticism and
praire ir alro notewqrthy.In the Erahmejila5u6rsl 163
Buddba rtyr thrt one rbould not get sogry if anotber
werc lo criticirc oDe, for lbe rimple retron that one will
not be in r porition to be whether rhe criticism is valid or
not if onc gtt! rngry. Moreover anger is e moral denger
to onerelf. Nor rhould one be ctated if someone prailcr,
_bcceurcclrtion prevcntr one from seeing whethcr thosc
qualities for wbich one is praised are found in one or trot.
ln the facc of blame end prairc onc shoutd mrintain an
equanimout attitudc er sclf-correction, if necarsary,
becomes possible only then.
ln dcsciplinary aad ecclesia,rticelmettcrs the Buddhist
code of discipline rcquires rhat the cen$a should bc duty
informed of thc mrtter! which need attention and alt
members erc cxpcc{ed to expresgtheir views on the irnrcr
conccrncd.r This is a clear example of tbe freedom of
exprersion that is gueranteed ro rll membcrs of thc
community of mouks,
Spccch ir one of thc threc modes of human activity, the
other two being physical end mental activities. Four
modes of rpcech, namely falsehood, verbal ebusc, slender
and gorrip are recogniscd er unwholerome, In the_
Abhayrij*uminsuttar tbe Buddba says rhtt only
wbet ir true and urcful should be rpoken, aad that too at
the propcr time. There may be occagions wben harsh
langurge ir uielful for disciplinary purpose!, apart from
ruch erceptional cicunstances one should tnin oneself
to ure words which are pleesant and polite. But if onc
doer not have something true and useful to rsy, end if it is
not thc propcr time even if one has, it is best to obcervc
noble rilence (dhaami vi kathZ ariyo vitunhlbhivo).x
hccdoo dWolrhft Buddhism is a rrcry rolerant religi oru
and it diri nor rry to gain edherents by force or cocrcion. It
spread peacefully in the world and it rarely came in
conflict with orher religious ideologies in countries where
it spread. Its teechings consist of the nature of the wortd
end man, man's place in the whole cosmic contcxt, the
probleins man is faced with and a means of getting rid of
thosc problems. It is specificelly statcd that tbese ere
cxplained es thcy really are (yathibhitan), Ar rhe
Buddha hed a totel vision of reality he wqs able to teach
52. A . l , p , 6 9
53. D . 1 , p , 3
v. Via, lt, p. 80
55.M . l , p p . 3 9 + 3 9 5
56. M. I, p. 16l
57.D . I l , p , l 5 l
56. M , l l l , p . 2 % f i .
59. M . l l , p p . l , t 7 - l t .
277 FREE WILL
Ean rrryr rnd merns of orderingall upc.ctr of life so tbet
men could lced r well-intcgntcd holirtic life, in harmony
with oac r.oothcr rnd with lrlure, Thru Buddhism ir e
full fhdgcd philorophy of life. Buddhism rc$prr tber
there could bc certrin lrFcts of other nligioru ud
pbilorophia which rrc truc rnd ulcfut to mrn, thougb
they may not rnrwer dl problemr mrn ir feccdwith in th
cosmic contcrt. Tbcrefore Buddhim rpprcciatcd thosc
true and ureful elpcctt of othsr ideologfor. Buddhicn
dso refreiDnedfrom criticitidg and confronting othcr
religionr ar far as porsible, particularly il those viesr
wercnot positivelyharmful to mrn and rocicty. Gencrrlly
it prefcrred to expound iU owa doctrinesr in er great
deteil rad rr clarity asposribh, without comperiug end
contr!rting witb other views unlesr pointedly
quertioned.sr But wherwer there were harmful viewr
propegeted,Buddhirm mrde it a point to clcarlycrporc
3hcvrnity rnd drmege of rucb view eod supportcdsuch
artumentr with round reeron, cvidcncEand experiential
fscts.rr Thus Buddhismadoptede very tolerent ertitude
to other religiour end appreciatedthe vrlue of whrt ir
calledtodry freedomof wonhip. tn the Mahipariaibbaaa
.9uttathe Buddherpeah in prairc of the vajjaa religiour
rhrines called Vajjietiyiai, and cttrainJy they werc not
Buddhistingtitutions.But theBuddhasrysthat solongar
the Vriiis continueto patroniretheir placcsof wonhip
end follow their religiouscustomrthey wiil prosperand
not decline.This rtetementclearlyshow! the respectful
nonpolemicelettitudeBuddhhm adoptcdtowardrother
religions.
King Aroka who was the grcercst Buddhisr king
history has known end who \ra.rthc monarchof a vast
multi-rcligioug country tulrsnteed the freedom of
wonhip to all religiourgroup!byprochmetionr madein
hir edicts(q.v.).
Ltry dc Sllve
FREE WILL The complexity and the ambiguity of the
concept connoted by the exprerrion ft *iX have given
risc to divergcnt views among philosophen "
from iarly
timcr, lt is even at prerent 8 mattcr of much contention.
The edded fact thrt thc problem of free will could bc
epproached from very diflereat pointr of vigw (e.g. from
 rKEIr Wffl, 278 FREE WILL

thal ol a ffiotBI phitusuphrr,liunst, theoiogian and so on) ments, But to consider the problcm of frec will in this
iiss furthcr cunfouniied f hr issttesinvalwd.t msitner is to elsvate the issue to a rupremundane level.
However. when congidered at a motc mundlne,
'Iherc
is no ,.rLsensug ernorlg scbolars even on the empirical, pragmBtic level it is seea tbat Buddhism
Buddhist pusitirrn with regard lo thc qucstinn of frte will, acccpts the operation of the frce will, tbough it is not
A rcputcd $rrririliist sclrsitu comrnerrting ou the phrasc pointedly referred to in the Canonicd tcxtt by en
' l r c c d o m r ' f t l r e w i l ! ' o b s c r v R : s".. , . . i t s u s e i n t h e m o d e r n expression that could be considered the exact equivalcot
expositiuus ouly reflects Ex unstated srlslr to intcrpret of the expression free will.
Buddhist thougtit in tetms of thc sategul-les,.rfWestern
Buddhism is primerily an ethicel religion and,
thought.2 lhougir it is true ilrat there is iro exact
'free therefore, its approach to the problem of free will is from
equivalent of the cxpresston will'in tbe early !uttas
an ethical point of view. Consequently tbis approech
of the Peli Canon, and htncc, tt,e protrlcm in its present
narrows down the issues involved in the problem to a
form is not directly takeri up for csnsideration,numeroul 'Is
question of moral freedom namely, the will frce to
important suttas in thc early gtrate 'rf the Canon provide
choose between good and bad?'
definitc evidence to establish tlie position that early
Buddhism rvasnot only awarc of this problcm but dso Many sutlas contain dircussions pcrtaining to the
had a clcar point of vicw olt it. question of morel freedom, and in thesesuttas one finds
not only the Buddha's point of view but elso the view hcld
The expression'ft.':*:will'wlictr taken ix its often used
by his contemporaries'on this issue, As thc Buddba'r
sensedenotes the uncorrstrujnrd abiiitl' t<tdo or act: the
teaching on ethics is fundamentally related to his tcaching
freedom to choose from alternative courses of action
on causality (q.v.), to get a clear idea of the Buddhist
w i t h o u t r e s t r a i n to r o r c o e r c i o n ;t h e u n h i n d e r c dc a p a c i t - v
position on frec will one has to study it in relation to
t o m a k e n c o n s c i o u s ,d e l i b e r a t ec i e q s i o l io r c e r l v o u t t h e
causaiity.
course of actiott whicb onc chooses, However, this
unconstrained ability does not mean absolutefreedom, a The causal theories prevalent at that time could be
form of ebsolute libertarianism Freedom is a relative broadly categorized as follows:
conccpt and in this particulor contexto especially when L Self-causetion (saYam katam)
viewed from the Buddhist point of view, has a specificuse 2. External-causation (panm kataa)
es e moral and social concept. In addition to other 3. Combination of (l) and (2) (sayary kata? Param
influences social and moral vaiuestoo, naturally demar- katam)
cate the boundaries within which freedom should operate 4. Non-causetion (ahetu-spPtccaya, adhicca'
in a given instance, But it is not this type of influence that samuppanna).
is envisagcd when refercnce is made to constrrints and
h i n d r n n c e s .F . v e nw i t h i n t h e s el i m i t a t i o n s t h e w i l l h a s t h e On different grounds the Buddha rejected all four
a b o v e m e n t i o n e d v i e w s , T h e B u d d h a r e j e c t e dc a t e g o r i -
r i g h t t o e x e r c i s e i t s o p t i o n i n s e l e c t i n gb c t w e e n t w < - l
a l t c r n a t i v e c o u r s € so f a c t i o : r W h a t t h e e x p r e s s i o n ' f r e e cally the theory of self-causationbecauseit is contrary to
w i l l ' c o n n o t e s i s t h a t t h e c h o i c er st i e i i b e r a t ea r r di s n e i t h c r empirical evidenceand, moreover, it violates the univer-
e o c r c e d n o r p r c - d c t e l m t n e d . N e v e r t h e l e s so , tre could sal truth of change and impermanence by postulating a
argue that though ttte choice is not pre-detrmined, it is, p e r m a n e n ts e l f ( . 9 .I l , p . 2 0 ; c f . D . I I l , p . 1 3 8 ) .T h e s e c o n d
eccording to Buddhism, Sovern€d and directed by the view namely, external-causation was rejected mainly
self-ccnlered will. Sell-centeredncssis the.innate nature because it denied human exertion,s even in instances
of the will, and heuce the above ergument holds true where human'exertion is obviously present.Besides,
with regard to the function of the will of all those who divine-agcncyled to a belief in a Creator God, the fallacy
have not cultivated and totally cleaned it of its defile- of which belief was often exposed by the Buddhe. While

Sec the articles on Free Will in the ER6, and the Enc.vclopaedia Brittannic4 also seerelevant articlcs inthe Encyclopeadia of
Philosophy Fi, Paul Edward, Macrnillan rrrd Frec Press, 1967'

Set Ency.8 btn, s.v. CENTANA. This article is reproduced in W. S. Karunaratne, Buddhism, It) Religion and Philosophy
P . : l B u d d h g t R e s e a r c h s o c i e t y , s i n g a p o r e ,1 9 8 8 , p .1 3 6 .l t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e t h a t m a n y r c h o l a n a r e d i v i d e d o n t h e i s l u e
d-.I o \* h er her tsudd h ism &rceptsfree will. While (such reputed scholars as Berridale K erth (Buddhin Philosophy' p p. | 66, 173'
t-i efc rcni I{rs C A.F. RhysDavids (A BuddhistManualof PsychologicalEthics, p.l. xxxi)tugSettthatfrecwillirnot
:c:.:rparrble* ith Bu,jdhrrm, Tachibana (Ethics of Buddhism, p.90ff)end Wijesekera(Buddhiim and the Moral Problem,p.
i - : ' p o r n l o r t t h a t B u d d h i s ms s c r t s f r e c w i l l .

{irra r,esalar,ri'alL,r Pa-!.udhaKacciyana, Pirana Kassapa"and above sll Makkhsli Gosiladenied human exertion.
 FREE WILL
rclf-cauration lcd to cterndirm, external-causation led to
gDnihifulieq rnd both therc extrcma wcrc denounccd bv
the Buddha"
Thc third view closcly approximater thc Jainr view on
cawality. Ar apparent it ir acombination of the first two
viewl, end the mere juxtaposltion of two contrary views
obviourly docr uot make a rinlle rigtt vicw. And,
moFcover, the Jaina karma theory which emphasises
pubbckatahctuvida, that everythiag an individual
experiences is due to his past kdrna' is a form of
Detcrminism. Such Determiniram, quite obviously, does
not leave room for thc operation of free will. The Buddha
very emphatically criticized end rcjected this view.
The theory of Non-csusation which is attributed to
Mekkhati is the subject of severeBuddhist criticism. This
is bccause it totally denies any form of humaa exertion.
The Buddha rejected thir view, too, dcmonstrating itr
inherent fallacy of pointing an external agency evcn in
cales where individual rcsponsibility is charly manifest
(D. I, p. 56).
It is against this background that tbe Buddhist position
on free will should be viewed. As already mcntioned
Buddhirt Canonical texts do not directly rpeak of free
will. Therefore there is no parallel expression in the Pali
lenguage. Horrever, these texts refer to the \pill'which
according to Buddhism, plays a very important role in an
individuall life here as well as in life hereafter. The word
used to denote the'will'is cetana (q.v.), a verbal noun of
cefetr meaning thinki:ng in relation to BctioD, connoting
in its widest meeniag the conative function of mentation
which determines the cnthe thought process. Being the
determinent factor of the psychic $pect of the individuel
it pleys avery important role in the operationof kamaa.
The will, howeyer, likc cvcrything else is conditioncd.
Salient rmonS the factorr that condition the wiU are
attachment (oe4, hatred (dosa) and delusion (moba).
Thece conditioning fectors undoubtcdly inlluence the
will when it mates any choice. Therefore, a choice made
under ruch influences ig certainly not free from bieses.a
But suc.h a choice is neither imposed by an external
agency as such (eg. a Creator God) nor predetermined
(byfate), Though made by a conditioned will the choice is
deliberate.
Buddhism very clearly says that in spite of its condi-
tioned rtate the will is capableof choosing betweenwhat
is morally good and what is morally bad. Buddhism also
accepts the premise that if this ability is not preseDt the
4. lntheconccptionof freewilla^rdbcusredhereinthereconditioninglfactors,attachment (r"ga),hatrerl ,;'clti-,oj,,;i:i!;,
(moh! are not the ones regarded as conrtraintr. According to Buddhism only an arahant's'n'ill'ir frci, fiuin il,;.r,
S. Cf. 6'nLi (M.ll, p. 169) and Vimems*a (M.I, p. 317) suttas.
6. See Kilama Sutta (A.I, p. 188 f).
279 FREH Wff !
purposc of living the religious-lifeq rrr.'r-: - , i!
"
has frcedom of tbe will from its borrorgi i.r ,, : ri.
exigtencea.sits goal, becomeseumplereiy trqrii. t. , ;
p. 260). Buddhism holds that ell indivi,,hial$y.;:r-, , .::,
an ability and that it could be mrsdeto f,u.ucrii,.., -,
f u l l y b y t h o s ew h o g c n u i n e l ys t l i v e * n d i u l t i a r c r , i : , , : , ,
thet direction.
I t i s b e c a u s es u c h a e a b i l i t y i s s a a * p t r r Jl h * i i . . r r r;t!ii , . , , , ,
admonishes all to accomplishr wh"tt is rr:or'ally g,li-;,i.i u,rd
refrain from whet is morally bad. Fht*re is uu *lir;ruirr
about the fact that Buddhisrn aLr€ptx fr,:erujoru , rtrr!i*ught.
Freedom of thought becomesquite rnca;lifi&li$ijjt ii"*r,Jqrur
to choose between two alterns{i'yecolri:.c.1rlt ar:ii.,;: iu
d e n i c d . T h e B u d d h t 3 t r c u , i e r r : r . r u i i i rr. ; , i , i r , 5 ; , . , r r i r , i l
( q , v . ) , t o o , p r o v i d c s u b s t a ; r t i apl t t , r , i i r / : j l l & i ; i i : i : ? i i (
point that Buddbism acceptsfree r',ill. i-i.;gr-ar*iisrr: ,.,-;,ihl
prevail only where there are eDiistri{ir:(s.rir ircc will *nd
prohibition on investigation. Butleihisrnii:eelyencourirgc
investigetion and inquiry,s
Buddhism Dot only admonishesits foll,:wers ro choose
a right courue of ection but alsc lays duwn ciitei.ir ttrai
hclp to male r choice bet ween ri gLt **:li i;,.{-ii1fr.r'. I-hus, i i
freedom is taken to mean freedcxrrt& e3:::,:,J* i:;.:i"e;;;:t,.+r,
dternative courses of action" bltwci:li rrg?ri+,,_l letoilg
c o u r s e so f a c t i o n , t h e n , i n s p i t e r : f t b c c i ; r i d i t , r , u * ds t a t e "
thc will is free to malc such a chtirc*.
The A'nguttara^nikiya (III, po,' 33/ t.1 rrrrr(l$ rrr-r
instanc! where acertain brahmarr questioned chetsudrtLa
regarding a problem mainly pcrtnirring tr: 'i:gcrru,,',brrt
throwing much light on the BurlrJhisr pr;sitio* iirl flec
will. The brahman saysthat he hcri.J:r f ht lir,v iliar tbere is
no self-agency (atta-ken) $r Eri r-{t*ilai *iii:ir,:.r {tr,et-'u'
kira) - clearly e detcrmiuistir: view-nntl asks for the
Buddhe's viewc. Thc Buddha aduptirrx expirical
srguments points out the fe.!l*cy uf tliis , iex, antl
'hlicir,.r!.va'
demonltrEtes the fect that individuu-is n;*rssesu
through which they could initinie aeii;':n s,r;.l,ri:iir.igt,J
their choicc. A number of terms ig rrcedta brilg ;;irt this
idea of initiative'. 1'hcy nre irabolf?x i,jrntiativt cifirrt,
inception of energy), nikkama (en{ii-:rijir,re,ri .f iiiorl),
parakkama (striving, endeavourl, r.1il.r.lr.tr i: c . :...,"r<,,,
tlritr(persistence), artd upakkama iuridcr tnii it;.g).i.ircrrgir
these terms ere not dircctly indicative nl rhe idca r:i frcc
will, they, in one way ot' the utire;, conuc"!ctirc abiiity of
voluntarily initiaring action iii ilrcrrrduirur r,/i(h (,D€'s
'l-hus
choice of the course of action. it ;e srt:,; rirat
Buddhism grants that an indivr.J*sl ha',: ilrr., a'iriilt'r' to
 FREE WILI,
Elect bctween tod rDd bd courr?!, of action rod alro
hu the $ility of vohmtarily initiating actiron rccording
to one'r choic. Therefore it ir reca that, though Buddhirm
docr not dircctly deel witb the problem of free will end
heacr thcrc ir no parellcl crprcuion, Buddhirm from the
errliert timer hrr bcen awere of the concept aad hed
fonuuirtcd cleer vicw.on it.
Related to the problcm of free will is the problem of
mord rerponribility. A theory of moral r*poneibility
bccomcr teneble onll_with the arsumption of a frec will.
Milerirlirtr rnd Ajiva&a determinirt! who acccpted
Nrturelirm (svabbivrvEda), rmong whom were
Mrfkhlti Gorilr, Ajitaterekrmbdin, Pureae Kassapa
rnd dro Pukudhr Kecciyenr, denied human excrtion
end itr corollery frce will, and conrcguently mo-ral
rtryonribilitydid not porc e problem for tbern. Mahavin,
while ecccpting dcterminism, tried to rccommodec
monl rerponribility. But in thir he was not quitc
ruccarful bccrusc btt pubbekatahetuvida portudted
that everything onc expericnccr is due to hir prst
behrviour (rce kac,ma), Thir deterministic vicw of moral
rerponribility wrr rcverrly criticized by tbc Buddha
According to Buddhirm rn ection is raid to bc frecly
dooc when itt immcdirte caule is the will or volition
(crlhar.)vbtch ir not cocrccd by any extetad fector. It is
only for thir type of rction thet one becomer morally
rerponrible. No morel responribility i! ettrched to an
indivi<t ud who dan an aa witbout r conrcious, deliber ate
will, or who docr etr lct with a coerccd will' over whici
cocrcioa the individual har no controf? Thic is why the
(free) will (volition, intention) is equated with moral
rction (krmma)
Ar Buddhirm belicvesin a successionof births, mord
responribility of an individual is not limited to one's
single birth. Thus in Buddhism, moral responsibility and
morel beheviour ir founded on the doctrine of rebirth
(q.v.). [n lhir, howewr, some scc a problem in reconciling
the Buddhirt theory of non-subrtantielity (aneni q.v.)
with moral rerponribility, Here the question is posed as
to how one could meintein the ideutity of a person in his
ruccerrive birthr if there is no permanent entity (atti)that
pa$er from birth to birth, and if lo, how could orrc
conclude tbat it ic the same person who is held morally
rerponsible in another birth for somc action of his done in
the prcsent. Thit, of coune, clearly is r question of
identity, According to Buddhirm everything including
the individuel, ir in I flux, undergoing constant change'
It lhould bc noted thet vrriotu biars thrt inlluencc the mind are not conridered as coercive forc6, md berider an individuel
brr the rbility to control thcm.
Sec ERf. Vl, (pp. l3l ff.) for generel rernerks e.r well a.r for r daailed lccount of Greek and Roman vbwr on friendrhip. Scc ebo
John Fequron: Mord Valuq in the Ancicnt World, (London, 195t, pp. 53-7t.
280 FRIEI{DSHIP
ln ruch e situation thcre cannot bc identity, but only
contin uity. Tbu!, the problemir rclf-creetedby mirtaking
identity for continuity. Orc: thir mirtaten bcliefir got rid
of the problem too will cersc to be.
S.K. Nrryrffn
FRIEFINHIPT is a mutuel attachment, affection or
deep rcgard that exiltr between two or Bore penoDl end,
is dirtiaguished from sexud or fnmily attachments. [t ir a
rcciprocal relationrhip end forms an important element
in evrry society, though not generally regarded rs an
indirpensable requirite of life. Reciprocity end intimacy
of relationrhip of friends, though the intcnrity of thesc
two qualities mey vary in diffcrent cure!, are two
fundamental requiriter of friendrhip. The prelent erticle
is not limited to this form of friendship alone but iacludes
alro triendliness' which denote! a general feeling of amity
and cordiality that exirt! rrnong different individuals of e
community. Friendliners formr the buis upon whrch
fricndship ir developed
According to Buddhist ethicr people who lead a
c omm unity life ere mordly bound to dcw lop frie ndliness
eoong themselves, tf thcy happencd to be conccrned
only with themselver end arr indifferent with regard to
othen they would be gotng againrt e moral obligation.
Friendliness is an indispcnsable requisite of community
life for, it lays a firm foundation for community life.
Therefore, the Buddha in his ethical teechings strersed
the importance of cultivating friendlircss for the progress
of community life. This ir evidcnt also from the import-
ence ettached to loving kindness (metti), compassion
(karuni) and kindliness (muditi). Ho*tver, it should bc
noted that the Buddhist ethical teachings lre not on the
whole meant for the community o16s 5righe done but
are also applicable to the daily lifc of laymen.
The Buddha often adviscd his monks to dcvelop
friendliness among themselves. He r?quested them to
dwell with a mind full of friendliness and devoid of
hatered. He frequently admonishid the monks to trein
themsclves in such a way tbai neither will their minds
become preverted, nor will they utter evil speech,but will
 FRIENDSHIP
dwell with e mind of friendlineg, full of compassion rnd
void of hatered. They were esked to train thcmrelver fint
by ruffuring one perron with a mind of fricndliness and
beginning from him rbrt mind of friendliness should be
made to suffure the whole world (M.1, p. 127).To live
with a mind of friendlimsr ruffusing tbe four quarters is r
8re!t virtue-for r monl (ibid. 3E). Addrering thc monl.r
of Kosembi who were disputetioul end contentious, the
Buddhe mentioned six things that ere couduciw to
effeclion, concord, barmony and unity. These are offering
the fellow monkr a friendty act of body, speech and
thought both in private rnd public; sharing and enjolng
rmoDg themrelves whatcver is tawfully acquired; being
united with the fellow monks in virtues end flawlers
hrbir end dro being united with them in views ther ere
Ariyen ead lerding to tbe dertrrrcrion of anguish (ibid.
320 ff.). In the Mrti Rihulovida ^Surra Rihuta is
adviced by the Buddha to develop friendlinesr of mind,
for, it driver ewey mdevolance (ibid. 424).
Affection aad rerpect sre two essential conditions for
developing friendliners. It il seid that the rhowing of
rcrpect, by which is meant tbe showing of friendlinesr in
acts of body, rpeech and uind, cither in public or in
private to fellow monkr who are elderr, is one of thc
qualitier that belp e moak to reach growth, increase and
maturity in thir doctrinc and dircipline (dhanma-viaq,e
wddhim vifilhim vepullea ipajiitum: ibid. 222). It is
rlso seid thrt thc monks rhouldrhow friendlinesr to tbeir
teecherr by lirtening end preparing thcir mindg for
profound knowledge rad by nor turning esidc (M" II, p.
nn.
Sublime it is to abide in friendlincss and the Buddha is
ebiding in friendlinets (bnhmi rrreti vihiri-bhegevi hi
mettivihiri: M.1,p.359;ree alro ^Sa.pp.?5ff.). Howcan
one ettain this rublimity or else, as often rtated in the
texr, what is the way to the companionahip urith Brahmi?
(k ilam o breh mia ag sahavy a6y a m aggo). To att ain thir
Itete a monk hrs to live ruffusing ih"'fou, quarters,
everywherc end in cvery way, with a mind of friendliness
that ir far-reeching, widespread, immelrurable, without
enmity and without malcvolence. Wbeu the freedom of
mind (ceto-uimutti)that il friendlines is developed thus,
that deed which ic done in a limitcd range does not rcst
there, does not remain there (ar tatrivasissati na
tatrivatitthtti : M. ll, p, 207).
Friendlinecr ir an indispenseblc requirite for the pro-
greu and lucc?rt of community life. Any conllict between
sclf-interest and the interest of the community had to be
evoided if community life is to be a succcls. Therefore,
when hading e coramunity life one hrr go give precc-
dence to the interert of the 66mmunijy above one'! own
interest for, thir ir the only wey to harmonize all the
individurls of the community togetler ,like milk and
281 FRIENDSHIP
rtreter." However, it rhould be clcerly noted that the
sacrificing of sclf-interqrt doer Dot urount to the ucri-
ficing of one't eutonomf, Wbat ir reelly meent by thir is
the sacdficing of oueb pertonal worldly interest for tbc
sake of rhe interest of the community. The Brddhq too,
approved thir sort of hehaviour on the pan of tbe montr.
Anuruddhe'u explenetion of the idenl cpm-unity lifc in
which all monks live on friendly terms regrrding one
enother with an eye of affeAion, clearly rhor he
Buddhist idea of fricndliness of mind. When the Buooha
inquirer al to how thoce in Anuruddhab group wcrc
living on fricndly term!, one of them replicd thw: ..Al lo
this, Lord, it occurred to me: Indeed it is a grin for me,
indecd it ir well begotten by me, that I em living with ruch
fellow Brahma-faren. On account of thir, Lord, for tbere
venereblc ones friendfinett es to act of body, rpecch end
mind whether openly or in private beve arircn ia me.
Beceuse of thir, Lord, it occurred to mc: Now rupporc
thet, having surrendered rny own mind rhould live only
eccording to the mind of these vererable oner? So I,
having surrendered my own mind am living only
according to the mind of these venerable oner. Lord, we
have divcrs bodier, but assuredly only one mind(n,aa hi
kho no bhante kiyi ekaf,ca pant mafrf,e cinaa: M.I,p.
206; seealro M. I, 398; III, p. 156;A.I, p.70; Iit, pp. 64,
70; ,S.IV, p.225).
Friendrhip ir morr limited in range than friendlinel
for lesser number of people are bound tog"tber by
friendrhip. Yet, it is marked by a mutual attachment rnd
respect which ir oot prominent in friendliners. Those wbo
ere bound by friendrhip are Eorc concerned with erch
other's welfere than thore who aie bound by fricndlines.
lmportance of friendship ir rlso frequently rtrcsred by
the Buddha. [n one instance (S. I, p. 87 f.) the Buddha hes
raid thet the whole of this lifc in religion c6nrigls io
righteour friendship (kalyina+rtiytti) rnd righteors
essociation (k alyan a+aapa va'nkati).Thougb one rhould
show friendlinesr to all alike, even to those who rre
urfriendly and indifferent (./. II, p. 6l), one should form
friendrhip only with those who are good, becruse one,s
cheracter is mouded under the inlluence of friends with
wbom one essociatesiltimately (,L VI, p. 236).
Association with the good (ktlysnel is regarded rs a
source of much benefit. The Buddhe hes declared thet
there is no other ringle thing of such power to ceule thc
arising of good stetes if not you rrisen or the waning of
evil stgter alrcedy arilen, rr friendly with the good (A. I,
p. l1).Therefore, one should punuc a good, faithful
fricnd r! one athigt hutenr to a pool (J. V. p. 233).
The Buddha's con!tanr advice is not to form friendship
with the wickcd, for it is conducive to great loss (J. VI, p.
161; A.I, p. 16). I{ is one of the six carres that brings ruin
to I meD, The Buddha cites six perils that arise from
 FR.IflNDSHIF
urociating with evil frhndr for, then any gamblcr
(dhunt), any libertine (so1(t), eny tipplcr (piptst), uy
ckat (dekntike| ny rwindler (lft.fr,eaika) and any mad
of viohnce $-ahasike)ishfu friend and companion (D. llt,
183f.; seerlro Thig. w.261,68l-82). Not only friendship
with the wicked but fricndship with the foofish. also"
should bc shunned. lt is cai{i that renscJacking fnends
are worrc then foer with senses.(-/. I, pp. 247,249).T\e
arsociatiou of thc wire and the shunning of foolish friendr
war declared by the Euddha Bs one of the aurpicious
things (Sn. v. 29).
The chareaerirtic of good and bad fricnds are des-
criH in Buddhist terk.z The *ell k-nown proverbial
saylnS that e friend in need ir a friend indeed is found also
in the Buddhirt Csnonical texts. trn the Digha Nikiya
(ll[, p. lt4r it ir raid thet only he who prov6 acornrade in
the hour of need is to be called c friend (ya ca atthesu
jitesu sahiyo hoti, so s*hi), Therc grc fcur types of
comrades who are to be regardcd as tiur friende. "!,teyare
friendr who are helpmatrr ('upakiro),friendr who rernain
utrshangedduring prr:r .rrity a" 'l a{ii a1sil'/,irir,:J,. who
rhow whet ir ncedeo {ettha-akkkiy) and rhuse whti
rympethirc ra'it"r thelr fricnd (mit:Eaukampako), The
Nettippakaran;. {p. l$4} errumeratesseven quaiities of a
good fricnd. r\ gccd friend (kalyaaa-mitta,)
is endearing
(piyo), venerabk (garu) emulatable (bhivaiyo), willing
to talk to lrrs lvatte), willing for one to talk with him
(vaan*&.eamo), willing to explain what is profound
(grmbWnfrct katbam kana/and never exhorting ground-
hsrly (nr ca etthine niyojaka).ltis said that such n friend
should not be rejectcd as long es one's life lasts. Tbe
Ahgattare nikive (t, 285) defines a good friend as one
whn giver what ir hard to give, does what is hard to do
end beerswhat is hard to bear. The JVtaka(lv ,198), too,
cnumeretes cixteen qualitics that are to be found in good
irrends who are well established in thcir friendship.
"The abcent he remembers; returned, he will rejoice:
Then in the height of his delight he greetsyou with voice.
Your foes he never honours, he loves to serve your
friends,
Tbosc who would slander you, he stays; \pho praise vou
he commends.
He tells his secrctsto you, your secietshe never betrays,
Speaks ever weII of all you do, your wisdom loves praisc.
H: joys to hear your welfare, not in your evil fame:
Should he receivesome dainty, he straight thinls on your
name
2. See the definition of friend n Khp. p, 248 Nanamolib tra,sl. The Minor Readings p. 289; There it is raid,'Hcrein he (fattens) and
tends, thui he is a friend; the meaning is that by his inclination to welfnre he actr ar e lubricsnt &nd protectr from harm! coming
(Ttttha mejjati tiyati ci tr mitto, hitaljhasayatil,a sinihyati, ahitagamato rakkheti A d iltho).
3. See The JEtaka trst. (ed. Cowell) lV, p. 123.
4. See Dialogues of the Buddha, Pt. lll, p. 177, no. 3.
282 FRIENDSHIP
And piticr you, and cries aloud
- O had my friend the snme.'r
The Buddhirt texts speak of false friendr, too. The
IinkaqV, p. 87) saysthat there is none worsc thu afalsc
fricnd (mitttddubhi). Th*e are four who rhould bc
reckoned ar foes in the iikeness of friends namly, a
rapacious_persan (a66adatthu-baro), e men of words
alvne ( veci-p aram a) e f7ttterer Gn uppiy t- bh; ni), e fellow-
westrcr(apiya-sahiya).'The Digha Nikiya(Iil, p. 185 f.)
describes tlrcse four tvpes of false frieuds in detail. The
rapacious pemon gives little and asks for much; does his
duty out of fear and pursueshis own interest. The man of
words alone professesfriendship as regards the past and
future;a tries to gain favoun by empty sayings; when the
opportunity for rervice arises he avows his disability. The
flatterer both conscnts to do wrong and dissents from
doing right; praises to one's face and speaks ill of one to
others. A fellow-waster induces one to indulge in strong
drinks and to frequent the streets at untimely hours; he
keepacompany when one visits shows and fairs and also
wiren one is infatuated with gambling. One should avoid
such false frisnds for, they bring about onet ruin.
It is said that friends a,rewon by giving (dadam mittini
ganthati; S. I, p. 215). Once e friendship is established the
friends should be mutually genetrous,courteous, bene-
volent. One should treat one's friends as onc trcats one'g
own self, and should be as good as one's words are (D. IlI,
p. 190). When thus treated,friends protect one when one
is not on guard and on such occasionsthey guard one's
propcrty, too. They becomea refugein danger and do not
forsake one whcn one is in trouble. Friendsthus trcated
E h o w ,a l s o , c o n s i d c r a t i o nt o o n e ' sf e m i l v .
The Buddhist texts offer advice as to how a friendship,
once formed, should be cultivated and matured. The
JVteka (V, p. 233) says tbat if one wirhes to further the
friendship already established one should ncither visit
one's friends very often nor should one stay for too long
with them for, constant meeting and prolonged staying
very often changesthe friend to afoe. Ir is also equally
bad to be without meeting them at ail. tt is further added
that friendship wanes by asking favours at wrong mom-
ments. Therefore, one should be very cautious when
dealing with friends.
S. K. Nnryrklrre
 FTJLL MOON
FRIVOII)US TAIJ! worthh! or empry relk, one of rhe
four Lindr of rpeecbthet come under the categoryof
wrotrg rpc.cch(airc hi-veca). SecSA M PI{ A PPALA p A,
SPEECH.
FltI& MOON. The Fcli equivalent puaaaati (nu,|y
=firll, ari = tbc moon) denotcr the night of the full moon
(d. punaemiya nttiyqin the nigbt of the full moon, DA.
I, p. 145) end more spccilically dcfined as thc fifteenrh
dry of the brigbt half of tbe lunar month (su.k&^b a p*khc
ptl+r.rasi VvA. p. 3lrl). ,The Sanrkrit cquivalent
punaraiir defiaed in the S$d*alpadruma (in accor-
drnce with '{mer*on)) giving the same meening
(pficdedi tith4,frfteenth day of the lunar half-month).
Hene tte wholc day (day.and night) ir undentood by
botb Pali end Senrkrir uragts of the word.
In tbe Vedic age the word Upavesatha (upa*vas)has
becn ured in conneaion with the Soma sacrificc. It was
bclieved thet God Somavirited the house of the sacrificer
oD thc dey preceding the full-moon day to rray with him.
The moon wr.c identified with rhe Vcdic God Soma who
particuhrly rcprerented thc juicc of thc Soma plant. The
rrcrificer was instructed to observe and conform to some
prercribcd riter ad rituals on the day before the full
Eoon, in preparatiog for the sacrifice to bc conducted on
the following day (Saapatha Btz.hmana t.l.i.7).
Neverthelesr, by the time of the rise of Buddhism in the
6th ctntury 8.C., the two days of the wexing moon - the
8th and thc I5tb - snd thc two days of the waning moon -
the 8th ald the l4th*had bcen popularty Eccsptedas days
of spccial religiour significance by many of thc rcligious
groupr in India On there days reclusecof each group met
et thcir retpectiw csntr$ to discusc and preach their
doctriner (tena kho ptne samtyena af,f,atitthiyi
ptri bblir'}'i cetuddase pennatzse atthaaiyi ca pakkh assa
saaaipnitvi dhn,nmam bhasanti'- Vin. l, p. l0l). Lay
pcoph, too, visited theic centrgl on such days to partici-
pate in rcligiour ceremonies dnd also to learn their
dodrincs.
,Thc full moon day itrelf was the most important of the
above mentioned days of the lunar month, on which day
group! of people let out in the moon-lit night, in happy
mood, to visit religious teachers of their choice. The
Saaaf,fraphzla Sutta (D. l, p.a1 ff.) records a graphic
description ofsuch a night. It reads:"seated on the uppcr
tcrracc roof of his palace surrounded by his ministcrs
King Ajitasatru on the night of the bright full moon of
kattiki gaw utterance to a paean ofjoy, saying:
'How pleasant,
friends, is the moonlight night!
How beautiful, friends, is the moonlight nightl
283 FLItr,LMOOIY
How lovely, friendl, is thc moonlight nighr!
How rcothing, friends, is the moonligbt dgbt!
How grand a sign, fricnds is the moonlight nightt
'Who is thc
reclusc or Brahman when wr may call upon tc
night, who, when we crll, upon him, shal! bc able to
satisfy our heartg' (SBB. Vol. II, pp,65,66)"
The names of the famous rix heretical teachers are
mentioned in this discussion, but at the end king
Ajitasattu decided to visit the Buddha who was reriding
on this particular day at Rijagaha in rhe mango grove of
the Physician Jivaka (D. l, p, 47).
Pre-Buddhist Sfuyans also seemsto have considered
the full-moon day as holy, According ro the Jitaka
Nidina(-/, t, p.50) Queen Mahamaya was observing rhe
uposathavows the day prince Siddhartha was conccived
in her womb.
Buddhism edopted some of the practices prevalent
among severd rcligious groups of the time, and obser-
vence of the four days mentioned above as holy is one
such practice edopted by Buddhirm. It is one of Buddha!
ardent supporters, Seniya Bimbisara, who made the
suggestion to the Buddha that this practicc be adopted
and thc Buddha, having accepted the ruggestion enjoined
the Bhikkhur to gather at uihirason these four days, to
perform religious ritcs arrd to preach the dhamma(Vin.l,
p. I0l), The Buddha made special emphash that orre of
these fourdays, preferably the full moorlday, be set aside
for the monks living within a locality (simi)to meet at e
convenient centre to recite the code of conduct for the
Bhikkhus (pitimokkha, q.v,).The purpose of this exercise
is to help members of the Order of monks to remind
themselvesof the rules of discipline binding on them, end
also to give an opportunity to Bhikkhus to confesstheir
transgrersions and make amends for them.
The practice of observing thesefour days of the lunar
month as holy days has been followed from the time of
'rhe
Buddha himself, up to rhc present day, by Buddhists
living in many parts of the world, specially by the
adherentsof the Theravada tradition of Buddhism (living
in Sri Lankq Thailand, Burma, Laos and Cambodia). In
3ri Lanka these four days are designated as: (t) pura-
atavaka(eighth day of the waxing moon) (2) pasalosvaka
(fifteenth day of the waxing moon) (3) ava atavaka (the
eigth d ay of the waning moon) (4) amivaka(the fourreenth
day of the waning moon). On thc pura-atavaka night the
waxing moon is visible as a crescent or perfect semi-
circle, on the pasalosvaka night the moon is seen as a
complete disc, on the aya atavaka night the moon is seen
again as a crescent or perfect semi-circle and on the
aaivaka night the moon becomescompletely invisible.
Though all four days have been regarded as important
holy days for the obgervanceof religious practicts by the
 FUL[, MOON 2U
Buddhistr, the full moon day itself her becn conridcred u
extraordinsrily importeat. Buddhiru ell over the world
consider the fullmoon day of each month as e day on
which they rbould concentrate more on religious obser-
vences and pracrices,
Thc bhikkhus belonging to the Therrvida tradition of
Buddhism still follow the practice of assembling togethcr
to recitc the Pitimofrtie ruler on the full moon day, a
practice thet crme into vogue in the time of the Buddha
himself, Many lay Buddhirts who on other days obrerve
tlre five prccept! Gartcesila) 8.! a constant and regular
prectice (nityasile), observe cight prcccptc on thir day'
The eight precrpts they undcrtdte to observe arc (l) to
rcfrsin from killiag and causing injury to living beings (2)
to rsfrain from steeling (3) to refrain from sexual
indulgence (4) to refrain from falsehood (5) to refrain
from intoxicants (6) to refrain from using luxurious and
comfortablc seaB and beds (7) to refrain from entertain-
mcnts soch as dancc, song and musical shows (8) to
refrain from using gat!nr.ds, perfumes, cosmetics
ornarnents and embellisL;'ient3.
Thorc laymen who decide to observe these eight
precept3 on the fuli moon day go to I temple early in the
morning, clad in sirrple white garments. A bhikkhu
edministcrs thc precrprs to thcm. The dwotees, having
undertaken to observe thcse precepts througbout the day
spend almosi the whole day in t\e monestery. In many
temples of the present day there are well organised
progremmcs for the wholc day consisting of sermons'
religious discuscions, chanting of selected suttsl, medita-
tional exerciles, silsnt reading of texts, and ceremonial
offerings to the Triple Gem (tintna).
Even those lay followers who do not undertake to
observethe eight preceptson the full moon day make it a
point to visit a temple with thcir familics to worship atlhe
shrines and pay their rcspects to the resident bhikkhus.
The ceremonial offerings to the Triple Gem are usually
held after sun-set when the entire surroundings become
resplendent and serenewith the light of the full moon.
The offerings made are oil lamps, flowers, incense,
medicinal herbs and beverages, In many temples, a
sermoD lasting for about an hour is delivered at night by a
Buddhist monk.
The day of the full moon had becomeso significant for
Buddhists becausemeny of the important events in the
life of the Buddha and in the history of Buddhism camc to
be associated end linked with reveral full-moon days of
the lunar celendar. The following events are associated
r*'rth :ome of tbe full moon days.
( 1) Tbe Full moon day that falls between March and
April (Citta or Madin) - secondvisit of the Buddhe
to Sri Laakq which took place in the fifth year of his
Enligbtenment,
FULL MOON
(2) Tbc full-moou day that comet bcrweca April-Mry
(Vesikha or Verel) - The Buddhal birth, attainment
of Enlightenment end th prssing awry (Mhv, ch. l. v.
12; M hv. ch. I II. v. 2); Tbe escetic SJ'-"dh" received
the assurance from the Buddha Dipankara thet he
would bccome a Buddha nrmed Gotamg the per-
formance of the twin miracle (yemeka pitihiriya)by
the Buddha to subdue thc pririe of his relatiwr at
Kapilavasthu ("I. I, p, 88); thc Buddhttb third visit to
Kelaniya in Sri Lenka in the eighth year of hir
Enlightcnment on which virit the Buddha left an
imprint of his foot on thc peal of Saaanakita
( Samenol a) mo untain, (M h v.ci. I, v- 77), Qathis viiit
the Buddha consecratedsixteenspots(Mhv. ch. l, w.
78ff.); the Buddha, knowing that his doctrine would
be preserved in its pristine purity in Sri Lanke
addressed God Sakka to protect the Buddhasasana
and the Sinhala rxce (Mhv. ch.7 ,. X,); Aryan
colonisetion of Sri Lanka by Prince Vijaye and his
scven bundred followers in 544 B.C. on thc day of
Buddha! passing tway (Mhv. ch,7 v. l); the inaugu-
ration of thc construction work of the grest srtpt
(Ratnamali) in Anuradhapurain Sri Laaka(Mlv, ch.
29, v, l).
(3) The full moon day that comes between May and
June (Jettha-Poson) - [ntroduction of Buddhism to
Sri Lanka in the 3rd century 8.C., by Arehant
Mahinda, the son of the Empcror Asoka(Mlrv. ch.l3.
w.8-21).
(4) The full moon day that comet between June and
July (Silha" Asatha - Esala). The conception of
Siddhartha in Queen Mahamaye's womb (J. t' p. 50);
the birth of Prince Rahula to Princess Yaso-
dhara- the wife of Prince Siddbiirtha; the Great
Renunciation of Prince Siddhirtha to become a
wandering asceticin search of the Truth; the preaching
of the first sermon - Dhnmmacakkappavattana
.Sura by the Buddha to the five ascctica(DPPN. Vol.
i, p. t t 38); observance of the firlt raias retreat (vassa)
by the Buddha and the five monks at Isipatanq the
performance of the Twin Miracle (yamaka pigihira)
by the Buddha to subdue the pride of the heretie
(DPPN. Vol. I[, p. 683); commenocment of the prea-
ching of Abhidhamma by the Buddha to his motber
and other gods in tbe fivatimsa heaven, in the
s€venth year of his attaining fdigbtenment. (DhsA.
31,32 Ency. Bsm. Vol. I, p.40); commencement of the
first Buddhist Council 6"itgt0 at Rijagaha (q.v.)
presided over by Arahent Mahi Kassapg threc
months after the passing away of thc Buddha (Mhv.
ch. 3, v. l4); Arittha and fifty-five monks receiving
higher Ordination at Anuradhapure in Sri Lanka
(Mhv.ch. 19, v. 65); the fint vassaretreat of sixty two
arabants in Sri Lankc(Mhv. ch. 16, v.l7); ttrc laying
of the foundation stone for the construction of
 FTJLLMOON
Retnamili Cctiya io Anuradhapurr end the en-
rhrinement of the racred relics of the Buddha and of
Arabantr in the Ratnemili Cctiya (Mhv. ch. g, w. ll
ff); the comnrenoEsrent of the annual proccssion
(Daledi Perahlra)in Kandy in Sri Lankq commencc_
ment of the rains r€trcet.
(5) The full moonday tbat comes berweenJuly and
August (Savana, llikini) - obsen,ance of the rains
retreet by monks who fail to commence its obser_
vance on the previous full moon day;
(6) The full-moon day that comes between August
end September (Potthapida-Binara) - commence_
ment of Buddhist proceseionsat Mahiyangana and
Sri J ayawardhanapurq Kotte.
(7) The full moon day that comes betweenSeptember
and October(Assayuja, Vap) - the conclusion of the
Buddha! preaching of Abhidhamma in Tavatimsa
htaven; the recitat of the vinaya pitaka for the first
time in Sri Lanka at Thuparama in Anuradhapura
presideil over by Arahant Mehd Aritthq the Buddha
aspirant Metteyya born a! a human being enteredthe
Order of monks efter listening to an inspiring discus_
sion on Abhiddhamma betwen the Buddhs and the
thera Sariputta; on the instructions of Arahanr
Mehisds, King Devinampiyatissa sent envoy3led by
Mahi Arittha to rcquest Emperor Asoka to send his
daughter Saoghamitti Theri io Sri Lanka to establish
the Order of Nuns. (Mhv. ch. 18, w. 7,8).
(8) The full moon day of Ocrober-lrlovembcr(Kattika"
Il) Metteyya the Buddha - aspirant obtains the assu-
rance from Gotama the Buddha that he would
bccome a Buddha in the furure. The rending of the
first sixty monks by the Buddha in various directions
to preach the dhamma; the Buddha's arrival at
Uruvela with the main purpose of converting the
three Iiassapa brothers and their thousand followers;
the conclusion of the three month's rains retreat and
offering of kathinz; the atteinment of.parinibbinaof
the chief disciple of the Buddha, arahant Sariputta
(DPPN.ll, p. ll16),
(9) Tbe full moon day that comes between November
and December (Magasira, Unduvap) - the arrival in
Sri Lanka of the Theri Sanghamitti wirh a sapling of
the sacr"d bodhitree in Buddhagaya,
(10) The full moon day that comal berweenDecember
January (Phussa' Durutu) - the Buddha'r fint visit to
Sri Lanle in the ninth month of his Enligbtenment
(Mhv. ch.l, v. l9),
(l l) The full-moon day that come3 between January
and February (Magha, Navam) - conferment by the
Buddha of the exalted titles of Chief Dirciple (aS$
sivaka)on Siriputta thera and Moggellina thera; the
proclamation of the code of conduct (pitimokkha)
for the monkr by the Buddha" twenty years after the
founding of the Order of Monks; the Buddha's
285 F'ULL MOON
rnnouncing relinquishment of iyusiakheri thrrt
within three monrhs his pariaibbane (pasring away)
would take plece.
(12) The full-moon day that comel betweenFebruary
and March (Phagguna, M[din) _ thc hrrtcricjourney
of the Buddha to rhe city of Kapilavlitu accomprnisd
by a following of twenty thousand monkr.
Though all full-moon days are regarded ar holy by
Buddhists, the Vesskha full-moon day and the Asilha
full-moon day are considered specially rignificant to
Buddhists all over the world. The Vesikha full-moon day
is considered the most ineportant as three rignificant
cvents in the life of the Buddha are associated with this
day. The three evenrs are: (t) The birth of prince
Siddhirtha, (2) His attainment of Bodhi at rhe age of
thirty-five and (3) the mahiparinibbanaof the Buddha ar
the age of eighty, after a forty-five year period of
missionary activity. Many Buddhists all over the world
commemorate these three events in great splendour.
Normally, two days arc ret apart for the commemoration
activities, the'full-moon day and the following day.
en
the dny of tbe full-moon men, women and children flock
to temples to honour the Buddha by obscrving the aight_
precepts (a{hinguposatha sila).Some of the peopl. *no
do not observc the special srlas on this day spend.their
time in temples_attending to tbe many needsof thosewho
observe the srlas. Temples, houses and streets are
decorated with the six-hued Buddhist flags and sccnqt
depicting important events in the life of thc bodhisattve
and the Buddha are set-up, beautifully painted. In many
toryns massive pandols are erected with colourfully
painted panels depicting various Jataka stories. people
organise themselvesin groups to provide the poor and
needy with cooked food, softdrinks, dry rations and
clothing. The night of the Vesa.kfull moon day and the
day following becomesresplendentwith ilh,minations of
many kinds-electricbuibs, oil lamps, and meny attractive
Vesat lanterns.
Many lay Buddhists enjoy a holiday the day after the
Vesak full moon day. Gaily dressed,they leisurely roam
the streets enjoying the various scenes depicted and
seeing the decorations and illuminations. While many
keep on walking on the streetsenjoying the sights, some
others busy tbemselves entertaining them with gifts of
food and drink.
The full-moon day next in importance to Vesak full
qoon day, to ell Buddhists, is the full moon day of
Asilha on which day, the Buddha preached his first
sermon to the five monks at the Deer Park in Isipatana.
On this day, too, many devotees observe the eight
pre.cepts, In many temples tbe Dhamaacakkappavat-
tena Sufte is ceremonidly chanted by the bhikkhus and
sermons are delivered and discussions held on the samc
theme.
 GADALADEM 286
Two full moon days are specially lignilicant for Sri
Lankan Buddhists, namely, thc full moon day of Jettha
or Poson which comes between May and June, and tbe
fuli moon day of Magasira or {Jnduvap which comes
between the months of November and December. It is
traditionally belicved that Buddhism was officially
introduced to Sri Lanka in the 3rd century B.C. during
the rcign o{ king De.vanampiyatisss.Emperor Asoka's
son Arahant Mahinda with four other arahant bhikkhus
and a lay upasaka came from India as ernissarics from
Emperor Asoka, bringing with them the message of
B udd hism to King Dev inampiyatissa. ;4,rabant M ahind a
slighted on thc Miftintale mountain in Anuradhapura crn
the full-moon dny ofJetiha or Poion, on which day King
Devinampiyatissa, too,'wa.senjayrng a hunting expedition
in the junglc around Mihintale. The meeting of Arahant
Mahinda and King Devinampiyatissa on the peak of
Misseka mountain in Mihintale, is the bcginning of the
story of Buddhism in Sri l-anka.
Buddhists of Sri l-anka give much prominence to this
incident, and they flock to Anuradhapura and Mihintale
on the full moon day of Jcttha or Poson to commemorate
this event. Even in other parts of the country this event is
specially commemorated, and apart from religious acti-
vities in the temples, there are processions held in scveral
viUages and townc in which an effigy of Arahnnt
Mahinda is carricd with great honour and respect.
As far as Sri Lankan Buddhists ar€ conccrned the full
moon day that is of importancc Dcxt to the full moon day
of Jettha or Poson is the full moon of Magasira or
Unduvap. lt is on this day that Sa;ghdmittii Thei. sister
of Arahert Mahinda, came to Sri l-anka along with
severd other theris bringing with her a sapling of the
Bo-tree in India under which the Buddha attained
Enlightenment, Sri [-rnkan Buddhists commemorate
this event, too, annually on this day with various religious
fcstivities.
Prtegnoa Gnanoram
FUNERALRITES.SceDEAD. DISPOSAL OF THE.
GADALADEIII YIH.{RA is a Buddhistshrine in Sri
t-ania It wasbuilt abouttheyear1344A.C.(SakaI266)
rn thevillagecalledSinduruvana, in the KandyDistrict,
o fI t h c i 0 6 t hk i l o m e t r oe n t h eC o l o m b o - K a n dRy o a d I. t
rsknownfrom an inscriptionin situthat the shrinewas
built b.'-a monk namedSilavariiaDharmalirti in the
r e i g no f B h u v a n a i k a b aIhVu( 1 3 4 1 -1 3 5 1 A . Ca) n dt h a t i t
GADALADENI
was called tbc Dharmaklrti-vihirs. Saddharma-
ratnikara, e l4th Century Sinhaleseliterary work, calls it
the Saddharmetilaka-vihara. (Pl. XII).
It is from the inscription mentioned ebove that much
of the information regarding the early history of thir
shrine is known. [t statesthat this shrire was built entirely
of stone, on a flnt rock celled dikgala by the thera
Dharmakirti, The grchitect is named Ganidhipati
Gane$varacari, probably a Scuth Indian.
As regards the architectural feetures the inscription
statestbat the shrine war of three storeys which seem lo
have been calculated by taking the terraced roof of thc
ardha-mandapa rnd antarale as the recond storey, and a
c-ellin lhe vimiaaon a higher level as the topmost storey,
in addition to the ground floor. The shrine contained, in
its ground floor, at the time it was built, a large image of
the Buddha depictedas seatedunder thc Bo-trce with two
standing images on either side and the gods such as
Sakra, Brahmq Suyama, Santusita, Natha end Maitri
surrounding him. In the cell of the caitya on the topmost
storey wili an image of the Buddha dcpicting thc
preaching of the Abhidharma. A shrine for the'king of
gods'was also built to provide protection for the vihira.
There were also Bodhi-trees, caityas, flower-gardens etc.
Vast stretches of land from several villages around the
vihara were donated to it by teading personagcsof that
time like Seni Lankidhikira, Virasimha Patirija,
Nidiarirka PatirEja and prince Virasundara (EZ. IV.
90ff.). (Pl. XIII).
The vihera, as it exists today, resembles,in its
architcctural features, the contemporary Hindu shrines
of South India in the -earlyVijayanagara style. [t is also
known that Dharmakirti thera built it on e ptan identical
with that of his former residenceat Dhanyakataka" i.e.,
Amaravati, in India. The three images of the Buddha and
those of the gods mentioned in the inscription are no
longer to be found nor are the representions of the Bo-
tree and the Buddha image dcpicting the preaching of the
Abhidharma. On the walls a,re some scenes from the
VessantaraJifaka but they seemto belong to a later date.
It is unlikely that any of the original paintings are cxtant
now, for king Parakramabihu VI (1412-67A.C.) is stated
to have renewed ttre plaster work.
The present Gadaladeni Vihara is partly modern,
hanng undergonerenovationsat various times.Neverthe-
less, it has preserved several noteworthy architectural
features.The original walls are of stone and they appear
to have been plasteredand even painted over with flord
pstterns. Elaborate carvings of tiger or lion patterns 8nd
of female dancers are found in the upper regions of the
outer walls. Thc upper storey of the porch is supported by
elaborately carved stone pillars of the Kandyan style (A,
K. Coomaraswamy, Mediaeval Sinhalese Art, pp. 145,
 GAITAPATI
146). The woodwork of the riled roof and the upprr
storcy are modern snd of inferior quality. To the right of
the mrin sbrine is a modern building erected on ancient
rtonc pillan, now uled es the lodging for the drummers
(H. W. Ctve, Thc Book of Ceylon, 340 ff .).
The ascentto the rock on which tbe shrine is built, was,
in olden days on the north-eastcrn side. On the slopesof
the rock to the right side of this ascent ale several
inscriptions deting from about the fourtecnth ccntury,
the oldest of which is the one mentioned above" On the
rock near the Bo-tree are two other inscriptions and near
the entrance to the shrine is an inscribed slab-pillr r (EZ,
IV, 8 ff.; 90 ff.).
Tradition eslerts rhat the Gadaladeni-vihara wes thr
residenceof Sitavem$aDharmaklrti thera and his pupils,
and their successors.Later king Rajasimhs f figi-gj
f to indicate whom the pali term grii seems
A. C.) who favoured Hinduism is said to have converted it
to a Hindu devilaya and from that time it was used for
the purpose of invoking the blessingsof gods for almost
four centuries under the management of several
Basnay*a Nilames. Later, in the time of king Kittisiri
R-jasimhe (1747-82 A.C.) it was given over to rbe
sucoesrorsof V$ivita Saranankera Sangharajathera (G.
Vajiranana thera, Viharavagavitti, $ f ,t.
Nandesene Mudlyrn*
CAGGAIUANTINIPUTTA. SCCANG U LI M A LA
CAGGARA, a lotus pond named after I quesn by the
name of Gaggari, in Canpe, in ancient lndia, On the
bank of the lotus pond was a Campaka Grove wherc the
Buddhe rtayed on his visits to this arrer. Kandatzka Sutta
(M. I p.339 0, K-arandava Sutte (A.IV, p. t6gf) and
Sonadenda Suttt (D.I. p. Ill f) were preached by the
Buddha while living in rhis Campaka Grovc. Sariputta
Therq one of the two chief disciples, preached the
Dasuttara Surfa to s group of monks, once on a visit to
this place.(D. III, p. 272).Nearthis pond was a monastery
of some heretics(A. V. p. 189).The Campaka Grove on
the bank of the pond was considered to be a placc
conducive for meditation by the monks (.SnA. l, p.l7).
This pond, together with that at Jetavane is given as an
examph of a very beautiful lotus pond. (AA. l. p.264).
W. G. Weerentrp
GAHAPAII. This PaIi term, derivedfrom rhe Sanskrit
glhapati end found uscdin Vedicliterature,is generally
287 GAIIAPATI
rendered into English as.householder'.However, astudy
of the contexts in which the tcrm oc-cur! me&esclear thet
this Englirh rendering is not quite lccurate, and that the
term gahapatr connotes also orher nusnces af meaning.
An early definition of the term ir found inthe yinaya
(tII, p, 212) which reads nt, gabaptti nime yc koci
tS$ary ajjhivasati.lr-r Tbc Book ctf Discipline(Il, p. 47)
it is rendered into English as one who lives in a house,
with a foornore (No.5) sddcd to sa_vtbat the Critical pali
Dictionarycxpiain, a1liirasatl as .to dwell in (as owner)'.
It is importent ro note tbat ejjhEvasri(from edhi*i1.root
1,8s,to live, dwell) refcrs to proirietory rights, a relient
feature of t gahapao. Thus a.ijhivasati certainly adds
more weight and importsnce to the term gahapati,
helping it to connot€ a p€rson of higher sratusthan a mere
'householdsr,
more suited and often used. In fact the suthoru of the
Vedic Index rcnderg the term grhapati into English ar
'householder
as the marter of the houle' (vdic Index,
s.v. grhapati). Thercfore it is seen tbat the term gthapati
could be better rendered into English as chief-householder
or chief-occupart. It is seen,howevcr, that this ic not used
ss a term of address to chief-bouscholderc or chief_
occupantsall and sundry. ContextuaJevidenceshow that
the term gihi is commonly used in such instances.(cf. A.
III, pp. 116,258), The gahapati is used as a term of
addressindicetive of sddressee'stotsl eDgrosrmentin and
rcsponsibility of household alfajrs and his high social
status basedon his possessionofwcaJth and properry, the
latter bcing a yery important attribute. According to tbe
Potaliya ,Sufh the main characteristic features and
attributes of a,gahapatr are (a) possersion of wealth (b)
engagement in an eppropriate vocation (c) total engrffs_
ment in houschold affain (M.1, p. 360).
Parellcl to this usage the term gahaprfr was used in
another sense. This sense is also found defined in the
Vinaya(1I1,p.222),which indicates that this meaning rco
is of the same antiquity as the above mentioned oo.. Th"
definition runs es follows: gahapatikoniaa thapetva
ri1s4 rijabhogga\r bnhmanam avao"so grhajatiko
nama. (A householdcr meaas:exceptingthe king and he
who is in king's serviceand the brahmin, he who remains
is called a household er: The Book of Discipline,lI,p.67).
According to this definition the term gahapatiis uscrCto
refer to a particular social group distinct from the king
and those in royal service (i.e. khattiyas) and brahmins.
The termgahapatihes been often used in this sengewhen
reference is made to khattiya.kula (khattiya family),
brihmana&u/a (brahmana family) gahapatikiia
(gahapati family: Vin,tI, p. l6l); gahapaimahasile
(wealthy gahaparis) brahmena meharala (wealthy
brahmins: ^S.I, p. 7l; cf. A.l,p.i66; knattiya brihmen'e
gahapati, Eemana (recluse: Via. l, p. Z21-); khattiya
pel(ita (leerned khattiya), bnhmana pand.ita(learned
 GATIAPATI
bnhmia) gthapni pandita (k,errred gabepetis), ument
ptaditr (krrned reclurcr: ^9.III, p. 6).
ttrc Aitguttut-atkiyt (A.lll. p. 362) not only clasrcs
tbe gehapttr in r rociel group rspante fron thc
khaniysud bnhanu but riro points out thnteech of
there rociel groupt hrr differcnt rimr, quertr end ideals.
Attainment of wedth rnd wia<iom ir givcn rs an ideal
coomon to dl threc gtoups. The distinctive ided of
atteinnsnt of po*er, errth, dominion ir attributed to the
Lhtttiyts. Cbenting of mtarrls,perfornnancc of sEsrificc
(y fi fr r), rtt dnment of bnh aal oka ere gitu rr the itl eeh
of brrbminr. The gahryatir are reid to have as thsir
dirtiactive eim aad ided leerniag craftr, ?ngegrrmnt in
rome foru of cmployment ud eccomplisbmert of wort
undertalen.
Tbere contextud cvidence rtreugthen the ppsumption
thrt thc tcrln gthtpttr wer used also to indbete a
prrtianlrr rocid clur dirtiact fron tba ttrr&yrc end
brihmtnu, rnd dso different from tbe se.oe.orrwho hrd
totrlty remounced all household affaiir (voh-rt
stmucchedt: M. l, p. 350). Thir prerumption finds
furthcr rupport in the fect that the ghapatiit commonly
ured rr r term of rddre$ to r+gb (merchantr). Thus,
Anithapindika, tbc cbicfJay pstron of tbe Buddhe" b
regularly co Eddrusscd.(Vin.ll, p. 158; .4. [l, p. 68; cf. 5.
I, p.56). The rctthis belonged rotbe Yti{ya (r,esse/clasr,
end henct it could be surmiscd that the termgalaprdwes
ured elro to connotc the well.to-d o vaisyat of high rocial
stending.
This prcrumptioD rppcarr, however, to losc its authenti-
city becrurc of the occurrence of the lr:m bnhmaoagaha-
pati (Vin.l, p. 35; M.l. p.400ff, S. I. p, 184).I oI gahapati
was used to connote the well-todoveiJyar how could one
explain the compounded term btihment gahapati?lt s
seen that the exrct meaning of thir compoundcd term
depends on lhe perticular coDtext in which it is used, for
in certain ingtarrcesit connotes asingle group, namely the
'bouseholders'(cf.M.l, pp. 100,.{00; [I, pp. 54,
brehmin
74,I1F,164), end in otherr, two different groupt namely,
brehmins tnd grhapatis (Via.I, p, 35) cf. L B, Horner!
obseryation on this point in The Book of DirciplinelY.,
p. 47 fn. 3). It rbould be noted that whilc the compounded
term khattiya-gehtpaci docc Dot occur in Pali, the term
gthryati itself ir not generally used in relation to
khattiyrs,
Re g ard ing t he compou nd ed term brihm an a "gaha pati
ured to indicete brahmin'householderu', one could only
male a rurmire that thir tero w8l used to controle
brehmins who markedly deviated from the accepted life-
petterD! of the brihEaoa chsr ard ld lives more akin to
thosc of gthepatis, porscssing weeltb and propcrty and
engroued il mundene, household affein ar described in
tbe PotaliYt sutu.
S. K. Nuyrtlrn
288 GAJALAKSMI
GAJALAKSIW an ancicnt Indian concePt probrbly of
folk religiorir origin, which her been iucorporded into
the rymbolic ert of the Buddhirts from the earliert timer.
In thc early Buddhirt art exprersionr the "Grjrlrtgmi
motif ir found in bar-relief cervinSt tt Si6ci,
Buddhegaya Bhirhut, Anartraa in tndie end Anrntdhe
purr in Sri Lanka
In tbere instancer e fem:lc divinity (latcr termed
Ia-ksroi - hence G$alrksai) is depiaed flenked on
cithir ride by en clephant nbHi.ng pots filled with wrtcr in
itr trunk ar il attempting to perform a lurtretion of the
goddcrr. Here tbc elephents rcpreteat the diggqia tba
elephar:ts of the quarten. It wo,.rld bc quite aa intererting
rtudy to invertigate how this motif wc! ryncretized into r
form of Buddhist Art.
In the eerlbrt brs-relicfs from fifri, Bhtrhut" Buddba-
gtyaetc. in lndia, the goddesr is showo eithcr rtrading or
rcated on a lotus. Her heevy botom, berc exccpt for e
necklecr and the prominent public region barcly covered
with a mckhali (jewcllcd girdle), worn over the toinr,
make the divinity much clorer to tbe repreleDtrtionl of
the eerly cult imager of the gtert mother goddcss. ln the
Indian repertoire itself early sculpturel repraentations of
the Mother Goddessfrom Harappq Mohenjodaro etc.,
which are definitely of a pre-Buddhist date, show the
divinity in like mtnner.
It ir not -cleerwhal the ertist meant whcn he depicted
gajalakrmi in scenes showing the birth of Princc
Siddherthe According to the Buddhist lcgends, on the
occasion of the Bodhisatta's conception Queen Miya has
dreamt that she was taken in her couch by thc four
guardian deities of the quarters (i,e . Csttiro-mahirtfiao)
to Arotatta lale and was batbed in its sacred weterE.
This episodc is thus counted as tbe beginning ef the
story of the Buddhat birth. Hence when the rtory is
depicted in art it is eppropriate to represent the sebred
luslration of Queen Miyi as the bcginning of the-
narrative. One may justify the appearence of.Gaia,btsmi
in the early bas-relief panels of Budhist art, 8.sa rymbolic
reprcaentation of the Buddha s sppearance in the world.
Here the female figure reprcaentt Quecn Miyi and the
elephents u diggtja symbolising the guardians of tbe
four quartcrs.
Most conspicuous arnong the early representationsof
this motif are thc ones found on the Toraaa, railing
architreveg of Sidcl and Euddhsgaya. ln the later
religious ert of Indig both of the Buddhists es well ar of
the H!ndu3, and lesr frequently of thc Jainas tbe Gaja'
laksmi motif ir found literally used for the specific
purpoc of symboliring Sn or godders of prospcrity. lt
may be thet the later Hindus and Jainas dcrived the
concept from thc Buddhistt aDd synctetized it to suit thcir
purpose.
 G&\MIARA 289
Altbougb thc inrerprartim of mrny Glrly wlrtera lrt
criticf b thrl G$r.hbrci r"pr6cnu quo?n f'frli i^
Buddhirt lrl, it ir mre prdarabk to trrse tbe origin of
tbc rbok coDc"tr to r pre-Buddhirt uaiversd ctlt of
{grni4 tb. diviDc oothcr who wu htcr virurlircd rr
Sri Subbfi I -\-,, &t4 httiai, ctc.
In Sri Lrnh r rar rpccimn of the Gtjd*srrrlmotif b
found in thc rtorc uchwey of thc lrurumuniyr Templc,
Yct raotbcr berelicf of the Gjd*tai motif ir fouad in
tbc frmou C.Ipoct tb rc-cdled rt ooebook of Nisrnt'
Mdh rt Polonnrruwr It mry probebly be trken u r
rtoae couch of prc-Polonnrruwr orryin with the Gale-
Llra,i motif incircd on it rnd utiliccd for romc rpecifrc
putiorc, retigiorn or reculrr,
Accordiag to ttc idiel cpicr thb motif hrr I partbulu
rigaificrncc virh regrrd to Sri LuLe, hence iu
tnportrocafor Sinhrlrc Buddbfutrrt. Accordingto epb
trrdition 'Grjd&Ei' motif har bccn arrrcnt is Sri
Lrnh ia th fr dirtmt pra'hirtcic rgo too. A mrtter
thrl Ddr furtkr invcrtigetion by the ercteeologfutr end
rrt-hirtoriur b rhether there wu e flrir for prercrving
rrt-motifr of ppra.hirtoric tredition during hirtoric tima
iD Sri lrnlr. Thc rced to inrtdl r prvilion rcscmbling
K nvrrrl rcdd chuio t i.e., f(thi vih n awith in the rpert-
ncat of thc grcd Brrzca Prhcc Lohap-slda could bc
ciicd h thir inrtrncc. (Mhv. xxxvii 29).
Grrjrrtr.frtminr{ r populer themc of dccoretive art in
Buddhbt templcr in the mediecvelpcriod of Sri Leake
rad could bc fouad both in ltone rnd wood-carvingr
ritbia brrctstr of pillen.
A. D. T. E Pcrcn
GAL-YIHIRA, the trrmc by which the ancient
Uttrr&ioe b nor known.It wrr built by ling Paritnm *
bihu I (l 153-t6A.C.), at Polonnarwr in Sri Lenta. The
M &Zrlm st (hxviii, 3-73ff) records,',......Likewirethe
ruler of mcn hrd the Uttararemebuilt. By breakingdown
the rock Dot fer from the grcet rt[pq he, bringing into
pley cvery kind of +kilkd work, bad threegrottoesmade
by cxpcrt crrftsmcn, ntmely tbe vffidhare grotto, the
crw with thc imrgc in rilting postureand thegrotto with
the recumbcnl lmrtp' (fithvamsa trel. lI, p. ll l). The
clorc cooprtibility of this description with the exirting
ruinr rt Gd-vihlre hrr hclped the archacologirtr in its
kleatificrtion. (Pl. XIV).
Gd-vibrn -'rocl moneltery',thepretentnrme of this
rhrine L iDdicrtivc of iu rtructure - a rock-hewnrhrinc. It
hu bG"Ddercribcdby uchrologrrt! ar the mort impres-
live rntiquity, unrivdled in itr rpecielfeature!, to besecn
in Sri Lrnh rad poribly evenin the contincnt of India
GALYIHARA
Gd-vihrn becemcro flmoru, in th wondrof H.C.P.
Bcll (ASCAR. lg{ft, p. 7 fi.) by 'the line of gigrntb
figura crned from tbe grey roct whbb form thch
brcfuromd, celn, imm6ysg!',s" mrjertic, rsridst thc buth
of rorrouoding forclt, gezing*cr frredly into the rprce
rith tbc pcucivenerrof profound mcditation" or wngped
in cterDrl rlumber, wbich ia*pirx in thc thougbtful
bcboHerronderrnd rdrnlrsitioaminglcdrith rn irutim.
titr renre of rilcat lw?.'
Thir moaunreat dacribcd in rrch eleganttermr lia
rbout one rad brlf Eih! nortb of tbe promontory
ritueted betrccn th Topivtva iele rnd thc citrdel. lt ir
lcu thra r qulrtcr of r mile from thc cxtcarive site
whcrciD ere locatcd tbe Kiri-vchrr, thc Jeuvenirirna
rnd the other conrcctcd buildingp now in ruin. Here, the
routh-cect fs of e living rock about fifty*ir yardr in
hngth, riring rbout thirty fect tbove the ievelground rnd
grrduelly frlting rrry d eechend bu bccn rclccrcd by
the rtone-mr$rnr u bcrt rdrpted fcr thefupurpore. [t
war thir phyricd formrtion of thc rcck thd doubtlcrs
decided thc dirtributioa of the rcwral imagcr rnd th
rhriaer. Thir rock facc hrr bceu cut brck neerly fiftcen
feet for the rculpturing of the thrcc grert imeger rnd
rcooped out lr much rr rtryentaenfeet to mrte thc
vijitdhtn-gthi.
There imager of the Gal-vihira ere famour for thcir
rcrthctic qurlitier ar well u for their colosrrl size.Tbc
lergestof them i! the rtrtue of the recumbcntBuddha
which nres.lurer45 feet 4 inchesio kngth, lt portrryr tbe
perinibfiae and ir sculptured in the cenonical porture,
rcrting on the right ride with tbc hcadupon thc right hand
rupported on a bolrter, the lcft hand stretchedalongthe
body and thigh, ud tbc left foot placeddirectlyupon the
other but rlightly receding.A low flat cushionis pleced
beneaththc fcet. On the sole of eachfoot and the right
palm is carrada fully openlotusin low rclicf. The bolster
on which the right hend and the head rest ir beautifully
carred and the artistic skill of the sculptor is dirphyed by
the cleverlyimitateddepressionin thc bolstersuggertiug
the weight of the head and the hend. Amidrt thesefine
qualities of the recumbcnt BuddhE it ha! been elro
observedthat much of its beauty is lost by the badly
shapedsphericalhead and tbe uuduly rtiff fat neck.
Thc standing figure found close to tbc resumbent
imege ir conridsrcd by critics of fine rrt ert e bctter
rpecimenof sculpture.It hasbeeuthe subjectof contro-
v_enial vie\rl, the populer one being that it portreys
Ananda lrmenting over the deathof tbe Buddha(D. T,
Derrcndrq The Buddba Imageand Ceyloa,p.75; H.C.P.
BelI,ASCAR. 1907,p. l4).Accordingto S. Peraaavitana
(Uniwnity of &ylon, History of Ccylon,I, p. 605) it
portray! the Buddha and according to Ferrer Qn OId
Ceyloa, p. 199) it ir a statue of the future Buddha
Maitreye-
 GATVIHARA
This statue stend! upon a lotus pedestal two feet high
carved into eq.open lotur with nine boldly cut petah in a
radius of five feet and ten inches. This figure, like the
other Buddha imager here, has drroping ears and short
curled hair. The uppcr robe is dropped Eatly over thc lcft
shoulder, and looped up by thr- Ieft foreerm. It diffen
from the usutl stsnding Buddhaimages in the mannerof
its ptrcing the ermr crossed against the chest, ad tbt
llight inclination of the head and shouldcr to tbc right
aad the gentle fixture of the tmnk, grving the ltatue a
realirtic posture. The rorrowful exprerrion of the countc-
nanoe ir a noteworthy feature dirplaying lkill of tbc
rculptor. (Pls. XV - XVll).
The ccntrd cave shrine with the smaller redent Buddba
ir cut into the rock and measures26 feet in length, l?f.eel
9 inches in brcadth and 9 feet 9 incher in height' The floor
level is five feet higber than that of the adjoining shrine
with the reated Buddha and above the cave brow the rock
rirer for nearly 13 feet. The mouth of the cave is
strengthened by four pillarr cut from thc living rock, two
st thc cortren end the other two in the middle, between
them.
At the back of the cave directly behind the second pair
of pillan is a statue of the seeted Buddba on a thronc,
rculptured from the rock to nearly full round' The statuc
ir reated in thc fixed contemplative polturc on an isana
(reet) and is beckcd by t tonia (arch)' Tbe scat is
decorated with lions, vajras and a lotus cushion and tbe
tortn ir decorated with standing lions and m*ara
(dra!on) figures. On either side of the Buddhg on the two
rides of the base of the rcat, stand two bodhisattva! 8t
ettendents, girt in weist-cloths, wearing the brahman's
cord and eteborate, tepering headdresses. Each figure
beerr a cemrlra,achowrie, in the hand thrown ecrocs the
opposite rhoulder. Above the heed of the Buddha ttetue
ic t chftre carvcd out from the rock' Under thir clratre
and between the peated finak of the tortne and the
Buddhet heed two figures of ltindu gods, 2 fect in height
rre rculpturtd, onc on each ride' Only the figure from the
knees upwardr ir virible end both gods ere four-aroed'
Two of the hrnds are held in front of tbe body with palme
joined up in veneration. In theother two handr, held up
with elbowr bent ere the inrignia appropriete to each god.
The god on the rigbt of the Buddha ir identified as
Brebma end the god on the left es Vis?u.
Tracea of old paintings are rtill found on the walls end
roof of tbe cave emidrt modera peintingr of an inferior
quality.
To the left of this cave is the cave of th other sedent
Buddbe, I ttetue of e larger size but in tbc ssme posture.
It ir elso on e teat decorated with lion arnd vaira motifr
end et its back ir a tonae decorated with ala.kaa figurcr
and other derigls strongly suggestiveof a cobra's hood.
290 GAil{ADTHMII{A
Ar a beckgroud to the tonaa ir half dirplayed the
frcede of a rtoreyed temple.
Presently the statuer of the Gal-vihira cxcept the rmall
ccated Buddba in tbe rock ceve'remain uncovered but
trlccs of brick wallr that once sbeltercd theb are visible.
It ir eppercnt thst these shrines of brick rrelh ls{
pouibly of wooden roofs have perished while the rock-
cut cav! remaing.
On the rummit of the rock are found the brick remains
of rome r tructurc. Here pro bably stood s. vkrrain which
were enshrined the four or five rtanding imager of life-
cize Buddh$, crrved.from limestone, the broken pieccr
of whicb werc dircovered in the vicinity,
On thc rloping rock face between the rock-cut caw and
rtanding im"g" there is e long Sinhalele inscription of 5l
liner. This inscription, known as the Polonnat'u-
ketikivete ir an ordinance for the guidence of Buddhist
monks inrtituted by king Paritranrbehu I (E.Il, p,
256tr.).
IL n- Pcrcrr
'Vile
CiUepnmUf" the "conduct of village folk",
conduct' is a refercnct to sexual-beheviour,in Peli
Buddhisttexts.It b elto rometimescelledconductof th
outcsste(vesaladhamma) D. 1,4; A' l-Zlt; J. 11, ltO;
VvA.ll, DA. 172).Refrainiag from sexueleAivitiec wal
csnsideredin encientlndien societyar a virtue and the
Buddhc rays in tbe BrehmalTla Suru that the everage
mn (pathujjane/ praising the virtue of tbe Buddha
would lay: 'The recluseGotrms har rbendoned all
ignoblc bf.e(abrahmecariya)aad is practiring the nobh
IrIe (brahmacariya)and is quite aloof from sex [fe, the
conduct of the village folk". (D. l. p. 4). The generel
Ittitude of thc wiseand the good(vif,frtqsidtu,)to sexual
conductis well portrayedin the Agaf,f,na Sutttwharcit
is statedthat when in the proces! of world evolution,
when somepeoplecaw othert resortingto scxuelbehe-
viour, thcy threw mud and stonet at them 6sadgmning
them for ruch low bchaviour(D. IlI, p. t6, 89).
Buddhism,though it avoidedall extrcmer,paid due
hecd to rea,ronabhpublic opinion. [t recogniserrexuel
conduct asromcthingwlgar that goerageinsttbc peth of
virtue, but did not condemnit totally es many other
religiousgroup! at thetime did. [t accommodated rexual
life as an essentialevil in averrgp family life, but laid
down limits that would conduceto rocid happinersend
harmony. Thur a lay follower of the Buddhe ir not
expected to prectise complete cllibecy. An rvcrege
laymen is expectedto marry rt thc proper egeand rtart
family life. But esfar essexlife ir conccrncdhe rhould be
satisliedwith his own wife andrhould not relort to rcxual
 GAryQAyr&rAsOrRA
beheviour witb wiver of others or with harlots or with
young pomen in the protection of their parents or other
kinsmea (M.lll, p. 4.6).But this c-onctssiongiven to the
Buddhirt layman is not given ro the bhikkhu or rhe
Buddhirt reclure. A person who enters the Order of
Bhiklhur has to be a strict ctlibate. The grawst crime a
bhiklhu cen perform ir to engagein sex life, and one who
ir found guilty of such conduct is upelled from rhe order
aad ir not edmitted agein. See pARAIIKA.
W. G. Wecnnh
GANAPAII. See GANESA
GANDAMBA. The Mengo-rree ar ihe gate of SCvarthi,
nrmed after Guda, the warden of the King! perk. When
the Buddha made it known that seven dayr hence he
would .bc pcrforming mirecles (pitihiriya) under the
Mengo trw rt tbe gate of Sivatthi, thc heretics, with the
help of thcir tupponerr ceuscd ell mango trees in tbe area
to be cut. On the rcventh day the Buddha went on his
dmr rouad in Sivatthi with a following of bhikkhus, and
tbe werden of the Royd Park, on seeing the Buddha
offcred hin r huge ripe mengo. The Buddhe partook of
the mango et thc larne tpot and handed over the seed to
Anrndr Thcra to be handed ovcr to Ganda, the warden,
to be planted ia that rpot. [n e moment hirg. mengo trce
"
with wide-rpreed brancher sprouted forth end the tree
cime lo be known es Gendamba.
Tbc God Satla ordered his master-builder Visse-
k"'nma to build a pavilion under the mango-trce and in a
momeDt e megnificant pavilion made of the seven
preciour ltoner tprrng up. The Buddhe performed the
twin mirecle (yamakt pitihiriya q.v.) in this pavilion
rad cuHued thc vanity of hcrctical groupr who claimed
that they were rupcrior to the Buddha in that rcspect. (,/,
IV, p. 2f/'-5).
W. G. Weererr'm
GANDAVYTfHA StffRA the fifrh of the nine dharmas
o, igi-o (religious textr) considered in Nepal as rhe
most importent eDd authoritative texts of Mahayina
Buddbirm. It ir also considered e! a psrt of the Buddhi-
vatamsaka Mahivaipulya Surra of which it constitutes
the ninth emembly (see Avataasaka Sitra).Two printed
editionr of th text ere available, one by D. T, Suzuki and
H. Idzumi ad publisbcd by the Society for the public-
ation of Sacred Books of tbe World, Kyoto, Japan, 1949,
291 GANDAVYI}HA SOTR.A
rnd the other by P. L. Vaidya and published in the
Buddhist Sanskrit Texts series (No, 5) by the Mithila
Institute of Post-graduate Studies end Research in
Sanskrit learning, Dharbharga in 1960.According to the
colophon, the origind text of the Gandavyttht sDrrewas
much more extensiva anC wbat is exient today is only a
part of it. The colophon runs. .oA rcction of Sudhana!
quest for benevolent friends which is a part of the Great
M ahiy an a text Ga a dh a vyuh e S u t a - (-ar1gu dh a uyi h aa -
m ahid h arm ap aryiy a a y a th eI a M h ah s ud h an * a! vi aa
m itrap e ry upis en ac aryeik e d eda i ry agrn d ary"h
mahiyinaeitr*ijah samipah.It is furtber pioved by a "
rtatement in rhe body of the text @S7|. No. 5, p. 394)
which lays that Sudhana war adviged to meet several
well-versed belevolent friends numbering ovcr one
hundred end ten (dasottaralatem), but of these hundred
and ten the extant text describer only fifty-two or
fifty-three.
The sutra commcnces with a salutation to ell Buddhas
and Bodhisattvas as is customary rith most Mahiyana
S[tras. Eight verses which foUow contain the gist of the
entire siltra. The Eutra proper begins witb the usual
stetement 'thus heve I heard' (evan mayi lrutam) etc.
The Buddha wes seatedin the assemblyof bodhisettvas,
monks and lay disciples attending on him in Jeta's Grove
at Sr[vasti. In this assembly a discussion took placc
regarding the imporibility to farhom the virtues, powcn
end greatness of the Buddha end the merns to obtain a
fraction of that greatn6!, The Buddha knowing the
conteDt! of their discuscion gained the samidhi
(concentration of mind) called the Lion's Awalcening
(siaha-vijrumbhitt), As soon as the Buddha gainod this
samidhientire Jetavana asrumed a divine air. From the
Buddbe-fieldr in the ren direaions multitudes of bodhi-
lattva! flocked to thc essembly, each paying tributc with
miraculous offerings. Though all these wonders took
place,at Jeta's Grove, the great disciptes (lrivaku) such
ns Siriputra and Maudgalyayana did not see them,
because they had not planted in them the thought of
enlightenment (bodhicitt q.v.) and because they werc
not bent on Mahiyina, The bodhisettv$ were greatly
elated end ten of them rang the praires of the Buddha.
The bodhirattva Samantabhadra" who had underst.ood
the nature of the stmidhi and alro the prowess of the
Buddha, explaincd to the assembly tsn wEys of gaining
that saaEdhi.The Buddha, to enlighten the bodhirettvrr
furthcr, scnt foilh a ray of light from the hair betwesn his
eye-brows, and this reached dl the Buddha-fields in the
ten directions and illuminated them all, and everything
taking plece in them became visible to the bodhirattvas
esrembled et Jetavana.Th.y raw in some Buddha-Fields
(buddh*krrnlpeople taking vowr to become Buddhas
in the funure; in some, bodhisatwes udergoing training
to become Buddhas; in some, bodhisattver rtriving hard
 GAIYDAYYT}HASOTRA
to &ttrin enligbtenment et the feet of bodhi tra6; in some,
Buddhar preaching the Dherma; in rome, Buddhas
gaining variour saaidhi and exhibiting their prowcstt,
etc. When ell these were secn, the congregation of
bodbisattvas was filled with compasrion (teruni/ end
they decided to work for the welfnre of all beingr being
born in various spherer of lifc. Thc Bodhirattva
Me[juJri rang hymn! to exprc!! his joy and
rdmiration.
After _witnersing ell thcse, the gathering dispcned.
Maf,ju{ri with afollowing of nlany bodhisetwasstarted a
tour of the louthern country. Sariputra and rix thousand
bhikgtts, too, by the power o_fthe Buddba, made up thcir
mindr to follow Manju{ri end a.r they were going
MefijuCri explained to the monkr how he hed etteined
hir powerr, At the eud of the sermon all those
monkr made up their ninds to train themselver in the
Mehiy-na to become Buddhas in the future, and
accordingly developc_d tbe bodhicina Thereafter, tbe
r:odhirattva Mafiju{ri proceeded to thc town Dhanyi-
,r.ara.The citizens of Dhanyetare cnmc to Eeehim in
p;rcnt numbers. Aqong them wes the merchant's soD
,iudhana. Maflju{ri saw that Sudhene was fit to be
trnined in the path of enlightcnmcnt end preachcd to him
r hfitting rermon end lcft the town. Sudhena followed
him and a,rked for further instruction end Manjuiri
edvird him to rcek the e,rrirtence of bensvolent friendr
(kelyrnemitra) to gein thet supr€me kaowledge. He
directed Sudhena to a monl anrrred MegbeCri, Having
taught whatever he knew he direded Sudhane to anothcr
bhiktu by name Sagaranegha, and he in turn directed
him to aootbcr moak by the nem Supratisthita. In this
way Sudhana was gradually dirccted from Supratisthita
to r Dramida nEmed MeghC a tr€arurcr named M ukteka,
e bhikru nemcd Seradhvajq a female devotee named
ACe nrrned Bhlrmottaranirghosa, a brahman
"'srye
nemed Jayosmiyatane, e girl ne.ned Maitrayeni, a
bhiksu named SuderJang e boy nemed IndriyeJvarg a
femrle dsvotee nrmed Prabhuta, e houscholdcr named
Vidven, a trcuur"r nemed Retnac[dq e pedume-deder "
named Srmantenetrg a ting neoed Anala, a king nemcd
Mahiprabhe, l female devotee_named AcelC, e
wendering ercetic named Srrvegimi" a perfumedealer
nemed Utphuhbhuti, e servent namd Vairg o tresluret
n'med Jeyottrmq e bhikksuni named Simhavijrubhiti,
e householder named VqFit", a bodhisattva naned
AvdokitcCvtra, e bodhirrttve nemed Ananyegimi, a
deity nemed Mahldeva, ln earth-godderr name-d
Sthlveri, reveral night-goddesles nemed Vasenti,
S em en t ags o b hi r eCrivim elap r ab h a" P r-amudit an ay an e
-j rg atvir o-ceni" Sem anterettv at renoj eJri, Prrf Cnterute-
r egrnv ati, Sarv an eg erarekrar ambh evet?j shC;, Sarvr
vrkrrprephullenarukharamvisi and Servajtgatr.-
ksl-prenidhineviry-aprabhi, r forestdeity nemed
Sutejomrnddaruilri, e Sikyan denscl nrmed Gopq
292 so"rRA
cAryqAYr0rrA
Quecn Miyq e divine demrel n'med Surcndri6hi a
childrcn'l preceptor arned Vif,vlmi1j1, t lreuurer'! ton
nemed Silpibhijfra, a femde dsvotee nrmed Bbedrot-
tam{ e goHrmith nemed Muktaserr., r houreholder
named Aiiterena' a brahman nrmed Si,vara4rr a boy
named Srinnbhava rnd a girl named Srimethi. Eech of
the individualr epproeched by Sudhane related hir or her
experience in eenrsin whcre tbcy hrd mct patt Buddhas
and dcvcloped various samidhithrough which they had
gaimd knowledge ebout oDe ormorc alpectt of enlighten-
ment. Next Sudhena goe! to the bodhisettva Maitreya
who relater to him how he had accumulated merit in
innumerable kalpasinthe part in order to accomplirb the
attainment of cnlightenment (saabodhi). He persuaded
Sudhane to be very diligent in his search. Heving left the
bodisattva Maitreya be thought of the bodhisattva
Manjdri. Maf,juJri stretched his hrnd from a hundred
and ten leagues'distance and, caresling Sudhsna's heed,
prrhd hir effort to meet benevolent friends ead placed
him in the realm of the bodhisetwa Srmaatabhadra
Sudhana saw the bodhisattva Samantabhadra seated in
front of vairocrna Buddha, in an rssembly consirting of
inumerable bodhicattvat and cxhibiting advenced psychic
powen. Samantabhadra then cxplained to Sudhane the
cxtent to which he had practis?d virtues in the past for ra
incalcAlable length of time under innumerable Buddhes
in ordcr.to mature himcelf for enlightenncDt. Sudhans,
too, 8t thc end of Samantabhadral rcrmoD took avow to
follow the cource of trainingfollowed by Semrntabhedra
himself. The s[ra mds with a hymn by bodbieettve
Semantabhedrn in which thc Buddhal virtues ere
extolled.
\\e Gandavyttht SEtra can be treated as a Mahiyina
Sutrq developed during a time when rivalry betwecu the
Sthaviravlde and MabCyene was much acutc. At the
very outret thc grcatett emont the Sthavirevidadirciples
such as Siriputra, Maudgalyinq lnd K-lyape are
belittled saying that they could not see tbe wonderr thet
took placawheo the Br#baentered tbc staidhicdled
SinJrhavijrumbhit!, even thougb thcy lived neer tbe
Buddbe in Jetavane, becaule thay hed not cultivetcd tbc
thougbt of enlightenment, bcceuse they hed not uader-
gone the training thet culmineter with enligbtenmeat,
becaurc thcy hed not trained othen on tbe prth of
enlighten-ent and becausc theywcre rclf-centred in their
idc el to ett ai n N irv ena,'I\c hiv*ts ue cooprrcd to the
departed ones (prctas) who rulfer from rcutc thint, but
who do not sec the vert rtrctcher of water thrt rurround
them. Ten similrr comparisonr rre mrde to deberc thc
ided of tbe lrZv*s end to extol thc idcd of th
bodhicettvs. Tbc conccpt of innumerable Buddhar wi&
incdculeble life sprnr vitb uabound powen to perform
wonders rnd miraclcr is well dcvelopcd in thit rEtrr. Tbc
cult of ell powcrful bodbisrttvu wbo remdn in searln
 GANDHA
witbout ettaining Buddhehood, too, !eem! to have been
developed by the timc of the comporition of this siltra
and the bodhirettve Semantabhadra is one luch exemple
occurring in the ciltra The Buddha-fields and Buddhar in
thcm ere elways rcferred to as incalculable
and beyond dercriprioa (antbhilipyd, Throughout,.
empharir ir placcd aa aahiktnrai and aahipnjffi
which rre two fundrmentel concepts of Mahiyaaa. The
bh*ti (q.v.) cult ir also very prominent in rhe s[trq
rpecially in the rcction where Samanthabhadra is des-
cribcd. Tbc merit eccrued by practising virtucs for many
kzlpas(rconr) is said to be not ar grest as one hundredth
ptrt of thc merit ecctued by one remembering or uttering
tbe nrme of Snmantabhadre.
W. G. Wccnrtu
GANDHA, meaning ordour or olfactive object ir one of
the twetve beres (dyatana) on which dependr the proceu
of perception. Being thc olfactive objca it is rdcrred to as
the external base (6iilrr iyatana), as opposed to the
olfactive organ, the nose (ghina), which is called the
internal b e*, ( ejj h attha iyat an a). Explaining rhe proccss
of perceptionthe Madhupindika Sutte(M.1. p. I t2) says
thet olfectory conscious nets (gh aaauif, fr aae) uises depen-
dent on the nose, and ordour. Coming togrther of thesr
three i.e., the olfactory organ, the olfactory object and the
olf act ory co nlci ousness is rens ory infringemen t (p h assa)
end depeud?nt oD thir erires feeling. The Sutta rimilarly
goe! on to explain how the other sense feculties too
function end furthtt pointr how this process which starts
ar a netural event turn! out to be e rubjective procer!
finally euding up paking thc individud himself r haphss
objea of it. (See further, QONCEPT, EXPERIENCE,
PERCEPTION, VEDANA).
Gandha being an object of rense orgatr ir called one of
the five renluous objccts (Kimariga). The Buddhe
points out thst individuels get attached to thesercnsuous
objects eccording to thcir desires (S. I, p. 79), and that
this rttechrDcnt becomer efetter (5. IV.p.2t3). Therefore,
he advises, his followerr to give up attachment to these
(Sn. v. 974). This detachment could be achieved by
training oneself to remain wirhout getting cntrenied by
the general and detail sttributes of ordour and o,ther
scruuour objects. (D. I. pp.70, 183). Therefore, when
confrontcd with olfaaory objects an individual should
remain detacbed (5. IV.5 ff), considcriag its permenence,
non-subst aati ality and unsatisfactoriners (lV. II I, p. 272).
t Tbit rrticle ir r rummrry
of the papc, "vedic Cendharvr and Peli Candhebba'by O. H. dc A. Wijerck arq
ceyloa Rcview, vol. III' No. l, April | 945, pp. 73-107 seeaho hir prpcr on'vitrlbm of Bccoming:
tlrc Univrsity of Ccyloa Reiew, Vol' I, No. l, pp. 57-58 for villfrar as the .rrae qut aoa f
293 GAIYDIIABBA(I}
Tbough the term gladhe in itr gcaerd use conDote
both good and foul ordour, it is quite frequcntly used to
mean fregrant lccnt, pcrfume etc, whea often coupled
with adi (garlands) and uilepaaa (ungucnr) whbh erc
aII itcmr of perrond rdornment. The pED. reys thet
gaadha is one of the fourtccn itemr of rpprovtd giftr
(d eyy ed h n m m a) for saaa n u, brihmaru etrc.(pED, Lv.
ct. t. p.65). Samyuua NiLiyt mntionr tbe offering of
perfumcr (gtadhQ s! a caule thrt brings about a heppy
birth in the heavenly world (S. III, p.252 tr).
The Buddha while approving rhe use of gndhZhpa
(scented ointments) for those monks sulfcring from rkin
direarer (Vin, L p. 206), disapproved the ure of perfume
as e perroncl adornment (cf. the eighth of the ten
sikkhipadas, mi6-gandha, uilepana4hinaa mandaaa-
vi bhlts aa at thi ni...'.
The usc of perfume ar e cornetic item bas been
common in India during the time of the Buddha. It har
been ctrstomary to use rcentd ointmcnt aftcr s beth(f . L,
p. 254, 265). The -l1uka evta rrferr to perfume shopa
gaadhaipaaa (J. I. p.290).
T}c Brahaafala Sutt'a (D. 1.p.7) menrion gaadh*
kathi (talk about perfumes) u one of thc low rypes of
convcrsational topics, The commentary explains that one
should not indulge in talk conncctd with ordour in a
senruour mnnner but may talk about it if it is connected
with rome spiritual rubject (DA. L p.B9).
S. K. Nnryrffn
GANDIIA"BEA (l)r. Peli equivatent of the Vedic rerm
Gandharva urcd in Buddhirt tcxts in explaining the
phenomenon of conception without referenct to a
pcrnrnent entity like the Atman. In thir sense,the ierm
occurs twicc in the Mejjbima Nkiytsignirnng the lasr of
three conditions necessary for successful conception. [n
the Mahmhasahkhaya Sutta (M. t. p. 26j) it is raid
that for conception (gabbhassa avakkaati) to tate placc
there should be the simultaneow prerenoeof three thingr:
coitur of parents, the mothcr should be in ler propcr
scalon (utuni) and the gaadhabba must be prcleDt
(gandhabbo ca ptccupatthito noH lbid.). Buddha-
ghosal comnent ir very cleer on the point: .,Gandhabbe
here denoter the being who comes into the rccrc of
conception (atrup*asatto); it is not thil Gandhabba
1s6rin3 in the proximity obrcrving tbe union of parents;
what is implied is thet a certain bemg(satto)wbo ir driven
Ilniwxity of
rcompurtivc rtudy'in
or embryonic developmarl
 GANDHABBA(')
o n b y t h e m e c h a n i s mo f k a m m a i s a b o u t t o b e b o r n i n
t h E t t i t u a t i o n ( M A . I I , p . 3 1 0 ) . I t w o u l d b e i d l e t o s e e kt o
explain away the being about to enter the womb as an
unconscious lapse into popular terminology, for ihe
significance of the iext is weighty enough, to compel
Buddhaghosa to reson to the particular terminology he
u!6, Lord Chalmere translatesthe last phrase (gandhabbo
ca paccupetlhito hoti) es if there is the presiding deity of
generation preseDt(F'urther dialogue of the Buddha)1,p.
It9), and is followed by the P.T.S. Dictionary which
rays, citing only this single context, that the Gandhabba
ir said to preside over child-conception. The other
occur€ncc is in the Assal-ayaaaSufra where the Buddhe
relates to Assalayana a discussion said to have taken
place between Asita Dcvala and sevensageswho w€re too
proud of their brahmin birth. The three conditions
nccesseryfor conception are stated (M. ll,"p.156), in
exactly the rame tcrms a.sabove, in order to ridicule the
overbearing bralrmins. Devala queries whether it would
be possibleto determine the casteidentity of the particular
Gandhabba es being khattiya, brihm'na, vessa, sudda.
Here the text is unequivocal lnd leavesno doubt as to
the rcal nature of gandhabba which clearly must refer in
'spirit'of a previously dead khattiya,
the context to the
brihn-4a, vess, or sudda.
That the meaning of the term in the above context is a
samsdric being in thc intermediate Jtate (betweendeath
aod rebirth) lecms unmistakable. However, according to
the evidence of the Kathavetthu some of the early non-
Theravide rchools leem to heve developedthe idea of an
anuribhava, perhaps drawing inspiration from this
conccpt of gandhabbe. Amarakosa (circa A,C.450) lends
support to this assumption by its definitionof gandhama
at antaribhava sattva:a being in the intermediete state
bctween death and birth (Amarakosa, Poonq 1941, p.
301). According to the Kathivattrlu the Sammitiyas
(=Vitsiputriyas) held the AntarCbhava to the carrier..of
certain qualitiesfrom one existenct to another rnd to be a
puggala. Keith observesthat the Sammitiyas in common
with the Pubbaseliyasheld that after death there was an
intermediatc stete before rebirth, a view with which he
connects the opinion of both the Pubba - and Apara-
seliyas, referred to in the Kathavatthu, that the embryo
was at birth immediately providcd with a full sense-
Bpparatus. The Vaibhasikas (and the Sarvastivadins)
too, have acceptd the belief in an intermediate being
which was however opposed by the Mshasanghiks'
Ekavyavahirika, Lokottaravidins and the Kukkutikas'
The kathivafflu and the Milindapaflha (p. E3) ttre
l. Vrrubrndhu i<Jentifisrthe Atrytvijlline of the Yoglcira rchoot with tbe Bhuugt of the Timrqparniyr (i.e. the
Tbsrevidiru of Sri Lenka), l,(ii"rijntne of the Uahiriirghitu urd the *iasir;ttAifintof the Mehilirike rchoob -
Kumasiddhi-prtLzruq tr. by E. I-emotte,Mehnger Chinoir et Bouddhique!,fV, 1935-36.
294 GANDIIABBA('}
S t h a v i r a v i d a t e x t s , t o o a r e o p p o s e dt o t h i s v i e w ( K e i t h ,
Buddhist Philosophy, pp.201-208), It may seem curious
that although the doctrine is discussed by so many
s c h o o l s ,t h e u s eo f t h e t e r m g a n d h a b b ai s c o n s p i c u o u sb y
its absence.
ln the Theravada tradition Buddhaghosa makes no
reference at all in his Visuddhimagalo gaadhabbawben
he discusses conception as 'p important topic. The
Milindapafrha, gives a long discussion on this problem,
mentioning the term gandhabba in sweral places, but
eppears to be confused about the exact import of the
term, which it reduces to connote some Aeveputte'
awaiting conception in a humen womb.
It is also significant in this context thel uif,f,Ene is
represented in the early Nikiyas as-the .n'aequa nonfor
embryonic development. The Dighe-nikaya clearly
asserts that if uif,f,ina were not to descend into the
mother's womb, orif having descendedinto the mother'r
womb were to leave, then conception will not be success-
ful (D. II, p. 63).
The term vif,frana occurs several times in the early
'surrivor'and in tbe Majjhima-
Nikiyas in the senie of
nikiya it is called tecbnically samvtttanika vif,friae or
the vifrfrinathat persists in ramsira(lcading on to lncxt
lifc) for which in the scholastic period the tetst bhavanga
(q.v.)'was substituted.t This samvattanika ui/df,ana'la
regarded as continuing up to aevasafrfriai-
saf,f,iyataaa and is thus clearly thc samsCric uif,f,aaato
which Siti referred er the uifrflina that fares oo end
'without
continues, but erred in saying that it did so
chenge of identity (tadeva....anaf,aam)" and also in
taking it as an agent (lit. speeker) ald experiencer (vedo
vedeyyo; M.I. p.E6). This samsaric uif,f,ina is no other
than the 3tream of consciousncs! (vif,f,iaasota)
cxtending into both worlds (Idha loke patitthitaf, ca
paraloke petitthitafr ca: D.III, p. 105), also called bhava
sota (5.I, p. 15; IV, p. 128) or stream of becoming. lt is
extremely significant that in tbe Piyki sutra which
clearly refers to this samriric vif,frinain the conch-shell
illustration, vifrfrina is -"d" analogous to
puroisa (D.ll,pp. 335, 5:Zg. tt is the same uifrf,inathat
ls called ihira (M.1. pp. 48, 261) explained elsewhere es
the causeof rebirth (^S.II, p. l3) or bija(5.IlI, p, 5,4;A. t.
p.223), and the other categories constituting
individuality arasaid to be the home of vif,fri7a (^t. lll,
pp, 9, t0). In view of such evidence the conclusion is
irrcsistible tb* vif,f,eaa in early Buddhism was regarded
as the sole eccclerating factor which on account of its
being charged with rebirth-potential leads a being to a
 GANDHABBA('}
new birth and doec Dot in itrelfcease to be st the dcath of
that being,
The diffcrencc between this samsinb vif,f,iaa and the
Upaniradic uijainamaa that was leld to be the,suryivor,
according to the doctrine of reincarnation, ir that in the
Upaakad thc term itman expressly denotes a meta-
physical rubstrate that is permanent and unchanging
( Brh adiaay* a Up aaisad, 3.5.1; Chandogra Upaais ad,
t.1.5, 7.1,3), whcrees'in carly nuadhisi th" i"-iui
uifrf,ioa is identical with bhava implying the very
opporit. nature of impermanenc;- (aaicca)and evolution
(vipariqente, A. I. p. 258; Il, p. 177), being pictured as
I
continuously changing strerm (sota),it is, in fact, clearly
asserted that it is wrong to view thts uifrfrina as ituan
(atttto:.S. IlI, p.4) in the metaphysicel senssacceptcd in
thle Upaailad aad rejected in Early Buddhism (S. IV, p.
54; Vin.I, p. 14;M. I, p. 138).
It should now be clear what connotation the term
gendhabba has in early Buddhism, for, the ebove dis-
cussion would have shown the doctrinal correspondencr
between its application and that of vififlaaa whose
philosophical import is of extremc significance for the
theory of survival. Consequently,it is incorrect to regard
thir use of gandhabba as due merely to popular notions.
Popular usage may perhaps be reflected in the
occur€nce of such terms as bharahira(.S. III, p.E), satta
(S. I, p. 37) and nara (5,1, p. 206) to denote practically the
leme 'rurviving factor' as indicated above in a way
appcaling mere to the popular mind. The word saabha-
vcur,however, occuring in seyeral places(.S.Il, p. l0l; M.
I, p.4E; Sa.v. 147)cannot be regarded as merely popular,
approximating as it does to the above discussed uif,f,iaa
and hence to gandhabb4 and should rather be called a
quasi-tcchnical term. It may further be pointcd out that
whether the application of tbece terms be held to bc
popular or otherwise, they all refer to a conccpt that
undoubtedly forms an integral espect of early Buddhist
philoqophy of rebirth.
Judging by the exact connotation of the term
gandhabba, it is cleer that it refers to e state of the
samsiric uif,frana. The term was deliberately employed
Uy itre Buddha" perhaps for the lirst time in the religious
hisiory of lndia, to denote the surviving factor in man
incontradistinction to the term itmaa or uijf,aaitman
that were used to designate the'survivor,in the (Ipaaisad.
The anchistological import of viilf,ana, however, must bc
admitted to be eerlier rhan Buddhism (cf . vijf,anamays-
purufa, Brhad. Up.2.l.l5), and it is preciselyhere rhat
the importance of this use of gandhabba to denote a
particular state of semsiric vifrfrina is found.
especielly-in its bearing oo ih. much discussedtheroy oi
tnattt-
Upa[ Krrulnretne
295 GANDIIABBA(2)
GANDIHBBA (2I a class of celertial beingr, mcotioned
in Pdi litcrature, equivalcnt to, and apparentty derived
from, the Vadic gandharva. They are rssociated in
Buddhist literature with music, song and dence, the besh
kn61pn musician among them bcing the paf,casikha
mentioned in the Se.k&apaEha Sutta (D.II, p. 265f), who
obtained audience with the Buddha by playing on his lyre
the Beluvapanduvini. Suriyavacckasi, his beloved,
is reported in this sqme sutta, as bqving danced at the
Sudhamma hall of the Tavatimsa gods and seen the
Buddha there. The Gandhebbas secm to have been notcd
for thcir fondness for sense-phurures, always athirst for
happiness(loc. cit.). The Buddha(^S.III, p.250f .)defines
them as those godr who arise being associatcd with the
fragrence of root-wood, of hard-wood, of pith, bark,
leaves, flowers savours and scents. They are believed by
rome to bc long-lived, beautiful and happy. The MehZ-
samaJls Sutta (D.II, p. 257) describes them as forming
the rctinue of Dhataratthr, the divine ruler of the e$tern
quarter and king of Gandhabbas.
The Ahguttara-aikay\ll, p.39) uses the word vihab-
gama as an epitbet for them, which is commentarily
explained.as'bcing able to go through the ur,
Qkisecaro
gaad ha b b a -kiyik a4 evo).
The Gandhabbas, however, do not enjoy a high place
in the Buddhist hicrarchy of gods. According to thc
janavasabha Sutta (D. ll, p.Zl2) and also the
Maha-
goviada Sutta (D.Il, p. 215), they dwell in rhe lowest
heaven which I person taking refugc in the Buddha,
Dhemma and Saigba cen attain after death. They thus
belong to the plane of the CdtummahCrajika. Ln the
Sakkapafrha Sutta (loc. cit.) they are aho referred to,
along with the rrurisr and nigras, as being the ministers
and suite of Sekkha who in the Vidhunpandita.ht*a
(J.V.p,250) is referrcd to as Gandhabba-'rija But in
other passag$, they are named together vith yakkhas,
kumbhandas and ndgas. For instance, in the Ateaitiya
Suua (D. iII, pp. 203; 204) whcre rhe term y*kh, h;;;;
yet gathered its meaning as demon, but stands only for a
powerful non-human being cepable of both good end
harm, they are depicted as those who could be emong the
spirits who may disturb the meditations of monks in
solitude. The sutta implies that they could be conrroiled
by reciting the ianitaward-rune.
At thc same time as he describes the Gandhabbas as
belonging to his suite, Sakka seems to consider them as
belonging to an inferior class,to be born among whom is
degrading to a monk, having had all the opportunity to
listen to the Buddha-word, and be re-born in a highcr
state. [t may be noted that the gandhabbas heve no
sepante place in the division inro GATI (see COSMO-
LOGY).
 GAhIDIIAKUII
Mdrlarekere (DPPN. t.Y. on which this erticle is
primarily bered) poinu out thct the word Gendhabba
occrrrring fi M. t, p. 265f. cu bc milintcrprcted as a
divioe bcing preaiding over conccption, but it rctuelly
oocurr only in a sontcxt deding with tbc circlrmltencct
lreccllary for coaccption" (ntipinm a uaniptiti
bonti, mlti ct utuai hoti, gtndhtbbo cr pr,ccl.tpltthito
hoti). He rhowr thet thc commentaries explain that here
gudhtbbt meln!'being fit rnd ready to bc born to tbc
percntr coacerned.' (tttrupakt satto tatain okese
nibbnaa*o stno}The fitf reyr thet the word rtrnds
fot gtnhbbr' rcc GANDHABBA (t).
Scverd other nanec, bcsidel that of Dhataretthq ere
given as chicftains among tbc Gendhabbar who attended
the preaching -of the Mahesmaya Sutta (loc. cit'),
nemely, Prnida, Opamaflfia, Mateli, Sakka's
cberioteer, Cittercnq N ala and Janesabha. Tim baru, thc
frthsr of Suriyavaccr.ri ir dso referred to as e lord of the
Gendhabbar. Apparcntly Sithaddhi mentioned in the
Satkaptfiat Sutta (D. Il, p. 268) ar the son Matali
belovcd of Suriyavacca.rg was alro a gandhabba
The femde counErpert! of Gandhabbas are known
u la,hari (nymphr). Suriyavec-carq dso known as
Bhddi, is the bcrt known of tbem and the story of
Paf,cesikbel love for her, recorded inthe cllebreted love
pocm of the Se&trpafiha Sutteprobably gaw rise to the
Chlracteritation of Gendhabbar a! wry romantic people.
It ir noteworthy that the second and the third vegglasof
the Digh*aikaye ue frofuse with epirodes with the
Gendhebber, often featuring the Buddha as bero' Sce
DPPI,!. s.v. Gandhabba, and also CATUM-
MAHARAITKA).
Bn&rh
'The fragrant hut', was the name given
GANDIIAKUTI
to the room or b.ut (kuti)cpecially constructed for tbe use
of thc Buddha in the monastcry built by the treesurer
Anitha pindika in the Jeta's G.rove (Jetavane)tnSavatthi
(J. L.92). The Buddha used to live in this Epartment
whensver he visitcd Savatthi in his preaching rounds.
The Gandhakuti formed the centre unit in a building
complex made up of apartments for the Buddha and the
grcat dirciples and the whole complex was designated as
Gudh*uti-parivene On scverel occasions the Buddha
summonod the bhikkhus to asremble in the Gandhekuti
parivena. and addressed them on important religious
m r t t s n . ( J . 1 , P . 5 0 1 ;I I I ' P . 6 7 ) '
Once whcn the Buddha was living in the Gandhakuti in
the Jetavana monastery, !ome heretical groups hatched a
plan to discredit end villify the Buddha and the bhikkhur.
They inrtigated a beeutiful rnd attrective paribbajikaby
296 GANDHAKTIII
namc Sundirri to frequent the Jetevena Monrstery end
hover clore to thc Gandhatuti, thercby giving the
impresrion to the public thrt the Buddhe and thc
Bhikkhur werc having 6 iarimac] with tbe paribb$ikt"
Some weekr later the hcretic! causcd Sundari to bc
murdered recrctly rnd hid ber corpre in a thickct in tbc
vicinity of the Gandhakuti. When the corpre was
dircovered later the herctici spread the nrmour to tbc
effect that the Buddha aad the monks were reaponrible
for the crime. For romtime the Buddha and the bhikkhns
had to facc severe insult and public cenrure. The rituetion
became so hostile and tense that Anande appealcd to thc
Buddha to leave the Jetavana Eonaltery dong with the
bhikkhus end go elsewhere, but the buddhe pecified
Ananda saying that when a problem arises the bhikthus
thould not get excited and run away from the problem,
but should maintain their calm and bala.nceof mind and
work with diligence, As time passed by tbe plot ceme to
light and tbe heretics themselves hed to face the rcPcrcu$
eions (UdA.256ff; J. Il, 4150.
'I\e (&uvA, p.298) and the
Buddheyrlrlr-commentsry
c o mmc nt ery to tbe D igh ani kiy a ( D A. lL p . 2Q mcntion
that all pe.rt Buddher had tbeir Gandhakuti at thc site of
Gotama Buddha's Gandhakuti in the Jctavana Monartery
and the four legs of thc bcd rised by each past Buddha in
his Gandhatuti rested on the identical spots in this room.
Vis-akhe, the femous female ley supporter of the
Buddhq too, built I monastery for the Buddba end the
bhikkhus in the Pubbirama to the eest of Savatthi' In
this monastery, too, there was e building complex
designed and made for the use of the Buddha and the
great disciples.It is said thet the Buddhg during the last
Jryrwrrdbcm
twcnty years of bis life, whanever, he visited Sevetthi
rtayed in the Gaadl akutiin the Jetavana Monsltery 8nd
in the special built for him in the Pubbirima
"p"tt..oi
Monastery alternately in order to pleese Anathapindika
and Visikha, his chief lay supporters, (.Sa.A.I' p.336).
The Buddha spent nineteen rainy seasons in the
Monastery (DhA. l. p. 3;
' in the Jctavana
Gendhakuti
BuvA.3).
Melalesekera opines that the special hut built for the
use of the Buddha in every monastery that was built and
offered to the bhikkhu,sangbaby the generousbcnefactors
subsequently, was givcn the name Gandhakuti (DPPN
Vol. l. p.7aS).
W. G. Wccnntne.
 GANDHARA
GANDHiRAT Eldory. The eerliest mcntiou of
Gandbira ir found in the Biritun irucription of Deriur,
whea it wu the eutcrn-nost retrrpy of the Acbecmcnid
Empire. The namcr of Gandhira and its people,
Grodh-ri, oacur in rh€ Vedr.!. Althowh there t rome
divirion of opinion regrrding the tcrritorier cmbreccd in
thir rncient provincc, it mey be thought of rr having
comprired errtcrn Afghanirtan tnd northweltcrn
Petirtrn includiag thc Kebul Valley and the modern
dirtricts of Perhawar, Mardin, Swat, and Buner-or,
roughly, tbe territory south of the Hindu&urh and north
of tbc Punjrb.
Thc term Grndhars, ovcr and ebove itr geographbal
e^rrocirtiou, ir ured to dcscribc the art which flourirhed in
thir region during the eerly ccnturicr of our era- This
rchoot which from itr conncctions wi& clauicel art is
romctsrner dcrcribed u Greeco.Buddhilq
as will be
reverlcd below, hrr its rtylistic rffilirtiour with Rom
nther then Greecc. Actudly, the art of Gendhira
extendcd beyond the geographical limits of the province:
rgslrinr heve bcva found ar IEr nrrth ar the Oxw region
end at thc rncient city of Texilq routh of thc Indur Riwr.
Grndhirr er alreedy noted, wes originally a
province of the Archaemenid Empire, and its
territoria merked the ealtern limit of tb conquertr of
Alenndcr the Great. Rejoined to India under thc
Mruryar, it war the object of great miscionary activity by
Asokq one of whooe inscriptionr was carrcd et Shihbhiz-
garhi in the Perhawar dirtrict. The carly rulen of
Gandhara alro included the Indo-Greek derendants of
Alcxandcrt captaias, ruch as the piou.r Mcnander. With
the dirintegration of the Greek dynartics, the datas, e
Scythian horde of Central Asiaa origin, esteblished
themrelws in GaDdhara about thc fint ccDtury B.C. A
Perthien dynuty ruled irr Taxile es latc as the first
cntury A.D. Thcse Parthinnr were driven out iD turn by
the Ytlch<hih from north-wert Ching who, under the
neme of tbeir most powerful tribe, the Kulhans, con-
quercd the Kabul Valley end GendhCra about j0 A.C.
Thc lirrt great Kurhan dynasty war brought to and end
by an inverion from Sruanien [rrn, eitber under Ardashh
or ShEpur I, between 225 end 250 A.C. This dabacle
lppern to have brought to an end alro the great creatiw
period of Gendhara art. The final blow to Gandbara and
its civilizrtion ws,l the invesion by the White flung in the
fifth century A.C.
Although Buddhism hed penetraEd to Gandhiraeven
rr earty ar Maurya times, it war not until the advent of the
Kulhrnr that th region rssumed an important placc in
the hirtory of Buddhism and ic art. Although nercr
'Thit rrdclc ir reproduced from the Eacylopcdh of Buddhisa,
297 GAI\N}IIARA
rpecificdly rclocirted \rith th Buddhrl oortal qtralr,
Gendhrre grined r prticulrr renown of ndaity througb
tbs r$ignmcnt of tbe localer of the Buddhtl errlier
iacarnrdour-the rcauncietionr ed mertyrdomr of th
-nbkttder-to riter ia tbir rcgion. There ir no rerron to
tupporc thrt tbclint rwo Kuhrnrcvereignq Kujulaend
Wima Kadphirer, were evca Buddhirtr, but thcir
ruooerlor, Kenirfilr' (q.v.)it rsmemH rr ooc of tbc
greatpatrour of tbc religoq arecond Arokewho. rned
Gendhira into e veriteble tloly Land of Buddhirm.
Kenirhlce convened thc Fourth Buddhilt Council, ead it
is generally believed thet the Buddhirm of the dreet
Vehicle (Meh-yana) mede itr rppcsrrocc undcrhir rcign
aad patronege.
The dater of Kenirhka't reitr, ell importent for thc
chronology of Gendhan, ere rtill the rubject of dirpua
rruong scholeln. The cartiest drc ruggatcd foi
tbc
bcgindng of the kingb reign ir Zt A.C.,
! yeer thrt
prerumebly had merked the beginning of e Satr en A
date of 143 A.C. her bccn propored by Rca€ Ghinhmran,
.gclsning from the fect thrt Keaishla'r dynuty lrrtcd 9g
years and prerumably c!trle to ea end with tbc Srraninn
invrsion of 24I A.C. Actuelly, neither of there years fits
in partimlarly well with the chronologl of the Kushan
Dynasty by er a whole, !o tbst tbe3ost ratirfactory detc
for the acctrsion of Kanirhke ir I25 or l2t A.C., a
chronology supported by Sir John Menhall.
The history of Gandhare efter the Sasenian conquelt
is rather obscure. After e period of iDterrctnum
it reemr that e larer Kushan dyDssty ertablished itrelf
south of the Khyber Pa^ls, wheres! the nonhern tcrri_
tories contiaued under Sasanian rule. [t should be noted
thet Gaadhin war only the nortbern portion of the
Kuhen Empire. Thi! is importent bectule, wherear a
strongly Werternized art flourished iD Gandbira, a
purely Indhn tradition developed under Kushan patron-
rge at their routhern capital of Methuri.
We owe e great deal of our knowledge of Gandhlra
and its art to the accounts of the Chinese Buddhist
pilgrims who have left very full deccriptions of their
travels to itr sacred sites. Thesc recoids include the story
of Fa Hsieob journey in c. 400 A.C. the journey of Sung
YUn h the rixth c?ntury when Gandhira was under the
yoke of the Huns., ead the mort detailcd of all the
histories, Hsrian Tsangt Hsi ytl Cbr Records of the
Wcstern Countries, composed in the early seventh
century, when religion as well as art was in its finsl
decline.
volume of Spimea Articlq.
 GANDHARA
Even in the seventh century when Hstlan Tsang visited
the region, Gandhara wss a strongbold of Theravida
(Hinaylna) Buddhism. The pilgrim speaksof five schools
of the Little Vehicle. but some of these,lile the eclectic
Sarvi.stivddin sect,were transitional io the Great Vehicle;
so thet even such a conlirmed Mabeyanist as Hstlan
Tseng found their teaching congenial. [n its mixture of
oldcr Indian and Iranian concepts the Sarvastivddin sect
had something of the universal character of Gandhara
art.
The first examples of Gandhara art camc to the
ettention of the scholarly world through chance finds and
rmetcur cxploration early in the nineteenth century. Our
knowledge of the art of Gandhira is based largely on the
finds from the excavation of many sites in wcstern
Palistan. These would include the ancient city of Taxilg
successively a rtronghold of Aiexander's followers, the
Sakas and the Kushans, and numerous foundations
around Peshawar, notably Chersadda, the ancient
Pushkarivati, SahrlBahlol, Tekbt-i-Bahi, and Jamal-
gerhi. Among the ccntr-s in Afghanirtan should bc
mcationed Hadda, the alcient Nagaharq and Bcgram,
the former Kapiir- [t is to bc regretrcd thet not one of
tbcre cxcevations was carried out under modern scientific
methods, so that thc reportr are without value for
ertablishing a chrondpry of the finds.
Artr The Chaptcrr of Gandhira's history from the third
to the firrt century B.C. when the rigion wss under the
dominion of the Bactrian Greeks, are of little import for
tbe development of Buddhist art' The rule of Alexander's
lucctrsorlin Bactria and Gandhira was too unstable to
mrkc for the introduction of a monumental art' Beyond
thc perpctuation of the Greek language as a kind of
lingua franc4 the contribution of the Baetrian Greeks
appeers to reside entirely in thcir megnificent coinage,
and it ir not until the advent of the Sakas and Kushans
thet the lsshniques and forms of Classical art appeer to
have penetrated Gandhara- There are, to be sure, a few
vestiger of Grcck architccture and,ewn sculpture of a
Hellenistic typc from thc period of Seka-Parthian domi-
netion in the fint century A.C., but the great period of art
in Grndhara coincides with the reign of the Kushans.
The charactr of Gandhara art was largely determined
by the commercid and diplomatic relations betweenthe
Kushan rulen and the Western WorldlBeginning with
Augurtus (27 B.C.-9 A.C.), the Emperors received
embarsies from the Kushan realm. Thesc exchanges
l. The rummary of this evidenceon the date of Kanishkamay bc found in H. Deydier, Constribution Alttudc
de I'art du Gandhara, Paris, 1950.
2, For the Chinsss piJgrims, see S. BeaI, Buddhist Records of the Western World,2 vols. London, 1906.
3, Cf. Sir M, Wheeler, Rome beyond the tmperial Frontien, London, 1954, pp. 15+172.
298 GAI\IDIIARA
continued through the reignsof Trajan (98-l l7 A.C.) and
Hadrian (l l?-138 A.C.) and into the Antonine pcriod (c.
138-180A.Cj. The discoveryof many precious objectsof
Alexandrian workmanship at Taxila and Begram in the
Kabul Valley testifies to the culturd connection with the
Graeco"Roman Wcst, connections which with the demand
for imagery following kanishka's patronage of Buddhism
was supplemented by the import of artisans from thc
Roman East. From the point of view of types, techniques,
and evcn iconography thc art of Gandhira might be
rcgarded as a provincial Roman school. The content is, of
course, Buddhistm just as the conteDt of Early Christian
art in Rome and the East is Christian, but prescnted in the
same terms used for embodying the concepts of pagan
cults. The Gandhara sculptors introduced many themes
from Classical sources, such as tritons, centaurs, and
atlantide, but these mythological forms are enployed in a
decorative rather than a devotional way. Their presenoe
testifies to the stylistic intimacy between Gandhira end
the Romau world.
Althougb a number of students of Gandhara art, the
presentwriter included, have assumedthe existenceof an
archaic pcriod marked by the hesitant imposition of
Classical tcchniques truly Classical or Graeco-Roman
style, thic view seemsno longer tenable. lt is more logical
to lupposc that Gandhara sculpturc, the creation of
journeymen craftsmen from tbe Roman West, pcrhaps
from Syria or Alexandria, was obviously produced in the
completely mature Imperial Roman style of the late lirst
and early second centuries since there is no reason to
believe that. once settled in Gandhirg these thorougbly
trained professional carverr would have rerrcrted to an
archais or primitive manner. In the following centuries
the work fell more and more into the hands of locally
trained craftsmen end for this reason gradually rcturned
to tndian rather then Clessical idcds.
The material principally used for Gandhira sculpturc
was a bluish slate known as chdbose schist. Some of the
fiaer examples were carved from a green phyllite and a
varicty of steatite or soapstone. Originally the rtone
sculptures were painted and gilded. Stone carving wer
graduslly replaced by another medium-lime plastct-after
the fell of the Great Kushan Dynasty in the third cantury
A.C. The stuccoor lire plaster was reinforced with ruch
binding media as smdl stones, animel hair, end ttraw.
This material wss generally reserved for the heads of
images, the bodies of whicb were fashioned in mud or
clay, covered with only a thin layer of Eypsum plaster'
 GANDIIARA
The imeger, a.r well es the uchitectursl decorations
carried out in ltucco, were covered rvith a complete
polycbromy.
Tbc Boddhe Imrge. The greatect contribution of
Gaadhire to Asiatican wastheinventionof the Buddha
imrge. The firrt enthropomorphicrepresentationof the
Tcecherwrs probebly linked rrith the emergcnccof the
dcvotionrl sectsof Buddhism ead their demsnd for thc
ftrtrayd of tbe objea of wonhip in an accessiblyhuman
fora, inrterd of the cDtirelyrymbolicalreferences
to thc
Muter in the art of earlyTherevida Buddhism.
The processes of deification,leadingto the Buddha,s
rcprelcDtationin human form, were alreadyat work in
tFe early Buddhistperiod. Although in the early sutras
Sikya-rntrnii! a Ern, he is somethingmore rhen 1[aq
rincc in his lnowlcdge, cnligbtenmentand retf-mastery,
he ir ruper natural. And on occuions hir supernrtural
nlturc ir rcvcded directly in mirrcler. Ir ws! rn arsy
trenrition from thc vcnerationfelt for this supernatural
pcnon to worship the Buddhaas a divinity, Alrcady ia
tbeldita Viilarqq.v. probeblycomporedin thesccond
ccntury A.C., the Buddha appesrsas an exaltcd super_
nrhrd being. In early Brddhism the Buddha in hil
Niwinr cntered s lsetm of inviribility where, er the
Dighi-ai*iya rtlter, ,.neither gods nor men rhrll see
him'; ro thrt it wer inepproprieteto rcprercnthim by
enytbing exceptsymbolr. tn Mrh-yina Buddhiso therc
rypclrr thc ided of the Bodhirattva r,! a beingcapebleof
Nirvin+ but rcnrining in tbc world in order to slve
6r;kis{. Sinc, for thir rolc of revioun in tbe world of
mcn, it wrr rppropriate to rcpraent the Bodhisettvu atr
llerl humr"r, in the rrme wry it wer togicalto portrsy
the coaccptioa of lhc eternrl guddhe e^ra symbol in
ht""tl rhrpe, anebling thc wonhippcr to grup rr thi!
rblolutc b"ing. Forthe uretrc!the Buddhg likc tbc older
Indirn deitier, becrr"c e populer god who could, er well
er tbc .p&tfus and aigresof old, bereprerentcdin humrn
rhepe.
Sucb principlcr of Mebiyina Buddhicm ar rhc deifi_
cation of tbc Buddheend the rubstitution of the Bodhi-
rrttvr for thc erhat idealwercfacton which in the early
centurier of thc Chrirtien ert more then anything ellc
brougbt rbout the needfor ecrualreprerentationsof the
Buddha rr r dra ralber than as en emblem. Tbc
rathropomorphicreprescntetion of diviniths,sucher the
4' H' Buchtbal''The WesternAspectsof GandharaSorlpture", Proecdiags
1945,pp. &9.
5' P' Gardner, C;atalogueof Greek Coinsin the BritishMusunt: th Grcektnd
lndi+ London, 1886,pt. XXVI, B.
6' B' Roslend, 'Gendhera and L^eteAntique Art: the Buddha Imagc', Aaericaa Jownal of Archaeologr,
April, 19a2.
299 GAT{DHARA
yakrhas in the early Indian schoolr of art, as well as the
influence of tbe anthropomorphic tradition in tbe rcli-
gions of Grcece and lran, were edditional factors contri_
buting to the ippeerancc of the Buddha image. fu has
already been pointed out, the period of the Kushans we.!t
one of dominant Roman influencc, and it may even bc
that the precedent of representations of the deified
Roman Emperor may have exercised an inlluence on the
portrayal of the divine Buddha in buman form.. In a
similer way the fact that the Mahiyana doctrine welr
centered around the miraculous life and penon of the
Buddha rather than his words gave e new impetus to the
representations of scerrcsfrom his life. Whether or not the
firct Buddhe rtatuc was made in Gandhara or in the
Indian workshops of Mathuri is immaterial, except for
thosc rcekiag a chauvinistic priority for Indian craftsman.
The bert evidence rcenrr to'Indicate that the earliest
represcntationr of iEkyamuni in humen form were
mede more or lesr rimultueourly at Mathuri and in
GaDdhirE in the late fint and eerly recond crnturies A.C.
The reprerentetionr of thc Buddha on coinr of Kuishke
may be trl,en tr rn indication thrt ltrtue! of the Merter
were mrde in Kenishtal reign, or rhortly bcfore.r Tbe
Buddha type reprcrcnted on Kanirhtrb coin ir obviourly
made in imitation of Gandbarn type.
There ere e number of Buddhs rtatue! with inscrip-
tionr deting them in ea untnowa era. Thele ctrtuc! from
Loriyen Tangei end Chenrddr beve inrcriptionr from
tbe yean 318 ad 3t4. Tbc employmeat of therc insc:ritr
tions ar a fouodatioa for r chronologr hu proved a
vertiable quickrrnd for evcry rtudeat of Gandhira art,
for the rimple rellon thu tbe erain whbh thcre ycrn ue
reckoncd rcmrinr ea untaown frctor. Acturlly, tbc
compariron of the rtylc of the imrger with datrble
exampler of Romea rorlpture i,r the only mcthod for
erriving et e chronolq5rc. The drrpery of these ttatuer i!
conventionrlizc{t into rhup pardlel ridgpr rnd rppeers
to bc dcrived from Roman sculpture of the Antoninc end
c€verid periods, so that therc Buddhr! mult datc frotrr no
earlier than the lete second century A.C. In thir way it
might be pouible to conclude that a irke ere,
beginning in c. 150 8.C., war in ulc, since thir would
enable us to date thesc figures in 169 rnd 234 A.C.,
rerpectiwly. It is to be noted that therc im.ges already
reveal a conventionalizetion of the rtylc of the earlicst of
Buddha !trtue!, which were probebly made shortly
of the BritishAcedeay,XXXI,
Scythic Kiagsof Bactria and
 GANDHARA 300
before 100 A.C. To thir leme pcriod_belong tbe Buddhrr
from Sahri-Bahlol rnd Takht-i-Bahi.
Thc ctaading Buddha imrgc in Gendhira is not ro
much en imitation ar en tdaptetion of Wertern types and
techniquer by tbe Roman or Syrian artirenr wbo wcrt
cdlcd oD to producc icoos appropriate to th? Dew typc of
Buddhirm. If we tele as typicel of thir fint pha.rc in tbe
development of the Btddha image the bcautiful ttatuEt
formerly in Hoti-Merdrn, it ir apparent et once thet thc
head wes srrggerted by tbe youthful type of the Apollo
Belvedere. The havy, plasticelly conccived foldr of thc
robe revealing the body, end yet cxisting as ao indepen-
dent volumc, luggert the garmentr of Roman dreped
figurer from the Claudien through the Flevian periods (c.
1&'t00 A.C.). The rculptors of the Gendhara Buddhas
were Dever very orthodox ia their reprdeDtation of the
mrgic marks or l*saaas. Actually e topknot of wevy
hair or lhe krobylos borrowed from Apollo is uscd to
disguise the us.nrsa, which must havt puzzled the Eurasian
crrftcman as much es the yagt poEture for the ses.tcd
image.
The world of thc first century was a amall one, end
sincc in spite of the primitive methods of trsvel communi-
cetions ware vcry quick, it is not necertary to astume I
great time lag between lhe appearance of a tcachniquc in
Rome and rts tranrmission to the provinccs and ultimately
to India. It is logical to luppose, therefore, that fashions
popular iu Rorne in the sixties and scventies of the first
ccntury would have found their way to Gandhira long
before 100 A,C. The Buddha image resulting from the
combination of the Apollo bead end thc body of the
togaed Emperor is inevitably a very humnnistic one that
has little to do with revealing the Mahayiua conception
of the Master as a reflection of the supremc reality.
Ibe wholc later development of thc Buddha image in
Gandhira, and indeed in all the Esst, is ewey from this
Hellenic conception in terms of idealized and individua-
lized, material beauty towerds a more abstract figuration
in accord with lndian tradition and infinitely morc
appropriate for expressing thc immaterial, spiritual reality
which is the Buddha. Already in the imeges of the late
gecond and third centuries A.C. as illustrated by the
examples from Loriyen-Tangai and Charsadah, the
drapery has become more schcmatized and is no longer a
realistically conctived volume separete from the body. In
even tater examplcs, ruch as the Buddhas from the
Begram region in Afghauistan, the robe is only schemati-
cally symbolized by aseries of stringlike loopr descending
down the median line of the body. The representetion of
the figure has become entirely frontal, and tbe bodily
7. Cf . Archacologial Suney of India, Anaua! Reports,l90ffi7,
8. Beel, op. cit,l, p.50.
GANDII,IRA
proportion i.r in a ratio of frve herds to tbe totd ttlture' I
crnon epproximating the debered Romea figure rculP
ture of the fourth ccDtury eod lrtcr, Thir stylc rPpcrn to
illurtretc lhe lane reverrion to rncieat Orieatrl klerlr of
frontality and formelizcd lineer reprercntrtion tbrt Ery
bc notcd in thc hirtory of the rculpturc of Prlmyrr-
lndeed, the method of reprerenting drepery ir ro clorc
that a continuing influence froor thir lrtc ccntcr of
Romsn Provincirt en mty pcrbrp bc urumed" It b
worth noting that thir find rtep in tbc developmcnt of tbc
Gandhire Buddha furnirhed the model for repre-
sentationr of Silryamuni in Ccntral Aria and China in tbc
fourth end fifth centuriec when, with an evcn furthcf,
removal from the Clarsic source' tbc figure ltyle becrma
completcly schematized end enti-nrturalirtic. There htc
Gandbira Buddhrs, with their rimplification of the
drepery to a nerwotk of cordr, mult bc behind the
employment of tbir rene formule u a wonderfully
rhythmic linear pett?rn in the Buddhar of the Gupte
period from Methurl, which made a perfect rynthcrir of
Chinese and lndian ideals.
Just ar the statue of the dcfied Romen Emperor mry
have influenced tbc anthropomorphic reprcteDtr-
tion of Buddha, ro the Classicrl cult of the cologtd thil
begr:r to maaifert it$lf in the gient effigier of Ncro end
Consmqtine certainly har a refbction in the giant imager
of Bamivan in Afgbsnisten. Tberc two colocd ttrtue!,
reEpectively I 20 and I 75 fcet higb" were carved out of the
sandstone cliff and covered with a heavy laycr of mud end
plaster originelly painted and gli{ted' The 120 foot
coloslus is an cnlargement of a typical Gandh-arr Buddhe
of the recond century A.C. The larger 175 foot ttetue,
with its drapery arranged in string likc foldr, correrpondr
to the late phase of Gandhara rculpture. The purpore in -
fashioning tbese immens€ ltltuet was prrtly for chow aod
partly to symbolize by tbece gigantic dimensionr thc
coDcept of the universal Buddha as equivdent to thl
cosmos itsclf.
The reason for the appearanoe of these colosgi b Slven
by Hsfian Tsrng who tells us that Bamiyan wts I
rtronghold of the Lokottaravidins, one of the rectg
emphasizingthe more thanmortelnaturc of the Buddhal
Both of the giant ttatue! were iconogtaphically comple-
mented by the painted decoration of their nicbcr' Around
tbe top of the nicbc of the 120 footBuddha arc painted the
seven Buddhas of the past and Maitreyg aad on the roflit
of the vault e solar deity as an allegory of the comiag of
thcse Tathagatat as tunE to illpminete the world' Th
niche of the 175 foot Buddha wa! oncc conpletely
painad with multiple figures of Buddhas rymbolizingtbc
190748, 1909-10, l91l-12.
 GANDIIARA
myried min{-rnd1g emrnetionr of tbe Buddhc of tbe
Lottu,Sutrr or vrirocrnt in thc Avrttrttlrh.
No ler importeot tbrn tbc dcvetopmcat of the rtanding
Buddha imege in Gandbirrwer thc origin in thir rhooi
of thc Buddht rcrtcd in yogapoltuie. Here thc foreign
c"reftrmcn \rsrc rl I totd lorr to find a Graec+.Rornea
prototype for e penonegl rcrred with hir legr folded
bcncatb him. ffrs rcrutt, ss mey be reen in the earliert of
ther€ !trtucr, w!! ln rttempt to dirguirc tbe legr loc&ed in
the ptdm-saat under the votuminour drepery of a
Itending tigure. More often tban not, the seated Gardhira
Buddhu give tbc inrpreuion of e truncrted torro lct on
the completely dinrticuleted log-likc legr. Tbe folds of
the drepery ovcr the lcgr ere urually arranged er though
the lirnbr were in a lruding porition. Tbe devtlopmsnt;f
the reetcd typc ir the t"me ar that illustrated by thc
rtending Buddhar, with an increesing tcndency towudr
the dirintegretion aad ebrtrection of the form. This trend
ir alredy clerrly merted in a rtatue dated in the ggth yeer
of Krnirhtr (216 A.C.). An even later example in tbc
Yale Univcnity Gallcry of Art (New Haven. U,S.A.)
martr th noe rtage in thc development as tbc rtanding
Buddher from Begram. (Pls. XVIII, XIX).
Ihc Eodktn IErF Thc GaadhCra workshops also
produced the typc of Bodhirattva image. A grcat meny of
there statuer erc undoubtedly portrayals of prince
Siddbirthq
rppropriarely drerred in the finery of a
contcmporrry rIjC ead pcrhaps intended as emblems of
the Buddha's temporal powcr as Cakravartin. From the
point of view of costume! these images appear to have
prototypcs in thc earlier tndian conception of the yabhas
and tht rajlr and gatr guardiarrs represent€d at Sinchi
and Bhirhut. The dresr congists of a skirt or dhoti, a
turben, and jewelled torques, necklaces, and armlets
decorating thc nude torro, The drapery of the skirt in
thesertatuer is arranged in aseries ofstifffolds, archaistic
in appearance, like the swsllowtail mannerism of neo-
Attic rculpture. The nude anatomy is modelled with the
Jeme smooth suppressionof the muscular structure that
w8! the fashion in such Graeco-Roman statues as the
Apollo Belvedere. Sometimes the messive proportions of
the Bodhirattva ststucr-suggct an adaptation of a more
lndian cFnon.
Although many of theseBodhisatWaimages, as elready
steted, are portrsyals of Siddharthq others bearing such
Bttributes as the lota or water bottle are the earliest
repre$Dtationr of maitreye. Still other cxrmples with a
small Buddha in the crown must have been intended for
AvslokiteJvara, identified by this unmistakeable
ebblem of hn spiritual fether Amitibh* As in the case of
the Buddha image, the Gandhara Bodhisattva types
9. c. c. wibon, Ariaaa Aatiqua with e Memoir, by chrler MassonLondon, 1E40,p.
301 GAIYDIIARA
furnirhed the modelr for the reprerentations
of these
penonificrtionr of Buddhist powen for later
tndien en
a.r well e,r for rhe ert of rhe Fer Eest. (pl. XX).
nclSricr. Importaat for any discussion of Gandhara
rculpture ir the famoru reliquary of Bimarin. Thil gold
circular box rtudded with rubier was found in tg40 by
Cherler Meuon in a rtupe at Blmarin in Afghenistaa.r
The fact that coinr of the Sele king Azar were found
egociated with the cesket har lcd sooe scholrn to
attributc thir object to thc fint century B.C. But actuelly
the coinr could heve been inrerted at any time subrqueni
to tbeir minting as tribute for the relicr. Around jfts dgnm
of the little box runs an arcade which enclorer a repeated
group of four figurer of the Buddhn flanked by three
wonhippers, perhapr including Lndra and Brahmr- The
stylc of the drap€ry of thesefigures is related to ruch stone
sarmples as the Buddher from Loriyin_Tangai and
Cheneda from the l^etesecond century A.C. the motif of
figurer i:n an arcade ir e oefinite borrowing from a devicc
of Roman rculpture that mates it! fint appearanct in
Romnn Asietic sarcophagi of the second century A.C.
Accordingly the Bimarin reliquary ir only the rmaller
metal equivalent of the stone Gandhire sculpture in the
fincst period of its development.
No less famous is the reliquary of Kanishkq found in
the ruins of the fnmous stupa p-egoda erected by that
mouarch at the site of ShAh-ji-kidhiri near peshawar.
The Kanishka reliquary is e mctal box in the shape of a
pyxis surmountd by freestanding llgures of the Buddha
and two Bodhisattves on lotuses mounted on the lid.
Around the side of the lid drum of the box are two zones
of ornament comprisin g harysa and erotes carrying a
garland. On one sidc of the box eppesrs the statue of the
divinized Kanishla flanked by the sun end moon, There
is also I very mutilated inscription, sometimestranslated
ar referring to the firct year of Kanishka's reign, Morc
certain is the reading of the dedication by the Sarvasti_
vidins and the name of the maker, Agisela, perhaps a
cpaftsman of Greek origin. Actually this retiquary is more
valuable as a historicsl memento of the great Buddhist
king than as a monument important for the development
of Gandhara art. Alrhough the Kanishla deliquary has
sometimes been presented as an example of an archaic
linea: stage in the development of Gandhara ail, its style
is actually a miniature vergion of the debased and
misunderstood copies of Gandhara statues madc at
Mathura in the secondcentury A.C. tf the inscription on
this object can really be related to Kanishka, it would
furnish us with another indication that the Buddha image
war already established before his reign.
69.
 GANDIIARA
Rellefis Just as Roman sculpture served the purposes of
the state by extolling the yirtues of the Emperor in a series
of panels epitomizing his achievements,so Gandhira
sculpture extolled the career of the Buddha for the glory
of the Kushan stete and its church. It followed the device
of dividing lhc hero's lifc story into a number of separate
scencs, just as the life of Trajan is presented in a
successionofpanels on his arch at Benevento.The scenes
chosen for illustration in the Gandhara reliefs are not
only the eight great eventEalready related in symbolical
fashion in earlier sculpture, but a whole sequen€ of lesser
events and miracles drawn from such sources as the
Lalita Vistara and the Parininena Sitre, The staging of
these events, in which the Buddha always appears in
human form, provided a whole seriegof iconographical
and compositional formula for the narration of the
Buddha story, which exercised an influence on all later
treatments of the subject.
The content of the Gandhirareliefs, with the exception
of e few Classical subjects,is the life of Buddha and the
Jitaka stories. It is notable that the sourcesfor the life
appear to be the Lalita Vistere and the Mahivastu, tbe
texts stressing the miraculous aspects of the Buddha
legend which marked the transition from the Theravada
(Hinayina) to Mahayana Buddhism. One of the great
contributions of the Gandhira school wat the develop-
ment of a continuous cycle of events fixing the icono-
graphy of the Buddha's life in a certain number of scenes,
just as in Romaa art, and also following this precedent. In
carly Christian art the hero's life was narated in a logical
sequeDce of separate panels with the figure of the
Emperor, Christ, or the Buddha dominating each
scene.This is a method of narration that marked the end
of the old mcthod of continuous narration, in which a
number of episodeswere included in the samescene.Just
es the artists of the Early Christian period devised a
number of compositions from ggllnin themes from the
life of Christ, presented, as one would expect' in the
artistic vocabulary of pagan art, the school of Gandhira
created a set of standard illustrritions for the Buddha
story. These compositions are more or less original
inventions with borrowings of familiar types and tech-
niques of Roman sculpture.
We arc probablyjustified in assuming that the invention
of the Buddha image preceded the introduction of the
Buddha in human from into the reliefs,sincein everycase
the {rgures appearing in the reliefs seem to be imitated
from the statues to a point where in the reliefs of the
Nirvinq the reclining figure is simply a standing Buddha
image plaed on its side and with the drapry folds
arranged as for a standing image.
The chronology of relief sculpture in Gandhara can be
determined approrimately by comparisonswith develop-
ments in the Western Classical world. The earliest
302 GANDHARA
Gandhira reliefs bear a close resemblanceto the type of
carving evolved in Rome during the Flavian and Trrjenic
periods (c. 70-l l7 A.C.), in which the figures are more or
lessisolated and sparated against the plain background.
A somewhat later series of reliefs is very close to the
Hadrianic style (c. I l7-138 A.C.), in which the figures are
placcd in easy conversational attitudes and the cmploy-
ment of a certain amount of ovcrlapping gives an effect of
spatial depth. These earliest types of Gandhara relief
must belong to a period from c.75 to 125 A,C. Thc
parallels continue with the appearancein Gandhara of
the deeply undercut illusionistic technique developed in
Rome under the Antonines and Severids (c. 138-217
A . C , ) . I f t h e e a r l i e s to f t h e s es t y l e sr e a c h e dG a n d h a r a i n
the last quarter of the first century A.C. through the
i n t e r v e n t i o no f R o m a n j o u r n e y m e n c r a f t s m e n ,t h e l a t e s t
s t y l ep r e s u m a b l ya p p e a r e dt o w a r d s t h c e n d o f t h e s e c o n d
century A.C.
It is a question whether any Gandhara reliefs can
propcrly be called archaic. As already mentioned in the
d i s c u s s i o no f t h e B u d d h a i m a g e , i t s e e m st h a t f r o m i t s
very nature the Gandharaschool came into being literally
overnight, through the appearanccof foreign craftsmen.
These men were certainly not working in an archaic
manner, so that, as in the ceseof the Buddha statucs,the
Gandharq relief style appeared fully matured. The
"archaic reliefs" are more likely late debased copies by
Indian workmen. Many of them laler examples,especially
in stucco, reveal a decadencein the departure from the
Classicalnorm, and what is generallymore interesting,a
gradual translation into more Indian terms,
T y p i c a l o f t h e f i r s t p h a s eo f G r a n d h a r ar e l i e f s c u l p t u r e
a r e s o m e o f t h e b e a u t i f u lp a n e l sf r o m H o t i - M a r d d n , n o w
in the ArchaeologicalMuseum at Peshawar.The arrange-
ment of the figures and the costumes of the female
attendants are the Indian counterpartsof the style of
relief found at such Roman monuments as the Forum of
Narva (96-98 A.C.). The great Nirva?a relief from
Loriyan-Tangai illustrates the fully developed style of
Gandhira relief, with the dense massing of forms and
deep undercutting strongly reminiscent of the Roman
styleof the Antonine period (138-180A,C.). The serpentine
dragons on the cornice of this relief are taken from a
common ornament of the Roman Asiatic sarcophagi of
t h e s e c o n dc e n t u r y A . C . ( P l , X X I ) .
The iconography of somescenes,such as the Enlighten-
m e n t w i t h t h e e m p t y t h r o n e b e n e a t ht h e B o d h i t r e e ,w a s
already establishedin the early periods of Indian art. It
r e q u i r e d o n l y t h e i n s e r t i o no f a s e a t e dB u d d h a f i g u r e o n
the vajrEsana to adapt the composition to the new
t r e a t m e n t o f t h e l e g e n d .A l m o s t a l l t h e o t h e r e p i s o d e s ,
however, are creations of the Gandhara sculptors, some-
times on the basisof compositional prototypes existing in
Roman reliefs. Some verv elaborate panels,identified as
 GANDHARA
reprerentations of tbe Great Miracle, may actually be the
first representations of the Buddha paradise or the mira-
culous creation of NirminaBuddhas by the transcendent
Buddba of the Lotus Sltra. tn the same way the reliefs
with Buddha surrounded by a halo filled with gmaller
Buddha figures seem to prophesy the iconograply of
Vairocana at the centre of a vast manddala of. Dhvani
Buddhas, a.swc see him in the sculpture of mediaeval
Japan.
Strcco Sorbhtre. The technique of stucco rculpture was
probably introduced to Gandhara as early as the first
century A.C. from Alexandriq where in the lete Hellenis-
tic period it had been used to replece expensirrc marble.
Some of the heads from the parthian period, found in the
apsidal temple at Sirkep, Taxilq are reflections of
Roman sculpture of the period of Augustus, lt seems
likely that et siter lite Taxila and Hadda in Afghqnistaa
stucco b.g"o to be used for Buddhist'sculpture just as
early carving in slate, and tbat, following the decline of
Kushen power in the third century, it gradualty repleced
stone cntirely. The typer of Gmdbirartucco nrlpturerdlect
Hellenistic and Roman precedentsjust ar closely as their
counter-parts in stone. As a gener-alrule the examples of
stucco lculpture tne more interesting, owing to the more
malleable naturc of the oedium, Many of the heads
found et Taxile end Hadda, especially those of lay
personaget,, are mrrked by a passionate intenrity of
cxpreslion, approximating the drnmatic reelism of later
Roman lculpturelo. At times thc combinntion of a
modified naturelism with an expression of passionate
tenderness and a kind of spiritualized pathos approxi-
mste! the style of Gothic art in the West. It is possible that
the new ramphesis on the humanity and personality in
many of thesc headr fu at once a reflection of late Classical
art end an appropriate cxpression of the later Buddhist
cults of salvation in which the promise of survival in
paradise for the individual wat ur much a possibility as
the hope of heaven for every man in the mystic Christia-
nity of the Gothic period.
The heads of the stucco images were made both with
moulds and modelled free-hand. The same development
toward lndianization takes place in this madium as in the
stone rculpture. The heads become more maskJike and
tbe once Classically organiscd drapery is reduced to a
linear formule. Some of the latest examplesin terra cotta
form Fondukistan in the Ghorband Valley, dating from
I 0. Cf. Sir J. Marshall, Taxila, Cambridge,l95l and J. Barthoux,I*s fouilles de Haddq MEmoiresde
dtEgztion atcheologiquefrenzaix en Afghanisraa(hereafter MDAFA) ItI, paris 1930.
n , SeeReyuedes Arts Asiatiqucs.X & XIL
12. J. Hackin, L'oeuvrede la dllfgation arch€ologique
franciseenAfghanistan(lg2z-32),Tokyo, 1933,Fig, 27.
t 3 . Sir M. A. Stein,Serindia,Oxford, 1921,pl. XL-XLV.
t4. SceJ. Hackin, A. & Y. Godard, Lesantiquittsbouddhiqrcsde Bamiyan,MDAFA,II, paris, l92g and
Hackin, R' J. Carl, Nouvellesrecherches
archlologiquerI Bamiyan,MDAFA, III, paris, 1933.
303 GANDHARA
the sixth or seventh century, are hardly to be distin.
guished from the fullblown scnsuous ideal of Gupte srt.
Prhtlnt. So lirtle Gandhara painting has survived that
nothing can be said about it from the p.rnt of view of a
chronological stylistic development. Such cxamples es
we have seem to reflect the snme adaptation of Late
Antique formulac as were evident in sculpture. Tbe
painted Cecoration of a niche from Hadda revealsfigures
in a style nct unlike the Early Christian walt-paintings of
the fourth and fifth centuries A.C,12 The most complete
cycle of Gandhara painting, actually in Central Asia, is
the wall-paintings of B stupa in Miran, now in the
Museum of Central Asian Antiquities in New Dclhin.
The representation of -lZtaka scenes ruggelt! the treat-
ment of these themcs in Gandhira sculpture, and the
painted frieze of garland-bearing erodes and btuts of
angels end celestiel musiciaus are reflec{ions of the typc
of Lete Roman paintings to be seen at palmyra and Dura
Europos, a style in which the originally illusionistic
modelling of the forms has been reduced to aa arbitrary
thickening of thc coDtourl. The figurer have very much
tbe seme dryness and already conventionalized Classi-
cism which we dircern in the sculpture of Gandhira-
The famous examples of the wall-paintings at Bimiyan
belong to e relatively late period end are provincial
variants of lndian and Sasanjan styles. Tbe Sasanian
decorations, such as the sun god above the head of the
l2Gfoot Buddha and the painted imitation of the textiles
in Group D, are probably the work of lranian artists in
the s,ervice of Buddhism in the centuries aftcr the
Sasanianconquest of the third century A.D. The niche of
thc 175-foot Buddha contains representationsof multiple
Buddhas end Bodhisettvas. In their rcfined sensuour
elegancc and massive bodily proportions these figurer
appear as provincial reflections of the style of Gupta
India.r.
Arctdtecture. In the architecture of Gandhara we can
observe something of the same imposition of Classical
and Near Eastern forms oD rn esscntially Indian frame_
work that is notable in the sculpture.
The decoration of the Buddhist monu]nents of
Gandhira included a free adaptation of the Classical
orderc. Whereas in e few non-Buddhist bui.ldinqs at
Taxila, such as the Fire Temple at Jandiat of the Saka
Period._lonic pillan and capitals were used, the order
prcdomifates in the majority of stupas and viheras of tbc
Ia
J.
 GANDHARA 304
Kushan period.tsTheseCorinthian capitalr havc nothilg
to do with thc truly organic composition of tbe Clasicd
original. The acanthus lenves, calyx cups, and helical
spirals are attached in a completely superficial fashion to
a core that is esentially the bracket capita! of the early
Indian tradition. Sometimes in imitation of the Roman
Composite order figures of Buddhas end Bodhisattvas
are enfraned in the ecanthus foliage'
Generally speaking, the Gandhare stupa is a magnffi-
cation of the earlier type of relic mound representedby
tbe monumenls of Sanchi and Bharhut' Tht typical
Gendharastupa consistsof one or more square baccmenl
storeys lurmounted by a high drum rupporting the usual
hemisphcrical cupola. Judging by the small models of
Gandhara stupat, the cmphasis was on the supcrstructure
with en elaborate harmiki upholding a mast with
multiple umbrellas. Although some Gandh-ara stupas,
such as the Kun-ala stupa 8t Taxils, were meutioned as
Mauryen foundationr by the Cbinese pilgrims, it is
reesonably certain thet the vest majority of these monu-
ments, as well as the monestic establishmentswith which
they were asrociated, were dedicatcd during the extra-
ordinary period of patronage accorded to Buddhism
under the Greet Kushan Dynasty. From ancient Bactria
to Taxile, in the remote vaileys around Jelalab-adand the
wild glens of Swat and Buncr, there can still be seen the
ruinous pilcs of literally rcores of Buddhist relic mounds,
msny of which cen be identified with the famous sites
mcntioned by Sung Yun and Hstlan Tsa-ug.
The mein mass of thc Gandhira stlpa was generally a
conglomerate of rubble and eerth, over which was placed
a facing of roughly shapcd stoncs with many small
course! of stones or snecks filling the interstices betwecn
thcse boulders. The relics were embeddcd in the mass of
the building, sometimes in the deepestfoundations and
sometimes in a cbambcr on a level with thc drum. The
Gandhire rtupa differs from its early lndian preccdents
in that the decoretion her been transfcrred from the
railing nd toreaa.t to the body of the moaumcnt itself.
Thc base and drum of the Gendhire siupa were
completely encesedin a rculpturnl revetment carried out
in stucco or lime plaster. The decoration consisted of
pencls of sccnes from the lile of Buddhg reparatcd by
pilarten of a Classical type, or in somc of the later stupar
figures of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas framed in the niches
of a continuour ercade surrounding the body of the
monument.
It ir not cntirely certain whether these multiple statues
ere to bc taken a.! eD indication of the Mahaydne
15. Marshdl, T$ilt" PI.4
16. Bcet op. cit I, p. civ.
n. rbid.p. 103
GANDHARA
charrcter ol tftese Eonumt[t!' The question is whetbot
they represcnt the universel Buddhs! of dl tbe quartert
or if this duplication of Buddhe images may simply
indicete many sepsrate donationl or the couccption,
quite possible for Thcravida Buddhism, of the l'-e
Bud<ihe seeneverywhere at once. It is porsible, of course,
that like tbe chapels dedicated to Cbrist and the saints in
the apse of the mediaeval cathedral we hsve personifi-
cetions of different aspectsof the same Buddha in the
successiveniches surrounding the relic mound' It is of
course on the basis of such prototypes that there dew-
loped thc later decoration of MahCyanastupat, like thosc
of Nilandi or the greet monument 8t Barabudur, in
which thc Buddhas of all the directions in their niches on
different sides of the monument replsce the Hiuayena
figuration of multiplied !tatues of S-ekyamuni,
In the arcades'ofthe Gandhara stupas thc supports of
the arches are engaged lonic or Corinthian pilarters. The
erchcs thcmrelvcr are of the pointed ogec leaf-rhapc tyPe
that had been developcd in tbe chaityewindow of cerlier
Indien periods. A further Classical feature of some of the
larger stupss is the bare, supportcd by 1llenfid3 6'1
couchent lions. (Pl. XXlt)
Famous in the annals of Gandhira is the st[pa raised
by King Kanishka at Peshawar. The accounts of its vest
dirqensions and the mireculous portents during its cons-
truction vary in the accountt of the Chinese pilgrimr'
Sung Yrtn and Hsitan Tsang, who sew it in the rixtb end
seventh c'enturiel. According to the former, it wer 7fr)
feet high end rurmounted by u iron mut upholding
thirteen golden circh$.rc Oac gathen from Sung YgD!
rccount thet the upPcr portions of the monuEeDt werc
constnrcted largely of wood. From Hstlan Tsangl dcscrip
tiou we learn that tbe building wat 8t least ?50 feet higb,
crowned by a mast with twenty-five coppcr umbreller.rT
The foundations of this grcat towtr wcre cxcrvrted rt th
site of Shih-ji-kidhEri from l90t to 1910. The plen wrs
that of a great tqusre lt0 feet on a sitle with projectionr
on each sidc, giving the phn r cruciform rhepe. Thc totd
diametcr, including thcrc projectiou, wrs 286fcet. Tbere
ivere presumebly stairweyr in the four projecting wingr
leeding to the upper levels of thc base.The frcade of tbc
surviving brrcment ltorcy was covered with rtucco
Buddhe imeger in relief, seperated by Corinthien
pilesten. Therc are mBny reflectionr of this gre8t stupq
er in tbc Rrwak vihlre et Khotrn rnd thc Ahimpolh
$upa near Jelilibid. tt bu elro been suggerted thrt the
enormou! moud at the Top+'Rurtam rt Bdth wu a
copy of the f'-our building st Pcshawar. Thit ttructurc
 GANI}T{A,RA
had the ram*-ctucilorm plnn and conrirtcd ol thrcc
rqurFe buement storry!'rurmcuated by a bigh drum.
The rquare bare was approxinntriy 160 fest on cach side
and the total height bas bcen estimated es abour 200 feet
over nll. lt seerns likely that in tbeir original stare the
Kanirhkn:tupa and the ToF+-Rusiaa were enormously
magnificd crdnrgements of such miniature ttupas ns thc
example from Loriyan-Tangai in the Indisn Museum at
Calcuttq and possibly the stuccD model a( Mchara
Moradhu, Texilarl may reflect the appearance of this
famour shrine. l.{otable in each case is the greater
attenuation of the stupa and the emphasis on the
superstructure, notably the mast of umbrellas, a factot
certainly affecting the development of the pagoda in the
Far East.
Thc Buddhist vihare in Gandhara representsan elabo-
ration of the errrngement of monastic complexes in
earlier periods. Thc besis of the plan of such e monaltery
as Takht-i-Bahi was a series of connected opcn court-
.vardssurrounded either by cells for the accommodation
of the brotherhood or by niches to house the cult statues
and relicfs. Some of the courts wcre filled with votive
stupal of various sizes;large enclosed chambers served as
refectories or assembly-halls. Thc monastic buildings at
Texila and elsewherein Gandhara were constructed of
the so-called diapermasonry typical of the region, in
which large stoneswere surrounded by counes of smaller
EtoDes.Some elementsof the construction, like the heavy
overhanging corniccs of the niches, were imitations of
prototypca in thatch. Like the exterior of the Gandhara
stfipa, the entire surface of the stone fabric must have
been covered originally with a heavy layer of lime plaster
richly polychromed and gilded. (Pl. XXI)
Tbere is nothing Classical about the plan of any
building discovered in Gandhara. The only possible
exception is the shrine at Surkh Kotal in Afghanistan, a
monument dedicated to Mazdacan fire worship and
arrangad according to tbe plan of similar sanctuaries in
Iran of Parthian or Sasanian time.re It is the one
monument testifying to the diversity of bcliefs followed
under thc Kushans.
Tbere are further interesting reflections of Western
elementsin the rock-cut erchitecture of the cave temples
at Bamiyan, One of the chapels behind the 175-feet
Buddha has a coffered dome that might have been
inspired by the veults of the Temple of Becchur at
Badbek. In a number of the assmebly-halls we find an
18, Manhall, Taxila, Pl.98(b).
19. D. Schlumberger, "L! temple de Surkh Kotal en Bactriane," Journal Asiatique,1952, pp.433 ff.
20. Heckin , L'ocuvrE de Ia dEl-egationarchiologique franzaisc en Afghanistan (1922-32), Fig. 49 and Heckin &
Godard, Pl, XXX. XXXI.
305 GAI-{DHARA
innitation of tbt familiar Equineh of Seseniel domicet
nrcfutsctuic.:r
Althoug! it has bten ilGr'*ri;1pef{i stress its Clasrical,
rather t-bsn its lidisn &spn t; ifl *rder to indicate the
origin cf b+th form ,,;::,drrthniot'r*, Grndllira art ir not
important nrimcniv sJ lrn i.ilusi.ration of a Roman
cotrqucrt of tbe E*.rt" ,Act iri: ro.tl:r firrrns sf Roman art
were thcm.rclwr conqu;r':d :-c fheiil absorptian into tbe
mainstreem of the Inclipn end, ultimetely, Asiatic
traditions of Buddhist art. Ga.l:Chnrais inrpartant not ro
much for any aesthetic rcasonr, but for its positive
contributions of the anthrerpomt:rphicconccption of the
Buddha and, through an edaptation of the Roman
narrative method of reiief, the establishment of a fixed
iconography for the Buddba legend. lYheu both of thesc
contributiour ceme to be translated into more appro-
priately ebstract and spiritunlized terms, they provided
models for the Buddbirt art oi all of Asia,
BHtofr+ty : Brcthofcr. l*, Zur ljltiernng der Gudhart-
Plastik, Munich, l9?5
fr6our, J-, La FourJj*s de Haddq Pryir. 1930
Lct ff, lL, Foundatic;n^< for a Chrenolagy of Gandhtrt
Scttlpture (Transctionr or'tne Orientai Cerarnic Sociay, 1912-3),
London, 194,{.
'The
Coqoeruwenry, f K, Origin of thc Buddha Image", ,{rt
Bulletin, I une | 927, 287 -328.
Dcydcr, lL, Contribution I I'ttude dc l'zrt du Gendhue,Padt,
1950.
Foccla, A., kgiggings of Buddhist Art, London, 19lE.
Focbrr, A, L'Art Grko-Bouddhique Gaadhar+ 2 vok., Parir,
1905-
r8.
Fonctcr, A, ktne de h Dtilgatioa Archtologigrrc Frencaise on
Afghanbttn, lY22^3, Tokyo, I 933.
Hrclh, J., If Oeuvre de la D6l6gation Arch6ologique Francire on
Afgariltsn tY22-3, Tokyo, 1933.
Ilrth, J., and otherr, Rochercha trch*ologiqua & Bcgrtm,
Perir, 1939.
lrfrrtfl, S&, J, Texil4 3 vol.r. London, 1951.
Rorh{ L, 'A rcaircd Chronology of Gandhira Sculpture',
Art Bulletia, XVIII, 1936 (and other articler in Art Bullctia end
Amercian Journil of Archeeology, 194'0ff )
Wddrffif ,8-, Gaadh-are Kutzcha- Tuy''an),l*ipzig |925.
Ty|rm, H. H, Arianes Antigua, "with a memoir on Topcr'. by C.
Masson, London, 1841.
Whcdcr, Slr R. E" M- Rome Bcyond the Imperial Froatien,
London,1931.
Bcddtr Rodnd

a
GANMSA 306
GANESA, dso known as Ganapathi, ir tbe elephaat'
faccd Hindu god who was incorported into Buddhist
Pantheon. ln the Sadfraatmili, two Buddhist Soddesrs'
ParnaJabarl (pp. 30G7) and Aperijiti(p.403), are repre-
seuted as trampling him under their feet' In one Sidhana
Gane{a is represented as an independent principal god
(pp. 592-3).
Tbe Buddhists were averse to ccrtain practices of the
brahmanic faith. Thus Ganeia who wes regardcd by the
Hin'dur as the remover of all obstacles (vighne) and the
bestower of perfectio n (eiddhiditil and cucctll in tantric
riter was considered by the Buddhists to bc the most
dangerour obstacle to be removed (Sadh.30G7; tt03)' As
to tbe activitier of GaneCa there runr a Nepaleoe lcgend
that sr e certriD time au Odiyina Buddhict pandit was
pcrforming I tantric rite on tbe benk of the Baghvati river
near Kathmandu in order to obtain perfection. Gane{q
being opposed to the idea' began placing dangerous
obstaclcs in the way of the duc pcrformancc of the rite'
The pandit, frnding himself helplers, invoked the god
Vighnd'niake, the destroyer of all obstacles, who
appeered in a fierce and terrific form armed with
dertructive weapons and giving cha,reto Genedawho was
by thir time flying in terror (B' Bhattachary r. Thc tndi"o
Buddhist lconography), P. 180).
All this points to Gane$a's opposition to Buddhism
and alro his infcriority compared to the Buddhirt gods.
But when he war incorporated into tbe Buddhbt pantbeon
in the Vajrayina, he was given the status of a principal
god with au independent form on a Par with other
Buddhirt gods. Thus in the Sidb ano^-elicswell as in the
Nispannayogivalihe appesnl as a principal god'
According to the Ganapati-sidhann of the Sidhana'
mili @p. 592-3) he ie e god of red complexion wearing
the crown (aam*uta/, dccked with many ornnrreDt!,
and having a protruding belly, one face, three eyes, one
turk and twelve arms. He carries in his right hands the axe
(kulhira), the arrow (!an), the goad (aizkulal, tbe
thunderbolt (vajra), the sword (khedgd and the spear
({-ula); and in hir left hands, the pestle (mulala), the bow
(cipa), the club (khatvaitga), e skull f{l of
!9d
(asykkapila),
'*a'panpnayal. another skull of dried meEt (swkaaamsa-
He sits intbe adhaparyalnkagosture in a
dancing atiitude and rides the mouse on a red lotus'
In the Nispannayogivali be is described differently'
According to D harm edh atu'vagi{v ara-m e nd aI a (p' 62)'
he ir white in colour and has an elephant-face' A snake
forms his sacred thread. He rides the mouse as usual, but
has only four arms; in his two right hands he carries the
trident (triduJa) and sweet-metts (ladduka), end in his
two left hands the hetchel (para{u) and a radish
( mit * a); but acsordin n g to the B hifl,d hari- mand al a of
the same work (p. 72'lhecarries the hatchet and radish in
a
GANESA
hir two rigbt handl and the tridcot rad a rtull in hir rwo
hft handr.
In Japan GaneCa is known as Shotco+sma or Keng-
ten to whom reverd temples are dedicrted, notrbly tbe
one at ltoma bctween Nara and Oraka. 11fu imega
gcnerally conrirt of two human ligurer with clephant
hceds, wearing long rober end rtanding facc to fact with
their trunlr oa each other'l rhouldcn. They are kept in e
brasr pare end offeringr of food including elcohol are
spread out bcforc them (Sir €herles Eliot, Japeaex
Buddhisa, p. 138). He belongr to thc penthcon of the
Shingon Sect (ibid. p. 355).
He reemr to be uaknown in China at the prercnt day,
exccpt in Lamaist templer, but the Chinese Tripiuke
containr reveral tlutrzs whicb describe the ritud of hir
wonhip. Ar the translations of thcre sitras rre e.rcribed
to Bodhiruci, Amoghavajra and others of about the samc
pcriod, this deity must have been frrniliar to the Chinerc
of the cighth oentury. But it ir raid thet irr 1017 A.C., thc
Emperor Chen-Tcung brued an cdict prohibiting tbc
inclurion in the Tripitaktof the sEtre ebout him in four
volumes and tbe trtnrlrtion of similar workr ro that
probably hir cult wsl luPPre$ed tfter thir time (ibid.
t_1E-9).
Io Sri Lanka Gancie ir conridercd u tbe god of
wicdom and of obltailct. Thougb he ceurcr obrtrclcr hc
alro remover thcm. Thur he ir invokcd rtthe conncuc+'
ment of all undcrt*.in$ rnd rt tbc opeoning of dl
compositionr. Thur we reed the invocrtory formular,
nM4 Si Orgya or ntmo Ga1ffiye vighmdvafiyt
Thesa arpects of G"neJasrept iato popular wonhip even
arnong tbc Buddhistr. [n Sri Lanka the bodhiretwa
AvalokiteCvera ia often referred to as Nitha. One form of
Natha is Gana Nith8, i.e. Gandq the ron of Gauri aad
diva. tnis is rn instance wheri Hinduism har inlluenccd
the Buddhirt beliefs and practicer. (Naudelena
Mudiyaare, Mehayaaa Moauments in &ylon, M.D.
Gunrsena & Co., Ltd., 1967, pp. 2822). Thir trend
culminatcd with thc worship of Grncda ar Ganadeviyo -
thc god of Wirdom and learning. The Guadevihlllq t
ballard written in Sinhala describing tbc birth of
GaneJvare \per lometimes used as 8n elternativc rchool
texi. A pre)€r to Genadevi for wisdom ir alro coatained
inthe Yadaa-kavipoia- a Sinhala primier. Both texts ere
of unknown authorship and came to be ured in tbc
Kandyan pcriod when popular Buddbism iu Sri Lanla
we! greatly influsnced by Hindu cultl. Both tcx$ werc
used er primary readers and therefore, greetly contri-
butcd to the popularising of Ganela among the
Buddhistc.
The Pdi word viniy*t is an epithet applied to the
Buddhe (M. II, p. 94), and it coDnote! the Buddhe't role
u hrder, guide or instruaor( PED. s.v. vif,iyak).The
 caxcAnolraNA
Sanskrit word viniyaka (meaning taling away, removing
'guru',
:?mover of obstacld, a spiritud precepter, a
B udd ha" M o nier WiUi ams, S aask ri t -E ngli sh D ic t i o a ary1
embreccse wider meo"ing thaa thc Pali word.
This epitbet has been used rarely a.san appellation to
the Buddhabut more commonly applied to GaneCaintbe
Dravidianised form of the word es Vinayagar. Thcse
arpects of GaneCaas gd of wisdom with the ability of
removing obstacles and his sharing an appellation with
the Buddha equipped bim to gain acceptancein popular
worship. It also paved the way for the Hindus in South
India to convert a large number of Buddhigt temples to
placesof Hindu worship by replacing the Buddha statue
with that of Vinayagar. The worship of GaneJa'becamea
convernient mode f e drape some of the Buddhist shrines
in Hindu garb.T rss is Ecknowlcdged by Swami
V i v e k a n a n d aw h e n L ' - , . . . ' ' , . . , t h et e m p l e o f J a g a n n a t ai s
en old Buddhist temple. \A e Io;,k this and others over and
re-Hinduised thcm. We shall hale 1.rCo meny things like
that yet."(Complete works, Vol. III, p.264, as quoted by
Joshi, Aspects of Buddhism in Indidn History,The wbeel
N o s . 1 9 5 / 1 9 6 ,B u d d h i s t P u b l i c a t i o n S o c i e t y ,K a n d y , S r i
L a n k a , p . 3 8 ) .( P l . X X I I )
M. Karduvhm
GANGIROHANA, name given to the festival that was
held to conduct the Buddha from Rajagaha to Vesali
where the Buddha preeched the Ratana 'Surfain order to
rid the city of the triple dangers of famine, evil spirts and
disease.The story as found in the Dhammapadattha-
kathi, (III, pp. 436 ff. Dhp.290) and the Khuddakapit-
hatthakathi (p. 160 ff,), is called Gahgirohana or the
"Ascent of the Qanges," becauseof the fact that in the
course of this journey thc Buddha had to cross the river
Ganges (Gahgil,
Thc story goes that, after a pcriod of_ plenty and
prosperity, there came a famine in Vesali which was
followed by starvation, disease and death, Several
c o u r s c so f a c t i o n w e r e a d o p t e d b y t h e r u l e r s b u t w i t h o u t
success.Ultimatcly they dicided to invite the Buddha who
was at this time residing at Veluvana in Rajagaha
enjoying the hospitality of king Bimbisara. Thc invitation
was accepted by the Buddha. When Bimbisira came to
know that the invitation had been accepted he at once
volunteered to prepsrc a special road from Rajagaha to
thc banks of the Ganges, the outer limit of the city,
covering a distance of five leagues. Accordingly, the
ground was made even and a rest-house was erected at an
interval of one league each. When everything was ready
the Buddha tet out on his journey accompnnied by five
hundred monks. According to the description, each
307 CeXCANOHANA
icague of the journey wss strewn kneedeep with fiowers
of five colours and decorated with flagsn bannerr end
srandards all along. Two white parasols, a lower end a
higher onc, were held over thc Buddha and a single
'3
parasol over cach monk. he king, elong with this
retinue, honoured the Buddba witb fiowers and pcrfumer
and lodged him for one night in each rett-houre,
bestowing nch offerings upan him and his attendant
monks. [n this manncr he :onducted the Buddhn to the
banks of the Ganies in five days, In order to ferry him
across to the Vajjian territory he decorated e bos,t &nd
requestedthe Vasilians also to prepare a rpecial roed for
tbe visitorr. Consequentiy, they, too, prepared the road
from their city to the banks of the Gangec,a distance of
three leagues,and came forward to conduct the Buddha
with parasols and other offerings. [n the meantimc, the
king fastened two boats togethcr, erected a pavilion
thereon, festooning it with flowers and prepared a seat
made of maay kinds of jcwels. The Br.rddhasat therewith
his monks seated around him in a circle and thc voyage
began. As the story goes,Bimbisara desccndedkneedeep
into the water and promised thc Buddha that he would
wait on the river bank until the Euddha's return, a'
duration of more than sevendays. Aftersailing adistance
of onc league up the Ganges the Buddha and his retinue
reached the boundanes of Vesali, f'he Licchavi princes
camc to welcome the Buddha and as soon s.she set foot
on their territory a heavy shower is said to have fallen
cleansing the whole city of Vesali of the putrefying dead
bodies aad disease-causingBerms. In throe dayr the
visitors were conducted to the city of Vesali. In the
evening, at the request of the Buddhq Ananda learnt the
Rataa.Sufta from him and went round the city reciting it
all night, With its reeitation dl the evil spirits are said to
have fled the city. It is seid that the Buddha himself
recited the sutta for seven days thereafier in a rpccially
prepared pavilion when the pe_stilence subsided. Having
servedhis mission he left Vesili end was conducted to the
bank of the Gangesin three days by the Licchavi princes,
The story continues with accountesof nagasand deities
of the entire universe (cakkav-alal paying homage and
making offeringe to the Buddha. On the opposite banl
of the river Bimbisdra was miking arrangemcnts to
welcome the Buddha back. The account gocs on to
mention that as there was a large number of boets offered
by many nagas artd gods; the Buddha by his superaaturel
powcr created in each boat a figure of the Buddhe
attended by a retinue of 500 monks. The Buddha end his
retinue were conducted to the niga realm and regaled
with food and drink.
Despite thesesupernaturaleventsthe story adds that in
five days the Buddha was conducted back to Rijagaha
The author of the story does not went to stop here but
continuel after the fashion of the Jitaka tales, to a past
 GANTIIA
story iD which the ftuddha, ar a bodhirettvs, had pcr-
f ormed e mrritorious rct on aecount of which be recriwd
thesehonourt rnd offerings. It is thir entire section of the
Dhaaanpada commentary that is called the Genga-
rohana *,attbu.
It is irnpnrts.ni to ncte lfiat i.: rhe Khudd*apEtha
attht*ak;6 {pp. iSf: iI. } wbric tire rtory ir repeated,it ir
not rpecielly derignatco rs Gahgarobana-vatthu but
included in the Rttrutssutta-vanneni es it formr the
nidanr"kethx *f the Rarsna.guffe. T'he Sanrlcrit vcrsion of
the story, with s!ight rariations, ic found in lhc
Mahivestu (I, p. 253 ff ] but here, too, the story ir not
caLled Gangiro h dn a, Herc i t is d eri gneted u Ch atravs tu
probably becausc many pararols (chetn)are c&id to bave
beau used in the cclebration"
A" G. S. Krfinwrcm
cANc;noHANA-vARN$riv,q" is a Sinhala work
writtcn in lE06'by Don Tho** SamarasekeraDissa-
nayakc, detcribing a religious festival held on the river
Nihrli in the IV{ataraDistrict of Sri Lankq probably in
imitetion of the Oangarohana (q.v.) festivel held in VesEli
. A rich pcrson of the area, by the name David de Saram,
wanted to hold a religious festival on tbe river Nilvala and
accordingly he chose that portion of the river from a
village callcd Godapitiya to the city of Matara for the
purpoie. Pnvilions end arches were erected on thc river
itself and within each of those pavilions, which were
tastefully decorated, two seatswcre prepered to house e
relic of thc Buddhr and Buddhist monks remaining
around in boats were made to recite pirit. These were the
main features of the festival and it walt to witness these
that people came in large crowds. Festivals at nigbt with
fircworks seemto have been an added attraction. Ctlebre-
tionr went on for ten days.
The book is written in the Sinhala verscform known as
sr7o,one hundred of which complete the book. The work,
belonging to decadent period in Sinhda literature, is not
of much poetic valuc, and both in contents and style it is a
mediocre work. This work has become significant in the
history of Sinhala literture becaugea single line of it was
responsiblefor a major literary controversyin later times.
Thc book is edited by Munidasa Kumaranatunga and
published by the Epa Press,Colombo, Ceylon, 1933.
A" G. S. Krtvawsam
GAFITHA (Sh. Grrrtln} a form derived from the root
grath,'to tie' is used in early Buddhist literature es e
general term suBgpstiveof the concept of bondage (Sn.
308 GANTHA
w . 3 4 7 , 7 9 1 ! , 8 1 7 , 8 5 7 ,9 1 2 ; D h p . v . 2 l I e t c . ) . I n t h c l E t e r
literature the term has acquired gnster significaae ead
is used as s technical term rynonymously with kilcsq
.kldrmeaningdcfilcmen$ (Visa. p.683, Abhty. p.a1), It
connot?r thet arpect ofthe pascions which drags sentient
bcingr towudr the cycle of continued existence (n"!!",
sams-rj and tecps them tied to it (Nd. I, p. 98; Vbb. p.
374; DA.III, p. 1024;DhsA.p.3'17). Thur, it hu rightly
been identified with the origin of suffering
(stmudeyasrL'caT ganthe : Wh. p, ll7).
There are four such tics enumerated in the texts,
namely, the organic tic of covetousness(abhijjhi-kiye-
gantha), organic tie of ill-will (vyipida-kiya-gntha), of.
clinging 1o the view that purity is attained by rita and
rituals (sil a bbaaparamas a-kiya-ga ntha) anddogmatism
(iden:-saccibhinivesa-kiya ganthe; D. III, p. 30; .9. V,
p p . 5 9 - 6 0 ;N d . I , p . 9 8 ; D h s . p . 2 0 1 f . V b h . p . 3 7 4 ; N c t t i , : p .
I 14 ff.; Visa. p.583).
Tbe Vibhahgain its treatm ent of gaatha gives to list of
synonyms with reference to the fint two ties. Abhijjhiis
the same as raga or_Iobha; and ryapCda is thc ill-will
towards enemies. Silabbataparamasa is the clinging to
the false belief in the view that purity is attained througb
mere rites aad rituals. Idam-sacdbhinivesa is dogma-
tism; i.e., to take one's own views alone to be correct and
all other views to be false. Views in this case pertain to
purely speculntive theories; all the ten views included in
the "unnnswered" (avyikats, q,v.), such as the world is
eternal or that the world is no-t etcrnet are given. All
shades of wrong views, exccpt silabbataparamlsa, come
under this (Vbl. pp.37&15).
The Niddesa confines its explanation of even the first
two ties to speculative views and says tbat ebhijjbi-
kayagantha is the attachment (rags) to one's own viewg
whereas hatred Gghita) towards others' views is
vyapadakiyagantha (Nd. I, p. 98).
The Abhidharmasamuccayagives the same four ties in
more or lesssimilar terminology, but explainr them in a
different way. Granthar are so called, it says, because
they overwhelm the organi35 which is, by neture calm,
resulting in its beirtg agitated and distracted; lust for
wedth, wrong behaviour in debates,agony to be under-
gone in performing difficult rites and rituals as well as
unwise contemplation on matters to be realised-ell this
promotes agitation of mind and hinders its trenquility
(Abhsy. p. 48).
It may bc noticed that the concept of tying, ro clearly
brought out in the Pali texts, is lacking in the Abhidharma-
samuccaya explanation, which instead brings out the
idea of the agitation of the mind (citta-viksepa).
According to Pali tradition, as eJready se€n, these four
are called kiyagantha because they keep mental and
physical organism (nimakiya a,nd ripakiya) res-
 GAhITTIADHURA 309
pectively tied together to continued exirtence by way of
dcccerc rnd rebirtb (Vbh.p.371; Visa. p. 683 f . DA,Iil,
p.l0z),
Th* four rre rome of th panions, considered as ties
in view of the lpccid function they perform; they, in fact,
reprc*nt the three buic peuioas, namely, lust (lobhaor
,ry{,h*e (don) rnd delurion (moha) : abhijjhi-repre-
nntc lobhaor raga: vy-apidarepregenb dosaud sjlabbr-
tryaremisa and idtwacabhinivesr
rcpresent mohe.
Thus it is the three basic parsions that act in their capacity
as tics. The ways of ariring and the method of brealing
these ties are, therefore, the snrne a! those of passions.
Tbe Suttanipita (v,847), to cite a few refcrences, for
instance, tracer the origin of ties in sense-impressions
(seflf,i) whereas tbe Dhammapada (v. Zll) attributes
their origin to likes and disliker (piyippiya), ^Sa/Llliis thc
imprersion one derives from a sense-object;piyippiyats
En elaboration of safrf,i. A saf,f,i ir prye when the object
cognised is pleasant and attractive; it ir appiyawhen the
object is unpleasent and repulrive. The former gives rite
to abhijjhi whercas the latrer to uyipida. Absteining
from developing likes (piya) and dislike t (appiya)
towardr the sense-objectr cognised is, therefore, the
mcan! by which gtDtha is broken. This abstinence is
made posrible by following the noble eigbtfold parh
(ariya etlht;1gika mtgt:
^S.V, pp. j9-60), or by culti-
vating the four application of mindfulness (satipatthana:
Netti. p.3l), The ner result is the attainment of iniuitivc
knowledge which ir brought to its perfection in four
stage!: The last two ties are broken in its first rtage, i.e.,
the firrt knowledge of thc path (pathama magga-f,Ena);
vyipida in the third stage; i.e., thi rhird knowfeagj of
the path (tatiya-magge At+") md abhijjhiin thc fourth
stege, i.e., the fourth knowledge of tbe path (cftuttha
magt f,Zla: Yrrm. p.685).
Those who have broken thesc thc complctely are celled
the sag?r(muni: Sn. v,912),the foremost nmsag thcm is
the Buddha (Netti; p. 54). Sce KILESA.
Upe[ I{rrunentne
GANTIIADHURA5 rhe ascignmcnr of the study of texts
as opposed to the esrignment of development of insight
(uipassani4hwa), is one of two elternative religious
assignments undertaken by bhikkhus. Such e strict
division wa! Dot lrrcaentat the inception of the Order of
monkr. The mein purpose of monkhood we! to lead the
noble religious life (bnhmacariya) with the aim of
attaining freedom from Samsiric bondage. tn leading
this noble religiouc life a bhitkhu had not only to leern
the teaching of the Marter but also to follow it.
Subsequently, when the preserration of the Dhamma in
GANTHIPADA
its prirtine purity in thc oral tradition beceme aneccrsity,
particular group! of monls were spccially assigled thir
tark. Such formal assignmentr were done at the First
Council itself. With the increase of scholarly activities of
monla the study of tcxts along with commentaries, and
tbeir preservation in the oral tradition became gtill
important. Referencer to different types of bhin*as
(reciters) such as dighabhendka, Majjhiabhiae&aetc" are
also indictive of the cxistance of bhikkhus whose main
vocation appcan to have been the rtudy oftexts. In spite
of this empha^cis on the study of texts the vocation of the
bhikklus was nor divided with two seperate courses.
The division is a subsequentdevelopment and, as the
history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka shows, it ceme into
being ar a result of certain events that took place in Sri
Leaka in the lst century B.C. When natural calamities
and political upheavclr that took place in the lst century
B.C. threatenedto wipe out the oral tradition of texts, the
bhikkhur assembledet the monastery celled Mandlnrima
at Kallagama and by a majority deicision accepied that
study (pariyatti) ir more impcirtant than practice
(pagipatti) for rhe presen'ation of the Dhamma. Sincc
then the study of texts (gaatha4hura) came to be
considered as a separate arsignment and subrequently
became more popular than uipassaai4hura which war
cinsidered ar more suitable for the old and the weak. (See
furthe DHURA).
S. K Nuryrffm
GANTH;KARA-PARIvENA. A vi[ara or dwelting
place of bhikkhus artached to the Mahivihara in ancieni
Anuradhapura. The vihara wa.s so Dnmcd, probabty
becaure it housed a good library (gantht =books,ikaia
: resporitory). The {ulevamse (Cv, xxxvii,
v. ?A3)
rccords that Buddhaghosa, the great commentetor,
translated from Sinhala to pali the commenteries while
living in this vihirq end hence it can be surmired that this
vihara had a weU-equippcd tibrary witb canonical tcxts in
Pdi and their commentaries in Sinhala (iihatat*a-
kathi). It is also record ed in the CEla vam se (Cy. fii, ;. 57)
that Kassapa V restored and renovated'thk vihira.
W. G. Weerenhc
GANIIIIPADA (Sinh, gttepda) lir. ,.term of obrctre
meaning", ir the designrtion of e clesr of litcreNre of an
exegeticel natur€ c-omporedboth ia the Sinhetr ead peli
lenguagcr, commeDcing at a period immgdillg$ following
the clarsical commentarjd epoch. Although in modern
terminologr gaathipdt L r '.glossariel work" it war
 GAIVTHIPADA
es3entiallyintended
'to facilitate the understanding of
difficult wcrds, phrases and disputable points in the
commentaries" (Dhan:medhars Thera ed' Vimetivino'
d a n i , C o l o m b o . 1 9 3 5 q u o t e d H ' S a d d h s t i s s aT h e r a e d '
is gene-
Upasakalanalankira, London, 1965 p' 59 f')' [t
extends from
rally believed that the Ganthipadapefiod
t h e 6 t h c e n t u r y A . C ' o n w a r d s( i b i d ) ' T h e a v a i l a b l ee x e g e -
the
tical works on the Tipitaka prior to the compilation of
Pali commentaries were the traditional Sihala-atthakathV
dating back to the 3rd century B.C. Their growth with
accretionsand emendationJ wat arrestedwith the writing
down of thc Canon and commentaries in the lst century
B.C. during the reign of Vattagimani Abhaya' Further,
es a resul'. of rendering in Paii the Sitra/a- atthakathiby
Buddhaghosa and his successcrsin the 5th-6th centuries
A.C, the commentarial tradition in the Sinhala language
suffercd a setback (V'W' Abhayagunawardhane, ed'
Paiviraga?thipada. Maradanq 1990,pp. xxixff)' While
the wideninb S"p between Pali end Sinhalese at the
latter's Apabhramia and l*leo-Indo-Aryan stage neccs-
sitated facile explanations of Pali works in the fast
changing Sinhala idiom (cf. D.E' Hettiarachchi ed'
Vesaturudi'sEnne, Coiombo 1950, p' 30ff')' As a
knowledge of Pali became a prime necessityto follow the
traditional exegesisof the Pali texts a great need was felt
to interpret the Buddhist teachingsin the idiom of day to
dey use. To satisfy this need a class of literature
represented by ganthipade(Sinh' g[tapada), sanye
(Sinh. sande), "auxiiiary works" (Sinh. pigapot) nd
"ennotations" (P. Sinh' parikatha) came into existence'
There exegetical works were written not only on Pali
commentaries to serve as further elucidation of matters
raired in thcm but also on canonical works as may be
illustrated by Periviraganthipada' AbhaysSuna-
wardhene (ibid) makes referencc to a passsSe in the
Vituddhimir7ssannaye of King Pardkramabahu II of
DEmbadeniya which states: "if a word's denotation is
obscure it is a gantll ipada, if its connotation is obscure it
b rn arthapada.i''T\e Sinhalese exegetical works which
at the outset were designated w ganthipada and
arthapada, and beyond the etymological meaning of
these two terms' acquired I new semantic significance to
include in their category giltapada, sanne' pi.tapot artd
parikathi. The most ancient extant work belonging to
ihis clals of literature is King Ka.{yapa Y's Dhampiyi-
atuvt-3{tapadaya (10th century) written on the Pali
Dhammapada'attekathA. k is observed (Horane
Vajirenana Thera'' ed. Kudusikhasannaya unpublished
pU.O. thesis, University of Ceylon, 1968) that both
Gaathipada and'Sanye literature had their origin about
the same time and that tbe same work war often
derignated both as e' ganthipadaand sanya(quoting D'E'
Hetiierachchi ibid p' i4). These names are generelly
interchanged ss seen in the colophon to the Dhampiyi-
310 GANTHIPADA
impor-
atuvi-gttapadaya' Besides the above, the most
rmong extant works cre: JAtaka'atuva'g{tap,adall
lsnf
A'C') and
Bodhivamia-gttapadaya (both 12th century
ccntury A' C')'
P aliv aralal!, n"a" ( I 5th
Sariputta Tbera-( l2ih century A.C') in hts Vinaya'[iki
cntitled Siratthadipanr (ed. Devarakkhita Thera' Vol. [,
p.7) rcfers to three ganfhipada; Mahe' Majjhima and
Cula which he specifically stateswere written in Sinhalese
while he uses the narmeGanthipada (absolutely) to refer
ro the work in Pali. The inaccessibility of the Sinhala
ga*hipada to monks overseas-isald-uc_edes the realon
in PBli (Jt'2)'
for'compiling thc Siratthadipani-tkZ
Coliya Kassapa The.1ra,author of Vimativinodani the
subsequentVinaya-rrki also refers to and quotes from
the ganthipadas. There are numerous referencts to
ganthilada sources in the oldest Vinaya-rr.ki the
Vajrabudd.bi too (t lth century)' However, the
5tJaganthipadareferred to in the history of the sisana in
Myanmar in the lTth and lSth centuries is a comPa-
ratively recent work in Pali belonging to the post-t*i
period (vide SaddhatissaTherq ibid pp. 55 ff.),
In tracing the evolution of the rikt lit.r"ture the time
lag between the end of the commentarial epoch (6th
century A.C.) and the Polonnaru period (l2th century
A.C.) is described as the period of the trowth and
fermentation- of ideas (Lily de Silva' ed. Dightnikiya-
.tthakrthe-tr?i, London, 1970,p. xxxi)' Tbe growth and
eipansion of the Slihala'etthakarli was arrested in the
lst century B.C. after the writting down of the Canon and
commentaries. Then came the translation of this com-
mentarial tradition into Pali in the 5th and 6th cuturies
A.C. Next came the annotations in the form of the
ganthipadaand atlied literature which was finally crystal-
tizii in the tlti literature of the Polonntru period, "We
learn of theie ganthipadas through the tikiamuch in the
sarre manner rN we learn of thc Sitrda'atthakathi
through Pali commentaries"(ib. p'xxxii). There'hasbeen
an independent espansion of.ganthipada literature prior
to the Polonnaru period and apparently its use and
influence diminished with the growth of the rili
literature though there is clear evidence of ga?thipada
literature being known even as late as the Kotte period
( l 5 t h c e n t u r y , S e eD . E . H e t t i a r a c h c h ii b i d . p ' 7 2 ) . 4 p a r !
from the various Vinaya ga{hipada that ,Sarattl adipani
mentions it also refen to several other works of this
nature on Vi sud dh is agg a, A bhid h amm a snd P etisam b hi'
dima-ga. Despite rhe ganthipada being supcrseded by
the tfras they survived to the present day though the
number thet hes gone into oblivion is considerable.
A rignificant feature of the afo on the four major
NikCya texts of tbe Suttepita-ka attributed to icariya
Dhammapala, 6th century A.C'is their relativesileneeon
 GARUDA
the ganthipada. Considering that Dhammapala flourished
in thc commentarial epoch it can be surmised that the
need for compiling 6:anthipada on the etthakathA to thcse
Nikayas had not arisen as the "obscure points" had
already been adequately treate_din the rrkis, This is also
confirmed by Siriputta's tiki on the Anguttara-
atthakathi (l3th century A.C.). Lily de Silva (ibid. p,
xxxvii) observes : "lf ganthipadas to Anguttara Nikiya
wcre is existence specific mention of them would
certainly have been made" and adds that on the other
hand the same author's ,9irafrfiadipani on the Vinaya
makescopious referencestothe ganthipada.It is generally
believed (vide Saddhatissa Thera ibid 52ff.) that the
genthipada literature bridges the co-mmentarial and_
Polonnaruva periods and that the Linatthappakisani
(the rlk6s on the commentari_esto the four major
Nikayas) and Visuddhimagga-tiki were compiled at a
time before the gantbipadawere written (vide L. de Silva
ibid.). On the other hand, the post canonical floating
exegeticaltradition on the Vinaya was preservedin four
ganthipzdas and finally evalu_ated_inth_ethree Vinaya
t i kls, Vaji ra b ud d hi, S ar au h ad i pani and Vi m e t i vi n o d a ni
( I l t h - l 2 t h c e n t u r i e sA . C . ) .
N. A. Jayawkkrama
cARBHADfflfU. See VAJRAngnTU'
GARUDA (van GARLILA) a class of mythical birds,
mentioned in both Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist literature,
usually together with nagas (q.v.)
Refcrence to them occur as early as the Nikayar. The
D-igha-nikaya(I, p. 149) speaks of ,n.- in passing, in
connection with the concept of thc mahipurisa elabo-
rated in thc Lakkhana Sutta (loc, cit.) which states that
the mahapunia, if he fares forth as an ascetic,will receive
the homage of the asuras, sakkas, rakkhasas, nigas,
gandhabbas and garudas, Although not mentioning
them by name, the Samyutta-nikaya (I, p. 224) gives,
vaguely, a story (which is elaborated later, in the
Kul7vaka JEtaka) according to which Sakka, fleeing
from the celebrated sura-asura war tells MAtali, his
charioteer, that he would rather facedeath at the hands of
his enemies,the asuras,than'nestless make these birds.'
This passagerefers to'these birds'as nesting in the forest
of the silk-cotton trecs (simbalivana) which in other
contexts (seebelong) are identified with the abode of the
garudas. It is their nests that were in danger of being
crushed by the chariot-pole of Sakka's vehicle speeding
through the Smbdi forest. This is confirmed in the
elaborate verson of this story in the above mentioned
JVtaka (J.I, p. 202).
311 GARIIDA
It ir in the JEtakas that the garu(as are mostly referred
to. Here the picture that is drawn of them is that they are
birdr of giant size,or at least that they are able to aslume
such size at will. A garuda in thc Kotr'simbeli -litaka (J.
III, p. 397) essumesa sizeof 150leagues.There ir also no
doubt that they were conceived of as being of grcat
strength. The sameT'ataka(loc, cit.) referr to thir gtruqq
dividing the great oce'n by the flepping of his wings, the
wind raised being known u t garude-wiad. Hc liftr in thc
air a snake thousand fathoms long, elong with the
banyan tree round which the snale wrapr itsclf. The
garu(a does not even know that he had uprooted the
banyan. In the Bhuridatta Jataka (J. Vl, p. 177) too, a
garuda is figured as carrying off a banyan tree with itr
roots. [n the Sussondi JVtaka (J, LIl, p. I87 f.) a gzruda-
krbg stirs up in the'city a storm so grest that its pcople,
fearing their houses would fall, take flight. Inthis jEtaka,
he carries the queen Sussondi on his back, and in the
Kaketi Jeftka (J.Ill, p. 9l), where the garudais referred
to as a royal bird, a man Natakuvera, hides in its thick
plumage and is carried across the sea. It is probable
becauge of their grcat strength that Sakta sets the
garudas, along with nigas, yakkhas kumblaadasand the
four iegents, as guards over Tlvatimsa againit invasion
by the arurat (J.l, p. 2M).
The other characteristic of the garu(as, mentioned in
the jatakas, is their possessionof magical or supernatural
power and spells. In the Swsondi Jitaka (loc. cit.), the
garu(a plunges the whole city'in darkness in order to
carry off the queen.The king, in the Amb a Jitaka (f.lV ,
p. 202) asks his gardener, whether the mangoes out of
s!ason are given to him by a. niga or garuda. Tbe
Alambiyana-speU of pricelessvalue, by which nigas are
magically tnmed, was also given by a garuda, in the
Bhwidetta Jdtaka (J.IV, p. 177 ff.), and by its use much
was achieved. Two instances are found in what seem
different versons of the seme story, of.garudas assuming
human form and playing dice with kings.
The most emphasisedfact in the jatakas is the eternal
enmity between the nagas and the gdrulas. Although in
the Nikayas they are merely mentioned together, in the
lEter writings, the nagasare alwaysreferred to as living in
fear of the garudas. This is best brought out in the Uraga
J-ataka (J. ll, 13 f.), where the ndga discovcrs a garuda
standing by his side at a festival and is frightened to
death. The garuda gives relentless chase. In typical
Buddhist fashion the Jitaka writer uses this acctpted
mythicaJbelief in the enmity of thesetwo classesof beings
t o d e m o n s t r a t et h e e f f i c a c yo f t h e B u d d h a ' st e a c h i n go f
loving-kindnessin bringing sworn foes togetherin perfect
harmony.
T h e e n m i t y o f t h e n a g a s a n d g a r u d a s i se x p l a i n e db y
the fact the former was the food of the latter. Lurid
descriptions are given of a how a garuda devours a naga.
 GAR{jNA
'I-tre
garuda rrho cats oni.v ficsh and not fru:ts, unlike
r:iher birdr i-r. lll, p 397; Vi, p.i77), striles the snake
w:th itg brai. alrd splittin6 open its beiiy, gobbresthe fat.
ln the .9ussoadr fataka, th: garudas are describcd as
living in the aaga isia-od of Seruma" evidentl,r in close
proxirn:ly to thrir staple ford.
B u t . i n s p i t e o f t h i s e x p l a n a i i o n , : i t a p p e n i - .t h a t t h e
mytb of the enmity of the garudasand thc r"rgascould be
traccd to the s&nc sourcc ar thastory of thc ida,la bhanta
(t. p. l6 ff.), wherr:the enorrror.rsbird, garuda, born cf the
r e c o n d e g g o f V i n a t i , b e c o m e st h e p e r e n n i a !e n e m y o f ,
and goes on Cevouring the nigas, the sons of Kadri, In
frct, it is clear that at least onejitaka csrries ecboesofthe
connection. The Vidhura-pandita Jiraka (J. YI, p, 178)
rcfers to tke garuda as the son of \rinnti.
Associated with the enmity of the nagasand garudas is
also the legend of the parudas iearning the secret of
capturing nigas. This tegen<iis givcn in rhe Pandira
J i t a k a ( J . Y , p . 7 7 ) , a c c o r d i n gr o w h i c h i n t h e e a r l y d a y s ,
garudas, trying to capturc inakes, used to pcrish by the
thougands, The snakes swallowed stones, and a garuda
l i f t i n g t h e m b y t h e i r h e a d s ,c o u l c i n o t b e a r t h e w e i g h r ,
were exhaustcd and feli down dcad" It was the rreachery
of Karsmbiya, the fake-ascetic,which enabled the garudas
to leern that the secret lay in lifting the snakes by their
tails. Thereaftcr, the garudas did so, where';pon the
stonesfcll from the mouth oi the snakes,which then were
light enough to be carried. TtLe Bhiridatta fatake(loc.
cit,), too, alludes to this icgend"
The two jiitakas, referred to above as giving different
v e r s i o n so f t h e s n m es t o r y ( J . I l l , p . 9 1 f . , p . 1 8 7 t . )d, e p i c t
the ganrdas as passionatc lovers who are finally disillu-
s i o n e d b y t h e f i c k l e n e s so f w o m e n . [ n o n e ( " f . t I I , p . 1 8 7 ) ,
the garuda was the bodhisatta himself, Sariputtq too, in
a different context (J. tIl, p.a00)is said to have been born
once as a garuda.
Although the Scruma island is given as the abode of the
garudas in thc Sussondi JEtaka, thcy are usually spoken
of as living in the Simbalivana, Garudas, having captured
s n a k e s ,g o t _ or o o s t o n S i m b a l i t r e c s( e . g , ,J , V l , p . 1 7 7 ) .
The Simbali tree has been identified with the Bombax
Heptaphyllum. (PED. s.v.).
That garudas wete identified with supannuuis suggested
by the Vidhurapaldita Jitaka(loc, cit.) which establishes
a S amyut ta niki y a (1, I 46) referencet o'sculp tu red fre izes
of fair-winged birds'as a referene to garuda figures.
The Dhnnmapada commentary (DhpA. III, p. 135)
gives an Fmusing tale which illustrates that the ancient
prototype of the aeroplanewas conceivedin the shape of
a garuda. A builder escepesfrom the terror of prince
Bodhi by making himself a wooden flying-machinc in the
shape of thc mythical bird. The garuda in Buddhist
sculpture is depicted as a winged man.
312 cArnA
Jacobi (ERL,II, p. 805) remarks th* gentdt is aho
identified with Tarkeya, originally a distinct'mythical
being, figured cither nr a bird or borse, and apparently
representing the sun. He concluded that tbegaruda
therefore, scems to be a combinrtion of different divine
forms of thc sun, represented es a winged bcing. W.
Crooke (ERE, XI, p.4i5) poilts out that the gurudahar
been comparcd with the the Simurgh of the penian end
the Roc of the Arab tradition, the lattcr of which attacks
snakes.
Brndulr Jeyrwrrdhna
CLfH,l, stanzq (derived from Vedic, gai, gCyate,'to
sing, to recite') refers to any form ofverse as illustrated by
oft-recurring phrases such as githiya ajjhabhisi (vin. L
p.7 etc, s.v. ajihebh1siin PTC for rcfs.) and those with
other caseforms (s. v. gatha in PTQ.lndividual versesa!
well asmetrical literature of any form ere connoted by the
term githi though in the case of metrical literature it
generally refcrs tc narretive verse best reprcsented by
verses in popular meters such ag anustubh dloka and
trilu bh quatrins (cf.. cdtuppaAaya.....gith aya attham,
the meaning of a four line stanzg A.lI, p, 178), Gstii
generally is meant to be recited or sung Gf. giethi sugifi
parisiya majhhe,'the stanzas were well recited in the
m i d s t o f t h e a s s e m b l y )- J . I V , p . 3 9 5 . I n t h e c o m m e n -
tarial gloss on gathiya ajjhabhasi,'addresred with a
stanza' gathaya is explained as: akkharapada-niyamita-
ganthitena vacanena,'in a statement composed in fixcd
s y l l a b l e sa n d m e t r i c a l l i n e s ' a t K h p A . p . I 1 7 .A s r e g a r d s
the aii important aspectof 'reciting'or'singing', githibas
a significant rolc to play in performances involving
a acca-gi t a- vid i t a,' d a.ncr,son g and inst rume ntal music.'
Apart from the generalmeaning of gathi a,sa verse,the
e n t i r em e t r i c a ll i t e r a t u r ei n P a l i c a n b e d e s i g n a t e db y t h i s
term. Though stanzas that are found interspersedwith
prose in the major works of the Tipitkq in particular the .
four agamacollections,are designatedby a cognateterm
gerya, 'what should be sung (f.p.p. of gar) rhey, as well as
those works in the Khuddaka-nikiya that are for the
most pBrt in verse are to be designated as girii. In the
descriptiveclassificationof the teachingsinto nine classes
which subsequentlycame to be known as the navanga-
satthu-sisana (enumerated at M. i. p.133 etc.) one
constituent is named Fyya which is defined as: dl suffa.t
containing stanzas(VinA. p. 28 etc.), and the Sagitha-
vagga of the Samyutta-nikiyz is cited as an example. In
c o n t r a s t t o t h e p r o s e w h i c h i s e n u n c i a t e do r r e a d , v e r s e
had to be recited or sung. Another constituentof the
ninefold division is named Sithi but it is not defined, The
Dhammapada, Thengithi, Therigtthi end sections
entirely in verse in the Sutta-nipitr that cannot be
 GATI
designued rs surr erc given as exrmpler of githi.lt ir to
bc infcrred that prorc hrr to be exctuded from the rirr
cellcd sutta while F)yt is verce interrperrcd with prore.
Thc significant fact is that both geW, and githirefer to
verre end that they constituted a seperate literery
medium.
The older stratum of the metrical literatur:e in thc
Khudd**nikiya represents an archaic form of pali in
contrut to the language in the prose writings so much so
thrl the term Githi-pil"has come into vogue in desig-
ntting the lenguage of the metrical works which is
romctimes al.rocalled the Githadialect. The versesof the
I) h rmm aptd t, U d an e, I ti vu t t ak a, S u t t a - ni pi t a, Ji t alta,
Thert nd Therigitlri belong to this ceregory while rhe
leu rrchaic cenonical metrical literature representedby
worlr Juch a! tbe Yimanavatthu, Petavatthu, Apadana,
Buddhavamse and Cariyipitaka follow closely the
rteadard qitrical exceIenceiei by the earlier works even
though the individuel "poems" in each of these tcxts
follow r rct pettern in a stereotyped framework.
It was thc Buddhists, particularly those who followed
the Peli tradition, who gave the recogpition of a staldard
Iiterary medium to githi. This is seen to recur subs-
equently in Hybrid Sanskrit works such es Mahavastu
and Lalitauistara though the Sanskrit Buddhist kawas
such i! those of Advaghosa, Bhartrhari, Santideva and
others followed the usual Sanskrit norms. The gathi
t r a d i t i o n , h o w e v e r ,c o n t i n u e du n i n t e r r u p t e di n p a l i u n t i l
t h e m e d i e v a l p e r i o dw h e n i t w a s s u p p l a n t e db y t h e o r n a t e
s t y l e s o c h a r a c t e r i s t i co f t h e S a a s k r i t k i v y a . S e e A N G A
and NAVANGA.
N. A. Jaynwhkrma
GATI, noun from the root gam to go, literary means
'going';
but, by way of usa€e, it has acquired several
dcvcloped meanings, and we find it used in no lessthan
sevenmeanings in different contexts. In five of these
c o n t e x t s ,t h e t e r m ; T a L r iuss c di n a g e n e r a w l a y t o m e a n( I )
" e x t e n t " , e . g .y a v a t a j a g a t o g a t i ( A . t l , p p . 1 5 , l 7 ) . a s f a r
a s t h e u n i v e r s eg o e s ,e x t e n d s ,i . e . , i n t h e e n t i r e u n i v e r s e ,
(2) "functioning", e.g., (e) vavati, channam
phassiyataninam gati tAvata papaf,cassagati, (A. ll, pp .
l 6 l - 2 ) , a s f a r a s i s f u n c t i o n i n g o f t h e s i x b a s e so f c o n t a c t ,
there is obsession functioning, (b) cakkam
pavattitam.....yivati yavatiki abhisa'nkirassa gat'i
tavatikam gantva... bhimiyam papati (A.II, p. I I2), the
wheel kept rolling as long as the impulse (that set ir
rolling) was functioning, and then fell to tbe ground, ald
(c) jatimarenasamsaram ye vajanti punrppunam
itthebhivafrflathibhivam avijl1ycva n gati (Sn. v.129j,
the round of countlessbirths and deaths is the function-
313 {;ATE
ing of, conditioned by, ignoreacc; (3) route, e.g.,ikaseva
sakuntaaam gati (Dhp. v. 92) jrut like the route teken bv
birdr ia the rky; the word ptdtm (TheS. r, 92) is
lyDonymour with ihis 2nfi,.(4) destiny in thir life, i.e,,
c&rcer, e.9., eyam hi deva kumliro dvtniwartipuri-
salak k h a n eh i slm a n nig at o ye hi s amadaigttrrssrd ve
gatiyo bhavanti, aneftf,i (D.lI, p.l6), this babc, my lord,
is endowed with the thirrv-two marks of the tup rD,
and to one so endowed, two carccrs lie open, rtrd sone
other; (5) field o[ existence,e.g.,gati migantm pvnaam
akasapakkhiyry gati(vin. V, p. 149; SnA. |.3{6), the
forest is the field of animals, the sky that of birds.
Destiny after: death and the sphere or rerlm of
e x i s t e n c ei n t o w h i c h r c b r r t h i s p o s s i b l ea r e t h e t w o r n o s t
important meaningsattachedto the term gati;lheformer
is thc going after death and the latter the plect where
sentientbeingsgo after death: the two are interconnocted;
becauseboth signify one and the same proces!; only two
s t a g c sa r e i n d i c a t e d ,
I n t h e f o l l o w i n g i n s t a r c e s ;g a A m e a n sg o i n g o r d e s t i n y
after death: (a) silho nima bhante bhikkhu nidike
katakato tassaki gati ko abhisampariyo (D.ll,p.9l);
sir, the monk Salha has died f ;Aifq what is his
clestiny,wherehas ire beenreborn'l(b) "i pwano... kilal<ato,
iassaki gati ka abhisamparayo? (M. t, p. 3e8;; (c) Esi
maccherinogati (Pv. p.34), this is the desrinyof the miser;
(d) gato so tassayi gati (Pv. p. I l), gone is he where he is
destined (e) jivitary vyadhi k-aJo ca dehanikkhepanam
gati (Vism. p. 231), iife, sickness,death, disposal of the
c o r p s ea n d t h e d e s t i n y .
The spheresor realms of existenccinto which rebirth is
p o s s i b l ea r e f i v e o r s i x . T h i s i s t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t o f a l l
B u d d h i s t c l a s s i f i c a r i o n so f s e n t i e n t b e i n g s , a n d i s t h e
basisof the various Buddhist wheelsof life (bhavacakra).
The fivefold division is rnadc by most sects of the
T h e r a v a d a( D . I I I , p . 2 3 4 ; M . l , p . 7 3 ; S . V , p p . 4 1 * 7 1 0
t h e s i x f o l d d i v i s i o n b v a f e w s e c t so f t h e T h e r a v a d a( p v .
p . 6 6 ; M h v u . I I I , p . 3 6 8 ) a a d m o s r s e c r so f r h e M a h a y a n a
( 5 d n p . p p . 4 , 1 , 4 4 , 5 3 , 1 2 6 , 2 1 l ) .T h e f i v i .iereil)the
i n h a b i t a n t so f t h e h e l l s ( n i r a v a o r n a r a k a l ; 1 2 )t h e g h o s t s
(peta" preta, pettivisaya or y'amaloka) (3\ animals
ltiracchanayoni, uryak or tiryaficah), (4) mankind
(manussaor manus-va)and 15.)gods(deva).In the sixfold
classificationwe find titans (asura)as the fourth category
p l a c e d b e t w e e nt h e t h i r d a n d t h e f o u r t h o f t h e f i v e f o l d
division. Thosc who advocate the five-6,alrtheory never
denied the existenceof asuras,who, according to them,
were not of sufficient importance to be given a place as a
separategafr.
T h i s i s o n e o f t h e p o i n t s d i s c u s s e di n t h e K a r l r i v a t t h u
according to which rhe Andhalas and the Uttarapartakas
regardedthe asurar es a scparatedcstiny. The Theravida
ruling was that there are only five destinics end that the
 GATI
rsuras do not constitute a separatedestiny as some of the
a:turas, namely the troop of Vepacitti who have been
formerly devas and who resemblethem in shape.sex-life,
diet and elro intermarry with them belongto the deva'
gati,wberear the asuras known as Kalakafljaka who in
the same respecB resemble tbe petas belong to the pcrs-
gati (Kvu. Book VIll, point l; Points of ContraovenY, P'
2tt).
This discussion is very important as it throws light on
the criterion by which the beings arc divided into
destinies. The criterion being the similarity in bodily
shape, sex-life and diei, those who are similar in these
rcspects form one destinY.
According to the Paf,cagatidlipaal'the world of titans
(asuranikiyal is a scction of the sphere of manes
(pttivisaya)which also included six more kinds of beings
callcd Kumbhanda, Rakkhasa, Gandhabba, Pisica,
B h i t a , a n d 1 . l h a ( J . P , l : ' S 1 8 8 1 ,p p . 1 5 7 - 8 ) '
-All
s e n t i e n tb e i n g s ,w h e n t l : e 1 ' d i e ,u r e l u i . I l
'i
or the other of thesefive ,tr six C-rstinic''. hcre is no other
form of eristence possibie' The first iour gafii of the
six-fold classification are cheracterised as evil or
unhappy and termed duggati nd apiya, while the last
two cre considered ha,ppy (sugati or abhimaagati).
As fer ar the birth 1"yoni)of beings in the five spheresis
coDsernd, tsuddhaghosa saysthat beings in hells, ghosts
consumed with thirsr and the gods in heaven are of
spontaDeous birth, whcreas the remaining ghosts,
animnls, human beings and earth'gods are born in any of
the four modes of birth, namely, oviparous (ryq"iQ,
viviparous Qalibuja), of moisture (samsedaia) and
spontsneous (opapitka, Vism. p' 552),
The tcosmologicall relationship betweenthesespherer
rif existence (gati) and the three planes of existence
(dhitu) is as follows: The sensuous plane (kamadhitu)
includes hells, ghosts, animds, mankind and the six
klamivecara gods. The remaining gods bettcr known as
brahmasare found in the matcrial plane (rupadhitu)nd
the nonmaterial plane (arupadhitul' There grc sixteen
(or sevente€n or eighteen) kinds of gods in thc five
material planes and four kinds in the non-material plane'
A totally different liet of four evil existencer (gati) is
give in the Sltsasamuccaya, namely, (l) inopportune
birth, birth under such circumstances that one cennot
practise brahmacarl'a,(2) birth in a Buddhaksetrawhich
t. A. B. Keith, Re/rgron and Phylosoph-v of the Vda and lJpanishds, FCS'
2. S. N. Dasgupta (History of Indian Phitosophy, Vol. I Cembridge, 1926,
Gaudapida must have been living till-at least 800 A'D'"
(1950), pp.,l3 ff R.D. Karmaksr, (Ed.) Gtudryada-LiA6
3, Vidhusekhara Bhattachery', (E;.) es"^"{otrr,
say that the Tarkaival, an suto commcntrry
prercnt writer cannot categorically
actually quotes pEssagcsfrom the work of Gaudapida. For brief noticer of
pt. L Thr Er. itlelf is prererved in-the K.P. Jayrrwal Rercarch lnstitute, Pstn&
Rahula samkrti;y8n ain J.B.o.R.s. vol. xxlil,
314 GATIDAPADA
contains no Buddha' (3) birth in a berctical family end (O
birth in all the evil spheres (.Sr&f.p. 147).
It ic clear now thst the tcrm 88& in the senseof sphere
of cxistence is synonymous with samsira. NibbCna'
therefore,is the freedom from gau. It is impossiblefor the
senlient beings to know thc dcstiny of thc pcrfectly
liberated ones (M. I, 334; Dhp. w',92.420; Sn. v' 641)
becnuscthey have no dcstiny aftcr dcath (54. v' 199; SaA.
Il, p. 415). Only the perfcctly liberated onec, espccirlly
the Buddhas, know the destiny (es well es freedom from
dcstiny) of all beings (M. I, p. 328; Sn' v.3771.SnA. l, p'
368).
So far the Theravdda and Mahiyina accdirnt! of the
various relems of existence (gati)have been more or lerr
in agreement; but on one point there is wide divergence.
According to Mahiyana cvery men upon rerching
supreme and perfect enlightenment acquires a spiritual
realm, called Buddhaksctra to which he repairr after
jt:to onc
deeth and in which he continues to instruct the bodhi-
srlrtv;i and other pcrsonswho may bc born there,lceding
thcm to suprelne enlightenmcnt. Tbis concept of
Buddhaksetra is totally absent in all Theravida schoolr'
ln earlier rtferences, these Buddha&sctre's arc not Per'
manent, and lile thcrcin is only the preparation for
nirvana or Buddhehood, but according to the Shin sect of
Japan, rebirth in Sukkbivati, the patsmount Buddba-
ksetrg is itself tbe higbelt goal and il final and complete
happiness.
Upa[ Ihrumrilnc
GAUDAPIDA, e renowned philosopher and author of
the AgamaCCrtra.It is posoible thet Gaudapida hailed
from Bengal (Gauda), and the nnme seems to be an
epithct rather tban aperronal name.t Opiaion is divided
with regard to hir date, The tradition, which makcs him a
grand-guru of the Advaita teacher Samkara" would place
him in cir. 700 A.C. as the latter is supposedto have been
born in cir. 788 A.C.2 On the other hand, it has been
pointed out thgt since gome extrscts resembling the
verse! of the Agama{astra have been quoted in the
Tibetan translation of the Terkaivala of Bhivaviveka
which is usually placed in cir. 500 A.C., Gaudapada can
rlso be placed in the same century.l lt may be pointed
Vol' 32, 1925, p'503, Note' l'
p.123), held that "in order to be able to tcach Srmkara'
pp'lll-lV' The
on Madhytmzk'thrd.y*arik;of Bhivaviveka,
the sanskrit msr. of thir work of Bhivaviveka see
 GATJDAPAOA 315 GAT.IDAPAoa

out here that Bhavya or Bhavaviveka, the noted katCstra had influenccd the thought of the Gauda-
Svitantrika-midhyamika teacher, seemsto have flouri- Pidakirikas.ro
shcd in cir. 600 A.C. and wa:t a contemporary of the
The present writer, however, opines that there is no
Vijflanavida teacher Dharmapila (cir. 550-610 A.C.) of
c o g e n t r e a s o n t o d o u b t t h a t t h e 2 1 5 v e r s e so f t h e
Nalandia. Therefore, while it is possible to place
Agana{astra are from the pen of a single author and that
Gaudapadain the middle of the 6th century A.C. one
lhe Agamadastra of Gaudapada is a document of rap
cannot be ccrtain about the tradition that Samkara was prgchement betweenBuddhism and Vedanta, and points
his g'an6 pupil. To Gaudapida arc ascribed,agart from out the hybrid origin of Advaitadoctrine of Vedanta.The
the Agama{isfra, the foilowing three works: Samkhya-
scattered seeds of monism in thc Upaaisadstt were
ki r i ki'b hi sya, U tt ara gi t e urd, the S u bh ag od ay ast u ti. developed for the first time by Gaudapada (cir. 600 A.C.)
The authorship of these works, howcver, seems to be and perfectedby Samkara (cir. 800 A.C.),who established
doubtful. the clabsicalform of Advaita Vedanta. Samkara himself
seemsto provs that no one beforr Gaudapida had taughi
The text of the igamalastra is divided into four
the monistic Vedanta when he credits his grand-guru with
chapters (prakaranasl and consists of 215 memorial
the discovery of the advaita doctrine, which according to
verses(kirikas), The work starts as a commentary on the
his belief, lay hidden decp in the Vedas.t2
Miq(ikya Upanisadbut assumesthc forrn of an original
treatise.
It is admitte{that pre-Gaudapida Vedanta is neither
Wallesert had pointed out that theigamadisfra bears systemeticnor morristic,and, that Gaudapadaflourished
and wrotc his AgamadEstra aftcr all the irhportant
considerable Mahayana Buddhist influence; V. Bhatta-
Vijfianavada and Madhyamika philosophcn had lived
charye had discussed,with remarkable thoroughness,the
and diffused the idealistic, absolutic and monistic tenets
Mahiyana Buddhist contents in this text.e He was of the
of Buddhist philosophy, It stands to reason, therefore,
view that the IVth chapter, the Alitalanti prakar4n4
that the Advaita turn in Vedanta in and after Gaudapida,
cannot be regardcd as an integral part of the Aga-
was due to Buddhist influence in both its tenets and
mtststrt. He even held that the four chapters of it "arc
techniques.
four independent treatises_and are put togcther in a
volume under the title of Agamatisfra." The opinion is The age of Gaudapida was one of philosophical
shared by T, R. V, Murti who remarks that the first three controversies and almost warlike activities of theologians
chapierr are the works of "a keen Vedantin" while the espousing different creeds. But it was also an age when
fourth chapter was "written most probably by a rapprochement between Brahmancial theology and
Buddhist,ry R. D. Karmakar on the contrary takesgreat Mahiyana Buddhology was nearly completed: an age
pains to show that all the four chapters of the treatise are when paramd-saugatas like Emperor Harsa worshipped
from the pen of Gaudapadq and that there is no Buddhist Brahmanical gods; Bodhisattvas like Avalokite$vara
influence in its contents except the Buddhist phraseo- assumed the form of Maheivara; Brahmanical images
logy.t S. N. Dasgupta, however, held that "there is were being enshrined in Buddhist temples; Buddhist
sufficient evidence in his kerl*asfor thinking that he was logicians like Samkarinanda were being quoted as
possibly himself a Buddhist, and considered that the authorities on P r a tya bhij fii{i st r a b y A bhin avagupt a and
teachings of the Upanisads tallied with those of J a y a r a t h q a n a g e ,w h e n t h e h i s t o r i c a lB u d d h a w a s b e i n g
Buddha.'T Mahamahopadhyaya Gopinatha Kaviraja r e l e g a t e dt o t h e r e a l m o [ V a i s n a v am y t h o l o g y b y b e i n g
seemsto recognisethe fact that Nagarjuna's Madhyama transformed into an avatara of the supreme God.l3

4. The contemporeneity of Bhavevieka and Dharmapala is attdted by Husan Tsangl Cf. Thomas Watters, On Yuan Chwang's
T r a v e l . si n l n d i a ( D e l h i r e p r i n t l 9 6 l ) V o l . l l . p p . 2 1 5 f L E . O b e r m i l l e r .B U - S t o n l H i s t o r y o f B u d d h i s m ,P a r t l l , H e i d e t b e r g ,1 9 3 2 ,
p p . | 3 , 1 - 3 6S. . R a d h e k r i s h n a n( l n d i a n P h i l o s o p h y ,V o l . I l , p 1 4 5 2 ,n o t e ) s e e m st o a s s i g nG a u d a p a d a t o7 t h c e n t u r yA . C . b u t h e a l s o
inclines towards N. Walleser'sview quoted above.
per altere Vcdanta, pp. 5f. as quoted in A.B. Keith, loc. cit.
Agamalastra (Ed. V. Bhattacharya pp. iv, lvii).
The Central Philosophy of Buddhism. London, 1955, pp. l4-15
Gaudapid*intl (Ea. Karmakar) pp. xxx-xli.
History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. l. p. 423.
Bhiratiya Samskrti Aw Sidhani, h'. l, Patna, 1962, pp. 132-133.
A.B. Keith, op. cit., II. pp. 516 f.
S a m k e r a ' r c o m m e n t s r y o n t h e G a u d e p i a a L a d t a . ( A n a n d f u r a m a s a n s k r i t S e r i e s E d . ) p . 2 1 4 ;S . N . D a . r g u p t a ' o p . c i t . ,p p . 4 2 2 4 2 3 .
Seathe prerent writerr Studiesin the Buddhtstic Cultwe of India(During 7th and Eth centurier A. D.), Delhi, 1967, Chapters I l, X
and XtI.
 GATI}}APAUa 316 GATJDAPAna

In such an ege it is neither curious nor surpriring to ree thought contained in thesc tro verlcs ir tbtolutaly
Gaudapida endeavouring to harmonire the beric identical, nrmely, that the world of senrc ir unreel like*
principles of Buddhist and Brahmanicd philosophier. illusion, dream rad geadhanutgtrr. The negative
He, thercfore, commented on tbe Mandukya Upanisad conception of, the ultirnate truth @errmtrthQ el-
on the one hand, and peid devout homage to Buddha, on pressed in /S, Il, 32, recallr ro mrny yerser of the
the other. He wq$ true to the rpint of his age. Buddhist M td h y am a k a{as tre e.g., M S. o penin g liacr, ad M5,
contents in the Agaaalistra of Gaudnpida are elready ch apter XXV. A st tseh as riki Frai dEpinai ti (B ST-
well k-nown to scholars. Some have acknoledged while 4) p" 177 - Sarvakalpavika!.pa-prehiao hi tath-gtn!:
others have explaiued them away. [n the following Vejracchedika prajntpartmin (Ed. Conzc) Chap. I4
paragraphs it is proposed to review_thecorrespondence - Sarva samjf,i apagatE te Buddhi Bhagevantahtnd
and rapprochemcnt bctwecn the Agamafistra (abbr*. Madhyamaka.$i.stro. X V tII. 9.
viated ,4.S)and some early Buddhist sourccsin Senskrit.
A p an p r a tyay e y' dint am p r ep afrcei r ry rtp af,ci t am /
It{i ni ka Ip am u an r.rth em et I ttttt vasJlI I $ ayry /
AS, 1.7. refers to those who view creation as being of have manifestly supplied the thougbt end wordr for
the nature of dream a-ndillusion: svapna-mayi sarupcti the .45, tl. 35.
srstiranyair vikalpita, This obviously refsrs to the
Buddhist view of the world; e.g. mayidi-svapnasadr{am V-iarri ga bh ey ak r o d h ai r m uai bh i r ved ap ang eih/
vipalyaato uimucyante. tahkavaura+itra, X. 25i; X. nink alp o hyayam d* pop af,cop al am o'd vayah. /
"h
279; x. 291_etc,) and mayi ca sattvi! ca advayam S . N . D a s g u p t n r ai s r i g h t w b e n h c s a y s t h e r t h e
etadadvaidhikaram; iti te svarnnat ca sattv-alcaadvayam Buddhjst were the first to use the words pnpailco-
palaman fivam.
etadadvaidhilt;r*i; sar* .,,Jharr.i apt de uaputd mayo-
p s m a s v ap n op m a ; A sia -,9ifrasnki Praj flpin mi t i (Ea. The technical Buddhist term v:raabi occurs for the first
BST. - a) p. 20 time in the Asfasalresrika Prajfliparamiri(cir. 200 B,C.)
and also in tfi'e Vajncchediki prajf,ipiramrri (cir. 300
The Buddhist philoscphical terms occur in the very A.C.'s), The third chapter of the ,4S, is captioned
first chapte; , *.9. vikalpa, AS,l . 29. The idea expressedin Vaitathya,'falsity',
A S , | . 2 2 c o r : : s p , : n d 5 t o t b e B u d d h a ' sp e r c e p t i o no f t h e 'samghita'(composite,
The use of the word aggregatc)
tnple worlil r,-:iu tlhimasu js the sarne as Buddhist in .4^5,IIL3, for objective bodies is a Buddhist usage,and
tidhatu; lhe grent ascetic (Mahamuni referred to bere is gives the same meaning as is given by such Buddhist
no other than Buddha Sakyamuni also called Mahadra- technical terms as'samskit' (composed, compouded)
mana. and'khandha'(aggregate, group), The statementtbat'all
aggregates are like a drem' (snnghiteh svtpnrvft
I n " 4 5 , I l . l . G a u d a p a d a , l i k e V a s u b a n d h u ,s a v s t h a t sarve) is in perfect accord with such Buddhist scriptural
" a s i n d r e a m , s o i n w a k i n g , t h e o b j e c t ss e e na r e u n r e a l " statement as, for instance,are reproduced below:
cp. {ijfraptimitrata-siddhi Vimhtika, verscs l-2. "Thc
Svapnagatika hi Subhute sarvadharmAh r6;
u ' : t r m e n ( w h o ) s p e a k o f t h e s a m e n e s so f d r e a m a n C 'supinam vidyud abhram ca evam
dntauyam:t7
r':aking state", A.9 II.5, are clearly the tdealistic (Vijfrana-
Y athai va gandh alap uram maicikC i'
vidin) Buddhist thinkers, who are also referred to as "the
Yathaiva miyi supinam yathaiva/
k n o w e r so f t h e m i n d " a t A S . I l . 2 5 .
S va bh a va{un ye tu ni m i tt I b hi ve ni,
Tath opam an fi ni th a sarvadharmin / /rt
The first line of eS, tt, 3l'. Svapnamiye yathidrste
gandharvanagaram yathi, repeats the first line ttf The arguments for the theory of non-origination
MS. VlI. 34. (MS : Madhyamaka Sastra) Yatha GjAilvAdil of things or entities advanced at AS,, Il[, 20;
maya yatha svapne gandharvanageram yatha. T\e.e 28, seem to bear an unmistatable influence of the

1 4 . S . N . D a s g u p t a ,o p . c i t . . p . 4 2 5 n o t e
15, Astasihasnka PrajfrZpiramit4 Ed. BST.-4, p. 53;
l' aj r acchd ik a Pr aj fiZpi ram it 4 Ed. Co nze p. 42.
16. Astasihasriki PrajfliparamitalAa. BST.4) p. 149.
17. Vajrcchedika Pnjfriparaniti Gn. Conze), p. 62 CF
Madhyama*atastra, VII, 34; Catuh(atata, Xlll, 25
18. Samadhirijasitra(Ed. Vaidya,BSt-2, l96l), IX, ll
 GAI.JDAPANN
MtdhyamakelEstra,re In A,S, ilL, 29; 30, however,
Ger4epCda seemsto give I very faithful *xpression to the
Vijfanswda tenet; two nearcat parallels are the two
verres of thc Lahkivatara*itra (Ill.65 and I2l), The
esrenceof thesevenes in both works is that the nonduel
(citta, mana) apgears asdual in the forms of the perceiver
and tbc perceptible, and that its manifestationsin drcam
and waking stat€s trre alite. It should be obsened that in
AS, [tL 33, the first line seems ro be more vijfrEnavidin,
whiie the recond line equally clearly Upanisadic; herc,
then, we find a perfect combination of two thought
currents. The view that *knowledge and the object of
knowledge are idential" (Jflinajneya, bhinnarn_,4.S,ttL
33) is peculiarly a Vijf,iaavideview repeatedlytaughr by
Ya.:ubandhu end the Lahkevatira-S[rrdo
Gaudepida's description of the ultimate state of
spiritual perfection in the three successivevcrse!, i.e. AS,
III. 37-39 is stronglyreminiscent of numerous passagesin
early Mahayana r[tras describing the nature of Tatha-
gata in Nirvina,2t The mcntion of .inrangible ycga'
(aspardayoga) at A.5, trIL 39, is most likely as allusion to
NirvCna. The adjectivcs used for Nirvina at A{,IIL 47,
317 GAUDAPApa
rre in full egreement with Buddhist description of the
final rtrte of freedom.z We havc seen that the hypo-
thesis of the tVth chapter of AS, cntitled ,alitrfiiti',
being an independent trectit€ is not wrll-graundcd; the
courue of thought in the Al, rcrches itt; i rgical concl*
sion in itg fourth chnpter. Thc Lenkiv*ire-
sltra uses Llre works 'aiitac**el.rJ Aryedevn han rlso
used this iilustrarion in his work.r. Bcrh there authoritier
are older than tlre Ag*me{estra. The use of the word
ndhdrata'at
A.S, [V, :, in the gcnse of an entity ir
'pecuJiarly
Buddhistic". The opening verseof this cbepter
edores the Supremely Awalencd one (Sambuddha) who
is the best nmong men (dwpadam varam), who, with
knowledgc infinite like thc sky, realired the dharmns
ilofty and deep) like the Space, a.udwho is identical with
the object of wisdom. In-Burjdhism, the supreme know-
ledge is the law of pratityasamutpida, and it ir often
identified with Buddha so that latter is the goal of the
highert wisdom (ifreyibhinna).zs yrrrnise, A.g, IV. 2,
repeEtsthe salutation to him, who being the benefactorof
all living creatures (sarva-sattva-sukho hitai) taught the
intagible-contemplation (asparda yoga, probnbly
asampnjflita semidhi) and n doctrfiie which can ncither

19. Sec e.g., M,S. Chepter I

Compare, e.g. A.9lll, 29-
Yatlu svapne dvayibhtsan spanciatemivayi manahy
Ta thi fi sr zd d vayi b his am' span d a te mi ya yi m an ahj
$,th Lankivetirasitre,lil. 6i -
Cittanatram na drc.yo sti dvidhi cittam hi drsyate
1
Grin yagrin *ib h even a ! asvat occhetla -varj i t'amI i
Cf. V. Bhattacharyr in Indian Historical
euartcrly,'yol. X, 1934, pp,5_6.
20' cf. vijfraptimitrataciaani vimsatiki, verse I; Deux Traites de varubendhu, Ed, S. t,evi, verse
17, p. 35; Lankivatirasitra,
x. 5t
21. AS, IIl. 37-X I I2 etc..
S ar vi Ah i Ep vig a tah sar vaci nt is am u tt h i t ah /
S uprafi"n tah sakrjj yo tt samid h i racalab hiyah / /
Compare with Asrariha.rnti (Fi. BST.-4) p. l-tj-
S ar vak alp alviL alpa -pr ah i n o hi t a t higat ah
ibid. p. 96- Acintya Bhagavan prajf,ipaimiti/
Tathi hi subfiite prajfiipiraniti na cittena jfiatavyi na cinagam,niyi
Vajracchedika (Ed. Conze) p. +6 - Acintl.o ayam
d h a rm ap aryE1'as t a t higa t en a bh asi t ah ; S ad d h arm ap u nd arik a si tr a
(Ed.- BST,4) p. 27- atarko atarkivaccrastathigata
uij f,eyah Siriputra Sadd harmah i
Santaa hirijasitra (Ed. BST.-2) p. I 90 -
Yo asau dharmasvabhivam jinati supra-rantami
22. Lankivatira,X. 171; Saddharmapundarikasurra lbST-g p. g4-g5;
Dhammapads, verle|r 203-204: Madhvamaka{astr4 XVlil, 9; Tathigata guhyasitra , ,,Tatra
tathagero na kalpayati na
uikalpayati/ Sarvakal pavikalpajilavasaniprapafica vigato hi iintamEte tathegarad -quotcd
in prasannaped;(Ed. BST.- l0) p.
236.
23. Lankivatirasitra X, l'l 3
74. Catuhtateta XIII. 5.
25. Ai,lY. l. jfrenenikalakalpena dharman yo gaganopaminl
jfreyibhinnene sambud dhastan vande d ripadam varam/
Cp. _Lalitavistara (Ed. BST-I) Ctrapter l, vcrses i-Z: San)utta-niLiya vol. il, p. 340-34I . The ipse dixit
of Buddha yo
pratityasatnutpidary patyati, sa Euddham palyati - is well tno*n in Pali as well sr in Sarukrit texts.
 GE.DAN 318
be disputed nor coDtr&dicted'26Commenting on this
vcrse, S. Radhakrishnan lays that "the lirrki is an
attempt to combinc in one whole the negativelogic of the
Midhyamikar with the positive idealism of the
(Jpanisads'!7. Eminent scholers including M. Walleser,
H. Jacobi, La Vallee Poussin, V. Bhattacharya' S' N"
Dasgupta, V. Sukthankar and others have aiready
discussed in detail the Buddhist inJluence in the last
chapter of the Agamelastra, aS, f V. 3 ff. expound the
theory of non-origination of dharmas, a thcory
characteristically pecuiiar to the Midhyamikas. AE IV.
22-23 *e comparable to Madhyamaka{istra, t.l, 7 and
XXL 7, 13,which deny causation and origination. Words
ruch as'prajfrapti' (cognition),'cira' (consciousness),
md niparyasa'(illusion of false sppeerance),A.S' fV.25-
27 , rre all technical Buddhist words known to older texts
of Buddhism. AS, IV. 33 is thoroughly Buddhistic both in
thought and words the statement "all dharmas are
unrcal" (sarve dharmi -fi) is comparable to Nagir-
juna's rtetement 'all dharmas are void' (sarve dharmd
suny.ah).ei, Iv. 36 havc numcrous parallels n Vijfrana'
vadatexts and the l^a'nkavatara(chapter X);.4,5, IV ' 42,
reems to speak in the v-einof early MahEyine sltras like
the Saddharmapwdarika which explain sway the realis-
tic teachings. A.t, IV. 57 is cornparable to Madhyama'
ka(istra XXIV. 8-10; while A^S,, IV. 58-59 recall
C a t u h f u u k a , X . 1 4 , a n d 3 0 m a n y p a s s s g e si n t h e
Astaslhasriki end rhe Vajracchedika, AS, IV' 68-70
seem to paraphrase a few versesof the ,samidhirajasitra
(Ed. EST-2, XXXIX, l3-t8) aad the Lankivatira(X' 24,
37). Mentio n of agrayina at A,5, IV' 90, obviously refers
to Buddhayina; the expressions like sarve dharmi
anidayahAs, IV, 93, etr:.have manilest Buddhist flavour
around them.
L M. Jostrt
GAUTAMA. See GOTAMA
GE-DAN, Tib. dcah-lDan (var' Ge-Dan) is one of the
thrce established monasterieg (centres of learning) in
Tibet. situated about thirty miles north-east of Lhasa" the
capitaJof Tibet. The full name of this monastery is dGah-
lDan Nam-Par Gyal-wah; glin, or the Continent of
c o m p l e t e l yV i c t o r i o u s H a p p i n e s s 'A c c o r d i n g t o W a d d e l
26. Cf. V. Bhattacharya" Aganalsstra(Ed.) p.92-98.
2'1. Indian Philosophy, Volume lI, p. 465, note 2
TothemodernsourcesonGaudapidawemayaddr.M.P.Mahadcvan, Gaudapida,AStudyinEarlyvdanta,3rded.univerrity
of Madras l960,andN.Ariyaswami Sa.rtri,"ANewApproachtoGaudapide;',BulletinofTibetology,Vol.VlllNo.
pp. l5-16.
GF-DAN
this monastery is said to have been the residenceof threc
thousand and three hundred monks, and is divided into
two schools, namely, Byan-rtse and S'ar'tse, eech with its
club.
Tsong-Kha-Pa and his pupil rGyal-trhab-de founded
this mona,cteryin the ycar 1409 A'C' Trong-kha-Pa was
it! first abbot. Hc raised this monastery to high fame and
filled it with costly imaggr' When he died his tomb wal
built in tbe premiser of this monstcry in l4l9 A'C', his
pupil rGyal-tshab Dar-marin-Chen suceededhim es thc
head of tbe Ge-Lu-Pa sect. A special prsyer ceremony is
held at Ge-Dan wen today on the death anniverrery of its
founder. A service in his honour is held here every
morning, even tt prcsent. Thir monastery, the wells of
which are of felt overlaid with silk end lupportd by
pillars of red lacquered walnut wood, has a gilt lpgoda-
like roof, and the tomb is in a chapel of its own. It is
enclosedin a circular Mongol tent prcsented by a Mongol
chicf of the Dzungarian tribe who entered Lhara two
hundred years ago, He is said to have destroyed temples
and images of the Red Het sect and helped the Yellow
Hat sect.
The tent enclosegnearly the whole of the chapel' Inside
the tomb there is a beautilul pagoda t(chorten q.v.) laid
to be of solid gold. Within this gold casket, wrapped in
fine cloth, inscribed with sacred syllables, are the
embalmed remains of the great reformer reposingin t
sitting posture, Among the noteable objects is a magni-
ficent representation of the future Buddha Cam-Pa
seatedon the throne. Besidc him standsa lifc sizcdimage
of Tsong-Khc-Pa in his role s5Jrm-pal Nin-Po, the name
assigned to him in the Gan-Dan heevens. The impres-
aionsof the hands and feet said to be thoseof Trong-l(ha-
Pe are found in a cell cut out of a rock. Another shrine
holds cn cffigy of Trong-Kha-Pa with imager of hir live
disciplesviz. Shes-rabSen-geand others standing round
him. ln the foreground is a large raised platform partly of
plain wood, partly inlaid with silver containing figurcs of
elephants made of precious stonca and seven or cight
goddesses,whose duty it is to meke offerings to Tsong-
Kha-Pe. The profusion of barely grains on this platform
was symbolic of the wish of all to give' Round the sider of
the chapcl arranged outside the tent on platformE' seveD
feet above the ground, are the tombs of many of the
successivehigh priests of the Ge-Dan monastery,Each of
theseis appointed as an old man, for sevenycars and il
known as Ge-Dans enthroned (Ge'Dan Ti-Pa)' He is the
bighest of all the Priesthood.
l . ( F e b . 1 9 7l )
 GEDIGE 319
The fact that Tsong-I(ha-Pa lived in Ge-Dan and is
entombed there gives it an added sanctity, morc than the
o t h e r t w o s e a t so f l e a r n i n g i n T i b e t n a m e l y , D r i - P u n g
and Sers. For further details see Ge-Lu-Pa,
Bbflo3rephy: Tsung-Lien and Shen Chi-Lin, Tibet and
the Tibetanq California, 1952. Hoffman, H., The Reli-
gions of Tibef, London, 1956.Beil, C., Religions of Tibet,
Oxford. 1931. Waddell, L. A., The Buddhism of Tibet,
Cambridge,1958.
lndumrthle Kerunaratne
GEDIGE, a Sinhaleseterm used to denote an architect-
ural type of Buddhist buildings, remains of several of
which have been discovered in Sri Lanka. The origin of
the word is doubtful. H. C" P. Bell (,ASCAR, 19l0-l l, p.
50) has acceptedthe view of Rao Bahadur Krishna Sastri,
the late Govt. Epigraphist for India, that it has originated
from the Tamil word gedi rtr gadinai meaning a rest-
house and that it is connected with the Senskrit word
ghaliki. S, Parnnavitana, (JCBRAS, XXXVI, 126 ff.)
who differs from the above opinion attributes its origin to
the Pali term gifrjakivashtha, I term used in thc
Majjhima-nikiya(1,p. 205) and its commentary (MA.Il,
p . 2 3 5 ) t o r e f e r t o a b u i l d i n g c o n s t r u c t e do f b r i c k s . S .
Paranavitana'sassumptionis basedon the fact that in the
Ripasiddhisaane (Colombo. 1927, p. 164), a Sinhalese
work of the l2th century, the term geligi has been given
as the Sinhalese equivalent of the Pali term gtnjdkA-
vasatha,thus showing what was meent by the term in the
l2th century.
It is mort probable that the ge(egE, originally, was a
brick building. As seen from the connmentary of the
Majjhima nikiya (loc. cit.), the gif,jakivasatha that was
constructed near Nadika for the Buddha was a hall,
containing walls, stairs, plllars, ctc. all of brick. These
were plastered and white-washed and were decorated
with flower and creeper motifs. The hall was furnished
with carpets,beds and chairs. Lodging placcsfor day and
nigbt, and cloisters (caitkama) were also provided.
This description, perhaps the earliest extent, of a
gifrjakavasatDa shows the type of building meant by the
term. A noteworthy feature of the building described
above is that it was made of brick, plastered and white-
weshed, thus leeving only the shape of the building bare,
and not thc material of which it wns constructed. This,
perhapa,led the leter builders to apply theterm gedigito
any building of e prrticular type, namely one with solid
walls and corbellcd roof, irrespective of the material of
whicb it was made, whether brick or stone.
Several such buildings in Sri l-anka belonging to
different periods are know by this term gedigi. A ruined
GEDIGE
brick structure within the citadel of Anuradhapura, the
remains of a shrine of stone in the village of Nilande in
the Matale district and a vihara situated near Kandy are
among them. The Galmaduva and the Lankatilaka
temples, both in the Kandy district are slso known,
sometimes, as pdigVs.It does not eppear howewr, that
gedige was the name given to rny of them by their
builders (Paranavitana, JCBRA,S. XXXVI, p. 126).
It is worth while examining some of the feeturesof the
two well known gedigesin Sri Lanka, the one et Anu-
redhapura and the other at N[landa.
The Anuradhapura ge(igi thc reains of which were
first noticed in 1886 by Burrows (Ceylon Government
Sessional Paper X, 1886, p.6), is assigned to the 8th
c c n t u r y b y S , P a r a n a v i t a n a( A S C M e m . I l I , p . 7 ) t h o u g h
Burrows (loc, cit.) thought it belonged to the I2th
century. [t is a very large and lofty building having thick
walls made of bricks and a corbelled roof, Three frag-
ments of the original walls still remain in position and the
t a l l e s to f t h e m i s , a t p r e s e n t ,2 5 f t . h i g h . T h e i r t h i c k n e s si s
3 feet, rising at some placesto 5 feet. The walls must have
originally been over 30 feet high and the remains of some
stairs on tbe west side show that there had been an upper
s t o r c y ,( P l . X X I I I ) .
An upper and a iower seriesof arches or arched
windows with stone frames (4 feet 5 inches Y. 2 fcr,t 2
inches) provided light and ventilation to the building.
The sole entraDcewas on the south through a door-frame
( 9 ft. X 4 ft. 4 in.). This leadsto a narrow passage(3 feet 3
i n . ) e n c l o s i n g a c e n t r a l r o o m l 2 f e e t 3 i n . s q u a r e .T h e
outer face of the walls is profusely moulded.
This is a rare specimenof brickwork of suchdimensions
i n A n u r a d h a p u r a ,t h e p u r p o s eo f w h i c h , s a y sH . C . P , B e l l
(ASCAR.l897, p.4), is unknown.
The excavations of 1928end 1929in the area considercd
ar the royal enclosure in Anuradhapura have revealed
another brick building of exactly the sameplan as that of
tbis gedigie.Its sanctum or the inner room contains also
an asana which was not found in the gedigZ, The
mouldings of this building are better presemed though
the rcmaining walls do not stand up to the 3ane great
height. This structure, like the gedige also belongs to the
8th century. S, Paranavitana (ASCMem. III, p.3 ff.)
rema, ks that this dso appcars more like a religious shrine
than a building intended for living purposet though no
cult objects of any sort were found within or near it. Sir:ce
this locality was the royal enclosurc it is quite possible
that it \vas one of the religious edifices located within the
[mits of the royal palace.
Tbe gedigi and this gtntcture ffe the only examples of
this type of building so far discovered in Sri Lanka
belonging to this early period (ASCMem. tII, p. 3 ff).
 GEDIGE
-the
gedigpin the village Nalande, in the Miitale district
i s a s t o n e r b u i l t m o n u n n e n td a t i n g a t l e a s tf r o m t h e I l t h
€ n t u r y a c c o r d i n gt o f t , C . P . B e i l ( A S C z 4 R .l 9 l l , p 5 0 )
a n d 8 t h c e n t u r v a c c o r d i n gt o S . P a r a n a l i t a n a( U n i u e r s i t y
of Ceylon, History of Ccylon, p. a0l), l'he ruins cf this
geligi are found isoiated in a paddy field about % mile
a w a y f r o m t h e h i g h r , . l a d ,a r ; d i s a p p r o a c h a b l eb y a w i d e
path that starts from thc high road near thc present
r c s t - h o u s e(.P l . X X i I I ) .
The gedige stands on a wide maluva <;ra terrace abou'.
3 to 4 feet above the gorrounding land. This oraJuvais
similar to that of a Buddhist vihara in Sri Lanka.
In front of thc shrineis an open portico built of stone.
T h i s o p e n p o r t i c o i s m o u n t c d f r o m a p l a - i nm o o n - s t o n e
a n d t h r e e s t e p s w h i c h a r e l l a n k e d b y b a l u s t r a d c sw i t h
m a i t r a h c a d s . A f u r t h e r p a i r o 1 ' s t e p sa d m i t s o n e t o t h e
vestibule (antar-ala). Thcse steps are carved with gana,
vajra and pali-pcti motifs and on either side of the upper
steps are two elephant hcads carved in high relief.
B c t w e e nt h e v c s t i b u l ea n d t h e a c t u a l s h r i n e t h e r e i s a
s p a c e o [ 2 6 f c e t b y 2 2 f e e t 4 i n c h e s .T h i s s p a c e w i t h i n
which stand eight pillars in two rows, fcur in eachrow
gives a Hindrr atmospberc by its close sirnilarity to a
Dravidian mandapam.
Passingthrough this manrlapatr onc enters the actual
shrine ( i0 feet 8 in. by 7 feet 2in.). The walls of this shrile,
a l b u i l t o f s t o n e s l a b s ,a r e 3 f e e t 8 i n c . t h i c k . T h i s s h r i n e ,
like the brick-built gedigi of Anuradhapura has had a
d o m e d r o o f w h i c h n o l o n g c r e x i s t s .I t s a c t u a ls h a p ec o u l d
be determined only if its component members are
f o r t h c o m i n g f r o m t h e h c a p so f s t o n en o w l y i n g a r o u n d
the structure,
T h c s c u l p t u r a l r e m a i n so f t h e s h r i n ed i s c o v e r e di n a n d
around it strongly suggestthat this was a Buddhist
m o n u m e n t c o n s i d e r a b l yi n f l u e n c e d L r yH i n d u a r c h i t e c -
t u r e , S o m e o f i t s n o t e w o r t h y s c u l p t u r e sa r e t h e s t a n d i n g
i m a g e o f t h e B u d d h a , t h e t o r s o o f a b o d h i s a t t v a ,8 s c v e n -
hooded naga, threepadmasana pedestalsof statues and
the four-armed Ganeia seated on a padmisana. On z
facade in the upper part of the outer wail of the shrine is
sculptured a figure of Vai$ravana, guardian dcity of the
norlh, as Kuvera, the god of luck and wealth.
The form of Hinduism favoured at this temple was
Vaishanvite and the Hindu sculpturesshow a close
similarity to those of the famous Pallava site of
Mamallapuram.
Tt'e gedigi near Kandy which is called the Asgir!
vihdra-gedigEor the Adahanamalu-gedigi is a shrine in
the Dravidian style, closely resembling the Gadaladeni-
vihara and was erected by king Senisammata
Vikramabahu in the secondhalf of the l5th centurv at the
320 GE-LU.PA
rpot wbere his mother was cremated (Uniwrsity of
Ccylon, History of Ceylon,68l. 787 f.; EZ. lV,9), It is not
consideredas significant a monurnent asthe other gedegE
pcrbaps dus to the late date of its construction.
lL R. Petrra
GE - LU - PA (spelt dge-Lugs-Pa).also referred to es the
d G e - i D a n - P a . i s t h c n a m e o f t h e m o s t n u m e r o u ss e c t o f
[,amasfounded by Ts ong-Kba-P a (blo-bzong-Grags-Pa;
1 3 5 7 - 1 4 \ 7d . C . ) . [ t i s p o p u l a r l y k n o w n a s t h e Y c l l o w F I a t
s e c t ,b e c a u s eT s o n - k h a - P a a d o p t e d t h e y e l l o w h a t f o r
himself, and his disciples followcd him. In this
c o n n e c t i o nt h e r e i s a s t o r y t h a t T s o n - K h a - P q f a i l i n g t o
dye his hat in a colour to his liking, suddcnly remembered
that the master Gon - Pa Rab - beof the lOth century who
was noted for his chastelife, oncc worc a yellow hat, and
h e a l s od y e d h i s h a t i n y e l l o w .
When Buddhism first appearedin Tiber in the ?th
ccntury it was restrictcd only to a few noble families
including that of the king and was ignored bv many, who
followed the indigenous animistic religion named Bon,
At this stagea few Indian end Chincse bhiksusministered
t o t h e a d h e r e n t so f t h e n e w f a i t h u n t i l i n t h e 8 t h c e n t u r y
some Tibetans were ordained after which. Buddhism
made rapid advance in Tibet.
It was into this sceneof rcligious activity in Tibet, that
t h e i n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e D a l a i - I - a m a w a s e s t a b l i s h e da t a
i a t e r s t a g e .l t o w e si t s a p p e a r a n c et o T s o n - K h a - p a w h o i s
named after hjs birth placeTson - Khe. He was a monk of
exceptionaJintellectual attainments, religious devotion
and great proselytizing ability, His aim was to reform the
monastic discipline, propagate austerity and spirituality
and also to do away with the divisions and the rivalries of
the Tibetan Buddhist Order.
The reforms of Tsong - kha - Pat were directedmainly
against the rapid deterioration of the lamaist priesthood
from the l3th century. By his own cxample, he restored
disciplinary rules, laying special stresson celibacy and
abstention from intoxicants and secularpursuits. Ge-Lu-
Pa lamas secm on the average to havc led morc pure
lives thaa those of the other gectsin Tibet.
The Ge-Lu-Pa sect adopted the Midhyamika
phi-losophy of Nagaduna, with its central doctrine of
(inyati (Prasangtka)which avoids both the affirmation
and negation of existencc. This is called the Middlc Yicw.
It forms the basis of the Ge-Lu-Pa theory of "thc
voidnegs". lt was adopted as one of the five required
courues in all the leading lamaseries of this sect. The
 GE.LU-PA
Ge-Lu-Pa rect rejected the view-point put forward by the
writings of Jo-Nang-Pa-Dol-Po Shcs-raFrgyei-mtshan
(1292 - I36l A.C.) and bis successorrwhicb war accepted
by thc other sects lite Ka-Gyu-Pr etc., that it is by the
path of reeing that one experiences nothingness directly
and it is its virion that rclcales a series of psychological
procetSeS.
Tson-Kha-Fa had a nephew, a n:onk named Ge-Dun-
Trup-Pa whosc learning and vigoroul propagatiou of the
Buddhist doctrine led to thc rapid increaseof the number
of followcrs of th Ge-Lu-Pa sect, He founded onc of the
grcatcst Ge-[.u-Pa monasteries at Ta-Shi-Lhun-Po
where he was the abbot at the time of his death in 1475.At
a later time it w:ilt recognized thet the spirit of Ge-Dun-
Trup-pa had undergone reincarnation in a young monk
nemed Ge-Dun-Gi'qtro and he too was in due course
rimilarly succ&ded by a child Sonam - Gyatso as the
third incarnation of Ge-Dun-Trup-Pa. He visited
Mongolia in 1578 and in 1586 and converted the prince
Altan-Khan and a large number of his followers into the
new sec"t.Alten Khan gave him the title Tale (Dalai)
slsaning'ocean'and this title was also lrter applied to his
two predecenors. Within a short period the Ge-Lu-Pa
sect commaDded the spiritual allegianceof all the rival
tribes of Mongolia and this lcd to the supremacy of thc
Da.lai Lama and to the building up of the Mongol
Empire. Eventually the Ge-Lu-Pa sect which com-
mended the loyalty of the Mongolia becamc the ruling
power of Tibet. It was Sonam-Gyatso who first laid the
foundation for the secular power of the Gc-Lu-Pa sect.
During his time the austerity, dircipline and spiritual
attainments of its lamas attracted a large number of
followers to thc Ge-Lu-Pa sect. Through its lay sup-
porters thi"r sect gradually became involved in the pol!
tical disputes of the day, and soon becnme the principal
rival to the dominant Kar-Ma-Pa (s.v.) sect which wel
supported by thc kings of Tesang dynasty. ln 1642 the
Mongol prince Gusri l(han supportd by the other
Mongol followers of the Ge-Lu-Pa sect invaded Tibct,
displaced the Kar-Me-Pa lamas and placed Ngawang
Lobzang Gyatso, the fifth Dalai Lama as thc religious
head of the country, Gusri Khan became the king of
Tibct. The relationship betweenthe king and Dalai Lama
was thet of patron and priest. After the death of Gusri
Khen, when his successorsdid not take much interest in
the adminstration of Tibet, the fifth Dalei Lana gradually
drew all spiritual powers into his hands. He combined for
the first time the temporal and spiritual powers in one
p€rsoD. He encouraged literary activity in the country
and also ceused a large palace monslery to be built on
Potala hill. Tibet scems to owc all its present secular and
ecclesirstical institutes to him.
The Chinese dynasties patronized L"maism with a
political motive. They thought thet by making the
321 GE-LU.PA
Tibetans morc conscious nf their religious duties, they
would he abJeto controJ thejr m*rtial qualities.
The riss of tb* Manchu {Ch:r:rg)dynnsry synchrtlnized
with the dsc rrf ute Ge-Lu-le:ter:|, mci rvith that the
institution of thc l)nlai antl ii:r Fanchen [.amas became
more popular.
T'hc head of the Ge-Lu-i:o secr is thc Dalar Lama- the
religiou.s and politicaJ heaJ of T'ibct. The thrce chiefs of
the three lcading monasterics cf the Ge-l-u-Pa sect
namely, Drt-Pung, Se-Ra and Ge-Dan functroned under
him. They not only forrred thc cconomic and cultural
backbone of this sect, but also wielded throughout the
country a determining influence on the political and
religious life of Tibet. Politically, oniy these rhree
monestcries were allowed to represent the clergy in the
nationel conferencessummoned on impr;rtanl occesions.
They owned a large extents of rcal estatc,which in feudal
Tibet amounted to almost regional goverDmeDts.Tbey
ran a few magistracieswith full administrative powen.
Religiously, they had a large number of affiliated
monastries all over Tibct. A Larna is cxpected to belong
to one of these monasteries, if he needs recongnition.
Dalai Lama himself bel.:ngsto all the three monasteries.
When a young Lame comes of age before he assumes
r e l i g i o - p o l i t i c a la u t h c n t y . h e i s e x p e c t e d t o v i s i t t h e s e
t h r e e m o n a s t e r i e s ,t o b e e n r o l l e d a s a m e m b e r o f e a c h
congregation, starting always with the most powerful
monBstery, De-Pung.
Ge-Dan is the smallest of the three leading Ge-Lu-pa
monasleries, which is still recognisedas the fountain head
of this sect. The two famous academies for occultist
studies in Lhasa namely, Gyu-Me and Gyu-To are
affiliated institutions of this monastery. These were
founded by the direcr disciples of Tson-Kha-pa for the
advancedlcarning of Tentra. The scholarsto be admitted
to thesetwo institutjons are the graduatesfrom the three
leading monasterieswith a degreecalled Ge-Srir(Friend
o f v i r t u e ) . A G e - S h i i s e x p e c t e dt o h a v e m a s t e r e da l l t h e
exoteric studies and is qualified to take up the esoteric
c o u r s e . T h e s e t w o a c e d e m i e sa r e c o n s i d e r e dt o b e t h e
postgraduate schools, aad from among their graduates
come the candidatesfor the highesthonour of the Ge-Lu-
Pa Order. The Tibetans ettach great importance to those
who undergo training in one of theseacademies,Gyu-Me
and Gyu To are famous for their methods of solid
teaching, discipline and ascetictraining. The disciplinary
rules of these places cover all fields of daily living,
including dress, eating end sleeping. Schotars of these
two schools study Yoga. Their training comprises an
eloborate program of exercises to acbieve complete
mastery of rpiritual and physicat forces. A rhrone (Tib.
Khri) in the Ge-Dan monartery, raid to be the one in
which Tson-Kbe-Pa sat, is preservedto this day for the
 GE-LU.PA
best scholar of the sect. The occupant of the throne is
known as the Ge-Dan l(hri-Pa (the enthroned of Ge-
Dan) and he is recognized as the legitimate successorof
the great Founder himself.
The temple named Nai-Chung (samll place) at the foot
of the De-Pun8 monastery is the placewhere the Tibetans
pray for the long life of the Dalai Lama. The function of
this place is to give oracles.Nai-Chung has become the
nickname of the god of oraclesenshrinedin this Temple.
The Nai-Chung oraclesgive prophecicsthrough a human
medium, who is always a monk in the temple who
occupies a high government rank, Often the Tibetan
Government officials go there to seek advice. The Dalai
Lama also has a private temple at Potala. This temple,
including the three leading monasteries,the two exoteric
acedemiesand the Nai-Chung temple form the neucleus
of the Ge-Lu-Pa sect. The Tibetans refer to thesc seven
places as the sevengrent miracles.
Pancben Lama with his Trashi Lun-Po monastery
maintains a court and a separatemonastic organisation.
He is surrounded by the abbots of the four colleges of
Trashi-Lun-Po. The culmination of the careerof a Lama
at this monartery after decadesof exoteric and esoteric
training is to become the great precious Master of
Occultism (Nga-Ch'en Rin-Po Che), This monastery has
its own affiliatcd institutions and its own text books and
degrees.
The Ge-Lu-Pa monasteriesare solely meant for males
between the agesof five and sixty years.They arc allowed
to carry on their individual pursuits provided they do not
transgrcas some of the basic concepts of Buddhism.
Among these lamas are found both the scholars and the
illiterates, the rich and the poor as well since candidates
are all admitted on an equal footing. Even an incarnate
lama gains oflrcial recognition only if he is enrolled in one
o f t h e t h r e e l e a d i n gl a m a s e r i e sn a m e l y , D e - P u n g , S e - R a
ald Ge-Dan.
In these monasteries there are lamas who study and
t h o s ed o n o t s t u d y , T h e l a t t e r a r e t r a i n e d i n a l l a s p e c t so f
religious rites which cater to the daily needsof the people.
They rsnge from servants to the lama
warriors. The latter ara the only lamas in the Ge-Lu-Pa
sectwho are allowed to grow their hair. They have a cult
of their own and worship their own gods and chant their
own hymns. On festive occasionsthey maintain public
order. Sometimes they also act as bodyguards to high
Lamas when travelling.
All the Ge-Lu-Pa lamaseries offer five fundamental
courses,each requiring two or five years for completion.
The texts and thc order of courses vary in differcnt
lamaseries,but the subjectsinvariebly include didectics,
disciplinary rules and the Middle view. The Ge-Lu-Pa
sect attaches great importance to open debate. These
322 GENEROSITY
d e b a t e sa r e t h e o n l y f o r m o f e x a m i n a t i o n k n o w n t o t h e
l a m a i s t e d u c a t i o ns y s t e ma n d t h e r e f o r ei t i s a n a b s o l u t e
requirement for all who aspire to the Ge-Shi degree,
Ge-Shi offered at the three leading lamaseriesis divided
i n t o f o u r t y p e s .T h e t w o l o w e r d e g r e e sa r e a w a r d e db y t h e
Lamasfries while the two higher degreesare awarded by
t h e g o v e r n m e n t .T h e E x a m i n a t i o n t a k e s t h e f o r m o f a
d e b a t e . A f t e r g r a d u a t i o n a t o n e o f t h e s e I a m a s e r i e sa,
g r a d u a t eh a s t o f o l l o w a c o u r s eo f o c c u l t i s ts t u d i e si n c a s e
h e a s p i r e st o a t t a i n a n e x a l t e dp o s i t i o ni n a l a m a i s tc a r e e r ,
T h e i d e ai s t h a t t h e G e - L u - P as e c tb e l i e v e st h a t t h e p r o p e r
way to attain Buddhahood is to start with the exoteric
and proceed on to the esoteric training.
Blbllography:
H,G. Richardson, Tibet and its History, London, 1962,
Helmut Hoffman, The Religions of Tibet,l956; Herbcrt,
V, Guenther, Tibetan Buddhism without mystification,
Leiden, 1956; Ghen and Lin, Tibet and the Tibetans,
California, 1952.
Indumatle Karunaratne
GENEROSTTY. Caga, pariccaga (and dana) are the
technical terms in Buddhism that come very close in
m e a n i n g t o t h e w o r d g e n e r o s i t y .T h e w o r d g e n e r o s i t l '
c a r r i e st h e m e a n i n g s": n o b i l i t y o f c o n d u c t 'o r ' b e h a v i o u r ' ,
' w i l l i n g n e s st o f o r g i v e i n j u r i e s ' , ' m a g n a n i m i t y ' , ' l i b e r a l i t y
' m u n i f i c e n c e ' .I n a d e v e l o p e d r e l i g i o u s
in giving' and
senseclga or paricciga means the readinessof a noble
man (ariya puggela) to part with anything or perform
s o m e t h i n gt o h e l p a n o t h e r t o m i n i m i s e h i s s u f f e r i n ga n d
improve his condition. In the Paflcaitgika Vagga of the
A'nguttara Nikaya(A,Ilt, p. 34) it is said: "as stainlesson
her sky bound course,the moon outshinesin splendouur
all the stars' array, just so the virtuous, believing man, in
charity (cagd outshines the mean on earth." In this
context and in many others, ciga is used in a very
comprehensiveconnotation to include all the shadesof
meaning that could be attachedto the word generosityin
English.
Buddhism teachesof four attitudesof mind that should
be cultivated by all who seeka development of character.
These attitudes are friendliness (mettd), pity (karuna),
altruistic joy (muditi)and equanimity (upekkhil. Thcse
attitudes are called divine abidings or sublime states
(brahmauihiral, because they are the most exalted
attitudcs of mind a human being could develop towards
other beings. One has to be friendly towards all. When
one is friendly towards others, one is naturally restrained
from doing things that are injurious to others in any way.
On the .contrsry; such a person would a.lways look
 GENEROSITY
forward to doing somethGg that would benefit another
in rome way, Whcn he scer others in want and under-
going difficulties and hardship, he feels pity for them and
is inspired to do cverything within his power to help them
oul of those situetions end relieve them of their paia end
suffering. He feclc happy when he seesothers happy and
content end are living peaceful lives. Lastly he maintains
equipoirc, belance of mind, in all situations in life (cf.
phutlhtssa - loka dhammehi cittam yssse na kampati:
.5a.v. 268)..
While cultivating thesefour noble attitudes of mind a
gencrous pcrlon always practicts fivc brsic duties towards
ell otber beings (pailca sila). Thcy are: (l) He refrains
from killing or cel'.::.g deltruction to any form of life
directly or indirectly, lrr also restrains others from dcing
such thingr end speaks in praise of those who refrain
from doing barm to living beings. Having dona so he
would devote ell his rcsources r material, monetary,
intellectuel rnd physicd strength to help others improve
thcir conditions. It is regardinng such generous pcoplc
thst the Buddhe reid: 'Herein the Ariyan disciple lives at
home with heart free from taint of stinginess (vigata-
malamrahert), he ir open-handed (muttacigo), pure-
handcd (pryau pai),d elighting in givin g ( ws sagg arat o),
one to erk e favour of (yicayogo), one who delights in
dispdnsing chcritable gSfts"(dinzs amui bhigaratoj (A. lL,
p. 66).(2) He rcfrains from taking wf,at is not volunrarily
givcn to him. In other wordr hc refrains from stealing.
Steeling here doer not mean taking away only of material
thingr without the consent of the owner. lt also includes
other thingr cuch as depriving others of opportunities of
improving their lot by resorting to cheating bribery and
corruption. Heving refrai:ned from ell types of stealing,
he rertrainr otherl, too, from doing such things and
workr to maintein jurtice and fairplay in society. (3) He
keeps full control over his sense feculticr and evoids
wrongful end illegal rexud indulgences such es moles-
tation of women under the guerdinaship of othen. He
leeds a very rimple life, being content with the minimum
of needr. (a) He rcfrains from speaking fdse-hood,
rlender, unpleesant spcech,gossipetc. and alwaysspeaks
the truth, spcrks in e way to bring about understanding
unity ud friendrhip amoDg others. (5) He avoids all
types of intoxicating food and drink so that he could
mrintein good physicel health and mindfulness that are
very errential to lead_e life beneficiel to many otherr.
Thus these five bacic sr/a.rare very strictly adhered to by a
men who hes in him the noble virtue of generosity,
Gencrority is dro directly linked with the noble-
Eightfold-p rrrh (ariyt ttthi gi kl,m agga: M. I I I. p, 7 l -Ef.
Crcncrority hes to ltr,rt with right vicws. A man would
not prrctire geuerosity, if he hal no rdpect for life, if he
does not rccept the idea of efficacy of rction both good
end bed, if he ir not convincrd that ects of generosity
323 GENEROSITY
could male life better and pleesaatcr to many, it is
because one has the highest respect for life, it is beceuse
one beteves in the efficacy <;f ections that one is inrpired
to do ihings that would make thingr better for others,
Thir constitutes right viewc in him. Tbcsc right views
make him think that he should not do anything that
would be injurious to a-notherin any way, and on the
contrary, they make hin: think of ways and means of
helping others to improvc their lot. This constitutcr right
thoughts (semmi-saizkappe) in him. Inspired by these
right thoughts he avoids all speech that would caure
damage or harm to another and u.scshis rpcech in a way
that is conducive to better understanding among all
pcoplc. This constitutes rigbt-speech (sammivfui) in
him. He avoids all activities thet could cause worry or
hardship to another, and does things that would help
improve the condition of others. This constitutes right
actions (sammi kammanta)in him. [n his personel life he
enSage!himself in some profession orjob that would not
harm Enother in any way. This constitutes his right
livelibood (sammE-ajiva). Ta avoid wrong views and
wrong attitudes to life and to cultivate right views and
right attitudes to life, to avoid wrong thoughts and to
cultivate right thougbts, to avoid wrong speech and
practise right speech, to avoid wrong action and purlue
right action, to avoid wrong livelihood and follow right
livelihood one should always be energetic end cnter-
prising. This constitutes right effort (sammiviyima)in
him. Unless he is minCful, unlesshe is alert and vigilant he
cannot lead a life in conformity with thc ebove
discussed quelities. So, ruch alertness or mindfulness
constitutes his right mindfulness (sammisati). When he
follows thesesevenstepssucccsfully, they tcnd to make
him calm, pacified, contented and mature. These consti-
tute right conccntration of mind (sammi.saaidhi)'n
him. Thus wc seethat generosityis linked with the Noble
Eight-fold Peth in Buddhism.
There is egain a fourfold activity know es bases of
generosity ( sa'ngah a vartlr u/ d iscussedin co nnectio n wi th
a rnagnanimous or generouspercon. Firstly he treats the
world by bestowinggrfts of food, drink, clothesand other
material things to needy peoplc as and when the occasion
demendr (dina). Next, he treats the world with pleasant
speech - that is by speaking ihe truttr, using pleasant,
rcfined rnd kind speech (pcyyayajja). Again he treats the
world by engaging in activities that are beneficial to
others such as r ocial service (a t th acariyi). Lastly he tre ats
the world by being modest and impartirl to dl saainat-
uu (A.II, p.66).
A generous man couJd enjoy e fourfold happiness
rccording to Buddhism (A. ll, p. 69). He feelr happy
when he seesthat bc has enough wealth (aufisukha). He
fcels heppy when he thinks that hir weelth is begotten by
just meens (anavajjuukha). He fcels happy when he
 GENESIS
thintr ther he spendr his werlth for his own benefit as
well es thrt of others (bhogwutht) end hc feels heppy
when he thinks thet he is free from debt to othen
(tnaaesukhe).
A mrn who practircs cageor paric-r'agtwith a sublime
ettitude of unbounded love (rietta) and compassion
(keruni) to all, cen do so only if he hes overcome snger
and hatred, which sre the basic chenctcristics of a selfish
man. So one who practirer cigte;t the semetime practises
forbcarance (khaati, Lhami). Such a pcrson doec not feel
enreged when othen do wrong to him. On hir own
initiativc he forgives them, and if there is anything that he
could do to help such wrongdoers, he would do it
willingly with friendly and rympathetic feelings. A
practising Buddhist is expected to behave in this way. Tbe
Buddba, by example, har showed the purposefulnessof
such bcheviour throughout his careet.
W. G. Wereratne
'gene-
GENES|IS. The term genesis mean! "crcltion",
ration- or "production." [t hgl elso been ugcd as the tit]e
of the lirst book of the Chrirtien Bible. Seeing the
relation between the purposc of the book of Genesisin
the Bibte and the Buddhist cenonicrl discourse entitled
Aggaf,fra Sutte (q.v.) in the Digha'nikiya of the Suffa
Pitaka, scbolars have described thc I'gaflfra Sufft 8s
tbe Buddhist book of Genesis.r [n accordancc with'this
dcscription the disctssion of the concept of Genesisin
relation to Buddhism will in the sequel pay special
attention to the religious, ethical and philosophical
significance of thc ideas conteined in the Aggafrfra
Sutfa. Ar a general theory of creation, generation or prc-
duction Buddhirm propounded the theory of Conditioned
Gcnesis or Depcndcnt O-rigination; the theory of. Patica'
nmuppida (Skt. Pratrtyzsamutpida,), which though
variously interpreted, il I cardinal doctrinal tcnet
common to all syrtems of Buddhism. It was prcscnted 85
the Buddhe'g theoretical Middle Way which svoided a
number of extreme views such ar eterndirm, nihilirm, a
variety of dtterministic thcories e! wcll ar forms of
indeterminism which held that there is no carual order
whatsocver in the universe. The Aggaf,f,aSuttanarrative
is evidently an early Buddhist ettempt to coDstruct a
legendary history of thc origin of the world, the evolution
of man end social institutions which is consirtcnt with the
general theory of conditioned genesis.
A student of thc development of human ideas in thc
numerous cultures of the world is bound to be struck by
t . The lerger portion of tbe nerrativc ir aho prcscrved in the Buddhirt Senrkrit text MehTvt*u.
e llmorimrric Ndionde lt82) Vol. t. pp. 33t-3'lE.
324 GENESIS
the universality of the prescnceof cosmogonical myths to
.ccount for the beginnings of the uniwne ead all
exirtcnce. [t may be seid that the preseDceof a cormogony
indbates a higher levcl of development in abstract
tbinking. In thc lndien context thc Buddhht account of
the origin and development of the world and sdciety was
preccded by numerous cormogonical mytbs belonging to
thc Vedic tradition. Indian thought hed already reached a
high lcvel of development in ebrtrect thinliag lad
etteined considerable philosophical maturity by the time
tbe Buddha began his mirsion as a strikingly innovative
teacher. The rtory of generis fouad in tbe Agaf,f,a
.Suffa ic illustrative of some of the uniquely innovative
aspects of the Buddhist world view. Compared
to the degree of ettention thet the Biblical story of
Genesis has received in the history of religiour idear it
should be remarked that considering the richness of
imagination and the philosophical vision implicit in the
Buddhist story, it has received far lesr attention than it
descrves.
Most cosmogoniesattempt to postulate a primal
element from which the universe camc into being. The
cosmogonical myths of ancient cultures are a mixture of
primitive animistic beliefsand beliefsabout supernatural
forces thought to underlie the veriegated mreltiplicity of
the phenomenal world. According to Homer the prime
component of the universe is the oceen and according to
Hesiod it is earth. In later Milesian thought an attempt
was made by the more philosophically minded to present
theories about the origin and developmcnt of the universe
on a more naturelistic and speculative basis. According
to one of the Egyptiaa cosmogonic legendsprimal spirit
and primal metter coexist in all eternity in indissoluble
union and the diversity in the universe emerges from
thesefirst principler, In Chinesecosmogony the origin of
everything is traced to the Male and Female principles
Yang and Yin. ln the Judeo Christian tradition God is the
maker of both beaven and earth, the sea rrrd all that is in
them. The Biblical myth of Genesis is an attempt to
reconstruct in termc of the religious conscioulness of the
lsraelite people the legendary history of the origin of the
world, the bcginning of human existence,the nature of
the men-woman relationship and the nature of morality
and the source of sin.
In the \Sveda which contains the earliest religious
literature of the lndians, the dominant characteristicis
found to be en explanation of natural phenomena by a
proccss of deificetion involving the positing of wills
behind the dynamic forces of nature. However, sceptical
questions eppear to have been raised about the absolute
origin of things even et thir early age as evidenced by the
Scc E. Senert'r edition @arir,
 GENESIS
t{asrdya hymn of the Rgtda.z An atrempt to tracc
even ccrtrin convcntional divisions of society to divine
origins is marked in the Rgved4 itself. According to thc
Punua S[frrr of the Rgvedq the four caste!, Brihmana
(priertr), Rajanya (rul;;), Vaiiya (common people) and
Sldra (menials) \perc created respectively our of the
mouth, thc arms, the thighr eud the feet of the primeval
Penon.s This idee is repeated in the Atharuaveda cnd
cane to bc fully cstablished in thc period of the yajus
SanhiiZsudtbe BrihmEnts.l There is an attempt in the
Brihmaaas to give e monotheistic explanation for the
origin of thc univcrse. [n tbe Br-ahmaDaJarefound manv
lcgendr about Prajapati creating rhe universe. Ia the
begiuring war Prajipati and nothing but Prajipati; he
througb the performance of austerities, crcated the
worlds. ln rome legcnds watcrs seem to have been
belicved to be coevd with Prejipati.s The (Ipanisads
turn to be more philosophical in traci_ngtbe beginnings of
exirtsnceto the abctractprinciples of Anaaand Bnhmza.
In the Upaa$ad ctration is ettributed to iman in rhe
rhepe of man (puruse). Purusa finds dclight in multi-
plying Himrelf. Thereupon He becomes husband and
wife egd created all beings that exist in pairs.c [n the
Tdniriyt Upanitad the rcquence is given u Brzhman,
rproe, wind, fire, wlter, earth, food, seed, men end all
sreeturts.T The SiiLhys ryrtem is alco an attempt to
give en evolutionary lccount of man and the physical
univene ia termr of two primordial realities called
pnlrti (mtttcr) md prurutt (lpirit).
Buddhirm rppcu! to havc held thil all speculativc
thinking rbout the ebrolute beginningr of things inevit.
ebly le rd to unverifi ebk d o gm as ( di tthi ), t}re Br abm afah
Sutlrof thc Dighil-nikiyamates rn cnumerEtion of pro.
Buddhirt viewr clasrifying them broadly el specularionr
e b out the pert (pu bb n t* ap piki p u b b an anud.itthi a o)
aad rpeculetionr about the futurr epanatiauiippikE
apereatlnuditthino). The Buddba ir reid to have under-
stood rll thc variety of ruch spcculativt viewr but
tnnrccuded them not holdingdogmrtically to eny one of
them. There ir ree.ron to believt that Buddhirm consistent-
ly refreined from formulating any speorlativc theorier
ebout thc rbrolute origin of thiogr prlmerily duc to its
epirtemologicel outlook. It is characteriltic of the early
Buddhim of the Pdi caaonicel suttrs thrt it cleimr to bese
iu theory of redity oD thc ddr of expcrieacc alonc. Expc-
L Rreh fio K. N, Jryrtilleket dircrusion of thr Xrrdiyr
1-tD. t
(Crcor3cAllcn rnd Unwin Ltd. London 1963)p.25f.
3. Rgrd.,X.90.
1, Athuvtvdq xix,6.6: Pr'a,qvimsaBrihmaaq yi. 1.6-ll.
5. Silrrpil*.r fg'.hmra+xi 1.6.t.
6. Drhdfttay*t (lplahd, 1.1.
7. Trrittbiyt Upnixd,ll. t.
t. Sq3rpccirily tnd'iVraiar Str,yttttoftir S.m4tt.-ai[.y..
9. Dbht-nikiyr lll, p, 8.
325 GENESIS
rience, howcver, includes in the Buddhilt view whet
Buddhism describer es the experience of abhif,f,i(higher
knowledge or supercognition) in addition to the ordinary
tensory experiences. Reveletion, scriptural authority,
and rpeculative reason are not recognized as dependablc
ultimate 3ouroes of knowledge. The Buddha claimed to
have the ability to remember the part bcyond one life time
back into a beginningless series of past lives if he so
wished to relive those memories. He also claimed the
suirercognitive ability to use clairvoyant vision
(dibbac*khu) to observe the presentr unhindsp6 6,
the physical or physiological limitations of oridinary
virion. He did not claim (at least according to the
matcrial contained in the early stratum of canonical
doctrine) to possessa faculty of kaowing by which one
could directly witness the past or the future. ln
accordance with this epistemological position, the first
biginning of any individual life serieswhich is subject to
lhe saasiric proc-cr! is said to be u*nown (anensgaggs
ayam samsiro, pubbi koti na pafifriyati). With regard
to the individual, one can only speak of the origination or
production (samudaya) of the unsatisfactory process of
dukkha but not of any metaphysical soul or ego entity
lile in religious systems which have the concept of an
immortal relf. Tbis procesr is to bs accounted for by
discovering the immediately perceivable conditions
related to it, The canonical suttas contain a number of
formulationr stating the causal dependencies which
explain the genesisof du*khasnd the samiric process.r
No particular causal factor is to be taken as the uncondi-
tioned first cause. Buddhism holds tbe sene view about
the evolution of thc phylical univene. tt docs not
postulate an abcolute beginning. It explicitly rejects the
theory of divinc creation. tn the Piafra,Sutra the Buddha
claims to know the beginning of things (aggaf,f,af, ca...
paiia-ani). Here, he rejects the view that one could
account for the beginnings in terms of creation by God or
Brahma (isser*uttaa brahmakuttamf. In tbe Buddhist
vicw it is possible to speak only of ielative beginnings.
The Buddhist story of Genesis in the Aggaf,ila Sutta
may be said to be purported to state in the form of
legendary history the relative beginnings and the gradual
evolution of the physical world, sentient existencc and
man and his rociel institutions. Its significencc ought io
bejudgcd not for the historical accuracy ofwhat it states,
hymn in Early BuddhistTheory of Knowldge
 GENESIS 326
but for tbe underllng pbilosophical conceptions of tbc
nature of man and the u:riversesnd the laws governing
cvolutionary procestes of nature in the physical, socisl
and psychologicelspheres,In this account may be found
some of the dcepestphilosophical intuitions of Buddhist
thought including the most noteworthy aspects of its
social and political philosophy,
According to early Buddhist cosmology, the physical
universeconsistsof innumereble world systemsextending
in the form of galactic clusters. The Buddhist conception
of the universe does not accord with a narrow geocentric
view which was common to most prescientilic cultures.
The world systems are said to be in a continuous proc$tt
ofevolution and involution overincalculable aeonsgoing
through periods of "opening out' (uivattamina/ and
"closing in" (samvattamana). The recogniiion of the fact
thet despite the immensity and the apparent order and
stability of our physical world, it is subject to the law of
universal change is a reaffirmation of the Buddhist
doctrine o f transience ( an icca). T he Agg afr fra,Suffi states
that during a period of involution, the larger part of
sentient beingssurvives in the abode of luminous existencc
(yebhuyyena satti Abhessara-samvattanikE
ionti). This view is in accordance with ih. goddhist
theory of survival that until a living being eradicatcs
craving it hes to wander in the cycle of samslars,Itis seid
that when efter a long period of time the world begins to
evolvc the beings from the luminous abode passaway a-nd
are reborn in this world. According to the description
given in the sutta these beings possessno gross physical
bodies, have a kind of astral or spiritual existence and do
not feed on any material food but on joy, The Sutta says:
Now at that time, all had become one world of watcr,
dark and of darkness that maketh blind' No moon or
sun appeared, no star! were seen,no constellations,
neither was night manifest nor day, neither montbs
nor half months, neither yeers nor seasons, female
nor mele. Bcingr were reckonedjust es bcings only,t0
It rays that after a time just as scum forms on the gurfacc
of boilcd milky rice that is cooling, the earth begins to
form on the expanse of watcr. Here Buddhism is putting
forward a naturdistic notion of physical evolution in
place of the current Brahmanical theories of divine
originr of thc natural world. However, as the description
proceeds,the peculiarly Buddhist world view comesinto
focus in its essertion that even the physical and physio-
logical changes ere to be accounted for in terms of the
motives and derires of sentieni beings. The i,nteraction
between the psychical aspects of sentient existence and
the physical environment is brought out in the legendary
otory that follows. The eensoryqualities of colour, odour
and taste ere said to Bppear in the evolving earth-mattcr,
10. Dialogrcs of the D.lddbe (SBE) ed. T.W. Rhyr Davidr, (London l92l) Psrt III, p. t2.
GENESIS
gving rise to the prychological response of craving for
the sevoury earth. Thus the Buddhist ltory about the
beginnings suggett! tbat moral evil in the world is not due
to the intervention of eny supcrnltural agency benign or
malign, but it is part of the procets of depcndent
origination. Elrcwhere in the suttas where deepcr psycho-
logical enalysis oocurs, the origin of moral evilis traced to
the process of sense perccption Lreginning with the
contact of thc senseswith the external world.
The Aggafrfia Sutta further says thet the sclf-
luminance of the lint beings in the period of evolution
disappears as a consequence of thsir craving for the
savoury earth. When the celf-luminaDoe disappears the
sun and the moon and stan and constellationr become
manifcst giving rise to changes of season and the
conventional distinctions betwecn months, half months
and years. When living beings feed on material food of
the earth, they are raid to heve gredually undergone
changc in their physical coutitution and appeerance.
This brings about distinction in the physical appcrrance
of living beingr. There comes I stsge when the twoury
earth also diseppears and beings live on the vegetativl
outgrowths which appeer rubsequently on the surfact of
the earth. After a long process of evolution in which
varieties of vegetation serve as the food for living beingr,
one being replaccd by another, finally rice becomes their
staple food.
Of special sigaificance is thc view presentd in the rutte
about the appearance of sexual distinction. The rutta
says:
And in mcature as they, thus feeding' went on
existing, ro did the bodies of those beings become
even more rolid, and the divergence in their come-
liness more pronounced. In thc femde apperred tbe
distinctive featurer of the femalc, in the male thoge of
the mele. Then truly did women contemplate meJrtoo
closely and man, woman. [n them contemplating over
much the one the other, pasrion arorc and burning
entered their body. They in conlequence thereof
followed their lust (ibid. p. 85).
Buddhism cxplains the emergenceof sex dictinction
&t a conlequencc of an evolutionary prooelt invoMng
pcychophysical interaction. Thb is in marked contratt
to the Biblical view thrt it is en original distinction
attributable to God, the supreme Crcetor. In tbe
narrative itself the Buddhist attitude towardr gex il
expressed by raying that in the first occ'ursnoa of tbc
sexual act it met with common disapproval. Thir is a
reeflirmation of the early Buddhirt porition thrt
sexual pleasures have to be transcuded in ordcr to
attain the higher levels of spiritual maturity. The
 GENESIS
Aggafrfra.9utta account is in accord with the early
Buddhist porition that thc highcr religious life
(brehmacriya) requires the transcendance of the
vulgar plea.sures of sexud union (virato acthuna
g;aaadhaami).
The Buddhist story goes on in gradual stages to
account for the cvolution of the economic and social life
of man from which some of the most important principles
of Buddhist social and political philosophy can be
derived. A crucial stage in the process of social evolution
is thc beginning of private prop?rty. The sutta says that
the practice of common conrumption of the produce of
the earth is later replacced by a system of private
property. People errcct fences and demarcate the
boundaries of their own property. This marks the
beginning of the cvil practice of theft. Human grced leads
to the evil practice of stexling tbe property of another
person. This in turn'marks the bcginnings of a political
order to regulate harmonious social end economic relation-
ships.Thc first ruler, according to this Buddhist legend, is
one elected by the pcoplc (aahijaaasaamato). By this
story Buddhism appears to bc challenging the pre-
dominant view about the nature of the authority of a
ruler impficitly suggesting that the ruler's euthority is
derivcd from the people themselves, in the form of a
social contract, decided on a political order headed by a
king. Buddhism presents through this legend a radically
different account of the source of political euthority. The
Buddhist legendgivesstrength to ademocratic conception
of the origin of political authority whereas the well
known Brahmanical accounts seek to derive the
authority of kings from a divine source. A peculiarly
Buddhist etymology is suggestedfor the term raji(king)
saying "one is called riTE bccause he delights the peop_le
by his adherencc to justice" (dhammeaa janaqt raffjetiti
rijil.
It is at this point that the main intention of the Sutta is
thrown into clearcr focus. In the introductory section of
the Sutta which briefly states the circumstancesunder
which the Buddha preachedit, the Buddha asksone of his
disciplesnamed Vasettha,who had eDteredthe Buddhist
Order from a Brahmin family, about the common
Brahmin reaction to his decision to lead a religious life
under the Buddha who was a non-Brahmin teacher.
Vasettha'sans\.versuggeststhat it was definitely hostile
r e a c t i o nc o l o u r e d b y n o t i o n s o f t h e c a s t es u p e r i o r i t y o f
the Brahmins who claimed to be the direct progeny of
B r a h m a ,t h e c r e a t o r G o d h i m s e l f( i b i d . p . 7 8 ) . I t i s a t t h i s
point that the Buddha remarks that the Brahmins display
such an attitude becausethey are ignorant of the past
(porEnamasarantA) and proceedsto speak ofthe origins
o f t h i n g s .T h e B u d d h i s ts t o r v : c j e c t sw i t h s u b t l ei r o n y t h e
Brahmanicai view of a static, iivinely ordaineci social
order alcng with the sociai incqualities consisting of thc
327 GEI\tETICS
privileges and immunities for the upper classesjurtified
by the Brahmaniqal view of the nature and origin of
society established on the authority of the sacred
scriptures. The most striking feeture of tbe Buddhist
story is its explanation of tbe four csste Sroups then
recognized in Indien society as aproduct ofnatural social
processes. The story suggests that conventional social
stratifications Bre not static features of the natural order
of events, but depend on social conventions and socio-
economic continSencies. In this connection, too, the
Buddhist story i4trodirces new etymologies with more
concern for a moral purpote than their factual correct-
ness.Rejecting the Brahmanicd vicw about the nature of
society, the Aggafrila Sutta quite emphatically declares
that the different castes arise out of beings who were
originally equal and like unto each other (tcsaf,freva
sattinamsadisanaf,f,eva no esadisanam). As against the
Brahmanical view Buddhirm maintains that human
beings belong to one species.The Buddhist account ends
with emphasis on the supremecy of moral valucs insisting
that the person who is endowed with right knowlcdgc and
good conduct is the highest among gods and men
(viji1caraaa sampanno so settho devamaausc),
It may be said that the Buddhist story of Genesis
illustrates clearly the contrastilg paradigm of a non-
theistic religious system like Buddhism when viewed in
relation to theistic cosmogonies,The story gives expres-
sion to the non-authoritarian and humanistic character
of Buddhism as a religious system. The view it presents
about the nature of the cosmos and the processesof
cosmic evolution may not have beenintended to be based
on historical facts. lt representsan account of origins in
keeping with the fundamental doctrinal tenets of
Buddhism. It reaffirms the Buddhist positions that the
question of absolute origins of things is unanswerable,
that explanations in terms of creation by a supremebeing
are unsatisfactory, that changc is a universal feature of all
existence and that reference to material factors alone is
incomplete as an explanation of changesin the sphereof
sentient existence as well a.s its material and social
envioronment. The role of the will and desireof beingsin
the processesof evolution is emphasized.A humanistic
account of the nature of political authority as well as
social institutions is presentedwith a view to affirming
the overriding nature and the primacy of moral values in
all human activities and relationships.
P. D. Premrlrl
GENETICS is the scienceof the transmissionof heredi-
t o t a k ef o r g r a n t e d
t a r y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c sT. h e n i k a y a s s e e m
t h c f a c t o f t h e t r a n s r r i s s i o no f h e r e d i t a r vl h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
 GENETICS
from perents to offspring, Therefore in tbe ergument
ngainst the vaiidity of carte distinctions the Asstliyana
Sutta (M. il, p. 153) maintains that the offipring in an
intercastemarrirge would look like either the mother or
the father. In tbe commentarial tradition genetic inheri-
te,nce of the Bcdhisatta r?cmE to have been quite a
concern, for it recordr that the Bodhisatta selected a
virtuous lady of high birth ar his mother (tlA.ll,p. a30).
The commentaries scem to have systematired the
inlluenccs which rhepe buman life when it puu forward
the theory of the five cossric laws called pailca niyame-
dhamma.'Tbe fivc are: kaytmaaiyEma, (moral lawr),
u t u ni fim {physic el I awl), bij a ni y am a,(b iolo gicC I awc),
ci ttaniyam e, (psychologicel tnwt), rnd, dh raaniyrma
(causd laws). t In this analysir geneticscomer under brya-
niyima which ia explained in the Digha-nikiya
commentary (DA. ll, p. 432) as the natural biological
function of the fmit of rice coming from the rice leed,
rweet tastc from a seedwhich has sweetnessinherent in it
and bitter taste from a seedwith bitternessinherent io it.
The Samyutta-nikiya (5,.tII, p. 54) enumerates lve
types of bijes or germinating a&ents, narnlly;_mfilabija,
khandhabija, phelubija, aggabija nd btjabtja, plants
propagated by roots, stems, joints, shoots and seeds
respectivcly. For proper germination and growth these
by'as should be uninjured, fresh, not expolcd to the
elemcntsand full of sap. They should be well plented on
the ground and watered. When these conditions are
fulfilled the bijas germinate and grow.
In this suff, the four rtationr of consciousnms fcrh.rto
vifrfrinaare compared to the earth elementin association
with thitiyoj which the bijas germinate, These four
stetions of consciousnessare none other than the four
aggregates ripa, vedani, safrfli and saiklira in
association with which oniy can vifrf,anatbive. The sulfr
statesthat it is impossible for vif,f,iaaiogrow apart form
these four. The passionate delight (nandirCgs) one trkes
in existenceand senseexperienceis similar to the element
of water which helps tbe plant to grow. Consciousness
endowed with the nutrirncnts is comparablc to the five
kinds of bijas or germinating agents.
A c c o r d i n g t o B u d d h i s m h e r e d i t yi s n o t t h e o n l y f a c t o r
which determines the morphological structure and
character traits,of an individual. The mahitenhi-
sa'nkhayaSufta maintains that for conception to iake
place there should be not only the union of parentsduring
the mother's fertile period, but also the presenceof the
g a n d h a b b a( q . v ) ( M . I , p . 2 6 5 ) .B y g a n d h a b b a i s m e a n t
l. Dhammaniyama is explained as ca.suallaws on the rtrength of S, It, p.25 - thiti vt si dhitu dhtmmttthintt
idappaccayati.
'Vedic
O. H. de A. Wijesekera, Gandharva and Peli Gandhabba', in University of Ceylon Revicw, Vol. lII, No I, April 1945.
328 GENETICS
the larmically propelled conrcioulnelr of en indhrldld
aweiting rebirth eftcr dcath.r When conccption trlcr
place by tbe retisfaaory fulfiloent of tbac coaditionr the
phyrical stnrcture rnd the charactar trritr of tbc ucw bora
individual erc determincd by what the pucntr contributc
u well u by the contribution mrde by thc Lrrmic
heritage of the individud rceking rebirth, Thqdorc thc
dil*lrmmavibhaitge Sutu (M, III, p, 203) nyr thet
beingr are ownen of their deedr ftrmalr/, inheriton of
their deedr, deedr are their matri& deedr rre thcir
kiasmen and decds are their rclort. If, for iurtrncc, ra
individual has cauled injury to other beingr in the put
and if hc heppenr to be reborn rr a human being he ir
subject to physical deformitier and rilmenu. If be hrr
deprived others of life he gets a rhort rpan of life etc.
The A'nguttara-aikiya (A.I, p, 176) lookr et the phcao-
menon of conception from enother engle, It ltate! thil
conccption takes plece (gabbhassrakktati hoti) de-
pending on the praence of six elementr. Tbey ue thc
elements of earth, water, fire, air, rpace and conrciour-
ness (uifrf,tnadhitu) When we mmpare thir rtrtcrncnt
with that of the Mrtitaahisa'*heya ^Suftrquoted ebove
it eppears that the perentel contribution ir reprerented by
the five physical elements nd gtndhaDbe ir reprercnted
by viLfranadhitu. According to the A'nguttar*aikiyt
(A. l, pp. 223-2A) kamma is the field, coorcioultrar
(vif,f,ina)h the reed rnd craving (taahi)it the moirture
for the birth of beings in the rpherer of renrc plerrurcr
(kamedhitu,), material f.orm (itpadhitu) r'rd immete-
ridity (aripadhitu).
These suttts go a long wEy to rhow that according to
Buddhiam parental contribution elone ig not rufficicnt
for tbc birth of a human being, If the karmically cnergired
consciouanessof e being awaiting rebirth ir not pr'erent
conception cannot take place.
lt is important to note that there is a clore relrtionrhip
between kemma a,ndseit ira, the lettcr bcing ured u e
more precise technicel tcrm wbich har prychologicd
connotations, whercas kalr.ma is a generd tcrm whicb
has gained greater popular currency. The Srrzyurtr-
nikaya fS, lII, p, 87) meintainr that the five eggregater
which go to make up the human being arc constituted
into what they are by the sa'akhiras, thc purporive
motivetional forcea of the mind. Thc srikberr.r mould
the body into what it is, the senlrtiou..... perceptionr...,.
volitional activitics .......and consciourueu into whrt
they are ( rup am ntp ani ya si khatnt ebhi sahkh rupasi.,..
ved anam vedanettiya....stfrfram saf,lttt-yt,...
santtiri senkhirtttiya,.., vif,friita vitfrTnttlyt
dhtmntaiyrmtu
 GENETICS
stnkhttem tbhisshkhtronti. Sehkhataa abhisan-
knarontiii. Se'nkhetam abhisa"okh"rontiti kho
bhikkhavc tasmi sa*nei; ti vuccanti). Thus the five
eggregatesere raid to be moulded into their present form
by the work of sabkhins. It is the same idea thet is
expresredin more popular lalguege by the stttement
that beingr inherit their keama. The Samytna-nikiya
(5. II p, 65) states that the body hns to be understood as
nol being on?.'sown or anybody else'3,but as old kamma
which has been compounded, willed and made sensitive
(oiyam kayo tumhakary na pi af,f,esam. purinar? idam
k am man, abhisabkh atam abhisafret ayit an vedaniyam
detthabbam). Similarly the sense faculties are elso
recognisedas being determined by fornner kamme(,S. IV,
p. 132).Thus tbe physical strucrure of the body including
sense faculties owes its particuler formation to the
kemmic heritage. It can be said that the kammic
potentialities inherent in thc gendhebba/vifif,aaa, the
rebirth seekingconlciousnes!, choore e particular genetic
pstterDwhich is a suitable medium for their expression
:ut of innumerable cell conbinations made porsible by
tbe parental genetic heritage.
The Lakkheaa Sutta enumerates thirty-two signs of a
lrcat man visible on the body of the Buddha. The sufta
maintains that these physical charecteristics are the
;esults of noble deeds done by the Bodhisatta in
previous births as a human being. For example thc
Buddbahas alustrour pair of deep blue eyeswith long eye
lashes becausehe had always looked at people wirh
p l e a s a net y e s( D . I I I , p . 1 6 7 ) .T h e s u t f a s e e m st o p r o v i d e
trstimony to thc atarementthat the body is a fabrication
tf rhe kammic heritage.
The episodeof Pilindiveccha ( Ild-anap. 28) shows that
babitsare strong and that they survive death ar they form
part and parcel of the kammic hcritage of man. pilindi-
vaccha w8r al arahant but he wer in the habit of
addressing o t h e r s a s y a s a l E o u t c a s t e s . , l h eB u d d h a s a w
this as the residue of an old samsiric habit of his and
explained that this monl had been born a brahmin
:ontinuously during 500 previous birthr where he was
rsed to addressingothers as vasalE,Thc habit percistsin
spite of his having ettained arahantship. The Tittha
I a t a , k a( J . 1 ,p . 1 8 2 ) r e l a t e sh o w a p u p i l o f S d r i p u t t ac o u l d
rct make any progress with the contemplation on the
:npurity of the body (asublrabhivani). The Buddha
expleined that this monk had been a goldsmith during
500previous births and therefore the loathesomenrssof
rhe body does not appeal to him as an object of
neditation (kammatthaaa/. Such are a few particular
r D ! t a D c erse c o r d e di n t h e t e x t s w h i c h c a n b e p o i n t e d o u t
as evidencefor the kammic heritage of man, beisdes.of
course Dumcrous episodes in the VimEnavatthu.
Petavatthu etc.
329 GERMANY- EUDDHISM IN
The Mahi DhammapEle JZtata(J.IV, pp. 50-55) is en
excellent episode which illustratec the Buddhist belief
that the kammic heritage determines even the geneiic
heritage of man. Dhammapiia's family had observedthe
basicfive preceptsmeticulously for sevengenerations.As
a result of the accumulation of wholesome kaama thus.
it is seid, that none in this fnmily dicd without rer :ng
ripe old age.
It can be concluded that man inherits a particular
genetic pattern from his parents in consonancewith his
kammicheritage. The formcr is but a suitable mcdium of
expressionfor the porcntialitier of the latter.
Llty de S[va
GERMANY, BUDDHISM IN. 'fhe Greeks were rhe firsr
Europeenswho know anything about Buddhism, Thanks
to tbe expedition of Alexander the Great, when rhey got
information about lndian Philosophy they already noticed
the differences between the doctrines of the Br-ahmanas
and Samanas.The scanty remarks that have come down
to us from early writers whose works have been Iost are
chiefly found in the books of the Fathers of the Christian
C h u r c h . C l e m e n so f A l e x a n d r i a ( 1 5 0 - 1 2 2A . C . ) a l r e a d y
mentions a stupa which he calls a pyramid and St.
Hieronynus (circa 420 A.C.) records rhat Buddha \pas
b o r n i n a s u p e r h a t u r a lw a y ; b u t w h e n h e t e l l s t h a t h i s
mother was virgin this is apparently a confusion with the
story of the birth of JesusChrist. It was from works like
thesethat German scholarsderived their fint knowledge
of Buddhism.
Another way in which the messageof the Buddha
reached central Europe during the Middle Ages was
through the legendswhich though Christian in garb were
Buddhistic in essence. In the legends of Huberrus,
Julianus, Placidus end other Christian Saints it is related
that they were in their youth great hunters,did not beIeve
in Christ and even persecutedChristianity. One day when
chasinga stag,it led the hunter away from his companions
and stopped in the midst of a forest.Then the hunter
noticed that a radiant crosswith the picture of Christ was
between the antlers, and the stag began to speak; ..Why
do you persecuteme? I am Christ, believein me, become
baptised." The hunter does accordingly.The story seems
to be a Christian adaptation of Nigrodha miga J1taka
becausein Christianity Christ never takesthe shapeof an
animal, although in Buddhist literature, there are many
stories of Buddha having been born as an animal in his
previous existences. There are some other Christian
l e g e n d s a l r o . t h a t s e e m t o b e a d a p t a t i o n so f B u d d h i s t
stories.
 GERMAI{Y, BUDDHISM IN
Tbe most conspicuous of these legends is that of
Barl"m a:rd Josaphat (Joasaph). lt tells of the Indian
King Abenner, who was opposed to Christianity' When a
son Josaphat wes born to the King who had been
childlerg for nany years, the astrologers predictcd his
future greatDes3and wisdom end that he would abandon
the religion of his fathers and turn to Christianity, When
the king heard this he was geetly distresscd and to avert
the fulfilmcnt of this prophecy he built a palace where the
prince was confined so that he should not come into
contact with misery oi death. When the prince had grown
up he was allowed by his father to leave the palace for a
ride. On this occasionhe met a blind man, aleper, an aged
man and s corpse, and heard that misfortunes and
m i s e r i e sa r e t h e c o m m o n l o t o f a m a n . H e w a s d e e p l y
moved and then heard that the secretof deliverancefrom
t h e s ew o e s w a s k n o w n o n l y t o h o l y h e r m i t s ' U n d e r t h e
guisc of a jewel merchant the anchorite Barlaam
preached to h -; thc Christian doctrine and converted
h i m . A f t : r s . " . r a l f u t i l e a t t e m p t so n t h e p a r t o f t h e k i n g
t o l e a c .j { , i.a p i r a tb a c k t o L : ' ,f . : : t h .! ' r e p r ' : l ' ' ' r r s o o kh i s
home, he bacamea discipte of IJ?t, rir': ., itj an ascetic
life. After Barlaam's death Josaphat lived alone in the
desert for mnny ycars. After his dccease his body was
taken to India. At his tomb many miracles occurred.
Already the Portuguese writer Diogo de Couto was
struck by the grest resemblanceof a part of thil legend
with that of Buddha's renunciation of the world. Hc
'De cada quinta das
therefore wrote about it in his wotk
Asia des deites quo os Portugueses fizcrae "(Lisboa l6l2
p.123) sDd later writers have done much to show that
the legend is an adaptation of Buddhist prototypes. The
name of the prince Josaphat is a corrupt form of thc title
Bodhisatwq perhaps a reminiscence of the king of Judah
of this naste mentioned in the Bible (2 Chron. Ch. 17-20)
may bc one of the reasons for the change. Barlaam is
the well known epithet of tbe Buddhq Bhagavan (the
Lord). Thur the great Indian religious teachcr reappears
again in a double form in the West and is venerated as a
Christian saint.
The rerson for this duplication may have been, as
Ernst Kuhn surmises,that according to Buddhist teaching
Buddha has found the truth by himself wherees for a
Chrirtian this is not possible. Other names occurring in
the story also seemto be dcrived from the Indian legends.
Thus Zardan, the nobleman cntrusted with the guardian-
ship of the young prince has been identified with
Chandaka. Gautama's charioteer and the companion in
'is flight from his father's palacc."
330 GERMANY, BUDDIIISM IN
The legend exists in many versions in many differcnt
languagec.There have been discussionsabout the question
which versioDmay be the oldest one, Some scholersthink
a Pahlavi rendering, no longer extan( and composcd
about the timc of the reign of Chosrocs, the Great of
P e r s i a( A . C . 5 3 1 - 5 7 9 )r e p r e s e n t st h e m o s t a n c i e n t t e x t ,
They believe thet a Syriac translation, attributed to the
sixth century, was the source of the earliest Greek
translation. Others think that this Greek rendering
representsthe first known version. The Greek translation
'John Monk of the Convent of St, Sabas",
is assribedto
but it appearsamong the works of St John of Damascus'
Until now it was believed that this attribution of its
authcrship to this famous Fathcr of the Church was
'Studies Patristice et
wrong. In e attribution entitled
Byzanting, Vol. l"the celebrated professor of Byzantine
Studics at the University of Munich, Francis Doelger has
provcd that the author of the Greck text wss redly the
famous Johannes of Damascus, who is acknowledged as
the last great Father of the Greek Church. He lived for
about twenty years in the Sabas monastery in Jerusalem
and died in 750A.C. It is not certain from which source
t h c c r i e s t o b t a i n e d t h i s k n o w l e d g eo f t h e s t o r y , b u t i t i s
quite certain rhat the subject matter of this book has
partly its ultimate source in lndia. In the Middle Ages
Barlaam and Josaphat were very popular saints so that
the Greek Church dedicated August 25th to be the
c o m m o m o r a t i o n o f S t , J a s a p h a ta n d t h e R o m a n C h u r c h
N o v e m b e r 2 7 t h t o t h ej o i n t s e r v i c eo f t h e t w o s a i n t s( t h e y
first appearin the Martyrologium of 1538)'So strong was
the conviction of the historicity of thesesaints that relics
of St. Josaphat in the form of a bone and part of the spine
w e r e s h o w n i n V e n i c e u n t i l t h e s i x t e e n t hc e n t u r y , w h e n
t h e yw e r eb r o u g h t t o L i s b o n a n d f i n a l l y t o A n t w e r p ' I t i s
v e r y c u r i o u s t h a t i n t h i s w a y t h e B u d d h a h a s b e c o m ea
saint of two Christian churches.
In our context it is noteworthy that the two saintswere
venerated in Germany especiallysince Rudolf Von Eus
(1200-1254)has written a German biography in poetical
form, using as his source a Latin version of the ansicnt
legend, How widely the fame of the saints spread in
Germany one guessfrom the fact that even in fat away
Eastern Prussia there wes no library of the Toutonic
order which this work was not in hand.
As we have seen all the news about the Buddha that
reached Germany during the Middle Ages came from
literary sources. It was Dot until later on thnt Germany
obtained flrst-hand knowledge frcm the writings of
Merco Polo (1256-1323)and other travellerswho visited
the countries of Asia. As the lndian sub-continentwas no
 GERIVIANY,BUDDTIISM IN
longer Buddhist at the time meny books dealing with
Indiawhich appcaredsinceValco da Gemab exploration
of the rea routc (1498) do not mention Buddhism. The
first informstion nbout the Buddhist doctrine, therefore,
came from Ceylon, Burmq girm, China, Japan and
Tibet. Tbe earlicst attempts to explain the Buddhist tea-
ching rnd to connect Buddhism with the history of the
Western world were very fanciful. So the German
physicien Engelbert l(ampfer (1651-1716) who visited
Siam end Japan, believed that Buddha was originally an
Egyptian pricrt who fled to India beceuseKing Gambyses
who ruled Perria (529-22 B.C.) had killed the sacred bull
of Apis when he had conquerred Egypt. But grfiudly the
knowledge of Buddhism incrcased and the German
public took more interest in the tenets of Buddhism. It
w8! the philosopher Leibniz who already mentioned rhe
"{ltnya" of Mahiyine end Germany's greatest philo-
sopher Immrnuel Kant dealt in his lectures on
Geography with Buddhism in the form of Theravida and
Mahiyina. Relying on the books of travel he wrote "the
Talapeins (monks) of Fegu are praised as world's kind-
liest men. They live on the food for which they beg at the
housesand givc to the poor what they do not need for
themselves,They do good to all living beings without
making eny discrimination of religion. They think that all
religions are good which make men good and amiable.
Kant alreedy knew that Buddhists do not believe in a
Creator and e ruler of the universe who judger men after
dcath, for he writes "they reject the idea of a divine
providencebut teach that vices are punished and virtues
are recompensedby a fatal necrssity."
Kant did not know much about Buddhism becausehe
lived et a time rphen Buddhist texts had not yet been
studiedend translated by European scholars.It was only
after his death that Wcstern Indology and Buddhology
had their beginnings. French and English savants were
the first to occupy themselves with Buddhist texts in
Sanskrit end Pali. German scholars at this time devoted
their labours chiefly to Hindu religion and poetry.
Neverthclessthe knowledge of Buddhism spread more
and more, Buddhism evenwon an enthusiasticadmirer in
t h e p h i l o s o p h e rA r t h u r S c h o p e n h a u e r( 1 7 8 8 - 1 8 6 0 )H . e
had been introduced by Frederic Major to the study of
l n d i a n a n t i q u i t y i n 1 8 1 4a n d f r o m t h i s t i m e o n h e w a s
greatly inlluenced by it in framing his own meiaphysical
svstcm, When he died he left a large iibrary which
contained almost all the important books on Buddhism
published in Europe at his time. He beiieved in a
profound conformity of his doctrine with that of thc
Buddha.Theseare his words: "If I were to take the results
of mv philosophy as a vardstick for the truth I woulti
c o n c e d et o B u d d h i s m t h e p r e e m i n e n c eo f a l l t h e r e l i g i o n s
i n t h e w o r l d , l n a n . , ' c a s eI c a n b e g l a d t o s e c t h a t m y
t c a c h i n gi s i n s u c h g r e a t h a r m o n v w i t h a r c l i g i o n w h i c h
331 GERMANY, BUDDHISM IN
hal the greatelt numhr of adberentson earth."There rrc
indeed many points in whicb the German philosopher
rgrees with Buddhism. They both deny the existenceof a
Personal God, thel' teach that tbe cosmic proces! has no
beginning nor end, they assumethe existancc of many
world rystems, they make no esscntialbut only agradual
difference between man and animels, they do not belicve
in immortal souls or metempsychosisbut in palingenesia
caused by the wilJ (seryskira) of the previous existence.
They acknowledge a moral law as a moving factor in the
universe. Though they both have a pessimisticoutlook on
life, they are optimists insofar as they are both convinced
of the possibility of a liberation from the trammels of
existence.Just Bsfor the Buddhq for Schopenhauertoo
the rtate of dcliverance cannot be explained with the help
of terms snd words belonging to our world.
Schopcnhauer's rystem being an original and indepen-
dent outcome of his own thinking it differs, of course, in
many points from Buddhism, a fact which partly linds its
reason in the circumstance that at the time of Schopen-
hauer Buddhism war not yet sufficientlv known in
Europc.
Schopenhauerwas a greEtherald of Buddhist wisdom;
his works have had a very deep influence on many other
thinkers and last but not the least, they have stimulated
many scholan to study Buddhism thoroushly. So Schopen-
hauer, thoug"hhimself was not a Buddhist theologist, has
done much for the development of Buddhist studies in
Germany in the second half of the last ccntury. These
studies inaugurated by the works of Christian Lassen
(1800-1876)have found their acrne in F. Max Muller,
Hermann Oldenberg, Wilhelm Geiger and a galaxy of
other scholalrs.
Hdouth vm Ghrenrpp
G€oersl Outlook
ln contrast to the spread of Buddhism in the countries
of Asiq the Dhnmma w8s Dot brought to Germany by
Buddhist' missionaries'but the Germansthemselveswent
to the East to bring home the teaching of Gotama, the
Buddhe. There are severalrea.!rons why the Germans had
become interestedin Buddhism.
A t l e a s t s i n c et h e ' R o m a n t i c A g e ' , i f n o t c a r l i e r , i . e . ,
from the beginning of the l9th century, lndian wisdom,
and India herself became an object of sentimental
attachment among German thinkers and poets. Goethe
himself wrote highly in praise of Kalidesa's S-akuntala.
This sentimentalattachment was extendedto the Buddha
and his teaching when the first rcliable news became
known by the middle of the past century.The philo-
s c p h e r A r t h u r S c h o p e n h a u e r ,l h e c o m p o s e i R i c h a r d
Wagner and many others did much to spread thc
k n o w l e d g eo f t h e B u d d h a ' st e a c h i n ga m o n g t h e c d u c a t e r j
 GERMAT{Y-,BUDDHISM IN
clarsesof Germany. In rpitc of the fact that Buddhism
had long ago ceasedto be a major living religion of Indiq
India and Budrihism became closely associetedin the
minds of Germans. This holds true even today, And
because Germeny hed at no time politicel and special
commercial intercst! in India, this great lympathy under-
went no changes in the course of history.
In the l9th ccntury, tbere was nn evergrowing criticism
directed egainst the Christisn church and its teaching,
rnd a strong enticlericel movement. Critical thinkerr
who were at the same time religiously minded, welcorned
tbe teaching of the f)hamma whicb had been brougbt by
Indological scholars in thiir painstaking rtudies to
Germany. This critical mind, dissatisfied with the creed in
the dogmetically fixed teaching of the Church found
unbound freedom of research and expression in
Buddhism.
Scholan of comparative rcligion, of history, and oi"
linguistics, did cager research work in editing and
tranrlating Buddhist te'i{x ;;.f the Thersvads, nnd, 1s s
lesserdegree, of the ltta*eyana. In spiir uf the far;; that
tbegescholars ru a rule remained to be Free-thinker!, or
even Christians, most of them became very triendly
towards Buddhism" in this way helping much to make
Buddhirm acceptableio the German public.
A the sarrietime, when the scriptures of the Theravdda
became th:: :n*in subject of study to those interested in
the Dhamma, it was thc mngnificent Buddhist art or
Japsn, China, Korea and Tibet which caught the eye of
both connoisseur and layman. [t is interasting to state
that i,houghthe'Far East'is for almost all reasonsindeed
'far'removed from European mentality, the Buddhist art,
say of Jepan, is holding the first place in the estirnationof
German Buddhist, even of those belonging to the Thera-
vada. Quita a number of persons became Buddhrsts by
the mere charm of the Buddha-statuesfrom the Far East.
And, in addition, a Buddha image will be found in many
non-Buddhist homes in Germany, wherc it is an object of
ecstheticappreciation and, more important than that, of
pure sympathy, blended with the sympathy for India aad
the'Romantic Eart.'
Formerly it has been said that the Germans are a
people of 'thinkers and poets',and there is still some truth
in thir statement. The philosophical character of the
Dhamma greatly appealed to their minds. But following
a trend of enthusiasm the first Buddhists in Germany
weDt to the extremes instead of walking the path step by
step. The image of the Buddhist put before the German
public war that of a-nArahat and not that of the ordinary
layman or Upasaka. Thus the interpretation of t\:
Dhamma by Buddhists at the turn of the last centurl -
during the first decadesof the presenton3 suffered frorn
an extremely monkish outlook thereby causing much
332 GERJvIANY,BUDDHISM IN
harm to a wider acccptence of Buddhism by thc people.
lnstead of bringing forth the Buddhist virtues of.metti,
karuoi, and mudiu, mainly upekkhi was praired er a
Buddhist virtue, all the others being more or less
'fetterr'in a
disdained as subtle disguise.Much harm has
been done by this one-cided presentation, so that even
today some people stay away from Buddhism because
they rightly feel thcy cqnn61 act as f,n Arahat does.
The German Buddhists bccame awaneof the Buddha
thrnugh Buddhist art, of the Dhrmma by an abundance
of most excellent bocks on Buddhism and translations
from the Tipitaka, mostly of the Suttapitakq but they
had s distorted idea of the Sairghabecauseihey had never
seen a bhikku in their country. Those Germans who
joincd the Sairgha"remained as a rule in Sri Lanka or in
Myanmar. With the exccption of short and rare visits it is
only since the Second World War that bhikkhw were
staying more frequently for longer periods in Germany.
This is mainly due to the efforts of the 'German
Dharmaduta Society' of Sri Lanka and some organi-
zations in Thailand.
Now, anyone who has visited Buddhist countries in
South and South-East Asia has found to his pleasant
surprise that the bh*.khuhe meets there are not aloof and
'cold'as he might have expected from his book-know-
ledge, but extremely friendly and full of human warmth.
They are not Arahats who tale no interest in the life of
their fellow men, but are rather well-wishers to the
graduai spiritual advancementof the Upasakas,
The misunderstanding of the character of the Thera-
vada has turned some Buddhists during recent years
towards the Mahayana, espccially towards, Zen, and a
few towards Lamaism. ln the long run, however,it is
h a r d l y ' t o b e e x p e c t e dt h a t t h e M a h a y a n a w i l l g a i n m u c h
ground in Germany. Those who are inclined to rites,
ceremonies,and mysticism can easily find their spirituai
home in Roman Catholicism. Those who put creed and
belief first in their spiritual aspirationscould well remain
in the Protestant Church. Theravada, on the other hand,
can meet an urgent need, in fact it is the only stronghold
againstdogmatiom and materialism and the new beliefin
science. The intcrest a minority of German Buddhist
holds in Mahayana will help to free Theravdda from
some constrictions acquired during thc long history of
the Dhamma.
HlJtorlcsl Survey
When in the second half of the nineteenth century
Buddhism came to the attentionof the German public,
the Christian churches werc in a dominant position.
Membership in one of the main denomination, Protestant
in Northern Germany, Roman Catholic in Southern end
Western Germany was practically obligatory for candi-
dates to hold an office in the public services.While the
 GERIT{AT{Y,BUDDHISM IN
Protcrtrnt cburch wal, in general, more tolerant, the
Romen Cbtbolic church kept a rtrict control over the
mindr of the population. Pcrsonr who turned to
Buddhirm, did rr I rule, not publicize thir fact. Up to the
thirtier of thc prcrcnt c?Dtury mrny were rhy to breat
oflicially with tbc church, ut act which had to be done by
r decleration at e magirtrete! court. In the plrt entury
thir wer legally not even possible. lndependent phile
ropherr might rnnounoe tbeir sympethy and preference
for Buddhisrn, but cvcn Schopenhauer did not officially
leave thc Protertant church and was in consequence
buricd according to the Chrirtan rites.
However, when more people became eernertly inter-
erted in Buddhirm and tried to apply irl teachingl ro their
wey of life, attempt! were made to found Buddhist
c-ommunitier.Not all will be mentioned here. In 1903,Dr.
Karl Seidenltilcker, en lndological rcholar, founded in
lripzig thc "Buddhirtischer Misrions - verein ftlr Deutsch-
land" renrmed, 1906, "Buddhistische Gesscllrchaft fttr
Deutschland". It was he who edited, in 1905, the first
Buddhist periodical in Germany;which also changed its
nnme:*Der Buddhi!t" --"BuddhistischeWarte" - "Maha-
bodhiblltter", In l9ll, the rociety'l nane was changed
into *Deutscher Zweig der Mehabodhi Gescllschaft".
In 1912,Dr. Woldgang Bohl organized the'Bund filr
buddhirtisches Leben" in Halle, It was affiliated to the
"Deutlcher Zweig der Mahabodhigesellschaft"in 192t.
The rociety's ectivities ended in 1928, There were
brancher of this society in Mtrnich, Hamburg, Berlin, and
Breslau. Dr. Bohn was a phyrician likc many of the
promiueut Buddhicts in Germany, Togetherwith Ludwig
Ankenbrend he published in l9l3 rhe periodical
"Zeitschrift fttr Buddhismus," its editor after the First
World War war for severalyears thc renowned scholer
Wilhelm Geiger.
These early attemptl at founding Buddhist commu-
nities did not mcet with much success.This could be
expected for several reesons.One of them was the fact
tbat at that time persons likely to becom interested in
Buddhigm were dissatisfiedwith every form of organized
religion: Churches, priesthood, rituals, and cerrmonies.
The predominant form of Buddhism in the country was
strict Theravida. As pointed out earlier the bfutfru-ideal
wal foremost in the mindg of the first European
Buddbists. Now, the fact that the most learned and eager
Buddhists left Europe to enter the Sanghain Myanmar or
Sri Lanke hns rightly bc considered a handicap for the
propagadtion of the Dhamma in the West. This tendency
has continued up to this day, and attempts to build up a
Sairgha in Germany has failed in consequence. [n the
courle of the years, more than 100 Gcrmans joined the
Saighe in South-East Asie for a shorter or longer
period, emong them were the prominent scholarsNyana-
333 GERMANTY,BUDDHISM IN
tilokr end Nyanaponiks, wbo were proficientin pali and
Buddhirm,
Scanning the Buddhist litersture of that time one will
lind thet emphesis wa! on "lcietrcc' and "-.earon" in tbe
Dbammr Aa thc tome time speciai importancc
-wa!
attributed to practiring Buddhism by kceping rhe nJas.
On the other haad, mcditation ia the technisal mcnning
of tbe word, e.g. Satipatthiaawas more or lesr neglected.
No quali-fied teachers were in residence in Germeny. In
courEeof timc some changes took place. The necessityto
prectise Metta bccame cvident after the holceust of the
Firrt World War and its aftermath, unprecedentcd in
history. Mehayana war considered to heve a stronger
rmotioDal appeal than thc Theravida and won more
interest than it had drawn before" Howeyer, it rbould Dot
be forgotten that it had some sympathizers a.rcarly as the
beginning of the century. Indeed, among tbe very fint
books published on Buddhism in the middle of the tgth
century tbere were also Mahiyina-rcripturcs.
In the years betweeD rhe two wars, several Buddhist
groups were reactivated, others newly foundod. But to
tbir day they never won e great number of active
members, most Buddhists still prefer to remain unorg&-
nized.
At that time, there \ras an important development
which hclped to give the Dbamrna a sound basis in
Germany. Two permanent ceDtreswere created.They nre
intimately connnected with the namcs of two promlnent
Buddhistswho had the greatestinlluence on the spreadof
the Dhamma in Germaay. They are Dr, Paul Dahlke.
and Dr. Georg Grimm.
In 1924, "Des Buddhistische Haus Berlin-Frohman"
wes opened to the public by a well known physican, Paul
Dahlke. In a beautiful suburb of Berlin, rhen the political
and cultural capital of Germany, a Buddhist temple and
residence were completed. It was the first building
especiaily erected for Buddhism in Europe. It has
remained a ceDtreof Buddhist activities up to this day. In
1957, it was acquired by the German Dharmaduta
Society, and since that time qualified bhikkhw from Sri
L a n k a a r e r e s i d i n g t h e r e . P a u l D a h l k e ( 1 8 6 5 - 1 9 2 8w
) as
since 1903 one of the foremost Buddhist authors of his
time. Many of his books have been traaslatcd inro
English, one into Japanese.He had visited severaltimes
Indiq Sri Lankq South-East Asia and Japan. He studied
Pali in Sri Lanka, one of his teachersbeing Hiddkaduwe
Sri Sumangala. Dahlke adhered to the Theravida in irs
gtrictesiform, but eppreciated much the Buddhist art of
Japan. In fact, the temple of his "BuddhistischesHaus" is
i n t h e J a p a n e s es t y l e .F r o m l 9 l 7 t o h i s d e a t h i a 1 9 2 8 ,h e
published in his periodical "Neubuddhistische
Zeitschrift", later on renamed "Die Brockensamplung'
meaning pindapata - outstanding articles on the
 BUDDHISM IN
GERIVTANY, 334
Dhamma, many of them dcaling with modern socio-
logical and politicd problems from the Buddhist point of
view. In addition to his main works, he translated widcly
from the Suttapitakr, adding commentaries of his own to
these transletions. Himself a physician and natural
scientist, he exposed the fallacies of the materielistic
concept of life as it was held in vague by scientistsof'his
time. In conrtralt to them he explained how the Buddhist
teaching of kamma and rebirth did solve the problems of
life and death. PauI Dahlkc wa! an independent thinker
and contributed an explanation of.the paticcasamuppida
according to Buddhist exegesis.He refused to limit the
paticcastmuppida only to explain rebirth through three
existences:purt, present and future. Instead he showed
how it can be applied also to this very existence. It is
remarkablc how Dahlke derived frono the study of the
Suttapitrka and meditation without a thorough know-
ledge of the Abhidhemmapitaka - an explaaation of the
paticcasamuppida. which comcs close to the one termed
ekacittekkhenika-paticcasamuppida. (causal genesis
w i t h i n a s i n g l e m o m e n t o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s )i n t h e
Vibhngp.
One of his followers, Dr. Max Bruno (later Anuruddha
Thera) especially dealt in his thougbt provoking lectures
with the problem oI avijiiin the patrocasamuppida.
At this point, reference must be made to the long
controversy between Dahlke and Grimm concerning the
correct interpretation of enatta. Dahlke struck to the
official Theravida teaching and Buddhaghosa's commcn-
taries. Quite a differcnt view was taken by Grimm. ln his
"greet syllogism" he argued that while the five khaadhas
sre anicca, dukkha, snd anatta the real affa was to be
found behind them. This unfortunate controversy wer
taken up by many Buddhists siding either witb Dnt"tk. ot
Grimm. It brought about a rift which prevented a closer
cooperation of the different groups. After the Second
World War this rift has been closed. The disputed
question has been left to the discretion of the individual
and is no more a hindrance to friendly cooperation.
The second permanent centre is the "Buddhistisches
H a u s G e o r g G r i m m ' e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1 9 3 5i n U t t i n g n e a r
Munich. It is the headquarterr of the "Altbuddhistische
Gemeinde"which was founded, under another name, by
D r . G e o r g G r i m m ( 1 8 6 8 - 1 9 4 5 )a n d D r . K a r l S e i d e n -
s t t l c k e ri n M u n i c h i n 1 9 2 1 .G r i m m b e g a nh i s s t u d i e sw i t h
t h c o l o g y b u t l a t e r c h a n g e dt o l a w a n d p h i l o s o p h y . H e
s e r i ' e df o r s o r n et i m e a s a j u d g e b u t r e t i r e d e a r l y t o s p e n d
h i s t i r n e o n B u d d h i s t s t u d i e s ,H e w a s b o r n a s a R o m a t t
Catholic in Bavaria, Dahlke as a Protestant in East
P r u s s i a .G r i m m ' s b a c k g r o u n dw a s p h i l o s o p h y , D a h l k e ' s
naturai sciences.Grimm was a persona.lfriend of Pau!
D e u s s e n , w h o h a d s t u d i e d S c h o p e n h a u e ra n d I n d i a n
p h i l o s o p h v , e s p e c i a l l yt h e U p a n i s h a d s a n d ! ' e d a n t a ,
D a h i k - c c , e c i i n e Ct o f o u n c i a n o r s a n i z e d c o m r n u n i t v .
GERIVIANY,BUDDHISM IN
Grimm did, his community is active to this day. He wrote
many well known books on the Dhamma which have
been transleted into EngJish and other hnguages.
The third pcrmanent centre was established only after
the Second World War, in 1962, il Roseburg, 50 kms.
from Hamburg. It is the "Hau! der Stille". Many
seminnrs and sucnmer schoole are being held there, the
most of the time a bhikkhu ic in residence. Several
bhikkhusfrom Thailand have visitcd the placc conducting
mcditation classcs.
To foster the study of Buddhism the first European
Buddhist congresswas held in Berlin, in Setpember 1933.
It was organized by Dr. Wolfgang Sc[umacher, a pupil
of Dahlke.
In the middle of the Second World War, a ruppression
and persecution of Buddhist groups was started by the
Nazi government.The date was the summer of l94l aftcr
the spectacularflight of Rudolf Hess to Scotland in his
attempt to bring about a p€ace agre€ment. Hess was
known for his interest in exotic religions, and mysticism.
His very high rant in the political hiererch had acted
somehow as a protection for those religions,among them
was Buddhism. An additionel protection wat st first the
fact that Germany's war ally, Japan, was a country with a
prominent Buddhist population, In addition, Buddhism
was ari Aryan religion. Now, severalprominent Buddhists
were arrested, others were forbidden to teach the
Dhamm a. The'Gemeinde un Suddh a' in Berlin, founded
by Martin Steinke inl922,was closeddown, its property
was confiscated.
After the Second World War, the need for an engage-
ment of the religions in solving the problems of the world
was even more keenly felt than some 30 years before.
Buddhist establishments were reactivated again, new
groups were founded, e.g. the "Buddhistische Gesells-
c h a f t " o f M u n i c h ( 1 9 4 8 ) ,B e r l i n ( 1 9 5 1 )H a m b u r g ( 1 9 5 4 ) ,
the "BuddhistischesSeminar" Hamburg (l948) and the
"Buddhistisches Sekretariat" Berlin (1946). This time,
from the very beginning a healthy spirit of tolerance
prevailed. The terrible experiences of the war and its
aftermath were foremost in the mind of the people. The
wish for cooperation resultedeventuallyin the formation
of the "Arbeits-gemeinschaft der Kirchen und Religion-
sgesellschaftenin Berlin", all churches and religious
c o m m u n i t i e sb e i n g r e p r c s e n t e db y d e l e g a t e sa, n d s o a r e
t h e B u d d h i s t s .O n e o f t h e r e s u l t so f i t s e x i s t e n c ri s t h e f a c t
t h a t r e g u l a r l v t w i c e a y e a r B u d d h i s t l e c t u r e sa r e b r o a d -
c a s t o v e r t h e R I A S r a d i o s t a t i o ni n B e r l i n ( W e s t ) .T h i s i s
quite unique in Europe,
T h e a u t h o r i t i e so f B e r l i n ( W e s t ) t a k e a f r i e n d l y i n t e r e s t
i n t h e a c t i v i t i e so f t h e B u d d h i s t s , e . g . t h e s e n a t o r f o r
s c i e n c ea n r j a r t d e c l a r c dc p e n t h e n e w l v b u i l t l i b r a r y o f
 GERMATY, BUDDHISM IN
the'Buddhirtischcs Haus"; also financial help has been
granted.
Most Buddhists in Germany adhere to the Therav-adq
but there are alro followers of the Mahayana, e.g. the
active"Arya Meitrcya Mandala"of the Vajrayinarchool
(Berlin and other citier I952), and tbe 'Buddhistische
Gemeinrcheft Jodo Shi$hil" (Berlin l9j6). Since about
1964, also Zcn Buddhism has been fevoured by quite e
number of Germans. As in life it is in history: one cannot
dissect a development into exactly defined periods.
Though interest inZ-cn became cvident after the Second
World War, Zen was not entirely unknown to the
German public beforc.
Today meditation, both ^Sartpatthana and, Zazen, is
being prrctised under the guidance'of resident or visiting
meditation malten from Sri Lankq Thailand, and
Japan, mostly in Berlin and Hnmburg (Roseburg).
The Dhamma cnmc first to Gcrmany through books,
therefore a word rhould be added on rhe Buddhist
literature now available in the Gcrman language. tt is
immense in quantity end excellent in quality. Of th
original rcripturer prtctically the whole Suttapitakahu
been translated from the Pali into German, and the
Suttes heve held to this day the main interest of German
Buddhistg. Foremost among the translators were Karl
Eugen Neumann (1865-1915) Nyanatiloka Mahdthere
(1878-1957), Karl Seidenstttcker, Paul Dahlke (lBd5-
1928),Wilhelm Geiger, end Julius Duroit. Max Walleser
shouJd bc mentioned as a translator and intcrpreter of
Mahiyiaa rcriptures. Buddhological studies bave been
conducted et most of Crermany's univenitiss in the field
of Indology end Comparative Religir:n. A special chair
for Buddhological studier has been crertcd at rhe
Univenity of Hamburg.
Predictions about the future are impossible, speculr-
tionr rometimes futile. Concerning the future of Buddhism
in Germany much depends on the generel trend of
thought which will prevail among the younger geners-
tion. lt is almost certain that there will be no large
communities. Few personJ in this country become
Buddhists'by birth", the majority turns to the Dhamma
out of personal conviction. One should never forget that
Buddhirts form only a tiny minority of the German
people. The Germans have to e grc&t extent left the
churcher and are, at prclent much inclined to agnosti-
cism. But elready the end of this trend is in sight. Though
no considerable growth in the numbcr of "profesring"
Buddhists in to be expected, there is no doubt that
Buddhist idees have already widcly penetrated the minds
of the educrted clescer,This knowledge of Buddhirt ideer
and its beneficial influence will continue to grow,
335 GHANTASALA
Blbflo3rrphy: Eine Chronik, Buddhisuaus in
Deuttchland, Hrtg. Deutsche Buddhirtische Union,
Hemburg, 1973, S. Hanayama, Bibtiography on
Buddhitm, Tokyo, 1961.
GrHo Audcr
GEYYA the second of the nin+fold division or literary
comporition typcs'of the word of thc Buddha (nava'ngt
satthu sasana) which constitute the Tipit*t or the
Buddhist Canon. The word is derived from the Vedicgal,
meaning 'to sing' and it mcans 'that which should
be recited or !ung'. According to the commeDtator
Buddhaghose(ViaA.l, p.28) discoursesof rhe Buddhain
prose (sufta/ with venes or gpthts interspersed are
d.isignated es gewl and thc Sagithi vaga(chtpter with
verses) of the .9a^aryuttanikiya (,5. t, p. lff.) is given as an
example. See ANGA(2), GATHA and NAVANGA.
W. G.Wanrtu
GHANTASIL.{, village in the TsallapalliZemie6a6 io
"
South India, thirteen miles west of Masulipatern. [1gr€
are found the remains of an ancient Buddhist rite
exposing a glorious civilization thet flourished in Andhra
in the earliest period of her hirtory (K.R. Subramrniam,
Buddhist Reaaias in Aadhre, ll, l2).
Greet st[pas with surrounding monarteries have
existed at this Buddhist lite (B. Rowland, Thc An ead
Arcbitecture of Indi4 I 16). Excavetions conducted here
in the qusrter of the nineteenth ctntury have brought to
Iight the remains of a stfipa constructed of bricks, and
measuring 122 fcr-,tin din'neter. This rtilpa probably
belonged to the peri-od a few years subsequentto the later
works at Amardvati (q,v.). [ts sgmniniag walls show the
arraDgement of a dome not hitherlo met with in any of
the sitesexamined in South India. In the centre is a cube
of rolid brickwork, mearuring ten feet square. Around it
is a hollow chamber, nineteen feet square, with walls 4
feet 3 inches thick. Around this wall, and several feet
eway from it ir a circular wall 3 feet 6 inches thick and 5
feet l0 inches in exterior diemetcr. Around lt is enother
malrive circular wall of brick, mea.ruring l8 feet 3 incher
thick. Now, the cube at the centre is connected with tbe
wdls of the square chamber by four crorr walh, Tilis
chmber, in turn, is connected with the inngj circulsr \p&ll
by twelve ruch crosr walls and the inner circuler wrll is
connected with the outer circular wall by rixteen such
 GHANTASATA
crogr wails, Thus in the qusre space there are four
chaobers, between this square and the inner circular wall
twelve chamben and betwecn the inner circulsr walj aod
tbe outer circuler wnll sixtcen chambers, All theac
cbambsrs wcre lilled with r kind of black mud (A. Ree,
South Indiea Buddhist Aatiquities,32, See ground plan).
It hE! bccn conjectured (Rea, op. cit. p.39) that thc inner
circle reprctent! the original dome, whiJe the walls
outside it ere the foundations ol the processioneJpaths
around it,
Fragments of sculptur:d merbles of the Amaravatl
typc, porrcrsing thc snme refined qualities, heve been
found at Ghanterili(K. R. Subrameniam, op.rii. p, l7).
A beeutiful represc-ntation of a stupq similar to those
found et Amarivati, end a finely sculptured slab repre-
lenting tbe wonhip of the :acred Bodhi-tree are among
them (A Rer, op. cit. Pletes XXVIT and XXV[II). Many
of tl;e marble rlabs ere plain.
lt is not porsiblc to lEy whether a stone railing stood
around the rtlpa(Req op.cit. p.33), but if the sculptured
rleb mentioned above ir a reprerentation of this noonu-
ment, thcn it could bc seid thrt this rt[pa was very nnuch
rimilar to thet of Amarlvati with all its embellishgrents.
That the rt[pa had, like those at Amarivati and
Nrgirjunrkondg the get of fiw beautifully cerred iyaka
pilhn rt each of its four gates is indicatcd by an epigraph
from Ghantarili which registen the gift of one cuch
piller (cp. EL xxvlt, p.c).
Otbcr epignphs dircovered at GhantasalC(EL XXVII,
pp. l-{) elro contain meteriel of som. historicel
importucc though thcy give ncither datel, nor nrmel of
kingr or dyna.rtier. Two of them, incired on rculptured
pillan in e rcmerkebly decorative writing rimiler to those
of the epigrephr of the lkshavrku dynarty from
Jrggayyepete and Nigrrjunatonda and esrigned to
rbout the third cutury A,C., mention the construc'tion of
a rtoDc aradtpr with r gtndhakuti, a reiling (vdiki)
end e tor.Dt et Ukhrririveddhem-ana bv r resident of
Kentrteroh. Anotber record on r piecc oi rorlpture elso
m.niioor r a.ldapa doneted by a bouseholder of
Ukheririvddhamrna J. Ph. Vogel (E/. XXVII, p.2)
$inlc thet aitber Ukbuirivaddhemana or Krntal.arola
of tbsre epigrryhr wu the rncient nue of CUintrsita,
more probably the former. Incidentelly, Kantakasola ir
mentioned in en epignph et Nigarjpnakonde end is
pouibly idcnticel with 'the great emporium fanta.
kouyh' mcntioned by Ptolemy. The neme of the
Aprnrcliye rchool of Bnddhirm is found in rnotber
frrgmentrry inrcription end the record ir probably of e
domtion to the monts of thet rchool. Thece few epigra-
phice.l recordr from Ghenterili confirm the preveleuce
'Buddhirm
rnd flourirhing rtrtc of in the deltr of tbc
336 GIJJIIAKffTA a
Kll?i river dunng the carly centuries of the Christian en
(Vogel,op.cit.p, lff.).
IL R. Pcrcn
CHOSTS.SeePETAS
'Vulture Peak', is a hill ncar
GIJJHAXUTA, literelly
Rijagahq repeatedly mentioned in the PaIi canonical
literature as a frequent and favourite abode of the
Buddha during his life-time, Several suttss are reported
to heve been preached on occasionshe was residing there,
and several important penonages, both historical and
not, are said to have met him on the peak. The peak her
also been recorded as the place where he lived shortly
after the secessionof Devadatta, nn6 as the place from
where hc began his last journey before his demise,
indicating that it was his final rcsidencein the last dayr of
his life. Alexander Cunningham (Ancieat Gcography of
Iadit" Calcutta, 1921,p.534f.), on the authority of Hrilan
tsang and Fa-hsien, has identified the hill with modern
Seilagiri, (also known as Giriyek Hill), about two end a
hdf miles north of the old town of Rajagaha which b ncar
modern Rajgir (For location on map, see:Cunningham,
Archrcological Suney of India,l862-1865, Simlq Platc
xIv).
The Buddha reemr to have preferred this peek for itr
seclurion (D. ltl, p.36) and to have had plcerantcrt
memories of it, as leen from the Mahiparinibbiaa
Sutttnte, (D. II, p12 ff.) in the lart dayr of hir life.
Nwertheless, his stay there seems to have been quite
sveDtful.
Two evuts in particular appetr to be of importanc.e
from an historical point of view, rnd rcveral of the other
c,vcntr urociated with his life on tbc peak, ccntrc round
those two. One of these centrd events ir the visit of
Vrssrk-era, one of the chief ministen of Magedhr (D. II,
p.72ff., A.f'l,pp. lE, 2t) who goestothe peal to meet the
Buddhe at the requelt of Ajituattu to conlult the
Tercher'r opinion of thc Vajjir prior to hir propored
campriga ageinrt thcm.
The other of the two ccntrel eventt ilthe recerrion of
Devedette which aglin rcem! to heve taten place in the
lest rteger of the Buddhal clr,o?r. Tbcre rre four ruttrr
delivered on the perl recordiag tbe denuncirtion of
Devrdrtte, three of them named rfter Devadlls himrclf
( S . l , p . 1 5 3 ;A . I l p . 7 3 ; A . l Y , p . 1 6 0 ) .
 GIJJHAKUTA
In the Mahesaropama Sutta (M.1, p. 19l) we find the
Buddha philosophizing from the event. On enother
occa.rion(S. II, p. 155), most probably afrer the crisis,
e l t h o u g h n o t e x p r e s s l ys o s t a t e d ,t h e B u d d h a p o i n t s o u t
et Ma}re Kassapq Moggallanq Siriputta, Anuruddhq
Punna Mantiniputta, Upili and Ananda who are
wdking in the vicinity of his residence on the peak,
comments on their virtuousness and then, pointing to
Dcvadetta, describeshim as a mtn of low tastes round
whom have flocked men of his own category,
Once on the peak, Upaka initiates a quarrelsome
debate(tce Upaka Sutta, A.II, p. 182f,)with the Buddhe"
on the ethic of criticising others, probably hinting at the
Buddha's adverse comments on Devadatta. In fact, the
commentnrial observations on this sutta lend support to
this view. The commentary (AA.II, p. 554) mentions that
Upaka was a supporter of Devadatta and came to abuse
the Buddha on heering that he had declaredDevadatta as
dertined to hell. It is interesting that, when Upake rcturDs
from the peak, he goes straight to Ajitesattu with the
report of the discussion,and Ajatasattu chasticesUpaks"
praising the Buddha.
Whatever this may be, that there was a certain
atmorphere of intriguc against the Buddha while he wes
reriding at Gijjhak[ta in the lnst days of his life is further
authenticsted by the several conspiracies end schisms
referred to in the Vinaya(Il, p, 193f).The climax ro rhis
chein of intrigues, initiated by the warted ambition of
Devadatte for leadership in the Sairgha, cnme when the
secesrionist attempted to teke the life of the Buddha-
Having failed to do so through others, Devadatta decides
to kill him by his own hand, end one day, when the
Buddhe ir pacing up end down in the shadow of Mt,
Vipule, obviously meditating, the would be cssalin hurls
down r rock, which fortunately for the Buddhg haln
betweca two mountain crag!. A splintcr from the rock,
however, hits the Buddha on his foot and draws blood.
According to the Dhammspsda commentary (DhpA.
II, p. I64), which gives further dereils of this incident,
Devadatta climbcd Gijjhatlta (which thur mUst have
been in the close neighbourhood of Mt. Vipula) and it
war from here that he hurled the rock. The commentary
edds that thc Buddha suffered intense pain, and was
removed by the monks to Maddekucchi from wlere, at
the Buddhtl own reguest, they took him to Jivaka'r
Eango groyc, where Jivaha minisg3led to the wound.
The Vinayt palsege cited above dro suggests that
there wrr a moarstic settlement around, and that, after
this ettempt on the Buddhal life, in tbe atmosphere of
intrigue and the rurpicion engendcred by it, the loyal
bhikktu tried to protect the Buddha from eny further
denger from Devedatta by walking up end down in tbe
vicinity of the Buddhe'r ebode. Throughout the night
337 GIJJIIAKUTA
they pace up and down, pretending to be et their studier,
but the Buddha seeing them disnisscr them to thcir
dwelling places which couid not bave been to far eway.
Another rnsident rimilar in description to Devrdettr!
attempt secms to have taken plece while the Buddha was
living on the peaft, whcn again the Buddhat life ir in
danger: One reiny night rn intenre darkness, while the
Buddha was sitting out ox..the peak, rocks camc crr^rhing
down on him, and the Buddha at once realised thet it war
the work of Mara. The pa.rsege(S. I, p. 109)indeed drrwr
a vivid picture of the Buddha meditating alone on the
wooded mountain on a dark end reiny night, with only
tbe open sky above him, mecting the fear and terror
created by the felling boulders with tfireheroic decleretion
of his moral strengrh and his unshelability a! that of the
very peak itself. The Buddha brcals out in poetic ecltrcy,
as he realizel the presence bf Mara in the fear cnd ttrror
created:
"Thou there! could'st shake the whole of vulture peek
From top to base, no movement would there bc
In Buddha's whose i.l perfect liberty..
trsl. Mrs. Rhys Davidt, Kindred Sayings(pTs) I p,137
The peak is associated also with thc viritations of
celertids and often ilon-humnns. As early ar the Digba
nikiya itself two such visits ere mentioncd. The
Altailrye Suttanta (D. Ill, p, I95) describer rhe virit of
Vessavanq the lord of Yekkhas, in ihe compeDy of the
other Citumaharijita devas to gift the At-aaZtawctd-
rune to the Buddha a! e protecrion againri the disturb.
ances of unruly y*khas,which wer conridercd ureful for
bhikkhw meditating in the wilderness.
Pleccd even before this rutrq in the gameNikiya, is the
Mahi Goviada Suttenta (D. II,220f,)where
Pricasikhq visiting the Buddhe at Giijhrkllg eugsges
in a long discourse describing to the Buddha certain
ineidents which took placc in the heavens.
The.Samyutta nikiya (5. t, p. 233;ly, p.98) mcntionr
two virits to the peak, of Satkha, thc ruler of the gods.
The Paf,cesikha Suffa of thc Samyutte nikiya (S. IV,
p.l0l) also mentiong another visit of paffcasikha to the
peak, to ask the identical question and gct tbe identiet
answer as Sekkha does in the S*kha,Suffr (S. IV, p. 9g)
which ir placed immeditately before rhts pa&cuikhe
^9urra The visit of Brehmi Sahampati ir in thc Stmyuttt
aikiye (5.I, p. I53). The Ahguttartnikiya(A.lV',p.lS)
releter another incident in conncction with the virit of
two other Brehmadevar to the peat.
The Buddha war rlso visitcd on the peek by sevenl
important human penonrge. Besider Vrurtira end
Upete dready mentioned, there wu the princc, Abhaya-
kumrre(S. V.p. 126), the discuuion with whom racftrr to
heve been named Gijjh*ita Sutfa after the rpot where it
 GIJJHAKITT.q,
took place. Abhayakumira came to discuss the views of
Plrana Kassapa and weat away, a convert of the
Buddha. There werc also the three Paribbajakas
(wandering ascetics),the dogmatic Dighanakha who also
went away converted (M. 1, p. 49 i) and Sutevi after
whom the Sulavi Sutta (A. IV, p. 369) is named and
Sajjha after whom the Saijha Sutu (A. lV, p. 371) is
named, these last l*o asking the same question and
getting the same answer. The ^Sufranipau (Sn. vv' 487'
509) records a discussionon the merits of giving, carried
out on the peak by the Buddha, with Magha who visits
him there.
Then there are the visits of Sona (Sona Kolivisa of the
Vinaya) of Campi, Kassapa of Kassapagotta and
D h a m m i k a ( V i n , l , p . 1 1 9f . . ,A . I , p , 2 3 6 f . ;I I I ' p ' 3 6 5f ' ) .
The Buddha seemsto have left the peal from time to
time to visit others, usually teachers of rival religious
groups. There was apparently a community of
Paribbajakar living in the neighbourhood, in Queen
U d u m b e r i k i ' s p a r k w h i c h h a d b e e n a l l o c a t e dt o t h e m '
( D , I I I , p . 3 6 ; A . l l p p . 2 9 , l 7 5 , 1 8 5 ) 'T h e B u d d h ah i m s e l f
tellsMahinima, the Sakyan(M.1,p.92), how be visited
the Jains who were living on Kalasila (Black Rock) on the
slopes of Mt. Isigili and held dcbate with them'
Apparently, a Jain community of monks was living at
this time on the neighbouring mountains, while the
Buddhist community was living on Gijjbaklta and thc
environs, and the Paribbijakas in the valley below' Thir
valley, and the activitiesgoing on there could probably be
seenfrom the Buddha's abode on the peak' Therc seems
to have been much intellecfual traffic among thesethree
groups, lometimes members of others Sroups going up to
m e c t t h e B u d d h g a n d s o m e t i m e sh e c o m i n g d o w n t o
mect them. A visit is also mentioned (S. V, p.448)when he
decided to go with morlks to Patibhinat[ta. Here, when
a monk remarks on the precipitous nature of that peak,
the Buddhe makes it an occacion to use it as e simile to
illustrate his preaching that life can be a Sreatcrprecipice
than this. One may note in passingthat, thet a monk wbo
had been on Gijjhekuta should make this remark gives
room for the inference that PatibhanakGta was rteeper
than the letter peak.
The Buddha seemsto have sometimes lived alone on
the peak, taking shelter in the cave known as Sikare-
khataleng the cave dug out by the boer. Although his
stay in this cavc is actua-lly mentioned only twice, once
when he war virited by Dighankha and once when t'e was
dircoursing with Sariputte (.5' V, p' 233ff.) on the asavas,
this was probably his usual dwelling place whenever he
wa! oD the pcak.
Sometimes, however, the Buddha se"ms to have lived
on the peek in the company of other monks. The peak
338 GIJJHAK[NA
war probably cluttered with little dwellings (kuti) of
monk!, and tbe Digha nikaya speaks of a refectory
(upetthine s-d-a)on the hill (D, Il, p.12 cf . A' III p. 383)'
At timcr, other monks seemto have been residing on the
pcek while tbc Buddha resided at Rajagaha or elsewhere'
Two suicides that of Channa and Vekkali, in fact,
intenrify the tregic mood which seemsto hang over the
peak, in what was probably the last days of the Buddha'
Channa's suicide seemsto have taken place on the peak
itself, and it is Siriputta and Mehi Cunda, who were his
companions on the peak, who report the metter to the
Buddha. Vakkhali, however, dies at Mt. tsigili, but the
Buddha who had visited him at Kumbhakaranivesana
(Potter's Shed), where the monk was lying ill, goesfrom
there to the peak, and it is there, on the hill, that two
devas prophesy to him the coming death and "uttcr
releasc"of Vakkhali. The Buddha comes down again to
visit the sceneof suicide on Mt. Isigili'
lnspite of the prevailing seriousness,lhe bhikkhus
seemto have had their play'ul moments too, and it is
w h e n o n e o f t h e m s c a l e dt h e p e a k a n d t o o k a l e a p o f f i t ,
killing a basketmaker, that thc Buddha framed the
Vinaya rule ( Vin, lll, p, 82) prohibiting jumping for
bhikkhus. Again six of them scale the peak and throw a
stonefor fun and the Buddha lays down a rule againstthis
type of activity. ( Yrn. loc. cit.).
From all the above facts, and a few more bits of
information scatteredin the canonical texts, it is possible
to deduce some geographicaldata about the peak and its
environs. Gijjhakuta was probably of some height or at
lcast difficult of approach. Abhayakumara declares (^5.
V. p. 126) that he was fatigued by the climb. Varsakara
(D. Il, p.12 ff), had to aligbt from his carriage at a point
where the road to the peak from Rijagaha was impass-
able, rad walk up to the Buddha's sbode,
Therr is no doubt that the Gilihak[ta was situated not
far from the city of Rijagah4 as practically all referencer
mention this to be so. The peak probably formed one of a
cluster of hills, some of the othcrr bcing Mt. Irigili, Mt.
Vipula, Pa1{ava, Corappapita and the Patibhinekilte
which were apparently, all within walking diitance of our
peak. In the plain below wes Udumbariki's park which
wes within sight of Moleniv[pa, the peakcockb feeding
ground, on the bank of the lotus pool called Sumagadha.
Also flowing through the plain ws! the Sappini river. The
Buddha rettinS out from the peak et eveDtidc(seee.g. .24.
I, p. 185) could reach its banks and efter the dcbate with
Sarabha could actually get back to tbe peat the snme
night.
Debba, the Mellen, who speaks of Gijjbak[te as e
place distent from Veluvana (Vin,Il, p. 76; IIl, p. 159)
also mentions anumber of places, namely the Kilasill on
 GryANA(P)PACCAYA
thc slopesof Mt. Isigili, Corapabbata, rhe Satrapani ceve
on tbe rloper of Mt. VcbhEra,Sitavang Gornati Glsn and
the Tapoda Grove, all in cne lisr, a_longwith Gijjhakuta.
This list ruggeltl that Dabba could reach rhem all in a
single trip, as he does when he leads the monks to their
lodgingl in these dilferent places with the aid of the
miraculour light on his finger. The same list is also found,
with slight variationr, in the Mahipariaibbina Suttenta
(D, II, p. Il6), This Sutrante al3o menrions
Ambdetthiki es the firsr of the rowns the Buddhe
touched'on his last journey. It was rhereforeprobably the
nerrclt of them to the Giijhak[ta.
The Pdi commentariesrarely add any new incidents to
thoce elready mentioned in the cenon, but often elabo-
rate upon them. The only new incident mentioned in the
commenteries is, perhaps, the Buddhe's encounter with
the slaw-girl Punni who offcred him her rice-mealwhen
be wes on his beggingrounds at Rijagaha. On his return,
he relates this episode to the monls Et Giijhakura. The
Dhammapada Commentary (DhpA. IIl, p.32li which
referl to this event, records it as having taken placc a
rbort time after Dabbe's journey to Gijjhakuta
mentioned above,
But the most intcresting of these eiaborations is
perhaps the story which tircs to explain how the
Sfikarakhatalene came to be the habitation of the
Buddha. According to the Samyutta commentary (SA
l|l,l9'7, SHB,), this cavewhich is describedthere assreep
rad to be reached only by climbing, was found as a
h o l l o w i n t h e g r o u n d i n t h e t i m e o f K a s s a p aB u d d h a ,
when theearthwasstill young, but in theperiod between
Ka.rsepaand Gotama Buddha" a boar (sikara)dugup the
soil eround end the rains exposed the cave below. A
forester discovering it, cleared it up and furnished it and
finally gifted it to the Buddha, The threc Gijjha Jitakas
rJ.ll,p.50; IIl, pp. 330; 483) and tbe Migalopa fitaka (J.
ill, p, 255) mention Gijjhafuta as the abode of vultures,
b u t i t i s n o t c e r t a i nw h e t h e r t h e n a m e V u l t u r e P e a k w a s
derived from this fact of its habitation by vultures or the
shape of the peak which was rupposed to be like a
vulture'c beak. There is only one instancein the canonical
texts (,5, ll, p. 254 cited already) where vultures are
mentioned as being present on the peak. Cunningham
(loc, cit.) refers to a tradition according to which the
D.me u,a! derived from the fact that Ananda was
frightened by Mara in the guise of a vulture, and the
Buddha allayed his fears by touching him on the
lhoulder.
Bendule Javewardhna
GL.INA@)PACCAYA, means "support for the sick"
r.e,medicament,one of the four resources(nissaya)of the
339 GILANA(P)PACCAYA
bhikkhu 3 daily life. In prescribing the four resourcesthe
B u d d h a ' s a d v i c e t o h i s d i s c i p l e sw a s t o b e m o d e r a t e i n
'fhe
their use Buddha adviscceh*rnonks to bc abstemious
i n e a t i n g . T h e n i s s a - v aosu g ! : t r r r b e e n i o y e dt h o u g t f u l l y
and prudently, nnt fcr sport. irct f*r indulgencen , ot for
p e r s o n n lc h a r r n o r a d o r n m e n t , b u t j u s t e n o u g h f o r t h e
support, for the continuancc ef body, for ir resting
unharmed, to help thc iivilg of lhe higher lifc, with this
t h o u g h t : M v f o r m c r f e e l i r r g sI c h e c k a n d I s e t g o i n g n o
new feeling. Thus it wili serve as my maintenance,
blemelessand cunducive to comlort in life. Accordingly
the Buddhist monks had only one meal a day and they
were often referred to u ekabharfrki, "those having only
o n e m e a l a d a y " . T h i s p r e s u p p o s e st h a t B u d d h i s t m o n k s
live all their lives abstaining from eating at night, and_
refraining from eating at unpresercribed hours (yavaji
vam ekabhattiki rattiparatA virati vikalabhojane, A. L
p. itz1.
Thus during the formative stage of the Buddhist
Sa'ngha med icame n t (gi lin apaccaya ) w as the o nly nutri-
ment that was permissible for acl-eptanceat any time of
t h e d a y t o a B u d d h i s t m o n k t o k e ep t h e b o d y f i t . B u t l a t e r
on gilanapaccayacsrr& to be used in a developed senseto
include any beveragethat could properly be taken by a
Buddhist monk.
The Vinaya mentions the set of four resourcesof a
Buddhist monk: (l) robe (civara), (ii) food received as
alms (pindapita), (iii) iodging i,e. a place ro sleepand rest
(senisana) and (iv) decomposing (cattle)-urine as
medicine (pitimuttabhesajja, Vin. l, p. 5B). Ar some
other places(e.q. M.I, p. 33) rhe fourth requisite bhesajja
is more fully described es gilinapaccaya-bhcsajja-
paikkhara.
In this compound gilEnapaccaya(supportfor the sick)
stands as an adjective qualifying bhesajja-parikkbira,
"medicament as e requisite".Thus gilanapaccayadenotes
w h a t t y p e s o f m e d i c i n e sa r e a c c e p t a b l et o a s i c k m o n k .
This appears to be the original scnsein which the term
had been used. The Vinaya passagecited above makes
specific reference to the four resources of a Buddhist
m o n k . A c c o r d i n g t o t h i s p a s s a g et h e B u d d h a h a d
explained that a monk who had gone forth must be
contcnt with pitimutta, a decoction of gall-nut in
decomposing cattle urine as medicine (bhesajja),_the
fourth requisite, and ghee (sappi),fresh butter (navanita),
oil (tela), honey (madhu), and molasses (pizanita) are
sanctioned as extra acquisitions (atirekalibh" Vio. l. p.
58).
T h u s a t t h e b e g i n i n g o f t h e s a h g h aa s . a n i n s t i t u t i o n
there was a tendenry to keep to the austerepracticesand
pitimutta was the allowable medicine and gheeetc, were
additional articles permitted. Vinayafurther states that
these extra acquisitionsare mentioned as the five
 GTLANA(P)PACCAYA 340
medicines. Thus ghee etc are described as medicines al
well ar what may be agreed upon a! medicinc and
although they may serve a! nutriments for people yet
could not be reckoned as_substantial food (imani kho
pef,ca-bhesajjiai seyyathldam sappi navaaitam telary
madhu phiytary bhessajini cb-a bhesaiiasammatini ca
-aharo
Iokassa ahirattafr ca pharanti na ca olariko
paf,f,iyeti. Via.l,p. 199).Therefore the Buddha ellowed
monkr to mEke use of these five medicines during
prescribed hours if they had accepted them during such
times. Leter when neccssityarose, the Buddha relaxed
this rule and allowed the monks who had accepted these
five medicines to make use of them at all hours' It is
understood that this rule presupposesthe right time and
the wrong time for eating solid foods and soft foods ( Vln.
t, p. 200), Whcn solid food is defined in the Vinaya
medicinesere excluded (Vin.IY ,p. 83). According to thil
definition it is anything that constitutes medicine, if it
does not fall into the category of solid food, or soft food'
People could offer these five kinds of mcdicines to the
monks at eny time of the day, i.e. irrespectiveof the right
and wrong time prescribed for the scccptenc€of hard and
roft food. But monks are forbidden to live in abundance'
The Vinaya mentions that Pilindavaccha was customa-
rily a receiver of these five kinds of medicincs and he ured
to give them away to his companions. Thus his company
of monks came to live in abundance and the Buddha
prescribed that medicines which may be partaken of by
rick monks i.e. ghee, fresh butter, etc. having accepted
them may be stored at mostfor sevendays (Via'1, p. 209)'
One of the eight boou beggedfor end granted by the
Buddha to Visakha was that she be allowed to give
medicine for the sick. (giEnabhesajjan: ditury DhpA' )'
Visikhi was foremost among those who offered this
requirite to the monks. She went round the monastery to
find out what medicines and other requisites are needed
by rhe monks who visit or leave the monastery or those
who are sick or in need of such requisites' Whsn Visikha
cclcbrated the dedication ceremony of Pubbaramg nt its
conclusion she gave medicines to thc monks filling thc
bowl of each monk.
Apart from these five mediclnes which are more
commonly offered to the Sa'ngha, sugar thouSh mixcd
with flour and syrup could be made use of by monks, if
flour and syrup are added to su88r so as to make it hard
and if it cen still bc called sugu (thaddhanattiya gule
pif\tn pi charikam pi pzkkhipanti, so ca gulo tueva
samkh am g rcc h ati anuji ni o m i bhik kh aw y athis uk kam
gul"- piriOhuf,jitum, Vin.l,p. 209).The rule relating to
the use of sugar and sour gruel brings out clearly the
dirtinction between medicine and beverage.The Buddha
allowed sugar for a monk who is sick and sugsr-water to a
monk who is not sick (anuiinimi bhikkeve gilinsta
g ul rm agi fi n asse gul o d ak am, Vi n' L p. 226\. \\e Btddhe
GILGIT
ellowed the use of selted rour gruel for a monk who ir ill'
but for one wbo is not ill to male ure of it by using it u e
bcverege mixed with water (gifiausa lonasovir*am,
rgiliarr,se udekastmbhinaa,T pina paribhogena
paribhufrjitum (Yin. p. 225)
Later any drink which could properly be given to e
monl at any time of the day lerved tbc purpore of.'gifiat
p acceya tni ts second ary senr e which is equiv elcn t to p tn t
(beverage). Thus when the Buddha arrived at Apena, a
merket town of eirgg, Keniya - the marted {eir arcctic
preparcd abundant drinks and invited the Buddhe to
accept it from him. The Buddha acccpted hir invitation
and on that occa.rion allowed the monks eight kindr of
drink: mengo drink (embapinam), rosc apple drink
( a m b upimz,), "benan a-be rry " dnnk (c o capin tm ),
banana drink (mocapinam), honey drink (lr,tdhu'
pinam).In addition, the Buddha allowed the monks the
juice 6f all fruits except thc juice of the fruit of corn, also
thejuice of all leavesexcept veg€tablejuicc, tbejuice of all
flowers except liquorice juice and also allowed ruger-
canejuice (Vin. l. p. 2/,6).Thus any beveragewhich doer
not belong to the clars of soft food ir acccptableto the
monks. With this development the original renre of the
term gil-anapacctyt faded away and now it is in urage
almort Eynonymout with plts (bwerage). Therefore
even when tea or eny other beverageir offered to a monk
it is i nnv ari ably c all ed gi l-aaep acr,ay a; and when medicine
is given to a rick monk it ic called bhesaiia and not
gilinapaccaya.
It{. Kffrhvh
GILGIT, ancient site with a st[pg where in l93l the
discovery was mede of Buddhirt Sanskrit manuscripts,
about two miles west of the Gilgit cantonment (35-50 N.,
7+15 E.) in N.W. Kashmir.
It was in July of that year Sir Aural Stein reported that
some boys, who were tending their flocks above Neupur
village, clcared a pieca of timber sticking out on the top of
a smsll stone-covcred mound. Excevationr brought to
light a grcat mass of ancient manuscriptr, which palaeo-
graphically can be dated back to the sixth century A'C.
These Gilgit manuscripts, as they have been cdlcd
since then, represent the origind Sanskrit cenon of
Buddhism, and they are some of the eerliest so far
discovered in India, similar to those discovcred in centrel
Asia end Eastern Turkestsn. Up to thc time of this
discovery at Gilgit, these text were known only througb
their Chinese and Tibetan translations.
The lenguage of the manurcripts ir similar to thet of
tbe Mftivastu, Lalittuisttrt, or Suvatntprnb^bis+ and
 GILGIT
ir rcdly e Prakrit of e peculiar type, uring largely pratrit
words with Senstrit inlleaionr nnd Sanrkrit wordr with
prakrit inllrectionr, with endlcss irregularitier,
lack of
lcqucnce of tenles, indircriminate euphonic combi-
nltion!, arbitrery conjugationr end declenrion!, which
has become known under the neme of Buddhist Hybrid
Senrkrit. The uniformity in these irregulerities might
indicete thet a lenguage of this typc had obtained
curr?ncy at a certain pcriod in the extreme north-west of
Lndia.
The Gilgit manurcripk are written on birch-berk in
Gupte characters. As ir usuel in such manuscriptg, two
laminar of bark are pasted toge..herto make up one folio.
In rome c!!e!, partr of the lemiqs of one ride peel off,
while the corresponding portion of the other sidc of the
folio remrinr intact. They were kept in Srinagar till 1947
er the property of the Government of Jammu and
Karhmir, after which they were rcmoved and are now
prererved in the National Archives of Delhi. Formal
permirrion for publication was received from the
Government of Kashmir and the Central Government of
Lndia in 1958 and 1959, respcctively.
An intererting fact releting to the site where the
menurcriptr were found is that they were deposited
within the vault of a stilpa. The further fact that
tometime! in the colophon the nam6s are given of the
donor, his reletives and friends, suggests that the texts
were dcposited in the stupa as a sacred objects, for
the
purpore of acquisition of merit through the propagation
of the diarala{astras.
Ir was only in the third of four stupas built side by sidc
:rom north to south that manuscripts have been found.
Thir atlpa hu double bdsements, the lower of which
lneerures 6.6 metrcs (about ZZft.) on each side and the
next rcceding about 60 cm. (2 ft) on all the four sides.The
height of tbic st[pa is t2 to 15 metrer (4G50 ft.). The
diemeter which contained the manuscripts is 2.4 metrcs
18 ft.), In the ccDtre of the chambcr there were five
wooden boxes, the filth containing the other four in
which were kept all the manuscripts. One of the manu-
scripts is the gift of king Srideva Sahi Surendra
Vikramiditya Nanda, who appears to be a son of
Vikramiditya, son of Ranaditya, and reigned over the
Dard country during the reign of Baladitya in KaCmira"
which gives an additioud historical basisfor thc dating of
t-hemanuscripts.
It was through the activitiesof the Sarvastivadins,who
: enned out from Magadha to the North-west as a sequel
:cAioka'scouncilatPitaliputra,thatKaimirabecame"
:eDlre of Buddhist philosophical studies. They obviously
:referred a more Sanskritised version of the Buddhist
:anon to that in Pali based on the dialect of Magadha.
u1 GIRAGGA.SAIVIA"IJA
The tcxts found in thesemanuscripts are (l) Bhaigajya-
gwu Sitra, relating the great rerolution
lmiipra
aidhaaa) made by each of the scvcn Buddhas and the
effect of such resolutions, the preseDt manuscript being
the_ lasr chepteq (2)_Ekidala-mukha containing two
dheranis (3) Hayagriva.uidyi, a magical charm very
Iikcly to bc used as an amulet to be tied to e part of the
body ; (1) S e n a t t thig a tid h i s t hi na -s att viv al ok aa a -
b ud d ha-ksetra.s aad ardao 4 a d.hin ni, to which
several otier dharanrs have "-ry-ui
been added laier torether
with descriptions of their respective rites; (5) irt-"-
hadevi-uyikarane, which apart from being expository
s6 a1n in 3 elso tbe A st o t t srt! e t a- uim aIap rakhy a-storra in
full and a. mtntrtfoi the worship of tne goddess drl; (6)
Aj i t a sen a - vy-ak ar a n e - n i r d e! e ni m a t a ahiyaa a*irtr
4
which appears to be an admixture of Hinayina and semi-
Mahayana coDcepts, indicating the state of Buddhism
where the Mahiyana iderls of tbc panmitiswere being
included in the earlier ethical code, without the mori
developed fiayati philosophy; (7) Samidhirija Sutra
one of the nine principal texts of the Mahayinists, also
known ts Candrapradipa Sitra, refers to that stste of
mind in which Buddhar and bodhisattvas realise that all
worldly objects, thoughts and deeds, good or bad, are
non<xistent (abhiva) and it is this knowledge alone
which can rescue one from this world of delusion; (g)
Bhaisajyavasfu, belonging to the MllasarvastivCda
Vinaya, giving only those parts contrining stories of the
avadina type with a mere fourteen pages giving some
information about medicines with another tweDty of
monastic rules of discipline relating to the acceptanceby
monks of molasses, meat, fruits and uncooked food; (9)
Vinaya-vastu of the Mulasarvastivada Vinaya pitaka, of
which only a little more than a half of the original hes
been salvaged, showing a generel agreement between the
Sanskrit and Pali venions, although the manner of
putting the topics is different.
Blbllryrryhy: Nalinaksha Dutt, Gilgit Manuscripts,
Srinagar, 1939; Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandrq Gilgit
B ud dh i st m an w crip ts ( F acsimile edition), [ntern ation al
Academy of Indian Culture, New Detrhi, 1959; M,
Hackin, J,4S. Vol. 220 (1932) pp. t4-15; N. Dutt, Ifle.
XIV (1938), pp. 409-?A.
H. G. A vu Zeyat
GIRAGGA-SAMAJJA a festival held annuallly (AA.l,
p' 156;DhpA. p. 73) or from time to time (^5n,4.l,p.327)
io Rajagaha. According to the Buddhavamsa
Commeatary (p. 126) it was an annual festival held all
over India and datcd from the time of Dipinkara
Buddha. Buddhaghosa explains it as a festival held on
 GTRAGGA.SA]VIAJJA 342
level ground in the shadow of a mountaia outside the city
w a s a c i t y s u r r o u n d e db y
i l i n A . l " " ,p " $ 3i ) . A s R a . l a g a h a
mountains it. was quite natural that the festival has been
held near a mountein. The wotd giragga meaning
"mountain top" just refers to that particular place
whereas samajja is thc important word which primari-ly
means a gathcring of people, an assemblywhere not only
the various items of entertainment such as dance, 3on8,
mulic, (Vin. ll, pp. l0?-8, IV, p' 267) and tbeatrical
p e r f o r m a n c e s ( V i n A . I V , p . 8 3 1 , M h v u ' l I ' p ' 5 7 ) ,b u t d s o
food and drink were prcvided (ylrt. lV, p. 85)' People
from ell over Ange and Magadhq including tbe members
of royel families and ttre nobility, attended it and special
scatEwere prcpared for them (Vin' lI, p. 150, VinA. pp.
14, 83 I ; SnA. l, p. 321), According to the Avadanatataka
(p. tE5), peoplc from the six great cities Essembledat
Rijagrha to seeit, and among them was a dance-teacher
from thc routh. It was attendedeven by monks and uuns
aud when the Buddha wss informed of it he prohibited
that practice of the monks ( Yin. ll, pp' 107-8,IV, pp' 85,
267).
The Buddhist Sanskrit equivalent for Pali Srraggs-
samajjais giriyagra-samaja (Mhvu.ll, p' 57). The form
girivalgain girivatgusamagama (Av{.p' 185)which refers
to the same festival, according to Edgerton (BHS' II, p.
212),is a corruption for giryagtan giriyagrasamija, and
samigaaa meaning one and the same.
As has been mentioned, the important word is samaiia.
A phonetic equivalent of Sanskrit samajya, meaning
assembly, samajia is undoubtedly the same word as
nmijain the Sanskrit language as well as in the Asoka's
Rock Edict No. 1. According to the SrgalovadaSutta(D.
III, p. 183) therc are said to have been six items of
entertainment at such a szmajja, viz., dancing, singiag,
mulic, recitations, conjuring tricks and acrobatic shows.
lt ir more or lesssynonymous with ussava, nakkhattaalo'd
cbala,The inrepcrable association of samiiawith ussava
is borne out by the Uraga Jataka(ll,p' 13)where it is said
that the festive occasion having been announctd, there
was a large popular gatherin g (ussave ghosite maha-
samjjam ahosi).The term nakkhatta is generally used in
Pali to denote the seasonal festivals, and the phrase
ntkkhattam ghuttham or ghositam is of the same import
as utsrvttn ghositam, meaning: the festival has been
announced. The phrase nakkhattam kilati (J' I, pp' 50,
250) conveys the idea of the celebration of a festival,
making merry, taking a holiday. Chana(from Sk' tsaza)
is just another word (-I. III, p.539) which may be treated
ar a synonym of naftlrfiatta or ussava.
Thus .Samaia or samdja as a festive gathering was
intended, according to the Hathigumpha inscription of
Kharvela. to witness the exiting contests and musical
varieties. The contestswerc not only those betweenmen
GIRAGGA-SAMAJJA
and men, but dso between rnimals and animah. Thc
primary object, then, of samajja was entertainment by
exciting and amusing shows (visika4assana), of.which
typical instances are mentioned in the Bnhaajila Suttt
(D. l, p. 6). The list consists not onJy of such mucicel
varities as dances, songs, instrumental music, psntc'
mimes, balled-recitetions, minstrel's songs and opera; or
in fights between elephants, horses, buffaloes, bulls,
g,oat!, rams, cocks and quails or in magical and acrobatic
feats, but also some manly contests as bouting, fighting
with sticks, boxing and wrestlinS, end such mertid, and
military shows as mockfights, roll-calls, manoevcrs and
reviews, This is amply corroborated by the description of
rcetres in thc midst of e samaija as given in the Tittira
Jitaka (J, Lfi, p. 541),
Malalaskera thinks that the samajjas perhaps were
originally a pegen religious festival, a survival of old
community dalcing with an exogamic significance
(DPPN. L p. 765-5).This view may find support from a
reference lo samijaintbe Mahibhiratawhere it figures
as a Saiva festival accompanied by drinking, song rnd
dance (Hopkins, Epic Mlthology,pp'65'2n), The word
alco occurs in Vitsyiyana's Kanraslttt (i' 4. 26), not in a
technical, but in a general senseof gathering et the tcmple
of Sarasvati, once a month or fortinightly, where music
and danccs were pcrformed.
Kautilya in a pansageof bis Arthadistra(ii, p. 25) refen
lo samija, along with utsava and yitri, where the
drinking of wine was unrestricted for four deys; and in
another psssage(xiii p. 5) points out the conquerer'sduty
of conciliating the conquered people by respectinngtheir
love and devotion to their country, their religion end
their institutions such as ubava, samija and uiirr' tt
was by organisation of such festive occarions (ussavaand
samija), according to the f{ati igumphainscription, that
Khiravela sougbt to exhilerate the citizens of Kilinga
capital, in celebratiDg the success of his first military
campaign.
Asoka in one of his edicts(Rock - Edict No' t) refen to
two kinds of samaja, one good which he encouragesand
the other bad which be bans. He did not specify the
samijaswhich, in his opinion, werc good or those which
were bad, In the Rock Edict No. IV, however, he refersto
exhibitions of viminas, chariots, elephants, illumina-
tions; he may havc held theseexhibitions as good saaijas
which wcre approved of by the good (sadtumata)' In
banning the bad type where he saw many evils he may
have followed the teachings of the Sigilovida Sutta (D.
Lll, p. 183), where the Buddha disapproved of frequen-
ting the samajjas on the part of a good householder,
apparently due to the infatuation caused by them and the
consequentneglect of household duties'
 GOD
It was on the occasion of such a samajjathat Sariputta
(= Upatissa) and Moggallina (: Kolita) were disgusted
and decided to renounce the world (DhpA. pp, 734; AA.
I, p. 156;SnA.l, p.327).
Upall Karunsrstne
GOD.
Introductory. The English word God, probably like
rimilar words in other Teutonic languages, denotcd
origineily anthropomorphic beingsof a higher orderwho
wEre venerated. After the conversionsof the Teutons to
Christianity the word came to be applied also to the one
Christian omnipotent ,i'ritv. With regard to the many
"gods" believed by the Buddhists to owe their transitory
existence to their karma see the article "deva". In the
context of this article the word God is usedexclusivelyin
the sense of theistic dogmatics as a denotations of a
self-existent eternal omnipotent being that has created
the world and rules the destinies of the cosmos and its
inhabitants. According to this view, God is the universal
law-givcr; he is the final cause of all moral command-
ments and ritualistic regulations;as the supremejudge he
w a t c h e so v e r t h e i r o b s e r v a t i o n ,r e w a r d st h e v i r t u o u s a n d
punishes the trespassers.Througb his revelationshe has
imparted to mankind the knowledge necessaryto under-
stand the world and its history. Besidesbeing the Maker
end Preserverof all things visible and invisible he unites
all glory, goodnessand blessedness in himself, possessing
all moral excellenciesand qualities; in the highestdegree
he owns absolute holiness. lt is to him that the afflicted
turn to be relieved from their burden. and the faithful
hope for salvation through his grace.
T h e i d e a o f a p e r s o n a lg o d t o w h o m a b s o l u t ep o w e r ,
wisdom and goodness are attributed is commoD to
Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Vaishnavism, Shaivism
and many other religions. lt is therefore comprehensible
that the adherents of these faiths expected to find in
Buddhism also similar conceptions of a supreme deity.
Perhaps the French traveller La Loubere was the first
European who noticed that Buddhism diffen in this
respect from the teachings of the other great religiohs;
s p e a k i n go f t h e S i a m e s eh e w r o t e i n l 6 9 l : " I t h i n k t h a t
one calr establish that they have no idea of God."l Later
researche!have confirmed this statementin asimilar way
so that other writers frequently have dealt with this
l. [r Loubtre, Du Royaume dc Siam (Amsterdam l69l), vol. I, p, 395
2. Immanuel Kant, Vorlesungen tber physischc Geographie, chapter on Siam, see H. von Glasenapp, Kent und die Religionen des
Ostens(Wtlrzburg 1954),p. 55
3. A. Schopenhruer, Der Satz vom Grunde para.14.
4. W, Schmidt, Unpnngund Waen der Religion (Milnster 193, p. a)
5. H: Bcckh, Buddhismw @erlin l9l6), I, p.l2l f.,lI, p. 126 f.
343 GOD
subject. Even the German philosophers towards the end
o f t h e I 8 t h c e n t u r y a n d t h e b e g i n n i n go f t h e I g t h c c n t u r y
take up this point; thus lmmanuel Kant remarks: ..(the
SiameseBuddhists) rejectthe idea of a divine providence,
they think that tbrough a fatal nccessity vices are
punished and virtues are rewarded.'z Arthur Schopen-
hauer, whose philosophy had much in common with
Buddhism, tnade a special point of the statement that
Buddhism is an 'atheistical religion-. He thought it
"scandalous" that even scholars made it I habit of
identifying religion with theism.r
There are three ways in which champions of the idea
that all higher rcligion must acknowledge a creator and
ruler of the universetry to harmonisc Buddhism with this
conccption:
I. Some (e.9. Father Wilhelm Schmidr)a say that
Buddhism is a philosophy'and not a religion. But this
seems rather strange, becauseBuddhism has places of
worship, monastcries and other religious institutions. It
acknowlcdges also the existence of many supernatural
bcings (devas) equivalent to the gods of the Greeks and
other peoples or to the angelsof Christianity and Islam.
The Romans who coined the word 'religion" also did not
understand the word in a theistic sense.
2. Others (e.g. Hermsnn Beckh)s try to free Buddha of
the reproach of atheism by saying: Buddha wanted only
to teach s way of salvation, he disapproved of all
metaphysical speculations and left undecided the
question whether there is a God or not. But this is in
obvious contradition to the fact that Buddha has
explicitly denied the existence of God, in some of his
sayings, as we shall.seelater on. Nor is an explanation
offered of the reasons why all the schools of the HinayAna
have decidely rejected the idea of God and have been
eager to prove by argumentation that there can be no
IShvara.
3. Others like MahltmA G&ndhi have propounded rhe
view that Buddha taught the existenceof God, but that
his pupils misunderstood him. Another version of this
theory asserts that what Buddha tau;ht was a sort of
Vedflntic pantheism. One refers to the fact that the
Nirvlna of the Buddhistsis similar to some aspectsof the
Brahma of the Upanishads, But there are great differ-
encesin other respects.For nsver has a Buddhist taught
that the Nirvlna is the cause of the world as the
Vcdlntists do with regard to the Brahma which is the
"source of the world" (Brahma-siltral, l,2).
 GOD
So atl these attempts to construe an ancient "theistic"
Buddhism are nol succcssful. They do not take into
consideration the fact that even if one may have some
d o u b t s a b o u t t h e a u t h e n t i c i t yo f t h e w o r d s o f t h e B u d d h a
as they are recorded in the most encient texts, Buddhism
since at teast2000 years has been opposed to the doctrine
o f a r u l i n g G o d . N o r c a n i t b e u n d e r s t o o dh o w i n a s y s t e m
which flatly deprecatesthe idca of a permancnt, unchange-
a b l e s u b s t a n c ea n d w h i c h t e a c h e sa u n i v e r s a lc o n d i t i o n a l
origination, thc idea of a divine ruler and creatorof the
w o r l d - p r o c e s s e sc a n h a v e a p l a c e . l n d e e d , w i t h t h e
e x c e p t i o n o f s o m e l a t e r h y b r i d s e m i - H i n d u i z e df o r m s o f
the faith all learned Buddhists of ancient and modern
timeg are in conformity with J. Takakusu's dictum
" B u d d h i s m i r a t h e i s t i c- t h e r e i s n o d o r r b t a b o u t i t . ' t
Buddhlst arErmants agalrst the exlstence of God: Already
i n t h e o l d e r w o r k s o f t h e P l l i C a n o n m a n y r e a s o n sa r e
adduced to show that the suppositionof a ruler of the
universe is not to be reconciled with the belief in a moral
order of the world. So the Buddha said according to
Angattara- niktya:1 "There are certain recluses and
' W h a t s o e v e rw e a l o r w o e o r
b r & h m i n sw h o h o l d t h i s v i e w :
n e u t r a l f e e l i n g i s e x p e r i e n c e d ,a l l t h a t i s d u e t o t h e
creation of a Supreme Deity (issara-nimmAna-hetu)''
' S o t h e n , o w i n g t o t h e c r e a t i o no f a
Tben I say to them:
Supremc Deity, men will become murd.rers, thieves,
uncheste, liars, slanderers,abusive, babblers, covetous,
malicious, and perversein view. Thus for those who fall
b a c k o n t h e c r e a t i o n o f a S u p r e m eD e i t y a s t h e e s s e n t i a l
r e s s o n t h e r e i s n e i t h e r d e s i r et o d o , n o r e f f o r t t o . d o , n o r
n e c e s s i t yt o d o t h i s d e e d o r a b s t a i n f r o m t h a t d e e d ' S o
then, the necessityfor action or inaction not being found
to exist in truth and verity, the term "recluse" cannot
r e a s o n a b l yb e a p p l i e d t o y o u r s e l v e s s, i n c e y o u l i v e i n a
state of bewilderment with faculties unwarded."
ln a similar way also the verscs in the MahAbodhi'
JLtaka and in the BhAridatta-JAtaka remark that this
world full of sorrow and ill cannot have beencreatedby a
'I-hc
God (Brahmfl) who is good and almightY.t Buddha
rejects also the doctrine of the brahmans that there is a
God who cannot be seen,eand dcniesthat their traditions
a l l e g e dt o b e f o u n d e d o n r e v e l a t i o nh a v e a n y b a s i s ,f o r
t h e s et r a d i t i o n s a r e f o r w a r d e d b y o n e g e n e r a t i o nt o t h e
6 J ;;;;,;r;rrrrn'ts o t n u a a o , r , o , , o r " r h 1 ' , Z n d o d (' ,H o n o l u t ul e 4 e )p ' 4 5 .
'1 l a y i n g st r, a n s l e t ebdy F . L . W o o d w a r d(sL o n d o nl 9 l 2 ) , V o l . t , p . 1 5 8f .
. A. l, p. 174T . h eB o o k o f G r a d u aS
L J A t a k aV , . p . 2 3 8 ;a n dV l , p . 2 0 8 .
9. D. t, pp:238-243
10. M. ll, p. 169;cf, D. l, p. 239f .
I L D . I , p . 1 8: D . l , p . 2 2 0= M . l , p . 3 2 7
12.A. V, p. 60.
l J . D . I , p . 2 2 1t .
1 4 .A b h i d h a r m a - k o ( e t r alda.V a l l € eP o u s sni 2 , 6 4 ,d v o l . l , p . 3 l 2 l T . . S p h u t A r t h a p . 2,3B
1 5 . l a V a l l f eP o u s s i nE, R E v o l , l l , p . 1 8 4a .
3M GOD
o t h e r i n c i u d e di n t h e b a s k t t ( o f l o r e ) ; b u t n o b r a h m i n c a n
s a y t h a t h e s p e a k sf r o r r . i t i s o w n e x p e r i e n c e , r 0
A s b y s o m e h r a h m i n s o f h i s t i m e B r a h m Au ' a sb e l i e v e d
t o b c t h e s u p r e m eg o d , t h e c r e a t o r a n d r u l e r o f e v e r y t h i n g
a n t h e { a t h e r o f a l l , r ' t h e B u d d h a l a y s s p e c i a ls t r e s so n
t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o nt h a t B r a - h m Aa. b o u t w h o s ee x i s t e n c eh e
h a s n o d o u b t , c a n n o t b e a n o m n i s c i e n t ,a l m i g h t y e t e r n a l
being. Hc is no primorciial and imrnoital but oweshis
c r p e r i e n c ct o k a r r n aa n d i s l i a b l e t o c h a n g ea n d d e c a y . r 2
Nor is he omniscierlt, as is told in the Kevaddha-
s u f l a .1 l T h e R u c i d h an o t o n l v s h o w st h a t t J r a h m A c a n n o t
b e t h e c r e a t o i - o ft h e w o r l r l , b u t a l s o o f f e r sa t h e o r yf o r t h e
origin of this wrong view. (For this and for thc other
d e t a r l ss e et h e a r l i c l eB r a h m d ; .
I n t h e w o r k s o f t h e g r e a td o g m a t i s t sb e s i d e st h e s eo l d
a r g u m c n t sm h n l ' o t h c r sa r ea d d u c e d . ! aA n A d i s a r g a i . e . a
"first c;eation" with which the whole world-processes
b e g i n si s i m p o s s i b l e ,b e c a u s ee v e r v s t a t e i s d e p e n d e n t
u p o n a n o t h e i t h a t p r e c e d e di t ; t h e r ec a n b e n o t i m e w h e n
t h e c o s m o sd i d n o t e x i s t ,a t l e a s tt n t h e l a t e n tf o r m o f t h e
k a r m a o f f o r m e r b e i n g s l. f G o d i s t h e s u p r e m er u l e r w h y
did he not accomplish at one and the same time the
c r e a l i o n , p r e s e n ' a t i o na n d d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e u n i v e r s e ,
f o r a n c t e r n a la n d i m m u t a b l ec a u s eo u g h t t o p r o d u c ca l l
i t s e f f e c t ss i m u l a t a n e o u s l v , lT5h e t h e o r y o I d e p e n d e n t
o r i g i n a t i o nc o n t r a d i c t st h e a s s u m p t i o no f o n e c a u s et o
w h i c h e v e r y t h i n gc a n b e t r a c e d .T h e d o c t r i n eo [ k a r m a i s
i n c o m p a t i b l e w i t h t h e a s s u m p t i o no f a n a i m i g h t y G o d ,
b e c a u s eh i s f u n c t i o n w o u l d o n l y c o n s i s ti n b e i n g t h e
executing organ of the automatically working law of
r c t r i b u t i o n .T h e r e r s a i s o a d i f f i c u l t f i n f i n d i n g o u t t h e
m o t i v e o f G o d ' s a c t l n g .i f H e a c t sw i t h o u t d e s i r i n gt o a c t
h e m u s t b e s u b _ t e ctto a n o t h e r , i f H e a c t s b e c a u s eh e
d e s i r e st o a c t H e i s s u b j e c t t o d e s i r e a n d t h e r e f o r e n o t
i n d e p e n d e n t I. f t h e r e i s a n a t u r a l c a s u a l i t y- s o t h a t a
s h o o t i s p r o d u c e d f r o m a s e e db e c a u s em a n y f a c t o r sl i k e
t h e e a r t h ,t h e w a t e r e t c .c o m b i n e- t h e s u p p o s i t i o no f G o d
i s q u i t e s u p e r f l u o u sa, l l t h e m o r e a s t h e a c t i v i t yo f G o d
c a n n o tb e s e t t l e d .
1 - h ec o n c e p t so f t h e t h e i s t sc o n c e r n i n gV i s n uo r S i v aa s
the god whom thev think as the unique I(t'ara of the
w o r l d a r e v e n ' u n s a t i s f a c t o r yb e c a u s et h e y a t t r i b u t e t o
l u d h t c a r . v ' A v a9t ,Al rl 9a - 1 2 6 .
 GOD
their supreme being partiality insofar as he loves those
w h o w o r s h i p h i m a n d h a t e st h o s ew h o d o n o t . H e l a c k s
t h e q u a l i t i e s o f a b o d h i s a t t v aw h o d o e s g o o d e q u a l l y t o
a l l b e i n g s .T h e t h e i s t s o f t h e d i f f e r e n t s e c t sa r c a l s o a t
v a r i a n c e a s t o w h i c h o f t h e g o d s i s t h e h i g h e s to n e a n d
q u a r r e l a m o n g t h e m s e l v e sa b o u t t h i s q u e s t i o n . t c
Buddtrlst Athelsm and cooparadve Relglon: Buddhism is
not the only system of thought arisen in India which
d e n i e s t h e e x i s t e n c eo f a n e t c r n a l w o r l d - r u l i n g G o d .
Beside the agnostics,sceptics,and materialists who
disavow that there arc any supernaturalbeingsat all,
t h c r e a r e t h e ( c l a s s i c a lS
) e n k h y a a n d t h e M i m X n s f ,w h i c h
a c k n o w l e d g et h e e x i s t e n c eo f d e v a sb u t a t t h e s a m et i m e
contest the legitimacy of the theory that an l|vara
g o v e r n s t h e . c o s m o sa n d t h e l i f e o f i t s i n h a b i t a n t s . B u t
t h e r ei s a l s o a n o t h e r g r c a t I n d i a n r e l i g i o n w h i c h c a t e g o -
rically denies the being of a "kartil-hartfl" (creator and
destroyer): Jainism has raised a great number of
a r g u m e n t s a g a i n s tt h e i s m . I t s e e m sa l s o t h a t a l r e a d yi n
t h e V e d i c t i m e ss o m et h i n k e r ss a w i n t h e g o v e r n i n gp o w e r
of the Universc an impersonal force, the rta which
r e g u l a t e se v e r y t h i n ga n d s t a n d sh i g h a b o v et h : g o d s .B u t
also outside India there are numerous religions which
t e a c ht h a t t h e w o r l d i s n o t c o n t r o l l e d b y a p e r s o n a lG o d
but by an eternal cosmic and moral law. In China
e s p e c i a l l yC h u H s i , t h e c e l e b r a t e d f o u n d e r o f N e o -
C o n f u c i a n i s m ( 1 1 3 0 - 1 2 0 0 )h a s d c v e l o p e d v i e w s o f t h i s
kind. But the idea that the world arrdlife are not governed
b y a p e r s o n a lG o d b u t b y a n i m p e r s o n a l f o r c e o n w h i c !
e v e n t h e g o d s a r e d e p e n d e n t ,i s t o b e f o u n d - w i t h m a n y
a n c i e n tr e l i g i o n s .S o s o m e G r e t k s b e l i e v e dt h a t t h e g o d s
are subject to the power of Destiny, and similar con-
ceptions were also shared by ancient Romans, Celts,
Teutons, Babylonians and Arabs. This proves that
B u d d h i s md o e s n o t s t a n d a l o n e i n a s s u m i n gt h a t i t i s n o t
a personal God but an eternal law, that, is the principle
that controls the world.
The reason why the Buddha's views differ in this
respectfrom those of the theistic religions is that whereas
in the idea of God many conflicting currents of thought
a r e c o m b i n e d w h i c h B u d d h i s m c l e a r l y s e p a r a t e sf r o m
e a c h o t h e r . F o r t h e i d e a o f G o d e m b r a c e st h e i d e a so f a
crrator, ruler, and destroyerof the universeaswell as that
16. N0gArjuna. MahAprajf,AparamitalAstra, French translation by E. l.amotte, vol. I, p. 138 f., 562.
17. The subjoct of this article has been dealt with in daail in H. von Glasenapp, Buddhismus und Gottesidee (Wiesbaden 1954).
l. We make this statement recognizing the fact that in ccrtain instances the name'God'is also applied to the suprcme deity
non-Christis'n religions, especiallyJudaism (seealso note 4, below). But, as detailed below. it is our thesisthat such usagealways
reflects a (positive or negative) polemical atance is-A-vis Christianity, and this more limiting definition is put forward in order
highlight that polemic.
2. On abrolute and relative presuppositionr, with specialreferenceto the role of Cod in Christian thougt, seeR. G. Collingwood, An
Bsay on Metaphysia.
345 GOD
o f a n a u t h o r o f m o r a l l a w s ,o f a j u s t j u d g e ,o f a h e l p e ri n
need, aad of a saviour of mankind. In Buddhism thcse
s a m e i d e a s c o v e r a n u m b e r o f s e p a r a t ef a c t o r s . T h e
c r e a t i o n , r u l e , a nC d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e u n i y e r s e a r e
ascribed to the universal moral law inherent in the
c o s m o s ,a l a w w h i c h f i n d s i t s e x p r e s s i o ni n t h e a u t o m a t i c
'f
w o r k i n g o f k a r m a . h e r e i s t h e r e f o r ea l s o n o n e e d o f a
Law-giver and of a Judge, who allots rewards and
p u n i s h m e n t s .T h e r e v ea l e r s o f t h i s l a w a r e t h e B u d d h a s
w h o f o r t h i s r e a s o n a r e I ' e n e r a t e d .T h e t r a n s i t o r y d e v a s
function as hclpers in worldlv trouble and as tutelary
angels.Concerning the question of salvation the
B u d d h i s t s c h o o l sd i f f c r ; f o r s o m e o f t h e m s a l v a t i o nc a n
b e r e a c h e do n l l ' b y m a n ' so w n e n d c a v o u r sf,o r o t h e r s e c t s
t h e g r a c e o f t h e B u d d h a A m i t A b h a i s t h e e x p e d i e n to f
redemption. The feelings of devotion and reverence
w h i c h t h e t h e i s t i c r e l i g i o n s c o n c e n t r a t eu p o n G o d , a r e
t u r n e d t o w a r d s t h e B u d d h a sa s t h e s a g e sw h o h a v es h o w n
the way to NirvAna or to the Arhats and Bodhisattvas
w h o a r e o n t h e - w a yt o i t .
T h u s t h e s a m ei d e a s ,i m p u l s e s ,i n s t i n c t s , l o n g i n g sa, n d
h o p e s w h i c h d e t e r m i n e t h e t h e i s t i cr e i i g i o n sa r e e q u a l l y
a l i v ei n B u d d h i s m ;a n d a b o v ea l l t h e m o s t e s s e n t i afla c t o r
o f a l l r c l i g i o u s l i f e i s e x t a n t : t h e c o n c e p t i o no f a n a w e -
i n s p i r i n g h o l i n e s s a n d t h e s e n s eo f t h e h o l y w h i c h i s
d i f f e r e n t f r o m e v e r y t h i n gp r o f a n e . r ?
Helmuth von Gla*napp
G o d i s a p r o p e r n a m e o f t h e d e i t y w h o c o n s t i t u t e st h e
b a s i s o f t h e ( v a r y i n g ) w o r l d - v i e w s o r t h e o l o g i e s( l i t .
" t h o u g h t s a b o u t G o d ' ) t h a t a r e e s p o u s e db y p r a c t i t i o n e r s
of Christianity.' His attributes(which for most Christians
includc being, eternality, omnipotence, omniscience,
o m n i p r e s e n c e ,g o o d n e s s a n d c r e a t o r h o o d ) h a v e b e e n
matters of absolutepresuppositionsin Christian history.z
There are many other English names for this deity, which
are always capitalized (e.g. 'Lord', 'the Holy', 'the
F a t h e r ' ,' t h e S a c r e d ' ,' J e h o v a h ) , b u t t o d a y ' G o d ' i s b y f a r
the most common. Capitalization of the name disting-
uishes this Christian God from the 'gods' of other
religions, even though some of them, who are conven-
t i o n a l l y r e f e r r e dt o i n E n g l i s hd i s c o u r s eb y a n a t i v en a m e
of
to
 GOD 346 GOD

'allah', 'Yhwh) rather than'God', closely
(e.g. 'Visnu',
approximate the Christian God in the eyes of their
(Vaisnava, Muslim, Jewish)devotees'Becausethe theistic
religions, Christianity included, have beenprone to claim
e x c l u s i v i t yf n ' t h e b e i n g ,e t e r n a l i t y ,o m n i p o t e n c e ,o m n i -
science, omnipresence, goodness and creatorhood of
their own Gods. the creation and maintenanceof linguistic
rules for naming them have been highly charged affairs'
In bygone days, breaking theserules could even resuit in
execution,
The Christians (primarily missionaries) who first
began to produce English books about world religions
in the late eighteenthand early nincteenthcenturieslwere
'God', was
heirs to such a tradition in which the name,
never employed casually. Although by then misuseof the
name could no longer result in death, it was still
considereda road to perdition, lf it ever occurred to these
p e o p l e t h a t ' G o d ' m i g h t a p p r o p r i a t e l yt r a n s l a t en a m e so f
the supreme deity in other religions,the idea was shunned
'God' named the heart and soul of
as blasphemY.a
C h r i s t i a n s ;t o a p p l y i t t c t h o s e" f : c a t h e ng c d s " w h r s e v e r y
e x i s t e n c eC h r i s t i a n sw e r e e n j o i n e dt o d e n y w a s u n t h i n k -
able.
During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the use
of the name,
'God', became e mattcr of concern for
'God'
non-Christians, too, Calling one's own dcity
allowed I i./astrange of polemical responsesto Cbris-
t i a n i t y t o e m ? r g e a m o n g t h e p r a c t i t i o n e r so f t h e o t h e r
theistic religions (who were largely under ChristiaD
co lonial d omination). Certain Western-oriented Hindus,
fc,r example, used'God'in English discourseabout Visnu
or Brahma in order to make universalisticclaims.s Wiih
quite a different motive did certain Oceanic and African
'God'
peoples describe (to miss:onaries) their native
'Jehovah): a God
(named with someapproximation of
who had been all-powerful once but who currently was
totally uselessor dead, wortby of no more than nostalgia
or ridicule.6 Refusing to call one's own deity'God' in
English also had polemicd force, as it ulowed a Muslim
'God' but 'Allah'or
or Saiva to venerateas God not
'Siva'. In the West, too, the useor not of 'God'by scholars
and seekersof non-Christian religions reflectedtheir own
beliefs and interpretations.
The first serious studies in Englisb of BuddhismT,
which were produced by and for Christian missionaries
(who needed to learn about the religions they encoun-
tered in order to combat thcm), did not, of course,apply
'God'to the god known by thc carly Buddhists:
the name
Brahma (q.v.). Most subsequent writers have followed
suit: the god of Buddhist mythology and philosophy is
'Brahma'
conventionally called in English rather than
'God',
But in the Buddhist case,opting against the use of the
'God'does not reflect a biddcn polemic
English name
with Christianity, for Buddhists have no interest in
defending any God: Brahmais the God of Brahmins, not
Buddhists. The tsuddha and his followers borrowed the
name from their Brahmanicd counterplrts in order to
refute, not only their theology but the basis of all
theologies:the idea of God. With philosophy as well as
mythology the Buddha reducedBrahmC from Godnessto
participation in the pain of somsirs, denying all the
atlributes ascribed Him by thc Brahmins and portraying
Him as, at best, a pious Buddhist. As this has bcen
discussedin detail alrcady (s.v. Brahma) it need not be
repcatedhere. But it is important to note that Buddhism's
non-theoctntrism hns been a large part of its appeal to
nineteenth and twentieth century thinken wbo are
unable to accept God as an absolute presupposition.
Although Neitzsche had Zoroester declare thc death of
God, his anthropoccntrism - his belief thet men cen
3urpassGod - was largely a produpt of his knowledge of
Buddhism. The first great English traaslatorsof Buddhist
texts and scholan of Buddhism such as F' Max Milller
(editor of the Sacrcd Books of the Eastand SacredBooks
of the Buddhists series)and T. W. Rhys Davids (founder
of the Pali Text Society) - established the lesting
'Brahmi' rather than
convention of calling Brahma
'God', not in order to avoid blalsphemy (like their
missionary predecessors) as much as to prcserve

j, For the origins of Euro-American dircourse on world religionr rc Wilfred Cantwell Smith, The Meaning and End of Religton.

4. Judaismpresentranexceptiontothirgeneralization;thesupremcdeityoftheHebrewBibltharoftenbeencalled'Cod'inEnglirh
dircourse. Christianity incorportes the Hebrew Bible of Judaism into its own Holy Bible as an "Old Tertment"that has been fulfillcd
and thus rupreseded by the "New Tertment" containing the wordr of Jesus and his discipler. Chrirtianr thur belicve that their God
'Old" and "New" Testamentr by claiming that
rs the supreme deity of the Hebrcw Bible, and account for dircrepencies bctwecn the
Jceus understood God better then the authorr of the Hebrew Bible. ln responseto thir appropri^rtion rnd develuation of Judairm by
'God'to name the lupreme deity of the Hebrew Biblc, mlny modern writerr refer to Him by
Christienity, emUeAaeain the ure of
'God'
Hebrew cultom ar'Yhwh'or
'God' in the writings of the Arye rnd Brehrno Srmej, and
5. Among many porsible examplcs we might cell ettention to the use of
Mehatma Grndhi.

6. S€e Jonethan Z. Smittr, "Thc unknown God'inhll[ Imagining Religton.

j. E.g. Howard Malcolm'r Travelr in South-east A.cizr.lid R. Spence Hardy'r Manual ol2uddhism.
 GODDESSES
B u d d h i s m ' s G o d l e s s n e s sY, e t t h e r e i s i r n o y i n t h e u s e o f
'Brahma' rather than 'God'
by writers in English on
Buddhism: it renders non-polemical one of thc most
p o l e m i c a l s t a n c e st a k e n b y t h e e a r l y B u d d h i s t s .T r a n s -
Iators could more forcefully capture the spirit of the
'God',
Buddhist critique in English if they called Brahma
In ancient India, too, the Buddha'spolemic against
theocentrism evoked change. Even some non- Buddhists
d e v e l o p e da n t h r o p o c e n t r i cw o r l d - v i e w s ,O t h e r s ,t h e i s t s ,
e x p l i c a t e dn e w t h e o l o g i e st h a t a t t e m p t e dt o u n d e r c u tt h e
Buddha's significance just as he undercut Brahma's:
theologies of a Visnu whose cosmic lifespan is so
immense that thc Buddha, including all his kalpas of
B o d h i s a t t a h o o d ,i s m e r e l y o n e o f t e n d i v i n e i n c a r n a t i o n s ;
o f a S i v a w h o s e m e d i t a t i v e a c h i e v c m e n t sm o c k t h e
Buddha's austere samadhi with thcir erotic reveiry. ln
r e s p o n s et o t h e s en e w t h e o l o g i e sB , u d d h i s t si n t u r n b e g a n
t o r e f o r m u l a t e t h e B u d d h a ' s n o n - t h e o c e n t r i s m .S o m c
(like the Theravadins) argued in new ways that salvation
is a human rather than divine affair; Visnu is allowed all
His glory, but He stands at the feet of the Buddha ir.
Buddhist temples, humbly recognizingthat Godness
p a l e si n c o m p a r i s o n w i t h B u d d h a h o o d . O t h e r s ( l i k e t h e
a s p i r a n t st o b i r t h i n t h e P u r c L a n d o f A m i t a b h a ( q . v . ) )
began to conceive of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as
omniscient,omlipresent and eternalrivals to the Godness
of a Visnu or Siva.
I n m o d e r n t i m e s , B u d d h i s t sw h o a J f i r m t h e a n t h r o p o -
centrism of the Buddha (espcciallythe Theravddins)have
been occasionally vocal critics of the Christian God; as
exempleswe might mention the Buddhist participants in
t h e P a n a d u r a v a d a ( q . v . P a n a d u r a - d e b a t e s )a n d
A n a g a r i k a D h a r m a p a l a ( q . v . ) . r B u d d h i s t sw i t h f a i t h i n a
G o d l i k e B u d d h a ( e s p c c i a l l yt h e p r a c t i t i o n e r s o f S h i n
Buddhism have, on the contrary, tended to pursue
ecumenical relations with Christians by means of the
"Buddhist-Christian Dialogue" which seeks to find a
c o m m o n ( t h e o l o g i c a l ) b a s i sf o r t h e p r a c t i c e a n d p h i l o -
sophy of both religions.
Gumpda Dharmaslrl rnd Jonethan S- Wafters
GODDLSSES,even though representedin pre-Aryan and
V e d i c r e l i g i o n , s e c mt o h a v e c o m e i n t o p r o m i n e n c ea t a
I a t e r s t a g e o f t h e r e l i g i o u s d e v e l o p m e n ti n I n d i a . T h e y
o c c u p y a v e r y s u b o r d i n a t ep o s i t i o n i n t h e e a r l y V e d i c
b e l i e f s .M o s t o f t h e g o d d e s s e sw h o a r e i n c l u d e d i n t h e
referenccto the idcas of modern Christian
For a recent, system&tictreatment of Theravida Buddhist antithcology, with special
Dharmasiri, A Buddhist Ctitique of the Chistian Conctpt of God'
theologians, re Gunapala
347 GODDESSES
Vedic pantheon are either divinities of natural
phenomenaor appearas wives of great gods. Manv of
t h e m h a v e n o i n d e p e n d e n ct h a r a c t e ra n d h a r d l y a n y t h i n g
i s m e n t i o n e d a b e ' r t t h e m e x c e p t t h e i r n a m e sw h i c h a r e
s i m p l y [ o r m e d f r o m t h e n a m e so f t h e g r e a t g o d s , o f t e n
with the addition of the feminine suffix inr. Thus,
Rudrani is derived from Rudra; Varunani and Indrani
f r o m V a r u n a a n d I n d r a , r e s p e c t i v e l yO. f t h e i n d e p e n d e n t
g o d d e s s e sU s " s u p p . " r s t o b e t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t . B u t
e v e n s h e i s n o t e q u a l t o t h e g o d s . S a r a s v a t i ,a n o t h e r
important goddess of the \g-veda is ranked with the
l o w e s tc l a s so f d e i t i e s .H o w e v e r ,i n t h e l a t e r V e d i c p e r i o d ,
reflected in the Brahmanas and Puranas, goddesses
g r a d u a l l y b : g i n t o a c q u i r ei m p o r t a n c e .
Even though a noun of the feminine genderis most
f r e q u e n t l y u s e d f o r ' d e i t y ' ( d e v a t a )i n P a l i g o d d e s s e a s re
s e l d o m s p e c i f i c a l l y r e f e r r e d -t o i n e a r l y B u d d h i s m .
However the term deva-dhita is often met with in
B u d d h i s t l i t e r a t u r e , i n c o n t r a s t t o d e v a - p u t f a ,w h e n i t
connotes 'divine damsels', but they are neither full
f l e d g e d g o d d e s s e sn, o r d o t h e y p l a y a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n
t h e r e l i g i o u sb e l i e f so f t h e t i m c . T e x t u a l e v i d e n c es u g g e s t s ,
that the early Buddhist pantheon was made up of the
important Vedic gods and alsoof a few godsof the folk
r e l i g i o n( D . I I , 2 5 3 ;I I I , p . I 9 4 ; M . l , p . 2 8 0 ) .O n b e i n g
taken over to the Buddhistpanthcon, thev lost much of
their importance and were made subordinate to the
B u d d h a a n d h i s e m i n e n t d i s c i p l e s .T h e y , l i k e a l l o t h e r
b e i n g s ,a r es u b j e c t o b i r t h , d e c a ya n d d e a t h .A s g o d d e s s e s
w e r e n o t p r o m i n e n t i n t h e V e d i c p a n t h e o nt h e y d o n o t
seemto have receivedthe attention of the early Buddhists
t o o . A l t h o u g h t h e g o d d e s s eS s i r i ( : 5 . ; ; i s m e n t i o n e ds h e ,
t o o , d o e sn o t a p p e a ra s a f u l l f l e d g e dg o d d e s s( D P P N . l l ,
p . I 1 3 9 ) . T h u s , t h e i m p o r t a n t d e i t i e s a c c e p t e db y e a r l y
Buddhism are exclusivelymale.
E v e n i n e a r l y M a h a y a n aB u d d h i m , g o d sa n d g o d d e s s e s
a r e n o t g i v e n p r o m i n e n c e .B u t w i t h t h e d e v e l o p m e n to f
p o p u l a r M a h a y a n i s m , t h e i m p o r t a n c e a t t a c h e dt o g o d s
a n d g o d d e s s e si n c r e a s e d .U n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e o f
Hinduism, which is quite rich in its pantheon,popular
M a h a y a n i s m , t o o , i n c r e a s e d - i t sp a n t h e o n ._ G o d d e s s e s s ,
for example, Gauri, Lalsmi, Durga, Ka1i, Sarasvati,
w e r e o f g r e a t i m p o r t a n c e i n t h e H i n d u p a n t h e o n .T h i s
m a y h a v e p r o m p t e d t h e M a h a y a n i s t st o c r e a t eg o d d e s s e s
by deifying objects of natural phenomena, abstract ideas
and other objects such as books, and attach importance
to them.
 GOT,DESSES
It is by the introduction of Tara, the deification of the
abstract idea of 'crossing-over'theoceBnof samsira, that
the way was paved for numerous goddesscsto enter the
Buddhist pantheon. Soon after the appearenceof Tari
another important goddesrarose.She is Prajfiaparamita,
the deification of the important Mahiyina text under the
Jame name. Gradually, deification gained importance
and this resulted in the increase of the pantheon. New
gods and goddcssesarosein quick succcssion.MahCyana
texts themselvesbear witnessto how new dcities cmergsd
and gained prominencc. One such clear case is the
deification of the earth into a goddess.Tlrc Mahavastu
(II, p. 282) and the l^alitavistera(pp.232 f .\ quite cleariy
depict the different stegesof her emergenceas a goddess.
( S e eB H U M I - S P A R S A M U D R A )
But it was with the rise of Vajrayana, in which the
coddesse_s came to play integrat role in the form of Sakti,
or dfuini that goddessesreally came into prominence,
tn Vajrayana deification became a very common
feature, Mainly in order tr popularise their tenets Vajra-
yinists carricd out rieification to the furthest
extreme. They deified airrrostcvcrything that drew their
attention. The concept cf Dhyanibuddha (q.v.) along
with the concepts of kula (family) and Ca,ktr(q.v.)
enhancedthe prccessof deification. Thc Dhyanibuddhas
were regarded as the heads of the five kulas, and they
together witl: their Ca,ktrswere consideredas progenitors
of all the gods and goddesses.The wide acceptanceofthe
conccpt of {akti resulted not only in the increasein the
panthcon, but also in the increasein the importance of
goddesses.The popular bclief was that a god was more
disposed to listen to the invoker when worshipped in the
comprny of his Cakti.In Tibct, where this belief was very
stronB, goddessesacquired great importanc€.
In the early period of Vajrayana deification was
regarded as a result of an elaborate psychic process.But
later gods end goddesseswere produced according to the
whims and fanciesof the Vajrayanists. The meditations,
explained in the Sidhanas,left much room for imagi-
nation on the part of the worshipper. The worshippers
who revelledin deifying, zealouslyfollowed the examp!es
set by the Mahayanists and beganto deify texts, abstract
ideas and objects. Following the deification of Prajfia-
paramit6, th! Vajrayanists turned into a godoessthe text
Mahaniyun. The goddessfiri sened as a good example
of dcification of an abstract idea. This may have
prompted the Vajrayinists to deify the concept'of Sinya
into a goddess,named Nairatma.
l. Compare also the cares of Janguf i PrajfiaparamiG, va,jravardhi ctc.
2. TheattributionofnumerousdeitiestothefiveDhyinibuddhe4oe
than one Dhyanibuddha See the ce.ceof Vasudhari who ir regcdcd as the emanation of both Akrobhyr end Retnrnrnbhsva
348 GODDESSES
Thc Vajraya:rjsts, in trying to explain the natutt d
deities, stated thet they are menilestationr of.dunya.lt
was believed thnt thesedeities emanating from.fuzye mny
take an-v-colour accorcllngto the Tantric rite in which thcy
are invoked. The stock number of coloun acceptedby the
Vajrayinists was five, corresponding to the five cosmic
elements.By attributing thesecolours tbe samedeity war
conceived in different forms'. Thus thc goddessTiri, who
had gained much popularity by this time, wac concciwd
in different forms such at Sita-Tari (white-Teri),
dyama-Tard (green Tara') and finally in twentyone dif-
ferent forms. The Vajrayinirts also accepted that .fuayr
manifesi: itself as different deiticr in accordance with the
different functions it had to perform. Thir resulted in the
rise of pacific and angry forms of the same dcity. Tiri,
who was originally B most pacific goddess, war elso
though-t of as manifesting hereself in algry formr ruch rr
Mahicina-Tiri (Ugra-TirC), Ekajati, Bhrkuti aad
Kurukulla, The Vajray[nists were so enraptured with
deification that they represented the rame deity in
different forms by varying the numbcr of heads rnd
bands and also by v-arying the rymbols and gesturer
displayed by them. Effccts of thcse att?mpts art seen in
the numerous manifestations of the seme deity. For
example, the goddess Kurukulla" henelf another form of
Tir4 is represented in five different forms er Sukla-
Kurukulli, Tarodbhava-Kurukulld, Uddiyine-
Kurukulla, Astabhuj a-Kurukulli aad Miyijilakramr-
Kurukulla. Thus ell the important godder$lr werc
represented in diffcrent forms aad were held in high
elteem, because they wcre considered as crpable of
performing important functionr. Thur, Kunrkulli wu
invoked by unhappy loverr, end another godderr crlled
Parnr3abari was invoked during cpidemicr. l-irguli wu
regerded by the Vajrayenist! e! the godderc who curer
rnal+.bite end was invoked for that purpote.
All the goddesccsin the Vajrayana pentheon arc not oI
equal rank. Their rank varies according to their impor-
tance and the part played by them in Vejrayena belicfr.
One and the game godde:s mey be of much importencc iu
one form end of lessimportance in another. The godderr
Mirici is an important emenetiou of Vairocanq but her
manifestation as A{okakanti is of little importaacc end
she is represented a! an attendant of Khadirivani-Ttrl
Thus, of the three emanations: of tbe Dhyini'buddhe
Amitibha, Bhrkuti a:rd Kurukulli rre more importrnt
than Mahasitavati who is elro one of the five protect-
resses.There ere ebout fourteen mejor emenatiour of
Aksobhye and most of them are of fietce appcerance. Of
notrccmtobeconrirtentfor,theremedeityirrrrignedtomore
 GODDESSES
these fourtcen Mahaclna-Tara, Janguli, Ekajata,
VidyujjviJakarili, Parnaiabari,liairatmq as weil as ihe
two pacific goddessesPrajflapiramita aad Vasudhara,
Bre more important than Vajracarcika, Mahamantranu-
sarini, Mah aprltyangira, Dvajagrakey[ra, J fl an adakini
and Vajradakini. There are about sevengod_desEes ema-
nating from Vairocana and of these Marici, Usnisa-
Vijaya, Vajravarahl and Cunda are very imporiant.
T h e s eg o d d e s s e sa p p e a ra l s ou n d e r n \ r m e r o u sf o r m s . T h e
o t h e r t h r e e n a m e l y , S i t a t a p a t r a - a p a r - j i t a ,M a h a s a h n s -
rapra-mardaniand Grahamitrki are not so important.
A b o u t t c n g o d d e s s e se m a n a t ef r o m A m o g h a s i d d h i a n d
of these at least six are different forms of Tari, namely,
-X
Kh edi r iv anl-Tari, U atr ri -f i ri, v aJy a-Tar I, Sad b hu-
ja-Tar[, Dhanada-Tara and Sita-Tara. Others ari Parna-
sabari, V ajrairnkhala, M ahimiy[ri and V ajragandhari.
Two forms of Tara such as Vajra-Tira and Prasanna-
Tara are included among the six goddessescmanating
f r o m R a t n q s a m b h a v a .O t h e r s a r e V a s u d h a r a ,A p a r a j i t a ,
Vajrayogini and Mahapratisari, who is also the principal
goddessin a group of five protector goddesses.
The Vajrayanists were not content even after carrying
out the processof deification till they ran out of objects
a n d c o n c e p t st h a t s u i t e d t h e i r p u r p o s e .T h e n t h e y b e g a n
to deify almost all objects and concepts irrespective of
their significance in religious bclief, This processaddcd
numcrous groups of collective goddessesto the Vajra-
yana pantheon. They created six goddessesby deifying
the six quartsrs. Another group of five were formed and
named as five prot?ctr?s3es (paflcaraksa4evati). There
are other groups whose origin and iunctions are not clcar.
O n e s u c h g r o u p i s t h e e i g h t G a u r i g o d d e s s e sV. a r i o u s
modes of dancing such as lasya and nrtya, as well as
numerous musical instrumcnts such as the lute (vina),
flute (vamia), tambourine (muraja) and kettle drum
(mukunda), were turned into goddess.Luminous bodies
such as the sun, moon, stars and lightcning,too, were
conceived as goddesses.Even such objects as tbe door
planks, the lock. the keys and curtains were turnedjnto
goddessrs under the name Kapat6, TAlike, Kuilcl, and
P a t a d h i r i n i , r e s p e c t i v e l y . r1 n ' r a d d e d f o u r m o r e
goddessesto the pantheon by creating four animal faccd
goddessesnimely Hayisyi, Sukrasya, Svana.sya,and
Simhasya. The paramiras (perfection) the vaCiris
(rpecial powcrs acquired by bodhisartvas) different
bodhisettvebhumis (stages),. dharanis and the four
pratisamuis (analytical knowledge) were all turned into
goddcsses.
3. B.Bhattacharye(ThelndianEuddhistlconography,p.316)isofopinionthBtthedoor-plankaswellastheorherpartsofthedoor
were deified as thc door war held to be important because of its power of giving protection against thieves, anims.ls and intruders.
4, They increased the number of piramitas, valitas a.ndbodhisattva-bhimis to twclvc by adding two new ones into
two piramitar edded were Retnaperamiti and Vajrakarma-pdramita- The niw valitk and bodhisattva-bhimis were Tathata-
vaJite and Buddha-bodhiprabhivaJiti, Adhimukticarya-bhlmi and Samantaprabhi-bhumi.
349 GODS
Beside these goddesseithe Vajrayana pantheon con-
sists also of a few qoddessestaken over from the Hindu
p antheon. Sara.svati,G anapatihrdaya V arahi, Clmund d
are some of thc goddessesthus incorporated in the
Buddhist pantheon (see also APASAI"AS, DETFI-
cATroNi.
S. K. Nrmyahhm
GODS. The concept of gods, though present in
Buddhism, does not either form part of its central
teachings or serye as a basis for its religious practices"
B u d d h i s m i s a n o n - t h e i s t i c r e l i g i o u s - p h i l o s o p h yT
. his
m e a n s t h a t i t d o e s n o t a c c e p tt h e p o s s i b i l i t yo f a C r e a r o r
God, eithcr as thc Creator of man or as the Creator of the
world.
N o t o n l y w a s t h e B u d d h a c o n v e r s a n tw i t h t h e t h e
currcnt sixth century B.C. views of creation (e.kc
sam a n a b r ah m an a issara k ut u m bra h m akutt am icari va -
k a m a g g a f l f , a m ' p a f f n f l a p e n t ib, . I I I . p , 2 8 ) b u t w h a i i s
more important, he did not think that sucha view could
explain anything about the worid. Buddhism does not
call the world contingent but only impermanent. Its
central thesiscmphasizesthat everything is subject to an
unceasing flow of change (viparinamadhamma, cf. G.
Dharmasiri, A BuddhistCritique of the Christian conupt
of God, 1974, p. 33).
Ttte Aggafrffa Sutta of the Digha Nikaya fD. tll, 80f,
DiaJoguc of the Buddha,lll,TTf .) quite clearly sratesthat
b o t h t h e p h y s i c a lw o r l d a n d t h e h u m a n s o c i e t ya r e n o t t h e
p r o d u c t s o f a n y c r e a t i v ef i a t o f a G o d b u t m e r e l y t h e
p r o d u c t s o f a n e v o l u t i o n a r yp r o c e s s( M a r a s i n g h e ,M , M .
J. Gods in EarlS,Buddhism,1974,p.45 = GEB).It is also
clear from the Aggafrfra Suffa that any one single
evolutionarv proctss of the world is onlv one in a long
seriesof such processeswhich operatein the Universelike
s e v e r a lo t h e r p r o c e s s e so r l a w s o f n a t u r c .
T h e P a l i t e r m w h i c h d e s c r i b e st h e g o d si n t h e B u d d h i s t
tradition 'deva'is defined in the Pali Text Society'spali-
English Dictionaryas "The popular erymology refers it to
t h e r o o t d i v i n t h _ es e n s eo f p l a y i n g , s p o r t i n g o r a m u s i n g
oneself; dibbantiti de_v6,paflcahi kamagunehi kilanti,
attana va siriyi jotanti ti attho: KhpA. p. l4; a god, diuin.
b e i n g ; u s u a l l y i n p l . d e v a ,t h e g o d s ,A s t i t l e a t r r i b u t e dt o
a n y s u p e r h u m a nb e i n go r b c i n g sr e g a r d c dt o b e i n c e r t a i n
_eachgroup. The
 GODS
r e s p e c t sa b o v et h e h u m a n l e v e l . . . . A l w a y si m p l y i n g s p l e n -
dour and mobility. beautv, goodness and light rnd as
such opposed to thc dark powers of mischicf and
destruction" (s.v. PED.).
Thoughout the Buddhist texts, the Buddhal enlighten-
ment is consistently expiained as consisting of complete
and comprehensive knowledge ald insight of the entire
world together with its beings both mortal and immortal
(so imam lokary sadev*am samirakam stbrahmakam
sassam aEa- b nh m anim p8j Em sad evam a n ussary sayem
abhiflfli sacchikani pavedeti; D.1.250; Dialogaes of the
Buddha I, 316). [t must be pointed ort berc that
according to the Buddhist conception of the world, the
'world'that
i s o f i n t e r e s tt o B u d d h i s m i s t h e ' w o r l d o f
bcings'(G88.p.43).And it is irnportantto note that this
'world
of beings' is the world of gods and men
(sadevaman;i.:;.radl.).
Thus, thc gods form as integral part
of the u'orld and they do, therefore, occupy a definite
place in the Buddhist cosmological corccptions.
All living beings in the world are classifiedunder four
broad groups according to the form of their birrh (yoni',
as egg-born (ay(aja), womb-born QalEbuja), moisture-
born (samsedaja) and those of spontaneous origin
(opapatika). Of these,the fourth includes the gods (M.l,
73; GEB. trp. 46).
A detailed description of the different spheres or
realms of existence of the diverse types of beings is
contained in the Maha-sihanada Sutta oI the Majjhima
Nikiya ( M.L 73f.). The five destiniesor bournes (gatiyo)
of beings as explained therein are, purgatory ftiraya),
animal birth (tiracchinayonrl, realrn of the petas
(pettivisaya), realm of human beings (maaussa) and
realm of the gods (deva),(GEB. p. 46).
The gods belong to different beavenly lsnlms or
sphercs.f-hesevary from the most frequently mcntioned
sevento as many as twenty-five or even more sometimes.
Almost all the contexts invariably have the names of the
f i r s t s i x h e a v e n l y s p h e r e sw h i l e i n m o s t c o n t e x t s t h e y
have Brahmaloka (or Brahmakayika deva) as the
s e v e n t h .T h e l o n g e r l i s t , i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e , i s f o u n d
only in a few contexts, pointing to the possibility that this
increase is a result of increasingthe number of the
Brahma realms to suit the specialdoctrinal requirements
of Buddhism.
T h e s e v e n h e a v e n l y s p h e r e st h u s m e n t i o n e d a r e a s
follows: Citummharajika, T7vatimsa, Yami, Tusita,
Nimminarali, Paranimmitavasavaia- and Brahmaloko
(or Brahmakayika deva). According to the longer lists the
following heavenly spheresare found in addition to the
above scven: AbhA, Parittibha, Appamanabha, Abhas-
sari, Subha, Parittasubhi, AppamZnasubhi, Subhak--
innE, Vehapphala, Aviha, Atappa, Sudassa, .Sudassl,
3s0 GODS
A k a n i t t h a, _A * a si n a Aciyatanip agi, Vi fl fri n a lciy a -
tan ip aga, A ki flca fl fl ayatanipaga, and NeyasaE6tnts-
aflflayatanipaga. Ot the first six heavenly spheres, the
Catummahirdika (q.v,) has the Fcur Great Kings
(cattaro maharV jano/ as Kings while each of the other
five has a King or chief god who is ruperior to the rest of
the gods in that particular beavenly sphereand who alco
c x e l st h e m i n t e n w a y s ( 4 . I I I . 3 3 3 ,I V . 2 4 2 , 2 5 3 , 2 5 6 ) .O f
t h e s e ,t h e g o d m o s t f r e q u e n t l y r e f e r r e dt o i r S a k k a , t h e
King of the TAvailmsa gods.
According to the Mahas'ihanade Suttz of the
Majjhima Nikiya (M.1.73 f.) beingsin heavenlyspheres
experience feelings which are exclusively pleasant
(ekantasukhi vedana) compared with the continued
suffcring which is sharp and sevsrc (ekantadukkhi tippa
katuka) of the beings of purgatory, suffering which is
sharp and severe (dukki tippa katukil of the beings of
thc animal world (tiracchina yoni), feelings which are
abundantly painful (dukkhabahuG vcdani) of the beings
of the realm ol tbe petas (pettivisaya), and the experience
of pleasurein general (sukhabahula vedani) of the beings
of the realm of human beings.
According to Pali Canonical texts, cven human king-
ship is beggarlywhen compared with the happinessin the
h e a v e n l ys p h e r e s( , 4 . I , p . 2 1 3 ; l V , p p . 2 5 2 , 2 5 6 e . t c . ) .T h c
gods enjoy their fill of the five celestial sense-pleasure,
there being some gods who even pasr away from their
s t a t eo f c e l e s t i a le x i s t c n c ed u e t o o v e r - i n d u l g e d c ien t h e s e
pleasures(D. I.p. l9). The gods make specia.lmerriment
o n p a r t i c u l a ro c c a s i o n ss u c ha s w h e n a B o d h i s a t t ai s b o r n
in the world of human beings. The gods have radient
b o d i e s ,t h e i r r a d i a n c ed e p e n d i n go n t h e d e g r e eo f p u r i t y
of their deedsin the previous human existence.
Although the dif{erent heavenly realms are arrenged
hierarchically, the Pali texts are siient as to what
c o n s t i t u t e st h e d i f f c r e n c eb e t w e e nt h e m . I t s e e m st h a t t h e
higher realms are preferable to the lower oncs,mainly as
o n e g o e sh i g h e r a n d h i g h e r i n t h e s c a l e ,t h e l e n g t h o f t h e
life-spans also increases,the idea apparently being that
while the gods of the CEtummaharajika realm have a
life-span of five hundred celestial years, the gods of the
Paranimmitavasavatti realm have a life-span of sixteen
thousand celestialyears - years of similar celestialbliss
(GEB. p. 5l)
I t i s t h e d e g r e eo f i n t e n s i t y a n d t h e p u r i t y o f a c t i o n
which determines the state of heavenly existenceone is
reborn into. While liberality (dina) and morality (sila)
are sufficient for rebirth into the six lower heavenly
realms, it is the degree of perfection in the meditative
accomplishments (bhavana] which determines rebirth
into the Brahma realms (GEB. p.266-267). See chart.
 GODS 351 GODS

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Thc Euddhist ro-inttrprototion of th€ Heovens ( c f . y / [ h c h s r t o c h g p o g . 6 ? , M o r o r t n g h . ,M . M . , J , ,

6 o d r | n E o r t y B u d d h t r ml g 7 4 l

A s m u c h a s t h e d i f f e r e n c e sw h i c h e x i s t b e t w e e no n e necessarilyimply that the realm of the TTvatimsagods is

heavenlyrealm and another are those which relateto the spatially located above the realm of the CAtummahara-
quality or degree of spiritual attainment which deter- j i k a g o d s . F u r t h e r , i t c a l n o t a l s o b e a r g u e d ,a c c o r d i n gt o
m i n e s s u c h r e b i r t h , t h c h e a v e n l yr e a l m s i n t h e B u d d h i s t t h e s eN i k a y a c o n t e x t s t h a t , a n y o n e r e a l m o f t h e g o d s i s
t e x t s a r e a l s o n o t t o b e u n d e r s t o o da s c o s m o g r a p h i c a l l y s p a t i a l l y d i s t i n c t f r o m t h e r e s t o f t h e h e a v e n l vr e a l m s .I t
definable (GEB. p. 43) compartments in space.This m a y b e n o t e d h e r et h a t t h i s i s a n i m p o r t a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c
means that titles such as Catummaharajika and of the analyticalcosmology of Early Buddhism, which
TVvatimsa, terms which describe the gods of ccrtain t h e r e b y d i f f e r e d f r o m t h e c o s m o g r a p h i c a ,l w o r l d v j e w s ,
spccific religious or spiritual values, are not intended at of other contemporary Indian religious philosophies
ail to indicate gtographical locations. (GEB. p. a3 f.)
A l t h o u g h i n a l l t h e C a n o n i c a l c o n t e x t sw h e r e s c v e r a l T h u s , t h e h e a v e n l v r e a l m s a r e n o t c o n c e i v e do f a s
heveanly realms are referred to, they are arranged b l o c k s o r c o m p a r m e n t s i n a s t o r e y e ds t r u c t u r e e i t h e r
hierarchically, nothing is said about their physical a b o v e o r b e l o w t h e h u m a n w o r l d , b u t a s c a t e g o r i e so r
. o c a t i o n i n s p a c e ,e i t h e r i n r e l a t i o n t o o n e a n o t h e r , o r i n t y p e s o f b e i n g s o f s i m i l a r a t t a i n m e n t so r a c c o m p l i s h -
: e i a t i o n t o t h e w o r l d o f h u m a n b e i n g s .F o r e x a m p l e , m e n t s a a d c o m p o s i t i o ne x i s t i n gi n e n v i r o n m e n t sp a r a l l c l
according to these, the T7vatimsa gods are higher than and coterminous with the world of human and other
the CatummaharEjika gods, but this does not therelore b e i n g s( G E B , p . 5 6 f . ) . T h i s a l s o m e a n st h a t t h e s o d s r o o
 GODS
are thercfore, subject to the same conditions of change
and impcrmanence as are the human and other beings.
They too are finite, having a beginning and an end,
although their conditions of birth, living, etc., are said to
be much better than those of human beings (.9. III, 85;
Kiadred Sayings, IIL T l).
According to the evidencein the Pali Canonical texts
t h e B u d d h i s t g o d s e : e n o t o b j e c t so f p r a y e r o r r e l i g i o u s
ritual. This is not becauseall religious practices accept-
a b l e t o B u d d h i s m w e r e d c v o i d o f r e l i g i o u s r i t u a . l ,b u t
b e c a u s et h e p a t h o f t h e s p i r i t u a ld e v e l o p m e n tc f m a n a n d
everything that is associatcdwith the practicc thereof ulas
considered dependent solely on man and was thereforc
outside the intervention and supervisionof any one else,
divine or otherwise.
Hence, the gods are irrelcvant to the attainment of
Nibbana in Buddhisrn, Therefore, the gods have no
central or important function to perform in Buddhism,
Although the path of enlightcnmenh t asto beworked out
entirely by oneself, the guidanc'e of a teacher or the
compalionship of a friend is regarded as helpful. Even
the role of the teacher Qcariya) in Buddhism seemsto be
but a combination of the roles of both the mentor and of
t h e f r i e n d a c c o r d i n gt o t h e V i n a y a t e x t s Y i n . I , p . 6 0 f . ) .
The importance of such companionship is praised
throughout the early Canonical texts, We find extolled
even in such ancient documents as the Khaggavisa?a
,Suttaof thc ,Sutfa nipita, one of the most ancient suttas
exemplifying the ascetic (muni) ideal among thc Pa-li
texts (5K. pp.207-221), Such a friend is often referred to
as a kalyinamitu -'a noble companion'or e kind and
well-intentioned friend, in the Pali texts.
This is one of the roles in which the maj ority of the gods
in the early Canonical texts are seento be active when
t h e y a r e a s s o c i a t e dw i t h d i s c i p l e sw h o a r e e n g a g e di n
exertion to attain Nibbana. The Suftas of lhe Vana
Samytta (5. I, pp. 197-205)show that at the slightestsign
of faltering on the part of the meditative disciplcs,these
k i n d l y g o d s c o m e a n d e x h o r t t h e m t o t a k e h e c d ,l e s t t h e y
fail to attain the goal which they are seeking to attain
(GEB. p.86).
But, it is most important to note that such help and
advice from and intervention by the gods is entirely
voluntary and when such help and advice is offered, it is
offered with great revcrenceand do not, therefor€,cqme
-fherefore,
as directives from superiors. such help is
n e i t h e r t o b e s o u g h t a f t e r , n o r i s t o b e d e p e n d c du p o n '
T h i s i s q u i t e e l o q u e n t l yb r o u g h t o u t i n a s u t f a a t S ' I , p ,
2 0 5 w h e r e b e i n gh i g h l y p l e a s e db y t h e k i n d l y a d m o n i t i o n
of the deity, the disciple requeststhe deity to correct him
i n c a s eo f f u t u r e t r a n s g r c s s i o n sa s w e l l . T o t h i s t h e d e i t y
replies:
352 GODS
Neva tam upajivami - mapi te katakammase
tvam eva bhikkhu janerya - yena gaccheyya suggatim
( " N e i t h e r a m I d e p e n d e n tu p o n t h e e ,
| l o r y e t h a t h g u i l t y d e e d b y t h e e b e e nd o n e
B u t t h o u , O a . l m s m a nt,h o u t h y s e l f s h o u l d s t ,k n o w
How thou to blissful destiny mayst go" (Kindrxd Sayings
t,261).
A l t h o u g h i t i s p o s s i b l et h a t a g o d m i g h t p o i n t o u t i n
case of a faltering on the part of the disciple, it is the
d i s c i p l eh i m s e l f w h o k n o w s b e t t e r ( G E B . p , 8 8 ) .
T h e o t h e r , i s w h e r e t h e g o d sc o n t a c t e i t h e r t h e B u d d h a
or one of his disciplesinvariably to seek resolution of a
doubt that has arisen in their minds or some matter
connected with thc future well-being of the teaching
(GEB. p. 84).
T h u s , i t i s t h e B u d d h a a n d h i s e m i n e n td i s c i p l e s- e i t h e r
arahants, those striving for enlightenment, or lay dis-
ciples of considerable accomplishments in the require-
m e n t sf o r e n l i g h t e n m e n t - w h oh a v ec l o s ec o n t a c tw i t h t h e
g o d s ,e x c e p ti n a v e r y f e w i n s t a n c e s I. t m a y b e n o t e d h e r e
in passing that the Nikaya texts record only three
instances where the gods are said to have visited those
o u t s i d et h e a b o v ec a t e g o r i e sb , ut it is important to note
that in all theseinstances,the visits are of speciallylimited
purpose, Therefore, it is the Buddha and his eminent
d i s c i p l e sw h o a r e a b l e t o s e ea n d c o n v e r s ew i t h t h e g o d s
a n d t h u s , i t i s o n l y t h e y w h o k n o w t h e g o d s( G E B . p . 9 0 ) .
T h e e v i d e n c ei n t h e P a l i C a n o n i c a l t e x t s i s q u i t e c l e a r
t h a t s u c h k n o w l e d g ea n d c o n t a c t i s t h e r e s u l t o f h i g h e r
r e l i g i o u sa c c o m p l i s h m e n t sA. l l C a n o n i c a lc o n t e x t sw h e r e
the subject of the highcr knowledge (abhifffre) is
d i s c u s s e da r e a g r e e d t h a t i t i s t h e F o u r t h J h A n a '
(cat urth ajjhina/ wh ich provides t he requ isite p liability of
m i n d f o r s u c h a c q u i s i t i o n (sD . 1 . 7 9 1M , I . 3 4 ; e t c . ) .l t i s
after one attains the mental purit;" and concertration of
t h e F o u r t h J h a n a t h a t , " w i t h m i n d t h u s s e r e n e ,p u r e ,
t r a n s l u c e n t ,c u l l u r e d , d e v o i d o f e v i l , s u p p l e ,m a n o e u v r -
able,firm and imperturbable" one is able to direct it to
achieve any kind of higher knowledge or any of the
acquisitions, he is desirous of acquiring, such es the
knowledge of the recollection of past existences
(pubbenivisanussatifrina), the divine eye (dibba-'
cakkhu),the divene ear(dibbasota),or any of the psychic
powcrs (iddhividha)(D.L p. 79). Thus, the ability to hear
heavenly sounds and seeheavenly forms resultsfrom the
cultivation of samadhi directedfor that specificpurpose'
H e r e t o o , t h e t e x t s a r e q u i t e c l e a r t h a t t h e p r o c e s so f
c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h t h e g o d s b e g i n sw i t h t h e h e a r i n go f
s o u n d s ,f o l l o w e d b v t h e s i g h t i n g o f t h e i r f o r m s ( D . I I , p .
205: cf. also the Janavasabha Sutta account of the
B u d d h a ' s m e e t i n g w i t h J a n a v a s a b h a ,, D . l l . p . 2 0 5 ) .
According to the Mahali Sutta of the Digha nikaya, the
 GODS 353
problem of Sunakkhetta was that he could seethe forms
b u t n o t h e a r t h e s o u n d s( D . 1 , p . 1 5 3 ) . A c c o r d i n gt o t h i
BuddhE" it was so, because his samadh,twas of limited
resolve or application, i,e. becauseit was.aimed only at
seeing heavenly forms md not at hearing heavenly
sounds (Evam h'etam.... ekamsa-bhavite samadhimhi
dibbanam ripanam dassanaya'.... no ca kho dibbanam
saddinam savaaiya (D. L, p. 153; GEB., p, 93).
According to the Gaya Sutta in the A'nguttara Nikiya
t h e e n l i g h t c n m e n to f t h e B u d d h a w a s n o t c o m p l e t eu n t i l
he mastered the Eightfold Series of Knowledge and
Insight which transcends the gods (atthaparivattam
adhideva-flanadassanam), These as enumerated in the
surta are:
l. Perceiving the auras (obbhasam hi kho safrjanami);
Seeing forms (... ripini ca passimi);
lil. Standwith (be in the company of), talk to andengage
in conversation with, the gods (devatihi saddhim
san ti tt hd m i, sal I ap am i, sak a cch am sam ap ajfami ) ;
iv. D i s t i n c t i v ek n o w l e d g eo f t h e s eg o d sa s t o t h e d i f f e r e n t
r e a l m s o r s p h e r e st o w h i c h t h e y b e l o n g ( i m a d e v a u
amu*amhi vi amukamha vA devanikiyili);
v, P e n e t r a t i v ek n o w l e d g er e g a r d i n gt h e g o d s a s t o w h a t
p a s t d e e d s c o n d i t i o n e d t h e i r p r e s e n tb i r t h s a s g o d s
a n d f r o m h a v i n g b c e nw h a t t h e y c a m e t o b e r e b o r n a s
such, etc. (ima devata imassakammassa vipakena ito
cuta tattha uPaPanna li);
vi. K n o w l e d g e r e g a r d i n g t h c i r s u b s i s t c n c c ,t h e i r e x
pericnce, their weal and woc, etc' (ima devata
evam ah arE, e vams ukh a4 uk kh a-p ati samved an iyo li ) ;
vii. Knowledge regardingthe length of tneir life-spans,
the length of-life in their presentstates,etc. (imi
d e va t a e vam d i gh ay u k-a,evam ci r a t t h i ti k a t i ) ;
viii. K n o w l e d g e o f w h e t h e r h e h a d d w e l t w i t h t h e s eg o d s
formerly or not (im-ahidevatZhi saddhtm sannivuttha'
pubbam yadi va na sannivutthapubbant/ (A. tV p.
302; Gradual Sayings IV.20l; GEB, p'93).
A c c o r d i n g t o t h e s u t t a , e a c h s u c c e s s i v es t a g e o f t h i s
knowledge arrd insight resulted from a further purifi-
c a t i o n o f t h e k n o w l e d g ea n d i n s i g h t o f t h e p r e v i o u ss t a g e ,
through samidhi (....flEnadassanamparisuddhitaram
assati: A. tV. p. 302; Gradual Sayings IV. 201).
I t i s c l e a r f r o m t h e a b o v e d i s c u s s i o n st h a t i t i s t h e
concentration of mind (samidhi) which enables one to
e s t a b l i s hc o n t a c t , o r i n o t h e r w o r d s , s e e a n d c o J l v e r s e
w i t h a n d t h e r e b yk n o w t h e g o d s .A l s o , i n a sm u c h a s t h e r e
are distinctionsbetweenthe higher and the lower heavenly
r e a l m s ,t h e r e a r e a l s od i s t i n c t i o n si n t h € s t a t e so f s a m a d h i
by mcans ofrphich one is able to reach the gods of the
different heavenly realms. This is why bhikkhu
Kevaddha who entered into a state of samidhi which
c o u i d ' o r r l ye n a b i eh i m t o e s t a b l i s hc o n t a c t w i t h t h c g o d s
of the lower heavenly realms (atha kho so Kevaddho
GODS
bhikkhu tathiripam samidhim samipajji yathi-
samihite citte deveyaniyc maggo pitur ahosi:D.1.215)
had to enter into anothtr (higher) samadhito establish
contact with the brahmakiyik! gods (atha kho...Brahma-
yiniyo mrggo patur ahosi: D.\,22A). Thus, the samCdhi
which resulted inthe devayiniya magga u'as not sufficient
for establishingcontact with the higher gods of the
Brahmakayika realms, which therefore required the
(higher) samidhicorrespcnding to the relevant spiritual
refinement.
It is important to note here how the text describes
b h i k k h u K e v a d d h a ' sa t t a i n m e n t o f t h e p a t h t o t h e g o d s .
It clearly statesthat the path to the gods arosein the mind
thus cultured (yathasamEhite citte devayiniyo maggo
pitur ahosi).
T h u s , t h e e n t i r e p r o c e s so f b e a r i n g ,s e e i n ga n d c o n v e r -
sing with and thereby knowing the gods takesplacein
'meet' or
samadhi. This is exactly how the gods too
t r a n s a c t w i t h t h e B u d d h a o r w i t h h i s e m i n e n td i s c i p l e s .
' m e c t i n g s ' t a k ep l a c ee i t h e r
A c c o r d i n g i o t h e t e x t s ,t h e s e
towards the iatter part of the night (abhikkantaya rattiya)
o r w h e n t h e B u d d h a w a s s p e n d i n gh i s n o o n d a y r c s t i n
medit ation ( d i vavi hAr agat o h o ti pati sall i n o).
As thesetransactions take place whilst in samadhi and
a s t h e h e a v e n l vr e a l m s a r c n o t c o n c e i v e do f a s s p a t i a . l l y
d i s t i n c t p h y s i c a l c o m p a r t m e n t si n s p a c e( G E B . p , 5 6 f . )
t h e r e i s n o n e e d f o r p h y s i c a lm i g r a t i o n o f e i t h e r o f t h e
p a r t i e sf o r s u c h t r a n s a c t i o n s .T h i s i s q u i t e c l e a r l v b o r n e
o u t b y t e x t u a l e v i d e n c e .I n t h e a c c o u n t o f t h e e i g h t f o l d
s e r i e s o f k n o w l e d g e a n d i n s i g h t d i s c u s s e da b o v e , t h e
f o u r t h s t a g e i s t h e a c q u i s i t i o n o f t h e d i s t i n c t i v ek n o w -
l e d g e o f t h e g o d s w i t h r e g a r d t o t h e h e a v e n l yr e a l m o r
categorv to which thev belong (ima devata amukamha va
amukamha va devanikat'ali). Unless this is tal<en as
r e f e r r i n gt o a c o n g r e g a t i o no r a n a s s e m b l yo f g o d sw h e r e
a l l g o d s o f t h e d i f f e r e n t h e a v e n l yr c a l m s h a d g a t h e r e d
t o g e t h e r ,t h e o n l y w a v i n w h i c h w e c a n u n d e r s t a n dt h i s i s
i n a n o n - c o s m o g r a p h i cs e n s e ,I t i s q u i t e c l e a r t h a t t h e
c o n t e x t d o e s n o t r e f e r t o a n y p a r t i c u l a rg a t h e r i n go f t h e
g o d s ,i t b e i n ga g e n e r a ls t a t e m e n tr e g a r d i n gt h e B u d d h a ' s
a c q u i s i t i o no f t h e k n o w l e d g eo f t h e g o d s .
It is important to note hcre that the gods who come
u n d e r t h e a b o v e d i s c u s s i o n sd o n o t e x h a u s tt h e e n t i r e t y
o f t h e g o d si n t h e e a r l y B u d d h i s tt e x t s ,A n e x a m i n a t i o no f
the Pali Canonical texts shows that thcre are three
d i s t i n c t t y p e so f g o d si n t h e s et e x t s .T h e f i r s t t y p e c o n s i s t s
o f t h o s eg o d s a n d s p i r i t s w h o f o r m e d p a r t o f t h e g e n e r a l
I n d i a n m y t h o l o g y i n t o B u d d h i s m , p e r h a p sw i t h m i n o r
r e - o r i e n t a t i o n . T h e s e m a y b e d e s i g n a t e da s a d o p t i o n s
f r o m c o n t e m p o r a r ym y t h o l o g y ,T h e s e c o n dt y p e c o n s i s t s
o f t h o s eg o d s a n d s p i r i t sw h o a l s ow e r ea d o p t e df r o m t h i s
same gcneral Indian mythological heritage, but were
 GODS
completely transformed to suit the special requirements
of Buddhism, performing the new fuuctions assignedto
'fhese
them. may be designatedas adaptations from the
general lndian mythological heritage. The third type
consists of those gods and spirits who were created by
Buddhism and were as a result added on to the general
Indian mythological hcritage. It would be useful to make
at least a brief 3urvey of these three types,
I. Adoptlons from the contemporrry mythologlcal
trrdldons: It is estimatedthat the first Aryan invasions of
lndia occurred rbout the beginning of the second
millsnnium B.C. Thc Snresomestories of the wars which
preceded the Aryan settlements in the new lands they
came to occupy were no longer history when thcseevents
finaily cBmeto be rccorded in the Rgvcdic hymns. During
the long time-gap between the events and their final
r e c o r d i n g i n t h e s et e x t s , n o t o n l y t h e e v e n t sb u t a l s o t h e
peoples involved in these events had fadcd from actual
history to myth aad legend. As D.D. Kosambi cxplains,
'lndra smashed the enemics of the Aryans, looted the
'trersure-housedof the godless'.The demons he killed are
named: Sambarq Pipru, AraCasanas,Sushna (who may
be a personification of the drought), and Namuci among
others; many of thesenarnessound un-Aryan. lt is always
difficult to seperste Vedic myth from possible historic
reality; rhetorical praise may or may not representsome
military successon the battlefield. Were the women in
'ermy'human or mother goddessesD
Namuci's
demon have two wives or does he representthe local god
of two rivers seenso often on Mesopotamian seals?Tbe
Aryans had dcstroyedother urbaa cultures beforc coming
to lndia. Indra wiped out the remnants of the Vara{ikhas
at Hariyupiya on behalf of Abhyavartin Cayamana, an
Aryan chief. The tribe destroyed was that of the
Vricivats, whose front line of 130panoplied warriors was
shattered like an earthen pot by Indra on the Yavyavati
(Ravi) river, .... Such vigorous language describessome
actuel fight at Harappq whether between two Aryan
groups or between Aryans and non-Aryarrs". (Kosambi,
D.D,, Culture and Civiljzation of Ancient India, 1965,
78; GEB. p. 70).
According to Kosambi's estimetion, the Indra of these
r e c o r d s , " r e s e m b l e sa h u m a n w a r l e a d e r o f j u s t s u c h
violent, patriarchal bronze-agebarbarians as the Aryans
of the first wave patently were. In fact, it still remains an
open question whether Indra is not a deified ancestral
war leader who had actually led the Aryans in thc field, or
perhaps a succcssion of sugh active human chiefs..,
(Kosambi, op. cit.,78; Perry, W .J., Children of the Sun,
1923,p. 132; GEB, p. 71).
Similarly, "The lranian records speal of the var of
King Yime, a rectangular place into which neither death
nor the winter cold could penetratetill someonesinned;
'Golden Age', as i1 were.
in fect. a limited form of the
354 GODS
Then good King Yima saved his peoplc from general
punishment for the broken tabu by taking death upon
himself. to become the first mortal. In India, Yama of the
Rgvedawas also the first mortal, the old ancestraldeath-
god, and still remains a god of the dead, Originally, the
death Indo-Aryan wcnt to join his anccstors in (he
protection of Yama; later Yama presided over the
tortures of the dead in the underworld while other gods
r u l e d i n h e a v e n . . . . Y a m aa n d h i s p r o t e c t e dd o m a i n w a s a
prehistoric reality before the great Indo-Aryan
m i g r a t i o n " ( K o s a m b i , o p . c i t . 7 7 f . . ;G E B . p . 7 l ) .
The Asuras, whom the Aryans confronted on their
arrival in India, "were the ruling families: and not the
common peoplc, In civilization they were far in advance
of the Aryans. It would seem,indeed, asif the Asuras had
reached a higher degree of civilization than their Aryan
rivals. Some of their cities lpere....placesof considerable
importance. And, in addition to this, wealth and luxury,
the use of magic, superior architectural skill, and ability
to restore the dead to life, were ascribedto the Asuras by
Brahmanical writers" (Perry, op. cit. p. 132 f,).
Thus, not only gods like Indra and Yamq but such
classegof non-Aryan peoples like the Asuras and the
Rakshasas too were part of the gereral Indian mytbo-
logical tradition by the time of the sixth century B.C.
Hence, theseare takcn as mythology in the Pali Canonical
? id the
texts and made profuse use of, for purposesof religiow
edilication.
2. Adeptadons from the contemporary mythologlcal trad!.
tbns: Those coming under this type also existedeither as
m y t h o l o g y o r l e g e n db e f o r e B u d d h i s m t o o k t h e m o v e r .
But, becauscof the complcte transformation effectedin
them during the processof adaptation, there is harldy a
trace of their original forms in the new concepts.ln other
w o r d s , i n t h i s c l a s s c e r t a i n e l e m e n t so f t h e n c u r r e n t
popular mythologies are seen to undergo an actual
change into characteristic Buddhist appearance. The
gods arrdspirits thus adapted were intendedto servemore
definite doctrinal functions thaa those of the first type
(GEB. p. 78).
S a k k a , M a r a , V c s s a v a n aa n d t h e B r a h m a s s e e m t o
p r o v i d e g o o d e x a m p l e so f i h i s t y p e . S a k k a f o r c x a m p l e ,
is not found as a separategod in any pre-Buddhist Indian
religious text, It was an epithet of the god Indra,
originally used in the Upahvya rite, instead of his true
name (Keith, A.8,, Religion and Philisophy of the Veda,
1925,338). Sakka is the King of the fivatimsa gods. He is
very humaa in his character, "The Buddha has," in the
words of Tachibana"humanized and moralized the Indra
of the Veda". He, "is not in any way free from general
human weakeness. He is passionate, full of hitred,
ignoran(, timid and cowardly (S. I, p. 219). He is subject
 GODS 355
t o b i r t h , o l d a g e , d e a t h , l a m e n t a t i o n ,s o r r o w , d e j e c t i o n
a n d d e s p a i r( 4 . l . 1 4 4 ) . " A c c o r d i n g ( o D r . M a l a l a s e k a r a ,
" T h e s e a n d o t h e r p a s s a g e ss h o w t h a t S a k k a w a s c o n -
s i d e r e db y t h e e a r l y B u d d h i s t sa s a g o d o f h i g h c h a r a c t e r ,
k i n d l y a n d j u s t , b u t n o t p e r f e c t ,a n d n o t v c r y i n t e l l i g e n t .
H i s i m p e r f e c t i o n sa r e n u m r o u s . " H e i s m u c h i n f e r i o r t o
t h e B u d c i h aa n d t h e a r a h a n t s a n da l s ot o o t h e r g o o d m e n .
H e f i n d s t h e i r c o m p a n y a t t r a c t i v e : "e v e nt h e s c e n to f s e e r s
long vowed to holy things" is sweetto him. Thus, the
c h a r a c t e ro f t h e B u d d h i s t S a k k a i s q u i t e d i f f e r e n t f r o m
that of his Vedic counterpart [ndra. "ln the Veda he
appears as a grcat helper and giver of boons to his
supplicants. Indra increasesthe wealth of the person who
offers sacrificcs and praises to him." Although Sakka
continues to wear the warrior's garb as depicted in the
Buddhist lexts, he is very little but an exemplary lay
follower of the Buddha. He occasionally visits the
Buddha and the arahants, although he himself is being
worshipped by brahmins and nobles on iarth (GEB. p.
67). The changefrom the un-aging,immortal Vedic lndra
t o t h e a l m o s t h u m a n S a k k a s b o w st h e e x t e n t o f a d a p t a -
tion that has been effectcd in Buddhism.
M i r a , g o i n g b a c k p e r h a p st o t h e V e d i c M r r y u , t h c g o d
of death, combines in his new form, elementsta-kenfrom
the contemporary Brahmanic and non-Brahmanic mytho-
l o g i e so f e v i l . T h e t r a d i t i o n a l V e d i c g o d o f d e a t h h a s i n
B u d d h i s m , u n d e r g o n ec h a n g ef r o m o n e w h o i s i n f l i c t i n g
d e a t h t o o n e w h o i s e v e r a l e r t s n d v i g i l a n t t o p r e v e n tt h e
a t t a i n m e n t E n l i g h t e n m e n t .T h e s h i f t i n g o f t h e c o n c e n -
tration of activity from actual death to the effort to
conquerdeath for all time is very significant.As Buddhism
doesnot recognizeany god or spirit ascapableofinflicting
h a r m o r i n j u r y o n m a n , M i r a t o o , i s d e p i c t e do n l y a s o n e
w h o i s e v e r a l e r t t o d i s r u p t t h e a t t a i n m e n to f E n l i g h t e n -
ment, but finds himself incapable of attaining this
objective as the disciple is dways alert and mindful.
Vessavanais one of the Four Great Kings of the gods of
the lowest heavenly realm, the Gtummahrajika. He rules
over the Yakkhas. According the Atdnatiya Sutta,(D.
III, pp. 194 ff) he was the author of the A?natiya rune,
which in Buddhism, substituted the ra.ksamanrrasof the
popular religion. Vessavada,appearingior the first time
i n t h e B u d h i s t t e x t s a s t h e n a m e o f a g o d , s e e m st o h a v e
been derived from Vai$ravana,an epithct of Kuberg the
Vedic god of wealth and prosperity according to an
Atharua Vedic pusage. Vessavana is recorded to have
had great respcct and concern for the Buddha and hir
disciples(GEB. p.67).
The Brahmanic religion knew only of the Great
Brahma who was their Creator of the world and of man.
This one single Creator God Brahma has grown in
Buddhism into a whole new class of gods - the
Brahmakiyiki devi (DPPN. I. p.337; GEB. p. 203), still
representingthe highest classof beings among the gods.
GODS
Thc realms ol the Brahrnas are eight in number ranging
from tire lowest Brahmakiyika devi to that of the
Ney'asaifianasarlftayataniT'sgddeva. lt is interesting to
n o t e h e r c t h a t t h e n u r n b e : e i g h t a l s o c o r r e s p o n d st o t h e
n u m b e r o f s t a g c s o f J h A n . qa t t a i n m e n t i n t h e p a t h o f
s p i r i t u a l d e v e l o p m e n ti n B u d d h i s m , I t i s t h e a t t a i n m e n t
o f t h e r c l e v a n ti h a n a t h a r c n t i t l e so n e f o r r e b i r t h i n t o t h e
comp:uty of the relevart gods oi the Brahma realm (see
c h a r t ) . l t i s a l s o i m p o r t a , i r t o n o t e h e r et h a t c a c hr e a l m o f
t h e B r a h m a sh a sa c h i e i B r a h m d . T ' h u s ,n o t o n l y i s t h e r ea
p l u r a i i t y o l t h e B r a h m a si n B u d d h i s m , t h e r ei s a p l u r a l i t y
of the Maht Brahmas too, Several of these MahA
B r a h m d s h a v e b e e n r e f e r r e dt o i n t h e B u d d h i s t t e x t s ,t h e
most frequcntly referred to among these being.
S a h a m p a t i ,t h e s e n i o r - m o s ct h i e f B r a h m a a t t h e t i m e ( s . v .
DPPN.
-fhe
Brahmas, though having extremely long life-
s p a n s ,a r e t h e m s e l v e si l o t f r e e f r o m b e i n g s u b j e c tt o t h e
l a w s o f k a m m a , a s a r e t h e o t h e r b e i n g s .N o r o n l v t h e
Brahmas, but cven their very realms are subjectto change
(Brahmaloko pi avuso anicco acitlhuvo sakkiyapariya-
panno...S.V. p.-410).
l t m u s t b e n o t e d h e r c t h a t t h e g o d s c o m i n gu n d e r t h i s
c a t e g o r yc o n s t i t u t c st h e m o s t v i t a l e l e m e n ti n t h e B u d d h i s t
r e - d e f i n i t i o no f t h e c u r r e n t i ya c c e p t e dt h e o r y o f t h e g o d s .
W h a t i s m o s t i m p o r t a n t t o r e m e m b e ri s t h e f a c t t h a t
t h o u g h t h e y h a v e b c e n p r e s e n t e dd r e s s e di n r e c o g n i z a b l e
a t t i r e , t h e y h a v e u n d e r g o n ec o m p l e t e t r a n s f o r m a t i o na s
r e g a r d st h e i r i n n e r c h a r a c t e r .
T h u s , i t i s n o t h e r o i s m i n b a t t l e w h i c h n o w e n t i t l e so n e
for rcbirth cither in the lower or in the higherheavenly
r c a l m s . I t i s t h e q u a l i t a t i v e l e v e l o f o n e ' s a t t a i n m e n ti n
liberality (dana),morality 6ita1 anameditation fthavana)
which'determines the level or the stagc of heavenly
existencethat one becomes entitled for rebirth into.
While thosecoming under the first categorywcre taken as
mythology and were treated as such, the gods and spirits
coming under this category were those who seemingly
resembled gods and spirits who were known in the
general Indian religious traditions, but were now
performing completely differcnt functions.
3. Gods created by Buddtdsm: In this type are included
all those gods who were recruited to the celestialranks
d u r i n g t h e v e r y l i f e - t i m eo f t h e B u d d h a . S o m e o f t h e g o d s
who come under this type are, Anathapindika, Rohita,
Hatthaka, Ugg", Paharada" Verocana, Candana, Tudu,
Kakudha, Kassapa, M"ghC Magadha, Damali, etc.
A l l t h e n a m e so f g o d s c o m i n g u n d e r t h i s t y p e , i t m u s t
be noted, are quite familliar to a reader of the pali
Canonical texts, not becausethey are the names of gods,
but more particularly becausethey actually are the names
of peoplc who took an actiw interest in the Buddha's
teaching at the time. Anithapindih was a wealthy
 GODS 356
banker of Savatthi who was famous for his unparalleled
generosity to the Buddha and the Order. Ugga was
a n o t h e r f o l l o w e r o f t h e B u d d h a h a i l i n g f r o m V e s a l i ,a l s o
reputed for his libcrality as well as learning in the
dhamma. Tudu, was the teacher of Kokalika and
Kakudha was an attendant of Moggallina and was an
i n h a b i t a n t o f K o l i y a . _ A n d n o t o n l y t h e s eJ a n a v a s a b h a ,
around whom the Digha-nikaya sutta of that name is
w o v e n , w a s t h e M a g a d h a n K i n g B i m b i s i r a h i m s c l f ,n o w
i n h i s n e w p o s i t i o ni n t h e c o m p a n y o f V e s s a v a n a ( G E B , p .
69).
In the gods of this class we are witnessing how
Buddhism made profuse use of an historical process
w h i c h h a s b e e ni n o p e r a t i o n t h r o u g h o u t h i s t o r yi n a l m o s t
a l l o r m o s t k n o w n s o c i e t i e s ,n a m e l y , t h e p r o c e s s o f
rnythoiogisation of the historical, for religious edifi-
c a t i o n . A s m u c h a s t h e e a r l y e n c o u n t e r so f t h e A r y a n
i n v a d e r s . w i t h t h e i n d e g e n o u sp e o p l e so f a n c i e n t I n d i a
had faded into myth and legend by the time these
a c c o u n t sc a m e t o b e r c c o r d e d i n t h e V e d i c t e x t s , m y t h s
a n d l e g e n d so f d i v e r s e t r i b a l g r o u p s k e p t o n b e i n g a d d e d
o n t o t h e r i c h h e r i t a g eo f l n d i a n m y t h a n d l e g e n da st h e s e
'Cultured
t r i b e s g o t a b s o r b e di n t o t h e f r a m e w o r k o f t h e
S o c i e t i e s 't,h e r e b yc o m p l e t e l yl o s i n gt h e i r t r i b a l i dentities.
Evidcnce in the Paii Canonical literature shows quite
clearly that this processwas taking placc in the peripheral
t r i b a l s o c i e t i e so f t h e B u d d h a ' s t i m e . I t h a s b e e ns h o w n
t h a t t h c y a k k h a s a n d t h e N a g a sw h o w e r e t r i b a l p e o p l e s
w h o t o o k a n a c t i v e i n t e r e s ti n t h e B u d d h a ' s t c a c h i n g a t
the time, had got completelymcrged into the'Cultured
S o c i e t i e s 'l e a v i n g o n l y t h e i r m y t h s a n d l e g e n d sb y t h e
t i m e t h e c o m m e n t r a i a lI t e r a t u r ec a m c t o b e w r i t t e n d o w n
in Sri Lanka (GEB. p. 70 f.). Buddhism has by making use
o f t h i s h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s so f m y t h o l o g i s a t i o n ,s h o w n t h a t
b y l i v i n g a c c o r d i n g t o t h e t e a c h i n g so f t h e B u d d h a , i t i s
quite easyeither to becomea god or to attain spiritual
p e r f e c t i o nt h e r e b y s u r p a s s i n gt h e g o d s .
Of the above three types,it is important to note here
t h a t t h e f i r s t t y p e a l r e a d y e x i s t e da s m y t h o l o g y b e f o r ei t
w a s u s e d b y B u d d h i s m . W h a t a c t u a l l y h a s h a p p e n e di n
Buddhism is its use for doctrinal elucidation or edifi-
c a t i o n , p e r h a p sw i t h m i n o r r e - o r i e n t a t i o n ,H c n c e ,i n t h i s
c l a s sc a n a l s o b e s e e nt h e p u r e l y i l l u s t r a t i v e( o r s y m b o l i c )
function of mythology in Buddhism. The Ridha
Samyutta(S. IIt, 188-200)and the SakkaSamyutta (5.I'
216-240)provide some excellentexamplesof this type. In
the second type are included those gods who were
a d a p t e df r o m t h e g e n e r a lI n d i a n m y t h o l o g i c a lt r a d i t i o n s
to perform specificfunctions in Buddhism. Those coming
under the third type not only were followers of the
B u d d h a , b u t w e r e h i s c o n t e m p o r a t i e sa sw e l l , b e f o r et h e y
were reborn as gods. lt is important to note here that the
second and the third types included the entirety of the
active gods in Buddhism.
GODS
The fcregoing discussionbrings out severalimportant
characteristics of the gods that we meet with in the
Buddhist texts. The gods no longer are immortal inhabi-
tants of everlastingcelestialabodes,far removed from the
world of mortal human beings. Spirithood, therefore
does not quite contrary to the contemporary Brahmanic
religious conception thereof, confer immortality (cf.
Yaksatva amaratvam', Coomaraswamy, A,K., I'aksas,
P a r t l - 5 ) . N o l o n g e r e r e w e t o t h i n k o f t h e h e a v e n sa s t h e
abodes of the gods and these to be separate compart-
ments in space, spatially distinct from the world of
human beings. They are not visible to the naked human
eye and can be contacted through Jhana. The ability to
hear, see,converseand be with the gods is an accompiish-
ment especially to be cultivated after one attains the
Fourth Jhinaif onc so desires.As the heavensare not to
b e t a k e n E s s p a t i a l l y d i s t i n c t c o m p a r t m e n t si n s p a c e ,
communication with the gods does not necessarily
involve physical migrations of the parties irrvolved either
'heavens' and the gods
(GEB. p. 95). Neither arc the
therefore to be reached exclusivelyafter death.
B i r t h i n t h e c e l c s t i a ls t a f e so f e x i s t e n c ei s n e i t h e r a n
accident, nor an inevitable occurrenceas the freedom to
b e r e b o r n i n a n y f o r m o f e x i s t e n c ew h e t h e r h u m a n o r
divine is dne distinct advantageof having led a religious
life (M. L p. 289). lt certainly does fiot result formeither
sacrifice, prayer or other form of supplication. They no
l o n g e r a r e t h e o b j e c t so f s a c r i f i c c ,p r a y e ro r o t h e r f o r m o f
religious practice or ritual and are therefore, not
supported by svstemsof beliefs and ritual, Their inter-
vention in the affairs of men h purely voluntary and is
thereforenot availableat one'sdesire,requestor compul-
sion through religious ritud.
Though celestiallife is said to be consisting of
continued (unbroken) happiness,it is a complete waste
from the point of vicw of one's Nirvana as,the longer one
is in such existence the longgr delayed becomes the
possibility of attaining Nirvine. As birth as a human
being is an essentialpre-condition to one's attainment of
Nirvdna, celestial birth offers no advantage whatever
towards maturing one for the goal of Enlightenment. It
is, therefore justifiablc to say that the gods in Buddhism
are not an accepteditem but merely a tolerated accessory.
Thus. what we see in the Buddhist texts are merely the
outer shells of the gods whom we mect elsewhere'They
have ben completely transformed in their inner character
performing entirely new functions altogether. Not only
d o e st h e c o n c e p to f g o d si n B u d d h i s mn o t l e n d s u p p o r t t o
the concept of God or Gods in other religions, but also it
proves the case against them as well"
M. M. J. Maraskrghe
 GOKANNA
GOKANNA,(var. Gokannavlhira, an ancient
Buddhist site on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. The
Mahivamsa mentions that King Mahdsena built there a
temple named Goksnnavihara (Mhv. XXXVIL v. 4l;
MhvA. IL p. 6E5). Tbe Vamsatthappakisini describes
the circumstancrs that led to the building of this temple.
According to this eccount earlier on the same site there
was r devilaya which was a breeding ground of heretics
and was a hindrance to the Buddhasasana(devilayam,...
tiuhalayabhitam sisanasse khanum iva jEtam kuditthi-
-akarabhitim.
nam ibid.). King Mabisena demolisl.d
the dev-alayaandconstructed the Gokanna Vihara on the
cestcrn coast of the island (GokannavihEram puratthima
sentuddaire kirapesi(op. cit.). Later King Aggabodhi V
built a"practising hail" (padhanaghara/for the Gokanna-
vihira in the vicinity of the village Gokanna (Mhv.
Xlvll. r.5). From ar gccount inthe Culavamsait
"ppe"rs
that Gokanna wa8 thc last of a'seriesof fords in Rohana
important'from a strategic point of view along the
Mahivilukaganga (i,e. modern Mahav{li gairga) from
Sarogamatittha (i.e, Vilgamuva in the Matale District) to
the casterncoast. ln an earlierverseGokanna is described
as the occer (maho?nava, Mhv. Xli, v, 79), perhaps the
rcfercnceis to the bay at which Mahavdligaiga fdls into
the sea.There was the Gokannatittha - an ancient sea-
port in tht vicinity of the eastuary of Mahikandaranadl
(MhvA. L p. 269) Panduvisudeva and his retinue from
India landed at this pori of Goknnna (Mhv. VIII. v, l2).
Bhadda-kaccCna and hcr rctinue coming from India also
landed at Gonagim-akapattana (op. cit. viii, v. 24) and
Vamsatthappakisiai referg to it as Gonagimapattana
(MhvA. l. p. 272). At present a Hindu kowT nemed
Kone6varam stands at the earlicr site of Gokanna. On
literary evidence Geiger identified Gokanna with tUe
modern township named Trincomale e (Mhi.'tnl.pt. l, p.
5 9 , n . 4 ; p . 3 1 6 ,n . 2 ) .
The identity of Gokanna with modern Trincomalee
can be phonctically explained. The Pali term Gokaanais
explained in the PED ss'a large species of deeri and
Geiger translates gokanno as elk-stag. It appcars that
gokanna is a Pali trenslation of a Sinhala word goaa as
evident from the variants of the term ar Gonagamaka-
pallanc Gonagima. and also from the Dravidianised
term KoneCvara"(Kona).Tbus goaathe principal part of
the word gokannab a contracted form of tbe latter. It has
been applied to a place as its neme. This place happened
to be a mountein which had acquired some sanctity, for it
har been twice deccribed in the {ulevamsa as the sceneof
magic ites(Mhv.Xli, r,./vii, v.5). This Lackground helps
to bring forth the connection between Qsknnna and
Trincomalee. Trincomalec is the Anglicizad v#ion of
the Dravidian term Tiru-kona-malai which in turn
perhaps was derived from Pali sirj Gokaana.
In Tamil trru is prefixed to express the sanctity of *ona
357 GOKULIKA
the mount (malai). Konastsnds for the earlier word gona
which is treated as the proper name, and in Tamil a single
character stands for both hard and soft gutterals.kand g.
Thus we get Tiru-kona-malai which means "the holy
kona the mount" or the "Sacred mount Gokanna".
M. Kerehrvlma
GOKULIKA (ver. kukkulika, kukkutika) is the name of
a sect that resulted from the first schism within the
Mahasanghika in the second century after the Buddha's
passingaway. Two other schoolsthe Pafifrattivndinsand
Bahulikas (or Bahussutikas)are said to have sprung from
this (Mhv. V. v.4 f; Dipv. v. 40 0.
According to the Kathavatthu-atthakatha the view
that "All conditioned things are absolutelycinderhcaps"-
a view referred to in the kathavatthu (p.208)-was held
by the Gokulikas, This, the Atthakatha.says, is due to
their misunderstanding of such iutt.s Aditt"p"riyaya
s u t t a ( V i n . I , p . 3 4 ; f . S . i v , p . 1 9 ) w h i"s
ch the Gokulikas
considered as teaching that 'All conditioncd things are
without qualification no better than a welter of embers
(kukkula), whence the flames have died out. like an
inferno of ashes,(see Kuv, trsl. Points of Controversy, p.
127).The Kathavatthu(p. 208f.) records how the Thera-
vada countered this proposition by pointing out varioug
forms of happiness.
Kuklulika and Kukkutika are its variant names. and
perhaps their view that 'all compounded things are
absolutely cinderheaps(kukkula) is responsiblefor their
name Kukkulika, which may have been misconstruedas
Kukkutika. While one of the Chinese rendering of thc
name'Ch-in'points to the original Kukkutika, the other
version Huei-chan indicate that it could be from
Kukkulika. Malalasekera is of the view that Kukkulika
could be the original name of which Gokulika was either
a corruption or a derivation from the name of one of their
teachers (DPPN. p. 783).
K'yeu-chi suggeststhet it might be a brahman clan
name and rejectsParamirtha's interpretation,'thosewho
live on the cinderheap', The Mafrjutri-paripreha Sitra
saysthat name originated from afamous Vinaya-master.
Thus it is not possibleto establishthe original form of thc
DAmC.
This school maintained that of the three Pitakas only
the Abhidharma was important, for that contained the
real teaching of the Buddha, whercas the siltras and the
vinaya-rules were more preparatory teachings. Thus they
considered themselvesnot to be bound by any rule of
discipline and interpreted the vinaya-rules according to
their own particular convenience, professing that the
 GOLI
Buddha had ellowed their transgrecsion.They fostered
only logic, beiieving that too deep a study of the siltras
would lead to pri<Ic and become a hindrancc in attaining
deliverance. They declined to preach in order to dcvote
thcmsrlves to meditation.
Nothing is known of their residence, nor of their
writings. While Vasumitra attributes to thern the same
theses as those of the t'tahasairgbilas, Bhavya males a
distinction without, bowever, mentioning their specific
doctrines. Bhavya also mentions the two schools
originated fron them, viz,, the Bahu{rutiyas and the
Prajf,aptivadins.
They are not heard of after the 9th ccntury A.C. and it
is probable that they were completely absorbed into
Mebiyena.
Bibliography: A. Bareau, Lcs Sectcs Bouddhiques du
petit whicule (Saigon, 1955); P. Demieville, L'Origine
des Sectesbouddhiqucs d'apres.Paramartha (Bruselles,
1032); A. Schiefner, firanAthas's Geschichte des
Buddhismus in Indien (St. Petersburg, 1869).
H. G. A ven Zevst
GOLI, a village in South lndia, in the Palnad Ta-luk in
Guntur district and situated on the Gollaru, a tributary of
the Kistna river. Near it, in a field, is thc sitc of an
important Buddhist monument - st[pa which though
small in its size, has yielded several sculptures which
equal in beauty and trcatment to those at Amaravati
(q.v.). Some of the finds are deposited in thc Madras
Government museum and others arc still on the site.
A m o n g t h o s e d e p o s i t e di n t h e m u s e u m i s a s c u l p t u r e d
slab of a naga, 4 feet, 7 inchesin size,which is an excellent
specimen of sculpture. It is cut out of.light green marble
and is shown as twisting itself in intricate coils. It has
sevenhoods. At thc root of the central hood is a platform
with a small, stupa, on either side of which is a
worshipper. Besidesthis naga-figurethere are three other
sculptures now on the site of the st[pa, fixed into the
walls of the room of the niga. One of them is a long freize,
containing sevenpanels, most of them illustrating scenes
from the life of thc Buddha. One is a white marble slab
showing a small stupa and there is also a similar slab
showing the foot-print of the Buddha.
Among the sculptures from Goli which are deposited
in the Madras Governm:nt muscum, there are - a few
which depict soenesfrom the Buddha's life and also some
incidents from his previous births such as the
Chaddanta Jdteka, the Sasa lauka and the Vessantara
Jitaka. Another sculpture possibly depicts the l,frtu-
pos*a fiuka.
358 GOLI
Among tbc scverel siulpturrs which depict incidents
from the Buddha's lile, those showing the subjugation of
the elephant Niligiri, the temptation of the Buddha by
Mira's daughters and the offering of alms to the bodhi-
sattva by Sujita, deservespecial mention.
Another incident from the life of the Buddha, nemely
hir first sermon at the deer park is sculptured on a small
p i c c e o f s l a b l ' l t A " x 9 " . T h e t w o c u s h i o n so n t h e e m p t y
throne represcnt the Buddha. The two deer in front
indicete tbat the place shown is the deer park.
There is another slab in which the Buddha is repre-
sentedas preaching,but, whether it depictsany particular
incident in his life is not known. In this sculpture the
Buddha is seated crossleggedon a throne, with his left
hand placed on his left foot indicating half-meditation
and his right hand raised in the abhayamudri, the
posturc of dispelling fear.
A sculpture of a standing figure in royal attire,iossibly
r e p r e s e n t i n gp i n c e S i d d h a r t h a ,i s a l s o a m o n g t h e s l a b s
from Goli. Two dwarfish yaksas on either side of the
figure hold a chattra and a camara, thus indicating that
the princely figure representsthe bodhisattva.
Amidst other sculptures from Goli are scveral figures
of nagarajas and pairs of male and female figures. The
purposc that thesenagarEjasserved,is similar to that of a
dvirapila, a door-keeper or B gurrdian of a trearure or a
sacred place.
The human pairs, like at Amaravati and Naga-
rjunakonda, are a common feature at Goli. These are
u s u a l l v f o u n d o n e i t h e r s i d e o f , o r i n b e t w e e n ,l a r g e r
p a n e l sr e p r e s e n t i n ge p i s o d e si n t h e l i f e o f t h e B u d d h a o r
his previous births. There are four such human pairs, a
man and woman in each, two representing persons of
royalty or nobility and the other two, persons of the
middle class.
No definite date has been assigned to the Goli stupa
and its sculptures,But on the grounds of the close
similarity of the Goli sculptures to those at Amaravati
scholars have assigned them to about the 3rd century
A.C.
The short inscription on the caitya slab, too, bears
much resemblanceto those at Amaravati belonging to
the fourth period in its scripts. Thus, all this evidencehelp
us to assign the ruins at Goli to about the 3rd century
A.C. It is probable that both the stupa and its sculptures
wcre accomplishedat the sametime, unlike at other sites,
for the stupa is too small an undertaking to have
belonged to en earlier date than the sculptures.
tL R,.Perere
 GOOD AND EVIL
GOOD AND EVIL Buddhism can be conceived as r
teaching which guides tuinan beings in their search for
the highesr good. The highest good is to be attained by
overcoming all evil. Good and cvil are used in the English
languageas evalustivc terms in a variety of contexts, both
moral and nonmoral, Although the lndian languages
which were used to express the teachingsof the Buddba
do not possess terms that exactly correspond to the
English terms good and evil, the concepts of good and
evil occur in a varicty of contexts in the philosophical and
religious literature of Buddhism. tn more recent dis-
cussionsin Western philosophy the traditional tendency
to search for definable or indcfinable propcrtiet, for
which the terms good and evil stand has been discredited,
Attempis are made by philosophen to make adirtinction
between terms that have a primarily descriptive function
and those that have a primerily cvaluative function, and
it is widely held that terms such as good and evil are
typical examples of terms that have primarily the latter
function. The tcrm god, being the most general word of
commendation in the English language is used to
commend something, whalever the point of view may be
from which the commendation is mede. One may speak
of 'a good motor car', 'a good knifc', ,a good apple', ,a
good poem,' 'a good sunset', 'a good man', .a good
action', and so on.
By good is usually meant that which is desirable as
opposedto bad or evil which is undersirable.In this sense
we often speak of the good that we attain or thet comesto
us Es opposed to the evil that befalls us, the evil that we
suffer and endure. There is also a philosophical tendency
to consider the Good, as the really, absolutely and
ultimately desirable goal for the attainment of which ell
prudent human beings should strive. Good conceivedin
this manner is the summum bonum accepted in certain
religious and philosophical systems and is sometirnes
equatedwith happiness,Those religious and philosophical
syltems which have the concept of such an attainment
consider the attainment of it as the means of overcoming
dl evil both physical and moral. Some philosophers,
bowever, deny that there ir one supreme Good, the
attainment of which should bc the goal of all rational
beings.Thcy would rather contend that there could be a
plurality of. goods worth gttriniag in our life. Some-
tlmes, with respect ro our general existential condition
the question is raised whether it is good or evil, and
sygcrm of tho' ghthal/E bcendesod rmderpessimbmorqtimhm
depending on the answer given to this question. There is
l. A. J. Ayer, Language, Truth and Logic, (Dover Publications 1952) Ch. VI.
2, C. L. Steveruon, Ethia and Lengtage, (yde Univerrity pres!, 1944).
3. R. Carnap, Philosophy and Logical Syntax (Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd. London, l93S), pp. 21-8.
4. R. M, Hare,The Language of Morals, (Oxford University Prcar, 1964).
5' M. B. Ahcrn, The Problem of Evil, (London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, l97l); Ninian Smart, A Dialogpe of Rc/rSrbns (SCM
Press Ltd. London) 1960.
359 GOOD AND EVIL
also the good and evil that we as rational agents do, and
discussionof good and evil in that sensecomcs within the
province of ethics. Furthermorc, the Grms good and evil
are used in evaluating the motives, the psychological
traits or character traits of human beings, and ethics is
concerned with the examination of the rational besis for
making such moral distinctions.
As sentient beings we may be subject to the good and
cvil that becomes an indicpensable part of our lentient
existence, while as moral bcings we may oursclver be or
produce good or evil, or possesssuch charactcrirtics of
personality which may be designated as good or evil.
Regarding dl this variety of contexts in which judge-
ments of good and evil are madc philosophen havt raircd
the problem of their objectivity. A number of divergent
theories have been put forward as clarifications of thc
Iogical features of such judgements. Some have con-
sidered these judgements to be objective, while othen
have held them to be subjective. Some have argued for
absolutist poritions while othcn have argued for rela-
tivist positions. The Logical, positivists, for inrtancc,
have held thatjudgements involving god and evil crc Dot
genuine propositions and as such they could not be true
or false.r Most contemporary philosophers hold thet
there cannot be knowledge of good and evil in the way in
which we can have knowledge of matters of empirical
fact. According to the emotivist theory of value judgc-
mcnts all utterances used in mating evaluations are to be
construed as mere expressionsof attitudes or emotions.
Thev are used not merely to evincc the speaker's sltitudc
but also to chauge or redirect the attitudes of othen.z
They are also analyzed as commands in a misleading
grammatical form,l or prescriptions having tbe function
of guiding our choices..
In the context of religions the concept of evil ha.rgiven
rise to a special problem which philosophen and theo-
logians have widely discussedas "the problem of evil.'':
This problem is of special interest to theistic religions
which accept a creator God like the God of the Christian
religion, believed to be having the attributer of omnis-
cience, omnipotence and infinite goodness. Buddhirm,
.
being a non-theistic systcm, does not confront a rpecial
problem of showing how the admission of the presenceof
evil in the world is consistent with other aspectsof its
world-view, Buddhism considen the recognition of the
prsence of evil as supremely signilicant ard attemptl to
give an explanation of its origin end also to propose I
way of overcoming it. Buddhigm does not consider evil to
 GOOD AND EVIL 360
b e a n i l l u s i o n , b u t t a k e si t t o h e o n e o f t h e p r i m a r y t r u t h s
to be understood.
l n t h e l i g h t o f t h e n u m e r o u sa p p r o a c h e st h a t s y s t e m so f
r e l i g i o n a n d p h i l o s o p h y h a v e a d o p t e dw i t h r e s p e c t o t h e
notions of guod and evil, it will be illuminating to
consider what specialfeatures are to be discerned in the
B u d d h i s t a p p r o a c h .O n e o f t h e m o s t i u n p o r t a n ts e n s e so f
g o o d i s g o o d a s w e l l - b e i n gw i t h e v i l a s i t s o p p o s i t e . [ n
Buddhist termin'rlogythere are three key terms usedin
the senseof well-being, namely, attha, hita and sukha.
Their opposiles anattha, ahita, and dukkha are used in
t h e s e n s eo f i l l o r u n d e r s i r a b l e ,O u t o f t h e s e t e r m s t h e
term dufr*ia (q,v.) has specialsignificanceto Buddhism,
for in the formulation of the Buddhist teaching the
existenceaf dukkhais consideredas a fundamental truth
to be understood.The Buddhist path of liberation is
described :rsa path for the liberation from the ills or evils
o f e x i s t e n c e .I t i s a p a t h f o r t h e c e s s a t i o no f i l l ( d u k k h a -
nirodhagEminipatipadAl, and for the attainment of
s u p r e m e h a p p i n e s sw h i c h i s o f t e n i d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h e
highest good that man is capable of attaining.
l n o r d e r t o u n d e r s t a n dt h e B u d d h i s t n o t i o n s o f g o o d
and evil in thc sense of human well-being and ill it is
important to understand what Buddhism presentsas the
first noble truth of its teaching, the noble truth of
dukkha. Giving an extentional definition of dukkha, the
Buddhist teaching specifies the key aspects of evil to
which a human bcing is subject as follows:
B i r t h i s d u k k h a , d e c a y , . . . d i s e a s e . . .d e a t h " . ' g r i e f ,
l a m e n t a t i o n , s o r r o w , d i s t r e S s ,a n d a n x i e t y . , ' n o t
obtaining what one desires...is dukkha, in brief the
five aggregatesof grasping are dukkha. (M'I, p' 48)
According to Buddhism the existentialpredicament of all
sentient beingsin their unenlightenedcondition involvas
u n s a t i s f a c t o r i n e s s ,a n d t h c r e f o r e , i s e v i l ' B u d d h i s m
analyzesthe entircty of sentientexistencein experiential
terms into internal spheres of sense (ajihattkani ayata-
nani), their respective external objects (bahirani ayat*
nani) nd the respective forms of consciousnessthat are
produced by the contact between the sensesand their
corresponding objects (cakkhuvifrfrVna, sotauifrflVta,
etc,). Sometimes the individual is analyzed into five
a g g r e g a t e so f p e r s o n a l i t y c o n s i s t i n g o f m e n t a l a n d
material components, Each of theseelementsis said to be
characterized by impermanence' That which is imper-
manent is unsatisfactory (yad aniccam ury dukkham)'
The process of dukkh, goes on in cyclical fashion
6. Phuttbassa Iokadhammehi cittam yassa na kamDati
asokam uirjam khematn etam mangalam uttamam (Sn' v' 268)
7. Kimatn kamayamanassa tassa ce tam sanijjhati
addha'pitimano hoti laddhi macco yadiehati
tassa ct kimayanassa chandajitassa jantuno
te kami parihiyanti sallaviddho va ruppati (Sn. 766-767).
GOOD AND EYIL
involving birth. decay, death and rebecoming until one
ultimately dissolvesthe personality factors and puts an
end to rebecoming (punabbhava) by the eradication of
craving and all notions of self. lf anything has a
compounded nature lsah*ni4 it is impermenent, lf
anything is impermanent it is unsatisfactory. Therefore
Buddhism terrchesthat the good of man does not consist
in searching for or hankering after things of a com-
pounded nature, including the factors of one's own
personality,for such a pursuit leadsmerely to prolong the
ills of existence.The highest good, from the point of view
of Buddhism, is therefore the attainment of perfect
detachment end utter destruction of craving for exia-
tence.which assuresimmediate liberation from unsatis-
factoriness.
The physiial evils of existence such as earthquakes,
droughts and famines and all kinds of natural disasterare
part of the unstable nature of compounded things. They
are evil relative to the desires and interests of sentient
b e i n g s .O n e c o u l d h e r e a n d n o w r e a c h a m e n t a l s t a t ei n
w h i c h o n e i s n o l o n g e r p s y c h o l o g i c a i l va f f e c t e db v t h e
possibility or actuality of such events by the total
extincton of the notion of self and the eradication of all
c r a v i n g f o r e x i s t e n c e .I n t h i s s e n s eo n e c o u l d t r a n s c e n d
physical evil as well even in this life itself. The highest
developmentthat one can reach in one'sliving experiencc
is the possibility of not being psychologically affected
when one is touchedbv the natural order of thinss.6
Buddbism prescnts the view that it is due to delusion
that unenlightened common folk think and act as if the
good life consistsin the pursuit and gratification of sense
desires.Sensedesiresare productive of happinesswhich
is extremely unstable due to the very constitution of our
own psychological nature and the nature of the physical
world. Sense desires (kama) involve little enjoyment
(appassadA) but much suffering and anxiety (bahu'
dukkha bah-ipayasa) as well as an excess of evil conse-
quencesQdinavo ettha bhiSyo: M.l, p. 91)'The penon
who desiressensuotisenjoyment becomesjoyful so long
es his desires are gratified. But once his ltensuouli
enjoyments are lost he becomes afflicted like a person
who is pierced b_y an arrow.T The world consists of
objectsthat excite the inner desiresand passions.Sentient
beingsnaturally have the tendency to seekpleasurein thb
satisfaction of these desires.The pursuit of senseplea-
sureg does not conduce to any stable happiness. It
cystematically leads to increasing bondage to passions
rnd serviledepcndenceon them for one'shappiness.The
 GOOD AND EYIL
hapiness involved in the gratification of sensedesirel ir
mcagre compared to the nobler forms of happiness that
could be attained by mental culture. Numeroug rimiles
are given by the Buddha to show the delusion involvcd in
bclicving thet sensuousdelight constituer real happinere,
Sensuousdeligbt is no better than the pleasuresfelt by thc
leper in scratching his rores.
Buddhism considers the process of becoming (bhava)
to involve inevitable suffering. Becoming in any form is
judged to be an evil. The higbest good consirts in the
cessation of becoming (bhavanirodbal which is also
called nibbiaa. Eech individual is believcd to be ceught
up in thc cyclic process of samsira, a proccss thc
beginning of which is unknown. Tire predicsment of the
person wbo is caught up in the proc€ssis aptly expressed
by Ratthapdla who resolves to practise the higher
spiritual discipline under the Buddha thus:
The world is unenduring and is being (consteatty)
dragged on to (destruction). It is supportless and
beyond one's pourcr. Nothing in it belongr to onerelf,
for one eventually has to leave ever5rthingbehind. It is
also deficient in lasting ratisfaction and results in
servile bondage to decires(M.ll, p. 6E)
Buddhism does not have the concept of an ultimate good
which could be viewed as a superior form of the survival
ofindividualsentient existence.Even the highest form of
heavenly existence is subject to thc law of impermanence.
There could trc no escrpe from thc bonds of ruffering
until rebecoming in any form is overcome. It i! for
holding this view ebout thc nature of cxirtence that
Buddhism bar sometimes bcen describcd as e form of
pessimism. It is sa.idthat Eastern pesrimism har its best
known and fullest expresrion in philosophic Buddhism
(ERE. Vt, p. 321). It is evident that with its empharir on
the truth of dukkha Buddhism does not vicw life er it is
ordinarily lived as good. However, the Buddhirt cn-
deavour may be described ar En ettcmpt to overcome
uilatisfactoriness atd to transform a life that ir evil to
one that is good. To this cxtent it may be said to involve
an optimism rather thin a pesrimism. To this it may be
objected that Buddhism is mercly a negative oprimism.
For "The final goal is one ever to be desired,never to be
enjoyed; though it may be attained, Dever to bc cons-
ciously attained." (ibid. p. 322)
The idea that tbe final goal of Buddhism is never to be
consciously attained is based on a misunderstanding.
Such an idea is contrary to the repeatedemphasisin the
Buddha's teaching that the purpose for which men of
family renounce the household life and take tothe noble
faring (brahmacariya)is fulfilled in this life itself, and one
lives abiding in it here and now having rcalizcd it witb
E. Yassatthiya kultputti sammadeva agfirasmi enagiriym
sayam abhififri sacchikatvi upasanpajja vihenti (M.ll, d. 6l).
361 GOOD AND EYIL
onc'r own higher knowledge.r The reason for intcrpreting
Buddhism as a negative oprimism is probebly the ebrence
in Buddhism of the notion of an eternel hewenly
existencr as a rt*erd for living the religiour lifc. Thc
doctrine of eterna[sm (sassauvidt) according to wbich
an enduring relf entity is believed to rurvive to eternity
after attaining thc goal of the rpiritual life ir conridcred ia
Buddhism as a mistalen assumptioa. Tbe Buddhr hrd
nothing to sey about the afterdeath rtate of tbe pcrron
who reachesthe goal of. nibbioaapart from saying thet it
is freedom from a recurrent prostls of duJtkfu in
samsiricexistence. However, he had much to rey ebout
the happiners, joy, freedom, knowlcdge, inri3ht, under-
standing, compassion end equanimity of the penon who
pttains the highest goal as a living humrn b"ing.
According to the Buddhist anelyrir of the nrture of
reality, there can be no instance of unreleted or uncon-
ditioned exirtencc. Due to the conditioned neture of
things, transience (anicca q.v.) and inrubrtentielity
(aaat4 q.v.) ere thcir universal chancterirticr. Unntrr-
factoriness (dukkha) is crured by uncultivrtcd and
unwholesome psychological rerponrcs to the world of
mind and matter which ir charactcrized by trenricnce aad
insubstantiality. The unwholesome FetpoDseruc duc to
defusion or ignorance (avijfi q.v,), Buddhirm reckr to
explain evil in terms of the principle of dependent
origination (paticcasaauppida). Tbe Buddha rctctr
alternative theories of the origin of evil ruch er (l) thrt
evil is self-ceused (eaytakatam duLkham). (2) thet cvit
is other-caurcd (paramittan'au*Um1. (3) thet cvil i!
both sclf-causcd and otbcr{auled (styamkaai ct ptlrtm
kataf, cadukkham)ud (4) that cvil ir neither rclf<rured
nor other-caused but ariser fortuitourly
(asayaakiral tptrtryko"ry tdhiccastmupp.nat4l
dukkhant: S.'lI, p. l9f.). Evil is not conridcrcd in
Buddhism to bc part of the divinely ordaincd scheme of
things, but something that dcpendently ariser in the
nstural order of thlngr. Buddhirm cxplainr the origin of
evil in the senre of the existentid ills of man through en
analysis of thc perceptual process. An unenligbtened or
deluded response to the stiouli of the senler leeds to
Cukkha. Man can overcome dukkha here and now on$
by r,esponding to the stimuli of the !cn!e! with under-
standing and insight. As the lvtithpariyiya Suffr of the
Majjhima-nikiya asserts, the naturt of meat cognitive
response to everything physical end mcntal hu to be
transformed from oaC described ss uiliaait| in which
casc one gets involved in thc proliferation of ego notionr
and the conlequeDt altachment and clinging to thingr, to
one described u abhijEaitr and pdfaaitivhercby one
destroys all notions of the ego and ir freed from rll
dtachment and clinging (M.1, p. lfJ. This in turn lcrdc
lr,$$ati ttdznuttarem br1,hmapariyas11nut dinlrcn dh.mns
 GOOD AND EYIL
to a totd transformation of manl emotiw re!pon!6 to
the perceptual world. In the ettempt to overcome evil
man hrs ultimetely to depcnd on hir own effort. Tberc is
no question of any external forcc saving him from evil"
Only those who save themselves are saved (ar ht efrf,a-
mokkho).
The good life in the Buddhist view ir the life free frcm
creving (t4hi), the life free from the unwholegome
mcntd traits greed Qobha), batred (dosa) snd delusion
(moha).lt ir elifein which the cormptions of the mind or
thc cenkers ere extinct (isav*khaya), and all the latent
terdencicr of evil (anuseye) are ov?rcome. ln positive
termr tbe good life is a life consisting of insight, wisdom
compurion, pcace sf mind and bappiness. Thic is the
Itrtc of pcrfection described u stmbodhi (enlighten-
mcnt) snd arthatlr (worthinesr) in Buddhirm of the Pali
Nikiyar.
From thc Buddhirt point of view, rulfering, whether it
ir mental or phyrical, ir intrinsicelly evil. The highest
good ir therefore equated u', t'b the final end of ell dut*}e
rnd the ettrinment of ihc highert happinesr (perax:a-
sutht) wbict is celled nibbine. Thir docr not hc\rer?r
Deln thrt according to thc Buddhict evrluation of
bumen expericnce dl pleerant experience (st*ba) it
unconditionalty good or thst all unplearrnt expericncc
(dukkhr) is uncorditiondly evil. tf that were tbe care
Buddbirm couJd justifiably be called a crude form of
hedonirm. Buddhicm recognizer r diffcrcnce in qurlity in
the different kindc of desirable experiencc that man ir
capabla cf rtteiaiag. ln the hierrrchy of darirable expc-
riencar rcnae plearurcs occupy tbe lcwert porition
becrure thcy caure much unbappinesr in tbe long run.
Thc dcrinble experiencer asrociated with the ctrltivation
of tbc mind, nrh ar in thc rspturour rtatat of meditetive
experienc'e rre conridered to be of a higher ordcr. Thc
highat in thc hicrarchy conrirtr of thc freedom of mind
end the freedom tbrough inright (cetovimutti,
pilliiaullrl
whicb Nrlurer emancipetion from thc
cycte of becomiq&
Brddhilm roe! l clorc reletionrhip betwecn the prth
thil lcrdr to the overcoming of ct'il which conristr of thc
rufTering tbrt mrn experiencer in bir uneolightencd
condition, ead the evil thrt man producer due to hir own
mordly evil nrture. Tbe mesrege of tbe Buddha ir to
cerre to do dl evil (sabbryipasst *uentm), to cultivate
whet is good (kuralsst upaseaptdi) and to purify the
mind ( stci ttt pariyo dt p t a ta D. I t, p. 49). All suffc rin g ir
ovencomc wbea men 8ets rid of moral evil. Buddhiro
uscr tbe tcrms r&usaje and pipa to signify moral evil.
Thrt whic-hir morally wholerome is tusde or pufrfrt Tbe
mordly good decds thet fall within the rphcrc of pufrila
9. -lnteipraetion of Two Priacipel Ethicrl Tcrmr in Errly Buddhtrm', P, D. Prcmr,riri, The Sri Lutt
flumtnities, Volume2, Numbcr l, Junc 1976.
362 GOOD AND EYIL
heve tbe tendeocyto producc wbolesotnecontequeDocr
which thc ageot'himrelf is likely to expcricncc
in hir prercntexistcnceor in lomc futurc exirtencc.while
the morelly evil deedrfalling within therphcre af,*wda
or pipa similuly heve tbe tendencyto producc coDle-
queDcerof en opporiteaature.The penon who ir pcrfect
in tusa/air onewho hrr attainedthe highertgod rad put
an end to rebccomingleevingno room for thc fruitioa of
pufrfra or pipt in eny future becoming (bhtvt) in the
cycleof rrrneln. Such r pcrron tnnrcrnds tbe spbcrcof
gcod end evil in tbc r::ue of pufrfrt rnd pipr but
becomesperfect in kwdr" It rbould be noted that tbe
unquelified rsrcrtion thrt tbc god of Buddhirm is to
trenrctnd both good end cvil on tbc ground that
Buddhism rt romc point rdvocatesthe rbendoning of
bolb pufrh and,pipa couid lerd to mirlceding implicr
tionl.e Tbe libereted pcnon or the Trtbagata, ir onc in
whom morrl cvil ir totdly extirct end wholercmc trritr
of chrncter rrc fully developcd(nbfilwdtdhtamtp*
hi ao kusd ur.ar.a aigrt o),
Buddhirm dedr with morel evil at two levclr. At r
more subtle rnd br,riclcvel mord evil ir to be found rr
psychologicdor dirporitional traitr of chrrecer. At ths
grorler levcl tbcy find expresrion in overt bchrviour in
tbeform of bodily andverbelects.Tbe rootsof monl evil
(*usaltmult)irc the prychologicaldisporitionr referrrd
to rl lobhr (Sreed),docr (betred) and aoht (dclurion),
They rre found in the mentd constitutionof rll uaen-
ligbtened beings in the form of letcnt tendencicr
(uusaya). The lstent tendencierrre enumerrteder rigl
(lust), pttisha (hurcd), d.ilrlr (dogmrtic belicf), ub:
t b h; (d oubt), nrene (corrciit), bhevrZgr (rttrbocnt
to bccoming)end Nijji(igtorrnce: M. l, pp. 109-ll0).
Asevt tnnrleted rs'influxet','intoxicut!' or'culcn'
alsoreferto cvil in theform of pslahologicaltrriu. Morrl
evil which findr expresrionin verbd end bodily bchr-
viour urually clr.crificdinto rcventypct of uawholcrone
action,nrmely, tiiling rteding, rexud mirconduct,fdre
rycech, slrnderour rpcech, hrnh rpeech and frivolour
rgeech.Thae eloag with the three evilr thrt opcrdc rt
the p,rychologiceltevcl, nucly intcnrc grecd($hiiihZ),
mrl ice ( bn p:d a) nd f dr e in (ai cr;hfdr'nir) conrti tute
the ten brsic typc of mord cvil (M I, p. 47).
Monl goodnersconristrprimerilyin rklding oncrelfof
the unwbolerometreitr of mind whichgiveexpreuioato
unwholesomcbchsviour. This i! to bc rchievcd by r
syrtemeticproaelr of mcntd culture conrirtint of threc
rtrger of lleiniag crlled u7e(wholeromeprrticer invol-
ving primerily rbrtcntion from bodily ead wrbrl decdr
of en unwholeromeneturc ruch eskilling, slsrling etc.),
s ami dhi (mcnt rl composurc) and p aMi (undent rnd in3
or insight).Thc Noblc Eigbtfold Path of Buddhirmrto
Joutul of the
 GOOD AND EYIL
prncntr the came gcheme of cthical trensforrrrtion with
the emphasir that a right pcnpcctive or world view or
rttitudc towardr lile (taamiditthi)is e precondition for
any ruch ethicd trrnsformaticir. fn brief the good life
recommendcd in Buddbirm oay be raid to consist in the
cultivrtion of the thirty<even qualities thet conduce to
enlightenment, traditioaelly enumerated e.r the srtte-
tian bdhip*khiyi dhammZ. The highcsr good or rhe
good u rn end congirt! in the dectruction of greed, hatred
tnd delurion end the cultivation ofnon-greed orcharita-
bility, non-hetred or universal compassion and non-
delusion or wirdom. All activity adopted for achieving
thir god ir concidercd in Buddhism to be good ar mcrns.
SCCBODHIPAKKHIYA UHNU I,{A.
There ir reeson to believe that Buddhirm ettempts to
defiae moral good and evil in termr of non-moral good
rud evil. Bodily, verbal end mental conduct which is
charactcrized es morally evil in Buddhism ir co charecter-
izcd becaure such conduct ir sdd to be c-onducive ro ill
(du*khudnyam dukkhauipikaa) aad ir injuriout to
oncrclf e^cwell as ro others (ana'byibidbiyaiaavattati
putbyibid h-ya navattati ubhaya byi bidhZya i amvat-
taci:M,l, p.41). Killing which ir primarily an expreision
of tbc latent unwholerome tcndency of hatred is injuriour
to botb tbe rgent ar well as others affected by his action.
Tbc tgent of ruch action corruptr hjs own character
inmcuing thc cbaaces of grearer suffering for himrelf and
rlro caulel ruffering to others by his unrestraincd and
uarympathetic deeds. Not only does he indulge in such
bchtviour but dso eacourages otbers to behave in thc
rrme wsy (p"of, ca tathettiya samidipeti) thur incrca-
ring suffering all round.
With regard to judgements invotving moral good and
evil Buddhism tekcs rn objeaivist and cognirivist pos!
tion. lt is objectivist to the extcnt that observablefects are
considcred to be logically relevant to our judgemenr
regerding moral good and evil. lt ir cognitivist for the
rlne rcuon, for Buddhism holds tbat one may say
!omething true or felse in expressinga judgement about
whet is morally good or evil. The view that nothing is
good or bed, but thinking makes it ro is not one that
Buddhism Eecrnr to epprove of. Buddhism explicitly
admits tbe possibility of ethical knowledge. Moral rcep-
ticirm ir dircouraged. It is thc knowtcdge of good and evil
that is considered to be of utmost importence in
Buddhism. However, this knowledge ir not to be bascd
on trrdition or authority but on onet own obrervrtion
end expcrienct. Unlikc religious lyrtems which concider
mordity to be based on rcvelrtion, and moral rules io bc
ordrined by e supreme divine law giver, Buddhirm holds
thrt it ir posrible for ecch p?noD to know by himself the
distinction hctween what ic morally good end evil
363 GOOD Ai{T} EYIL
(attaniva jiaeyyitha ime dhaami kusali..,.ime,.
akwsli....: A. l, p.t89). From the Buddhirt point of
view, what is believed to be commrndcd by God may be
good not becauseit i. commanded by God, but becaureit
is good. [n order to know that what is commanded by
God is not evil, but good, there must be s criterion other
than beingcommanded by God. In this regard Buddhirm
points to a close connection between our judgemcntr of
good end evil end our experiencc of certein cources of
action and modes of behaviour conducing to gencrrl
happiness or welfEre and others leading to tbc opposite
consequence. ln the Kiliaa ^Suffa the Buddha rilk thc
Kitimas thar they could discover by thcmrelvc wbat ir
good or evil and points out thar when a person! miad ir
overwhelmed by such unwholesome stetet of mind ar
greed, hatred and dclusion, tbey tcnd to act in rucb ewry
that harm is done to themselver a! wcll ar othen.
Buddhism doer nor take the porition that any idioryn-
cratic reason could be given s! s r€alon in favour of e
moral conctusion. An act is morally evil if it conduc:r to
general unhappinesr and harm in the long run. Morrlly
good actions conduct to the happineu and well bcing of
the egcnt as well ac others. ln tbe ultimetc rcnre
Buddhism seer no conllict betwecn actionr that conduce
to one'sown well being and those that conduceto the well
being of othen. A person who looks after his own weU
being lookr after the welt bcing of othen as wcll. Morrl
evil is a result of the lack of empatby end thc lack of the
rame concern with the iDterectsand well being of othen
as that of oneself.
An implication of the Buddhist view of thc nature of
moral knowledge is that moral trutb ir to be cstablisbcd
on the baris of our knowledge of the nature of the world,
the nature of man, and in brief the naturc of thc humur
predicament. We cannot determine what is morally good
or evil without considering certain facts about the world,
man and hir destiny. No act could be right or wrong in
itself. lt is necessary to see the network of ceusrl
relationships between a particular ect and other happen-
ningr associated with thdt act in order to determioe
whether it is good or evil. The question raised by the
modcrn philosophical sceptic with regard to ethical
knowledge on the ground that there is a logical gep
betwren facts and vduts is not considered to be a
plausible ree.ronin Buddhism for denying the possibility
of meking commonly acccptable morel judgements.
There is a sonse of retiondity which may be neitber
iuductive nor deductive in tbe trrditionrl renre involved
in our making judgementr ebout what ir morally good
rnd evil.
In the forcgoing account an ettempt wa! madc to
dicc$r the Buddhist views on the place of evil in the
world and in thc moral life of buman beingr from a
philorophicd and ethical point of view. One morc
 GOOD AND EYIL 364 GOTAMA (1)

important slpect that remainr to be examined is the
mythology of evil in Buddhism. Among the popular
uithologies of most cultures there is recognition of
external demonic forcer which threaten the lifc, lecurity
and bealth of human beings. Attemptr to avoid the
inlluence of such demonic forces take the form of linding
magical mean! of keeping out of tbeir waY, bY propitiating
them througb methods such as performing the right kind
of sasrifice. This is a charactcristic of many enimistic
belief systems which sttempt to deal with the ills of
existence by looking outward el it were without
rttempiiDg to tranrform one's own inner nature' As
Trwor Ling observes,"Popular demonology is in essence
the attempt to project personal patterns upon thc worlC,
and to identify certain hostile forces or poweffi in the
world, and to discover how best to deal with them, by
propitiation, spclts,chants, secrilicesand so on'"10 In the
demonology of Buddhism thc most important figure is
Mara iq v ) the Evil One' tn BuddhismMarasyrnbolizes
all evrl. tn mythological terms to overcome evil is to
overpower Mara along +ith lua artnies, as the Buddha
h i m s e l f i s s a i d t o h a v c d o n e i m m e d i a t e l yp r i c r t o h i s
e n l i g t : t a i l c n r\' ' t , i ' ' ' i ' r . \ . n t c d r n t h e m y t h o l o g yo f
H , r t111 h n m t r :l ' - - ' 1 . : I r , r t r ' * h w o a sc o n s t a n t i y w a t c h f u l
r t r ' 3 r \ , | p r r l u n l t y r o p r e v e n t t h eB u d d h a f r o m a t t a i n -
, n g r h c g o a l o f c n l i g h t e n m e n t .E v e n a f t e r t h e B u d d h a t
enlightenment subsequent to the defest of Mira by the
BuddhE alu.ngwitb Marab retinue, the latter lought to
prevent, whcneverhe seized8n opportunity, the spreadof
r h * n l : l h r e n m c n t , r I t h e B u d d h a t o o t h e r b e i n g s 'T h e
$! rrir..i, ot \'l a r a r hc [' vtl One embodies the ills of human
axistenceea:d therr hldden roots. ln the Pali canonical
rcriptures Mara is explained as death (maccu).ln some
instencesMira stands for the fivc aggregatesof persona-
htv (khandhemira: S. III, p' 188). The sense spheres,
therr respectiveobjects and the consciousnessthat arises
through their contact are said to be Mira's possessions
(S. l, p. I l4). The armies of Mere are nemed according to
thc defilements of mind, the unwholesome psychological
traits, or any other impediment physical or mentrl on thc
wry to enligbtenment. Thus sensuousdesire (kima) is
rrid to be the first army of Mira (Sn. v' 436) Tnhi
(creving), ratr (sensuous delight) nd raga (lust) are
Mira's daughterg who make a desperate altmept to
distract the Buddba in his final battle with the forccs of
evil before enligbtenment. The Buddha is rcpresentedas
the supreme conquerer of Mira' The demonic forcc of
Mira's temptatiom are to be olcrcorbe not by megical
means but by the cultivation of Buddhist virtues' Trgvor
Ling (op. cit. p. 63) bas shown that ".'..if all the passagel
found in the Canon whicb refer to the conquest of Mera
are brought together and arranged systematically the
result will be a fair {onsPectus of the Buddhist way of
salvation. " The Mira symbol in Buddhism is yei another
instance of the Buddhist practice of transforming existing
beliefs by a processof psychologisation and ethicisation
to suit the fundamental doctrinal structure of Buddhism'
As Ling observes"".. the Pali Buddhism of the Canon
does not close tbe frontier of thought where it touches
animism and popuiar demonology: it allows ii to remain
open, but controls it from the Buddhist side, end for
Buddhist purposes.The means by which such control of
this frontier betweenpopular demonology and Buddhirt
doctrine and methods is maintained is the symbol of
Mara the Evil One (ibid. pp' 79-80)'
According to Buddhism 8s represented particularly in
the Pati canonical sources, the antidote to all evil thet
affects man, whether it is physical, moral or demonic, is
mental culture and spiritual discipline, but not megicel
practices and other forms of ritual associatcd with
animistic beliefs which have no moral significance' The
highest good of man is to be atteined by the complete
conquest of evil and this is ultimately cffected aot by
cbanging things outside of oneself but by changing one's
own inner nature.
P. D. Preoecfot
GOTAMA (l) - The last of the twenty-five Buddhas' He
was a SEkiyan,z son of Suddhodana,3 chief ruler of

p' 40'
f 0. T, O. Ling, Buddhism ud the Mlholryr of Evil,(Lo-ndon George, Allon rnd Unwin Ltd' 1962)

this article are those generelly acccpted by

l. No comprehensive account of Gotama Buddha is as yet possible. The deteilr givcn in
cf pecially thc r'lidnkethiof the JZtakt
orthorlox Theravadins and contained in their books, ihiefly the Pili commentarics, more
Vagga and the Cll/r Vegge of thc Vinaya
and rhe Buddhavamsa Commentary. Biographical daaib are also found in the Mahi
Referenccsto there are given where
iir"r^, the Buddhavsm.sa and in various scattered paslege! of the Nik;yu of the Sutta.&'tete.
of thevrryingviewr regerding
considtred u*eful. Coniroversy exists with regard to msnyof the matters mentioned, fordiscussion
end Mn. Rhyr DevirJr), Kern, E' J'
these, reference should be made to the works of Oldenberg, Rhyr Davidr (both Profersor
can be obtained by teferencc to the articlec under
Thomas und other scholun. Further particulrrs of personr end places mentioned
the rcspectiventmes.
a Kosalan M' ll' lU'
2. The Sikiyans were svidently subjects of thc Korela king; the Buddha calls himself
of the king, decendant of a long line of femour
3. All peli Commentaries and Serukrit works represcnt the Buddhe er the ron
enc6tors.
 GOTAMA (l) 365 GOTAMA (1)

K a p i l a v a t t h u , a n d o f M a h a M a y a , S u d d h o d a n a ' sc h i e f b o v , w h o m t h e y b o t h w o r s h i p . A s i t a w e e p sf o r s o r r o w
c o n s o r t .a n d h e b e l o n g e d " t ot h e G o t a m a - g o t t a ,B e f o r eh i s t h a t h e w i l l n o t l i + . et o s e et h e b o y ' s B u d d h a h o o d ,b u t h e
c o n c e p t i o n h e w a s i n t h e T u s i t a h e a v e n ,w a i t i n g f o r t h e instructs has nephew Nalaka (v.1. Naradatta) to prepsre
d u e t i m e f o r h i s b i r t h i n h i s l a s t e x i s t e n c eT
. hen, having himself f or that great d ay.7On rhe fifth day after the birth
made the "five investigations" (pa1cauilokanani),a hi i s t h e c e r e m o n y o f n a m e g i v i n g ,O n e h u n d i e d a n d e i g h t
took leave of his companions and descended to earth.j brahmins are invited to the festival at the palace:eight of
Many wondrous and marvellous events attended his the .- Rama, Dhaja, Lakkhanq Manti, Kondefifia.
conception and birth,oThe conception takes place on the B h o j a , S u y a m a a n d ' s u d a t t a - a r e i n t e p r e t e r so i b o d i l y
full-moon day of Asalha,with the moon in Uttarasilha" marks, and all except Kondafiffa prophesy two possibili-
and Maya has no relations with hcr husband. She has a ties for the boy; but Kondaffia, thc youngest,says,quite
marvellous dream in which the Bodhisatta, as a white decisivelv,that he will be a Buddha. The name given to
e l e p h a n t ,e n t e r s h e r w o m b t h r o u g h h e r s i d e , W h e n t h e t h e b o y a t t h i s c c r e m o n y i s n o t a c t u a l l y m e n t i o n e d ,b u t
dream is mentioned to the brahmins, they foretell the from other passagesit is infcrred that it was Siddhattha
b i r t h o f a s o n w h o w i l l b e e i t h e r a u n i v e r s a lm o n a r c h o r a (q.v.).
Buddha.
Among other incidents recounted of the Buddha!
An earthquale takesplace and thirty-two signsappear,
boyhood is that of his attaining the first jhana under a
p r e s a g i n gt h e b i r t h o f a g r e a t b e i n g . T h e f i r s t o f t h e s e jambu-tree. One day he is taken to the state ploughing of
signs is a boundless,great light, flooding every corner of
the king where Suddhodana himself, with bis golden
t h e t e n t h o u s a n dw o r l d s , e v e r y o n eb e h o l d si t s g l o r y , e v e n plough, plouhgs with the farmers. The nurses,attracled
the fires in all hells being extinguished.Ten months afrer
by the festivities,leavethe child under a jambu-tree,They
t h e c o n c e p t i o n ,i n t h e m o n t h o f V i s i k h a " M i y a w i s h e s t o return to find him seated, cross-legged,in a trance, the
visit her parents in Devadaha, On the way thither from
shadow of the tree remaining still, in order to protect him.
Kapilavatthu she passesthe beautiful Lumbini grove, in The king is informed and, for the second time. does
which she desirLsto wander; she goes to a great sila-tree r e v e r e n c et o h i s s o n . l
and seizes a branch in her hand; labour pains start
immediately, and, when the courtiers rctire, having 'lived
The Bodhisatta is reported to have in thc
drawn a curtain round her, even while standing, she is household for twenty-nine yea.rsa life of great luxury and
delivered of the child. lt is the day of rhe full moon of excessiveease,surrounded by ali imaginable comforts.
V i s a k h a :f o u r M a h a b r a h m a sr e c e i v et h e b a b e i n a g o l d e n He owns three palaces-Ramm4 Suramma and Subha-for
net, and streams of water descendfrom the sky to wash the three seasons.eWhen the Bodhisatta is sixtecn years
him. The boy stands on the earth, takes seven steps o l d , S u d d h o d a n a s e n d s m e s s e n g e r st o t h e S i k i y a n s
n o r t h w a r d s a n d u t t e r sh i s l i o n - r o a r . " I a m t h e c h i e f i n t h e asking that his son be allowed to seek a wife from among
w o r l d . " O n t h e s a m e d a y s e v e no t h e r b e i n g sw e r e b o r n ; their daughters; but the Sikiyans are reluctant to send
the Bodhi-tree, Rahula's mother (Rahulamata, his future them, for, they sey, though the young men is handsome,
w i f e ) , t h e f o u r T r e a s u r e - T r o v e s( d e s c r i b e da t D A . I , 2 8 4 ) , he knows no are; he summons an essembly of the Saki-
his elephant.-hishorse Kanthaka, his charioteer Channq yans and performs various feats, chief of these being
and Kaludayi The babe is escortedback to Kapilavatthu twelve feats with a bow which needsthe srength of one
on the day of his birth and his mother dies seven davs thousand men.r0The S-akiyans ere so impressedthat each
later. sends him a daughter, the total number so sent being
The isi Asita (or Kaladevala), meditating in the forty thousand. The Bodhisatta appoints eshis chief wife
H i m a l a y a , l e a r n sf r o m t h e T a v a t i m s a g o d s o f t h e b i r t h o f t h e d a u g h t e r o f S u p p a b u d d h a ,w h o , l a t e r , c o m e s t o b e
t h e B u d d h a ,v i s i t sS u d d h o d a n at h e s a m ed e y a n d s e e st h e cdled Rahulamata.tt
4 . S e e . r .y . B u d O n a .
5. According to the Lalitavistarahe appointed the Bodhisatwa Maitreya as king of Tucita in hir place.
6. Given inthe Acchariyabbhutadhamma Sudla(M. IlI, l8f.);nlso D.ll,lzf.Amoredetailedaccountisfoundin J.i. 17ff.:boththe
Laland the Mtu. ll, l4ff.differastothedetaibgivenhereof theconcrptionandthebirth.
7. For details see s. v. Asita.
8. J. l, 57 f .: MA. t, 466 f,: the incident is alluded to in the Mahi Sac:r'al.aSutta (M.1,246); the correspooding incident recounted in
Mtu. 11,45 f.) takes place in a park, and the detafu differ completely. The Lal,has two versions, one in prose and one ln verse and
both resemble the Mtu,, but in these the Buddha is represented as being much older. The Divy. (391) and the Tibetan versionr (e.g.
Rockhill, p. 22) put the incident very much later in the Buddha's life. Other incidents are given in la.l, urd Mtu.
9 . M e n t i o n i s m a d e o f h i s l u x u r i o u s l i f e i n A . I , l 4 5 , a l s o i n M . I , 5 0 4 ;f u r t h e r d e t a i b a r e g i v e n i n A , 4 . I , 3 T S f . ; J . I . 5 8 , S e c a l r o M t u , l l .
ll5r cf Vin.I,15:D,lI,2l.
10, Ths featr with the bow arc described in the ,Sarabhange Jitaka (t. V, l}g t.).
ll, Sheisknownundervariousnames;Bhaddakecci(orKaccani),Ya.sodhari"Bimbs,BimbasundariandGopi.Foradilcursionscc
s. v. Rahulamatc.
 GOTAMA (1) 366 GOTAMA (1)

According to the generally acceptedaccount, Gotama
is twenty-nine when the incidents occur which lcad to
final renunciation. Following the prophecy of the eight
brahmins, his father had talen every precaution that his
s o n s h o u l d s e en o s i g n o f o l d a g e ,s i c k n e s so r d e a t h . B u t
the gods decide that the time is come for the Enlighten-
ment, and instil into Gotame's heart a desire to go into
the park. On the way, the gods put before him a man
showing signs of extreme age, and the Bodhisatta returnsr
filled with desire for renuciation. The krng, learning this,
surrounds him, with greater attractions, but on two other
d a y s t zG o t a m a g o e st o t h e p a r k a n d t h e g o d s p u t b e f o r e
him a sick man and a corpse. On the full-moon day of
Asiha, the day appointed for the Greet Renunciation,
Gotema seesa monk and hearsfrom his charioteer praise
of the asceticlife. Feeling very happy, be goesto the park
to enjoy himsclf. Sakka sends Vissakamma himself to
bathc end adorn him, and as Gotama relurns to tbe city in
ell his majesty, he receivesnews of the birth of his son,
Foreseeingin this news a b_gnd,he decidesto call the babe
Rihula (q. ), Kis aGotami ( q, v.) seesGotama on the way
".
to the palace and, filled with longing for him, singsto him
e song conteining the word nibbuta. The significance of
the word (:extinguished, at peece) thrills him. and hc
sends to Kisa his priccless gold necklace which she,
however, accepts as a token of love. Gotama enters the
palaceand sleeps.He wakes in the middle of the nighttr to
find his female musicians sleeping in attitudes which fill
him with disgust and with loathing for the worldly life,
be decides to leave it. He orders Channa to saddle
Kanthaka, and entershis wife's room for a last look at her
and their son.
He leavesthe city on his horse Kanthaka, with Channa
clinging to its tail. The devas muffle the sound of the
horse'shoofs and of his neighing and open the city gates
for Gotama to pass. Mara appears before Gotama and
seeksto stay him with a promise that he shall be univcrsal
monarch within seven days. On his offer being refused.
M E r e t h r e a t e n st o s h a d o w b i m a l w a v s .O u t s i d e t h e c i t v .
at the spot wherc later was erectedthe Kanthakanivattana-
cetiya, Gotama turns his horse round to take a last look at
Kapilavatthu. It is said that the earth actually turned, to
nrale it easyfor him to do so. Then, accompanied by the
gods, he rides thirty leaguesthrough three kingdoms-
those of the Sakiyans, the Koliyans and the Mallas-and
h i s h o r s e c r o s s e st h e r i v e r A n o m a i n o n e l e a p . O n t h e
other side. he givesall his ornamentsto Channa, and with
his sword cuts off his hair and beard, throwing them up
into the air, where Sakka takes them and enshrinesthem
in the Culamanicetiya in Tivatimsa. The Brehmi
Ghatlkara offers'Gotama the eight requisitesof e monk,
which he acceptsand adopts. He then sendsChanna and
Kanthaka back to his father, but Kanthaka, broken-
hearted, dies on the spot and is reborn as Kanthalia-
d e v a p u t t a l.{
F r o m A n o m a t h e B o d h i s a t t ag o e st o t h e m a n g o - g r o w
o f A n u p i y a . a n d a f ( e r s p e n d i n gs e v e nd a y s t h e r ew a l k s t o
R a j a g a h a ( a d i s t a n c eo f t h i r t y l e a g u e s )i n o n e d a y , a n d
there starts his alms rounds. Bimbisira's men, noticing
h i m , r ep o r t t h e m a t t e r t o t h e k i n g , w h o s e n d sm e s s c n g e r E
t o e n q u i r ew h o t b i s a s c e t i ci s . T h e m e n f o l l o w G o t a m a t o
t h e f o o t o f t h e P a n d a v a p a b b a t aw , h e r e h e e a t sh i s m e a l ,
a n d t h e v t h en g o a n ' dr e p o r t t o t h e k i n g . B i m b i s a r av i s i t s
G o t a m a . a n d , p l e a s e dw i t h h i s b e a r i n g , o f f e r s h i m t h e
sovereignty.On learning the nature of Gotama'squest, he
wins from him a promise to visit Rajagaha first after the
Enligh tenment.I 5J ourneyi n g fro m Raj agaha" Go tame in
due course becomesa discip_leof Alara-Kalama. Having
learnt and practised all that Alara has to teach,he finds it
unsatisfyingand joins Uddata-Ramaputtq but Uddaka!
d o c t r i n e l e a v e sh i m s t i l l u n c o n v i n c e da n d h e a b a n d o n si t .
H e t h e n g o e st o S e n a n i g a m ai n U r u v e i a a n d t h e r e ,d u r i n g
s i x y e a r s ,p r a c t i s e sa l l m a n n e r o f s e v e r ea u s t e r i t i e s s, u c h
as no man had previously undertaken. Once he falls
f a i n t i n g a n d a d e v a i n f o r m s S u d d h o d a n at h a t G o t a m a i s
dead. But Suddhodana, relying on the prophecy of
Kaladevala,refusesto believethe news.Gotama's mother,
n o w b o r n a s a d e v a p t t a i n T a v a t i m s a .c o m e s t o * t i m t o
e n c o u r a g eh i m . A t U r u v e l a ,t h e P a i c a v a g g i y am o n k s a r e

12, According to some accounts. e.g. thrt of the Dighabhanakas. the four omensrrere aii seenon the same day ("f. I. 59).
1 , 1 .l n s o m e v e r s i o n s t h e R e n u n c i a t i o n t a k e s p l s c e s e v e _ n d a y s a f t e r t h e b i r tR
haoh
f ula(J.1,62).
14, The Eccount given here is taken mainly from the NidZnahathi (J.1,59 ff.) and evidently embodieslater tradition: cp.D.II,2l ff.
F r o m p a s s a g e fso u n d i n t h e P i t a k a r ( e . g .A . l , 1 1 5 ; M . l , 1 6 3 ,2 4 0 ; M , l l . 2 l 2 f . ) i t w o u l d & p p e a rt h s t t h e e v e n t sl e a d i n gu p t o t h e
Renunciation were not so dramatic as given here,the proccssbeing more gradual. t do not, however,4greewith Thomas (op, cit,3E)
that, according to these accounts, the Bodhisatta left the world when "quite a boy". t think the word dahara ir used merely to
indicate "the prime of youth," and not necessarily"boyhood-. The description of the Renunciation in the l^af i.svery much more
elsborute and adds numerous incidents. no &ccount of which is found in the Pili.
f5. Thisincidentisrlsomentionedinthe PabbajfiSutta.(5N.w.405-24),butthereitisthekingwhofintreesGotama. Itirsignificant
thut, when asked his identity, Gotama does not say he ir a kingl son. The Pili version of the sutta contains nothing of Gotameb
pro mise to visit R[j ageha, but the Mf u. version (l I, I 98-200),which placesthe visit luter, har two verle!, one of which contains the
request and the other the acceptsnce; and the .SNA. lll, 3E5 f.), too, mentioru the promisc 8nd tetls that Bimbisare was informed of
theprophecyconcerningGol&ma-Thereisanotherversionof the Mtu.(ii. ll7-20)whichsaysthatGotamawentrtraightto Vaijili
rfter leaving home. joining Alara, and later visited Uddake er Rijagaha Here no mention is made of Bimbisira- We are told in the
Mn.01,25 ff.) that Bi-mbiiara und Gotsmr (Siddhattha) hrd becn playmatcs, Bimbisrra being thc younger by five yoen.
Bimbisire's father (Bhati) and Suddhodana were friends.
 GOTAMA (1) n7 GOTAMA (r)

his companions, but now, having realised the folly of rides the elcphant Girimekhala, one hundred and fifty
extreme asceticism,he decides to abandon it. and starts l e a g u e si n h e i g h t . A t t h e s i g h t o f h i m a l l t h e d i v i n i t i e s
again to take normal food; thereupon the paficavaggiyas, g a t h e r e da t t h e B o d h i - t r e et o d o h o n o u r t o G o t a m a - t b c
disappointed, leave him and go to Isipatana.r6 great Brahmi, Salka, thc l.laga-king Mahatila -

Gotama's desire for normal food is satisfied by an ciisapp_ear in a flash, and Gotama is left aloce with the ten
offering brought by Sujata to thc Ajapala banyan trec parami,long practised by him, ss his sole protection. All
u n d e r w h i c h h e i s s e a t e d .S h e h a d m a d e a v o w t o t h e t r e e , Mira's att€mpts to frighten hrm by mcans of storms and
and her wish having bcen granted, she takes her slave terriflng apparitions fail, and, in the end, Mara, hurls at
gtrl, Punna. and goes tc the tree prepared to fuilil her him the Cakkavudha. It remains as r canopy poised over
p r o m i s e .T h c y t a k e G o t a m a t o b e t h e T r e e - g o d ,c o m c i n Gotaara. The very earth bearswitnessto Got.ma's fitnesr
person to accept her offering of milk-rice; the offering is to be the Enlightencd One, and Girimekhala kneelr
made in a gotden bowl and he takes it joyfully. Fivc before hirn. Mara is vanquished and flees headjong with
his vast army. The various divinities who had fied at the
drcamsrThe had the night beforc convince Gotama that
he will that day become the Buddha. It is the full-moon approach of Mara now return to Gotrma and exult in his
triumph.te
day of Visakha; he bathesat Suppatittha in thc Nera-iljari,
eats the food and launchcs the bowl up stream, where it G o t a m a s p e n d st h a t n i g h t i n d e e p m e d i t a t i o n . I n t h e
sinks to the abode of the Niga king, K-ala(Mahakala). first watch he gainsremembranceof his former existences;
in the middle watch he atrains rhe divine cye (dibba-
Gotama spends the rest of the day in e sile-grove tnd,
cakkhu); in the last watch he revolves in his mind the
in the evening, goes to the foot of the Bodhi-tree,
accompanicd by various divinities; there the grass-cutter Chain of Causatio n (paticcasamuppida). As he masters
this, the earth trembles and, with the dawn, comeg
Sotthiya gives him eighr handfuls of gr$s; these, afrer
investigation, Golama spreadson the easternside of the Enlightenment. He is now the supremc Buddhg and he
tree, where it becomes a seat fourteen hands long, on breals forth into a pean of joy (udan$.n
w h i c h h e s i t s c r o s s - l e g g e dd, e t e r m i n e dn o t t o r i s c b e f o r e For the first week the Buddha remains under the
attaining Enlightenment.t t Bodhi-tree, meditating on the paticcasamuppida; the
secondweek he spendsat the Ajapal'anigrodha,where thc
M i r a , l o r d o f t h e w o r l d o f p a s s i o n ,i s d e t e r m i n e d t o 'Huhuika"
brahmin accosts bimzr and where Mire'r
p r e v c n t t h i s f u l f i l m e n t . a n d a t t a c k sG o t a m a w i t h a l l t h e
daughters, Tanh4 Arati and Raga, appe&r before the
strenglh at his commaad. His army extends twelve
Buddha and make a last attempt to shake his resolution;tr
l e a g u e st o t h e f r o n t , r i g h t . a n d l e f t o f h i m , t o t h e e n d o f the third week he spendsunder the hood of the naga-king
t h e C a k k a v a l a b e h i n d h i m , a n d n i n e l e a g u e si n r o t h e s k y
Mucalinda,zr the fourth week is spent in meditrtion
above him. Mira himself carries numerous weapou rnd
under the Rajayatana tree,2aat the end of this period
t0 J.!66f.TheTheigithiCommentary(p'2)mentionsraotherteacherofGotama,namedBhaggava,whomGotamavirtedbefore
Alira. I'al, (330 (2fy4))conteins a very elaborate account of Gotema'c viritr to teacheru;he goes
first to two b'hmin
and Pudmr. then to Raivate and Rajaka, son of Trimsndika, and finally (as far ar this chapter ";;;;ii
ir concerned) to nt"r" at tsir;li. A
poem containing an account of the meaing of Gotame with Bimbirira ir inrerted into
thir account. ne n.xi chepter telts of
Uddaka- An account of Gotama'r visitr to teachers and of the detaik of hir aurterities ir atro given
in the Mahi Sa.',,,tr.r Suttz,
alreudy referred to (M. l. 24o ff.): the Mahi sihanida sutta (M. t, 77 ff.) contains a long and
detailed account of hir cxtreme
areticism. Sce afuo M. l. 163 ff.: II, 93 f.
l7 The dreams are recounted in A. lll. 240 and n Mtu. II, 136 f.
18.J-l.69.ThePitakasknownothingofsujiti'sofferingorof S o t t h i y a ' r g i f t .L a \ , ( 3 3 1 - i ( 2 6 7 - ' l q ) m e n t i o n s t e n g i r l r i n a l l w h o
provide him wiih food drrring his austerities. Diry. (392) mentionr two, t{enOi X*d"b*l
l9 ThewholestoryofthecontestwithMlrais,obviously,amythologiceldevelopme "nd
nt. Itirrignificantthatinthe
Majjhimtpassega
r e f e r r e d t o e a r l i e r t h e r e i s n o m e n t i o n o f M a r s , o f a t e m p t a t i o n , o r e v e n o f a B o d h i - t r e e ; b u t s e cD . l l , l a n d T h o m e . s
(op.at.,n, l).
Accordingto the KVlingabodhi Jitaka,which, very probably, ernbodier sn old trsdition, the bodhi-trGe
wrs wonhipped even in the
Buddha's life-time. The Mira legend is, however, to be found in the Canon ical Padhana Sufta of
the Sutte Xipita- This pcrheps
contains the first suggestionof the legend. For a discussionre s.v. M*a.
20. There is great d oubt ss to which were these IJdina verser. The Nidin*athi and the Commentarier generally quotc two verrec ( | 53,
t 54) included in the Dhammapada collection (anekaiiti sunsiratn, etc.)., The Vinaya (I. 2) quotes three
different ve.., (ar docr
ako DD'sA' l7), and saysthat one vene was repeated at the end of each watch, all the watches being occupied
with meditetion on the
puticcas-arnuppidaMtu. 1tl'286)giv6acompletelydifferent Lldinaandinanotherplace(ii.4l6)mentionsadifferentversea.rthe
fi,rst' Udina. The Tibetan Vinaya is, again, quite different (Rockhill, p. 33). For a discussion see Thomas,
op. cit., 7S ff .
2 l Mira now comes again and ark: the Buddha to die at oncn(D. tt. I l2).
)) J. t. 18: S. ll. I 24; I-a\.490 (37E).
2J. Vin. l. J.
24. This is lhe vina.va account (vin' l. I ff.); but lhe 1i12ys (i. 77 ff.) extends thir period to reven weekr, the edditional weekr
being
inrcrted between the first and second. The Buddha spends one week erch at the Animise€tiya, the Ruanacenkema end the
Retaneghrra. and this last is wherc he thinks out the Abhidhamma pit*t.
 GOTAMA (1) 3riE GOTAMA (1)

tales placethe conversion of Tapussa and Bhallika, Ther^r
t a l e r e f u g ei n t h e B u d d h a a n d t h e D h a m m a , t h o u g h t h e
Buddha does not give them any instruction,
D o u b t s n o w a s s a i lt h e B u d d h a a s t o w h e t h e r h e s h a l l
p r o c l a i m t o t h c w o r l d h i s d o c t r i n e , s o r e c o n d i t e ,s o h a r d
t o ' u n d e r s t a n d .T h c B r a h m a S a h a m p a t i 2 sa p p e a r sb e f o r c
him and assureshim there are many prepared to listen to
him and to profit by hrs teaching, and so entreatshim to
t e a c h t h e D h a m m a . T h e B u d d h a a c c e d e st o h i s r c q u e s t
a n d , a f t e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n ,d e c i d e st o t e a c h t h e D h a m m a
first to the Paficavag_gi;las at lsipatana, On the way to
Benareshe meetsthe Ajivaka Upaka and tells him that he
(the Buddha) is Jina, On his arrival at Isipatna the
Paficavaggiyasare, at first, reluctant to acknowledgehis
claim to be the Tnthigata, but they let themselvesbe won
over and, on the full-moon day of Asalha" the Buddha
prcachesto them the sermon which came to bc known as
the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta2t5.At the end of the
sermon Kondaflfia becomes a sotapanna and they all
b e c o m em o n k s .
This sermon is followed five days later by lhe Anatta-
Iakkhana Sutta, at the conclusion of which all fiw
bccome arahants. The following day the Buddha mects
Yasa, whom he converts. Yasa's father, who comes
seeking him, is the first to take the threefold formula of
Refuge. Yasa becomes an arahant and is ordained. The
Buddha acceptsa meal at his house, and Yasa's mother
and one of his formerwives are the first two lay-women to
becomethe Buddha's disciples.Then four friends of Yasa
and, afterwards, fifty more, enter the Order and become
rrahants, There are now sixty arahants besidesthe
Buddha, and they are sent in different directions to
preach the Dhamma. They returD with many candidates
for admission to the Order, and the Buddha, who up till
now had ordained men with the'ehi bhikkhu"formula,
now allows the monks themselvesto perform the ceremony
of ordination.2T
After spcnding the rainy season at Benares,2r the
Buddha returns to Senanigama in Uruvela, on the way
converting and ordaining the thirty Bhaddavaggiya. At
Uruvcli, after a long and protracted exerciseof magical
powerr, conrirting in ell of three thousand five hundred
miracles, the Buddha wins over the three Kassapa
brothers, the Tebhatika Jatila" with tbeir thousand
followers, and ordains them. ihey becomearahants after
listening'to the Adittapariyaya Sutta preached at
Gayasisa;with these followers he visits Rajagaha, where
K i n g S e n i y a B i m b i s a r a c o m e s t o s e eh i m a t t h e L a t t h i -
vanuyyina. The fcllowing day the Buddha and"the
monks visit the pa!ace,precededby Sakka disguisedas a
youth and singing the praises of the Buddha. After the
meal, the king gifts Veluvana to the Buddha and the
Order. The Buddha stays for two months at Rijagaha,2e
and it is during this time that Sariputta and Moggallann
join the Order, through the instrumentality of Assaji,:o
The number of codverts now rapidly increasesand the
people of Magadha, alarmed by the prospect of child-
lessness,widowhood, etc., blame the Buddha and his
monks, The Buddha, however, refutes their chargees.rt
r2On the full-moon day of Phagguna (February-
March) the Buddhg accompanied by twenty thousand
m o n k s , s e t so u t o f K a p i l a v a t t h u a t t h e - e x p r e srse q u e s to f
his father, conveyed through Kaludayi.rt By slow stages
he arrives at the city, where he staysat the NigrodhCrCmg
and, in order to convincc his proud kinsmen of his power,
performs the Yamakapatihariya and then relates the
VessantaraJataka. The next day, receivingno invitation
to a meal, the Buddha begs in thc streetsof the city; this
deeply grieves Suddhodana, but later, learning that it is
the custom of all Buddhas, he becomesa sotipanna and
conducts the Buddha and his monks to a meal at the
palacc.There all the women of the palace,excepting only
Rahulamata, come and do reverence to the Buddha.
Mahapajapati becomes a sotapanna and Suddhodana a
satadami. The Buddha visits Rdhulamdti in her own
apsrtmeDts and utters her praises in the Caadakinnara
J-ataka, The following day the Buddha persuades his
half-brother, Nanda" to come to the monastery,where he
ordains him and, on the seventh day, he does the same
with Rahula. This is too great a blow for Suddhodana"
and at his request the Buddha rules that no person shall
be ordained without the consent of his parents.The next
day the Buddha preachesto Suddhodana, who becomes
an anag-ami.During the Buddha's visit to Kapilavatthu,
eighty thousand Sekiyans join the Order, one from each

21 According to J. I, 81, with the gods of the thounnd worlds, including'Sakk8, Suyirn+ Santusitg Sunimmita, Vasavatti, etc,
X. Vin.l.4tr.:M.lt. lltff.: cp.D.ll.36{I.RegardingtheclaimofthissuttatobetheBuddhe'sfirutrermonseeThomas,op.cit.,p.E61'
rcc ebo s.v. Paficavaggiya
Vin. l. l5 ff.;
"r. ll. 8l f.
74. About thir time Mera twice tries to tempt the Buddhq once rfter he had rent the disciples out to preach and once after the Retreat
(.S,L 105, 106; Vin.ll,2l,22).
29. BuA.1. It war probrbly during this ycar, at the beginning ofthe rainy season, th&t the Buddha virited Vesali at the request ofthe
Licchavir, corweycd through Mshili. The city war suffering from pestilencc end femine. The Buddha wcnt, preeched the Rataaa
Sulfg end dispclled all dangerr (DhA. lll.436 ff.).
J0. Vin.l. 23 ff.
3 1 . V i n .1 . 1 2t .
32. The accountof the first twenty years of the Buddhsl minirtry ir cummtrired from variou lourcct, chieflyfrom Thomasl
edmirable account in his tile and Legendof the Buddbr (pp. 97 ff.). Thc nooelraryreferencelue to bc found under thc name!
mentioned.
 GOTAMA (l) 389 GOTAMA (l)

family. With these he returns to Rajagaha, stopping on m u l t i t u d e ,g a t h e r e da t S a v a t t h ia r t h e Y a m a k a p i t i h a r i y a ,

the way at Anupiya, where Anuruddha, Bhaddiya, refuse to gc awav until thev havc seen hin. For three
Ananda, Bhagu, Kimbila and Devadatta, together with months. therefore, Moggallana cxpounds to them the
thcir barber, Upili, visit him and seek ordination. Dharnmq whilc C.iila Anarhapindila providesthem with
food. During the prcaching of ihe Abhidho-ma, Siri-
-On his return to Rajagahax the Buddha residesin the
Sitavana. There Sudatta,latcr known as Aniithapindik4 p u t t a v i s i t s t h e B u d C h ad a i i y a n r !l e a r n sf r o m h i m a l l t h a t
visits him, is converted, and invites him to Savarthi. The has been recited the previo..rsday. At the end of the vassa"
Buddha accepts the invitation and journeys through t h e B u d d h a d e s c c n d sa j r w e l l e d s t a i r c a s e ea n d c o m e st o
VesCli to Sivetthi, there to pass thc rainy season.r5 e a r t h a t S a n k a s s a ,t h i r t y l e a g u r sf r o m S a v a t t h i . { I t w a s
Anithapindika gifts Jetavana, provided with every neces- about this time, when the Buddha's fame was at it3 height,
sity, for thc rcridence of the Buddha and his monks. that the notorious Cinca-manavika was persuaded by
Probebly to this period belongs the conversion of members of some hostile sect io bring a vile accusation
Miger!, frther-inJaw of Visakh4 and the consrruction, against the Buddha. A similar story, told iu connection
by Visikhr, of tbe Pubbarama at Sivatthi. The vassa of with a paribbajika named Sundari, probebly refers to a
the fourth year the Buddha spends at Veluvana, where he later date.
converts Uggasenarc In the fifth year Suddhodane dies, The eighth year the Buddhaspendsin the country of the
heving realisedarahantship, and the Buddha flies through Bhaggasand therc, while residing in Bhesalalavana near
the air, from the Kutigirasili in Vesili where he war Sumsumaragiri, he meets Nakulapita and his wife, who
staying, to preach to his father on his death-bed. had been his parents in five hundred former births..r
According to one accountl? it is at this time that the
quarrel brcaks out betweenthe Sakiyaas and the Koliyans I n t h e n i n t h y e a r t h e B u d d h a i c e r K o s a m b i .W h i l e o n e
regarding lhe irrigation of the river Rohini. The Buddha visit to the Kuru country he is offered in marriage
persuadesthem to make peace,and tales up his abode in Magandiya. The refusal of rhe offer, accompanied by
the Nigrodharama" Mahapajapati Gotami, with othr Sikiyan insulting remarks about physical beeuty, arouses the
womenr visit him there and asks that women may be enmity of Magandiya who, thcnceforward. cherishes
allowed to join the Order. Three times the request is h a t r e d a g a i n s tt h e B u d d h a . a 2
made, three times refused, the Buddha thcn returning to I n t h e _t e n t h y e a r t h e r e a r i s e s a m o n g t h e m o n k s a t
Ves-eli.The women cut off their hair, don yellow robes Kosambi a schism which thrcatcns the very existenceof
and follow him thither. Ananda intercedeson their behalf the Order. The Buddha, failing in his attempts to
and their request is granted.3l reconcile the disputants, retires in disgust to the
In the sixth year the Buddha again performs the Pirileyyakaforest, pgsing on his way through Balatalona-
Yamakapitihiriya, this time at the foot of the Gandamba kiragama and Pacinavamsadaya, In the forest he is
tree in Savatthi. Prior to this, the Buddha had forbidden protected and waited upon by a friendly elephant who
any display of magic powers, but mekes an exception in has left the herd. The Buddha spends the rainy season
his own casc.3e there and returnsto Savatthi.By this time the Kosambl
m o n k s h a v e r e c o v e r e dt h e i r s e n s e sa n d a s k t h e B u d d h a ' s
He spends the vassa at Mankulapabbata. After the
p a r d o n . T h i s i s g r a n t e d e n d t h e d i s p u t es e t t l e d , a l
performance of the miracle he follows the custom of all
Buddhas and ascends to Tavatimsa in threc strides to I n t h e e l e v e n t hy e a r t h e B u d d h a r e s i d e sa t t h e b r a h m i n
preachthe Abhidharnma to his mother who is born there v i l l a g e o f E k a n a l a a n d c o n v e r t sK a s i - B h a r a d v a j a . !T h e
as a deva. and there he keeps the seventh vaur. The twelfth year he spendsat Vara-frjakeeping the vassaat the

3 3 . T h i s v i s i t i s n o t m e n t i o n e d i n t h e C a n o n ; b u t s e c T h q . S T l - 3 6 ; A A . l . l O 7 , 1 6 1 ; J .1 . 8 7 ; D h A . l , 9 6 f . ; f h a g A . l , 9 9 7 f t .
31. J. 1,92. The story is also told inthe Vinaya IlI. 154), but no date ir indicated,
35. Vin. ll. 158; but scc BuA.3, where the Buddha is mentioned er having spent the varsa in Rajagaha
36. DhA. rV, 59 f.
3 7 . A A . l . 3 4 1 S l / 4 . 1 . 3 5 7 ; T h i C A , l 4 l : d e t a i h o f t h e q u a r r e l a i e g i v e ni n J . Y . 1 l 2 f f .
38. Vin. ll. 251 ff.; A. |V,214 f.; for details se! r. y. Muhipajipati,
39. DhA. llt, t9ff; J. Iy, 265 etc.
40. For details see s. v. Devorohana
11. AA' l' 217. The same is told of another old coupte in Siketr- See the Sltete JitaLa. The Buddhe cvidently rtayed rgrin &t
Sumrumaragiri many years later. It wa.rduring hi.ssecond virit that Bodhirijakumira ( g. v.) invited him to a meal at hir new palacc
in order thrrt the Buddha might consecrate thc building by hir prcsence.
tl2" SN.; pp. 163 ff.; SNA' ll. 92tt.; DhA,I. 199 tr Thomar (op. cit.,109)
a.ssignsthe Magandiya incident to the ninth year going
probably on AA. t, 435 but othsr Commcntaries rey the Buddha wa! then living at Sivatthi.
13. Vin. l. 337 ff.; J. lll .186ff .; DhA.l. 44 ff.; but see IId. iv,5; s.r, Parileyyeka
't4. S/v., p. 12 f.; S. l. 172 f.
 GOTAIVIA (1)
rcquest of the brahmin Verallja gu1 ygsefija, forgets his
obligations; there is a famine, and live hundred borse-
mercbentr supply the monls with food' Moggallana's
olTer to obtain food by means of magic powcr is
discouragcd." Tbe thirteenth Retreat is kept at Cilika-
pebbata, where Megbiya is the Buddha's penond
ettendant.{ Tbe fourtcenth year ir spent at Sivatthi, and
there Rihula rcceiws the upasampadi ordination.
In the fifteenth yeer thc Buddha revisits Kapilavatthu,
ead there his fathcr-in-law, Supprbuddha, in a drunken
fit, refuses to let tEe Buddhr pals through the streets.
Seven dayr later he is swallowed up by thc earth at thc
foot of hir pelece.'r
a6s ghi_efsvent of the sixteenth year, which the Buddha
rpent rt Alavi, is the converrion of the yakkha Alavaka.
Ln tbe rvcntecth year thc Buddha is beck at Sivatthi, but
be viritr Alevi again out of compasrion for apoor farmer
who becomes a sotCpanna after hearing him preach.'r [le
rpcndr the rainy_seasonat Rijagaha. ln thc next year he
rgdn comes to Alevi from Jetevana for the sake of a poor
wrrvcr! daugbter. She hed heard him preach, tbree yean
earter, oD thc dcsirability of mediteting upoD deeth. Shc
done geve heed to his rdmonition aad, wbcn tbe Buddha
knowr of ber imminent death, he journeys thirty leaguer
to preach to her end ee.rtablisbhcr in the sotipattiphala's
Tbe Retrcat of this yeer end dso that of the nineteenth
In the twentieth year ta&es
ere tpcnt et Cilitepabbata
placatbe miraculour convenion of the robber Airgulimila
He becomes an-arahant end dies shortly after' [t is in the
irEe ycar that Ananda is appointed pcrmrncnt attendant
on the Buddhe, e position which hc holds to the end of the
Buddha's life, twenty-five ycars later'e The twentieth
Retreat is sPent et Rijageha.
With our prelent knowledge it is impossible to evolve
eny kind of chronologl for the remaining twenty-five
yean of the Buddha's life' Thc Commentaries state5rthat
they were tpcnt tt Sivatthi in the monasterier of
Jetevene and Pubbir-ama. This, probably, only implier
that thc Rereats were kept thcre and that thcy were made
the headquerters of the Buddha' From there, during the
dry leason, he went every yerr on tour in various dirtricts.
1 3 . Y i n . l l t . I f f . ; J . I l l . 4 9 / tt . ; D h A . l I . 1 5 3 .
1 5 .A . I V . 3 5 4 :U d . i v . i .
17. DhA.lll. 11
1t. DhA.lll. 262ff.
+9. Ibid. 170fI.
50. For dsteilr tQ s.v. Anendr-
51. E.g. EuA.3; SNA. (p. 335 f.) rayr that when the Buddhe wr! at Sivrtthi, hc rpent the dry et thc .'{iginmitupirlar
Pubbiramn, and the niSht et Jetaveneor vie wnz
52 For detailsof ther viritr rees.v, psim.
53. Mhv ii.32
370 @TAMA (1)
Among the placcs visited by him during these toun erc
the followiDg.s2 Aggilavacetiya, Anotatts, Andb*a-
vindr, Ambepilivana, Ambelattbiki, Amberendi,
Auepura, Ap"?", Icchanaigala, UkkatthC (Subha-
gavaia;, Ukid;h, Ugganagarg Ujunf,i' (Kennekat-
thaka deer-park), Uttara in Koliya, UttEntl' Uttare'
kuru, Uruvelekappa, Ulumpe, Ekenili, Opulda,
Kakkarapatta, Kaj airgalE (Mutbclwana), Kammasa-
dharnmg Kalandakanivipe (neer Benares), Kimbili"
fitigiri, Kun d adh aDavana (nc er Kund ak oli), Katputt 8"
Kdtigima, Kora4bi (Ghoritarima and Bed arikirima),
Khdnumata, Khomedursa, Gosiigas ilavan g Cand da-
k-"ppc Campi (Grgg$t), Citume, Cetiyagiri in Ver-li,
Jivak nm ab av ana (in Rijagrhr), Tapodirame, Tinduk-
khinu (paribbajakirime), Todeyyq Thullakotthite,
Dakkhinagiri, Dandalappq Dwdebq Doaka in tbe
Sumbha country, Nagareka, Nagarevinde, Nidike
(Gifijakevesathe), Nilendi (Pivirita mango-grove),
Nilekapina (Paldsavena), Paikadhi, Paficmili,
PEtikarima, Bcluva, the Brabmn world, Bhaddavati,
nhaddiya (Jitiyivana), Bhaganagara (Anandacetiye),
Meninilakecetiya, Manasakatt, Matull, Mithili
( Ma'khadev a mangegtorrc), MedalumP q M oranivipl
Rammaka's hermitage, Lett hivana, Videha, Vedhr.[[p
ambavana, Vcnryepura' Veraflji, Vesili (also veriour
sbriues there, Udenaceitye, Gotrmacltiye" Cipalacctiyt,
B ahuput t ekecetiye, S att amb acct}r', S irand ad acttiy r),
Sekkera, Sajirnela, Sdalagrr*e in Sivetthi, Silete
(Ailjanavana), Simagima, Silavetikl, Sili, Simn-
pivana, Siliveti, Sitavang S[tanthatalena, Sctavyi,
Hatthiglma, Halidavarslna end the region of the
Himilaye.
There is a more or lers continuoul eccoutrt of the lrst
yeer of the Buddha'c lifc. This ir contained in thrte sutlu:
tbe Mahiparinibbiaa, the Malisudassaoa and the
Janavasabhe. These are not $Parete discourses but ere
intimetely connected with each other' The only cwnt
prior to the incidents recouated in thcsc Eutttt' whicb can
be lixed with any certainty, is the dcath of the Buddhr's
pious patron and supporter, Bimbisdrg which took plecc
eight years before the Buddhat Parinibbina.ts lt war rt
this time that Devadatta tried to obtain for himsclf a port
of supremacy in the Order, and, failing in tbit effort,
in thc
 GOTAMA (1) 371 GOTAMA (l)

becamc the open enemy of the Buddha.s' Enlisting the t h a t l e a d t o p r o s p e r i t y .T h e B u d d h a p r o c e e d sw i t h a l r r g c

support of Ajatasattu, he tried in many ways to kill thc
Buddha. Royal archergwerc bribed to shoot thc Buddha"
but they were won over by his pesonality and confessed
thcir intcntions. Then Devadatte hurled a great rock
down Gijjhakfite on to the Buddha as he was walking in
the sbadeof the hill; the hurtling rock was stopped by two
pcaks, but splinten slruck the Buddba's foot and caused
blood to flow; he suffered great pain and had to be taken
to the Maddakucchi garden, where his injuries were
dressed by thc physician Jivala.ss The monks wished to
providc a guard, but the Buddha rcmindcd them that no
man hed the power to deprive e Tathagata of his life.
Devedatta next bribed the royal elephant keepersto let
loose e fierce elephant,Niligiri, intoxicated with toddy,
on the road along which the Buddha would go, begging
for elms. The Buddha was warned of this but disregarded
the warning, and when the elephant appcared, Ahandq
egainst the strict orders of the BuddhE, threw himself in
its peth, and only by an exercise of iddhiaower, including
thc folding up of the eailh, could the Buddha come ahead
of him. As the clcpheat approached, the Budha addressed
it, pcrvading it with his boundless love, until it became
quitc gcntle.s
Thece rttempts to encompass thc Buddha's deaih
heving feil€d, Devadetta, with three others, decides to
crcrte a schism in thc Order and arks the Buddha that five
rules rhould be leid down, whereby the monkr would be
compelled to lead a far more 8ultere life than hitherto.
When this requcst is refused, Devadetta persuades five
hundred recently ordained monks to leave Vesili with
him and take up their regidence et Gayasise, where he
would set up an organisation similer to that of thc
Buddba. But, at thc Buddhal request,Siriputtapreeches
to thcm end thcy ere pcrsueded to return. When Devadatta
dircoverr this, hc vomitr hot blood end lies ill for nine
months. When his end approaches, he wishes to sce the
Buddhs, but hc dics on thc way to Jetavana-whither he is
bcing conveyed in a litter-end is born in Avici.57
From Gijjhek[ts, near Rijaga]ra, the Buddhe starts on
hir last journey. Just before his departure he is visiad by
Vassakirg and the talk ir of the Vajjians; the Buddha
preachesto Vassakara and the monks on the conditionr
concoursc o[ monks to AmbajatthikA and thence to
Nalaada. where Sariputga utt,rrs his lion-roar (sihanade)
regarding his faith in the Buduha. fhe Buddha then goes
to Pataligama, where hetalks lo the villagers on the evil
consequences of immorality aad the advantages of
morality. He utters a prophecy regarding the future
g r e a t n e s so f P a t a l i p u t t a a n d t h e n , l e a v i n g b y t h e
Gotamadvara, he crossesthe river Ganges et Gotsme-
tittha. He proceeds to [otigama and thence to Nitikg
where he gives to Ananda the formule of the
Dhammadisa. wheleby the rebirth of disciples could be
ascrrtained. From Nitika he goes to Ves-ali,staying in the
park of the courtesan Ambapili. The following day he
accepts a meal from Ambaplli, refusing a similar offer
from the Licchavis; Ambapali makes a gift of her park to
the Buddha and his monls. The Buddha journeys on to
Beluva, where he lpends the rainy season, his monls
remaining in Vesifi. At Beluva he falls dangerously ill
but, with_greatdetermination, fights against his sicknes.
He tclls Ananda that his mission is finirhed, tbat r{henhe
is dead the Order must maintain itself, taking the
Dhamma alone as its refuge, and he concludes by
propounding the four subjects o_fmindfulaess.5t The next
day be begsin Vesili Bnd, with Ananda, visits the CepCla-
cetiya. There he givcs to Ananda the opportrEity of
asking him to live until tbc end of the kappa, but Aanada
fails to take the hint, Soon afterwards Mira visits the
Buddha and obtains the $surancc that the Buddhal
nibbana will take place in'threc months. There is an
earthquale, end, in enswer to Anande's questions, the
Buddha explains to him the eight caurc! of earthqueker.
This is followed by lists of the eight asscmblies,the cight
ltages of martery end the eight stages of release. The
Buddha thur repeats to Ananda his convenation with
Mirq and Anendenow makes hio requert to the Buddha
to prolong hir life, but is told that it ir now too late;
scveral opportunities he has had, of which he has failed to
avail himrelf. The monks rre assembled in Vesili, in the
Service Hall, and the Buddha exhorts them to practise
thc doctrine he has taught, in order that the religious life
may last Iong. He then announceshis impending death.
The next day, returning from Vesi[, he looks round at
the city for thc last time and goes on to Bhandgimaso;

S{. Devrdetta's desire to deprive the Buddha of the leaderrhip of the Srngha secm! to have been conccived by him, according to tbe
Vinrya rccount (Vin.ll, 184), almort immedirtely after he joinod the Order, qnd the Buddha war werned of this by the devaputta
Krkudha Thir eccount lends point to the ltstement contrined crpecielly in thc\orthern bo5ks, thet 6/en in their lry life Devadatte
hrd rlwrys bcen Cotema\ rivd.
55. S. 1.27.
56. Thi! incident, with treat wealth of daeil, is relatld in rcveral ples - e.g. in J. V. 333 ff.
57. For further deteilr snd for referenccs, soe r,v, Dcvsdett&
5t. D. lt. t00.
59. Accordin3totheCommentarier(e.9. DA.ll,549),aftertherainyreasonspcntstBeluve,theBuddhagoesbacktoJetevanl,where
he is virited by Srriputta, who is preparing for hir own parinibblna * Nilakagima From Jetevana the Euddha went to Ril"erhr
vherc Mehimoggalline dicd. Thencc he proccded to Ukk;c?h, where he rpoke in praisc of the two chief dirciplcr. From Ukkicali
he proceded to Verili a.nd thence to Bhrndagima Rihulq too, prcdecea^redthe Buddb a(DA. lI. 549).
 GOTAMA (l)
t h e r e h e p r e a c h e so n t h e f o u r t h i n g s t h e c o m p r e b e n s i o n
o f w h i c h d e s t r o y sr e b i r t h - n o b l e c o n d u c t , e a r n e s t D e s s
in meditation, wisdom and frcedom.
H e t h e n p a s s e st h r o u g h t h e v i l l a g e s o f H a t t h i g - m a ,
A m b a g a m a a n d J a m b u g a m a , a n d s t a y sa t B h o g a n a g a r a
a t t h e A n a n d a c e t i y a .T h e r e h e i , J d r e s s e tsh e m o n k s o n
the Four Great Authorities (Mahipadesi),by referencc
lo which the true doctrine mav be determined.oFrom
B h o g a n a g a r at h e B u d d h a g o e st o P a v a a n d s t a y si n t h e
m a n g o - g r o l ' e o [ C u n d a , t h e s m i t h . C u n d a s e r v e sh i m
with a meal which includessikaramaddava,6t-fheBuddha
alone partakes of the s-ukaramaddava,the remains being
buried. This is the Buddha's last meal; sharp sickness
ariscs in him, with flow of blood and violent, deadly
paius, but the Buddha controls them and sets out for
Kusinara. On the way he hasto sit down at the foot of a
tree. Ananda fetcheshim water to drink from the stream
K a k u t t h a . o v e r w h i c h f i v e h u n d r e dc a r t s h a d j u s t p a s s e d ;
but, through the power of the Buddha, the water is quite
clear. Hcre the Buddha is visited by Pukkusa, the
M a l l a n , w h o i s c o n v e r t e da n d p r e s e n t st h e B u d d h a w i t h a
p a i r o f g o l d - c o l o u r e d r o b e s .T h e B u d d h a p u t s t h e m o n
and Ananda notices the marvellous brightness and
cleernessof the Buddha's body. The Buddha tells him
that the body of a Buddha takes on this hue on the night
befort his Enlightenment and on the night of his passing
away, and that he will die that night at Kusinara. He goes
to the Kakuttha, bathes and drints there and rests in a
m e n g o - g r o v e .T h e r e h e i n s t r u c t sA n a n d a t h a t s t e p sm u s t
be talen to dispel any remorse that Cunda may feel
regarding the meal hc gave to the Buddha.
From Kakuttha the Buddha crossesthe Hirafiflavatl to
the Upavattana sila-grove in Kusinlra, There Ananda
p r e p a r e sf o r h i m a b e d w i t h t h c t r e a dt o t h e n o r t h . A l l t h e
t r e e sb r e a l f o r t h i n t o b l o s s o ma n d f l o w e r sc o v e r t h e b o d y
of the Buddha. Divine mandarava-flowers and sandal-
wood powder fall from the sky, and divine music and
s i n g i n g s o u n d t h r o u g h t h e a i r . B u t t h e B u d d h a s a y st h a t
the greater honour to him would be to follow his
teachings,
T h e g o d s o f t h e t e n t h o u s a n dw o r l d s y s t e m sa s s e m b l e
to pay their last homage to the Buddhs" and Upavdna,
who stands fanning him, is asked to move away as he
obstructs their view.
Ananda asksfor instruction on severalpoints, including
how the funeral rites should be performed; he then goes
out and abandbns himself to a fit of weeping;the Buddha
sends for him, consoleshim and speaks his praises.
A n a n d a t r i e s t o p e r s u a d et h e B u d d h a n o t t o d i e i n a
mud-and-wattle village, such as is Kusinara, but the
Buddha tells him how it was oncethe mighty Kusavati,
cepital of Mahasudassana.
60. cf. A. il, t67 fl.
6r. There is much dispute concerning this word. See Thomas,op. cit.
372 GOTAMA (1)
The Mallas of Kusinaraareinformed that the Buddha
w i l l p a s sa w a y i n t h e t h i r d w a t c h o f t h e n i g h t , a n d t h e y
c o m e w i t h t h e i r f a m i l i e st o p a y t h e i r r e s p e c t sT. h e a s c e t i c
Subhadda comes to see the Buddha and is refused
a d m i s s i o nb y A n a n d a , b u t t h e B u d d h a ,o v e r h e a r i n gc, a l l s
him in ard convertshim. Severalminor rules of discipline
aredelivered,including the order for the excommunication
of Channa. The Buddha finally asks the asscmbled
monks to speakout any doubts they may have. All are
s i l e n t a n d A n a n d a e x p r e s s e sh i s a s t o n i s h m e n t ,b u t t h e
B u d d h a t e l l sh i m i t i s n a t u r a l t h a t t h e m o n k s s h o u l d h a v e
no doubts. Then, addressingthe monks for the last time,
h e a d m o n i s h e st h e m i n t h e s ew o r d s : " D e c a y i s i n h e r e n ti n
all component things; work out your salvation with
d i l i g e n c c . "T h e s ew e r e t h e B u d d h a ' sl a s t w o r d s . P a s s i n g
backwards and forwards through various stages of
trance, he attains Parinibbana. There is a great earth-
quale and terrifying thunder, and the Brahma Saham-
pati, Sakka king of th gods, Anuruddha and Ananda
utter stanzase , a c h p r o c l a i m i n g t h e f e e l i n gu p p e r m o s t i n
his mind. It is thefull-moon day of the month of Visakha
a n d t h e B u d d h a i s i n h i s e i g h t i e t hy e a r .
The next day Ananda informs the Matlas of Kusinira
of the Buddha's death, and for seven days they hold a
great celebration.On the seventhday, following Ananda's
instructions, they prepare the body for cremation, taking
it in procession by the eastern gate to the Makuta-
bandhana shrine, thus altering their proposed route, in
order-to satisfy the wishesof the gods, as communicated
to them by Anuruddha. The whole town is covered knee-
deep with mandirava-flowers, which fall from the sky.
Whcn, howcver, four of the chief Mallas try to light the
pyre, their attempt is unsucccssfuland they must wait
until Ma-ha Kassapa, comin3 with a company of five
hundred monks, has saluted it. The Commentaries (e.g.
DA.11,603) add that Maha Kassapagreatly desired that
the Buddha's feet should rest on his head when he
worshipped the pyre, The wish was granted: the feet
appeared through the pyre, and when Kassapa had
worshipped them, the pyre closed together. The pyre
burns completely away, leaving no cinders nor soot.
Streams of water fall from the sky to extinguish it and the
Mallas pour on it scentedwater. They then place a fence
of spears around it and continue their celebrations for
sevendays, At the end ofthat period there appear several
claimants for the Buddha's relics: Ajitasattu, the Liccha-
vis of Vesali, the Sakiyans of Kapilavatthu, the Bulis of
Allakappa, the Koliyas of Rimagama, a brahmin of
Vethadipa and the Mallas of Pava. But the Mallas of
Kusinara refusing to sharethe relits with the others,there
is danger of war. Then the brahmin Dona counsels
concord and divides the relics into eight equal parts for
the cight claimants. Dona trker for himself the meeruring
149,n.3,
 GOTAMA (1) 373 GOTAMA (l)

vcsseland the Moriyas of pipphalivana, who arrive late, q u a r r e l a n d r e c e i v e d ,a s a g i f t , t h e t h r o n e ,t h e c a u s eo f t h e

carry off the ashes.ThDpas were built over theseremains trouble. He left behind him both the throne and the
a n d f e a s r sh e l d i n h o n o u r o f t h e B u d d h a , 5 z[ t i s s a i d 6 :t h a t Rajayatana trce for the worship of the Nagas and
just bcfore the Buddha's Sisana disappears
completely acceptedan invitation from the Naga king, Maniakkhika
from the world, all the relics will gather together at the of Kalyini, to pay another visit to Ceylon. Three years
Mahacetiyq and travelling from there to Nagadipa and later Maniakkhika repeatedthe invitation and the Buddha
the Ratanacetiya" essembleat the Mahibodhi, together came to f Uyioi with five hundred monks, on the second
with the relics from other parts. There they will re_form day of Yesalha. Having preachedto the Nagas, he went
the Buddha's golden-hued body, emitting the six_ t o S u m a n k r i t a ,o n t h e s u m m i t o f w h i c h m o u n t a i n
he left
coloured aura. The body will then catch fire and com_ t h e i m p r i n t o f h i s f o o t . 6 5H e t h e n s t a y e da t D i g h a v a p ia n d
pletely disappear, amid the lamentations of the ten from there visited Mahameghavana,wherehe consecrated
thousand world-systems. various spots by virtue of his presence,and proceeded
to
t h e s i t e o f r h e l a t e r s i l a c e t i y a .F r o m t h e r eh e r e t u r n e d
The Ceylon Chronicless record that the Buddha to
Jetavana.
visited the Island on three separate occasions.The first
war while he was dwelling at Uraveli, awaiting the Verv iittle information as to the personality of
the
moment after the conversion of the Tebhatika Jatilas, in Buddha is available. We are told that he was golden_
the ninth month after the Enlightenment, on tire full- h u e d , 6 0t h a t h i s v o i c e h a d t h e e i g h t q u a l i t i e s o f t h e
moon day of Phussa (Dec.-Jan.), He came to the B r a b m a s s a r a 6 T- f l u e n c y , i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y , s w e e t n e s s ,
Mahanaga garden, and stood in the air over an assembly a u d i b i l i t y . c o n t i n u i t y , d i s t i n c t n e s sd, e p t h a n d r e s o n a n c c
of yakkhas then being held. He struck rerror into their - that he had a fascinating personality _
he was
hearts and, at his suggestion,they left Ceylon and went in described by his oppon€nts as seductive6r_thathe was
a body to Giridipa, hard by. The Buddha gave a handful handsome, perfect alike in complexion and stature and
of his hair to the deva Mahasumana of the Sumanakilta n o b l e o f p r e s e n c e . 6H e e had a unique reputation as a
mountain, who built a thlpa which was later enlarged t e a c h e ra n d t r a i n e r o f t h e h u m a n h e a r t . H e w a se n d o w e d
into the Mahiyangana Thipa. The Buddha again visited w i t h t h e t h i r t y - t w o m a r k s o f t h e M a h a p u r i s a . r oT h e r e
is a
Ceylon in the fifth year, on the new-moon day of Citta legend that Maha Kassapa, though slightly shorter,
(March-April), to check an imminent battle betweentwo r e s e m b l e dt h e B u d d h a i n a p p e a r a n c e . T r
Niga chiefsin Nagadipa; the combatants were Mahodara
M e n t i o n i s o f t e n m a d e o f t h c B u d d h a ' sl o v e o f q u i e t
and C[lodara, uncle and nephew, and the object of the
and peace, and even the heretics respectedhis wishes
quarrel was a gem-set thronc. The Buddha appeared in
t h i s m a t t e r , s i l e n c i n gt h e i r d i s c u s s i o n sa t h i s a p p r o a c h . r z
before them, accompanied by the devaSamiddhi-Sumana,
E x a m p l e s a r e g i v e n T ro f t h e B u d d h a r e f u s i n g t o a l l o w
crrrying a Rajayatana tree from Jetavana. settlcd their
n o i s y m o n k s t o l i v e n e a r h i m . H e l o v e d s o l i t u d ea n d o f t e n
62' Thc concluding pilcsageolthe MahZ-parinibbina sutta (D.ll, 167)
statesthat the Buddha,s relics were eight rmeasures,scvenof
which wcre honoured in Jambudipa and the-remaining one in the
Naga realm in Ramagama. one tooth was in heaven. one in
Gandhara,
arhird
r"xiir","ri""JJ;;:-#,;j:[":Tilffiitri;:'Tjl.lTffffi,:.1i:::fJlJl.li.Ti,i;lfiiJl
and forgotten' tt was tater discovered by Asoka (with the hetp
of salka) and distributed among his eighty-four thousu.nd
mons'rteries' Asoka also recorded the finding of all the other relics except
those deposited in Ramag'mJ n o""*.r. i"* j.porn"a
intheMahlcetiyaatAnuradhapura(Mfv.xxxi. l7ff.).Othcrrelicsarealsomentioned,suchastheBuddha,scollar-bone,hisalms
bowl, etc. (?lfiv. xvii. 9 ff.: Mhv. i. 3? etc.).
E.s., DA. iii. E99.
Mhv'i'12tf';Dpv'i'45ff':ii. lff.etc.ThcBurmeseclaimthettheBuddhavisitedtheirlandandwenttotheLohitacandanavihara,
presentedhy the brothers Mahapunna and Cilapunna of vanijagsma
tnd. Antiq. x-xii., and .tar, 36 f.).
Legend has it that other footprints were left by the Buddha, on ihe bank of
the river Nammada, on the Saccabaddhamountarn and
in Yonakapura.
E,e..Sp Itl. 689.
E ' s ' D ' l l 2 | l : M . l l . 1 6 6 f .I t i s s a i d t h t w h i l e a n o r d i n a r y p e r s o n s p o k e o n e w o r d , A n a n d a c o u l d s p e a k e i g h t ; b u r t h e B u d d h a c o u l d
speuk sixteen to the eight of Ananda (MA. l. ZE3).
8.e..M. 1.269,215
E . e . ,M . l l . 1 6 7 .
For details of these, see s. y. Buddha.
Attempts made, however, to measurethe Buddha always failed;two such Lttempts are generally
mentroned-- one by a brahmin of
Rajagaha and the other by Rahu' chief of the Asuras (DA. l. 284 f .). The
Buddha had the physical strength of manv millions of
efephants(e'g vibhA.397), but his stren6h quickly ebbed away after his
last meal and he had to stop at twenty-five placeswhile
travelling three givutas from pavi to Kusinira (DA. ll. 5j3\.
1a
E.9., D. I. 178 f: lll. 39: even his discipleshad a similar reputation (e.g.,
D. ilr. 37).
1 3 . E'9" lt{ ' t' 456: seealso M. ll. 122,where a monk wusjogged by his neighbour
becausehe coughed when the Buddha wr.ssrreakinc.
 GOTAMA (f) 374 GOTAMA (1)

tpent long periods away from the haunts of men,
allowing only one monk to bring him his meals.7.
According to one account,TJit was his practicc to spend
part of the day in seclusion,but he war always ready to
see anyone who urgently desired his spiritual counsel,T5
ln the Maha Govinda SuttaT?Sakka is representedas
having uttered "eight true praises" of the Buddha-
Perhaps the most predominant characteristics of the
B u d d h a w e r e h i s b o u n d l e s sl o v e a n d h i s e a g e r n e stso h e l p
all who sought him, His fondness for children is seen in
such stories as those of the two Sopakas, of Kumdra-
Kassapa, of C[la Panthaka and Dabba-Mallaputta and
also of the novices Pandita and Sukha. His kindness to
animals appeils, for instance,in the introductory story of
the Maccha JAtzka and his interference on behalf of
Udena's agedelephent,Bhaddavatikr (q.v.),The Buddha
was extremely devoted to his disciples and encouraged
tbem in every_u,ayin their difficult life. The Theragitha
and the TherigAthE are full of stories indicating that he
watched, with great care,'the spiritual growth and
development of his disciplcs, understood their problems
and was ready with timely interferenceto help them to
win their aims. Such incidents as those mentioned in the
Bhddtli Suraqrt the introduction to the Tittha Jataka
and the KaflcanekkhaadhalVtaka,seem to indicate that
he took_e penonal end abiding interest in all who came
under him. lt was his unvarying custom to greet with a
rmile all those who visited him, inquiring after their
welfare and thus putting them at their easc.n Wben
rnyonc sought permirsion to question him, he made no
conditions as to the topic of discussion. This is called
sebbafrfiupavirana.ro
When he was staying in a monastery, he paid daily
visits to the sickward to talk to the inmates and to
comfort them.rr The charming story of Pltigatta-Tina
shows that he sometimes attended on the sick himsclf,
thus setting an example to his followers, In return for his
devotion. his disciplesadored him, but evcn among those
who immediately surrounded him there werc a few who
refused to obey him implicitly - e.g. Laludayi, the
companions of Assaji and Punabbasuka, the Chabbag-
giyas, the Sattarasavaggyasand others, not to mention
Devadatta and his associates.
The Buddha scemsto have shown a special regard for
Siriputta, Ananda and Maha Kassapaamong the monts,
and for Anathapindika, Malliki, Visakhq Bimbisira
a n d P a s e n a d ia m o n g t h e l a i t y , H e s e e m gt o h a v e b e e n
secretlyamused by the very human qualities of Pasenadi
aad by his failure to appreciate the real superiority of
Mallika. his wife.
T h e B u d d h a . a l w a y sd e c l a r e d t h a t h e w a s n m o n g t h e
happy ones of this earth, that he was far happicr, for
instance,than Bimbisirgrz -O he remained unmoved by
o p p o s i t i o no r a b u s e . l l
The Milindapafrhd'mentions several illnesscs of the
Buddha; the injury to his foot has already been referred
to; once when the humours of his body were disturbed
Jivaka administered a purge,rs on another occasion he
suffered from some stomach trouble which was cured by
hot water, or, according to some, by hot gruel.t6 The
Dh am m ap ada Co mmentaryrT ment ions another disorder
of the humours cured by hot water obtained from the
brahmin Devahita, through Upavina. The Commen-
tariesrt mention that he suffered, in his old ege, from
constant backache, owing to the sewre austeritier prac-
tised by him during the six years preceding his En-
lightenment, and the unsuitable meds taken during thet
period were responsiblefor a dyspepsiawhich persirted
throughout the rest of his life,re culminating in hir last
seriousillness of dysentery.

71. E.g., S'. V. | 2, 3201but this very love of solitude wrr cometimes brought against him. By intercourse with whom d oer he sttuin to
lucidity in wisdom? thcy asked. Hir insight, they said, wal ruined by his hrbit of rcclusion (D. lll. 3E).
?5.A. r. t8r.
76. E-9.,A. lV. 43E.
77. D. \.222f .
78. M. t, U5.
T). Vin.1.313.
80, E.g.,M.l.2fO. WhentheBuddhahimself askedrquertionofanyofhisinterrogators,theycould notrernainrilent,butwcrebound
to nnswcr:a yukkhacalledVajirapini wa.ralwayspracnt to frightenthole who did not wishto do so (e.9"M.l.23l). Thc Buddhe
wasnot over-anxiousto getconvcrt!.and whenhir visitorr declaredthemsclverhis followcrrhe would urgcthemto t*e time to
considerthe matter- e.g.,in the caseof AcelaKassapaand Upaligahapati.
t l . S e ee . 8 . . r . v K
. utagarnsiii
82. E.s. M. 1.94.
E3. E.g.,in the caseof the organisedconspiracyof Migandiyi pn'e. IV. I f.).
M. p. 134.
E 5 . V i n .1 . 2 7 9 .
E 6 . V i n . l . 2 1 0f . ; T h a g . l E S .
E7. DhA. l\. 232; ThteA. l. I I I f.
E E .M A . l . 4 6 5 ; D A . I l l . 9 7 4 : s e e a l sDo. l n . n g , w h e n h e w a r p r e a c h i n g t o t h e M a l l a s o f P i v i
E9. .rA. r. 200.
 GOTAMA (1)
Tbc ApadanaPocontains a set of versescalled pubba-
k a m m a p i l o f r ; t h e s ev e r s e sm e n t i o n c e r t a i n a c t s d o n e b y
t h e B u d d h a i n t h e p a s r , w h i c h r e s u l r e di n h i s h a v i n g t o
suffer in various wavs in his last birth. He was once a
drunkard named Munali and he abused the Pacceka
B u d d h a S u r a b h i , O n a n o t h e r o c c a s i o nh e w a s a l e a r n e d
b r a h m i n , t e a c b e ro f f i v e h u n d r e d p u p i l s . O n e d a y , s e e i n g
t h e P a c c e k aB u d d h a I s i g a n a ,h e s p o k e i l l o f h i m t o h i s
p u p i l s ,c a l l i n gh i m " s e n s u a l j s"t T
. h e r e s u l to f t h i s a c t w a s
t h e c a l u m n v a g a i n s th i m b y S u n d a r i k a i n t h i s l i f e .
I n a n o t h e rl i f e h e r e v i l e da d i s c i p l eo f a B u d d h a , n a m e d
Nanda; for this he suffered in hell for twelve thousand
years and, in his last life, was disgraced by Ciffca. Once,
greedyfor wealth, he killed his step-brothers,hurling them
d o w n a p r e c i p i c e ;a s a r e s u l t ,D e v a d a t t aa t t e m p t e dt o k i l l
h i m b y h u r l i n g d o w n a r o c k . O n c ea s a b o y , w h i l e p l a y i n g
o n t h e h i g h w a y , h e s a w a P a c c e k aB u d d h a a n d t h r e w a
s t o n ea t h i m , a n d a s a r e s u l tw a s s h o t a t b y D e v a d a t t a ' s
hired archers.ln another lifc he was a mahout, and seeing
a PaccekaBuddha on the road, drove his elephant against
him, hence the attack by Nalagiri, Once, as a king, he
s e n t e n c e ds e v e n t yp e r s o n st o d e a t h ,t h e r e w a r d f o r w h i c h
h e r e a p e dw h e n a s p l i n t e rp i e r c c dh i s f o o t . B e c a u s eo n c e ,
a s a f i s h e r m a n ' ss o n , h e t o o k d e l i g h t i n w a t c h i n g f i s h
b e i n gc a u g h t ,h e s u f f e r e df r o m a g r i e v o u sh e a d a c h ew h e n
V i d u d a b h a s l a u g h t e r e dt h e S a k i y a n s . I n t h e t i m e o f
P h u s s a B u d d h a h e a s k e dt h e m o n k s t o e a t b a r l e y i n s t e a d
o f r i c e a n d , a s a r c s u l t , h a d t o e a t b a r l e yf o r t h r e em o n t h s
at Vcraflja. (According to the Dhammapada Commen-
tary (iii, 257), the Buddha actually had to starve one day
a t P a f f c a s a l a ,b e c a u s e n o n e o f t h e i n h a b i t a n t s w e r e
w i l l i n g t o g i v e h i m a l m s ) . B e c a u s eh e o n c e k i l i e d a
w r e s t l e r ,h e s u f f e r e df r o m c r a m p i n t h e b a c k . O n c e ,w h e n
a physician. he causeddiscomfort to .a merchant by
purging him, hence his last illness of dysentery.As
J o t i p i l a , h e s p o k ed i s p a r a g i n g l yo f t h e E n l i g h t e n m e n to f
K a s s a p aB u d d h a , a n d i n c o n s e q u e n c eh a d t o s p e n d s i x
ycars following various paths before becoming the
B u d d h a . H e w a s o n e o f t h e m o s t s h o r t - l i v e dB u d d h a s ,
b u t b e c a u s eo f t h o s e s i x v e a r s h i s S a s a n a w i l l l a s t
longer,er
T h e B u d d h a w a s g e n e r a l l y a d d r e s s e db y h i s o w n
d i s c i p l e sa s B h a g a v a .H e s p o k e o f h i m s e l f a s T a t h a g a t a ,
w h i l e n o n - B u d d h i s t sr e f e r r e d t o h i m a s G o t a m a o r
M a h a s a m a n a .O t h e r n a m c su s e da r e M a h a m u n i , S a k y a -
m u n i . - fi n a , S a k k a ( e . g .S n . v s .3 4 5 ) a n d B r a h m a ( S n . v s .
9 l ; S n . A . i i . 4 1 8 ) ,a l s o Y a k k h a ( c . v . ) ,
The A'nguttara Nikayd2 gives a list of the Buddha's
r n o s t e m i n e n t d i s c i p l e s ,b o t h a m o n g m e m b e r s o f t h e
90. An. l. 299 f.
9 1 5 p t . 1 9 0f .
9 2 . A . t . 2 3 f f.
91. This llst does not pretend to be complete. Some of the names have already been mentioned in this monograph in various
c o nn e c tl o n s .
375 GOTAMA (1)
Order and among the laity. Each one in the list is
m e n t i o n e da s h a v i n g p o s s e s s e d
p r e - e m i n e n c ei n s o m e
p a r t i c u l a rr e s p e c t .
A m o n g t h o s ew h o v i s i t e dt h e B u d d h af o r d i s c u s s j o o nr
had interv:ewswith him or receivedinstruction and
g u i d a n c ed i r e c t f r o m h i m , t h e f o l l o w i n g m a y b e i n c l u d e d
i n a d d i t i o n t o t h o s ea l r e a d y m e n t i o n e d . e l
A n k u r a , A g g i d a t t a ' A c e l a -K a s sa pa . A j a t a s a t u , A j i t a
t h e p a r i b b a . j a k aA, . j i t a t h e l , i c c h a v i g e n e r a l ,A n a d a t t h a ,
A n i t t h i g a n d h a k u m a r a ,A n u r a d h a , A n u r u d d h a ,
Annabhara, Abhaya-rajakumara, Abhaya, AbhifljaJ<a,
Abhibh[ta, Abhirupa-Nanda, Ambattha the monk
A r i t t h a . A r i y a t h e f i s h e r m a n ,A s a m a , A i i b a n d h a p u r t a .
A s s a j i , A s s a l a y a n a ,A k o t a k a , A m a g a n d h a , t h e v a k k h a s
A l a v a k a a n d I n d a k a , U g g a o f V e s a l i ,U g g at h e m i n i s t e r ,
Uggata-Sarira, Uggaha, Ujjaya. Unnabha, Urtara-
d e v a p u t t a .U t t a r a t h e N a g a k i n g , U i t a r a , p u p i l o f
Parasariva,tJttiva, Udaya and Udayi, the brahmins,
U t t a r a , p u p i l o f B r a h m a y u ,U t r a r e .d a u g h t e ro [ p u n n a ,
Uttara the aged nun, _Upavana,Upas4lra, Upasena,
U p a l i g a h a p a t i ,U b b i r i , E r a k a . E s a k l r i , K a k u d h a ,
K a n d a r a k a ,K a p i l a t h e f i s h e r m a n ,K a p p a , K a p p a r a k u r a ,
K a l a r a k k h a t t i y a ,K a s s a p at h e d e v a , K a l a , K a n a m a t a ,
K a t i y a n a ,K d p a t h i k a ,K a m a d a ,K a r a n a p a l i ,t h e K a l a m a s ,
Kaligodha, Kimbila. Kisagotami, Kukkutamitta the
hunter, Kundadhana, Kundaiiya, Kull4 Kutadanta,
Keniva the Jatila. Kevaddha.Kesi the horse trainer.
Kokanada, the two daughers of Pajjuna, Kokilika,
Khadiravaniya-Revata, Khanu-Kondaff fra. Khema the
d c v a . ' K h e m a . G a n a k a - M o g g a l l a n a ,G a v a m p a t i ,
Gutta, Gotama Thera, Canki, Candana, Candabha,
C a n d i m a ( C a n d i m a s a ) ,C i t _ t a - H a t t h a s d r i p u t t aC, u n d a ,
Cund a-Samanuddesa,Cundi, Culla- Dhan uggaha. C ulla-
S u b h a d d h a , ' C h a t t a p i n i . J a n a p a d a - k a l y a p- N a n d a ,
J a n a v a s a b h a ,J a n t u , J a m b u k a , J a m b u k h a d a k a ,
J a ? u s s o n i , J a l i y a , J i v a k a - K o m a r a b h a c c a ,J e n t a , J o t i -
kagahapati, Tayana, Tilaputa, Tikanna, Timbaruka,
T i s s a ,c o u s i n o f t h e B u d d h a , T i s s q f r i e n d o f l v { e t i e y y a ,
Tissaof Roruva, Tud_u-brahmqThulla--Tissa,Dandapani,
Damali,-Dasaka, Digt_rathe deva, Dighajanu, Dighata-
p a s s i ,D i g h a n a k h a , D i g h a l a t t h i , D i g h a v u , D u m m u k h a ,
Dona, Dhammadinna, Dhammarama, the Dhammika-
u p a s a k a ,D h a m m i k a t h e b r a h m i n , N a n d a T h e r a , N a n d a
the herdsman, N andana, N andiya-pari bb ajaka, N andiva
t h e S a k i y a , N a n d i v i s a l a , N a g i t a , N a l a k a t a p a s a ,N a l i -
j a n g h a , N i g a m a v a s i - ' f i s s a_, N i g r o d h a , N i n k a , N i t a ,
Nhatakamuni, Paccanikasata, Paffcasikha
P a f i c a l a c a n d a ,P a t a c a r i , P a s e n a d i , K i n g o f K o s a l a ,
Paharadr the asura, Pataliya, Parapariva, Piirgale-
 GOTAITA (1) 376 GOTAMA (2)

K a c c h a , P i n g i y a n i , F i i i n < l a - V a c c h a ,P i l o t i k a , P u n n e - GOTAMA (2) (Sanskrit: Gautama), the family or lineage

K o l i y a p r , , t t a ,P u n n a - M a n t i n i p u r t a , P u n n a , P u n ? i y a , (gotta)to which the Buddha belongedand by which name
P e s s at h e e l r p h a n t t r a l n . r , P o k k h a r a s a t i ,P o t t h a p a d a , he came to be latterly known as if it wcre a surname
-a
Po t hi I a, Po t aii v a. P h aggu n a, B ak a-b rah m B ahu p u t t il a, (samano Gotamo). It is thus the name by which he is
Bavari and his sixteen disciples. B-ahiya-D'aruciriya, addressed by brahmins and others who are not his
B ahunq B il aiapadak a, Belatth ak ani, Bojj ha, B rah m ayu, f o l l o w e r s .T h e B u d d h a h i m s e l fc a l l si t h i s a n c e s t r a n
l ame
Bhagu, Bhaggava, Bhadda, Bhadda-Kundalakesi, w h e n h e e x p l a i n sh i m s e l fa s" . . , ,G o t a m og o t t e n a ( D . l l , p .
B h a d d i l i , B h a d d i y a t h e L i c c h a v i , s e v e r a lB h i r a d v i j a s 3). Thus with his personal or given name Siddhattha
(Akkosakar, Aggika', Asurindai, Ahimsakat, Kasi*, (Sanskrit: Siddhirtha), he is generally known as Sid-
Jatar, Navakammika*, Bilangika*, Suddhika*, d h a t t h a G o t a m a o r S i d d h a r t h aG a u t a m a . t W e f i n d t h e
Sundarikar), Bhiradvdja, husband of Dhanafrjani, B u d d h a a d d r e s s i n gh i s f a t h e r S u d d h o d a n aa s G o t a m q
Bharadvaja, friend of Vasettha, Bhufljati, Bh[miya, using the clan name (Vin, l, p. 82). As the term gotta
Bhesika the barber, Machari-Kosiya, Manibhadda" (gotra q.v.) implies that its membersare descendedfrom
M a n d i s s a , M a h a - k a p p i n a , M a h a - K a s s a p a . 'M a h a - o n e c o m m o n a n c e s t o r , 2t h e m e m b e r so f t h e G o t a m a c l a n
kottirita, M ahrCund a, M ahad h an a. M aha-nam I, M ahi- are regarded as having descendedfrom the ancient Vcdic
Moggallana, Mahali (Otthaddha), the two Magandiyas seer (rsi) Gautama and are accordingly known by the
one the brahmin and one thc paribbajaka" Magha, patronymic Gotama (from Sanskrit Gautama).r They
M anava-G amiya" M an arrh add h a, M at up osala, M il unkya- constituted one of the traditional gottas (mila-gotra) of
putta, Migaj-ala,Migasira, Mendaka of Bhaddiyq Moliya- ancient lndia.
Phagguna, M oliya-Sivakq Y asoja, Ratth apala, Ridha-
Rahula, Rasiya, Rupanandg Roja the Malla, Rohini, lt appears that all the Sakiyas of Kapilavatthu be-
Rohitassa" Lakuntaka-Bhaddiya, the goddess LAja, Ionged tothe Gotama-gotta frequently mentioned in the
Lomas a-kangiya, Lohicca, V akk ali, V angisa,V ajjiyam a- N i k a y a s ( e . g . S , I V , p . 1 8 3 ) .T h e B u d d h a a d d r e s s e sh i s
hita, Vaddha thc Licchavi, Vaddhamana, Vappa, Sakiyan relatives of Kapilavatthu as "GotamE". And as
Varadhara, Vassakara, Virana, Vasetthaupasaka, t h e r e a l s o w e r e S a l i y a n s e t t l e m e n t sa t p l a c e so t h e r t h a n
Vasettha,fliend of Bharadvaja' Visakha Paficalaputta, Kapilavatthu (e.9. Catuma, Khomadussa,Samagima
Visakha, Vira, Vekhanasa, Vendu, Vatambari, Sakulu- etc.) it may be possible that while the Sakiyas of
dayi, Sakka, Sairkicca, the two'S'angaravas,Sangharak- Kapilavat(hu were of the Gotama-goffa these other
khita (Bhagineyya0),Saccaka" Sajjha, $atullapa devas, Sakiyas belonged to different gottas. { Further, as the
S a n a i r k u m a r a ,S a n t a t i , S a n d h a , S a n d h a n a , S a m i d d h i , G o t a m a sw e r e r e g a r d e de s b e l o n g i n gt o o n e o f t h e h i g h e r
Sarabha,Sarabhanga"Satagira"Satali, Sati, Sanu, SikhA- gottes (Vin. lY , p. 6) there must have been other gottas
Moggallara, Sigila, Sirirna, Siva, Sjvali. Siha the general, within the Sakiya clan (ati) which were either inferior to
Sukha, Slciloma, Sujata, daughter-in-la_wof An[tha- o r o f t h e s a m er a n k a s t h e G o t a m a s .
pindika, Sudatta. Sunakkhatta, Sunita, Sundara
Samudda, Sundara-Nandi, the lepcr Suppabuddha, However, a problem arisesT . h e V e d i c s e e rG o t a m a i s
S u p p a v a s a ,S u b h a T o d e y y a p u t t a , t h e t w o n u n s n a m e d regarded as belonging to the brahmin castewhereasthe
S u b h a , S u b h u t i , t h e n o v i c e S u m a n a . S u m a _ n as, i s t e ro f clan to which the Buddha belongedwas of the Khattiya
P a s e n a d i ,S u b r a h m a "S u r a d h a , S u r i y a , S u s i m a ,S e n i y a , c a s t e .T h u s t h e c o n t r a d i c t o r ys i t u a t i o no f a K h a t t i y a c l a n
S e r i , S e l a ,S o n a - K u t i k a n n q S o n a - K o l i v i s a ,S o n a d a n d a , tracing its origin to a brahamin ancestorarises.Whether
S o n a , t h e t w o S o p a k a r , ' i { a t t h a k a A l a v a - k a ,H a t t h a k a - t h e G o t a m a c l a n o f t h e S a k i y a sh a d a n o r i g i n a l a r c e s t o r
d e v a p u t t a a n d H e m e v a i a . S e e s l s o s .v . B u d d h a a n d different from the Vedic seer is not clear, for several
Bodhisatta. G o t a m a s a r e r e f e r r e dt o a s a n c i e n tt e a c h e r si n t h e l i s t so f
G. P. Melalasekera leachers (vamse).s But an objection raised against this
rThis article is reproduced from the the
DPpN. E-IN-C.

l. The author of Buddhavam.rasecm! to hsve overlooked this genealogicalconnection of the aame whcn he merely says(as a future
event) that the Buddha's iather would be Suddhodana and the Buddha himsetf Cotama: (pi6 Suddhodano nama - ayam hessti
Gotamo: Buv. p. 13, v. 65)
2. E. J. Thomas, The Ltfe of the Buddha, London, 1931, p.22
3. Gotta (Sanskrit: gotra) from go * root trl literally means cow-stall or herd, a group capable of protecting the cattle of a
'family'o r 'class',where membersclaim to
settlement.The letter senseseemsmort suited to its employment in later times denoting
be all descended from one ancestor - c'f.A. A. Madconall and A. B. Keith, Vedic I ndex of Namesand Subjects, Varanasi, 1958,
on COTRA: vide t. v. GOTRA.
, i f e o f t h e B u d d h a ,p . l 2 ) t h a t t h e c i t y o f D e v a d a h a w a s
4 . E x c e p t , a t l e a s t , t h o s e o fD e v a d a h a " f o r t h e D u . l r a s a y s ( R o c k h i l l L
founded by the Sikiyas of Kapilavatthu when their numbers incressedand that they were relatedto eachother. This explains whv
the Buddha's step-mother Mahapajapati, who was a Sakiyrn lady from Devadaha was called Gotami.
5. A. A. Macdonell and A. B. Keith. op. cit. GAUTAMA
 GOTAMA (2)
conjecture is that it would fail to explain the Buddha,s
epithet Angirasa,c derived from an ancient seer by rhis
nahe, who, along with Gotamq is regerded as an
ancestorof the Gotama clan. Here Gotamais regardedas
a descendentof Angiras4 who being more a mythical
than an historical character, has replaced the former as
the founder of the Gotra]
It should also be mentioned here that each of the noble
familics or rulers in ancient India seems to have had a
gottt-name (e.g. Mallas as Visetthas, Sakiyas as
Gotamrs, Koliyas ar Byegghapajjaseic.;.r 1r. existence.
of such en ancestralname seemsto have been acccptedas
a matter of course. What is not clear is bow tbe Sakiyasof
the Khattiyl castecame to use a brahm anicgotta nnme.
The most plausible explanation seemsto be that these
names were used es family nemes quite earty in Indian
society,and perhapr the gora-nemes had no Brahmanic
or Khattiye certe connotations in Rgvedic lndia when
they were originally used. The distinction became appa_
rcnt oDly when this historicd fact was forgotten and the
problem was looked at from the viewpoint of subsequent
lndian society when the Khattiyas and the Brihmanas
hed become two distinct vantas.
A solution usually offered by some scholarre is that at
the pravara ceremony invoking Agni, when the person
making the offering is not a brahamin, the custom was to
invoke the ancestors of the officiating priest. But, here
too, to thinl that this custom led to the substitution of the
priest's family name for the offerer's family name
applicable to all his ancestorsand descendantsis too far
fetched.ro
Another explanation offeredn is that the Angirasas,
along with thc Bhargaves,were more closelyallied to the
Khettiya caste than to the Brihmana caste in virtue of
their close associations with the Atharvaveda which
provided the needs of the mling class (i.e. Khattiyas) as
against the other Yedas. Accordingly, the Goramas, with
their possibleidentity with the Angiraras, had become a
Khattiya clen by thc time of the Buddha.
Meanwhile, the Buddhist commentators have resolved
these difficulties in their own way by disregarding thc
Vedic connection of tbe two seersAngirasa and Gotame.
The name A"girr""" hey have explained in different wayr
as meaning"emitting rays of various huesfrom the bodv,,
6. E. J. Thomas, op. cit. pp. Z2-3
7. R. Fick, GOTRA, ERE, vol. d, p. 353
8 . H . O l d e n b e r g ,B u d d h q D c l h i , 1 9 7 1 ,p . 4 1 4
9 , E . J , T h o m g s , o p . c i t . p . 2 2 ; O l d e n b e r g ,o p . c i t . p . 4 1 5
10. Sec abo Oldenberg, op. cit. p. 415
ll. R. Fick, op. cit. pp. 355-6
12. DPPN. I, 787; E. J. Thomas, op. cit. p. 5
| 3. ln thir connection compare the Buddhe's epithet iaicca-Aananu -
377 COTA]ITAKA CETIYA
(DA. lll, p. 963) or as "being possessedof attainments
such asvirtue " or that it was a personalname given by the
B u d d h a ' sf a t h c r i n a d d i t i o n t o S i d d h a t t ha ( T h a g A . l l , p .
226). ln the caseof the name Gotama they have invented
a legend according to which Okkata, the immediate
encestor of the Sakiyas, to which clan the Gotamas
belonged,was born of an eggformed from the coagulated
blood and semen of an asceticGotama as he lay impalcd
for the alleged murder of a courtesan. The egg ws.s
hatchedby the heat of the sun,r2
This lcgend also seemsto explain in the same mythical
manner the claim of the Sakiyas,and hencethe Gotamas,
as belonging to the solar dynasty (siryavamsa)when it
says that the egg was hatched by the Sun. According ro
the acceptedIndian tradition, Okkaka or lksviku, was a
descendant of Vaivasvata Manu. the son of the Sun.
When the Buddha said rhat he bclonged to the solar
dynastytr Qdicco nEme gottena; Sn. v. 423; cf . Mhvu.
III, p. I99), what he meant was that he, as a member of
the Sakiya clan, belonged to the solar race of kings,
beginning from Mahasammata, as com€ down in the
Buddhist tradition.
A. G. S.Ifudyenraseoo
GOTAII{AKACETTYA, a pre,Buddhist shrine near and
t o t h e s o u t h o f V e s a l l( D . I l I , p . 9 ) , d e d i c a t e dt o a y a k k b a
named Gotamaka. This cetiy_aor shrine is mentioned by
the Bud$ha, in a sermon to Anandq at the Cipalacctiya
in Vesali as one of the six very benutiful spots around the
city of Vesili (D. Il, 102). Later a viharawas builr in its
precincts for the Buddha and his disciples. During the
Iirst few years of his ministry the Buddha visited this
placc and stayed there on several occasionsand on one
such visit he laid down the Vinaya rule which allowed
monks the use of three robes, for, the Buddha himself
experienccd the bitter cold that night and had to cover
hirrself in severalrobes, (Vid. I, p. 288).
T w o s u t t a s ,n a m e l y ( l ) G o t a m a k a S u t t a( A , l , p . 2 1 6 )
and (2) Hemavata Sutta (SnA.l, p, 199)are mentioned as
kinsman of the Sun.
 GOTRA 378
b e i n gp r e a c h e db y t h e B u d d h a w h i l e h e w a ss t a y i n ga t t h i s
s h r i n e .T h e D i v y i v a d a n a ( p . 2 0 1 ) m e n t i o n sa G a u t a m a -
n y a g r o d h a i n a l i s t o f n o t e d p l a c e s i n V e s - a l ia n d
Malalasekera.(DPPN. s.v.) opines that the referenceis to
the Gotamakacetiya.
W. G. Weerarahe
GOTRA (Pzli, gotta). Orlgtnal slgnlflcance of the term-
There is no English term that exactly connotes the
meaning of the tcrm gotra. Writers in English, therefore,
use such words as clan, ancestry, lineage and family in
rendering it into English. It should be noted at the outset
that the institution of gotra is quite different from the
i n s t i t u t i o n o f c a s t e( q . v . ) w h i c h i s a m u c h w i d e r s o c i a l
group and which invariably consists of a number of
gotras.
The term gotra ts derived from the word go (:cattle)
'pltect'' Yet, how it acquiredthe
and the root tri, to
m e a n i n g i t c o n n o t e s a t p r e s e n ti s n o t q u i t e c i e a r . M o s t
probablf it originally meant a Sroup iargc enough to
p r o t e c t t h e c a t t l e o w n s e d b y a r a i ( a s e t t l e m e n t )o r
number of families.r Cattle were the most treasured
p r o p e r t y o f t h e V e d i c I n d i a n s , a n d t h e r e f o r e ,t h e y d i d
their best tc protect them from wild animals, thievesand
o t h e r d a n g , e r s .U s u a l l y t h e c a t t l e w e r e d r i v e n o u t f o r
grazing in the morning and driven back to their shcltersin
t h e e v e n i n g .W h e t h e r t h e r ew e r es p e c i a l l yb u i l t s h e l t e r so r
e n c l o s u r e sm e a n t s o l e l y f o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f c a t t l e i s
doubtful. As thc number of cattleowned by the people
s e e m st o h a v e b c e nq u i t e l a r g ei t s e e m sr e a s o n a b l et o h o l d
t h a t a s i z e a b l ef o r c e w a s r e q u i r e d t o g u a r d t h e m f r o m
rival clans bent on cattle raids 1gavi19'
It is believcd that the Vedic Indians built their houses
with maximum security in view, and that a number of
thesehousesformed a village.The village was ar enclosed
settlement fenced from outside providing protection
against wild animals and enemies,It is probable that the
cattle, too, lived within this cnclosure from which they
were driven out in the morning for grazing, In the evening
they were driven back,2 and once they entered the
e n c l o s u r et h e e n t r a n c et o i t w a s c l o s e d ,D u r i n g t h e n i g h t s
t h i s f e n c e ds e t t l e m en t p r o v i d e d p r o t e c t i o n f o r b o t h , t h e
p e o p l e a n d t h e c a t t l e .T h o u g h m o s t o f t h e m i n o r i t e m s o f
p r o p e r t y m a v h a v e b e e nd i v i d e d a m o n g i n d i v i d u a l f a m i -
lies cattle were owned by them jointly' This joint right
o v e r t h e c a t t l e w a s a b i n d i n g f o r c ew i t h i n t h e s e t t l e m e n t '
S u b s e q u e n t l y ,t h e c o m m u n i t y t h a t l i v e d a s a c o h e s i v e
L Rgveda viii, 50, l0
2. Rgaeda iv. 54. 7. l0
p' 104
l. See DPPN. I and ll under each name' See nlso D' t,
GOTRA
u n i t t o p r o t e c t t h e i r j o i n t l y o w n e d c a t t l et o o , c a m e t o b e
denoted by the term gotra. The term is used in this
d e v e l o p e dm e a n i n gi n t h e C r l a nd o g y a U p a n i s a d ( i v , 4 , l ) .
Later this term was used to denote a Sroup of persons
d e s c e n d e di n t h e m a l e l i n e o f a c o m m o n a n c e s t o rw h o
was often regarded as a holy sage(rsi).
T h e r e a r e e i g h t s a g e sw h o a r e r e g a r d e da s o r i g i n a t o r s
of gotras (gotrakarin)" They are, Gautama, BharaCvaj4
V i i v a m i t r a , V a i i s t h a , J a m a d a g n i , K a i - v a p a ,A t r i a n d
Agastya. The eight gotras originating from these sages
are sub-divided, ger'erally, into forty-nine. But this
number is not fixed. The numbers vary according to
divergenttraditions. Some think that there are twenty'
lour or thirty-two gotras $abda*alpadruma,s.v- gotta)
whereas some others favour the number eighteen
(Chentsal Rao, Iie Principles of Pravara and Gotra, pt.
I I I ) . H o w e v e r , i t i s c l e a rt h a t t h e m a i n e i g h tg o f r a sw e r e
later subdivided into quite a large number of gotras.
Everv brahman was proud of his gotra and was obliged
by law to know to which particular gotra lis family
belonged. When consecrating the sacrificial fire (agni-
havyavihana/, which is also addressed as irseya
( d e s c e n d e n to f t h e r s r ) a b r a h m a n h a d t o i n v o k e h i s
a n c e s t o r sa n d s h o w t h a t h e b e i n g a d e s c e n d a n ot f w o r t h y
ancestorswas fit to perform sacredrites. This invocation
was called pravara. Each of the gotras had either one,
t w o , t h r e e o r f i v e s a g e sB si t s a n c e s t o r sA , s a g e n e r a lr u l e ,
persons were called sagotras (of the ilme gorra) if they
had in common even one of the rsis invoked in the
pravara,intermarriage between sagotraswasprohibited.
B u t i t i s n o t q u i t e c e r t a i n w h e t h e r t h i s r u l e e x i s t e di n t h e
eariy Vedic period. However, in comparatively early
t i m e s i t w a s f e l t n e c e s s a r yt o g r a n t e x e m p t i o n s .
Evenduring the time of theBuddha the termgotrahad
the same meaning as it was understood by the later
compliers of Dharma{astras. The institution of gotra,
t o o , e x i s t e dt h o u g h i t m a y n o t h a v e b e e na s d c v e l o p e da s
it was in later times. A number of.gotras (Pali gorralsuch
a s O p a m a i f f a , K a n h a y a n a ,K a s s a p a ,G o t a m a , V a s e t t h a "
V e s s a y a n a ,B h a r a d v a j a , K a c c a y a n a , a n d o t h e r s , a r e
mentioned in Buddhist texts.s A large section of the
B u d d h a ' sd i s c i p l e s t, o o , c a m ef r o m d i s t i n g u i s h e dS o t t a s '
Buddhist texts speak of superior and inferior gottas'
They place Vasettha, Gotama, Moggallana and
K a c c a y a n ai n t h e f o r m e r c a t e g o r y ,a n d B h a r a d v a j aa l o n g
w i t h K o s i y ai n t h e l a t t e r( s e eV i n . l Y , 6 ; D A . I , p ' 2 4 6 ;b u t
c p .D A . l I I , p . 8 6 0 ) .
t hichtheinstitutionof gottt
T h e s t a g eo f d e v e l o p m e n w
h a d r e a c h e db y t h e t i m e o f t h c B u d d h a i s n o t q u i t e c l e r r
 GOTRA
f r o m t h e r e f e r e n c e sf o u n d i n B u d d h i s t t e x t s .T h e r e f o r ei t
i s n o t p o s s i b l et o s a y f o r c e r t a i n t v ,w h e t h e rs u c h r u l e s a s
t h o s e w h j c h p r o h i b i t e d i n t e r m a r r i a g eb e t w e e ns a g o t r a s
w e r e i n f o r c e a t t h e t i m e . l t i s n o t k n o w n w h e t h e rt h e
S a k y a c l a n , w h i c h i s o n e o f t h e m a j o r c l a n sr e f e r r e dt o i n
B u d d h i s t t e x t s t o w h i c h a l s o t h e B u d d h a b e l o n g e d ,w a s
s u b d i v i d e d i n t o a n u m b e r o f g o t t a s , T h o m a s s e e m st o
s u g g e stth a t t h e w h o l e c l a n b e l o n g e dt o t h e G o t a m ag o t t a
w h o s e m e m b e r s c l a i m t o b e t h e d e s c e n d a n t so f t h e r s i
Gotama.aThis view finds support in the fact that tir'e
Buddha, at Ieast on one occasion, is said to have
a d d r e s s e dt h e S a k y a n s a s G o t a m a s ( . S .I V . p , I 8 3 ) . I f a l l
t h e S a k y a n sw e r e o f G o t a m a g o t t a i t i s q u i t e e v i d e n tt h a t
the rule which prohibited intermarriagebetweentwo
persons of the same gotta was either'non-existentat the
time or if it existed,it wasnot strictlyobscrved.Besides,king
S u d d h o d a n am a r r i e d t w o S a k y a n p r i n c e s s e sM a y a a n d
M a h a - P r a j a p a t iG o t a m i 5 a n d p r i n c e S i d d h a t t h ah i m s e l f
married thc daughter of his maternal uncle.6
I t i s e v i d e n tf r o m B u d d h i s t t c x t s t h a t e v e nd u r i n g t h e
Buddha'sday people took pride in their gotta. Very
often brahmans approachedthe Buddha and inquired
a b o u t h i s E o t t a . l t w a s c u s t o m a r y t o a d d r e s sp e r s o n sb y
t h e i rg o t t a n a m e sa n d t h i s s e e m st o h a v e b e e nc o n s i d e r e d
a s a v e r y r e s p e c t f u l w a y o f a d d r e s s i n gp e o p l e o f h i g h
r a n k .T h e B u d d h at o o , f o l l o w e dt h i sc u s t o m( M . I , p , 1 7 5 ,
p p . 2 2 8 - 5 0 , 4 9 7 - 5 0 0M; , l l , p . 4 0 ; s e e a l s oD i a l . v o l . I I , p t .
t , p p . 1 9 4 f . ) .E v e n t h e B u d d h a h i m s e l f w a s a d d r e s s c db y
his gotta name.Gotama.
T h o u g h t h e B u d d h a f o l l o w e d t h e c u s r o mo f a d d r e s s i n g
people by their gotta names, it is quite clear fro;n the
canonicaltexts that he did not attach any value to the
i n s t i t u t i o n o f g o t t a a s t h e b r a h m a n so f h i s t i m e d i d . J u s t
a s h e d e n o u n c e dc a s t ed i s t i n c t i o n s ,h e d e n o u n c e dg o t t a
d i s t i n c t i o n s ,t o o . T h e a t t i t u d e h e a d o p t e dw i t h r e g a r d t o
p r o b l e m s c o n n e c t e d w i t h c a s t e ,g o t t a a n d s u c h o t h e r
social groupings is made clear in the Ambattha Sutta.
T h e r e h e s a y st h a t i t i s w h e r e t h e t a i k i s o f m a r r y i n g o r
g i v i n g i n m a r r i a g e ,t h a t r e f e r e n c ei s m a d e t o s u c h t h i n g s
as caste(va11a) and gotta. In the supremeperfection of
wisdom and in righteousness (anuttaraya vijja-carala
sampadaya)thereis no referenceto the question either of
caste or gotta for, whosoever are in bondage to the
n o t i o n o f c a s t ea n d b i r t h o r t o t h e p r i d e o f s o c i a lp o s i t i o n
o r o f c o n n e c t i o nb y m a r r i a g e ,t h e y a r e f a r f r o m t h e b e s t
w i s d o m a n d r i g h t e o u s n e s sI.t i s b y g e t t i n gr i d o f a l i s u c h
k i n d s o f b o n d a g e t h a t o n e c a n r e a l i s ef o r o n e s e l ft h a t
s u p r e m ep e r f e c t i o n i n w i s d o m a n d i n c o n d u c t ( D , l , p .
99f.). In the Suttanipata (v. I04) pridc of gottt (gottet-
1. E. J. Thomas: The Life o{ Buddha as Legend and History, p.22
5. Her name too suggeststhat she belonged to the Gotama gotta.
6. Later, even when the institution of gotra was much dweloped and the rule prohibiting marriage bctween sagotras was observed
more rigidly, the Baudhayana4harma-sitra(ed. E. Hultzsch, p. 2) allows a man to marry the daughter of the maternal uncle or
naternalau nt.
379 GOTRA
thaddha) is given as a cause for one's downfall. The
Buddha's view was that the problem of gotta was a
p r o b i e m o n l y t o t h e w o r l d i n g s .T h i s d o e sn o t a J f e c t h o s e
w h o a r e a b o v ew c r l d l y a f f a i r s .W h e n q u e s t i o n e dr e g a r d -
i n g g o t t a t h e B u d d h a r c p l i e d t h a t h e i s n e i t h e ra b r a h m a n
nor a prince, not evena merchant (vessayina)or anybody
else. But, he said, knowing well the gottas of the
worldlings (puthujjana) he waaders the world with no
stains (akifrcano:seeSn. v.455 cf . v.645). The Buddha's
a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s t h e p r o b l e m o f g o t t a i s p l a i n l y s t a t e di n
the Suttanipita(v.648) where it is said rhat the gottasere
rnere designations(samaflfia)passedby general consent.
( s e ea l s o C A S T E ) .
SpecialBuddh.istusageof the term: The term gorra which
d e n o t es a g r o u p o f p e r s o n sd e s c e n d e df r o m a c o m m o n
a n c e s t o r , . w a sl a t e r a d o p t e d b y t h e T h e r a v a d i n sa s a
r e l i g i o u st e r m w i t h a t e c h n i c a lm e a n i n g .T h o u g h t h e t e r m
by itself is not found in Pali rexts it occurs in the
conjoined term gotra-bhi, (q.v.) which denotesthe stage
between the ordinary unconvertedworldling (puthujjana)
and the stream-entrant (sotapanna). The gotra-bhi is
d e s c r i b e da s o n e , w h e t h e r l a y m a n o r b h i k k h u , w h o , a s
c o n v e r t e d ,n o l o n g e r b e i o n g e dt o t h e w o r l d l i n g b u t w a s
emong the arivas, having Nibbana as his aim (s.v. PED.).
Why this particular Sanskrit term was adopted to
designatethis category of spiritually advancedpersonsis
n o t q u i t e c l e a r . O n t h i s p o i n t H a r D a y a J ' ss u g g e s t i o ni s
quite noteworthy. He is of opinion that, asall Buddhists
w e r e c o n s i d e r e da s b e l o n g i n g t o t h e f a m i l y o r c l a n o f
Gautama Buddha, as they were his spiritual sons and
heirs, the Theravadins adopted this term to endow all
converts, irrespectiveof castedifferences,with a common
gotra. Thus, all those who passedthe stageof puthujjana
b y b e i n g c o n v e r t e d t o B u d d h i s m w e r e c o n s i d e r e da s
b e l o n g i n g t o t h e l i n e a g eo f t h e B u d d h a , f o r , o n c e t h e y
b e c a m ec o n v e r t e dt h e y d e v e l o p a s p i r i t u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p
w i t h t h e B u d d h a . T h i s i s s p e c i a l l ye v i d e n t i n t h e c a s eo f
bhikkh[s who are often addressedas Suddia-puffa(sons
of the Buddha) or Sakya-purra(sons of the Sakya).
T o b e c o m eo n e i n t h e l i n e a g eo f t h e B u d d h a o n e h a d t o
u n d e r g o a c o u r s eo f s p i r i t u a lt r a i n i n g a n d a c q u i r ec e r t a i n
v i r t u e s .T h i s i n d u c e dt h e m t o d e v e l o pa p r e d i s p o s i t i o n ,
an aptit ude or an inclination for further spirituaJadvance-
m e n t . S u b s e q u e n t l vt h e t e r m g o t r a w a s u s e d t o d e n o t e
t h i s i d e a o f p r e d i s p o s i t i o n ,a p t i t u d eo r i n c l i r a t i o n .
A m o n g t h e c o n v e r t st h e r e w e r e p e r s o n so f d i f f e r e n t
i n c i i n a t i o n s .T h e M a h a y a n i s t sc a t e g o r i s e dt h e m b r o a d l y
into three groups namely niyata-gotra,aniyata-gotratnd
egotra.
 TJCTRA
The niyata-gatrasor thosewho are of fixed inclination
are those who by virtuc of their previous merits and
i n n a t e d r s p o s i t i o n sa r e d e s t i n e dt o b e l o n g t o e i t h e r t h e
! ra vak ay an a -a bh i sam ay a-g o (ra or p r aty ek a b uciCh ay an a-
abhisamaya-gotra or @thagatayAna-abhisamaya-gatra.
The aniyata-gotras or those of undetermined inc[nntion
a r e t h o s ew h o a r e s t i l l o n t h e b o r d e r l i n ea n d m a y b e c o m e
either Hlnayanists or Mahayanists. The agotrasor those
w i t h o u t a n i n c l i n a t i o n a r e s u b - d i v i d e di n t o t w o g r o u p s
viz. those who are unable to attain nirvana at all
(atyantam)and those who for the time being(taik-aJa)will
not attain niruAna.
It is further said that among the niyata-gotrasit is the
qualities (dhatu) that settle one's aspiration (adhimukti)
and it is the aspiration that determinesthe attainments
(prapti) The frution becomes high, medium or low
according to one's brya(secds).It is said that the lriva*as,
as thcy lack the five powers (bala)and llve confidencesin
oneself (vai{aradya) do not possesspowerful merit, and
t h e r e f o r e ,t h e v a r e i n f e r i o r t o b o d h i s a t t v a sT. h e i r m e r i t s
arc not everlasting aS tF.r: seei rnup;t!hi-(ess-n1*6rt
( n i m a n a w i t h o u t a n y r c s i d u e ) .N e i t h e r a r e t h e i r m c r i t s
c a p a b l eo f p r o d u c l n ge x t r e r n e l yg o o d r e s u l t s ,f o r , t b c y d o
n o t d e d i c a t et h e r : s e l v e ot n t h e s e n i c e o f o t h e r s .
The lahkivltAra Surra (p, 63f.) also speeks of five
gotrds which it cnllectively refers to as paf,cibhisamaya-
gotra. The frve Eltras referred to here are the same as
those mentioned in the .Surralait*ara.Here, instead of
using the term niyata-gotra, the three gofras included in it
art trcat:d separatcly.
Thr persons who fall into the {ravakayana-abhisa-
maya-gotra are describedas thosewho arc enraptured by
knowing and realising the teaching of the general and
individual qualities of the genericproperties of the body
( sk a n d h a 4 h a t u-i y a t a n a-sv asami n y a - I ak s an a) ; their
i n t e l l e c t( b u d d h i ) w i l l l e a pf o r t h w i t h j o y i n k n o w i n g t h a t
things are of mere appearance (laksana-paricaya-jllana),
and not on acquiring an insight into the things pertaining
to the casual law (pratityasemutpada-avinirbhaga
Iaksana-paricaya),They having had an insight into their
own drivakayina and abiding in the fifth or the sixlh
rtage become free from all forthcoming afflictions
(pratyutthina-klek) Having reached an inconceivable
mode of passing away (acintyacyutigata) they proclaim
t h a t t h e y b a v e l e d h o l y l i v e sa n d t h a t t h e y h a v ed e s t r o y e d
birth. Through the realization of the essencelessness of
being (pudgalanairatmya) they finally gain the know-
ledge of nirvana, There are others who believe jn such
things arlcgo (itma), being (sattva/ vital principle (iiu"),
nourishment (posa),supreme being (pwwa) and personal
soul (pudgala-sattva)and seek nimanain'them. f here are
still othcrs who believethat all things are dependentupon
causes(kiranidbinin sarva4harman) and seek the way
to nirvinain ihis belief. Yet, the Lankivatara Surra edds,
380 GOTRABHU
rs they lack insight into the essencelessness of all things
(dharma-nairitmtp) they do not really attain' emanci-
p a t i o n , I t i s h e r et h a t t h o s ew h o a r e i n c l i n e d t o f o l l o w t h c
ftivakayina make the mistake of rcgarding non-deli-
veranceas deliverance.
Those who belong to the pratyekabuddha-vina-abhi-
samayd-gotre are enr&ptured by hearing the accounts
regarding the enlighienment of particular individuals
(pratyekabhisamaya). They are also enrapturcd by
miracles and by discourses which teach them to keep
themselvesaloof.
The Tathagatayina-abhisamaya-gorra is threefold.
Firstly it includes those who are inclined to realise that
the true nsture of things is their essencelessness (sva-
b h a v a n i h s v a b h i v a - d h a r m a - a b h i s a ma y a - g o t r d ) .
Secondly, those who are inclihed to understand that the
realisation of the truth is possible only whithin one's
o wr{self ( e d h i g a m a - s vI p r a tyC t m a -Ery a - a bh i sam ay a-
gotra). Thirdly, those who are inclined to realise the
grestness of all the external Buddha-fields (bEhya-
b ud dh ak set ra udi ry a -a bh i sam ay a-g otra).
lf a person shows no signs of fear when any of the three
above mentioned Bspects are disclosed or when the
inconceivable realm of the ilaya-vijflana, where body,
property and abode &re seen to be the manifestation of
the mind itself (sraatta-dr{ya4ehilayabhogEpra-
tisthacintyauisaya), is disclosed such a penon should be
regarded as belonging to the tathigatayLna-abhisamay*-
gotra.
Those who belong tothe aaiyata-gotramsy take to any
one of the above mentioned three gotras namely
(ravaka-o, pratyekabuddha-" or tathagata-o. It is
merely a preparrtory stage (parikarma-bhumi). A
lravaka when his alaya-vijf,Ana is purged of all t/cJas and
visanis will attain the bliss of mcditation by seeing the
essencelessness of all things and will finally attain the
s t a t co f a B u d d h a .
The La'nkivarire does not describethose persons who
fall into the category of agotra.
BIBuocRApt{y.ERE. VI, pp, 353 ff,; J. H. Hutton, Caste
in India; Max Mrtller History of Ancient Sanskrit
Literature pp. 380 ff. See also the Ambattha Sutta (D. l,
87 ff.) and the Aggaf,fra Sutta (D.III, 8b'ff.).
S. K. Namyalksra
GOTRA-BHU, 'become of tbe lineage,'a pre-solCpaaaa
stage in the scheme of thc spiritual progrcss of the
Theravidins, As e technical term this was used from the
 GoTRA BI{UIttr
end of thc Nikiya period to derignetc one, whether a
layman or a bhikkhu, who, asconverted,was no longer of
the worldlingc (puthujjaaa/ but arnong the noble ones
(ariya). The term occufs also in the Dakkhiaavibhahga
^Suffe of tbe Majjhima-nikiya (tll, p, 2j6) and in two
other suttar otthe A'ngattara-nikiya(IV, p. 373; V, p. 23;
ue PED, t.v.).
A worldling (puthujjana), by cultivaring noble
quditles, becomes a,gotra-bhi and thus qualifier to rise
rtill higher in the scheme of spiritual progrers that lcads
to Nibbana (Pug.pp. t2f,). Tbe Aitguttara-nikaya(Iy,p.
373) incfudeg the gotn-bhu among the nine pcrsons
worthy of salutation and who Bre 8.nunsurpalsed field of
merit. Tbc commentary, too, describc the gofrr-b^&il as
oie endowed with exceedingly perfect insight and
tbought, with immediate prospects of attaining the stege
of rtreen-winner and rhe way (AA.ly,p. I07; but cp. .u{.
IV, p. 292 and Pug.p. 14 which do not consider the
gotn-bhi rs belonging to the ariye).
Tbc Petisambhidamagga(I, pp. 66 ff,) considcrs it not
only as a pre-lotdpanna stage but also as indicating a
class of beings who are on the way to arahantship and
who may be in poseessionof one of the paths (magga)and
fruits (phala). The Visuddhimagga (Vism. p, 672) des-
cribcs it es a stage to be reached after maturing in the
rtage called 'purity by knowlcdgc and vision of the path'
(pati padi-f,-an ed essan a-uisudd hi), It furrher says thet thc
gptrt-bhi is only able to have Nibbana as the objcct but
hc is unabh to dispcl the darkaessthat concedg the truth.
Thir darkners is to be dispelled by rhe rhree kinds of
edaptation-consciougness (anuloma-citta). In the
Compendiu.a of Philosophy (pp, 66 ff,) rhis stage is
describcdas implying an evolution which transcendsthe
conditioned ard has for its objectsNibbana. This stagcis
follwed by a single mom€nt of path<onsciousnessby
which the first of the Four Noble Truths is discerned,
error and doubt got rid of, Nibbana intuited and the
constiruentsof the lrioble Eightfold Path are cultivated.
Seealso GOTRA.
S. K Nanavahkara
GOTRA BHtlndI a stage in the spiritual lineage, the
secondof the seven(sometimcs8 or 10)stagesof spiritual
development of a Buddha's disciple (travakabhumi:
Mahavyutpatti, BB. XIII, p. i8), The other six, as given
in the Mahavyutpatti, are {uklavidardani, astamaka,
dardana,tanu, vitangaand krtivin As they reilr to the
spiritua.lprogress of a disciple ({ravaka) and nor of a
bodhisattva,they are the bhimisrrccording to Hlnayana"
although they are not mentioned in the Pali texts, The list
(of 7) occurs at Ssp. pp. 1562-3where in a negativc
381 GOTRA YTIIARA
d e s c r i p t i o no f M a h i y a n a , w h i c h i s c o m p a r e dt o t h e o p e n
space ftkala/, it is said that just as rhese bhimis are Dor
found in the itiCa, so tle they not found in Mahiyana
either.
I f a c o m p a r i s o n i s m a d e b e t w e e nt h c s e s t a g e so f t h e
{mvakab path in Hinayana with the orher stagesof
sr o tAp a tti, sak rd ag am i, an aga m i, r;nd arh a t v4 tb,ego t ra-
bhumi being the stage next to the first fuklavidadani-
bhwri, also belongsto the We-sratapif&stage, when tbe
disciple is about to cnter the path of sainthood. (Aspects
of Mahayana Buddhism and its rclation to the lfinayaaa,
N. Dutt, p. 2al). According ro E, Obermiller (l"lre
Do c t ri n e of Pr aj ffi pi ra mi ti, p. 49) t he go t r a- bhimi is n
c a l l e d b e c a u s et h e d i s c i p l e a b i d i n g i n t h i s s t a g ek n o w s
that he be!ongs to the spiritual lineage (gotra) of the
lnvaka.
However, it is of interest tbat at Stp. pp. t472-3 and
1520 these seven b.bumrs,with the addition of pratyeka-
b u d d h a -b hi mi, b o d hi sat t vs - bb um i and b ud dh a-bhi mi
are given as the ten bhumis of.a bodhisattva, whereas the
usual list of bodhisattvabhimis is quite dilferent from
this one. This grouping may be due tc the fact that all the
four Hinayanic stager of development (i.e. srotipattietc.)
are regarded (by the Mahdyanists) as covering only some
of the Mahiyanic stages, whereas the Mahayanists,
aspiring for Bufldhahood , go much further for their
emancipation than the last stage (ariatva) of thc Hi-
nayi.nirls. On this basis it is not strange that thc seven
Hinaydnic stagcsare expanded inro ten by the eddition of
thc three other bhimi and are called bodhisattvabhumi
in the Satas-atysrikaprajfrEpiramiu (loc. cit.). See also
GOTRA-BHU.
A. G. S. Karlvawasam
GOTRA-VIHIn.q., pre-bh[mi stage almost parallel ro
the gatra-bhu (q,v.) stage of the Theravida scheme of
spiritual progress, The Bbh. (see ch. entitled Vihira-
pafala) divides the pre-bhumi srage called &afrrricarya
into two stagesnamely gotra-uiharaand adhimukticarya
uihalra. It is said that a gotrastha, i.e,, one who is
establishedin the noble lineage, is endowed with noble
qualities and high aims which are characteristicfeatures
of a bodhisattva. As the gotra-vihinais merely aprepara-
tory stage it only indicater the attempts made by an
aspirant to develop the thought of enlightenment (bodhi-
citta q.v.). A person who has reached this stage com-
mencesto do good deedsof his own accord and he doesso
wisely and with a feeling of charity. This stageforms the
foundation of the other stages(vihara), for, it enablesan
aspirant to quality for further spiritual progress.
S. K. Nenayafrkara
 GRATITT.JDE 382
GRATITUDE (kataflffuta, kataveditE) is considered a
noble virtue in Buddhism. ln the Mahamangala Sutta
( S n . v . 2 6 5 )i t i s d e s c r i b e da s a v e r v a u s p i c i o u sc h a r a c t e -
ristic (mangata). The commentary says that this is
c o n s i d e r e da n o b l e a t t i t u d e o n a c c o u n to f s e v e r a lf a c t o r s ,
one of them being that virtuous men (sappunsa)praiseit
(KhpA. p. 141). The same source defines gratitude as
a c k n o w l e d g i n go r r e m e m b e r i n gc o n s t a n t l va g o o d t u r n .
w h e t h e ri t b e g r e a to r s m a l l ,d o n e t o o n e b - va n o t h e r 'T h e
B u d d h ah a ss p o k e no f t h i s v i r t u e i n m a n y a p l a c e ,H e h a s
describedit as a characteristicof a good man (sappurisa);
a n d t h e a b s e n c eo f t h c s a m ev i r t u e a s a c h a r a c t e r i s t i co [ a
bad man (asappurisa: A. l, p. 6l)' Ingratitude (a'ka-
h f i f r u i ) i s e n u m e r a t e da s o n e o f s e v e r a lm e n t a l p h e n o -
m e n a t h a t h a s t o b e d i s p e l l e di n o r d e r t o d e v e l o pt r a n c e s
( j h i n a : A . t l I , p . 2 ' 7 3 ) . I n g r a t i t u d ei s a l s o e x p l a i n e da s a n
e v i l t e n d e n c yi n m e n t h a t c a u s e st h e m t o b c r e b o r n i n h e l l
afterdeath(A. ll, p.226).
All men are not gratefulby nature.In the Ahguttara'
n i k a - v a( 1 , p . 8 7 ) t h e B u d d h a d e c l a r e d t w o i n d i v i d u a l s
w h o a r ev e r y r a r ei n t h e w o r l d , t h e m a n w h o v o l u n t e e r tso
help others in need (pubbakari) and the man who is
grateful (kataflfii, katavedi).ln two jatakaswomen are
d e s c r i b e da s g e n e r a l l yu n g r a t e f u l( J . I I I , p . 4 1 4 ;J. ' l Y , p .
124). Once the Buddha admonished some monks to
d i s c i p l i n e t h e m s e l v e st o b e g r a t e f u l , s a y i n g t h a t s o m e
m o n k s , w h o c a l l t h e m s e l v e tsh e f o l l o w e r so f t h e s o n o f t h e
Sfuvans (Sikyaputtiva samana) do not have in them
e v e n t h a t a m o u n t o f g r a t i t u d e s h o w n b y s o m ej a k a l s .
B y e x a m p l e t h e B u d d h a t a u g h t t h e i m p o r t a n c eo f t h i s
social virute. lmmediately after attaining enlightenment
h c s h o w e dh i s g r a t i t u d et o t h e b o d h i - t r e e 'f o r t h e s h e l t e ri t
p r o v i d e d h i m w h e n a t t a i n i n ge n l i g h t e n m e n t 'A s a s i g n o f
g r a t i t u d e ,i t i s s a i d , t h a t h e k e p t o n l o o k i n g a t t h i s t r e e ,
w i t h u n b l i n k i n g e y e s ,f o r a f u l l w e e k ( J . l , p p ' 7 7 - 8 ) 'T h e n
h a v i n g d e c i d e dt o p r e a c h t h e D h a m m a , b e i n g e n t r e a t e d
b y B r a h m a S a h a m p a t i t o d o s o , h e w a n t e d t o p r e a c hi t ,
first to Alarakalama and then to Uddakaramaputta,
u n d e r w h o m h e s t u d i e df o r s o m et i m e d u r i n g h i s q u e s tf o r
e n l i g h t e n m e n t ,b u t s o o n h e r e a l i s c dt h a t b o t h o f t h e m
h a d d i e d a f e w d a y s e a r l i e r .T h e n h e t h o u g h t o f t h e f i v e
a s c e t i c sa, s t h e y h a d r e n d e r e dh i m g r e a t s e r v i c ew h i l e h e
w a s p r a c t i s i n ga u s t e r i t i e s(.V i n . I , p p . 7 - 8 ) .
The Cullasetthi JAhka (.1.1,p.22) records how a man
n a m e d C u l l a n i e v a s i k a ,w h o b e c a m ef a b u l o u s l y r i c h b y
o v e r h e a r i n ga s t a t e m e n tm a d e b y C u l l a s e t t h i ,s h o w e dh i s
g r a t i t u d e t o t h e l a t t e r . C u l l a s e t t h iw h i l e t o u r i n g t h c c i t y
saw a dead mouse in rhe strceiand said:"an intelligent
man can make a fortune even with this dead mouse."
C u l l a n t e v a s i k ah e a r d t h i s s t a t e m e n t ,a n d t o o k t h e m o u s e
w i t h h i m , a n d b e f o r e l o n g h e c o u l d d i s p o s eo f i t f o r a n
insignificant coin, With that coin he procured some
honcy and sold it with a profit. ln this way he made e
GRATITTJDE
great fortune beforelong, and one day he took several
t h o u s a n d p i e c e so f g o l d t o C u l l a s e t t h ia n d o f f e r e d i t t o
him asa mark of gratitude
T h e s t o r y o f t h e S i n h a l e s ek i n g S r l S a n g h a b o d h i t, o o i s
a n o t h e ri n s p i r i n gi n s t a n c e , t os h o w h o w g r e a t l yt h i s v i r t u e
i s v a l u e d b y B u d d h i s t s ,S r i S a n g h a b o d h w i a sa v e r yp i o u s
k i n g l o v e d b y h i s s u b j e c t s .A f t e r t w o y c a r s o f b e c o m i n g
k i n g , h e a b d i c q t e dt h e t h r o n e i n f a v o u r o f h i s y o u n g e r
brother Gothabhaya and withdrew into a forest to
b e c o m ea n a s c e t i cT . h e n e w k i n g w a s s u s p i c i o u sa b o u t h i s
s a g e - b r o t h e r ,a n d h e t h o u g h t t h a t s o m e d a y h e w o u l d
r e t u r n a n d t a k e b a c ( t h e k i n g d o m . S o , a s s o o n a sh e w a s
d u l y a n o i n t e d ,G o t h a b h a y ai s s u e da p r o c l a m a t i o nt o t h e
effect that whosover produced the head of the sage Sri
S a n g h a b o d h i ,w o u l d b e r e w a r d e dw i t h a t h o u s a n dp i e c e s
of gold.
S e v e r a lp e o p l es e t o u t i n s e a r c ho f S r i S a n g h a b o d h it o
kill him in order to procure the reward, One of them,
w h i l e s e a r c h i n gf o r h i s w h e r e a b o u t si n a d e n s ef o r e s t .s a w
t h e s a g em e d i t a t i n g a t t h e f o o t o f a t r e e .T h e m a n d i d n o t
r e c o g n i s et h a t i t w a s S r l S a n g h a b o d h ih i m s e l f ,a n d g o i n g
t o t h e s a g es a l u t e d h i m a n d s a t a t a r e s p e c t f u ld i s t a n c e .
T h e s a g et a l k e d v e r y k i n d l y t o h i m a n d g a v eh i m s p i r i t u a l
advice, The man was much pleasedand offered the sage
half of the mealhe had brought with him, After the meal,
the sage inquired from the man 8s to what he was
s e a r c h i n gf o r i n t h a t f o r e s t , a n d w h e n t h e m a n t o l d t h e
s a g et h a t h e w a s g g a r c h i n gf o r S r i S a n g h a b o d h it o t a k e
his head to Gothabhaya to procure a reward, the sage
r e v e a l e dh i s r d e n t i t y a n d v o l u n t e e r e dt o a l l o w t h e m a n t o
kill him and take the head away as a tokcn of gratitude for
the meal he had offered. When the travellerrealisedthat
the sage was none other than Sri Sangha'
bodhi himself,he pleadedfor forgiveness,but Sri Sangha'
b o d h i h i m s e l fs e v e r e dh i s o w n h e a da n d h a n d e di t o v e rt o
the man (See H atth avanagallavihAravamsa).
G r a t i t u d e i s c o n s i d e r e da n i m p o r t a n t v i r t u e f o r t h e
p r e s e r v a t i o no f p e a c ea n d g o o d - w i l l i n s o c i e t y ' P e o p l c
w h o a r e i n a p o s i t i o n t o h e l p o t h e r s i n s o m er f l a y a r e
expectedto volunteer to do that service(pubbakari: A'L'
p . 8 7 ) , a n d t h o s e w h o b e n e f i t b y t h a t s e r v i c es h o u l db t
grateful in return (katavedi)' Mutual trust, friendship
and good-will can prevail only in this manner' In tbc
a b s e n c eo f t h e s ev i r u t e s n o s o c i e t yc a n p r o g r e s s '
W. G. Weeranh
. e eL O B H A ,T A N H A '
G R E E DS
GRIEF. SeeDOMANASSA.
 GUARDIAI{ DETTIES
GUARDIAN DEffiES. The concept of guardian deities
could be found in any developed religious system,
e s p e c i a l l yi n i t s p o p u l a r a s p e c t s .E v e n b e f o r e t h e m a j o r
r e l i g i o n s w e r e f o u n d e d i t i s s e e nh o w p e o p l e b e l i e v e di n
s p i r i t s a n d d e i t i e s a s i n h a b i t i n g t h e d i f f e r e n t a s p e c t so f
n a t u r a l p h e n o m e n aa s e v i d e n c e d f, o r i n s t a n c e ,f r o m t h e
f a r - w o r s h i p o f t h e B u r m e s e .I n a d d i t i o n t o t h i s k i n d o f
belief in spirits there was also the practiceof deifying
n a t u r a l p h e n o m e n a( e . g . r a i n , w i n d , d a w n e t c . )a n d t h e n
p r o p i t i a t i n g t h e m a s d e i t i e s .I ' h e b e s t e x a m p l e f o r t h i s
r e l i g i o u s p r a c t i c e i s t h e R g v e d a o f t h e I n d i a n s ( s e ea l s o
DEIFICATION; GODS).
I n B u d d h i s m . t o o . t h e b e l i e fe x i s t s .b u t t h e r o l e o f s u c h
d e i t i e si s p e r i p h e r a l a s t h e y p l a y n o p a r t i n t h e B u d d h i s t
scherneof salvation.A generalbelief among the Buddhists
is that all deities who are of Right Views (samma-ditthi)
are guardians and followers of the law (dhamma). In
a d d i t i o n t h e r e i s a l s o a g c n e r a lb c l i e f t h a t t h e r e a r e o t h e r
spirits (bhlta) such asyakkhas, nigas etc.who also act as
guardians Thus the Suttanipha (v. 223) refers to this
b e l i e f w h e n s u c h s p i r i t s a r e r e q u e s t e dt o g r a n t p r o t e c t i o n
t o t h e h u m a n s .T h e m a i n r e s p o n s i b i l i t yo f t h e s ed e i t i e si s
to guard and protect all that is connected with the
B u d d h a a n d h i s t e a c h i n g .T h e s ei n c l u d en o t o n l y v i r t u o u s
i n d i v i d u a l s w h o l i v e a c c o r d i n gt o t h e D h a r n m a , b u t a l s o
religiousestablishments,scriptures,placesof worship ect'
l n r c c r p r o c i t vf o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n g i v e n ,t h e p e o p l et o o a r e
e x c e p t e dt o f u l f i l c e r t a i no b l i g a t i o n st o w a r d st h e s ed e i t i e s
by transferenceof merit (pattidana, anumodani, q. v.)
m a k i n g o f f e r i n g s a n d s o o n . S o m e t i m e st h e s eg u a r d i n g
s p i r i t s ,e s p e c i a l l yt h o s e o f l o w e r g r a d e s ,c r e a t ep r o b l e m s
for men unless offerings are made to them and are
properly propitiated. Therefore, it is customary to
p r o p i t i a t e t h e m a n d a p p e a lf o r t h e i r h e l p a n d p r o t e c t i o n
at the beginning of any important undertaking.
G u a r d i a n d e i t i e si n B u d d h i s m c a n b e d i v i d e d i n t o t w o
c a t e g o r i e sa s h i g h e r a n d l o w e r o r s u p e r i o r a n d i n f e r i o r .
T h o s e l i k e t h e f o u r L o k a p a l a s ,e i g h t D h a r m a p a l i s , a n d
S a k k a c o u l d b e c l a s s e da s h i g h e rd i v i n i t i e sa s t h e y a r e n o t
confined to any country or area, while other deities
c o n f i n e d t o d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s a n d a r e a sm a v b e c a l l e d
inferior or minor divinities.
A n o t h e r p o s s i b l ed i v i s i o n t h a t d e s e r v e o s u r a t t e n t i o ni s
that pertaining to peaceful and fierce deities, While
d e i t i e sl i k e t h e L o k a p a J a so r S a k k a a r e n o t r e p r e s e n t e a ds
f i e r c ed e i t i e s ,t h e r e a r e o t h e r sl i k e t h e e i g h t D h a r m a p a l a s
w h o a r e r e p r e s e n t e di n f e a r f u l a s p e c t ,s p e c i a l l yi n T i b e t
and Japan. This is attributed to the task of protection
e n t r u s t e dt o t h e m , f o r i t i s t h e i r d u t i e s t h a t m a k e t h e m
a p p e a rl i e r c e .A n o t h e r e x p l a n a t i o n ,w h i c h i s a p h i l o s o p h i -
cal one. is that while the pcaceful deities depict the
b e n e v o l e n ta J p e c to f e x i s t e n c c ,t h e f e a r f u lo n e sd e p i c t t h e
m a l e v o l e n ta s p e c t .T h u s t h e s et w o t y p e so f d e i t i e sd c p i c t
the two major aspectsof existence.
l. J. Prip. Mcitler, Chinese Buddhist Monasteries,Hong Kong, 1967,p. l7
383 GUARDIAN DEITIES
I n B u r m a , w h e r et h e a n i m i s t i ck i n d o f s p i r i t - w o r s h i pi n
t h e f o r m o f t h e w o r s h i p o f 6 a r s i sa n i m p o r t a n t f e a t u r eo f
t h e r e l i g i o n i n p r a c t i c e ,t h e b e l i e f i n g u a r d i a n d e i t i e si s
also connected with this fiaf-worship. Even the Buddhist
m o n a s t e r i e sa r e r e g a r d e da s b e i n g p r o t e c t e db y t h e r l a f s ,
aad the spirit-shnnes (flat-kun: fratsin) are constructed
c l c s e t o t h e p a g o d a s .T h e B u d d h i s t m o n k s t h e m s e l v e s
tale part in rites connecred with far-wonhip, Whiie
everv village has a fratsin for the guardian fars of thc
n e i g h b o u r h c o d ,f e a s t sa r e h e l d r e g u l a r l yi n t h e i r h o n o u r ,
T h u s , a c c o r d i n gt o B u r m e s eb e l i e ft h c g u a r d i a ns p i r i t r
a r e a l s o c a p a b l e o f d o i n g g r e a t h a r m , u n l e s st h e y a r e
propitiated. Thus they occupya placemidway between
t h e b e n e v o l e n ta n d t h e m a l i g n a n t s p i r i t s . A m o n g t h e
infinitc variety of fratsmention may be made of those
p r e s i d i n go v e r t h e d a y s o f t h e w e e k . T h u s r h e
faf of the
day on which a person is born demands specia.lpropitia-
tion. The house-guardiansare callcd cing-saung-far.It is
s a i d t h a t t h e B u r m e s eg r i n d i n t o p o w d e r t h e b o n e s o f
r e s p c c t e dr e l a t i o n sw h o h a v e b e e nc r e m a t e d ,m i x i t w i t h
wood-oil (thissi) and make images of Buddha (thayo)
o u t o f i t , T h e y p r a y t o t h e s ei m a g e sa s h o u s c - g u a r d i a n s .
T h e b e l i e f i n g u a r d i a n d e i t i e si s w i d e l y p r e v a l e n ti n
China too. The Chinese term Weito, equivalent to the
S a n s k r i t t e r m V e d a , i su s e dt o d e s i g n a t et h e g u a r d i a n so f
Buddhist monasteries (viharapila). This name shows
that his origin is Indian. His image is said to be placed
behind that of Mairreya, the future Buddha. He is
a c c o m p a n i e da n d a s s i s t e db y a t u t e l a r y d e i t y C h i a - l a n ,
H e i s t r e a t e d a s d e f e n d c ro f t h e B u d d h a ' s L a w a s w e l l a s
o f m o n a s t e r i e s .H e i s m e n t i o n e d a s t h e g e n c r a l - i n - c h i e f
u n d e r t h e f o u r L o k a p - a . l a sw,h o s c a r m i e sh e c o m m a n d s ,
H e i s r e g u l a r l y i n v o k e d b y t h e C h i n e s eB u d d h i s t s f o r
m o n a s t i c s u p p l i e s ,a n d a s p r o t e c t o r o f m o n a s t e r i e sh e i s
r c p r e s e n t e da s b e i n g c l a d i n c o m p l e t ea r m o u r h o l d i n g a
d e f e n s i v ew e a p o n , e s p e c i a l l ya s w o r d . H e s t a n d sf a c i n g
i n w a r d , o p p o s i t et h e p r i n c i p a Js a n c t u a r y .S o m c t i m e sh i s
i m a g e i s s a i d t o b e p l a c e d i n s m a l l s h r i n e sa t t u r n i n g
points of long roads, to, protect pilgrims from evil
influences. Referred to in Chineseworks as a deva (t,ien
s h E n ) h ei s w o r s h i p p e da sa h e a v e n l vp r o t e c t o r ,a n d i n t h e
7 t h c e n t u r y A . C . h i s s t a t u e sb e c a m ea c o m m o n f c a t u r ei n
B u d d h i s t m o n a s t e r i e s .A s a t u t e l a r y d e i t y h e g c n e r a l l y
a c c o m p a n i e sK u a n Y i n ( A v a l o k i t e d v a r a ) .I c o n o g r a p h i -
cally he is representedin three different forms: Standing,
with one hand resting on the pearl which adorns the
handle of his club, while the other is lifted in prayer or
r e s t so n h i s h i p . A l s o s t a n d i n g ,w i t h b o t h h a n d s l i f t e d i n
p r a y e r , t h e c l u b l y i n g a c r o s sh i s e l b o w s ,S i t t i n g , w i t h o n e
h a n d o n t h e c l u b a n d t h e o t h e r r e s t i n go n h i s k n e e . r
In the Fa Yti Ssu on the islandof Pu To whereKuan
Yin is worshipped as the chief deity, the idea of Weito u
guardian deity hrs been carried out to its full extent. In
 GUARDIAN DEITIES 384
c c r t a i n C h i n e s e t s u d d h i s ts l t r a s i n w h i c h S a k y a m u n i ' s
p i c t u r e i s f o u n d o n t h e f i r s t p . a g et,h e p i c t u r e o f W e i t o i s
to be found at the end of the volume. He began to be
p a r t i c u l a r l y p o p u l a r i n C h i n a s i n c et h e 7 t h c e n t u r v A " C ,
S o m e t i m e s h e i s r e p r e g e n t e da s t h e g u a r d i a n o f
monasteries along with Vai{ravana.
A n o t h e r g r o u p o f g u a r d i a n so f B u d d h i s t m o n a s t e r i e s
in China are the Chin-lan comprising some of the higher
Chinese deities such as tbe God of Wa-r,four Lokapilas,
Weito etc. They are generally placcd in the outer hall or
ncar the front entrance of a temple.Their duties are those
of gatekeeperc(dvirapila). Representedwith a third eye
on the forhead they eithrr stand or sit. Thcre is a story of
an historical person being made into one of them.
Another deity regarded as the guardian of the gate of
heaven is Li Ching, who is also called T'oth Li or the
pagoda-beareras he is representedes holding a miniature
pagoda. He is said to be found in nearly all Buddhist
temples.
Yet another class of Chinesc guardian deities are the
d o o r - g o d s o r t h e g u a r d i a n so f d o o r s c a l l e d S h e nt u o r
Shen shu ytl ld or lt{en Shin.2
l n C h i n a , t h e t w o l e g e n d a r yg e n e r a l sH e n g a n d H a ,
elso constitute an important pair of dvarapiE. Thc two
names are of non-Buddhist origin and are connectedwith
two generals who lived at the beginning of the Chou
dynasty and fought eachother with flames and poisonous
g a s s t r e a m i n gf r o m t h e m o u t h o f o n e a n d t h e n o s t r i l s o f
the other. These two generalswere later canonised and
c o n f e r r e dw i t h t h e t a s k o f g u a r d i n gt h e g a t e so f B u d d h i s t
t c m p l e s .T h e r e i s a n o t h e r s t o r y w h i c h s a y st h a t t w o h a l f
b r o t h e r s M i { h i a n d C h i - k a n g ,v o w e d t o p r o t e c t 1 0 , 0 0 0
Buddhss of the present and help them propagate the
d o c t r i n e . T h e s et w o p a r t s o f t h e n a m e sp u t t o g e t h e rg i v e
thc Sanskrit name Guhyavajra.
When iconographically representcdMi-cbi is placed to
the left of the entering visitor in the place of the present
Ha, with his mouth open and Chi kang to the right
o c c u p y i n gt h e p l a c e o f t h e p r e s e n tH e n g , w i t h h i s m o u t h
shut. Both are portrayed as almost naked giants and are
usually armed with clubs. They are found as early as the
5th.century A.C. in the sculpture of the Yung Kang
grottoes in Shansi and at numerous places in north
China, dating from tbe succeedingcenturies.
There are also early examples of yet other kinds of
B u d d h i s t g u a r d i a n d e i t i e si n C b i n a . A t e a c h s i d e o f t h e
entrancc to a cave at Pao Shan in Honon and dating from
589 A.C, is carved a bearded warrior. On the left and
right are the two "spiritud Lings" Narayana and Krpilt
2. Thc Trantric Buddhist work Ntrpaanayogival'itoo mentionr four nrch goddessesrepresenting the door-lock (tlliki)theke,l
Gunci), door-plank (kapitl -d th" door-curtain (pandharini)
3. Pageant of JapaneseArr ('sculpture) p. 197
GUARDIAN DEITIES
r e s p e c t i v e l yb, o t h o f w h o m a r e a s s o c i a t e dw i t h C h i n a a s
guardians of Buddhiet sancturaries. They both' have
swords and tridents while Kapila wears a body arrnour as
well, ln a cave at T'ien Lung Shan there are two vejra
gods on the outside, while in the inside on either side of
the door and back to back with thc two outsidefigures are
two celestial warriors armed with tridents. During the
T'ang dynasty one seesttrc developmentof the Dvirapali
from a more placid type to a more ferocious type and
parctically nude representationssupersedethe dressedor
lrmoured ones.
Another group of 24 deities called Chu Tlen are
r e g a r d e da s t u t e l a r yd e i t i e sw h o , a s p a t r o n s o f C h i n a a n d
s u p p o r t c r so f t h e B u d d h a ,p r o t e c t t h e B u d d h a ' st e a c h i n g
in that counrry. Even the Chineseteacherslike Confucius
are included among these.
As regards the mountain godr, who also function as
g u a r d i a n d e i t i e s ,t h e f o l l o w i n g w o r d s m a y b e q u o t e d :
"There are a million gods of the mountains, for every
mountain, hill, peak, knoll and headlandhas its presiding
divinity; the greatestamong thescbeing the north, south,
east,west and central peaks.The first lpsgn[nin god wes
seen in the days of the Emperor Yao when the prime
m i n i s t e r P i L i n g s e p a r a t e dt h e p e a k s o f t h e S s u c h ' u a n
provincc and met the god of the mountain" (Kenneth W,
Morgan, The Path of the Buddha, NY. 1955,p.228). And
it may be mentioned that in China the mountains P\-to,
Wu-tai, Chin-hua and Omen have been dedicated to thc
Bod hisattvas Avd okite$varq M afijuiri, Ksitigarbha and
Samantsbhadra respectively.
T h e B u d d h i s t m o n a s t e r i e si n J a p a n t o o a r e p r o v i d e d
with guardian kings called Nio and thc four Lokapilas
(Jap. S/rnrenno) are represented at Horyuji. These Nlo
are derived from the door-keeper (dvirapala) idea of
lndia and are thus expectedto guard thc holy place
against all evil spirits. These guardian deities ere rlso
called Knongo-rikisi or strong men holding the rajra(St.
Vajravira). When paired as guarding the entraDce to I
monastery on either side of the door they are called rVlo,
The name Knongo-rikisi can refer to one or both of them.
They are describedas demi-gods serving as the guardians
of'a Buddhist precinct, half-nated and each holding a
vajraclub, one with his mouth closed symbolising latent
might and the other with his mouth wide open symbe,
lizing the exhaled power,3 Alice Getty records that the
Nro, whcn conceivedsingly, is regarded as tbe guardiaa
of the Buddhist scriptures,As a pair they are believedto
reside on the mouqtain Sumeru manifesting themselves
wheneverworshippcd with proper ceremonier,
 GUARDTAN DEITIES
A m o n g t h e e a r l i e s ta n d t h e f i n e s t o f t h e h o l l o w d r y
lacquer statues in Japan are the Hachi-bushu or eight
c l a s e e so f t u p e r n a t u r e l , b e i n g sg u a r d i n g t h c B u d d h a o r
the Eight Guerdirar of Sakyamuni. These sre ten (deva),
r.nt (niga), yasha (yaksa), kandabha(gandharva), ashura
(asurt), karura (garuda), kinnara e;ndmagorake (maho-
rage). A typicaJexample of there in Japanesesculptureis
thc one in the Kofukuji in Nara. believcd to have been
mede in the 8th century. Lovelicst of them is the famous
ethura (asura), tbe demon king of Hindu mythology,
who efter his coversion, became one of the eight guar-
diensof the Buddha.
Another group of Buddhist guardian deities in Japan
are the Twelve Heavenly Generalsor Juni Shinsho, who
rre urually grouped in a circle around the Ya-kushi
Buddha (Bhaisajyaguru). The twelve generals, ar
rrmoured warriors guardihg his twelve vows, arc said to
have promised to protect aU faithful readers of thc
Bhaisajyaguru Sitra and the devout worshippers of
BhasajyaguruBuddba, and were praisedfor this virtuous
practice by the Buddha himself, These twelve are distin-
guished by the objects they hold in their hands and have
individual names. Their number being twelve, they are
worshipped not only a.rattendents of Yalushi but also as
thc guardians of thc twelve zodiacal signs,in which case
they wear on their herdr the animals associatcdwith
therc, The wooden reprcsentationsof these l2 generals
made in 1064 A.C. arc found at Hornrji, Nara.
Yet enother representation of one of these named
Mckira at Shinyalcurhiji is described as being of 'a
vigoroul attitude with the raised sword. He seemsto cry
out against his enemies.The armour of the Tang warrior
rhich he wears, the rtending heir of the herd, the bulging
eyes,fiercc frowrr, lipr drawn back to chow the tceth and
the tonguc - all help to increasethe expressionof the
figure.q
There are yet other individual guardien deitiessuch as
Vajrapini (thunderbolt-be arer) or Shu-kongo-shin,who
ir the Japanereversion of Indian Indra, Representedas a
fierce warrior, with bulging eyes,long and curly hair etc.
he is described at'a guardian god of Buddhism clad in
ermour and holding a vajra club in his hand in a
menacing porture rhowing his divine wrath against evil
s p i r i t s . ' r T h i s t y p e o f d e i t y i s m a i n l y t h e c r e a t i o no f t h e
esotericsects.Although fierce-looking, he is a benevolent
g e n i i g u a r d i n g B u d d h i s m , w h o s e r c p r e s e n t e t i o n si n
Japanesesculpture are said to be very few.
A m o n g t h e g u a r d i a n d e i t i e st h a t b e l o n g t o a s t i l l l a t e r
period (8th and 9th cenluries A.C.) ere the Five Greal
Kings or Vidyaraja.s (Go dni myo-o). There arc rcgarded
4, Hugo Munsterberg, The Arts of Japan, pp. 1547
S. Pageant of Japanese Art (Sculpture) p. I I0
6. The Nispannayogivali too rcfers to s lroup of eight dciticr ssid to be guarding the eight quarters
385 GUARDIAN DETTIES
cs the manifestation of Vairocana's (Dai-nici) wrath
a g a i u s te v i i T h e m o s t i m p o r t a . n ti s t h e F u d o - M y o - o o r
Acala Vidy'araja (q,v.) crigiraly a form of Siva. These
are saici tr; have been intrcd.:ced io Japan by esoteric
s e c t s .T h e r r s t a t u es a t T o j : a : l d es p e c i a l l yt h e c a r v i n g si n
the Kodo may be specially rrerrioned. These Vidy[rajas
are rcprcsented in paintings ;ts rvell. Thc se.called
" Y e l l o w F u d o " o f M u - d r n o f t h e " f e n r i n is e c ti s t h e m o s t
celebrated protrayal of Acala Vidyarija. This is usually
k e p t h i d d e n . A s i m i l a r r e p r e s c n t a t i o ni s f o u n d a t
Mafljuin in Kyoto. The Red Fudo of Koyo-San end the
Blue Fudo at Shrcn-in at Kyoto are atso wcll-known.
Fudo Myo-o is usually reprcsented as e straDge and
terrifying cregture, Sitting on a rock in a very firm
posture he shows himself ro be quite immovable (acala).
The sword and the rope he holds are meant to conquer
cvil. The fangs at the corners of his mouth. protruding
cyes, scowling eyebrows, curled up hair, muscular body,
the flaming halo all givc him a very drametic end
e x p r e s s i v el o o k . D e s p i t e h i s a p p e a r e n c eh e i r a b e n e -
volent deity, implying grcntspiritualpower. "He guard!
and protects the practiser at all timcs and bestowson him
long life, recovering from him, as offering, food that jr
left over. He is the god who completes the badhi of the
p r a c t i s e r "( E n c y . B b . z . V o l . I , p . 1 5 5 ) .
Another kind of guardian deity is Muryo Rikitu
(Amitabalanida) found at the Hachi monasteries in
Wakayama Prefecture. He is one of the five ewerome
divinities (Go Dai fukiku) with thc powerful roar. Lile
Fudo, his wrath too is directed againsttbe evil forcesthrt
might harm Buddhirm. He rnd his group protect the king
and the pcople who keep the Triple Gem. In iconogrepby
he is represented in the usual fearful way with the vajra
and the other such features. Colourful flames surround
his entire figure. The dence he is performing indicates a
kind of spiritual ccstBcy.
ln addition to the four Lokapilas there are also in
Japan severalBroupsof minor deitieswho are assignedto
different quart€rs of the universe. Tbe Juniten (the
Twelve Heavenly Being5) or Goze Hoppoten (world-
protecting heavenly beings of the eight regions) are
distinguished by their mounts which consist of demons
and animals.6
At the Sokkuram cave temple in Korea, which is said
t o h o u s e s o m e o f t h e b e s t s t d n e s c u l p t u r e so f t h e 8 t h
century in the East, is to be found a numbcr of Korean
guardian deities in high relief, Some of them are vajra-
bearing guardians (vajrapaai) with clenched fists, defen-
ding the scredarea from intruders. ln the passagewayare
 GUARDTANDEITIES
t o b e i o u n d f o u r g u a r d i a nd e i t i e st r a m p l i n g o n d e m o n s
a l i p r o t e c t i n gt h e m a i n h a l l . 7
S a , r la . k l n g o i t h e g o d s ,p l a y sa n i m p o r t a n tr o l e i n S r i
l . a r r k a : ri i r i d d h i s m . T h c B u d d h r , h i r n s c l fp r i o r t o h i s
d e m i s ei s s a j d t o h a v er e q u e s t e di r i m t o g u a r d S r i I - a n k a
Mht,. vit. r'r'. 2 "1).Sakka snught out Mahinda and
r e q u e s t e dh i r n t o g o c y c r t o t h c i s l a n d w h e n t h e t i m e w a s
s u i t a b l ef o r i t s c o n v c r s i o n( i b i d . x i i i , r ' v . 1 5 , 1 5 ) .A n d i t i s
a , l s cr e c o r d e d ( i b i d . v i i . v . 5 ) t h a t S a l k a , i n a c c o r d a n c e
w i t h t h e B u d d h a ' sw i s h e s ,e n t r u s t e dt h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t oy f
g u a r d i n gt h e i s l a n d t o U p p a i a v a n n aw h o i s o n e o f f o u r
guardian deitics, and the others in the quartet are
Vibhisana of Kelaniya, Skanda of Kataragama and
Mahasumana of Samantakuta (Adam's Peat). This
mountain has become sacredto the Buddhistsas they
b c [ e v e t h a t t h e B u d d h a l e f t t h e i m p r e s s i o no f h i s l e f t f o o t
o n i t s p e a k w h c n h e v i s i t e d t h e i s l a n d . M a h a s u m a n ai s
r e c o r d e da s h a v i n g m e t t h e B u d d h a o n t h i s o c c a s i o na n d
s i n c et h e n h e h a sc o m e i n t o p r o m i n e n c ea so n e o f t h e f o u r
g u a r d i a ad e i t i e so f t h e i s l a n d ,
l n a d d i t i o n t o t h e s ef o u r m a j o r g u a r d i a n st h e r ea r ea ] s o
o t h e r d e i t i e sw h o m t h e B u d d h i s t sw o r s h i p a n d p r o p i t i a t e
a s t h e i r h c l p e r s a n d g u a r d i a n s . P a t t i n i , t h e g o d d e s so f
c h a s t i t y ,N a t h a t h e f u t u r e B u d d h a M a i t r e y a ( s o m e t i m e s
identified with the Bodhisattva Avalokite6vara)and
D [ d i m u n d a a r e t h r e es u c hi m p o r t a n t d e i t i e s .A ] l o f t h e m
have shrines (dcvalayas) dedicated to them in various
p a r t s o f t h e i s l a n d ,T h e u s u a lm e t h o d o f p r o p i t i a t i o ni s b y
making offerings to the deity conccrned at his shrine
through the officiating pricst (kapur-eila) in charge of the
place, acting the samc role as a Hindu priest (pisinlwho
m a k e st h e o f f e r i n g so n b e h a l f o f t h e d e v o t e ea n d i n v o k e s
t h e d e i t y ' sb l e s s i n g sb y r c c i t i n g a p a n e g y r i s t i ci n v o c a t o r y
formula called yatikava, which is a respectfulrequestfor
h e l p a n d p r o t e c t i o n . T h e d e v o t e e sa r e n o t a l i o w e d i n t o
t h e s a n c t u mo f t h e t e m p l e w h e r et h e s t a t u eo f t h e d e i t y i s
found.
With regard to the deity D{dimunda there is a
t r a d i t i o n a m o n g t h e S i n h a l e s eB u d d h i s t s t h a t h e i s t h e
son of Yakkha Punnaka through the n-ga maiden
lrandati of the Vidurajarafta (No. 545). According to the
p r c v a l e n tt r a d i t i o n h e l a n d e d i n S r i L a n k a a t D e w n d a r a
and proceeded to Alutnuvara in the Kega.lleDistrict
t a k i n g u p p e r m a n e n tr e s i d e n c et h e r ei n a t e m p l ew h i c h h e
h i m s e l fh a d c o n s t r u c t e d .T h i s i s t h e c h i e f d e v a l a y ao f t h i r
d e i t y a t p r e s e n t .T h i s s a m e t r a d i t i o n a l s o s a v s t h a t t h i s
d e i t v w a s t h e o n l y o n ew h o d i d n o t r u n i n f e a r a t t h e t i m e
of Bodhisattva Siddhattha's encounnter with Iv{ara.
W h i l e a l l t h e d e i t i e sr a n a w a v i n u t t e r c o n f u s i o n a n d
fright Dtidimunda alone is raid to have rtmained as the
Bodhisatta'sonly guardirn rt this crucial hour. His
s p e c i a . ls y m b o l i s a c l u b r e r e m b l i n g a w a l k i n g - s t i c k
holuv'a).
1. ERE lX, p.25
386 GUARDIAT{ DEITIES
In Tibet the guardiandeity Pehar(or Bihar) occupier
a n i m p o r t a n t p l a c e a s a g u a r d i a n o f m o n a s t e r i e s .H i s
n a m e, c o m i n g f r o m t h e S a n s k r i t t e r m v i h a r a m e a n i n g
m o n a s t e r v ,r e v e a l sh i s I n d i a n o r i g i n . H c r e c e i v e st h e
Tibetan appcllation Pehar after assuming his main
f u n c l i o n a s t h e g u a r d i a n o f t h e t r e a s u r ya t t h e T i b e t a n
m o n & s t e r ya t S a m y e . H e r s s a r d t o b e o r i g i n a l l v a n o n -
Buddhist deity transformed into a Buddhist guardian
d e i t y a f t e r h i s c o n v e r s i o nb v P a d m a s a m b h a v aH . e is one
of the five Great Kings of Tibet (Mahapaffcaraja), ln
c o u r s eo f t i m e P e h a r h a s b e e ng i v e n a l a r g e r e t i n u c ,t h e
m e m b e r s o f w h i c h a r e s a i d t o b e e m a n a t i o n so f P e h a r
-they
himself. h e l p h i m t o f u l f i l h i s v a r i o u sd u t i e sa l l o v e r
t h e c o u n t r y . I n i c o n o g r a p h i c a lr e p r e s e n t a t i o nhse r i d e sa
w h i t e l i o n , a s s u m i n g a l ) h a r m a p a l a a p p e a r a n c e ;t h r c c
headed and six armed he carries the sword (khadga),
knife (chiri), bow (cZpa), arrow (sara), club (gadE), and
stick (danda),
The other four membersof the group of five Great
Kings are Choi-chung, incarnate in state oracles as the
k i n g o f m a g i c , D a l h a , t h e t u t e l a r yg o d o f t h e w a r r i o r s a s
t h e k i n g o f t h e b o d y , L u v a n g , r h e g o d o f t h e N a g a sa n d
king of speech, end Takochr, the king of accomplish-
ments. The deity called .S,kmrgyal po mon bu pu fra, also
called Gnod sbyin mgon po mon bu pu tra, is said to be
the special guardian deity of the Lhasa shrine. A
guardian deity of a number of Tibetan monasteries,
occupying a very important place is Dge Bsryan Phying
d k a r b a . H e i s s a i d t o h a v e b e e no r i g i n a l l y a r e s i d e n to f
NElandi in lndia from where he was transferredto Tibet
by Atiia. Sometimes regarded as an emanation of
A v a l o k i t e i v a r a h e i s d e p i c t e d a s a p e a c e f u ld e i t y , I s l n
dmar pu is the guardian deity that is said to have
s u c c e e d e dP e h a r a t t h e S a m y em o n a s t e r v .S a i d t o b e t h e
l e a d e r o f 1 0 0 , 0 0 0d e m o n s , h e i s r e p r e s e n t e da s a f e a r f u l
yaksa.
Mention also should be made of the four treasure-
g u a r d s o f t h e T i b e t a n s s t a t i o n e di n t h e f o u r q u a r t e r so f
the world. These are: (l) rDo je legs pa guarding the
white treasureof conch-shellsin the cast,(2) rDo rje kgs
p a g u a r d i n g t h e y e l l o w t r e a s u r eo f g o l d i n t h e s o u t h ,
(3) Gnayan Chen thang /ha guarding the red tresureof
copper in the west, (4) Stong dpon dgra lha rgyal
g u a r d i n g t h e b l a c k t r e a s u r eo f i r o n i n t h e n o r t h .
l n T i b e t t h e p l a n e t a r y g o d R a h u a l s o o c c u p i e sa n
i m p o r t a n t p l a c e a s a g u a r d i a nd e i t y . R e g a r d e da s r u l i n g
t h e o t h e r p l a n e t a r y g o d s , h e i s g i v e n s e v e r a lh e a d sa n d
m a n y e v e sa n d a w r a t h f u l a p p e a r a n c eI,r r e l i g i o u sp e o p l e
a r e s h o t w i t h a r r o w sf r o m h i s b o w . W i t h h i s c e n t r a lr a v e n
h e a d h e i s s a i d t o g u a r d t h e r e l i g i o u st e a c h i n g sw h i l e h i s
thourrnd eveswatch the happcningsof the three worlds,
 GUARDIAI{ DEITIES
G u a r d i a nd e i t i e so f r . r o u n t a i n a
s r ew i d e i l , w o r s h i p p e d
in Tibet as weil. Almost everv peak in that country is
r e g a r d e da s t h e a b o c l eo f a g o d o r a g o d d e e s .F o u r s u c h
'fibet
mountains in a r e Y a r l h a s h a np o o f t h e I ' a r l u n g
vallcv, Sku la mkha 'n jn Lhok a. Gnod sbyin gangs
bzang, and Cnyan chen lhory lha. The deitiespresiding
o v e r t h e s em o u n l a i n s a l s o g o b y t h e s a m e n a m c s a s t h e
m o u n t a i n s . T h e l a s t - n a m e di s t r c a t e d a s t h e g u a r d i a n
deitv of a rangc of mcuntains running to several
t h o u s a n d s< , rm f i l e s . H e i s a l s o r e g a r d e da s t h c g u a r d i a n
deity of the mountain Marpori, the hill on which thc
P o t a l a p a l a c ci s s i t u a t e d .H e i s s a i d t o t a k e m a n y f o r m s i n
k e e p i n gw i t h t h c t y p e o f w o r k h e h a d t o d o . I n o n e a s p e c t
h e " h a s t e n st o t h e t e n q u a r t e r so f t h e w o r l d i n o r d e r t o
w a r d o f f a l l d a n g e r st h r e a t e n i n gt h e B u d d h i s t c r e e d . " s
T h e T i b e t a n se x p e c th i m t o p r o r e c tT i b e t a n d t h e S a m y e
monasiery like a proprietor guarding his cattle or one
g u a r d i n g a t r e a s u r e .A n o t h e r i n s t a n c e i s t h e m o u n t a i n
Amne Machan, guarded by rMa chen spon ra with a
p o p u l a r c u l t a r o u n dh i m . T h e m o u n t a j n K a n c h e n j u n g a ,
t h e t h i r d h i g h e s t p e a k i n t h e w o r l d , i s r e g a r d e da s b e i n g
g u a r d e d b y s e v e r a ld e i t i e s . T h e B u d d h i s t s o f S i k k h i m
. v e n e r a t et h e p e r s o n i f i c a t i o no f t h i s m o u n t a i n a s o n e o f
t h e d i v i n e p r o t e c t o r so f t h e l a n d . A n d t h e r e a r e v ' a r i o u s
I e g e n d sa b o u t t h e d i v i n i t i e sb e l i e v e dt o d w e l l u p o n t h i s
Himalayan peak, According to onc storv, the t_okapala
V a i i r a v a n a d w e l l sh e r ew h e r eh e i s s a i d t o h a v e s t o r e <tJh e
f i v e k i n d s o f t r e a s u r e sg; o l d , s i l v e r ,g e m s ,g r a i n s a _ n d
holy
b o o k s . S o m e t i m e st h e s eg u a r d i a n so f m o u n t a i n s a r e a l s o
known as country-g ods (yulJha) or lords of thc soil (gzhi-
dag). The god of the plain, called Thang-lha, is also an
e q u a l l y w e l l k n o w n g u a r d i a nd e i t y i n T i b e t .
Those worshipped as protectors of different sects
c o n s t i t u t ea n o t h e r c l a s so f g u a r d i a nd e i t y . A n i m p o r t a n t
T i b e t a n d e i t y o f t h i s t y p c i s r D o r j e s h u g sl d a n w h o i s t h e
deified spirit of a dead arcestor. Personal guardiarr
deities (istadevata or yi4am) also comprisc another
i m p o r t a n t c a t e g o r y .V e r v o f t e n i t i s t h e g u a r d i a nd e i t y o f
one's own sect that is talen up as the istadevatE, who
c o u l d b e c h o s e nf o r a g i v e n e n t e r p r i s eo i ' f o r a l i f c t i m e .
T h e c h o i c e h a s , h o w e v e r , t o b e k e p t a s e c r e ti f i t i s t o
b e c o m e e f f i c a c i o u s .I n g e n e r a l ,a n v o n e c a n c h o o s e a n y
d e i t y a s h i s i s t a d e v a r ai n k e c p i n gw i t h h i s r a s t ea n d d e e d s .
I n t h i s m a n n e r f a m i l i e sa n d c a s t e st o o c a n h a v e t h e i r o w n
g u a r d i a n d e i t i e s ,t h e c h o i c e b e i n g a c c e p t e db y t h e s u c -
c e c d i n g g e n e r a t i o n sa s w e l l . T h u s M a f r . 1 u i r i ,A v a l o k i -
teSvaraand Vajrapani are regarded as lhe guardian
d e i t i c so f t h e t h r e ef a m i l i e sT a t h a g a t a ,P a d m a a n d V a j r a ,
i n t o w h i c h t h e T a n t r i c d e i t i e sw e r e o r i g i n a l l v d i v i d e d ,
T h o s e d e i t i e sa r e v e r v f r e q u e n t l v i n v o k e d i n N e p a _al n d
Tibet,
8 . R e n eDe Nesbesky-Wojkowitz. Oracles and Demons of Tibet. LonCon. t956.p 207
D . L Snellgrove. Budd hist Htmah-ve, Oxford, l95: , p. 242
1 0 .I b i d .
I t . This is an extension of the number thirty-three of the world of thirty-three gad,s(tavattm5a4eta).
387 GUARIIIAI{ DEITIES
-I
l : eg r r n r r - 1 rral en i t i e so t t h c T a n t r i c m a t d a l a s a l s om a y
b c m e n t i o n e d . l - i s u a l l va m a r s d a l ah a s f o u r g u a r d i a n sa t
t h e f o u r c c r n . - i s .: , { o r n c t i r r , ,, h
. c t ' a r ? r c p r e s e n t e cwl i t h
t h e i r f c n ; a l er . ; i J n l r r p R r t sr t sw e l l .
l n d i s c r - r s r i ni hgc : r a r i i i e sa p h r n o m e n o nw o r t h n o t i n g
i s h o u ' a n y d c i r , vc c ' r r i <bj s a d r n i t t e di n t o l h e B u d d h i s t
p a n t h e o na s a c j r j ' e n d e:r, f t l i e d o c i i i n e .T h i s i s a s p e c i a l
f e a t u r e i n J ' i b c t a n ! l u d < J i , i s mr v h e r c P a d m a s a r n b h a v ais
c r e d i t e cw i i t h a d m i r r i n g a i a r g e n i r m b e r o f d e i t i e si n t h i s
manner. Evcn the powerliul Hjndu gccl Siva is said to
h a v e b c e n f o r c e d i n t o s u b m l s s i c na n d m a d e i n t o a
guardian deity through Vajrapani and allowed to live
o n l y o n c o n d i t i o n t h a t h e u ' o u l d a c k n o w l e d g et h e
s u p r e m a c yo f t h e T r i p i e G e m . S u c h c o n v c r t e dd e i t i e sa r e
c a l l e d C a m - c e n a b o u t w h o m S n e l l g r o v es a y s t h a t t h e y
a r e " t r e a t e d a J t c r n a t e l yt o t h r e a t s a n c i o f f e r i n g s .I n n o
way are thcv permitted to interfcre with the Buddhist
d o c t r i n e , t o w h i c h t h e v a r e h e i p l e s s l ys u b j e c t . T h e i r
inclusionin (he lowcst ranks <ifthe Buddhist pantheon
h a s a l l o w e d t h e T i b e t a n st o r c m c m b e r t h e i r a n c i e n tg o d s
while still being faithful to thc new doctrine. Different
p r o t e c t o r sh a v ec o m e t o b e a t t a c h c dt o d i f f e r e n tc y c l e so f
d i v i n i t i e sa n d t o t h e r r r i t u a l s .T h e r e a s o nf o r t h e . c o n n e c -
t i o n c o u l d o n l y b e d i s c o v e r e db y a n h i s t o r i c a ls t u d yo f t h e
o r i g i n a n d d e v e i o p m e n to f t h c s et e x t s ,w h i c h i s a t a s k s t i l l
t o b e u n d e r t a k e n .T h e r e s u l t o f t h i s i s , h o w e v e r ,t h a t a
g r o u p o f p r o t e c t o r sc o m e st o r e c e i v ea t t e n t i o ni n s o f a r a s
they are calledupon in onesor twos or threesin the rituals
that are constantl,vbeing performed in a monastery." e
S n e i l g r o v ea l s o g i v e s a l i r t o f l e a d i n gg u a r d i a nd e i t i e s
worshipped at Jiwong monastery by the Nying_mapa
'I
s e c t s . h e s ei n c l u d e M a h a l a j a , R a } t u ,V i s n u , M a h a d c v a .
'As
Ekajata. Vaiiravana and Vajralumara. almost all
t h e s ea r e a m o n g t h c I e a d i n g I n d i a n d i v i n i t i e s ,t h e y r a n k
higher than the mountain gods and other local
divinities.to
G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n g , i t i s n o t i m p o s s i b i er o r r e a t a n y
d e i t y a s a g u a r d i a n g o d f o r a l l t h e d e i t i e sa r e e x p e c t e dt o
h e l p t h e v i r t u o u s . E v e n l t { a h a y a n ad e i t i e sl i k e S a m v a r a
a n d V a j r a d h a r aw , h o a r en o t c o u n t e da sg u a r d i a nd e i t i e s
p r o p er , a r e r e g a r d e da s s u c ha t t i m e s .F o r i n s t a n c e
both
t h e s ed e i t i e sa r e v e n e r a t c da s g u a r d i a n si n N e p a l .A n d
in
t h e l 5 t h c h a p t e ro f t h e f l u d d h i s tS a n s k r i tw o r k S u v a r n a -
p r a b h A s aS i t r a i t i s s a i d t h a t t h o s ed e v o t e e sw h o h e a r
and
honour this sufra will be guarded by the
- y a k s a sa n d
demons, by the female deitiessuch as ga.iti
Canda.
Candika, Danti and Kutadanti and also bv Sarasvati,
S r i d e v i a n d g o d d e s so f e a r t h . I t m a v a l s o b e m e n t i o n e d
h e r e t h a t a c c o r d i n gt o t h e p o p u l a r b e l i e fp r e v a l e n ti n S r i
 GUARDSTONE
Lanka people refer to 33 crores (tistunkotiyak}r ot
d e i t i e st h a t h e l p a n d g u a r d t h e g o o d p e o p l e .I t i s a l s o t h e
u s u a lc u s t o m a m o n g t h e S r i L a l k a n B u d d h i s t st h a t a t t h e
end of any reiigious rite such as offering alms, flowers,
l a m p s e t c . o r t h e r e c i t a t i o n o f .p a r i t t a s , t h e y i n v a r i a b l y
requestthe guardian deities in geleral to safeguardthem
(deva rakkhantu). And a very popular statementuttered
b y t h e m a t t h e b e g i n n i n go f a n y n e w u n d e r t a k i n g o r o n
s e t t i n go u t o n a j o u r n e y o r i n t h e f a c e o f d a n g e r i s " m a y
there be the protection of the deities." (deviyahgepihi!*i).
( S e eP l s . X X I V - X X V I I ) .
A. G. S.I(rrtvawasao
GUARDSTONE. A guardstoneis a stone steleplacedon
either side of the entrance to a Buddhist temple or
monastic facility such as a dwelling house or bathing
p o n d f o r t h e u s eo f B u d d h i s t m o n k s , u s u a l l yw i t h a f ' l i g h t
o f s t e p sb e t w e e nt h e s t e l a i ,p r o v i d i n g a c c e s st o t h e t e m p l e
or facility. These stelai are found in relatively large
numbers in the ancient cities of Anuradhapura and
P o l o n n a r u w a . T h e y w e r e m a d e o f l i m e s t o n eu p t o a b o u t
the sixth century and of granite thereafter. The
dimensions of thesestelai, above ground, range approxi-
m a t e l y f r o m L 6 0 m . l e n g t h , 0 . 6 0m . b r e a d t h , a n d 0 . 2 0 m .
t h i c k n e s st o 0 . 4 3m . , 0 . 2 2 m . a n d 0 . l 0 m , r e s p e c t i v e l yT. h e
undressedpart of a guardstone which was buried under-
ground would generallymeasureas much irsor a little less
t h a n i t s h e i g h t a b o v e g r o u n d . I t h a s b e e n o b s e r v e dt h a t
g u a r d s t o n e so f s m a l l e r p r o p o r t i o n s a r e t o b e f o u n d a t
facilities such as bathing tanks, though in very many
instances stelai have been removed from their original
p o s i t i o n i n t h e c o u r s eo f r e c o n s t r u c t i o nT. h e u p p e r e n d o f
a g u a r d s t o n e i s a r c h e d o r s e g m e n t a li n s h a p e , o r h a s
r o u n d e d c o r n e r s . O n t h e s c u l p t e ds i d e o f a g u a r d s t o n e
there is usually a raised border around it, enclosing
within the frame thus formcd somefigure in bas-relief.In
some guard-stones, particularly those that carry the
anthropomorphic figure of e divinity, there is the figure
of a bahirava or dwarf at the right hand lower corner or at
the left hand lower corner or at both these corners' The
little dwarfs are shown in various lively attitudes,
c a r r y i n gi n t h e i r h a n d ss p r i g so f l o t u s f l o w e r sa n d b u d s o r
l. Ceylon Journal of Scienc-e,Section-G (CJSc. (G)) Vol. l, Part 3, Plate L l, and C. E. Godakumbur4 Guardstones,Colombo,
reprinted, 1982.Nos. 2l and 23 respectively.
2. Anande K. Coomaraswamy, History of Indian and Indonesian Art, New York, 1965
3. Codakumbura" op. cit. Nos. l-4
4, CJSc. (G), Vol. l, Part 3. Plate XIVII
5, Godakumbura,op. cit. No. 27
6. CJSc. (G) Vol. l, Part 3, Plate LI
7. lbid. Plate Ll
8. Godakumburu, op. cit. No. 20
9. CJSc. (G) Vol. l, Part 2, p. 48
10. D. T. Devendra, the Symbol of the Sinhalese Guardstone, Artibus Asra, Vol. XXI, Ascons" Switzerland, MCMLVIII, pp.
259-zffi
388 GUARDSTONE
p o t s p o u r i n g o u t s o m e l i q u i d , p e r h a p sm i l k . I n s o m e
g u a r d s t o n e st h e r ei s o n t h e o u t e r s i d ea v e r t i c a lp i l a s t e ro n
t h e t o p o f w h i c h a p p e a r st h e f i g u r e o f o n e o f t h e f o u r
a n i m a l s , t h e e l e p h a n t ,t h e l i o n , t h e h o r s e a n d t h e b u l l ,
animals which appear also on the capitals of Asokan
pillars found in various parts of India, Whether the
f i g u r es o n t h e p i l a s t e r so f t h e g u a r d s t o n e so f S r i L a n k a
were intended to indicate the directions which they faced
cannot be stated with certainty as in many instancesthe
guardstonesare obviously not in situ. Again, in some of
the guardstones carrying anthropomorphic ligures are
carved elaborate arshes on which are illustrated the
worldly pleasures that the central figures in them were
expected to confer on those who viewed these stelai, as
will be explaincd below. The guardstone at the Ratna-
p r a s a d aa n d t h e t w o g u a r d s t o n e sf r o m K a p a r l r a m a n o w
exhibited in the ArchaeologicalMuseum, Anuradhapura
are good examples of this type of highly ornate
guardstclne.l
On the basis of the figures appearing in guardstones
a n d t h e i r s h a p e , a n d t a k i n g t h e t e r m g u a r d s t o n ei n i t s
wider sense of any stele placed on either side of an
entrance to a sacred building or secular facility in a
monastery seven main types of guardstone can be
distinguished as follows2: l. The Pirnaghata typc with
the figure of a vase or pot filled with lotus flowers;l 2,
The type with the figure of a multi-headed cobra resting
on its coiled body, suggestive of a pot filled with
lotuses,a 3. The type carrying the figure of a cobra with
raised neck, flanked on either side by smaller cobras in
the samestanc!.5 4. The type carrying the standingfigure
of a pot-bellied bahirava, dwarf.6 5. The type with a
standing human figure invested with cobra hoods
arranged around tlre head, to be referred to as dvirapila
typeT 6. The type carrying the figures of a human male
and female invested with cobra hoods arranged around
t h e i r h e a d s . r 7 . T h e p l a i n a n d s i m p l et y p e i n t h e s h a p eo f
a lotus petal in abstract form.e
It has been suggestedthat all these different types of
guardstonesymbolizewater, and water being an esscntial
ingredient of all life and sustenance,the guardstonein all
its variety symbolizes life, fertility, wealth and good
fortune,l0 This suggestion,however, has failed to take
 GUARDSTONE 389 GUTryASAMAJATANTRA

note of certain features appearing in the dvarapala type a b o u t t h e f i r s t o r s e c o n dc e n t u r y A . C . T h e p o t - b e l l i e d

o f g u a r d s t o n e . I n m o s t o f t h e s eg u a r d s t o n e s ,i t w i l l b e dwarf is nothing but a human figurc incorporating a pot
n o t i c e d ,t h e s c u l p t o r h a s g o n e o u t o f h i s w a y t o d r a w t h e in place of the natural belly. Among the pot-bellied
attention of the viewer to the stalk of lotusescarried in thc dwarfs appearingin guardstonesthe figure of Kuvera" the
left or the right hand of the dvarap,a,la,depending on god of wedth, can easily be recognisedby thc prescribed
w h i c h s i d eo f t h e e n t r a n c et h e g u a r d s t o n ei n q u e s t i o nh a s featurespreseDtin the figurc. Santtra and Padm4 two of
b e e np l a c e d .l t w i l l b e n o t e d t h a t r h e s r a l k i s n e v e rs h o w n the attendants of Kuvera, whose figurcs werc placed at
w i t h a l o o s ee n d , t h i s b e i n ga l w a y ss h o w n a s r o o t e d t o t h e the entranceto the city of Alaka on Mount Kaildia, have
background of the stele,often very prominently decorated also been recognisedamong the bahiravafigures depicted
with a circle of lotus petals arranged around.u In a in guardstonesfound at Anuradhapura.ls
guardstone at the northern entrance to the Vatadagi at
These types appear to have been followed by the
Polonnaruwa even the capillariesissuingout from a well-
appearanceof the dvarapalatype of guardstone,with the
d e l i n e a t e dl o t u s b u l b a r e e x p l i c i t l ys h o w n s r r e t c h i n go u t
anthropo-theriomorphic Bodhisattva, identified as
as far as the edge of the guardstonc.12
' Avalokiteivarar6 the most benevolent and merciful of
I t i s c l e a r i n t h e s ei n s t a n c e st h a t t h e s c u l p t o r ' sa i m w a s the divinities of this class.Types six and seven were the
to draw the viewer's attention to the lotus bulb, the next to make their appearance, the entire range of
capillaries being added to make the identity of the lotus guardstonesbcing brought into serviceby about the close
bulb unmistakable. of the sixth century. Ever since, however, the dvarapila
1-he significance of the lotus bulb in eastern art has t y p e o f g u a r d s t o n ea p p e a r s t o h a v e b e c o m e t h e m o s t
been examined with a wealth of striking examplesby p o p u l a r t y p e . I n t h e a n c i e n tc i t y o f P o l o n n a r u w a t h i s i s
P. D. K. Bosch in a monograph entitled The Golden p e r h a p st h e o n l y t y p e t h a t w a s m a d e t h e r e .I n e x p l i c a b l y ,
G e r m . t rT h e l o t u s b u l b , a c c o r d i n gt o B o s c h ,s y m b o l i z e sa the representationof what appearsto be a dvarapilatype
profound Indian conc-eptregarding the origin of all life, of guardstone can be seen in the ayAgapata of.
fertility, wealth etc. namely, the concept of hiranya- Lona(obhika now in the Mathura Museum, carrying a
garbha, the golden germ, In Indian art the golden germ Brahml inscription of uncertain date, (Coomaraswamy,
came to bc symbolized by the lotus bulb, thepadmamila, Plate XIX, Fig.72).
which in turn came to be symbolized by the pirnaghata, A f t e r t h e e n d o f t h e P o l o n n a r u w ap e r i o d , g u a r d s t o n e s
the vase filled with lotus flowers, the bairiara, the pot- of the dvarapalatype continued to be made sporadically
bellied dwarf, the cobra whose coils are sometimes w i t h o u t a n y r e g a r df o r a e s t h e t i cc o n s i d e r a t i o n sw
, ben in
arranged in a manner suggestiveof a pot filled with lotus the nineteenthcentury dvarap-alasaDpcareddressedall in
flowers, by the conch shell, the kirtimukha and the
t h e i r b e s tw i t h t a l l h a t s ,c u t - a w a yc o a t sa n d h i g h c o l l a r s . l T
makara to mention the common symbols that represent
( S e eP l s , X X V I I I - X X I X ) .
the concept of hiranya-garbha.rt

Not all the guardstonesscatteredabout in the ancient P. E. E. Fermndo

cities of Anuradhapura and polonnaruwa can be
considered to be rn srru. Calamities such as wars and
invasions, rebuilding operations and acts of valdalism
w o u l d h a v e r e m o v e d s o m e o f t h e m f r o m t h e s i t e st h e y GUHYASAUAfA TANTRA,T (vars. Sri-guhya-";
originally occupied, preventing any attempt to place Gu hyasamaj a-mahaguhya-tantra-r-aja), an authoritative
t h e s eg u a r d s t o n e si n a c h r o n o l o g i c a is e t t i n g .T a k i n g i n t o text on Tantrism,written in a mixture of Sanskritprose
consideration the style of sculpture and the lines of and verse. This text is also known as the Tathagata-
development of the concept of padmamula, it is perhaps guhyaka and it is divided into two parts called the
p o s s i b l et o t r a c c t h e d e v e l o p m e n to f t h e g u a r d s t o n ei n pirvardha and uttarardha. Of these only the first part
course of time, even approximately.Most probably it ( p u r v a r d h a ) w h i c h c o n s i s t so f l 8 c h a p t e r si s c o n s i d e r e d
w a s t h e g u a r d s t o n ew i t h t h e f i g u r e o f a p o t f i l l e d w i t h b v s c h o l a r st o b e g e n u i n e .T h i s v i e w i s m a i n l y b a s e do n
lotus flowers that would have made its appearancefirst in the fact that the carly writers who quote from the

I L CJSc. (G), Vol. l, Part 2, Plate XV, tower picture

I2. S. Paranavitana, Art and Archite<ture of Ceylon, Colombo, t9g, p.40
f 3. F. D. K. Bosch, The Golden Germ.S. Gravenhage, 1960
l 4 ' l b i d . P P . 2 ',13 4 ' 4 0 4 9 a n d 5 7 - 5 g , e f . a l s o P . E . E . F e r n a n d o , T h e s y m b o l i s m o f t h e G u a r d s t o n e .
1 5 . S . P a r a n a v i t a n a 'S a m k h a a n d P a d m i , A r t i b u s A s i a e , Y o l . X v l l l , 2 , A s c o n a ,
S w i t z e r l a n d ,M C M L v , p p . l 2 l - 1 2 7
1 6 . P . C . S e s t i e r i , I m p o r t a n t M o n u m e n t s o f C e y l o n ,A r c h a e o l o g y , V o l . l 2 , N o . 4 D e c e m b e r , 1 9 5 9 ,
pp.223-233
17. Godakumbura, op. cit. p. 23.
I' The Sanskrit text w8r edited by B. Bhattacharyyrend published in l93l in GOS. LIII.
 G{-HYASAMAJA T'AI{TRA 390 GUIIYASA]\{AJA TANTRA

G u ht'as a mi.1a -ta n t rarr i;r to it as the As t id asap at aJa (i.e. could be acqurre d a r e d e s c r t b e dH . e r e i t i s c l e a r l ys a i d
-fhc
.l--nsisting'--i l8 chapters). second part thatsucceso s r p e r f e c t i o n( s i d d h i ) i st o b e a t t a i n e dn o t b y
ir:tarardhal . o n t a l n s a c o n s i d e r a ble portion of the r i g o r o u so b s e r v a n c e sb ,u t b y t h e e n j o y m e n to f a l l s e n s u a l
I'ralfiopaya-t'inilcaya-s:ddhi, a work belonging to the p l e a s u r e s .A d e s c r i p t i o no f t h e h i g h e s tf o r m o f w o r s h i p
7 t h c en t u r r A . C . , a n d t h i s m a i e s i t q u i t e c v i d e n t t h a t t h e and of the kAya-vak-citta-mandalats found in chapter
uttarariiha is a laler addltion, n i n c . T h e L o r d a g a i n d e c l a r e dt h a t o m n i s c i e n c ec a n b e
begins with the stereotvped introductorv
a t t a i n e d b v h a . r i n gr e c o u r s et o t h e f t , a d u l t e r y a n d s u c h
The work "the
''Ihus.
hai c i heard...." maipractices. b o d h i s a t t v a sw o n d e r e da t t h i s u n o r t h o -
formula of all Buddhist sutras, 'fhc
dox declaration. L o r d m a d e i t c l e a rt h a t t h i s t e a c h i n g
( e v a n t m a - r ' a i r u t a m . , . ) . H o w e v e r . t h e r e l s r ) 1 1 en o t e -
worth-v pecuiiaritv in this text. Here the l ord is repre-
s h o u l d n o t b c b r a n d e da s b a s eo r r e p u l s i v e f, o r t h e w a y o f
a t t a c h m e n its t h e s a m ea s t h e w a y o f b o d h i s a t t v a w s hich
sented as being in an assemblv sporting in the sacred
i s t h e h i g h e s tw a v . H e f u r t h e r e x p l a i n st h a t s p a c ei s t o b e
knowledge arisrng oui o1 the bodv, mind and speech of
f o u n d e v e r y w h e r e ,a 1 l w o r l d l y p h e n o m e n a a r e t o b e
the Tathagatas. In this assembly the Lord Bodhi-
f o u n d i n s p a g e .T h e p h e n o m e n ad o n o t b e l o n g t o t h e
c i t t a v a . j r ai s r e q u e s t e d b y t h e n u m e r o u s T a t h a g a t a s a n d
s p h e r eo f p l e a s u r eo r t o t h e s p h c r e o f f o r m o r t o t h e
bodhisattvas to reveal the highest truth, the Guhya'
f o r m l e s ss p h e r eo r e i ' e n t o t h e f o u r g r e a t e l e m e n t s A . JI
samaja, Bodhicittavajra dissuaded them saving (hat it is
w o r l d l y p h e n o m c n aa r et o b e u n d e r s t o o di n t h i s m a n n e r .
e x t r e m e l y d i f i i c u l t t o c o m p r e h e n d i t , B u t b e i n g r e q u es t e d
I t i s o n t h i s a n a l o g vo f s p a c et h a t t h ed i s c i p l i n e se n j o i n e d
again and again he consented to reveai it and for that
b y T a t h a g a t a sa r e t o b c g r a s p e d .F o r i n s t a n c e ,i t i s w e l l
purpose he entered into different samadhis and trans-
k n o w n t h a t s m o k e a r i s e sf r o m a c o m b i n a t i o n o f t h r e e
formed himself into forms of different Dhvani buddhas
f a c t o r sn a m e l yt h e c h u r n i n g r o d k a n d a ) t h e c h u r n i n g p o t
arrd placed them in variotrs sections of the mandala-'
the samadhi called-lnanapradi'
( m a t h a n T - v a )n d t h e e f f o r t m a d e U v i t r eh a n d s . F r o m t h a t
T'hus, he entered into
s m o k ef i r e i s g e n e r a t e dB. u t t h e f i r e r e s i d e sn e i t h e ri n t h e
pavajra and uttered the mantra of the Dvesa family. As
churning rod nor in the churning pot nor in the effort
soon as this was done he translormcd himselI into the
m a d e b y t h e h a n d s .T h e c o n d u c t o f t h e T a t h a g a t a st,o o ,
form o[ Aksobhya. ln this manner he producecl the five
s h o u i d b e u n d e r s t o o dt h u s .
Dhyani buddhas. their female partners and also the four
When the formation of the mandala was
guardians. The tenth chapter contains the mantra him om ah
completed the Tathigatas requested the Lord to reveal s v a l a w h i c h i s s a i d t o c o n f e rt h e h i g h e s tp e r f e c t i o n 'l n t h e
t h e n a t u r e o f t h e t h o u g h t o f en l i g h t e n m e n t ( b o d h i c i t t a , n e x t c h a p t e rt h e L o r d e x p l a i n e dt h e h i d d e n m e a n i n go f
q . v . ) a n d t h e w h o i e o f t h e s e c o n dc h a p t e r i s d e v o t e d ( o t h e the mantra and also shows how it should be used in
expianation of the nature of bodhicitfa. The next two meditation. Various samadhis and their effectsare
chapters describe the Buddha-ntandala and the Kara' d e s c r i b e di n t h e 1 2 t hc h a p t e r .T h e 1 3 t hc h a p t e r ,b e s i d e s
vak-citta-mandala with different modes of meditation d c a l i n g w r t h s a m a d h i s .c o n t a i n s a l s o t h e v a j r a j a p a ,a
and worship. Tn. iitttt chapter is rather important in that p r a ) ' e r w h i c h i s e x p l a i n c di n g r e a t d e t a i l . T h i s a s w e l l a s
the t.ord made a declaration that even those who have t h e t w o f o l l o w i n g c h a p t e r sc o n t a i n m a r t r a s f o r t h e
committed heinous crimes are capable of attarning a c c o m p l i s h m e not I d e s i r e dw o r l d l y o b j e c t s T . hus,there
e m a n c i p a t i o n . I h e 1 - a t h a g a t a sa n d t h e b o d h i s a t t v a s w h o a r e m a n t r a s t o d e s t r o v e n e m i e s ,t o d e s t r o y d w e l l i n g
w e r e a s s em b l e d w e r e s h o c k e d a t t h i s p r o n o u n c e m e n t a n d p l a c e s t, o e n c h a n ta n d s u b d u ep e o p l e ,A l l t h e s i x t y p e so f
they questioned the Lord as to why hc madc such an mantras, namely those meant for killing (marana),
-Ihe
improper ut(erance in the sacred assembly'. Lord dest ro;-ing 1u cchEtana) enchanting (v a!'ik a ran ai, rest iai-
explained that he preached t h e d o e t r t n e o f t h e Buddhas, ning (stambhana),attracting Qkarsana) and propitiating
the wa.v of eniightenment which is pure and immutable ({Entika) which are found in tantric texts are also found
a n d a r i s i n g f r o m t h e e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e e s s e n c eo f t h i n g s . s c a t t e r e di n t h e s ec h a p t e r sT . h e l 5 t h c h a p t e rp r e s c r i b e s
On hearing this the bodhisattvas fell into a srvoon. The r i t u a l i s t i co b s e n ' a n c e isn t h e c o m p a n y o f a v o u n g c a n d a l i
Tathagatas who were able to grasp what the Lord g i r i o f t w e l v ey c a r so f a g e .T h e l 6 t h c h a p t e ra l s od e s c r i b e s
declared remained unaffected and they requcsted the various rituals, mantras, mandalasand other items
[-ord to revive the bodhisattvas. Then the Lorcl entered c o n n e c t c dw i t h r i t u a l i s t i c p r a c t i c e s .N u m e r o u s e s o t e r i c
into a samadhi and issued numerous ravs of light from his d o c t r i n e sd e c l a r e db y V a j r a p a n i a r e f o u n d i n t h c n e x t
'l
bodv. he bodhisattl'as touched b1'theseravs, regained c h a p t e r .f h e I 8 t h c h a p t e ri s e x t r e m e l vi m p o r t a n t ,f o r , i t
c o n s c i o u s n e s s .8 1 -t h i s m i r a c l e t h e l . o r d w a s a b l e t o m a k e e x p l a i n sn u m e r o u st e c h n i c a tl e r m s u s e dt h r o u g h o u tt h e
the bodhisattvas comprehend the doctrine he preached. te x t .
The sixth chapter contains various mantras and also a
lengthy description of the highest form of meditation. In l n o r d e rt o p r e s e r v e t a t u r e ,t h e d o c t r i n e sa r e
t h es e c r e n
the next chapter numerous means bv which emancipation couched in enigmatical language(sandhi-bhasa).z9n1t

e n d P . C . B a g c h i , . s l u d i e si n t h e T a n t r a - sp,p . 2 7 f f
2 . O n S a n d h a u n i s a s e el f f e . l v , 1 9 i 8 , p p . 2 E 7 f f .
 GUHYAs^q,MireTANTRA
the initisted are capable of grasping the intended
meaaing, The uninitiated, grasping the literal meaning
brand thc tcachings of Guhyasamaja-tantra as vulgar.
Most probsbly the Guhyasamaja-taltra was written
for the purpose of presenting the Tantric teachingsin a
ry3temstic form, Bhattacharyya (op. cit. intro, xiv)
suSgcrt3thst it was written for the purpose of indicating a
rhort rnd 6 correct peth for obtaining enlightenment,
This ruggestion does not appear to be correct, for, it is
quite obvious that Tantric teachings found in the
GuhyasamEja-tantra are difficult to grasp and that
rituals, samddhis and mantras are meant only for the
initiated, and that it does not reveal a short cut.
A numbsr of new concepts and doctrines are introduced
by the Guhysamaja-ttntra.The concept of Dhyani buddha
as well as that of the female principle (lakti)are found for
the first time in this text, It also rcvealsquite a developed
pentheon of Buddhist gods.
The exect date of the texl is not known, tn keepingwith
the normal practice followcd by all Mahayina and
tantric texts the Guhyasamija-tantra, too, seeksto trace
its origin to the Buddha. This is done solcly for the salc of
authority. B. Bhattacharyya (op. cit. intro. xxix) assigns
it to the 3rd century A.C. and this date is accepted by
other scbolars (Lama Anagarika Givinda, Foundation of
Tibetan Mysticism, p. 94). But Bhattacharyya's
a s s u m p t i o nw i t h r e g a r d t o t h e a u t h o r i s h i p o f t h e t e x t ,
that it is a work of Asaiga, cannot be taken asconclusive,
for, the argrrrnsnl"adduced by him arc not tenable.s
Though the Guhyasamaja-tantramay have been written
by about the 3rd century A,C., its existence was first
referred to in the 7th ccntury and from that time onwards
it came to be regarded as an authoritative work on
Tantrism. Why the GuhyasamZja-tantra did not gain
recognition earlier betwren that 3rd and the 7th centuries
is a matter for conjecture. On this point Taranatha's
evidence cited by H. Kern (Manual of Indiaa Buddhism
p, 133) is important. Tdrinitha says that immediately
after their introduction Tantric texts were transmitted
secretly for ncarly three hundred years before they
obtained publicity thrqugh the esoreric teachings of
Siddhas and VajracCryas.Tney were trarsmitted secretly,
because they inculcated numerous rites, rituals and
doctrines which appeared to be obictionable in the eyes
of thc uninitiated. The Guhyasamaja-taatais full of such
rites and doctrines. lt did not even rccogDisethe basic
virtues and diciplinary rules incumbent on the followers
of Buddhism. lt advocated a life devoted to luxury and
sensualpleasures.Almost everything that was prohibited
in orthodox Buddhism was permitted by it. It had scaat
reverence for objects of vencration held in high easteem
by the Theravadins and Mabayanists, It disreguded all
3. SceM. Winternitz"A History of Inditn Litereturc,ll, pp. 394ff.
391 GT.II{ABHADRA
social rules and customs as bcing of no value to a yogi, an
initiated Tantrist. Thus, it advocated killing of living
beings, uttering of falschood, acquisition of things that
are not given and even the associationwith women for
immoral purposes, Therefore, it is quitc possible, as
Tiranitha suggests, that this text did not come into
prominence until Tantri3m gnins{ ground, Once Tan-
trism came to be accepted by the people, the Guhya-
samaja-tanfra became the most Buthoritative work. It
was extensively quoted by other wriiers such as lndre-
bhuti, Padmavajra and Anangavajra.
E v e n t h e S i k s d s a m u c c a y(ap p . 7 , 1 2 6 , 1 5 8 , 2 : l 4 , 3 1 8 ,
357) quotes from a tcxt entitled the Tathagata-guhyeka.
The passages quored in the Siksis"-uccayd terrch
Mahayana morality and these patlsagescaxnot be traccd
in the Tantric text of the same namc. Wbether the
Guhyasamaja-taatrais a later variation of tbe Tathagata-
guhyakareferred to in the Siknt".rrcayaisnot certain.
H. P. Shastri (A Dercriptir,v Catalogue of Sanskrit
Manuscripts,l Buddhist Manuscripts, No. l8) refers to a
manuscript called Tathagata-guhyaka, a Mahiyana work
which he describesas a fragment of a very large work of
Vaipulya class.The quotations found in the Sltsesamuc-
caya aremost probably from this Mahayaaa work. H. p.
Shartri further says tbat this belongs to the first part of
the Guhyasamija and conjectures that this Vaipulya
work is the original Tathigata-guhyaka and that the
Guhyasamaja is called Tathagata-guhyaka only by
anaiogy. Apparently it is this Mahayana work that ir
regarded as one of the nine sacr€d books (nava4harma)
by the Nepali Buddhists,
Tbe popularity and the importancc of tbe Guhya-
samajatantra is seen by the presence of a number of
commentaries on it. Amongst the earlier commentaries
those of Nagarjuna, Krsnacarya" Lilavajra, Saatideve
and Ratn-akaraianti are important.
Tbe Guhyasamaja-tantra gained much popularity in
Tibet. The Kangyurcontains the Tibetan version of the
text a.s well as numerous commentBries on it. (S..
Bbattacharyya, , op. cit. intro. xxx ff.). The text was
rendered into Chinese, too. Most probably Narjrb No.
1027 refers to the Chinese version of thc Gubyasamaja-
tantra (cp, also Nanjio. Nos. 23(3) and 1043.
S. K. Nrrtrynffrrr
GIINABHADRA, a native of Ccntral India, was a well
known translator of Buddhist tcxts into Chincse.By caste
a B r a h m a n , h e w a s l a t e r c o n v e r t e dt o B u d d h i s m a r a
result of hio reading ibe ".Saaryu kdbhidharma-hldaya-
 GUNABIIADRA
{-astra. He studied the Sravaka teaching when he first
became a fruddhist monk. but later on was also well-
versed in Ma-bayana doctrines and hence the popular
appellation "h{ahiyana." [n the l2th year of Ytlan-chia
(435 A.C.) of rhe Earlier Sung dynasty, he arrived at
Kuang-chou (i.e. Canton) by the sca route via Simhala
(modern Sri Lanka), taking up abode at the Yiln-flng
"f
Monastery of the Yiln-flng Mountain. he governor of
Kuang-chou, Ch? Lang duly reported his arrival to the
court, whercupon Emperor Wtn-ti immcdiatcly sent to
escort him to Nanking and lodged him at the Chihhuan
Monastery. Yen Yen-chih a famous schoiar of that time,
paid him very high regard. Liu l-k'ang Prince of P?ng-
ch?ng and Liu l-hstlan, Prince of Ch'iao, both being
members of the royal family, even rcvered him as their
teacher.Thesc favourable circumstancesenabled him to
start the translation of Buddhist texts within a very short
time.
During his stay at the Chih-huan Monastery, he first
produced a translation of the Samyutkagama (Taisho,
No. 99) in 50 fascicleswith the assistanceof an assembly
o f l e a r n e di r a m a n a s . r T h e e x t a n t e d i t i o nc o n t a i n so n l y 4 8
fasciclesat present, of which the 23rd and the 25th are in
fact from another translation of Gunabhadra, the ACo-
kivadina wrongly interpolated into it by the copyist.
Following that, at the Tung-an Monastery he translated
the Mahabh"i-nta*"-parivarta (Taisho, No. 270) in 2
(Iarsto, Nos,
fascicles and the Sandhinirmrcana+itra
678,679)in 2 fascicles.In the I3th year of Yrlan-chia (a36
A.C.), with the patronage of one of his benefactors Ho
Shang-chih, Prefect of Tan-yang he translated the
Sr'i- a le-si mh ani d a -siutr a (Tai sh o, No. 3 53) in I f ascicle
at the same monastery. Again, at the Tao-ch'ang
Monastery he translated the A'ngulimAlika'sitra
(Taisho, No. 120) in 4 fascicles and the La'nkavaura'
sitra (Taisho, No. 670) in 4 fascicles.(The K'ai-yian
Cataloguedatesthis translation in the 20th year of Y0an-
c h i a , i . e , 4 4 3 A . C . ) . I n t h e e x e c u t i o n o f t h e s ew o r k s , a n
assembly of over 700 pupils was called together with
Pao-y0n acting as the oral interpreter and Hui-kuan as
the transcriber. "Discussion and analysiswere carried on
over and over again until the exact meaning of the text
w a s r e p r e s e n t e ds a t i s f a c t o r i l y . " 2 I n t h e 2 3 r d y e a r o f
Y0an-chia (446 A.C.), Liu l-hsOan, Prince of Ch'iao,
upon being appointed Garrison Commissioner of Ching<hou
invited Gunabhadra to go with him to his domain where
he lodged ih. .n".t.. at the Hsin Monastery. There he
produced the translations of the Afukavadana (Taisho,
No. 99, fascs. 23 & 25) in I fascicle, the Asta-mangalgka
(Taisho, No. 430) in I fascicle (the current edition
wrongly ascribesthis work to Sanghapala),rrd theAtita'
l. The K'aiyanCatalogue,reordsthistobeaworkdoneattheWr-KurnMonasterybasedonthesanskrittextbroughttoChinrby
Fa-hsien,
2. See Biographies of Eminent Monk, fasc. -1.
392 GUNABHADRA
prat!'utpanna-hetuphala-sitre (faisho, No. 189) in 4
fascicles. ln these undertakings, he was assistedby his
disciple Fa-yung who used to act es the oral interpreter.
Besidesthe nine books in 68 fasciclesmentioned above,
three more works are recorded in Li K\to's Catalogue
that can be ascribed with certainty to Gunabhadra: the
Ratnakiranda-sitra (Taisho, No, 462) in i fascicles,the
B od h i sa ttv s-gocaro piya-vi k urv en e-ni rdeda (Tai sho,
No, 271) in 3 fascicles, and the Spiritual Dhiraai for
Uprooting atl Obsucles of Karma and CausingOne to bc
Born to the Pure Land (Taisfo, No. 368) in I fascicle
which was formerly recorded as a derivetive from the
Smaller Amitibha-uyfilra. These twelve bookr in 73
frrcicles are Gunabhadra's'translatioru extlDt to-day.
llis other worki as recorded in the Biographies of
Eminent Monks, e.g. the One fascicle Amitiyur'vy'uha
the Smaller Amiubha'vy:uha), the One-fascicle Nirvina'
sirra, the Sitra on the Names of the Present Buddhas,
the ,9umma ry Sura of the Five Aspcu of thc Suprcmc
Truth, etc., are alllost, The record in (Fei) Chang'fangb
Catalogue that ascribes to Gunabhadra 17 more works
i nc lu d i n g the Vr d dh a-m ah alli ki' p eri p rc c hi, tbe Cand r a'
prabha-kumara-sitra, etc,, is not credible. As for thc
other 2l works including the Akalagtbha+itra, etc',
which both catalogues of Li K'uo and Fei Chang-fang
also ascribc to Gunabhadra, it requires further investi'
gation before any definitc inference can be made, sincc all
theseworks are lost.
During his stay in Ching-chou, Gunabhadra, at thc
request of the Prince of Ch'iao, also delivered open
lectures on the Avatamsaka-sutra (Taisho, No. 278),
assistedby his discipleFa-yung as interpreter and anothcr
disciple S0ng-nienasdirector of affairs. Inspite of the fact
t h a t h e h a d t o d e p e n d m u c h o n t h e i n t e r p r e t e r ,s t i l l h e
could by all meanscommunicate the profound ideaswell
enough. In the beginning of the Hsiao-chien period (454
A.C.), the Prince of Ch'iao, paying no heed to Guna'
bhadra's admonition, started an insurrection againstihe
court. More than that, with a view to the mastcr's high
prestige in the eycs of the people, the prince had
Gunabhadra brought along by force in his eastward
march. The rebellious troops suffered total defeat in thc
hands of General Wang Hs[an-mo who, in obedienccto
the instruction given him by Emperor Hsiao-wu-ti before'
hand, carefully escorted Gunabhadra back to Nanking'
The emperor's regard for him becamemuch the higher,
when it was found out that in ell his communications with
the prince in Ching-chou (of which he had kept r
complete record) not a single word had been said in
connection with the latter's military plot' Once, tbe
?rnperor asked Gulabhadra whether he had been ilill
 GUNABHADRA
thinking of the late prince, The masteranswcred,"Having
r e c e i v e dh i s p a t r o n a g ef o r t e n v e a r s ,h o w c o u l d I f o r g e t
his kindness to me? [ would rather humbly beg Your
Majesty's permission to offer him a daily service of
i n c e n s e - b u r n i n gf o r t h r e ey e a r s ." T o t h i s s u p p l i c a t i o nt h e
e m p e r o r r e a d i l yc o n s e n t e di n a p p r e c i a t i o no f t h e m a s t e r ' s
heroic spirit, He died in the 4th year of T'ai-shih (468
A.C.) of the reign of Emperor Ming-ti, in his 75th year.
Gunabhadra's style of translation appcarsrather plain
and artless, but he has the merit of not distorting the
original idea. Thus Fa-tst, in his verdict on Gunabhadra.
* d i s s e r t a t i o no n t h e m e t h o d o f s e t t i n gt h e m i n d a t r e s t ,w a s
says, His translation is done with much delibeiation, the
crudity of the language bcing well compensatcd by the
c o r r e c t r e p r e s e n t a t i o no f t h e d e p t h a n d s c o p e o f t h e
theory."r For instance,in his translation of.theLa'nkava-
tEra-sitra, he usessuch expressionsas "juJai-tsang shih-
tsang" (the Tathagatagarbha namely, alaya-vijffana)and
" shi h -t san g m in g j u -l ai - t sa n g " (al ay a -v rjfiina al so n am ed
as Tathagatagarbha). Here the two Chinese characters
standing for "alaya-vijfiana," "shih" (vijf,ana) and
"Tsang" Glaya), are put in an inverted order so as to give
a n i m p r e s s i o no f " i n a c c u r a c yi n g r a m m a t i c a Jr e n d e r i n g".
B u t i f c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e t r a n s l a r i o nd o n e b y B o d h i r u c i
i n t h e N o r t h e r n W e i , i n w h i c h t h i s s t a t e m e n ti s r e n d e r e d
a s " T h e T a t h e g a t a g a r b h ai s n o t i n v o l v e d i n t h e a l a y a -
vijfiina," thus splittiDg up the alaya-vijfrana and the
Tathigata-garbha into two clear-cut categories, then
apparently Gunabhadra's renderingis more in agreement
with the original text. This will suffice to show the
correctnessof Fa-ts'u's remark.
Gunabhadra's trans.lationshave done a great deal in
g i v i n g a s y s t e m a t i cd i s s e m i n a t i o no f t h e d o c t r i n e o f t h c
Yog-cara School, of which he himself was an adherent.
T h e c o n s t i t u e n t so f t h i s s y s t e mo f t h o u g h t m a y b c t r a c e C
to several sources. One is the Dhyana teaching of the
Sthaviravada which has as its base the Samyutkagama.
Another source is the theory of the alaya-vijfianaevolvcd
from the Tathagata-garbha, which is based on the
A'ngutimalika and the Simila-simhanada s[tras. Still
another source is the theory of the three self-natures
evolved from the theory of the non-self-naturesof the
Supreme Truth, which is based on the Sandhinirmo-
cana-sitra. These Scriptures are just what Gunabhadra
made efforts to introduce to China. Lastly, but of
particular importance, is the Lankivatara-sitra the
s[tra par excellance of the Yogicira system in which is
expounded in detail the unique teaching of meditation
developed by this system out of the theory that all things
are but manifestations of the mind. lt was this sutra that
Gunabhadra took pains to reproduce in thc Chinese
languagealmost word by word. Rhetorically considered,
i t m i g h t c o m e s h o r t o f t h e p r i n c i p l e o f s m o o t h n e s sa n d
3. See prefacc to Srimali Simhanida Sutra in the Coltection of the Records of Translations of the Tipitaka, f asc.9.
t. lntheEthcenturyA.C.therewasaKaparaparivena(ncxttotheTwinPond)inAnuradhapura-See.EpryrephiaZeylani4Yol.Y
(Part I). Mr. D. T. Devendra in privrte communication, informr me that there is a village Kapirigama, now so called.
393 GUNAVARMAN
g r a m m a t i c a l c o r r e c t n e s sb, u t s o f a r a s t h e s u b s t a n c ei s
c o n s i d e r e d i, t i s f a i t h f u l t o t h e o r i g i n a l t e x t . T h e s e e d so f
this particular form of dhyana sown by Gunabhadra
g r a d u a l l y t o o k r o , t t h r o u g h t h e e f f o r t so f B o d h i d h a r m a ,
Hui-k'o and others,and flowered in the appearanceof the
so-called Laaka (-avatara) masters who adhered to this
s[tra as their sole scripture and, in the course of its
e v o l u t i o n a n d d e v e l o p m c n t ,e v e n t u a l l yl e d t o t h e r i s e o f
the Ch'an School of China. The tradition of rhe Lanka
m a s t e r sf o r m a l l y a c k n o w l e d g e dG u n a b h a d r at o b e t h e i r
first patriarch, and his "instruction of Dhy-ana", a
r c s p e c t e da s a n i m p o r t a n t b a s i so f t h e i r t h e o r y . A l l t h e s e
p o i n t t o t h e f a c t t h a t G u n a b h a d r aw a s n o t a t r a n s l a t o r
only, but was also an iilustrious teacher of Chinese
B u d d h i s m a s w e l l , a m a s t e rd e s e r v i n ga p l a c ei n t h e s a m e
level with Bodhiruci and Paramarthe.
tIBLIocRAPuv: Chlh-sh0ng (T'ang): A Catalogue of
Buddhist Sacred Books Compiled During the K'ai-ytlan
Period fasc. 5, Chhtg-clnleh (Tang): A Record of the
Transmission of the La'nkavatira-sitra Mul-chlso
(Llang): Biography of Gunabhadra, Biographies of
Eminent Monks, fasc,3. S0ng-yu(Llsng): A Collection of
Records of the Translation of the Tripitaka, fascs.2,9 &
14. Tang Yung-t'ung A History of Buddhism from the
Han Down to the Southern and Northern Dynasties,
Shanghai, 1955,Chap. 12. Fao-hsdf,n(Pang): Biography
of S|ng-k'o, Continued Biogaphies of Eminent Monks,
fasc. 16,
Ll Cbung-k'ang
GLJNAVARMAN (Chiu-na-pa-mo). Among tte Kxh-
mirian tcachers who took the sea route to Chiria,
Gunavarman achieved greater success as a Buddhist
m i s i i o n a r y t h a n m o s t o f h i s c o n t e m p o r a r i e s .H i s m i s -
s i o n a r y z e a l t o o k h i m t o p r o p a g a t eB u d d h i s m i n S o u t h -
East Asia and the Far East, although his original plan
was not specifically directed towards China. According
t o t h e s t a t e m e n t o f l r i s b i o g r a p h e r ,i t a p p e a r st h a t h e
belonged to the ruling family of Kashmir, As he was
g r e a t l y i n t e r e s t e di n t h e s t u d y o f B u d d h i s t l i t e r a t u r ea n d
t h e p r a c t i c e o f m e d i a t i o n h e s c o r n e dt h e i d e a o f b e i n g
m a d e t h e r u l e r o f K a s h m i r .T o a v o i d f u r t h e r t r o u b l e .h e
decided to leave Kashmir, and in course of time he
reachcd Sri Lanka (Simhda country). According to the
versecomposed by himself beforehiSdeath, it is seenthat
he attained the sakradagamin state at the Ka-po-li
( K a p a r a o r K a p i r i ) r u i l l " g e i n S r i L a n k a . l t a p p e a r st h a t
 GUNAVARMAN 394
h e l i v e d t h e r ef o r a v e r y l o n g t i m e . a n d h i s f a m e a s a s a i n t
m u s t h a v e s p r c a d f a r a n d w i d e . W h a t m a d e h i m e n g a g e i n d o u s s u c c e s so f t h e s p r e a do f B u d d h i s mi n J a v a i n t h e
m i s s i o n a r ya c t i v i t j e si s c l e a r f r o m t h e f o i i o w i n g .
" O f f e r i n g s h e a p e du p i n l a r g r p i i e s ,b u t I r e g a : d t h em
as fire and poison. My mind was greatly distressed,
a n t i t o g e t r i d c f t h i s d i s t u r b a n c eI c m b a r k c d o n a
ship. I went to Java and Champa.Owing to theeffect
o f k a r m a , t h e w i n d s e n t m e t o t h e t e r r i t o r i e so f t n e
S u n g D y n a s t y ( 4 2 0 -4 7 9 A . C , ) i n C h i n a . A n d i n t h e s e
countrics I p r o p a g a t r c i Buddhism accot'ding my t o
ability.,..":
-l'he
f e w l i n e s q u o t e d a b c v c i n d i c a t e t h e c a u s e sa n d
c i r c u m s t a n c c su n d c r w h j c h h c w a s f o r c c d t o c a r r v o n h i s
m i s s i o n a r l ' a c t i v i t i e sH. e w a s e s s e n t i a l l ya d h y A n am a s t e r
o f t h e S a r v a s t i v a d as c h o o l w h i c h w a s s t i l l p o p r u i a ri n
Kashmir at that time. There is no rccord avaiiable
regarding his missionarv activitiesin Sri I-anka and
Champa, but fortunately thereis information about his
s u c c e s si n J a v a a n d C h i n =
B e f o r et h e a r r i v a l , r f t i u t r a v a r m a ni n j a v a , t h e r el i g i o n r e q u e s to f t h e f i m p e r o r . H i s a d v i c e t o t h e E m p e r o r o n
in that countrv u as chieijv Brahmanic alrd there was
h a r d l y a n y t n f l u en c , : o l B u d r j h i s m .T h i s i s c l e a r l vs t a t e d
in the T'ravels t;f Fa-hsiert We knorv that Fa-hsien
r e a c h e dJ a r a f i o m L a n k a i n 4 1 3 o r 4 1 4 A . C . H e w a s o f
t h e o p i n i o n t l r a i t h e B u d d h i s tr e l i g i o nt h e r ew a s n o t o f
s u f f i c i e n t i m l : , u r i a n c ew o r t h m e n t i o n i n g .T ' h e r e f n r e i,t i s
very iikelv liiat Gunavarman converted P'o-to-chia
(Vadhaka ?), the xing of Java and his mothcr to
B u r i d h i s m . l n t h e b e g i n n i n g ,b o t h o f t h e m r ec e i v e dt h e
f i v e p r e c e p t sf r o m h i m . H o w e v e r ,t h e k i n g w e l r t a s t e p
f u r t t r e r e x p r e s s i n gt h e w i s h t o h i s m i n i s t e r t b a t h e
i n t e n r J e rt:cl r e n o u n c et h e t h r o n e a n d b e c o m ea m e m b e ro f
t h e S a i r g h a .H i s s u b j e c t ss t r o n g l yo b j c c t e dt o h i s i n t e n d e d
d c ; : a r t u r e ,a n d e n t r e a t e dh i m t o c o n t i n u e a s t h e i r r u l e r .
i r i n a l l y , h e y i e l d e dt o t h e i r r e q u e s t ,i f t h e y c o u l d a g r e et o
his following conditions:
l . T h a t t h e p e o p l et h r o u g h o u t h i s k i n g d o m s h o u l ds h o w
r e s p e c tt o v e n e r a b l eG u n a v a r m a n .
2 . T h a t a l l t h e s u b j e c t si n h i s k i n g d o m s h o u l d c o m -
p l e t e l y s t o p t a k i n g o l l i f e o f i i v i n g b ei n g s a n d ,
3 . T h a t t h e a c c u m u l a t e dw e a l t h i n t h e g o v e r n m e n t
t r e a s u r ys h o u l d b e d i s t r i b u t e da m o n g t h e s i c k a n d t h e
poor.
I t i s n e e d l e s st o s a y t h a t t h e p e o p l e i n J a v a w i l l i n g l y
a g r e e dt o a l l t h c c o n d i t i o n sa n d r e c e i v e dt h e f i v e p r e c c p t s
f r o m G u n a v a r m a n .l - a t e r t h e K i n g 6 u i l t a v i h a r a f o r h i m .
I t i s s a i d t h a t t h e K i n g c a r r i e d t i m b e r p e r s o n a l l yf o r t h e
I Kao-seng-chuan,ch. 3.
See ft-cb'iu-nibhuan or the Biographies of Bhiksunis, Nanjio, No. 1497
4 lbid.,The tife of Miao-yin: Thin-shu, or the Annals of theTsin Dynast.v,see the Biography of Tao-tze. Also see T'and-yung-
t'un8's: Han-wet-ltang-tsin-nan-pei-ts'ao-fu<hiao-shih, p. 349 and pp.4534
GUI{AVARI\{AN
, c o n s t r u c t i o no f t h e m o n a r t e r y .T h i s i n d i c a t e st h e t r e m e n -
earlv part of the 5th century A,C. Naturally tbe credit
g o e st o G u n a v a r m a n .
His journey from .lava to China is also of unusual
i n t e r e s t .T h e n e w s o f G u n a v a r m a n ' sm i s s i o n a r va c t i v i t i e s
'ocic:e
i n J a v a r e a c h e dC h i n a s i m e t i r r . e 4 2 4A . C . l n 4 2 4
A . C t h e C h i n e s eR u d d h i s t i
s r r N a n k i n g h e a d e db y H u i -
k u a r r r c e u e s t e dE m p e r o r V V u - t i ( 4 2 4 - 4 5 2 A . C . ) o f t h e
Sung Dynasty to writc to Gunavarmanaad the King of
.lava (Vadhaka), with the intcntion of inviting him
(Gunavarman) to China. Lzter, the Emperor sent Fa-
c h a n g , a n d o t h e r B u d d h i s t s c h o l a r st o J a v a i n o r d e r t o
e x t e n d t h e L . m p e r o r ' si n v i t a t i o n t o h i m i n p e r s o n .
H o w e v e r ,b e f o r e t h e a r r i v a l o f t h e s em e s s e n g e risn J a v a ,
G u n a v a r m a nh a C a l r e a d l ' l e f t- l a - " ' b a y b o a t a n d w a sg o i n g
t o a s r n a l l c o u n t n ' . F o r t u n a t e l y , h owevcr,the seasonal
wind caused him to reach the shores of Canton in
s o u r h e r nC h i n a . H e s t a - v e d a t a p l a c ec a i l e dS h i h - h s i nf o r
q u i t e a l o n g t i m e . I t w a s o n l v i n t h e 8 t h y e a ro f Y u a n - c h i a
( 4 3 1 A . C . ) t h a t h e r e a c h e dN a n k i n g a t t h e r c p e a t e d
b e n c v o l e n tg o v e r n m e n t w a s g r e a t l y a p p r e c i a t e db y t h e
r u l e r . A m o n g h i s p r o p a g a t i o n a c t i v i t i e s ,h e p r e a c h e dt h e
Saddharma pund arika-Surra and lhe Da{abhimi-Sutra
t o a l a r l g ea u d i e n c ea n d t r a n s l a t e dm o r e t h a n t e n w o r k s
of which the following five are still extant. L Upali-
pariprc_cha-sastra(Nanjio N o. l i 09), 2. Upasaka'
pafrca{ilaripa-SDrra (Nanjio No. il14), 3. Dharma'
gupta-bhiksuni-karrna (NanjioNo. I 129)1. SrZmanera-
karmavaca (i{anjio No. 1164), (-5) NagAr.iunabodhi-
sattva- suhrllekhi (i,{an1ioNo. l4&t).
A n o t h e r i m p o r ( a n tc o n t r i b u t i o no f G u n a l ' a r m a nw a s
t h e a s s i s t a n c eg i v e n b 1 ' h i m t o w a r d s t h e c o n [ e r m e n to f
h r g h e ro r d i n a t i o nt o t h e B h i k s u n l si n C h i n a i n a c c o r -
d a n c e w i t h t h e V i n a v a . T h e n o r m a l p r a c t i c ei s t h a t
B h i k s u n l s s h o u i d r c c e i v et h e i r U p a s a m p a d ao r d i n a t i o n
f r o m b o t h t h e B h i k s u a n d t h e B h i k s u n lS a n g h a sO . r h er -
wise it is incomplete.The instituiion of Bhiksunisin
China has an early beginning.The Chineschistorical
a n n a l si n f o r m t h a t t o w a r d s t h e e n d o f t h e 4 t h c e n t u r v
A . C . t h e r u l e r s a a d m e m b e r so f t h e r o y a l f a m i l y s h o w e d
g r e a tr e s p e c tt o b o t h t h e B u d d h i s tB h i k s u sa n d B h i k s u n i s .
T a l e f o r i n s t a n c e r. h e Q u e e n o f M u - i i ( 3 4 5 - 3 6 1A . C . )
w h o b u i l t t h e Y u n g - a n - s s u rN u n n e r y f o r B h i k s u n i T a n -
p i , a n d E m p e r o r H s i a o - w u - t i( 3 7 3 * 3 9 5A . C . ) w h o w a sa
. r e a t p a t r o n o f B h i k s u n i M a i o - y i n ,t h o u g h t h e l a t t e f w a s
u n w o r t h v o f t h e h o n o u r . T h i s s h o w st h a t b y t h e m i d d l eo f
thc 4th century A,C. there existeda large number of
B u d d h i s t n u n s . H o w e v e r . t h e e a r l i e s tt r a n s l a t i o no f t h e
 GUNTAPALLE
Bhiksuni Pratimoksawas done by Fa-hsie,r5ald Buddha-
b h a d r a ' i n 4 1 4 A . C . , a n d t h e f o r m a l p r o c e e d i n g sf c r t h e
ordination of Bhiksunis (I)harmagupta Bhiksuri
Karman, llanjio No. 1129)was translated b1' Gunavar-
m a n h i m s e l f i n 4 3 1 A , C . T h i s b e i n g t h e c a s e ,i t i s v e r v
doubtful that the Bhiksunls in China were properlv
ordained beforethe arrival'of Gunavarmanin 431 A.C.
T h e r e f o r e , t h e r e a r o s e t h e n e c e s s i i y( a n d a r e q u e s rw a s
m a d e t o h i m ) t h a t h e s h o u i d h e l p t h e B h i k s u n i sp e r f o r m
t h e r i t e sf o r t h e h i g h e r o r d i n a t i o n f o r t h e s e c o n dt i m e " A t
this juncture there came from Sri Lanka to the capital of
the Sung-Dynasty at Nanking, a batch of eight Sinhalesc
B h i k s u ? i s ,w i t h t h c i n t c n t i o n o f c o n f e r r i n gh i g h e r o r d i n a -
t i o n o n t h e C h i n e s en u n s . A s t h e i r n u m b e r w a s i e s st h a n
t e n a n d s o m e o f t h e m h a d n o t y e t c o m p l e t e dt h e r e q u i r e d
age after the Upasampada ordination6 Gunavarman
helped them to invite a fresh batch of Bhiksunji from Sri
Lanka. The leader of this new delegation'was Theri
Trisarani. As Gunavarmirn was in Sri Lanka for a long
time, he *us poriibly thc most suitable person to dc,
i t . 7 B u t u n f o r t u n a t e l yh e c o u l d n o t l i v e t o s e et h e f r u i t o f
h i s l a b o u r , H e p a s s e da w a y i n 4 3 2 A . C , a t t h e a g e o f 6 5 ,
just befote the arrival of the second batchs of Bhiksunis
f r o n nS r i L a : r k a . H e l e f t b e h i n d h i m a p o e m o f 3 6 s t a n z a s
regarding his views on meditation, his attainment and
missionery carecr.
W. Pachow
G L I N T A P A I . T . E ,v a r . G u n t a p a l l ae t c . , t h e m o d e r n n a m e
o f a n a n c i e n t B u d d h i s t s i t ei n W e s t G o d a v a r i D i s t r i c t i n
Andhra in Southern India. Through thc valleys of
Godavari and Krishna rivers several roads passed and
converged at Vangi (or Vengi) '. a locaiity in Andhra.
According to H. Dubreuil, the road to Kosala which
s t a r t e df r o m V a n g i f o l l o w e d G o d a v a r i t o g o t o r h e c e n t r e
o f I n d i a v i a N a g p u r , a n d G u n t a p a l l ei s t h e o n l y B u d d h i s t
site on this route (See K. R, Subramanian, Buddhist
Remains in Andhra and History of Andhra, Madras,
1 9 3 2 ,p p . i v - v i i i ) . T h i s r o a d g r e a t l yf a c i l i t a t e dc o m m u n i -
c a t i o n b e t w e e nt h e S o u t h - t h e D a l c k h i n a p a t h ao f t h e
a n c i e n t l i t e r a t u r e - - a n d K o s a l a , a n d t h e r e i s r e a s o nt o
g u r m i s et h a t B u d d h i s m r e a c h e dG u n t a p a l l ef r o m K o s a l a
at a vcry early date. During the time of the Buddha his
fame spreadto this part of India, and Bivarl sent his
p u p i l s t o m e e t t h e B u d d h a w h o - w a sa t S a v a t t h i ,p e r h a p s
a l o n g t h i s r o u t e ( s e eB A V A R I , D A K K H I N A p e f U n
and DECCAN).
5. See Sirts un i-sAnghika-wnava-p rati m oksa -si tra, N anjro, No, I l -50
6. l'in.l, p. 5E
7. See W. Pachow: Ancient cultural relations between Ceylon and China. Llniversity.of Ce-vlonReview, Vot. XII, No. 3, 19j4,
8. See the Life of Sanghuvarman, Kao-seng-chuan, ch. 3
395 ,l.}'Ai, Lf,
GUlst--*-i'
T h e a r c h a e o i o g i c arl e m a i n s a t G u n t a p a l l er e v e a lt h a t
o n c e i t w a s a n i m p o r t a n t c e n t r eo f B u d d h i s mi n A n t i h r . a .
A m o n g t h e f i n d s a t t h i s s i t e a r c r s t o n e - b u i l ts t u p a s , a
r o c k * c u t c i r c u l a r B r d d h i s t S a ' n g h a r i m a ,s t o n ei m a g e so f
t h e B u d d h a a n d a l s o l i m e s t o n ei m a g e so f t h e B u d d h a , a
c a i t y ac o n t a i n i n ga m o n o l i t h i c m o d e l o f a s t i p a a n d l a r g e
brtck caityas ornamentcd wjth images of the Buddha
m a d e o [ l i m e s t o n e ,T h e s e c a i t y a sa r e o f a l a t e r d a t e t h a n
the other finds. The Sa'ngharima consists of iwo
s e p a r a t eg r o u p s o f c h a m b e r sf o r m i n g e l a r g ea n d a s r n n l l
m o n a s t c r r vP . e r c y B r o w n o b s e n ' e st h a t " N o r e a l a t t e m p t
a t a n y c o o r d i n a t e d p l a n s e e m st o h a v e b c e n m a d e i n
arranging the crlls of the monasterieswhich are crowded
t o g e t h e r p r o b a b l y b e c a u s co t h e r c h a m b e r s w e r e , a t a
l a t e r d a t e , i n s e r t e d i n t h e a v a i l a b l ei n t e r v e n i n gs p a c e s .
T h e f a c a d e ss h o w r o u n d a r c h e dd o c r r w a y sa n d w i n d o w s
w i t h a p r o j e c t i n gd o m e a r c h w a y a b o v e ,a n d t h e r a d i a t i n g
spokes of a blind caitya window friling the space in
b e t w c c n ,t h e w h o l e a p p r o x i m a t i n g t h e e a r i y H i n a y a n a
type of Viharadecoration but ajl rather coarsclvexecuted
a n d d i s p l a v i n gl i t t l e a p t i t u d e f o r t h i s k i n d o f w o r k . "
Percy Brown, Indian Architecture Buddhist and Hindu,
D . B . f a r a p o r e v a i aS o n sC o . P v t . L t C . ,B o m b a y ,r e p r i n r ,
i 9 ? 6 .p , 3 6 .
A Pdi irscription of a Buddhistnun rvhoconsrructed
steps to a monument at Guntapallc has also been
d i s c o v e r e d .F r o m a r c h a e o l o g i c a a - ln d a r c h i t e c t u r a le v i -
d e n c ei t a p p e a r st h a t t h i s s i t e d e v e l o p e di n r o a B u d d h i s t
c e n t r e a t l e a s t i n t h e s e c o n dc e n t u r y B . C . T h e n a t u r e o f
t h e s t r u c t u r ea n d t h e r e m a i n so f t h e s t i i p a a l s op o i n t t o a n
early date for its construction. According to A. K.
Coomaraswamy this sitc was patronized by Andhra
k i n g s .H e w r i t e s" M o s t o f t h c A n d h r a k i n g s, " , . . . " . . , a, .r e
b c s t k n c ' w n f o r t h e i r b e n e f a c t i o n st o B u d d h i s t c o m m u -
nities; to them are duc most of the cave templesand
monasteriesof thc Western Ghats, the Ghantajala,
Bhattiprolu, Guntapa.lleand Amarlvatisrupas an'dother
s t r u c t u r e si n t h e e a s t a n d p r o b a b i y t h e S i f l c i g a t e w a , r r "
(A. K. Coomaraswamy, Histttry of lndian and Indone-
s i a n A r t , D o v e r P u b l i c a t i o n s , I n c . N e w Y o r k , 1 9 6 5 ,p .
2 3 ).
R o c k - c u t a r c h i t e c t u r eh a sd r a w n t h e a t t e n t i o no f m a n - v
s c h o l a r st o t h i s s i t e . P e r c l ' B r o w n s a . v st h a t t h e s m a l l c r
c i r c u l a rc h a m b e rf o u n d a t t h i s s i t e" e x p l a i n st h e k i n d o f
s h e l t e r t h a t w a s f i r s t e r e c t e do v e r t h e s t [ p a - t h i s
a p p e a r st o b e t h e b e g i n n i n go f t h c c o n s t r u c t i o no f c a i t y a
h a l l . , . , . . . .T h e r e m a i n s a t G u n t a p a l i ea r e r e m a r k a b l e
m o r e f o r t h e i r a n t i q u a r i a l i n t e r e s tt h a n f o r t h e i r a r t i s t i c
o r a r c h i t e c t u r avl a l u e " ( P e r c vB r o w n ,o p . c i t . p . 3 6 ) .W i t h
 GTI}$TAPALIE
referenceto the Buddhist rock-cut circular cave Benjamin
R o w l a n d r e m a r k s t h a t i t " . . . . p r e s e r v e st h e f o r m o f t h e
Vedic hut. svcn to the inclusion of wooden rafters
attached to the domical roof." (Benjamin Rovrland. Ile
Art gnd Architecture of India, Penguin Books, [,ondon,
1953,p. 23). Theseobservationsspeakfor the antiquity of
the site, Caves (guhi)were also permissibledwellings for
the Buddhist monks starting from the inception of the
sisana (Vin. I, p. 58) and rock cut cave temples are a
common feature especially along the Western and
Eastern Ghats of Southern India. At Guntapalle the
work has been executed in a rough manner. Even the
Buddha images found at this site do not present eny Dew
features, though the Andhra Buddha image displays
some distinguishing marks. Thesefacts speal for assiga-
ing an earlier date for Guntapalle than to any other
Buddhist Centre in the region, The stupa at Guntapalle
has some aspects which according to Amita Ray are,
",...stylistically comparable with thoec of Bha:hut and
Sifrci St[pas" (Amita Ray, Life and Art of Early
Andhradesa, Delhi, 198' , p. I i'r).
Hsrlan-tsang who visited the Andhra country calls the
capital of the country P'ing-K5-lo (Vingila). Samuel Beal
comments that "this is probably thc old city of Vcngi,
north-west of Elura Lake, between Godavari and Krishna
rivers which was ccrtainly in the Andhra dominions. In
the neighbc'rrhood are said to be rock templesand other
remains (Samucl Beal, Buddhist Records of the Westetn
World, Susil Gupta lndia Private Ltd., Calcuttg 1958,
Vol.. lV, pp, 420*21). HsUan-tsang dercribct a great
sahghirima not far from Vingila (i.e. Vangi or Vengi).
Though the identification of tbe site is not quite certain,
yet it is reasonable to suppose that this reference of
Hsrtan-tsangls to the Buddhist templc at Guntapelle, He
wrote: 'This monastery hrd spacious halls... There was
an image of thc Buddha.,. [n front of thir Convent were
erccted two stone stipas..." (ibid). Thc Chinecc pilgrim's
visit w8s in thc sixth csntury A.C. and during the course
of severalcenturiesthat followed Buddhiam in Southcrn
India declined, Buddhist temples were deserted and
places of Buddhist worship were neglected due to a
variety of reasons,Tbere had bcen usurpation of Bilddhist
sitcs by other religious communitics. Subramanian meu-
tions that Guntapalle wes coDvelted into Linge Ksetraby
H i n d u s ( K , R . S u b r a m a n i a D ,o p . c i t . p . 3 3 ) .B u t s o m eo f
the Buddhist sites remain, though in ruins, to tell the
glorious past. "Even today on the hill of Guntapalle may
be found the remnants of a grand vibira associatedwith
numeroug other rock-cut monasteries and a large Pilhred
l. R. C. Majumdar (ed.), I}e Aassical Age, Bombay, 1962, pp. l-2. For daeils of Cupta politicel hirtory end chronology, also req,
S. R. Goyal, A History of the Imperial Guptas, Allahebad, 1967.
2. R. C. Majumdar, op. citpp.2"1.
3. J. F. F1elct, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. lll, (Guptt Inscriptions), London, 1888.
396 GUPTAS
hall" (D. K. Baruv4 Viharas in Ancicnt India, Calcuttr,
I 9 6 9 , p p . I 9 E - 9 9 ) .S e eP l , X X X .
M. Ksraluvhil
GUPTAS. The brca-kingup of the Kusana empire and
thc subsequentemergenceof numerous small kingdoms
on its ruins provided the most congenial atmospherefor
the rise of a major political power in Northern lndia. lt
was in this setting that the Gupta dynasty which had an
obscure origin, rose into prominence in Eastern India.
Candragupta I, who ascendedthe throne most probably
in 320 A.C., was the first important ruler of tbis dynasty,
thoug.h according to some later inscriptions he war
precededby two other members namely, Sri Gupta and
Ghatotkaca. The role of the first two members of the
dynasty in the establishment of the Gupta power is
uncertein but it is possibletbat they wcre either feudatory
rulers of some other monarch or were independent
chieftains in their own right.t
Candragupta I, by virtue of the politicil strength he
acquired perhaps through his marriage to a princess of
the Licchavis,e long establishedtribe in the Nepel vallcy,
could expand his authority to thc ncighbouring arers and
his kingdom in its final shape included such regions like
Magedha (South Bihar), Saketa (Audh) and Prayaga
(Allahabad).2 l.levertheless, it was under his son snd
successorSnmudragupta (c, A,C, 350-376) whose cereer
is eulogizcil in pancgyric form in thc famous Allahabad
Pillar inccription,s that the Guptas essumed imperial
status. The lerger part of the Indo-Gangetic plain, tbe
Deccan end some areasin the southernmost part of the
peninsulawere coDqueredby Samudragupta.
H i s s u c c e s s o rC a n d r a g u p t a I I ( c . A . C . 3 7 6 ' 4 1 4 ) n o t
only destroyed the formidable power of the Saka rulers of
WesterDIndia who pored a serious threat to the GuptEs,
but also took many rteps to strengthen thc empire and
consolidate the gains made by his predecessors.Although
Kumiragupta (c. A.C, 415-455), who succeededCsndra-
gupta Il, inherited a vast empire and enjoyed e virtually
trouble-free reign, he doeg not appesr to have added any
new areiu to his domain. Towards the end of his reign
however,the western parts of the empire were threetened
by the Hina inveders, but they were thoroughly defeated
by Kumiragupta *ho fought the battle on behaff of his
father, After this decisive defeet the Hfinas did not dare
attempt another invasion of the Gupta empire for some
time to come.
 GUPTAS 397
S k a n d a g u p t a ( c , A , C . 4 5 5 - 4 6 7 ) s u c c e e d e dh i s f a r h e r
m o r e t h r o u g h h i s m i l i t a r t ' p r o w e s st h a n a n y s t r o n g c l a . i m
to the throne as he was not the son of the first queenof
K u m i r a g u p t a . T h o u g h h e m a n a g e dt o k e e p t h e H u n a s a t
b a y , h e h a d t o f a c e n u m e r o u sd o m e s t i cp r o b l e m s ,a a d
towards the end of his reign, the empirc showed clear
s i g n s o f d i s i n t e g r a t i o nA . f t e r S k a n d a g u p t a ,r h e G u p t a
a u t h o r i t yw a s w e a l e n i n gr a p i d i y t h o u g h B u d h a g u p t a( c .
A . C . 4 1 7 4 9 6 ) m a d e a v a i n a t r e m p rt o a r r e s tr h e d e c l i n e
b y r e a r r a n g i n gt h e p o l i t i c a l a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i v es t r u c t u r e ,
S i n c e B u d h a g u p t a ' sd e m i s e t h e G u p t a s w er e f a s t l c s i n g
c o n t r o l o f m o s t o f w e s t e r na n d c e n t r a l I n d i a , a n d i n t h e
m e a n t i m e , t h e H u n a s s u c c e s s f u l l vb r o k e t h r o u g h t h e
G u p t a d e f e n c e sa n d b r o u g h t u n d e r t h e i r c o n t r o l a l a r g e
p a r t o f n o r t h e r n I n d i a . a A s a r e s u l t ,G u p t a r u l e , f o r a l l
p r a c t i c a lp u r p o s e s ,w a s r e s t r i c t e dt o s o m e a r e a so f B i h a r
a n d B e n g a l .T h e a v a i l a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e p o l i t i c a i
history of the period is so confusing that it is difficult to
f o r m a c l e a r p i c t u r c e v e n o f t h e o r d e r o f s u c c e s s i o no f
v a r i o u s r u l e r sw h o s e n a m e sa p p e a r o c c a s i o n a l l yi n s o m c
inscriptions.What may be said with some degree of
c e r t a i n t yi s t h a t t h e l a s tk n o w n m e m b e ro f t h e G u p t a l i n e
w a s o n e V i s n u g u p t aw h o s e D e m o d a r p u r ( B e g a l )C o p p e r
P l a t ew a si s s u e di n t h e G u p r a Y e a r 2 2 4 ( A . C . 5 4 3 i4 ) , r B y
a b o u t A . C . 5 5 0 e v e n B i h a r a n d B e n g a lh a d c o m e u n d e r
several independenr ruling families thus signalling the
t o t a l d r s a p p e a r a n c oe f G u p t a r u l e . 6
T h o u g h t h e G u p t a s w e r e a b l e t o c o D q u e ra l a r g ep a r t o f
N o r t h e r n I n d i a a n d t h e D e c c a n ,t h e y d i d n o t p c s s e s tsh e
s a m e d e g r e eo f c e n t r a l i z e dc o n t r o l o v er a l a r g e p a r t o f
t h a t t e r r i t o r y a s d i d t h e N { a u r y a so v e r t h e i r e m p i r e .A s i s
e v i d e n tf r o m t h e A l l a h a b a d i n s c r i p t i o n , e v e n S a m u d r a -
g u p t a , w h o s u c c e e d e idn c o n q u e r i n ga n u m b e r o f k i n g -
doms in the Deccan and the South, did not envisage
i m p o s i n gd i r e c t r u l e o v e r s u c h r e g i o n s ,b u t w a s s a t i s f i c d
w i t h w i n n i n g t h e m e r e a l l e g i a n c eo f t h e l o c a l r u l er s w h o
w e r e a l l o w e dt o c o n t i n u ei n t h e i r p o s i t i o n s .I t w a s o n l v i n
N o r t h e r n I n d i a t h a t t h e G u p t a s m a i n t a i n c d s o m ed e g r c e
of ccntral authority, but eventhat did not last long, for
t h e G u p t a f e u d a t o r i e sw e r e e n j o v i n g v i r t u a l a u t o n o m y
from about thc end of the 5th century.7
T h e G u p t a p e r i o d i s g e n e r a l l yd e s c r i b e da s t h e C l a s s i -
c a l A g e o f I n d i a o n t h e g r o u n d st h a t i t w i t n e s s e d thehigh
w E t c r - m a r k o f t h e a n c i e n t l n d i a n c i v i l i z a t i o nw i t h a
' w o n d e r f u lo u t b u r s t
o f i n t e l l e c t u aal c t i v i t va n d a u n i o u e
4. S. R. Coyal, op. cit., pp. 370 ff.
5 . E p i g r a p h i aI n d i c a , V o l . X I V , l 9 l 9 - 1 9 2 0 , p . l 4 Z , l i n e j f f .
6, R. C. Majumdar, The ClassicalAge, p.44.
7 . R o m i l a T h a p a r , A H i s t o r . vo f I n d i a , V o l . I , H a r m o n d s w o r t h . 1 9 6 9 ,p p . 1 4 1 4 2 .
8. R C. Majumdar, op. cit. p. xlii.
9. Romila Thapar, op. cit,,p. 136.
t0. tbid.
ll. A. L. Basham, (ed.). A Cultural Histor.v of India, oxford, r975, p. 14l if. and 170 ff.
12. See, Bardwell L. Smith, (ed.).6ssayson Gupta Culture, Delhi, 1993,p.2.
GUPTAS
ef f l o r es c e n c eo f c u l t u r e , ' s t h o u g h s o m e s c h o l a r sh a v e
e x p r e s s e dr e s e r v a t i o n sa b o u t t h i s t e r m i n o l o g va r g u i n g
t h a t s u c h a d e s c r i p t i o ni s a p p l i c a b l eo n l y r o t h e u p p e r
c l a s s e so f s o c i e t v a m o n g s t w h o m t h e l i v i n g s t a n d a r d s
r e a c h e d a h i g h p o i n t u n k n o w n b e i o r e . sI t i s f u r t h e r
a r g u e dt h a t t h e ' c l a s s i c i s m ' otfh e G u p t a a g ew a s m a i n l l ,
c o n f i n e dt o N o r t h e r n I n d i a a n d t h a t t h e I l e c c a na n d t h e
s o u t he x p er i e n c e di t s h i g h l e v e io i c i l ' i l i z a t i o no n l y i n t h e
p o s t - G u p t ap r i o d . r 0 N e v e r t h e l e s w s ,h e t h e ro n ea g r e e so r
n o t w i t h t h e t e r m ' C l a s s i c aAl g e ' i n r e l a t i o nt o t h e G u p t a
age, there is no denying of the fact that most of the
s u b c o n t i r : e nw t i t n e s s e da h i g h s t a n d a r do f c i v i l i z a t i o n
t h o u g h i t d i d n o t b e n e f i t e v e r ! 's t r a t u m o f s o c i e t yi n a
uniform manner.
I t i s a l s o n o t e w o r t h yt h a t t h e g r e a t c u l t u r a la d v a n c e s
m a d ei n t h e G u p t a p e r i o dc a n i n n o w a y b c c o n s i d e r e da s
a n i s o l a t e dd e v e l o p m e n tr e s t r i c t e dt o t h e G u p t a a g ei t s e l f .
I n d e e d ,m o s t o f t h e c u l t u r a lt r a i t st h a t g i v ea u n i q u e n e s s
t o t h e G u p t a a g e w e r e a l r e a d v t a k i n g s h a p el o n g b e f o r e
the rise of the Guptas. What is significantabout the
G u p t a a g ei s t h a t a l l t h e s cd e v e l o p m e n tws h i c hh a d b e g u n
i n t h e p r e v i o u sc e n t u r i e sc a m e t o m a t u r i t y i n t h i s p e r i o d
settingin motion a great leap forward in the Indian
c i v i l i z a t i o n . A m o n g t h e m a n y a c h i e v e m e n t so f G u p t a
I n d i a , m e n t i o n m a y b e m a d e o f t h e e x c e l l e n tl i t e r a r y
w o r k s o f K a l i d a s a t h e g r e a r e s rS a n s k r i t p o e t . W i t h t h e
contributions of scholarslike Aryabhata and Varaha-
m i h i r a , t h e I n d i a n s c x c e l l e di n f i e l d ss u c ha s m a t h e m a t i c s
a n d a s t r o n o m y , d e v el o p i n g e a r l v f o r m s o f A l g e b r a a n d
Trignometry. The work of Sujruta which is again
a t t r i b u t e dt o t h e G u p t a t i m e s ,b e a r st e s t i m o n vt o t h e h i g h
l e v e lo f k n o w l e d g et h e I n d i a n s h a d a c q u i r e di n t h e f i el d o f
m e d i c i n e . r rT h u s a sA , L . B a s h a mh a sv e r y r i g h t l vp u t i t ,
'the Gupta period
m e r e l y a s s i m i l a t e dt h e s ef e a t u r e sf u l l y
in a complex civilization of unexampled urbanity to
p r o d u c e w o r k s o f a r t , l i t er a t u r e a n d l ea r n i n g w h i c h a r e
among the greatestproducts of any earlv civilization
a n y w h e r e . "l 2
A s i n a n y o t h e r s o c i e t yi n t h e a n c i e n t t i m e s , r e l i g i o n
w a s a k e y f a c t o r b e h i n d t h e g r ea t c u l t u r a l a d v a n c e st h a t
w e r e t a k i n g p l a c ei n G u p t a I n d i a t o o . L o n g b e f o r et h e
a d v e n to f t h e G u p t a sa n d p a r t i c u l a r l ya f t e rt h e M a u r y a s ,
the religious Iife of India was undergoing profound
c h a n g e sT. h e p o l y t h e i s t i cn a t u r eo f t h e V e d i cr e l i g i o nw a s
g r a d u a l l y b u t s t e a d i l y c h a n g i n gi n t o a b e l i e f s y s t e mo f
 GUFTAg
monothcism, tbereby paving the way for the nse of two
mejor religious beliefs eround the Brahmanic deities
Visnu and Siva" usheringin a new pbare in the Brahmanic
rcligion. It is generally held that this new dcvelopmcnt in
thc Brahmanic bclief rystem arosc out of tbe neeclto meet
the ch*ilenge pored by the two beterodoxies, Buddhium
and Jainiscr, particularly the formcr.rl
Many changes hnr.,been takic,g plecc within Buddhism
too, both in its philoscphy and in its structurc, Schisms
occurred in Buddhism from a fairly early stegc of its
history, The number ef nikiyas kept on multiplying and
some of them have b'een classified in letcr works as
belongingto tbe Mahlydue,rt By the time of the Gupias,
thc Mahiyana wss t weil cstablished religiour rcbool and
this form of Buddhism exrsted side by side vnth tbc
non-Mahiyina groups in many pnrts of lndia" Most of
the major aikiyas of Bu,Cdhismhave elreedy come into
voguc and among therc mention mey be mede of the
Ssr!rutividins, thc KiCyapiyas, the Dharmottariyas, the
Bhadrayanrlas and the Mahasajrghitus as tbe nikiyas
frequently referred to in pre-Gupta and Gupta records'r5
Though most of thc Gupta kings were f+llowcn of the
Vaisnava faith, they generally punued a poliry of
religious tolerance and thus were well disnoled towards
Buddhirm ss well. According to l-tring,r6 Sr] Guptg the
fint member of the Gupta dylarty, built a temple for the
ure of the Chinese Buddhist pilgrims at MrgaJikhivana
and endowed it with the rcrrenue of forty villages.
Samudregupta is said to havc granted pcrmission to thc
ruler of Sri Lanka to buitd a monastcry at Buddhagayi.
Budhagupta is dercr:bed in Hsrlan-tsang's sccouDi
p a t r o n o f t h e N i l a n d a m o n a s t e r y r Nw h i l e a n i n s c r i p t i o n
found at the grme monastic compiex, makes refcrenceto
8 monaltery built by a ruler named Bal-aditya. Baladitya
tr
is another neme used by Narasimhagupta' a Gupta king
who reigned in the first half of the sixth century A.C.
Vainyagupta, though a follower of the Vaisnava feith, as
known from his Gunaigbar Plate, sanctioncd thc dona-
tion of some lend to the Mahayana icaryaSantidwq at
the request of one of his royal officialg'D This policy of
rcligious tolerence punued by the rulers paved the way
13. A. L. Barham, op. cit. P. 60 ff.
14. For the hirtory of Buddhist sectr in pre-Guptr timet, rec, N. Dutt, Euddhist Sects rn Indi4 $epnnt), Celcuttr'
A. K. Warder, Indien Buddhism, Delhi, 1970,p.286fr.
15. Bardwell L. Smith o1t. cit., p. 143.
16. J. Takakuru, A Record of the Buddhist R.tigion u Prrctisd in Indit and the Mahy Archipelaga by l-tsing,
r966.
11. Jownal o{ the (Ceylon Branch) Royal Asiatic Sociay, Vol. XXIV' No, 60, p' 75
lE. T. Wrtterr, On Yuan Chwang,\ Travels', in Indi* Vol. lI, 1905' p. l6a.
19. Epi$tphis Indica, Vol. XX, 1929-30, pp. 37-46'
20. The Gunaighar plate in S. K. Maity aad R. K. Mukcrj i, Corpus of fungal Inscriptions beting on the History of
1967,pp. 65-?0.
21. J. H. Legge, (tr.), Ilc Tra,,rls o{ Fa-hisen, Cambridge, 1923, p' 87 ff.
338 GTJPTAS
for a heeithy growlh cf raligious pluralism for which the
Gupta period brs carned great fame, It also crcrted eo
envirnnment suitable fcr a btttcr exchangt of ideu end
peaccful co-cxisteru urong many religioul groupr of
the pcriod.
Several inscriptions rnd many iiltrnry sourcet sucb 8r
the reconJs of tLr Chincsc trrvellers Fe-hrien, HsrJao-
tseng (early seventh century A.C.) and l-tsing (recond
half of the scvcnth ccntuqy A.C.) ru:d Euddhirt textc and
archaeologicaldata provide ureful information about thc
condition of Buddhism in the Gupta pcriod' Of tbere, the
records of the Chinesemonk Fa-hrien (q'v.), who virited
lndia in early fifth csntury A.C., is of particular rigai'
ficance not only becruse it i! r contemporsry sourcc, but
also bccausc of Fa-bsien's keen interest in rccording
particulars about many Buddhist centres in all tbc
regions he visited. ln this regard, he provider valuable
information about the communities of monks at diffcrcnt
Buddhist monasterics including their doctrinel allegi-
Bnces,the nunber of monks living in eEchmonastery, thc
level of patronsge reccived and even the general condition
of the lay communities.
Of the major Buddbist centres in the Gupta kingdom
Fa-hsien makes special mention of Buddhagayi whcre
the Buddha attained enlightenment. To quotc Fa-hsicn:
'At the place where the Buddha attained pcrfect
wisdom. there arc thrte monastericr in all of which
there are monks reriding. The families of the pcople
around supply the rocieties of thc monks with an
r7
abundant suffrciency of what they rcquire.." Tbc
as e disciplinary rules are strictly obcerved by therp.....":t
Sometime before the arrival of Fa-hsiena monastery had
been built there by Kittisiri Meghavanns, a king of Sri
Lanka for the use of Sinhalesemonks. This monnstery
ultimately grew into a major institution within the
Buddhagayi monastic complex which consisted of
geveral monesteries inhabited by monks bclonging to
different ntkiyas. It was also the major north Indian
Buddhist centre with which the Sri Lankal Buddhists
maintaincd a clnle and constant relationship' Thc
1970, and
(reprint), Dclhi,
Bengd, Cdcutts"
 G{JPTAS 393 GTIPTAS

m o n $ t e r y b u i l t b y k i n g M e g h a v a n D ad i d n o t r e m a i n r
s t a t e st h a t m o n k s b e l o n g i n gt o b o t h M a h a y a n a a n d H j -
mere resting place for the Sri Lankan pilgrims, but n a y a n a l i v e d t h e r e . 2 tS e v e r a l i n s c r i p t i o n s b e l o n g i n g t o
gradually beganto play an important role as a promincnt
thc Gupta period have bcenfcrrnd at Mathura but thcy
Thoravada centre.The monastery alwaysrcmajncd in the
a r e a l l . , ' o t i v ei n s c r i p t i o n s r c c o r c l i n gt r , e g i f t o f B u d d h a
control of the Sri Lankan monks who soon became a
i m a g e sa r d h c n c e c o n t a i n n o o t h e r r j e t a i t s .
force to reckon with as they fcrnred themselvesintc e"
formidable group that could stand up to the Mahayanisr lnscriptions,howevel, p: ovide sorncur-seful inforrnation
and Tantric challeirge.z2 a b o u f c e r t a i n a s p e c t so f m o n a s t i c f u n c t i o n s a t S a f i c h i .
Two of the Saichi inscriptions belong to thc Gupta
Pataliputr4 the old capital of the Mauryas, was p e r i o d .( r r c t o t h c t i m c o f C a n d r a g u p t aI l a n d t b e o t h e r t o
another importsnt Buddhist centre well dcscribcd by Fa_
t h e t i m e o f S k a n d a g u p t a . 2 eB o t h t h e s ei n s c r i p t i o n sr e f e r
hsien. He lived there for three years studying Sanskrir
t o i n s t a n c c so f d o n a t i o n s o f c o n s i d e r a b l ea m o u n t s o f
and collecting Buddhist scriprurcs. According to him
money to two Buddhist vihatas for the pcrformance of
b e s i d e sa f a m o u s s t [ p a c o n s t r u c t e db v e m p e r o r . A s o k q
some religious functious. The functions envisagedby the
t h e r e w e r e t w o m o _ n n s t e r i e se a c h b e l o n g i n g t o t h e
donors included the fccding of monks and providing for
Mahayana and the Hinayana. He givesa graphic descrip-
the rnaintenancc of lamps ai severalshrines. One of the
tion of the functions of these monasteries, espcciaiy
benefactorsof thesedonations was a high official undcr
those of thc Mahiyana moDastery, which served as a
Candragupta IL
leeding centre of Buddhist education.zr
Apart from these major Buddhist ccntres, therc were
l.*talanda,the centre of Buddhist learning flourished
n u m e r o u s c e n t r e s w i t h l e s s e rn u m b e r s o f m o n k s a n d
though it had by then nor reachedthe zenith of its fame as
monasteriesin many pffts of the Gupta empire. Many
the centre par excellence it enjoyed in later times,2aFa-
more were flourishirrg in areasoutsida the confinesof the
hsicn makes only a passingrefercnceto it. Hsilen-tsang territory of the Guptas. Among thcm ment"ionmay be
who gives a long account of this istitution, mentions
made of the famous Buddhiet centres in Saurd.rtrq
Kumiragupta, Tathagatagupta (Budhagupta?) and
Knshmir, Punjab, Maharashtra, Andhra pradesh'aad
Biliditya (NarasimhaSupta) rs past rulers who were
Tamilnadu.r0 However, some of the old centres in
patrons of XilanciE,2r but the identification of these
Northern Indiahad decayedaad tr: sorre extrni negJected
rulers with thc Gupta kings with similar namer is not
while new ccntres were comjng up in areas like Bihar,
cerlain.
Bengal, Orissg Gujarat and Central India. Kapilavdstu
Saranith was another place of significance to the was'desert'accordingto Fa-hsien,with only a few monls
Buddhists becauseof its association with the Buddhat living therc. Kusinira and Vesili, aoo,were desolatewith
first sermon. Again Fa-hsien'saccount of it is very brief a few visitors.sr
and provides no valuable information. lIc merely
It is clear from the evidencecited abovc, perticularly
mentions that there wcre two monasteries with some
that of the Chincse travcilers, tbat therc werc a consider-
monks residing in them, But according to Hsrlan-tsang, able number of Buddhist monasteriesin many parts of
of the seventh ceDtury, there were some 1500 monks
the subcontinent during the Gupta period. The accounts,
living at Siranath,ur According to Fa-bsien, Mathura of the Chinesetravellerssuggestthet whi_lethe Mehlyana
w8s a major Buddbist centre where there were some groups were firmly entrenched, the non-Mahiyana
twcnty monasteries with about three thousand monks,
sectionswere in a state of declinc in the ereesunder the
and the 'law of the Buddha still more flourishing.'zr
Guptas. [n fact, the non-Mahiyina concentration wa!
Hsilan-tsang also describes it in very lavish tcrms and largely outside the territory of the Guptar. lievertbcllq

22' See P' v. B. Karunatilake"'Journrys to the Diarnond Thronq Sri Lankan Buddhist
Monkr rnd pilgrimr ar Buddtr4ayi,, in S.
Bandarrnryrte,L,DevarajaandK,D.G.wimalaratne,(ed.), sriLankaandthesilkRoadofthcses, (UNESCO),colombo,
1990, p. l,f l lf.
23. Lcgge, op. cit., p. 7't ff ,
21. For a detailed description of the Nalandi monastery and itr functions
sec.H. D. Sankalia., The Uniwnity of Nalaada(sccond
RcviredEdition), D€lhi, l9?2.
25.T. Watterg,op. cit., Vol. il, p. 86 ff.
26. Ibid., pp. 1,9-15.
21.I4ge, op. cit., p. 12.
28.Watters,op. cit., Vol. l, 1901,p. 301ff.
29.J. F. Flect,op. cit.,p. 31, l l, 5 ff. and pp.26l-262, ll.2_j
30. For a dircurcion on the condition of Buddhirm in area.routride the territory of the Guptas, ree Bardwefl L, Smith, op. cit.,
p. 110 ff.
31. s. Beel,(tr.) sr-ru-fr; Buddhist Recordsof the watern world: Clirse Accountsof Indit,London, 19il, vol, ll,p.3Dtr.
 GTJPTAS
t h e s e ; t : a , p i c t u r e t h a t e m e r g e sf r o m t h e a v a i l a b l e
i n i , ' : : r : a t : . . rrrs t h a t t h e B u d d h i s tm o n k s , i r r e s p e c t i v eo f
i:i.: crr:trinai differencesh , ad then been firmly
: : g a : l i s e do n t h e b a s i so f m c l n a s t e r i e T s ,h o u g h t h i s i s a
ievelopment that began long before the time of the
G u p t a s , i t w a s i n t h i s p e r i o d t h a t m o n a s t e r i e sb e c a m e
f a i r l y l a r g e i n s t i t u t i o n s w i t h h u n d r e d s ,s o r n e t i m e s
t h o u s a n d s ,o f m o n k s c o n c e n t r a t e d i n a s i n g l em o n a s t i c
c o m p l e x . A n d m o s t o f t h e s ee s t a b l i s h m e n tasl s os er v e d a s
c e n t r e so f e d u c a t i o n f c r m o n k s a n d t h e l a v m e n a . l i k e. I n
the period immedjate!y after the Guptas, Buddhist
centres like Nalandi and Valabhi becameflourishing
i n s t i t u t i o n so f e d u c a t i o nc a t e r i n gt o t h o u s a n d so f s t u d e n t s
f r o m I n d i a a n d a b r o a d . r 2 A s m o s t o f t h e s ec e n t r e sh a d
t h e i r o r i g i n i n t h e G u p t a t i m e s i t m a y b c s u r m i s e dt h a t
t h e y f u n c t i o n e di n a s i m i l a rm a n n e ri n t h e G u p t a p H i b d
a s w e l l . I n f a c t , F a - h s i e n ' sa c c o u n t o f t h e m o n a s t e r i e so f
P a t a l i p u t r a p r o v i d e s c l e a r e v i d e n c er e g a r d i n g B u d d h i s t
m o n a s t e r i e ss e r v i n g a s e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s i n t h e
Gupta times.
The cstablishmentof monasteriesand the concentration
of large clerical communities in them brought about
considerable c h a n g e si n t h e l i f e s t y l eo f t h e S a n g h a W. ith
t h e i n c r e a s ei n t h e n u m b e r o f m o n k s l i v i n g i n a m o n a s t e r y ,
t h e v o l u n t a r y d o n a t i o n st h a t c a m ef r o m a l i m i t e d n u m b e r
o f l a y f o l l o w e r s w o u l d c e r t a i n l yn o t h a v e b e e n s u f f i c i e n t
t o p r o v i d e t h e r e q u i r e m e n t so f t h e m o n k s t h r o u g h o u t t h e
y e a r ;b e s i d e se, v e nt h e c o n s t r u c t i o no f l a r g eb u i l d i n g sa n d
t h e i r r e g u l a r m a i n t e n a n c eb e c a m e a t a s k b e y o n d t h e
c a p a b i l i t i e so f o r d i n a r y l a y m e n , m a k i n g i t n e c e s s a r yf o r
t h e m o n a s t c r i e st o l o o k f o r m o r e s t a b l e a n d r e s o u r c e f u l
m e a n so f i n c o m e .I n t h e s ec i r c u m s t a l c e s t, h e m o n a s t e r i e s
w e r e b e c o m i n gi n c r e a s i n g l yd e p e n d e n tu p o n t h e p a t r o n -
age of the morc affluent sectionsof society such as the
r o y a J t y ,t h e r o y a Jo f f i c i a l sa n d s u c ho t h e r p r o p c r t y o w i n g
groups.Jl
T h o u g h t h e s ec h a n g e sh a d b e e n t a k i n g p l a c e s e v e r a l
c e n t u r i c sb e f o r e t h e G u p t a s , i t w a s i n t h e G u p t a p e r i o d
and after, that we see the monasteries develop into
p r o p e r t y o w n i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n sw i t h d i r e c t i n v o l v e m e n t
in economicfunctions.They came to be endowedwith
l a n d , m o n e y , l i v e s t o c k a n d m a n y o t h e r a s s e t so f
economic value and had a fairly large labour force
attachedto them, Accordingly, the monasterybecame
r e s p o n s i b l ef o r t h e m a n a g e m e n t o f p r o p e r t y i n i t s
32. L. M. Joshi. Studie.sin the Buddhisttc Culture of India, Delhi, 1967,pp. 168-172.
l l . S e e ,P . V . B . K a r u n a t i l a k a , " B u d d h i s t M o n a s t e r i e si n N o r t h e r n I n d i a : t h e i r E c o n o m i c F u n c t i o n si n E a r l y M e d i e v a lT i m e s " , i n
Kalyani, Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences of the IJniversity'of Kelani-r-a,Vols. Ill and lV, 1984185,Kelaniya,
p. 8-i ff.
34. Ibtd.
1 5 . L . M . J o s h i ,o p . a I . , p . 8
36. tbid. p. 809
17. BardwellL. Smith, op. cit.,l. 142.
18. L . M . J o s h i .o p . c r l , ,p p . 7 ' 8 .
-19 M . W i n t e r n i t z , A H i s t o r y o f l n d i a n L i t e r a t u r e ( r e p r i n t ) , N e w Y o r k , 1 9 7 1 , V o l .I I , p . 3 0 3 f f . . a n d B a r d w e l l L . S m i t h , o p . c i t . , p . 1 4 9 .
400 GUPTAS
I o s s e s s i o nu, i t i m a t e l vs h a p i n gi t s el f i n t o o n e o f t h e m a i n
i n s t i t u t i o n st h r o u g h w h i c h t h e g e n e r a ej c o n o m yh a d b e e n
o rganized .ra
T h e r c l i g i o u st h o u g h t a n d l i t e r a r y a c t i v i t i e so f b o t h t h e
M a h a 1 , ' a n a n d n o n - M a h a y a n a s c h o o l sa l s oe x p e r i e n c c d
a c o n s i d e r a b lger o w t h i n t h e p e r i o < 1b,u t i t w a sm o s t l yt h e
Mahayana philosophy and literaturethat showeCa
r e m a r k a b l e d e v e l o p r r e n tu n d e r t h e G u p t a s , S e v e r a l
Mahayiina scholars rcceived lavish roya-l patronage.
V a s u b a n d h u ,t h e f a m o u s p h i l o s o p h c r a n d a u t h o r o f
rvorks such as the Abhidharmakoia, is believed to have
been patronised by Candragupta Il.rr Vasubandhu's
t e a c h e rM a n o r a t h a , a n d S a n g h a b h a d r aw h o i s s a i d t o b e
a u t h o r o f t h e M a h a y a n a s a r a - i a s t r aw e r e t w o _ o t h e r
M a h a y a n a s c h o l a l so f f a m e w h o b e l o n g e dt o t h e G u p t a
p c r i o d , T h e f a m b u s B u d d h i s tl o g i c i a n D i n n a g a a u t h o r o f
several treatises including the Praminasamuccaya,
Alambanap"riksA, I'ripitakapari'ksi and the Nyaya-
m u k h a , a l s o l i v e d i n t h e l a s t s t a g e so f t h e G u p t a r u l e . 1 6
M a n y M a h a y a n a c o n c e p t st h a t g r e w i n t o p r o m i n e n c e
in later times had their origins in the Gupta age.lt was
during this period that the cults of AvalokiteSvara,
M a f f j u d r i a n d t h e g o d d e s sP r a j f f a p a r a m i t ac a m e t o t h e
f o r e f r o n t .T h e w o r s h i p o f B u d d h a A m i t a b h a a l s ob e c a m e
prominent in the Gupta Age. According to Fa-hsien,
monks er:cted and worshipped stupas dedicated to
S a r i p u t r a , M a u d g a - l y a y a n aa n d A n a n d a , t h r e e o f t h e
m o s t p r o m i n e n td i s c i p l e so f t h e B u d d h a . r t
T o w a r d b t h e e n d o f t h e G u p t a p e r i o d a s c h i s mt o o k
place in the N{idhyamika sect, the most important
a n ' l o n gt h e M a h a y a n as c h o o l s .C o n s e q u e n t o t h i s s c h i s m
therecame into being thc groups known as the Sva-
t a n t r i k a s a n d t h e P r a s a n g i k a s ,h e a d e d b y B h a v a v i v e k a
a n d B u d d h a p a l i t a r e s p e c t i v e l y . r tA l s o i t w a s i n t h e
G u p t a p e r i o d t h a t t h e Y o g a v a c a r aV i j f r a n a v a d as c h o o lo f
t h e M a h a y a n a r e a c h e dt h e z e n i t h o f i t s d e v e l o p m e n t .
C e r t a i n i d e a sa n d c o n c e p t se x p o u n d e db y t h e s c h o l a r so f
t h e V i j f r a n v a d as c h o o l i n t e x t s s u c h a s t h e L a ' n k e v a t u r a '
s i t r a , a w o r k a s s i g n a b l et o t h e G u p t a p e r i o d , u l t i m a t e l y
paved way for the birth of concepts totally alien to the
e a r l y B u d d h i s t t r a c i i t i o n . T h e s e c o n c e p t sl a t e r b e c a m e
'embeilishedwith contemplation of dharanis and
m a n t r a s c u l m i n a t i n gi n t h e M a n t r a y a n aa n d t h e T a n t r a -
y a n a f r o m a b o u t t h e s e v e n t hc e n t 0 r y A . D . " 3 e
 GUSTYADA
T h e G u p t a a g ea l s o m a r k s a r a d v a n c e ds t a g eo f t h e a r t
a n d a r c h i t e c t u r a lt r a d i t i o n o f I n d i a , a n d a g o o d n u m b e r
o f t h e w e l l p r e s e r v e de x a m p l e so f t h e G u p t a a r t b e l o n gt o
B u d d h i s m ,T h c h i g h d e g r e eo f a e s t h e t i cs e n s ed e p i c t e di n
t h e B u C d h a i m a g e s a n d o t b e r f o r m s o f d e c o r a t i v ea r t
found at places like Saranath bear testimony to the
excellence of the Buddhist art of the Gupta age. The
highly acclaimed Buddhist paintings at Ajarra (q.v.) and
E l l o r a ( q . v . ) c a v e s ,t h o u g h s i t u a t e d o u t s i d c t h e c o n f i n e s
of the Gupta empire, are generallytreated asoff-shoots of
t h e G u p t a m a i n s t r e a m . S o a r e t h e a r c h i t e c t u r a lf o r m s
found at cavesin other parts of western India,4
The influence of thc all-round cultural advancesthat
took place in the Gupta period was not confined to the
Indian subcontinent, but it made its impact in many
countries including Sri Lanka" Central Asia, South<ast
A s i a a n d e v e ni n f a r o f f C h i n a , S t i l l , w h a t i s s i g n i f i c a n ti n
the Gupta influence outside lndia was its overwhelming
and unmistakable Buddhist character. See Pls,
XXXI_XXXII.
P. Y. B. KarumtflaLa
GUSIVADA, (var. Gudivada) the modern rra:ne of an
ancientBuddhist site in the Krisna District in Southern
India on the ancient route from'Vangi or Vengi to the
South, and Ghantaiala and Bhattiprolu are two other
well known Buddhist sites on this route. (See. K. R.
Subramanian, Buddhist Remains in Andhra and The
History of Andhra, Madras, 1932,pp.vi-viii). Gudivida
was the capital of the Kudira country. A good road
connects Peddavegi (via Ellora) and Gudivada (ibid).
This site, along with Bhattiprolu aad Ghantai-aia was
explored by an archaeologist named Rea in t'tigZ.At the
time of Rea'svisit the ruins stood to a maximum height of
eleven feet. Mitra mentions that "during an earlicr
demolition four stone receptacles were found each
containing a crystal casket at four sidesand they are now
in the government museum in Madras. The mound at
G u d i v a d a i s h e m m e d i n a l l s i d e se i t h e r b y r o a d s o r b y
houses.The stupa now reduced to a low shapelessmound
of bricks in the heart of the town, does not evince any
interesting features" (D, Mitra, Buddhist Monuments,
S a h i t y a S a m s a d , C a l c u t t a , r e p r i n t , 1 9 8 0 .p . 2 1 6 ) . T h e
stupa discovered at Gudivada is one hundred and thirty
feet in diameter and beiongi to the second century B.C.
A t t h i s s i t e a l a r g e n u m b c r o f B u d d h a i m a g e sw c r e f o u n d
40. A. L. Bslham, op. cit., p. N2 ff .
l. Whereslhere,inthePalitext,themind-clementandthemind-consciousnesselement,aregivena:occurringwithheart-brsisasthe
support condition (nissaya'paccaya), elsewhere(pp. 5, l7) the relation bctween the heart-basis and the mind-element is
that of prena.lcencc-€ondition (pure-jita-pawya) and the relstion between the heart-basis and the mind-coneciournesr element is
said to be a.r prenascenc+condition at timer and not so at times,
401 TIADAYAVATTHT]
t h o u g h t h e v d . . , rn o t r e p r e s e n ta n v n e w n o t e w o r t h v
features,Among the finds are alsc sorne Satavahana
and Roman coiris" (A. Rc;,. -fouf.h Indian Buddhjst
Antiquitics, Archarological Iii:rvev of InCia, Jl{adras
Archaeologic.a Rie p o r t 1 8 9 2 ; B N t - h a u d h u r y ,B u d d h i s t
Centresin Ancient Ir;die, Srnskrjt College,Culcutta.
1 9 6 9 ,p . 2 5 2 ) ,T h e p r e s e n c e . ' f c c i i r : g o c st o e s t a b l i s ht h a t
t h i s c e n t r ec a m eu n d e r r n o ; l r ye c o n o m ya t a n e a r l vd a t e .
A m i t a R a v w r i t e s t h a t t h c a n t i q u i t i c s d i s c o v e r e db v
a r c h a e o l o g i ' c ael x p l o r a t i o n s a n d c x c a v a t i o n se s t a b l i s h
t h a t B u d d h i s m w i t h i t s f u l l y d e v e l o p e dm o n a s t i c o r g a -
n i s a t i o n , i t s r i t e s a n d r i t u a l s , i m a g e sa n d s y m b o l s w a s
i n t r o d u c e d i n t o t h i s r e g i o n d u r i n g t h e t h i r d c e n t u r yB . C .
and remained active till about the third century A.C.
Buddhism may have been inrroduccd to this region
d u r i n g t h e t i m e o f A s o k a o r i m m e d i a t e l ya f t e r A s o k a a n d
d u r i n g t h e S a t a v a h a n ar u l e " ( A m i t a R a t , ,L i f e a n d A r t o f
E a r l y A n d h r a d e s a ,D e l h i , ! 9 8 3 , p . i 8 5 ) .
M. Kareluvlnna
HADAYAVATTIIU, heart as the ph1'sicalbase of con-
sciousne s s ,i s r e g a r d e cai s t h c t h i r t e e n t ho f t h e t w e n t v - f o u r
[ o r m s o f d e r i v e d m a t t e r t u p a d a - r u p a . ) .A l t h o u g h t h e r ei s
n o m e n t i o n o f i t i n t h e c a n o n i c a lt c x t s i t i s r e f e r r e dt o i n
commentariaa l nd laterliterature.
W h i l e t h e t e r m h a d a y a m e a n st h e p h y s i c a ih e a r t , t h e
t e r m v a t t h u , m e a n i n g p h y s i c a lb a s e ,i s u s e dt o m e a n t h e
p h - " " s i c aolr g a n so n w h i c h t h e m en t a l p r o c e s si s b a s e da n d
t h e v t h u s c o n s t i t u t e t h e f i v e p h y s i c a l s e n s eo r g a n s a n d
( a c c o r d i n gt o c o m m e n t a r i a ll i t e r a t u r e )t h e h e a r t b a s i sa s
t h e s i x t h . T h i s s i x t h v a t t h u i s n o t t o b e c o n f o u n d e dw i t h
t h e s i x t h o f t h e t w e l v e s p h e r e so f s e n s e( m a n a y a t a n a )
w h i c h i s a c o l l e c t i v e n a m e f o r a l l c o n s c i o u s n e s si n
generaJ.
lnthe Patthana,rhe seventhbook of the Abhidhamma
Pitaka, there is a recurring passagewhich refers to the
c o r p o r e a l p h e n o m e n o n ( r u p a ) t h a t s e n ' e s ,a s s u p p o r t
condition (nissayapaccaya),u the basis for the mind-
e l e m e n t ( m a n o d h a t u ) , t h e m i n d - c o n s c i o u s n e scsl e m e n t
(manovififiAnadhatu) and for the phenomena associated
t h e r e w i t h( I " i k a p .p . 4 ) . r I t i s t h e c o r p o r e a lp h e n o m e n o n
o f t h e w r i t e r so f t h e A b h i d h a m m a t e x t s t h a t w a s l a t e r
g i v e n t h e d e s i g n a t i o n h a d a . v a v a t t u Sbu1 ' t h e c o m -
m e n t a t o r s .T h u s i n t h e d e s c r r p t j o no f t h e t w e n t v - f o u r
f o r m s o f d e r i v e d m a t t e r , B u d d h a g h o s ad e s c r i b e st h e
hadayavatthu (Vism. p. 147 f.) not only as the material
said to be
 HADAYAVATTHU
s u p p o r t f o r t h e m i n d - e l e m e n ta n d t h e m i n d - c o n s c i o u s -
n e s se l e m e n tb u t a l s oa ss u b s e r v i n gt h e m a n d c a r r y i n g o u t
t h e i r f u n c t i o n s . I t i s s a i d t o e x i s t i n d e p e n d e n c eo n t h e
b l o o d i n t h e p h y s i c a lh e a r t . E l s e w h e r eV i s m . p . 2 5 6 , t h i s
p h y s i c a lh e a r t i s d e s c r i b e da s b e i n g o f t h e c o l o u r o f a r e d
l o t u s p e t a l a n d o f t h e s h a p eo f a l o t u s b u d w i t h t h e o u t e r
petals removed and turned upside down. While its
exterior is smooth the inside is compared to that of a
l o o f a h g o u r d ( k o s a t a k i ) . l n t h o s e w h o p o s s e s su n d e r -
standing (paflfiavanta) it is a little expanded while in
t h o s e w i t h o u t u n d e r s t a n d i n gi t i s c o n t r a c t e d . I n s i d e i t
t h e r e i s a h o l l o w o f t h e s i z eo f a p u n n i g a s e e d - b e dw 2 here
half a pasata measure(half a cupful) of blood is stored' It
is this blood as support (nissaya) that mano4hatu aad
manoviflfrana-dhatu occur. In a person of lustful tem-
perament (ragacarita) this blood is said to be red
in colour and in one of malevolent temperament (dosa'
carita) black, [n one of deluded temperament (moha'
carita) it is like the water in which meat has been washed
and in one of speculative temperament (vitakkacarita) it
is tike lentil soup in colour. [n one of faithful tempera-
ment (saddhacarita) it is yeliow and in one of wisdom
( p a f r f l a c a r i t a )i t i s l i m p i d , c l e a r , u n t u r b i d , b r i g h t , p u r e
end shining like a washed gem (niddhota-jatimani).
B u d d h a g h o s ad o e s n o t f a i l t o s a y t h a t t h e p h y s i c a lh e a r t
i s f o u n d b e t w e e nt h e t w o b r e a s t s ,n e a r t h e m i d d l e o f t h e
frame of ribs (ibid. p. 356). Here the physical heart is
d e s c r i b e da s a p a r t i c u l a rc o m p o n c n t o f t h e b o d y , w i t h o u t
thought (acetana), indeterminate (abyakata), I'oid
(suflfra),not a living being (nissatta)and belonging to tlte
earth element.l This description refers purely to the
p h y s i c a lh e a r t i n d e p e n d e n to f a n y m e n t a l a c t i v i t y .
T h e m i n d - e l e m e n t a n d t h e m i n d - c o n s c i o u s n e s se l e -
ment, which are found in the analysis of the dhatus or
elemcnts, and which have the hadayavattlru as their
p h y s i c a Jb a s i s ,a r eo n l y t w o d i v i s i o n so f t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s
i n g e n e r a lw h i c h i s d e s i g n a t e da s m a n a y a t a n a .H e n c e i t
b e c o m e sd i f f i c u l t t o c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e c o m m e n t a t o r so f
the Abhidhamma literature meant the hadayavaffiu as
t h e p h y s i c a l b a s i so f m i n d a b s o l u t e l y ' A n d , f u r t h e r i t i s
said in the commentary (Translated into English by
Nanamoli in Path of Purification, p. 497, n.l) that "for
w h i l e e y e - c o n s c i o u s n e sest c . h a v e t h e e y e e t c . a s t h e i r
r e s p e c t i v cs u p p o r t sa b s o l u t e l y ,m i n d - c o n s c i o u s n e sdso e s
n o t i n t h e s a m e w a y h a v e t h e h e a r t - b a s i sa s i t s s u p p o r t
a b s o l u t e l y".
H o w e v e r , t h i s d i v i s i o n o f t h e t h o u g h t p r o c e s si n t o t w o
classes as mano-dhatu and mano-viflflana4hatu
s e e m st o s u g g e s ta d i s t i n c t i o n o b s e r v e d i n p h y s i o l o g y
between the brain and the spinal cord as the highcr and
Z. E. C. Baptist identifies punnaga with the tree known as dombt in Sinhalese. He givcs the botanical name ae alophyllua
inophyllum guttiferaewhich is also known as the Alexandrian leurel. The diameter of its secd in given as half an inch. Abhidhzmnt
for the Beginnen' pp' 122-3'
j. The English rranslation of the passagesof the. visrtrrrhimeoor
Visuddhimagga ir her,
bared on that of Bhikkhu tt
402 HADAYAVATTHU
the lower centrelof the central nervous system' The
p r o p e r f u n c t i o n i n go f t h e c e n t r a ln e r v o u ss y s t e md e p e n d s
on the proper functioning of the hcart, and the close
r e l a t i o n b e t w e e nt h e i m m a t e r i a l t h o u g h t sa n d t h e m a t c -
rial nerve tissuesis widely accepted and easily compre-
hensible. Considered in this light the term vatthu-
rlpa used in the senseof substratum of matter to trlean
collectively the six physical orgtrns on which the mental
process is based, resembles the term central nervous
system used in physiology to mean the co-ordinatcd
m e c h a n i s mo f t h e b r a i n a n d t h e s p i n a lc o r d , H o w e v e r ,i n
t h e u l t i m a t e a n a l y s i s ,t h e B u d d h i s t c o n c e p to f m i n d a n d
matter (nima and ripa)asmutually dependentprovides
the most fundamental analysis of the human organism,
The fact that manodhatu and manoviflflanadhatu,
which have hadayavatthu as their support, are rcgarded
n o t a s c o n s c i o u s n e sisn g e n e r a lb u t a s t w o s t a g e si n t h e
p r o c e s so f s e n s ep e r c e p t i o n ( i . e ' m a r k e d b v r e c e p t i o n ,
investigation,determining, registeringetc') clearly showr
that this Buddhist analysis, although not specifically
mentioned, in fact treats of the functioning of the nenous
s y s t e m i n a s s o c i a t i o nw i t h t h e h e a r t . B u d d h a g h o s a ' s
statement.referred to above, according to which there is
a hollow inside the physical heart (there is no rnention of
the four-chambered heart) in which there is a handful of
blood serving as the support for the mind-element and
t h e m i n d - c o n s c i o u s n e s se l e m e n t , a l s o s h o w s t h a t t h e
function of the heart as the reservoir and distributor of
blood was known to him. For, without this all-important
activity of the heart the mind-body mechanism of man
cannot function. The electric current-like messagesthat
go to all parts of the body through the network of nerves
cannot be if not for the supply of blood from the heart
and in this senseit would not be wrong to localise the
heart, in associationwith its blood, as the physicel basis
of consciousness,The nervous system carries out the
functions of this mind-base. Although there is no cnnG
nical evidence to show that the Buddha accepted or
rejected such a theory, it is quite possible that it migbt
have been the general theory acceptcdat the time and u
such it did not deserveto be separatelytreated'
A n o t h e r i m p o r t a n t p o i n t t h a t d e s e r v e sa t t e n t i o nb o t h
from a physiological and an ethical point of view is thc
relation betweenthe quality of the blood and the quality
of the thinking of thc individual as mentioned by
B u d d h a g o s a( i b i d . p . 2 5 6 ) . T h e h a n d f u l o f b l o o d i n t h c
cavity of the heart, serving as.the basisof consciousnesl
element, is said to vary according to the individuals and
this variation depends on the character (carita) of thc
individual and on this basis human character is hen
'ianamori.
 HADD.A 403
d i v i d e d i n t o s i x t y p e sm e n t i o n e da b o v ew h i c h , o f c o u r s e ,
is a very broad and general division.
It is generally accepted that the heart is the seat of
emotions end it is emotions, when uncontrolled and
unsublimated, that make people commit various acts that
bring about suffering, The Buddhist method of solving
this problem is to control and sublimate the emotions so
that the individual can remain unaffected by them like the
lotus in the water. By giving into and becomingvictims of
emotions what people actually do is to make knots in
their hearts which become difficult to untie. The untying
of such knots leading to releaseand enlightenment, as
Lame Anagarika Govinda has pointed out (Foundations
of Tibctan Mlrtician, pp. 167-169),is a simile not only
found b tbe Upanisads but used by the Buddha himself,
It ir by this kiad of cutting of the ties of the heart, which is
e grephic way of expressing the idea of purifying the heart
of its defilements, tbat man can achieveenlightenment
end relerse and bave a character belonging to the sixth
cetegory mentioned above.By getting rid of cvil thoughts
one can grailually purify one's mind and thence improve
tbe qudity of one's blood. Mere physicel purification
cannot purify tbe heart. Outward cleanliness resulting
from the inward purity is the genuine purification of the
hcart and it is traditionally stated as the advice of all the
Buddhas.aConsidcred in thp light of the abovc observe-
tions, too, it seems justified to hold the heart, in
association with its blood, al the centre of the tbinking
mecbanism of man.
According to the Buddhist conception of the psychic
centrcs of tbc human body, of which usually six are
enumerated, the centre that corresponds to the heart is
called tbe aniheta<*ra (q.v.). Represcnting the elerdent
air, this ccntrc is rcgarded ar regulating and controlling
the organs of respiretion and is said to bc rituated on tbe
vertical central exis of the bodv.
A. G. S. Xrrlyrwrrrm
EAqqA rn ancientBuddhistsitein Afghanistan,grcatly
ecknowledgcdasa csntreof late Gandhiran Art. Hadda
b rituatod in tbe Khyber pa.ssnear the modcra town of
Jdilibad, betwren Peshawaraad Kabul.t Hrdda ir
1. SabbapZpassa akaranun
Kusulassa upasatttp a'di'
Srcittapariydapanam
Ettm Buddhane &sanem
l. SecmapinArtibusAsraq Vol.XXI 1l1,p.233.AlsoseeSeckel, TheArtofBuddhism, p.301.
2. J.Barthorue,LesFouilesdeHaddq Parir, 1933,IV,p.5; BcniaminRorrhnd- ThEArt.s.r,dArchirxrttnofl'd1z-
3. H. tteckin, Ll3curvr- dc ]t Dctqttion ueblroologil* fnnglrise cn Afghanisan, lg22-32,Tokyo, 1933, p.4ff.; J. Barthoule, op.
cit. p. ll.
HADDA
rupposed to be (in also proximity of) the ancient
Nagarahara (Na-Kie-lo-ho of the Chinese travellen) of
the Gandhara kingdom2.
Hadda as an archaelogical site became well known
with tiie discoverv of a large number of terra-cotta and
stucco figures, torsos and figurines related to Buddhist
art and stupas with rich terra-cotta and stucco decora-
tions and bas-reliefsdepicring scenesfrom the life of the
Buddha. The ma-iordiscoveriesnt Hadda were made in
the first quarter of the present century by a team of
French arcbaeologistsled by Foucher,
General Court in his unpublished memoirs mentions
the ruins of Hadda in 1827.A little after this in 1839.John
Kean conducted'an archaeologicalsurvey of the Kebul
a r e aw h i c h i n c l u d e d H a d d a . I n 1 8 3 3 ,M a r t i n H o n i b e r g e r
traversed the area in search of antiquities and un-
knowingJy ceme across certain Buddhist stupas at Der-
O u n t a ( D a r - U n t a ) w i t h i n c l o s ep r o x i m i t y t o H a d d a . I n
the following year, Ch. Masson having met Honi6erger,
an antiquary working at the site, devoted bis attention to
excavatc archaeologicalremains at the site of Hadda and
Jalalabad, Buthis excavationshappen to be of littie value
to the archaeologists as his main concern was directed
towards researchin numismatics, tllus lessattention was
paid by him to the structural valuc and the architecturel
importance of his finds at the sites.
Another archacological expedition of value was carricd
by Sir Louis Cavagnari in 1879. He was accompanied by
W, Simpson who managed to recover some statues and
engraved slabs of which rome are now found in the
Britirh Museum.3
It was not until the French excevations of l922,headed
by the famous archaeologist M. Foucher, that the full
significance of the remains could be appreciated. Tbe
hostile nature of the inhabitants of the area and the
rugged terrain of the land prcsented much difficulty to
the attempts of this French team. lt is believed that,
"before proper protective me&surescould be talen vast
quantities of excavated scujpture were ruthlessly des-
troyed by the iconoclastic Moslem population of
Jelalabid incited by the hostile Mullahs" (8. Rowland,
op. cit. p. I I I note 3). The surviving finds from Hadda are
equally divided between the Mus€e Guimet in Paris and
the Mrsie de Kabul at Dar-ul-Aman.
1953,p. 102,
 HADDA 4M
R e c e n t f i n d s h a v e r e v e a l e dt h a t H e d d a h a s b e e n a
c e n t r eo f l a t eG a n d h a r a na r t w i t h a n a b u n d a n c eo f I n d o -
H e l l e n i c a n d G r e c o - R o m a n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c sT. h e r e p e r -
t o r y o f H a d d a c o n s i s t sp r e d o m i n a n t l yo f s t u c c oa n d t e r r a -
c o t t a w o r k s . T h e u s e o f s t u c c oo n s u c h a v a s t s c a l ei n t h e
G a n d h a r a a r e a w a s b e l i e v e dt o l a v e b e g u n i n t h e t h i r d
c e n t u r y A . C . a f t e r t h e S a s s a n i a ni n v a s i o n o f t h e G a n -
dhara kingdom.a The shifting of thc patronage of the
e a r l y K u s a n ak i n g s b y a b o u t t h e 3 r d c e n t u r y A . C , h a d
r e s u l t e di n a p e r i o d o f d e c a d e n c eo n t h e e n t i r e f i e l d o f
G a n d h a r a a r t . T h e e a r l y m a s t e r p i e c eo sf lithic sculp_ture
w e r en e v e rr e p e a t e dT. h e K i d a r a K u s a n so r l e s s e rK u s a n s
w h o m a d e a v a i n b i d t o r e s t o r et h e g l o r y o f t h e K u s a n
K i n g d o m a f t e r t h e S a s s a n i a ni n v a s i o n ,c o u l d d o n o t h i n g
b e y o n d r e p a i r i n g t h e w o r k s o f t h e e a r l y K u s a n a s .T h e
a p p e a r a n c eo f s t u c c o a n d t e r r a - c o t t a w o r k s i n s u c h
abundarce at Hadda could be accounted for by the
i n t r o d u c t i o n o f a n . * u r w e l l a s a n e a s i e rm e d i u m t o
r e p l a c et h e e a r l i e r w o r k s o n s t o n c . T h u s i t c o u l d b e
s u r m i s e dt h a t H a d d a h a d b e e n a b u s y c e n t r eo f a r c h i t e c -
tural activity during this secondphase of the Kusana
K i n g d o m . I t c o u l d a l s o b e p o s s i b l e t, h a t H a d d a , * h i . h
l i e s o n o n e o f t h e a n c i e n t t r a d e r o u t e s b e t w e e nt h e E a s t
a n d t h e W e s t , c o u l d h a v e b e e na r e p e r t o r yf o r t h e s u p p l y
o f c u l t - o b j e c t so f a r t , r a n g i n gf r o m i m a g e so f t h e B u d d h a
a n d b o d h i s a t t v a st o a v a r i e t y o f o t h er o b j e c t s ,t o c a l l e r s
f r o m v a r i o u sc e n t r e sf r o m B u d d h i s tc o u n t r i e st h r o u g h o u t
Asia. A general remark by Heinrich Zimmer, on this
p h a s eo f G a n d h a r a A r t , w o u l d f u r t h e r c o r r o b o r a t e t h e
a b o v ev i e w , " t h e y w e r e m a s sp r o d u c c d i n u n p r e t e n t i o u s
s k i l l e d w o r k s h o p s ,o p e r a t i n go n a l a r g es c a l ea n d w i t h a s
m u c h s p e e da s p o s s i b l ct o p r o v i d e n u m e r o u s a n d e x t e n -
s i v em o n a s t e r i e ss, t u p a sa n d o t h e r b u i l d i n g sw i t h a l a v i s h
mantle of friese panels, statuesand sculptured orna-
m e n t s " 5 .S t u c c of i g u r e so f B u d d h i s tA r t w i t h c h a r a c t e r i s -
t i c s o f t h e G a n d h a r a s c h o o l h a v e b e e n d i s c o v e r e da t
v a r i o u s p l a c e sb e y o n d t h e G a n d h a r a r e g i o n i n C h i n e s e
Turkestan and the Far-East and in other Buddhist
centres in Asia, Hadda stucco and terra-cottas are
remarkably well made'and are full of life and animation.
There is a rare strength and vita.lity in these stucco
f i g u r e s .T h e e l e m e n to f p o r t r a i t u r e i s v e r y s t r o n g a n d h a d
r e a c h e dp e r f e c t i o n .
There cdn be little doubt but that all the stucco
sculpture in Hadda was originally polychromed and
b r i l l i a n t l y c o l o u r e d . A c c o r d i n g t o a g e n e r a l a n a l y s i so f
t h e s t u c c of i n d s i n t h e K a b u i v a l l e y . b y B e n j a m i n
Rowland, "the flesh parts were tinted a pinkish terra-
c o t t a s h a d e ,w i t h l i n e so f d e e p e rr e d t o i n d i c a t et h e f o l d s
4. Benjamin Rowland, op. cit. p. 107:John Marshal, Grceks and Sakas in India, JR,4S 1 9 4 1 , p p .1 6 - t 7
5. H. Zimmer, The Art of Indian Asia, Y ol. l, p. 3t+6.
6 . J . H a c k i n , o p . c i t . F i g . 4 ; B e n j a m i n R o w l a n d , o p . c i t . p . 1 0 2 .J , B a r t h o u s e ,o p . c i t . p l . 37. See also H. lngholt, Gandharan Artin
P a k i s t a n , N f ' , 1 9 5 7 ,p . 1 8 3 .
HADDA
of the neck, lips, nostrils etc. Brown irises defined the
e y e s ,w h i c h w c r e o u t l i n e d i n b l u e a n d b r o w n , T h e r o b e s
o f t h e s eB u d d h i s t f i g u r e sw e r e p a i n t e d a d e e p c i n n a b a r ;
v a r i o u s c o l o u r s , i n c l u d i n g a r i c h l a p i s - l a z u l ib l u e , w e r e
u s e dt o p i c k o u t t h e j e w e l l e do r n a m e n t sa n d h e a d - d r e s s "
(8. Rowland, op. cit. p. 102).
d a s t u c c oa n d t e r r a - c o t t ac o l l e c t i o ni n c l u d e da
T h e H a d'eihnic
variety of types-Indian, Iranian, Grcco-Roman,
w h i c h s p e a k sf o r t h e c o s m o p o l i t a nn a t u r e o f t h i s c e n t r c .
T h e s t y l i s t i cv a r i a n t s , t o o , a r e e q u a l l y g r e a t i n n u m b e r ,
r a n g i n g f r o m a s e e m i n g l yH e l l e n i s t i ct o p u r e l y I n d i a n
techniques.
T h e c o m p a r i s o n s ,p u b l i s h e d b y F r e n c h s c h o l a r s ,
b e t w e e n H a d d a s c u l p t u r e s a n d t y p i c a - lh e a d s o f t h e
Gothic period have earned more fame to the finds at
H a d d a . A m o n g t h e m o r e c l a s s i c apl i e c e si s a f r a g m e n to f
a figure holding a lapful of flowers. Not only the type ard
t h e f l o r a l a t t r i b u t e , b u t a l s o t h e c o n c e p t i o no f t h e f o r m
and modelling appear entirely Roman to an even greater
d e g r e et h a n t h e s t o n e s c u l p t u r eo f G a n d h a r a . 6
The affinity of Hadda art to the Gothic art of the l3th
c e n t u r y i s d u e t o t h e f a c t t h a t j u s t a st h e a r t o f H a d d a i s
ultimately Greco-Roman in origin, Gothic sculpiures,
t o o , a r e b a s e d o n c l a s s i c a lp r o t o t y p e s . H i s t o r y b e a r s
e v i d e n c e o f t h e a p p e a r a n c eo f R o m a n s i n t h e W e s t
Asiatic field to subdue the Parthians who became the
l e g i t i m a t eh e i r s t o t h e S e l u c i d E m p i r e . H e n c e t h e i n t e r
mixture of Greek and Roman culture in the immcdiatc
vicinity of Afghanistan before Sassanianinvasionsof the
a r e ac o u l d b e a c c o u n t e df o r b y t h e a v a i l a b i l i t yo f G r e c o .
R o m a n c l a s s i c atl y p e sw i t h i n a n e a s yr e a c ho f t h e H a d d a
artists,
T h e f a m e o f H a d d a a s a p o c k e t o f n e o - H e l l e n i s ta r t
must haveceasedto exist after the disastrousinvasionsof
the Huns in the 5th century A.C. When the Chinese
t r a v e l l e rH s U a n - t s a n gv i s i t e d t h e s es i t e s ,t h e s t u p a sw e r e
desolate and in ruins (S. Beal, Buddhist Records of the
W e s t e r nW o r l d , L o n d o n , 1 9 0 6 ,I , 9 l ) .
A f u l l a n a l y s i so f a l l t h e r e l a t e ds i t e si n t h e K a b u l v a l l e y
would make a complete picture of the sculptural and
a r c h i t e c t u r a lf i n d s i n t h e s ea n c i e n t B u d d h i s t c e n t r e so f
G a n d h a r aa r t . S o m e r e l e v a n ts i t e sa r e ,B a m i y a n ,B e g r a m
(Kapisa), Jamalgarhi, Jelalabad, Kabul, Kandahar,
Kundus, Shahi-Bahlol, Takht-i-Bahi, Taxila,
A. D. T. E Peren
 HAIKU 405
HAIKU is a Japanese poetical form consisting of r
m e t r i c a l a r r a n g e m e n it n t h r e el i n e s o f 5 , 7 a n d 5 s y l l a b l e s
e a c h ,I t i s a l s o k n o w n a s H o k k u w h i c h i s t h e i n i t i a l v e r s e
o f H a i k a i R e n g a ( l i n k e d v e r s e ) .I t o r i g i n a t e di n t h e f i r s t
three lines of 3l syllableTanka. The rerm haiku is the
combined form of words ,hai-' in ,haikai' and ,-ku'in
'hokku'.
It was when the grcat master Matsuo Basho
(1644-1694A.C.) elevatedhaiku to a highly rcfined form
o f p o e t r y d u r i n g t h e E d o p e r i o d ( 1 6 0 3 - 1 8 d 7A . C . ) t h a t
h a i k u b e g a nt o r i v a l t h e o l d e r f o r m o f p o e t r y . O r i g i n a . l l y ,
it was restricted to an objective description of nature
i n d i c a t i v e o f o n e o f t h e s c a s o n s .H a i k u e n j o y s i m m e n s e
popularity among the Japanese even now and has
produced after Basho such great masters as Buson
( 1 7 1 6 - 1 7 8 3 ) , K o b a y a s h i I s s a ( 1 7 6 3 - 1 1 2 1 ) ,M a s a o k a
S h i k i ( 1 8 6 9 - 1 9 0 2 )e t c i n r e c e n r l ym o d e r n t i m e s .
After the establishmentof the political capital in Edo
(now called Tokyo), the Tokugawa shogunate became
stable. As a result, commercial and literary activities
steadily increasedsetting the stage for the rise of a
t o w n s m a n - o r i e n t e dc u l t u r e , I t b l o s s o m e d p a r t i c u l a r l y
d u r i n g t h e G e n r o k ue r a ( 1 6 8 8 - 1 7 0 A 3 . D . ) , w h i c h ,a sl o n g
as its cultural epoch is concerned, lasted ncarly a half
century. Although the country was very much isolatcd
trade-wiseand culturally from the rest of the world owing
t o t h e g o v e r n m e n t p o l i c y o f s e l f - i m p o s e ds e c l u s i o n ,
c o m m e r c i a l a d v a n c e si n t h e d o m e s t i c s c e n ew e r e q u i t e
sufficient for the rise of a new rich classof merchantswho
playcd an increasinglyimportant role in the dissemination
o f s o c i a la n d c u l t u r a l i n d ep e n d e n c e A . nother factor that
c o n t r i b u t e dt o t h e f l o u r i s h i n go f G e n r o k u c u l t u r ew a s t h e
rapid spread of learning and literacy among all classesin
t h e l T t h e c e n t u r y . U n d e r t h e s ec i r c u m s t a n c e s l,i t e r a r y
f i g u r e s l i k e l h a r a S a j k a k u ( 1 6 4 2- I d 9 3 ) , p o e t a n d p r o s e
f i c t i o n w r i t e r a n d C h i k a m a r s uM o n z a e m o n( 1 6 5 3_ 1 7 2 4 ) ,
p l a y w r i g h t , c a m et o t h e f o r e f r o n t i n t h e s p h e r eo f l i t e r a r y
activities.
I n t h e l a t e l 6 t h a n d l T t h c e n t u r i e se, f f o r t s ,p r o d u c e db y
t h e r i s e o f a n e w c u l t u r e d e s i g n a t e da s , . t o w n s m a n , ,
culture, were made to liberate Rertga from the bonds of
t h e p a s t , I n t h e s ee f f o r t s t w o m a j o r s c h o o l so f p o e t r y
emerged; the Teiman school headed by Matsunaga
T e i t o k u ( l 5 7 l - 1 6 5 3 )a n d t h e D a n r i n s c h o o lw h i c h c a m e
i n t o e x i s t e n c ei n t h e l a t e 1 6 7 0 ' sa n d e a r l y l 6 8 0 ' s . T h e
former remained traditionalists,though innovators in the
s e n s et h a t t h e y w e n t b e y o n d t h e r e s t r i c t e dv o c a b u l a r yo f
t h e t r a d i t i o n a l R e n g a .T h e n t h e l a r t e r s c h o o lf i n a l l y f r e e d
H a i k a i , a p o e t i c a lf o r m d e r i v e df r o m R e n g a o f m e d i e v a l
times in terms of both language and subject matter.
Saikaku, whose literary interest as a member of the
Danrin school in his early years was devoted to the
l. Cited from D.T. Suzuki's Zen and JapanaseCulture, Tokyo, l9gg, p.227.
2. H. Paul Varley: .IapaneseCulture, Third edition, Tokyo, 19g4,p. 17Z.
HAIKU
c o m p o s i t i o no f H a i k a i , t h u s f o u n d t h i s p o e t i cf o r m t o b e
a more effeitive device for lively and wittv expression.
However, the Danrin moyement could not spread its
wings due to the fact that its members concentrated
m a i n l y o n c l e v e rw o r d - p l a y , w h i c h r e s u l t e di n n o t i m e i n
t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e s c o p eo f p o e t r y .
I t w a s B a s h o w h o r e s c u e dJ a p a n e s ep o e t r y f r o m t h e
s t a l e m a t eo f t h e D a n r i n s c h o o l .B o r n i n t o a l o w - r a n k i n g
s a m u r a i f a m i l y , B a s h o b e c a m ea m a s t e r l e s s a m u r a i a t
t h e a g e o f t w e n t y - t w o . T h e n h e a b a n d o n e dh i s s a m u r a j
s t a t u si n o r d e r t o d e v o t eh i m s e l ft o p o e t r y i n w h i c h h e h a d
b e e nl o n g i n t e r e s t e d A . f t e r s t u d y i n gf o r a w h i l e i n K y o t o ,
h e m o v e d t o E d o . B a s h o l i k e s e v e r a lf a m o u s p o e t so f t h e
p a s t s o u g h ti n s p i r a t i o nf o r h i s p o e m si n h i s w i d e t r a v e l si n
t h e p r o v i n c e s .T h c m o s t f a m o u s t r a v e l a c c o u n to f B a s h o
is "The Narrow Road of Oku,' (Oku no Hosomichi).
The following is one of Basho,sbest knows haiku
poems:-
Furu ike ya! The old pond, ah!
Kawazu tobikomu, A frog jumps in:
Mizu no oto. T h e w a t e r ' ss o u n d l l
H . P a u l V a r l e y w r i t e s :" . . . . . T h e w r i t e r o f h a i k u o b v i o u s l y
c a n n o t h o p e t o e n t e r i n t o e x t e n d e dp o e t i c d i a l o g u e .H e
m u s t s e e kt o c r e a t e a n e f f e c t , c a p t u r e a m o o d , o r b r i n g
a b o u t a s u d d e na n d s h a r p i n s i g h t i n t o t h e t r u t h o f h u m a n
e x i s t e n c e . " 2B a s h o b r o u g h t o u t i n h i s a b o v e p o e m s u c h
t r u t h o f h u m a n e x i s t e n c e .T h i s i s w h e r e B a s h o f o u n d
m u c h i n s p i r a t i o ni n Z c n B u d d h i s m .
The follcr*'ingepisodervill illustratethe relation between
H a i k u a n d Z e n B u d d h i s m :T h e r e l i v e d a p o e t e s so f K a g a
c a l l e dC h i y o ( 1 7 0 3- 1 7 7 5 )w h o w a s a l r e a d yr e p u r e da s a
f i n e c o m p o s e ro f h a i k u . N o t b e i n gs a t i s f i e dw i t h a m e r e l y
l o c a l f a m e a n d u r g e d b y h e r d e s i r et o i m p r o v e h e r s e l fi n
t h e a r t o f m a k i n g h a i k u p o e m s ,s h ec a l l e du p o n I f a m o u s
h a i k u m a s t e rw h o h a p p e n e dt o v i s i t h e r t o w n . T h e m a s t c r
g a v eh e r a s u b j e c tt o w r i t e a h a i k u p o e m . T h e s u b j e c tw a s
" c u c k o o " , a b i r d m u c h l i k e d b y t h e J a p a n e s cp o e t s o f
haiku.
C h i y o t r i e d s e v e r a lh a i k u p o e m s o n t h e s u b j e c t ,b u t t h e
m a s t e rr e j e c t e de v e r y o n e o f t h e m a s m e r e l y c o n c e p t u a i ,
S h e w a s d i s a p p o i n t e da n d b e a t e nt o t h e v e r y e n d o f h e r
p r i d e . O n e n i g h t s h ew e n r o n t h i n k i n g a b o u t t h e s u b j e c t .
It was so intent that shedid not nctice it was dawning.
T h e n t h e f o l l o w i n g p o e m f o r m e d i t s e l f s p o n t a n e o u s l yi n
her mind;
'Hototogisu,
Calling "cuckoo,,, ..cuckoo,,.
Hototogisu tote All night long,
Akenikeri! Dawn at last!
 HAIKU 406 HAIMAVATA

W t r e n t h i s w a s s h o w n t o t h e m a s t e r ,h e a t o n c ea c c e p t e di t 5. Gbotaru, A huge firefly,

a s o n e o f t h e f i n e s t h a i k u e v c r c o m p o s e do n t h e s u b j e c t ' Yurari-yurari to, WaveringJy,
T h e r e a s o nw a s t h a t h e r h a i k u t r u l y c o m m u n i c a t e d t h e Tori keri. Passesby.
author's genuine inner feeling without artifical or IKobayashitssa
intellectually calculated scheme for any kind of effect. (r763-
1827)I
That is to say, there was no "ego" on the part of the Among the grasses,
6. Kusa mura ya;
author aiming at its own glorification. Chiyo for the first Na mo shiranu, An unknown flower
t i m e r e a l i z e dt h a t a h a i k u p o e m , s o l o n g a si t i s a w o r k o f Blooming white,
Shiroku saku.
poetical creativity, ought-to be an expression of one's
[Masaoka Shiki
inner feeling altogether devoid of the senseof ego. (r869- le02)l
T h i s i s t h e m e e t i n gp o i n t b e t w e e nh a i k u a n d Z e n ' D ' T .
S u z u k i h a s t h i s t o s a y a b o u t Z e n : " Z e n a d v i s e su s n o t t o Haiku in its briefest possible form seemsto be suited
f o l l o w t h e v e r b a l o r w r i t t e n t e a c h i n go f B u d d h a . n o t t o for the J apanesepeople'sartistic expressionof their inner
believe in a higher being other than oneself,not to experience.D.T. Suzuki writes in the following manner
p r a c t i c ef o r m u l a s o f a s c e t i ct r a i n i n g , b u t t o g a i n a n i n n e r of the Japanesecharacter which will certainly hclp us to
e x p e r i e n c ew h i c h i s t o t a k e p l a c ei n t h e d e e p e s tr e c e s so f have a better insight into the Japanesemind inJluenced
one's being. This is an appeal to an intuitive mode of by Zen Buddhism and its relation to haiku: "The
u n d e r s t a n d i n g ,w h i c h c o n s i s t s i n e x p e r i e n c i n gw h a t i s Japanese arc not given to vcrbosity; they are not argu-
k n o w n i n J a p a n e s ea s S a t o n . W i t h o u t S a t o r i t h e r e i s n o mentative, they shun intelletual abstractions.They are
Zen. Zen and Satori ars synonymous." I "To experience more intuitional and wish to give out facts as facts
Satori is to become conscious of the Unconscious without muqh comment, emotional as well rs con-
(mushin, no-mind), psychologically speaking. Art has ceptual.'l5
a
always something of the Unconsciousabout it," He
References:
t h e n w r i t e s a b o u t h a i k u : " A h a i k u d o e sn o t e x p r e s si d e a r
D.T, Suzuki: Zea and Japanese Cultwe Tuttle edition,
but it puts forward images reflecting intuitions' These
Tokyo, 1988. H, Paul Varley: JapaneseCulrurq Tbird
images are not figurative representationsmade use of by
edition, Tokyo, 1986.Lewis Mackenzie,trs, and introduc-
the poetic mind, but they directly point to original
tion: Ilre Autumn Wind: A Sclection from the Pxms of
i n t u i t i o n s , i n d e e d ,t h c y a r e i n t u i t i o n s t h e m s e l v e s .5"
.[ssa,Tokyo, 1984. Hajime Nakamura: Ways of Thinking
of Eastern Peoples, Vol. 3, Tokyo, 1974,(in Japanese).
Here are some of the representative haiku poems of
various authors through the ages: T. Endo
L Hitotsu ya ni Under one roof,
Yujo mo netari, Prostitutes, too, were sleeping;
Hagi to uuki. The hagi flowers and
the moon. IBasho] HAIMAVATA (Pali: Hemavata), one of the schools of
2, Mizu soko no Under the water, early Buddhism, making its appearance in the third
Iwa ni ochitsuku On the rock resting, century after the Buddha's parinirvana' Haimavatar
Kono ha kana. The failen leaves. find no mention in the .9anputra'pariprccha Slrra which
is no doubt one of the earliest sources of information
[Joso(1661-1704)]
regarding the branching out of the various schools of
3. Asagao ya! Ah! Morning-glorY!
early Buddhism, while other sourcesprovide no coherent
Tsurube toralEte The bucket taken captive!
testimony. The Dipavamsa (V. 54) refers to them as
Morai mizu. I begged for water,
- Hemavatika, arising first after the original branching off
[Chiyo (1703 l7?5)] of seventeenschools (vida) during the second ccntury
4. Tsuri-ganeni On the temPle bell after the parinibbana. And then they are lined up with thc
Tomarite nemuru Perching, sleePs Rajagirikas, Siddhatthas, Pubba and Aparaseliyas,all of
Kocho kana. The butterflY, oh! them grouped together by Buddhaghosa as Andhalu
- ( K v u .i . 9 ) .
[ B u s o n( 1 7 1 6 1 7 8 3 ) ]

3. D. T. Suzuki:Zen andJapanaseCulture,Tokyo, 1988,/brd. p.218

4. Ibid. p.220
5. Ibid. P.2d,0.
5. D.T. Suzuki:Zen and JapaneseCulture,Tokyo. 1988,Ibid,p.230.
 HAIMAVATA 407 HAIMAVATA

S o m e w h a t l a t e r , V a s u m i t r a i d e n t i f i e st h e m w i t h t h e 8 1 8 ) d i v i d e d i n t o three collections (pitakal of five sec-

Sthaviraswho remained orthodox after the schismwhich tions each:
g a v e b i r t h t o t h e S a r v a s t i v a d i n s .A c c o r d i n g t o t h e
tradition of the Sammitiyas the Haimavatas are the first Vinaya'pitaka: B hiks u-p r a ti m o k sa, B hi k su n-i-
s c h o o ld e t a c h i n gi t s e l f f r o m t h e S t h a v i r a s .F r o m a l l t h i s , pratimoksa, Kathina,
at least so much will be clear that the Haimavatas are a etc., Mitrki, Ekottara
sub-division, which later on is grouped among the Sitra-pitaka: Dirghagama, M adhyamigama,
M a h a s a n g h i k a s ,a c c o r d i n g t o B h a v y a a n d V i n i t a d e v a E k o tt aragam a, Samyuk t agam a,
a n d m o r e p r e c i s e l ya m o n g t h e A n d h a k a s b y B u d d h a - k sudrakagama (or S amyukta-
g h o s a .V a s u m i t r aa t t r i b u t e st o t h e m a l s ot h e f i v e t h e s e so f pitaka)
Mahadeva which formed the basis of the doctrine of the Abhidharma- Saprahaka-vibhanga,
Mahasairghika. pitaka: Apralnaka-vibhanga
C o m m e n t i n g o n V a s u m i t r a ,w h o d a t e st h e a p p e a r a n c e Saitgraha, Samyuka,
of the Hairhavatas at the beginning of the third century Prasthina
a f t e r t h e B u d d h a ' s d e a t h , P a r a m a r t h a r e l a t e st h a t t h e B u t e l s e w h e r e( o p . c i t . p . 8 2 0 ) a s l i g h t d i f f e r e n c ec a n b e
conservative Stbaviras reacted against the influence of observed in the division of the {utra-pitaka, where not
the Kityayaniputras, who gave over much importance to only the order of the first four agamasvaries,but also the
the Abhidharma by breaking away on the pretext of a Klu d r ak aSlma is omi t red . The re adin g S amy uk t a-p i tak a
return to the teaching ofthe sitras alone, and established (Chinese: Tsa-ts'ang)seemsto be preferable to Ksidra-
themselves in the Hima.layan regions from where the kagama, the restoration of Przyluski who appears to
name of their school was derived, according to the have been guided by a similarity with the pali Canon.
orthodox tradition (P. Demieville, L Origine des Sectes One would do well to rememberhere, that the Maha-
bouddhiqucs, pp, 23 - 3 and 53-4). sanghikas and the Bahuirutiyas possesseda fourth
Przyluski has attempted to identify the Haimavatas collection in their Canon, entitled tbe Samyukta-pitaka.
with the Ka(yapiyas (Concile de Rajagrha, pp, 317-18), Further, the scheme of the Abhidharma-pitaka is
b u t t h i s i s c o n t r a d i c t e db y t h e f a c t t h a t a l l s o u r c e sm a k e identical with that of the Dharmaguptakas and the one
a c l e a r d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e nt h e s et w o s c h o o l s( N . D u t t , mentioned in the Sariputra-Abhidharma-Cistra. but for
Early Monastic Buddhis-, Il,pp. 170-l), the amalgamation there of the third and fourth divisions
into a Sangraha-samyukta.
l t d o e sn o t a p p e a r ,h o w e v e r ,t h a t t h e H a i m a v a t a sw e r e
c o n s i d e r e da s a s e p a r a t es c h o o l b e f o r e t h e e n d o f t h e The most outstanding points on which they differ from
fourth century A.C. for even at that time it had been earlier schools are:
observed that a group of Sthaviras residing in the l. The bodhisattva is a worldling (prthagiana). (This
H i m a l a y a h a d p r e s e r v e da n a r c h a i c f o r m o f d o c t r i n e , t h e s i si s m e n t i o n e d b y V a s u m i t r a , 6 u t B h a v y a m e n -
probably owing to their isolatedposition in the mountains. tions the opposite).
A t l e a s tt h a t w a s t h e v i e w o f V a s u m i t r a a n d t h e S a m m i t i - 2. Heretics cannot attain the five kinds of super-
yas. When it was found later, that their doctrini was kno_wledge(abhijfra), according to Vasumitra and
s t r o n g l y i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e M a h a s a n g h i k a s ,t h c y w e r e V i n i t a d e v a ,b u t B h a v y aa g a i nm e n t i o n st h e o p p o s i t e ) .
a c c o m m o d a t e dw i t h t h e m . 3, Among the gods there is no continenx, (brahmacarya),
neither is there the development of the path mirga-
T h e r e i s n o e x t a n t i n s c r i p t i o n ,n o r a n y t e s t i m o n yo f t h e
bhEvanV).
C h i n e s et r a v e l l e r s ,r e g a r d i n g t h e p l a c e so f r e s i d e n c eo f
4. A bodhisattva enters the mother's womb at the time
the Haimavatas, but their name gives us a sufficiently
of his conception without producing any desire
c l e a ri n d i c a t i o n t h e r e t o .
(kima).
A Chinesetranslation of the Vinaya- matrka, entitled 5. An Arhat may be seducedby another (paropahrta; he
P'i-ni-mu-ching, (taisho, No. 1463; Nanjio No. ll38), may have ignorance (ajffana) in some respecti, may
a p p e a r st o b e a t e x t b e i o n g i n g t o t h i s s c h o o l ; f o r , t h e entertain doubts &Ahks\, receiveinstructions from
recital of the Council of Rajagrha terminateswith a someone else(paravitirna) and utter a cry lvacaibheda)
referencewhich indicatcs the origin of this text: 'This is o n c n t e r i n gt h e P a t h .
the canonwhich five hun&ed monks reassembled in the 6, The conflict of sorrow (duhkha) is shunned (praja-
Himalaya.' ln this text special referenceis made to the h a t i ) b y m e a n so f t h e P a t h . '
H i m a l a l ' a n r eg i o n , t o t h e n e c e s s i t yo f w a r m c l o t h i n g f o r 7, The individual (pudgala) is disrinct from rhe aggre-
t h e m o n k s w h o d w e l l t h e r e a n d t o K i i y a p a , t h e a p o s t l eo f gates (s.kandha),for, when Nirvana is attained. the
the Himalaya, [t contains also a description of the canon i n d i v i d u a l s u b s i s t s , w h i l e t h e a g g r c g a t e sc e a s e
o f w h i c h t h i s t e x t f o r m s p a r t . T h e c a n o n i s h e r e( o p . c i t , p (niruddha).
 HAT-{A]\IAT
SURI
T h i s l a s t t h e s i sw h i c h i s t y p i c a l o f t h e P u d g a l a v a d a ,
b e i n g a t t r i b u t e d t o t h i s s c h o o i b y t h e S a m m i t i y a sw h o
w e r e P u d g a l a v a d i n s ,i s f a r t h a t r e a s o ne x t r e m e l y s u s -
p i c i o u s , e s p e c i a l l yw h e n V a s u m i t r a n o t e s t h a t t h e o t h e r
t h e s e so f t h e H a i m a v a t a s a r e s i m i l a r t o t h o s e o f t h e
Sarvastivadins.
A c c o r d i n g t o T a r a n a t h a , t h i s s c h o o l h a d c e a s e dt o
exist during the time of Dharmapala and Dharmakirti,
that is during the seventh centurv A.C. (Schiefner's
t r a n s l a t i o np . I 7 5 ) .
BIBUoGRAPITYT N. Dutt, Early Monastic Buddhism; Andre
Bareau, Les Sectes bouddhiques du petit Vehicule;
Przyluski, Le Concile de Rajagrha; P, Demieville,
L'Origine des Secfesbouddhiques. Schiefner, Taranath's
Geschichte des Buddhismus in Indien.
H. G. A. vanZeyst
H A N A M A T S U R I o r t h e F e s t i v a lo f f l o w e r s i s a t p r e s e n t
p e r f o r m e d i n J a p a n o n t h e 8 t h o f A p r i l t o c c l e b r a t et h e
b i r t h o f t h e B u d d h a . T h e m a i n i t e m o f t h i s f e s t i v a ii s t h e
b a t h i n g o f t h e i m a g e o f t h e n e w - b o r n b o d h i s a t t v aw i t h
sweetenedtea (amacha). For this the devoteesprepare
an altar colourfully decoratedwith flowers. ln its centreis
placed an omamental vesselin which is placed the irirage
o f t h e i n f a n t b o d h i s a t t v ar e p r e s e n t e di n h i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c
posture,with the right hand raisedhigh and the index
f i n g e r p o i n t e d t o w a r d s t h e s k y . T h i s i s t h e p o s r u r ew h i c h
h e h a d a s s u m e dw h e n , j u s t a f t c r h i s b i r t h , h e m a d e h i s
u n d a u n t e d d e c l a r a t i o no f h i s s u p e r i o r i t yt o a l l b e i n g si n
t h e u n i v e r s e .A l a d l e a n d a b o w l c o n t a i n i n gs w e e t e n e dt e a
a r e k e p t o n a s i d e ,s o t h a t t h e d e v o t e e sw h o p a r t i c i p a t ei n
t h i s f e s t i v a lc o u l d p o u r s w e e t e n e d
t e a o v e r t h e h e a do f t h e
image,
An old Buddhist tradition found in'the fitakanidana
r e c o r d s t h a t j u s t a f t e r t h e b i r t h o f t h e b o d h i s a t t v a ,t w o
s t r e a m so f w a t e r f e l l m i r a c u l o u s l yf r o m t h e s k y , o n e o n
t h e i n f a n t b o d h i s a t t v aa n d t h e o t h e r o n h i s m o t h e r q u e e n
M a y a , i n o r d e r t o r e f r e s ht h e i r b o d i e s( J . I , p . 5 3 ) . T h i s
t r a d i t i o n , w i t h m i n o r v a r i a t i o n si n d e t a i l s ,b c c a m ew i d e l y
p r e v a l e n t i n n o r t h e r n s c h o o l s o f B u d d h i s m , s p e c i a l l yi n
C h i n a w h e r e t h e c e r e m o n i a lb a t h i n g o f t h e i m a g e o f t h e
infant bodhisattva came to be consideredas an extremely
meritorious act. According to Chinesesources,hbwever,
this ceremony is of Indian origin, and I-tsing, the
Chinese traveller monk of the T'ang dynasty makes
referenceto such a cer€mony performed in India What-
ever the place of its origin this ceremony was extremely
p o p u l a r i n C h i n a a n d w a s s u b s e q u e n t l yi n t r o d u c e d t o
Japan, probably in the latter part of the 8th century.In
Japan this festival is observedto date as a symbolic
408 HAPPIh{ESS
e n a c t i n go f t h e m i r a c u l o u s b a t h i n g o f t h e i n f a n t b o d h i -
s a t t v a( s e eB A T H I N G ) .
l n J a p a n , h o w e v e r ,t h i s c e r e m o n va p p e a r st o h a v eb e e n
b l e n d e dw i t h a S h i n t o c e r em o n v a l s oc a l l e dH a n a m a t s u r i
c e n t e r e dr - r nt h e K a m i . T h e e x a c t p r o c e s si n w h i c h t h i s
b l e n d i n gt o o k p l a c ei s n o t k n o w n . B u t p e r h a p so n e f i n d s
in this an indication of the earlv tendency towards
amalgamation of Buddhism and Shintoism, a process
w h i c h c u J m i n a t e di n t h e R y o b u - S h i n t o m o v e m e n t .
A n o t h e r c o n s i d e r a t i o nw h i c h a l s o c o u l d h a v e f a c i l i t a t e d
t h i s b l e n d i n g m a , "b- e t h e t i m i n g o f t h e t w o f e s t i v a l s ,f o r i f
n o t t h e e x a c t d a t e s ,a t l e a s t t h e p e r i o d i n w h i c h t h e t w o
f e s t i v a l sw e r e h e l d m a y h a v e c o i n c i d e d ,a n d h e n c e t h e
amalgamation becamefacilitated.
Gathering of flowers of different hues is the most
m a r k e d f e a t u r ei n t h e S h i n t o r i t e . S o m e J a p a n e s ed o y e t
o b s e r v et h i s S h i n t o r i t e w h i c h i s a l s o f i x e d f o r t h e 8 t h o f
A p r i l . O n t h i s d a y t h e p a r t i c i p a n t so f t h i s r i t e c l i m b t h e
nearby mountain cliffs, spend the day in merriment and
then gather flowers of different hues and return home in
t h e e v e n i n g .T h e o r i g i n a l b e l i e fs e e m st o h a v e b e e n t h a t
the mountain-deities (Yama-no-Kami), who are none
o t h e r t h a n a n c e s t r a lK a m i , f o l l o w t h e f l o w e r s ,r e t u r n t o
their old homes and turn into guardians of rice-fields
(ta-no-Kaml). It may be that when the two ceremonies
became amalgamated the Kamr aspect of the Shinto
c e r e m o n y p a l e d i n t o i n s i g n i f i c a n c el e a v i n g i n p r o -
minance onlv the flower gathering aspectwhich became
highlighted in the Buddhist ceremony, for offering of
f l o w e r s a s a g e s t u r eo f h o n o u r , r e v e r e n c ea n d g r a t i t u d ei s
a w e l l e s t a b l i s h e dp r a c t i c ei n B u d d h i s tw o r s h i p .
S. K. Nanayakkarr
HAPPINESS Dictionaries are generally agreed in
r e f e r r i n g t o h a p p i n e s s a s b e i n g c h a r a c t e r i s e db y o r
s h o w i n g p l e a s u r eo f c o n t e n t m e n t .S i n c e w e a r e w r i t i n g
h e r ei n t h e B u d d h i s tE n c y c l o p a e d i al e t i t b e f i r st d e c l a r e d
that it is the Pali word su*ia (:happiness) which givcs
u s o u r s e n s eo f d i r e c t i o n . W e d o n o t w i s h t o d r i f t a w a y
f r o m s c r i p t u r a l a u t h o r i t y a n d s p e c u l a t ew i t h u n l i m i t e d
f r e e d o m .B u d d h i s t t h i n k i n g l o o k s u p o n h a p p i n e s sw h i c h
primarily connotesa state of mind as operatingin or
h a v i n g i t s g e n e s i si n b o t h t h e p h y s i c a la n d m e n t a l p l a n e s :
sukhanti dve sukhani kayikafica sukham cetasikafrca
sukham (Ps, L l88), This same text, the Patisambhida-
magga offers us some very insightful comments abour
b o t h t h e s e c a t e g o r i e so f h a p p i n e s so r s u k f i a . I n b o t h
c a s e s ,h a p p i n e s sr e s u l t sf r o m g ct t i n g w h a t o n e w i s h e sf o r
or sceks after, The Paii word which connotes this is
s a r a w h i c h m e a n s ' w i s h e d f o r ' o r ' g a i n e d '( C p . M o n i e r
 HAPPINESS
W i l l i a m s S a n s k r i tE n g l i s hD i c . t i o n a m .p . I I 9 6 c o l u m n
3).
l h i s w o r d j s o f t e n u s e da s e q r , r i v a l e n t ot a n d p a i r e dw i t h
pi-va (:dear or pleasant) as in
1.am loke piyaripam
sataripam rD. I I. p. j04). Nore here the beauiiful
c o m n l e n to n t h i s i n t h e A t t h a t a t h a : . , . . a t t a n a
oati-
I a<ld h i n i ca tu sa m u t th a ni k agan d h ara m m a n a d'in i k assa
afifrfiassa evaripani atthiti mafifianti. Tesam
evam mafffiamananam tani cakhhadini pil,,aripadini
c e v as a t a r i p a n i c a h o n t i ( A D . I I I . p . g 0 0 ) .
A f u r t h e r k e e n o b s e r v a t i o ni s m a d e i n d i f f e r e n t i a t i n g
b o t h c a t e g o r i e so f p h y s i c a l a n d m e n t a l h a p p i n e s s ,t w i
s t a g e so r I w o s t a t e so f h a p p i n e s sO
. n e i s a t t h ep r o d u c t i o n
l e v e l i n t h e v e r y p r o c e s sw h e n i t i s r e f e r r e d t o a s
su*rla
vedana t.e. sensing or experiencinghappiness(both
physical and mental; kaya samphassajacetosamphassa-ia to renouDce (nekkhamma, patinissagga, apacaya etc.)
s a t as u k h i v e d a n a ) a n d t h e o t h e r a t t h e p r o d u c t i o n l e v e l
w h e n i t i s r e f e r r e dt o a s s u k h a m v , e d a v i t a mi . e . s e n s e do r
experiencedhappiness(k'ayasam ph assal
am sat am su k h am
v e d a y i t a m( P s . L p . 1 8 8 ) .A t t h e m u n d a n el e v e lo t w o r l d l y
e x r s t e n c eh, e r e i n l i e s t h e j o y o f l i v i n g o r t h e h a p p i n e s s
w h i c h t h e s e n s e ps r o v i d ei n t h e i rc o m m u n i c a t i o nw i t h t h e
world.-fhis happiness(sukhamsomanass.un)is indicated
a s t h e g r a t i f i c a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e s e n s e so r k a m a n a m
assido (yam kho bhikkhave ime paficakAmagune paticc'a
upajjati suiham somanassamkdmanam i, t o
"rrt"do.
8 5 ) .t h i s p o s i t i o n i s p h i l o s o p h i c a j l ;v- i e w e da s b e i n gv e r y
r e s t r i c t e do r c i r c u m s c r i b e di n t h e p r o d u c t i o no f g e n u i n e
statesof happiness (appassida kimi vutta bhagavata....
M . l . p . 1 3 2 ) .S u c h f o r m s o f h a p p i n e s sa r e r e l a t i v e hs, o
b e c a u s et h e y b r i n g i n t h e i r w a k e c o n s i d e r a b l se t r e s sa r d
s t r a i n a n d u n t o l d b i t t e r n e s sa n < Jd i s s a t i s f a c t i o n
Gd'inavo
e t t h a b h i y t o . S e ef u r r h e r M . L p . l 3 2 ) . B u d d h i s mn e v er
d e n i e s t h e e x i s t e n c ca n d t h e e x p e r i e n c i n gb y m a n o f
d i f f e r e n t f o r m s a n d l e v e l so f h a p p i n e s sb u t s t r e s s e st h e
r m p o r t a n c eo f m a k i n g a r e a l j s t i ca n d r e l a t i v ee s t i m a t i o n
o f s u c hh a p p i n e s isn r e l a t i o nt o t h e p r i c et h a t a m a n o f t h e
w o r l d h a st o p a y f o r i t s p u r c h a s e .
G r a n t i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t vo f e n j o y i n gh a p p i n e s sa t t h e
down-to-earthmundanelevelin terms of materialcon_
siderationsB , uddhismenvisagea s v e r y p r a g m a t i ca n d a t
t h e s a m et i m e a n e t h i c a l l y , e x a l t e d
p l a n e o f h a p p i n e s sf o r
t h e m a n o f t h e w o r l d . T h e A n g u t t a r a _ n i k a t . a( A . l l l , p .
6 7 ) p r o v i d e su s w i t h a b e a u t i f u a l n a l y s i sa n d e x a m i n a t i o n
o f t h i s s i t u a t i o n .F u l f i l m e n t o f m a t e r i a ln e e d s ,s t a r t i n g
from food and raiment (ghasacchadana-paramata)man
m u s t h a v e t h e s et h i n g s o f d a i l y n e e du p t o a s a t i s f a c r o r y
d e g r e et o p r e v e n th i m s u f f e rf r o m w a n t o r h a v et h e m e a l s
w h e r e b yt o a c q u i r et h e m . T h i s f i r s t s i t u a t i o ni s r e f e r r e dt o
a s t h e h a p p i n e s s o f p o s s e s s i o no r a t t h j s u t f i a . I t i s a
r e m i n d e rt o t h e w o r l d o f t o d a y t h a t t h e B u d d h a w h o
a p p e a r e di n t h e w o r l d t w o a n d a h a l f m i l l e n n i a a g o w a s
f u l l v a l i v e t o t h e p r o b l e m o f t h e h a v e sa n d t h e h a v e - n o t s .
T h u s w h i l e p o s s e s s i o ni m p l i e d h a p p i n e s s( a t t h i s u k h a ) ,
n o n - p o s s e s s i oonr p o v e r t v s p e l l su n h a p p i n e s sT. h e p a l i
409 TIAPPIT.IESS
w o r d u s e d f o r t h i s l a c k o r d e f i c i e n c yo f . b a s i cn e e d so f
existence.which is the statc of poverty, is daliddiya. The
u n h a p p i n e s sr e s u l t i n gf r o m p o v e r t y o r n o n _ p o s s e s s i oi sn
dukkha and the .vord su.kia is used to refer to the
h a p p i n e s s r e s u l t i n g f r o m p o s s e s s i o n( i . e . a t t h i s u k h a ) .
T h i s i s t h e r u l e w i t h r e g a r dt o t h e r n a n o f t h e w o r l d t h a t h c
m u s t h a v e t h e m e a n st o s u p p l y h i m s e l f w i t h t h e n e e d si n
order not to be plunged in a state of unhappiness,
B u d d h i s tt h i n k i n g r e f e r st o v e r y p o s i t i v e l ya n d s p e c i f i c a l l y
s a y i n g ' - f o t h e p l e a s u r es e e k e r o f t h e w o r l d , p o v e r t y
indeed is painful' Daliddiyam bhikkhave dukkham
I o k a s m i m kamabhogino (A. Ilt, p. 351 f.). On ttri
o t h er h a n d , i t i s n o s e c r e t h a t t h e t r u e a s p i r a n tt o t b e g o a l
o f Nibbana in Buddhismfinds that for him it is the rule
a n d t h a t t o t a l n o n - p o s s e s s i o ni s h i s p r i m a r y s o u r c c o f
h a p p i n e s sB . ut as a man of the world he findsthat it is
p o s s e s s i o n(sb h o g a ) w h i c h p r o v i d e h i m w i t h h i s p h y s i c a l
and mental happiness and satisfaction (idha gahapati
ariv'asavako utthanavirivadhigatehi bhogehi bahabala_
p aric i t eh i sea a ia* t ni t tett i dh am m ik ehi dh am m al ad dh ehi
attanam st*heti p'ineti samma sukham pariharati: A, lll,
p . 4 5 ) . T h i s m e a n s t h a r h a p p i n e s sh a s t o b e a c q u i r e d ,
either for one's own sake or for the sake of others,
r i g h t e o u s l l 'a n d c o r r e c t l y a n d w i t h i n j u r y t o n o n e . T h e
meansmust bejustifiableon its own grounds (dhammikehi
dhammaladdhehi).
Whichevew r a - vo n e l o o k s a t h a p p i n e s sw, h e t h e rw i t h a
p h i l o s o p h i c a ls o b r i e t y a n d a m e a n i n g f u . l e v e l _ h e a d e d _
nessas indicatedabove or not, the human mind is
a t t r a c t e d t o w a r d s h a p p i n e s s( s u k h a ) a n d i s r e p e l l e db y
i t s o p p o s i t e( d u k k h a ) . A s s o c i a r e dw i t h t h e d e s i r et o l i v e
a n d t o a v o i d d e a t h i s t h e d e s i r et o b e h a p p y a n d a v o i d
unhappiness (. ..iivitukim| amaritukama, sukhakama
dukkhapatikkttlaD. II, p. 330), But hereincomesthe
B u d d h i s ts t a n d p o i n tr o w a r d sh a p p i n e s sw h i c h i s p r e c i s e
a n d t o t a J l yu n c o m p r o m i s i n g . :T h e B u d d h a v e r v c l e a r l y
states in the lvlahasaccaka.Sutfa that happiness,to be
a c c e p t a b l ea n d p e r m i s s i b l e ,h a s t o b e f r e e f r o m l u s t f u l
s t a i n sa n d s i n f u l b l e m i s h e s( i / a k h o a h a m t a s s as u k h a s s a
bhayami vam tam sukham affrtatret,a'kamehi afrflatra
a k u s a t e h id h a m m e h i : M . L p . 2 4 7 ) . T h i s i m m e d i a t e l y
i m p l i e s t h e e x i s t e n c ei n r e r m s o f B u d d h i s t t h i n k i n g , o f
u n a c c e p t a b l eg r a d e s o f h a p p i n e s s ,w h i c h s h a r e o f t h e
nature of lust (-kama) and evil (akusali dhammi).
T h e r e i s a l s o a r e c k o n i n g o f g r a d e s o f h a p p i n e s sa s
superior or inferior, of higher and lower quality even
w i t h i n t h e s a m e p e r m i s s i b l ea r e a . W h i l e a t a m u n d a n e ,
d o w n - t o - e a r t hl e v e l a c o m p a r a b l y l o w e r l e v c l o f h a p p i -
n e s ss a t i s f i e sa n a v e r a g ew o r l d l i n g , t h e r e l i g i o _ i n t e l l e c t u a l
m a t u r i t y w h i c h a c c o m p a n i e ss p i r i t u a l d e v e l o p m e n to f
m a n i n B u d d h i s mm a k e sh i m o p t f o r t h e h i g h e rg r a d e so f
h a p p i n e s sw h i c h a r e b o t h p e r m i t t e d a n d r e c o m m e n d e d
w i t h i n t h e f r a m e w o r k o f t r a n s c e n d e n t a l( l o k u t t a r a )
 HAPPINESS 410 HARIBHADRA

which is asankhatais equa-llya reality. That is the logical

B r o w t hi n B u d d h i s m . W h i l e t h e B u d d h a i n t h e M a h a s a c -
c a k a S u t t a , a s q u o t e d a b o v e , i n d i c a t e st h e p e r m i s s i b l e opposite of samsara and for that very reason it is no
a r e a sw i t h i n w h i c h a B u d d h i s t m a y l e g i t i m a t c l ys e e kh i s m o r e t h a n t h e r e a l i t y o f t h e n o n - e x i s t e n c eo f a s t a t e o f
quot a of happiness (.....,4aYtam sukham afifiatra kamehi painful processes:dpadanapaccaya bhavo, bhava-
afrflatra akusalehi dhammehi M' l.p'241), and this he is paccya jati, jatipaccaya jaramaranam. One is
presumed to be doing (attano sukham esano: Dhp' v. d o u b t f u i w h e t h e r t h e o f t - q u o t e d p a s s a g ea t I L d i n a
1 3 2 ) .B u d d h i s m a l s o e n v i s a g e ss p i r i t u a l l y h i g h e r g r a d e s ( U d . p . 8 0 ) i m p l i e s a f a c t u a l e x i s t e n c eo f s u c h a s t a t e
o f h a p p i n e s sw h i c h r e l a t i v e l yr e d u c e ,w i t h o u t t h e b a t t i n g b e y o n d d e a t h . I t s t o t a l a n d t r e m e n d o u sr e a l i t y f r o m t h e
o f a n e y e l i d , t h e w o r t h o f w o r l d l y h a p p i n e s st o a m e r e t i m c o f r e l e a s et o t h e p o i n t o f m a t e r i a l a n d c o n s e q u e n t
z e r o . T h i s i s t h e i m p l i c a t i o n o f t h e v e n e r a b l eM a h a p s y c h i cb r e a l < - u pi n d e a t h w i t h a d o w n - t o e a r t h f u l l n e s s ,
K a s s a p a ' so b s e r v a t i o n sa b o u t t h e j o y a n d h a p p i n e s sh e precludes us from stretching anything in any form
gets from a true comprehensionof the Truth or dhamma beyond this. The Alagaddipama Sutta seesvery clearly
a s a g a i n s t h i s r e a c t i o n s t o t h e m e l o d i e so f s u p e r - g r a d e the liberatedness of the liberated being (vimuttacitto
orchestral music: bhikkhu) in this form.
Na paficangi kena turiYena Evam vimuttacittam kho bhikkhave bhikkhum sa-
rati me hoti tEdisi i n d ad e va sa- br ah m aki sa -p ajAp a ti kZ a n vesam n ad hi'
yatha ekaggacittassa gacchanti idam nissitam tathegabssa viftffanam ti,
sammi dhammam vipassato (Thag. v' 1071) Tam kissa hetu, DittheYaham bhikkhave dhammc
'I
d o n o t d e r i v e s o m u c h j o y a n d d el i g h t f r o m t h e s t r a i n s hthegabm ananuvejjo ti vadami, (M' l- p' 1a0)
o f m u s i c o f t h e f i v e - f o l d o r c h e s t r aa s m u c h a s I d o w h e n I The Kevaddha Sutta speaksof this final termination of
graspwith a unified m,rd the lrutlts of the teaching'(: the samsaric man in Nibbana as follows:
dhamma), Viflfranam anidassanam anantam
The life of man in the world is a reality which 52fi$atoPabham
B u d d h i s m r e c k o n sw i t h . B u t t h e e x a l t e dc h a r a c t e ro f t h e ettha apo ca pilhl;i kjo wyo na gadhati
s e n s o r yr e a c t i o n st o t h e s t i m u l i o f t h e w o r l d a s r e f l e c t e d ettha dighafr ca rassafi ca anum thulam
h e r ed o e sn o t n e c e s s a r i l yi m p l y a t o t a l b a n o n t h e m t o t h e subhasubham
m a n o f t h e w o r l d . T h e B u d d h i s t s t r e s si s o n t h e f a c t t h a t ettha namaff ca ripaft ca asesalnuparujihati
l i f e i n t h c w o r l d a n d a l l e l s e a s s o c i a t e dw i t h i t i . e . vifl fi an assa nirod hena ett h'e t am uparu1jh ati.
e v e r y t h i n g b e s i d e sa n d b e l o w n i b b a n a a r e c o n d i t i o n e d T h i s d e c l a r a t i o nb y t h e B u d d h a t o K e v a d d h a ,( D ' t ' p ,
o r i n o t h e r w o r d s a r c s a n k h a t a , h a v i n gt h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c 223) the householder's son, implies an unquestionable
of anicca, dukkha and anatta, of being transient, un- t o t a l i t y o f c e s s a t i o ni n ) i i b b a n a '
s a t i s f a c t o r ya n d e s s e n c e l e s s .
T h e r e f o r e ,B u d d h i s m s e e sn o c o n t r a d i c t i o ni n p r e s '
Both a realization of this position and acting in c r i b i n g w i t h i n i t s s p e c i f i cd i m c n s i o n s ,[ o r w h a t w o u l d b e
accordancewith it are insistedon and beautifully reflectd d e e m e dh a p p i n e s sf o r t h e m a n o f t h e w o r l d . N e v e r t h e l e s s ,
in the story of young Dighavu in the Samyutta-nikaya the Buddhisthas learnt to look upon Nibbana as the
( S . V . p . 3 4 Af Q . T h e B u d d h a h i m s e l fi s s e e np c r s o n a l l y h i g h e s th a p p i n e s s ,
giving this admonition to Dighavu advising him to
Nibbanam partunam sukham. lt is so becauseit is the
c u l t i v a t et h i s n e w v i s i o n o f l i f e i n t h e w o r l d a n d p o i n t i n g
h i g h e s t p o i n t o f t o t a l d i s p o s s e s s i o nd, i s p o s s e s s i o o
nf
out to him the way to relcasetherefrom. The vitality and
t h o s ew h i c h s t a n d i n t h e w a y o f t r u e h a p p i n e s s ,a n d t h c
v i b r a n c y o f t h i s e x p o s i t i o na s a t o t a l l y e f f e c t i v er e l i g i o u s
D h a m m a p a d a ( v . 2 0 0 ) s u m s i t u p i n n o u n c e r t a i nt e r m l
way compcls us to produce it here in full in the original
w h e n i t s a y s-
P a l i . W e c o n s i d e ri t t o b e o n e o f t h e f i n e s t e x a m p l e so f
H a p p i l y i n d e e dd o w e l i v e , w e w h o h a v e n o t h i n g ,
e x p e r i e n t i a . lr e l i g i o u s c u l t u r e , e f f e c t e d a n d r e c o r d e d
Nothing by way of impediments to spiritua-lprocess,
almost in the company of the Buddha.
Susukham vataiivama
TasmZtiha tvam Dighavu imesu catusu sotapattian'
yesanl no natthi kifrcanam'
gesu patitthAya cha vijjabhagiyadhamme . uttarim
bhaveyyasi. Idhe tvam DighEw sabbasankharcsu Btrtkkhu Dhammavbgl
ani ccan up as sli vi h ar-ahi an icce d ukk h asafi fii d uk k h e
anattasafrffi pahAnasaflfri viragasafrffi nirodha-
saflfli ti. Evam hi te Dighavu sikkhitabban ti (5. Y . p.
345). HARIBHADRA, also known as Simhabhadra, wasI
T o t h e B u d d h i s t ,t h e s t a t ew h i c h i s t h e o p p o s i t eo f t h i s p u p i l o f S i n t a r a k s i t a . H e t o o k u p t h e P e r f e c t i o no f
s a m s i r i c s t a t e , i . e . t h e u n c o n d i t i o n e ds t a t e o f N i b b a n a wisdom (Prajfiaparamitilt ^t his specialfield of study
 HARIBHADRA
a n d p r e p a re d a s e r i e so f w o r k s o n t h e s u b j e c t ,i n k e e p i n g
w i t h t h e v i e w so f h i s t c a c h e r .
In Tibct, Haribbadra is regarded as the principal
s o u r c ef o r t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f A b h i s a m a y a l a n k a r ao f
M a i t r c y a , t h e b a s i c t e x t o n P e r f e c t i o n .H i s f u n d a m e n t a l
c o m m e n t a r yo n i t . t a k e n a s t h e b a s i sf o r i t s e x e g e s i si ,s t h e
Sphutartha, also known as his Small Commentary,His
Abhisamay-alan*araloka which explains the same text,
o f t e n i n t h e s a m ew o r d s , i n c o r p o r a t e sa l s oa f u l l c o m m e n -
tary on the Astasahasrika Prajfra-paramitE, lt aims to
show how each passageof the SDrra is in fact related to a
topic of the way, quoting in conjunction with it the
correspondingversefrom Maitreya and without departing
f r o m t h e s e q u e n c eo f t h e l a t t e r ' s v e r s e s .O c c a s i o n a l l y ,
another version of the PrajfiEparamita, namely, the
Paflcavim(atisihasrika-prajfiaparamiti., is referred to
as well. This last version is the subject of another of
Haribhadra's works, a summary of the same version
according to the Abhisamayalankara. He also wrote
another commentary on the Abhisamayalankara with
referencesto the Ratnagunasaffca;ragatha,entitled the
SubodhinT.
The basisfor the interpretation of the PrajfrZparamita
S u r r a s i s t h e d i s t i n c t i o n o f t h e t w o l e v e l so f r e a . l i t y ,[ n
a d d i t i o n , t h e n o n - p e r c e p t i o no f p h e n o m e n ai s s t r e s s e d ,
i , e , ,n o t p e r c ei v i n g t h e m a s s e p a r a t ep h e n o m e n a ,s i n c e ,i n
t h e u l t i m a t e a n a l y s i s ,t h e r e i s n o d u a l i t y .
The training Ooga) is at the conccaling (samvrti cf .
Pali sammufr =conventional) level, ultimately (tat-
tvatah) it is a non-training (ayoga). Enlightcnment is
a t t a i n e da t t h e c o n c r a l i n g l e v e l . G o o d a n d b a d , a c t i o n s
a n d r e s u l t s ,a r e o n l y a t t h e c o n c e a l i n gl e v e l , n o t a t t h e
ultimate. All beings are at the ultimate level pure by
n a t u r e ,a n d t h e t h o u g h t o f t h e T a t h a g a t aj s n o t s u b j e c tr o
c h a n g e , t o o r i g i n a t i o n o r c e s s a t i o n ,T a t h a t a o f t h e
T a t h a g a t ai s n o t d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h a t o f a l l p h e n o m e n a ,
T h u s , i n t h e c o u r s eo f h i s w o r k s . H a r i b h a d r a c r i t i c i s e s
t h e V i j f i a n a v a d ad o c t r i n e o f t h e u l t i m a t e r e a l i t y .S u c h a n
eternally pure element of phenomena (dharmadhatu)
c o u l d n o t b e a t t a i n e d .T h e k n o w l e d g co f t h i s r e a l i t yb e i n g
a . l r e a d yp u r e , t h e r e c o u l d b e n o q u e s t i o no f g et t i n g r i d o f
i t s d e f i l e m e n t sa n d i m a g i n i n g s ;o t h e r w i s ei t w o u l d n o t i n
f a c t b e c o m p l e t e l yp u r e ,
C o n t r a r y t o V i j f f a n a v a d i n s ,t h e n a t u r e o f t h o u g h t a n d
the so-called three characteristics (trissvabhava) are to
be understood as follows: As imaginary (pankalpita)
t h o u g h t sa r e i m p e r c e p t i b l e b , e i n g u n r e a l ,b e c a u s et h e y
have no characteristics;as dependent (paratantra) they
a r e i m p e r c e p t i b l e ,b e i n g u n r e a l , b e c a u s et h e y h a v e n o
causes(do not originate, therefore): As perfected
(parinispanna) they are imperceptible, being unrea.l,
b e c a u s et h e _ va r e n o t p e r f e c t e d ,s i n c e t h e y h a v e n o o w n
nature (svaripa). The Vijilanavadins, he says,misinter-
411 gAnIrI
pret the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajffa-paramita) and
t h e i r v i e w e i t h e r w i l l n o t a c c o u n t f o r e x p e r i e n c eo r w i l l
conflict with non-duality (advaya).
Though he generally follows Dharmaklrti, even in
d e t a i l s , H a r i b h a d r a u t i l i s e st h r e e m e a n s o f k n o w l e d g e
(pramana): perception (pratyaksa),inferenceanumZna)
a n d t r a d i t i o n Q g a m a ) , a p p a r e n t l yt a k i n g t h e l a s t a s a n
independent means of knowledge; Dharmakirti takes
only the first two as valid mears of knowledge.
His work of expounding Paramiti was continued by
his pupil Buddhadrijffana(A.K. Warder, Indian
Buddhism, Delhi, 1970,pp. 478 f0.
Upa[ Karunaratna
H A R I P U h I J A Y A . S e eD H A T U . H A R I P U N J A Y A
IIARiTi, a tutelary goddess,worshipped by Mahayanists.
According to legend she was originally a yaksini, an
ogrEss, a cannibal demoness,a piSaci, who irad an
insatiable desire for devouring children, before being
converted by the Buddha at Rajagaha.
The name ttariti, identifying the rutelary goddess,
occurs only in the texts of the Mahryanists, Franklin
E d g e r t o n ( B H S . s . v . )d e s c r i b e sH_a r i t i a s f o l l o w s : n a m e
of deity, referred to as a yaksini, riksasi or Bhutamatar
(see also Saddharmapundarika ed, Kern. 1902,400-7;
S v r n . , p . 3 . p . 1 6 2 ,M m k . ' 4 4 : S a d h . p . I 0 3 ; L a l i t a u i s t a r a ,
ed,Lefmann,Halle 1902,p. 202). Of thc texts rcferred to
a b o v e n o n e c o u l d b e a s c r i b e dt o a p e r i o d b e f o r e t h e f i r s t
ctntury of the Christianera.
O t h e r t h a n t h e s e t e x t u a l r e f e r e n c e sm o s t f a s c i n a t i n g
remarks have been made of gariti by the two famous
C h i n e s ep i l g r i m s H s r l a n - t s a n ga n d l - t s i n g . B o t h r e f e r t o
t h e c u l t o f t h e g o d d e s sH a r j t i a m o n g t h e M a h a y a n i s t s .
H s r l a n - t s a n gr e f e r s t o a s t [ p a b u i l t i n t h e G a n d h a r a
k i n g d o m n e a r t h e t o w n P u s k a l a v a t la n d i d e n t i f i e si t a s
the place where the Buddha converted the mother of
d e m o n s ;" H e r e S - a l < yTaa t h a g a t h ac o n v e r t e dt h e m o t h e r
o f d e m o n s a n d c a u s e dh e r t o r e f r a i n f r o m h u r t i n g m e n . I t
i s f o r t h i s r e a s o nt h a t t h e c o m m o n f o l k o f t h i s c o u n t r y
offer sacrificcs to obtain children from her". (Chinese
Accounts of India, translated from the Chinese of Hieun
T s i a n g , b y S a m u e a lB ea l , C a l c u t t a 1 9 5 8 ,V o l . l I , p . , 1 5 0 ) .
A c c o r d i n g t o l - t s i n g , t h e m o t h e r o f d e m o n sw a s H a r i t j
( K o - l i - t i ) a n d w a s v e n e r a r e db y t h e B u d d h i s t si n I n d i a a s
w e l l a s i n C h i n a o f h i s t i m e . H e r e f e r st o a n i m a g e o f t h e
divine mother, (Hariti) in the refectory of a monastery in
l n d i a t o w h i c h o b l a t i o n sw e r e m a d e a t m e a l t i m e . l - t s i n g
i d e n t i f i e s t h e i m a g e w i t h H a r i t i a n d r e l a t e st h e s r o r y o f
 HARITI
h e r , h o w s h e , o n c e a n o g r e s s ,w a s c o n v e r t e d b y t h e
B u d d h a a n d s i n c et h e n w a s w o r s h i p p e db y t h e B u d d h i s t s
a s t h e p a t r o n { e i t y o f w o m e n s e e k i n gc h i l d r e na n d o t h e r
wishes.He further says that the narrative of Haritj is
given in full in the Vinaya (of the Sarvastividins) and the
p o r t r a i t o f t h e d e m o n - m o t h e ro f c h i l d r e n ( K u e i - t z e - m u )
has already been found in China (A Record of the
B u d d h i s t R e l i g i o n b y l - t s i n g , t r a n s l a t e db y J , - f a k a k u s u ,
O x f o r d 1 9 8 6 ,p p . 3 7 f . ; S . B e a l ,o p , c i t . , p . 1 6 0 ,n . 9 6 ) .
The legend of Hariti according to the Samyuktavastu
i s a s f o l l o w s ;A t t h e t i m e w h e n t h e B u d d h a w a s d w e l l i n g
i n t h e V i h a r a o f t h e B a m b o o G r o v e i n R a j a g a h a ,t h e r e
w a s a y a k s a ,p r o t e c t o r o f t h e r e g i o n , n a m e d S a t a g i r i ,H e
w a s t h e b r o t h e r o f t h e y a - k s i nA
j b h i r " t i , w h o s eh a n d w a s
p r o m i s e d t o t h e s o n o f t h e y a k s a p r o t e c t e ro f G a n d h a r a
called Paicala.
O n e d a , "s- h ec o n f i d e dt o h i m t h a t s h ew i s h ed t o c a p t u r e
a n d e a t a l l t h e c l r i l d r e ui n R a j a g a h a S . a t a e i r ;: e m o n s -
t r a t e dw i t h h e r i n v a i n , a n d . h o p i n g t o t u r n h e r f r o m e v i l
d e s i g n , g a vheer i n m a r r i ' ; g et i , D a f i c i k al,h e s o n l f ' , , a k s a
P a f f c a l ao I G a n d h a r a .i ] y h i m s h eh a d i j v e h u n d , i : ds o n s
o f w h o m t h e v o r i n g e sut ' a sn a m e d P r i v a n k a r a ,t h e m o s t
b e l o v e do f h e r
B u l i n R a j a g a h aa l l t h e c h i l d r e n h a d d i s a p p e a r e da n d
t h e p a r e n t si r , t h e i r d e s p a i ra p p e a l e dt o t h e k i n g w h o i n
t u r n i n v o k r , J t h e i ' a k s a o f t h e r e g i o n .T h e y a l s a r e l ' e a l e d
t o t h e p a r e n t sl h a t t h e i r c h i l d r e nh a d b e e nd e v o u r e db y
the vaksinjAbhiratl and that they must so to the Buddha
f o r p r o t e c t i c l nF
. r o m t h a t t i m e r h . * u , J a 1 t . aH a r i t i , " t h e
s t e a l e ro f c h i l d r e n " . H a v i n g b e e ni n f o r m e d b 1 't h e p e o p l e
of Rajagaha, the Buddha, in order to reform her,
c o n c c a l e dh e r y o u n g e s st o n P r i v a n k a r a ,i n h i s a l m s b o w l .
H a r j t l s o u g h tf o r h i m i n a l l t h e f o u r q u a r t e r su n t i l s h er v a s
a d v i s e db i ' t h e l o r d o f v a k s a sV a i i r a v a n a t o s e e kr ef u g e i n
the Buddha.
H a r j t i , t h u s w e n t t o t h e B u d d h aa n d h a v i n gp r o s t r a t e d
h e r s e l fb e f o r e h i m , b e s o u g h th i m t o r e l e a s eh e r b e l o v e d
s o n . T h e B u d d h a p r o m i s e dt o r e s t o r eP r i y a n k a r at o h e r
o n c o n d i t i o n t h a t s h e w o u l d f o l l o w h i s p r e c e p t sa n d
p r o v i d e s e c u r i t yt o c h i l d r e n . H a r l t i w a s s o o n c o n v e r t e d ,
but having, forsworn all human food, she asked the
Buddha on what food sheand her five hundred children
c o u l d t h r i v e . T h e B u d d h a q u i e t e n e dh e r f e a r sb 1 ' o r d e r i n g
L The above is a summary of the translation from the Samytktavasfu, found in Alice Getty,
B u d d h i s m . T o k y o 1 9 6 2 ,p p . 8 4 f : T a k a k u s u , o n . c i t . p . 3 8 , n . l , h a s g i v e n t h e f o l l o w i n g r e f e r e n c et o t h e o r i g i n a l t e x t s , I i e
Sam.v'uktavastu, chap. xxxil Sam-'uktaratna Sutra, vii, 106).
2. See J. D. Dhirasekera, Hlritl and Paficika: An Early Buddhi-"t Legend of many Lands, lv{alala:;ekeraCommemoration
l ' o l u m e , e d . O . H . d e A . W i j e s e k e r aC
, o l o m b o , 1 9 7 6 .p p , 6 l - 7 0 ,
l . H a r o l d l n g h o l t , G a n d h a r a n A r t i n P a k i s t a n ,N e w Y o r k l 9 5 7 , p l a t e s 3 4 0 . 3 4 l , pl .4 - 5 f ;A . F o u c h e r , o p . c i t . . p l a t e X L V l t , 2 . p p . 2 8 2
f f . : A . F o r r c h e rL ' A r t C r e c o b o u d d h t q u ed u G a n d h a r a l l , F i g . 3 7 5 , p . 1 2 5 ) .T h e f o l t o r r ' i n gp l a t e sr e f e r t o t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o nosf
Hiriti a tutelary goddess outside Gandhara: A. Foucher, The Beginning of BuddhtistArt, plate XLV, 1,2, from Chinese
"s
T u r k e s t a n : p l a t e X L V I l l , 2 f r o m C h a n d i - M e n d u t . . l a v a ;F r o n t i s p i e c e p
K i - s i - m o - j i n :P l a t e L , f r o m C h i n a - g o d d e s sK u a n - y i n .
412 HANITI
t h e m o n k s t o o f f e r H a r i t i a n d h e r c h i l d r e nd a i l v a t e a c h
r e p a s t t, h e s a m ef o o d o f w h i c h t h e y t h e m s e l v epsa r t o o k . r
T h e l e g e n d o f H a r l t i . t h e o g r e e s .i s n o t f o u n d i n
C a n o n i c a l P a l i l i t e r a t u r eo f T h e r a v a d aB u d d h i s m b u t
M h v . x i i , 2 1 . s t a t e st h a t t h e - v a - k k h a Pandaka (Ext
l v l h v . x i i , 2 5 B h a n d a k a )t o g e t h er w i t h t h e Y a k k h i H a r i t i
and 500 sonsgainedrhe First Fruit of the Path under
A s o k a ' sa p o s t l et o K a s m i r a g a n d h a r at,h e t , l d e r M a j j h a n -
t i k a . S i m i l a r l e g e n d so f o g r e s s e as r e n o t w a n t i n g i n t h e
Cannon:ee for example the storv of vakkhini Kali, an
a t t e n d e n to f V e s s a v a n a(,K u b c r a ) .S h e t o o , t i l e U a r i t j ,
w a s a n o g r es s i n t h e h a b i t o f d e v o u r i n gc h i l d r e n a n d w a s
l a t e r c o n v er t ed b 1 ' t h eB u d d h a .H e r a i d w a s i n v o k e df o r
the protectionof the crops and eight ticket-meals
( s a l a k a b h a t t a ) w e rees t a b l i s h eidn h e r h o n o u r ( D h p A . l .
p p 3 7 f f . s e eK a l i 4 i n D P P N ) .
A p a r t f r o m t h e s e s p o r a d i c l e g e n d sf o u n d i n P a l i
l i t e r a t u r et h e r e i s n o e v i d e n eo f a d e v e l o p e dc u l t o f t h e
t u t e l a r v g o d d e s sU a r i t i a m o n g t h e T h e r a v a d i n s .
However, the referencem , ade in the Mahavamsa (loc.
c i t . ) i s v a l u a b l ei n t h e s e n s et h a t i t t h r o w s s o m el i g h t o n
t h e l e g e n do f H d r i t l a n c lh e r 5 0 0 s o n s .p r e v a i l i n gi n t h e
G a n d h a r ar e g i o n a s f a r b a c k a s t h e e a r l v C h r i s t i a n e r a .
T h e a b o v e r e f e r e n c ew o u l d g i v e a g l i m p s eo f e v i d e n c e
f o r t h e o r i g i n a n d d e v e l o p m e n to f t h e c u l t o f H a r l t l , i n t h e
G a n d h a r ar e g i o n p a r t i c u l a r l v a n d a m o n g s tI r { a h a v a n i s t s
i n g e n e r a l .T o c o r r o b o r a t et h i s s t a t e m e n t ,o n e c o u l d
o b t a i n s u f f i c i e n te v i d e n c ef o r m t h e f i e l d o f a r c h a e o l o g v ,
T h e r e p r e s e n t a t i oo n f t h e g o d d e s sH , a r i t i , s i n g l yo r w i t h
h e r h u s b a n d P a f r c i k a ,w a s a c o m m o n t h e m e o f t h e e a r l v
G a n d h a r aa r t i s t s A . . F o u c h e r t, h e F r e n c hA r c h a eo l o g i s t ,
h a sd e v o t e da f u l l s t u d l 'o f t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o nosf H d r i t ii n
B u d d h i s t s c u l p t u r e ( A . F o u c h e r , 7 ' h e B e g i n n i n g so f
Buddhist Art, Paris-London 1914,'The Buddhist
M a d o n n a ' p p , 2 7 1f f ) . F o u c h e ra t t r i b u t e st h e o r i g i no f t h e
c u l t i m a g eo f H d r l t i , t h e M a h a v a n i s m t o t h e r g o d d e s st,o
t h e s c u i p t o r so f G a n d h a r a , w h e n c et h e c u l t ( i m a g e )h a s
spread in its multilateral path within other Buddhist
countriesreaching as far as China, Korea, Japan and
S u m a t r a - J a v a . 2R e c e n t f i n d s o f t h e d e m o n i c g o d d e s s
U a r i t l i n s t a t u a r ya n d i n p a i n t i n g i n l r l a h a v a n aB u d d h i s t
I a n d s , f u l l v j u s t i f y t h e s t a t e m e n t sm a d e b y t h e t w o
C h i n e s ei t i n e r a n t m o n k s H s r l a n - t s a n ga n d l - t s i n g i n t h c
7 t h c e n t u r yA . C . l
'?-lre
Gods of Northern
, a i n t i n g f r o m T u r f a n ; P a l t e X t l X f r o m - I a p a n .g o d d c s s
 HARIVARMAN rll 3 HARIVARIIIAN

The images of Hiritj and her husband paicika are

found is other centresof Indian art like Ajanta" Mathuri
etc. (Ency. B'sm. yol. L pl, XXIV).
Ramifications of the cult of thc mother goddcss
b e s t o w i n gc h i l d r e n c o u l d b e s e c n i n l n d i a n s o i i i f o n e
w e r e t o t r a c e t h c o r i g i n o f t h e l c g e n d so f K r s n a i n t h e
arms of his mother Dcvaki, Siva-parvati utn iniir divinc
children Galeia Kartikeya erc. As far as iconography is
concerned,'this is &consecratedtheme, of which it wili be
easy for us to quote numcrouS examples spead over
nearly tw€ntv ctnturies and over the whole of the Far-
east.a Nevertheless, attempts to draw analogies with
Roman, Greek or even pre-historic prototypes of the
m o t h e r g o d d e s sw o u l d b e o f n o a v a i l f o r a s t u d y o f t h e
Mahayina Hariti cult, It would only show the wide
dispersionof the cult of fertility-fecundity,in the form of
mother goddessin every corner of the'world. Foucher,s
remerkg are the most vindicative in thic context, when he
points out that sucb traces could be found in any pre_
historic civjlisation likc in the Mexican art, in early
Egyptian Arr (whert Isis suckJing Horus is depicted in a
very similar ma-hner) and in early Roman depicitions of
Madonna End Child Jesus.
Another noteworthy aspcct in the study of the cult of
Hirid is its development in later esoteric Buddhism,
cspecially under Vajray[na or Tantric Buddhism.
Altbough the recordsof H_srlan-tsang
and l-tsing speakof
the existenceof the Hariti cult in thcir homeland, it wes
found much modified later in China, Korea, Japan and
even in Tibet and othcr countries in ChineseTurkestan.j
Scholan likc J.N. Balerjea and Gopinath Rao are not
h e s i t e n t t o t r a c e l a t c r c u l t s o f H i n d u g o d d e s s c sl i k e
Jyqlha and Sitali in India to the original Mahayana cult
of ftiriti.t
A. D. T. E. perera
IIARfVARMAN, a Buddhist teacher who founded
the
Sarva.dilnyavidaor Satyasiddhi school of Buddhism.
He
was a natiye of Cenrral India and livcd about tbe third
century A.C. He beganhjs carwr as an eminent scholar
of
t h e S a n k h v a p h i l o s o p h y b u t s u b s c q u e n t l yb e c a m e
aa
adherent of the Sarvastivada (q.v.) and joined
the
BuddhistOrder. Afterwardshe broke with thim and put
forward his own views refuting thc Ss,r,[stivada(ea_
c h i n g s . ( Y a m a k a m i S o g e n , S v s t c m so i B u d d h i s t
T h o u g h t , C a l c u t r a , 1 9 1 2 ,p . 1 7 4f f . ) .
According to the Chinese monk Sanyin, the chicf
d i s c i p l eo f K u m a r a j i v a ( q . v , ) , H a r i v a r m a n w a s t h e
chief
disciple of K urnaralabdha zurdcomposcd the Satyasiddhi
Sistru about 890 years afrer thc demise of the Buddha.
K i t s a n , a g r e a t t e a c h e ri r m o n g . C h i n e s eB u d d h i s t s ,c o n _
firms that the Satyasiddhi Sastra was composed
by
Harivarman about 900 years after the Buddha,sdeath:
he
was a disciple of Kumaralabdha who belongcdto
thc
S a r v a s t i v a d aS c h o o l ( i b i d . ) .
H a r i v a r m a n p u t s f o r w a r d h i s S u n y a v d d ai n b i s w o r k
the Satyasiddhi Sistra the Sanskrit o;glnal of which
is
I o s t ; i t h a s c o m e d o w n t o u s i n K u m a r a j i v a , sm a s t e r e l y
Chinesetranslation. (Taisho. No. I646, Cheng_shih-Lun
- Nanjio 1274).
Unreality of the personality (purtgatanaintmya)
a,s
'1see
well as of the dharmas, i.e. dharmanairEtmyi
DHAMMA 2) is a fundamental teachingcontainedin
thc
early Buddhist texts such as the pali Suttlpitaka.
But,
when different Schools appearedaad an intcrpretation
of
the teachingof the early texts wss undertaken,they,
while
acccpting the unreajity of the personality, differed
in
regard to the nature of the dharmas ss to whether
thev
were rcal or unreal.
The Abhidharma of the Sarvastivadinsin full and
the
c o m m e n t a r i a le x e g e t i c a il i t e r a t u r eo f t h c T h e r a v i d i n s
to
a lesser degree held that the dharmas are real in
their
noumenal statc l(dharma-svabhava). S[nyavrida
of
Harivarman is a rcaction to this development;he refutcs
the sarvastiv-adaview that the dharmas,,,ereal and
hords
that both the persona.lity and the dhatmas are
unreal
(funya). His position could therefore, be regarded
as a
return to the position of the early suttar.
H i s w o r k b e c a m ev e r y p o p u l a r w i t h t h e B u d d h i s t so f
China; so popular that, under the Liang dynasty, a
philosophical school actually came to be established
in
that country which took its name after the title of
his

4' A' Foucher, op' cit. p.279;see nlso H. lngholt, op. clt. p.
148;Ludwig Bachhofer, osrasratrHc zeitschrift. xxlll,
1g37,pp, 6-t 5,
OrientalArt, Ncw Serier, Vol. 5, p. I lg).
5' SeeJ' N' Banerjea' The hvetopment of Hindu lconography,
Calcr.rttr, I 956. pp. 3g I f; Alicc Getty, op. cit. pp. g6 f; N. peri,
la Merede{emons Bulletin de Ecole Frangai'sedExutme Hiri-tl,
orient, vol. XVII, r917, p, 94. Thc rcference to lcavc beronging
mother Hiriti' in oneof the earliert inscriptional recordr in to
early sri Lanka would be quite interelting to the rtudy of
mother goddess Hiriti in ancignt Buddhirt lands. This inrcription the cult of
bclongr to one of the caves of the vescagiri group,
Anuradhapura- lt runs; "Haritimataha m8nors.rnc lene'(s. at
Paranavitana (Insc-riptjgns of ceylon vo[. I, publirhed
Departmcnt of Archdeology, Sri L^Bnks"1970. p. 7, No. 936(20), by the
The reference to ttiariiimata could be to thir goddess,
6' J'N'Benerjegop'cit'pp.383f';J.N'Banerjea,someFolkGodderrerofAncientandMedievallndia-
r7eLxv,l9E3,pp.
l0 I -9.
 HARSAVARDHAT.{A
b o o k , i . e . , S a t y a s i d d h is c h o o l , t h o u g h t h e n a m e o f
Harivarman. of his work and also of the school he
f o u n d c d h a v eb e e nf o r g o t t e n i n I n d i a ' t h e c o u n t r y o f t h e i r
origin,
Upali Karunaratna
HARSAVARDIIANA, king or rather emperor of India
who reigned fiom Kanauj during the first half of the
s e v e n t hc e n t u r y '( 6 0 6 - U B A . C ) . K n o w n a l s o a s H a r s a ,
H a r s a d e v ao r S i l a d i t y a h e i s o n e o f t h e i m p o r t a n t r u l e r s
o f l n d i a w h o s ec a r e e rh a s b r o u g h t h i m s o m e w h a tc l o s et o
Asoka. Much information about him and his reign is
available from his biography (Harsacanta) written by
Bana, Harsa'scourt poet. and from the recordsof the
C h i n e s e t r a v e l l e r H s r l a n - t s a n gw h o v i s i t e d h i m i n h i s
c o u r t a t K a n a u j w h i l e s o j o u r n i n gi n I n d i a .
After thefall of the Gupta empirein the middle of the
s i x t h c e n t u r yA . C . t h e r c r e m a i n e di n I n d i a o n l v a n u m b e r
o f s m a l lk i n g d o m sa r d o b s c u r ed y n a s t i e sw h i c h p r o d u c e d
n o p e r s o n a l i t ys t r o n g e n o u g h t o u n i f y t h e c o u n t r y u n d e r
a s i n g l c a u t h o r i t y . T h i s r e s u l t e d i n a r e a d i n c s si n t h e
country to welcome such a ruler and it was this need that
was met by Harsa during the first half of the seventh
century. Though agood part of Harsa's reign was spcnt in
war, cultural and rcligious activities also flourished.
H a r s a ' s a c c e s s i o nt o t h e t h r o n e t o o k p l a c e u n d e r s o m e -
w h a i t r a g i c c i r c u m s t a n c e sH. i s a n c e s t o r sw e r e k n o w n a s
Pusyabhutis or Puspabhutis who were a family of petty
rulers in Thaneswar. Harsa's father, Prabhakaravar-
dhana had added some adjoining areasto the kingdom at
the end of the sixth century by repulsing some Hun
i n v a d e r s .I n h i s o l d a g e w h e n t h e H u n s p r o v e d t r o u b l e -
s o m e ,a g a i nh e s e n t h i s e l d e s ts o n R a j y a v a r d h a n aw i t h a
strong army. Harsa too joined the expedition. ln the
meantime Prabhakaravardhana fell ill and his wife, in
view of her husband's impending death, committed
suicide. Harsa hurried back and was forccd to acceptthe
rulership. When Rajyavardhana returned after the Hun
war he had to solve an additional problem in that his
sister Rajyairi's husband, the ruler of Kanauj, h-adbeen
murdered by the ruler of Malwa and Rajya(ri impri-
s o n e d . R a j y a v a r d h a n as u b d u e d t h e M a . l w a k i n g b u t h e
m e t w i t h h i s d e a t h a t t h e h a n d s o f S a i a i r k a ,t h e k i n g o f
B e n g a . lI.t w a si n s u c h a b a c k g r o u n d o f e v e n t st h a t H a r s a
ascendedthe throne of Thaneswar and he, after securing
his sister, set out to punish Sadairka, his brother's
m u r d e r e r a n d o n t h e w a y a c c e p t e dt h e h e l p o f f e r e d b y
Bhaskaravarman,the king of Assam, who later becamea
great friend of Harsa. In the meaniime, Harsa'ssister,
d i s a p p o i n t e da t t h e d e a t h o f h e r b r o t h e r a n d h u s b a n d ,
had entered the Vindhva forest from wherc Harsa
414 HARSAVARDHAI{A
r e s c u e dh e r w h e n s h ew a s a b o u t t o i m m o l a t eh e r s e l f .A s
H a r s a r e t u r n e dw i t h R a j y a d r ih e w a s o f f e r e dt h e t h r o n e o f
K a r a u j w h i c h s e e m st o b e h i s f i r s t t e r r i t o r i a l a c q u i s i t i o n .
H e w a s s i x t e e ny e a r s o l d a t t h e t i m e . T h e n c c f o r w a r d h e
e n l a r g e dh i s e m p i r e u n t i l i t e x t e n d e df r o m t h e P a n j a b t o
B e n g a la n d a d m i n i s t e r e di t w i t h K a n a u j a st h e c a p i t a - lH ' e
failed to subdue the Deccan which was ruled by the
Calukya king Pulake6in Il and thus, the suzeraity of
I n d i a d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d w a sd i v i d e d b e t w e e nH a r s a i n t h e
n o r t h a n d P u l a k e 6 i ni n t h e s o u t h .
Haria's reign was more or less a revival and a
continuation of the glory of the Guptas,during whose
time tndia experienced an efflorescncc of artistic and
c u l t u r a l a c i t i v i t y . A s r e g a r d sr e l i g i o n t h c G u p t a p c r i o d
m a r k e d t h e e m e r g e n c eo f m o d e r n H i n d u i s m w h i c h w a s a
s y n t h e s i so f o l d B r a h m a n i s r d a n d B u d d h i s m ' l n d i a n
B u d d h i s m a t t h i s t i m e h a d d e v e l o p e di n t o t h e f o u r m a i n
b r a n c h e sa s V a i b h a s i k a ,S a u t r a n t i k a ,M a d h y a m i k a a n d
Y o g a c a r a .E a c h o f t h e s es c h o o l sh a d i t s o w n e x p o n e n t si n
t h e c e n t u r i e st h a t p r e c e d e dH a r s as o t h a t b v h i s t i m e , a s
r e g a r d st h e m e t a p h y s i c a ls i d e o f B u d d h i s m , t h e s e f o u r
s c h o o l sh a d c o m e t o s t a ) . W i t h r e g a r dt o p o p u l a r r e l i g i o n
t h e w o r s h i p o f g o d s h a d b e c o m ev e r y p o p u l a r a n d t h e r e
w a s l i t t l e d i f f e r e n c eb e t w e e nB u d d h i s m a n d H i n d u i s m i n
t h i s r e s p e c t ,W h e n m o d e r n H i n d u i s m a r o s e i n s u c h a
background it had assimilated the features of both
r e l i g i o n s i n q u i t e e c l e c t i cf a s h i o n a n d B u d d h i s m , a s a
s e p a r a t er e l i g i o n ,w a s o n i t s w a y o u t f r o m i t s n a t i v e l a n d .
T h i s h i s t o r i c a l b a c k g r o u n d i s a l s o r e p s o n s i b l ef o r t h e
religious toleranceof both the Gupta kings and Harsa' As
rJ.r,Harsa found no difficulty in treatingborh iaiths
"
with impartiality as therc was no animosity between
t h e m . T h i s k i n d o f r e l i g i o u s a t m o s p h e r e ,c o u p l e d w i t h
t h e e n l i g h t e n e da t t i t u d e o f t h e k i n g , o b v i o u s l yh e l p e dt h e
c o n t i n u a t i o no f t h e c u l t u r a l r e v i v a l o f t h e G u p t a s .
A l t h o u g h p e r s o n a lr e l i g i o n d i d n o t m a t t e r v e r y m u c h
i n s u c h a n e c l e c t i c t y p e o f r e l i g i o u s a t m o s p h e r e ,i t i s
g e n e r a l l yb e l i e v e dt h a t h e w a s a B u d d h i s t .A c c o r d i n g t o
a v a i l a b l ee v i d e n c e( s e e/ H Q . 1 9 5 6 ,p . 1 6 8 )h e h a d b e e n a
Saivite (Paramamaheivara) upto the 25th year of his
a c c e s s i o nw h i l e h i s b r o t h e r i s r e f e r r e dt o a s a B u d d h i s t
(paramasaugata) and his father as a worshipp-erof thc
sun (parantadityabhakta). His sister, Rijyadri, too, is
mentioned as a Buddhist. Whatcver it may be, Harsa,
1 o o , a f t e r t h e f a s h i o n o f A s o k a , s e e m st o h a v e f o r m a l l y
b e c o m ea B u d d h i s t t o w a r d s t h e l a t t e r p a r t o f h i s l i f e a f t e r
h i s w a r s o f c o n q u e s t . H i s - e a r l i e r p r e d i l e c t i o n s e e m st o
have been towards the Hinayana rnainly owing to the
influence of the Buddhist sage Divakaramitra of the
V i n d h y a a r e a .L a t e r h i s c o n t a c t sw i t h H s t i a n - t s a n gm a d e
him like Mahiyana more.
While Harsa himself was a mart of letters as well as a
g r e a t p a t r o n o f l e a r n i n g ,h i s c o u r t w a s a t t e n d e db y s u c h
poets as Bana, a brahman and Bhartrha-ri, a Buddhist
 HARSAVARDTIAh{A 415
monk. The three Sanskrit plays Ratnavali, Priyadariika
and Nagananda areascribedto him. Whiie the first two
are secular works Nagananda is a Budhist religious
d r a m a w h i c h o p e n s w i t h a n i n v o c a t i o nt o t h e B u d d h a
a n d h a s a J a t a k a t y p e o f s t o r y f o r i t s p l o t , t h e k e y - n o t eo f
t h e w o r k b e i n g h e r o i s m a n d s e l f - s a c r i f i c eH. a r s a w a s a n
e x p e r t c a l l i g r a p h i s tt o o , a n d i n a d d i t i o n t o r h e r h r e e
plays. two B_uddhist hymns, Suprabhata-stotra and
Asthamaha{ri-caityasamskitastotra. (see Harsa, R. K.
M o o k e r j i . p . 1 5 9 ) ,a r d e v e n a g r a m m a r a r e a s c r i b e dt o
him. Banawas a devotedbrahman and his biography'of
H a r s a , t i e H a r s a c a r i r a ,w h i c h i s m o r e o r l e s sa h i s t o r i c a l
r o m a n c e , a n d h i s n o v e i c a l l e d K a d a m b a r l i ,b o t h r e p r e -
sent an atmosphere of a mixture of religions,where
B u d d h i s t sa n d b r a h m a n sl i v e d i n p e r f e c tf r e e d o m . B h a r -
trhari, the popular gnomic poet, who is said to have
o s c i l l a t e db e t w e e n h o m e a r d t h e c l o i s t e r n o l e s s t h a n
s e v e nt i m e s , w a s f o r m a l l y a B u d d h i s t , T h r e e s e r i e so f
"hundred sta.nzas"({ataka) on love (SrngEratataka),on
polity 7'Nitiiataka) and on renuncia tion'(Vairagyaiataka)
a r e a s c r i b e dt o h i m . T h e B u d d h i s t l o g i c i a n D h a r m a k l r t i
t o o b e l o n g e dt o t h i s p e r i o d . S i r C h a r l e sE l i o t o b s e r v e s ,
"For our purpose the gist of this literatureis that
H i n d u i s mi n m a n y f o r m s , s o m eo f t h e m v e r y u n o r t h o d o x ,
w a s b e c o m i n gt h e n o r m a l r e l i g i o n o f I n d i a b u t t h a t t h e r e
w e r e s t i l l m a n y e m i n e n t B u d d h i s t sa n d t h a t B u d d h i s m
h a d s u f f i c i e n tp r e s t i g et o a t t r a c t H a r s a a n d s u f f i c i e n tl i f e
to respond to his patronage."(Sir Charles Eliot,
Hinduism and Buddhism, lI, p. 98). Although Harsa
s e e m st o h a v e f o r m a l l y b e c o m e a B u d d h i s t t o w a r d s t h e
end of his life he "by no means disowned Brahmanic
w o r s h i p ;b u t i n h i s l a t t e r y ea r s h i s p r o c l i v i t y t o B u d d h i s m
b e c a m em o r e m a r k e d a n d h e e n d e a v o u r e dt o e m u l a t et h e
p i e t y o f A s o k a . H e f o u n d e d r e s t h o u s e sa n d h o s p i t a l sa s
w e l l a s m o n a s t e r i e sa n d t h o u s a n d so f s t u p a s .H e p r o h i -
b i t e d t h e t a k i n g o f i i f e a n d t h e u s eo f a n i m a l f o o d , a n d o f
t h e t h r e ep e r i o d si n t o w h i c h h i s d a y w a s d i v i d e d t w o w e r e
d e v o t e dt o r e l i g i o n a n d o n e t o b u s i n e s sH , e a i s oe x e r c i s e d
a surveillance over the whole Buddhist Order and
a d v a n c e dm e r i t o r i o u s m e m b e r s " .( l o c . c i t . )
O n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t e v e n t sf o r t h e h i s t o r y o f
B u d d h i s m t h a t o c c u r r e dd u r i n g t h e r e i g n o f H a r s a w a s
t h e v i s i t o f t h e C h i n e s ep i l g r i m H s r t a n - r s a n g( q . v . ) w h o
t r a v e l l e di n I n d i a f o r l 6 y e a r s( 6 2 9 - 6 4 5A . C . ) . H e w a s a
l e a r n e dm a n w h e n h e c a m e t o I n d t a a n d t h e p u r p o s e - l f
h i s v i s i t w a s n o t o n l y t o i m p r o v e h i s k n o w l e d g eb u t a l s o
t o t a k e c o p i e so f i m p o r t a n t B u d d h i s t b o o k s b a c k t o h i s
o w n c o u n t r y .W h i l e s t u d y i n ga t t h e N a l a n d a u n i v e r s i t yi n
t h e c o u r s eo f h i s s o j o u r n sh e w a s i n v i t e d b y H a r s a w h o m
he visited in his court at Kanauj and was receirledas an
h o n o u r e dg u e s t .H e i s s a i d t o h a v e s p e n ta b o u t 8 y e a r si n
H a r s a ' se m p i r e , e n j o y i n g h i s h o s p i t a l i t y , T h e C h i n e s e
t r a v e l l e rb e c a m es u c h a f a v o u r i t e o f H a r s a t h a t t h e l a t t e r
w o u l d n o t a l l o w h i m t o b e d e f e a t e di n r e l i g i o u sc o n t r o -
HARSAVARDHAT.]A
v e r s i e s t, h e r e s u l t o f w h i c h w a s t h a t t h e t e r m s o f s u c h
c o n t e s t sw e r e b i a s s e da n d u n f a i r , T h j s a t t i t u d eo f t h e k i n g
w a s e x h i b i t e d a t t h e r e l i g i o u sa s s e m b l yh e l d a t K a n a u j t o
w h i c h w e r e i n v i t e d s c h o l a r so f v a r i o u s c r r e d s a n d s e c t s
and which was held both to promote Mahayana and to
h o n o u r t h e C h i n e s eg u e s t .I t w a s a g r e a t a s s e m b l yw h e r e
t h o u s a n d so f s c h o l a r s ,b o t h B u d d h i s t a n d n o n - B u d d h i s t ,
w e r e p r e s e n ta n d d u r i n g w h i c h a s o l e m np r o c e s s i o nt o o k
p l a c e e v e r yd a y . A s a p a r t o f t h e p r o g r a m m e a B u d d h a
i m a g ew a s t a k e n i n i t w i t h H a r s aa n d h i s a l l v K u m a r a r a i a
o f A s s a m ,a s t h e g o d s I n d r a a n d B r a h m " r . s p . c t i v e l y ,
attending upon the Buddha image. The incident is
i n t er p r e t e da s a i m ed a t s h o w i n gt h e s u b s e r v i n ecy of gods
t o t h e B u d d h a .I n t h e e v e n i n gt h c k i n g u s e dr o l i s t e nt o
H s r i a n - t s a n g ' sd i s c o u r s e so n M a h a y a n a a n d i t w a s h e r e
t h a t h e h a d i s s u e di n s t r u c t i o n st h a t n o o n e s h o u l ds p e a k
a g a i n s tH s r i a n - t s a n gN . o d i s c u s s i o nc o u l d b e e x p e c t e di n
s u c ha s e c t a r i a na s s c m b i yI.t m a y b e o w i n g t o t h i sk i n d o f
p r e j u d i c e db e h a v i o u r ,w h i c h g o e sc o n t r a r v t o t b e n o r m a l
t e n o r o f h i s r u l e , t h a t d i s a g r e e a b lien c i d e n t sh a d o c c u r r e d
o n t h e s eo c c a s i o n s". A t e m p o r a r vm o n a s t e r ye r e c t e df o r
t h e f E t e sc a u g h t f i r e a n d a f a n a t i c a t t e m p t e dt o s t a b t h e
k i n g . H e c o n f e s s e du n d e r e x a m i n a t i o nt h a t h e h a d b e e n
i n s t i g a t e dt o t h e c r i m e b y B r a h m a n sw h o w e r ej e a l o u so f
t h e f a v o u r s w h i c h t h e B u d d h i s t s r e c e i v e d .l t w a s a l s o
e s t a b l i s h e dt h a t t h e i n c e n d i a r i e sw c r e B r a h m a n s a n d ,
after the ring-leaders had been punished five hundred
were exiled. Harsa then proceededto Allahabad to
s u p e r i n t e da q u i n q u e n n i a ld i s t r i b u t i o no f a l m s .I t w a s h i s
c u s t o m t o l e t t r e a s u r ea c c u m u l a t ef o r f i v e . r , e a rasn d t h e n
t o d i v i d ei t a m o n gh o l v m e n a n d t h e p o o r . T ' h ei . ' , ) c e e d i n g s
l a s t e ds e v e n t y - f i vdea y sa n d t h e c o n c o u r s ew h i c l . i , r l l e c t e d
I o g a z ea n d r e c e i v em u s t h a v er e s e m b l e dt h e f a i r . ' r l l h e l d
o n t h e s a m e s p o t , B u d d h i s t s ,B r a h m a n sa n d . r r n sa l l
p a r t o o k o f t h e r o y a l b o u n t y a n d t h e i m a g e so f t h ' i { u d d h a ,
S u r y a a n d S i v a w e r e w o r s h i p p e d o n s u c c e r . r v ed a y s
t h o u g h g r e a t e rh o n o u r w a s s h o w n t o t h e B u d d h a . T h e
king gave away everything that he had, even his robes and
j e w e l s ,a n d f i n a l l y , a r r a y e di n c l o t h e sb o r r o w e d f r o m h i s
s i s t e r r, e j o i c e ds a v i n g' a l l I h a v eh a s e n t e r e di n t o i n c o r r u p -
t i b l ea n d i m p e r i s h a b l e t r e a s u r e s . ' A f t etrh i s ,a d d sH s r l a n
C h u a n g , t h e k i n g ' s v a s s a l so f f e r e d h i m j e w e l s a n d r o b e s
s o t h a t t h e t r ea s u r v w a s r e p l en i s h e d .T h i s w a s t h e s i x t h
q u i n q u e n n i a ld i s t r i b u t i o n w h i c h H a r s a h a d h el d a n d t h e
l a s t .f o r h e d i e d i n 6 4 8 , " ( S i r C h a r l e sE l i o t , o p . c i t , l l , p .
ee).
T h e r e a r e o t h e r w a y s i n w h i c h H a r s a i s r e c o r d e da s
having encouraged Buddhism, His ieign, as shown
above, was quite eventful in religious aad cultural
a c t i v i t i e s .A m o n g t h e o t h e r k n o w n e v e n t s o f h i s r e i g n
m a y b e m e n t i o n e dh i s a p p r o p r i a t i o no f a t o o t h r e l i c o f
t h e B u d d h a f r o m K a s h m i r w h i c h h e e n s h r i n e di n a v i h a r a
a t K a n a u j . H i s g i f t t o t h e U n i v e r s i t yo f N a l a n d a , w h i c h
w a s t h e m o s t d i s t i n g u i s h e dc e n t r eo f l e a r n i n ga t t h e t i m e ,
w a s a v i h a r a o f b r a s so r b r o n z ea b o u t 1 0 0f e e t i n h e i e h t .
 HASITUPPADACITTA
P n p u l a r B u d d h i s ma t t h e t i m e , l i k e H i n d u i s m .w a s
m a r k ed b r t h e w o r s h i po [ i m a g e si n t r o d u c e di n t o i t b y t h e
I t 4 a h a v a n aC. a i t v a sw e r e v e r y c o m m o n a n d t h c v w e r e
e i t h e ra s s o r - ' i a tue'di t h s o m ee v e n t si n t h e B u d d h a ' sc a r e e r
or cnshrind e w i t h h i s r e l i c s ,A s i ' r es u l t o f H a r s a ' ss p e c i a l
at(entiontliere v'as a great growth of Buddhism in
K a n a u j w h i l e i t d e c l i n e di n o t h e r p l a c e s .F o r i n s t a n c e ,
w h i l eF a - H s i e nr e c o r d so n l v t w o t s u d d h i sm t o n a s t e r i east
K a n a u j H s r i a n - t s a n gc o u l d c o u n t a b o u t o n e h u n d r e d .
ln summing up the following words in a work on
I n d i a n h i s t o r - vm a y b e q u o t e d . " H a r s a c o m b i n e s i n
h i m s el f s o m eo f t h e a t t r i b u t e sa n d c h a r a c t e r i s t i cosf b o t h
S a m u d r a g u p t aa n d A s o k a . t - i k e t h e f o r m e r , h e w a s a
g r e a tw a r r i o r a n d c o n q u e r o r ,r e s t o r i n gp e a c e ,p r o s p e r i t y
and unitv to India. Like the latter, afrer establishing
p a r a m o u n t c yh , e d e v o t e dh i m s e l ft o p u r s u i t so f c u l t u r e
a : r dl e a r n i n g ,t o t h e s o l e m n p o m p a n d g r a n d p r o c e s s i o n s
o f r e l i g i o n ,i n s t e a do f m i l i t a r y d i s p l a y sa n d p a g c a n t s .
" T h e l a s t g r e a te m p e r o ro f a n c i e n tI n d i a , H a r s ae v o l v e d
o r d e r o u t o f c h a o s ,o n c e a g a i n g i v i n g t h e p e o p i ea s t r o n g
c e n t r a ls t a t e ,F r o m t h e s m a ] ls t a t eo f T h a n c s a rt o b u i l d a n
empire comprising almost all Northern lndia was no
m e a na c h i e v e m e n tH . e o c c u p i e sa sc o n s p i c u o u sa p l a c ea s
Kaniska or Asoka in the history of Buddhism."(P.
Saran and D.R, Bhandari. The Llarch ctf Indian
H i s t o r y , R a n j i t P r i n t e r s a n d P u b l i s b e r s ,D e l h i , 1 9 5 9 ,
p 165).
A. G. S. Karlyawasam
IIASITUPPInI-CtffA, c o n s c i o u s n e s sp r o d u c i n g
satisfactioa n n d r c s u l t i n gi n a s m i l e ,i s t h e n a m eg i v e ni n
the Pali Abhidhamma manuals (Abhs. 2; Abhut. 12,
l { r s . 6 ) t o t h a t a s p € c to f t h e m i n d - c o n s c i o u s n e s s - e l e m e n t
(mano-vififrana-dhatu)which is described in the earlier
Abhidhamma works as'joyful mind-consciousness-
e l e m e n tw h i c h i s n o n - c a u s a la n d i n o p e r a t i v e( s o m a n a s s a -
sahagata-kri1'ahetuka-manoviflffanadhatu).The word
h a s a p p a r e n t l y , b e ecno i n e d o n t h e b a s i so f a t e r m , i . e . ,
hasituppada-kiriya, meaning an act that results in a
s m i l e ' , f o u n d i n B u d d h a g h o s a ' sc o m m e n t a r y t o t h e
Patthana-ppakarana(Tikap. tl, 276).
Non-causaland inoperative conscjousness(kriyacitta)
i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i co f t h e B u d d h a a n d t h e a r a h a n l s o n l y ,
B e c a u s eo f t h e i r n o n - c a s u a ln a t u r e , t h e y d o n o t m o d i f y
t h e c h a r a c t e re t h i c a l l yo n e w a y o r a n o t h e r .T h e y a r e n o t
c o n d i t i o n e db y g o o d c a u s e sn, a m e i v ,t h e a b s e n c eo f g r e e d
(alobha) or of malice (adosa) or of delusion (amoha)
and are entirely free from the latent evil tendencies
l . T h e t e x t i s e d i t e d a n d t r a n s l a t e di n t o E n g l i s hb y P a n c h a m S i n h a a t h e E x t r a V o l u m e 3 o f t h e S a c r e dB o o k r o f t h e H i n d u s , l 9 l 5
4 16 I{ATHAYOGA
( a n u s a y a ) .H a s i t u p p a d a - c i t t ai s o n e t h a t b e l o n g st o t h i s
c a t e g o r y ;h e n c ei t s d e f i n j t i o n a s k r i y h e t u k a .
T h e r ea r e t h i r t e e nk i n d so f c o n s c i o u s n e st hsa t p r o d u c e
p l e a s u r a b l ef e e l i n g ( h a s a n a - c i t t aA; b h u t . 1 5 ;A b i s . l l ,
90): but, save for this partrcular one, the other twelve
'fhe
kinds do other work, in addition. hasituppada-citta
islimited t o t h e p r c d u c t i o no f p l e a s u r a b l fee e l i n ga l o n e ;
i t i s i n c a p a b l eo f d o i n g a n y o t h e r w o r k ; h e n c ei t a l o n ei s
named hasituppada-citta lParamErthaprad-ipa Abhi-
dharmarthasangraha-vistara-bhavasanne,193l, 30 ff).
T h e r i s eo f t h i s c o n s c i o u s n e sisn t h e a r a h a n t si s s i m i l a r
to that oI other t-ypeo s f c o n s c i o u s n e s si .;e . ,i t a r i s e si n t h e
m i n d d e p e n d i n g o n s c n s e - c o n t a c t( A b h i d h a m m e t t h s -
v i b h a v i n i o f S u m a n g a l a a n d i t s s a n n eb y M . D h a r m a -
r a t n a . p . 8 4 ) . W h e n a n a r a h a n ts e e s f, o r e x a m p l e ,a c a l m
p l a c e s u i t a b l e f o r e x e r c i s i n gc o n c e n t r a t i o no f m i n d , h e
derives from it a pleasurable feeling which ts hasitup-
padacitta.
fhe arising of hasituppada'+itta through the ear-door-
i s e f f e c t e di n a s o m e w h a td i f f e r e n tw a y ' W h e n a n a r a h a n t
hears a noise made by monks who are worldlings
(p u th u.[ian a- b hi k k h u) wh en q uarrc lli n g over d ibt ri b u ti on
o f t h i n g s l i k e r o b e s e t c , . h e f e e l sh i m s e l f f r e e f r o m s u c h
b a d b e h a v i o u r , a n d t h i s f e e l i n go f f r e e d o m g i v e sr i s e t o
t h a t p l e a s u r a b l ef e e l i n gw h i c h p r o d u c e sa s m i l e '
T h e r e s p o n s ei s t h e s a m c i n t h c f u n c t i o n i n g o f o t h e r
senseorgans as well, The smell of fragrance suitable for
offering to the Buddha, tasteof mealsshared with his
colleagues,or the physical comfort experiencedwhen his
c o l l e a g u e sa t t e n d t o h i s b o d y b y m a s s a g i n gi t e t c . , i n a l l
these and other simiiar instances,the hasituppada-citta
arises in the arahant (Paramanhapradipa, 30 ff').
T h e f a c t t o b e e m p h a s i s e di n t h i s c a s e i s t h a t t h e
hasituppada-citta, as has already been stated, is free of
causalfunction (ahetuka),good or evil, and is inoperative;
i n o t h e r w o r d s , t h i s c i f f a i s o n e t h a t d o e sn o t p r o d u c t a n y
karma, lt just produces pleasurablefeeling manifested
o u t w a r d l v i n t h e f o r m o f a m e r es m i l e .
tJpafl Karunsrahra
H A T H A - Y O G A , a f o r m o f I n d i a n y o g a r e c o m m e n d e di n
the Hathayogapradipika and several other works (e.9.
Gheranda Samhita and Saiva Samhita). The
Hathay'oga-praiipikEt of Sv[tmarama, which is generally
regarded as a standard work on Hathayoga, contains 383
versesdivided into four chapters each dealing with
postures Qsana), breathing (praaayama), Sestur?s
 HATHAYOGA 417 HATHAYOGA

(mudra) and concentrarion (samadhil. Although the c o n t r o l l i n g , p o s t u r ea n d o t h e r p h y s i c a le x e r c i s e sb) e l o n g

d a t e o f t h e t e x t i s n o t e x a c t l yk n o w n , t h e w o r k b e i n g a
S a i v i t eo n e i t s c o m p i l a t i o n c o u l d b e a s s i g n e dt o a b o u t t h e
2 n d o r t h e 3 r d c e n t u r v A . C . w h e n S a i v i s mw a s g a i n i n g
ground in India. The purpose of the work is given as
explaining hathayoga for the attainment of rajayoga or
'royal
union' which is the condition of complete self-
m a s t e r yw i t h o n e ' sf a c u l t i e su n d e r p e r f e c tc o n t r o l a n d t h e
practiser becoming his own master free from all
bondages.
A c h i e v e m e n to f t h i s s t a t e o f f r e e d o m w a s t h e p u r p o s e
and aim of rajayoga as raught by Pataffjali, ln such a
s t a t eo f f r e e d o m m a n b e c o m e sa p o s i t i v et h i n k e r w h o h a s
r e a l i s e dh i s f r e e d o m a m i d s t t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f l i f e . T h e
p u r p o s eo f t h e B u d d h a ' st e a c h i n gt o o i s t h e a c h i e v e m e n t
o f t h i s s a m e s t a t e o f r e l e a s ea n d i n t h e t e a c h i n g so f b o t h
an asceticelement (tapo) is present, As the hathayoga
p r a c t i c e si n v o l v e t h e u s i o f f o r c e o n t h e b o d y c r e a t i n g
t e n s i o ni n t h e n e r v o u ss y s t e mt h e y b e l o n gm o r e o r l e s st o
t h e c l a s s o f p r a c t i c e s g e n e r a l l y d e s i g n a t e da s s e l f -
mortification (attakilamathanuyogal in Buddhism.
H o w e v e r ,t h i s d o e s n o t m e a n t h a t t h i s w o r k c o n t a i n so n l y
t h a t k i n d o f e x t r e m e a s c e t i c p r a c t i c e s ,w h i c h , w h e n
p r a c t i s e dw o u l d l e a d t o p h y s i c a la n d m e n t a l d i s o r d e r s . 2
to the comnton religioustradition of India going back
e v e nt o p r e - B u d d h i s tt i m e s .S o n l eo f t h e m w e r ep r a c t i s e d
b y G o t a m a i h i m s e l f p r i o r t o h i s a t t a i n m e n to f e n l i g h t -
e n m e n t a n d i t w a s t h e s e l f - m o r t i f y i n g e l e m e n t sa m o n g
such practices that he later preached as not being
c o n d u c i v et o o n e ' s s p i r i t r r a Jp r o g r e s s .
Hathayogapradipika sa3,sthat posture or asanacons-
titutes a first requisite of hathayoga and has to be
p r a c t i s e df o r g a i n i n gs r e a d yp o s t u r e ,h e a l t ha n d l i g h t n e s s
of body and there is nothing un-Buddhistic in this
provided these practices are not taken to excesses.
E i g h t y - f o u r a s a n a s a r e r e f e r r e dt o a sh a v i n g b e e nt a u g h t
by Siva out of which siddha, padma, simha and bandha
a r ed e s c r i b e da n d t h e s ea r e p r o f u s e . l yi l l u s t r a t c di n t n d i a n
i c o n o g r a p h y ,b o t h B u d d h i s t a r d n o n - B u d d h i s t S . itting
i n t h e s ep o s t u r e sa n d c o n c e n t r a t i n ga n d c o n t e m p l a t i n g
on breathing for the purpose of gaining mental and
p h y s i c a l s t e a d i n e s si s a b a s i c t e a c h i n g i n t h e e n t i r e
r e l i g i o u st r a d i t i o n o f l n d i a a a d t h i s f o r m o f m e d i t a t i o ni s
w e l l - k n o w n a s a n a p a n a s a t ii n t h e T h e r a v a d at r a d i t i o n .
H a t h a v o g i c a p r a c ( i c easn d t h e o r i e s a r e i m p o r t a n t f o r
Buddhism from anotherpoint of view in that they bave

However, a point to be clarifiedis that there is a . m a n y c o m m o n f e a t u r e sw j t h t h e l a t e r f o r m o f B u d d h i s m

d i f f e r e n c eb e t w e e nex t r e m e h a t h a y o g i cp r a c t i c e sa n d t h e
a s c e t i ce l e m e n t st h a t a r e a c l u a l l yn e c es s a r va n d u n a v o i d -
a b l e w h i l e t h e y o g i n p r o g r e s s e si n h i s j o u r n e y t o w a r d s
self-realisation.Right effort (sammA-vayanta) as taught
in Buddhism certainly includes a certain amount of
d i s c i p l i n e db e h a v i o u rw h e r e i na c e r t a i nd e g r e eo f n e r v o u s
t e n s i o nm i g h t b e u n a v o i d a b l e .B u t t h a t w o u l d b e o n l y
temporary.
As implied by the term itself (i.e, hatha : force)
p r a c t i c e o l h a t h a y o g a r e q u i r e s c o n s i d e r a b l ee n e r g y a t
l e a s tw h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h o t h e r s y s t e m so f y o g a . T h e
g e n e r a l t o n e o [ h a t h a - v o g ai s t o c o n t r o l t h c n e r v o u s
s y s t e mb y f o r c e w h i c h i n e v i t a b l yb r i n g sa b o u t a c o n d i t i o n
o f t e n s i o ni n t h e b o d _ vt.f t h e s i m p l e b r e a t h i n ge x er c i s e s
and postures of hathayoga are done without creating
t e n s i o n i n t h e b o d y t h e y c a n b e q u i t e b e n e f i c i a lt o t h e
b o d y a n d t h e r e w o u l d n o t b e a n y t h i n g u n - B u d d h i s t i ci n
t h e m . A l l t h e c h i e f f e a r u r e so f t h i s v o g a ( i , e . b r c a t h -
k n o w n a s V a j r a y a n ao r T a n t r i c B u d d h i s m . a T h e p h y s i o -
Iogical basisof hathayoga is the sameas that in this form
of Buddhism in which various types of meditarion are
practised for the awakening of the power within the
human body designatedas kundalini which is described
a s " a f o r c e l y i n g i n 3 i , 1c o i l s l i k e a s l e e p i n gs e r p e n ti n a
c a v i t y n e a r t h e b a s e o f t h e s p i n e . T h i s i s r e g a r d e da s a
goddessor power "luminous as lightning, who, even
t h o u g h s l e e p i n g ,m a i n t a i n s a l l l i v i n g c r e a t u r e s .S h e l i c s
t h e r e w i t h h e r h e a d b l o c k i n g a f i n e c h a n n e lw h i c h g o e s
s t r a i g h t u p t h e s p i n ea n d i s k n o w n a s s u s u m n i ' i ( E r n e s t
W o o d , G r e a t S y s t e m so f Y o g a , p . g l ) . T ' h i s c e n t r a ln e r v e
called susurnna is the vertebral cotumn and there are said
t o b e a b o u t 7 2 , 0 0 0n e r v e so f w h i c h t h i s s u s u m n a a n d t h e
other two nervesida and pingata, running on it, l.ft
"nd
r i g h t r e s p c c t i v e i y ,a r e t r e a t e d a s t h e c h i e f o n e s . B r e a th-
control and physical exercises are performed for the
p u r p o s e o f c l e a n i n g t h e s e n e r v e ss o t h a t t h e b o d y w i l l
function properly.

2. lt may be mentioned here that hathayoga practisers are advised to practise them always under the guidence
of a teacher for
o t h e r w i r ^teh e y m i g h t l e a d t o v a r i o u sd i s e a s e sS- e l f m o r t i f y i n g p r a c t i c e so f H i n d u d e v o t e e sa t w e l l - k n o w ns h r i n e s
'Sri l-anka ma1'be cited l i k e K a t a r a g a m ai n
as examples of extreme forms of hathayoga.
l. The following words attributed to the Buddha in the Mahisaccaka Sutta (M. l,240) describing how
he practised austeritiesis
typical of hatha-y'oga,"Then t thought what if I now set m1'teeth, pressmy tongue to my palate,and restrain,
crush and burn out my
mind with m.vmind. I did so and sweatflowed from my armpi.ts.I undertook resoluteeffort, unconfusedmindfulness
was setup but
m . vb o d l w a s u n q u i e t a n d u n c u l m e d ,e v e nt h r o u g h t h e p a i n f u l s t r i v i n gt h a t o v e r w h e l m e dm e . ' E n g t i s h t r a n s l a t i o n
t a k e nf r o m E . J .
Thomas' Li{e of the Buddha, p. 64.
4. For an account of this physical structure in relation to Vajrayinic practicessee Anagarika Govinda's
Foundations of Tibetan
M,v'sticism,pp. 140 ff' For a detailed discussion of the hathayogic practicesin terms of western Lna.tomysee V.
G. Rele,s, T1e
Mvsterious Kundatini, published by D.B. Taraporavala Sons & Co, Bombay. 1939.
 HAYAGniva
G e n e r a i l ys p e a k i n g ,w h i l e t h o s e h a t h a y o g i cp r a c t i c e s
w h i c h d o n o t c r e a t es e r i o u st e n s i o n i n t h e b o d y m a y b e
a c c e p t e da sc o n d u c i v et o g o o d h e a l t ha sf o r m s o f p h y s i c a l
training, those o[ the opposite tvpe creating nervous
t e n s i o nh a v et o b e c l a s s e d a s u n - B u d d h i s t i cT. h e s e to f s i x
b a n d h a so r m e a n so f b o d y p u r i f r c a t i o n ,r e c o m m e n d e di n
the Hathayogapradipika (ch. Il, vs. 22-35) may be cited
a s e x a m p l e so f t h i s l a t t e r t y p e : ( i ) S w a l l o w i n g a c l e a n ,
slightlywarm, thin cloth four fingers broad and fifteen
s p a n sl o n g a n d g r a d u a l l yd r a w i n g i t o u t a g a i n ;( i i ) T a k i n g
a n e n e m as i t t i n gi n w a t e r a n d u s i n ga s m a l lb a m b o o t u b e
a n d t h e n s h a k i n g a n d d i s p e l l i n gi t ; ( i i i ) D r a w i n g a f i n e
t h r e a d t w e l v ef i n g e r sl o n g i n a t o n e n o s t r i l a n d o u t a t t h e
mouth; (iv) Looking at somethingwithout unblinking
e y e s u n t i l t e a r s f l o w ; ( v ) M a s s a g i n g t h e i n t e s t i n e sb y
m o v i n g t h e b e l l y r o u n d a n d r o u n d ; ( v i ) B r e a t h i n gr a p i d l y
l i k e t h e b e l l o w so f a b a l c k s m i t h .
I t m a y n o t b e i m p o s s i b l et o c r e a t e s i t u a t i o n so f s e l f -
h y p n o s i sb y s o m e o f t h e h a t h a y o g i c m e t h o d s b u t t h e s e
a r e n o t r e c o m m e n d e dt o t h e B u d d h i s t p r a c t i t i o n e rw h o s e
a i m i s t o a c h i e v er e l e a s ea n d e n l i g h t e n m e n tw h i c h i s a
state free from tensions and conflicts.
A. G. S. Karlyawasam
HATRED. See DOSA
HAYAGRiVAT, the horse-headed one, a god of the
Tantric Buddhist pantheon, belonging to the vidlEraia
c l a s s ,v e n e r a t e dm o s t l v i n I n d i a a n d i n o t h e r c o u n t r i e s
w h e r eT a n t r i s m i s p r e v a l e n t ,H e i s , a l s o , r e g a r d e da s t h e
p r o t e c t o ro f h o r s e sa n d c a t t l e ,s p e c i a l l yi n T i b e t , M o n g o l i a
and Japan.
T h e o r i g i n o f t h e c o n c e p t o f H a y a g r l v a i s a n t e r i - o rt o
t h e o r i g i n o f T a n t r i c B u d d h i s m f o r , t h e t i t l e H a y a g r i v ai s
u s e da s a n e p i t h e to f V i s n u i n e p i c l i t e r a t u r e . : T h e h o r s e
played an important role in Vedic mythology' The Rg
Veda refers to a number of celestial horses such as
Dadhikara (Dadhikrivan), Dadhyaic, Taksya, Paidva
and so on.r The \e Veda also, mentions that Dadhyafic
w a s g i v e n a h o r s e - h e a db y t h e A i v i n s . a
The epics contain numerous titles in which the alva
(horse) forms an integral part. The sons of Dinu are
l. ThisarticleismainlybasedonR.H.vanGulik's Hayagrivqlg35,Leiden.AlsosecAliceGetty,GodsofNothernBuddhism)1914,
pp. 59, 63, 66, 80, 82 ff. I l?, 130, 134,142f.; B. Bhattacharyyg The Indian Buddhist lconography, 195$, Calcutta,
2. van Culik op. cit. pp, l0 f.
3. A. Macd o nell Vdic Mythology, rcfer under these different n8mes.
4. ibid. See under Dadhyafic or ACvin; see also SBE. XLIV, pp'444 f')'
5. ibid. See under Visnu.
6. van Guilk. op. cit.'pP.13f'
7. ibid. n. 24.
418 HAYAcniva
c a l l e d A i v a i - i r a s , A S v a g r i v a ,A i v a s a n k u . A i v a p a t i . T h e
title Hayagriva itself occurs in the Mahabharata as an
e p i t h e to f V i s n u w h o i s r e f e r r e dt o t h e r ea s t h e r e a d e ra n d
t h e p r o m u l g a t o r o f t h e s a c r e dV e d a s ' H e i s , a l s o , t h e
Vedic sun god,5 The Mahabharata refers to -another
H a y a g r i v a , a d e m o n , a n e: t e m y o f V i s n u l l a y a g r i v a ' T h e
Harivamsa, the suppiement of the Mahabharata, rePe^-
t e d l y r e f e r s t o t h i s d e m o n D a n a - v aH a v a g r i v a w h o i s
ultimatelykilled by Visnu Hayagriva.6
M o s t p r o b a b l y t h e B u d d h i s t H a y a g r l l ' aw a s e v o l v e d
o u t o f t h e s e e a r l i e r c o n c e p t s -s p e c i a l l y f r o m V i s n u
Hayagriva and Danava Hayagriva.But, when and how
this concept was taken over to the Tantric Buddhist
p a n t h eo n a n d a d a p t e dt o s u i t t h e T a n t r i c B u d d h i s tb e l i e f s
i s n o t e x a c t l yk n o w n . A n ea r l i e r r e f e r e n c et o t h e B u d d h i s t
Hayagriva is in the Mahavairocana Sitra 7 and therein
he is described as a vidyar-aja.van Gulik says that in
C h i n a , i n 6 5 3 A . C , , a w o r k w a s t r a n s l a t e di n w h i c h a
specialchapter was dedicated to the worship of vidyar-aja
Hayagriva who is regarded as an aspect of Avaioki-
t e i v a r a . F u r t h e r , h e a d d s t h a t i n a w o r k r e n d e r e di n t o
C h i n e s eb y B o d h i r u c i i n 6 5 0 A . C . v i d y a n j a H a y a g r i v a i s
c o n n e c t e dw i t h A m o g h a p a i a , a f o r m o f A v a l o k i t e i v a r a .
On this evidencc he assumes that by about the fifth
c e n t u r y t h e T a n t r i s t s i n l n d i a v e n e r a t e dH a y a g r i v a a s r
vidyar-ajaaad also as an aspect of Avalokiteivara,
van Gulik's view with regard to the adaptation of
Hayagrlva into the Tantric Buddhist paltheon is also
noteworthy. According to him Hayagriva owed his
a c c e p t a n c ei n t _ oB u d d h i s m t o t h e f a c t t h a t i n H i n d u i s m
Visnu Hayagriva was regarded as the reader and the
promulgator of the Vedasand in this role he was quite
suitable for t ransformation into a vidyaraja. He takesthe
term vidyarajato be an abbreviationof vidyadhara'rija
and regards it as connoting a king of vidhyadharas.who,
according to him, are carriers (dhara) of magical know-
ledge or magic power ('idya)' Further, he adds that the
f i e r c e r e p r e s e n t a t i o no f V i s n u H a y a g r i v a a l s o s u i t e d h i s
transformation into a vidyaraia who is normally repre-
s e n t e d w i t h a f i e r c e c o u n t e n a n c e .H o w e v e r , i t i s c l e a r
from n-umerousrepresentationsof the Tantric god
Hayagriva that his form has been infl-uencednot only by
t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n so f V i s n u H a y a g r i v a b u t a l s o b y t h e
g r a p h i c d e s c r i p t i o no f D d n a v a H a y a g r i v a f o u n d i n t h e
epicliterature.
p. 165.
 HAYAGRIYA
From India Hayagriva was introduced into Chin4
w h e r e n o n e w f e a t u r e sw e r e a d d e d .I n C h i n a h e g e n e r a l l y
r e m a i n si n a s e c o n d a r yp l a c e ,e x c e p tw h e n r e p r e s e n t e da s
an aspectof Avalokiteivara. There are particular mantras
and dharanis addressedto him. There are also instructions
r e g a r d i n g t h e m a k i n g o f h i s s t a t u e sa n d t h e d r a w i n g o f
p a i n t i n g s o f H a y a g r i v a . H e s e e m st o h a v e b e e n i n v o k e d
for numerouspurposes,such ascausingrain, vanquishing
e n e m i e s ,d r i v i n g a w a y d e v i l s ,k i n d l i n g l o v e b e t w e e nt w o
p e o p l e ,c u r i n g d i s e a s e sa n d s o o n . P l . X X X I I I ( a )
From China he was introduced to Japan, where he
bears almost all the characteristicsacquired in China. In
Japan he is generallycalledBato-kannon and occasionally
Mezu-kannon. [n popular belief he is regardedas the
proctector ofhorses and cattle in general and assuch he is
identified with one of the six Kannons of the Tendai sect,
S h i s h i m u i k a n z e o n . B u t o - k a n n o n a l s o b e c a m ea g o d o f
t h e r o a d s , m o s t p r o b a b l y b e c a u s eh i s i m a g e s t h a t a r e
found all along the country roads becameassociatedwith
the cult of phallic gods of the roads. Sometimes simple
stones bearing the name of Bato-kannon are placed
a l o n g s i d et h e r o a d s t o r e p r e s e n tB a t o - k a n n o n . A s t h e s e
stonesresembledso many phalli the associationof Bato-
kannon and the cult of phallic gods of roads became
e a s i e r .T h e r e a r e a l s o s p e c i a lt e m p l e sd e v o t e d t o B a t o -
k a n n o n . O f t h e s ct h e b e s t k n o w n a r e t h e E n s t u - j i a t t h e
foot of mount Fuji, and the Matsuodera in the Tango
province, where his female aspect is also worshipped as
one of the thirty Kannons of the west. In the Kannon
t e m p l e a t K o m a t s u b a r a ,F u t a k a w a i n M i k a w a p r o v i n c e
peoplc offer miniature figures of cows, horses and other
animals at the image of Bato-kannon, in fulfilment of
vows.
ln Tibet he is regarded as one of the Dharmapilas and,
w h e n r e p r e s c n t e ds o , h e h a s t h e r a n k o f b o d h i s a t t v a .I t i s
said that Hayagriva may also take the form of a tutelary
god (yi-dam) in which casehe would have the rank of a
Buddha (Grtlnwedel, Mythologie du Bouddhisme, p.
166). In Tibet he is mainly rcgarded as a proctector of
horses;he drives away demons by his loud neighing, and
therefore, he is worshipped specially by horse-dealers.
The celestialairy horse Langta played an important role
in Tibetan popular belief. Hayagriva, too, becauseof his
predominant 'horse element', soon gained popularity
amongthe masses.t
There are numerous representations of Hayagriva.
When regarded iui an emanation of Amitabha be is
representedas a dwarf in an awe-inspiring form with a
protruding belly, and a face showing the fangs. He has
three eyesand a reddish-brown beard. Generally he is of
red complexion. He is adorned with a garlend of skulls
E. For u textual description of Hayagriva see Sadl II, lndex ; Taisho Nos. 901, lo12B,1073, 1074.Almost all Chinese
sourcesare referred to in van Gulik's work.
4 1I HAYAGRTYA
a n d e i g h t s e r p e n t s ,T h e c r o w n i s f o r m e d b y h i s b r a i d e d
h a i r , H i s s e c o n df a c e i s a b l u e h o r s e ' sh e a d i n t h e a c t o f
neighing.With one foot he tranples upun the brahmanda.
T h e o t h er i s e x t e n d e dt o t h e e n d o f t h e w o r l d . H e w e a r sa
tiger-skin and holds the v,ajra and the sraff in his hands.
H e e m i t s m u l t i - c o l o u r e dr a v s f r o m h i s b o d - v .
W h e n r e p r e s e n t e da s a n e ! r ! a n a t i o no f A k s o b h y a h e
h a s t h r e ef a c e s ,e a c hf a c eh a v i n g t h r e ee y e s ;t h e r i g h t f a c e
is blue and the left face is white. The middle face is
s m i l i n g . H e b e a r sa n a n g r y l o o k i n h i s e y e s .H i s r i g h t f a c e
s h o w s a r o l l i n g t o n g u e , w h e r e a st h e l e f t s h o w st h e f a n g s
f i r m l y p l a c e do n t h e l i p s . H e h a s e i g h t h a n d s .O f t h e f o u r
right hands, with one he shows the karana-mudri and
with the others he holds the mace (vijra), the staff
(daq$) and the arrow. Of the four left bands, one
d i s p l a y s a t h r e a t e n i n gg e s t u r e ,a n o t h e r i s h e l d n e a r t h e
c h e s t :w i t h t h e r e m a i n i n g t w o h a n d s h e h o l d s t h e l o t u s
a n d t h e b o w . J u s t a s i n t h e e a r l i e r m e n t i o n e df o r m i n t h i s
one, too, he wears a tiger-skin and is adorned with
serpents.
l n t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o nc a l l e d P a r a m a S v aH a y a g r l v a ,h e
has three faces ald eight arms. The right faceconsistsof
the four faced head of Brahma, He also bears a large
g r e e n i s h h o r s e - h e a d .W i t h o n e o f h i s r i g h t h a n d s h e
shows the tripataka-mudra and with the other three
hands he carries the vajra. the sword and the arrow.
while with the four left hands he holds the lotus, three
p e a c o c kf e a t h e r s ,t h e s t a f f a n d t h e b e l l . H e i s f i g u r e d a s
tramplingupon Hindu gods.
T h e r e i s a n o t h e r f o r m w h i c h r e p r e s e n t sh i m i n a
d a n c i n gp o s t u r e . I n t h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o nt,o o , h e h a s t h r e e
h e a d sa n d e i g h t a r m s a n d a l s o b e a r sa h o r s e - h e a dW . ith
two of the right handshe holds the arrow and the mace,
while the third displays the karana-mudrE. With his two
upper left hands he holds the bow and the lotus whilst the
two remaining hands are held at the chest, the riglrt one
holding the mace (vajrd and the left one the noose.
I t i s w h e n r e p r e s e n t e da s a n a s p e c to f A v a l o k i t e i v a r a
that he appears in gracious form, In this form he is
f i g u r e d , a sb e i n g s e a t e dc r o s s - l e g g e do n a l o t u s . H e h a s
one head and four handsof which the two upper hands
h o l d t h e s t r i n g o f b e a d sa n d t h e l o t u s a n d t h e o t h e r t w o ,
held in front of the chest, display the varada-mudri
(wish-granting gesture).
A t t i m e s H a y a g r i v a i s a l s o r e p r e s e n t e da s h a v i n g o n e
head and two arms. With the right he carriesa staff raised
in a threateningattitude and with the left he holds a
n o o s e .A s u s u a l h e w e a r sa t i g e r - s k i n ,a n d a l s o ,a g a r l a n d
of human heads. He has a green snake for his sacred
thread, He appearsto trample upon evil spirits.This form
and Japanese
 HAYAGniva
i s v e r y p o p u l a r i n T i b e t . S o m e t i m e sh e i s r e p r e s e n t e da s
w i e l d i n ga s w o r d w i t h h i s r i g h t h a n d ,
T h e r e i s a n o t h e r f o r m w i t h t h r e e h e a d sa n d f o u r a r m s
a n d f o u r l e g s ,[ t i s i n t h i s f o r m t h a t h e m a n i f e s t e dh i m s e l f
whin invoked by Atida. With his two upper hands he
h o l d s t h e v a j r a a n d t h e l o t u s a n d w i t h t h e l o w e r h a n d sh e
draws a bow and with his feet he tramples the demons.
W h e n r e p r c s e n t e di n t h e m o s t f i e r c ef o r m h c h a s t h r e e
h e a d s ,s i x a r m s a n d e i g h t l e g s . H e c a r r i e s a s w o r d , a
trident and the vajra with his three right hands; a flame, a
banner and a noose with his left hands. With his feet he
t r a m p l e s u p o n s n a k e s .T h e l o w e r p a r t o f h i s b o d y i s
covered with the tiger-skin. Round his shouldershe
s e e m st o w e a r w h a t a p p e a r st o b e a h u m a n s k i n w h i c h
h a n g sd o w n a l o n g h i s b a c k . F r o m t h e t o p o f h i s h c a d
p r o t r u d e t h r e e h o r s e - h c a d s I. n T i b e t , H a y a g r i v a i n t h i s
f i e r c e f o r m i s r e p r e s e n t e da s a n a t t e n d a n t o f t h e f i v e
dreadful kings (Tib. Skut'na).
O c c a s i o n a l l yH, a y a g r i u a i s r e p r e s e n t e dt o g e t h e rw i t h
his Ja.kri called Marici or Vajravar-ahi.[n this form he
has three heads and six hands, a third eye and wears a
l i o n ' s o r e . l e p h a n t 'ssk i n a n d a n e c k l a c eo f h u m a n s k u l l s ,
The two upper hands carrv the vajra and the sword, the
ncxt two hands the mace and the magic stalf (khatv^ir7a)
With the two lower hands he embracesthe Cakri, in the
meantime holding a skull cup with the left hand and
s h o w i n g a m y s t i c g e s t u r ew i t h t h e r i g h t . T h e J a k t i w h o
w e a r s a c r o w n o f h e a d s _ a n dh o l d s a s k u l l c u p a n d a
f l o w e r , e n c i r c l e sH a y a g r i v a w i t h h e r - l e g s . H e r m o u t h
almost touchesthe tongue of Hayagriva. When repre-
s c n t e di n t h i s f o r m H a y a g r i v am a y h a v e t w o l a r g ew i n g s .
A p e c u l i a rf o r m o f H a y a g r i v a i s s e e ni n h i s r e p r e s e n t a -
tion in the shapeof the magic dagger (Skt. k/a, Tib.
phur-bu). The hilt of this dagger is normally formed by a
conventionalised_vajrawhich is topped by one or more
h e a d so f H a y a g r i v a w h i c h a r e s u r m o u n t e d b y a h o r s e -
head. The blade is fixed to the head of a dragon
( m a k a r a ) f r o m w h o s ey a w n i n g m o u t h i t s e e m st o j u t o u t .
The blade itself is often decorated with one or two
serpents.
When represented a s a s c c o n d a r yg o d h e d o e sn o t b e a r
t h e h o r s e - h e a dB. u t h i s o t h e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i cf e a t u r e ss, u c h
as his protruding belly and also his ornaments,make
identification easy. Often, together with Tara,
Sudhanalumara and Bhrkuti, he accompanies Avalo-
kiteivara and in such representationsHayagriva is at the
left of Avalokitedvara.c
S. K. Nanayakkara
9, For some illustrations seeplates in van Gulik's work. Seealso Alicc Gaty, op. cit. Plate XLIV, b and c; B. Bhattacharyya, op. cit.
F i g : s .l ( A ) , 1 2 8 , 1 2 9 .
420 HEALTH
HEALTI{, state of freedom from physlcai or mental
a i l m e n t . H e n c e i t i n c l u d e sp h y s i c a l a s w e l l a s s p i r i t u a l
soundnessor well-being in which state the human
o r g a n i s md i s c h a r g e si t s f u n c t i o n s e f f i c i e n t l y ' D
. i s e a s eo r
vlzdhi being an integral part of the ordinan' life, the
p e r f e c t s t a t eo f h e a l t h f r o m t h e B u d d h i s t p o i n t o f v i e w
w o u l d b e t h e s t a t e o f p e r f e c t i o ni t s e l f w h c r e i n o n e h a s
overcome craving (tanha) and ignorance (avffi) com-
p l e t e l y .I t i s m o r e o r l e s st h i s v i e w p o i n t t h a t i s c x p r e s s e d
a t A n g u t t a r a , ( l l , 1 4 3 )w h e r e , a f t e r d i v i d i n g d i s e a s ei n t o
t w o a s p h y s i c a la n d m e n t a l , i t i s s a i d t h a t a l t h o u g h t h e r e
m a y b e b e i n g sw h o c a n b e f r e e f r o m b o d i l y d i s e a s e e s ven
for a period of hundred yearsit is hard to find in this
w o r l d a p e r s o nw h o c a n a d m i t o f f r e e d o m f r o m m e n t a l
d i s e a s e se v e n f o r a s i n g l e m o m e n t ( m u h u t t a m p l ) . T h e
p e r s o nw h o c a n a d m i t o f s u c h a s t a t ei s t h e o n e w h o h a s
destroyed the influxes (isava) andconquered depravities
( k i l e s a ) . T h e S u t t a n i p a t a ( v . 7 4 9 ) a l s o r e f e r st o g e n u i n e
inward health as the condition in which the asarzs are
e l i m i n a t e d .F r o m t h e B u d d h i s t p o i n t o f v i e w t r u e h e a l t h
i s b a s c d o n t h e p u r i f i c a t i o n o f t h e m i n d r e s u l t i n gi n t h e
p r o d u c t i o n o f a h e a l t h yb o d y a sw e l l . M e r e a p p e a r a n c eo f
o u t w a r d h e a l t h i s n e v e ra n i n d i c a t i o n o f t r u e h e a l t h .
T h e i m p o r t a n c eo f h e a l t hi n t h e o r d i n a r y l i f e o f d a v t o
d a y a c t i v i t y , w h e r e o n e i s e x p e c t e dt o I e a dt h e c o r r ec t l i f e
(sanma-ajiva), is fully recognisedin Buddhism. Without
a healthymind and a healthy body one cannot think of
l e a d i n g a c o r r e c tl i f e . I t i s t r u e t h a t m i n d a n d b o d y w h i c h
a r e h e a l t h y i n t h e o r d i n a r y s e n s ew o u l d , a s B u d d h i s m
t e a c h e si t , g r a d u a l l y b e c o m eo l d a n d d e c r e p i ti n c o u r s eo f
time (iarE) and succumb to the stateca.lleddcath. But the
overcoming of this sorrowful state of impermalence and
c h a n g ei s t h e p u r p o s eo f r e l i g i o u sl i v i n g f o r w h i c h h e a l t h
is considered as of inestimable value 1-arogya parama
Ebhe. Dhp. v, 204; M. l, p. 508).
l f h e a l t hw e r e t o b e g e n u i n ea n d c o m p l e t ei t h a s t o b e
both physical and spiritud. Spiritual health has to be
a c h i e v e d b y b a s i n g o n e ' s l i f e o n E u )e t h i c a l f o o t i n g ,
g e n e r a l l yc a l l e d s i l a w h i c h i s b r o a d l y d i v i d e d a s n e g a t i v e
(varitta) and positive (caritta) or as those practices that
a r e t o b e g i v e n u p a n d t h o s et h a t a r e t o b e c u l t i v a t e d .
I t i s t h e p e r s o nw h o f i r s t e s t a b l i s h e h
s i m s e l fi n s i t a a n d
t h e n w o r k s t o w a r d s b o t h m e n t a l a n d p h y s i c a lh e a l t h t h a t
c o u l d b e s p o k e n a s b e i n gd e s t i n e dt o e n j o y t r u e h e a l t h ,
b o t h m o r a l a n d p h y s i c a lT . h e b o d i l y a n d m e n t a lh a r d s h i p s
t h a t o n e m i g h t h a v e t o f a c e i n t h e p r o c e s sw o u l d b e o f
temporary nature. [n the true stateof health both'mind
a n d b o d y s h o u l d a c t i n p e r f e c th a r m o n v .
As there are no inhibitions or commandments in
B u d d h i s m t h e r e i s n o n e e d f o r p e o p l e t o b e c o m em e n t a l
 HEALTH
p a t i e n t st h r o u g h s e l f - i m p o s e di n h i b i t i o n s a n d c o m m a n d _
m e n t s .B u d d h i s m o n l y s h o w st h e w a y o f p r a c t i c ew h i c h i s
generallybasedon the law of causality and its observance
is lcft to the individual concerned.This freedom of belief
a n d o f p r a c t i c ea l l o w e d i n B u d d h i s m s h o w st h a t i t n e v e r
e x p e c t st o p r o d u c e m e n t a l p a t i e n t s b y t r y i n g t o m a k e
unsuitablepeople follow its teaching. lt is in keepingwith
this phenomenon that only the wise (viflfri) are envisaged
to experienceits higher truths. It is owing to thesereasons
that finding each individual's potentialities (upanissaya)
and working towards their florescenceis alwavs recom_
mended in Buddhism.
The Buddha never overlooked the importance of
health in ordinary life. Over-eating and such other
unhealthy dietary habits that are contributory factors
towards ill-health are pointed out to be given up, It is
clearly laid down in his teaching the required quantity of
food and abstemious use (bhojane mattafiflufa) as well
as forgoing the night meal would lead to good health.
Regular dietary and other hygienic habits are recom_
mended in order to prcserve one's hcalth. Regular
bathing, regular tonsure and shaving, wearing clean
clothes, getting up early and not over sleepingand such
other habits are to be cultivated by those who intend to
follow the pure life, whether as monk or as layman. The
majority of Vinaya rules are, in short, nothing but
regulations intended to preserve the health of the
bhikkhus. Hence it follows that in addirion to having a
calm and a poised mind free from selfishness,greed,lust,
engcr, hatred, jealousy, fear, pride and worry one has to
observe the various external hygienic practies as well.
The health-conferring nature of the Buddha's teaching
is very well seenin the concept in which he is hailed as thi
king of physicians (bhailajya-raja), an idea fully deve-
loped in the Far Eastern Mahayana. When considered
from the Buddhist point of view ordinary human life is
like a diseasedbody for the curing of which Gotama has
giventhe prescription.Henceit is with pcrfcctjustification
that sometimes an analogy is drawn betweenthe Indian
science of medicine, known as iydrveda, and the
Buddha's analysis of the problem of life. Hence the four
noble truths of suffering, the cause of suffering, the
extinction of suffering and the path leading to the
extinction of suffering are juxtaposed with the four
divisions of.ayurveda which are; diseaseor roga,causeof
diseaseor roganidana;curing ofdiseaseor roganivirana,
and the administration of medicine or tikiccha (see
Charles Eliot, Hinduism and Buddhism, t, pp. 200-l see
FOUR-NOBLE TRUTHS).
The value of good health is known to everyone and
n e e d sn o e m p h a s i s .N o t o n l y i s i t c a l l e d t h e h i g h e s tg a i n
(paramalEbha: Dhp. v. 204; M. I, 508) but it is also
L ERE. lV. p. 4ll fI. s.v.Death and Disnoral of the Dead.
421 HEAVEI\ AND HELL
referred to as one of the five kinds of bliss (sampada: D.
I I l , p . 2 3 5 ) . I t i i a l s o r e c k o n e da s o n e o f r e n d e s i r a b l e
t h i n g si n t h e w o r l d b u t h a r d t o o b t a i n ( A . V , p . 1 3 5 - 6 )a n d
while unwholesome activity (asappayakiriya) is an
obstacle to health, wholesome activity (sappayakiriyi)
p r o m o t e si t .
Infatuation with one's own health @rogta-mada)like
a n y o t h e r f o r m o f i n f a t u a t i o n i s a n o b s t a c l et o s p i r i t u a l
p r o g r e s sa n d h a s t o b e g r a d u a l l yo v e r c o m e( D . I I I , p . 2 2 0 ;
V i s m .p . 7 7 ; A . l l l , p . 7 2 ) .
A. G. S. Karlyawasam
HEART. See HADAYAVATTHU
HEAVEN AND HELL. Cosmology and Cosmogony
f o r m t w o o f t h e e s s e n t i a lt o p i c s o f d i s c u s s i o ni n t h e
scriptures of most religions. Even the most primitive
belief systemsgive an important place to thesesubjects.
This is not surprising becausethe life beyond death is a
major concern of all religious beliefs. Religions atrempt
to explain how a good or bad life led in the presentaffects
one's destiny after death. Natura.lly any religion should
provide its followers, who believein survival after death,
w i t h a m a p o f t h e c o s m o sa s i t w e r e , t o s h o w t h e m t h e
place or placesavailablefor their life after death. and also
the paths leading to theseplaces.
In most primitive beliefs the cosmos is a twin world
consisting of the land of the fiving and the land of the
dead located on the sameearthly plane.The latrer is often
a mcre shadow of the former with the dead occupying the
same social status they had in the living world. The very
bodies of thc dead are replicasof the former living beings
not even lacking in the defects they formerly had. The
funeral riiuals are essentiarfor the dead to reach the land
of the dcad by the path shown ro them by the priest. The
priest would in some casesprccede the cottige, giving
verbal instructions regarding thc path to the beyond to be
followed by the deceased.
I n s o m ep r i m i t i v e s o c i e t i e st h e w o r l d w a s b e l i e v e dt o b e
two-tiered with a subterraneanworld of the dead. Even in
some of the ancient civilisationslike that of the Egyptians
the world was imagined to be two-tiered, The Egyptian
Book of the Dead gives a graphic description of the
journey of the dead from the world of the living
to the
world of the dead. The three,tieredworld
found in
s o m e r e l i g i o n sm a y h a v e d e v e l o p e df r o m t h i s . I n i t t h e r e
i s a w o r l d o f g o d s l o c a t e da b o v et h e h u m a n w o r l d . e i t h e r
at the summit of a central mountain, e.g. the Mount
Olympus of the Greeks and the Mount Meru of the
lndians, or in ttte rkv.l
 HEAVEN AI{D HELL
I n a n c i e n t l n d o - A r y a n c o s m o l o g yt o o t h e w o r l d w a s
. ccordingto themost
t h r e e - t i e r e db u t w i t h a d i f f e r e n c e A
w i d e l y h e l d v i e w i n t h e R g V e d i cp e n o d , f o r t h e r c a p p e a r s
t o b e o t h e r 1 ' r e w sa s r v e 1 l ,t h i s t h r e e - t i e r e dw o r l d w a s
f o r m e d b y t h e e a r t h , t h e a t m o s p h e r ea n d t h e s k y , T h e
t h i r t y - t h r e e m a j o r d e i t i e so f t h e p a n t h e o n w e r e e q u a l l y
d i v i d e da m o n g t h e s et h r e ep l a n e s T . h e d e a dw e r eg e n e r a l l J '
r e g a r d e da s p r o c e e d i n gt o t h e a b o d e o f Y a m a " t h e f i r s t
mortal to die, locatedin the third heaven(trtiye nake:
Atharva Veda:Av. IX, 5, 4), (parame vyoman: Rg
V e d a : R y . X , 1 4 8 ) ,w h i c b i s a i s ot h e t h i r d a n d t h e h i g h e s t
step of Visnu (vi11o! pade parame ibid. I, 154). This
t h i r d h e a v e n , c a l l e d t h e f o r e - h e a v e n ,i s a l s o t h e p l a c e
where the Fathers sit (trtiyaha pradyauriti yasla pitara
a s t e :A y . X V l l l , 2 , 4 8 ) . T h e r e a r e a l s o t r a c e so f a b e l i e f ,
m a y b e m o r e p r i m i t i v e t h a n t h e a b o v e ,i n a w o r l d o f t h e
d e a d l o c a t e do n t h e e a r t h o r u n d e r g r o u n d ,o r a t l e a s to f a
v i e w t h a t t h e d e a d a s c e n d e dt o t h e s k v b v a s u h t . . r a n e a r
path.2
T h o u g h n o t v e r v p r o m i n e n t t h e r e a l s o s e em s t o h a v e
b e e n a b e l i e f i n a s u b t e r r a n e a np l a c e o f p u n i s h m e n t
d e s c r i b e da s t h e d e e p a b v s s( p a d a m g a b h i r a m ; R y . I V ,
5.5), the bottomless darkness (anarambhe tamasi: ibid.
V I l , 1 0 4 . 3 ) ,t h e l o w e r d a r k n e s s( a d h a m a m t a m a h : t b i d .
X , 1 5 2 . 4 )e t c . I n t o t h i s t h e g o d s h u r l t h e h a t e d a n d t h e
irreligious (ibid, LX,73.8). In the Atharva Veda (Xll,
4 . 4 6 ) t h e r e i s a d e f i n i t e r e f e r e n c et o a h e l l d e s i g n a t e dt h e
narak /oka opposed to the svarga loka.lt is the place for
the female goblins and sorceresses.
There are also indications in the Atharva Veda(lY,
, r a t l e a s to f a a
1 4 , 3 )o f a b e l i e fi n a f o u r - t i e r e du n i v e r s e o
a d d i t i o n t o t h e t h r e e h e a v e n so f t h e R g V e d a . H e r e t h e
f i r m a m e n t ( n a k a ) i s p l a c e db e t w e e nt h e u s u a l t h r e e - f o l d
u n i v e r s ea n d t h e ' h e a v en l v w o r l d o f l i g h t ' ' O n e i s s a i d t o
climb from the back of the sky, the firmament, into the
'world of light' (divo naka(ya prsthat svarjyotiraga-
m a h a m ) . E a c h o f t h e t h r e ew o r l d s v i z . e a r t h ,a t m o s p h e r e
a n d s k y i s a l s os o m e t i m e ss u b d i v i d e d i n t o t h r e e a s ' t h r e e
e a r t h s ' e t cB, u t w h e n t h e w o r l d i s d i v i d e di n t o t w o , s i m p l y
a s t h e s k y a n d t h e e a r t h , t h e s i x s u b d i v i s i o n sa r e c a l l e d
the 'six worlds' or'spaces'. (rajamsi). i
T h e h e a v e n l y w o r l d o f t h e V e d a s i s , t h e r e f o r e ,t h e
abode of gods (devas) as well as of the fathers (pitarah),
the manes, who are, however, alwavs regarded as a
d i f f e r e n ts p e c i e so f b e i n g sf r o m t h e g o d s .S i n c e, i n t h e R g
Veda, devoteesa.lwaysimplore the deities to grant them
i m m o r t a l i t y i n t h e t h i r d h e a v e n ,t h e u n d e c a y i n gw o r l d
(R y. IX, I 13.7ff), the heavenly life envisaged there must
b e e t e r n a l .T h e f a t h e r s e n j o y t h e r e e t e r n a ll i f e , r e s u l t so f
t h e i r p a s t s a c r i f i c e sa n d g i f t s m a d e t o t h e p r i e s t s( i b i d . X '
2. A. B. Keith. fhe Religion and the Philosophv of the Vedaand L/panishads,(HOS, 32), London. 1925,p.410.
3, A. A. Macdonell, Vedic M.vthologl', p.8.
Amsterdam Oriental Press, 1967, v' 211.
4. John Muir, Oruginal Sanskrit ?"ext.s.
422 HEAVEN AI{D HELL
1 4 . 8 ) .I n p l a c e o f t h e f r a i l h u m a n b o d y t h e v r e c e i v ea
b l e m i s h l e s sa n d v i g o r o u s b o d y i n w h i c h t h e y r e j o i c e a t
t h e s a m ef e a s ta s Y a m a ( i b i d . X , l 0 ) . I m m o r t a l i t y i n t h e
w o r l d o f t h e b l e m i s h l e s sf,l o w i n g w i t h m i l k a n d . h o n e y ,
a c c o r d i n gt o P r o f . W e b e r , w a s r e g a r d e df r o m t h e o l d e s t
time a reward for virtue and wisdom.a A late passagc
s a y s t h a t t h e e n j o v m e n t so f t h e f a t h e r s a r e a h u n d r e d
t i m e s m o r e t h a n t h a t o f h u m a n b e i n g sw h o a r c l o r d s o f
men. The enjovments of the gods by merit (karma devas)
are a hundred times from that of fathers aad that of the
gods by nature Gj"n" devas)are a hundred times that of
gods by mertt f iatapatha Brahm"n":iB,XIV, ?. |.32ff).
C o m m e n t i n g o n t h i s a s p e c to f t h e V e d i c r e l i g i o n K e i t h
s a y s ' t h ep i c t u r e i s s i m p l e ,i t i s m e r e l y t h e p l e a s u r e so f t h e
earth, to thc priestly imagination, heaped upon one
a n o t h e r ' ( K e i t h ,o p . c i t . p . a 0 6 f , ) .
kg Vedic Aryans seemto have dependedon the mercy
of gods very much more than on their own actions to
e n t e rh e a v e na J t er d e a t h( i b i d . p . 4 0 9 ) .Y e t t h e r ew e r e a l s o
a n u m b er o f r e l i g i o u sr i t e s t h a t w e r e b e l i e v e dt o h e l p o n e
t o r e a c hh e a v e n .A m o n g s t t h e m t h e f o r e m o s t p l a c ec o u l d
b e g i v e n t o t h e s a c r i f i c e( S B . I , 9 1 . 1 f f ) . I n t h e A t h a r v a
Veda (lX. 5.27, lV. 34.34) there are specific sacrifices
which would enable one to gain a particular benefit in
heaven. Asceticism (tapas), death in battle, bestowal of
t h o u s a n d s o f l a r g e s s e sa r e a l s o , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e t c n t h
Mandala of the Rg Veda(X. 154, l4) some of the other
factors conducive to birth in heaven. Gifts to the
brahamin priests(daksini)who officiate at the sacrificeis
a n e s s e n t i a lf a c t o r , a c c o r d i n gt o t h e B r a h m a n a s( S A . I .
9 . 3 .I ) t o r e a p t h e b e n e f i t so f t h e s a c r i f i c ei n h e a v e n .T h e s e
l a t e r t e x t s a l s o e l e v a t et h e r o l e o f t h e s a c r i f i c ea b o v et h a t
o f g o d s i n t h e V e d i c r e i i g i o n . T h e s a c r i f i c eb e c o m e st h e
fulfiller of all wishesof both man and god
S c a n t r e f e r e n c et o a p l a c eo f p u n i s h m e n ti n t h e R g a n d
the Atharva Vedaswas mentioned above. Some scholars
e v e nt h o u g h t t h a t a n n i h i l a t i o n a f t e r d e a t hw a s t h e f a t e o f
t h o s e n o t g i f t e d w i t h e t e r n a l h e a v e n l yl i f e . B u t i t i s n o t
i m p r o b a b l e t h a t t h e V e d i c A r y a n s b e l i e v e di n s o m e s o r t
of a world where the evil-doers (duskrta) go as opposed
'the world of the righteous'
to sukrtam u lokam,
w h e r et h e ' u n b o r n ' i s s o m e t i m e s u p p o s e dt o g o ( R V . X .
1 6 . 4 ) .l n l a t e r V e d i c l i t e r a t u r e t h e r e a r e d e f i n i t e s i g n so f
t h e e m e r g e n c eo f a c o n c e p to f r e t r i b u t i v e a c t i o n .
The Athawa Veda(XIX. 3) refers to sinnerswho injure
brahmins sitting in streamsof blood, probably in the
f u t u r e l i f e , e a t i n gh a i r . l n t h e S a t a p a t l r a( X I . 6 . l ) a n d t h e
Jaiminiya Brihmana (1.a2) is the legend of Bhrgu who
s e e si n t h e ' o t h e r w o r l d ' s u c h h o r r i b l e t h i n g s a s m e n c u t
up into pieces and eaten by their own former victims.
 TIEAVEN AND HELL
Weber thinks that this is a legend regarding penal
retribution executed by the former victims themselveson
their oppre-ssorswhile on earth (Muir, op. cit. v. 322).
the Jaiminiya Brahmana refers to three hells and the
Kaulitaki Brihmana threatens that a man could be
devoured by the animals he ate up in that world if he does
not perform a particular rite with specialpotency (Keith
op. cit. p, a09). The Sataparla also refers to other ideas
of rewerd and punishment for one's deeds. A man is,
thercfore, reborn into aworld he has made here(Muir op.
cit. 3 l7). What he receivesin thc other world corresponds
to the sacrificeshe has performed here. The Brahmanic
concept of.karma, therefore, has no ethical value attached
to it. One who departs this tife deficient in the knowledge
and the practice of sacrifice is weighed in the balanceand
receivesconsequencesaccordingly (ibid. V. 314 ff.). Even
in the Upanisads with a developed conccpt of. katma
there is no reference to a hell. They mention only the
dcvayana the path leading to the gods and the pitryana
(the path leading to the deceasedancestors).Those who
travel by the latter return to this world, but not those who
travel by the former. There are also the tiny creatureswho
ever revolve in samsara.s It is in the period of the
Dharma ^gDrrasand thc Dharma Sastras that one finds
direct and detailed referencesto hells in Hindu literature.
Long lists of hclls akin ro those found in some late
Buddhist canonical texts are found in them, lt is difficutt
to determine who has influenced whom. Yamq the king
of the dead of the early Vedas has, in the later Hindu
texts, assumed the role of a Righteous King (Dharma-
raja) who presides over the destiny of the dead. He
separates evildoers from doers of good and sends the
former to hell for punishment and the latter to heaven to
enjoy divine bliss.
Cocmbgr md Cosmogony In BuddHst Llterature. The
cosmos as portrayed in early Buddhist literature, when
compared with the prc-Btrddhist Vedic cosmos, is a
considerablyexpanded one, This expansioncan be safely
assumedto be linked with the more developedconcept of
moral retribution (kamma)in Buddhism and the deeper
levels of conssiousnessreached by adepts in meditation
seekingtotal emancipation of the mind. However, within
the Buddhist literature itself there are trecesof a gradual
growth of Buddhist cosmology. While referenceto cos-
mogony is confined al-most to a single discourse, the
Aggafifia Sutta of the Digha NkEya (D. l[,p. 80 ff.), the
discoursesare in general repletewith referencesto many
planes of happinessand misery in the cosmos. It is quite
c l e a r t h a t e a r l y B u d d h i s t s b e l i e v e di n t h e e x i s t e n c eo f
such worlds where beings are destinedto be reborn
according to merit (pufrfta) or demerit (pup4 acquired
during their life in this world or the stageone has reached
5. Chandogya Uapanisad (Ch.. Up ) Brhadirany*a lJpanisad (:Brh
423 HEAYEN AND HELL
on the Path to Nibbina. On the whole it appearsthat, as
in other religions, in Buddhism cosmology is a reflection
of ttrc Buddhistconceptionoflife aftcrdeat[ moral rctribution,
and the Path of Emancipation.
Ihe Buddhlst Concepdon of Happy and Unhappy Worlds.
Sugati and duggati are the basic terms in Buddhist
scriptures for the huppy and unhappy worlds respec-
t i v e l y . S u g a t i , l i t . ' g o o d g o i n g ' o r ' g o o d d e s t i n y ' ,c o v e r s
all the planesof existencein the cosmos from the human
world and above. Duggati is used to cover all the sub-
human statesof existence.ln numerous discoursesof the
Pali Canon theseterms are usedwithout any elaboration.
To sugatris sometimes appended the term sagam lokam
which literally means 'world of light'(Skt. svargal. Tbis
would show that sugati was a generic term and not
confined to heavenly worlds, Similarty dugaci is often
bracketed with the three terms apiya, viaipita and
ruraya, two of which, viz. apayaand nirayaare popularly
usedto mean'hell.'Yet one can assumethat all four terms
are usedto refer in generalto the three or four sub-buman
worlds regarded as unhappy states.
Buddhaghosa (Vism. p. 427) confirms that both
human and divine destinies are covered by the term sugati
but confines sagga to the heavenly states. However, he
gives two alternative interpretations to the four terms
refering to unhappy dcstinies. By the first he confirms the
view stated above. But in the second he limits the
connotation of the four terms only to one or a number of
unhappy states as accepted in his day. Apiya, he says,
refers to birth as animals (tiracchanayonr/ becausethey
arc removed from a happy destiny. Sincc howeger
powerful Royal Nagas are born among animals, it is not
an unhappy destiny (duggati). Duggati refers to the
Realm of Fathers (penivisaya) because it is removed
(apEya) from a h"ppy destiny and it is a miserable
destiny. Yet it is not perdition (vinipata) becauseit is not
a state of fall like the Realm of Asuras (asur*aya).The
Asurakaya is an apaya, duggati as well as uinipaa
because it is deprived of all opportunities. Niraya is
reservedfor the hell in all its divisions such as Avici. This
second interpretation has to be accepted with caution
because the early Buddhist texts refer only to three
unhappy states.The fourth, Asurakiyais added only in a
few late Canonical texts and of course in the commen-
taries.
Hesvens Thelr Chsslflcadm. Buddhist literature refers
to a hierarchy of heavenly worlds (devaloka or deva-
kaya), arranged in an asceding order of refinement of
heavenly bliss as conceived in Buddhism, These are
divided into three categories as Kama (sensuousplca-
sures), R[pa (form) and Ar[pa (formless), the three
IJp) S.Z. 16.
 HEAYEN AND HELL 424 HEAVEN AND HELL

s p h e r e so f b e c o m i n g ( u b h a v a ) . T h e s p h e r eo f s e n s u o u s o f t h ep r e - B u d d h i sV . n e c a n o b s e r v ei n t h e
t e d i cs y s t e m O
p l e a s u r e sc o m p r i s e s ,b e s i d e st h e h u m a n a n d s u b - h u m a n B u d d h i s t t e x t s t h e p r o c e s so f a g r a d u a l g r o w t h o f t h e
p l a l e s o f e x i s t e n c e s, i x h e a v e n sv i z . C a t u m m a h a r a j i k a , Buddhist cosmos which continued well into the post-
T a v a t i m s a ,Y a m a , T u s i t a , N i m m a n a r a t i a n d P a r a n i m - canonical period. Therefore the Buddhist cosmos
m i t a v a s a v a t t i .O f t h e s e t h e T i v a t i m s a i s s a i d t o b e i n i t s f u l l e s td e v e l o p m e n tb e c o m e sa p p a r e n to n l y i n s o m e
located on the summit of Mount Meru, the Central o f t h e s el a t e p o s t c a n o n i c a lw o r k s .
M o n t a i n o f t h e w o r l d , T h e C a t u m m a h a r a j i k ai s p l a c e d T h e B u d d h i s t s y s t e m o f h e a v e n si n i t s s i m p l e s t a n d
b e l o w T i v a t i m s a a n d i s a t t a c h e dt o t h e C e n t r a l M o u n - perhapsthe earliestform could be seenin the seven-tiered
t a i n . T h e o t h e r h e a v e n sr i s e i n o r d e r a b o v e T a v a t i m s a . heavenfound in certaindiscoursesincluding the Dhamma-
Texts also refer to a variety of earth-bound devas cakkappavattana Sutta (Vin. l, p. I I f.) the first sermon
(bhumma deva) like the yakkhas, nigas, garudas, o f t h e B u d d h a . T h i s s y s t e mc o m p r i s e st h e s i x h e a v e n so f
t h e s e n s u o u ss p h e r ea n d t h e h e a v e no f t h e B r a h m a d e v a s .
kumbhandas and gandhabbas whose place in the
B u d d h i s t ' s c h e moef t h e u n i v e r s ei s n o t w e l l d e f i n e d .S o m e An A'nguttara-nikaya discourse (A. I, p. 227 f .) giving a
panoramic view of the Buddhist conception of the
of these are at times classifiedunder the Catum-
m a h a r a j i k ag o d s . B u t a t o t h e r t i m e s , s o m e o f t h e m s u c h universe with its numerous world-systems llokadhatu),
d e s c r i b e sa s i n g l ew o r l d - s y s t e ma sc o n s i s t i n go f t h e a b o v e
as nigas are classified under sub-human species of
beings. They all belong to the sphere of sensuous s e v e nh e a v e n s ,f o u r c o n t i n e n t so f t h e h u m a n w o r l d a n d
pleasures.One can only conclude that this classcomprises the Mount Meru, the axrs mundus. In the Kevaddha
numerous groups of gods and godlings, worshipped by S u t t a( D . I , p . 2 5 1 Q a m o n k w h o g o e st o v a r i o u sh e a v e n s
various Aryan and non-Aryan tribes of India, and were seeking for an answer to a metaphysical question is
gradually absorbed into the pantheons of the major turned back to the Buddha by Maha Brahma in the
religions of tndia. The Mahisamaya Sutta (D.II, p, 253 Brahma world, the seventh heaven. This set of seven
ff.) mentionsa variety of such godlingswho alongwith h e a v e n ss e e m st r r h a v e b e e n d e v e l o p e db y t h e B u d d h i s t s
many classrcalVedic gods visited the Buddha and the from the parallel Vedic concept or talen over from some
Arahants at Kapilavatthu. other contemporary sarnana tradition.

The form sphere,in its fullest development,is comprised T h e s i x h e a v e n so f t h e s e n s u o u ss p h e r c c o u l d h a v e

'six spaces' (raiamsr) mentioned
of sixteen classes of devas from the lowest Brahma- devcloped from the
Pirisajja to the Akanittha devas at the zenith. These a b o v eo r i t c o u l d h a v e b e e nb a s e do n t h e s i x s u b d i v i s i o n s
of the two upper strata of the Vedic cosmos. Tridiv, often
s i x t e e nc l a s s e cs o u l d b e d i u i a . a i n t o s i x a sf o l l o w s . T h r e e
Brahma classes,three Abha classes,three Subha classes, u s e di n V e d i c l i t e r a t u r et o m e a n t h e ' t h i r d h e a v e n ' ,i s a l s o
Vehapphala, Asanfifiasatta and five classes of s o m e t i m e su s e d a s a g e n e r a lt e r m f o r h e a v e n . 6I n s p i t e o f
the Buddhist concept of seven or more heavens, ti4iva,
Suddhavasadevas. ' t h r e e h e a v e n s ' ,i s u s e d i n P a l i l i t e r a t u r e t o m e a n
lit.
There are four classesof formless devas correspon- h e a v c n i n g e n e r a l .T a v a t i m s a , t h e W o r l d o f t h e T h i r t y -
ding to the four formless attainments (arupa samipatti), Thrce, tbe second in the hierarchy of Buddhist heavens,
vi z, Ak asan aficay at an a d ev as,Vifl fi an affcay atana d e v as, a l s o s h o w s a c l o s el i n k w i t h t h e V e d i c c o n c e p t .I t r e c a l l s
Akificafifiay alana devas and the Nevasaifianasaffffaya- ro memory the thirty-three gods of.the Rg-veda divided
tana devas. e q u a l l y a m o n g t h e t h r e e p l a n e so f t h e w o r l d . B u d d h i s t s
In the division of all beings into five destinies have brought them together in one heaven, Catum-
(pafrcagati.l all the twenty classes of heavenly beings m a h a r a j i k a ,t h e f i r s t h e a v e ni n t h e B u d d h i s ts y s t c m ,i s t h e
named above are classifiedunder devagati, and the term abode of the four guardian deities of the Tavatimsa gods
deva is the generic name covering all of them. Pali a n d t h e i r r e s p e c t i v er e t i n u e s .T h e s ef o u r , t h e F o u r G r e a t
Canonical texts never divide them into two groups as K i n g s ,v i z , D h a t a r a t t h a ,V i r i l l h a , V i r f i p a k k h a a n d V e s s a -
devas and brahmas, which is a very late development. A vana have Gandhabbas, Kumbhandas, NIgas and
y a i t h a s r e s p e c t i v e l ya s t h e i r r e t i n u e s . T h i s h e a v e n ,
stagein this development could be seenin the Vibhanga
Commentary UbhA. p. 521) which says "nine brahma therefore,could be a Buddhist innovation to accom-
w o r l d s , f i v e S u d d h a v a s a s . . . . .a. l o n g w i t h A s a f f f f a s a t t a s modate within their pantheon some of the demi-gods
and Vehapphalas.H " ere only the first nine worlds of the o u t s i d et h e c l a s s i c aV l e d i c s y s t e m ,w o r s h i p p e db y v a r i o u s
form sphereare named brahma worlds. t r i b a l s n e w l y c o n v c r t e dt o B u d d h i s m .T h e t h i r d B u d d h i s t
h e a v e n Y a m a h a s n o V e d i c p a r e l l e l .Y e t i t m a y h a v e a
Development of the System of Heavens. The Buddhist distant link with the abode of Yama, king of the dead,
s y s t e m o f h e a v e n sa s p o r t r a y e d i n t h e c a n o n i c a l a n d w h o h a d h i s r e s i d e n c ei n t h e R g - V e d i c t h i r d h e a v e n .
postrcanonicatBuddhist literarurt is an expandedversion Tusita. Nimmanarati and Paranimmita-Vasavattw i ith

6 . M o n i e r W i l l i a m s , S a n s k r i t - E n g l i s hD i c t i o n a r y , s , v . t r i d i v
 HEAVEN AND HELL
no Vedic parallelsmay have becn eithcr Buddhist innova-
tions or borrowed from another unrecorded system.The
B u d d h i s t sp l a c e d i n T u s i t a t h e B o d h i s a t t a ,i n h i s p e n u l -
t i m a t e b i r t h ( M . I I I , p . I l 9 f . ) . p r o b a b l y t h e y w i s h e dt o
placc him in a new wqrld above all the classical Vedic
gods to show his supcriority over them. The sixtb
B u d d h i s t h e a v e n i s a l s o s o m e t i m e si n p o s t - c a n o n i c a l
w o r k s c a l l e dt h e a b o d eo f M a r a ( M A . l , p . 3 2 f . ) , r h e , l o r d
of the sphereof sensuouspleasures'(kamivacarissara; J.
I , p . 2 3 1f , ) H i s o t h e r d e s i g n a t i o n V a s a v a t t i m a y h a v e
p r o m p t e d B u d d h i s t st o p l a c eh i m i n t h a r w o r l d .
The world of light, the fourth heaven of the Atharva
Veda, could be the prccursor of the Buddhist Brahma-
kaya, the 7th heaven.Light is the most characteristic
f e a t u r eo f t h e B r a h m a w o r l d a n d t h e o t h e r w o r l d s p l a c e d
a b o v e i t b y B u d d h i s t s .B o t h t h e T a v a t i m s a g o d s a n d t h e
inferior gods of the Brahma world know the approach of
Mahi Brahma by the appearanceof a great effulgencc
(D. l, p. 220). The_two groups of gods above rhe
Brahmakaya are the Abha dcyas, Gods of Light, and rhe
Subha devas, Gods of Splendour, both of which under-
score the i.mportanceof light for theseworlds.
The concept of Brahma seemsto havc started with the
neuter lerm brahman meaning a ,prayer' or a ,spell'
uttered by a brahmin priest. Gradually brahman became
an attribute of Prajapati, the creator god of the Brih-
m a n a se n d a n e w g o d B r a h m a w a s l a t e r c e a t e df r o m t h e
lerm. Brahma is the masculine form of the neuter
brrhman. It is found in the later Brahmanas like the
Kaulitaki end the Taittiriya as well as in the tlpanisads
and thc still later Sutra literature where Brahma is
definitely identified with Prajapati. By the time of the rise
of Buddhism Brahma had beenrecognizedas the supreme
deity.t Brahman, in its personal or impersonal forms,
has ever remained the supreme expressionof the highest
reality conceived in Vedic-Brahmanic religio-philo-
sophical thinling. Even when the personal Brahmi came
to be replaced by Visnu or Siva in later Hinduism, they
were identified in their highest impersona-laspect with
Brahman.
I n e a r l y B u d d h i s t l i t e r a t u r et o o t h e c r e a t o r g o d o f t h e
b r a h m i n s i s d e s i g n a t e dB r a h m a ( D . l , p . 2 2 1 ; M . l , p .
327). lt is not surprising, therefore, that the Brahma
g r o u p w a s a t t h e e a r l i e s ts t a g e sr e c o g n i z e db y t h e m a s t h e
highestclassof gods. Maha Brahma" the supremedeity of
t h i s c l a s so f g o d s , i s c a l l e d t h e r u l e r o f a c l u s t e r o f o n e
thousand world-systems (sa,bassilokadhatu). When the
e x t e n t o f t h e c l u s t e r s i n c r e a s e st o t h o u s a n d , t h r e e
t h o u s a n de t c . u p t o e v e n o n e h u n d r e d t h o u s a n d w o r l d -
systems,the designation of the ruler remains the same,
Maha Brahma. Only the power and the majesryof eachof
t h e m i n c r e a s ew i t h t h e e x t e n t o f t h e c l u s t e r ( M . I I I , p . I 0 l
7. A. B. Keith in M-vtholog.vof All Raccs,Vol. 6, (New York, I ry),
425 IIEAYEN AND HELL
f.). No other being could usurp his position even within
t h e B u d d h i s t s y s t e m o f h e a v e n sw i t h s e v e n t e e no t h e r
h e a v e n sa b o v et h a t o f M a h i B r a h m a . B u d d h i s t su s e dt h e
word to express the realization of Nibbana by the
Buddha and the arahants.They are 'brahma-become'
(brahmabhita A.Il, p.207) i,e. one who has rcachedrhe
sumum bonum of Nibbana.
B u d d h i s t sw o u l d n o t r e s t c o n t e n r w i t h B r a h m a a s t h e
h i g h e s ti n t h e B u d d h i s tp a n t h e o n .S o o n e d i s c o u r s ea. f t e r
enumerating the above sevengroups of gods ending with
t h e B r a h m a k a y a ,s a y s ' t h e r e a r e g o d s a b o v et h e m " ( e t t h i
devi taduttari: A. III, p, 314). The Buddha rells Baka
Brahma that therc are three classesof gods, viz. AUnas-
sar[, Subhakinni and Vehapphala residing above his
world. Baka himself was among the Abhassara devasin
his former birth. He has forgotten his past becauseof hjs
long stay in the present station (M. l, p. 329), Thc
Sankharuppatti Sutta (ibid. p. 99 ff.) gives a more
expandedversion of the cosmos. It placesaJtogether
seventeenclassesof devas above the Bahma Group viz,
A t t r r , P a r i t t a b h a , A p p a m a n a b h a , A b h a s s a r a ,S u b h a ,
Akanittha and the four formless realms. The Saleyyaka
Surra(iUia. p. 289)adds one more, viz. Sudassa,which is
p l a c e db e f o r eS u d a s s i n t h e f o r m e r l i s t . T h c A b n a g r o u p
here could be subdivisions of either the Abha or the
Abhassara devas while the Subhi group could be sub-
divisions of the Subha or the Subhakinna devas.
These devas, excepl the four formless classes,bclong
to the form sphere (rupa-bhava). The multiplication of
t h e R u p a c l a s s e so f g o d s d o e s n o t e n d h e r e ,A t t e m p t s a t
sub-dividing the Brahmakiya also could be seen in the
Nikayas. The Sa^ktapafrhaSutta(D.11,p.2l2\refers to a
Brahmapurohitakaya, probably a subdivision of the
Brahmakaya. Later texts have three classesof godsunder
this category, viz. Brahma-pirisajja" Brahma-purohita
and Maha Brahma. But the name Brahma-parisajja does
not occur in the Canonical texts as a designation of a
separateclassof devas.The word neverthelessis used to
refer to a brahma4eva of. a lower rank, perhaps a
counsellor, in the retinue of a particular Brahma. For
instance one discourse (S. I, p. 155) refers to Brahma,
brahma-parisi and brahma-pirisajja. A Brahmi some-
times sendsa parisajja on an errand (ibid. p. la5). There
are also referencesto ministers (amacci) aad counscllors
(parisajja)of th' four Great Kings.Mara takespossession
of a pirisajja in the retinue of Baka Brahmi. Strangely
the term purohita never occurs in such contexts. yet
when the Brahmakiya came to be sub-divided on the
model of the Abha and Subha devas,they have picked
the two terms purohita ud parisajja to designate two
classes of inferior brahma devas. This division of the
Brahmakaya into three may have been influenced by the
p. 744 ff. See also EncvB bm s.v. BRAHMA,
 HEAVEN AND HELL 426
similar division of the Abha and Subha devasinto a
number of groups. Probably to bring in line with the
threeBrahma groups the four Abha and Subha groups
a l s o h a v e b e e nr e d u c e dt o t h r e e e a c h b y d r o p p i n g A b h a
a n d S u b h a d e v a sa s s e p a r a t eg r o u p s ,
Another addition lo the Ripa-bhava was madewhen
a n a l t o g e t h e rn e w c l a s sw i t h s o m ep e c u i i a rc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s
was placed above the Vehapphala devas of this sphere.
'Uncons-
T h e y a r c t h e A s a f r f r a s a t t ad e v a s ,t h e s o - c a l l e d
c i o u sG o d s ' r a r e l ym c n t i o n e di n C a n o n i c a lt e x t s .T h e s e
f a l l i n t o a c a t e g o r y o f t h e i r o w n n s t h e o n l y s p e c i e so f
b e i n g s i n t h e w o r l d - s y s t e mw i t h o n l y t h e a g g r e g a t eo f
form (rupakkhandha). They probably are included in the
B u d d h i s ts y s t e mo f h e a v e n st o a c c o m m o d a t es o m e n o n -
B u d d h i s tc l a i m f o r a n a t t a i n m e n ta k i n t o t h e c e s s a t i o no f
perceptions and feelings (safifla-vedayita-nirodha).
B u d d h a g h o s as a y st h a t o n l y n o n - B u d d h i s t sw h o w i s h a l l
t h i n k i n g t o c e a s ea r e r e b o r n i n t h i s w o r l d ( D A . I , p . I l 8 ;
c f. K v u A , p . 1 5 5 ) .A B u d d h i s tw h o h a s r e a l i z e dt h c h i g h e r
s t a g e so f t h c P a t h t o N i b h l , n a i s n o t r e b c r n h e r e b e c a u s e
w i t h t h e m i n d n o t f u n c t i o n i n g d u e t o t h e a b s c n c eo f t h e
, e r e c a n n o t b e a n y p r o g r e s so n
f o u r m e n t a j a S g r e g a t e st h
thc Path in this plzurcof exjstence.
The Flve Pure Abodes. The fivc classesof devas Aviha,
A t a p p a , S u d a s s a ,S u d a s s ia n d A k a n i t t h a t o p t h e l i s t o f
g o d s o f t h e f o r m s p h e r e .T h e v a p p e a r t o b e a p u r e l y
B u d d h i s ti n n o v a t i o n t o a c c o m m o d a t et h e B u d d h i s t sw h o
have gained vcry high spiritual qualities but pass away
without complete emancipation.The designation
S u d d h a v a s ag i v e n t o t h e s e a b o d e s s e l d o m f o u n d i n
C a n o n i c a lt e x t s ,u n d e r s c o r e st h i s f a c t , I t a l s o s h o w st h a t
t h e S u d d h a v a s ac o n c e p ti s a l a t e i n n o v a t i o n .
A c c o r d i n g t o s o m e d i s c o u r s e sa p e r s o nw h o d i e s w i t h
o n l y t h e f i v e l o w e r f e t t e r sb r o k e n , w o u l d g a i n a s p o n -
t a n e o u sb i r t h , a n d i s n o t l i a b l e t o r e t u r n f r o m t h a t w o r l d
( M , t , p . 3 6 ) . S i n c e a l l h i g h e r c l a s s e so f d e v a se v e ni n t h e
s p h e r eo f s e n s u o u sp l e a s u r e sa r e b o r n w i t h o u t a n y d i r e c t
p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f p a r e n t s ,o n e c a n s u r m i s e t h a t a n y d e v a
w o r l d w a s m e a n t b y t h i s s t a t e m e n t .P e r h a p sB u d d h i s t s
were noi statisfied with this arrangement of placing
B u d d h i s t m o n k s , w h o h a v e a d v a n c e df a r o n t h e P a t h t o
N i b b a n a , a l o n g w i t h g o d s o f t h e s e n s u o u ss p h e r eo r e v e n
w i t h t h o s e o f t h e f o r m a n d f o r m l e s s s p h e r e sw h i c h
d e s t i n i e sa r e o p e n c v e n t o n o n - B u d d h i s t s .T h e y d e v i s e da
s e p a r a t ea b o d e ,f o r t h e s es a i n t sw h o a r e o n t h e t h r e s h o l d
o f A r a h a n t h o o d . O n l y t h e n o b l e o n e s( a r i y i ) a r e r e b o r n
h e r e( A . l l , p . 1 2 8 ) ." T h e y a r e l i k e m i l i t a r y c : r m p so f t h e
T a t h a g a t a s " s a y s o n e c o m m e n t a r y . S u d d h a v a s a sm a y
r e m a i n e m p t y e v e n f o r a p e r i o d o f s e v e r a la e o n sw h e n
t h e r ea r e n o B u d d h a s( A A . l V , p , l 9 ) I t i s t h e r e f o r eq u i t e
E. Abhidhammatthasangaha,Sinhala tr. See AbhidharmakoCa, Sinhala tr. by MoratuweSasanaratana (Panadura, l94E), p. 232.
HEAVEN AND HELL
s r ec r e a t i o n so f B u d d h i s t s .
c e r t a i nt h a t t h e s eS u d d h a v a s a a
T h u s a J t o g e t h e trh e r e a r e s i x t e e nc l a s s e so f d e v a so f t h c
form sphere.
The Devss of the Formless Sphere. There is hardly any
d i s c u s s i o ni n t h e P a l i N i k a y a t e x t s o f t h e c o n d i t i o n s
p r e v a l e n ta m o n g t h e d e v a so f t h e f o r m l e s ss p h e r eo r t h e
l o c a t i o n o f t h ei r h a b i t a t t h a t h e l p st o f o r m a n y c l e a r i d e a
about them. The Buddha claims to have lived among
t h c m i n p r e v i o u sl i v e s ( D . I I I , p . 2 3 7 ) . B u t h e n e v e r
' he textual
d e s c r i b e sh i s e x p e r i e n c r si n h i s d i s c o u r s e s T
references are limited to the attainment of the four
f o r m l e s ss t a t e sb y a d e p t si n m e d i t a t i o na n d t h e p o s s i b i l i t y
o f t h e i r b e i n gr e b o r n a m o n g t h e c o r r es p o n d i n gc l a s s e so f
formless devas(M. ll, p. 262 f., A. l, p. 267).
From the Abhidhamma texts and the commentaries
o n e c a n g a i n s o m e i d e a a b o u t t h e T h e r a v a d ac o n c e p t i o n
of the formless devas. Speaking of two asceticsreborn
a m o n g t h e s eb e i n g sB u d d h a g h o s as a y st h a t t h e y d i d n o t
possessthe sensitivity of the ear (sotappasada)tohear the
D h a m m a p r e a c h e db y t h e B u d d h a n o r t h e l e g s t o c a r r y
t h e m t o t h e p l a c eo f p r e a c h i n gh e r e ( M A . t l , p . 1 8 6 ) .I t i s
i n t e r e s t i n gt h a t t h e c o m m e n t a t o r r e f e r s t o t h e l a c k o f
sotappasEdabut not the external eat (sasambhara-sota).
H o w e v e r ,T h e r a v a d as c h o l i a s t st r y t o e x c l u d et h e p o s s i -
bility even of a sign of any form (ripa), gross or subtle,
matter or even a mind-made (manomaye) body in the
f o r m l e s ss p h e r e .T h e s ed e v a sa r e s a i d t o p o s s e s so n l y t h e
mind base (manayatana), ud ideas (dhammayatana.),
and the elements of mind consociousness(manoviflfiVna-
dhatu) and the element of ideas (dhamma4hatu).Tttey
need only three nutriments viz. contact (phassa),repre-
sentative congnition (mano-safrcetana)and conscious-
ness (vififranal. Buddhaghosa, contrary to all expecta-
t i o n s , s a y st h a t t h e b e i n g so f t h i s s p h e r eh a v e t h e s i m p l c
mentality (nama)withconsciousnessas condition in both
existenceand rebirth-linking (patisandhi) ln this casehe
wants the reader to regard simple mentality as the
complete mentality-materiality (nama'rupa) unit
r e q u i r e df o r r e b i r t h - l i n k i n g( V i s m . p . 4 0 7 ) .
T h e r a v a d i n sn e v e r a d m i t t e d a n y m a t e r i a l e l e m e n tf o r
t h e f o r m l e s ss p h e r e .B u t t h e y b e l i e v e dt h a t t h e r e a r e f o u r
d e v a w o r l d s l o c a t e d i n s p a c ew i t h i n t h e s p h e r e . S o m e
later Abhidhammikas also claim to know the distance
f r o m A k a n i t t h a t o t h e A k a s a n a f i c a y a t a n aa s 5 , 5 8 0 , 0 0 0
yojanas. Otner formless worlds also have the same
d i s t a n c ef r o m t h e o n e b e l o w i t . r T h e r e i s a l s o a v i e w t h a t
all formless heavensare located on the same plane (loc.
cit.).
Sarvastivadins seem to have held the view that there
are merely four types of rebirth (upapatya caturvidhah)
in the formlesssphere.But the Arupa sphereis not a place
 HEAVEN AND HELL
(arupadhatur asthanah). They do not have a particular
p l a c e . W h e r e v e r a p e r s o n w h o h a s r e a l i z e da f o r m l e s s
a t t a i n m e n td i e s h e i s r e b o r n i n t h a t l o c a l i t y ( d e f u )i t s e l f , e
T h e v i e w t h a t t h e h i g h e s tR u p a w o r l d i s n a m e dA k a n i s t h a
m a y h a v e a b ea r i n g o n t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n .A k a n i s t h " i i t o
named becauseaccording to the Abhidharmako'{a com-
mentary, there is no higher plane (bhimLl above it (La
V a l l i e P o u s s i n ,o p . c i t . I I , p . 3 8 2 ) .
M a h a s a n g h i k a sa n d t h e i r s u b - s c h o o l , A n d h a k a s ,
b e l i e v e dt h a t s o m e f o r m o f m a t t er e x i s t si n t h e f o r m l e s s
s p h e r e .T h e y s e e mt o h a v e h e l d t h a t n o r e b i r t h i s p o s s i b l e
w i t h o u t t h i s .T h e r a v a d i n sr e i ec t t h i s v i e w i n t h e K a t h a v a t -
thu (Kvu. p, 378 f.).
T h u s t h e y c o n c e i v e do f f o u r h e a v e n sl o c a t e di n s p a c e
a b o v et h e f o r m s p h e r ew h i c h h a v en o m a t e r i a lel e m e n t o f
a n y s o r t i n t h e m . T h e b e i n g st h e r e h a v e o n l y t h e f o u r
m e n t a l a g g r e g a t e sP, r o b a b l y d u e t o t h i s ' t h e r ei s n o t h i n g
c o n c e i v a b l ew i t h t h e d i v i n e - e y ei n t h e f o r m l e s s s p h e r e '
Qruppe pana dibbacakkhussa gccaro natthi) and the
f o r m l e s s b e i n g s a r e d i s c e r n i b l eo n l y t h r o u g h t h e o m n i -
scienceof the Buddha (DA. l, p. 229.
Reddenb of the Heavurly r#orlds. The two most frequently
m e n t i o n e d h e a v e n sa r c t h e T a v a t i m s a o f t h e s e n s u o u s
s p h e r ea n d t h e B r a h m a k i y a o f t h e f o r m s p h e r ew i t h t h e i r
respectiveleadersSatka and Maha Brahma. They are the
' o n e sm o s t i n t i m a t e l y c o n n e c t e d
w i t h t h e r e l i g i o u sb a c k -
g r o u n d i n w h i c h o f B u d d h i s m a r o s e .A c o m m o n f e a t u r e
o f a l l h c a v e n s( a l s o o f h e l l s )i s t h e i r i m p e r m a n e n c y ,G o d s
w h o b e l i e v e dt h e m s e l v e st o b e c t e r n a l b e a t t h e i r b r e a s t s
and wept when they heard of the Buddha'sdoctrine of
i m p e r m a n e n c eo f a l l p h e n o m e n a( A . I I , p . 3 3 ) .
The history of Sakka, king of gods (devanam indo)
goes back to Vedic Indra, the war god of the Aryans.
However in Buddhism this irascible, soma-drinking
Asura basher of the Rg Veda has undergone consider-
a b l e c h a n g e . H e d o e s r e t a i n h i s c h a r a c t e ra s t h e c h i e f
o p p o n e n t o f A s u r a s w h o r e p r e s e n te v i l . B u t h i s m e t h o d s
o f d e a l i n gw i t h t h e m a r e m a d e h u m a n e t o s u i t B u d d h i s t
e t h i c a lp r i n c i p l e s .S a k k a f r e q u e n t l y s p ea k s o f h i s e f f o r t s
t o c o n t r o l a n g e r a n d a d m o n i s h e sh i s s u b o r d i n a t e so n t h e
b e n e f i t so f t h e s a m e ( ^ S .l , p p . 2 2 3 , 2 3 1 f f . ) .S a k k a , h i s
wives and the thirty-three gods of Tavatimsa were, in
t h e i r p r e v i o u sl i v e s , a g r o u p o f m e n a n d w o m e n o f h i g h
m o r a l sw h o w o r k e d f o r t h e w e l f a r eo f t h e i r f e l l o w h u m a n
beings (J. l, p. 199 ff,) The Sakkapafifiha,9utra of the
Digha-nikEya (D. lI, p.263 ff.)refers to his first meeting
w i t h t h e B u d d h a , t h e d i s c u s s i o no n t h e D h a m m a t h c y
had, and his becoming a stream-winnerT , he Sutta also
alludes to the passing away of the old Sakka in the
p r e s e n c eo f t h e B u d d h a a n d h i s r e b i r t h i n t h e s a m ep l a c e
as a new Sakka. Probably this symbolicallyrepresents
9. Abhidharnako.(a, ed. Louis de L^aVallde Poussin, tI, p. 383.
427 HEAVEIT AND I{ELL
t h e t r a n s f o r m a r i g no f t h e V e d i c I n d r a , i n t o t h e B u d d h i s t
S a k k a , t h e f a i t h f u l B u d d h i s td e v o t e e .
B r a h m a a s t h e h i g h e s tc o n c e p t i o no f r e a l i t yi n c o n t em -
p o r a r y B r a h m a n i c s o c i e t yi s f o u n d p o r t r a y e d b y M a h i
B r a h m ai n t h e t J u d d h i s t e x t s .H e i s t h ep r e s i d i n gd e i t yo f
t h e B r a h m a k a v a g o d s . T h e B r a h m a n i c c o n c e p t i o no f
Brahma as the creator god is found in the Kevaddha
. S u r r a ( i b i d p. . 2 2 1 \ w h e r e M a h e B r a h m a c a l l sh i m s e i fi h e
c r e a t o r a n d f a t h e r o f a l l b e i n g s .B a k a B r a h m a o f t h e
Brahmanimantanika Sutta (M. I, p. 362 ff.) who makes
the same claim must be identicalwith Maha Brahmi.
B a k a s a y st h a t h i s a b o d e i s e t e r n a l a n d t h a t t h e r e i s n o
higher deliverance.The Buddha shows the falsity of his
claim and makes him seethe reality about himself and his
world. Maha Brahma was the first living being to be
r e b o r n i n t h i s w o r l d a t t h e b e g i n n i n go f t h e p r e s e n ta e o n ,
H e c a m e h e r e f r o m t h e A b h a s s a r aw o r l d ( D . l , p . 1 7 6 ) .
B a k a B r a h m a i s a l s or e m i n d e db y t h e B u d d h ao f t h e s a m e
fact. The Brahmanimantanika.Sufta states how Maha
Brahma gaveup his misconceptionand becamea follower
of the Buddha.
T h e r e a r e r e f e r e n c e si n P a l i t e x t s t o s o m e o t h e r
B r a h m a su n d e r d i f f e r e n t n a m e s ,e . g .B r a h m a S a h a m p a t i
( M , L , p , 1 6 8 ) a n d B r a h m a S a n a n k u m a r a( D . t , p , 9 9 ) ,
W h e t h e r t h e s ea r e s e p a r a t eB r a h m a s o r d i f f e r e n t n a m e s
o f t h e s a m eM a h t B r a h m a i s n o t c l e a r .T h e c o m m e n t a r i e s
hold the former view, The division of Brahmakaya into
t h r e e w i t h M a h a B r a h m a a s t h e h i g h e s ta m o n g s t t h e m
p r o b a b l y s t r e n g t h e n e dt h e v i e w a b o u t a n u m b e r o f
separate Mahe Brahmas. The Samyutta-nikiya version
o f t h e s t o r y o f B a k a B r a h m a a l s o s p e a k so f s e v e n t v - t w o
o t h e r B r a h m a si n B a k a ' sc o m p a n y ( S . I , p . 1 4 3 )w h o a l s o
c o u l d b e M a h a B r a h m a s . T h i s o f c o u r s e ,i s a d i f f e r e n t
c o n c e p tf r o m t h e o n e m e n t i o n e da b o v eo f s e p a r a t eM a h a
Brahmias presiding over various clusters of world-
s y s t e m s .l n w h a t e v e rf o r m B r a h m a i s r e p r e s e n t e da, s o n e
o r m a n y , h e i s n e i t h e re t e r n a ln o r i s h e a c r e a t o r( D . I , p .
l 8 f , ) . M a h a B r a h m a , h o w e v e rp o w e r f u l ,i s i m p e r m a n e n t
like ail other gods (M. l, p. 326).Sec pls. XXXSI(b),
XXXIV.
Hell. Niraya is the most woeful of the three or four planes
o f m i s e r yi n t h e c o s m o sr e f e r r e dt o i n B u d d h i s tl i t e r a t u r e .
Early Buddhist texts refer only to three of theseviz.
pettivisaya (reaJm of fathers), Tiracchinayonr (animal
birth) and Niraya. Asuranikaya is added in some later
Canonical texts as the fourth (D, llI, p. 287).Of these
Pettivisaya seemsto be a result of degradingthe'realm of
the fathers'referred to in the \S Veda. Conditions in this
e x i s t e n c ea r e c o m p a r e d t o a s p o t t y s h a d ec a s t b y a t r e e
w i t h a t h i n f o l i a g e( M . 1 , p 7 5 ) . A p e n o n t o r m e n t e db y
h e a t f i n d s v e r v l i t t l e c o m f o r t i n s u c h a p l a c e. H o w e v e r ,
inmates of pettivisayt are benefirted by offerings made
 HEAVEN AND HELL
on theit bchalf by their former kith and kin. Later the
term petti, derived from Sanskrit pi.tr,'father', has got
mixed up with another |erm peta, derived from Sanskrit
'dcparted
ireta rtteaning one.' Preta in Brahmanic /
H i n d u b e l i e fi s a b e i n g i l t h e i n t e r m e d i a t ez o n e b e t w e e n
death and the next life, who at the end of a successful
journey through that zone, becomesa pitr. But if proper
funeral rites are not performed the pretahood becomes
confirmed, and such a bcing has to undergo intense
misery in that condition. In later Canonical texts like the
Petavetthu the two terms peftrdsaya and peta-loka are
uscd ss synonyms.
'Animal birth'is aself-explanatoryterm, Tbe miserable
conditions therein ete compared to that in a cesspit(ibid,
1,p.74). lncessantfear is the besiccharacterof animal life
(4. V, p. 289). Some semidivine beings like Nlgas and
Garudas are included arnong animals. Even thesecannot
derive any benefit from leading a religious life of a recluse
(brahmacariyavasa). Hencc Nagas cannot receive ordi-
nation in the Sairgha(Vin.I, p. 88; D. III, pp. 263f. 287).
The early Buddhist t':xts too, representAsurac as arch
rivals of devas (5.I, p.216 ff.), They are describcd as a
'fallen gods'pushed down from their abode at the
classof
summit of Mount Meru by Sakks, the newly born ruler
of that abode (J. I. p. 202). Howcver, Sakka is said to
hrve married an Asura maiden named Suji, Subse-
quently, for gomc unknnwn reason, Asuras have been
classedby Buddhiets es I group of miserable beings. [n
the commentaries this dilemma is resolvcd by dividing
Asuras into two classes.viz. (i) those on a par with the
Tivatimsa gods and (ii) thc Kilakafijaka Asuras who are
a group of miserable beings (Kvu, p.360). The latter are
raid to live outside the cakkavila well of the world-
systcm. B0t thc srr.te Kilaknfljata Asuras, curiously, are
said to have visited tbe Buddha at Kapilavatthu where
mary other groups of divine beings also visited (D. II, p,
253 ff.). This confirms the letcr origin of the Asurakaya as
the fourth woeful state (apaya).
Lile the \t Vcda the early Buddhist texts also speak
very little about niraya,'the hell'. Yet is it quite clear from
these texts thBt eerly Buddhists did believe in a placc of
suffering after dcath for those who commit evil in this life,
Unlile the other woeful slrtes airaya is described as a
place of definite pain (ekantadukkha). T1nesimilie of the
pit of burning charcoal (M. l, p. 74) used to describe
niraya givesus an inkling of the type of suffering awaiting
the sinner in hcll.
A detailed description of suffering in hell is found in
tbe Devaditt Sutta (M. III, p. 178 ff.) with its shorter
version in the Airgu ttara-nikiya, (A. l,p, 138ff.),and the
Eilapndita Sufta of the Majihima-nikaya (M. III, 163
ff.). Thesc discourues designate the hell as Ninya or
10. JeanPrrylurki, TheLegendo{ Emperor Asokq tr. Dilip Krmrrr litwas, (Cdcutta 1967)'p. 137.
428 HEAYEN AND HELL
Mahaniraya, a term going back probably to the nirela-
Iokaof the Atharva Veda.Buddhists also at times use the
term narakato denote hell. According to thesediscourres
n i r a y a i s a v e r i t a b l ei r o n b o x , a h u n d r e d l e a g u e sE q u B r e ,
Enclosedin iron on all six sides,it is said to be partitioned
, n i t s f o u r i r o n w a l l s a r ef o u r d o o r s w h i c h
i n t o s e c t i o n sO
open periodically to diegorge the miscreants who have
suffered enough for their past misdeeds'This
Mahaniraya is probably the smae as Avici (q.v) or
Aviciniraya, popular in later texts. This is the hell where
Devadatta(q.v.) was reborn after death. Hcrc Avici is
described as a terrifying place with four doors.
(avicinirayam catudvaram bhayanakam ; Vin, ll,p. 203)'
T h e m i s c r e a n t w h o r e a c h e st h e h e l l i s f i r s t t r i e d b y
Yama, the king of thc dead, referred to in the Rg Veda
a l s o . H e r e i n h e i s d e m o t e d t o s u b - h u m a nl e v e l f r o m t h e
h i g h e s th e a v e na s s i g n e dt o h i m i n t h e R g V e d a . l f f o u n d
g u i l t y t h e s i n n e r i s h a n d e d o v e r t o t h e g u a r d i a n so f t h e
hell (nirayapati) who subject him to a number of
punishments before pushing him in to Mahaniraya. Fire
plays a major role in all these punishments' ln the
Mahaniraya the victim is roasted alive by flames darting
forth from all six sides of the iron chamber, When
releasedfrom that place, he has to suffer in successionin
five other sub-hells placed adjacent to cach othcr viz.
€uth a-n i r ay a, K ukk ul aniTaya,- Sim b eli van a, A sipatt a-
vana, and the Kharodaki-nadi. Expenencing all these
excruciating pains the sinner dies not until the conEe-
quencesof his evil kamma are exhausted. Until then the
cycle of suffering continues,the sinner being fished-outof
the River of Caustic Water. the Kh[rodaki-nadi, and
dumpcd into Mahlniraya.
The five places of torture outside Mahaniraya are e
f o r m o f l e s s e rh e l l s , b u t w i t h o u t a n y i n d e p e n d e n ts t e t u s
o f t h e i r o w n , T h e y a l l b e l o n g t o t h e s a m ec o m p l e x a s t h e
M a h i n i r a y a , P r z y l u s k i r o s u g g e s t st h a t t h e K h a r o d a -
ki-nadi encompasses the whole complex like the Vaitarani
o f t h e H i n d u m y t h t h a t e n c o m p a s s e st h e c i t y o f Y a m a .
But in the Buddhist myth the miscreant does not have to
cross the river to reach Yama.
The concept of a single Mahaniraya with a number of
ante<hambers has undergone considerable change in
some of the later works of the Pali Canon, Thus the verser
of the SankiccaJataka (J.V . p. 266) give a list of eigbt
nirayas viz. Sa{jiva, Kilasutta, Sairghata, the two
Roruvas, Mahavici, Tapana and Patipana. The com-
mentary distinguishesthe two Roruvas asJ-alaroruvsand
Dhilmaroruva, Thc name Mahd"i-"i h"r. is probably a
contractedform of Maha Avici. Each of theseis described
in identical terms ar Mahaniraya in the Devadltta Sutta.
But, of course, the punishments, as indicated by their
names,differ from one another. Each of them has sixtecn
 HEAVEN AND HELL
ussada-nirayasas ante-chambersor post{hambers, with
p r o b a b l y f o u r o n e a c h s i d e .T h i s l a t t e r f e a t u r e, h o w e v e r ,
is not a total departure from the earlier version Devaditt
"
S u f f a d e s c r i b e so n l y w h a t h a p p e n st o t h e s i n n e r w h o i s
s e n t o u t f r o m t h e e a s t e r nd o o r . p er h a p s t h c r e a r e s i m i l a r
lessernirayas on the other three sidesasweli. If the river is
t a k e n a s a b o u n d a r y a s s u g g e s t e db y p r r y l u s k i t h e
number of the lesserniral,aswould still be sixteen. The
A b h i d h a r m a k o ( a ( E R E . l V , p . 1 3 3 ) ,r e g a r d st h e A s i p a t -
travana and the Simbalivana as a single unit. This would
a l s or e d u c et h e n u m b e r o n e a c hd i r e c t i o nt o f o u r , w i t h t h e
river as the fourth. The Mahavasf u(III, p. a5$ also refers
to eight nirayas, with sixteen utsada nirayas for each
mun niraya in almost identical t.rms as the Sankicca
JEtaka.
In Sri Lanka the grand total of nirayas has been
a c c e p t e df o r a l o n g t i m e a s o n e h u n d r e d a n d t h i r t y - s i x . r r
But the post{ommentaria.l Pali work paficagatidipan'i,
(JPTS.l884, v. 22) refers only to four ussadanirayasfor
each principaJ niraya. This would reducethe grand total
t o f o r t y . l n t h i s t e x t A v i c i i s a s s i g n e dt h e e i g h t h p l a c ei n
the list.
This agreeswith works like the Abhidharmakofu-
V y a k h y a ( E R E . l o c , c i t . ) w h i c h d e s c r i b e sA v i c i a s t h e
lowest of all nirayas. In the Theravida tradition too Avlci
i s o f t e n m e n t i o n e d a s r h e n e t h e r m o s tp o i n t i n t h e w o r l d -
system,with the opposite pole of bhavagga,the summit
o f e x i s t e n c e( J . p , 7 l ) .
.1,
The J a t ak at t h ak a t h a and the P afrcagati dipani ex pl ain
e a c h _ o ft h e e i g h t d e s i g n a t i o n so f t h e n i r a y a s .T h u s , i n
S a f i j i v at h e v i c t i m s s p r i n g b a c k t o l i f e a g a i na n d a g a i n ,I n
t h e K a l a s u t t al i n e s a r c d r a w n o n t h e i r b o d i e sw i t h a b l a c k
s t r i n gb e f o r ec u t t i n g t h e m u p i n t o d i f f e r e n ts h a p e s H . uge
n o u n t a i n sc r u s h v i c t i m s i n S a n g h a t a .B l o o d - r e d f l a m e s
e n t e rt h e b o d i e so f t h e s i n n er s i n J a i a r o r u v aa n d c a l s t i c
fumesdo the samein Dh[marorul,a. [n the great Avici
there is no interruption in the flames, occupancy of
b e i n g sa n d t h e e x p e r i e n c i n go f p a i n . I n T a p a n at h e b e i n g s
w h o s t a n d m o n t i o n l e s sa r e r o a s t e da n d i n P a t a p a n at h e
h e a t i s e x t r e m e l ys e v e r e .
A f e w o t h e r n a m e s ,s o m e t i m e ss u f f i x e d w i t h t h e w o r d
niraya, appear to connote different tortures inflicted in
these nirayas than independent hells. Kakola, Khura-
d h a r a , S a t a p o r i s a ,S a t t a s [ l a - n i r a 1 ' a S
, unakha-malrani-
r a y a a n d S a m s a v a k aa r e s o m e o f t h es e n a m e so c c u r r i n g
i n l a t e C a n o n i c a lt e x t s . r 2
Buddhlst and Hhrdu Systemsof Hells. Jean Prryluski has
t r i e d t o p r o v e t h a t t h e B u d d h i s t c o n c e p t i o no f k a r m a ,
I l. Spencer Hardy, Manual of Buddhism, p. 126
1 2 . S n . p . t 2 8 f . , " / . V L , p . 2 4 7 ; Y , p p . 1 4 3 , 1 4 5 , 2 6 9 .V
, vu.52,ll-15
13. Guuda Purana (Sacred Books of the Hindus, SBI{. tX), Chap. iii, xiv.
11. Mrnavadharmaiastara, iv, 88-90, Visnudharmasitra, SBE, vii. 140.
429 HEAVEN AIYD HELL
rebirth and niraya has been formed under Upanisadic
e n d M a z d i a n ( Z o r o a s t r i a n )i n f l u e n c c .A l t h o u g h s o m e o f
t h e a r g u m e n t sp r e s e n t e da r c n o t c o n v i n c i n g o n e c a n n o t
r e j e c ta l t o g e t h e rt h e v i e w t h a t s o m eo u t s i d . -i n i l u e n c eh a s
plal'ed an important role in the development of the
c o n c e p to f B u d d h i s t s y s t e mo f h e l l s .T h e s y s t e mo f e i g h t
hells of the Sa'nkiccaJitakaseems to have no dircct link
with the concept of the Mahaniraya of the Devadita
Sutta, lt is difficult to surmise thc source of influence
under which the Buddhists dcvelopcd this new system,
The Brahmanic/Hindu tradition had by the period of
the Puri?as developed the concept of a full-fledged hell
with a court of justice presided over by yama, and
v a r i o u s f o r m s o f p u n i s h m e n t sm e t e do u t t o s i n n e r s . l lT h e
e a r l y B u d d h i s t e l a b o r a t i o n o f t h e c o n c e p to f h e l l i n t h e
Devadita and Balapandita Suttas is more primitive
w h e n c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e ' P u r a n i cc o n c c p t i o n .
T h e ea r l i e s ta n d t h e s h o r t c s tl i s t o f s e v e nh e l l si n H i n d u
literature is found in the commentaries of the Vedant4
SDfras of Badarayana and the Yoga Sutras of Patafijali
(SBH. IV, 221, Y, p. M2). Raurava, Maharaurava and
A n d h a t a m i ( r a a r e n a m e sc o m m o n t o b o t h l i s t s .T h e t w o
Rauravas(Pali Roruva) arc found in thc Buddhist lists
too. Kilasltra (Pali Kalasutta) is found in the yoga
SDtra commentary and the Buddhist lists and so is the
name Avici or Mahavici. Vaitarani and Kumbhipaka of
the Vedinta.gufra commenrary could be paralled by the
Kharodaki-nadland the Lohakumbhi, which arc not
designatednirayas inthe fuvadita Sutu. These show
e i t h e r m u t u a l i n f l u e n c eo r a c o m m o n s o u r c eo f o r i g i n f o r
Buddhisst and Hindu systems,lf Badariyana's apidapta
aphorism has been corrcctly interpreted by the com-
m e n ta t o r t h e c o n c e p to f s e v e nh e l l si n H i n d u i s m m u s t b e
r a t h e r o l d , H o w e v e r ,t h e r ei s n o c o n c l u s i v cp r o o f t o s h o w
t h a t t h e B u d d h i s t sd e s i g n e dt h e i r n e w s e to f e i g h t h e l l so n
t h e m o d e l o f t h e s es e v e nH i n d u h e l l s ,
A l l t h e e i g h t n a m e s o f t h c B u d d h i s t l i s t , h o w e v e r .a r e
includedin the longerlistsfound in the Hind,sDharma
S i t r a s a n d t h e P u r a n a s . t aS o m e o f t h e n a m e s o f t h e
B u d d h i s t m i n o r h e l l s a r c a l s o i n c l u d e d i n t h e s eH i n d u
works, eg. the Thorny Salmali and Aiipatravana in the
Visnu Purana are the same as Simbalivana and Asipatta-
vana in Pali texts. Some modes of punishment in
B u d d h i s t t e x t s a r e m a d e i n t o s e p a r a t eh e l l s i n H i n d u
works, eg, Lohaiairlu hell may have originated from the
place where a sinner is struck by iron pikes, (ayasanku:
S n . v . 6 6 7 ) .I n t h e s a m et e x t i t i s s a i d t h a t s i n n e r se n t e r a
'blinding
darkness' (andhamYa timisam). Hindu lists
h a v e A n d h a t a m i i r a h e l l . A t t h e V e t a r a n i ,H i n d u V a i t a -
 HEAVEN AND HELL 430
ran;, flocks of Kakolas (Kikolaganal and crows (k-a*a)
a t t a c k s i n n c r s( i b i d ) , S a k o l a k a a n d K a k o l a a r e n a m e so f
h c l l s m e n t i o n e di n H i n d u t e x t s .W h i l e t h e B u d d h i s t t c . \ t s
identify Mahanaraka with Avlci the Hindu texts take
t h e m t o b e s c p a r a t eh e l l s .T h u s i t i s p o s s i b l et h a t t h e l a t e r
H i n d u l i s t s h a v e c o m e u n d e r c o n s i d e r a b l eB u d d h i s t
influence.
A System of Cold Hells. In the Samyutta-nikaya (S. I, p'
152) is a discourse, also repeated in the SuttEnipita,
which gives a list of ten nirayas which have never been
incorporated into the list of hells in thc late Canonical
and post-Canonical works. Thesc ten are: Abbuda'
Nirabbuda, Ababa, Atata, Ahaha, Kumuda, Sogan-
dhiks, Uppala, puldarifi and Paduma. Tbe length of
time one has to suffer in the first of these,viz. Abbuda, is
expressedin a similic. lf one wcre to rcmove evcry one
hundred thousand years just one seed from a load of
twenty Kosalen khiris of sesame,the load of sesame
would be exhausted beforc thc lifc span of one reborn in
this hell. The life span in the Nirabbuda is twenty times
that of Abbuda. Thus, the lifc span in each hell i3 twenty
times more than that in the prcvious oDe' Paduma is the
most terrifying of them all. The commentators say that
these are not separate hells but mere designations of
different placesin Avici where one bas to suffer for that
particular lenglh of time (SA, l, p. 2lt).
Certain Buddhist Sanskrit works have included some
of thesenames in their lists of hells. They speak of eight
cold hells in their schemes. viz. Arbuda, Nirarbudg
Atata, Havava, Huhuva, Utpala, Padma and
f"felipaama (ERE, IV, p. 133).Somc of the names like
Arbuda and Nirarbuda are said to be expressiveof the
rhape of the inmates,whilc thc others are onomatapoetic.
Thcy ere named after the sounds made by the sufferersin
tha intense cold of these hells.
This concept of cold hells was known to the Surfa-
nipita commentator (5n.4. p. 477). He says that,
according lo some thcsc hells are named after the
differcnt ways of lamentation made by the tortured, and
different modes of torture fouud at these placcs.Others
say thcse are cold hells. Thc concept of cold hclls must
have beeenintroduced after Buddhism came iDto contact
with pcoples coming from cold climes, Mazdaism does
spcal of cold hells in their scriptures'
A M€trphorlcel Interprttadoo of Heavem and lldls-
Some materialist teachers and pbilosophers in ancient
Indie questioned the existenccof both heevensand hells'
For instance Ajita Kesahambali did not Ecceptthe truth
o f a s p o n t a n e o u sb i r t h ( o p a p d u : D . 1 , p , 5 5 ) . T h i s w o u l d
amount to a rejection of the existencc of both heavenr
rnd hells since both divine and hellirh beings ere
l j. Mannsse loko pana vokinna-sukhaaiirtho. Idheva apyo ct segg.oca pafrfiTyrlti: SA. II, p' 100.
IIEAVEN AND IMLL
spontaneouslyborn. Some Buddhist Schools alsodid not
believe in the reality of certain aspectsof heavens and
hells. Somc, for instance, belicved that thc guardians of
thc hell (nirayapala) are not real but kamma-created. A
versc quoted by them says that sinners are punished by
their own kemma but not by the King of the Fatherr
(Pittiraja). Theravadins rejected this view as not confor-
ming to textual evidence(Kvu. p' 596)'
Therc is. however, some evidence in Pali texts of an
ehrly attempt to interpret metaphorically some of the
contemporary terminology connccted with bcliefs in
heaven and hell. In one discoursc (S, IV' p' 206) the
Buddha has rcjected the view commonly held at the time
that there is a placenamed Patila at the bottom of the
ocean.Patala, according to him, is a synonym for painful
sensationsof the body, Tbere is another instance where
certain heavensand hells are named after the six fsculties
of sensecontact (cha phassiyaunani)' Buddha claims to
have seenthe hells and heavensby thesenames.Speaking
of the hells be says"Therein whatevcr object one sceswith
eye, one secs art uninviting, not a! inviting; one seesag
repulsiveDot as charming; one seesas ugly, not as lovely"
and so forth *ith regard to all other sensesas wcll' Thc
converseis true of the six heavens(ibid. p. 125).
The commeDtator assertstbat Avici ir meant here by
the term nirayatndTavatirlsa by the word sagga(.S4. II,
p. a00). But the tcxt refersto six hells and six heavensand
not mere one. This could very wcll be a referenceto the
six types of senseexperience,painful or pleasurable,oDe
could experiencein any spbere, espcciallyin the humen
world, The commeDtator is not averseto tbis view for he
saysthat both hell and heaven can be here in the human
world because it has a mixture of both pain and
pleasure.l5
'Great Burning'or
The niraya named Mahiparilahq
'Great Fever'with tbe same conditions as in the six hellr
noted ebove is mentioned in another discourse(S, V' P.
450). The commentator has not tried to identify it witb
any known hell. It may be thc same as Mahaniraya
because the Bilapandita Sutta uses the seme tcrms in
dcrcribing that hell. Mabiparil-aha can be here and now
in the human world as well, for one discourse 38ys that
mental and physical f.ever (pariliha), distress (dantha)
and tormen t (santepa)leading to anguish (dutkrtalcould
result from senseperception. However, Theravidins of
old who stuck to a traditional view of hell and heaven
have never tried to develop on such metephorical inter'
pretations. See Pl. XXXV.
Peths to Heavens nd Hellr Rg Vedaspeaks of the path
to the third heaven discovered by Yama and followcd by
other humen beings (Rv. X, 14, I - 2). Later Vedic tcrtr
 HEAYEN AND HELL
tpeek of.two separate paths leading to Heaven and tbe
rorld of tbc fathers (pitrs). The Brhedaranyaka,
'Up
Chiadoga and otber Upaaisads (Byh 6, 2.'15-16,
Ch. Up.5. 10, l-7) describethe respectivepaths taken by
tbore who follow the path of the farhers (pitryana) and
thoae who end up with Brahma, the highest reaJity viz.
'the path of gods' (devayina).
The former rerurns to the
humen world again and agein while the latter never
returnr. Some of the later Purinas (Garuda. ch. Itt)
dercribe how the departed ones(preta) followthe path to
thc seatofjudgement of Yamq the King of Righteousness
(Dhamanja). Tbis path is supposed to exist in the
physical world, delineated sometimes, in relation to
various heawnly bodies or natural phenomena.
Buddhisin also speaks of a path or paths or a journey
(gati) ud provisions for the journey (pithcyya), of rhose
who lcave thir world and_goto rhe bcyon d (Dhp. vv. 235,
237), But in early Buddhism there is never an attempt to
t?t out such a path as a phyrical reality. The path, userlin
e metaphorical sensc,is to be followed while still lir ing.
Tbc path followed here is the path of good or bad actions
pcrformed by a person. The former leads to a happy
rabirth and the latter to an unhappy rebirth. The Buddha
linkr the three spheresof sensuouspleasuresftima)form
(rupa) and no-form (aripe)to these actions (kamma). lf.
there is no performance of actions that would be effective
in the scnsuomrsphere (kama-bhava) there could be no
becoming in that sphere. Similarly with the other two
spheres. It is the seed of coruciousness(vififlana-bija)
nurtured in the field of action that springs to life in an
appropriate new birth (4. L p. 223). Thus avoiding the
path of evil actions and following the path of good
rctions one can ensurc a happy life aftcr death.
According to the Kukkuravatika Sutta (M.1, p. 387
ff.), harmfirl (sabyibajiha,), black, bodily, verbal and
mental actions lead one to harmful worlds hke niraya,
while non-harmful (abyabajjha),whire, acrions lead to
non-harmful worlds like Subhakinna. A mixture of black
and whitc actions leads one to worlds where one expe-
riencesa mixture of pain and pleasure.The human world
is held out as an example. Certain deva worlds and
subhuman planes are also ga.idto have the same condi-
tions. Actions which are neither bleck nor white lead to
the eradication of kamma (kammakkhaya)viz. Nibbanr
A further analysis would show that evil abtions per-
formed for sensegratification would lead to rebirth in
niraya and other woeful states while good actions done
with the same purpose would lead to rebirth in the
h e a v e n so f t h e s e n s u o u ss p h e r e .G o o d a c t i o n s w i t h a n
admixture of evil would lead to a human rebirth. The
f.our jhinas or their equivalents likc the four sublime
abodes (brahma-uihira) would lead to rebirth in the
t o r l d s o f t h e f o r m s p h e r e( r u p a b h a v a :A . I I , p . 1 2 6f f , )
43r HEAYEN AND HELL
rnd the four formless attainments (aripa samapatu)lead
to the worlds of the formlesssphere(arupabhava;ibid. p.
267). While the four formless attainmenrs have each its
c o r r e s p o n d i n gp l a n e o f r e b i r t h t h i s a s p e c ti s n o t s o c l e a r
in the caseof the fourTianas. The commcntarics call the
tbree worlds of the Brahmakaya the 'plane of the first
jhina' (pathamaiihina-bhimi). Thc next rhrec worlds
cnding with Abhassara arc the plane of the second jhana
and the three worlds ending with Subhaki??" the plane
of the third jhAna. Although not cxpressly stated, all
other worlds of the form sphere ending with Akanirtha
bclong to the planc of the fourth jhana 6vbh. p. aiaf;
VbhA. p. 250). The A'nguttara-nkaya which says that
the fourth jhana leads to Vehapphala, explains that
insight into true naturc of the mental states obtained
while in the four jhinas leads to the Pure Abodcs
(Suddhivasa: A. ll, p. I28).
Nhbfuh Path end the C.osms There seernsto be a close
relationship betweenthe Buddhist world-system and the
Path of Defiverence (vimuttimagga). At the outset one
could seethat the realizationof the four stagesof the Path
is expressedin terms of rebirth in or deliverenceform
rebirth in various statesof existence.Thus, one who har
realized thc first stage of the path, SotZpatti, is said to bc
'not liable to
fall'and 'certain to attain enlightenment'
(auinipata-dhammo niyato sambodhiparZyano: M. l, p.
3 4 ) . E l s e w h e r et h e B u d d h a e x p l a i n s h o w a p e r s o n c a n
declare bimself to be a Stream-winner (sotapanno), frce
from niraya, animal birth, the realm of the fathers and
free from a.llforms of sub-human miserableexisGnccs(,S.
V, p. 356 ff ). A Stream-winner is further said to be liable
to be reborn only seven times the most (sattakkhattu-
parama: ,4. I, p. 233). A further development of this
concept is seen in the terms kolamkola and ekabif used
with. referencc to Stream-winners. The first realizes
deliveranceafter two or more rebirths, while the second
puts an end to suffering after just one more rebirth (ibid.
loc. cit.).
The tcrm Sakadagamrn, Once-returner, used of one
w h o h a s r e a c h e dt h c s e c o n d s t a g e o f t h e P a t h , i s s e l f
e x p l a n a t o r v .H e r e t u r n st o t h i s w o r l d j u s t o n c e a n d p u t s
and end to suffering. An Anagamin, a Non-returner,
never returns to this world. Such a person has a
s p o n t a n e o u sb i r t h i n a h e a v e n l y w o r l d a n d c o u l d b e
reborn in higher heavenlyworlds before finally attaining
Nibbana. An Arahant has put an end to all rebirth (khini
jati)and for him there is no whirlpool (of birth and deatir)
to be shown (va!!t4 natthi paf,fiapanaya: M.I, p.34 ff .).
The Path of Deliverence given in grear detail in the
Nikaya literature also seemsto be closely aligned with
different grades of worlds in the cosmos. Thus a monk
who perfectsmoral discipline (sila) and developsmental
concentration (samidful realizesat one point that he is
 HEAVEN A}.TDHELL
free from the five hindrances(paflcanTvarana).Joy tbat is
g e n e r a t e df r o m t h i s u l t i m a t e l y l e a d st o c o n c e n t r a t i o no f
t h e m i n d , a n d i t i s f r o m t h e r et h a t t h c m e d i t a t o re n t er s t h e
f v s t j h a n a . l n e x p r e s s i n gt h i s i t i s s a i d " s c p a r a t e df r o m
s e D s u o upsl e a s u r e ss, e p a r a t e df r o m e v i l s t a t e so f t h e m i n d
he enters and abides in the ftrst jhana. " This quite
o b v i o u s l yi s i n d i c a t i v c o f t h e t r a n s i t i o n o f t h e m e d i t a t o r
from the sphere of sensuous pleasures (kama-bhava),
c o n s i s t i n go f b o t h w o e f u l a n d h a p p y s t a t e so f t h i s s p h e r e ,
to the sphere of form. It was shown that the four thinas
erc equivalent to the heavensof the sphere of form and
t h e f o r m l e s s a t t a i n m e n t st o t b e h e a v e n so f t h e f o r m l e s s
s p h e r e .O n e w h o p a s s e sa l l t h e s ew o r l d s a n d r e a c h e st h e
f o u r t h a t t a i n m e n to f t h e l a t t e r s p h e r er e a c h e st h e s u m m i t
o f e x i s t e n c e( b h a v a g g a : , SI .I I , p . 8 3 ) .T h e r e a r en o w o r l d s
beyond that. Thcreforc one who attains the ninth attain-
m e n t , i . e . ' c e s s a t i o no f p e r c e p t i o na n d f e e l i n g ' h a s g o n e
b e y o n d e x i s t e n c e .T h e r e i s n o w o r l d c o r r e s p o n d i n gt o
this attaiament. Here he touchescessation(nirodha)with
t h e b o d y ( D . I , p . 1 8 4 ) .B u t t o r e a l i z ec o m p l e t eN i b b a n a
he hasto climb down from this summit to a lower plane
a n d s e e i n gi t w i t h w i s d o m , e r a d i c a t ea l l i n t o x i c a nt s ( M . I ,
p . a 5 6 ) .T h i s l i n a l e m a n c i p a t i o nc a n b e a c h i e v e de v e na t a
lower stage in the sphere of form, The frequently
mentioned stage for this exerciseis the fourth jhana.
Tbus a Buddhist meditator traverses through the
cosmos and finally goes beyond all existence (bhava),
before his death, in this very life itself. ln a number of
d i s c o u r s e st h e B u d d h a h a s s h o w n h o w a p e r s o D c a n b e
clevated to final emancipation in this vcry life by a
c o m p e t e n t i n s t r u c t o r . T h i s i s e s p e c i a l l ys t a t e d a b o u t
persons on their death bed. Tbe Dhaneflja:;i Sutta (M.
II, p. 193ff.) shows how a brahmin on his death bed was
led up, step by step,by Arahant Sariputta, from nirayalo
Brahmakaya" tbrough all sub-human, human, and six
lower heavenly worlds. The braiamin was reborn a-ftcr
d e a t hi n t h e c o m p a n y o f B r a h m a k a y ag o d s .T h e B u d d h a ,
howevcr, rebukcd Sariputta for stopping here, for the
brahamin was capable of going further and perhaps
realizing emancipation,
A discourse of the Sam.yutta-nikaya (V, p. 408) showt
how a discerninglay disciplc could assistanother wise lay
disciple who is seriouslyill. First hc should bc instructed
to free his mind from attachment to the five strands of
sensepleasuresof the human world. In this manner bis
mind is led up through the six heavensof the sqnsuous
spbereby showing that each world above is better than
the lower one. When the mind of the sick person rcaches
Brahmakaya he is told that the Brahma world itself is
impermanent, not lasting, and bound by the notion o'fself
(anicco addhuvo sakkiyapariyapanno). If he is able to
grasp this fact, then his mind could be releasedfrom
bondage.There is no difference betweenhis deliverancc
rtd that of one who has eradicetcd the intoxicanK
432 HEDOMSM
ftsavakkhaya), i.e. an Arahant. Thus the system of
h c a v e n sa n d h e l l s h a s b e e n m a d e u s e o f b y b h i k k h u s t o
l e a d a p e r s o n ' sm i n d t o a h a p p y r e b i r t h o r f i n a l d e l i -
verarce from all suffcring.
C. Wltamdtcttl
H E D O M S M , i s t h e t h e o r y t h a t p l e a s u r ei s t h e c h i e f g o e l
a n d t h a t p l e a s u r es h o u l d b e t h e a i m o f h u m a n e n d e a v o u r .
P s y c h o l o g i c a l l yi,t i s t h e t h e o r y t h a t e v e r y a c t i o n i s
m o t i v a t ed b v m c n ' sd e s i r et o b e h a p p r ' .E t h i c a l l y .i t i s t h e
doctrine that every man ought to aim at securingfor
h i m s e l f a n d o t h e r s t h e g r e a t e s tp o s s i b l es u m o l p l e a s u r e .
-fhe
p s y c h o l o g i c a lt h e o r v a n d t h e m o r a l d o c t r i n e n e e d
n o t n e c e s s a r i hg o h a n d i n h a n d .
P o p r . r l a ra m o n g G r e e k p h i l o s o p h e r s ( A r i s t i p p o s .
E,udox<.rs, Epikuros), Hedonism was alien to the spirit of
Christianity, but was revived by the I Tth century materia-
l i s t i c p h i l c s o p h e r s ,H o b b e s . L o c k a n d o t h e r s ,a n d i n t h e
l 9 t h c e n t u r y r e m o d e l l e da s U t i l i t a r i a n i s m b y B c n t b a m
rnd John Stuart Mill.
Several savings of the Buddha would make one think
of him as a hedonist,With Nibbana as the goal of his
doctrine he describesit as thc highest bliss (Nibbazam
paramAm sukham; Dhp. v.203). Happiness is the result
to be expected from a pure mind (ibid. v, 2). This
happiness,howcver, is not pleasurebut arisesin a serene
mind (suki am seti vippasannena cetasa:ibid. v, 79); it is
synonymous with the calm of peace (upasanto sukham
s e t i i b i d . v . 2 0 1 \ . H a p p i n e s si s t h e r e l i e ff r o m a l l c o n f l i i t
( i b i d . v . 3 3 1 ) . I t e x i s t si n t h e a t t a i n m e n to f w i s d o m a n d
the avoidanceof evil (loc. cit.), To be happy is to be
contentwhetherone has much or little (loc. cit.). An
o c c a s i o n a ln o t e o f u t i l i t a r i a n i s m i s s t r u c k , e . 8 . , w h e n
f r i e n d s a r e s a i d t o b e a p l e a s u r ew h e n o n e i s i n n e e d( i b i d .
v . 3 3 0 ) .A l l t h e s eq u o t a t i o n sa r ei n t e n t i o n a l l yc u l l c d f r o m
o n e s i n g l et e x t , t h e D h a m m a p a d a ,w h i c h h a s n o p h i l o -
sophic build-up and has therefore, the most practical
value. They all point to happinessas distinct from
pleasureor pleasurablefeeling (sukha-vedanZ).
Pleasurablefeeling is a sensation,but is, according to
A b h i d h a m m a , e x p e r i e n c e do n l y i n t h e s e n s a t i o n o f
touch. "This exceptional distinction is assigncd to the
senseof touch, becausethe impact between the sentient
surface (pasada-rupa) and the respective objects of other
seDscs,both setsof which are secondaryqualities of body,
is not strong enough to produce physical pain or
pleasure, But in the case of touch there is contact with
oDe,or othtr, or ail the three primary qualitics (locality,
temperature, pressurc, i.e., palhavi, tejo, viyo); end thir
is strong enbugh to effect those primary qualitie! in tbc
 HFII+::\ySr\f

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af Philaaopfy, I ntrr,x;it(-i.':.i7i,&,i1\'
In a way slrniirir ,,' :a-t i1: r:,.',
h e d . J n i r t i c f e e ! i r : 5 l { ; , , ; ' 0 . .. , - . : . , . i
* x p e i : r n c r o f b i i s s . o n e s i : r , t ; 1 , ,- : , t , : r . .-:; '
l i r d o n i r . : ' - t l r a l i ! ' , J - r : : : r r : i i f, - 1 t i r r : .
p t e * : U r * ! r . ; ;t n i t . ' r , i t l r , F i . . : , . . . rri ' . .
'rf rnrDd(tatra-t:tayhat:au;,.
J , r ' , r . .' , , ; i i
ttrtf.
- . . . ' - 1 . ,'
H e d o n i s t i c p l e a s u r e s a r e s c r a r i r i t t h a l t h e) ' a i r r I 7ll'l
o b v i o u s l y n l t h o r : : o g c n r n u sr . r n dc a n i l t r t r r : " . r . ! : r t f i , r : .f;,;
-Ihus,
e s t i m a t e dq u a n l i t a i i v e l i ' . Lo speakci thc freat.r.t
p o r s i b l es u m o f h a p p i n e s sa $ i h c a i r r lo f e t h r c a :i i r . : ; r g, ,
r a t h e rm e a n i n g l e s sP. ! e a s u r er i i a ! h c a i i o b . i c c rr i r . i : r ; ' t " .
b u t w h e n a c o D t i n u o u ss t a t eo f h a p p i r : e s ;ss s h o* , n a s i h e
g o d i t i s n o t a s u r n o f p l e a s u r e sA, n d s o i r h a p o e n sr h a r
m E n y p l e a s u r a b l cf c e l i n x s , : a n n { r tp r o d : r t r h a p r ' : : r t :
€ . 8 , , a d i s t i n c t i o n i s m a d e ( , t l { "t l l , p . d : j b c r w e e ni l r
fceling of pleasure ('sukha) and tlie iav rsosr;at.ts.;:,t)
reaUlting a s a n a s s o c i a t e nd : c n t n ls t a t e .b , r i h . - .,1u h : , : l : , i i r
lroupcd as fceling (vedani),

T h a t t h e r e a r e k i n d s c r fh a p p i n e s sw h i c h n i e n o r r c t i
c l a s r i f i e d u n d e r p l e a s u r a h l ef e c i i n g i r s h o w r : n i l "
A b h i d h a m m a g r o u p i n gosf l h e r n r n t a l i a : : l i r r1 ,-. , . i . r , ;r
w h e r e p l e a s u r a b l ea t c i o o n - p l i a . : r: '-ri i 1 * i r : , . , . .:i
g r o u p e du n d e r s e n s a t i o n is. c d a a i ) . . . r i - , r r a i r o r " f . ri i . c t
r e s l ( p i i ) i s a m e n t a l f a c t r ; r g r c u p e r l l i i d r I t i l . , l . a r r n ji.
f o r m a t i o n s ( s a n k h i r a ) " r r a c c i C r n t a i i r i , f i r :1. . .
(pkinnaka).

Neither this jo1'ful interestt;tlitti :t:tr iJ.: ,'1,:,,

w e l l b e i n g( s u k h a ) , w h i c ha r es t s g e s . itnh r :d : r e r ( l f r r r e : .)\1
m e n t a l c o n c e n t r a t i o na n d a b s o r p t i o n( i h a n a ) ,f a i j s u : r t r : :
t h e c a t e g o r y o f p l e a s u r e ,a s s o c i a t i c i nw i t h w l i i c h " i r l ' . * -
e v e r , i s n o t c x c l u d e d . F o r , h a p p i n c s si s c i e a r ! vi i s l r r . l
g u i s h c d a s s e n s u o u s f e e l i n g ( p l e a s , . r r ea j r - i r f r ; r, 1 , r ; ,
cmotion, cven when a cornmon term sul,ha!s useo

B u t t h e s p i r i t u a le m o t i o n so f j o y i u i i r r { e i c : .i .: , , r , ,a; n n ;
the expericnce of the bliss of well-bcing.{:'i.r,ri^hel a:;.:
always shown as trensccndingall sense-pleesrnes {kan s
sukhe), That a bappy rebirth is oftcn sh,-r*rr a5 ir
iegitimatcand profitable (Tnisamsa)quest for riic sirnplcr-
ih,.::-ri -
m i n d e dl a y m a r ( e . 8 . ,A . l , p . 5 8 ) , t h a t m e r i r o r i o u sd e c d :
a r e c D c o u r a g e da s c a r r i e r so f h a p p i n e s s( s u * h a v a h * n r .a .-\;{:i.rl:

I, p. 2), and that conduct which ieadsio prrfit ard 'i8:, ji:,'
i
happiness(hitaya sukhaya samvattantr' ,4 I p la0i r.c r,- .::.ilil

s h o w n i n t h e w e l i - k n o w n a d v i c e t o t h r K a i I r : - , a sa s u 1 r i 1 1 1 1 ; - l 1r 1 j

g u i d e - s t o n feo r e t h i c a lb e h a v i o u r .p o i n t t a t h e h e d t ; n i s r :''gi1ii'3r;;1'

t e n d e n c yi n B u d d h i s t m o r a l i t v . B u t . a s i n t h e u l t r m a r c
sense not only immorality (akrrsale) bvt a-!so rnrnl
(puf,fla) has to be left behind to effcct a suicessfui
c r o s s i n go f t h e s t r e a mo f s a m s a r ai,t i s a " l s oi r t h e u i l i m n i e
 434 IIEMIS-GUMPA

, r ' " , ' ; 1, , 1 ' : 1i ' ;, ' : r " i n , : t l f t n t B n d f a V O U f e d 1987. Shinsho Hanayamq translated and editcd by
\ , ; ; : , i r , : i :i c { h e g r c i e n t b e l i e f , Kosho Yamamoto; A History of Japanese Buddhism,
i?F{i ie.-qr{:ieli ds a dalgernus dircction T h i r d P r i n t , T o k y o , 1 9 ? 7 .A s s o c i a t i o n o f t h e B u d d h r
s ritltr SlrFra(]t(d ti. antef. It WaS Jayanti, edited; Japan and Buddhism, Tokyo, 1959. H.
. ;,: r .),.
'qL :
,l i,.,tulr.j :itt-ya AS pfO- Paul Varley; -lapaneseCulture, fhird Edition, Tokyo,
1984, L,^ Dale Saunders; Buddhism in Japan, Fourth
Printing,Tokyo, 1985,

r i n , . . o .i ., i r , i , n . { i I e f l l ? r - , ] r i i ! t h e h i S t O r y O f J a p a n e s e
T. Endo
' .,: i . , --.1fl-rr?{t\:i ,.11i1rr.r5 rts
te which were inde-
r.,,i.:'-tI ::r *-;l hi.q'.,,'h r;honi5
f aS the PUfe Land
; r i , . r i l . . n i a r r i t h e N i r , : h i r e ns c h o o l t h a t HEI.,A ATWA. SCCSITIALA ATTHAKATHA
{lrf rrr ;rn" js...! f nfi lhf Kama.kura
HELL SeCHEAVEN AND HELL

r,;ttrasq*al th. f n'frrgcnCe Of anOthef

.t 'i,.J"tlr:;rhrrrgiln school, founded IIEMIS - GIIMPA, is the most famous, the oldest and rhe
i,.!,,,' i"' | .-i.i' rli 9:5', r.l)whnlikeSaicho rcaithiest monastery in Ladakh.
i ' . , . ., t- ,i; . r r ' i a .( . . , , l i t f I ' r , , : , ,i:l r i : i 5 i O nA S S a i 6 h o i n
The word gumpa is used to denote the spaciour
buildings in tbe monasteriescontaining thc main prayer
halls, the chapels 8rd the large number of rooms
" ; e ; ! - , ! j r i i . . . rl 9 1 . *r . ; 9 . r 4 [ 1o.fi t i : e S h i n g o n s e c t o n occupied by the lamas, lnside the chapel are placed the
! , i r . , i ' , , , 1 1 1 i tA { lrfnple called Kongobuji.
beautiful images of Maitreya aDd other gods who ere
. : . . . , , Ii . r , , ," i : . , l , i r l rh r c a l D r R n o t h e r c c n t f e
worshipped I numhr of times during the day and I
r . . , t r r l , i' r , i r i r i i l p i i i n q ' J d i t i r . r nt o h i s p r i e r t l y
butter lamp is kept burning constantly. The walls of the
:' rie i. i,', ".;, ,..1tvtrf;d fnr Calligraphy chapel and other rooms in the monasteriesare decorated
with beautiful paintings and costly tapestries.The walls
of the monastcriesare surmountcd with a large number
; . 3 1 1, ' r f l r * : . ! . ' p 1
F ' e r . l r l d J, n p a n p l U n g e d of prayer flags. The gumpasare also the placeswhere the
t i " i . . , r : r r " F1 i r 1 - i . r ' il r' i l - s a l c s u l t O f c i v i l famous mystery plays of Ladakh are staged. Every
, "qni '. ,:h ii:r frpr of de ath. As the monastery celebratesits own festival, which in addition
" * . , ,' - .
gifrrpl,:,,1. | : '.. 1 ';-,
,f :.' Srt.l.ihiSt theO:y gained to the performance of the customary offerings (pifa),is
: ' : . . . i . ] , . . , , , ' r l r it n ? . t r i n t r : a n s g c o f
r'!, ln occasion for music, dance and drama.
d e t - t ' " . : a 4 : , ; :, i ; Ir ilr l )he.rr na whefc no individuals
lhi

a 1 r 1 1 1 ! "j " . r i. ;5, ' .'1l. r,; nttnifl eqliehtenment bV their H e m i s - g u m p ai s s i t u a t e da b o u t t w e n t y - t w o m i l e s t o

^ " " , ' r yi j { : ' 1 rI , rilv ..;:r! i h r i i i r l i : t . l & ' . 1 qc a l l e d the theory the south-eastof Leh and it belongsto the Red Hat sectof
,ri ii,{:p1;," , 'r ,:; 1 1 1 i 1i 1. r n ' l ; t i l r : i g s f n f t h r t h r t e stages lamas. Hundreds of lamas of this sect reside in this
" , 1I ' 1 , ' ' ' monastery. Earlier, people reached this place either on
','r;1 r '': ; r i i ' , : ; 1 ; j l - \ ! r r r l ' r r l F ) ,t h e p f i n d foot or on horse-back. But now it has becn connected
Of the
I 1,.!'i -. . ' . r ' " , . ; ; r : . . i f l r ' l, i . 1 r r . gi f r tO Sqfng I1000) w i t h L e h b y a m o t o r a b l er o a d .
",rr.li\B
.r:rl {irl ? :', n:'.r": l:i;-"'.'r Y}fup:;;19), thC pcf !od of the

t r.;r'r ir i . . r . " , rn:.' j.i)i,g veers (according to At Hemis-gumpq a grand festival is held Bruruslly in
',-i:i;' .:i ' , . , ,- . r i ' . ! t ' ( i i t l F t o t h e J a p a n e s e t h e m o n t h o f J u n e i n h o n o u r o f P a d m a s a m b h a v aT. h i s i s
!
r ! . " " i::r !ir.:"it tl_te coDsidcred as the most fnmous festival in Ladakh. lt
t r i ; '
l.far I05.LA,C. It
r:rrjgiif l, : r . . , : : . , : : 1 i : r i; ri : i n g l r d \ ! . i t h t h c s o c i a l . attracts large crowds of people from the nearby villages
. r . , . ; , r ' i r r r,:r f t h e c o u D t r y a n d and also from Ladakh, A mystery play, interspersedwith
. . i f j p " i , ) n nn l o v r m e n t f o r l h e i r dances, cn&ctcd on this occasion represents the fight
1 , :r;',1r i ! 1 rFyo f l u l a t i z a t i o n o f t h e bctween Good and Evil(q.v,) with the former triumphing
I ' a . l , i i i q r r r ^r \ 1 , i S u b s e O r r e n t l VW i t h at the end. The lamas take part in theseplays dressedin
i . , . i : i ! , r J , d - i i , r(: 1J 1 8 5 A ( ' . _ 1333 e l a b o r a t e b r o c a d e c o s t u m e s .S o m e o f t h e m u s e l a r g e
black hats crowned with images,and others wear masks
of animals, skeletons etc. The orchestra used in these
plays includes big trumpets, cymbals, drums and clari-
l"'i , {i,ilnqR: lttundatioa nets. At the end of this festival an offering is performed
{1.{ vn. !hiril Irnnting, an.l it is considercd as I rafeguard against possible
 fi F.rtI;SY' 435

c a l a m i I r e s r r n l h e i a n d a r , c r f s p f { , 1 ) ] si r , : l l i : a i . . i ..: . i i : i , ; _ 1 . : l g: li' l i l r ; 1 1 : i Y
B u d C h i s m i n K a s h n t t t r , - o i . ;a . l , r i . t , g ! , , ' l J) . / r 6 .
!ri r ;;111 t: r la i, n 156).
23CI-36). i,i-r ir'f.-:l:ng tl:e
",

intlumsthie iisrunsratn€ .!n ir: ii! . .,1;i : . t t ' i l, :i a l

lt.! iilriif.: ''
ri-t
tii t.il!'i1l ' ' I.rr r.r(:: :. .tl';r)I;i.litriiV.

a : t i l t i l , - i i : , t : ; ti - i . . t , : . . .r .,, :...tIi,ri!t lr
. r- -.
\5t
i1.::f
H E R t S Y . C r , ; i n gt o t h e a b s c n : cc f r h u r c h , r ; r ' t h e r i i o g v
lludtt h ' - l ; t | , r 5 : : ;t t , . ' : - i ; l
i n i l u d d h i r r n L i n ( m a - Vd c ' . r b tw i : r t i : r r r t i s p o s s i b l et o s a - v
l { e w : r . si r " l i l t l : : c e r h r l , , i : i ' i i ? ; 1 : r t . i l . i ; r i n l l , r t l i r r . . i . . r i a l - a s
t h ' e tt h e r e w c r e ' i b ; o i r . r g r c ai Jj o c t r i i i c s L r rs y s t e m sl e j e c t e d
a n C a s a L ' ( l i t s e q u r n c ei r l l i i t ; i : ! t l j r - . : t : i i o n ,r1n . l t t i h a t a l ' t e 1 ; .
a s i a l s eb y e c c j e s i a s t i s aalu t h o r i t y . ' rt h o u g h t h e r ew a s n i :
w h o c o r r s t a . n i : i r r a p p c a r : t , - r , r l i r , "b: t r i i - i i , : i t h * i l r i < t . J h a
e c c l e s i a s t i c a ui t h o r i r l a s s u c h t h e s e n r o rm o n k s d u r i n g
a n d h i s c ( . ) n t e n - j p u f a t 'i l, 't l i , : ' . , , : l s, . : . i , t it ' . . . : : i ; c m t e c ) . t t a d
the time oi the Buddira had enough grasp of rbe
i';rmed this !r.:r-es,i
f u n d a m e n t a lt e n c t so f B u d d h i s mt o d e t c c tw h e t h e ra n y
i n t e r p r e t a t i c nw a s w r t h i n t r a d i t i o n o r n o t . T h i s i n f o r m a l 'fhe
v e f r , - . 1 1 p 1 1 5l ix: f. i . . i f , f , , l i , ' , r i i t , " , . , . : r st h r : i , e l . , : , t y
a u t h o r i t y w a s l a t e r d e s i g n a t e da s . T h e r i y ab h r * l h l ' w h o p r o p o u n d r " d h v t h e ' q i : 1 16 r ; x l i i 1 | Y a ' n r . k a I { e h e l < Jt h a t
w e r e a b l e t o j u d g e w h a t i s h e r e s ya n d n o t . C o n d c m n i n g "in so far as a mrlk n a s d r s i i l . r , r d t h : , , 1 . . , . + ih. ,c, ,iss b r o k e n
c e r t a i n v i e w s a n d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s p r e s e n t c de i t h e r b v u p a n d p t r i s h e s a r ; ! r c b r e a k r r p < i i ' t h e b r : ' i , , : n , . 1b e c o m e s
i n d i v i d u a l s o r s e c t sb - vT h e r a s w a s i n c o n t i n u a t r o ne v e n n o t " ( 5 . i l l , p . 1 0 q i l ) i h l : r i * w r , , a _ .; r * p o r t e d t o
S r i L a n k a a s e v i d e n c e di n d e c l a r i n g V e t u l l a v l d a a s a S i r i p u t t a H e r e i i r t c d i h i s a s a \ n :- hv prili;rg our thst
h e r e s y .H e r e s i c sw e r c u s u a l l yc a l l e de v i l v i e r v so r m i s c o n _ i t w a s r v r ( r n g t r - s a ! i h a t s o r n ; . . , , ; : p e r i s h r . s a : f t e rd e a t h
ceptions (papakam ditthigatam; LI.l, pp. i30, 256) an,J since it is not possitrlelrr ciairc th.il sonrrnn: Cors exist
w h c n s u c h v i e w s w e r e r c p o r t e d t o t h e B , _ l d d h ah e even when he is ati,.,t lr rea.litv. one's rristlnce is a
condemned them (vigarahi) in very strong rermsi convention onl',' ll:..e is no being that is arnihilated.
S a r i p r r t t ac q u a l s t l r r : h e r e s v i e f h e m u r d e r r u s a t t i t u d e a
A r n o n g t h e w e l l k n o w n h e r e t i c sd u r i n g t h e t i m e o f t h e
man harborrrs wl:rn iir enteis thc service of a rich man
Buddha. the monk called Antthagaldhabadhipubba
with the intent of k;!)ing him. Such a man wouid alwavs
n e e d ss p e c i a l m e n t i o n s i n c e h e n e v e r r e f o r m e d h i m s e l f
be a murcerer evcn ihough his mastcr knows him not to
eventhough the senior monls and the Buddha himself
be so. F-ven so, thr disr:iple who regards r,4pa arld the
t r i e d t o w e a n h i m a w a y f o r m h i s v i c w s . ( M . l , p . 1 3 0f f . ) .
other frfiancihas as permancnt antj so on harbours a
H e m a i n t a i n c dt h a t t h e p l e a s u r e st h e B u d d h a d e c l a r c dt c r
murderous intention.
b e s t u m b l i n g b i o c k s t o s p i r i t u a i p r o g r e s sa i e n o t , . 1a t a . l i
f o r t h e o n e w h o i n d u l g e sj n t h e m ( V i n . l l , p . 2 5 ) . F l a v i n g Thus, during the rime of rhe lu.ddha, therr: wa,s a
failed to convince him that this was a false view the p r o c e d u r e o f h a n d l i n g h e r " s i e s c r t h c a t t c m . p t . sa t m i s _
-Ihe
m o n k sr e p o r t e dh i m t o t h e B u d d h a . l l u d d h ad e l i v c r e d r e p r c s e n t i n g t h e B u d d h a . a n c l? v c n e x c o m m u n i c a t i o n o f
t h e A l a g a d d u p a m a S u t t a ( M . 1 , p . 1 3 0 )r o d e n o u n c eh i s such heretics \r/as irr practicr. Anticipation 0f such
h e r e s ye x p l a i n i n g i n v a r i o u s w a y s h o w t h e i n d u l g e n c ei n heretics after his {tarinihbana has ntadc the Budrjha to
sensualpleasuresis harmful to the person who airns at provide a technjque of examinarion called .!r,taifipadesa,
s p i r i t u a Jp r o g r e s s .A r i t t h a d o e s n o t s e e m t o h a v e b e e n t h e f o u r g r e a t r e f e r e n c e s( l ) . I I , p . 1 2 4 ) . t t r i s t c c h n i q u e
moved even after the Buddha's condemnation of his d e m a n d s a t h o r o u g h g r a s p o f t h e ex i s t i n g D h a : : n m a a n < j
f o r m i n g s u c h a v i e w . T h e B u d d h a d e c l a r e dt h a t h e w a s a V i n a y a w h i c h w a s c o n r i d e r r d a s t h e s t a n d a r r 1c l e r r . l t h o r i t - l
.
d u l l a n d e m p t y p e r s o nw h o w a s n o t e v e n w a r m e d u p ( n a 5o, the jater l'hera.s had tn classify Buddhist tr:achings
usmikatopi) in this dhammavinaya. When neither thc i n t o S r r f t a a n d V i n a - r ' ; ta n d t h c n u s e t h e m a s t h c i : : a e a s u r e
B u d d h a n o r t h e m o n k s c o u l d m a k e A r i t t h a g r v eu p h . i s b e f o r e d e n o u n c i n g a n v r - t e \ rt 'e a c h i n g a s a h e r c s r , . I t w a s
minconccption (duggahit"l h, was subject to a punish- on this that the EICcrs tvhir heicl councils reje,:tcdcertain
m e n t c a l l e du k k h e p a n i y a w h i c h a m o u n t st o e x c o m m u n i - revisions propt-rsed by varicus individuajs and groups.
c a t i o n ( V i n . l l , p . 2 5 ) , B u d d h a g h o s ah a s , i n h i s V i n a y a Dr:ring the time of King iilndusara the pudgala*,ad:t af
c o m m e n t a r y ,e n l i s t e dh i m a s a n e n e m y o f B u d d h a s a s a n a the Vatsipttlrir.as v;its reie,::te.las * lrercsv ald th,:se who
(VinA.IV, p. 874). h _ e l dj t w e r e b r a n r ! e c l r s h e l . : t i , ; s i n . r u r m i d s t . ' a r l f a J c a r e
tirthaka (BC, p 45ir See further nl'fT.t-li, DOG,
Tlte Mahitanhisankhaya Sutta of the Ma.ijhima- M A T I S M , t \ {I r - Ct l A I ) l r l - H I
nikaya reports of another heresy held by a monk called
.Sia. He held the views that 'A man\ cnnsciousnest Cli gndlms 11ljcbandnra

l. EncvclopaediaBritanntca - 1982,Vol. IV, n. 1045.

 i-;i, f( UKA 436 TIER{JKA

, . , 1i . i r u l i t t e n a s D g v e s - D e s c r i p t i n n gs i v i n gt h e c h a r a c t e r i s t r co sf H e r u k aw h e n
; - i r i h i s n la n d t h e m a s t p t r r t r a v e da s a s i n g l ed e i t v a r e f o u n d i n t h e . 9 a d r l an a m a l a
:-lia::ihron Heruka belongs ( . \ i d h \ o s 2 . 1 15 . 2 4 8 e t c . ) a r d a l s o i n t h e N i s p a n n a -
. r:lr) ,":l ic : fierceiorm of v o g a t ' a l i < rAf h h a v a k a r a g u p t aF. o l l o w i n gi s t h e E n g l i s h
i . ; r:' r r i ( lh i s s v m b o l s a r e t r a n s l a t i o r or l a t v p i c a ld e s c r i p t i o no f H e r u k a f r o m t h e
'The
:drrl:olt (vajra).'the Sadhanamal, (ibid, II, p, 469): hero F{er:ukashould
..,.r ! ir'.ii,; ; ,-. ., irr!,t.ct lhe world against b e m e d i t a t e cul p o n ( i n t h e f o l l o w i n gm a n n e r ) :H i s c o l o u r
; t-"i,. .^.1
ilr']_ ::-:r r!., ;;:t.t;'ii, ilglj6y-thattheWOfShip i s b l u e a n , l h e r s c o v e r e db v a h u m a n s k i n . H i s f l a m i n g
: i , - r , 1 .j '.,.". I . r. ;r i : . . . ' , -l ,l a - h c i o t i f o r the devotee. b r o w n h a i r r i s e su p w a r d s a n d h i s h e a d i s a d o r n e d b y a
,r , r . ' i r s. !, i . ,." ' ' . j'i- i'i tantric BuddhiSm, iS g a r l a n do f s k u l l s .H i s c r o w n i s b e a u t i f i e db y ( a n e f f i g y o f )
i r l i , : ' : j i : r : j , t ' " . '; . ' : r ' r . : ! -t,;rip
Of thiS deity, A k s o b h - v a .H i s r o u n d e y e s a r e b l o o d - s h o t . H e w e a r s a
!-i'"-..:.rr i .n;:': !::rl :i:i:': in hjS VaF+,Um (yUga-
p e n d a n tc o n s i s t i n go f s k u l l sh e l d t o g e t h e rb y e n t r a i l s H . e
in all countries where a l s ow e a r so r n a m e n t sm a d e o f h u m a n b o n e sa n d h a s t w o
^::.,..
: ': . l,l isb-v'um Heruka is
a r m s a n d a g a p i n g m o u t h w h i c h h a s p r o j e c t i n gf a n g s .I n
"
, i ; i i , . i r : . :i r, J , { , 1 , " . ,: - r r l . ; , , . , : ,/ s a l r J ) a n d w h e n t h u s his right hand he wields the thunderbolt (vajra) and in the
i . i r { i l i i i . t i i r . - 1 .i ,l } 1 : . : ' r , . , . :i : l i t h i s v a r i o u s J a k t r s h c i s left he holds a (blood ?) filled skull (pirnakapila) Lying
upon his left shouldcr is that magic staff (khatva'nga)
: . ! 1 r yi rl J , ' , " , i r i . ; = , : c z n . l :{cl'ajra. TrailokyCksepa.
';i.,.
. . , , . ;, , , . ' ' . . ' , . ,1 , , , r, , . : i a p t a . k s a i a . l , { a h a m l y a e t c . which resembles the sacred thread (yajfiopaviu) and
: . r i i : ' , , , ' , . i^: ' r i : . ' : r ' ' : ; : : . ' 1 i ! : O : f HefUka in yab-yUmiS w h o s eu p p e r e n d i s s h a p e dI i k e t h e f i v e - p r o n g e dt h u n d e r -
fi1' ,. ,r..:.- , ,' .:t: :iri ,s especrallyvcnerated in bolt (paficasucikavajra),while its lower extremity resem-
- . , 1 ; j ; , j bles the single pointed one (ekasicikavajra). Human
'r'-:i .,1 ,hr r:'rncrpto{ Heruka, it is not skulls, the double vajra (vi{vavajra) and fluttering
b a n n e q st o w h i c h a r e a t t a c h e dt i n k l i n g b e l l sd e c o r a t et h i s
: . , ; r; :i:ls tr-riric notion arosc.
khatvanga. (Ths adorned) Heruka is dancing on a double
. " . . i : :' * r : r ; ; . i i ! : f r r l e si l e r u k a a n d t h e m o r e
lotus (vrJvapsdma) on whose sun (? centre)he has placed
: : i , , - ir i : r . i l ' , r - , ja s * p i f h e t s L r fG a n e i a , a d e i t y
his left foot, with his right foot placed on the lcft thigh.'
! . , r i i ) , r : rr' ri ; l l . : d i i l r s u p e n n t e n d e n t o f t h e
' , ' 'i ! , l t a . [ n t h e s a m e w o r k ( c h . 7 6 ) A l t h o u g h t h i s s a d h a n ad o e s n o t m e n t i o n t h e n u m b e r
r.. iui)sc out of a part of a linga of skulls in the necklace, elsewherein the sidhanamali
'ri.r we rr thus created being Bhai- (ll, p. 473) it is specificallymentioned that the necklact of
! : r :r t h c i ' r i r r r t , a c c o r d i n g t o c e r t a i n Heruka is beautified by a chain of half a hundrcd sevcrd
,: :,,i::''is thc terrn Heruka also heads ({ a t ar dh am u t d amale bhi + k rt ah ara m an o ram am).
, .:;,',. . : i 1 . . : : , , . ,ir i , : i ' v i a h a k r , i a . a f C i m r r f S i v a . A n o t h e r d e v i a t i o n a p p e a r st o b e t h a t , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e
i l ' : : t , ; r +r - r g l i ii i , l l f r { : n c i r : ; t c t t o s u r m i s e t h a t t h c t a n t r i c samc sadhana, Heruka is describedas standing on a
8 ; r , i r j l : : i i J e r u k a ? . , i 1 r: 'i ! ' o j v e d L r u t . o f t h i s e a r i i r r B r a h - corpsc (lavastha: ibid. p. 473) and Dot oD the conven-
i r i ; : i i l j i -i t r i . 1 , : i i r i .t i r a t i . , . i i t r m t h e S a i l ' i t e H e r u k a . I t i s t i o n a l d o u b l e l o t u s . M o r e o v e r , a l t h o u g h h e r ei t i s m e r e l y
'filled skull' (purna-
. , : . r rj : , :a r ;r ' i b r r i i : : i ' r : , ,| i i ' e r s i o n s , n e m c i ] , w t r c n p i c t u r e d stated that lhe left ha:rd carries a
; : i l i i t i ,' : i t t i r -r *: i r li h r r l l t r i : a i s f t - u p o f H i n d U i S m , a S w e l l a s kapala),it is specificallystatedin other sadhanasthat this
r . ' . ; ' , . ' , :; ' , " 4 ' 1 : r i r i l i i r e s r t u p U f t l r e T a n t r i c B r t d d h i S t skull is filled with blood, e,g. Sadh. Il, 473: raktaka-
pantheo::. the tll'o ilosl dL:rn;nant fcatures of Heruka rotaka), However, in every sadhana, his asana (the
ai'pear t<i'b* (a) thst he occupies a comparatively position of the lower limbs) is conceived as being in the
lccondarv pcliti*:: r;i iiriportEncc as a deity and (b) that dancing attitude of Ardhaparyanka with the right leg
i r i . ; l r i i r r ; a i l f i . r r r c t i c i rr t r i r i : f r t l ' a g u a r d i a n g o d . H e n c e , i t i s placed on the left thigh.
lrrr*''ii*hir thar l{rruka, ra:)dr is pcriraVed in Tantric On the basis of such descriptions as given above, an
i i t r : : r i r ; ic a s a p r ' . l i r 1 . : t r c n - g o dd , el'cloped warrior-like image of a deity in black chlorite stone (l0th - I lth
i i i i n i i t i e s v , ' it l i a w e - i n s p i r i n g a n d f e r o c i ( ' i u s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . c e n t u r y A . C . ) d i s c o v e r e db y N . K . B h a t t a s a l i a n d a t
o \ ' - ' r : ,L1l'i r ' , g: { ' m a t e n e i a v a i l a b l e i n T i b e t a n l i t e r a t u r e , t h e prescnthoused in the Dacca Museum, has beenidentified
I , : r i , ; . i t r ) i i o r " oi f r d r i t v c a l ; e d H e r i r k a a p p e a r s t o h a v e b y e x p e r t so n t a n t r i c i c o n o g r a p h y a st h a t o f H e r u k a . I t i s
i:rrr qurte popular in the 8th century. Jfranapada, the of extreme significanceto those who study thc growth of
::uiiii,! ,-rf fhe Hcruka-sadhana, is said to have lived s a d h a n a - l i t e r a t u r eo n a c o m p a r a t i v e b a s i s w i t h t h e
.r'itiri:il'dili A"a. and it is. therefore. obvious that Heruka history of Buddhist iconography, that this image and the
, : .i : rj . : n a : i : b c e n f u i l v a c c e p t e di n t o t h e T a n t r i c p a n t h e o n descriptions of Heruka, as given in the Sadhanamil-4
bv ih'r; tin:e. I lreveneratiorr of Heruka continucd to be agrcein almost all details.The icon is of a deity with one
g r o 6 r i r i a ri n T i b c t a n d t h e a d ; o r n i n g l a n d s u n t i l a m u c h face ald two arrns,slim of figure with well-proportioned
iaier Lrrriod. irrcause numerolls shrines dedicated to this limbs. He is in a dancing posture with the left leg slightly
rlrlr *lf ir''tl,;i iil ii,lr,' ,ri i. " t ' ,i i i iif,,JaV. bsnt and the right leg placed on the thigh of the left leg
 HERUKA 87 $IHFeL:jtd,i'

w h i c h i s t r a m p l i n g a f u l l - b l o w n l o t u s w h i c h h a st w o r o w ( I I , p , 5 0 4 ) , t h a t h e h n s t h r c e e v f , $ .e s f n n g . J f ' * r ; , , ' i , - ' . . ,i r, i: . q

of petals: one turned upwards and the other turncd forebead and a crescent inclon r:n tbc L:r.ilr$ir,.i-:: ri.,r-i
downwards (: the conventional double lotus, vrJva- wearg the six auspicious ornalnents (sanrr:ur:r{.} *11ir i5 ;r1
padma). The face of the deity carriesan angry expression alidha posture (a particuiar a.sane ar ptritirrn *f jeprl.
with the mouth slightly gaping, showing protruding {l-"eli, \. t:,tr
His symbols are the v4rra and iirr Ja;'lxr.i,.r
t e e t h .T h e h a i r s p r e a d so u t i n t h e s h a p eo f r i s i n g f l a m e s . matted hair and an effig-v ol Ai.sr:bh3"6 ofi ,tl:s ::i:\v,:.
In its centre is a small effigy, apparcntly of a dhyani- - -.:
Ve;ravarali who cmbraccs him alsi' hss fhl*': q1,,r.s s$ri
buddha and the flame-shapedhair of the image servesari holds the vajra anl a blood-filled i,t;rila.
a h a l o e n c o m p a s s i n gt h i s t i n y f i g u r e . A c c o r d i n g r o
The twelve-ermed $ambara i.: drrr.:riirr.ri in Ilr
l i t e r a r yd e s c r i p t i o n so f H e r u k a t h i s d h y a n i - b u d d h a( q . v . )
Sambaramandalaof the A';ipenn a.vagivai,l. ir !hin ji, rr
is undoubtedly, Aksobhya, The necklacc around the
h e h a s f o u r f a c c s a n d s t a n r J si n t h r r i l l 1 h * $ { r i t i i r i i - . 1 r: h c
neck of the figure has seventeenseveredheads,Though
formc of Bhairava and KiiarCtri" i{:e trr ,:rr:nnr.ii;srl han'rs
the figure is slightly damaged and the right arm missing .ri
c a r r y t h e v a j r a a n d t h e v e i r a - m s y f s q ! i . : i i l n r ; l , e e 3; < 1 : , 1
from the shoulder,the posture of the figure and the marks
d i s p l a y i n f u l l t h e n i n e d r a m s t i c s { : 1 1 l i r . : : , t . ri $
i . *: ri j . i . i i . . : . , . i ! .
r e m a i n i n go n t h e s t o n e s u g g e s t h a t t h e d e i t y o n c e h e l d
rssa).
somethingin the right hand. A long stalf (identified asthe
As SaptCksar8, too, hir jakti remaine ar ., ,:rri.;iiri;
khatvanga) with a poinred lower end and flowing
but in this form ihe deitl i:as six *rir;tr ftrd li-i;;-r {:;,:::.1l.l
banners and tiny bclls attached to it haags from the left
many rcSpects this farln is : r"r:i*;' l:: ,., :, it,.
s h o u l d e r .T h u s , t h e r e s e e m st o b e n o d o u b t t h a t t b c d e i t y
two-armed Sambara, bui in xcjclir;*n .r.,.:r ri;r :.r,.;r* a;,c1
representedby the image describedabove is Heruka. who
Sltt!P carried by Dvibhuja-$arni:,erx. iri.c iwo-arur*J
is portrayed in strikingly similar detail in tantric litc-
Sambara), Saptrilsara. niso c*rrlr:i s i1,,:rna:lsk.ir, f n:i,+-
rature.
carma), a skuil cup ii;i.r.';/,i j. i i.iti;'i.._i.,:i
i;;;. ,.,i,:ip:i'..ijrsi:.'
When accompanied by his iakti in mystic union, a n d a t r i d e n t ( t r i i i i a ) i r l 1 i 1 3; e . : 1 ; : ' r - , . . -,: i ;r, : r t i i r i i l . ! . . i , n i 1
Hcruka is known by the title Hevajra. In this aspect l i k e t h e t w o - a r m c r j S e i l i h s l u . : 1 . , r l . - : t q r . l i , . . . ; i ; ; . . .\. .ri i i a h . f
Heruka assumcsmany forms and thcseare enumeratedin ilidha attitude.
the Sedhanamila and the Hevajra Mandala of the
W h e n H e r u k a e m b r a c r i y h : I : + ; : 1 , rS i r c i : h " r r !a ! : i : r i . i r l
Nispannayogivafi. These forms differ accoiding to the
has four faces and four s.iins sri;i r.; l.*iir..i it ili*mEy$, i,{r
numbcr of arms possessedby the deity when embracedby
t h i s f o r m h e i s d e p i c t e d s r d e - , r , ; ; i . i ' i h e - l : ; n < i a . . ' , *i ; r ? i : :
a specilic iakti.
Ard_haparya;ka attitude .Ar,:*rrrjllrs t:." ti-:* "'.iii,r*.:rr*-
Thus, when two-armed and embraced by his prajila yogavali(p.22) the forn: *1 Lie rn-r!:+..illr-ral \{sf,i r:,j..,;r..3
Nairatma, he is called Trailokyaksepa (.Sadi. ll, p.474) blue in colour and carrresin ihs i-;i!. u?i] j! a i!.r:i riip
Wben embraced in yaFym by Vajravarihi, he has four (kap-ala), an arrow {{ara), a LEa.fi:i:;;;:j; ii i.*.'v;r-il!:,.,.i,i*i},!
arms (Nrspannayogavali, p. l4). When three-faccd and in r bow (dhanus).
yabyum posrure with Vajrairikhal[, be has six arms
(ibid. p. l4). When eighr-facedand in mystic union with F r o m u ' h a t h a s b t e n s l * t r t i . s h- , , r" . i i ! . r , . l l " : . : *rl , , - , ! . ;i .i i & l
Heruka, i n t a l t r i c B ' , r , . . i d h i rl : l . : r . 1 , : : l i . i : 5 . i , ,j . i r - y j . i , , .;
Nairatmi, he has sixteen afms and four legs (ibid, pp.
s i n g l e d e i t v , b u t r e p r c s e n t , l : . : i t i : r y .. h t , . . l , r o ir-. e r r r .: . j; r ! , , : 3 i
l4-5). [n each form, thc Tantric texts enumerate thc
o f i n d e p e n d e n t c . ! e i t i e sc. $ l : l : , r , ! r r : . : : , - : ; , ri r t , i u i , . { : 1r1- , ? } . : , , l i
objectr he carries,whcn endowed with a definite number
o f o f f i c e . a p a r t i c u l n r I n d ; J r q r r r . s* i , i : r y . 1 , g i . : " j i ; . : L t , , , : 1 i . ,
of hands.
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , s e p a rga: f' *r . . , , l i i i l - : i r . , : , , . , a j r J l
Heruka when embraced by Citrasend is known as I n h i s w o r k B u d d h i s t F i : r : ; - r j . r ' , .,r. , l ' . . l1i i i : : r t , ; , ; . . . r : , : - t
Buddhakepila (Sidn. II, pp. 500-3). In this form he o b s er v e s , ' H e r . r k a i s n t r l I t i n ; ; r C i v i r t l r , h l l l : , * . , , . " r t
posscsses four arms, one face,is blue in colour and danccs tvpe' (see also J, Przvlusk:. 'H:rr*r-.i.rml.r;-* .,
;;,
in Ardhaparyanka. In his four hands he holds thc
B u l . O r i e n t . , I , 1 9 3 7 , p p . , { 2 - 5 ) i n i s c t " t 1 s : n , : - i ;r r . 1 , , ; ,
khatvanga (magic sraf|, the kapEla (skull), the karti
forms of H eru ka dcv'eloprd i rrr r_r a n,:h u rrda :li,.rir { J..,, . ..::.
(small knife) and the damaru (small drum). Whcn
d e n t d e i t i e s t h a t u l t i m a t c i l , i h r i : : r i i " * j l ' l : a r - a r i r j : r , . . r .. . i
portryed in mandalq Buddhakapala is depicted as being
H e r u k a a . sa s i O g h d e i t v w c r e n j n : * r i i , x t t r : t i r e i r b y i ; : l : l
surrounded by twenty-four goddesses,arranged in three
of these secondary ernaiiatlcjns. Thrrrfore. it !r r:r.:f
circles.
surprising that in tbe laftr phnrc nf l-a.ntdc SuC,jh;rr;r
When Heruka has Vajravirahj as his consort, he is Heruka appears in five irrcic lr,r.:rls es lhr i:er,,+ ,ff"j.i:lir".*.
called Vajradela. In this type he assumestwo forms; (l) tations of the fivE dh.,gni ir,r:iiha* ]lir: re lr _*llr,ri
S a m b a r a a n d ( 2 ) S a p t a k s a r a .F u r t h e r , i n t h e g u i s e o f Buddha-Heruka whcr,hr i.r rr i!..r irsli',.:_ 1,..:,:",
Sambara he appears in two variations (a) as the two- Vairocana, Vajra-Fleruka rli16n he is the fr *:f.rli ii :1:. ,,
armed Sambara nnd (b) as the twetvc-armed Sambara. Aksobhya; Ratna-Heruka when hr is ihr liy r .,.,ri,"j
Of the two-armed Sambara it is said in the SEdlranam'ila Ratnasambhava; Padrria-ltriuk* l,,h*l i:.: :r lhe iir:,:,,,,
 li ii'l-i r 438 fi[i'ru

!:i:i't , i a . : r : i ' : ' | ' . t , r; r - i i , .X . i ; : l t : t ' , . i l i r , l h : rv , ' h t t : h c i s t h e T h e t r r r n / r c f u i s g e n e r a i i l 'r e r r d e r e di n t o E n g l i s h a s

irar:,rtl ', . - , : i l : i . i , . i , : : ,.:,.1. i ; i : i { : c . : i ) l _ . 3 t : r i i g r C V * . c a ! r s i .r ea s o n ' ( ) ci o n d i t i o n .A c a u s ei s g c n e r a i i yt h o ' u g h t
i t i l t t I ' r i JI 1 , r r ; t 5i ) ( . t r . a t i t r - t r f i i : r . !i n t h e H t v ' g ' 5 T a n t r a o f a s i i i a t u h i c h p r o d u c e ss o m e l h i n ga n d i n t e r m s o f
t { . rg i v r . r t g . i : , r , i . ' i i t x p i a n a i , c r l : . . Ji h e t c r m S l - j J f e , - u l ' a i n which that phich is prciduced or the effect can bc
{ i i l { r i i ( r v ' i r ' $I r: , : 1 ' . ' ' explai,::ed. In earli Uuddhismthe term wasassociated exclu-
s i v c l v w i t h t h l s c a t r s a ls e n s . ea n d n e v e r w i t b t h e l o g i c a l
s e n s co i a r a t i o n a l j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r t h e c o n c i u s i o no f a n
a r g u m e n tc i a i n l e dt o b e l o g i c a l l y v a l i d . E a r l y B u d d h i s m
drrcsnot contajn much discussionrelatingto the definition
S n. ilgr-ove t , a r : r ft h e c o n c e p to f h e t u . I n s t e a d i t p a y s m o r e a t t e n t i o n t o
Sri tn:1, those factors that could be identified as the hetu ot
lir thr p r o d u c t i v ec a u s : o r e x p l a n a t i o no f c l a s s e cs f p h e n o m e n a
Rtl lh,, which mav be of immediate human interest and concern'
Ka it:, Howevcr. ideas that are philosophically illuminating in
(ibid : r c s p c c t o f t h e a n a l y s i sg f t h e c o n c e p t o f c a u s e a r e n o t
entirelv lacking in early Buddhist thought. This was
Arx'rrrtjinE tr: lbe .ty'anf ra'pstala tf tht Heva-ira-tantra l n e v i t a b l ea s o t h e r c x p l a n a t i o n sp u r p o r t e d t o b e f o r m s o f
the bija-muritra of Hr:r.rkn ts taiti ft;am f alri tam bam om causal explanations as well as nrrn-causalphilosophical
deva picuva.ire huryilinr iui., lla.i svili. Bui there is no positionshavc been offered by non-Buddhist philoso-
r.c thc allatment of
strict agreemeiil arnong thfl ta'nlia.i as p h i c a l s v s t e m sc o n t c m p o r a n e o u sw i t h t h e t i m e o f t h e
t h e s e e d - s y i i a b l e st c i h ; r - l r i ' k i t n i d e i t i t ; . 1 1 u s , a c c o r d i n g e m e r g e n c eo f B u d d h i s m . B u d d h i s m h a d t o m a k e c l e a ri n
to the Sa<lhanamaJi !{cirri:* arose cut of tirr ScrID- what manncr the distinctivelyBuddhist explanationin
syllable I{ ri h { lI nhkir-'t.:u.nr bira rer.'... Heru kam : ibid' t e r m s o f c a u s ed i f f e r e d f r o m o t h e r n o n - B u d d h i s te x p l a -
I I , p ,4 7 2 . nations in tcrms of cause or otherwise.

C;.K. S'lfesekere T h e t e r m h e t u i s o D ea m o n g a n u m b e r o f t e r m s u s e di n
the Paii Canon for expressing the idea of a cause'
According to Buddhaghosa the terms pseays, karana,
nidina, sambhava and pabhava are synonyms for the
term .brru (Vtsm. p. 532). The Niddesa adds tcrms like
t { t i I ' U . T i r r c o n c c p tu f h e t u h a s p l a v e d a v e r - vs i g n i f i c a n t mila, samutthEna, ihara, irammana, artd samudaya
role in llrrdrihist philosophy. flre teachingsof early Nd l,p 256). Hetutnd pacca.vaare the commonest and
' c a u s e 'i n t h e P i l i
B u d d h i s ml : a v c t i r ec h : r r a c t e r i s t i cosf a p h i l o s o p h ya s a are cfien used together to denotc
way of iils. I he wav rri !ifr Lhat earlv BudtJhism l i i k a y a s . I n t h e e a r l y B u d d h i s t t e x t s t h e s et w q t ? r m s h a v e
r e c o m m c n t i si s b a r e d o n l t s a c c o u n t s f t h e n & t u r e o f b e e nu s e d w i t h n o d i s t i n c t i o n i n m e a n i n g ' H o w e v e r , i n
r e a l i t y . A c o : r s p t c u c , u sf e a t u i e c , f t h e e a r l - v f f u d d h i s t l a t e r A b h i d h a m m a t h e t e r m h e t u i s u s e dt o m e a n a r o o t
a c c o u n to f t h e n a t r : r eo f r e a l i t y i s i t s a v o i d a n c ec ; fc e r t a i n cause, whereas the term paccaya is used to mean a
n o t i o n s o f a n u n v e r i f i a b i ea n d m et a p h y s i c a ln a t u r e l i k c supporting condition. A more detailed discussionof this
G o d , B c i n g , t h e A b a o l u t eo r c t h c r m o n i s t i c o r p l u r a l i s t i c distinction will be undertaken at a later stage in this
p r i n c i p l c s w h i c h s e r v c a s t h e p r t r r i o r d i a l e x i s t e n c eo r article.
e x i s t e n c e si n t e r r n s o l w h i c h t h e e m p i n c a l w o r l d o f The idea of causeis implicit in tbe earliestexpressionof
change and variegated existence c'culd bc explained. the truths that the Buddha revealedto the world in what
Buddhism emphasizcdknowing and seeingss the ruea'ns is traditionally believed to be the first sermon of the
of ascertaining truth. Neither speculative and a priori Buddha delivered to the first five discipleset Isipatana in
rcasoning, nor dependenc€ on external authority can Benares. In this sermon he presents unsatisfactoriness
lrcrvees me&ns to comprehending the nature of reality. (dukkha) in life as the problem that has to be overcome'
Observation of thc inner and the outer rqalities of the This problem could be overcome by comprehending its
cxperiential world by making use of the sensory capa- cause (samu daya or hctu). The cessaton of dukkla also
cities of man, and the inteliigent systematizattonof the requiresa particular means of bringing about the desired
observeddata avoiding misinterpretations of experiencc result. The path or the means to the ctssation of dukkha
which could oc-curdue to various forms of mental biases also implies the notion of cause. [n fact in the Nidana
and preconceivedideas is considcred in Buddhism to be Samyuttatbe term upanisi is used 8! I synonym for hetu
the secureway for attaining truth. The Buddhist concept to indicate both the ordinary proccss involving the caucal
of hctu may be described as referring to an explanatory origin of.dukkha as well as the progrcssive stages of thc
principle which emergedas a cons€quenceof this approach pBth such u saddbi, piactc' productivc of thc ccnation
to rruth" of. dukkha (S, lt, P. 30).
 IIETU 43s

Refcrencc is made to the central conccrn of Buddhism p r i n c i p l e s l i k c t h c . t 7 ; i ! ! : i t t{ t : r . ,: : : , i

with explenation in terms of causesin severelCanonical ciples like Atmst. E i ; " i i , t t x t )t , ; ' :
rourccs whicb may without doubt bc said to belong to the thought w h r c h r r r i r i i r , . - s i . r : ; ri ji r L . r , . . 1,"$
earliest strrtum of Buddhist literature. In the Viaaya- explanations of pheirti,irr.tra
i:,ili . ,:
pit*awhere one of the earliest Canonical accounts of thc an empirical lbsci: a f : r - i ! r . ,l r r . i . , . : i
Buddhr's early mission of disseminating the dhammais r e a l i t v ,B u d , i h i s n : w . . . : : , , . " ,. , . ,
given. Assaji, one of the first five disciplesof the Buddhan t e n d e n c y t o d c p e n i i i l : , i ! . . : , r . is , . . , . . l
in answerto an inquiry e! to what in brief is the Buddha's pure speculatrtiri l! ,
messagecays: c o n c e p l o f c a t i s a l, , , i 5 r , . , , i . ' ,
B u d d h i s t t h o r r g h t [ J i i r l i i l i , : : i ii . , . ; . "
The Tathrgrta har declared tbc cause (hetu) of
s e n t e d a r a d i c a - l l ' ;d i f t e r r , i , , , i :
those phenomena which are produccd from a cause.
w i t h i t s n e w c o r r c * l , i r ; 1 < -. l r , " . i r i - .i . l
He hes also deslared (the means for) the ccssation of
thoso phenomeD&.Such ia the messageof the great I n d i v i d u a t e d c h i : ! c r , , r - ! . - i , . ,, r i i . -
r e c l u s e( V i n . l , p . 4 0 ) . c a l p e r s o n a l i t l ' t r e p r , r t i , , , , i r , -. . i.. r,
of which the absrrh,r;i,--,,,,,,..:,i
It is also said that the Buddha's comprehension of i s a c c o r d i n g t o B u i j i l i r l : , r , i ", ,,.
causality consisted of the very essenceof his enlighten- paticca santbhita'n. i. ' ;, i - :; I i^- ,.
ment expcrience. AII the doubts entcrtained about the p r o c c s s a r t s i r r g . i c i : i r r r . r , . ; r ,; ' , ^ \ i . . ! r . ,
nature of reality are said to have disappcared sincc the c e r t a i n a l t e r n a t i v e r - r p l : l r i a t i , , ' , 1r:, i , , ' - .i r , ,
comprehension of the causal principle (atha'ssa are four alternattvc crllianiriir,.rs , ,:,-:
kankhe vapayaati sabba - yato pajanati sahetu- r c . l e c t e di n B r . t d d t i i s i r i i l j r : . ; ,
dhammam:ibid. I, p.2). of self-causatiolricxlrr.:..,c,.l
terminology ul the i.lnri ..r .i{r,ri:r t.atti'j
Early Buddhist use of tbe tcrm iefu coupled with tbe
( 2 ) e x p i a n a i i o t r i n t c r - r r r rr . c . , - i c 'i, . i t,
term paccaya, is often associatedwith the distinctively ",r,.r,.
k a t a m ) : ( 3 ) e r p i a n a t r \ i r ll i ; i c ( r r . : \ , i g , . u : r : i ; , . . . :,
Buddhist notion of causality expressedthrough a tcrm
two (Sayamkatafi cd p.4.a
t trti..liai},.:.i*i,i.l i,?.1 r r,..rl,..irr
coined anew by the Buddha, namely, paticcasamuppada.
in terms crl fo|tultous r l r i r , i , . ; t i t , , l f ? , . {) , .- i r , ; , , : . . . . . . i ; - . :
The fact that the term paticcasamuppEda is not a term
ramkEram adhiccasamup!)atlttnrtt Lrr -rJluiir ..:.,. : -i;
borrowed from thc pre-Buddhist usageis speciallysigni-
I t a p p e a r s f r o n l i . h c a i ; q : \ ' ci i d , s ' t i .; , t , . 1 ": i . . . i
ficant, for whenever the Buddha found an existing term
t h r e e w e r e r e c o g n i z e d i r r B u r l d h i s r r l i , r rv { i i , . i , c - ". . i , , . . . . .I
a d e q u a t et o e x p r e s sd i s t i n c t i v e l yB u d d h i s t c o n c e p t sb y
e x p l a n a t i o n a l t h o u g h r i r c s e e x p l n n a t i t . ; r i o . * . € rf ter r : . : , , r :
way of redcfining those terms, he has refrained from
b e i n c o m p a t i b i e w r t h t h c [ 3 , q a j g 1 ; 1' .. t! r r r l r . . r l ) t . ;
coining an altogether new term, In the caseof prescnting
was considered in ljuddtrjsrn l r , i r \ : , i r i : rf , r , ! r - i i . r i .
h i s d o c t r i n e o f c a u s a l i t y ,h e p r o b a b l y f o u n d t h e e x i s t i n g
r e j e c t i o n o f e x p l a n a t i { - t j i1 i 1u , : , i - a [ t r i . ' r '. i : r ] ; ; , r r ] r1 . .
terminologv inadequate to expressthe revolutionary and
original idea of dependentorigination. The distinctive
T h e f o u r s t a n d p o i n i s f i i c l . l i . t o t i . L6
l l;., i,.,
characlerof the Buddhist notion is highlighted in the
Jcveral times in the "a.,iola,;a5er.r;r'r,i,.:t;,,1
Buddha's discoursesin the Nrdan a Samyutta by pointing
nikaya in connectii.;n *irh ih.:, -'i
out that patircasamuppadais the theoretical Middle Way
explanation of the orign ui i,r,satici;;
t h a t a v o i d st h e c o m m o n a n d w i d e s p r e a dt e n d e n c yt o f a l l
( S . I I , p p . 2 0 - 2 1 ) . J t r c f r r s t 1 ! 1 ; ; . 11 , , ' g r .' ;' r 1i
into either of the extremes of eternalism (atthitavada,
c o n c e i v i n g l h c r c l a t i r r " i : ; i : i p l ; c t ' , , , . . . : , , ,1
, ,. . : :
cassatavida) and nihilism (natthitivada, urchedavida)
t h e c a u s e ( h e t u ) a n c l i h e c f f c c t l r r . & : i l a l r ,i :
fS, II, p. 17), The distinctive character of the early
o c c u r r e n c e e x p l a i r r a L r l ei i : , - r i l l s a ii . . ; , . . i,,
B u d d h i s t c o n c e p t o f h e t u c o u l d b e d e t e r m i n e do n l y i n
w h i c h m a v b e c a i l e C t l r e i l r , . : ; : 1 "r;, r is r i l i,
relation to the conccpl of.patccasamuppada.
u n d e r s t o o d o s a t t c r r t l ; i si i j i : r r i . . r' {i : . , , , : . _ . - . , . . . . . i . . , . , , . . . ,
T h e B u d d h i s t i d e a o f c a u s e( h e t u ) a v o i d s t h e t e n d e n c v o f t h e u n i v e r s e t ( l p r i , ! l c , a . l _ , , r 1 , . . i . -. .: :, . - , r i . .- i o i . , ,
t o e x p l a i n e x i s t e n c ei n t e r m s o f u n d e r l y i n g u n i t a r y s p i r i t u a l . T h e M i l e s i a r r l h e u t i r : s i . . r , , . ; 1 . , , r ' : , . . ! "; h i i . ; l
p r i n c i p l e s .B u d d h i s m d o e s n o t s e e kt o e x p l a i n e x i s t e n c c sophy fall into this caicgr;,',. i,, I ,: i , ' .r ..,i:.ire,
i n t e r m s r ; [ m a t e r i a ] c a u s e si n t h e w a y t h e M i l e s i a n explanations wliich iall int', rir.,:ir... ,.:.. :.:, ,. rrr,:,trb . :r . :
p h i l o s o p h e r so f A n c i e n t G r e e c ed i d b y d i s c o v e r i n gs o m c f o u n d i n t h e t e r i t h b , r , r k ; ' ; : ; . , . . ' - , ' , . . ., -t ! r , r , , , -, , , , ' : , i, r r r - h s
basicmatter such as water, air or the like of which all B r - a h m a n a sa t r . Jt l r c . , 1i ; . ; : r t . r : r i i i , r r L i r , , - . , . .i.-,i
things are composed. Nor does Buddhism attempt to
-.''.
cally tn the Ilpattisl;.'-l: I', 1,. i:,t,., I I . i . ,l:,
e x p l a i n a l l e x i s t e n c ei n t e r m s o f a b r t r r c t i n d e t e r m i n a l c t h e o f i e s o f .M t k a t . : r ' , l l a u ; -.i r ; . j . . , . ; - . , , . . . . {. i , , , : , s

l. Soc D. J. Kalupahana- Causality the Catral Philosophy of Dttddhism, (The IJrivu*r,,t., Piri,
 #*-11-t ii l-:,i i.i

i, ,::, tLal iitrrt liere both Vedic and

': r rr'l this thecrv. Accoid:ng1 to Kalu-
'v'c,jrr
, ' . , - 1 i . : : ri i l t h e trlditrotr asserting the
i , i - r r . : , i r l i : " , 'a n t m n i s c i e n t a n d o m n i p o t e n t
.
. rrl:nii[';d a.s on: group of theories of
: . r 1 . i i Ii i * a i u p a i : a n a , u p . c i t . p . l 5 f . ) . T h e r e i s
I ii'i : fr.l Suddh::m recugnized the theory of
a I ,:. :i.rrrai i ic,i as one of the dominant beliefs
ii ir i::rriinned bl ttic Buddha primarily to
i . , r i i r ? , , r J i . 1 1 .c i i : - : ! c Q U C r ' ! C
Cen t h e q U e S t i O n O f m g f a l
r".i r:::.rihllitv arri fr-cerviii. lf one were to bclieve that
,.hiLit".r' {{Dqr!f nce oi pleasu;ab!e, painful or neutral
"'e:rrj a prr':]r has :srhe product of divine creation(yam
i:': (e't'an ;;t.tisapuggalo patisamvedeti sukham vi
^. ;,i.r r.. ' , .i.tr;*i ,tts,ua.s,*hfim va sabbam tam issars-
:,;,'r l,,r,i.-i:;, ri't.Huridhe cbsen'cs tbat such a belief
;:lr :r,rr. i.r s c.rct:1nc c1 inaction (akinya: A. I, p. 173).
l.i i ! i , " . . t ' 1 r , 3 ;t,l : e r , : i i n o c l e a r ? v i d a n c c t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t t h e
c*ctr' :rc ,.ricrcatiorr b1' God was identified explicitly in
ili: ?;r.li soulccs rvith the theory of erternal causation.
inpi:citly. rii course. such a theorv entails dualism. i.e.
, ! . r r j L r z ! l s i r o i t h e r . r c a i , ' : ra r i d t h e c r c a t e d w o r l d . a n d i n
. n < { : : ; i . , . l . c s r . ri i i r t i n c t i o n b e i w e c n t h e c a u s e a n d
r , l c , l . h { o t t t , - - ri ' t: - r e a t i i l tt h e c r i e sa r e m e n t i o n e di n t h e
iirahmajaia.ii;tt* a.isrrai-elcrnalistdoctrines in the sensc
; i i a r t h c c r . : e t ( ' rl s b e i i e v c dt o b e e t e r n a la n d t h e c r e a t d
beii:gs iron-rirrnai This irnplies that the cause, thc
; r r a t l i . s c i i l l e r e n ti n e s s e n c e f r o m t h e c f f e c t .t h e c r e a t e d
i't::t iz

i l r r i i ^ ; i r .,;.: . r 1e' x t e r n a lc a u s a t i o ni s e x p l i c i t l y r e f e r r e d
" i . ii r . n : ' r ' r l : f a n o n a s t h e d o c t r i n e w h i c h a s s e r t e dt h e
rrs:!i{}rl i ucchedavida). The doctrine of
, ' r sr i : T : r 1 r - ! i ta' s r c c i a t e di n B u d d h i s m w i t b
-ia!:r :l7Y'-- r, il3i l n e i r l i s a n c x i s t e r r tb e i n g w h o d o e s n o t
rs arnihilatcd after Ceath /kalasse bhedE
lla.a.rrnaiii:a trechrt!am vinasam vibhavam). The causal
thcoi! ,rf materialist sqhools of Indian philosophy subs-
: .r i b e d l r a t j o c t r i n c o { i n h e r e n t n a t u r e ( s v a b h a v a ) w h i c h
lxplainr.J :lll events in terms of a theory of natural
,j r t r r r n i r i i s r : rt K a J u pa h a n a , o p . c i t . p . 2 a f . ) . T h e s v a b h a v a -
, : r / , j in: : l i n t a r n r d t h a t a p h c n o m e n o n d o e s n o t d e p e n d o n
; r r , . - . t ! ' i ep
r hcrcrnrnon or group of phenomena for its
r ri:t::ii-r l: rlepcnds on its inherent naturc. Kalup6hana
li::rlc r;irl thrt the nateria]ists were referrcd to as non-
. . i i . r ! : r i ! n : r i s !r. trh c r u v - a d a ] d u e t o t h e i r r e j e c t i o n o f i n t e r -
i:penJenc: ;*,d lnr' form of causation except inherent
n a t u i - c . A c , , L l r < i i n gt o K a l u p a h a n a , t h e r e a s o n f o r t h e
Itu,id hisi ;rnil Jair,a rdentification of the materialist
rheril irf c:usaticn.r'ith the theory of external causation
despitr ihe iact {hat the materialists believed in deter-
minrsm through self-nature or'inhercnt hature (sva-
!'rhava). wa-\ the clclse association of the self-causation

,.:. i. .::r'l:.,/1;r,,.[ioor;cAllcn ani L'nwin Ltd, London, 1963,p. 452-,153).

 HE'TU
doctrine with the doctrinc oI atman. Thr materialists
rcjected the thcory of nn eternai atrnan and viewed the
o p e r a t i o n o f i n h e r e n l n a t u r c a s p u r e , i yt h c w o r k i n g s o f
physical law. AII operations of the individual were
b c l i e v e dt o b e g o v e r n c d b v t h e i n h e r e n t n e t u r e o f t h e
physicalconstituents of his being, Hence it was con-
ceived as a theory of external causaiion. n theory
according to which the individual cannot exercise eny
control over thc physica.llaws that govern his bchaviour.
'the
niyativada thcory of thc Aiivatas was also I
theory of external causation closely associtedwith sva-
bhavavada. According to the Paii Canon l!{akkhafi
Gosila was a strict determinist who maintained thar
human initiative is of no avail becaucelife is governed by
three factors, destiny (niyati), speciee (sangati.) and
inherent nature (svabhava). Just as a ball of thread
unwinds itself to its full lengrhboth fools and wise elike
reach their end according to destiny..
A n o t h e r t h e o r y w h i c h i s n r e n t i o n e di n B u d d h i s m i n
connection with the problem of freedom and moral
responsibility is thc theory of strict katmic determinism.
It is referred to in the Buddhist tcxts as pubbekaroheta-
vZda end is sometimcs attributed to the followera of
liiganthanitaputta. [t could elso be clqlsed among tba
doctrines of external causation becauscit held tt'.atall thr
prescnt experienccs of an individual er: determined by
his past decds. According to the Buddha this view rour,
like the doctrine that all experiencesEre due to creation
by God (issaranimminahetu) negctes the efficacy of
human choicc and will (A. l, p. I73).
The third type of causal theory acccptedboth internel
and external causation (sayam kataff ca param katafl ca].
It is identifiable with the Jaina concept of causation
which was asserted in terms of its epistcmological
p l u r a l i s m . T h e J a i n a s a d m i t t e d a p l u r a l i t y o f c a u s e sa n d
conceivedthis plurality under the two broad catcgoriesaf
internal cause such as human initiative (parusakara) and
cxternal causestimc, God, nalurc rnd karma.
It is important to examine what the distinctive charac-
t e r o f t h e B u d d h i s t n o t i o n o f c a u s ei s i n t b e c o n r e x t o f t h c
o t h e r a l t e r n a t i v e si t r e j e c t e dT
. h e m o s t s t r i k i n gf e a t u r eo f
t h e B u d d h i s t e x p l a n a t i o no f e x i s t e n c ei n t e r m so f c a u s ei s
that it does not involve the search for a first cause or
causesE . x p l a n a t i o n i n t e r m s o f c a u s ei s c o n c e i v e dn o t e s
a priori explanarion but as empirical explanation.
B u d d h i s m a d m i t s t h a t t h e r c a r e o b s e r v a b l ec a u s a l
d e p e n d e n c i e isn t h e w o r l d o p e n t o e m p i r i c a lo b s e r v a t i o n .
T h e q u e s t i o no f w h a t t h o s ed c p a n d e n c i e as r e , i s a m a t t e r
t o b e e x p e n e n t i a l l yd i s c o v e r e d .T h e q u e s t i o n w h y ? a s a
q u e s t i o nd e m a n d i n ga n e x p l a n a t i o ui r n o t u n d e r s t o o da r
1. Keyna pan' ettha avilia adito vutti. Kim pakativadinam p*ati tbt avlii pi akiranam
akiranam. Asavasemuda,v.a awliasunudayo ti ht awjjil.a keranam vutt m: Vin.'p.
S2j^
441
rcqurnng an an3wer which ultimatcly stisfiet the rpccu_
I atrve in terett. U nverifia ble rpecuJativeexpl 4nations rre,
from tbe tsuddhist point of view, Dot explnnatiout in
terms cf cBusr. Tb_ Buddhist concfpt af betucrnnot be
employed in rhr wa-',.'ihatspeculatirrcmctrphyricians t;f
the west were accustomcdto ure the conccpt of crure fot
proving the exiskncc God, In Buddhism, the admjrrion
of a causal order in the univerre is not itrclf barcd on r
prioriconsiderations but on en obrervation oftbe n&ture
of things, Any explanarion given in termr of hetuin tbc
teaching of the Buddha is invariably of obrerved finitc
existencesand cvents. but not of ultimate wholer.
Buddhism does not conceive thc cauce*€ffcctscricg r!
constituting a chain of eventsin such a wey that one could
tracc the first llnc in the chain or tbe uncarued firut ceure
of thc entire series. Buddhism views reality rs
constituting a dvnamic avstemsustainedby relativity rnd
interdependence.The seerch for ultimete beginningo ic
bound t.o turn out to be a sell-dcfeatingexrrcise.
Samsaric dukfria is a fact that rcquires causal explenr-
tion. Ii cannot be explained away by a priorimetaphyrical
argumentswhich prove that it is illusory in tcrms of orhcr
m e t a p h v s i c ap
l r i n c i p l e st h a t a r e s p e c u l a t i w l y o r d o g m e -
tically estab!ished.Thc srandard causal formule iniro-
duced in Buddhism to exolain this consisF of twCw
factors. Eut it is to be conceivedas an nttcmpt to exphin
the existential predicamentof man by identifying certrin
crucial causal factrirs which qre obrervable in the dynrmic
systemof relativc and interdcpendentnaturc. There ir no
attempt in this formulation to trecc the firrt bcginning or
the ultimatc orryins of :xistence, Buddhqbou qr&a
this point explicitly in his explanrtion of tbe Buddhjrt
ccrnceptof paticcasamuppada. He meintainr thrt ia the
standard formula adopted in Buddhism for expleiaing
the process of samsin'c dukkha the fect thu ignorrncc
(auijja) is placcd first should not mirlced uc to thinl rhd
it is an uncaused first cause. For avijji itcclf ir ceurcd.
Buddhaghosa cautions us Dot to interpret uijji u tn
uncaused first cause like the concept of prtkrti of the
Sairkhya philosophy (Vism. p. -{25).
Whilc using the lerm hetu in the sentc of cruse
Suddhism divests the term of irs usuel metaphyrica,l
a s s o c i a t i o n sb y l i n k i n g i t t o r h e B u d d h i r t c o n c e p t o f
dependent origination (paticcasamuppida). When Seli
bhikkhuni saysthat this personality ir produccd duc to e
cause (iefum paticca sambhitam), denying that it ic
explainable either in terms of self causetion (nt yidea
attakatam) or in terms of external causation (na yidtm
para*atam) she lays emphasis on the dietinctivc chancGr
of thc Buddhist notion of cause, She goes on in this
iastrffi to explain it by means of an example, Causal
milltterunt toktsst ttl Ha
 irii'"i{J 142 HETU

o r i g i n a t i r : ni s e x e m p l i l l e Ci n l h e g r : o w t ho f a s e e ds , * ' w ni n the causal origin of senseperccption in the Ahiidharma-

a ficid d c pcrrding cr-'f *c'tirrs such es{he ess.ncsc'f t ht soii kadabhasyaand its Chineseversions on the one hand and
a n r i r n o i s r u r : ( , 5 .I , F , i . 1 . l r . t l _ r es t a t e m e n t i n t h e P a j i N i k a v a s a n d t h e C h i n e s e
A g a m a s o n t h c o t h e r . T h e . 4b h i d h a r m a k o { a b h i s y t
f l u d d h a g h o s a ' s c o t r n r r r c n i a r i aei ; t p l a r r a t i o n : a - c i n t - v e r s i o n p r e s c n t st h e v i s u a i o r g a n a s t h e f i e f u a n d t h e
i'ncrrscIy hc!pful in uldcrstariding the distinct;vecirr-ri'ctcr
ex.ternalobjcct as the prarJ'ayabut no such distinction is
of the Budrihist notior; nf cau:a! originaticn. Buijdha- inpiicd in the Paii Nikaya and tht Chinese Agama
ghosa expiaining the term samup'pads says ihnt it
, ' c r s i r ' n s "K a J u p n h a r i as u g g e s t st h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t t h c
i n d i c a t e st h e i d e a o f a r i s , t ' gi c g c t h e r .b i r i n o t a r : s i ; g c n c
S a r v a s i i v i . r r n sm a y h a v ec h a n g e dt h e s t a t e m e n tf o u n d i n
after anothe r (uppajjama::a c" sakasanma ca up;ta!'ati, t h c s r i f r : s t o s r : i tt h c i r o w n t h e o r y o f c a u s a t i o n ( o pc' i t . p .
na ekekata, nZ'pi altetttic ti semuppido: Vism. p' 521')' 6 2 i , I h c q u e s t i o no f a r l i s t i n c t i o n i n m e a n i n g a s w e l l a s
The tcrm paticca-sarnuppadadrnotes the depcndenccon what ?xactly is the distinctionwas somewhata contro-
thc coordination of a plurality of cnaditions,(p*caya- vcrsiaione during the Abhidharnma period is suggcsted
sAmaggim pana patirca aparcakkhiya ti et"ampi g.taticca b y Y a i o m i t r a ' s r e f e r e n c et o d i f f e r e n t o p i n i o n s o n t h e
sa samuppido cZ ti patitcasamuppad,r. :bid). The idea of m a t t e r . 6 K a l u p a h a n aa l s o c o n c l u d e st h a t i t i s t h e s u b s -
a p l u r a l i t y o f c a u s e si s i m p l i c i t i n i t i e I i i . r d d h i s tt h c o r ; " . t a n c c t b e o r y o f l h e S a n a s t i v d d i n s a c c o r d i n gt o w h i c h a
B r r d d h a g h o s al ' i c r v s t h e t o t a l i t v o f - c a u s e sc o n s i s l i n g o f
d i s t i n c t i o nc a n b e r n a d eb e t w e e na t h i n g a n d i t s s t a t e st h a t
ignorancc etc. (avffidi ekekahetu-sisenaniddittho ltetu' led to the introduction of this distinction in meaning
s a m i h a ) a s r c l a t e dt o f h r p r o d r : c ! i r , n. r f t h e s i n r l c e f J " e c t
between hctu and paccaya at a later period in Buddhist
through thr int:ractirtn and inierrelatiln':i lcrintlv
A b h i d h a r m a t r a d i t i o n s( o p . c i t . p . 6 3 )
o p e r a t i n gc o n d i t i o i t s / J ' r ' ; ;,:. r ' l :t , s h i t r , ' e , ' a a r t f i a m a f i n a n :
at'inibbhogav'uttitir:an;n;; dppeJcl, i, .'..1;;lri".':'...,ti pt A c l e a ri n d i c a t i o n o f t h e d i s t i n c t i c n b c t w e e n/ r c t u a n d
v u t t o ) , C a u sa l p r c C , r , : . i i ' , ina ! - e sp i a c r i i i t e r c l t p e n d e n t l Y , i:accayais found inthe Nettippakarana, a highly esteemed
'fheravdda
c o n c o m i l a n t i r ' ,i , , i n i o i n i i l . r : : Js i m u i t r i n e r " , u s ibYu' .t ; o t t n t c x t b e l o n g i n gt c t h e p c s t - C a n o n i c a lp e r i o d .
m u t u a l i s r r . i a t i ci n, i t h ' i a c t u r i o t l n a t r m c s e q u e , t coe{ The purposeof this text is supposcdin the Theravada
beforc and afteL (pbii.c). santamsaha ca na ekekadesam t r a d i t i o n t o b e t o s e r v ea s a g u i d e t o t h € s t u d y o f t h e
ni pi pubbiesrabl:atepa dyarn Pacca'teta dl:amme dhamma. Ncttippakara4a sa.ysthat thcre are two thinge
u p p a d ei u : i i : : r l ) . f h i s i s c v i t l e n t l yt h e i d e a i n r p l i c i i r n t h e o p e r a t i n g a s p r c d u c t i v e c a u s e s ,n a m e l y , h e t u e n d p e c '
caya. (dve dhamma janayanti hetu ca paeayo ca), lt
example cf the seed srlwn in the fieid g:r'en by Sel-a
bhikkhun! exr;iain the Buddhist notion of causai m a r k s t h e d i s t i n c t i o nb e t w e e nt h e t w o b y s a y i n gt h a t l c l u
" r' i has thc charactcristicof being unique rtndpaccayahas the
o r i g r n a t i o r r . h c r c { c r e . t h e B u d d h i s t i C e a < - rtfh c c a u s e -
cffcct relationship can in no way be interprcteC as characteristicof being in common (asadharanalakkhano
i n v o i v i n g a c h a i n - l i k es c r i e sn I e v e n t st r a c e a b l cu l t t m a t e ] r ' hetu, sirihiranalakkhanc pacca]'ol. T1ris is iliustrated
t o r r : i a ! : r s s i u t e! : r e g i n n i n g w h i c h c a n h e c o n c c i ' ; c t j; r : t h e b y 't h e e x a m p l e o f t h c s c c i a n d t h e s p r o u t , I t i s s a i d t h a t
u n c a r t s e df r r s t c a u s e t h e s e e di s t h e u n l q u ec o n d i t i o nf o r t h e g e n c r a t i o no f t h e
sprout whereas the soil and moisture are common
I t h u s a l r c a d y b e e r ro b s e r v e dt h a t t h e t e r r l s , ! e l u a n d
conditions (l'atha- ankurassa nibbattiya Aiiant
f i s c ' c a y aw e r e u s e d i n t h e e a r i y B u d d h i s t t e x t s a s s y n o -
asadhAranampathavi apo ca sadhara?a. Ankurassa hi
l i y m s . B u d d h a g h o s ah i m s e i f d e s p i t et h c i n f l u e n c co f t h e 'lhe
pathavi apo ca paccayo). Nettippakarana further
Abhidhamrna tradition is faithfui to this original meaning
c h a r a c t e r i z e st h e d i s t i n c t i o n b 1 ' s a y ' i n gt h a t h e t u i s t h e
when he considcrs lretu and pBccayaas hhving the same
e s s e n t i a ln a t u r e o r t h e t h i n g i t s e l f w h i c h u n d e r g o e s
meaning although they are linguistically different (pac-
c h a n g e .t h e i n n e r n a t u r c o f t h e t h i n g , t h e p r i n c i p l e o f
c a y a ,h e t u , . . . . . a d i a t t h a t o e k a m v y a f r - i a n a tnoi n a m : i b i d .
p . 5 3 3 ) . H o w c v c r , i n t h c s a m e c o n t e x t B u d c hl a g h o s a g e n e r a t i o n ,w h e r e a sp a c c a v aa r e t h e e x t e r n a ls u p p o r t i n g
made the riistinction ihat came to be ajfirmed in thc conditions (Iti sabhavo hetu parabhavo paccayo,janako
A b h i d h a m m a p e r i o d b y r e f c r r i n g t o t h c r o o t c a u s ea s hetu pariggahako paccayo:Ncft. p. 79).
hetu and to the supporting condition as paccaya, T h e d r s t i n c t i o ni s m a r k e d a l r e a d y i n t h e e a r l y C a n o -
(m-uJatthena hetu upakArakatthcna paccayo)' In early nical Abhidhamma of the T'heravadatradition. The
non-Theravada sourcesalso a distinction in meaning T ' h e r a v a d aA b h i d h a m m a i n i t s s c h o l a s t i ca n a l y s i so f r h e
between ^betu and paccaya (Sk. pratyaya) is denied. v a r i o u s c o n d i t i o n sr e l a t e di n d i v e r s ew a y s t o t h e p r o d u c -
(hetinam pratyayanam kah prativi{csah. Na kakid ity tion of the psycho-physicaJ(namaripa) processcharacle-
a h a ) . sD . J . K a l u p a h a n a o b s c r v e s t h a t t h e r e i s a n rized hetu itself as a causal condition which could be
important diffcrcnce between the statement explaining rcferred to as hetupaccsya duc to thc specific naturc of

5. Sphutirthabhidharmakotavyakhy4 ed. U Wogiharrr iTokoyo 1932 l 9 1 6 ) p . . 188.

5. Heturisannah prat-ya1'ah:wprakrstastu pratyayE eva: jana*o hetuh, prstyayastuilanbanamEtram iti apare.ParyZyivetiv it1
a p a r e( S p h u t i r t h i p . t g 3 ) .
 riETU
ihe rclstion involvcd. Thus ,ilrtu camc to br recognizedas
one of thc variety of.paccaya a-ld was dijTerentiatcdfrom
other conditions such as alambana (object,lby che racte-
rizing it as the one which functions as the ront or the
primary cause.
The distinction between hetu and pratlaya appears to
be more markcd in the Sarvistirdda Abhidharrna.T'tre
S a r v a s t i v a d i r rws e r er e s t r r o n s i b l 'et t rp r e s e n t i n ga d o c t r i r : e
of six lretu and four pratvaya. Kalupahana bclievesthat
t h e . A b h i d h a r m a t e a c h e r so f t h e S a r v a s t i v a d at r a C i t i o n
are most likely to have beenthe first to formulatc a theory
of causality with two aspects,/rcfu and pratydya because
it is a doctrine which fell in line with their metaphysical
i n n o v a t i o n s( o p . c i t . p . 5 l ) , T h e r e i s n o d o u b t t h a t r h e
d i s t i n c t i o n i s a r e s u l to f l a t e r A b h i d h a r m a s c h o i a s t i c i s m
although we cannot be certain as to whetber it was a
s i m u l t a n e o u sd e v e l o p m e n ti n a l l A b h j d h a r m a s c h o o l so r
w h e t h e r t h e A b h i d h a r m a t e a c h e r so f t h e S a r v d s t i v a d a
tradition were originally responsiblefor it.
A philosophicalquestionwhich has drawn the attenrion
of some recent writers on thc Buddhist nction of causeis
w h e t h e r a c c o r d i n g t o B u d d h i s m t h c c a u s ec a n b e s a i c it o
be neccssarily connected with the effcct. The terrn
avitathatiwhich occurs in the Pati Canon (,S.II, p, 26) to
charncterize the causal relation has been rendered iuio
EngJish as 'necessity'. The question arisessas to whnt
k i n d o f n e c e s s a r yc o n n e c t i o n i s a d m i t t E d i n E u d d h i s m
bctween a cause and an effect. In Western philosophical
discussions about the conccpt of cause prior to David
Humc's analysis it was generally supposed by philo-
sophers that there is a certain Dccess€tryor inhercnt
connection betwccn any cause and its effect. The neces-
sery connection view prior to David Hume's analysis
i m p l i e d t h a t t h ej o i n t o c c u r r c n c eo f c a u s ea n d e f f e c ri s n o t
accidentel but that the effect must happen in case the
cause exists. David Hume claimcd that there is no such
ncccstary connection betwecn any cause and its effect.
Hume's main argument for this negative conclusion was
thet the idea of any cause is perfectly separable in our
minds from its cffect. What Hume claims is that thcre is
n o c o n t r a d i c t i o n i n s u p p o s i n gt h a t A w h i c h i s h i t h e r t o
known to be the causeof B may on some future occasion
not be accompaniedby its customary effect B. There is no
contradiction for exnrnplcin affirming that water thrown
on a flame indreascsthe flame instead of cxtinguishing it.
We can onlv observe that one event regularly follows
aotller, but we can never observc any tie between them.
There is constant conjunction but no connection.cen be
obrerved in the form of an impression.
Supposing certain conditions C are invariably con-
joined with a certain evcnt E while there are also certain
other conditions C which are also invariably conjoind
vith tbc the same event E. There s6emt to be a need to
7, Sinaggin upsgszsu parr,ayesu muhuftan pi tato nibfuttanadllanminam
,443 ^rilii"i J
C i s t i n g u i s ht h c c a u s a lc o n d i t i o n sf r o m t h c o t h t r c o n d i -
t i o n s w h i c h n t a i ' n o t e x h i b i t a c a n : a l r e l a fi o n . A ! t h q r L l : h
l { u m e ' s p c l n t t h a t t h e e { f e c tc a n n o i b e l o g i c a l l yd c d u c e c i
f r o m t h c c 3 u s c , a n d l h a t t h e i d e a a f a n y c a r i s ei s
c o m p l - : t e l s_ e" -p a r a b l ct n o u ! :i m a g i n a t i n nf r o m i t s e f f r r r : s
va.lid mar:r' recent and coiltemporarl, Western phii.r.
s c i p h e r sa r e { l u i t c u ' i l i l n g t o s p e a kc ' f t h e c a u s a lc o n ; l i t i o n . : - ;
i r i n n - ve v e n t a . st t r o s c w h i c h a r e i i : s o r n cs e n s €n c f e s s e a r
f o r i t s o c c u r r e n c s .P h i l o s o p h c r sw h o t a k e t l i i s p c s i t i c ' n
s p e a k o f p h y s i c a l , n o m o l o g i c a l o r e t i o l o g i c a in e c c s s i t v
w h i c h i n t h e i r o p i n i o n i s C i f f e r e n tf r o m ! o g i c a ln e c e i s i r v ,
B i r d d i r i s n rd o e s n o r r a i s e t h e q u e s t i o n c f n e c e s s a r y
c c ; n n e c t i o ni n r h e l { u m c a n s c n s ca t a i l b e c a u s ci t c i o c sn o t
s ? c m t o h a v c e x p i i c i i l y m a d e t h e d i s t r n c t i o nb e t w e e n
p u r e l y f o r m a l a : : d l o g i c a l r e l a t i o n su n t h e o n e h a n d a n d
e m p i r i c a l l v d i s c o v e r a b l cc a u s a l r e l a t i o n s o n t h e o t h e r .
T h e i d e a o f l o g i c n i n e c e s s i t yd o e s n o t c o m e i n t o t h e
p i c t u r e a t a l ! . I t i s t h e r ef o r e a p r - i l e l yc a u s a ln e c es s i t yt h a t
i s a f f i r m e d i n B u d d h i s m ( J a y a r i i l e k e o, p . c i t . p . 4 4 7 ) .T h r s
b e c o m e se v i d e n tf r o m B u d d h a g t r o s a ' e s x p l a n a t i o no f t h e
term auitatiata which is translatcd into English as
' n e c e s s i t y 'B. uddhaghosa
s n y s :" S i n c c t h e r c i s n o f a i l u r e ,
e v e nf o r a n n o m e n t ,t o p r o d u c c t h e e v e n t st h a t a r i s ew h e n
thr conditionscome togcthcr, therr is said to be neces-
sity.I
I t i s t o b c n o t e d t h a t i n i h e s t r i c t s e n s eo f t h c t c r m f i s f r r
i t w a s u s e di n c a r l y B u d d h i s m t o r c f e r t o t h . s u m t o t a i s f
conditions depending on which a given effect occurs.
E x p l a n a t i o n s i n t e r m s a f h e t u i n B u d d h i s m r v e r ci a r g e l y
confined to the problernsassociatedwith man's liberation
from his miserablepredicarnentwhich Buddhism referred
t o * s d u k k h a , l n p r o v i d i n g s u c h e x p l a n a t i o n sP u d d h i s m
highlighted certril crucial caussl factcrs such as igno-
relnce(avijfa,)and craving (ta$a). Buddhism recognized
the fact that e"rplanaticn in terrns of fiefu applies to fftv
d o m i a n o f b u m a n c o n c e m . I t c o u l d , f o r i n s t a n c e ,b e
applied to the social sphcre in-order to discover what
c a u s € sa n d c o n d i t i o n s a r e r e l a t e d t o s s ' : i a lh a r m o n y a l d
s t a b i l i t y o r w h a t c a u s e sa n d c o n d i t i o n s a r e r e l a t e d t o
social unrest and instabilitl'. The point is that expla-
n a t i o . ri : : s u c h t e r m sw s s c o n s i d e r e di n B u d d h i s mt o b e o f
immense practical bencfit to max in contrast to expla:ia-
tions in terfls of abstract metaphvsical principles. Most
of the causalfactors that the Buddha has identilled in
connection with human happiuess and misery are evi-
dently factors having a psychologica!significa.ncesuch as
phassa(sensecontact) vedani (feeling) raa.bi (craving),
tnd upadEna(clinging), On account of this characteristic
o f t h e B u d d h i s t c o n c e p to f h e t u i t m a y b e s a i d t o b e c l o s e r
t o e m p i r i c a l , p r a g m a t i c a n d s c i e n t i f i cn o t i o n s o f c a u s e
tharr to metaphysicalones.
p. p. plasodd
esambfuvibhavato evitathatz Vitm p . 5 l t .
 iii::TtJ 44{
T h c t e r m h e t 4 i n s p i t r c l i t s o c c u r r c n c ei n t h e p r u -
B u d d h i s t l i t e r a t u r e ,w a s n o t a s w i d e l v u s c d e s n p h i l o -
o o p h i c a it e r r n u n t i ! t h e i i s s o f B u d d h i s m . T h e r e a s r : rfno r
t h i s i s t h a t t h e t e r s : , ' , . r h cunt i l i z c di n a s t r o n g l vs u b s t a n -
t i a - l i spt h i I o s o p h i c a ci o n t c r t , i r n p l i e da " r o o t " ( r t i I a ) " t h e
e s s e n t i aal n d i n v a n a b l ec a u s eo f e " s p r o u t " ( t i l a , s u n g a ) , l
e c o n n t e c t i o nw h i c h t h e t r a d i t i o n a l B r a h m a n i c a ls y s t e m
o f t h o u g h t p r e f e r r e dt o e x p l a i n a s a f u n c t i o n o f t h e " s c i f"
(1tmaa) and the Materialist schools conccived as "self-
nnture" (svabhava).Such a conccption of "cause" could
n o t b e a c c o m m o d a t c di n a r a d i c a l l y n o n - s u b s t a : r t i a l i s t
and empincist philosophylikc that of the Buddha. Yet,
the Buddha, whose centra! tenet in philosophy is the
"principle of depcndent arising" (paticcasamuppada),
n e e d e dt o u t i l i z e t h i s i m p o r t a n t t e r m f r o m c u r r e n t u s a g c
but elso wanted to rid the term of its substentinlist
i m p l i c a t i o n s ,a p r o c e s sp o p u l a r l y r e f e r r e dt o a s " p o u r i n g
new wine into old bottles."
T h e B u d d h a u s e d t h e t e r m i n t w o r e l a t e d s e n r , e st,h c
-i
o n t o i o g i c a l a n c it h e l o g i c : .1 h e o n t o l o g i s a l s e u s t o l t e a
E p p e a r sw h e n e v c rE Q i i r r . , r ri s p c : t c i i i ; i : r ;t g r n r ; ' ' \ v h a t
is the cause. what il thr r:onditiorr'i" 1ko hctu, ka
paccayo).2 ltie i..oi;a1 rrnpiications a','roften apparent
w h e n t h c q t r e s t i o ni s p o : c r i a s :" W h a t i s t h e r e a s o n ' l "( t a m
kissahctu).3
F o r t h e B u d d , n a ,i h l n n r e i m p o r t a n t w a s t h c u s eo f t h e
t c r m i n a n , " r , r . o l o g i c asl e n s e ,A f t e r d e n y i n g e n y p e r -
marent an<i ess?ntial entity called "sel?' (atman) ar
s u b s t a n c eo r " s e l f - n a t u r e( s v a b h a v a )i,f t h e B u d d h a h a d
not fo,"-usedrrpcn the orrtologicaJ relations bctween
a x p r - c : r c c d e v e n t so r p h c n o m e n a ,b e w o u l d h a v e f a i l e d
t o e x p l a i n t h e p e r c e v i e du n i f o r m i t i e s a n d b e l e f t * i t h a
concepiicn oI ihe world thet is more like a sancJ-heap.
Y e t oa s m c n t i o n e d c a r l i c r , t i r e t e r m l c r u u s e d t o ex p l a i n
t h a " r c i a t i o n w a s l o a d c d w i t h s u b s t a n t i a l i sm
t e a n i n g s .I n
o r s e r t o a v o i d s u c h s u b s t a n t i a l i sn t u a n c c s ,t h e B u d d h a
u s e dt h e t e r m a s a s y n o n y m f o r o n e o f t h e t e r m s w h i c h
was more compatible with his own conception of a
relation. namely, paccaya (Skt. praryaya) meaning
"conditon." Thus, in any investigation i:rto the nature
and functioning of phenomena, the question rai:rd
almost always is ko hetu, ko pacceyo ("what is the cause,
w h a t i s t h e c o n d i t i o n ? " ) ,W h e r e a sa s u b s t a n t i a l i s to r a l
essentialistwould often look for a single essentialcause!
tbe Buddha" unrestrict d by such a philosophical pers-
l. SeeDavid J. Kalupahanl Ctasality. The Centrel Philosophy dDuddhism,
- t t
l l .
7 . V i n . l l t ,p p . 8 , 1 0 5 ,1 4 5D; . l , p p . 1 0 6- 1 0 8 l,4 { ; I I , p . 1 3 9 M ; . 1 . p p . 2 5 , 2 t , 2 8 5e t c .
3 , D . l , p , l 8 ; l l , p . 1 4 ;M . I , p p . 1 , 3 1 , 3 1 0, S; I. I , p . 2 1 A , l , p p .E , 3 2e t c .
1. S.l. p. 134.
5 , S c cM . l , p . 4 0 8 ;S , t l l , p . ? 3 ;A . I l , p . 3 1 .
6. SeeKalupahana,Cawdity, pp. 163- 176
7. SeeDrvidJ.KalupahentNagarjuna: ThePhilosophyof theMiddle Way,Albany:TbcStateUniversityof
pp,l05-117.
HETTJ
p e c t i v e ,e n u m e r a t e da w h o l e s e t o f c o n d i t i o n s t h a f i s
r c l e v a l t t o t h e c o n t e x t , c v e n t h o u g h t h e q u e s t i o ni t s e l fi s
'ihus,
formulatedin the singuiar e x p l a i n r n gt h e h u m a n
p e r s o n a l i t ya s o n e t h a r " h a s a r i s e n d c p e n d i n gu p o n a
c a u s e " ( h e t u m p a t i e ' c as a r n b h u t a m ,n o t e t h e u s e o f t h e
t e r m r l e f u e n a b l e dt h c B u d d h a t o r e r a - i ns o m ef l e x i b i l i t yi n
e n u m e r a t ca t - l e a s tf o u r c o n d i t i c n s .e o r n p a r i n gt h e m t o
thr cred (bija), the field (kherra), soil nutrition
(patha'{irssa) and moisture (sineha).a Such a use of rhe
t e r r nh c t u e n a b l e dt h e B u d d h a t o r e t a i ns o m ef l e x i b i l i t y i n
t h e ex p l a n a t i o n o f t h e r r l a t i o n s a sw e l l a s t h e u n i f o r m i t i e s
( d h a m m a t a ) c o n c ei v e d i n t e r m s o f s u c h r e l a t i o n s .
fheories that did not have such flexrbility but upheld
s o m el ' o r m o f c i e t e r m i n i s r ne,s p e c i a l l vt h o s et h a t l e f t n o
r o o m f c r h u m a n e f f o r t a n d m o r a i r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ,c a m et o
b e d c s i g n a t e da h e t u v i , l a e v r - nt h o u g h t h e v w e r e t o a d m i t
s o m e f o r m o f c a u s a t i o n . s l v l a t er i a l i s t t h e o r i e s t h a t
recognized "self-natr:re" (svabhit,a) and the Ajivika
theory of biological determinism (niyati-sahgati-vada)
came under this categorv.
H o w e v e r , a s s p e c u l a t i o n sc o n t i n u e d d u r i n g t h e
s c h o l a s t i cp e r i o d r e p r c s e n t e db y t h e A b h i d d h a m m a , a n d
t h e n e e df o r s p e c i f y i n gt h e t v p e s o f r e l a t i o n sw a s f e l t , w e
f i n d t h e s c h o l a s t i c se n u m e r a t i n g f o u r a n d s o m e t i m e s
twenty-four relations or conditions (paccaya),the first of
which was always hetu-paccaj,a (hetu-pratyaya) or "root-
c o n d i t i o n . ' s D e s p i t et h e d e m a r c a t i o no f t h e m e a n i n g o f
t h e t e r m h e t u i n t h i s c o n t e x t ,t h e A b h i d h a m m a a v o i d c d a
s u b s t a n t i a l i sitn t e r p r a t a t i o no f t h i s c o n d i t i o n b y i n s i s t i n g
u p o n t h e e f f i c a c yo f t h e o t h e r c o n d i t i o n s w i t h o u t w h i c h
the hetu-pacca',,aitself would be inoperative.
T h e s u b s t a n t i a l i si nt t e r p r e t a t i o nc f t h e c a u s a rl e l a t i o n s
a p p e a r e df o r t h e f i r s t t i m e i n t h e B u d d h i s tt r a d i t i o n a s a
r e s u l t o f t h e s p e c u i a t i o n so f t h e S a r v a s t i v a d i n s .T h e y
a s s u m e dt h a t e a c hc a u s a lr e l a t i o n p o s s e s s e a d unique or
essentialnature (svabhiva). It is the Sarvastivadainter-
pretation of the causalconditions (pratyaya)that became
the target of Nagarjuna's criticism. ln the opening
chapter of his celebrated work, the Mulamadhyama*a-
kirika, Nagarjuna dismissedthc non-Buddhist theories
o f c a u s a t i o nb y u t i l i z i n g o n e s i n g l ev e r s ea n d d e v o t e dt h e
r c m a i n i n g t h i r t e e n v e r s e st o t h e r c f u t a t i o n o f t h e s u b s -
tantialist version of the causal conditions (pratyaya)
w t t h o u t a b a n d o n i n gt h e c o n c e p t i o no f c o n d i t i o n si t s e l f . r
However, in spite of Nagarjuna, the substantialistintcr-
Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, 1975,pp. g
NewYorkPress,t986,
 HEVAJRA
p r e t a t i o n a p p e a r st o h a v c d o m i n a t e d t h e s u b s e q u e n f
n o n - c a n o n i c a l l i t c r a t u r e , e s p e c i a l l yt h e A b h i d h a m m a
c o m m e n t a r i e sa n d m a n u a l s , a r a r e e x c e p t i o n b e i n g t h e
Abhid hammamila-tika of Ananda.
T h e s e c o n da p p l i c a t i o no f t h e t e r m h e l u , t h a t i s . i n a
l o g i c a ls c n s e d, e s p i t ei t s o c c u r r e n c ei n t h e e a r l y c t i s c c ; r r r s e s
w h c r e t h e t s u d d h a ' sc l a r i o n r : a Jfio r , - a t i o n a l i t r ,e, m b o d i e C
i n t h c r c c u r r i n gq u e s t i o n" W h a t i s t h e r e a s c n . l ,('t a n k i s s a
h e t u ) ,w h e t h e rt h e g u e s t i o np e r t a i n st o a d i s c u s s i c no f t h e
f a c t u a l w o r l d o r s o m e i s s u er e l a t i n g i o m o r a l s , d i d n u t
g a i n m u c h p r o m i n e n c eu n t i l t h e t i m e o f V a r u b a n d h u .I t i s
p o s s i b l et o s u r m i s et h a t V a s u b a n d h u ' si n v o l v e m c n tj n t h e
l o g i c a l e n t e r p r i s ew a s d u e t o h i s b c i n g c n g a g e ciln f i e r c e
p h i l o s o p h i c a ld e b a r e sw i t h t h e n o n - B u d d h j s ra s w e l l a s
t h e B u d d h i s t s u b s t a n r i a l i s r sl n . addition to being the
g r e a t e s tB u d d h i s t p s y c h o l o g i s ta f t e r t h e B u d d h 4 h e i s
a l s o f a m e d f o r h i s p i o n e e r i n gw o r k s o n B u d d h i s t l o g i c .
E v c n t h o u g h h i s p u p i l , D i n n a g a , h a s o v c r s h a d o w e dh i m
in this latter disciplinc, Vasubandhu himself can be
c o n s i d e r e dt h e f a r h e r o f B u d d h i s t l o g i c .
Vasubandhuis credited with the formulation of rhe
thrcc characteristics(laksana) or form (ripa) of reason
( h e t u )w h i c h b e c a m e a p a r a d i g m f o r t h e l a t c r B u d d h i s t
iogicians and which bore his name as Vasubandhavarn
laksanam.eThe three characteristicsof rlcru are
I . T h e s i s( p a k 1 a )t o b e e s t a b l i s h e dc, . g . T h e m o u n t a i n
is fire-possessing.
2 . R e a s o no r j u s t i f i c a t i o n ( h e t u ) w h i c h i s a n i n d i c a t i o n
of the invariable con<:omitanceof an event with
a n o t h e rs u c ht h a t t h ee v e n tw o u l d n o t a r i s ew i t h o u t
the occurrence of that other. e.g. Recausethe
m o u n t a i n i s s m o k e - p o s s e s s i n gW. h e n e v e rt h e r e i s a
s t a t eo f s m o k e - p o s s e s s i n ga,s t a t eo f f i r e - p o s s e s s i n g
must occur.
3, Exemplification (drstanta) or rhat through which
t h e i n v a r i a b l e c o n c o m i t a n c co f t h c t w o i s s p e c i f i -
cally mentionede.g. As js the kitchen (positive
e x a m p l e )a n d u n l i k e i n a l a k e ( n e g a t i v ee x a m p l e ) . e
I t m a y b e n o t e d t h a t , e v e nt h o u g h t h e t e r m f i e fu o c c u n
in No.2 above and is used to refer to the specific
ontological connection, all threc are referred to as
characteristics(laksana) or forms (rup4 of 6eru, Thus
t h e t e r m ^ l i e t uc o m e s t o b e s y n o n y m o u s w i t h t h c v e r v
m e t h o d o f r e a s o n i n go r l o g i c , T h e h e t u - v i d a ( o p p o s e dt o
a h e t u - v a d a Jw h i c h a b s o r b e d t h e a t t e n t i o n o f e a r l y
8' Sec Hajime Nakamura, Indian Buddhrsm, Hirakata City, Osaka Pref:
Kansai University of Foreign Studier, 19g0,p, 295.
9. See Stefan Anacker, Seven Works of Vasubandhu,Dclhi, Motilal Banarsidass,
19g4, pp. jg - 39.
t' HerukaisBlsosometimesuredtodesignateHevajre.ButthetermHerukadesignaternotssingledivinitybutrtype,thecla.esof
fierce divinities and hence Hevajra is mercly another form of Hcruka (sa
D. L. Snellgrove, BuddhistHim-tlay| p, 205).
2. Se Alice Certy, Gods of Northern Buddhism, pp. 123 ff.
3' Thefivcadornmentsarethecirclx(cakra),earringl (kunlata),necklace
(kaqlhi),bracelelr (rucaka)andgydle(mekhal4,Thcseare
said to poss-es!purificatory powent a.Jthey symbolire tiri: five dhyini-buddhEs:
ecc t?xt I, viii. l7 and lI, vi. l-4,
445 }IEVAJRA
B u r l dh i s n r i s n o w o v e r s h a d c w e d b v h e t u - v i d 1 a ( . , , t h e
scrtncc of reasoiiing or loFic'] l{enceforward manl'
w o r k s o n l o g i c w c r e d c s i g n a t c d" I r c a t i s e so n H : t u ' , a s
ex emp l ifred bv wor ks lik c I{ et u htn dl'Lt. t'-{r : :.:i.akr a d ama r u,
Hetucakrani:r:aya and Hetuiatf voS'ti:4t:t.2. iFl. XX XVI).
l]*vlC J. Itnlu*rurenu
H E V A J R A , a n l n d , - - r -i b l eranBuddhist dcity, described
mainly ir' the Hevajra-tantra(q.v.). The cult of llevaira's
worship, speciaJIfinits yab-1am (mrthuna, yuganaddha)
f o r m , i . e . i n w h i c h h e i s i n u n i o n w i t h h i s C a k r i( f e r n a l c
c o u n t e r p a r t ) ,w a s d e v c l c p e di n t h e l i t h a n d t h c I 3 t h
c e n t u r i e si n B e n g a la n d j r i ' l - r b e tA
. s a n e m a n a t i o no f t h e
d h y a n i - b u d d h aA k s o b h l ' a [ i * ' a j r a b e i c n g st o t h c l ) v c s e
( w r a t h ) f a m i l y , t o w . h i c hA k s o b h y a a n d h i s e m a n a t i o n s
b e l o n g( S e eH E R U K A ) .
W i t h r e g a r d t o t h e n a m e H e v a j r a r i t i s o f i n t e r e s tt o
n o t e t h a t v a j r a , m e a n i n gt h e t h u n d e r b o l to r t h e d i a m o n d .
w h i c h s y m b o l i s e sr h e i n d e s r r u c t i b i en a t u r e o f t h e u l t i -
mate truth and which is also the symbol of the dyess
f a m i l y o f A k s o b h y a , i s a c c o r d i n g l ym a d e u s eo f a s a p a r t
o f t h e c o m p o s i t en a m e H e v a j r a . A s s h o w n b y D . L .
Sneligrove (Buddhist Himalaya, pp, 75 and 205) rhc
name is mcrelv an invocaiion of the fural truth (he, vajra).
A c c o r d i n g t o r h e s a m ea u t h o r i t y ( H e v a j r a + a n t r a , l , p . 1 0 .
n . l ) w h i l e t h e n a m e i s s o m c t r m e ss p e l t a s H a r s a v a j r a
m e a n i n g ' r e j o i c i n gv a j r a " i t a l s o o c c u r s a m o n g t h e t O g
names of Vajradhara in the Tattvasamgraha-tantra.
S n e l l g r o v ef u r t h e r o b s c r v e s( i b r d .p . 2 3 ) ,, . T oc a l l a n y t h i n g
the essenceof Wisdom and Means as the llevaTra-tantra
r s c a l l e d o n i t s f i r s t p a g c ,i s t o c l a i m f o r i t t h e n a t u r e o f
s u p r e m e t r u t h , a n d t o r e s o l v e H e v a j r a ' sn a m e i n t o t w o
parts HE meaning compassicn and VAJRA meaning
w i s d o n ,i s t o i d e n t i f yh i m w i t h t h e S u p r e m eB e i n g ." I n t h e
u l t i m a t e a n a l y s i st h e t e r m s i g n i f i e st h e u n d i f f e r r n t i a r e d
and indestructiblenature of the absolute, pictorially
c o n c e i v e da s t h c g o d H e v a j r a .
I n t h e p a n t h e o no f T a n t r i c d e i t i e sH e v a j r a i s c l a s s e da s
a tutelary god (yidam).: Chaprer 5 of part II of the
Hev,ajra-tanfradcscribcshim asdark in colour, as having
slxteen arms, eight faces, four legs and tcrrible in
a p p e a r e n c ew i t h h i s g a r l a n d o f s k u l l s a n d t h e f i v e
rymbolic adornmentr (pafrcanudradhara) I and as beins
 HfiVAJF'..q
c m b r a c e d ,i n t h c m , i f i t r t a p c s { u r e .b v h r i i c r r , a l e{ : o i t t r t t r "
pwt,prajflndc:iguatcd as N*iratm;;'l. I'i:r fcur .=:i,'r-a'are
r e p r c s e n t r : Ca s b c i r : g t r a r r p i c d t r - vh i i n , u u d c r i r i s { e c t .
F e a r I u l t r : i q a r t t s e l { ' i r f r e J " s sa- l r " r i r a - ' : l r t , r i - e ntrr.r)
d a n c e sf u r i o r " : : l v( t , s : s d a i ' a n v ' i t oan ) a s u i a t d i s i , rv. . i t f r *
crcrsse<lva;ra ft:itav.atra) on hji ciow;'i and tl'rc hody'
smenred with nsh*r end lr!; n,:r:_rih cri:illrrry .;,e ,';i,,:r
s c u n d . 6 l { i s f r r ; n t l ' n c c : s s i . r r it r ' u * i ' ' l r l c k ,i ! , c r r g . h to n c
w h i l e , t h e I e ft c n e r c q ia u d f r a r f r i l a n d t h c o n r I L r1 ] r ct e a r : ! s
-fhe
C i s l r ' : : tde. c t h e l .f a ; : l : sa r e l i k e t h , l s et ; i b e e sw r t h t h r e e
ev e s i n r e a c h . \ 4 ' h , ; c i i . . , , a j r a a i r d \ a r : o t r n 1 ' ar r r n a i n i r
the ccntre of thc mar,jal;r. whictr is dcscribedassquarcanrl
w i i h i s u l p o r t . l . ' ial sn d a d o r n ed w i t h g a r l a n d sa n r i c h a i n s ,
rhc right yogtnls cli the mandala of He"-'a.1ra are at cach rrf
t h c e i g h t c j i r e c t i o n s .l - l i e va r c G a u r i i n i h r c a s t ,i - i a u r ii n
t h e s c u t h , V e t C i i i n t h e w e : t , ( i h : r s n : a r jr n t l r c n o r t h ,
P u k k a s i i n t h e n o r l h - c a . i t ,5 a " ' a r i r n t h e s o u t h - c a s l
Car<iafi iii thc south-{csi ariii i)ombini in rhr north-
'wesr.
f h e s e - l ' o g i n i sa r c i w o - a r n n c da n C i r i ; d a u c i n g
p o s i t i o n , h a v i n g t h r e e e - v e sr,v e a r i n gt h e f i r ' e c r n a m e n t !
rcferred to carlier and trearing varir-:usirnplements in
-I'hc
their hands. s k u l l s i n ! { e v a j r a ' sr i g h t i r a n d sc o n t a i n
a n e l c p t r a n t ,a h o r s e ,a n n s s ,a n o x , a c a m e l ,a m r n , a i i o n
Bnd a cat. Those in the left contain earth, water, air, {'ire,
m o o n , s u n , Y a m a a n d V a i i v a n a r a .A s h e i s i n a d a n c i n g
a t t i t u d e b e i s p o s s e s s e do f t h e n i n e a e s t h e t l cp l c a s u r e s
(n av an a tyarasr) which are i ovc (srn g ara), herois rn (vi ra).
oathesomeness (bibhatsa), trorror (raudra), mirth
(
t his y a),f ri ghtf uln ess (h h ay a n akal comp assia n k aru nA)
wonderment (adbhun) and tranquillity (ianra1.r While
enjoying great biiss (mahasukha) in the company of
Nairatmyi, he at the rcquest of the iattcr, gives the ali-
inrportant Hevaira-mantra and draws out the mandala
h i m s e l f . l t i s w o r t h n o t i n g t h a t d e t a , i l e di n s t r u c t i o n s ' a r e
given as to thc drawing of thc printing of Hevajra Some
o f t h e m o r e i r r t e r e s t i n go f t h e s ei n s t r u c t i o n s a r e t h a t i t
s h o u l d b e d r a w n b y a p e r s o nb c l o r : g i n gt o t h e i r a d i t i o n o f
thc Hevajra's cycle (samayicitrakarena) and being a
frightfui picture it should be paintetiat a lonely spot at
noon on the l4th day of thedark fortnight in a ferocious
stale of mind (kruracittcnal fi cru drinking vtine (madana-
p A n a t a h )r . A s r e g a r d st h e w r i t i n g o f t h e t e x t t o o i t h a s t o
4. The four maras ue skandhanare, Lla{amira, mrt.r'umsra ar.d devaputramara.
5 . S n e l l g r o v c o b s e r v c r ": T h e H e v a j r a - t e n t r a b e l c n g s t o t h e V a j r a - f a m i l y o f w h i c h A k s o t ' h y a o r o n e o f h i s w r a t h f u l m a n i f e s t a t i o n s '
Hevajra" lleruka or Samvara is thc head. wrath is thercfore a.t the centre and rhe aspect of the divinities
Hevajralantra, l. P. .10. -
6. Thir is the sced-ryltable (bl_la-mantra))of Hn'ajra from which he manife.:ts himscif.
7. T.heaesthcticsignificanceof the philot,ophicrl concept as well as of the pictorial represcntalion of Hevajra and his troupe
seenfrom this re{erenceco r-henioe aesthecicpleaswes of the Indian uadition. Hevairab tiancing posturE can be compared with that
of Sivr thc nanr-aj, rr ryrnbolising the rhythm oi the universe.
8. Therc daails scem to smxck olcenain elernentsof black-magic involrrd in the rite,
9. Ihis showr the lecrei n.lture of the.Iantrir: circles s-r in thc caseof thc 6uh.tasamija-tantta.
10, Hevajra-tantra, l. p. 32 This descnpcr'onreminds one of thc sadhanas af.
1 . F o r a c l e t a i l e d d i s c u s s i o n o ft h i s p o i n t s c e L r r n a A n a g a r i k a G o l i n d a ' s F o u n d a t i o n s o f T i b e t a n M y s t i c i s m ,
44S HEVAJRA
b e r i c f l c f ' : ' ' ; l - ' t b e i o n g i n gt o t h e t r a d i t i c n o f H e v a j r a a n d
r l t i l h t r t h e i : . ; i ; l i i i r gn o r t h e t e x t s h o u l d b e - s h o w n t o
s l r a n g c r s . "r \ j 1 s w c : - i nai i r j u t s t i o n b - vt h c v o g i t t i s H
, evajra
r x p i a i n st h t m a r l a mud r a o r t h e g r c a t s y r r b o i w h i c h i s t h e
gi;ilrjcss I'rtllapirantria herscif. EcinS a ph;isical des-
c r i p t i o n o f t h e g o t i d e s si t c o u l d h e c i t e d a sa d e s c r i p t i o no f
; c - : a lf e r n a l eb c a u n ' i i i , 2-1)
"';ii,
A s H t v a j r a i s a { L : l e l a r - 1 ' d e i tf y* a d a m ' i s t a d c v a t a )t h e
p : - a r t : , j apl uliros: scn'cd hv hirn and !:is mandalais the
i a c r I ; ta i r o r io { t h e p r a c ti c e o I c o n c t n lr e t i o n , t h e ' p r c ' r c eos fs
r v h i c hi s d e s c r i b e ii n g r e a ti c t a i l i n c h a p t e r3 o f p a r t I o f
the texi rl'hich is strnrcariscd b1' Snellgrove in the
f o l l o w i n g w o r d s , " A f t e r t h e p r e i i m r n a n e s ,t h e p u r i f i c a -
t i o n o f t h c s i t c a n d c t fo n c ' so w n p e r s o n ,t h e e v o c a t i o ni s
'[hrs
b eg r r n . m a y 'p r o , l c e t li n v a r i o u s w a 1 ' si n a c c o r d a n c e
w i t h t h e m e a n i n g so f t h c s 1 ' m b o l s u g g e s t e ad b o v e ' O n e
m a v l i r s t e n v i s a g et h e s y l l a b l e R A M w h i c h i s t h e
p r i m e v a -fli r e . l n t h i s o n e e v i s a g c sa c r o s s e d - v a j r qs y m b o l
o f t h c a b s o l u t ec e n t r e ,a n d t h e n a t t h e h e a r t o f t h i s t h e
s y l l a b i eH L r M w h i c b i s t h e e s s e n coef H e r u k a o r H e v a j r a '
Onc may cornplicatethc processby envisagingthis I'a7ra,
t h e a d a m a n t i n ee s s c n c ea, sf i r s t t r a n s f o r m i n gi t s e l f i n t o a
protected paiace, at the ccntre of which Hcvajra is
e n t h r o n e d ,o r o r r em a y c o m r n e n c et h e w h o l e p r o c e s sw i t h
t h e l o t u s i n t h e s t 1 ' l i s e df o r m o f t h e t r i a p g l e o f o r i g i -
n a t i o n ." 1 0
A word may be szud here about the angry and
frighteningnature of Hevajra and other similar deities,
collectivcly known as Herukas. Such figures in lndian
A r t , s ] - r n b o l i s et h e f e a r f u l a s p e c t o f t h e p r o c e s s o f
enlighienmenw t h i c h i n G o t a m a B u d d h a ' sc a s e i s e x -
p r c s s e db - vh i s s t r u g g l ew i t h M a r a a n d h i s h o s t s ,w h i i e t h e
d a n c i n g a t t i t u d e s 1 ' m b o l i s e rsh. 1 ' t h m i cv i b r a t i o n s o f t h e
universe, as in the case cf Siva, the natar-aj. The skull-
cups and other war-like symbols, the fearful facial
e x p r e s s i o n se t c . d e p i c t t h e i n n e r s t r u g g l e , t h c p s y c h o -
i o g i c a !w a r , w h i c h a p e r s o nd e s i r o u so f a t t a i n i n ge n l i g h t -
e n m e n th a s t o g o t h r o u g h . l l
A. G. S. Krfyawasam
is wrathful."
could be
t-he Sidhananala'
p' l98f'.
 }IEVAJRA-TAT.{TR.A 447 HEYAJKq.-TAF{'rRA

'Iantric
HEVAJRA-TAI{TRA, a Buddhist rext in T b e u ! ! i n : a t eu n d i f f e r c n t i r r t c il e a l j t y , a s s r p e c t so f w h j c h
S a n s k r i t c o m p i h d i n a b o u r t h e m i d e l l ec f t h e . t t hc e n r u r y g u i , r n a r i t r a r i r : - i r s r . cl h c i r r x i * e t e n c *i r h e r e i d c a t i f i e t j
A . C . b y S a r o r u h a v a j r a( o r S a r o r u h a - s i d d h ao r p a e j m a - witht thc Dh1,'ani-!{uddirasanC wirh ati the pr,:rninrnr
v a j r a ) a n d K a m p a l a . r W h a t t h e s et w c r w r i t e r s s e . c ? t o g o d s o f f b e d a y - l ' a i r o c e n q A k s c b l - r y " "A n c g h e s i d d h i ,
have done was to put together in an anrhoritatilr f,rrm a R . a l n a s n m b h n . , 'A am , i t h a b h a , f t r s t r ; - - q ' , ' i s l n . S i . r v ,e t c ,
large emount of floating nraterial dcaling with t*_ntric o n t h c g : ' r ; u n d st b a t t h c v a r i c u s l r s p n c t sc f f i r : , . :ijr i r i h a r e
teachings.Once the text sssumedits prescnt fcrm aii lhc r e p r E r e n t . db u t h e : ; eq r , r i s . , '
o t h e r s o u r c c st h a t s e r v e da s i t s b a s i r d i s e . p p e a r cidt a v i n g
T t e M r . d h y a m i k a p i r i i a s o p h i c n it s ; c t . s s u c h * s t h e
only thc signs of such a tradition. lais text gainrd
id*nti-{lcltron oi ilre r:ir:t-rcr:smwith the q:*;roccsm an<J
p o p u l e r i t y H m o n gr h e l n d i a n T a n t r i c B u d d h i s t r t * w s r d s
o i s s m s r r s w r t h h i i ' r ' s n r . - t h e a . J r n i r s i c no { . t s u d c i h s
the end of thc 8th century.2
n n t u r c i n r ' ' e r y t h i n g r n c l u , l i n gt h e i n a n i r n a t co b j e c t s ,a r c
Thc Hevajra-tantra opens with the familiar cperring d e a l t r v i t h i n t h c c o n c l u d i n g s t a n z a s( - - 1 7 ff") of tlic Brb
pbrase of Buddhist sdtras evitnt ma).a tnitam {thus harrc c h a p t e r . F i n a i k n o * ' l c d g e i s s c ! f * r e a i i s a r i o ins t l . 5 1 )
I h e a r d ) . H e v a j r a 1 q . v . )a d d r e s s c a r b e o p e : x n ge t r u p t e ro. f whlch cncc dawned r:aprct be r:bstrurcted by' anyrhing
the Tantra to the Bodhisatrva Vajragarbha, who is tle ( s t z .5 2 ) .
i n t e r l o c u t o r .T h i s T a n t r a i s i n t r c d u c e d a : t h c m o s t s e c r i l
T h e 9 t h c h a p t e r a l s o c i e a l sw i t h p h i l o s o p h i c a ls u b j e c r s
of all secret tbings (gltbyat guhyatatnam). In reply to a
more or less common to lvlehayrna in gcccral, Truc
question of Vajragarbhathe Lord expiains rhat in the
v i s i o n i s o b s c u r e db y i g n o r a n c e . A l l t h i n g s ( i . e . s e n s e _
name Hevajra 'He'stands for compassion (frarrrl a) and
f a c u l t i e s ,t h e i r o b j e c t s ,s k a n d h a , d h a t u e t c , ) a r e p u r e i n
Vajra for wisdom (prajfli) thereby equating rhe name
essenccbut this essentialpurity is obscuredby the dcfiling
Hevajra with the final Truth as understood in Vajrayina.
ignorance (a,iflana-Hela).By pcrsonal realisation (srz_
T h e s u b j e c tm a t t e r o f t h e t e x t d i v e s t e do f t h e B u d d h i s t samvedya) ihe yogins should rcnlirc this fact, which is
e l e m e n t s ,a p p e a r sa s a p o p u l a r f o r m o f f o l k r e l i g i o n f u l i p o s s i b l eb e c a u s ei n e s s c n c e thc cntircworld is of Bucldha-
of magic and going back to a vcry earlv pcriod of burnan nature (Euddhama.vam jagat). The objective wcirld,
c i v i l i s a t i o n . T h e o r i g i n a l s o u r c e r n a r e r i a l so f t h e s ef o l k representedby ttresix-fclci sense-obircts,remainsunpuri_
r e l i g i o u s e l e m e n t sw e r e c o m p o s e dn o t i n p u r e S a n s k r i t fied to the yogin as lerng as he ihinks dualistically ar
but in somc popular dialect which was turned into s u b j c c ta n d o b j e c t .O n c e h e c r v er c o m c 3t h i s w c a k n e s sb y
Sanskrit once the text assurncd a Buddhist fcrrn. The self-purificatiorrleading to thc reaiisation of non-dualit-v,
parsagesthat remain in the text in thcse dialcctal forrns i n d r r l g e n c ci n s e n s u a rl h i n h i r : ge : d r e s u l t a n tc o n c e p t u a l i -
b e a r t e s t i m o n yt o t h i s . s a t i o n b e c o m e sh a r m l e s sa s c n c c f , a s e st o t h i n l e g o i s t i _
T h e a r r a n g e m e n to f t h e s r . r b j c cm cally,This chapfcr endsolsowith rhe well-known Medhya-
t a t t e r t o o s h o w st h a t
this is a later collation. Loftv philo:ophical ideas arc m i k s s t a t e m e n t" t h a r b l . w h i c h t h e w o r l C ! s b o u n d , b y
e x p r e s s e ds i d e b y s i d e w i t h m a g i c a l t e a c h i n g s ,a n d t h c t b a t i t s e l f i t s b o n d s a r e r c l e x s c d ;b u t t h e w o r l d i s d e l u d e d
topics are introduced without any plan. 'Ihe two red- a n d k n c w s n o t . t h i s r r u t h a n d h e w h o i s d e p r i v c dc f t h i s
truth wiil not gain perfection.'n
sctors, however, have been careful to presentthe text
glving it authority with the least amount of editorial
O r d i n a r l ' s a m s a r i ce - r i s t e n cies t o b e m a d e u s co f f o r t h e
work.l
r c a l i s a t i o no f t h c h i g h e s t b l i s s ." i l y p a s s i o nt h e w o r l C i s
T h e p h i l o s o p h i c a lb a s i so f t h e T a n r r a i s a c o m b i n a t i o n b o u n d , b y p a s s i o nt h c w o r l d i s r e l e a s e d . "l n o t h e r w o r d s
o f Y o g a c a r aa n d M a d h y a m i k a w h i c h a l s oi s t h e c a s ew i t h i t m e a n st h a t s a m s i r a , w h e n p u r i f i e d i s N i r v r i n n ,a t h e o r v
T a n t r i c B u d d h i s m i n g e n e r a l .T h i s i s t h c b a s i so n w h i c h meant to kcep the rcligicuxin touch with practical effort
r e a J i t y( t a t t v a ) i s p r e s e n t e da s s h o w n i n t h e 5 t h c h a p t e ro f w j t h o u t m a k i n g h i m s l i d e i n t o m e r e t h e o r i s a t i o na b o u t
b o o k L I t o p e n s b y d e n y i n gu l t i m a t e r e a i i t y r o b o r h t h c l i f e , p u r i f i c a t i o n a n d f r e e d o m .J - h ew i s em a n c o n t i n u e si n
s u b l e c ta n c it h e o b j e c t i n e v e r yf o r m o f s e n s e - p e r c e p t i o n . s a m s a r r b u t t h i s s a m s i r a i s r e c o g n i z e dr s N i r v a a a f o r h e

l. These are two of the 84 Perfectedones (siddhas) of J'antric tradition.

2- Hevalra Tantra has been edited and translated by D..L. Snellgrove and published in two parts (l & ll) ar thc 6th Volume
of the
L o n d o n O r i e n t a l S e r i e so l t h e S c h o o l o f O r i e n t a l a n d A f r i c a n S t u d i e s ,L o n d o n L l n i v e r s i t l ' ,l 9 i g .
3 . T h i s i s t h e r e a s o n w h y E d w a r d C o n z e f i n d s t h i s T a n t r a t o b c o f s l i g h t l i t e r a r y i n e r i t . c f . E t l , a a r c i C oBnuz<el.d h i s t T h o u g h t t n l n d i a ,
L o n d o n . 1 9 6 2 p, . 2 7 t .
4. E.g. Visnu representsall pervarivencssand diva propitiouenessetc.
5. ye'natu yena badhyate lokah
le na tu tena trt handhanam muficet
Ioko muhyatr vetb na tattvam
tattvauiva4itah siddhim na lapsyrt II, chp. ii, stz. lg.
 HEYAJRA-TAI\TRA 448 T{EVAJRA-TAT"ITRA

h a s b r o u g h tt h i s a b o u t b y p r r r i f i c a t i o n(6I I , c h ^I V , s r z .3 2 Mandah Rttual: The mandala-ritual which is essentialiy

rf\
T h e r e a l i g a t i o nn f t h i s f i n a l T r u t h " ' * ' h i c h r h o u l d b c
i n d i v i d u a l l y r e a l i s e d ,f r e e f r o m t h e t d e a so f o n e s c i f n n d
o t h e r s ,p u r e a n d l ' o i d a s t h c s k y , t h e e s s e n c ts u p r e r n eo f
existcncc aad non-etisic:ice" ir e.r.presseC Lhr,;'igf';'frtur
j o1's'designatedas'i n an d a, pa ra mAnan d a, wrairr,r.n an d a
'fhc
and sa,falin anrfa.l fourth jciy is describedac suprir-
n i u n . j a n c a n d a c c o r d i r : g l ye q u a t r d * i r h t h c n o o < l u a !
s t a t eo f t h e a b s o l u t r "r h c . i r s t e o fE n i i g h t e n m e n to r B o d l i i .
Elsewhere (81,. Ii, ij, stz-.32 if.i, this Final Bliss,
,Jcsignatedas tirrat Bliss (ma.6a-inanela), is treated as
the absolutcfiem.v'hjch the iive great rlennents
(mahabhuta) are sajd tir cvolve. ln this symbclism rhc file
T ' a t h i g a t a ' f a m i l i e s( k u t a ) 8 r r s r v r ! - n s r e p r e s n
etirig each
of the eleffrcnts.The entire rrniverseis rcpresentcd as
b e c o r t r i n ge v o l v e df r o m t h e c i n es b s o l u t e "t h e M a h n s u k h a
or Great Bliss.
Although one tranrcrndsphysicalform in theseprogres-
E i v c s t a g e s o f s p i n t u a l e x p e r i e n c e s ,t h e b o d v i s s t i l l
nrce3sery as the means towards the goal, ior thcse
cxprriences have to bc attained through the body.
A c c o r d i n g l y t h e E n l i g h t c n e dO n e h a s a f o r m w i t h r r m s
a n d f a c e sa l t h o u g h i n t h c h i g h e s tb l i s sh e j s f o r m l e s s( i l , i i ,
stzs.3543), thereby impiyrng thc ccssationof individuality
by the freed saint.
T h e u i t i m a t ee s s e n c e l e s s n eo sf sa l l p h e n o r n e n a owing
t o t h e i r c o n d i t i o n e d n a t u r e ( { i n y a t a ) i s e r p i a " i n c da t I l ,
i i i , s t z s . 3 2f f . A l l t f e s e a r e l i k e t h c m o o n ' s r e f l e c t i o ni n
water. All dharmas have to be concrive<Jas tht firc that
c a n n o t b e l o c a t e d i n a n y p l a c e- - i n t h c f i r e - s t i c k s h , ands
that rub or in its action etc.
b u d d h a n B t u r e i s p r e s e n ti n a l l b e i n g s .g o d s , n t e n " . . .
a l l ( l l , i v . s t z -3. 6 ) . I f n o t f o r t h e a c c i d e n t arl J e f i l c m c n t sa,l l
are Buddhas.t In other words a pcrson who knows his
own true naturt is a Buddha, This inherent state of
Buddhahood has to be realised by one's own mind and
t h e r ei s n o o t h e r m e t h o d . e
a m e t h o d r - , i a r : u t ec o n c e n t r a t i o n b y m e B n g o f r e e d -
s v l l a h l e s ,n - i a n t r a si ,m a g i n e Cd i v i n i t i e se t c . , i s p e r f o r m e d
o n t h l b a s i s o f t h e s ef o r e g o i n g p h i l o s o p h i c a l t e n e t s .[ n
the iteva-ira-ianfrathe mandala is that of Hevajra end his
trorlp. of cight ;'ogh,s ur that^of l'ia-;ratmy-qHevajra's
ieninirrr cr)L:nte'!'$ari, **it!: her trotlpr of i-rfteenyoginis.lc
"iltt
1 ' r s g isnb o u i j b c g i n h i s m e d t t a t i o n a le x e r c i s ew i t h
the deveiopmen' c'l the iour brahmavihnras (q.v")
foliowc<j by thoughrs cn th( void 1{unyata.),on secd-
of pheno-
s y i l a b l e s( b i 1 a ) ,o n t h c p b y s i c a lr n a . n i f e s t a t i o n
m e n a e t c , i d e a l i s e d . i nt h c c i r c l e o f d i v i n i t i e s , a n d l a s t l y
this whole procc$t is to be envisaged within cDc's own
h e a r t s o t h a t o n e o n e s e l fb e c o m e st h e € n t r e . O n e s h o u l d
contlnuc this exercisein the way prescribed until one i3
c a p a b l eo f v i s u a l i s i n ga n d w o r s h i p p i n g H w a j r a w i t h h i s
ei$ht yoginis.r, Thc Lord is to be envisaged as born from
the syllable zurd having two forms as four-armed arttl
six-armed, the former symtolising the destruction of the
four Maras and the latter thc six perfections.The corpse
u p o n w h i c h h e t r e a d s s y m b o l i s e st h e t h r e e - f o l d w o r l d .
Both forms are to be visudiscd ts_tnyab-yum rttitudes,
the former cmbracing Vajravariitri and the letter Vajre-
srnitrata.
Tht y-ogin'6next task is self-consecration which is
nnother important step in this process of meditation
t h r o u g h s y m b o l sa sd c s c r i b e di n t h e c h a p t e rt h a t f o l l o w s .
{ 1 , c h . i v ) . H c r c , t o o , t h e y o g i n h a s t o v i s u a l i s ea s e e d -
ryilableis his own heart from which a rav of ligbt is led
out in the form of a hook wrth which dl the Buddhasare
drawn tcrwards him. After worshipping thcm the yogin
s h o u l d b e s e e c ht h e m t o c o n s c c r a t e h i m , w h i c h t h r y
w o u l d a c c o r d r n g l yd o , O n g e t h i s i s d o n e t h e p r e s i d i n g
deity of the Heruka family (i.e. Dhyani-Buddha
A k s o b h y a ) w o u l d a p p e a ro n t h e y o g n k h e a d i n d i c a t i n g
t h a t H c v a j r a i g r e v e a l e dt o h i m , r 2
T h e 6 t h c h a p t e r( B o o k I ) c o n t i n u e sw i t h t h e d e t a i l so f
the pcrform anx (caryV)of this ritual through which the
practiser is cxpectedto attain perfection (siddhi)wlththe
help of Hevajra,rr

6. ll, chp. iv, stz.32 fI.

7. These are explained at fl, chp. ii, stz. 25 ff.
8. ll. chp.iv, stz.69
9. na buddho labhati yatra
tokadhitusu kutracit
cittaln eva hi sambuddho
na buddho yatra darlitah ll. iv, 75.
10. Details of its lay-out are Sivcn at l, x. 2 if.
I l. Thc dreis and other accourtrcments to be worn and othet implcment-r to be used art prercribcd.
12. For better sueess one is asked to perform it rnorning, noon and orening.
Tentra. lt
I l. Ttic clairn that for some at leart this whole riturl is merely I ntental eierci* appears to reccive lupport from the Hevtjrt
rays
M sntrafu d h v; s th i t a g; tZ
nartani bhlvani smrti
tesmat 91t a1u n r t +'a, ft ca
kuryit yogi sada sadt. t, vi. stz. ii.
 IIEVAJRA.TANTRA
He should be restrained regarding his fooC and drink,
He is also asked to abandon desire and foliy, fear and
e n g e r . H e s h o u l d f o r e g o s l e e pa n d u p r o o t t h e n a t u r e o f
self before he begins the actual performance, Once he
attains siddhi the yogin "wanders, filled with great
compassionand releascdand fuil of of cornpassionfor all
b c i n g sh e b e c o m e sa ' d e l i g h t e r i n t h e d r i n k o f y r . r g a . ' r e
After practisingthis meditation for one month con-
tinuously the yogin becomes qualified to have a female
pertner (yogini) which symbolically means that owing to
constant practice of meditation the yogrn frees himself
from sexual differentiation as male and female.This state
is cslled mudra-siddha (ibid. stz, 26).
A n i n t e r c s t i n gf e a t u r e i n t h i s s y s t e mo f m e d i t a t i o n i s
the division of all individuals into five groups, which
classificationdecides the type or mandala suitable for a
p a r t i c u l a rp e r s o n( I , v , I I , x i ) . A c c o r d i n g t o t h i s d i v i s i o n ,
b a s e du n d o u b t e d l y o n q u i t e a s o u n d c o n c e p t o f p s y c h o -
l o g i c a le t h i c s ,e v e r yi n d i v i d u a l , b y n a t u r e ,b e l o n g st o o n e
of the five Tathagatha families (kula) representedby the
five Dhyani-Buddhas and their female counterparts.The
mandalas suitable for each person would have the
n"dOtt" of his family at the centre.This allotment to
families is done on the basis of thepredomin&nc€in each
individual's nature of delusion (moha) wrath (dwsa)
passion (riga), envy frrsyi) and maligrrity (pattunya),
which classification reminds one of the six-fold division
of all men in the Theravada tradition as raga-carita,
dosa-carita etc. and the allotment of subjects of medi-
t a t i o n a c c o r d i n g l y( c f . V i s m . p . l l a ) T h u s , f o r m e d i t a -
tionaJpurposes,the yogin has to make use of the mandala
s u i t a b l ef o r h i s c h a r a c t e rw i t h t h e h e l p o f h i s 3 u r u . ' t h i s
family division has another interestingaspect,namely the
secrecy associated lpith it, Each family seems to havc
jedously guarded its own privacy and secrecy. For
i n s t a n c e ,c h a p t e r V I I o f B o o k I g i v e s a l i s t o f t e s t u r e s
used by the members of the hevajra-yoga in their
conversationsin the preseDceof outsiders and members
of other familes. This wes to prevent these outsiders
from understanding them. ln addition to these gestures
they had their own codeJanguages designated as san-
dhyi-Onasl.ts
The meeting of yogins tnd yogin-is for religious pur-
posesis referredto severaltimes. Thesegatheringsappear
to be folk-dancesincorporated into Tentric Buddhism as
could bejudged from the languageof such a song given.r6
As the mandalas of the Tantric Buddhist are entirely
b a s e do n a c o m p l e t e s y s t e mo f s y m b o l i s m , a t t i m a i t
11. yogapanarato yogt I, vi. stz. 26.
15. Thececrecyirnotconfinedtolanguageandritualpracticesbutextendsalsotowritingofbookrandpaintingofpictures.0I,vi,vii)
16. Il, iv, stz. 6 ff.
17. Sce Il, vi, stz. I ff, vii, stz, I xi, stz. Iff. l0 ff.
18. Thcse rernind onc of the contentt of.the Atharvavda.
rt49 HIEIZAN
b e c o m c sc o m p l i c a t e d t o t h e a v e r s g er e a d e r a s c o u l d b e
seenin the 4th chapter of Book IL This complicated
symbolism often uses sexl,rl coRceptr as those of
moments ( ksana), .loys fir.r"'.la) ccnsrcrations (secaaa)
e t c . ( I I , i i i , s t z s .6 f f . ) " A n o t b r i i n i e r e s t i n gf e a t u r ei n t h e
Hevajra tantra rcaarding sexurJ symbolisnn is the fact
t h a t H e v a j r a g i v e se x p i e n e t i a n so f v e r i o u s s u b j e c t sw h i J e
in various stagesof se,r.ualcmbraee with trlniritmyi.tr
Mantras and the magic ritunls found in rhe tcxt also
have to be regarded as elementsof folk religion incorpo-
rated into Tantric Buddhism, Amcag such magic rites are
those performed to drive away one'senemies,causea city
t o t r e m b l e ,p u r i f y s i t e se t c .( I , i i , s t z s .i f f ^ ) . M a n y s i m i l a r
rites arc given in the sixrh chapter of Book I a::d chapter i,
ix and x of Book il.rl
T h e 5 t h c h a p t e r o f B o o k I l a s s u m e sa s p e c i a ls i g n i -
ficance becausein it Hevajra gives a picturesqueaccount
o f h i m s e l f r e p o s i n gi n b l i s s w i t h N a i r a t m y a a n d o f h i s
mandala.
As they remain in bliss there nrise the troupe of eight
g o d d e s s e sf r o m t h e d i r e c t i o n sa i l o t t e d t o t h e m . E a c h o f
t h e m i m p l o r e s t h c L o r C t o a r i s ef r o m t h a t c o n d i t i o n o f
b l i s s a n d a c t i v a t eh i m s e l f f o r t h e w c l f a r e o f t h e w o r l d
w h i c h h e a c c o r d i n g l yd o e s .O n t h e r e q u e s to f N a i r a t m y i
he next gives a special mantre and draws his mandala
himself.
The concluding chapter of the Hevajra Tantra is of
intercst becauscas the filale to the significent discourse
Hevajra consecrateshis interlocutor Vajragarbha "even
as other bodhisattvas were consecrated by the past
Buddhas." Thereafter, by way of recognizing Vajra-
garbha's maturity to attain wisdom he asks his dedicated
pupil to accept the 'deui'(goddess Prajfia), the giver of
perfection and pay her due honour.
A- G. S. Kerlyewerem
IIIEIZAN, honorific name of Mt. Hiei and later usedas a
synonym for the famous temple Enryakuji,
In 788 A.C. Saicho (Dengyo Daishi q.v.) being dis-
plcasedwith the prevailing conditions at Nara retired to
the isolated Mount Hiei, situatedclosc to Kyoto, to lead a
life of solitude. Soon after settling down ct Hiei he
gathered a few sincerefollowers and managed to build a
s m a l l m o n a s t e r yw h i c h l a t e r g r e w t o b e c o m et h e f a m o u s
Enryakuji.
 FtrIP'TZAFJ 160 HIGHER ORDINATION

{ - \ r : j 1illrr . : i r , . r . r lt i i . r r r y t r r r r i ' l r i l C i n g s s p r a n g U p a n d Iyeyasu, however, once Bgain coDstructed a few

XftptIi, , ', : . ' r , , r ' r r ' . . " i i 1l r1; r r , ; f ; l J p p g { i n t n g V a s t monesteries but the number Dever increased over one
r.,i:ri..,r ' l . i ' : , ' . , r : . . r r ? r f : r i s i n go f a n U m b e r o f hundred and tweDty-five. Sincc its destruction at thc
q l l i r i , . r . r . i . , i,,- . ! , , : l n ' , r r , ; , Fl-; g r i i f n t i r t r t h a l l S a n d c O U e g e S , hands of Nobunagg Hieizan neither rose to its old
' I ' f r r r , l ^ , ; r . .-. n
i ' . ; l. i , . ' i 1 :, , " 1 f ! ! 1 . l { i e i . ' r t t e d o t t c d w i t h m a n y heights of glory as a great centrc of Buddhism nor became
{ f u 6 r r r e . ' i l r r i , r ; , ' ' l '1, , : r i l . l i r g sr 1 1 , 'r!r e d i l : i o n s a y s t h a t a t t h e known as a pofticel power to reckon \tith.
l r t l q l t t , , j , r , i . r , ' i i l ; ; ' : , 1 1 F i $ r rrr: f b r r i i C i n g s r o s e t o t h r e e -
' S. K. Nmryrklrrs
f ! 1 r . f : , 1 , ' r i y! i, t , ' : , r , : i h s g i n n f e s t c e n t f c o f B u d d h i S m
g , i nr1. ,! '.t, " . , ; , , , r : i , - . r i , r , i r n i ' l l e S f t J .I l U d d h i S t t e a C h i n g S .

' | ' . la i p a l r o r r a g c f r o m t h e v e r y
!jieir-*n l itrr; ! , r.ti. IIIGI{ER ORDINAIION or Upasampadi is the form of
h e B . i r r 1 1 i 1 1 gf i ' r . : n s l r : ! , ) i r : l r q : p r e f e r { ' e d t o k e c p h i m s e l f Ordination that confen full membership of the Order to a
alil:'i f i rrti 1r,, i ii i r's 1rr11l{tir; itn !rrl inl ro tln fi e wcll realized monk of the Buddhist community of monks (sanghal'
'taking
tlic' tirt[:trilFlr' '] { j iii"r+l p;>tlpnage S,nd hente, helped The Pali term Upasampadi (upa*sam*pad)
I i . r v i q t ' , u , r *] . r -I1 i , l , 1 i ' r i i I ' i , q s ; r p i t a l a t K y o t o . S i n c t t h e n ,
' a c q u i r i n g ' t e c h n i c a l l yd e n o t e st h e t a k i n g up of
upon' or
rrr1; ,
!1-.1 t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e so f m o n k h o o d . I t i s b y H i g h e r
Ordination that a moDk becomesa full-fledged member
1 , l i . l r s ' : ' l r l,rr r t i y "r h e r : s t a . h l i r h m e u t o f a s c p a r a t e k a i d a n ,
of the community of monks.
l i l r J i s " r ; , . ; , i : , r 'tfi 1 p c t f o t m ihe orCination ceremony,
i;irii rrr:riisrri ,,i t1,lsr.' a1 iinrn gleatiy enhanced the The institution of higher ordination, however, has
i m p a r t " , : i r ' r "D j | - l i r i 7 n i , a n d h e l p e d i t t o p r o d u c e m a n y undergoDe several changesfrom its inccption' Rsmark-
ilsj:t;rqii:'.! ilrtril r ll/h+ i'yere nn;theI connettPrJ with nor ably, the formation of the Orcier of monks and the laying
e i h l i g e t l i u l ! ' , ' . . , s , p , , t , r !nst l i r l r a . down of a comprehensive set of dirciplinary rules
governing the monastic life, by the Buddha are unique
Wit!, its .i:r' r,r i,)rrreFJieiz:tnllegan to acquire wcalth
features in Buddhist monasticism'
ancl prnprriy r : - ! l { 1g l l r q t s q g r " l l l y g a . i n e d p o w e r i n b o t h
ecclesinstir;al and ;roliticni &lfeirs. Saicho's followers Buddhlst Monasdclsm sd Hbh€r Ordhndorl The first
w e r r n o t q u r t r h e r i t u : r 1l i r . r e 3o f s o l i t u d e , l n s t e a d , t h e y chapter of the Mahavaggapali, thc third book of thc
p r e f r r r . . d ! o q : ' i r l p i r r , . i r " r s r r - e t J l t t ' { t i o n sw i t h t h e i m p e r i a l Buddhist monastic discipline traces the history of this
corlit $t{i t,'r,:Ill:lJh i$ i:{}iitics " In the nreantime, rivalries cenobitic institution referring to numerous coDtributory
sprFng r.rf l-,f".r,'n-ri !lieizn,ir F-nd othcr centrts such a.s factors that affected its evolution from the very earliest
Mii"dcra rvtrii:ii had t'rrli:r brenrhcd off from Hieizan. and simple beginnings upto the present procedural
'Ihes;
rir,alrieq Froi:qrfitid hoth t{ieiznrt, Miidera as well formalities of the Higher Ordination ceremony' It reveals
8 . Sf ; 1 a i l ! ' f r t ! 1 : . r . . t 3 j " t 4 , ' ' n ' n q l r r i ' " + t. " o r a B a n i z - eh o d i e s o f how the territorial expansion and influx of new adherents
mer(:r:!r.irr !i3 l ilq'i11t $\ sollei. c'-+riflicts bctween these who sought admission to the Order due to various
y i y e l ; n a r i s s i e l i 4 e ,s f t . 1 1 h e c n r n e r x t r c r n e l ) ' v i o l e n t a n d i t i s reiNons necessitated new procedural m?asures to be
f e r l f l f ' , l i ; ( .iJl " ; ; f i r l , r ' i ; ' r ' , ; ! ; c { 1 6 ' xq- l; : ; 3 f 1 . : J i ebge g i n n i n g f f o m introduced for the healthy growth of the newly estab-
l0l8 /,.{-' lvjli ,r ,1 lished monastic Order. Procedural Ects pcrtaining to
n ] { r n L Sr . i i i l P . , ." ' ' , . both Ordinilion (pabbaii{ and Higber Ordination
'l-tresr (upasampada) that evolved -within the lifetime of the
!rieli'. iis.r:*r; i.1'lli6lrscd not ()nly to scttle rivalries
Buddha himself ensured the dignity and esteem of thc
betwee:i Eqq1iqrig{q'1 iq:s tl,ttl, oltert also, to coerce the
'i community of monks.
government. h u r o i i : r ex n m p l e i n 9 R 9 A . C . t h e m o n k E o f
Hieizan sirrr ruiusing tr trccept the Emperor's nominee It is plausible to assumethat at the outset there could
as thcir: r!>hof , iil,nuEh rl tvas c$stornrily for the Emperor bave been only a simple admission procedure called
t o r n r . r . k .i.r.l:r ' : i i ; r , ' , r i : r n t j n n s " t o o k u p E l m s s 8 a i n s t t h e Ordination (pebbajfe) which in a later phase of the
'ftreee
Em.1tqr61 {.j ir:,riqi rl';i, .110n'1'1 cs.ndidate. coercion! increasing popularity of Buddhist monslticilm cerne to
ber"nrrc a(l {{F,'llrr-ilt lri'.i visl€nt tha.t Emperor Shira}awa be differentiatcd from Higher Ordination (Upa-
- " . , i i ! l ' :t h n t t h e r e w e r c t h r e e t h i n g s o v e r sampede) The MahivtggtPAli, however, tracing the
i s r s i : 1i 1 , i r r . :
,tfilr:r i,
1,1',',:i
: .: ".i,1|: 'l: t,!rc ir:ltndations of riwr Kamo; hictory of thesetwo monastic institutions EsyEthat both
! 1 n r , 1 ri r! . . , f
' ,"rl ' ,r,I thr rnnnkr of Hieizan. But, Ordination and Higher Ordination had bccn conferred
I ! t C , r t r r : l r . : . r r :. , . , : 'i , , i , 11 a r i t s i n v o l v e m e n t i n by the Buddha concurrently et the beginning when the
gt<rliti,;, .!''
' ;:.:,l'; .
.
i , : . i ' i i i i i , ; l i < l : : . l f r d SW i t h t h C e n e m i e g fle pafrcavtggiya escetie sought edmission into the
: . , t t : , 1 ,t i y . t i y 1 i 1 t o t a J t e ' d e f e a t , Ordcr. Customerily, Higher Ordination is precrded by
ni ldrrl,r"., ..,,
,,.,r,,.,, rr.r.:r.i-ryerl
thr HieiZan Ordination wbich points to the rccognitioD of thc former
'i.
f-:(?r !:,',;;; , ' l' r'i t, I r'" :i' I : l' r-!tl;l,cilcscly Ordinetiou et tn elsentid requirement of monkbood rs e
F!.?t 6 i{ r':, full membcr of tbc s666'nity.
 HIGHER ("}fTLUF{AT[{JN; 451 * { I{ ;i :{i .i { { !{ {i } LE fA ' i ' FtIi i

T h e f i r s t , a m o n g t h r f i v e s - q c e t i cw al:i: list*ned :o rhe r l n p :' : ' , , ' ,; ; . . ! : ' 1 ; t d r i t u " i f n . : * : ' . r i { " . a a di h e l e g i t i m a c y
S e t t i n g i n M o t i o n o f t h e ' r " ' h e e l t h eD h a m n : a , X o n d a 6 f r a O f i h c i i . i i d r ? F , , 1 a r a ; r t r . .\ {l nj Il ' . yi r V l r - r l f i l i : i : gt i : e e r s c r : t i a i
who attaincrl the firsr stage cf sainthood begxed of the p r * l t m i ' t a ; ' i ' 1 "v i ; i ; g g l l . i i i s; 1 , , : - r : i r . i l r ' { t f b, d_ vt h r * l e b f n -
M a s t e r : " O L o r d l l e t m e r e c e i . r eO r d i n a t i o n a n d l l i g l i e ' terj cciltr-;.ci':tr,:i;; i.rt.r,.irihsg:,,a:rr tLr .tx,,-tls.nt*oas6diki
O r d i n a t i o n f r o m t h e B l e s s e dO n c . " T h q r r r ; F o n t h c t h e r ,a' r e l l V : r l j , - i .t ,: . : i i i , ' ' r h ri ; ; ! r t . rt,t . l d t h r . , r : . { i b i l i t yO f
E u ' l d h a s a - i d" C o m e , O M o n k , w e l i t a u g h t i s t h r d o o r i n c t h e 3 : e r s o lr t , i 'lfr l J - r { . ' '-)h ' , a h r : " r . r n l t ! l r l l v e f o l i l d c f e e t s
l e a r jt h e h o l i , i i f c f o r t l i e s a k cr : f i h r c o m p l e t ec x t i n c t i o n a { i n b r i r : r l : . ; L ' , : ' . : ( i ' )t t ) , i t t . i{!1 i . r . , - i r sf y 1 g*1i t h e f i v e l o l d
suifering," Thc Buddha's vrrv fornn of address tr, wrong &riicujatir;i: : i-...!f l-,El:i.gln,t-i!?r.,flh,* procedrr.ral
K o n d a - f l f i aw a . sa d c o u a t et a c o n f e r h o t h t h e O r d i n a t i o n Rct (anl.rS.rvanai ('lj Ar, i,r,i,r**ii oi thc dgfe:ir in r*ttiing
a n d ' i { i g h e r O r d i n a t i o n o n h i m . [ n r ] r i sw a y V a p p a a n d bound ar irs o i a chaptr r, irl'.rsr i;im,ii iS) Main tr asnceof
Bhaddiya as well as Mahanama and Assaji respcctively t h e m o r a l p u r i t y o f t f ' r I j s r t i ' . i n e t i n g n l { : r n k tr n d t h e
o n t w o o c c a s i o n sb e g g e df o r C r d i n a t i o n a n d i n t u r n t h e y quorum ,,parisi)
a l s o w e r e a d m i t t e d t o t h e O r d r r b y a d d r e s s i n gt h e m ,
When a ncvjcc is being voilr:hsnftd Hig:hrl Lydination
"Come O Monks" by the Buddha himself.In this way,
h e i s s i m u l t a n e o u s l yr r r d e t n b r b a u n d b v 2 2 ?d i r i p l i n a r y
according to the Ma.bivaggapili, the Buddha continued
r u l e s i n c l u d i n g t h e s e v e n s e t t l r m e n i i o f i e g a !p r o c € r r e s
to exercisethe privilege of admitting ncw disciplesto the
(sa tt a adh i I a ra n a-saL :a t h a) I r;urtJ i n rhe m one*tic disci-
Order. Immediately afterwards, Yasa snd his fifty-four
plinary coclecalleel Patin:okkn Brside thr rperific mler
friends were admined to rhe Order by the Buddha
prescribedin the Psfrr:"'nt.katLere Brr $orrfr i;liier minor
following the same method (Vin. L p, t2 f.).
obligatory r:uks in thr monastir :1i*ciplineg+verning tbe
monk's indiiirtual be'ravicur ns wrl!ns his socialrclation-
G r a d u a l l y , t h e r ew a s a r ri n c r e a s i n gi n t e r e s tf o r t h e n e w ship. Evcn a nuvice (sinta,nera) ill.ra has received his
movement and monks who set out in propagatingthe o r d i n a t i o n l o n g t i m e e g o i r l , i r r a c i et o C i s r c t r e a n d i s
doctrinekcpt on bringing to the Buddha new candidates ordained again befcre thr Highrr Ordinrrion cnsuring
aspiring to Ordination from diffcrent parts of the t h e s a n c t i t y o f : h e , ' 1 1 r , i 4 r n r e natn < ! t t r c p p r { r v o f t h e
country, ln this connection, in order to lessen the p c r s o nc o n c c r n e d
d i f f i c u l t i e st h a t b o t h t h e a s p i r a n t sa n d t h e m o n k s h a d t o
Elder lrlahakassapaand F.iderSopile ere mcntioned
undergo the Buddha enjoined the monks themsclvesto
to have received rhe;r Higher f)rdinationc on two dir-
confer both forms of Ordination by making the aspirant
tinctly different methods. The acceptenceof three plein
u t t e r t h r i c e t h e T h r e e f o l d D e c l a r a t i o n o f t a k i n g r c f u g ei n
expository sermonf by Elder Mahilrassrpe (.9.II, p.2m)
the Buddha, the doctrine and the community of monks,
was sufficient forhim to be admittr.Cwherer.clhe solution
Nevertheless,the Buddha reservedfor himself the privi-
o f q u e s t i o n ar e t b y t h c B u d d h e t c E l d e r S o p i k a
lege of conferring Ordination and Higher Ordination Gfug.
w.480 f . IhagA" p.477; DhpA. p. 176f.) wn"rndequate
with the formula: "Come, O Monks" and afterwards
for him to be elevated to Higher Ordination. Tlresetwo
ordained three matted-hair ascetics dong with their
metbodr of conferment are called ovidtpatiggnhaaaapd
foUowers and later the chief disciplcs Sariputta aod
pa f,h a byi k ara n I I espective$.
Moggallana in the same way.
As recorded in rhe Bhikkhui Khendhaka of the
Y e t o n a l a t e r o c c a s i o n ,w i t h r e f e r e n c et o a B r a h m a n a C\tllavaggapili Mahipajapatl C;ctemi wn: conferred
called Radha who sought admissionto the Order the b o t h O r d i n a t i o n a n d t h e H i g J r e rO r d i n a t i o n b y h e r m e r e
B u d d h a e n j o i n e dt h e m o n k s t o c o n f e r H i g h e r O r d i n a t i o n n c c e p t a n c e c f E i g h t S t r i c t C o n d i t i o n s ( a t t h , ag t r u -
b y a f o r m a Ja c t o f t h e O r d e r w i t h t h e m o t i o n f o l l o w e d b y dhamma. ('Vin ll. p. 2'71). Again with rcference to
three announcements (Natti-catuttha-kammal. With Addhakari, a former courtezan the Buddha empowered
s o m c a m c n d m e n t sa n d a d d i t i o n s d u e t o n e w s i t u a t i o n s the monks to confer Higher Ordination even through ra
the procedure prescribed came to be regarded as the emissary" (ibid" p. 227). Before the decentralisation of
s t a n d a r d e c c l e s i a s t i c a lm o d u s f o r b e s t o w " i n gH i g h e r powers pertaining to disciplinary matteru there wa.r en
Ordination. To day not only members of all monastic i n t e r m e d i a t ep h a s ei n t h e m o n a r t i c O r d e r o f n u n s w h e r e
traditions in Sri Lanka but also all the Theravada nuns were admitted to Higher Ordination following the
countries follow the same method. formal act of proccdure by nuns as well ae by rnontr.
(ibid. p.,274). As the motion and the rnnounccmenr Bre
Ee*nthl Requlrements for Hlgher Ordhetlon. Regula-
pronounced eight tirnes before both communities thir
t i o n s g o v e r n i n gt h e H i g h e r O r d i n a t i o n a r es c a t t e r e do v e r
particular method ir callod Atthavicikt
many sectionsof the first chapter of tbe Mahavaggapili.
Details pertaining to the institution as evoived in su6- As the foregoing discurrion rhowr tbcre were eight
s e q u e n tc c n t u r i e sa r e f o u n d i n t h e c o m m e n t a r i a l w o r k s kinds r:f Higlrer Ordinarion during the t_imeof thc
such as Kankhavitarani, SamantapasAdkA, Vimativino- Buddha.
 HIGHER ORDINATION
L Ehi bhikkhu (come bhikkhu)
2. Saranagamana(taling refuge in the three refuges)
3. Ovadapatiggahana(acceptanceof advice)
4. Pafih aby-a*aran a (.answeringquestions)
5. A t t h a g a r u d h a m m a ( a c c e p t a n coef e i g h t s t r i c t r u l e s )
6. bita (through an emissary')
7. A.tthavAcika(by pronouncing eight times)
8. Natticatuttha kamma (by threc announcements)
l n c o u r s eo f t i m e , t h e e i g h t hc a m et o b e r e g a r d e da s t h e
o n e a n d o n l v p r o c e d u r ef o r a d m i t t i n g a n o v i c e t o H i g h e r
O r d i n a t i o n . I t h a s b e e n p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e i n s t a n c eo f
empoweringthe Sangha for the confermentof Higher
O r d i n a t i o n b y a f o r m a Ja c t o f p r o c e d u r ei s r e l a t i v e l ye a r l y
i n t h c h i s t o r y o f B u d d h i s tM o n a s t i c i s m .T h e p r o c e d u r et o
b e f o l l o w e d i n c o n f e r r i n gH i g h e r O r d i n a t i o n i s f o u n d i n a
h a n d b o o k c a l l e dK a m m a v a c a ,w h i c h s p e c i f i e st h e f o r m a l
acts of the Order. (J. Dhirasekera, Buddhist Monastic
Discipline, Sri Lanka, p. i0).
E[giblllty and Admorddon.With regard to the eligibility
of the novice seeking Higher Ordination a monk
a p p o i n t e d f o r t h e p u r p o s e i n s t r u c t sh i m , H e i s n e x t l e d
b e f o r e t h e S a n g h aa n d t h e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n sa r e p u t t o
him.
L Are you afflicted with the following diseases;
l e p r o s y ,b o i l s , d r y l e p r o s y ,c o n s u m p t i o n a n d f i t s ?
2. Are you a human being?
3. Are you a male?
4. Are you a freeman?
5. Have you no debts?
6. Are you not in royal service?
7. Have your mother and father giventheir consent?
8 . A r e y o u f u l l t w e n t y y e a r so l d ?
9. Are your alms bowl and your robesin due state?
10. What is your name?
1 1 , W h a t i s y o u r p r e c e p t o r 'n same?
T h e n e g a t i o no f t h e f i r s t a n d t h e a f f i r m a t i o n o f t h e r e s t
o f t h e q u c s t i o n sa r e a n t i c i p a t c d( V i n . l , p . 9 4 f , )
A s s o o n a s t h e c o n f e r m e n to f t h e H i g h e r O r d i n a t i o n i s
over the Sangha mcasuresthe shadow (chaya) to reckon
the time and tell him all the particularspertaining to
season (utuppamana), what part of the day (divasa-
bhiga), all details together (sarygiti) and tell him further
of all the four resources(nissaya)orthe minimum require-
ments of a monk and the four prohibitions (atara niyini)
or the acts not to be resortedto by a monk who has
a t t a i n e dH i g h e r O r d i n a t i o n ( V i n . l , p , 9 6 0 .
S e ea l s o E H I - B H I K K H U - P A B B A J J A .
Pategama Gmmrama
452 HIMAVA
IIIMAVA (Var. Himacala, Himalaya, Hemavata,
Himadri, Haimavata) - the namc given in Pali and
Buddhis( Sanskrit texts to the Himalayan range of
m o u n t a i n sw h i c h - f o r m ed p a r t o f t h e n o t h e r n b o u n d a r y o f
ancient .lambudipa (q.v.). Mention is madc of this
m o u n t a i n - r a n g ei n o t h e r n o n - B u d d h i s t r e l i g i o u s t e x t s ,
t o o , s u c ha s A t h a r v a t ' e d a ( X l l . I , l I ) , R g v e d a ( X . 1 2 1 , 4 )
T a i t t i r i v aS a m h i t E ( V , 5 . I l ) A i t a r e y a B r E h m a n a ( V l l l ,
i4, 3), Bhagav'atapurana(1, 13, 29), MahAbharata and
Jambudivapannatti, a Jaina Text. According to the
Mahabharata (Vanaparva, chap. 253) this region was
s i t u a t e dt o t h e w e s to f N e p a l , a n d c o m p r i s e dt h e K u l i n d a -
v i S a y a r e p r e s e n t i n gt h e r e g i o n o f h i g h m o u n t a i n s i n
w h i c h t h e s o u r c e so f t h e G a n g e s ,J u m n a a n d S u t l e j l a y .
According to the \47rkandeyapurana (54,24;51 ,59) the
H i m a l a y a n m o u n t a i n ( H i m a v a t ) s t r e t c h e df r o m s e a t o
s e al i k e t h e s t r i n g o f a b o w .
The commentary to the Suttanipita (SnA. L 66) states
t h a t t h i s r a n g e o f m o u n t a i n s i s o n l y o n e o f s e v e ns u c h
m o u n t a i n r a n g e st h a t l i e b e y o n d a n o t h e rm o u n t a i n r a n g e
b y n a m e G a n d h a m a d a n a .T h e n a m e s o f t h e o t h e r s i x
mountain ranges mentioned along with Himavd are:
Cullakal'a, M ahak-ala,N agapalivethana, Cand agabbha'
S u r i y a g a b b h a , a n d S u v a n n a p a s s a .T h e e x t e n t o f t h e
H i m a l a y a r a n g eo f m o u n t a i n s i s t h r e eh u n d r e d t h o u s a n d
leagues (yojana), with cighty-four thousand peaks, the
highest peak being five hundred leagues(ibid, I, 224;lI.
443). ln Himava are sevengreat lakes, each fifty leagues
in length, breadth and depth, The seven lakes are:
Anotatta, Kanna-munda, Rathakara, Chaddanta,
Kunala, Mandalini and Sihappapataka. Thsse lakes are
a l w a y sc o o i a s t h e y a r e n e v e rh e a t e db y t h c s u n ( S n . A . I I ,
407).The commentary to the Sutunipita (SnA.lI, 437
saysthat five hundred rivers originate from Himava, but
according to the Milindapaf,ha (p, I la) only ten of these
rivers are regular in their flow, others being intermittent.
The ten rivers mentioned in the Milindapafrh2 as regular
in th_eirflow are: Gairga, Yamuna, Aciravati, Sarabhu,
Mahi, Sirrdhu, Sarasvati, Vettavati, Vitamsa and
Candhabhaga. A more comprehensive list of rivers
flowing from Himavi is given in Purinas (Markandeya-
purina 57, l6-18)_.The names occurrirg in this list are:
Gairga, Sarasvati, Sindhu, Candrabhaga, Yamuna,
Satadru, Vitasta, Iravati, Kuhu, Gomati, Dhutapapa,
Bahuda. Drsadvati, -Vipasa, Devika" Rairksu, Ni6cira"
Gandaki and Kaudiki.
R e f e r e n c ei s m a d e t o H i m a v a i n m a n y J i t a k a s ( J . 1 . 6 ,
" l ; 1 1 . " 1 2 , 2 6 2 ; l l l , 3 l , I l 9 ) a n d o t h e r t c x t s , a s t h e p l a c at o
which asceticsretire when they leave household lifc, as
Himava is full of woodlands and groves suitable for
hermits to live and meditate (5,4. I, 345), The hermitage
of Kapila yas bJ thc side of Himalaya, not far from the
rivcr Bhagirathi (Saundarananda KEtya, 1,5: Divyava'
dana p. 548). The hermitage popularly known as
 HIMAVA
VrCaparva'shermitage was near Mount Kailasa in the
Himdayas (Mahibhirata, Vanaparva- CLWILI 1, 541-
3). An asceticnamed Narada who lived in a caveby nami
Suvannaguha in the Himalayas attained supernormal
powers (abhififra) through practice of meditation(J. VI.
56). The Vidurapandita Jataka (J, V1,256) speaksof four
wcalthy brahmins of Baranasi who gave up their wealth
and retired to the Himalayas to meditate. Occasional
referenceis also made in JEtakes to hermits and ascetis
living in the Himalayas coming down to human settle-
ments down below to procure salt and acid.(J, L 505: IL
l7 l).
Pacxkabuddhasrctire to a peak by name Mahapapata
in the Himalaya range in preparation to final passing
a w a y t h e r e( S n A . l , 1 2 9 ) ,a n d n a g a sg o t o H i m a v a t o g i v e
birth to their young. The mountain rangeis often referred
to as king of mountains (pabbataraji)when it is used in
s i m i l i e s( S . I I , p . l 3 i ; V . p . 4 6 4 ; A . I I t , p . 3 l l ) S l v a l i t h e r a
(q.v.) once went to Himava from Sivatthi with five
h u n d r e d o t h e r s a n d t h - i sj o u r n e y t o o k t h e m e i g h t d a y s
(DPPN s,v. Himavi, Sivali),
During the time of Emperor Asoka of India the
c o u n t r y a r o u n d H i m a v a w a s c o n v e r t e dt o B u d d h i s m b y
Majjhima thera who led a mission to the areaafter the
t h i r d B u d d h i s t C o u n c i l , O t h e r s w h o a c c o m p a n i e dM a j -
j hima thera wcre: K assapagott a" M uladeva (Alakad eva),
Sahadevaand Dundubissara (Mhv. XlI, 4l; Dpv. Ylil,
l0; MT.3l7). It is recorded that the Dhammacakkap-
pavattina Surta was prcached by Majjhima thera and
eighty crores attained Sotapattiphala after listtning to
t h e d i s c o u r s e .T h e f i v e m e m b e r s o f t h e m i s s i o n i n d i v i -
dually converted five kingdoms and each member
o r d a i n e d o n e h u n d r e d t h o u s a n d p e r s o n s( M h v . X I I , 4 2
f.). It is also recorded in the Mahivamsa (V, 25 f.) thar
deities regularly supplied from Himavd for Emperor
Asoka's use, twigs of the nagalata creeper, healthfut
f r u i t s , m y r o b a J a n ,t e r m i n a l i a a n d m a n g o f r u i t ; w h i l e f o r
t h e f o u n d a t i o n l a y i n g c e r e m o n yo f t h e M a h a t h [ p a ( q . v . )
in Anuradhapura, novices (samaneras) with psychic
(iddhi) power brought sweet-scentedmarumba (Mhv.Y .
2 5 f . ;X X . 9 )
T h e K u n a l a J V t a k a ( J V . p . 4 l 2 ) w a s p r e a c h e db y t h e
Buddhain the region of Himava. The Buddha took the
Sakyan princes there and showed them the various
f e a t u r e s ,i n c l u d i n g m a n y m o u n t a i n p e a k s s u c h a s :
M a n i p a b b a t a , H i n g u l a p a b b a t a ,A f i j a n a p a b b a t a ,S a n u _
p a b b a t a , a l d P h a l i k a p a b b a t a .O n f a s t d a y s t h e g o d s
a s s e m b l ei n H i m a v a t o h o l d d i s c o u r s e s( E p . l y . p . 7 5 9 -
See DPPN. s.v. Himava).
W. G. Weeraratne
463 HixayAxa
HINAYANA, 'inferior vehicle', a term with pejorative
o v e r t o n e se m p l o y e d b y t h e M a h a y a n i s t s ,t o c o l l e c t i v e l y
d e s i g n a t et h e e a r l i e r s c h o o l so f B u d d h i s m i n c l u d i n g t h e
Theravadins, Mahasanghikas,Sammitiyas and Sarvasti-
vadins. The component yinain this term literally means
the vehicle that carries the rider or traveller to his desired
goal. In other words, it refers to the path (magga, marga
or patipadi) that leads the follower to bis final goal,
nirvana. In order to attain nirvana thc disciples of the
Buddha follow the 'vehicle'of the Noble Eightfold path
(maggatthangika-yana, Thig. v. 3E9; attha'ngikamagga_
sa'nkhataariyayEna; ThigA. p.257), whlch is sometimes
called brahmayana and dhammayina, ,5. V. p. 5).
Although the Noble Eightfold Parh is thus infrcquently
referred to as a yana'vehicle', it is the patipad-,path'
followed by the disciple, or the savakayana that is
referred to as the "inferior vehicle" in contrast to the
a t t a i n m e n to f b o d h i ' e n l i g h t e n m e n t ' w h i c hi s t h e s u p e r i o r
(naha) vehicle. This 'vehicle' of gaining nirvdna as a
savaka (disciple) is considcred inferior (hina) by rhe
Mahayanists. The Mahayana ideal is the attainment of
Enlightenment by fulfilling the obligations of a bodhi-
sattva. The Mahaydnistsmaintain that the Hlnayana
culminates in arahantship whereasthe Mahayana culmi-
nates in Buddhahood aad derogatively refer to the
former as arhatyana or ftavakayana while the latter is
called buddhayana or bod hisattvayana.
The terms Hinayana and Mahayina together with
their synonymsare never used in the Pali texts or the
Chineseagamas,but a.lmostall Mahayana texts use these
t e r m s . T h e e a r l i e s t r e f e r e n c et o t h e f o l l o w e r s o f t h e
{ravakayana in Buddhist Sanskrit texts is to hinadhi-
muktika, those emancipatedby inferior means.
T h e o r i g i n o f t h e t e r m H i n a y ' a n aa n d a l s ot h e c o n c e p ti t
r e p r e s e n t si s a s o b s c u r ea s t h e o r i g i n o f M a h a y a n a i t s e l f .
In early Mahavana s[tras like the PrajfiEparamitA, the
S a dd h arm ap u n d ari k a, the A vat am sak a w e.c ome across
the terms arhatyAna and {ravakayana quite often, but
t h e o c c u r r e n c eo f t h e t e r m H i n a y a n a i s v e r y r a r e . I n t h e
Paficavimlati-sAhasrika-prajftaparamita, we find the
t e r m u s e d o n c e o n l v ( . Y u e hB u n d l e ,V o l . 8 , p . 4 3 a o f
C h i n e s eT r i p r t _ a k aR ; y u k a n K i m u r a , A h i s t o r i c a lS t u d y
of the terms Hina-vEnaand MahayEna and the Origin of
MahZyana Buddhism, _Calcurta,1921,p. I l9), while in
the Saddharmapundarika Sitra the term occurs twice
o n l y ( S d m p , 1 8 8 ,p a i t I , p . 6 0 ; p a r t I I , p . 1 4 0 ;K i m u r a , p .
ll9). The use of the term is more frequenr in the
M a h a y a n a S u t r a s w h i c h a r e r e g a r d e da s l a t e r c o m p o s i -
tions. In the .Suyrlrantavikrami-pariprccha of the
MahAprajffaparamita, for example. it is said,',lt
i n d i c a t e st h e s u p r e m ew a v f o r t h e m e n o f M a h a v a n a a n d
does not preach the way of the Sravakas and the
P r a t y e k a b u d d h a sI.t i n d i c a t e st h e w a y o f t h e i r a v a k a s s o
far as the men who are preaching Hinayana are con-
 TiIt\A I.AN A 4&t rdFravANa

c e | r : i f d .a t : t l s h r - r w si l t g ; e a t * s . , ' t o i l i : e w h c , d c s i r e st o t h a t t h e S a r v a s t i v a d i n s (, i . e . , H l n a y a n i s t s ) ,a r e o f
p ' a c t h c I ' t a i i r r - r ' 6 1 1 3u1c \i i F i , ; : r d l L\. ,r , i t " p 6 7 b ; K r m u r a , t h e o p i n i o n t h a t a l l h u m a n b e i - n gd so not originally
p.-14ii. l'ire ;i r'siamsa*a .Stitraen,pnatically statesthat possessthe buddhastzbhEva, but obtain it by reli-
I i i n a y a l a i : r :g i v r n u p a n d h { a h a l a n a c a r r r e s t j vp r a c t i s e d . gious practice (BuddhasvabhEva ^9astra,Sha
i . ' o i . 9 . p 5 i ; ; K i n t u r a , p " i 4 8 ) w h i . l ct h e B u n d l e ,V o l . 2 , p . 4 6 6 o f C h i n e s eT r i p i t a l q K i m u r a ,
iTrca Sundk-
lt{ahiyina ilf a};apanntrra)}a Surra advises people to p l 51 ) .
t - : n d l ct h e l i g h t o i ' , \ t a l r a y a n aa n d p u t d o w n t h e l i g h t o f 2. Thc secondpoint of diffcrcnce pertains to the ideal,
H i n a y i n a i Y u c t r ! ] u r r " . i l r v. o l . 5 . , r 7 :K i m u i a . p , i a 8 ) " A s a l l a r e p o s s e s s eodf t h i s B u d d h a - n a t u r c ,t h e i d e a l
Although lt;r c{r:rtr}tj ir'xhicli tic tcrmssravakavina should be the attainment of Buddhahood. All
rnd arhatyairrr{-rccuriir t}recarli, Mahirydna s[tras imply should arousethe thought of enlightenment (bodhi-
the inferiority of the icra fhey rrpresent,thcy are not citta) whereby all become bodhisattvas,and adopt
quite edequate in expressing the idea fluently and the career of a bodhisatfva (bodhisattva-caryE)
c o m p l e t e l y ;t h c t e r m s a r c n o t e v a l u a t i v eo r c o m p a r a t i v e which consistsof perfection s (paramiti) culminating
'fhe
i n t h e m s ei v q s . t c r m H i n a r v i i r r as c c m st o h a v c b e e n in the perfections of wisd om (prajfrTparamiri)which
c o i n e dw i t h t h e r x p r e s sp u r p r ' ) s o e f c c , n d c m n i n gt h e m e r e is Buddhahood. Mahaydna s[tras art full of refe-
a t t a j n m e n t o f n i r v r i n a b r n r a h a n t s .F o r t h e M a h a y a n a , r e r c e s t o t h i s p o i n t . T h e d i f f e r e n c ei s t h a t , s i n c e
becoming an arahaat is th* ea.s",, rvay {l!t, evading one's H i n a y a n a d o e s n o t c o n s i d e rt h i s o b l i g a t o r y , H i n a -
r e s p o n s i b i l i t e st o f u t u r e g r n e r s l i o n s , J h e a r a l r a n ti s f e l t yanists,it is aJleged,are satisfiedwith the attninmcnt
to be lackingin compassion. of arahantship which, according to Mahayana, is
the ideal to be adopted by tbosc of low inclinations
Enlightenrnenl, eruorclilg to Mahayana does not
(hinadhimuktika)whose aim is the mere attainment
m e a n s i m p l l " t t r e r r n d e r s t a n d i n go f t h e F o u r N o b l e
of nirvar,'a(Sdmp. pp. 102-103, 109, vv' 41,42).
T r u t h s . T h e B u d d h a w f l s r - i o tm c r e l y ' r n l i g h t e n e di n t h i s
'I'irc
seDse,but literaily omniscrcnt. enlightenment of the liagariuna points out that the buddheyana which is
disciples was no mcre than the spccific cnlightenment the superior one is for universal benefit while the
'the
which sufficed to pLcxiucr frcedsrm. thought of Sravakayana which is inferior is for individud
en-lightenntnt (bodhicitts, q.v., in tire Mahiyina sitras benefit. The former has been preachedfor both the
ic rcstricted to the thought of becoming a Buddha; bodhisattvas and thc iravalas while tbe lattsr ir
consequcntiyrt is a tbouBbi peculiar to the bodhisattva. meant for the {ravakas rlone; and not for the
fhe occurrenc-'e of this thuught rs sud, iri the Rafnakiu b o d hi sat tv a ( Pr ajfrl p ar ami t a S astra, commeDtary
Surra (or Kti{-vapapaivarta, ed. by Von Stael-Holsteirr. to Prajfiaparamita-sitra, Wang Bundle, Vol. [, p.
S h a n g h n i ,1 9 2 6 , p , 1 2 3 ) ,t o m a l e t h e b o d h i s a t t v as u r p s . l s 29a of Chincsc Tripitaka).
all Criivakasand pratyekabuddhas. In accordancewith It is this distinction which r€presentsthe practical
this idea the siitra (p. I I6) denounccs the Cravakasas not ancicthical aspectof the two yanas as claimcd by thc
b e i n g t r u e g o n s o f t h c B r - r d ' i h a .P r a c t i c a l l y e v e r y Mahayanists, "the selfishnessof the arhant and
Mehayana siitra i epeatsthis denunciation of the inferior altruism of the bodhisatrva", and hereby they
( h i n a ) w a y o f t h e d i s c i p l e si n h a r s h t o n c s a n d a t v a r y i n g contrive to establishthe inferiority of tbe HinayCna.
length, contrasting rather unpleasantlywith the tolerance
end understandirg characteristicaily reflected in most 3. The third point of distinction which flows from the
carly Buddhist texts first two points discussed above pertains to tbe
freedom attainable in the two yanas. In the
The vicws of the Mahayana sutrns regarding Hiniyana Hlnayana the freedom is sttained by the removal of
took definite shape at the hands of tbe Mahayana hindrances of defilements (Hedivaranavimukti)
teacherswho drew specific distinctions betwecn the two which in the Mahayana is attained by the removd of
yEnas with regard to their theoretical, and practical both the hindranccs of dcfilements and the intellec-
application. There are six aspectsaccording to them in tual hind ran ces (j f, eyavaraaavi multi). The former
which Hinayana is inferior to Malriyana. is attained by the irivekas while bodhisattvls attain
both (Yogicenbhumi-{-astre,Lu Bundlc, Vol. 2, p'
L One fundamental difference concernsitrclf with the
67 of The Chinese Tripitalq Kimurg p. 170).
nature of beings. All beings both wise and foolish
according to Vecubandhu, are originally posscssed Finally w€ come to the doctrinal differencer found in
of what is called Buddha-svabhiva or Buddba- the two systems, The doctrine preeched in the Sriv*r'
ntt,ue, grrm or potentiality that could be developed yin4 says Nag-arjunr, fu {untytu, unreality of thc
into Buddhehood, T\is Buddhesvtbhive is iden- ind ivid u al (p udg il a- a ai n tm y t) vhrle in t he B ud d h ay an a
tical with {unytti and ell classcsof men come into 3[nyati of the individud rr wcll es of the dharmrs
being out of thc samc C[nyeti. Vasubandhu ad& (dharmanairitayati) ir prcached . (Prifripiraaiti
 IIINAYANA 455 liJ l\ g.1.1.-"
i

S a s t a , W a n g B u n d l e , V o l . I , p . 2 9 o f C h i n e s eT r i p i t a k a ) ,
T h i s i m p l i e s t h a t t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n go f u n r e a l i t y o f t h e
individual which is not the whole truth is suffisient for the
attainment of arahantshipwhile the understanding of the
u n r e a l i t yo f b o t h t h e i n d i v i d u a l a n d t h e d h a r m a s ,w h i c h
is the whole truth, is essential for the attainment of
Buddhahood.
I n p r i n c i p l e ,o f c o u r s e ,t h e t h e o r y o f b o d h i s a t t v ao n h i s
w a y t o b u d d h a h o o dw a s n o t h i n g n e w . T h e c o n c e p t i o ni s
found in the earlieststratum of the Pali texts as referring
to the Buddha before his enlightenment (Mahipadana
Sutta, D. Il, p. I ff.). In addirion, jatakas relating ro his
previous lives seemto have been narrated by the Buddha
himself. What is different is that, whereas for the early
schools,the jataka stories may be said to be purely
descriptive and intended to inspire confidence in the
B u d d h a ,f o r t h e M a h a y a a a t h e t r a i n i n g o f a b o d h i s a t t v a
i s p r e s c r i p t i v e t, h e w a y o f t h e b o d h i s a t t v ai s s u b s t i t u t e d
f o r , o r a t l e a s th e l d s u p e r i o rt o , t h e N o b l e E i g h t f o l d p a t h .
The monk should not aim at nirvana directly; but at first
b e c o m i n ga B u d d h a , t h e h i g h e s tp o s s i b l ea t t a i n m e n t , h e
s h o u l d s a v em a n k i n d .
w h o h a s c o m p . i e t e d t h i r p l r - , , . , - : : ;i >
; : ,.. t,:....
ilood that rebirth has beendertrc;.:.i..l : r j... iric irru
b e e n l e d , w h a t h a d t . r r h . : r . l o t r 1 , , i . :!;. ! i , r . r ; . . , , : r l l r l i s h c r l ,
. e n d t h e r e i s n o f u r ( l r c r t c i r j r , l r - 1 , , , r , , " . . . i . , , U r , , ; ki c r t n i s
s t a t e i n s a m s a r a . ' f h i u p , u c ' r r 5 i r i , r r i ! -r! ; s , . ,;., 1 . , . : a c o
! 1j I s r l l l
suttas such as tlte Saurc^8.{u1.r-fiar';l
.tuir:;, i:}. i. p, Sl ii,).
T h i s i s t h e i d c a l a d l t o c u t e d i r , t h r c , , ; ! ' . '1 i , ' , i ; o u l r t t i i r g
a n e n d t o d t t k k h a b t , r r l i * l i r i r r g o r u i , , * r 1 i - " h i r , l i i . : :e j , , c i s i v e
factor in the ctiarai-tclisrriou r,i ,r:lil'ii,. ,r Srr.lJ.hist
s c h o o l s a s H i n a y a n a , , : r F . i a i r ' n y r i l l i r r i , t i : * i i . i , , i t e r ii s t h s
acceptance o r otherw is e o f r, u i ho.r.tir: il-;,:',i'rii r,, F,"ti;ei y nn ;*
s [ t r a s . T h o s e w h o r e j e c t t h e i i : * r l l l , r , r tj r ' i 1 . .: , r , : ,,-,1' : , . i li hh e i r r
t h e i r t e a c h i n g t h a t r v r i ; ' r - r r i . : - q Lr , i l . j i . , , 1 i . : ; ; ; ,r,: r , - , ; l l 1 ;1. 1
i . ,* ,
come under the bioarJ f&iegol-v t'i [ji"ia,r'ai..1 , ,,,.,;rir.rij
Theravada or Sthaviravidn. I hrre nrsii-r :, !:,,,,i: "*.,i:!:
t h e i r a l l i e d s e c t s b e l r r r r g i . l ? L i r , . : i i [ r d i { r , . , ,i.i r r ' . , , x r c
T h e r a v a d a s c h o o l p r c v u i i i u g i u S r i I a n A a q i r l , , ' ! , r 1 ,r,o1, 1
t h e t w o e x t i n c t s c h o o i s u f i n d i a , u k i i r L - l j , .i i r c i r * , , i u s i i r a r . l a
and the Sautrantika. As I * f sing su,'.'s.lLuse r..,lrir,,.,rrisitiil
the bodhisattvas ald re ad thc I!{ah[-vi..-r $urr ari arL *"ulled
the Mahavanists_while thirse wFr* Llu n,ri ;crfr;l.ru ti.r*Se
acts are called Hinayd,ri:,.; isr"r i .i l;.!. a.'p.,

A l l s c h o o l so f B u d d h i s m a r e a g r e e dt h a t t h e a r a h a n t s
a r e i n f e r i o rt o t h e B u d d h a s .I p s o f a c t o i t i s i n f e r r e dt h a t i ir*rrlli ii:r,,i.:. ,i:!dij;t

t h e c a r ee r o f b o d h i s a t t v a si s s u p e r i o r t o t h a t o f a r a h a n t s ,
b u t t h e p r o g r e s si n t h e p a t h h a s b e e n o v e r l o o k e dh e r e .
The fundamental difference between the two yanas,
h o w e v e r ,l i e s i n t h e M a h a y t n i s t p r o c l a m a t i o n o f t h e
HINDAGAIA, a villagc iri ttr. [-,., ._ f ..:,:irji"I.ri i;'ii,r
b o d h i s a t t v ac a r e e ra s t h e o n l y i d e a l t o b e a d o p t e d b y t h e
Lanka, well knowlt f o r i t s l j ' . , , i . 1 rj,r, i . , r ; i . . : r , r g j r ; ,
t r u e B u d d h i s ta n d t h e i r d i s r e g a r df o r t h e a t t a i n m e n to f
A c c o r d i n g t o S . P a r a n a v i t a . , r a , i i i s D u . r , r , . , .i t l r ; r li i r ; ; . f i , . : . u d
nirvana by arahantsas lacking in the altruism expectedof
Hindagala is derivrd frorrr Iu,tj..sal* -,,rii ir rr,.-ir, 'tir"r
a bodhisattva. p r e s u m e d a c c o r d i n g l y t l t . l t i t r e c i r ! ' c j r r t r i r r , , r . r .!,r.r ^ j : . j , 1 . , . r r s
The aim of the followersof the Buddh4 accordingto the named after a sacred pla,.:e iu i n r , i ; a , , , . : i . u r , r r , ; i = il r i
early suttaspreservedin the Pali Niklyas and the Chinese Buddhist .legend ard thst lhe trurrre r:r rlrr: {.:&r/{ ridlg
Egamas,being the overcoming of dukkha (q.v.), which extcnded in applicatioir to thr. villu;;r ii.l:rl,:..,rlfy sf
was assured by the attainment of arahantship which Ceylon Review, XVl, 1958, p.l n.lJ fhis ieruplr il
a d m i r a b l y s e r v e dt h e p u r p o s e ,t h e r e w a s n o q u e s t i o n o f s i t u a t e d l e s s t h a n h a ] f a n r i l e f r o i i r t l r e s i r r i i l i * r i r i i ; i ! , . r ;[ i ! +
inferiority or superiority of the path trodden or the Peradeniya University in Sri l,anka A stccp &scrril r,l
q u a . l i t i e sa t t a i n e d .T h e g o a l i s r e a c h c db y t h e a t t a i n m e n t about 150 feet from the road ieads ui," ti, tlie Brrcii.ilt
o f a r a h a n t i s h i pn o l e s s t h a n b y a t a i n i n g B u d d h a h o o d . rock-cave, provided with a drip-lcdgc /*-r*ta,:r,,ir was
T h e i d e a l w a s t h e r e a l i s a t i o nb y o n e s e l fa n d i n t h i s v e r y converted into a shrine raorlo (ptlin,dlc,) rii tl,c lSth
life of the emancipation of mind and heart (dittheva c e n t u r y , b y t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f w a j l s , i n t h e r i r t c r i o r . .O n
dhamme sayam abhififfa sacchikatvA.....,D. t, p.'tSO;. the rock,roof of this shiiue therc are pairriiiigr in thb
K a n d y a n s t y l e o f t h e l 8 t h c r r r t u l ! . t r r r i i * e r , 1 - i r i ( . ,i i, J i l t f r
T h i s i s w h a t w e g a t h e r f r o m t h e e a r l y s u t t a s .T h e y d o wall are Buddhist paintings i;f !iri,.il"r,l t.r:,,rr. ili* i-riiiiir
n o t s p e a ko f a b o d h i s a t t v a - i d e a lt,h a t a l l s h o u l d a t t e m p t i n t e r e s t l i e s i n t h e s u b s t a n t i a l L e L r . r . i , r ; , r , , r , i; ,i ; r i c a i i u . l ,
a t b e c o m i n g 3 u d d h a s .W h a t i s a d v o c a t e di n t h e m m a y b e assigned to about the 6th sentrrry (ibid.,
5 r "i I , A c c a r d i n g
g a t h e r e df r o r t s u t t ap a s s a g ew s h i c h o u t l i n et h e p r o c c d u r e to the f/rstory of Ceylon(eri. B.C. Rar,. i. pi ii, p.409),
i n w h i c h a p e r s o nr e a l i s e sn i r v a n a o r a t t a i n sa r a h a n t s h i p . the fragmentary rerr:ains ul rhcsc pirilir,6:
-fhis lielorrg to
procedure starts with gaining faith (saddha) in the about the 5th centur) a u < i t h e p ; , g : u u ; r , r su s r d a r r d t h e
t e a c h e r( i . e . , B u d d h a ) o n l i s t e n i n g t o h i s D h a m m a , a n d trchnique followcd arc sllilaf tr, ihur,;. lri Sisiii" iht:
h a s t h e f o l l o w i n g p r i n c i p a l s t a g e s ,r e n u n c i a t i o n ( p a b - d i s p o s i t i o n o f t h e f i g u r e s g i r ' es a u i . l c n , ; f r i . i r u e t L L r i J s
bajjE) in order to practise brahmacariya, sila, samAdhi, f o l l o w e d b y t h c a - r r c i e a t e r t i s i s , f l , { j i i , , , . r : * . , , , i . i gi ; o f
pafifra, vimutti and vimutti-ffana-dassana. The person
 HINDAGALA 466
h u m a n f i g u r e i n v a r i o u s a t t i t u d e s a n d p o s e sh a s b e e n
-
s u c c e s s f u l l yt a c k l e d b y t h e a r t i s t . ( P l s . X X X V I I
xxxIX)
The earlv painting depicts the Buddha surrounded by
f i g u r e s ,p r c s u m a b l vd i v i n e . i n a n a t t i t u d e o f v e n e r a t i o n .
A r t h e B u d d h a i s s h o w n t w i c e i n t h e s a m es c e n ei,t i s c l e a r
t h a t t h e m et h o d o f c o n t i n u o u sn a r r a t i o n ,f o l l o w e d b y t h e
s c u l p t o r so f B h a r h u t , S a n c h i a n d t h e p a i n t i n g sa t A j a n t a ,
has been adopted by the artist (UNESCO World Art
Series, Ceylon paintings from temples, shrine and rock,
p . 2 4 ) . C o o m a r a s w a m y h a s i d e n t i f i e d t h e s c e n ea s t h e
B u d d h a ' sv i s i t t o T u s i t a h e a v e n ,p r e a c h i n gt o h i s m o t h e r ,
born there as a deva (History of Indian and Indonesian
A r t , p . I 6 5 ) . B u t t h e p r i n c i p a l c e l e s t i efli g u r e k n e e l i n ga t
the feet of the Buddha wears & peculiar head dress
appropriate to Indra (Safka) in early Buddhist art. S.
Paranavitana, therefore, saysthat he identifies the scene
as Indra's visit to the Buddha in the cavenamed Indasala,
a f a v o u r i t e t h e m ew i t h t h e e a r l y B u d d h i s t a r t i s t so f l n d i a
(Memoirs of tbe Archaeological Sumey of India, No, 54,
pp, 48-9 and plate XLIV; Foucher, L'art grrcoboud-
dhique du Gandhars, Tome, I, pp. 492 ff.). The story
relates how Indra, when his life and rule in heavenwere
d r a w i n g t o a c l o s e ,o b t a i n e d a n e x t e n s i o no f h i s l i f e a s
well as of the period of his office by paying homage to the
Buddha. The heavenlv musician Paficasikha, acted as
intermediary at this interview by singing a song about his
love for a nymph, named Solar Brilliance (SuriyavaccasC)
whose hand he had not been able to win, owing to her
father's objections. lndra, gratified at the successful
o u t c o m e o f h i s v i s i t t o t h e B u d d h a , i n t e r c c d e do n b e h a l f
o f t h e h e a v e n l ym u s i c i a n s o t h a t h e w a s u n i t 6 d w i t h h i s
belovedT . h e y o u t h f u l f e m a l ef i g u r e ,p e e p i n g f r o mb e h i n d
t h c h e a d o f t h e k n e e l i n g I n d r a p o s s i b l y r e p r e s e n t st h i s
mymph (UNESCO World Art Series,op. cit. p.24).
On the whole there is not much information given
about the Buddhist shrine at Hindagala. The two inscrip-
t i o n s f o u n d a t t h e s i t e w h i c h b e l o n gt o t h e 6 t h o r t h c 7 t h
c e n t u r y ,d o n o t e v e nm e n t i o n i t s a n c i e n tn a m e ,A c c o r d i n g
to Paranavitana the reading -vataka-vafiara mcntioned
i n t h e f i r s t i n s c r i p t i i o n ,i f t e n a b l e ,m a y b e t h e n a m e o f t h e
a n c i e n tm o n a s t i ce s t a b l i s h m e nat t t h i s p l a c e .T h e p u r p o r t
o f t h e s e c o n di n s c r i p t i o nw a s t o r e c o r d t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n
o f a s h r i n e f o r a b o d h i - t r e e , t o w a r d s t h e e x p e n s e so f
w h i c h t w o p e r s o n sh a d c o n t r i b u t e di n c a s ho r i n k i n d ( S ,
Paranavitana"op. cit,, pp. 2-3). There are four paintings
of the cave temple at Hindagala, appearing in the
UNESCO llorld Art Series published by the New York
Graphic Society by arrangement with UNESCO.
l. Head of B u d d h a( P l a t e ,X I )
2, Head of Sakka (Plate, XII)
3. Head of a d i v i n e a t t e n d a n to f S a k k a ( P l a t c , X I I I )
4. Head of a d i v i n e a t t e n d a n to f S a k k a ( P l a t e , X I V )
N. Mudlymr
HII{DUISM
t{INDI-nSl\f is a term used b1' the western writers to
d e s i g n a t eI n d i a ' s m o s t d o m i n a n t r e l i g i o ni n c l u d i n g t h e
s o c i a l s v s t e m a n d i n s t i t u t i o n sm o u l d e d i n a c c o r d a n c e
w i t h t h e i d e a sa n d b e l i e f sp r o p a g a t e db y t h a t r e l i g i o n .
U n l i k e m a n v o t h e r r e l i g i o n sH i n d u i s m i s n o t a r e l i g i o n
founded b1, a singlc person and, therefore, it has no
p a r t i c u l a rf o u n d e r a s s u c h ,a n d c o n s e q u e n t l yi ,t s o r i g i n
c a n n o t b e f i x e d t o a n e x a c t p e r i o d . A s i t i s p r e v a l e n ta t
p r e s e n t ,H i n d u i s m i s t h a t r e s u l t o f a g r a d u a l p r o c e s so f
e v o l u t i o n t h r o u g h t h e a s s i m i l a t i o no f d i v e r s e e l e m e n t s
belonging to a variety of religious and philosophical
schools, different cultural milieux, varying social and
economic conditions, customs, social institutions etc.
J u s t a si t h a s n o e x a c t p e r i o d o f b e g i n n i n g ,t h e r ed o e sn o t
seem to be an end to it, too. This is, perhaps, why
Hinduism is qualified as sanitana dharma- the perpetual
doctrine.
W h e n t r a c i n g i t s b e g i n n i n g si t a p p e a r st h a t H i n d u i s m
has _Vedic Br-ahnranismas its core and basis (see s.v.
B R A H M A N I S M ) . I t i s c l e a r t h a t H i n d u i s m a c c e p t sa n d
upholds all the major featuresthat characterizeBrahman-
i s m . T w o s u c h b a s i cf e a t u r e sa r e( a ) t h e a c c e p t a n c eo f t h e
Vedic scriptures as divine revelation ({ruti) and (b) the
s t r i c t a d h e r e n c et o t h e t e a c h i n g r e g a r d i n g t h e s o c i a l
s t r u c t u r e c o n s i s t i n go f t h c f o u r - f o l d d i v i s r o n o f s o c i e t y
(varna-dharma). See CASTE. Similarly Hinduism
u p h o l d s - t h o u g h i t i s n o t s t r i c t l y a d h e r e dt o n o w - t h e
d o i t r i n e p e r t a i n i n g t o t h e f o u r s t a g e si n l i f e @ s r a m a -
dharma). It is seen a.lsothat Hinduism accommodates
most of the major Vedic gods. ll. acceptssacrifice(yajf,a),
though with due modifications, as an essentialand
e f f e c t i v er e l i g i o u sr i t u a l . I n g e n e r a la l l f o r m s o f w o r s h i p
t h a t p r e v a i li n H i n d u i s m .i t s e t h i c a lt e a c h i n g sm , ythology,
cosmologl'.rites, rituals and customs could be traced
backto VedicBrahmanism.
B e i n ga p e r p e t u a si y s t e mo f r e l i g i o u st h o u g h t H i n d u i s m
i n i t s d i f f e r e n t p h a s e so f d e v e l o p m e n tf r o m t h e V e d i c
times to the presentday, has freely absorbed a large
v a r i e t y o f r e l i g i o u s b e l i e f s ,p h i l o s o p h i c a l i d e a s , r i t u a l s
and rites, some of which are complementary to each other
and some opposed to each other. Thus, one finds in
H i n d u i s m r i t u a l i s m a n d s a c e r d o t a l i s ma s w e l l a s
a s c e t i c i s ma n d y o g i c m e d i t a t i o n , a b s o l u t i s m a s w e l l a s
t h e i s m .T h e s 1 - n c r e t inca t u r e o f H i n d u i s m i s s u c h t h a t a l l
t h e s ed i v e r g e n t a s p e c t se x i s t i n t o t a l h a r m o n y w i t h e a c h
o t h e r , a s p a r t a n d p a r c e l o f o n e u n i f i e d s y s t e m .T h i s a l l
a c c o m m o d a t i n gs y n c r e t i s mo f H i n d u i s m h a s i m m e n s e l y
c o n t r i b u t e d t o i t s d v n a m i s m ,g r o w t h a n d p e r p e t u i t y .
H i n d u i s m b e i n g a c o n t i n u o u s ,e v e r - g r o w i n g ' p r o c e s s '
a n d i t a l s o b e i n g s y n c r e t i ci n a p p r o a c h , i s n o t a c l o s e d
religion with all its doctrines fixed and finally settled.
H e n c e ,t h e r ei s n o t m u c h r o o m i n i t f o r ' h e r e s i e s 'f,o r a l l
t h a t i t a b s o r b sb e c o m ea n i n t e g r a lp a r t o f i t , T h i s i s s e e ni n
e v e r ya s p e c to f H i n d u i s m .
 rtrF{DTiISM
T h e p h i l o s o p h vo f H i n d u i s m i s t h e r o r a l i r yo f I n d i a n
p h i l o s o p h y .I t h a s d r a w n p r o f u s e l v f r o m t h e L l p a n i s a d s
lhe BhagavadgitEwell as rhe six svstems of philosophy
a n d t h o r o u g h l ve n r i c h e di t s c l f .F o r e x a m p l e ,f r o m N y a y a
i t t a k e s i n l o g i c a n d e p i s t e m o l o g y .F o r m e t a p h y s i c si t
g o e st o V a i i e s i k a . F r o m S a m k h y a i t h a s a b s o r b e dt h e
teaching ..g"iding purusa (spirif and prakrti(creativc
force). The place assigned to the Veda and lbe
-vajrta
(sacrifice) in Hindur.sm has ben much ent,anced
by the
influenccof Pirva-mimamsa ald Uttara-m-imamsa.yoga
i n H i n d u i s m h a s b e e nm o u l d e d a f t e r t h e y o g a s c h o o l o f
philosophy.
H i n d u i s m h a s a l s o e n r i c h e di t s p h i l o s o p h yb y s y n c r e r i _
zing the teacbingof medieval Indian phiJosopherssuch a.s
Sanlara, Ramanuja Midhava" VattaUtra and others.
Hinduism acccpts Sankara's monistic view (Advaita-
vada) that the Brahman (the Abolute) alone is real while
the itmar (individual soul) is not differenr from Brahman.
According to him this imperso nal, nirgunaBrahman (the
unqualified Absolute) becomes the persona), saguna
B r a h m a n ,t h r o u g h e n c o u n t e rw i t h m a y i . T h e r e f o r e , t h e y
are one and the same Bralman, the former appearing as
the Absolute to the inititated and the latter as personaJ
g o d t o t h e a v e r a g ew o r s h i p p e r .T h i s p r o v i d e d t h e p h i i o _
sophica.lbasis for the identity of Absolute and periona.l
God in Hinduism. The beiief in the personaj God
underwent further development under the in{iuence of
the taachingsof Ramanuja who provided a metaphysicrl
rationa.lefor the Bhakti (q.r./movement of Vaisnavaites.
Un[ke Sankara's Advaitavida" Ramsnujet Viiistadvai-
tav-da(qualified Monism), which made some disiinction
b e t w e e nt h e I n d i v i d u e l S o u l e n d G o d , e m p h a s i s e dt h e
path of devotion (Bhaktimirga) and the need of God,s
gracefor salvation. While accepting this view Hinduisrn
also accommodatedMadhava's Dualirm which makes aa
unequivocal distinction (atyuta-bheda) between the self
(and tlrc world) and God, The Vaisnavaite movement
spccially centering around the cult oi K.roq and daiva-
siddhanta movement are the outcomes of inJluence of
t h e s et e a c h i n g s .
In this process of syncretism, Hundui$m rccommo_
dates the philosophical views of both Nimbakara which
emphasisesdifferencc and ncjn{ifference (bhcdibheda)
as well Vallabha's pure Monism (fuddha-advaita),The
former holds that both the differeneceand nondifference
Below thi^sTrinity is a very va'stpantheon of gods and godde*cr and the
origin of rome of them could bc trs.ed.to the eerly Vedic
period' Around them ir ,1" mythology of Hinduicm. At e latsr rtage in
::t..n f"rdl"litt
prominence Durgi or Kili, the sakti of siva" end this appcerr to "lor..on**ti""
hrve led to thc development of saktirm or Hindu Tantricism.
R'C' Majumdar says thet thi! war a "well+onceived rnd bold rtroke of poticy
which cut the ground from under the fect of
Buddhism which wns aJroadylosing ground and the ultimate rerult y es thebomplete
cffrc€mcnt of Buddhirm from Indie a.r a
sep&rutes-cct.'Cu,lturalHistory of India,2nd Ed., Volume IV, calcutta-
1956.p. 4g.
457 HII\J-DTIISM
r r c r e a l . I l l u s t r a t i n g t h i s N i m b i k a r a s a y st h a t t h e s o u l
(ijva) and ajso the world arc different from Brahman as
thev are endowed with natures and qrrUicr diffcrent
f r o m t h o s e o f B r a , r m & n .Y e t t h e y a r c a l s o n o t d i f f e r e n t ,
for they carnot exist by themselvesand hencethey totallv
depend on Brahman. Vallabha sssertsthat Brahman as
well as the entire world which he creetesby the fiat of hjs
will is real,
The process of asrimilation and syncretization is
continuing and this explains the parallel e_xistence
of
absolutism and theism, of nirgutaarnd sagunaBrahman.
Hinduism explains that it is the sameimpersbnqlabsolute
Brahman, the only real sourcq of everything thst appears
as the personal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient
God when viewed from a comparatively lower lcvel. He
is
the Lord,the Controller, the Ruler, generallyreferred
to
as either Iivara or Bhagavan.
This belief in one personal god has, at a subscquent
phase of development, turned into a conccpt of a
Trinity
(Trinurtt) consisting of three personal
Gods Brahmi,
Visnu and Siva.t H induism describesthem asthe
creator,
preserverand destroyer. Of thesethree Brahmq perhaps
a s h c d i d n o t p o s s e s st h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i cf e a t u r e st h a t
are
c o n d u c i v et o t h e g r o w t h o f a c u l t , d i d n o t r i s e t o g r e a t
p r o m i n e n c e .T w o e q u a l l y i m p o r t a n t . s e c t s ' h a v ee v o l v e d
around the other two Gods Visnu and diva and they
' are,
the Vaisnavite aad the Saivite.
C a t h o l i c i t y o f H i a d u i s m e n a b l e st h e d e v o t e e so f t h e s e
'sects'
t o h o l d t h e i r r e s p e c t i v eG o d a s s u p r e m e ,w h i l e
m a i n t a i n i n ga l l e g i a n c et o t h e o t h e r G o d . T h e s el w o G o d s
a r e n o t c o n s i d e r e da s o c c u p y i n gr i v a l p o s i t i o n s ,b u t , a r e
h e l d t o b c c o m p l e m e n t a r yt o e a c ho t h e r . V i s n u a n d
dive
also known popularly as Hari-Hara, have now become
the two principal Gods sharingbctwecnthem the adoration
a n d v e n e r a t i o no f t h e H i n d u s . O f t h e s et w o , i n f e c t , i t i s
the cult built around Visnu that becamemore popular,
speciallyin his manifest"iion ar Knna. This development
has bcen greatly facilitated by tbe'doctrinc of avrrir(see
AVATARA). According to this docrrinc Visnu is seid ro
ussumedifferent forms as and when occesiondemandr
and appear in the world in order to overcome evil and
e s t a b l i s hg o o d . T h e V a l s n e v i t eH i n d u s c o n r i d e rB u d d h e
himself to be an avattr oi Visnu.z
;;;;;.,1"-" ,n,o
 H[}-'T}LqSM ,t[58 HINDIIISM

ln keeping with the philosophical and theological
d e v e l o p m e n t sr e f c r r c Cl o a b o v eH i n d u i s m a d o p t st h r c e
p a t h s t o a p p r o a L : h! h t l m p e r s o n a l A . b s o i u t e o r t h e
P e r s o n a l D i v i n i t v . f h e s et h r c e p a t h s a r e t h ej f , E n n ' m i r g a
or jflina;'ogai.e. the path of knowiedge the karna'ntarga
(karmayoga) the paih of action and the bhilctimirga
(bhaktil'oga)thc path of faitb. Ihe aim ofthe jf,inemarga
i s t h e u n d c r s t a n d i n go f t h e u n i t y o [ t h e I n d i v i d u r r ls o u l
(pudgataatma) with the A bsoi ute Universal soul (Ma.iri-
itma, iagad'atma)'t Karma'mirga is the peth that leads
to the goaJ through the perforuranceof one's duties in n
mamer, for it is held that it is
s e l f l e s s n, o n - e g o c e n t e r e d
atttchment for fruits ol onc's tasks that keeps one in
"I-hemost popular of the three
bondege to suffering.a
paths is the bhaktimErga. This is the practice of total
self-surrenderto the grace of God, corrstantdevotion to
and thinking of God, offering selfless love and total
d e d i c a t i o nt o G o d . 5
Underlying these three paths is the ccde of Hindu
ethics which lays down ncims of cci:duct based on
dhermaasconceivedot irr i{indursm. illl,i'-ai ieacbirrgsof
H i n d u i s m a r : c l o s e i i ' i i r i k e dw i t h t h e b s l i e fi n k a r m a a n d
r e - b i r t h . oT h e b c t r e fi s t h a t o n e ' sd e s t i r . tiyn t h e n e x i l i f e i s
decided by cna's nctianspcrformed in this life, the general
p r i n c i p l e a p p l i c a l r l eb e i n g t h a t g o o d a c t i o n sb r i n g a b o u t
rebirth in a g'.;odstatir;n and bad actions in a bad station
in life.r A.l;-irnsa(nr:n-vialence), satya (truthfulness),
i n d ri ya -ni gr ar\e (sense-uont r ol), dan a (l ibc ral ity), asteya
(avoidance of stenling), visaya+yiga (detachment\, dayi
(compnssion), aqava (rectitude), sauca(purity, meaning
a v o i r i a n c eo f v i c e s ) , , t s a m i ( f o r t i t u d ei n f a c eo f h a r d s h i p )
& r e s o m e o f t h e e t h i c a l q u a l i t i e s h i g h l y e s t c e m e di n
ll:nduisrn.s Cultivation of lraddhi(faith) and practice crf
rapas(asceticism)are both much emphasiscd.eThe whole
gamut of Hindu ethics is covered by the term dharme't0
The purpose and objective cf Hindu morality is to male
the followers lead lives of duty (dhanna)' It is taught in
H i n d u i s m t h a t c u l t i v a t i o n o f m o r a l i t y i s a p r e r e q u i s i t et o
tear asunder the veil of ignorance (miya)'tr For the
Hindus a life of duty is lead not purely for the seke of
lcading a life of duty but in reaiity for the sake of God.
Thereforc to disregard duty (dharmal is to go against thc
d i c t a t e so f G o d . w h i c h i s a s i n . r 2
The salicntfeatureof the socialphilosophy of Hinduism
isthe Varna(ramadharma which deals with the classifice-
tirrn of thc members of society into four strata (vama-
dhannt) end the division of the individ ual's life into four
stages(atraw4harma). The origi:r of this doctri-netoo is
traceable to the Vedas. The Punrsasukta of the tenth
mandala of the Rgveda makes reference to this four-fold
division of society. lt tales place by divine ordination
and, therefore, is inviolable. In later Hinduism this
fourfold classification is ex plained somewhat differently,
It is caid that all human beings could be categorizedinto
three types according to the dominant quelities in them.
Those in whom purity (sattva) dominates are said to be
'fhe
the br[hmanas. ksatriyas are those who have in them
a high degreeof worldine ss (njas),while the vai{yashwe
darkness (umas) as their dominating quality. All the
others who have no such distinguishing qualities arc
generally grouped in one broad cetegory called the
{udras, which again is sub{ividcd into a number of
classes.This is an hierarchical arrangement Bt the top of
which are the br-ahmanasand at the bottom the stdras.t3
It is also acceptedin Hinduism that it is thes€dominrnt
qualities that shape the individual's character, eptitude

3. The beginning o-f this path can bc secn inthe Upanisads'

1. The Bhagavadglti very clexrly enunciates this path,
5. For the Buddhist ettitud€ to bhakti sce BHAKTI in EncySsn' II, p. 678 fl.
6. SoareethicalteachingsofBuddhirm.Butethicsaswellarthedoctrineofkarmaandre-birthinBuddhismmarkedlydifferfrom
those of Hindusim. For details ree ETHICS, KARMA, R[-:rIRTH.
7. This general principle is found in Buddhism too.
6, The basic ethical concepts and norms arc common to both Hinduism snd Buddhism. Yet the objectiver er well rs the pathr through
which these ethical ideals are reached considerably differ in the two systems.
9. draddhi (pali saddhal is found in Buddhism but its content is totally different from the Hindu conccpt. See FAITH, SADDHA.
Extremeformsof tapassrecomgrcltelydenounccdinBuddhismarleadingtosclf-morti{ication(attakilamathinuyogt)whichirone
of the extremes that the Buddhirts are adviscd to give up'
10. For the parallel Buddhist concept ree-DHAMMA I and Il.
I t. Buddhism, too, considersmorality (sila) * the bare of spiritual culture.
12. This is totally different from the Buddhirt point of view. Sec ETHICS.
13. Thc socia.lstigma thar rdults from this doctrine of varna4harma is refuted in Buddhism. Buddhirm on thc contrary upholds the
o n e n e s so f m a n k i n d . S e eC A S T E , H U M A N RIGHTS:
 HIRI-OTTAPPA 46s HIRT-d}"I'TAPtr}A

End also the profession.Onc becomesenCowed with

cultured life. (Visrn. pp. g, 9). It is said rhat when rhere
lhesc dominant qualities by birth and henccbirth becomes is
hiriottappa, thcrc arises in a person r"irrue (silaS.ln ttue
a deciding factor of one's social positlon, rr
absenceof hiriottappa, sila does not arise in a pcrso;1,
n o t t o s p c a ko f i t s l r e v a l e n c e( i b i d ) . D i s c u s s i n gr h e s ei w o
The four stages in life (ilrama-dhamta) are brahma-
ca4ya (studentship) grhastha (houscholdc r) vinaprastha terms further Burjdliaghosa says: ,.shrinking or
th,;
(anchorite) and sanyasin(renouncct). i r r i t a t i o n o f t h e m i n d a t t h e t h o u g h t o f i r n m o r a lc o n d u c i
is called hiri and hiri is a synonym for iajja (sbyness);
Hinduism also acceptsfour ideals or objectives of life
trembling that takes place at the thr:ught of the
(p u rw ar th a). These er e d h arm a ( unfailin g pe rfo rm same
an ce immoral conducr is cajled ottappaanC it is a sy:cnym
of one'sduty), ertlra(securingof one'seconomic welfare), for
frigbt " (ub bega: ibid).
kima (enjoyment of worldly pleasures) and molsa
(attei"g1s11of liberation). Successfulfulfilment of theie
JEtaka(J. L 16) and the commcntary to thc Dhamme-
ideals is considered the purpose of life.rs pada, (DhpA i.7d). discussingthesc
two emotive
The day to day life of a Hindu is full of rites. rituals and phenomena in human beings, say that hiri
or moral
sacramentsmany of which date back to the Vedic period, shame is bascd on onc,s own standard (attidhipatewa),
Some of rheseare mandatory ftitya) and some optional whercasottappa or fear.of evil is basedon public
opinion
(kanya). At present, however, only a few obligatory (lokidhipateT.ya). Moral shame arises
rites in a knowledieablc
and rituals prevail, Sacrifice (yajfra) r6does exist, but on a person on four persona_lconsiderations,
name.ly, his
moderatc scale with necessary modification effected. b i r t h , h i s a g c ,h i s a b i l i t j e sa n d h i s e d u c a t i o n .E r e b o r a t i n g
Now yajfra is more or less a pijC a sacred offcring. thesefour positions the Jitaka (J. l.l2g)says,,one
avoids
The sacramentswhich are called aaimittikas or more committing evil deedssuch as killing and injuring
living
popularly as sams^kirasplay a major role in the life b e i n g so n t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o nt h a t s u c h a c t s a r e
of dorc bv
Hindus. These purificatory rjtes have a socro-rcligious peoplc of low birth, such as fisher folk, and
henceit d.es
signif,rcance and give important events in an individual,s n o t b e h o v eh i m , w h o i s o f h i g h b i r t h , t o d o
such lowiv
life the religions sanctity and spiritual value thcy l h i n g s " . S e c o n dc o n s i d c r a t i o ni s r e g a r d i n g
On. muy
require.lT ponder thus: "Immoraj conduct such as" g . .
killing and
injuring living beings rs rhc wpy with rhe young
and the
immature, I am an adult maiure in behaviour
S. K Nannyallsra a n c is o i t
doesnot behoveme to indulge in such activities
normally
pursued by the young and the immatuf€',
and thus
thinking, one may refrain from evil actions.
Thirdly, onc
rnay ponder thus: ,,nornrally evil ways are pursued
by
thosewho have no discipiine in arts and crafts.
I{IRI-OTTAPPA are two terms that occur togerher in I am mucl
accomplishcd and efficient in many firlds
m a n y a c o n t e x t i n B u d d h i s t I i t e r a t u r er e g a r d i n g h u m a n and hence it
docs not behove me to engagein activities
conduct and these two terms refer to two normallv
emotive pursued by the weaklings", and thinking
phenomena in the psychological process of humal thus on. _"i
refrain frorn evil conduct such as kiiling and
beings.The two terms are renderedinto EngJishgeneraJly, injurin!
living beings. Fourthly, one may pood.,
a s ' s h a m e ' a n d ' f e a r ' r e s p e c t i v e l yb u t t h e t w o t e r m s i n thus: ,,evil
a c t i o n sa r e d o n e b y t h e f o o j i s h a n d t h e i g n o r a n t ,
Pali, in their usage in many Buddhisr discussions, but the
wise aad the learned refrain from eviJactlons,
c o n n o t ea w i d e r a n d a d e v e l o p e dm e a n i n g ,' f h e y r e f e r t o So, it docs
n o t b e h c l v em e w h o a m l e a r n e d a n d
t w o e m o t i o n sc u i t i v a t e db y k n o w l e d g e a b l eh u m a n b e i n g s w i s e t o e n g a g ei n
evii actions normally pursued by the foolish
w h o a d h e r et o s o m c f o r m o f e t h i c a i b e h a v i o u ra n d t h e s e and the
ig'oroDt", and thrnking thus one may refrain
emotions are consideredby thc virtuous and the wise as trom evi.l
actions, On the above four considerations
the proximate cause (padatthana) for a disciplined and one rRav
develop moral shame (hin) and rcfrain from
evil actions.

l'l' Buddhism completely rejectsthis position and holds that one's

socialposition isjudgcd ngr by one,sbirth but by one,sbehaviour
Ectlons. or
l5' The highest Buddhirt ideal is the realization of Nibbina. All
other ideals are subservientto it. anrJshould also be conducive
attainment. to itr
l6' sacrifice involving destruction of life is rejected by Buddhism.
L-or Buddhist sttitude regarding such sacrifi..! secthe Kitadanta
sutta (D I) Some forms of pijiin the senseof wonhip and offering
to the Buddha. Slnghs, etc. Lrc alro found in Buddhism.
l7' TherearenosuchsprcificpurificatoryritesinBuddhism.H.wever,theblessingsoftheBuJdhs,theDhamma*dth.i;;;;;.
rought on important occasionsconnected with one's lifc.
 HIRT-OTTAPPA 460
O n e m a y r e f r a i n f r o m e v i l a c t i o n sa n d c u l t i v a t ea s e n s e
of fear regarding such actions on account of public
opinion too. One may ponder thus: "There u'e in this
w o r l d b r a h m i n s a n d r e c l u s c sa n d w i s e m e n p o s s e s s e od f
m i r a c u l o u s p o w e r s , p o s s e s s i n gt h e d i v i n e e y e a n d t h e
a b i l i t y t o k n o w o t h e r s ' t h o u g h t s .T h e y k n o w f r o m a
d i s t a n c eo r a t c l o s e r a n g e w h a t i s g o i n g o n i n o t h c r s '
m i n d s , a n d h e n c ei t d o c s n o t b e h o v em e t o h a r b o u r e v e n
an evil thought, for, they will come to know it", and
t h i n k i n g t h u s o n e m a y f e a r t o c n t e r t a i ne v e na t h o u g h t o f
malicc and ill-will towards others, not to speak of
physically killing or injuring living beings.
O n s e v e r a l o c c a s i o n s t h e B u d d h a e m p h a s i s e dt h e
importance of cultivating hiri and ottappa in one's
t h i n k i n g p r o c e s si f o n e i s k e e n t o l e a d a l i f e h a r m l e s st o
o n e ' s o w n s e l f a n d t o o t h e r s a n d p o s i t i v e l yb e n e f i c r a tl o
o n e s e l f a n d t o o t h e r s . H i r i a n d o t t a p P a a r er e f e r r e dt o a s
white phenomena (sukkadhamma) and the absenceof
hiri aod ottappa (ahirika, anotttappa) are referred to as
dark phenomena (kanh:'dhamna). l'lerc white signifies
t h a t w h i c h c o n d u c e s t o h a p p i n e s so f b c i n g s a n o d a r k
s i g n i f i e st h a t w h i c h c o n d u c e st o d e g c n e r a t i o na n d m i s e r y
of beings, Hiri and ottappaare designatedas factors that
c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e d e c e n c y a n d o r d e r l i n e s so f s o c i e t y
(lokapAladhamma). The Buddha emphasisesthe utmost
i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e s et w o p s y c h o l o g i c a fl a c t o r s b y s a y i n g
that if not :'or them, there would not be considerations
s u c h a s :" T t i s i s m y m o t h e r ; t h i s i s m y f a t h e r ; t h i s i s m y
maternd aunt; this is my paternal aunt; this is my
t e a c h e r ' sw i f e ; " e t c . ' a n d t h a t p e o p l e w o u l d l e a d p r o -
n i s c u o u s l i v e sl i k e c a t s ,d o g s ,j a k a l s ,p i g se t c .( A . I , p . 5 l ) '
Htri and ottappa are reckoned as two out of five
factors, the other three factors being f.aith lsaddhi),
encrgy @raddhauiriya) and wisdom (pa6{a), that will
e n s u r ea b h i k t h u h e a v e n l y b l i s s a f t e r d e a t h ( 4 , l l I , 4 ) ,
and a bhikkhu who is devoid of these five factors with
regard to righteous behaviour (kusaladhammal is con-
sidered a pauper (daliddo) and a destitute (assafro)in the
O r d e r o f m o n k s ( A . l l l . 3 5 2 ) . I n a n o t h e rc o n t e x t r e s p e c t
for firrr and respectof ottappa are reckoned as two out of
six factors that will ensureprogressfor the bhikkhu in the
Order of Monks, the other four being, respect for the
teacher (satthi), respcct for the teachings (dhamma),
respectfor the Order of monks (sait9ha)and respectfor
the training (sikkhi -.4. III, 331),Again in the Digha'
nikaya (II. 7E-79) moral shame (hiri)'and moral fear
(otteppa) are mentioned along with five other factors,
namely f.aith (saddhl), much learning (bahussutati),
energy Qraddbaviriya), &lcrtness (upatthitasati) and
wisdom (pafina) as factors that will eDsure progress
(wddhi)tor a bhikklu in the Order of monks.
W. G. Weererame
HMAWZA
H M A W Z A , a s m a l l I ' i i l a g ei n c e n t r a l B u r m a , o n t h e r i v e r
I r r a w a d d y( l a t . i 8 . 7 5 0N , l o n g . 9 5 . 2 5 0E ) , s i x m i l e sn o r t h
o f t h e m o d e r n t o w n o f P r o m e .T h i s v i l l a g ea n d t h o s ei n i t s
n e i g h b o u r h o o da r es c a t t e r e do v e rw i t h r e m a i n so f a n c i e n t
B u d d h i s t m o n u m e n t s ,s t o n e a n d m e t a l s c u l p t u r e s ,c l a y
and terracotta votive tablets, and inscriptions. The
d i s c o v e r yo f f u n e r a l u r n s w i t h P y u w r i t i n g s a n d o f o t h e r
i n s c r i p t i o n s i n t h e P y u l a n g u a g eh a s e n a b l e d a r c h a e o -
' ith the heart of
l o g i s t st o i d e n t i f y t h i s s i t e c o n c l u s i v e l l w
S r i k s e t r a ,t h e a n c i e n tc a p i t a l o f t h e P y u s ,T h e s eP y u s a r e
t h e e a r l i e s ti n h a b i t a n t so f B u r m a o f w h o m l o c a l m e m o r y
sun'ives (cp. Reginald Le May, The Culture of South-
East Asia,45l D.G.E. Hall, A History of South-East
Asr'a,I 3 3).
H m a w z a h a s p r o v i d e d t h e a r c h a e o l o g i s tw sith much
valuable material for the reconstruction of the early
h i s t o r l ' o f B u d d h i s mi n B u r m a . I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t h a t t h e
f i n d s s o l a r d i s c o v e r e dh e r ec i e t eb a c k t o a p e r i o d a s e a r l y
a s t h e f i f t h c e n t u r y A . C . t h u s a n t e d a t i n gt h e r e m a i n s a t
P a g a nb y n e a r l ys i x c e n t u r i e sT. h e s ef i f t h c e n t u r y f i n d s a t
H m a w z a p r o v i d e t h e e a r i i e s th i s t o r i c a l e v i d e n c cf o r t h e
e x i s t e n c eo f B u d d h i s m i n B u r m a ( D . G . E . H a l l , l o c . c i t . )
I f t h e r e m a i n s o f H - m a w z ad a t e t o t h e f i f t h c e n t u r y ,
t h e n t h e P y u c i t r ,o' f S r i k s e t r ae x i s t e da t t h a t t i m e o r e v e n
e a r l i e r . A f e w l i t e r a n ' a c c o u n t s C e s c r i b et h e c i t y i n
g l o w i n g t e r m s t h u s e n a b l i n g t h e r e a d e r t o v i s u a l i s eh e r
glory at that time, The Glass Palace Chronicle of the
K i n g so f B u r m a ( p . 7 ) f o r i n s t a n c er e l a t e sa p r q p h e c yo f
the Buddha that 101yearsafter hrs parinibbana a man
named Dwattabaung -would found the great city of
T h a r e h k i t t a r a( i . e . , S r i k s e t r a )a n d t h a t f r o m h i s t i m e
B u d d h i s r nw o r r l df l o u r i s hr n t h a t k i n g d o m .
There are other contemporary records, much morc
a u t h e n t i c ,s i n c e t h e y w e r e o f t e n m a d e b y e y e - w i t n e s s e s '
P t o l e m l ' , f o r i n s t a n c e ,i n t h e m i d d l c o f t h e 2 n d c e n t r y
A.C, probably referred to it as Mareura Metropolis'
Hsr1an-tsang(Beal, Buddhist Records ol' the Westem
World, Il, 200) and l-tsing (Takakusu, A Record of the
Buddhist Religion, p, 9) in the sevcnth century make
mention of it in their accountsT . he most graphicaccount
o f t h e c i t y , t h e k i n g a n d h i s s u b j e c t si s p r e s e r v e di n t h c
Old History of the Tsang dynasty of the 8th and 9th
centuries (See R.C. Majumdar, Hindu Colonies in the
F a r E a s t ,p . 2 3 0 ; [ r M a Y , o P . c i t . P ' 4 5 ) .
T h e s e l i t e r a r y a c c o u n t so f t h e g l o r y o f t h e c i t y o f S e l -
k s e t r a h a v e b e e n s t r o n g l l ' s u b s t a n t i a t e db y t h e m a n y
a i c h a e o l o g i c a fl i n d s a t H m a w z a a n d o t h e r v i l l a g e si n i t s
n e i g h b o u r h o o d .E x i s t i n g r e m a i n s o f a m a s s i v ec i t y w a l l
m o r e t h a n e i g h t m i l e s i n c i r c u m f e r e n c e 'a n d e m b r a c i n g
an &rcalarger than that of Pagan or Mandalay, and with
i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a lm o a t s , p r o v e t h a t t h e r e g i o n o f a n d
around Hmawza had formerly been the site of a large
city. It is significant that MOD inscriptions at Pagan even
 HMAWZA 461 HMAWZA

a s l a t e a s r h e r e i g n o f k i n g K y a n z i t t h a( 1 0 g 4 - l l
l2 A.C.) Pagoda; (14) thaukkyama pagoda; (t5) Mynibahu
r e f e rt o i t a s t h e c a p i t a l e v e n a f t e r i t w a s a b a n d o n e d ,
thus P a g o d a ;( 1 6 ) P a y a m a p a g o d a ; f l 7 ) K h i n B a ' s m o u n d .
s h o w i n gi t s i m p o r t a n c ea n d g r ea t n e s s( c p .D , G . E .
Hall,A
H i s t o r l , o f S o u t h - E a s t A s r a ,p . 1 3 3 ) . T h e p a g o d a si n t h e a b o v e l i s t , a n d n u m r r o u s o t h e r
mounds so far examined, rcveal that they were of
I n s c r i p t i o n a Je v i d e n c eo f t h e e x i s t e n c eo f B u d d h i s m
d i f f e r e n t s h a p e sa n d t y p e s . S b n i e w e r e c o n i c a l , s o m e
h e r ed a t e s b a c k t o t h e f i f t h c e n t u r y .F u n e r a l
urn inscrip_ octagonal a-nd othcrs rectanguJarr,,ritha square
t i o n s i n t h e P v u l a n g u a g ed i s c o v e r e da t H m a w z a basc.
name S o m c , l i k c t h o s ca t p a g i n h a v eh a d a v i m a n a w i t h t h i c k
three Pyu kings SIry,avikrama, Harivikrama
-fhese and walls, doors, windows drrd nichcs. The monument,at
Sihavikrama. h a v e b e e n a s s i g n c dt o r h e e i g h t h
K a J a n g d nh a d b e e nb e a r r r i f u l l yd e c o r a t e dw i t h s c u l p t u r e d
c e n t u r y .l ' h r e e o t h e r n a m e so f k i n g s w h o w e r e p o r r i U t y
t e r r a c o t t ap l a q u e s ,l i k e m a n y o f t h c l a t e r m o n u m e n t s
r u l i n g h e r e a r e m e n t i o n e di n t w o i n s c r i p t i o n s . - O n e E(
of P a g a n . B r j c k s w e r e e x t e n s i v e l yu s c d i n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n
t h e s ei n s c r i p t i o n s ,i n c i s e do n t h r e es i d e so f t h e p e d e s t a l
of of these monuments. R"y (ThcravEda Buddhism
a statue of the Buddha, mentions that a king in
named B u r m a , 7 2 ) i s o f o p i n i o n t h a t t h e y r e s e m b l e ,i n m o s t
J a y a c a n d r a v a r m a ns e t u p t h i s i n s c r i p t i o na t t h e i n s t a n c c
rcspects,the contemporary Buddhist monuments
of his teacher, for the purpose of establishing in
peace I n d i a . T h e B a w b a w g y ip a g o d a ,f o r i n s t a n c e i.s s o m e w h e t
b e t w e e nh i m a n d h i s v o u n g e r b r o t h e r H a r i v i k r a m a
and similar to the Dhamek stilpaat Saruath and in thc Btbt
b u i l t t w o c i t i e si n o n e d a y f o r t h e t w o b r o t h e r s .
The other P a g o d ai s s e e ns o m es i m i l a r i t yt o t h e r e c t a n g u l a rt e m p l e s
i n s c r i p t i o n o n a c v l i n d r i c a l s i l v e r r e l i c c a s k e tg i v _ e s
the with sikharas in sculptures in Bihar and Bengal,
namesof its donors as Sri prabhuvarma and thus
Sri pra_ indicating traits of east-Indian influcnce.
bh-devi - - probably a pvu king and his queen.
T h e l a r g ea m o u n t o f o b j e c t sd i s c o v e r e df r o m t h e s ea n d
The name-endingsof theserulers,viz., Vikrama, Varrnan
o t h e r s i t e si s o f u t m o s t i.m p o r t a n c ea s t h e m a i n s o u r c e
a n d V a r m a a r e , i t h a s b e e n o b s e r v e d ,s i m i l a r for
t o t h o s eo f the study of the natureof Buddhismand the extent
c o n t e m p o r a r y r u l e r s o f s o u t h _ I n d i a nd y n a s t i e s . of its
The influencein the ancient pyu capital of Sriksetra.
scnpt of the pvu inscriptions from Hmawza Thev
and its p r o v i d e t h e m o d e r n s c h o l a r sw i t h d c f i n i t e e v i d e n c c
n e i g h b o u r h o o d ,i n a d d i t i o n s h o w s ,a c c o r d i n gr o of the
scholars B u d d h i s t a r t i n v o g u ei n a n c i e n tH m a w z a m o r e t h a n
l i k e F i n 6 t , D u r o i s e l l e a n d B l a g d c n , c l o s ea f f i n i t i e s I200
with y c a r s a g o ' a n d t h e d e g r e eo f s k i l l w h i c h w e n t
t h e s o u t h - l n d i a n a l p h a b e t s ,e s p e c i a l l yt o t h e into their
Kadamba e x e c u r i o n( c p . M a y , o p , c i t . p . 4 g ) .
s c r i p to f s o u t h - l n d i a , o f a b o u t t h e f i f t h c e n r u r y
A.C. (Le
May, The Culture of South-East Asia, p These objects coujd be broadly catcgorised as
34). These stone
f a c t o r sh a v e l e d t o r h e a s s u m p t i o nt h a t t h e p y u a n d b r o n z e i m a g e s ,s t o n e s c u l p t u r c s ,t c r r a c o t t a
r u l e r so f tablets,
ancicnt Hmawza were either of south-lndian votive offerings and inscriptions.
orisin or
w e r e g r e a t l y i n f l u e n c e db y s o u t h - r n d i a t o t h c
extlnt of
a d o p t i n g s o u t h - l n d i a n n a m e s ,a n d t h a t t h e I m a g e s :T h e r e i s a g o o d n u m b e r o f t h c m , m o s t l y
rcligion and of the
cu.ltureof ancient Hmawza were greatly influenced, B u d d h a , s o m ef a i r l y l a r g e i n s i z e .S o m e o f t h e m
from s e e mt o
a t l e a s tt h e f i f t h c e n t u r y A . C . b y t h e g r e a t be of local origin, while others are el"identlyirnportations
r e l i g i o u sa n d
cultural centres of south_India, such from India. Most of Buddha images are
as Ataravati, -the in the
Nagirjunikonda, Kaficipuram, paryahkasana with the right hand in
Kaveripattanam, and bhimispar_
Uragapuram,' where Thiravada g"Odil; tamudra andthey seemto have belongedto the Th.r.vada
fr"A .r*i_
lished strongholds (r:p. Ray, Theravida school.
Buddhism in
Burma, May, op. cit, p. 34).
ScuShrres Among the sculptures from Hmawza arc
O f t h e a l c i e n t B u d d h i s t m o n u m e n t s a n d s i t e si n e n d s e v e r a l d, e p i c t i n gs c c n c sf r o m t h e l i f e o f t h e B u d d h a "s u c h
around Hmawza the following list mentions the as the offenng of food to the Buddha by the two
more
i m p o r t a n t o n e s ,e x c a v a t e db y t h e A r c h a e o i o g i c a J m e r c h a n t sT a p a s s ua n d B h a l l u k a , a n d o f t h e f o u r a l m s
Survey
o f I n d i a i n t h e e a r l v y e a r so f t h e t w e n t i e t hc e n r u r y . b o w l s b y t h e f o u r g u a r d i a n d e i t i e st o r e c e i v et h a t f o o d ,
t h e f i r s t s e r m o n i n t h e D e e r p a r k a t S a r n a t h ,t h e t a m i n g
| . Z e g u P a g o d a( E a s t ) ;( 2 ) T h a u n b y e g o n( s i t eo f 1 0 0 0 0
of the infuriated elephant Nalagiri, the birth of the
p a g o d a so f t r a d i t i o n ) ; ( 3 ) M o n t h e m a g o n ;( 4 ) S i n g y i d a i n g
bodhisattva Gotama, conquestof Mara, and the twin
P a g o d a ;( 5 ) K a n t h o n z i n d a u n g( a l o w r a n g eo f h i l l s r o
the miracle at Sdvatthi. Many of them ohow influence of the
s o u t h o f H m a w z a w h e r ee v e r yp e a k w 8 s o n c ec r o w n e d
by east.lndian Gupta style and can be assignedto the period
a pagoda); (6) Atwin Moktaw pagoda (the largest
in from the 6th to thc 9rh centuries A.C. (Ray, Theravida
H m a w z a , t r a d i t i o n a l l y a s s i g n e dt o a p r e _ C h r i s t i a ne r a ) :
Buddhism in Burm4 ASIAR. l92].-g lZ7 tf..).Many
(7) Blbi Pagoda; (8) Lemyerhna pagoda; (9)
o t h e r s c u l p t u r e dg t o n es l a b sf r o m H m a w z a d o n o t d e p i c i
Yahandagu Pagoda; (10) Bawbawgyi pagoda; (lli
eny particular incident from thc fife of the Buddha but
P a y a g y iP a g o d q ( 1 2 ) p y u d a i k p a g o d a ;( t 3 ) M y a n k s e g u
merely give him as the central figure, usually flauked by
 HMAWZ,A 46?
otler hgurts, somctimesidentified a: A"zalokitCsvararnd
Natha"
O f t h r s c u l p t u r c ds l a b sf r a m I { m a r l z . a -o n e d i s c o v e r e d
f r o m t h c B e b e P a g o r i aa n d a n o t h e r d i s c o v e r e dl r o m t h e
Y a h i i n d a g u P a g a d aa r c n o t e w o r t h y ' .i n t h e B 6 b c [ ' a g c d a
a s c u l p t u r en f t h e B u d r i h a i s s l i r - : r aa' n. st l : e c e n l i * l i i g u r c
f l n n k e d b y t w o o t h e r f i g u r e sr . r di i s c i p l e si.n t h i s s c u l p t u r c
i t i s t h e l c f t h r n d , a r ; d n o t t h e r i g h t f h a t t o u c h e st h e
g r o u n d i n b h u m i s p a r ' l e " m u d n ,p r o b e t , ! r ' ar n i s t a k eo f t h e
i o e a l c r a i t s m a - n ,l n t h c Y a h a n d n g u F a g o d a s c u l p t u r e
e i g h t B u d d h a i m a g c ss i t i n a r o w , a i l r v i t h t h e i r r i g h t h n n d
in bhumisparis mtdra.
Another stele, uncarthed near Hmawza in 1929 and
d e s c r i b e db y D u r o i s e l l c e s c n e r f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t
hnds in Burma so far made, str*ws n brokcn figure at the
top and a group of wonhippers bclow. Betweenthis
group and the broken figurr is a Pyu iniciiption. The
broken figure at the top could bc identified as the Buddba
o r t h e P y u n r l e r a n d i t i s , t h e r e f o r c ,s u r m i s e d t h a t t h i s
s c u l p t u r es h o w st h c P y ' u sw o r s h i p p i n ge i t b e r t h e B u d d h a
or their king (cp. Mav, op. cit.41).
Terrecottr Tebletr A large number of terracotta tabiets
bave been unearthed from the ruins nf this old capital. A
g o o d n u m b e r o f t h e m a r e e m b o s s e dw i t h t h e w e l l - k n o w n
Buddhist formula bcginning with 1rr pi so bhagava
a r a h a m . . , . .S o m e h a v c s h o r t l e g e n d si n P y u , T h e s c r i p t o f
m o s t o f t h e m i s e a s t - I n d i e n .o f t h e 8 t h - l O t h c e n t u r i e s A
. t h e 5 t h c e n t u r y A . C . T h c s e w e r e d i s c o v e r e di n 1 8 9 7 .l n
fcw of ihese tablets representgods and goddcssesof thc
S a n c k r i t B u d d h i s t p a n t h e o n . E x c a v a t i o n si n a r a n g e o f
hills close to Hmawza, where severnl small mounds are
found, yieldcd many terracotta votive tablcts bearing
short epigraphs in Nagari chaiacters. One of them
reprcaentsa four-armed bodhisattva (ASIAR. 1926-7,
182 f,). A votive tablet from the mound known as Kan-
wet-Khaung-k6n at Hmawz4 somewhat broken in a
corner, contains 83 small seatedfigures of the Buddhs"
mcant to representthe One Thousa:rd Buddhas (ASIAR.
1927-8, PL. LV, l,Jo. 6). These terracotta tablets were
generally deposited as relics in relic<hambers of shrines.
Wandcring preachen and dcvotc€s, too, carried them
when tbey went about. It appears that rome of tbes€
tablets were locally made, while others lpcr? brought
there from India.
Other Votlve Offerhgr: A large number of votive offerings
of different varieties other than terracotte votive tablets
have bcen discovered in and around Hmawzg mainly
from the relic-chambersof different stupes. Most of the
different finds of this group were dircovered at s rite
known ar the Khin-bha-gdn, generally known a"sKhin
Ba's mound, near the Kalagangdn village in the neigh-
bourhood of Hamwza. "I'hesefinds consirt of sculptureg
ud ornamental piecesin burnt clay end landstone, ma:ay
HMAWZA
s m a l l v o t i v e s t u p q sn n d B u d d h a i m a g e si n g o l d a n d s i l v e r ,
i n s c r i b e dg o k . ia n d s i l v e r p l a t e s ,c o i n s , c r y s t a l ,i a d e a n d
g i a s sb e a d s .g l a s sa n d s a n d s t o r r eo b j r c t s e t c ,
l n s c r i p t i o n s : t r l r s c r i p t i o n sf o r m o n e d i s t i n c t u n i t o f
guCclhlsa i r c h a e o i o g i c aric m a i n s a t H m a w z a , T h e m a j o -
:it3'of the inscriptions is found r:n sculpiured siabs,
p e d r s t a i so f B r r d c i h a - i r n a g c tse, r r a f , o t t ap l a q u e s ,f u n e r a l
urns and the like, but a fcw inscripficns of a more
i r n p o r t a " n t ] ' l - ' cn r e i n c i s s d o n g o l d p l a t e sa n d o n s t o n e s
on which nu sculptures are found anii thus are inscrip-
t i o n s i n t h e f u l l e s ts e n s c .
A d i s t i n c t f e a t u r eo f t h e s ei n s c r i p t i o n si s t h a t s o m e o [
them are incisad in Pyu or Pali or in both in a script
c l o s e l y a l l i e d t o l h e D e c c a n e s ev a r i e t i e so f t h e B r a b m i
s c r i p t , e s p e c i a l l yt h c K a d a m b a s c r i p t o f t h e 5 t h c e n t u r y ,
while the othen are incised either in Sanskrit, or in Pyu
and Sanskrit in a script identified with latcr Gupta-
B r a h m i o f e a s t e r nI n d i a o f a b o u t t h e 7 t h c e n t u r y ( c p .
Ray, Sans,trit Buddhism in Burma, l9), This distinct
feature,it is surmisedtaken with the contents of such
i n s c r i p t i o n si n d i c a t e st h e n a t u r e o f B u d d h i s m t h a t w a s
practised at Hdrawza in different times from about the
5 t h c e n t u r yu p t o a b o u t t h e l O t h c € n t u r y .
Among the inscriptions of the former Sroup therc arc
two gold plates from Maunggan, a place near Hmawzg
each containing three lines of writing from a Pali
Buddhist text, in the Kadnmba script of south India of
l9 l0- I I two fragments of a 3lone inscription in Pali were
discovcred while clearing the debris of the Bawbawgyi
Pagoda. I'he tlrird piecewhich completer the inscription
was discoveredin the foUowing year urd it was found thet
the text of thjs inscription is related to the essentialsof
Buddhist psycbology. In 1926 was discovered the most
valuable record hitherto found in Hmawza" namely, a
book of twenty gold leavesarranged like an old palrir-leaf
manuscript, placed within two covers, also of gold and
tied together with e gold wire. Each of the twenty loaves
within tbe two covering leaves is inscribed, on onc side
only, with nine extracts from different texts of the Pali
caron. Another goid leaf, also datable to the 5th or 6th
century A.C., was discovered in 1928-29 from the
Kyundawza village, near Hmawza, containing the first
line of the Pali stsnza Ye dhammi hctuppabhavi.
A l l t h e s eP e l i r e c o r d sm e n t i o n e d a b o v e a r e i n a s c r i p t
closely allied to the Deccanesevarieties of the Brihmi
rcript of t'he 4th and 5th centuries A.C, and contain
doctrinal passagesfrom Theravada Buddhism. In the
light of thesefacts P.ay{TheravTda Buddhism in Bunna,
pp.33 ff.) har come to the following conclusionsregarding
Buddhism in eacient Hmawza,
L Theravide Buddhism wat Bn alrcady establisbed
rcligion in ancient Hmawza in the 5th century A,C.
 HMAWZA 4A3 T{ONEN

2 . P a l i a s t h e l a n g u a g co f T h e r a v i d a B u d d h i s m w a s
l D e a s t e r n\ a g a r i c h a r a c t e r st h a t c a n h e a s s i g n c d
k n o w n a n d u n d e r s t o o da t l e a s t b y a c e r t a i ns e c t i o n to the
9 t h , l 0 t h a n d j l t h c e n t u i e s ,a n d a f c w d e f i n j t c l v
o f t h e p e o p l e i n t h c c a p i t a l ,a n d p a j i c a n o n i c a lt e x t s
M a h a v [ n a s ! a t u e sl i k e t h e l b u r - a r m e C s t a t u c t t e
were known and studied in their most abstruse ,op.._
s e n t i n gA v a l o k i t e i v a r a , s t a n d i rgr . M a ha v i i , ;sr ;r n s . r m s
aspccts. to
h a v e a n p c a r e di n H r n a w z a a b o u t t b i s r i r n ei ' r r m c a s t e r n
3. Theravada Buddhism in Hmawza was nourished
I n d i a , l + h e r c i t h a d g a ; n e d s u p r e r i j a c l c: v e r f h e r a v a d a
from the Andhra-Kuntala-pajlava region ol thc
B u d c i h i s mA ' . l a r g en u n r b e ro f t c r r a c l t t a l , c t r v r - i a i l * s .
Deccan and south Inciiq from such centres as
w h i c h s e e mt o h a v e b : c n h r o r r g l i tt o H r n a w z a
Amarivati, Nagirj unikond a, Kaici pu rr.rn, K averi- by those
p r o f e s s i n gr h i s f a i t h e o n t a i n r h e r e p r t s e n t r o n
pattanam and Uragapuram, where Theravada trf the
s t a d i n g ' i n i a g c, r f T a r J a r o u n d w i r i c h i s i n s c r i b e d
Buddhism had establishedsrrongholds. in
S a n s k r i t t h c w e l l k n o w n l l u d d h i s t s t a n z ay e d h a r m a . . . .
{Ray, .San.sl rit Buddhism in Burma, p. g9).
T o t h c l a t t e r g r o u p , v i z . , i n s c r i p t i o ni n S a n s k r i ro r p v u
aad Sanskrit written in a script idcntical with I t h a s b e e ns u r m i s e dt h a t t h r s e i n s c r i b e ds t o n e s g , old
rhe
G u p t a - B r a h m i o f e a s t e r nI n d i a o f a b o u t t h e 7 t h c e n r u r y , p l a t e sa n d o r h e r o b j e c t sw e r e e n s h n n c di n
stupaslnd
belongs the bilingual inscription on three sides of the othcr monuments anil thus servsdes vclive oifcrings.
"fhe textsof
pedcstalof a Buddha image, mentioned t h e p a l i i n s c r i p t i o n sd i s c u s s e da b o v ed o n o t
before. This
record is composed in beautiful Sanskrit vcrse and a-.ee word for word with the relevant passages
is of
interspersedwith pyu renderings of thc Sanskrit text. e x i s t i n gP a l i t e x t sa n d i t i s , t h e r e f o r es, u g g e s t e d
that the
The most significant fact revealed by this inscription monks in ancient p r o m e had beforc thcm a parallei
is
t h e t k i n g J a y a c a n d r a v & r r n A ni t, s a u t h o r , p a t r o n i s e d version of the texts that have not comc down
one to the
of tbe northern schools of Buddhism whose canonical presentday in PaJi.
texts were probably written is Sanskrit. A r c h a c o l o g i c a fl i n d s a t H m a w z a r e , , . c at lh a t B u d d h i s m
A n o t h e r S a n s k r i t i n s c r i p t i o n , o n t h e p e d e s t a lo f a w a s n o t t h c o n l y r e l i g i o nt h e r ei n t h e e a r l vc c n t u r i e s
of the
h e a d l e s sB u d d h a i m a g e , c o n t a i n s t h e w e l l - k n o w n C h r i s t i a n e r a .B r a h m a n i c a li m a g e so f V i s n u , G a n e ( a
and
Buddhist starza in its Sanskritized version y dhamta B r a h m a , d i s c o v e r e da t H m a w z a , a n < jt h c r e m a i n s
of a
hctupnbhavi.... Tbe scripr of this record, roo. is similar phallus (li'nea), i4 inches high, riiscovered
at Kaja-
to that of the above, and the styie of the image, gaxgon, near Hmawza, show that Brahmanical
too, cults,
indicates Gupta influence, A large number of tcrracotta t o o , w e r e p r a c t i s e di n t h e a n c i e n t p v u c a p i t a l ,
But the
votive tablets of this same ert-tradition and incised with f a c t , t h a t t h e B u d d h i s t f i n d s a r c v e n . r r u m e r o u sa n d
that
the Sanskrit version of this Buddhist stanza, too, t h o s eo f t h e B r a h m a n i c a lf a i t h a r e v s r y f e w , i n d i c a t e s
has tbi
been found at Hmawza and thesetablets, also have p r e d o m i n a n c co f B u d d h i s m i n t h e p y u c a p i t a l .
been
assignedto the 7th and 8th centuries.
Bhllogrephy: R. Le l*Iay, The Culture of South-East
Ray (Sans/rrit Buddhism in Burma, 2l f, gg), is of
Asia; D, G. E. Haii, A History of South_Asra;
opinion that rhese images and tablets with Sanskrit R C.
Majumdar, Hindu Colonies ol'the Far East: N.
inscriptions on them represent the M[lasarvastivada Ray,
Theravada Buddhism in Burma; Sanskrit Bu<ldhtsm
form of Buddhism of the Hinayana school that was in
Burma,
w i d e s p r e a di n t h e M a g a d h a r e g i o ni n n o r t h _ e a s r e rlnn d i a
i n t h e 7 t h c e n t u r y , w h e n c ei t h a d c o m e t o B u r m a a b o u t
t h a t t i m e . T h i s a s s u m p t i o ni s b a s e do n t h e l a n g u a g ea n c l H. R. Perere
t h e s c r i p t o f t h e i n s c r i p t i o n sa n d t h e a r t t r a d i t i o n o f
the
i m a g e sa n d t h e s c u l p t u r e sa n d t h e l o c a l i t y t o w h i c h t h e y
are r0lated. Stray discoveriesof Mahayanistic images at
Hmewzs and its neighourhood tcnd to an identification H O I { E N ( 1 1 3 3 - 1 2 1 2 i)s a r e n o w n e dJ a p a n e s e
of thc above images and tablets, too, as representing mont, rhe
f o u n d c r o f t h e J o d o o r p u r e _ l z u r ds c h o o l o f
Japanese
Mehiyanism, but Ray (Sanskrit Buddhism in Burma, p. Buddnism. Posthumously he was known as
22) is definite that none of the Mahayana images at Enkwo
Daishi.
Hmawza can be dated beforethe gth or thc 9th century
A.C. Existence of M[lasarvdstivada in Hmawza; H o n e n w a s b o r n i n I l 3 3 i n t h e p r o v i n c eo f M i m a s a l a
a c c o r d i n gt o R a y . ( o p . c i t . p p . 2 2 f f . ) , d u r i n g t h e 7 r h a n d where his father sen'ed as a petty official. When
Honen
8th centuriesis also affirmcd by the eccount of l_tsing. was about eight yearsold his father was murdered
bv
encmies, The tradition records that the father
The existence of Mahiyanism at Hmawza at a later died
b i d d i n g t h e s o n n o r l o t h i n k o f a v e n g i n gh i s d e a t h
pcriod i3,however,proved beyond doubt by the discovery but to
e n t e rt h e O r d e r . C o m p l y i n g w i t h h i s f a t h c r , sl s s t
of tcrracotta votive-tabletswith short epigraphson them wish and
w i t h h i s m o t h e r ' sb l e s s i n g sH o n c n e n t e r e dt h e
monastery
 HONEN 4&{
n e a r h i s h o m c a n d r e c e i v c dt r a i n r n g f o r a b o u t f i v e y e a r s .
Tbc teacher was so deeply impressed by his pupil's
c a p e b i l i t i c st h a t h e s e n t h i m t o H i e i z a n f o r a d v n n c e d
studieswith a letter of recommendation in which he
referred-to Honen as an incarnation of Mafrju
(Mafrjuiri). f-ttere is another traditjon which snys that
S e i s h i ( M a h a s t h a r n a p r i l p t a )w a s i n c a r n a t e d i n H o n e n .
N o t l o n g a f t e r h i s a r r i v a l a t H i e i , F l o n e D ,b y h i s q u i c k
mastery of the Tripitaka, amply justified his former
teacber\ rtcommendation.
H i s k n o w l e d g eo f t h e d o c t r i n e a n d h i s e r u d i t i o n w e r e
s u c h t h a t i l h e s o d e s i r e dh e c o u l d h a v e a t t a i n e dt o a v e r y
h i g h p o s i t i o n i n t h c H i e i e c c l e s i a s t i c ahl i e r a r c h y . Y e t ,
i n s t c a do f s e e k i n gh i g h p o s i t i o n h e p r c f e n e d a s e c l u d e d
life and completeivdevoted himself to religious study and
prrycr and sought inner peact.
Conditions at Hiei as well as the general state of
Buddhismprevalentin the countrv were, from the point of
view of Honen, most unsatisfactoryS . o was the general
political cituation. He felt that there was an almost
unbridgeablegap betwecnthe ideal of monkhood and the
liver led by monks at Hiei. He felt that the thenprevalent
f c r m o f B u d d h i s m e i t h e r t e n d e d t o b e s u p e r s t i t i o u so r
hryhly scholettic. Honen considered that superstition
wrr solcly mernt to procure temporel well-being and
that eb:truce philosophical teachLings of Kegon, Shingon
and Tendai werc bcyond the grasp of many, Further,
flonen was rlmost obsessedwith the bclief that that era
wrs a period of grcat dcgeneracy (mappo) markcd with
politicd upheeval end mental and moral decline. From
thir prerumption be concluded that under such difficult
conditionr one could not hope to find salvation through
relf-reliancc Qirki), and therefore, should seek refuge in
relf-rurrender (uriki) to the power of a Supreme Bcing.
I t i c e v i d e n tt h a t b y t h i s t i m e t h e A m i d a c u l t w a s i n t h e
procers of gaining ground due mainly to the efforts of
Honen's predecessorssuch as K[ya" Genshin, Ryonin
and Zendo. Honen was particularly impressed by
Txndo'c work, the Kangto.rbo wherein he found the
Jtrtcment which rtreued the importance of chanting the
name of Amida with all one's heart. The Kangyosho
arsured that thie rct of chanting will rnake Amida, in
accordanccwith his original vow, save all beings, Being
convinccd that this is the sole me&nsof salvation he left
Hiei for ever.
H o n e n w a s a b o u t f o r t y y e a r so f a g eb y t h e n . F o r a b o u t
two yearr he lived in seclusion chanting the nembutsur
and the more he cngaged in this practicc the more
convinced he beceme of the fact that this is the best and
the casiestway for salvation. By I 175he started to preach
about the new teaching openly, aDd this ycar is gcnerally
o n r i d c r e d a st h e d a t e o f f o u n d a t i o n o f t h e J o d o ( q . v . )o r
Buddha.
t. Thir ir the name of the well-known formula Namu Amida Sutsu mesning Homagc to Amida
HOI'{EN
t h e P u r e - l a n ds e c t .L i v r n gf o r t h e m o s t p a r t r n Y o s h i m i z u
h e b e g a np r e a c h i n gt h e n e w d o c t r i n e ,a n d t h e n e w so f t h c
teachingand the tcacherbeganto spreadrapidly through-
out the country.
H o n e n e p i t o m r z e dt h e e t h o so f t h e p e r i o d ,a n d h e n c e
h i s t e a c h i n g .w h i c h h e c o n s i d e r e da s t h e s o l u t i o n t o
problems confrontcd bt' him, naturally had a general
-l
appeal. o manl' others who, like Honen, wcre
d i s i l l u s i o n e dw i t h t h e s c h o l a s t i ca sw e l l a sm y s t i cf o r m s o f
B u d d h i s m t h i s w a s a s i m p l e , p r a c t i c a lf o r m o f w o r s h i p .
Rapidly the followersgrew in number. Many who were
s h o c k e db ' ; t i r es u d d e nc o l l a p s eo f c o u r t l i f e f o u n d s o l a c e
i n J o d o . S o d i d t h e m i l i t i a a n d t h e o r d i n a r y m a s s e sw h o
f o u n d J o d o B u d d h i s mt o b e c l o s et o t h e i r h e a r t s .B e s i d e s
t h e s ef a c t o r s H o n e n ' s c h a r i s m a t i c p e r s o n a l i t yt o o , w a s
instrumentalin enlarginghis circle of followers, Empcrors
'fukakura
Go-Shira-kawa, and for sometime Go-Toba
p a t r o n i s e dh i m . Q u i t e a l a r g e s e c t i o no f t h e a r i s t o c r a r y
was following him and Kanezanc,the regenthappenedto
bc his chiefpatron.
By then Honen thought of putting down in writing the
e s s e n co e f h i s t e a c h i n g .F o r t h i s p u r p o s eh e w r o t e a t h e s i s
titled ^Sencrlaku Hongwan Nembutsuslru popularly
known as Senchakusiu. This he did not want published
d u r i n g h i s l i f e - t i m e .Y e t h e s e n t a c o p y o f i t t o K a n e z a n e
w h o w a s m o s t i m p r e s s e db y i t s c o n t e n t s .T h e r e i n H o n e n
g t t e m p t e d t o d i v i d e t h e p r e v a l e n tf o r m s o f r e l i g i o n i n t o
t w o b r o a d c a t e g o r i e sa s S h d d o , t h e h o l y p a t h w h i c h i s
difficult to be practised and Jodo the common-path
which could be followed casily by everybody. He also
q u o t e d e x t r a c t sf r o m n u m e r o u ss o u r c e st o p r o v e t h a t f o r
t h e p c o p l eo f h i s p e r i o d t h e l a t t e r ,w h o s eb a s i cp r i n c i p l ei s
the abandontngof jiriki and seking refuge in ranfrl, is the
o n l y w a y o f s a l v a t i o n .A n o t h e r w e l i k n o w n w o r k o f h i s i s
the Ojo Taiyosho. Besides,he wrote numerous letters,
the contentsof which vividly rcveal hjs extremely modest
self-effacivcand compassionatecharacter,
T h e c a t e g o r i z a t i o no f t h e p r e v a l e n tf o r m s o f w o r s h i p
and the alternative form of worship put forward by
H o n e n c a u g h t t h e f a n c y o f t h e m a s s e sJ. o d o w a s c l o s et o
all alike, irrespective of their education, wealth, social
status or religious training. Jodo followers swelledin
number and consequcntly it posed a threat to the
e x i s t e n c eo f o t h e r s c h o o l so f B u d d h i s m , M o n k s o f H i e i
p e t i t i o n e dt h e i r h e a d r e q u e s t i n gh i m t o o p e n l y d e n o u n c c
H o n e n ' st e a c h i n g ,H o n e n r e a l i z i n gt h e d a n g e ro f c l a s h i n g
w i t h e s t a b l i s h e sdc h o o l sp r o m p t l y c a u t i o n e dh i s f o l l o w e r s
n o t t o b e c o m eo v e r z e a l o u sa n d d i s p a r a g eo t h e r s c h o o l s .
He also admonished them not to misrepresenthis
teachingsby saying that practice of virtue and morality is
o f n o v a l u e t o t h o s ew h o a r e d e v o t e d t o t h e r e c i t a t i o n o f
the nembutsu, for he found that some followers who
 HONESTY
mkunderstood bis tcaching completely rejectedthe prac-
t i c e o f e t h i c s ,T h e c l a m o u r f o r t h e p e r s e c u t i o no f H o n e n
and his followers temporariiy subsided. yet, misde-
m e a n o u r o n t h c p a r t o f s o m e o f h i s f o l l o w e r s c r e a t e da n
opportunity for the monks of Kofuku-ji to petition the
r u l e r a s k i n g f o r H o n e n ' s p u n i s h m e n t . T o a p p e a s et h e
Kcifuku-ji monks the ruler punished some of Honen's
d i s c i p l e sa n d s p a r e dH o n e n ,
However, an unfortunate incident that took piace
s u b s e q u e n t l yp r o v e dd i s a s t r o u st o H o n e n . I t s o h a p p e n e d
that while the ex-cmperor Go-Toba was away on a
pilgrimagesomeof Honen'sdisciplcsconductcd nembutsu
r e c i t a l c e r e m o n i e sw h i c h w e r e a t t e n d e d b y t w o p r o m i -
n e n t l a d i e so f t h e c o u r t . T h e t w o l a d i e s b c i n g c o n v i n c e d
of Jodo becamenuns. The rivals of the Joclo school
suggested t o t h e e x - e m p e r o rt h a t t h e s et w o l a d i e se n t e r e d
the Order merely beausethey were enamoured with
H o n e n ' st w o d i s c i p l e sJ u r i n a n d A n r a k u . G o - T o b a , w h o
w a se n r a g e d g , o t t h e s et w o m o n k s e x e c u t e da n d p u n i s h c d
s o m e o t h e r s .H o n e n h i m s e l f w a s o r d e r e d t o b e e x i l e d t o
Tosa. However, Kanezane'sintervention helped to change
the place of exile to Sanuki which was not as remote as
Tosa.
In Sanuki Honen spent his time visiting sacred places
and dedicatedlychanting the nembufsu. When an amnesty
was declaredin 1207to mark the occasion of the erection
o f a t e m p l eb y G o - T o b a H o n e n w a s p e r m i t t e d t o c o m e t o
Shikoku, There he spent about four ycars in the
K a c h i o d e r at e m p l en e a r O s a k a .I n l 2 l I M i t s u c h i k a , w h o
in keepingtrue to a promise made to Kanezanebefore the
l a t t e r ' sd e a t h t o l o o k i n t o H o n e n ' s i n t e r e s t s ,p e r s u a d e d
Go-Toba to waive completely the order of exile and
permit Honen to re-enterKyoto. Honen returned
triumphantly and was greetedby a large gathering of
f o l l o w e r sa n d a d m i r e r s ,B u t b y t h e n H o n e n ' s h e a l t h h a d
b a d l y d e t e r i o r a t e da, n d b y t h e e n d o f F e b r u a r yo f l 2 l 2 h e
w a s t a k e n s e r i o u s l yi l l . S h o r t l y a f t e r w a r d sh e d i e d . a n d
h i s r e m a i n sw e r e b u r i e d a t 6 t a n i . M r t y e t t e m p t s w e r e
madeto destroy the tomb, and it is generallybelievedthat
h i s b o n e sw e r e f i n a l l y d e p o s i t e di n t h e c o m p o u n d o f t h e
Nison-in temple.
Bfbtbgl8phy: Coates and Ishizuka" Honen, The Buddhist
Saint: His Life and Teaching, Kyoto, 1925; C. Eliot,
JapaneseBuddhism, London, 1959;M. Anesaki. Historv
of JapaneseReligion, London, 1930.
S. K. Neneyrldora
HONESTY (ajjava, ujuta, ujukata, ujubhava), upright-
nessor truthfulness and also fidelity in one'srelationship'
with others,is a highly valued ethical virtue in Buddhism.
4C6 HONESTY
Honesty in word, deed and thought is absolutely
e s s e n t r ani o t o n l v f o r t h e w e l l a r e o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l b u t
a l s o f o r t h e g o o d o [ s o c i e t y ; r sw e l ] . I f o n e ' st h i n k i n g i s
c o r r e c ta n d s t r a i g h t f o r w a r c i t r s n a t u r a l t h a t h i s p o r d s a s
w e l lw o u l d b e h o n c s t .O n e c a n n o tb e h o n e s ta n d s t r a i g h t -
f o r w a r d u n l e s so n e i s f ea r l e s sa n c it o b e f e a r l e s so n e h a s t o
b e f r c e f r o r n g u i i t w h t c h i n t u r n m e a n sr h a t o n c h a s t o b e
r i g h t e o u st o b e g u i l t l e s s F
. l e n c ei t f o l l o w s t h a t o n l y a t r u l y
r i g h t e o u sp e r s o nc a n b c g c n u i n e l yh o n e s t .
H o n e s t y a n d j u s t i c e a r e t w o v e r y c l o s e l yc o n n e c t e d
concepts or it may be said that honesty is a virtue
b e l o n g i n gt o t h e e t h i c a l g e n u sj u s t i c e ,T o b e h o n e s ti s t o
be just. And in the Buddha's teaching the concept of
j u s t i c e , i n g e n e r a l ,i s e x p r e s s e db y t h e t e r m d h a m m a o r
dharma to which one has to conform if one wishesto lead
a l i f e o f . h o n e s t y .T h e c o u r s eo f d h a m m a o r o f t r u t h i s a
s t r a i g h t o n e a n d o n e c a n n o t t r a v e l a J o n gi t u n l e s so n e i s
s t r a i g h t f o r w a r di n o n e ' st h o u g h t , w o r d a n d d e e d ,V i c w e d
from the angle of the Buddhist theory of causality,
dhamma can be calied the law of nature, by under-
standingthc functioning of which and living in conso-
nancewith which one can lead the true life of honesty.To
know the truth, ro li_veaccording to it and to preach it if
necessary(yathavadi-tathikari) would be an ideal state
o[ honest living to which only Buddha and arahantscan
Iay claim. But every human being has not only an
individual but also a social obligation to lead an honest
life, in whatever walk of life one may find oneself,
O n e c a n n o t b e h o n e s t i n o n c ' s d e a l i n g sw i t h o t h e r s
u n l e s so n e i s h o n e s tt o o n e s e l fa n d t o b e h o n e s tt o o n e s e l f
w o u l d b e t o b e c o n s c i e n t i o u si n h i s o r h e r w o r k w h a t e v e r
it mav be. This cannot be done unlessone has the courage
to acknowledgeone's defectsand frilures so that one may
rectify them. A life of honesty, which is sometimcscalled
ujupatipanna in Buddhism (D. I, p. 192; S, IV, p. 304;
V. p. 343) and in which all fraudulcnt and crooked
activities are discarded (sabbajimhavaitkakutila-
bhivipagama; VvA. p. 96 Pug. p. i9), like any other
form of virtuous living, being a part of morality or sr,fa,
cannot be regulated by a_nyoutward code of duties. This
is because that true sila in outward conduct is an
expressionof inward realisation of the value of t11",fo,
the practicc of which no effort is neededon the part of the
practiser.
O n e w o u l d m e r e . l ve n d u p a s a g o o d - h e a r t e df o o l i f o n e
w e r e t o b e m e r e l y h o n e s t w i t h o u t a t r u e k - n o w l e d g eo f
w h a t h o n e s t ym e a n s .T h e r e f o r e b e f o r e b e c o m i n gh o n e s t
o n e h a s t o e s t a b l i s ho n e s e l fo n t h e c o r r e c tp h i l o s o p h yo f
Iife (sammEdiyyhi) and hence the maxim that honesty is
the best policy has to be qualified in this light.
A. G. S. Karlyawasam
 If{ }!'F. 466 IIOPE

lJOPfi 1 . . rr. r r / f j ; , ' , ' it ic lr:ri "r,r ratUrC tO WiShfof B u d d h i s mr t c o s n i s e st h e i m p o r t a n c eo f a f e r v e n th o p e

9nj | r q ' J : r :- i : . i j ; r rl r r i i ilrillgi i : ' r " , r i r i eV . ' h o a r e b o r n i n i n t h e l i v e so f h r . r m a h n e i n g sN . o r m a l l v a { t e rp e r f o r m i n ga
a d v r r s r c i i i t r n r s ! : n c r s F l v i r ; i ] ' sI i c l n e t o b e r i c h i n t h e g o o dd e e dB u d d h i s d t e v o t e eus t t e ra s t a n z at o t h i se f f e c t :
' B ) , t h ep o w er o i t h i s m e r i t o r i c u sd e e dI e t m e n o t c o m et o
f u i u r e i n t h i s i i i e i t s e l i l r 1 ' a i i i n gt t r : r t , a t l e a s t i n t h e n e x t
life; people uhe a," rrglv hopl lo be beatrtiful and a s s o c i a t ew i t h b a d p e o p l e ; a n d l e t m e a s s o c i a t et h e
- * ' h ' r ! r : , ' i ' c' 1 . 11 - ' l i i i ir r n h o p e f o r c h i l d r e n ;
attractivn; ;renpir virtuous alone, till I attain nibbana (imina purtfia'
p e o t r r i ew l r o a r ' a r , r r { r , r l i r i : r t 1 p p 1 t o b e p o p u l a r , a n d i n kammena ma me bEtasamigamo - satam samagamo
t h i s r n a n n r r p i : 4 p l c l r , ; r r - ' : l! , o p e e i t r r t a l l v . h o t u y A v a r r r t t b a n a p a t t l r ' - a) ,n d u h e n t h i s h o p e i s
'lhought
e x p r e s s e di n or word before a tsuddhaor a
l t l " r a sb e e n t r r i i r : i ' q - df i , r r r : i ' r r f ! a n c i e n t t i m e s t h a t t h e r e d i s c i p l eo f t h e l l u d d h a ,h e t o o u t t e r sa s t a t e m e n "t W h a t -
are tlnscrll p0!v.ti 1 1 11: 1c - : r . l p 1f 6u l f l l h g p e s o f b e i n g s o n c v e r y o u w i s h f o r m a v i t b e s o o n a c h i e v ed ; l e t a l l v o u r
ea r t h , D u u n g erl i\' {;-gverlictirrres peopie believed that aspirationb s e f u l f i l l e d ,l i k e t h e m o o n o n t h e f i f t e e n t hd a y
t h c r c w e r e , i i u i r r i t i r s , r l [ [ 1 r ;r v i n d , r a i n , t h e s u n a n d t h e licchitam patthitam tuyham khippamet'a samijjhatu -
moon, davrn ctc. and ttra.tthcse divinities presided over pire n tu sabbasamkappa cando pan narasoyatha - DhpA.
t h e d c s t i n i r s o J ' i t ' r i t io, n e A rt h a n r Jp e r t p l e b e l i e v e d t h a t b y I V , p . 2 0 0 ) " .E v e n i n t h e c a s eo f a B u d d h a t h e c o u r s e o f
praying tq tlreiir alrd ir'/ placatrirg them thel' could get a c t i o n w h i c h c u l m i n a t e si n t h e a t t a i n m e n to f B u d d h a -
their hopes fuililled. A rennant o{ such beliefs is evident h o o d , s t a r t sw i t h a f c r v e n t h o p e ( a b h i n i h a r a ) t o b e c o m e
from the episode of Suj.{ta (./, l, p. 6B) who had in answer a B u d d h a ,w h i c h i s e x p r e s s e idn t h e p r e s e n c eo [ a n o t h e r
t o a p r a y e r n r l d r e s s e r tJo t h e p r e s i d i n g d e i t y o f a h u g e t r e e B u d d h a , w h o , k n o w i n g t h i s w o u l d p r o n o u n c et h a t t h e
g o t a s o n a r i d c a r n e t h e r " er ' , ' i t ha p o t o l m i i k p o r r i d g e t o b e B o d h i s a t t a ' sh o p e w o u l d b e f u l f i l l e d d u r i n g s u c h a n d
offercd to ttre deitv as a rnark of gr:atitude. [n the s u c h a t i m e i n t h e d i s t a n t _ f u t u r eS. u m e d h a d e v e l o p e d
Brihmana period a marked development is seenin this s u c ha h o p e a t t h e f e e to f D i p a m k a r a B u d d h a( J . i , I 5 f , ) .
ficld^ Sacrificr plnvecl En irnportant role in the religion of Avadana{ataka contuns stories about devoteeswho
t h e t i m e . i t { a r t i : a r f t r r { ir i l u a l i s m h a d d c v e l o p c d t o a v e r y m a d ev a r i o u so f f e r i n g st o B u d d h a sa n d P a c c e k aB u d d h a s
high degree Bturj-the crrrect performarce of rituals was a n d h o p e d t o b e c o m e B u d d h a sa n d P a c c e k aB u d d h a si n
believed to have in it the efficacy of fulfilling the hope and the future. In the case of all of them, their future
s s p i r a t i o n s o t t h e p e r - fo r m e r c f t h e s e r i t u a l s . a s p i r a t i o n sw e r e p r o p h e s i e d( A r s . B S T , N o . I 9 , C h a p . I
BudrJhism rrjected thc idea. of cxternal forccs that & 3 ) b y t h e B u d d h a a t w h o s ef e e tt h e r e s o l u t i o nw a s m a d e .
'14
determine thr: life of b:ings on tarth. It is mar's actions The story of Suvannatilaka(Rsv. p. ff.) illustrates
'nis h a r b o u r e d a f t e r p e rforming a meri-
that d;termine hfe. ii he seltcts the pa.th of progress how a fervent hope
and do*s good nnd hccornes virtuous he will be rewardcd torious deedwas fulfilled in a later life. As a lav devotee
accofdirrgly in this lii" rriri!irr the lives lo come, and if he shewent to a templeand made an offering of flowers to
s e l e e t s t o a r ' : to t h e r w i - r c l r e w i l l a c c r u e t o t h e f r u i t s o f h i s t h e B u d d h aa n d h o p e dt o b e a n e x t r e m e l yb e a u t i f u l g i r il n
actions. In the Mette,sutra 1.Sn r'. 143; it is said that a h e r n ex t l i f e .
man who has an ajm to achicve something should work
o n t h a t l i n e c l i l i g e n t l v . l i , rt h i s r es p e c t t h e t h o u g h t s o f m e n H o p e o r p a t t h a n Ai s n o t a l w a v sa c c o m p a n i e db y g o o d
a r e i m p o r t a n t b c c a u s e a l Jt h i n e s a r e a c t i v a t e d b y t h o u g h t s o r m e r i t o r i o u s a c t i o n s .a n d n o t a l w a y s m o t i v a t e d b y
(cittena nivati /oko. ,ji. I" p. 39). The same idea is t a n h a o r d e s i r et o a c h i e v et h i n g sf o r o n e ' so w n s e l f .T h e r e
p r e s e n t e di n t h e l i n e s : " A l l p h e n o m e n a h a v e m i n d a s t h e i r a r e i n s t a n c e so f p a t t h a n ab e i n g m o t i v a t e db y h a t r e d o r
forerunner. Mjnd is the precrrrsor of all things (mano' d o s a . w h e r e p e o p l e I ' o w v e n g e a n c eo n o t h e r s f o r h a r m
'I
pubbaitgamE dhamma - Dhp r'. 1). hus in this parti- done to them. A good instance is the Kaliyakkhini
cular context, hope. too, has a placc in human conduct. e p i s o d ec o m i n g i n t h e D h a m m a p a d a t t h a k a t h a ( 1 . p p .
I n t h i l w o r l d , v r h e n a c t i v i t i e s o f b e i n g s a r e a n a l - v s ed , i t i s 41-51\. A mzur brought a second wife as his first wife
seen tha,t it is srrrirr:kinil ol hopc that ultimatelv c o u l d n o t b e a r h i m a c h i l d . W h e n t h e s e c o n dw i f e w a s
c u l m i n a t e s i n n n y 3 c : t i < ) n ,f o r i n s t a n c e a m a n s e e i n g pregnant for a few months the first wife caused an
another leading a ccntfotlah'le life. iivirrg in a large a b o r t i o no n h e r t h r o u g h f e a r t h a t i f a c h i l d w a s b o r n t o
mansion ancl going ilhortt in luxuri'.rus convevances h e r s h e c o u l d b e c o m et h e h u s b a n d ' sf a v o u r i t e .T h e s a m e
d e v e l o r : s a d e s i r e t a l e a ' l i r . r c ha l i { c h i m s e l f a n d h o p e s t o thing was done when she was with child for the second
a c h i e v e h i s a i n r s u n r r r J ' r ] ' .I f h e r J e s i r e st o a c h i e v e i t i n t h i s a n d t h i r d t i m e s a n d s h ed i e d a t t h e t h i r d a b o r t i o n . W h i l e
l i f e i t s el f h e r v i l l f o l t o r v 3 i r - r L ! : : i €o f a c t i o n b y w h i c h h e c a n d y i n g s h e v o w e d v e n g e ? r n coen t h e f i r s t w i f e a n d h o p e d
a c q u i i ' e t h r m e r ^ n st o a c h i e v e h i s r n d . [ f h e c a n n o t a c h i e v e t h a t s h ei n t h e n ex t l i f e w o u l d b e b o r n i n a p o s i t i o nt o e a t
i t i r r r t i i c u , ' n t l r J . : " r riJj l i r : i c l . , r i r l l o r e \ ' € n t o t h i n k o f t h e u p t h e p r o g e n vo f t h e f i l s t r v i f e .H a v i n gd i e d s h ew a s b o r n
t l l f q ^ t l i .r ' r j p 1 i 1 i 1 " ' , ' 1 1i 1. "i ;1 r 1i , ' 1 ! i i j r , i ; r ' l i ) a l - - h i e v ei t i n a n a f t e r a s a c a t i n t h e s a m eh o u s eh o l d . T h e h u s b a n dw h o c a r n et o
lifr n . n r Jy , r , r F
t r
i r , f i : { l l ) ' ; r l 1 . , ' , r : t : ; i l r t t i g U Sd e r d S t h a t
l' know about the whole affair beat the first wife to death
rvr:r-rld h t l r r h i m t r i t r r l l l i , r i ' i r " l . : ' i l a l u t t l r e l i f e. a n d s h e w a s b o r n a s a h e n i n t h a t s a m eh o u s e .W h e n t h e
 TIORNEF.,[. T$. 467 IlilEt\I"',q, L B.

h e n l a i d e g g s t h e c a t i c v o u r e . . - .r!h e m a : ; i a ! t r r s r r m * t i r n e a D d t r , i t t r l : , i i r . r r l r r t : t j ) - rt r ) l a i l - r i : a ! i . e n , , . aa n r j
Scuth
she preved on the hen herseif.Ls th* heri lreri i; tlte :-irip
A l r i c : . . i : , , " : , s - ' , - i r r r : ni i!,:' : . l , . l i r j v j s l : r ( r i h e l s i a n C
that
o i ' t h e c a t s h e v o w e d v e n g e a m c sc l t i t e c a t . j i i e h e r r w a s
B u d < ;h ; ; i n 1: r s t . : r ' . ' . :i j e: a i t . j . 1 , . , . , S i rr i e ;l i i i r r J 5 t w n h
am
reborn as a leopardess an<i ilrr cat as a Coe. -fhe ' . 1
as [-ibr0t]iri irt r:; i i n d i l : . , , r r : r ' r l: h r r e u l { : l l , } 1 6 . H t r
icopardess ate rlp thc young clnes,::rhe {oe as thcl,,werr
e l e c t i ; n t i r i i f - l l ' ) i r . - i ; . p i i i i l , e L r - , l i l B , ch e 1 p t , , i
her in her
b r ; r n a n d i i n a i i v a t e u p t h e o u e h e r s e j l ' . . , \ st h e d o c c i t e t i
f c a : i g i i l 'ji; ; i 1 , 1 1 ; 1 ; i i i : t ; r ) t i i r , . , , ; 3 r i . . i ! : l l ff . , . 3
. h e W a SC i l
s l , e a g a i n ' . i ; r 1 ' de y f n g e r j l c e o n i h e ! e c p a r d e s s . i n t i r e i r
t h l : g i ' i : ' i i i ; r , l l ' r , lr ' , . ' . f : l { i 1i;: o : : . r: i c , l l l 9 ] , j t o i 9 4 9 .
She
n c . r l b i r t h t h e l e o p a r d e s s\ ! . a : t ' c i n a s a v { l u n g g i r l a n d t h e
a l i r , a v s. i t , l o r . , c Ici t r r - , ; r : i i r i r t r i : r i i a : t { h i t r , i.h r : l l s c
built
dct as a i'akkhlni. fhe l,,ui:g git! r,;asmarrieC to a.
u p a n e r : i r r r r ' , ' -l i i : r a : i 1 : . ' . t : t ' - . i l I s r . r 1 . ; , i - 1 1 1 1 , r o , t n d
wealthy_houssholder. Whcn a babl- was born to her, the
t h e s p l e n d ' i r u c l e u s c r i i h c r , ' n l r : r i rres c c j i e c t r t i n w h i c h
'I'he
yakkhini camr and snatched it arvav. same thing was w a s p r e s e n t c Ct o h e r b l ' l r l r d ' . h t l m r r . s , h r l k i n s r n a n "
in
done the second time also. The vakkhini came again
1921. Iler cxtcnsive krio,*irdse i;i,,.arious aspe;ts
of
when the third was born, but it rvas saved bv the l i b r a r i a n s h i p . i n c i u c j i n g c . a n : l f1 ; r t i o n n i - r , r a n u s c r i
pts.
inten'entir:n of the Buddha.
s e l e c t i o n a n d c o - o r r l i n a r i o n f c l r r : d i t o r i a i p u r p o s e s ,w a s
ol
immense value not onll to th*-Irali Tex t Socittv's
It has become the custom of many present day library
b u t a l s o I o n u m e r o u s v o u n g s c h o J a r sr v h o c a l n e t o
Buddhists in Sri Lanka to appeal for help from gods and her for
guidance.
deities to get their hopes fulfilled, and in rhis respect
prayers addressedto the god of Kataragama has become
ffir'
verv common. His aid is sought for various things for
ff'

ffi
s u c c e s si n b u s i n e s s v e n t u r c s , s u c c e s si n p o l i t i c a l s t r u g g l e s ,
:$Ti
s u c c e s sa t e x a m i n a t i o n s . r e c o v e r v f r o m i l l h c a l t h c t c .

W. G. Weeraratna
furi
9t1t't'

H O R N E R , I S A L I I I E B L E W ( 1 8 9 6 - t 9 8 1 ) .B u d d h i s t
scholare , d i t o r a n d t r a n s l a t o rc r fp a l i T c x t s a n d t h e m o s t
d o m i n a n t f i g u r e o f t h e P a l i - f e x t S o c i e t y .L o n d o n , f r o m
1 9 4 2u n t i l h e r d e a t h . W h e n M r s . C , A . F . R h y s D a v i d s .
t h e w i d o w o f P r o f e s s o rT . W . R h v s D a v i d s ,t h e f o u n d e r
o f t h e P a l iT e x r S o c i c t y ( l8 8I ) , d i e di n 1 9 4 2 M i s sH o r n e r
b e c a m et h e S o c i e t v ' sH o n o r a r v S e c r e t a r v[.: r o m l h e n o n
h e r s c h o l a r l va c t i v i t i e sw e r e i n v a r i a b l yl i n k e d w i r h t h e
P a l i ' f e x t S o c i e t r 'O. n t h e d e a r ho I D r . W . S t e d ei n 1 9 5 9
s h es u c c e e d etdo t h e p o s i t i o no f p r e s i c i e nwt h i c h s h eh e l d
a l m o s tu n t i i h e r d e a t h .S h ew a s a l s oH o n o r a r vl - r e a s u r e r
o [ t h e S o c i e t vf r o n r I 9 5 9 a n d m a n a g e di t s f i n a n c e s o w e l l
t h a t t h e p u b l i c a t i o np r o g r a m m eo f t h e S o c i e t vc o n t i n u e d
v e r v s m o o t h l v d ' : s p i t et h e l a r g e n u m b e r o f w o r k s
published.
S h e w a s b o r n i n 1 8 9 6a t W a l t h a m s t o wi n E s s e xr o
p a r e n t sw i t h a p r o u d f a m i l y h i s t o r y .A t a n e a r l ya g ew h e n
s h ew a sj u s t t w e i v ey e a r so l d s h eh a d t h e o p p o r t u n i t v o f
m e e t i n g P r o f e s s o r a n d M r s . R h y s D a v , i d sw h i c h l e f t a
l a s t i n gi m p r e s s i o no n h e r . A f t e r l e a v i n gs c h o o li n S u r r e y
s h ee n t e r e dC a m b r i d g ei n I 9 l 4 a n c lo b t a i n e dh e r T r i p o s
i n t h e M o r a l S c i e n c e isn 1 9 1 7 .S h ew a s a t t a c h e dt o t h e
Y a t e sT h o m p s o n L i b r a r y a t N e w n h a m , h e r C o l l e g ei n
C a m b r i d g ef r o m l 9 l 8 r o l 9 2 l a n d w a s m a d e a c r . i n g
L i b r a r i a n i n i 9 2 0 . l n l a t e r l i f e s h e b e q u e a t h e da w e l l
e q u i p p e dw i n g n a m e d a f t e r h e r r o t h e l i b r a r l - ( . 1 9 6 2 )
w h e r ea b r o n z eb u s t o f h e r sn o w s t a n d s .I n l 9 2 l s h em a d e
h e r f i r s t v i s i t t o S r i L a n k a , a l s ov i s i t i n g I n d i a a n d B u r m a
fri'
ffii
,ffii
| ,qi
r$
H e r a c t u a l s t u d r .o f p a l i c o m m e n c c dw i t h h e r b e i n g
introduced to the Dhammapada by Dr. Kenneth
S a u n d e r sd u r i n g o n e o f h i sv i s i t st o E n g l a n d .H c r m a i d e n
r e s e a r c hp r o j e c t .w i t h l \ i r s . R h v s D a v i d s , g u i d a n c ew, a s
her studv: ll'omen under prjntitive Buddhism(published
1 9 3 0 ) .S h e w a s s e l e c r e da s r l r e f i r s r S a r a h S m i t h s o n
R e s e a r c hF e l l o r vi n t r a l i d r r r i n gt h e c n u r s eo f t h i s s t u d y .
T h e e i f t o f t h c C h a l m e r sc o l l e c t i o ng a v e h e r a n a d d e d
i m p e t u sr r r w a r d sh e r f u r t h e r s t u C yo f p a l i " I t w & i d u r i n g
t h e c o u r s e o f h e r a s s i s t a n c ei n t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f
C h a l m e r s ' e c l i t i o na a d t r a n s l a t i o no f t h e S u t t a n i p a t a i n
t h e [ i a n ' a r d O r i c n r a l S e r i e s( V o l . 3 7 , 1 9 3 2 )t h a t s h e
gained an earlv training in book production, proof
r e a d i n g ,d i s p r l a yi n
, d e x i n gz u r ds o o n . - f h e b e n e f i to f h e r
 HORNER"I. B. 468
v a s t k n o w l e d g ea - n de x p e r i e n c eg a i n e dw i t h t h e p a s s a g e
o f t i m e w a s a v a i l a b l et o s t u d c n t so f P a l i a l l o v e r t h e w o r l d
i n c l u d i n ge d i t o r sa n d t r a n s l a t o r sf o r t h e P a l i T e x t S o c i e t y
i n t h e p r o d u c t i o no f t h e l a r g ea r r a y o f b o o k s d u r i n g h e r
r c u u r eo l o f f i c e a s S e c r e t a r ya n d P r e s i d e n t .
I t w a s d u e t o h e r i n d e f a t i g a b l el a b o u r s a n d c a r e f u l
p l a n n i n g t h a t t h e P T S h a s r i s e n t o s u c h e m i n e n c ee v e n
t h o u g h i t s p u b l i c a t i o n s e n j o v c d g r e a t p r e s t i S ea m o n g
s c h o l a r sf r o m t h e v e r v b e g i n n i n ga n d w e r e l o o k e d u p t o
b y t h e w o r l d o f l e a r n i n g . P T S v o l u m e s a p p e a r e dw i t h
great regularitvand in such large number over the last
q u a r t e r o f a c e n t u r y t h a t p e r h a p sn o o t h e r s e r i e si n t h e
United Kingdom could rival its productivity. When the
Societv was in a bad way financially, it was her generosity
t h a t s u p p o r t e di t . S h e e v e n d o n a t e d t h e p r o c e e d so f t h e
s a l eo f h e r h o u s ei n N o t t i n g H i l i G a t e t o t h e S o c i e t ya n d
c r e a t e da s p e c i a lt r u s t .
The original plan of the founder of the PTS was to
p u b l i s h t h e P a l i C a n o n a n d t h e C o m m e n t a r i e si n R o m a n
s c r i p t . T h i s w a s l a t e r e x t e n d e dt o t h e t r a n s l a t i o n o f t h e
texts. A few Buddhist Sanskrit and Ardhamigadhi texts
w e r e a l s o p u b l i s h e d .M i s s H o r n e r i n a u g u r a t e dt h e p u b l i -
cation of the Tikas which has not made much progress
after the initid publication. As a Centenary project she
also commencedthe seriesof translationsto the commen-
taries -starting with her translation of Madhurattha-
vilasini(1978).From the time shetook office as Secretary
s h e s a w t o i t t h a t n o b o o k r e m a i n e do u t o f p r i n t f o r t o o
t o n g a n d b r o u g h t o u t r e p r i n t s a t r e g u l a r i n t e r v a l s .N e w
editions of works published earlier too have appeared
w h e n f a c s i m i l er e p r o d u c t i o n sw e r e c o n s i d e r e du n s u i t a -
b l e . T h e e n t i r es e r i e so f J o u r n a l s o f t h e P a l i T e x t S o c i e t y
w h i c h w a s c o n c l u d e di n 1 9 2 7 ,w a s a l s o r e p r i n t e di n l 9 8 l
t o g e t h e rw i t h t h e a d d i t i o n o f a c e n t e n a r yv o l u m e ,
ln morc recent years she has reviseda large number of
older PTS editions adding notes on corrections to the
text in additional pagesin photographic facsimilereproduc-
tions.
A l i t t l e k n o w n f a c t i s h e r g c n e r o s i t ye x t e n d e d t o t h e
s e v e r a lB u d d h i s t t e m p l e si n a n d a r o u n d L o n d o n a n d t o
o v e r s e B ss t u d e n t s w h o n e e d e d f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t . S h e
adviscd, encouraged and inspired students and was ever
r e a d y t o a c k n o w l e d g ew h e r e m e r i t w a s d u e . S h e g a i n e d
worldwide recognition as a pioneer and promoter of
B u d d h i s t s t u d i e s .l n r e c o g n i t i o n o f h e r c o n t r i b u t i o n t o
Pa.lilearning the Univenity of Ccylon conferred upon her
the degree of Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) in 1964
a n d t h e B r i t i s h G o v e r n m e n ta p p o i n t e dh e r t o t h e O B E i n
1980.
Commencing with her maiden visit to Sri Lanka in
1 9 2 1 ,w h e n s h e f i r s t g a i n e d a n i n t e r e s ti n B u d d h i s m , s h e
has beenvisiting that country on many occasions.In 1950
n6nwn
r h c l e d t h e B r i t i s h d e l e g a t i o nt o t h e i n a u g u r a l s e s s i o n so f
t h e W o r l d F e l l o w s h i po f B u d d h i s t sh e l di n K a n d y . [ n t h e
s a m e v e a r s h e d e l i v e r e dt h e D o n a A l p h i n a R a t n a y a k e
T r u s t l e c t u r e .H e r v i s i t sm a d e p r a c t i c a l l ye Y e r yo t h e r y e a r
c o n t i n u e du n t i l t h e l a t es i x t i e s .D u r i n g h e r v i s i t ss h em a d e
p e r s o n a lc o n t a c tw i t h l e a d i n gm o n k s a n d l a y s c h o l a r s .
S h e w a s a s c e t i ci n h c r w a y o f l i f e a n d h e r w a n t s w e r e
f e w , S h e l o v e d f r e s h a i r , s u n s h i n ea n d w i d e o p e n s p a c e s .
S h e w a l k e d r e g u l a r l y , l o v e da n i m a l s a n d p l a n t l i f e a l i k e .
C o m m e n i i n g w i t h h e r m a i d e n p u b l i c a t i o n ,s h e h a s i n
her lifetime produced a number of major works
i n c l u d i n g e d i t i o n s a n d t r a n s l a t i o n so f P a l i t e x t s a m o n g
her learned contributions totalling over 200, inclusive of
b o o k r e v i e w s .T h e f o l l o w i n g i s a s e l e c t e db i b l i o g r a p h y o f
her major works basedon that given in:.Buddhist Studies
i n H o n o u r o f L B , H o r n e r e d i t e db y L . C o u s i n s ,A . K u n s t
and K. R. Norman.
Wornen under -Primitive Buddhr'sm, London, 1930'
Papaffcasidani (Majjhima Commentary) Text, Vols.
L ,o n d o n 1 9 3 3 , 1 9 3 7 ,
3 , 4 , 5 . P T S .T e x t S e r i e s , 8 3 , 8 4 , 8 5
1938.
The Early Buddhist Theory of Man Perfected, London
1934.
M ad watt h avilEsi n i ( Bud dh avamsa C omment ary).
P T S . T e x t S e r i e s ,L o n d o n , 1 i 4 6 ,
Living Thoughts of Gotama, the Buddha, (With Ananda
C o o m a r a s w a m y )A n A n t h o l o g y , L o n d o n , 1 9 4 8 .
The Teaching of the Elders' in Buddhist Texts Through
the Ages (ed. by E, Conze), Oxford 1954'
The Middte l*n7th Sayings (Maijhima Nikaya),
Translation (Vols. 29,30,31,PTS. Translation Series,
L o n d o n 1 9 5 4 ,1 9 5 7 ,i 9 5 9 .
Ten Jitaka Stories,Text and Translation, London 1957,
Anthology of Early Buddhist Poetry, Colombo 1963.
M i li nd a I Q uesti o ns ( M ili nd ap a frh a) T t enslation Vols.
22 and 23 PTS. SBB, London 1963& 1964.
Vimanavatthu; Stories of the Mansions, Translation,
The Minor Anthologiesof the Pali Canon, Part IV,
PTS. SBB,XXI London,1974.
Chronicle of the Buddhas (Buddhavamsa) and Basket ol'
Conduct (Cariyapitaka) Translation. The Minor
Anthologiesof the Pali Canon, Part III, PTS' SBB,
XXXI, London,1975.
The Clarifier of Sweet Meaning (lVladhuratthavilasini)
T r a n s l a t i o n o f t h e P a l i C o m m e n t a r i e sN o . l , P T S :
SBB. XXXIII. London, 1978.
N. A. Jayewhkrama
ffOnYf]n. A Buddhist remple tocated to the southwest
of Nera. It was originally built in 607 A.C. under the
 Honyfrrr 469 HORYUJI

p a t r o n a g eo f P r i n c eS h o t o k u , R e g e n to f E m p r e s sS u i k o . T h e K o n d o . t h e m a i n s t r u c t u r eo f t h e W e s t e r nG a r a n
T h e H o r y [ j i h a d b e e n p a r r l y o r w h o l l y d e s t r o y e db y f i r e a t t h e H o r y u j i , h o u s c s m a n y a r c h a i c s c u l p t u r e sa n d
in 670 and rebuilt shortly after the turn of the century, f r e s c o e s .T h e t r i n i t v o f f i g u r e s i n b r o n z e , s e t i n r e l i e f
H o w e v e r ,s o m eo f t h e b u i i d i n g ss t i l l s t a n d i n gt o d a y a t t h e against flaming body halos, is placed on a platform.
Horyuji are said ro be rhe oldest woodcn buildings in the A c c o r d i n g t o t h o , i n s c r i p t i o nf o u n d b e h i n dt h e b i g h a l o .i t
world. w a s c a s ti n 6 2 3 A , C , t o c o m m e m o r a t et h e d e a t ho f p r i n c e
B u d d h i s t t e m p l e so f t h i s a g ew e r e a r r a n g e di n a p a t t e r n S h o t o k u , T h e c e n t r a lf i g u r e i n t h e t r i n i t y i s t h e h i s t o r i c a l
k n o w n a s G a r a n . T h e G a r a n s t r u c t u r e s ,t h o u g h v a r i e di n B u d d h a S a k y a m u n i f l a n k e d b v t w o a t r e n da n t
n u m b e r a n d a r r a n g e m e n t ,u s u a l l y h a d c e r t a i n c o m m o n b o d h i s a t t v a s .T h e B u d d h a i s s e a t e dc r o s s - l e g g e do n a
features:a roofed gallery in a square or rectaagularform, higher dais. Features on the irnage such as an oval face,
with an entrance gate in the centre of its southern side c u r v e d e y e b r o w s ,l o n g s h a p e l ye a r se t c . ,g i v c t h e e x p r e s -
e n c l o s i n gt h e m a i n c o m p o u n d o f t h e t e m p l e ;a g o l d e nh a l l sion of his extra-ordinary wisdom. The right hand is
(Kondo) to house the temple's principal images of raised in abhal,a-mudra and it gives assursnce against
devotion; a lecturehall(Kodo'); and at leastone pagoda, a fear. The open palm is a sign of charity. Betweenfingers
type of building derived from the Indian stupa aad a r e s c e nw e b s w h i c h s y m b o l i c a l l ys h o w t h a t n o t a s i n g l e
o r i g i n a l l y i n t e n d e d t o c o n t a i n t h e r e l i c so f t h e B u d d h a o r being will be left out when the Buddha savesall in the
a Buddhist saint. At the Horyuji there are two Garan world from suffering. Long nails are also anothcr charac-
s t r u c t u r e s t; h e ' S a i - i n ' G a r a n ( W e s t e r ne u a r t e r s ) a n d t h e teristic feature of the Asuka sculptures.
'To-in'
G a r a n ( E a s t e r n Q u a r t e r s ) .T h e f o r m e r i n c l u d e s T h e T w o a t t e n d a n t b o d h i s a t t v a ss t a n d o n t h e l o t u s
such buildings as 'Nandaimon' (South Main Gare), pedestalswith the right hands upraised. Their attire in
C h u m o n ( M i d d l e G a t e ) ,' K o n d 6 ' ( M a i n H a l l o r G o l d e n princely garb fs reminiscent of that of prince Siddhartha
H a l l ) , ' G o j [ - n o - t o ' ( F i v e - s t o r e y e dp a g o d a ) , , K a i r o ' before his renunciation. All these three figurcs of the
( C o r r i d o r ) , ' K y o z 5 ' ( S [ t r a . R e p o s i t or y ) , , S h u r o -(' B e l f r y ) , trinity wear a mvsterious smile genera.llyknown as the
'Dai-kodo' (Lecrure
Hall), ,Shoryo-in' (Hall of Holy "archaic smile".
Spirits),'Higashi-muro' (Eastern livrng quarrers).
'Tsuma-muro' l n t h e e a s t e r nc h a m b e r i s h o u s e da b r o n z ef i g u r e o f t h e
( L i v i n g q u a r t e r s ) ,. S a i g y o - i n a n d N i s h i -
muro' (Western living quarters), .Jikido, (Refectory), "Yakushi-nyorai" (Skt. Bhaisajya-guru-vaidirya-
'Saien-d5' prabha). Altbough the inscription behind the figure
(West Octagonal Hall), ,T6daimon' (East
Main Gate), 'DaihozSden' (Treasure Repository) ctc. mentions that it was casrin 607 A.C., all the available
The latter comprises'shikyakumon, (Gateway), e v i d e n c ep o i n t s t o r h e f a c t t h a l t h e f i g u r e b e l o n g st o a
'Nanmon' later period than the Buddha Sakyamuni of the trinit.v,
(South Gate),'Raid6'(Worchip Hall),,yume_
dono'(Octagonal Hall), 'Kairo' (Corridor), ,Eden and b u t t h e d a t e o f i t s c a s t i n gi s y e t t o b e d e t e r m i n e d .
Shariden'(Picture Hall and Sarira Hall), Shuro,(Belfry) I n t h e w e s t e r nc h a m b e r ,w e s e ea f i g u r e o f , A m i d a ' . l t
c r c . ( P l s .X L - X L I D . teems certain that the figure was cast imitating the
'Yakushi'of
However thesebuildings are not of the samcperiod: for the easternchamber and its featuresdefinitely
e x a m p l e ,i n t h e W e s ( e r nG a r a n , t h e K o n d o , G o j [ - n o - t o , suggest that it is of later origin, probably of the
Chumon, Kairo, and Higashimuro are said to belongto Kamalura period.
t h e p r e - N a r ap e r i o d ; t h e K y o z o , J i k i d o a n d T o d a i m o n t o The finest examples of painting from the Hal<uho
the Nara period;the Dai-kodd, Shuro and Tsuma-muro p e r i o d c a n b e s e e na m o n g t h e f r e s c o e si n t h e K a n d o a t t h e
to the Heian Period; the Shoryo-in, Hosodono, etc. H o r y u j i , T h o u g b t h e s ef r e s c o e sw e r e b a d l y d a m a g e db y
b e l o n gt o t h e K a m a l u r a p e r i o d ; t h e N a n - d a i - m o nt o t h e ' f i r e i n 1 9 4 9 ,p h o t o g r a p h st a k e n e a r l i e r i n d i c a t e t h a t t h e
M u r o m a c h i p er i o d . l a r g ew a l l s o f t h e e a s t ,w e s t a n d n o r t h w e r e a d o r n e dw i t h
ln the compound surrounded by the corridorslie the the Pure Lands of the Buddha Sakyamuni.the Amida
Kondo on the east and the Goju-no-to (pagoda) on the Buddha" the Miroku (Maitreyya) and the yakushi res-
west. It was formerly thought that the Garan lay-out of p e c t i v e l y .T h e l i n e s d e p i c t i n g a l l t h e s ei m a g e sa r e c a l l e d
the Horyuji had been prevalent even from the Asuka wirelike (tessenbyo) in contrast to rhe alternately rhick
periodalong with the other type where the pagoda and a n d t h i n l i n e s .R e d a n d g r e e na r e t h e b a s i cc o l o u r s a n d a
Kondo are arranged in-front-and-in-the-rcar style seen,for brilliant mixture of colours is achieved.Thesetechniques
are smong the best examplesof T'ang painting of China.
example, at the Shitennoji temple. Researchesbasedon
all the evidencenow available sbow that the Garan style Blblbgraphy':
at the Horyuji does not go beyond the mid-7th century Takeshi Kuno & Katichi Suzuki; Horyuji,', Fine Arts of
A . C a n d i t i s v e r y m u c h i n c o n s o n a n c ew i t h t h e t y p e o f Japan in Colours, Vol, II, 2nd revised edition, Tokyo,
Ujidera templeswhich were built on a small scale by 1 9 8 1 . H . P a u l V a r l e y ; J a p a n e s eC u l t u r e , t h i r d e d i t i o n .
provincia.lclans during the Hakuho period. T o k y o , 1 9 8 4 ,R o b e r r T r e a t P a i n e & A l e x a n d e r S o p e r ;
 }IOSPT'I'ALIT'Y 470 IIOSPN ALIT}'

t he, rt end Arthittcl$re {}l.Iarian in the !'elr-:an Histor"v t h e f e e t , a r g h . t ' aw a t e r , w a t e r f o r s i p p i n g , t h e h o n e v

o{Art, e d i i e d h r ; ;i ' J r k c " a u s i - e v i ; : t r - . [ l r c s l F i i i t a i r r . I 9 5 5 :
Hisao lnag,akr, A l)tctt<tnary ol Japanesc Buddhist
Terms,2nd rijrir.,n. Kyota. i985.
'l'.
Endo
HOSPITAL\,'I "a', ;Vtj thr-:,j'*,i.i : beraj elleita in ment of
g u e s t so r s t r a n g e i s . rA : ^ l i e r t f r a t u r c o f B u d d h i s ts o c i a l
e t h i c s ,y e t n o t a c u s t r , i . n' . ! i l i q J er i c : i g i r r a l t o B u d d h i s m .
A s a c u s t o r nw i d e s p r e a di h r r r t i f l h o r r t h e a n c i e n t w o r l d
e a c hn a t i o n . c n u n t r y o r c u l t r i r a l g r i r r . r ph a d i t s o w n r u l e s
o f h o s p i t a l i t vr l c f i n e da r r d c s t a b l : s h e db 1 't r a d i t i o n o r b y
r e l i g i o n ,p o l i t i c a l i d e a l a n d s o m et i m e s e v e n b y e c o n o m i c
n e e d s . 2l n I n d i a j t r c c ei v e C r e i i g i o u s s a n c t i o n f r o m t h e
e a r l i e s tR g v c d i ct i m c s a r r cti h c , , rif* r ' i n go f h o s p i t a l i b vt o a
d e s e r v i n gg u e s tw a s c o n s i d e l e ' is s a c r c dd u t y o f h o u s c -
h o l d l i f e . l n t h e R g v e d a ,A g n i ( G o d c f F i r e ) , a g o d m o s t
intimateiy connected with rhe reiigious duties of a
h o u s e h o l d e ra, n d a l s o r e g a r d e t la s t h e n t e s s e n g eorf g o d s ,
-I
i s c a l l e d t h e g u e s t o f m e n . r h r s d i v i n e c h a r a c t e ra t t r i -
b u t e d t o a g u e s ti s r n u c h m o r c c v i e i r n ti n t h e A t h e r v *
v e d d w h e r ee a c ha c t o l h c s p i t a l i t yi : i d o r r t i f i e dw i t h s o m c
p h a s ei n t h e s a c r i f i c ct o g o c i s ". H a v c t h y g u e s ta s t h y g o d "
(Atithidevc bhava.) says the T-artttriJ'atipanrsa<i6while
another work calls hirn a svnthesis of all gods (sarva-
devamayotithih). Hcrspitalit5,,according to Manu,6 is
o n e o f t h e f i v e g r e a t s a c r i f i c e st h a t s h o u l d b c o f f e r e db y a
b o u s c h o l d er . I t i s c a . l l e dt h e s a c r i f i c ct o h u r n a n b e i n g s
(manusya-yai6a/or the respecrfuirectption of brahamrns
(brihmya-huta). However, only the brahmins have the
'flie
privilege of being guests(atithi) Ksatriyas, Vaiiyas
a n d S u d r a sa l s o m a y b c t r e a i e d k i n d l y h y s h o u s e h c l d e r
b u t h e i s n o t o b l i g e dt o o f f e i h o s p i t a l i t i , t o a n y o n e o t h e r
t h a n a b r a h m i n . O t h e r s w h c c a n n o t b e t r e a t c da s g u e s t s
are, people seekinga livelihoo<ithrough sociai inter-
c o u r s c ,f r i e n d s ,r e l a t i v e sa n d t c a c h e r s ,M a r i u d e f i n e st h e
t e r m a t i t h i E sa b r a h m i n w h o s t a l ' sc n i y f o r o n e n i g h t , f o r
his stay (sthiti)is not iong 1'anityary).However according
to other law booksT, arghya, offering mcan( for guests,
c a n b em a d e t o a s n a t a k a a , k i n g , a t e a c h e r ,a n o f f i c i a t i n g
p r i e s t ,a f r i e n d , f a t h e r - i n - l a w ,p a t e r n a lu n c l eo r m a t e r n a l
u n c l e .T h i s o f f e r i n g s h o u l d i n c i u d e a s e a t ,w a t c r t o w a s h
n i i x t u r c a n d a c o w . E a c hi t e m i s a c c e p t e dw i t h a r e l i g i o u s
f o r m u l a . T h e c o w m a y b e s l a u g h t e r e do r r e l c a s e da c c o r -
d i n g t o t h e w i s h o f t h e g u e s tb u t t h e a r g h y a s h o u l dn o t b e
without flesh.Hospitality is a meritoriousaction which
can result rn wea-lth,fame, long-life and heavenlv bliss,
b u t o n t h e o t h e r h a n d t h e a d v e r s e c o n s c q u e n c e so f
a eg l e c t i n gr h i s d u t y a r e m u c h g r e a t c r ." A b r a h m i n w h o
s t a y su n h o n o u r e d( i n a h o u s e )t a k e sa w a v w i t h h i m a l l t h e
s p i r i t u a l m e r i t e v c n o f a m a n w h o s u b s i s t sb y g l e a n i n g
e a r s o f c o r n , o r o f f e r s s a c r i f i c e si n t h e f i v e f i r e s t . " T h e
v e1 1 ' l a wo f K a r m a h a s b e c nn u l l i f i e d b y c a r r y i n gt h e r u l e s
o f h o s p i t a l i t yt o a b s u r e Ce x t r c m e s .
T h e r e i s a n u m b er o f t e r m s c o r r e s p o n d i n gt o t h e t e r m
' g u e s t ' u s e di n B u d d h i s tt e x t s ,T h e t w o w o r d s f r e q u e n t l y
used are atithi and agantuka, the latter being more often
used in refercnce to guest monks (agantuka-bhikkhu)'
The Kbuddakapatha commentary defines .atithi ss s
p e r s o n w i t h n o f i x c d t i m e t o c o m e o r , a s a S u e s tj u s t
arrived (KhA. p. 222). But the interpretriion of the
V i m E n a v a t t h r rc o m m e n t a r y i s d i f f e r e n t . I t n a m e s t w o
ciassescrf guests (igantuka), atithi and abbhagata. The
f o r m e r i s e i t h c r -a n a c q u a i n t a n c eo f t h e h o s t , o r a p e r s o n
w h o a r r i v e sa t t h e h o u s eq u i t e e a r l y b c f o r e t h e m e a l s a r e
p r e p a r c d , o r e l s e a n i n v i t e d g u e s t .T h e l a t t e r i s n o t a n
a c q u a i n t a n c eo f t h e h o s t ; h e c o m e sp r e c i s e l ya t t h e m e a l
time or comes without invitation (VvA. p. 24). The
indication is in favour of the latter. for a woman who
cffcred a chair to tn abbhigata is said to have been
reborn in heaven and received a palace called Pithavi-
ma-na( l'r., p. l). Pahuna and pahunaka are two other
w r r r d su s e di n t h e s a m es e n s e. r n dm a y a l s om e a n t h e f o o d
prepared for guests,TheVisuddhirnagga dcfines pihuna
a s a f o o d d o n a t i o n t o v i s i t o r s w h i c h i s p r e p a r e dw i t h a l l
h o n o u r f o r d e a r a n d b e l o v e d r e l a t i v e sc o m i n g f r o m t h e
four quarters ( Vrsm., p 220). Yet another term, but
seldom used is aggf a (Skt. argha) which also meansfood
p r e p a r e d f o r a g u e s t .T h e r e i s n o u n a n i m i t y a s t o t h e
definition of the term guestand one may be justified in
including under thc term a wide range of people from
n e a r e s ta n d d e a r e s tr c l a t i v e st o c o m p l e t es t r a n g e r s ,
I t w a s c u s t o m a r yo f t h e B u d d h a t o e x c h a n g cg r e e t i n g s
a n d e n g a g ei n p l e a s a n tc o n v e r s a t i o nw i t h h i s v i s i t o r s .
Oftcn the Buddha himself, or a disciple of his ws

I E R E . 6 . p . 1 9 7f f . o n H o s p i t a l i t v .
2. Enct'clopaedia of Social Sciences, Vll. 462-'o4
.l 71reHymns of the Rgteda:tr. by R T.H. Griffith: Vol. I, p.409
4 . C I S C . l , p , 1 2 6f . ' D i v i n i t l ' o f t h e C u e s t ' b y H . N . H o c a r t .
5 . C . A . C h a n d r a v a r k a . rA; M a n u a l o f H i n d u E t h i c s p , 2 A
6. SBE XXV. pp. 87-88:91-97
1 . S B E .X X I X . p p . 8 7 & p . 1 9 7f .
8 . t h i d .X X V . p . 9 3
9. W. Rahula'. Historv of Buddhism in Cevlon, 18l.
 HOSPITALITY 471 I{{}:,{'l t,.rl ii;-

r e s p e c t f u l i yr e c e i v ed a t t h e d w e l i i n g o f o t h e r r e c l u s e sa n d
c a l l e d a t i m e l y g i f t 1 A . , l l l , p 4 l ; : r r i t ir l i e i a r i r i t v r n . . . v i r i c h
b r a h a m i n s( M . 1 ,p , 5 1 4 ;I I , p . 4 l l ) . R e s p e c t f urle c e p t i o n
m e a . l sa r e p r e p a r e d i n t t r n c h a v * , u r i a < i ra, i i t a g c r ; i t e e i l i n g
o f g u e s t ss e e m st o h a v e b e e n a c u s t o m c o m m o n t o t h e
t h e i r g u e s t si n r i m e ( A . , I I l , p . ? 5 0 ; f i i J s t ) i r a l j r i , ras i s o
une
membersof all the religiousgroups.Elaboraterulesdefining o f t h e s a . f e s tw a y s . f d e p . r s i i i i r g o n c ' : s , ' - : i l i r rf). r t l i r
the duties of a Buddhist monk towards his guest are frrlure
( K h p , V l l l , r ' v . 6 - 7 1 .A p e r s o n ; r l.t i , u i . , , : .t ;i c r
l e r : i 1i i r r : l t r s e s
found in the Vinaya Cullavagga..A resident monk on
and brahmins who come to lhe ir,rrlrs at ir:ealtirrir
s e e i n ga s e n j o r m o n k a p p r o a c h i n gt h e m o n a s t e r vs h o u l d is fit to
be called Bn outcasl (vasa!a) a:rti *.,,cir sc is ihr lri;:j1,\tho
p r e p a r ea s e a t .b r i n g w a t e r t o w a s h h i s f e e t , a f o o t * s t o o l
e a t s g o o d f o o d a t o t h c r s , h c r r s e s . l , r u t r l a es i r u t r : n t c r t a i n
a n d a l s oa f o o t - s t a n d .H e s h o u l dg o f o r w a r d a n d r e c e i v e
h i s o w n g u e s r s( S n . r . o . i 2 g . I j 0 )
his bowl and robe and rhen offer him a drink and if
p o s s i b l em a y w i p e h i s s a n d a l s T E v i d e n t l y t h e f J u d d i i a a i c , : p i e , Jt i r c b r , r e v o l e n t
. h e g u e s tm o n k s h o u l d b e ;rr.incipie
g r e c t e da n d h i s i o d g i n g sa r r a n g e df o r h i m . H e a l s os h o u l d u n d e r l y i n g a l l a c t s o f h o s p i t a l i t ] b l l t j ( r : ;c l ea r t h a t
he did
b e g i v e n i n s t r u c t i o n sr e g a r d i n gt h e p r o p e r a n d i m p r o p e r not subscribe to the wh.lc set .f ijrui;arna'i.*i rlrles
alms-resorts,washing and drinking water, privies and the pertaining to it. Instead of connee Iil,d thrs custc_rrn
with
a g r e e m e n t so f t h e O r d er . A s en i o r m o n k s h o u l d g i v e t h e the worship of gods, an atfempr has been rnade to
give
n e c e s s a r yi n s t r u c t i o n s f r o m h i s o w n s e a t ( V i n . , l I , p . rational arguments in f avour of it, A guest rrronk cloes
not
2 0 1 - 2 1 l ) .T h e c o m m e n t a r y e x p l a i n s t h a t i f t h e g u e s t k n o w t h e r o a d s o r t h e a l m s r e s i i r t - c ,a n d t i r e d a s h e i s
from
m o n k f i n i s h e st h e f i r s t d r i n k t h e n h e s h o u l d b e o f f e r e d his journev, it is troutrlesonre for hir,r io go for
alms.
more. His feet should be washedand applied with oil. Hence at the requcst of Visakha. tire Ruddha allowed
the
Even in a large monastery one cannot refrain from monks to accept guest-iood (agantuka bhatta, Vtn. l" p.
attending upon a guest-monk who has come to him 292). Nowhere in the Brrddhrst tcxt has it been mentioned

(VinA, pp. l28l-82). According ro the Manoratha- that distinctions of casre or creed should be observed
in
p i r a n i s m o n k w h o d o e sn o t t r e a t h i s g u e s t sp r o p e r l y w i l l t r e a t i n g o n e ' s g u e s t s . T h e i g a t ; t : t k , z , S , u t t a( ^ g . V ,
pp,
b e k n o w n a s u n f a i t h f u l , i l l - m a n n e r e d , u n p l e a s a n ta n d 5l-52) refers to a guest house
fdgantuka.agara) where
m o r o s e .O t h e r m o n k s w o u l d n o t v i s i t t h e i r d w e l l i n ge v e n peopie of all castes 0arl ccrle anci rest,
and the
i f t h e v p a s sb y , w h i c h w o u l d b e a g r e a t d i s a d v a n t a g ef o r Sarabhamiga Jataka (J. I V, p. 274Jasks oiie io grve
frccly
t h e r e s i d e n t sf,o r t h e v w i l l b e d e p r i v e do f t h e a s s o c i a r i o n to all guests. Upa1i and Siha (M., I, p. il79; 1/in.l,
p. ZlA.l
w i t h l e a r n e dm o n k s . T h e D h a m m i k a S u t t a w a sp r e a c h e d two converts from Jainisrn were advised
by the Buddha
t o a m o n k w h o i l l t r e a t e dh i s g u e s t sa n d a s a c o n s e q u e n c e to continue their alms to the -laina rrroilks.
All recluses
w a s o u s t e df r o m a l l t h e m o n a s t e r i e si n a v i l l a g ob y t h e l a y and brahamins coming to his village are l,is guests
Gtithi)
d e v o t e e s( A . I I I , p . j 6 4 ) . A g u e s ti s a l s o o n e o f t h e f e w says the Brahamin Sonadanda ruitj that
hc should
l a , v m e nw h o c a r rb e m e d i c a l l yt r e a t e db y a m o n k . ( V i n A . respectfuily attend to their needs
i1). I p I I /). fhough
II,p.a7l). coming from an unco'l'erted brahamir, trrrs
itaterrient is
an echo of Buddhist vicws rathrr than
those of
The Mula^Sarvastivada Vinaya, as it was practised in Brahamanism. For here all the recluses, who can
be
t h e s c v e n t hc e n t u r y I n d i a , r u l e d t h a t a r e s i d e n t m e m b e r s o f a n y c a s t e , h a v e b e el i i . a n k e t l a s g u e s t s
(atithi).
monk
should go forward and welcome any strangeror guest B u t a c c o r d i ' g t o t h e I - a w o l . h 4 u i r i ri i n r y a
rrrarramin can
c o m l n g t o t h e m o n a s t e r y .T h i s h a d t o h e d o n e w i t h o u t be caJled an attthr antl a herr,ie sl,c,',rl.l
rrtli be even
a n y r e g a r d f o r t h e a g eo f t h e v i s i t o r a n d t h e p e r s o n greeted. T-heBrahainan jc view that
who a r r r g l e i . t c d g u e . s th a s
a b s t a i n e df r o m i t d e v i a t e d f r o m t h e m o n a s t i c r i t e s a n d the power to destrol.orre's rrreiif anij tliai all
the re.Jucsts
w a sc o n s i d e r e dg u i l t y o f b r e a k i n ga V i n a y a r u l e .T h e oI a guest should be fulfillerjr) arr aisr.:
host i r o t a r : c c p t a b l et o
s h o u l d t a k e t h e b o w l a n d t h e w a t e r - j a ro f t h e g u e s t ,o f f e r Buddhism. No outstder has thc pr].i,rir rii
tlt.stro,v the
him a place to rest and a suitabledrink.r0 -fhe Bodhi_ m e r i t o f a p e r s o n a r r d t l r e t r a n s g i . c s s i , - l r irr l
rr;oral laws
s a t t v a - P r a t i m o k s aS u t r a s t a t e st h a t a n y p e r s o n c o m i n g e v e n f o r t h _ es a k e o f ; r q u r s t u i j n n L , t l r e . r
rrstified. ln he
to the monastery should bc treated as a guest. D h a n a f i _ f A n iS u t t a ( ! t , t . l l , l g 6 f . , t S a r i y r t _ r r r a
advised the
And,
according to rhe Brahmajala-Sitra it is the duty of the b r a h a m i n D h a n a n j - n i ; r c t t o < J , rc i i ) e r c n f o r t h e
sake of a
L o s tm o n k t o i n v i t e t h e g u c s tm o n k s t o p a r t i c i p a t e g u e s t f o r h i s g u e s t w i r l r r r r tb e t l i r . ; . i ( r ( r r i r rj j d
in the iriirionce he
r e l i g i o u sc e r e m o n i e s . i s r e b o r n i n h e l l . F u t l r e r r n o r e , ( h * t r : , , r i ; :r : i ; r ! g h
righteous
ways and means by which he , aii pi:rilrfm
O n e o f t b e f i v e o f f e r e i n g st h a t a l a y m a n h a s t o p e r f o r m his duties
towards the guests fhe guest
with his righteously earned money is the offering -i star eri-ellence is the
of disciple of the Buddha. he rras{in rsnor his
h o s p i t a l r t y( a t i t h i b a t i - A . I I , p , 6 g ) , A g i f t t o a g u e s t birth but his
is l o v a b l e a n d e n d e a r r n g q u a l i r r e s , a i t c jr i - ; r i r e i ; v e r
he is met

10. I'Tsins: A Rrcord of the Buddhtist Rehgions.Translatedb-vJ. Takakusu p. 124-126

l t - t B t -X
, XIX. n.89.
 HSUAI.I TSANG 472
o n l y a f t e r a n i n t e r v a l b c t w e e nt w o B u d d h a s ( b u d d h a n -
'one fit to recetve
tara). Hence the epithet pihuneyyo,
hospitality'.'
C. Wltanachchl
H O U S E H O L D E R . S e eG A H A P A T I .
USUIN TSANG (r'ar. Hiuen Tsiang) A well known
C h i n e s em o n k w h o v i s i t e d l n d i a a n d t r a v e r s e da l a r g e
number of countries covering more than 50,000 Lr.
T h o u g h t h e d a n g e r st h a t h e e n c o u n t e r e dw e r e m a n Y h e
fulfilled his main objective undaunted by them' His
c o n t r i b u t i o nt o t h e c a u s eo f B u d d h i s mi n g e n e r a a l nd to
, o r t h e s ea n d
t h e G r e a t V e h i c l ei n p a r t i c u l a ri s i m m e n s e F
m a n y o t h e rr e a s o n sh e i s h e l db 1 ' t h eC h i n e s eB u d d h i s t si n
t h c h i g h e s tes t e e ma m o n g t h e p i l g r i m s o f h i s c a l i b r e .
T h e f o l l o w i n g i n f o r m a t i o n o n H s f a n - t s a n g ' st r a v e l s
a n d h i s a c c o u n t so f I n d i a a n d o t h e r c o u n t r i e sw h i c h h e
t r a v e l l e d i n h i s t o n g j o u r n e y i s b a s e d m a i n l - vo n t w o
sources, namely, Si-yu'ki, Buddhist Records of the
ttVesternWorld an English translation of the Chinese
version of Hsrlan-tsangand The Life of Hiuen'tsiangan
English translationof his biographywritten in Chinese
b y S h a m a n H w u i - l i , a d i s c i p l eo f h i s , A m o n g s e c o n d a r y
s o u r c e st h e m o s t u s e f u l t r e a t i s et s ' O n Y u a n C h w a n g ' s
Travels in lndia', a critical study written by Thomas
W a t t e r s i n 1 9 6 i . T h i s w o r k i s b a s e do n H s t l a n - t s a n g ' s
Hsi-Yu-Shi(or Sr- Yu-Ki) also entitled Buddhist Recordt
of the Westem World.
Hstiar-tsangwas born in 603 A'C. in Chin-lu in the
r e i g n o [ E m p e r o r W e n o f t h e S u i d y n a s t ya n d l i v e d a b o u t
s i x t y - f i v ey e a r s .O p i n i o n s , h o w e v e r ,d i f f e r r e g a r d i n gt h e
e x a c t y e a r so f h i s b i r t h a n d d e a t h . H i s s e c u l a rn a m e w a s
C h ' e n - C h i na n d h e w a s t h e y o u n g e s to f f o u r b r o t h e r s .H i s
f a t h e r w a s C h ' e n - h u iw h o d e v o t e dh i m s e i ft o t h e s t u d y o I
C o n f u c i o u s ' t e a c h i n g sE . v e n a s a c h i l d H s r . i a n - t s a nw ga s
u n u s u a l l yo f g r a v et e m p e r a m e n ta n d i n t e l l i g e n c eH e d i d
not enjoy the company of boys of his age nor did he
a p p r e c i a t et h e i r l i f e s t y l e .H i s s e c o a db r o t h e r , C h a n g - t s e
w h o h a d e n t e r e dt h e O r d e r p r e v i o u s l vt o o k H s u a n - t s a n g
t o h i s o w n c o n v e n t a n d m a d e a r r a n g e m e n t st o i m p a r t
i n s t r u c t i o nt o h i m t h e r e .
H s r l a n - t s a n (g: H t ' ) w a s s o s t u d i o u st h a t a t t i m e sh e
s t u d i e dw i t h o u t s l e e pa n d e v e nf o o d , A t o n e h e a r i n gh e i s
s a i d t o h a v e c o m p r eh e n d e da b o o k t h o r o u g h l v a n d a f t e r
a s e c o n dr e a d i n g n e e d e dn o f u r t h e r i n s t r u c t i o n ' A t t h e
age of elevenhe was I'ersedin the Saddharmapundarika
Su/ra and the Vimalakirtinirde{a. At the ageof thirteen
he was admitted into the Order and was engagedin
f u r t h e rs t u d i e s .
HSUAI\iTSANG
T h e p o l i t i c a Js i t u a t i o n r n t h e c o u n t r ! ' b e i n g u n s a t i s -
fectory the tr+o brothers went to Chang'an and from
there again to Ch'cng-tu, the capital of Shu. There
H s t t a n - t s a n gf o l i o w e d l e c t u r e so n t h e s c r i p t u r e sd e l i v e r e d
b y e m i n e n t s c h o l a r sa n d i n a f e w . " - e a r sh e m a s t e r e dt h e
s c r i p t u r e so f v a r i o u s s c h o o l s a n d e a r n e d a n a m e a s a
s c h o l a r .l t w a s a b o u t t h i s t i m e o r a f e w y e a r sl a t e rt h a t h e
c a m e t o b e k n o w n b y t h e a p p e l l e t i o n" T h e M a s t e r o f t h e
Law",
I n t h e f i f t h v e a r o f W u - t e h e r e c e i v e df u l l o r d i n a t i o n a t
C h ' e n g - t u .H e w e n t t o C h i n - c h o w f o r f u r t h e r s t u d i e s
w h e r e h e a l s o c o n d u c t e d s e r m o n s ? . sa n a d v a n c e d
s t u d e n t .S c h o l a rm o n k s w h o g a t h e r e dt h e r e a s l i s t e n e r s
t r e a t e d h i m w i t h g r e a t r e s p e c ta n d a d m i r a t i o n . T h e r e -
u p o n h e w e n t t o C h a o c h o w , H s i a n g - c h o wa n d C h ' a n g - a n
and studied the Samyuktibhidharma-hrdaya, the
Mahiyana-sangraha, the A bhidharma-kosa etc.
I n a s h o r t t i m e H t . m a s t e r e da l l t h e t h e o r i e so f t h e
d i f f e r e n t s c h o o l so f B u d d h i s m a n d w a s a c c i a i m e d a s a
g r e a t s c h o l a r , H e f o u n d t h a t B u d d h i s t t e a c h i n g sh e h a d
learned, mainly those concerned with the theory of
D h a r m a l a k s a n aa n d t h e v i e w s h e l d b y t h e p r o p o u n d e r s
of the Mahay'ana-Sangraha and those held by the
followers of the Da(abhimivyakarana were at
v a r i a n c e . M o r e o v e r , h e d i s c e r n e dm a n y d e f e c t s i n t h e
Chinesetranslationsof the sacred books, and conse-
q u e n t l yh e c h e r i s h e dt h e i d e a o f g o i n gt o I n d i a t o l e a r na t
t h e f e e t o f o r t h o d o x s c h o l a r s .I n t h i s h e w a s i n s p i r c d t o
some extent by his forerunners Fa-hsien and Chi-yen
who underlook similartasks.
O v e r c o m i n gm a a v o b s t a c l e sH t . , a t t h e a g e o f t w e n t y -
six vears set forth from Chang-an and going through
severap l r o v i n c e so r c o u n t r i e sc a r n et o l - i a n g - c h o ww h e r e
h e r e c e i v e da c o m p a a i o nt o t r a v e l t o t h e W e s t . D c s p i t e
t h e a t t e m p t s o f s p i e st o d e t a i n h i m t h e g o v e r n o r o f t h e
province, Li-chiang, however, let him proceed on his
j o u r n e y . S o m e o f t h e t e r r i t o r i e so r c o u n t r i e sw h i c h h e
t r a v e r s e du n t i l h e r e a c h e dt h e b o r d e r s o f N o r t h l n d i a
w e r e T u r f a n ( K a u - c h a n g ) ,A g n i ( O - k i - n i ) , K u c h e ( K i u -
c h i ) a n o a s i si n t h e G o b i d e s e r t N , u j k e n d( \ u - c h i n - k i e n ) ,
Chaf (Che-shi),Ferghanah (Fei-han in Turkestan),
S u t r i s h n a ( S u - t u - l i - s s e - n a )S, a m a r k h a n d ( S a - m o - k i e n ) ,
K e s h( K i - s h w a n g - n a )K, u n d t r z ( H w o ) , B h a k t r a o r B a c t r i a
(Fo-ho-lo), Bamivam (Fan-yen-na) and Kapisa
(Kia-pi-she).
H i s j o u r n e v w a s b e s e tw i t h d a n g e r sa n d h a r d s h i p s A . s
t h e o n l l ' g u i d e g i v e nh i m t o a c c o m p a n yu n t i l t h e I a s t o f
t h e w a t c h t o w e r s i n s a n d v d e s e r t a i s o d e s e r t e dh i m h e
w e n t o n a l l a l o n e , l h e w o r s t e x p e r i e n c e n c o u n t e r e dw a s
i n t h e h e a r t o f t h e M o - k i a - v e n d e s e r tw h i c h e x t en d e d f o r
8 0 0/ i , O n e h u n d r e dl r a f t c r e n t e r i n gt h e d e s e r th e l o s l h i s
u ' a r ' .B v a c c i d e n th i s w a t e r b a g g a l ' ew a v w i t h o u t l e a v i n g
a d r o p o f w a t e r i n i t a n d h e h a d t o s p e n df o u r n i g h t sa n d
f i v e d a y s i n t h e d e s e r tw i t h o u t w a t e r '
 HSUAN TSANG 473
A t a l a t e r s t a g ew h e n w e n d i n g t h e i r t r r v u p t h c s n o w -
clad Ling mountain, and the snowy mountain (Hindu-
k u s h ) l y i n g t o t h e s o u t h o f B a l k h , J w e i v eo r f o u r t e e n o f
his companions and an even greaternumber of oxen and
h o r s e sm e t w i t h d e a t h .
O b s t a c l e sc a u s e db 1 ,r o b b c r s o n h i s w a y t o I n d i a a n d
a l s o i n I n d i a i t s e l f w e r e m o r e t t i a n e m b a r r a s s i n gE . ven
g o y e r n o r so r k i n g s o f c e r t a i n c o u n t r i e se m b a r r a s s e dh i m
as he was proceeding towards lndia. Although verl,
h o s p i t a b l ea n d r e s p e c t f u lt o H t . t h e k i n g o f K a m - c h a n g ,
Khio-wen-tai planned to detain him in his court as his
spiritualhead.Ht. gor out of this grip only by the threat
o f f a s t i n gu n t o d e a t h . A n o t h e r a t t e m p t t o d e t a i nh i m w a s
made by the Great Khan of the Turks, As will appear
b e l o w , H t . u n d e r w e n t a n o t h e rs u c he x p e r i e n c ci n E a s t e r n
India aswell.
O f t h e c o u n t r i e s w h i c h w e r e t r a v e r s e db y H t . o n h i s
w a v t o N o r t h I n d i a , B h a k t r a ( p o - h o - l o ) ,B a m i y a n( F a n -
y e n - n a ) a n d K a p i s a ( K i a - p i - s h e ) w e r e a c t i v e c e n t r e so f
Buddhism.According to Ht. there were about three
t h o u s a n dm o n k s o f t h e L i t t l e V e h i c l e i n B h a k t r a . T h e r e
w a s a s c h o l a rm o n k c a l l e d P r a j f f a l a r a w h o w a s v e r s e di n
the threepitakas of the Little Vehicle.Ht. was pleaseci
with his explanationof the doctrineof that school.
H t , r e a c h e d B a m i y a a c r o s s i n gH i n d u - k u s h , I n b o t h
B a m i y a na n d K a p i s a ,t h e r ew e r e s e v e r a tl h o u s a n dm o n k s
of the Little Vehicle. In Bamiyan there werc three
imposing figures of the Buddha. One of thesewas a
s t a n d i n gf i g u r e o f a b o u t 1 4 0 o r 1 5 0 f e e t h i g h . A n o t h c r
figure of the standing Buddha measures100 feet in
height, An cnormous figure of the recumbentBuddha
d e p i c t i n gh i s ' N i r v a n a ' m e a s u r e s1 0 0 0f e e t i n l e n g t h .
A t a c o n f e r e n c eh e l d i n a t e m p i eo f t h e G r e a t V e h i c l ei n
K a p i s a H t . b e i n g t h o r o u g h w i t h t h e t e a c h i n g so f b o t h
s c h o o l s ,p r o v e d h i s s u p e r i o r i t vo v e r a l l w h o p a r t i c i p a t e d
i n i t . F r o m K a p i s a o n w a r d s h i s i t i n e r a r y c o v e r e dt e r r i -
t o r i e si n N o r t h I n d i a o i w h i c h t h e f o l l o w i n gp l a c en a m e s
a r e g r a p h e d b 1 ' H t . i n t r ' la s e p a r a t cu n i t . I - a m g h a n( L a n -
p o ) , N a g a r a h a r a( N a - k i e - l o - h o ) ,G a n d h a r a( K i e n - t o - l o ) ,
U d y a n a ( U - c h a . n g )T , a k s h a s i l a( T a - c h ' a - s h i - l o )U, r a s a
( W u - l a - s a ) ,K a s h m i r ( K i a - s h i - m i - l o ) ,P u n a c h( P u n - n u h -
t ' s o ) a n d R a j a p u r i ( H o - l o - s h e - p u - l o ) .A c c o r d i n g t o H t ,
c o m m o n p e o p l e i n t h e a b o v e t e r r i t o r i e sd i f f e r t o s o m e
e x t e n tf r o m t h o s eo f I n d i a i n r e s p e c to f m a n n e r s ,c l o t h i n g
andlaaguage.r
N a g a r a h a r a( J e l a J a b a do) c c u p i e sa p r o m i n e n t p l a c ea s
a c o u n t r vp o s s e s s i nB g u d d h a ' sr e l i c s .I n N a g a r a h a r ao r
i t s n e i g h b o u r h o o dH t . r e j o i n e dh i s c o m p a n i o n sa n d w e n t
t o G a n d h a r ab v t h e K h 1 ' b e rP a s s ,H e g i v e st h e n a m e so f a
L Si-rz-tr, BuddhistRrcordsofthewesternwortd(Records)ed.Samuel
Tsiang1: The Li{e)ed. Samuel Beal, New Delhi, l9?3, pp.51-72. The countriesfrom
r e g a r d e db y t h e p e o p l e o f I n d i a p r o p e r a s f o r m i n g p a r t s o f t h e i r t e r r i t o r y ( w a t t c r s , T h o m a s ,
p u b M u n s h i R a m V a n o h a i L a l . O r i e n t a l P u b l i s h e r sa n d B o o k s e l l e r sD
7 ll'atters, pp. 102, -t03. The Life, p. 7j
HSUAN TSANG
n u m b e r o f s a g e sa n d s a i n t sw h o c o m p o s c dj a s t r a st h e r e .
T h e n h e g o c s t o d e s c r j b et h e f a m o u s s t i p a o f 4 0 0 f e e t i n
height ascribedto king Kanishka, It was situated in
P u r u s h a p u r a( P o - . u - s h u - p o - l o )t,h e c a p i t a lo f G a n d h a r a .
E i t h e r s i d e o f t h e r i v e r S u b h a v a s r u( S u - p o - f a - s a - t ui)n
t h e c o u n t r v o f U d v a n a i s s a i d b y H t . t o h a v e b e e nt h i c k l y
p o p u l a t e db y B u d d h i s t si n f o r m e r d a y s .A t t h e t i m e o f h i s
v i s i t h e s a w t h e c o u n t r y d e p o p u l a t e d .T h e f e w m o n k s
who were there at the time belongedto five different
s c h o o l s v i z . t h e D h a r m a g u p t a s , t h e M a h j s a s a k a s ,t h e
Kadyapiyas,the Sarvastivadinsand the Mahasairghikas.
A m o n g t h e o b j e c t so f w o r s h i p a r e m e n t i o n c d f i g u r e so f
Avalokiteivara and Maitreya bodhisattva,
I n T a k s h a s i l a ,U r a s aa n d K a s h m i r , t o o , h e s a wv a r i o u s
B u d d h i s t s i t e s .T h e c h i e f m o n k i n K a s h m i r w a s o f h i g h
m o r a l c h a r a c t e r a n d o f r e m a r k a b l e i n t e l l i g e n c e ,T h i s
m o n k e x p l a i n e dm a n y p a r t s o f t h e d o c t r i n e t o h i m . T h i s
l e a r n e d t e a c h e rw a s s o i m p r e s s e db y H t . t h a t t h e l a t t e r
w a s c o m p a r e d t o A s a n g a b o d h i s a t t v a i n r e s p e c to f h i s
wisdom. According to Ht. Kanishka, convened an
a s s e m b l y k, n o w n t o h i s t o r y a s t h e F o u r t h C o u n c i l , i n t h e
[ o u r h u n d r e d t hy e a rf r o m t h e ' N i r v a n a ' o f t h e T a t h a g a t a .
Ht, stayed for two years studying suiras and iastras.
Leaving Kashmir Ht. made his way to Punach and
from there to Rajapuri. From Rajapuri he entereda
different zone in North lndia arriving at Takka (Tcheka)
as its starting point, To the east of the town called
Narasimha (Nalo-sang-ho) he and the accompanying
s a m a n e r a se n c o u n t e r e d a b a n d o f f i f t v r o b b e r s w h o
r o b b e d t h e m o f t h e i r b e l o n g i n g sH . owevir, a brahmin in
t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o dc a m e t o t h e i r h e i p a n d t h e y m a n a g e d
t o e s c a p ew i t h n o l o s s o f l i f e . T h er e h e r e m a i n e df o r o n e
month, and for fourteen months in the kingdom of
C h i n a p a t i ( C h i - n a - p o - t a i )s t u d y i n g v a r i o u s t e x t s .
B e f o r er e a c h i n gt h e n e x t i m p o r t a n t k i n g d o m , N { a t h u r a
( M o - t ' u - l o ) h e p a s s e dt h r o u g h t h e k i n g d o m s o f J a l a n -
d h a r a( S h e - l a n - t ' o - l o K
) , u l u t a ( K i u - l a - t a ) ,S a r a d r a( S h c -
t e - t u - l u ) a n d P a r v a t r a ( P o - l i - y e - t o - t o ) .A n i n t e r e s t i n g
c u s t c m o f m a l i n g o f f e r i n g si n h o n o u r o f t h e d i s c i p l e so f
the Buddha is said to have prevailed in Mathura. The
followers of Abhidhamma made offerings in honour of
S a r i p u t r 4 t h o s ew h o p r a c t i s e dm e d i t a t i o n . . . . .i.n. h o n o u r
o f M a u d g a j y a y a n a ,t h e s t u d e n t so f t h e s l t r a s . . . . . .i n
h o n o u r o f P [ r n a m a i t r a y a n i p u t r a , t h e f o l . l o w e r so f t h e
V i n a y a . . . . .r t h o n o u r o f U p a l i , t h e b h i k k h u n r s . . . , .i n
h o n o u r o f A n a n d a , t h e S r a m a n e r a s . . .i.n h o n o u r o f
R a h u l a a n d f o l l o w e r s o f t h e G r e a t V e h i c l e , . . ,i n h o n o u r
of bodhisattvas.r
Bcal,NewDelhi,lggl,Bk. ll,pp.6g,gl7; TheLiteof Hiuen
Lamgham to Rajapuri both inclusivewere not
O n y u a n g C h w a n g ' s T r a v e l s t nI n c t a ,
, e l h i , 1 9 6l . p . 1 8 0 .( A b b r e v i a t e da s l t , a t t e r s ) .
 'rsA}iG
t{Su,"r.r* 474 HSUAI{ TSANG

A f t e r M a t h u r a L r cv i s r t c d M a t i p u r a m ( M a - t i - p u - l o ) b e l o n g i n gt o t h e S a m m i t i y ' as c h o o l .S i t c sc o n n e c t e dw i t h
w h i c h w a s r u l e c ib , va k i n g o f t h e S I C r a r : a s t c .H e m a k e s v a r i o u s i n c i d e n t sa r e d e s c r i b e d f: o r i n s t a n c e ,t h c s p o t o n
rci'crer:'rrto Gu,raprabira thc autii.ri a{ Tattvavibhanga which Anguiimala gave up his evil acts and was con-
S a s t r aa n c jt o n l e u . r n r <i oi c t o ; c a l l c CS a n g h a b b a d r aw h o v e r t e d . t h e c o n v e n t w h e r e B r a h m a c a r i h e r e t i c sk i l l c d a
i r : t h c \ i i r l r a s uc i t i ^ r l i a ; - i ' d s l i v a Jsac l i o o la n d
w n sl c r - r - : C womiL:1and accusedthe Buddha of her murder. the venue
w h c c o m p c s e dt h e K o t a - k i r i k a . H t s t a v c d t h e r e l c r a i n w h i c h t h e B u d d h a d e f e a t e da l l t h c h c r e t i c s ,t h e p l a c e
f e w r n o n t h sa n d s t u d l c d v n r i c u s t e x t s u r r d c rt h e r m i n c n t w h c r c t h c B u d d h a m e t h i s f a t h e r , k i n g S u d d h o d a n a "f o r
monk cnlled Allitrasenrr. t h : f i n l t i m e s i n c eE n i i g h t e n m e n ta n d s o o n .
O n h i s w a y t o K a p i t h a( K i s " p i ' t l : * ) a 1 s oc a i l c dS a n k u r r From Sravastihe went to Kapilavastu (Kie-pi-lo-fa-su-
he had to go past Brahmr-prrra iP'.o-lo-hih-n:o-pu-lb), tu) where the capitai as well as some thousand villages
Ahikshetra ('O-hi-shi-ta-to) a;:d Virasara (Pi-io-shan- :*ere irr a state of ruin. There he saw old foundations of
n a ) . P r o c e c d i n gt w o h u n d r e d / - r t o w a r d sn o r t h - w e s tf r o m the main palaceof Suddhod ena and the sleepingquarters
Kapitba he reached Kar:auj cr Kaaya.kubja(Kie-jo-kio- oiQueen Maya etc. Hstlan-tsang'saccount of Kapilavastu
rhc-kwo). its capita! bordcru on tb€ Gangeson the west.:l a n d K u s i n a g a r a( K u s h i - n a - k i e - l o )o r K u s i n a r a i s r e p l e t e
It was a busy centre of Buddhism and there were ten with accounts of the life of the Buddha before and aJter
thousand monks who studied both vehiclesvery ardentlv. h i s E n i i g h t e n m e n t ,f o r e x a m p l e t h e p l a c e o f h i s b i r t h ,
His account on Harsavardhana or H*rsha also called p r o p h c t i c p r o n o u n c e m e n t ,s i t e so f t h e F o u r S i g n s ,P a r i -
S i l i d i t y a i s o f i m m e n s ch i s t o r i c a lv a l u e . n i r v a n a e t c .A c c o r d i n gt o H t . t h e c o n t c m p o r a r yt r a d i t i o n
C o u n t r i e s f r o m A y o d h v a ( O - : - ' u - t ' , : )t c f i i r a n y * har it that the Buddha's Nirvina'took place on the
p a r v a t a ( l - l a m - n a - p o - f r ' - r , rr : o n s t i t u t ea n o t h e r n h a s eo f fiftecnth day of the latter ha.lfof the month of Vaiiikha.
h i sl o n g p i l g r i m a g c5 . i : , l : u n d r e d/ J t a t h c a o u t h ' t a r tf i o m T h e S a r v r i s t i v a d i n sh e l d t h a t i t t o o k p i a c e d u r i n g t h e
Kanauj is Ayodh"ra. lie'.,eial thousand monks there second half of the month of Kartika i.e. November.
s t u d i e db o t h v e l - , r c k sa. n r i i t i s h c r e t h a t V a s u b a n d h ua n d
A s a n g ac a r r j t C c r u {t h e i r l i f e r * r v e c t i v i t i e s W
. hen Ht. and R e f e r r i n gt o t h e k i n g d o m o f B a n a r a so r B a r a n a s i( P o -
b i s c o m p r r n j o n $w . r c g o i n g f r o m A y o d h y a t o H a y a - lo-ni-sse)he speaks of two schools of monks, one
mukha ('0-'1re-mu-kbi)aion8 the course of the Ganges a belonging to the San'astivada and the other to the
g a n g o f p i r " lt es t o a k t h e c r c w c a p t i v e .A s w o n h i p p e r s o f S a m m i t i y a s c h o o l b o t h b e i o n g i n gt o t h e L i t t l e V e h i c l e .
g o d d e s sD u r g e t h e p i r a t c s , w e r el o o k i n g o u t f o r a m a n o f I m p o r t a n t s i t e ss u c h a s t h e v e r r u c o f t h e B u d d h a ' s f i r s t
good fctrm and comely features for sacrificirrg to the sermon and his washing tank are mentioned in his
g o d d c s sT. h e v e a r : n a r k e dH t . a st h r m a s t s u i t a b l ep e r s o n account.
for the purpcse and were about to kill him. Suddenlya F r o m B i r a r r a s i h e w e n t t o G h a z i p u r ( C h e n - c h u )a n d
t . v p h o o n a r o s e r m i t i n g < l o w n t h e t r e e s .C l r r u d s i l f s s x d t h e n t o V a i 6 a l i .T h e r e t h e c a p i t a l c i t y w a s i n a s t a t e o f
f i r . v l n r v c r y s i r j e a l < i t h t l a s h i n gw a v e s , : f t h e r i v e r
d c v a s t a t i o r ra n d r u i n . T h e i n h a b i t a n t s a t t h e t i m e o f h i s
t c s s r d t h e b o a t si o a r r d{ r r . T h e p i r a t c sg e t t i n gt e l : i f i c d a t
visit were very few in number, In a sanghaLrama there the
thl calamity thought thnt it all happened due to the
Buddha is said to have recited the Vimalakirti Sutra.
s p r r : t u a lp o w € r o { H t . a n d c a m c d o w n i n r e p e n t a n c ea n d Threc important places relating to his Parinirvina are
c o n f e s s e dt h e i r f a u l t , a i s or u e n t i o n e d .
A f t c i t h i s n s s t y c x p c l ' i e n c el l t . w e n t t o H a y a m u k h a
On his.wayto Magadha(Mo-kie-to) he stopedat the
a n d f r o m t b e r e t o P r a y r i g a( P o - l o - y c - k i a ) ,H e d e s c r i b e s
t o w n o f S v e t a p u r aw h e r eh e o b t a i n e dt h e s u t r a c a l l e d t h e
Prayiga, thr confluence of two rivers, Ganga and
Bodhisattva-pitaka.He had a high esteemfor the people
Yamuna and the ievel ground of about fourteen lr il
of Magadha, According to him there were about ten
circuit, to tbe West, From Prayaga he set out for
t h o u s a n dm o n k s m o s t l y b e l o n g i n gt o t h e G r e a t V e h i c l ei n
Kausambi (Kiau-shang-mi) where he saw many
M a g a d h a . 1 - h ec a p i t a l o f M a g a d h a w a s d e s o l a t ea n d i n
sahgharama.T,stupes and a sandaiwood image of the
ruins. According to Ht. Asoka held a convocation of a
B u d d h a f e s h i o n e d b y k i n g U d a y a n a .A c c o r d i n g t o H t .
thousand monks at a monasterycalled Kukkutarama.
t h e r e w e r e a b o u t t h r e e t h o u s a n dm o n k s b g l o n g i n gt o t h e
This is an allusionto the Third Council held under the
S a m m i t i y a s c h o o lo f t h e L i t t l c V e h i c l ei n t h e K i n g d o m o f
p a t r o n a g eo f K i n g A s o k a . T h e m o n a s t e r yi n q u e s t i o ni s
Visatha (Pi-so-kia).
named as Asokarama in the Dipavamsa and the
In drivasti, thc next important lluddhist centrc he Mahavamsa, the two ancient Pali chronicles of Sri
.risited,there were severalhundred sanghiramas [,anka.

3 . W s t t e r s a r g u e st h a t t h e d i r e c t i o ns h o w n i n t h e t e x t i s w r o n g a n d i t s h o u l d b e S o u t h E a s t . H e a l s o a r g u e st h a t t h e r i v e r i n q u e s t i o ni s
not the Ganges but a tributary of that rivcr (Watters, p. 90: cp. also Records, Bk. V. p' 207.
 HSUAN TSANG
R e f e r r i n g t o N a i r a i j a n a a n d o t h e r i m p o r r a n t s i r e sa t
Bodhgaya he mentions various bciiefs rerarding the
V a j r a s a n a ,O n e s u c h b e l i e f h o l d s t t r a t r h e s i t e o i t h e
V a j r i s a n a w a s t h e c e n t r eo f t h e u n j . r e r s eH . c s a y st h a t t h e
B o - t r e eh a d b e e nc o n t i n u a l l yc u t d o w n a n d d e s t r o y e db y
t h e m e m b e r s o f t h e r o y a l t v . E l s e w h e r eh e r e f e r st c , o n c
k i n g n a m e d d a s a n t a o f K a r n a s u ! , a r n ai n E a s t e r n I n d i a
'jhc
who dcstrovedthe Bo-tree.4 foilnwing account of
H t . r c g a r d i n g t h e B o - t r e es e e m si n t c r e s t i n gi n r e s p e c to f
r i t u a l sw h i c h d e v e l o p e di n l a t e r t i m c s ." T h e B o - t r e cs h e d s
i t s l e a v e sw h e n t h e d a y o f t h e ' N i r v a n a ' a p p r o a c h e sa n d
t c r r d e rl c a v e sb e g i n t o g r o w a f t c r t h i s d a y . E v e r y y e a r o n
t h a t d a y k i n g s , m i n i s t e r sa n d m a g i s t r a t c sp o u r m i l k o n i t s
roots, light lamps, scatter flowrrs a.rd they go awav
c o l l e c t i n gl e d v e s .
Thc account on the Nalandi monasterygives some
i d e aa b o u t i t s a c a d e m i ca c t i v i t i e s m
, a i n t e n a n c ea, c a d e m i c
s t a f f a n d s t u d e n t p o p u l a t i o n ,c u r r i c u l u m a n d r e s i d e n t i a l
q u a r t e r s "I t s a - v st h a t a f t e r t h e " N i r v a n a " o f t h e B u d d h a
an old king of that counrry called d"t taaity" built this
c o n v e n t o u t o f h i s g r e a t a t t a c h m e n tf o r t h c B u d d h a " B y
t h e t i m e o f H t . ' sv i s i t i t h a d b e e na b o u t 7 0 0y e a r ss i n c ei t s
e s t a b l i s h m e n t .T h u s i t s f o u n d i n g d a t e s b a c k t o l s r
century B.C.
His purpose of going to Nilanda was rc learn the
principles of the yoga-dastra.The chief monk Silabhaaru
a d m i t t e d H t . a s h i s d i s c i p l e .A m o n g r h e s t u d e n t s t h e r e
we.re mirny foreigners. According to Ht. of a_ll the
saitgharimas of India Nalanda Monasterv was the most
r e m a r k a b l ef o r i t s g r a n d e u ra n d h e i g h t .R e s i d e n ts t u d e n t s
n u m b e r e dr e n r h o u s a n d .T h e y s t u d i e dt h e t c a c h i n g so f a l i
the eighteenschools and also subjectssuch as the Vedas,
the Hetuvidya, Sabrlavidya,the Cikitsavtldyi, rhe works
on magic (Atharvaveda) and the Sankhyasystem.-I.here
w e r e 1 5 4I s c h o l a r sw h o w e r e v e r s e di n v a r i o u s b r a n c h e s
of study. Within the remplehundred pupiis were being
a r r a n g e de v e r y d a y f o r p r e a c h i n ga n d s t u d e n t sa t t e n d c d
these and participateciin discussionswithout fail,
As for thc source of income of the Nilanda monastery
H t . t e l l s u s t h a t t h e r c w a s a f a r m - h o u s eb e l o n g i n gt o t h e
m o n a s t e r y ,T h e a c c o u n td o e sn o t s a y a n y t h i n g a b o u t t h e
way in which the farm was run and how the income
a c c r u e d t o t h e m o n a s t e r y .T h e r e w e r e o t h e r s o u r c e so f
income too. According to Ht. the king of the country
r e m i t t c d t h e r e v e n u eo f a b o u t h u n d r e d v i l l a g e sf o r t h e
e n d o w m e n t o f t h e c o n v c n t .T w o h u n d r e d h o u s c h o l d e r s
i n t h e s ev i l l a g e sc o n t r i b u t c d r i c e , b u t t e r a n d m i l k d a i l y .
H e n c e s t u d e n t sh a d n o c o m p l a i n t st o m a l e a b o u t t h e i r
r e qu i s i t es .
4. Records Bk. viii, p, l2l.
5. The Ltfe, p. I l7 cp Dip"r"ms", H. Oldenberg,
New Delhi, 19g2.5.30
475 '{'SAF{G
}ISII,"rTI
I n R a j a g r h ah c i o c a t e sm a n v i m p o r t a n t s i t e sc o n n e c { e r l
w i t h v a r i o u s e p i s < - r d ef so ;r i n s t a n c e ,t h e s i t e o f t h , : s t u p a
w h e r e D e v a d a t t ai n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h A j a t a i a t r u r a j a l e t
l o o s et h e d r u n k e n : l c p h a n t w i t h i n t e n t t o k i l l t h e B u c j d h s .
R e f e r : ' i n gr o r h e G r d h r a k l t a ( K r - l i - t o - l o - k i u ) i t i s s a i d
t h a t w h i l e r c s i d i n g t h e r e r h e B u d d h a d e c l a r e dt h e
Saddharmapundarika (Fa-hwa), the Mahiprajf,a (Tu "
par"jo) and numerous other S[tras.
His accounton rhe First Council hcld in Rajagrhais
r a t h e r m i s l e a d i n g .I t a p p c a r s t h a t h e h a s i n c o r p o r a t e d
i n t o i t c e r t a i n d e t a r l sw h i c h d e a l w i t h l a t e r c o u n c i l s .
A x o r d i n g t o l l t . t h e c o j j e c t i o n o f s c r i p t u r e sa u t h o r i s e d
b : , ' t h e C o i r n c i i c a m e t o b c c a l l e d . S r h s r r i ac o l j e c t j o n
because Kail'apa (Maha Kassapa) officiated as the
p r e s i d c n t o f t h e a s s c m b l y .A s r e g a r d st h e e m e r g e n c eo f
t h c M a h i s a n g h i k a s c h o o lH t . i n f o r m s u s r h a t m o n k s w h o
w e r e e x c l u d e df r o m r h e C o u n c i l h c k i b y M a h e K a i y a p a
a s s e m b l e di n R a j a g r h a a n d m a d e a c o l l e c t i o n o f t h e
doctrine in five Pitakas, tlr- Sitra pitaka, the Vinava
Pitaka, the Abhidharn_ma pitaka, rhe Miscellanriu,
Pitaka and the Dharani piteka. How this assernblv
eot
t h e n a m e M a h a s a n g h i l a i s ' e x p l a i n e da s i o l t o * s : ; i -
i;
t h i s a s s e m b l vt h e r e w e r e o r d i n a r ' , p e r s c n s( F a n - f u ) a n d
hoiy mcn it was callcd the Convocation of the
Mahasanghtkas.s
H a v i n g v i s i t e ds a c r e Cp l a c ( s i n r h e I , i c j n i t yo f N i l a . l d a
flt. returned ttr the Nalarda Monasterl,again and
studred several t ex ts su ch ast.ire yog a -ia5sy4 th e Ny a1Cn w en-
sast r a, the H i n - h i a ng- t ui -fa-m i ng, the H et uv.idja -,{astra.
the P ri ny anii a ^s6st r a-ti k a andth e S ara.sarrra.Ai rho uch
he had studierlthc K{rsa-r,ibhasand the Satpaclibli-
dharma-{astra in different paits of Kashrnir
,\,er he
studicd them again at IilanrJd Monasrery. He alscr
studied Brahrnan litcrary works and a grammatical
t r c a t i s et h e a u t h o r o f w h i c h i s n o t . k n o w n .O n t h c t a s k o f
s t u d v i n g t h e B u d d h i s t a n d B r a h m a n t e x t s h e s p e n tf i v e
years.
T h e n e x t c o u n t r y h e I ' i s j t e dw u H i r a n v a p a r v a t a( l _ l a n -
na-po-fa-tou ) h e r e h e s t a v e df o r o n e v e a r a n d r e a d t h e
Vi b his a and the N ya yan usa r a-dast r aetc. Fro m Hi rany a-
f sivata he made hts way to the kingdom of Champa
w b e r e m o n k s f o l l o w e d t h e L i t t l c V e h i c l e .T h i s c o r . u r t r y
w a s i n f e s t e dw i t h w i l d b e a s t ss u c h a s t h e e l e p h a n t ,w o l f ,
r h i n o c c r o sa n d b l a c k l e o p a r d . E l e p h a n t si n t h a t c o u n t r v
wereuscd for drawing carriages.
C o u n t r i e sb e t w e c nC h a r n p a( C h e n - p o ) a n d S a m a t a t a
( S a n - t a - c h ' a )f o r m a n o t h e r p h u c o f h i s l o n g j c u r n e y . H e
visitcd Hiranva, Ka.iughira(Ki-shu-ko-kie-lo).
 HSUAI{ TSAI{G 178
P und r avard h ana ( P u-na-fa-tan-na) K arn asuvarna( Kie-
lo-na-su-fala-nab ) e f o r e a r r i v i n g a t S a m a t a t a .M o n k s i n
Pundravardhana belonged to both vchicles whereas
t h o s ei n - K a r n a s u v a r n ab e l o n g t o t h e L i t t l e V e h i c l eo f t h e
S a m m i t i y a s c h o o l ,M o n k s i n K a r n a s u r v a r n ad i d n o t u s e
either butter or milk in keeping with the traditiona.l
t e a c h i n g so f D e v a d a t t a .I m m e d i a t e l ya f t e r h i s a c c o u n to n
S a m a t a t ah e r e f c r st o P e g ua n d S i a m w h i c h , h o w e v e r ,l a y
o u t s i d eh r s r t i n e r a r y .
Countries included in his itinerary in the East and
South-eastof lndia were Tamraiipti (Tan-mo-li-ti),
O r i s s a , K a i i n g a ( K i e - l i n g - k i a ) ,S o u t h e r n K o s a l a ( K i a o -
s a - l o ) , A n d h r a ( A n - t a - l o ) , D h a n a k a t a k a( T o - n a - k i e - t s e -
kia) and Chulya. All these countries had centres of
Buddhism. He refersto an entrepot called Caritra (Chi-li'
r a - l o ) s i t u a t e do n t h e S o u t h - e a s t e r nf r o n t i e r o f O n s s a .
Dhanakatala, accordingto Ht. was once a reputed
centre of learning, and learnedmen used to come and
dwell there but at the time of his visit it was entirely
desolate.
T h e K i n g d o m o f C h u l . v * am a y b e i c i e n t i f i e dw i t h t h e
C o l a K i n g d o m . F l t l o c a t e st h e C h u l y a K i n g d o m o u t s i d e
the Dravida (Dravida) country. What made him follow
t h i s d e s c r i p t i o ni s n o t c l e a r .T h e C o l a K i n g d o m f o r m e d
part of the Dravida country through the ages.
T h e n e x t p l a c eh e v i s i t e dw a s t h e K i n g d o m o f D r a v i d a .
The territcry occupieii by Dravida (Dravida) people
c o u l d h a v e c o n s i s t e do f s e v e r a lk i n g d o m s o r c o u n t r i e s ,
b u t H t . r e f e r st o i t a sf o r m i n g o n e k i n g d o m . H o w e v e r ,t h e
c a p i t a lo f t h a t k i n g d o m i s n a m e d K a n c h i p u r a ,t h e b i r t h
p l a c eo f D h a r m a p a l aB o d h i s a t t v a .
Whilst in KanchipuraHt, met some three hundred
m o n k s f r o m S i n h a l a .T h e y i n f o r m e d h i m o f t h e u n s e t t l e d
situation prevailing in Sri Lanka at the time. This
d i s s u a d e dh i m f r o m g o i n g t h e r e .H i s p u r p o s eo f g o i n g t o
S i n h a l a w a s t o g e t t h e T r r p i t a k a e x p l a i n e da c c o r d i n gt o
the Sthavira school there and also to study the Xoga
SAstra.
M a l a k l t a w a s t h e n e x t i m p o r t a n t p l a c eh e v i s i t e d .H e
r e f e r st o M a l a y a g i r i w h i c h w a s w e l l - k n o w n f o r s a n d a i -
w o o d a n d t h e k a r p u r as c e n t e dt r e e .A f t e r M a l a k u t a ( M o -
l e - k i u - c h ' a )h e r e f e r st o S i n h a l a a g a i n . A c c o r d r n g t o H t .
S i n h a l a w a s o r i g i n a l l y c a l l e d P o < h u a si t h a d m a n y g e m s
o f a r a r e c h a r a c t e r .A s f o r t h e o r i g i n o f t h e S i n h a - l ah e
n a r r a t e sw i t h s l i g h tv a r i a t i o n st h e l e g e n dw h i c h t r a c e dt h e
o r i g i n t o a l i o n k i n g a n d t h e m u r d e ro f t h e l i o n b y h i s s o n .
A c c o r d i n gt o H t . i t w a s t h e s o n o f t h e l i o n w h o a r r i v e di n
P o - c h u a n d n o t h i s g r a n d s o n V i j a y a a s r e c o r d e di n S r i
L a n k a n c h r o n i c l e s .A s e c o n dt h e o r y a b o u t t h e o r i g i n o f
t h e S i n h a l ai s n a r r a t e da sf o l l o w s :" B u t i t i s a l s os a i dt h a t
S i n h a l ai s t h e n a m eo f a m e r c h a n t ' s o n ,w h o ' .. . . c a m et o
P o - c h u i s l a n d a n d s l e w t h e R a k s h a s a sa n d e s t a b l i s h e d
h i s c a p i t a li n t h e c o u n t r y .
HSUAI{ TSANG
W i t h r e g a r dt o t h e t e a c h i n g sp r e v a i l i n gi n S r i L a n k a h e
adds that monks there follow the teachinssof the Grcat
V e h i c l ea n d t h e y b e l o n gt o t h e s c h o o lo f t h e s t h e v i r a s .H e
a l s o r e f e r st o t h e s c h i s mw h i c h r e s u l t e di n t h e d i v i s i o n o f
t h e S a a g h ai n t o t w o f a c t i o n s ,t h e M a h a v i h a r a v a s i n sw h o
w e r e o p p o s e dt o t h e G r e a t V e h i c l e a n d t h e A b h a y a g i r i -
v a s i n s w h o s t u d i e d b o t h v e h i c l c s , H i s r e f e r e n c et o a
mountain narred Lantagi; may be the Samantak[ta
(Adam's Peat) and it was on that mountain the Tathagaia
delivered the Lankavatara S-utraaccording to Ht.
Going two thousand /r from Dravida he arrived at
Konkanpura (Kin-na-po-lo) and from there to
M a h a r a s h t r a .H e t e l l s u s t h a t i n a v i h a r a a t K o n k a n p u r a
t h e r e w a s a p r e c i o u sh e a d d r e s s o f P r i n c c S i d d h a r t h a .
W i t h r e f e r e n c et o M a h a r a s h t r ah e s a y st h a t t h e p e o p l eo f
t h a t c o u n t r y w e r e a w a r l i k e n a t i o n . H e c i t e si n e v i d e n c e
t h e u n s u c c e s s f ual t t e m p t o f S i l a d i t y a r a j a t o s u b j u g a t e
P u l a k e s i n .T h i s k i n g m a y b e i d e n t i f i e d a s P u l a k e s i nI I
(609-642 A.C) of the Chalukyas of Vatapi in the Bijapur
District.
A m o n g t h e c o u n t r i e si n c l u d e d i n h i s i t i n e r a r y t o t h e
West and North-west of Narmada were Broach
(Baroche), Malava (Mo-la-po), Brahmanapura (K'ie-
c h ' a ) , V a l l a b h i ( F a - l a - p i ) , A n a n d a p u r a , S u r a s h t r a( L a '
sn-cta) Gurjjara (Kiu-che-lo), Ujjayin (U-che-yen-na),
Chi-ki-to, Maheivarapura, Suratha, Atyanabakcla (O-
tin-p'o-chi-lo)and Langaia(Lang-kie-lo) The last country
is situatednear the Great Sea towards the country of
w e s t e r nw o m e n . l f M a l a v a sw e r c t h e p e o p l eo f M a l a v a o r
Ma1wain Central India asis generallytaken the countries
named about are not placed in right order Ujjayini which
is the capital of Malwa is named after Surashtra and
G u r j j a r a s i t u a t e di n G u j a r a t ,
Of all the countries in India, Ht' had a very high
o p i n i o n o f M a l a v a a n d M a g a d h a . H e s a y st h a t p e o p l eo f
t h e s et w o c o u n t r i e sh a d t h e r e p u t a t i o no f I o v i n g t h e s t u d y
o f l i t e r a t u r e ,o f h o n o u r i n g v i r t u e , o f p o l i t e l a n g u a g ea n d
r e f i n e d s p e e c h .l n M - a - l a v a there were twcnty thousand
m o n k s s t u d y i n g t h e t e a c h i n go f t h e S a m m i t i y a s c h o o lo f
t h e s m a . l vl e h i c l e .
We are told that going north-westfrom Langda he
w e n t t o P e r s i a( P o - l a - s s e )w h i c h . l a y 'o u t s i d e I n d i a ' I t i s
s a i dt h a t t h e b o w l ( p a t r a ) o f t h e S a k y a m u n i B u d d h a w a s
i n t h e r o y a l p a l a c eo f t h e c o u n t r v , O n i t s f r o n t i e r i s t h e
c i t y o f O r m u s ( H o - m o ) . T h e c o u n t r i e sm c n t i o n e dn e x t
a r e B a b y l o n ?( F o - l i n ) , a n i s l a n d c a l l e dt h e c o u n t r y o f t h e
W e s t c r nw o m e n , w h i c h i s t r i b u t a r y t o F o - l i n , L a i r g a l a ,
P i t a s i l a ( P i - t o - s h i - l o ) ,A v a n d a , S i n d h ( S i n - t u ) M u l a s -
t h a n a p u r ao r M u l t a n ( M u - l o - s ' a u - p o - l a )a n d 'P a r v a t i '
If Avanda is to be identified with Avanti in Central
l n d i a w h i c h s c e m sp r o b a b l ei n v i e w o f h i s d e s g r i p t i o n so f
t h a t c o u n t r y , i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o p l a c eA v a n d a o n t h e r o u t e
followtd from Lanlala to Multan.
 HSUAX TSANG
T h e c o u n t r - vc a l l e d p a r v a t a w a s n o t e d f o r r e n o w n e d
s c h o l a r s .H t . s t a v e d t h e r e f o r t w o y e a r s a n d s t u d i e d t h e
M-ula bh i d h a rm a -ias t ra, the S ad d h arm a _sa m p ari grah a-
{astra aad the Pra{iksasatya-{astraas preserved in the
S a m m i t i y as c h o o l ,
F r o m P a r v a t a h e r e t u r n e d s o u t h _ e a s t w a r d l yt o
Magadha and from there to the Nilanda Monasterv.
There was in Nalanda a renowned monk called
P . r a j f i a b h a d r aw h o w a s v e r s e d i n t h e T h r e e p j t a k a s ,
Sestas etc, Ht. remained there for two !,earsand nha nis
d o u b t s c l e a r e d t h r o u g h d i s c u s s i o n sH . e s p e n rr w o m o r e
y e a r ss t u d y i n gs e v e r a bl r a l c h e so f s t u d y u n d e r a r e n o w n e d
l a y s c h o l a rn a m e d J a y a s e n a .
He is said to have beenapprisedof rhe time for his
return journey in a dream by Maitreya Bodhisattva.
H o w e v e r , h e w a s d e l a y e d d u e t o u n a v o i d a b l ec i r c u m s _
t a n c c s .I n t h e m e a n t i m e ,S i j a b h a d r a ,t h c m a s t e ro f d a s t r a s
at Nalanda deputed Ht. to expound to the congregation
t here the M ahay an a - sam p arigrah a-{as traand t o co mm€nt
on the difficult points of the Vidye-matra-sjddhiestra.
A b o u t t h i s r i m e S i m h a r a d m ia n d H t . h e l d t w o d i f f e r e n t
views about the pnnciples of yoga. Ht. proved more
competent jn the encounterand composeda fistra in
t h r e e t h o u s a n d l l o k a s r e s o l v i n g t h e c o n t r o v e r s y .T h i s
work was later approvedfor study. At this time further
d i s p u t c s t o o k p l a c e b e t w e e n t h e a d h e r e n t so f t h e t w o
vchicles,
M o n k s i n O r i s s a b e l i t t l e d t h e G r e a t V e h i c l ea n d w e r r
used to calling it "Sky Flowers", But the king of that
country had a high regard for the Great Vehicle and
c h a l l e n g e dt h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e c r i t i c s . M o n k s t h e r e u p o n
r e q u e s t e dt h e k i n g t o h o l d a c o n f e r e n c ea t w h i c h t h e y
w o u l d s e t t l et h e i s s u e T. h e c o n t r o v e r s yd o e sn o t a p p e a rt o
h a v e t a k e n p l a c ea t a c o n f e r e n c ea s e x p e c t e db u t i t c a m e
to an cnd with the compilationof a book which was
w r i t t e n b y H t . i n r e f u t a t i o no f t h e h e r e t i c a vl i e w s h e l d b y
t h e m o n k s o f O r i s s a .T h e w a y h e r e f u t e d h e r e t i c a lt i e w s
m a d e h i s f a m e s o w i d e s p r e a dt h a t k i n g K u m a r a r a j a o f
K a r n a s u v a r n ai n E a s t e r nI n d i a l o n g e d t o h a v e h i m a s h i s
spiriiual hcad in his kingdom. When Ht. showed his
r e l u c t a n c ef o r t h e t h i r d t i m e t h e k i n g t u r n e d f u r i o u s a n d
even went to the extent of threalening that he would
destroy the whole of Nalanda Monastery in case his
r e q u e s tw a s t u r n e d d o w n . A l t h o u g h a t l a s t H t . c o m p l i e d
w i t h t h e r e q u e s to f t h e k i n g , S i l a d i t y a r a j a ' si n t e r v e n t i o n
e n a b l e dh i m t o g e t o u t o f a n o t h e re m b a r r a s s i n gs i t u a t i o n .
S i l a d i t y a r a j a o n h i s p a r r m a d e a r r a n g e m e n t st o h o l d a
c o n f e r e n c ef o r t h e e x p o s i t i o no f t h e G r e a t V e h i c l ea n d t o
refute the views of the foliowers of the Little Vehicle.
P r i n c e so f e i g h t e e nc o u n t r i e sw e r e i n v i t e d t o p a r t i c i p a t e
i n t h e c o n f e r e n c eR . e n o w n e dB u d d h i s t m o n k s , c e l e b r a t e d
B r a h m a n s , h e r e t i c s ,n o n - b e l i e v e r sa n d s e c u l a r p e r s o n s
a t t e n d e d t h e c o n f e r e n c e .F o r f i v e d a y s H t . e x t o l l e d t h c
177 HsUaN TSANG
t e a c h i n g so f t h e G r e a t V e h i c l ea l d n o o p p o n e n t h a d a n y
o p p o r t u n i t v t o a s s e r th i s v i e w s . A d h e r e n t s o f t h e l , i t t l e
V e h i c l el e a r n i n gt h a t t h e i r s c h o o lw a s s h a t t e r e dp l o t t e d t o
k i l l h i m . T h e k i n g , h o w e v e r , t h r e a t e n r d t o b e h e a da n y
o n ew h o m a d ea n a t t e m p to n t h e l i f e o f H t , I t i s s a r dt h a t ,
a t t h e e n d ,l a r g em u l t i t u d e sf o r s o o k t h e L i t t l e V e h i c l ea n d
e m b r a c e dt h e G r e a t - V e h i c l e .W h e n t h e c o n f e r e n c cw a s
o v e r H t . m a d eu p h i s m i n d t o g o b a c k t o h i s c o u n t r y .B u t
o n a r e q u e s tm a d e t o h i m b y S i l a d i t y a t o w i t n e s s t h e
q u i n q u e n n i a dl i s t r i b u t i o nc a l l e d ' M a h e m o k s a - p a n i s a d ,
'
h e h a d t o p o s t p o n ef o r t e n d a y s h i s r c t u r n j o u r n e y .
F o r h i s r e t u r n j o u r n e y H t . c h o s et o f o l l w t h e n o t h e r n
r o u t e i n o r d e r t o k e e p t h e p l e d g em a d e b y h i m t o t h e k i n g
o f K a n - c h a n gr h a t h e w o u l d v i s i t h j m o n h i s w a v b a c k .
G e t t i n g o u t f r o m t h e c i t y o f P r a y a g ah e t o o k r h e r o u t e
which lav across Kausambi, Jalandhara, Simhapura,
Talsaiila and the river Indus. The boat laden with ola
m a n u s c r i p t sa n d f l o w e r s e e d sc a p s i z e di n t h e I n d u s a n d
f i f t y m a n u s c r i p tc o p i e sa n d f l o w e r s e e d sw e r e l o s t . F r o m
there he wcnt past Lamghan (Lan-po), Varna, Avakan.
t h e s n o w y m o u n t a i n s ,K u n d u z ( H w o h ) , T u k h a r a , K u r a n ,
B o l o r d r d K a s h g a ru p t o K h o t a n ,
Of thesecountriesKashgar and Khotan were renowned
c c n t r e so f t h e G r e a t V e h i c l e ,W h i l s t i n K h o t a n h e s t a t e s
that he accomplisheda journey of morr than 50,000 li.
His journey through various kingdoms took seventeen
years. Here he faced the problem of traasporting hir
b o o k s , i m a g e sa n d s u c h a r t i c l e sa l d s e n t a m e s s e n g etro
K a u - c h a n g a s k i n gf o r h e l p . S e v e no r e i g h t m o n t h s l a t e r
transport facilities were arranged.
Among the bookshe brought wcre224 s[tras and 192
lastras of the Great Vehicje; i5 works of the same
c a t e g o r i e sb e l o n g i n gt o r h e S a m m i t i y _ aSchool;22 books
of the same belonging to the Mahiiasaka school; 67
b o o k s . . . .o f t h e S t h a v i r a v a d i n s c h o o Il ;7 w o r k s , . . ,o f t h e
Kalyapiya school; 42 works..... of the Dharmagupta
school; 36 copiesof the Hetuvidya iirtr": l3 copiesof the
Sabdavidya frstra. Altogether there werc 520 copies
c o m p r i s i n g6 5 7 v o l u m e s c a r r i e du p o n t w e n t v h o r s e s .
T h e n h e s e t u p o n t h e g i g a n t i ct a s k o f t r a a s l a t i n gt h e s e
b o o k s i n t o C h i n e s e .F o r c a r r y i n g o u t t h i s p r o j e c t h e
retired to the monastcry of Hong-fu in Si-gan-fu. He
completed the translation of 74 distinct works having
1 3 3 5c h a p t e r s H
. e h a d m o r e o v e rm a d e a v a s tn u m b e r o f
p i c t u r c sa n d w r o t e w i t h h i s o w n h a n d s c o p i e so f v a r i o u s
sutras, When all theseworks had been finished he closed
his eyes and lay perfectly still, "Having recited some
v e r s e si n a d o r a t i o n o f M a i t r e y a , h e g r a d u a l l y s a n k u n t i l
t h e d a y o f h i s d e m i s eo n t h e l O t h M a r c h , t h e l 3 t h d a y o f
the ycar 664."
Hsilan-tsang's travel accounts which appcar in the
foregoing description furnish information on a wide
 TISUAJqTSA}JG 478
v a r i e i yr : f s u b l e t sS . o m ec f t h e s c s t r cahs ; - r f i v t i . obta r r i e r s ,
t h e r e l a t i v ed i s t r i b u t i o no f l h e c e n t r c so i t h e I - i t t l ea n d t h e
G r e a t V e h i c l ei n a n , -ol u i s i d el n c l i a .B u d d h i s tr n o r u m e n t s '
h o s p i t a l i t y s h i : r v n i r : d i f f e r c n t c o l l n t r i e s ,c o n f e r t n c e s .
r e i i g i o u se n c o u n t e r sh a v e b e c n s t t r v e v e di n b n e f i n t h e
a b n v es c c o r ! n t A . p a r t f r c m t h e s eh c p r t s e: : t s I w r a . l t ho f
i l f o r m a t i n n c n a w i d e r r l g t n f s r : i - r j : c tssu c ha sr c r i ! - i o m l c !
e d u c a t i o n a !s n d s o c t a l c o n r i i t o : - ' sr,e l i g i o t r sn r a c t i c e s ,
n a n n s r i s m . c u s t o m s r i ' l n r i n i r t ri l t i r n a l C s o { r n i { e
. 1 1 u r n e r a l ea s n u m b r i c l u . , a v lr . r ls h o r v i n gr e s p e c ta n d
p a y i n g h o m a g ct h a t w a s i t r e l a l c n ta r n o r i gt h e p e o p l co f
tndia. Somcsurh f:nirrta
s rc.
i r ) g r e e t i n gw i t h a i . i n d a f e n q u i t y : ( i i ) r c v e r e n t i v
b o u r n g t h c h e a d ;( i i i ) r a i s i n gt h e h a n d st t r i h e h e a dw i t h
a n i n c l i n a t i o n r , r ifl i e b o d - v (; i v ) $ t - r w i n g
w i t ! : h a n d si o i c l e d
o n t h e c h e s t ;1 v ) b c n d i n g a k n c e : ( v i ) k n e e l i n gd o w n ;
( v i i ) g o i n g d o w n r " r nt h e g r o u n d o n h a t r ' i sa n d k n c e s ;( v i i i )
b o w i n g d o w n w i t h k n e e s ,e l b o w s a n d i a r e h e a d t o t h e
g r o u n d a n d ( i x ) p r o s t r a t i n go n e s e l fo n t h e g r o u n d .
R e g a r i i r i : t h e g e n e r a :i d u c a t i o nm c a n tf o r I n d i a n sh e
d c s c r r b r sr h a t c h i l d r e ni n t h e b e g i n n i n gf o l l o w e d t h e
'Iwelre
C h a p t e r s ' a n da t t h e a g eo f s e v e nt h e . vb c g a nt o
'Five
s t u d y t h e g r e a tt r e a t i s e os f t h c S c i e n c e sS ' . o m ei d e a
of Buddhist educationmay be gained from his des-
c r i p t i o no f \ a i a n d a r e f c r r e dl o e a r l i e r B . u t h i se s t i m a t i o n
o f t h e B r a h m a n i c s y s t e mo f e d u c a t i n gb e g i n n e r si s v e r y
h i g h . R eg a r d i n gt h e B r a h m a n i ct e a c h e r sh e s a v s ": T h e s c
t e a c h e r se x p l a i n t h e g e n e r a l m e a n i r r ga n d t e a c h t h e m
minutely. thev rouse them to activity and skilfully win
t h e m o v e r t o p r o g r e s s ,t h e y i n s ( r u c tt h e i n e r t a n d s h a r p e n
t h ed u l l . W h e nd i s c i p l e s i n t c l l i g e nat n c la c u t ea r ea d d i c i e d
t o i d l e s h i r k i n gt h e t e a c h e r d s o g g e d i vp e r s c v e r rce p c a t i n g
i n s t r u c t i o nu n t i l t h e i r t r a i n i n gi s f i n i s h e d . . " . . "
H t . s t a t e st h a t d i f f e r e n c e sa m o n g v a r i o u s s c h o o l so f
B u d d h i s m w e r e s e e ni n t h e i r t e n e t sa n d a i s o i n c u s t o m f,
A c c o r d i n gt o H t . d i f f c r e n ts c h o o i sh a d t h e i r o w n t e n e t s ,
and controversiesran high. As a result each of the
eighteen schools claimed that each systemwas intel-
l e c t u a l l ys u p e r i o r t o o t h e r s . f e n e t s o f t h e G r e a t n n d t h e
L i t t l e s y s t e m sd i f f e r e d w i d e i y . C e r t a j n c o n c e s s i o n sa n d
gains were accorded to monks in keeping with their
k n o w l c d g ea n d w h e r e t h e s p i r i t u a la t t a i n m e n t sw e r eh i g h
t h e d i s t i n c t i o n sc o n f e r r e dw e r e e x t r a o r d i n a r y .
R e f e r r i n g t o t h e t h r e e r o b e sa l l o w e df , t r m o n k s a s t h e i r
costume he narrates that different schoolsadhercd to
d i f f e r c n t s t y l e sh a v i n g b r o a d o r n a r r o w f r i n g e sa n d s m a l l
o r l a r g e f o l d s . t I t . ' s d e s c r i p t i o na b o u t w e a r i n g s a n g h a t i
( s e n g - k i o - k i )c o m f o r m s t o t h c p r e s c n td a . vp r a c t i c eo f i t s
'f
w e a r i n g L r ym o n k s i n S r i L a n k a a n d o t h e r h e r a v a d a
c c u n t r i e s .A s f o r l h e a n t a r a v i i s a , ( n i - p o - s o - n a t) h e u n d e r -
g a r m e n t ,h e s a - " -t sh a t i t w i r sw o r n w i t h o u t a b e l t . I i ' a t h e ri t
w a s m a d e i n t o p l a i t s a n d t h c n s e c u r e db y o n e o f t h e s e
plaits,
HSI.IAft. TSANG
R e g a r c i i n rs 1 - , 1 ' ;o3r1g r n i s a i i o n H t . i n f o r m s u s t h a t
s r > c i e t vt : o n s i r , t sc f f o u r c a s fc g r o u p s . T h e s e f o u r c a s t e s
'The
f r : r m c i a s s e so f v a r i o u sd e g r e e so f c e r e m o n i a lp u r i t l ' .
; n e m b c r s o f a c a s l e m a r r y r + ' i t h i nt h e c a s t e R e l a t i v e s
w h et f l c r b 1 'r h ef a l i r c r ' so r m o t h e r ' $s i d cd o n o t i n t c r m a r r y
a n . - ie r v o m a n n e l ' e rc o n t r a c t : a s c c r r n Cm a r r i a g e .
S p e a k i r r ga b o u i i h e c h a r a c t e ro f i h r : I n d i a n p c o p i eh e
t e l l su s t i r a t t h e vr , r ' r r e
o f h a s t ya n d i r r e s o l u r et e m p e r a m e n t
b u t o f p u r e m o r a i p r i n c i p i c s .T h c y f e a r r e t r i b u t i o nf o r
s i n s i n f r r t r r r ci i v e s a n d t a k e l i g h t l y t h e i r p i i g h t i n t h e
F r e s c n tl i f e . t h e i : k e r p t h e i r s w o r n o b l i g a t i o n s .
F I i sa c c o u n to n l a w a n d p u n i s h m e n t o o , i s i n t e r e s t i n g .
A c c o r d i n gt r i h i m t h c o l f e n d e r sw h o v i o l a t es t a t u t el a w
w e r e i m p r i s o n c d f , r r l i f e, F o r o f f e n c e s a g a i n s t s o c i a l
r n o r a l i t y ,d i s l o l ' a l t va n d u n f i l j a l c o n d u c t t h e p u n i s h m e n t
w a s m u t i l a t i o no r b a n i s h m e n o t f t h e o f f e n d e ro u t o f t h e
c o u n t r y o r i n t o t h e w i l d e r n e s s .O t h e r o f f c n c e sc a n b e
a t o n e d f o r b y p a y i n g a f i n e . H e a l s o d e s c r i b e st h e f o u r
o r d e a j s b y w h i c h t h e i n n o c e n c eo r g u i l t o f a n a c c u s e d
p er s o n i s d et e r m i n e d .
F o r o f f e n c e sa g a i n s t t h e V i n a y a , t h e c o m m u n i t y o f
b r e t h r e nh a s a g r a d a t i o n o f p e n a l i t i e s .I f t h e o f f e n c ew a s
slight a reprimand was ordered and the punishment
b e c a m eh a r s h a c c o r d i n g t o t h c g r a v i t y o f t b e o f f e n c e '
Expulsion from the community was the worst punish-
m e n t m e t e d o u t t o t h e m o s t s e r i o u so f f e n d e r .
A s f o r t h e d i s p o s a lo f t h c d e a d a n d t h e p e r f o r m a a c eo f
t h e l a s t r i t e s , t h e r e w e r e t h r e e r e c o g n i s e dc u s t o m s .T b e
f i r s t o f t h c s ew a sc r e m a t i o n .T h e s c c o n dw a s w a t e r b u r i d ,
t h e c o r p s eb c i n g p u t i n t o a s t r e a m t o f l o a t a n d d i s s o l v e .
T h e t b i r d w a s b u r i a i i n t h e w i l d e r n e s st,h e b o d y b e i n gc a s t
a w a y i n t h e w o o d s t o b e e a t e nu p b y ' w i l d a n i m a l s .
Tbe Buddfust brethren were forbiddcn to wail aloud
o v e r a d e p a r t e do n e . O n t h e d e a t h o f a p a r e n t t h e y r e a d a
serviccofgratitudc to securefor the deceasedpcrson bliss
in the next 1ife.
l f w e a r e t o d e p e n d o n t h e r e c o r d sl e f t b y H t . c e r t a i n
k i n g s o f t h e G u p t a d y n a s t y h a v e p a t r o n i s e dB u d d h i s m .
According to him Purugupta Vikrsma Prakaiiditys, a
b r o t h e r o f S k a n d a g u p t aN , a r a s i m h a g u p t aB a l i d i t y a , s o n
a n d s u c c e s s oor f P u r u g u p t a ,T a t h a g a t a r a j aV a i n y a g u p t a ,
another son of Purugupta and Vajira, a son of Nara-
simhaguptaBaladitva patronised Buddhism. All these
k i n g s c o n t r i b u t a dt o t h e p r o m o t i o n o f B u d d h i s tl e a r n i n g
b y b u i l d i n g n r o n a s t i ce s t a b l i s h m e n t a
st Nalandi.
According to Ht, the worship of relics was widely
practised in many Buddhist countries travsrscd by him
a n d a m o n g t h e s et h e m o s t p o p u l a r w & t t h e c u l t o f t h e
I o o t h R e l i c o f t h e B u d d h a . I t w a s p r e v a l e n ti n B h n k t r a ;
in ar unnamed temple of a small valley situated to the
e a s to f t h e s n o w v m o u n t a i n ; K a s h m i r a n d S i m h a l a .T h e
next popular Buddhistcult was that of the Bowt-relic.
 HUT-KE
Purusapurq the capital of Gandhira es weil as persja are
mentioned ascountries where the Bowl-relic wa: venerated.
Thc following objects too were venerst"d: the sweepin3
brush made of *uCa grass in Bhaktra. thc skull-bonc nt
Hidda (KiJo of Fa-hsien) in Nagarahara (Jeialabadl, the
eye bali. the sa;ghati robe, and thc staff at the samcsite
and the garment warhing stone obtained in LJdydna.A
strong tradition about the guddha presenting picces of
his nails and some hair tc two merchanlswho offrred him
honey and rica cake is recorded by Ht. with r-egarcito
Bhaktra.o This is evidently based on rhe account in the
Vinaya Mahivagga wbcre two merchants play a siirr:lar
role at Bodh Gaya though no referenceis made thcrc to
the presentation of nails'to them.
O n h i s w a y t o I n d i a h e p a s s e dt h r o u g h c o u n t r i e sw h e r e
Buddhism did not have adherents. Two such countries
were Kan-chang and Sa-mo-kien. He succeededin propa-
gating Buddhism in those countries by delrvering
effective scrmons. In the latter some devotees werc so
taken up with the tcachings that they even enrered rhe
Buddhist Order, lt was partly due to his evangelist
endeavours that Buddhism which lay dormant after the
age of the Guptas begrin to flourish during the reign of
Harshavardhaaa. (Pl. XLill).
Yetefu hrvette D lrrtr6s yt$ddfd
HUI-KE (487-593 A.C.). 'fhe second patriarch of the
C h ' a n ( Z e n i n J a p a n e s e )S c h o o l o f B u d d h i s m i n C h j n a .
He is also known as Seng-ke,
According to the biographies concerning Hui_Ke
recorded in such works as ,BeoJin-chuan, Vol. g, ,Xu_
E,ao-seng-chuan'(Continued Records of Eminent
M o n k s ) , V o l . 1 6 ,i t i s m e n t i o n e dt h a t w h e n h e w s s y o u n g
he studied Confucianism. He also read widely in the
works of Lao-zi and Zhuang-zi and the Book ofChanges.
Then he met Bodhidharma, the founder of Ch'an
Buddhism, at Sung-lo at the age of forty-one, and
f o l l o w e d h i m f o r f o u r o r f i v e y e a r su n t i l s u c h t i m e w h e n
he was convinced that he reaiised the essenceof the
doctrine taugbt by Bodhidharma. After his master's
death, Hui-ke lived in seclusion in the vicinity of the
Y e l l o w R i v e r . F a m o u s a sh e w a sf o r h i s e r u d i t i o n . h e w a s
v i s i t c db y m a n y m o n k s a n d ' l a yp e o p l ea l i k ef o r d i s c u s s i o a s
on dharma.
I n t h e y e a r 5 3 4 A . C . H u i - K e c a . m er o r h e n e w c a p i t a l o f
the Eastern Wei Dynasty where he introduced and
p r o p a g a t e dt h e t e a c h i n g so f C h ' a n B u d d h i s m . H o w e v e r .
a s s o m e c o u l d n o t g r a s p t h e p r o f o u n d t e a o h i n g so f H u i _
6. Tbe Lifep.50.
479 I[TII-KE
Ke, unfaii criticism was grariuaiJylcvelled against hirn,
Dao-Heng in fact ca_llcdHur.Ke,s le*chinp .Decfon'g
words" or "Mara's viords" and with thc intcntion of
rebuking Hui-Xe, he ilispratchr,;lirrs brit .:irscipletr: bum
o n a s e c r e rr f i s s i o n . B u t t b c r e s u j { l i q * u r n Li o n r r r r ! . l o
D a o - H e n g ' i p l n n . T h e d i s c i p i e w a r t - i : l i yc o l l \ . { r t e , j t o
i -e , r p t r a c b - r n gi.+ f i r r
C h ' a r ra i r r ; h e h a d l i s r r r r e , Ji c . i J - uK
l o s i n g h i s b c s t c i i s r i p i e .I l n c - H e r : g , s e n g e r a n d h a i r c r i
t o w a r d : l - [ u i - K ei n c r t n - c r d ,c v . n t o t h e r r t e n t o f i n c i t i n g
a n c ib r i b i n p g o v e r n r n e n (u i f c e n l o d o h s r m t o b i m ,
S i n c r [ I u i - k c c & m su n d e r s e v r r cq t t a c k s a d c r i t i c i s mb v
s o m e . h e i r a v e l l e r lt ' J a n d f l e i n t h c p : - a v i n c cn o w c a , i l e d
He-Nan. As a result. br: did :rct har.'ernany foilr:rrrrs"
p a r t i c r r l a r l iyn h i s o l d a g c .W h en H u i - B u ( 5 1 8 . " - 5A 9 :. t " ) .
a f a m o u ss c h o l a rc ' f t h c S e n i u n s c h a o lo i B u d d h i s r n w " snt
to the province, he paid a visit ia Fluj-Ke and rsicecjabout
the doctrine of Ch'an. ln 550 A,C., r rrputed scholar
Xiang sent letf?rs to Hui-Ke in vrrse to aeek advicc rnd
d i s c u s st h e C h ' a n D o c t r i n e . T h r o u g h t h e s ed i r c u s s i o n r
Xi"r,g bcngfited tremcnclourly.
I n t h e t h i r d y e a r ( 5 7 4 A , C . ) o f r h er e i g n o f E m p c r o r W u
o f t h e N o r t h e r n D y n e s t y , t b e , e m p c r c : ,a { n n e t i c f o l l o w c r
o f C o n f u c i a n i s m ,i s s u e d a n o r d i n n n c e t o p r o h i b i t t h c
study and practice of borh Buddhism end l-aoirm.
During this period, Hui-Ke tried very hard to prcccn/e
and protect the Tripitaka arrd Buddhc statues u well.
Subsequently hc weni sourh and ijved on r mounrdn
c a l l e dJ i n - z h o u - w e n - g o n g I. t i s o n t h i s m o u n t r i n t h r t
he
is reported to have passed thc nrystic metbod of
hir
Dhyana on to Seng-Chan, the thirC patriarch of thc
Ch'an school of Buddhism. When Empcror Wu rclrxcd
h i s p c r s e c u t i o no f B u d d h i s r n .H u i - K e r e t u r n e d t o y r - D u
a n d f i n a l l y p a s s e da w a y i n 5 g 3 A . C .
According to rhe inscription ?niitled ,Hui-Keb Stone
Tablet wrirten by Fe-Lin during thc T'eng Dynasty
which is includcd in Bao-Lin-Chu*a, Vol. I of Zhi-Ju, it
is said that when Hui-Ke sought dhnrma from Bodhj-
dharma, Bodhidhnrma toid him rbrt one who sought
d h a r m a w o u l d n e v c r c o n l i d e r o n e ' sb o d y a s h i s o w n n o r
life aa his own. Hui-ke in order to chow bjs determination
then is said to have cut off his own arm, standing
unmoved outside Bodhidharme's chamberr for sevcral
days whilc it wa.ssnowing heavily, 'fhrough the instruc-
tions given by Bodhidharmq Hui-Ke was a! last able to
subduc inncr conflicts erising within his mind. This
rnecdote became very popular in Ch'an Buddhism.
However thereis rnother versjon to thir apirode reccrded.
inthe Biography of IIui-Xc conrained iu thc Continwd
R e c o r d so f E m t n e n t M o n k s ' , V o l . l 6 : " W h e n H u i - K c ' r
arm was chopped <rffby robbers, be made uneof dharma
to calm lris milrd" Hencc br did not frel *.ny pain at a.ll."
 HIII-NENG 480
Hui-Kc's doctrine of Ch'an Buddhism was based on
rhe ( IA n ka va tar a-sit r a) which B od hid h arm a speci all y
favorlrtd. The Jext emphasizesthe prime importance of
'Reflection on Wisdom' and not the letters' Its main
o b j e c t i v ei s t o d i s c a r d w o r d s a n d t h o u g h t s a n d m e d i t a -
t i o n a l o n e l e a d s t o i t s a t t a i n m e n t . H u i - K e b e l i e v e st h a t
there is no difference betweenignorance and wisdom' All
dhamtasshould bc understoodin their true nature. There
is no difference between ut and the Buddha. Bodhi-
d h a r m a a l s o b e l i e v e st h a t e v e r yl i v i n g b e i n g h a s B u d d h a
alature. [f one can get rid of iilusion and realize the
ultimate truth, then common people and eniightened
ones are one and the same.
Rcfermcec:BuddhistAssociation of Chin8"edited:Buddhismin
Chin4 April, 198l. Hisao lnagaki;A Dictionarvof Japanxe
Buddhist Terms,2nd edition,Kyoto, 1985'Alicia & Daigan
Malsrtnaga:Foundationof JapaneseBuddhism,Vol. ll, fourth
printing,Tokyo, 1988.E. Dale Saunders:Buddhismin Japan,
Tokyo,1985.
T. Endo
I I I I I - N E N G ( 6 3 8 - 7 1 3A , C , ) . T h e 6 t h p a t r i a r c h o f C h ' a n
Buddhism in China, .dccording to his biography called
'The Sixth Patriarchl Plrtform Sltra' written by his
disciple, he was born in a poor family and, when still
young, had to support his mother and himself by selling
f i r e - w o o d a f t e r t h e f a t h e r ' sd e a t h . O n e d a y w h e n H u i -
N e n g w a si n t h e c i t y , h e h e a r dt h e ' D i a m o n d S [ t r a ' b e i n g
c h a n t e d .T h i s i n c i d e n t m a d e h i m a s p i r et o t h e B u d d h i s t
way. Upon hearing that therc lived on a mounta.ina
f a r n o u sC b ' a n m a s t e rc a l l e d H u n g - j e n ,t h e 5 t h p a t r i a r c h ,
Hui-neng went to meet him. This was when he was 24
years old. l{ung-jen asked Hui-neng: "Lay disi,ple,
wheredo you comefrom? What do you want from me?"
T h e n r e p l i e d H u i - n e n g :" I c o m e f r o m L i n - n a n a n d I w a n t
t o b e c o m c a B u d d h a ." " Y o u a r e f r o m L i n - n a n . 1 - h e ny ' o u
a r e a b a r b a r i a n .H o w c a n y o u b e c o m ea B u d d h a ? " ,s a i d
H u n g - j e n . H u i - n e n gt h e n a s k e d :" T h e r e a r e s o u t h e r na n d
northern people. But are there south and ncrth in
B u d d h an a t u r e ?T h e B u d d h an a t u r ei n y o u a n d i n e i s o n e
and the same. If you can become a Buddha, I, the
b a r b a r i a n ,c a n s u r e l yb e c o m ea B u d d h a . " H u i - n e n gw a s
t h e n a d m i t t e d i n t o H u n g - j e n ' sd i s c i p l e s h i pa n d w o r k e d
t h r e s h i n gp a d d y . S e v e nh u n d r e d d i s c i p l e sw e r e l e a r n i n g
C h ' a n f r o m M a s t e r H u n g - j e na t t h a t t i m e .
O n e d a y , H u n g - j e nw a n t e dt o t e s tt h e d i s c i p l e s ' c o m p r e -
h e n s i o na n d u n d e r s t a n d i n go f C h ' a n w i t h t h e i n t e n t i o n o f
finding out as to who could be given the transmission of
Dharma. He asked his disciples to write a verse each.
Shen-hsiu,who was the most seniordisciple nmoDSthem,
TilII.NENG
wrote a verse.Hung-jen acknowledgedthe spirit of Ch'an
expressedin the verse and advised all to recite it. When,
however, Hui-neng heard the verse being chanted,hc
r e a l i z e dt h a t t h e v e r s ew a s n o t u p t o t h e l e v e lt o c o n v e yt h e
g i s t o f C h ' a n B u d d h i s m a n d t h e n c a u s e da n o t h e r v e r s eo f
h i s o w n t o b e s c r i b b l e do n t h e w a l l . M a s t e r H u n g - j e n s a w
i t a n d c a l l e dH u i - n e n g t o h i s c h a m b e r ,H e t h e n t a u g h t t h e
entire doctrine of Ch'an Buddhjsm and presentedhim
with .the patriarchal robe and bowl. Hui-neng was
a d v i s e db y h i s m a s t e r t o r e t u r D t o t h e S o u t h b u t h i d e
h i m s e l ft e m p o r a r i l yt i l l t h e t i m e w a s r i p e .
T e n y e a r s a f t e r s e l f - i m p o s e de x i l e i n t h e S o u t h , H u i -
neng came to Guangdong where he was to meet a
reputed Buddhist preachercalled Yin-zhung. Upon
realizing who hc was, Yin-zhung invited him and
inquired about Ch'an Buddhism. Then Yin-zhung
s u m m o n e d a l l t h e m o n k s a n d m a d c a r r a n g e m e n t sf o r
H u i - n e n g t o b e c o m e a m o n k . S u b s e q u e n t l ya f a m o u s
Vinaya master Zhi-guang was invited to conduct an
upasampadaccrcmony for him. Two months later Hui-
n e n g c o m m e n c e dp r e a c h i n gt h e C h ' a n d o c t r i n e . S h o r t l y
a f t e r w a r d sh e r e t u r n e d t o t h e B a o - l i n t e m p l e a n d s i n c c
then preachedfor more than thirty years there,
During the reign of Zhong-zong, the emperor came to
k n o w a b o u t H u i - n e n ga n d i n 7 0 5 A . C . i n v i t e d h i m t o t h e
c a p i t a l ,w h i c h H u i - n e n g c o u r t e o u s l yd e c l i n e db y r e a s o n
o f h i s i l l - h e a l t hd u e t o o l d a g e .l n 7 1 2 , H u i - n e n g r e t u r n e d
t o h i s n a t i v e p l a c ea n d c a u s e da p a g o d a c a l l e dB a o - e nt o
b e e r e c t e dt h e r e .H e p a s s e da w a y i n t h e B a o - e nt e m p l ei n
7 1 3A . C . a t t h e a g eo f 7 6 . H e w a s g i v e np o s t h u m o d s l yt h e
title of 'Ch'an MasterDa-jian'.
T h e C h i n e s eC h ' a n s c h o o l o f B u d d h i s m r e l i e d h e a v i l y
on the Lahkavatara .9urra in the initial stages of its
h i s t o r y f o r d o c t r i n a l a r g u m e n t s .T h e f i r s t t w o p a t r i a r c h s ,
Bodhidharma and Hui-ke, used this s[tra as the major
t e x t o f t h e i r s c h o o l .H o w e v e r ,i t s e e m sp r o b a b l et h a t t h e
' D i a m o n d S - u t r a ' c a m et o o c c u p y a n i m p o r t a n t p l a c ea sa
t e x t o f C h ' a n B u d d h i s m s p e c i a l l yf r o m t h e t i m e o f i t s
third patriarch, Hui-neng. the sixth patriarch,in fact,
u s e d o n l y t h e D i a m o n d S u t r a f o r h i s d o c t r i n e. H i s a i m
w a st o a b a n d o na b s t r a c ti n t e l l e c t u a l i s m andpoint directly
t o o n e ' sn a t u r e f o r e n l i g h t e n m e n t .
H u n g - j c n ,t h e f i f t h p a t r i a r c h ,h a d a n u m b e r o f c a p a b l e
d i s c i p l e sa m o n g w h o m w e r e S h e n - h s i u a n d H u i - n e n g
w h o b e c a m er e s p o n s i b l ef o r t h e f u t u r e c o u r s e o f C h ' a n
B u d C h i s mi n C h i n a .
S h e n - h s i uw h o t o o c l a i m e d t o t h e t i t l e o f s i x t h
pairiarch was first ordainedin 625 A,C. but it was not
u n t i l h c r e a c h e dt h e a g eo f f i f t y t h a t h e m e t H u n g - j e n a n d
b e c a m eh i s d i s c i p l e .A t t h e r e q u e s to f E m p r e s sW u , h e
preached in the palace. He was later conferred the
posthumous title of Ch'an Master Da-jian, which is often
bclievedto be the first such award in China.
 HUI"F4EF{G 48r {I {J]-T,fAFTTSM

Shen-hsiu'sschool beca.meleter known as ihr licrthern

t t t l M - A i 1 l S * { . H r r n r e n i s n :i s e v i r w w h i c h u p h o l d s t h e
rcct wbich war charactcrizcd as .gradual cnlightenment,
d i g l i t y . a n i i' E l u e o f u n a rs n Cc c l s i d e r sh i s w , : l f a r ci n t h i s
while tbc Southern sect of Hr.ri-nengemphasird ,sudden
life as prinarv. tt thus pilrpr-r",gr,rtiiulariv to drr away
enlightenment'. Thc doctrines of thc ].iorthern
sect wcre w i t h n o t i . . r n so f er r vl u p e r h u r r , a rar . & e n c : epsl e l . i n . la d i r e c t
mrinly taught and propagated among aristocrats
of the o r i n ' i i r c c r r r ' l e : n h , - r r n n lni l r l l u r n E ; r i s r rhrr : l r i st h a f m a n
North whilc the Southern sect was influentral ' i st h c m e a s u r e
in and i i n . Jh ' * r R r i . * . e . l l ' a ;t rh r : e r r d c f a l l h u m a r r
nround Lin-oan. Howeyer, a dispute afose
as to the n c t i d t I . F n l h F l o m n , , l . r ; c ! I ! 1 I F l t ,, * r i t e 3 , , . H , . r m a n i s m . . , . ,
legitimacy of the transmission of Dharma from
Hung_jen i s c h a r a r : i c n s eb, ly f r r t h i n : r s i l , h i s p o r s i b i l i t ut c rd e v e l o p
and e dirciple of Hui-neng nrmed Shen-hui criticizecl
and t o e v c r h i g l r e rs t a g e s :, n t h r r ! n ! t } , o i l h e i n r r i i n ; ir a c e ,i n
d i r m i s s e dt h e N o r t h e m s e c t a s . i i l e g i t i m a t et r a n s m i s s i o n
t o l e r a n c ea n d p e a m , a n d i n r c n s . r r a i n < il i : l , c n s t h e f o r c e s
and graduaj enlightenmcnt'. This incident took
placc in w h i c h e n a b l em a n t c r e n l i z eh i r r s ei f , t o b e c r l r u rw h a t
730 A.C. and since then the Northern he
sect declincd can bc". (Humanism .tnJ I's-vchoffiai-ysis.
gnduelly" p. 6a)
I n t h e W e s t , h u m a n j s m w R . sr e v i v c d a s B . o n s e q u e n c e
Hui-neng's teachings on Ch'an Buddhism can be o f t h e R e n a i s s a n c ien l h e f o u r t c e n t hc e n t u r v l t a l y
gleanedfrom the book - though latcr interpolations and
and s p r e a d t o o t h e r E u r o p e a nc o u l l r i e s . i h e R e n a i s s a n c e
edditions are obviouc - entitred 'The sixth patriarch's h u m a n i s t st h o u g h t t h a t e c l r r c n t i o n jn rire iiberal arts,
Platform Sutra'compiled by his immediate disciple p a r t i c u l a r l yc l a s s i c aO
Fa_ j r e e k i i t e r a t u r e ,w a u i d h e l p t h e
hai and re-edired subrequently by Shen_hui. fhis work d e v e l o p m e n to f a r e s p o n s i b l e i n d i v i i u a l a n i j r r : v i v et h e
beceme the mejor tert of the school, spirit of freedom, which had becn losr in rhe Middlc
Hui-neng rays that mind is perveding all over the Ages.r
realmc of Dharma; it comer end goes freely without 'Ihe
any i n t e r e r t i n t h e s t u r i y o f h u m a n i r j e sc c n t r ; d o n t h e
obafacle, This is prajfli. AII prajLi comes f.om onrb G r e e k C l a s s i c s t, h o u g h i t t u r n e d o u t t o b e n o t c e n t r a l
nature and not from outsidc. If one rcalizesone,snature, to
t h e i d e a l o f h u m a n i s m a s i r d e v e l o p e d .p o i n t s t o
h e w o u l d s u d d e n l y b e c o m ea B u d d h a . H e f u r t h e r the fact
savs t h a t w h i l e h u m a l i s m h a d a r e s u r g e n c ei n R e n a i s s a n c c
that meditetion and wisdom are the bases,Meditationis Ita.ly, its origins in ttie West could be traced back
the euencc. Wisdom ir ig function. They are one, to thc
like G r e e k sa r r d R o m a n s . S o m e c o n s i d c rt h a t C h r i s t a n d
lrmp end light. The neture of enlightcnment is alreedv the
early followers of Christianity were humanists
there; end there ir no difilement in us originally. If (eg.
one Fromm, loc. cit.;z
realizer the nature of cnlightenment, this is the sudden
enlightenment. Hui-neng empharized that one With rhe advent of the Church autho,-iry
should and the
n o t i n c l i n c t o w e r d sg o o d o r b a d , n o r s h o u l do n e settingin of the Middle Ages humanism ceased
s e to n e , s to be a
mind on nothingness; but learn more, hear more; renlize forcein the life of the Europcar man, a .rdividu;..,nan
bir neture and comprehend the Buddha's teaching, He, r! man cearcd to be his ma3ter.
therefore,encouragedthe controlling of mind not only S i n c e t h e R e n a i s s a n c eh, u m a n i s t i c i d e a s g e r m i n a t e d
in
sitting posture, but also while walking, sta.nding,.itting a n d d e v e l o p e di n t h e w o r k s o f m a n v a E u r o p e a nt h r n k e r .
'fhus.
and lying down. This attitude to Ch'an in fact was f o r e x a m p l e , t h e B r i t i s h p h i l o s o p h e rH o b b e s
the
m r j o r d i f f e r e n c ef r o m t h a t o f t h e N o r t h e r n s e c t w h i c h ( 1 , 5 8 8 - 1 6 7 9a) r g u e d f c - r rr h e l e g i t i m a t e r i g h t s o f t h e
according to Hui-neng separatedmind from obiect: i n d i v i C u a . al n d t h e b a s i so f m o r a i v a l u e sa s t h e c o m m o n
t h e r e f o r en o r g i v i n g r i s e t o w i r d o m . H e t a u g h t p e o p i e g o o d a n d n o t a n a b s o l ; : t eo r s u p e r n a t u r asl t a n d a r d T
to . he
rtart from non-arisingof thought aad not to stjck to l e a d e r so f t h e F r e n c he n l i g h t e n m e not f t h e l g t h c e n t u r v
a
sitting posture alone in meditrtion. e m p h a s i s c tm i a n a s p a r t o f n a t u r e a n d n c m v s t e r vb u t
t h a t h e i s t h e h i g h e s tv a l u e . T h e c o n t c n t i o n t h a t t h e
Rcfrcoccr: B'ddhi'stArrociationof china, edited:Budrihisn trn
Chinq Aprt| 198l. Hisao Inagaki: A Dictionar.yof Japanese e x i s t i n gs o c i a l ,p o l i t i c a la n d b c l i e fs r . s t e md e p r i v e dm a n
E u d d h i s tT e r m s , 2 n de d i t i o n ,K y o t o , 1 9 E 5A o f h i s b i r t h r i g h t t c : r r d i ' i d u a l f r e e d o m .! r a p p i n e s asnd
. l i c i a& l ) a i g a n
Vstlunstaj Foundilion of Jtptnese Buddhism,Vol. II, fourth p l e a s u r ew a s e m p h a s i s e db v t h e m . T h u s , f c r e x a m p l e ,
pnnting,Tokyo, 198E.E" Dele Saunden:Buddhismin R o u s s e a u( 1 7 1 2 - 7 8 )b e g i n sh i s . S o c r aC l ontract with the
.lapan.
T o k y o ,1 9 8 5 . words, "Man is born free, and everywherehe is in
c h a i n s " .S i m i l a r i d e a sw e r ep a r t o f t h e G e r m a n e n l i g h t e n _
'I.
Endo m e n t . l e db y l - e s s i n g( .1 7 2 9 8 t ) H e r d e r ( 1 7 4 4 - l g O ja) n d
l' The errliert beginningr in the wcst corld bo trrcd to
Groeksand Romans, in particular to the Grn.k
rophirts in Athenr of the 5th
,h.I:*ure orallthings;'.
Socrates
i" r,o,i,,ry orman'snaturearsocontributed
ffli',|,I;i;,T::-*,:::-1fl:t:':1-:T^_"_ili
:Tlffiffir"'t:|.,*,ill;Jtr'continuedthesecurar"nd,.ion"r"r*";;;i;;;;;;ffiH;:il;;:l'il:iil
2' Soc elso Marx rnd Engeb, on Religion p. 2?5. For s
different vicw sec M. petrosyan . Humantsm, p.
lg.
 TTUMAMSM 82
others. Kant's (1724-l8M) epistemology brings man to
the centre of knowledge, and his ethics stressedthe view
that man should be tbe end and not the means and that
one should not do unto others what one does not desire
done to oneself.3 This in effect amounts to saying that
o n c s h o u l d n o t c a u s es u f f e n n g t o o t h e r s .
The humanism that emerged with the Renaissancc
h a d , a s a n i n t e g r a l p a r t o f i t , a s e n s eo f f r e e d o m ,f r e e d o m
from the fetters in which medieval men were held by the
Church, thc Empire and the Feudal Lords, who were the
p e r p e t u a t o r sa s w e l l a s t h e g u a r d i a n so f t h e o r d e r , T h u s ,
as in the case of the Greek Sophist, the Renaissance
humanism was an outcomeof the reactionof the people
t o t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t .T h i s c o u l d b e s e e n e v e n i n t h e
sphere of religion, for Renaissance humanism was a
prime force behind the Reformation. The early humanists
w e r e n o t a n t i - r e l i g i o u so r a n t i - C h r i s t i a nb u t c o n s i d e r e d
t h a t t h e S c r i p t u r e s a d m i t t e d t h e n e c e s s i t yf o r e a r t h l y
happiness of man and the value of mar's work and his
s u c c e s si n t h i s l i f e .
Humanism also helped the Renaissancescholars to
break away from tradition by prcparing the atmosphere
for questioning Scholasticismand its wedlock, Aristotel-
ianism. Together with this, by reviving the doctrines of
Greeks like those of the Pythagortans, humanism contri-
br.ltedto the birth of modern science.Ald the develop-
ments in science and technology, in turn, had much
impact on the paths along which humanism flowed and
e v o l v e dl a t e r o n .
A s a p h i l o s o p h y , b y a s s e r t i n gt h e a u t o n o m y o f t h e
h u m a n b e i n g ,h i s p o s i t i o n a st h e s o u r c eo f t r u t h a sw e l l a s
right, and human experienceas the only and final arbiter,
humanism has some of the attributes of what could be
c a l l e d a " s c i e n t i f i c a t t i t u d e " . T h i s c h a r a c t e r i s t i ci s
enhanced by its secular and liberal aspects. Further,
humanism, aiming at the greatestgood of man in this life,
in the vein of utilitarialism whiih emerged later, recog-
nized the value of pieasurein human iife. This emphasis
on pleasure,while contrasting humanism with medievai
asceticism and linking it with the Epicureanism of the
i a t e r G r e e k s ,a s s o c i a t e ist w i t h t h e f o u n d a t i o n a l b a s i so f
m u c h o f c o n t e m p o r a r vl i f e , p a r t i c u l a r l ya si t i s l i v e d i n t h e
d e v e l o p e dc o u n t r i e s
A m o n g t h e m a n y v e r s i o n so f h u m a n i s m , t w o s t r a i n s
which could appear almost antithetical seemto stand out;
one associatedwith sciencc,technology, materialism and
the pursuit of pleasure referred to above, making some
writers complain of the "arrogance of humanism"; the
other a more spiritual, humanitarian and ethical strain of
3. Cf. Dhp. v, 129
4. See Marx, Economicand PhilasophicalMaausc:ripts,of 1t(4,pp.69-70,95,97,102.
n-21.
5. p. Bigo views alien6tion as thc externrl attributc qf rngnkind, rnd hencc hol& that alicnetion ir the tlcoretiel
(Marxisme et Hwnanisme, Paris' 1953.
HUMANISM
humanism sometimes with veiled versions of religion
(e.g., theistic existentialism). Thus humanism as an
outlook and a philosophy has continued in the West,
essentially Bs an expression of the ethical attitude of
middle classindividuals who have ceasedto have tieswith
traditional rcligion.
In general. certain activities, spearheaded by the
United Nations Organisation, lite the Human Rightr
M ovement,Freedom from Hunger Movement,'Women's
Liberation Movement, the movements against discri-
mination on the basis of race, colour, sex etc. and the
emphasison provision of universal education, spread of
scienceand technology may bc consideredas attempts to
translatethe spirit of humanism in thc political and social
sphere.
It is customary to associatethe liberal democraciesin
the developed or developing countries with humanism'
"Humanism is one of the vital rcligions"'. It is the
dominant religion of our time, a part of the lives of nearly
evcryonein the "dcveloped" world..,.'." writes David
Ehrenfeld (The Anogance of Humanism p.3). He also
says, "Humanism is at the heart of our present world
culture" (ibid.. p. 20). Further a few philosophies,which
h a v e a l s op o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l ,l i t e r a r y o r e d u c a t i o n a li m p o r t ,
have associated themselves more specifically with
humanism in one sense or other. Three of these arc
Marxism, Pragmatism and Existcntiafism'
From the Reneissanceonwards, some thinkcrs who
have been concerned with the burdens of the common
man conceivedthc idea that justice and happinesscould
be achievedonly by the abolition of private property. The
B r i t i s h s c h o l a r s t s t e s m a nT h o m a s M o r e ( 1 4 7 8 - 1 5 3 5 ) ,
Italian philosopher Tommas o Campanella ( I 568- I 639)
and French philosopher Frangois Fourier (1712-1837)
are some of them. But the form of communism which
attracted attention and interest and led to action was
Marxism developedby Karl Marx, Friedrich Englesand
later,by l--enin(1870-l9U1.e Marxism acceptsthe labour
theory of the origin of the human being.
As labour dominated by private property makes it
compulsory and work in not being a meansof satisfaction
t o t h e w o r k e r b e c o m e ss o m e t h i n ge x t e r n d t o t h e w o r k e r ,
The worker is made to sacrifice his essentialbeing (i.e.
labour) to his individual existence.To quote Marx, "It
estra,nges maD's own body from him as it does external
n a t u r e h i s s p i r i t u a l e s s e n c e ,h i s h u m a n b e i n g "
(Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts, p. 72). This
humanism seen in early Marx, some critics maintain, is
not found in his later work, which is materialistic, and
hence, according to them, antihumanistic.5
GeorgeNwak, HumanitmtndSocialbm pp.
brrir of humrnirm
 HUIWAMSM
This attempt to asscrciete
alienation with the essencesf
men and as the basis of humanism poesibly faces the
charge that it aims at embedding thc idens of sin and
condemnation in Christian theology in humanism. Marx
does use the concept of alicnation in his later works but
he does not confine himself to it. Marxists maintain that
Marx's view of freedom as created by activity creating
"all-round development and flowering of man's indi-
viduality" and his idea "of the devclopment of 'human
encrgy as the end in itself of the future communist
society" (Petrosyan, Humanism, p. 90) exemplify his
humanism even in his later works.
.Pragmatism too is concerned with humanism.
P r a g m a t i s m 6i s b r o a d l y a v e r s i o n o f e m p i r i c i s m a n d
d u r i n g t h e p a s t c e n t u r y i t h a s b e e n a s s o c i a t e dw i t h
American philosophy. The association of pragmatism
with humanism is mostly due to the work of William
J a m e s w h o w a s b o t h a p s y c h o l o g i s ta n d a p h i l o s o p h e r ,
The philosophy outlined by James is humanistic in the
sensethat (human) experienceis its meansas well as end.
James notes that there is e wider senseof pragmatism,
particularly held by F. C. S. Schiller (t864-1932) and
subscribed to also by John Dewey as well as himself,
which Schiller termed hrrmanism.
Schiller's philosophy is called humanism and although
it is also sometimes referred to as "personai idealism'it is
akin to James'pragmatism.Schillsl y;lote that humanigm
admits, "every hypothesis as worth trying which has s
human interest and appealsto any side of human Dature
(Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. Vl, pp.
830-31), He considers humanism aE "a natural and
logical development of pragmatic method in testing
knowledge by its human value" (loc. cit.), He maintains
that all truths ere rclated to human purposes. Schiller
notes that philosophic and literaryversions of humanism
h a v e a c o m m o n b a s i s .H e s a y s , ' 8 y , . , . p u t t i n g m a n i l t o
the centre of thc intellectual universc and giving all
scieDce and literature a reference to human life end itr
purposes the philosophy connects with literary
humanism" (lx. cit.).
Existentialism, like the humanism of William James
end Schillcr orginatcd r^r a reaction to the Abrolution
and ldeelirm of Hegel. It empharises the concrete
situation of man as its first rnajor thinlrer Kierkegaard's
(l El3-55) work sbows. It was slso en ettempt to grapple
with the human condition in a world in which traditional
religion was losing rigpificancc and influence as anotber
exirtentialist philosopher, l{ietzsche, (1844-1900)
dramatically announced with his strtement. .God is
deBd". And Jean Paul Satre writrs. "Existentialism is
6. Pragmetirm ir baricdly en epinroological or mahodotogicel poritlon vrtich outliner tbc mcenr of grugiq
of a rtrtement. S€c C.S. Peircc, Meaning of Truth.
483 HUMANISM
r t o t h i n g e l s et r u t E n a t t e m p t t o d r a w t h e f u l l c o n c . l u s i o n
from a consistentlverheisticposition (Exirtentialisa and
Humani.sm, p J6).
Existcntiali:n: ernphasisrsiLe fact that it is the drcirions
and actions of man ,*'hicb har,'euitimatc rignificance end
that nnenhas n,: exterr$d suthcntv (or refercnce)to fdl
b a c k o n . I t a l s o d r a w s a t : e u t ^ o nt o m r n ' ! f r e e d o m a n d
individuality as weli ar hrs !ore and fraternity.
These cbaracteristics*Iign it, in genernl, rpith huma-
nistic views; they could also be considered as a reaction
aganist a society whose raticnality, togetber with science
and techncilogry *de-humnnizes"
1arn, aDd heDce,rtands
for humanism in one scnse of the trrm. dthough
" a r r o g a n t h u m a n i s m " , a s s o c i a t e st n e n w i t h r e e s o n .
scienceurd technology.
It is of interest to note hcre that bumanism, in a sensc,
links pragmatism and existentielism, through William
James. Ja.rre!'philosophy had en existential element or
toDe, as the following quotetion from Rollo May bringr
out: 'His (i.e,, James) whole svstcm of pragmetism wal
based on his paseionateconcern for human need.....'
Jamcs also fell into the existential tndition in his
concern with will As it war for Kierkegaard,
Schopenhauerand Nietzschebefore him, for Jamet also
epistemologyincluded will, That is to say,decisionwithin
oneself is 'a necesra.rypreliminary to the capecity to ree
t r u t h . . . . , , ' ( W i l l i a m J a m e s 'H u m a n i s m a n d t h e p r o b l e m
of Will - in William Jams:(Infinishd Business ed.,
Robert B. Macleod.).
Existentialismhas two forms: the atheisticand theistic.
Jean Paul Satre, a leading exponent of atheistic
existentialism in his ^Exl'slen tialism and Humaaisa
writes, "...... the word humanism bas two very different
meanings. Onc may understand by humrnigm a theory
which upholds man ut the end in itsclf and as the supreme
value,.,..." (p 54). This humanism the existenti&iist
rejects,according to Satre. We cannot set up humanity er
a cult.
Satre explains the genseof existential humEnism in the
follbwing terms, '...... it is in projcctlog and losing
himself beyond himself'(ibid. p. 55) that man males
himself to exist. 'There is no universeexcept univene, the
universe of human subjecrivity. Thil relation of
trarxccndenceasconstitutiveof man..,.rvith rubjeaivity...
it is this that we call existentid humenirm, This ir
humanism, because we remind mrn thet there ic no
l e g i s l e t o rb u t h i m s c l f , , . , "G p , 5 5 - 5 ) .
Theistic existentielism is probably humanistic in a
more easilvpcrceivebleJenEe.Thus, one leer the existeo-
tbe meanint and truth
 ri{]ruTAMSM 484 HUMANISM

tialistic "rnd hrrrlarrislir. ideals cl love, fraternity and t a n g i b l em. i n d a n d m e n t a l s t a t e s . , .T. h ' i s i s w h a ti s
f 1 s 6 { r - r r n i n t e s r a ; e, . i r r i t i r e v i e v r o f f i a b r i e l M a r c e l w h o c a ] l e dt h e a l l . . . .T h e r e i s n o o t h e r a l l .
w r i t e s , ' - l - h e f i : ee s t n t a l l r s a l s o t h e m r t s t f r a t e r n a l . . . . . . T h e
-I'he i i i . T h e r ei s n o d o g m a t i s ma n d i n t o l e r a n c eo f v i e w si n
f r a t e r n n l l r r : r ' ri ! l i n k r r J r , , h i s n e i g t r l r { , l t r . . . . , fraternai
B u d d h i s m .F r e ei n q u i r ; -i s e n c o u r a g c da n d a d v o -
j v' elrf!chec1by
trnan,...".i5 5riiltelo everything which
c a t e d i n B u d d h i s m a s e x e m p l i f i e db y t h e K a l A m a
e n r i c h e s h i s h r r r fh e r . , , . " " .i v i ' i a . it: , l r n l e t n i t y i f n o t r e f u s a l S u t t a( A . I , p . 1 8 8 f f . ) , w h e r e t h e B u d d h a s a y s ,
o f a l l f o l m s o i s r g l e p , a if o n ? . t g r i n : f r a t e r n i t y i m p l i e s a " D o n o t g o b y w h a t h a s b e e na c q u i r e db y r e p e a t e d
dynarnisnr which is in fact tl: at c! love..,." (Existenttal hearing;nor upon tradition; nor upon rumour;
Back6r'-,tino or'I'y't'rrt?nl)tgttit.t' pp l 7 -48). nor upon what is in scripture;..n . .o r u p o n a x i o m ;
n o r u p o n s p e c i o u sr e a s o n i n g n ; or upon bias,.""
Buddhlsm anrl llurnnnism: Buddhism stands out as a
T h i s i s , i n s p i r i t , s i m i l a r t o t h e s c i e n t i f i ct e m p e ro f
religion and a philosopltv rvhich frorn its beginings over
modern age which has contributed to contem-
2,500 vea.rsback was hirmanistic in many wavs and in a porary humanism (see DOGMATISM, EPIS-
variety of the senses that the term humanism has
TEMOLOGY).
a c q u i r e d . l . h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c si n B u d d h i s m w h i c h m a k e i t
a n o u t s t a n d i n g c a - s eo f [ I u m a n i s r n a r e l i s t e d b e l o w , C. i . B u d d h i s m c o n t a i n sm u c h t h a t w e n t a g a i n s tt h e
A. i.
-I'here
is no force in Buddhism, like a creater or p r a c t i c e so f t h e B r a h m a n i c p r i e s t h o o dw h i c h w a s
preserver God. external to man, who has power r e p r e s e n t a t i v eo f t h e e s t a b i i s h m e n d t uring
and arrthoritv over hr;mar affairs or who sits in B u d d h a ' st i m e .
jrrdgernent ovcr rnan ( M. ll, p 68) Buddha'speriod of activity, 6th century B.C',
ii. Buddhism r ejects deterrrrinism, naturalistic or c o r r e s p o n d st o t h e t i m e o f t h e S o p h i s t s a a d
o t h e r w i s e , a n d h e n c e m a n h a . sf r e e d o m o f c h o i c e S o c r a t e si n G r e e c ea n d C o n f u c i u si n C h i n a a n d i t
and action(seeI)F.l ERMI:\lSM AND INDETER- w a s ' ap e r i o d o f e n l i g h t e n m e n tw h i c h h e r a l d e dt h e
M IN lS ivl, |rl:'irF \'/l Li,) beginningof humanism, lndeed, like the Greek
rii. N4an is thus the rnaster of himself and each Sophist, there was many a wandering ascetic,
r n d i v i d r . ' a l i s r r s D r , n s i t r l ef n r h i s l i f e a n d a c t i o n s c e p t i c ,a n d p h i l o s o p h e ri n I n d i a d u r i n g B u d d h a ' s
(Dhp. r. l60i time, some of whom are recorded to have had
i v " B e i r r g a h r . l n r a - rlIr ei r r g i s t l i e m o s t p r i z e d [ o r m o f dialogueswith the Buddha. The Brahmajala Sutta
l i l e . h l t l r o r - r g he l e m e n t s r r f l n d i a n m - v t h o l o g y h a v e (D. l p. I ff.) and many other discoursesof the
i n e : , , - a p x 1 , 1rr' i, t { e r r d E r t d d h i s m , a n d t h e e x i s t e n c e Buddha like the Kacciyanagotta Sutta(,S.II, p' l7
rrf heavrnlv !:r'jr,qi hke clevas (gods) and brahmas f . ) a r e e v i d e n c eo f s u c h d i v e r s i t y o f v i e w a n d
i s r ec o g i r i e e , ' li t i t . t h e s e h e i n g s a r e n o t " s u p e r i o r " d e b a t e .B u d d h i s mw a s a h u m a n i s t i co u t c o m eo f
tr-r nrarr as sr.ncl: fircir abo,les could be more s u c ha p e r i o d ,
p l r ; r s r r r a b l r a n r i l h e v r n a v p o s s e s sc e r t a j n p o w e r s
ii. Buddhism was not merely a reaction to the
I'r'tne:r. but one has to be born a
n()t posqe.'(s"d
s p e c u l a t i v ep h i l o p h i e sa n d c o n t r o v e r s i e sb u t a l s o
man to'atrait, Irllightennrent and become a
t o t h e s o c i a l s y s t e mp e r p e t u a t e db y B r a h m a n i s m .
t l u d d h a . J l i t i - qi i r ' l r l h a r t h a G a r r i a n r a h a d t o I e a v e
Iluddhism preached the equality of all men,
t h e a t r o r l e r r 1 d' r i ' a s a n c l h e h o r n a h u m a n b e i n g t o
i r r e s p e c t i v eo f c a s t e ,c r c e d ,r a c eo r s e x a n d t h i s i s a
trecome the []Lr<idha.,'\ll beings worship the
distinguishing c h a r a c t e r i s t ioc f h u m a n i s m .T h u s ,
lluddha anci the araliants.
f o r e x a m p l e ,B h a d a n tA n a n d K a u s a l y a y a nw r i t e s :
B. i. There is no i\bsolrrtism or ertreme idealism " - f h e B u d d ha D h a m m a t c a c h e sr i g h t r e l a t i o n s h i p
or ratirrnllism ir: RudrJsim.Experience Iof the b e t w e e nm a n a n d m a n i n a l l s p h e r e so f l i f e . T h e
i n d i v i c l r r ; r l )i r t l : r 1 ; n ; r ,nl ' b i t e r a n d a u t h o r i t r ' . T h e D h a m m a i s a s o c i a l n e c e s s i t vn, a v e v e n a s o c i a l
Fuddha s n 1s " " \ i i ' r t t ! : s , d , . . 1v o t l n o t s p e a k t h a t r e s p o n s i b i l i tov f a c u l t u r e ds o c i e t y".( s e eC A S ' I E ,
w h i c h i s k n o r v n b v ) ' o r t r s e l v e s s, e e n b v v o u r s e l v e s , EGALITARIANISM, HUMAN RIGHTS).
f o u n r i b v v o u r : e l v r s ? " ( , & 1 I. , p . 2 6 5 ) .
ii t h e r r r r : i r i r : i s u r( t h o t r q h i n a s e n s eh r o a d e r t h a n i t s One serious criticism which the Brahmin levelled
c o n t r r r l : - , - )n; 1 r . ' \ \ ) q 5 f9 r n f o r n r ) a n d t h e h u m a n a g a i n s t h e B u d d h aw a s t h a t h e p r ea c h e dt h a t a l l t h e f o u r
br:.'i ; - . l r i i . , 1 1 1 " i i r [ l r r r J r l h i s mr v h i c h w o u l d v a r n a so r c a s t e sw er e e q u a l l yp u r e o r t h a t t h e yh a d e q u a i
s u b s i . r i b cr i ; i l r r r ;1. 1n j 5 1 rirs s e e n f r r r e x a m n l e i n t h e p o t en t i a l i t y i n t h em t o b e c o m ep u r e , T h i s w a s i n d i r ec t
S a b b a 1 , : t t t : l \ ' , r r l - 5 ! u ' h g r gt h e B u d d h a s a 1 ' s o p p o s i t i o nt o t h e b r a h m i nI ' i e ww h i c h h el d t h a t t h e r et s a
{ il . .'ii , : r ; r 1 j1 4 | 1 3 1b r e t h r e n . i S h i e r a r c h i c agl r a d i a t i o ni n t h e v a r n a s a n d t h i s w a s n o t
thrrll. rj,.,,i . 1 . . , ' ' . . t r ' ; t l t d s ( ) l l t l d ,n o s e e s t a b l i s h ebd1 ' d i v i n de e c r e e( c f. M . l l , p . 1 4 7 .M A . l l l , p '
a l l c l S { . r . t n l i. , ' ; r i , i i r i . . ; , i t ' , r r r i b, o d v and things 408).
 HUMAMSM 485 Htlfr.tA N;.*,r:q

It was not only the .Sudra, who was denicd thc

6 2 ) , H i s R o c k E d i c t X I l l s , , i y ,, r, . . . l k , v n n r i f f i p n y g
opportunity of education but all womeD, irreapectiveof
d e s i r e st h a t a l l b e i n g sb e i e i t L r , : , l r r i rcrbt "u r r h Jh a v e
their caste. So the majority in India, according to the
self control, have cqual (irnpai rinl) tr*atuir:nt and
Caturvarna ideal of the Hindu society, wa.sdcprived of
should lend happy lives" (rb;r/.i,1r 63. ti.4).
education. (Buddhism a:rd other religions, pp. I2g-9, in
Buddhism, Panjabi University). It is of interest to note in ln the Brahamagtd ailii Rilpn*t!r r:djcrs hrnperor
this context of secular education and wisdom, that in the Asoka says: *Men in JurnburJipa,who were till
Ummagga Jitaka, Mahosadha, a farmer's soD a.s a now unmingled, have now bern mingled vrith tbe
chaplain and minister of king Vedeh4 is made to ridicule 9dr..... Lct thc humblc ald gicat e-x,ert thernselves
and humiliate the Brahmin edvisers to the same king, led to nchievethc idcal..., May this spirit of exertion
by Senala. endure evarlnstirigly" (ibid. p 63).

Rbys Davids cchoesthe semeview when he writes thet (E) liot only in basing liis .world-vicw' ou human
the Buddha "ignores completely and alsolutely all advan- perccption and thought, sven in hic conlention
tages and disadvantages arising from birth, occupation that humnn conccpticrn has gar-bcdthe reality for
o r s o c i a l s t & t u s . . . . . , "( D i a l o g u e s o f t h e B u d d b a ; p a r t I , man over and over again, tsr,lddhel cpisan:ological
SBB, Vol. I, p. 102). and ontological positior.rcomcs closc to views of
humanists like Williato Jcmes. 'fhe .rubjective'
iii. This rejection of barriers like caste,the promotion beginningsof our world of objcctr is iirdicated, as
of human effort leading to achievemeDta.swell as Bhikk-hu Naniinanda brings out bcautifully, when
the assertionof supremacy of man over evenkings he quotes pEssagcsltke, -yant wacU tem saAjiaiti,
of heav-enlyabodesis well exemplified by the story yam saf,lZniti tary uit*keii, ym uitekkcti,
tam
of Sunita in the TheragEthi (ThaS. v.620 ft.). papaflceti.. ..',.
D. i. The principles of equality and democracy are bert 'What
seenin the organisation of the Buddhist Order of one feell, one pelceivcr; what oue perccives,
one reruons about; wbat one re{Joug about, one
the Sangha.
p roliferates conceptunlly...... (Co n:ep t nndR
edi ty
People of aIl casteswere admitted to the Order. p. 5).
The monks and nuns visited the homes of people
B u t t b i s ' s u b j e c t i v e ' s t a g ei s s u r p u s e d , e d d e n
of all'castes,high or low, for preaching as well to 'objective'stage,
dependeuton r. conceptual
collect their meals, (cf . Vin.II, p. 239).
system and thc languryr tsjres over to give
Tbe Buddha's system of controlling bhikkhus objectivity ro objects. As BiiilLliu li**"oU"
was purely democratic. Though he was indeed the observes:
undisputed murter of tbc bhikkhw, he never "The deliberare rctivity iniplicd ir.y the third
desired to use that authority over them" writes person verb is seen to gtop at .papaffcrrri Now
Rev. Walpola Rahula (Ihe Heritage of theBhikkhu comcs tbe most interesting pr.o{:ess uf cognition.
p. I l). He also quotes Nalinaksha Durt,s obser- Apparently it is no longcr s u:,ei,c contingent
vation: "Probably as a member of the clan which process,nor is it sn activity rl*litreratciy directed,
favoured democratic constitutions, Buddha became but an inexorable subjcction to au abjective order
imbibed with democretic ideas. He wanted to see of things. At this find strgc of sense-perception,
his Sangha grow on democratic lines and framed he who has hitherro becn the subj*ct now tiecomes
the rules accordiagly" (The Cultwat Heritage of t h e h a p l e s so b j e c t . . . , .
India, Vol. I, p. 290). Again, R, K. Mookerji, for
" . , . . . , W h a t o n c p r c ' l i i c r u t e sc , - l t i u e p i i r a l i yd,u e
example, writes: "the Pali tcxts furnish interesting
to that, conceptc charecterised bv tlre prolific
information of thc Buddhist Sairghain strict and
tcndency assail bim in regard to matcrisl shapes
minute conformity with gcnuine dcmocratic prin-
cognisable by thc eyc, bclonging to the past, the
ciples" (Hindu Civilization, p. 209).
future and thc prcoent,...
ii. The humenisticinfluence of Buddhism in govern- "Like the legendary r*ij1ji(cjr:q,rcJ
tiger which
ment and society is clearly seen by the practicer devoured the magician who rectc,retiit to life out
and admonitions of the Buddhist Emperor Asokq of its skeletal bones, thc concepts a_udlingrristic
as seen by his edicts, which date from the 3rd conventions overwhelm the worldlirrg who cvolvcd
c"ntury, B.C. He eays in Pillar Edict IV: .tt is them"(ibid., pp, 5- 6), One conld seethe huuranirm
most dcsirable that there should be ebsolutc in thir 'epistemolory'whclr (JR€contpa.resit with
equality for all in all legal proceedings snd thc lome psssagesin Willism Jarues'expositiouof the
punishments awarded....." (Malalasekera and view of humanisrnheld by hiruselfs nd the as$bci'a_
Jayatilleke, Buddhism and the Race
euestion p. ted pragmatists;
 HT.]MANISM 486
"The greatestcommoo senscacbievement,after
t h e d i s c o v e r yo f " l - i n r ca n d S p a c e ,i s p r o b a b l y t h e
conccpt of permanently existtng things. When a
rattle iirst drops out of the hand of a baby, he does
n o t l o o k t o s e ew h e r e i t h a s g o n e .N o n - p e r c e p i i o n
he accepts as annihilation until hc finds a bctter
belief. That our perceptions meen beings, rattles
tbat arc thcre.... becomes an intcrpretation so
luminous of what happens to u3 that, once
e m p i o y e d , i t n e v e r g t t s f o r g o t t c n . . . .t h e c a t e g o r y
of transperceptual reality is now one o[ the
foundations of our life....
"This notion of ,/?rsrin the shape of a most
chaotic -- pure experiencewhich setsquestionsof
ci
ilffi3'J,:[;"''":iiTfffflJi"::,1'T;::
c i o u s n e s sa n d p r a c t i c a l l yi r r e v e r s i b l e . . . .a. n d o f a
r r l r i d w h i c h g i v e s ,t h e d e t a i l o f t h e a n s w e r si n t h e
shapesmost congruous with all our presentneeds
i s , a s I t a l e i t , t h e e s e n c eo f t h e h u m a n i s t i c
conception. It reprcsentsexperiencein its pristine
purity to be now so enveloped in prcdicates
historically worked out that we cnn think of it as
little more than an Other, of a lhar...".,
"For us,,..,reality is an accumulationof our
intellectual inventions, and the strugglefor'truth'
in our progressive dealings with it is always a
struggle to work in new nouns and adjectives
while altering as little ag possible the old"
(Humanism and Truth, in The Mcaning of Truth,
p. 65).
Moreover, Jamesand tbe pragmatist humanists.
a r i n d i c a t e d e a r l i e r .t o o k t h e v i e w t h a t t r u t h o f a
Jtatementconsistsin its consequenccs, particularly
tbeir being good consequences.And the Buddha
also asserted thet the true is what is useful
(Kalupahan 4 Language, Truth and Culture in
Buddhist Perspective,p. 4), which suggestsfurther
p a r a l l e l si n t h e s ev i e w s ,
( F ) T h e h u m a n i s mo f B u d d h i s ms h i n e si n i t s e m p h a s i s ,
a n a l y s i sa n d s o l u t i o n o f t h e h u m a n p r e d i c a m e n t '
The Buddha saw the world as suffering (dukkha)'
Dukkhais aa outcome of impermanence (anicca)
a n d i t s c o r o l l a r y n o n - s o u l ( a n a t t a )a n d i g n o r a n c e
(aviXa) This despair, which resembles man's
p l i g h t a ss e e ni n c o n t e m p o r a r ye x i s t e n t i a l i sttr e a t -
ments, is met in Buddhism with a high-ly ethical
and humanistic code of life' Eric Fromm wrote in
his Humanrsm and Psycho-analysis(p.262)."'..','
there has been a humanistic tradition for the last
t w o t h o u s a n df i v e h u n d r c d y e a r s .l n a n t i q u i t y ,i t s
r e p r e s e n t a t i o nws ere Buddha, the prophetsof
I s r a e l .S o c r a t e sa n d J e s u sC h r i s t . " R a i n e r F u n k ,
HUMANISM
in his Ericl Fromm: The Courage to be Human
( p , 1 2 2 )e x p l a r n F r o m m ' s p o s i t i o n t h u s . " . . . . ' t h e
Buddha has no concernwitb philosophyorspecula-
t i o n . R a t h e r , h e i n q u i r e so f h u m a n e x i s t e n c cw h y
it createssuffering and he understandsthat ma!'s
greed leaves him perpetually unsatisfied and
d e p r i v e sh i s l i f e o f m e a n i n g ,
"This approach,which asksquestionsconcering
m a n ' s e x i s t e n c ea n d i t s q u e s t i o n a b l e n e sasn d t h e n
a s s i g n sa n s w e r st o t h e q u e s t i o n st o m a n h i m s e l f ,
shows, according to Fromm, Buddhism's radical
h u m a n i s t i cv i e w o f m a r . . . F r o m m , . . . s e e st h e l i f e
and teaching of Buddha as humanistic to the
h i g h e s td e g r e e " .
The ethicd principles of Buddhism are also a clear
i n d i c a t i o n o f t h e h u m a n i s t i co u t l o o k o f B u d d h i s m .
Two of these principles are mett; and airmsi.
Metti is loving kindness which the Buddhist is
expected to extend to all beings, human and non-
human, The principle of ahimsi exhorts that one
s h o u l d n o t h u r t a n y b e i n g .T h e s e ,c o u p l e dw i t h t h e
principles of karuna (compassion), mudita (sympa-
thetic joy) and upekkhi (equanimity), makt the
B u d d h i s t s y s t e m o f e t h i c s S e n e r a t et o l e r a n c ea n d
peace. Although Buddhism was a missionary
religion from its very inceptions force wa"snever
used in the propagation of the Dhamma.
Buddhism is a religion aid a philosophy which values
life, particularly human life, and sees human life as
p o s s e s s i n gg r e a t p o t e n t i a l . T h e B u d d h a a d v i s e d t h e
i n d i v i d u a l t o l o o k a f t e r h i m s e l fa n d h i s i n t e r e s t s( D h p . v v .
r60,165).
Lik e ExistentiaJism, Buddhism, particuiarlyTheravada"
h a s b e e n c r i t i c i z e d a s b e i n g a p e s s i m i s t i cd o c t r i n e . T h i s
seemsto be an incorrect or rather, a superficial reading.
Although there is suffering in the world, the Buddha was
enunciating codes of conduct for both laymen (e.9.,
Sigalovida and Vyagghapajia Sutus) as well as the
bhikkhtu to make a success of life by effort and
achievement.
References: Ehrenfeld, David, Arrogance of Huma'
nrsm. New Yorl, Oxford Univ. Press.1978;Funk,
Rainer, Erich Fromm: The Courage to be Human, (Tr.
M i c h a e l S h o w ) , N e w Y o r k , C o n t i n u u m , 1 9 8 2 ;J a m e s ,
William, Meaning of Truth, New York, Longman's
G r c e n a n d C o . l 9 l 4 ; J a y a t i l l e k e ,K , l x . E a r l y B u d d h i s t
T h e o r y o f K n o w l e d g e ,L o n d o n , A l l e n & U n w i n , 1 9 6 3 ;
Kalupahana, David, J. Language, Truth and Cultwv in
Buddhist Perspectiw, a l€cturc delivered at the East-
, o n o l u l u , 1 9 8 9 ;M a l a l a -
W e s t P h i i o s o p h e r ' sC o n f e r e n c eH
s e k e r aG . P . a n d J a y a t i l l e k c , K . N , , B u d d f i s m a n d t h e
R a c e Q u e s t r o n , U N E S C O , 1 9 5 8 ;M a r c e l G a b r i e l , I b e
 HUMAN RIGHTS 487 HUMAN RIGHTS

Existcntial Backgrouad of Human Dignity, Harvard,
1963; Marx, Karl, Economic and Philosophical Manus-
cnpu o[ 184, (Tr. Martin Milligan) London, I.awrence
and Wishart, 19701-Marx and Engels, On Religion
M o s c o w , P r o g r e s s P u b l i s h e r s , 1 9 7 6 ;M o o k e r j i , R . K , ,
Hindu Civilization, Bombay, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan,
1950; Nananands, Bhikkhu, Concept and Reality,
Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, l97l;
Novat, George, Humanism and Socialisur, New York,
Pdhfindcn Prcss,L9l3;Petrcyan, M ., Humaaism, Moscow,
Progress Publishers, 1972; Punjab University Publica-
tton, Buddhism,1969; RahulE, WaJpola, The Heritage of
the Bhikkhu, lllew York, Grove Press Inc. 1974;Sartre,
Jean Paul, Existentialism and Humanism, (Tr. Philip
Mnret) London, Methuen, 1949.
R- D. Gunantm
HUMAN RIGIITS. As a rcligion and philosophy dealing
with the welfare of 'all beings' (sabbc satta), Buddhism is
certainly concerned with Human Rights - and with
much more. lts concern for human rights finds cxpression
through the value system it upholds and considers
salutary for mankind. Though not expr€ssed as in
present-day parlance, the carcful student of Buddhism
would not fail to note that the concepts and concerns of
the Universal Declaration of Human fughts as adopted
by the Gencral Asscmbly of the United Nations on l0th
December, 1948, are enshrined in thc teachings of the
Buddhs, as well. The basic principles of the dectaration
arc fully supported and reinforccd by Buddhist Canonical
and historical literature. And it has beenrightly observed
that'few religious teachers had been as eloquent and
explicit es the Buddha was in upholding valuesso akin to
the modern concepts of Human Rights,"r He expressed
tbem in greater dcpth and in a richer tone.
Prior to this Declaration (in relation to which the
B u d d h i s tp o s i i i o n o u g h t t o b e e x a m i n e d )t h e r eh a v eb e e n
attempts at declaringhuman rights such as the ,Magna
C a r t a ' b y t h e E n g l i s hi n l 2 l 5 a n d t h e D e c l a r a r i o no f t h e
Rights of Man and Citizen by thc French in 17g9.
However, it is only with the adoption of the Universal
D e c l a r a t i o no f H u m a n R i g h t s b y t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s t h a t
" f o r t h e f i r s t t i m e i n h i s t o r y p e o p l e so f t h e w o r l d h a d a
d o c u m e n t . . , . . .d e c l a r i n gi n s i m p l e a n d s u c c i n c tt e r m s t h e
inherent civil, political, economic, social and cultural
r i g h t s ' z t o w h i c h t h e w h o l e o f h u m a n i t y i s e n t i t l e d ,a n d
thus the Universal Declaration "provides a yardstick by
which men and women can judge for themselves the
extcnt to which their rights and freedom are respectedby
thcir respectivegovernments, organizatioDs,groups or
by other persons,and the degreeto which they themselves
are respectiDgthe rights and freedoms of oihers.'r
It is now over forty years since the United Nations
Decleration on Human Rights was made; but human
rights, as I concept, is still evolving,. and studentsof the
rubject Dow Dotewith concern the limitations inherent in
thit Declaration.s While recognizing the importance of
this Declaration "as a common standard of achievement
for ail peoplesand all nations'5 it has also bcen observed
that this document "tends to bejuridical in its expression,
individualist in emphasisand restrictedin its perspective
on community."r 11ttr is only one emong many criticisms
of the Declaration, but this is not to underestimate,even
for a moment, its great value. However, though reluc-
t a n t l y , i t h a s t o b e s t a t e dt h a t t h e D e c l a r a t i o n" l a c k s b o t h
depth of perception and insightswhich religion alone can
Brvc't and when compared with what Buddhism has to
say regarding the concerns of this Declaration, it needs
expansion in its different dimensions. On this point,
present-day's considered opinion from the Buddhist
angle has the following to say:
"It is ourview that the modern conceptsof these(i.e.
human rights) arc only an imperfect reflection of
ideas and concepts which in their pristine form as
expressedin the Dhamma werc more humane,more
philosophical and more jusr than anything which
we, the moderns,can show. Of course,they operaled

l. Anands W. P. Guruge, Foreword to L.P.N, Perere, Buddhism and Human Rights, Colombo, 1991,p. viii f.
2. Human Rrghts and Religionsin .Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Foundation, Colombo, 1988,p. xix.
3. loc. cit.
4. Cf. B.C. Ramcharan (Ed.), Human Rights: Thirt-v'Yearc after the llnivenal Declaration, Commcmorative Volume on the
Occsrion of the Thirtieth Anniversary of the U niversal Declaration of Human Rights, The Hague, 1979,p.7 f., pp. 4l ff.
5, ibid. p. 27 where a number of shortcomingr in the Declaration are pin-pointed. For instance,it does not include "any article on the
p rotection o f mino rities" and on the "right of petition even at the national lsvel..... " Qoc. cit), Also rndc Religion and Culture in the
Development of Human Rights in Sri l;nka, Sri Lanka Foundaton, Colombo, 1982,pp. 5 f., l8 & I I l. On its legislativchistory
nde Albert Verdoodt, La Naissancc et Signification de Ia hclantion universelle des droits de lhomme, Louvain, t964.
6. ThesewordsfromtheopeningsentenceoftheDeclarationitrelfhaveoftenbeenquotedbyrtudentrsofhumanrightrtoindicstethe
value of the Declarston. Cf, B.G. Ramcharan, op. cit., p. 3 f. ALao.Ralrgzonand Culture in the Development o{ Humaa Rrgrtrarrn Sn
Lanka, Sri Lenka Foundation, Colombo, 19E2,p. iii.
7. lbid,, p. iii, Also cf, B.G. Ramcharan, op. cit.,pp.27 ff.
8. Religton and Culture in the Development of Human Rights in Sri t-enka, Sri Lenka Foundation, Colombo, 1982, p. xi,
(lntroduction),
 IIUMAN ITIGTI"IS 488
i n a p a r t i c u l a ls . r c i a (l . r o n t e x h t .t t t a c , . r n ( e xwt h i c h .
p a r t t c i r l a r l -i nv l h r : a g ec i i r i e n c . .a n d t e c h n o l o g vi.s
w o r l t rr e t r r t v i n ga n d r e - e s t a b l r s h t nI g n .t h a t c o n t e x t ,
m a r r ' si ' , : w o f t h eu n l i e r s ea n d h t sp l a c el h e r e i n t, h e
a s s e s ) i r i e rar ri , c la p p r a i s a lr r f h r r m a n l i i c , n o w a n d
h e r e a f t e r ,a l ; c r [ { h e s e c o n t r ih u t e d t o g i v e t h e
c o n c c p t c f h u r n a n r i g h t s a n e n t i r c l - vd i f f e r e n t
e n r p h a s i sa. t c t a . l l ; , d i f f e r e nst € D S e ' - - ,df i r e c t i o n ,I n
t h e p r o c e s so i t i m e, l n a r c t ro t l r a d et u t ; t ' e r r t e nt th,e r e
h a s o c c u r r e da d i s r i n c ts h i f t o f e r r p h a s i si t o r n t h o s t
f e a t u r e st h a t w e r r g r o t r n r J eodn s e l f l e s s n e sa sn d t h e
b e l i e fi n t h e p e r f e c t i b i i r to] ,f t h e b u m a n b e i n gt o t h e
p r e s en t v o c i f e r c ' ' ucsi e m a r df o r i n d i v i d r r a lr i g h t s o f a
l e g a l i s t i cn a t u r e ,e n i o r c c a b l eb o t h a g a i n s t h e S t a t e
a n d o u r f c l l o w - m e n .S u c h i s n o t t h e c o n c e p ti n t h e
D h a m n : a . , . .W h i l e a p p r e c i a t r n tgh ev a l u eo f h u m a n
r i g h t s i n t h e i r p r e s e n tl o r m , t h i s d i f f e r e n c eh a s t o b e
s t r e s s e db. e c a u s ei t i s a d i s t i n c t i o no f t h e u t m o s t
i m p o r t a a c ef r o m t h e p o i n t o f of the Dhamma
"'iew
a n d i t i s t h e d i s t i n c t i o n t h a t n e e d st h e g r e a t c s t
emphasis.'!
l n c o n c l u s i o ni t h a s b e e no b s e r v e dt h a t " t h e r e s t r i c t e d
nature of the impact of religious and philosophical
t h i n k i n g " o n t h e p r e s e n tf ) e c l a r a t i o n i s b e s t n o t e d w h e n
looked at from a more universal angle, and that the
u n v e r s a l i t y o f t b e D e c l a r a t i o n " i s m o r e i n t h e d e s i r et o
a p p ! y i t u n i v e r s a l l yr a t h e r t h a n i n a n y u n i v e r s a la p p l i c a b i -
l i t y i n h e r e n ti n i t . " r 0S ' h i l e t h i s c r i t i q u eo f t h e D e c l a r a t i o n
c e r t a i n l vd e s e r v e cs a r e i u lc o n s i d e r a t i o ni,t i s n o t i n a p p r o -
priate in this context if this Declaration, as it is, be
c o n s i d c r e di n t e r m s o f t h e r e c o g n i t i o na n d s u p p o r t w h i c h
B u d d h i s t t h o u g h t , t r a d i t i o n s , t e a c h i n g sa n d p r a c t i c e s
could providc.
-fhe
Buddhst view of human rights emergcsfrom two
b a s i c a s s u m p t i o n so- n e p h i l o s o p h i c a l a n C t h e o t h e r
ethical. The philosophical assumption is that all human
beings arc born with completefreedoin and responsi-
b i l i t y . N o t b e i n g t h e c r e a t i o n so f a C r e a t o r , t h e y a r e
s u b j e c t o n l y t o n o n d e t c r m i n i s t i c c e u s a ll a w s a n d t h e i r
d e s t i n i e sa r e t n t h e i r o w n h a n d s . " O n e , i n d e e d , i s o n e ' s
own master" (atra hi attano natho), saysthe Dhammapada
( D h p . v . 1 6 0 ) .H u m a n b e i n g sa r e ,t h e r e f o r e ,f r e c t o a t t a i n
, oraliy andspiritually
t h e h i g h e s t ,m a t e r i a l l y ,m e n t a J l ym
The ethical assumption is morc relevant at the socia.l
l e v e l .l t i s t h e i n s i g h t t h a t m a n a n d a l l o t h e r l i v i n g b e i n g s
desire happiness: sukhakamani bhitani (Dhp. vv' 131,
1 3 2 ) .T h u s , t h e B u d d h i s t a p p r o a c h t o h u m a n r i g h t s i s
m o r e h u m a n i s t i ct h a n l e g a l i s t i c . r r
9 . I b i d . ,p , 5 f .
1 0 . I b i d . .p . 1 8 .
tl. Cf. K.N. Jayatilleke, l'fie Principtes of International Law in Buddhist Doctrine, Extract from the Rocueil des Coun, Vol. ll,
( P r i v a t e C i r c u l a t i o n o n l y ) , L e i d e n , 1 9 6 7 ,p . 5 3 l .
l 2 C f . O . H . d e A . W i j e s e k e r a , B u d d h i s m a n d S o c i e t - v , ( T e n t h L . e c t u r e u n d e r t h e D o n a A l p i n a R a t n a y a ! e T r u s t ) , C o l o m bl 9o E
a l s o E n c l ' 8 l m , V o l t V . F a s c i c l e2 , s . v . D E M O C R A C Y .
I{UMAN RIGI{TS
W l t h t h e s e n r o t r a s i ca s s u m p t i o n sB u d d h i s m l o o k s
r.rFon r l a n a s q u r t ec o m p e t e n li n t h e t a s k o f e n s u r i n gf o r
h i m s e l { ' a n dh i s l e l i o w b e i n g ss u c c e s as n d h a p p i n e s isn
t h i s w o r l d a n c li n s e c u r i n gf o r h j m s e l fh i s o w n u l t i m a t e
e m a n c i p a t i o nf r o m t h e t u r m o i l s o f e x i s t e n c eW . orldly
s u c c e s si t s e l f i s e x p e c t e dt o b e r i g h t e o u s l ya c h i e v e d( c f .
d h a m m a l a d r l h . t .S n . p . 8 7 ) , a n d t h e B u d d h a ' st e a c h i n g s
are partly drr"ected t o w a r d s t h i s o b i e c t i v e .I t i s h e r e t h a t
human rights need to be seen in the social context,
W o r l d l y o r m u n d a n e s u c c e s si n p a r t i c u l a r d e m a n d st h e
reciprocal recognition of, respectfor, and the observance
of the rights of'man.
W h i l e p h i l o s o p h i c a l a n d e t h i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n so f
B u d d h i s m g a v e r i s c t o t h e s eh u m a n i s t i c c o n c e r n s ,t h e y
receivcda further impetus through kindred values
g e n e r a t e db y B u d d h i s m b y i t s r e a c t i o n t o t h e s o c i a l
problems of the day as found to exist in its vcry cradle.
T h e e n t i r c r e i i g i o u sa n d s o c i a l c l i m a t e o f N o r t h l n d i a
during and after the rise of Buddhism and other allied
r e l i g i o u s s y s t e m sh a d g e n e r a l l y b e e n o n e o f r e a c t i o n
a g a i n s tl i m i t a t i o n si m p o s e d o n h u m a n r i g h t s b y t h e t h e n
prevalent Brahmanical value system,The activitiesof the
B u d d h a a n d h i s e a r l y d i s c i p l e si n t h i s c o n t e x t , h a d b e e n
d i r e c t e d . t o w a r dtsh e a c c e p t s n c ea n d p r a t i c eo f p r i n c i p l e s
of human rights in a very practical way, not only as a
desirable effort at social re-structuring, but also in
recognition of its ultimate spiritual value.
Furthermore, Buddhist social philosophy demands
t h a t c o n d i t i o n s i n s o c i e t y s h o u l d b e c o n d u c i v et o t h e
cultivation of the Buddhist social ethic (asrequired by the
B u d d h i s tm o r a l l i f e ) - a s o c i a le t h i c t o b e a c h i e v e dm a i n l y
t h r o u g h t h c e c o n o m i c a n d p o l i t i c a l n c e d so f a n y g i v e n
people,tr And it has to be borne in mind that in this
exercise, the identification, recognition, and effective
i m p l e m e n t a t i o no f h u m a n r i g h t s c o n c e p t sh a v e a m a j o r
role to play, for, in the ultimate analysis,it is from the
needsof a people that rights would emerge'
I n t h i s c o n t e x t ,t h e N o b l e E i g h t f o l d P a t h ,f u n d a m e n t a l
Buddhist concepts such as the Pafrcasila (the Five
P r e c e p t s )a n d " t h a t a d m i r a b l e v i r t u e d e n o t e d b y t h e
B u d d h i s t c o n c e p t o f B e n e v o l e n c ea s b r o a d l y i m p l i e d i n
loving kindncss (metta), non-injury (ahimsi), as well
a s . . . ,t h e m o r e a p p a r e n t s o c i a lv i r t u e s s u c h a s l i b e r a l i t y
dana) which is thc basis of [ltruism for the Buddhist,
gratitude (katafifluti), reverence (garava), courtesy
(peyyavajja), cquanimity (samanattat-) humility, tolc-
, 2,p.l5;
 HT.IMAN RIGHTS 489 II[n'tAiY fitcfffs

ration (k h an tt -so r acca) and veracity or sincerity (s accal,t t discoursesof the Buddha like the .lr'ngilo varla Sutta(f).
-_ all constitrning "thg ftrndamental moral basisof man's I I l . p . 1 8 0f f . ) w h i c h d e a i w i t h b i i a t e r a ls o c i a lr e l a t i o n s h r p s
r e l a t i o n s h i pt o h i s f e l l o w b e i n g s " t o - w o u i d s e n ' et o g e a r i n a B u c i c i h i s ct o n t e x t a r e o f p r i m e i m p o r t a n c c i n t h r s
onc's actions towards the -acceptanceof human rights. In connection.
fact, the Buddhist Paflcasilacould be looked up,on as the
T h c U n i v e r s a lD e c l a r a t i o no f H u m a n R i g h t sc o m p i i s es
e a r l i e s tp r o n o u n c e m e n to n h u m a n r i g h t si n t h e h i s t o r y o f
30 Articles and before commenting on any from the
mankind in that the Paficasilaembodies a recognition of
B u d d h i s t p o i n t o f v i e w t h e i r c o n c e r n sm a y b e l i s t e d a s
(a) the right to life, and (b) the right to properrv_,two
folows;16
broad divisions within which all human rights could be
Yeckoned.It is significant that the human rights listed in r Articles I and 2 staterhe most
important fact that nll
the Universal Declaration of the United Nations, when h u m a n b e i n g s ,w i t h n o d i s t i n c t i o n w h a t s o c v c r ,a r e
carefully examined, would fall into oDe or the other, or born free and equal in dignity and rights, anrJ
into both categories.In fact, in the processofsecuring the indicate the basic principles of equality and non-
weel of mankind, as may be noted from the Cakkavatti- discrimination in the enjoyment of human rights
sihanida Sutta (D, tll, p. 62f.) the ideaj ruler (of mythical end fundamental freedoms.
antiquity) - the C*kavatti Monarch-is said to rccom-
* Articles 3 to 2l arc concerDedwith ivii end political
mend the practicc of the Paf,caslila,which means the
obscrvanccof human rights. Thus, ideal Buddhist stete- rights to which mankind is cntitlcd. They deal with
craft needsthis recognition. the rights to;
"a. Life, liberty and security of person;
I t h a s b e e ni n d i c a t e da t t h e v e r y o u r s e tt h a t B u d d h i s m b. frcedom from slavery and scrvitude;
is conccrned with "allbeings' (sabbe satta).This is clear c. freedom from torture and cruel, inhumane or
from the Metta Sutta(Sn. vv. 143-lS2). AccordingJy, rhe d e g r a d i n gt r e a t m e n to r p u n i s h m e n t ;
Buddhist conception of rights together with the norion of d. recognition as & person before the law;
its magnitude is quite magnanimous, extending, as it e, equal protection of the law;
does,from the human plane to the animal kingdom. This f. an effectiw judicial remedy for violation of
could be geugcd from the fact that the Cak*evatti human rights;
MonErch is also said to provide ward and protection not g. freedom from arbitrary affcst, detention or
only tg man but algo "to bcasts and birds" (miga- exile:
pakkhisu, D. lll, p. 6l). Rights are not only for humans, h. a fair trial and public hearing by an iadependent
but for othcr living creaturestoo. [t is only in the 20th and impartial tribunal;
century that "animal-riglts groups" have surfaced in a
i. the presumption of innocenceuntil guilt has
few countrics. In kcepirig with the ideal Buddhist
b e e np r o v e d ;
monerch's concern for the rights of both man and beast, j . d e b a r m e n tf r o m c o n v i c t i o nf o r a n a c t w h i c h w a s
in the Buddhist historical coDtext,Asoka was rhe firsl n o t a p e n a l o f f e n c ea t t h e t i m e i t w a sc o m m i t t e d ;
monarch to adopt requisite measures, k . f r e e d o m f r o m a r b i t r a r y i n t e r f e r e n c cw i t h
The recognition and obsenyanceof human rights in a privacy, family, home or correspondcnce;
Buddhist coDtcxt have to be cffccted meinly through the i, freedom of movement and residence,inclucling
fulfilment of one'sduties and obligations towardg society, the right to leeve any country end to return to
Thir ir pert and parcel of the Buddhist aad Eastern cthos o n e ' sc o u n t r y ;
in gcnerd, while the term "rights" ha! vocifcrously asyium;
rurfacad in Western cultursl contexts, since rights have a nationality;
beendcnicd to man mostly in that part of rhe world, f'his contract a marriage and found a family;
wer perhepsdue to'an outlook nurtured on valueswhich own property;
breed individualism and ethnocentricism and which freedom of thought, conscienceand rcligion;
therefore considercthe world ar having beengiven to one freedom of opinion and expression;
Broup to be thoroughJy exploited for its own gain."ts freedom of peaceful essemblyald association;
Recognition and thc observance of rights through the participation in the government of one's
dirchrrge of duties and obligationr bring social a.nd country; and
morrl ethics of Buddhilm to thc fore-front, and thercforr u . e q u a l a c c e t t t o p u b l i c s e r v i c ei n o n e ' sc o u n t r y . "

lJ' O.H. de A. Wijcseker\ op. cit., p. ?2.

14. Ibfd., Ioc. ctt.
1 5 . L . P , N .P e r e r qo p .c i t . , p . 3 2 .
16. Thir clargificationic modelledon the one edoptedin Anton Fernando, A Guideto Hunan Righs and thcHunanitsrian Law,
Colombo,1990.What ha.sbecnl*en vorbttimfrom thir publicrtion ir indicarcdwithin quotetionmerkr.
 HI.JMA}i RIGIilS
I Articles 22 to 27 are conccrDed with acoDomic,
social and cultural rights. They include the rights to:
*a. socid sccurity;
b. work and free choice of employment;
c. equal pay for equal work;
d. just end favourable remuneretion ensuring an
existenceworthy of human dignitY;
e. form and join trade unions;
f. rcst and ieisure;
g. a standard of living adequate for health and
well-being (including.food, clothlng, housing
and medical cara);
h. security in the event of unemployment, sickners,
dirability, widowhood, old ageor otber circumc-
tanccs beyond one's control;
i. protection of motherhood and childhood;
j. education, with parents having a prior rigbt to
choose the type of cducation thcy consider
suitable for their children;
k. participation in the cultural life of one's
community; nnr'
l. protection of thc moral and material int.crestg
resulting from one's authorship of scientilic,
literary or artistic productions"'
' Atticle 28 stressesthe fact that every person is
entiticd to s sociai and i:rtcrnationd order in which
the rights and freedomsset forth in the Declaration
can be fuliy realized.
' Article 29 points out that everyonehas duties to the
community, in which alone the free end full develop-
ment of onet personality is possible, and indicatec
the limitations to one's rights and freedoms. It adds
that rights and freedomsare also not to bc exercised
contrary to the purposes and principles of the
United Nations.
s Article 30 statesthat nothing in this Declaration is
to be construed as implying for any State, group or
persoD, a right to do anything eimed at destroying
the rights ald freedoms set out in thc Declaration.
This concluding Article is necessaryin view of the
fect that mankind being so heterogeneousracidly,
culturally etc., there is always the possibility' Bmong
other things, of misinterpretations.This, thercfore,
is a precaution.
Tbere is no gainsaying that Buddhist teachings have
much to contribute towards the concerns of these
Articles.rt It is proposed to consider here, within avai-
leble space,four Articlen of the Declaration, viz' Articles
l, 2, 6 and 23, in the light of what has been already stated
regarding human rights in the Buddhirt pcrspeaive' They
are being singJedout sinceArticles I and 2 ere basic to the
rest of the Declaration, while Articles 6 and 23 are
reprerentative of the two divisions (l) civil and political
17. For r daailed trcatment of there Articl:, vrkL. P. N. Perrrr' op, cit', pp. 2l ff'
490 HUMAN RIGHTS
rights, and J2) economic, social and culturd rigbts
respectively,as alreadYnotcd'
Artlcle 1: All human bcings are born free and equal in
dignity and rights. Thcy are endowed with reasonand
conscienceand should.act towards one another in a
spirit of brotherhood.
This Article is basic to all ht'man rights and is in
cornpietcaccord with Buddhist thought. In conception it
is nothing new to Buddhism' As stated earlier, the
Buddhist view of human rights emcrgcs from two basic
assumptions, one philosophical and the other ethical.
Our concern here is the philorophical ascumption' It
upholde that every buman bcing is born witb complete
freedom and responsibility. Human beings arc not the
beldiwork of a Creator, and therefore they ere rubjcct
only to non-deterministic causal lawr operating in the
Universe. Their destiny lies in their own hands. This
freedom of human beings as commencing with their birth
itself, and the recognition of thcir equality in dignity and
rights by Buddhism are reflected clerrly in the Buddha's
emphasis on self-reliance, which he did by extolling what
he called attakira (personal endeavour), purisakin
(human effort), purisath-eme (humnn rtrength), purisa'
vrrrya (hu man ener gy), p urfuap artkk, ml (h um Bn v al our)
andpurisadhorayla (human responsibility)' Tbese human
rttributes are referred to, for instance, in thc Sampa-
sidaniya Sutfenfa of the Digha'nikiyt (D.lll, p' I l3)'
Furthermore, this concept ir reinforced by his mein-
taining that Buddhahood itrelf is within the rcach of rll
human beings. Thc Buddht ttw the pcrfectibility of
buman naturc.
If one is one's own mlster, as the Dirm mtpadtputs it
(Dhp. v. 150), one is certainly born frce, rnd if rll humsn
beings could attain Buddhahood, whrt Srester equality
in dignity and rights crn thcrc be?
Rcason and consciencc eFe recognized in Buddhirm
although the latter er underrtood today sppcnrt mostly
a.s a non-Buddhist concept. "Rca!on' (cf, dhemaa'
vitakka,A, l, p. 254 or dhemmidhipateyya, A.l,p' 141)
and "consciencc" (cf. tttidhipateyya, A',l, P' 147) more
or less go together, constituting the ewerenerr of right
and wrong. Recton and conrcience indicatc tbe ability to
judge the moral worth of one't own motiws and actionr,
and opt for whst is rigbt end derireble both for onerclf rs
well ar for others. Together they partly constitute thc
"faculty of mindfulness" (tatindriytj in human beingr.
Reason and conrcicDc€ ltt undentood in Buddhirm
could, to some extent, be setn from the Kifimt Suttt(A'
i, p. 188 ff) which indicatcr the criteril for dirtinguirhing
between the "good" (kustlt) end the "bad" (*tuda)in
tbe morel sens€.
 HUMAN RIGTITS
As for mutual relations betwcenhuman beings,
B u d d h i s mg o e sm u c h b e v o n dt h e " s p i r i to f b r o t h er h o o d"
( a k e y _c o n c e p t i n t h e A r t i c l e ) t o t h c r e a l m o f M e t t a
(mat tn) or " U niversal friend lness" or " Loving kindness".
This, embracing, as it does, every form of sentient
e x i s t e n c ei,s c e r t a i n l vb r o a d e rt h a n a n y c o n c e p t i o no f a
brotherhood, The term "brotherhood." furthermore.
i m p l i e s t h e r e c o g n i t i o no f a " f a t h e r h o o d " a n d t h e r e f o r e
a n e x c l u s i v e n e sosf a s e c t o ro f h u m a n i t v( w h i c h ,c e r t a i n l v ,
i s n o t i n t e n d e di n t h i s A r t i c l e ) t na r ei d e a su n a c c e p t a b lteo
Buddhism."Buddhist thought, both in the realm of
r e l i g i o na sw e l l a sp h i l o s o p h y ,b e g i n sw i t h a n i n s i g h ti n t o
a f u n d a m e n t a lc o n s i d e r a t i o nt h a t a l l I i f e h a s a d e s i r et o
safcguard itself and to male itself comfortable and
h a p p I . l n t h e B u d d h i s t r e l i g i o u sl i f e , t h e p h i l o s o p h vo f
maitri and avihimsa, universal love and non-violence,
d e r i v e si t s v a l i d i t v f r o m t h i s p o s i t i o n , T h er e f o r e , a t t h e
s o c i a .lle v e lt o o , i t i s t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t yo f e v e r ym e m b e ro f
s o c i e t yf r o m t h e h e a do f s t a t ed o w n w a r d st o c o n t r i b u t et o
t h e u n i m p a i r e do p e r a t i o no f t h i s p r i n c i p l e" r o
R e g a r d i n ge q u a l i t y , h o w c v e r ,i t h a s t q b e r e a l i z e dt h a t
e q u a l i t y h a s b e e n a n d i s b e i n g c i r c u m s c r i b e db - l l i m i t a -
tions in actual application. The claim that all human
b e r n g sa r e e q u a Ji s m o r e p r e s c r i p t i v et h a n d e s c r i p t i v eI,t
r e a l l y m e a a s t h a t t h e r c a r e v a r i o u s r e s p e c t si n w h i c h n o
differenceought to be made in the treatment of, or
consideration g i v e nt o , a l l p e r s o n sw , h a t e v e rd i f f e r e n c e s
r e f e r r e dt o i n t h e B u d d h i s t t e x t s a sp u g g a l a v e m a t t a t a ( c.f
D . I l , p . 1 5 2 ;5 . l l , p . 2 l ; V , p . 2 0 0 ; 5 n . p . 1 0 2 )r h e r em a y
b e , i n t h e i r q u a l i t i e sa n d i n t h e i r c i r c u m s t a n c e isn l i f e .
W h i l e r e c o g n i z i n gs u c h l i m i t a t i o n s , B u d d h i s mp o s i t sa
b a s i c e q u a l i t y b e t w e e n a l l h u m a n b e i n g s i n r e s p e c to f
t h e i r e s s e n t i a ln a t u r e , a n d t h e r e f o r es e e sa l l p e r s o n sa s
equal in dignity and rights. This basic cquality in respecr
o f t h e i r e s s e n t i a nJ a t u r e s t e m s ,a c c o r d i n gt o B u d d h i s t
t h o u g h t , f r o m a n u m b e r o f f a c t o r s 2 oo f w h i c h t h e m o s t
s i g n i f i c a nt a r e b i o l o g i c a la n d a n th r o p o l o g i c a l .T h e b i o l o -
g i c a lf a c t o r i s t h e a r g u m e n tt h a t h o m o s a p i e n s c o n s t i t u t e s
a s i n g l es p e c i e si n c o n t r a { i s t i n c t i o n t o o t h e r s p e c i e st o
which the different kinds of fauna and flora belong.
A r r i v e d a t l r ' , r m i n i ' e s t i g a t i o n sd i f f e r e n t t h o u g h , f r o m
p r e s e n t - d a v l a b o r a t o r y t e c h n i q u e s ,t h i s c o n c l u s i o n i s
c e r t a i n i y i n a c c o r d w i t h t h e m o d e r n b i o l o g i c a lo u t l o o k
w h i c h r e s t o r e st h e v i e w o f t h e b a s i ce q u a l i t yo f a l l h u m a n
beings. To speak of a difference between "man" and
It. Prof. John' P. Humphrey (one-time Director, UN Divirion of Human Rights) in B. G. Ramcharan (ed.) oz. cit. atp.27, discursing
the history of this A rticle, states,inter alir. that certain Articles 'could have beenbetter formulatcd and the document iuffers from
the inclusion in it of certain asrrtioru which do not enunsiatejustifiable rights..."
19. Religton and Culture in the Dcvelopment of Human Rights rn sn Laaka, p. g.
20' Cf. K' N. Jayatilleke, op. cit.,pp.515 ff.; G. P. Malalasekeraand K. t'1.Jayatilleke, Buddhism and the Ra62
1 9 5 8 ,p p . 3 5 f f . ; & E n c y B l m . V o l . V , F a s c i c l eI , r . v . E G A L I T A R I A N I S M .
2l ' v. l. afrftesam(ibid., p, 93, fn. l2) should be preferred to anafrfiaam in the text of the PTS Edition, from which we quote,
2 2 A c c o r d i n g t o a u t h o r i t a t i v e s t u d i e s , c o n t r a c t o f g o v e r n m e n t p o s t u l a i e s a s a p r e - c o n d i t i o n a c o n t r a c t o f s o c i eEt y, g
Social Contract, OxJord Univerrity Press,London, Reprint 194E,p. xii f.
491 IIUMAF{ }ttGHTS
" m a n " . s a _ r ' tsh e S u t t a n i p a t a , i s t o s p e a k i n p o p u i a r
parlance: vokirafica manussesusamafifia-t'apavuccaLl
( S n . v ' . 6 l 1 ), . T h e a n t h r o p o l o g i c a la r g u m e n t i s b e s r
adduced br the A;gafifia Sufla of the Digha-nikaya. In
t h e b e g r n n i n g ,s a v s t h i s S u r a , a l i h u m a n b e i n g sw e r e
" l i k e u n t o t h e m s e l l e sa n d n o r u n l i k e " ( a f , r t e s a ms a d i -
s a n a f i f i e ta n o a s a d t s a n a n tD. . I I l . p . 9 3 ; : r , a n d a l s o a d d s
t h a t t h i s i s t h e L i n i v er s a l N o r m ( c t . d h a m m e n ' e v aa) n d
n o l c o n t r a n ' t o i t . ( ' n o a d h a m m e n a :l o c . c i t , ) . I t s t a t e s
f u r t h e r t h a t s r r c i a ld i s t i n c i i o n sa r o s e i n s e t t l e ds o c i e t y
t h r o u g h a d i v i s i o n o f l a b o u r a s a n e c e s s i t yf o r i t s v e r y
e x i s t e n c ec u l n r i n a t i n gi n a c o n t r a c t o f s o c i e t y a n d a
c o n t r a c to f g o v e r n m e n t , 2bla s ed o n d e m o c r a t i cc o n c c p t s ,
r e f l ec t i n g t h e s en s e o f e q u a l i t yt' h a t s h o u l d e x i s t a m o n g
humanbeingsA . s a m a t t e ro f f a c t ,B u d d h i s ms e e m st o b e
t h e e a r l i e s t a m o n g w o r l d r e l i g i o n s t o r e c o g n i z et h e
fundamentae l q u a l i t vo f a l l h u m a n b ei n g s ,b e l o n g i n g a, s
t h e y a r e , t o o n e c o m m u n i t v i n t h e s e n s et h a t p e o p l e s '
e s e n t i a ln a t u r e sa r e t h e s a m ew h a t e l , e rt h e i r i n d i v i d u a l
d i f f e r e n c e ss, u c h a s t h o s ed u e t o h e r e d i t v ,e n v i r o n m e n t
a n d o t h e r f a c t o r s .m a y b e .
This senseof equalitv is further reinforced by the
B u d d h i s tv i e w t h a t a l l h u m a n b e i n g si.n t h e f i n a . l a n a l v s i s ,
f a c e t h e s a m e b a s i c p h e n o m e n ao f b i r t h , d e c a v a n d
d i s s o l u t i o ns, p e l to u t a st h c f i r s t N o b l eT r u t h , a n d t h a t a t
t h e s a m e t i m e t h e y a r e i n a p o s i t i o n t o o v e r c o m et h e s e
p r o b l e m sb y a t t a i n i n gt h e v e r y h i g h e s tm o r a l a n d s p i r i t u a l
l e v e l t h r o u g h a d e v e l o p m e n to f t h e h u m a n p o t e n t i a l .
H u m a n l i f e i s s o p l a c c d i n t h e c o s m i c s c h e m eo f t h i n g s ,
t h a t h u m a n b e i n g sa l o n e e n j e v t h e b e s t o p p o r t u n i t y o f
t r a n s c e n d i n gt h e u n s a t i s f a c t o r i n e sosf e x i s t e n c ei n t o
N i b b a n a - t h e h i g h e s t h a p p i n e s s .H u m a n b e i n g s a r e
e q u a l i n t h a t t h e y f a c e t h c s a m e b a s i cp r o b l e m s a n d a r e
endowed with a common but unique potentialityto
attain the highest.
A r t l d e 2 : E v e r v o n ei s e n t i t l e d t o a l l t h e r i g h t s a n d
f r e e d o m ss e tf o r t h i n t h i s D e c l a r a t i o n ,w i t h o u t d i s t i n c - .
t i o n o f a n y k i n d , s u c ha s r a c e ,c o l o u r , s e x ,l a n g u a g e ,
r e l i g i o n ,p o l i t i c a l o r o t h e r o p i n i o n , n a t i o n a l o r s o c i a l
o r i g i n , p r o p er t v , b i r t h o r o t h e r s t a t u s .
Furthermore, no distinction shall bc made on the
b a s i s o f t h e p o l i t i c a l ,j u r i s d i c t i o n a l o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l
stalus of the country or territory to which a person
b e l o n g s ,w h e t h e r i t b e i n d c p e n d e D t ,t r u s t , n o n - s e l f -
g o v e r n i n go r u n d e ra n y o t h e rl i m i t a t i o n o f s o v e r e i g n t v ,
Quation, UNESCO,
. .videE.Barker,
 H[JN4AT"{
RIGHTS 492
A r t i c l e 2 f l o w s f r o t n t h e u n d e r l - v - i n gp r i n c i p l e s o f
A r t i c l e l , a n d i r t h e f o t r n d a t i o nf r : r a l l t h e o t h e r A r t i c l e s .
A r t i c l e 2 i s a l e o b s s i c i o t h c D e c l a r a t i o r r ,i n a s n : r : c ha s i t
i s a p r e a m b l et o i t - - a p r c a m b i ei n t r o d u c i n gt h t d i v e r s i t y
in the human sjtuation - a diversity within which al!
hurnan rights need to bc respectedand recognize.l.For
Buddhists, divcrsity is part of natural evolution anCis not
to be regerded as a prohlerc. Mnn, as nr "cngineer" in
D a t u r e ,i s e x p e c t e dt o w o r k o u t h i r e m * n i p a t i o n w i t h i n
end tbrough this diversity AJ rtated earlier, rs a religior
and philosophy coucer-ned..vith"nil beings" (sabfu satti),
Buddhism does not recognizethe dietinctionl rcferred to
in this Article,
In the observationson Article l. it wer stated how and
on whet grounds Buddhism considerr ell human bcings
equal. It may be rdded herc thet thir equality is said to bc
"in accorduce witb' the Dhemma in the sense of
'aad
"Universal Norrn" (vide infre) not contrary tcl it"
(dhammen'evano edhammena,l). M, p, 93i.l'h!s would
further mean that the eqrality impfied is ba.ric,funda-
mental and uatural. .i r!:[ s *oncui]lion oI equs.lity
requiresthat rights anrj lrredomr shoidd rcma-inu.ntram-
mcllcd by consid'ratiorrs ruch ar race, colour, Bcx ctc.
Ar BudCh,sm rees ir, tht buman life-proccssoperat€s
thror.rgh tbc "tbrre docrs" of mind, body and speecb.
Humen endeavour or ection (whetever its morsl tonc be)
is menta! in origin and manif,esk its€lf physically or
verbally. Iicnce, r.sstatdd by the Buddhr in his dircounes
like Vasala{Sn. v'v.l I6-.142)rnd Mzdhura(M.lI, p. 83),
one is "lrcir" to one's acton (hm mdZyado) ii"rerpective
of such factors nErnce, colour, netionnl or rociel origin,
property, birth or other status. Conscqucutly these
fsr{crr arc not. in any way, counte;rrnctd in Buddhism,
nnd rights and frccdoms have to be cxerciscd through
aprropriete action, i.c. through srmnrr.kaprmttta - the
[i *dd hist social prirrciplcs.
So is it with sex and language. With the fundnmental
equality of ell human beingr bcing grantcd, it will be
superfluous to distinguish betwecn the scxes. Womcn's
potentialities are similar to those of mrn, Wbilc one may
mistalenly seee patriarchal starnpin its attitude towardr
t h e " w e a k e r s c x " d u e t o c e r t e i n B u d d l i i s t m o n a . r t i cr u l e s
governing the life of nuns,2r and whilc carly Buddhism
had to contend with an environment which, ar a whole,
was prejudiced against women, Buddhism saw no realon
23. The Vinaya, naturally, hed to tal,e cognizancc of thr rrknerrl of the femrle rcx. Hencc the rcquircrnent thrt wheterrer ir dccidod
on ecclesiatics,llyby nunr needg ratificstion by monkr.
2,+. I. B. Horner, women under Pimitivc Buddhism, London, 1930, p" 101.
25. The starement in the Cu/levagga (Vin Il, 139), anujananti bhikkhave s*iya niruttiyr bvddhtvrctnr,rn puiypuairut!,
togaher with the Buddha's ettitude towardr lengurge ar rcvedcd elrcwhcre (cf. e.g. Arnuibhugttura
clearly implies that salaya nirutti.vi should refer to onc's own languege, and not to the M"grdhrn idi66, rr rruncd by thc
Commentaror (VinA. l2l4). lt rhould also be noted thst s*t nirutti can bc understood to mcea thc idiom in wUch tho
Buddha-word is expoundcd." E-in-C.
26. Thc allusion appe{rs to bc to the Vedic idiom, thc languagc of the privt\cd
I{UMAN RTGIITS
why women should be discrimiuted rgrinrt, erpccially
in matters of moral and rpiritud uplift. Given tbc
nccesssry pre-conditionr, the Buddhr atscrtt that e
woman might do better than e mrn (cf, S. l, p. t6). tn the
Buddhe's mind "thJre ceemedto havc becn no rcel doubt
,.., Esto the equality of thc powerc of mrn md womu.'2'
Placing, as it does, men rnd womtn on therrme pedertel,
Butidhism dces not recognizc rightr and frccdoms for thc
malc rryhichcannot bt extended to the fcmrh. lndced, rs
borne out by the Therigirif womcn rctur.lly cnjoyrd e
high degree of intelhctual frccdom under Buddbirm,
being able thereby to gain rpiriturl rdvrmcnt on tD
equal baris.
The Buddha has also recognited oncl rigbt! rDd
freedoms in one's quert for meteriel ($tht) rnd rpirituel
(dhammsl wcll-bcing. Looking at thc mrtt€r from the
point of view of language ec a medium of inrtruction, be
enjoined that one should learn bir ttachingr "in onc't own
language" (sakaye niruttiyifs, and prohibited hil
disciples from prgsenting his tcnching through rny privi-
leged linguistic medium of the dey.ro
In terms of religion, Buddhism cltendt to followeru of
all other religions the rights and freedomr thrt Buddhists
would legitimately claim for thcmselvcr, In thir, ar in
every other respect,Buddhism expectr onc to treat "the
othe/'comparing the other to onctelf; ettia'T uPsmtry
katvi (Dhp. w,129,130). This principlc ir wcll brought
out in the At t fip aniyik e4 htmm a-periyiya enviraged
in the Veludvarcyyt Sufh of the Srmyul n-niklyt (5. Y,
p. 352 ff,). tn the Buddhist ethic, concern by every one for
tha rightr and security of otberu it of primc interert.
Conrcquently, the exercire by e perron of hir or her rigbtr
end frecdoms is subject to thc recognition of the rigbts
end frcedomg of othcrs.
Finally, with refcrencc to the fitrt parrgrrph of thir
Article it har to bc rtrtcd thrt oncb politicel or other
opinion, to judge from such dircouner of the Buddhr ar
tb Kilima Suttt (A. I, p. 188 ff.), ir no ber to thc
enjoyment of human righta end frecdoms. As for political
opinion it should be rlearly uuderstood that errly
Buddhist Iteraturt shows no preferercc for any one form
of polity over another. Whilc the tcachingsof the Buddhe
ar€ more consonant with dcmocretic thought rt itE bert,
Buddhism would opt for any form of polity which, under
given circum!t&ncer, would bcst eneble thc practice of itr
trlcn
of the MQjhimt-nikry)
ar that time in North lndir-
 HUMAI{ RIGTITS 493
s o c i a l e t h i c . a s t h e p r i m a r y c o n s i d e r a t i o nw a s n o t s o
much the natureof the politicaland theeconomicsetting
b u t t b c p r a c t i d a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e s o c i a .el t h i c , w h i c h . o f
c o u r s e , h a s t o b e e f f c c t e dm a i n l y t h r o u g h t t r e p o l i t i c a l
ald economic affairs of any nation.?7
The sccond paregraph of this Article is intrinsicalll'
linked with the question as to wbere, in the Buddhist
p e r s p e c t i v e ,u l t i m a t e s o v e r e i g n t vl i e s . W h i l e B u d d h i s m
demands a realistic eva.luationof the hurnan situar.ion
and would acknowledge the fallibility of hrrrnsn institu-
tions (for none, it would sBy, is imposed by an infali:hle
external agency), Buddhism measureshuman affs.irsin
terms of the Universal Norm (Dhamma) or principie of
righteousnessreferred to, above. This conception of rhe
Universal Norm means that in tbe Buddhist view.
" u l t i m a t e s o v e r e i g n t yr e s i d e d ,n o t i n a n y r u l e r , h u m a n o r
d i v i n e , n o r i n a n y b o d y g o v e r n i n g t h e s t a t e ,n o r i n t h e
state itself, but in Dhamma, the etcrnal principle of
nghteousness"2t.The Dhamma, in this context, should
n o t b e u n d e r s t o o da s s i g n i f y i n g" s o m e s o r t o f m y s t e r i o u s
entity, but that it is only to the extent to which states
coDform with Dhamma, in thcir internal and foreigrr
poiicy, that a human being can achievchis iegitimate
erpirations for peace,prosperity and happiness.'ze
S i n c e B u d d h i s m c r e d i t st h e h u m a n p e r s o n a l i t yw i t h a
dignity and moral responsibility it looks upon the human
being as qualified to be visted with the sovereignry
immanent inthe Dhamma,inthe managementof human
a f f a i r s ,B u d d h i s m , p o s i t s ,a s J e a n J a c q u e sR o u s s e a ud i d
much later, that the esseDc!of human dignity lies in the
assumptionof maa's rcsponsibiliry for his own governancc.
Therefore, whatever be the form of polity to which a
person may subscribe,from the Buddhist point of view,
for all practical purposes, it is in man that the sovereignty
inherent in the Dhamma lies. Thus. distinctions in the
treatment meted out to persons under different forms of
polity would be basically meaningless,certainly harmful,
and definitely repugnant to Buddhisr rhought,
Ardcle 5: Everyone has the rigbt to recognition
everywhert atl I person before the law,
Article 6 assertsthe worth of the individual irrespective
of the circumstancesof life in which the indh'idual may
find himsclf or hersclf placcd, and is quite meaningful
from the point of view of Buddhist ethics and the
Buddhist notion of justice. What mstters here is the
"hum"n-ness" (Pali: manussattam) of the individuel
concerned; and, as could be inferred from Buddhist
monertic law (Vinaya), thc idea of a pcrson in thc legal
Tl. Vide suprt fn. 12.
28. K.N. Jayailleke, op. cit., p. ,f7t.
29. K.N. Jayatillke,ibid.,loc. cit. Alro sf. T,W. Rhyr Davidr, Didoguesof theBuddha,Pt. III, (SBB.Vol. IV), London,Reprint 1965,
p. E0,fn. 3, Accordingto the Canonicaltextr, thir eternalprincipleof righteourne* ir that adheredto by Crllavrttr Monarchr.
tr. K.N. Jayatilleke, op. cit.,p.+17.
HUMAN RIGHTS
tease,whcther in refercnceto the psvcho-somaticprrsona-
lity (nama-rupa) of the human irc;ng cr as thc collective
g r o u p p e r s o n a l i t yo f a c o r p o r a t eb o d . v .i s a l s o f a m i l j a r t o
B u d d h i s t t h o u g h t . I h i s A r t i c l e , t h r r r , n r i , i r , a r i l cv o n s r i -
t u t c s t h c r e c o g n i t i o nc . i lt h e w o r t h o l i h c r ; : . J i r r d u a al s r
h u m a n b r i n g , a n d a - ss i r c h ,a f f i r n : s { i r r i n c i i E ; d u a l ' si g h t
f o b e r t ; c g n i r r r j a s ' dp r r t a t r b e f n r r t h r j r r w . .
A w o r d i s n c e c s s a r l ' o nt h e l l u d d h i s t v i e w o f t h c l a w
a n d t h r t s r r d d h i sat p l i i : ) a c ht o t h c s a m e .A s t h e r o s d t o
N i b b i n s l i e s n o t o n l i , ,t h r r : u g h s y ' l v a ns o i i t u d e b u t a l s o
t h r o u g h t l r e h i g h w a v so f l i f c , l a w - i n t h e B u d d b i s t v i c w -
e x i s t si n t h e i n t e r e s t so f l i f e a n C i t s s u p p o r t i v e a g e n n e s .
Lnw is ma::-made and ir Butlilhisrn it is a btnding force
s i n c et h e f o u n t a i n h e a do f l h e l a r , vi s t h ; I ) h t m r n e o r t h e
e t e r n a . l{ s a n a n t a n o )s e l f , o p c r a i i v eC o s r n i c p r i n c i p l r o f
R i g h t e o u s n e s ss,u p e r i o rt c a n da n t e r i o rt o w h i c h n o t h i n g
a n i m a t eo r i n a n i m a t ec o u l d p o s s r b l ye x i s t .
The Buddhist approachto rhe law drmands that the
l a w b c c o n s i d e r e di n r e l a t i o n t o B u d d h i s t e t h i c s a n d
B u d d h i s t s o c i a .pl h i i c s o p h y . A l t h o u g h p o s i t i v i s t sw o u l d
prefer to excludesuchextralegal considcrations.it has to
b e c l e a r l y s t a t e dh e r e t h a t l a w b e c o n , e sm e a n i n g f u lo n i y
o n t h e b a s i s o f . e t h i c a l i d e a l s .A c c o r d i n g l y , B u d d h i s m
looks upon the lew "as a.u instrument for achicving
certain ends,whicb arc hcld to be socialiy desirable.What
theseends are, or should be, is a matter for ethics,,s
Buddhist ethics bcing based on the Buddhisr view of
Reality which, in turn, derives it! validity from the
B u d d h i s t t h e o r y o f K n o w l e d g e "t b c c r : n c e p t i o no f l a w i n
Buddhism may be said tc be uitimareiy grounded on
Buddhist epistemologicnlteachings,
F o r t h e p r e s e n tp u r p o e ei t w o u l d s u f f i c e t o s t a t e t h a t
the Buddhist attitude towards the iaw in gencral and
towards lega.ldispcnsationin particulrr, !tem! from two
c o n c e p t i o n s :( l ) t h a t o f t b e " R ^ u l e o f R i g h t e o u s D ? s t , '
embedded in the imagcry of tbe Dhemmacak*e or the
"Whecl of Righteousncss",since sovereign authoriry in
the Buddbist contcxt is reprercntcd by the ,,Wheel",
which is symbolic of the ongoing and expanding process
of law and justice in rhe world, and (2) that of the
"happiness and well-being of rnankind" (bahujanahita,
bahujanasukha) which is unique to Buddhist rhought.
Early Buddhist social teachingsuphold the concept of
a p o s s e s s o ro f t h e " W h e e l o f R i g h t e o u s n e s s " a
, world
ruler or Universal Monarch (RtjA Cakkavatti), a
righteous monarch (dhammiko dhammarija) who rules
with proper regnrd for the law (dhammam
prukaronto....), and Bmonghil durjesis thet of provid.ing
 HUMAN RIGHTS
care and protcction rigbteourly (dhamnikam
r*khivareaaguttir) not only to human beings,irrcspec-
tive of their level in rociety, bgt 8s noted eerlier, eveDto
beasts rnd birds (migapz-k-khisu; D. IIl, p' 6l prssrm),
'Rule of Rightcousness",
thur giving full effect to the
This, when augmented with conception (2) above, hes
resuJtedin tbe idea of t "common good of ell manlind" -
en ider eppearing for the first time in humen tbought' It
'common good" must
followr that the idca of tbe
neceuerily invoh'e the right of recognition of everyone
cverywhere, 13 r person beforc tbe law, leaving no room
for dirtiaaions whatsocver.From the point of vicw of thc
hw thir ir thc ideel which rhould bc aimcd at' Thus, th
"Rule odRigbteousncss'and the "wcll-being end happiness
o f m e n k i n d " a r e k e y c o n c e p t si n t h e p r e l € n t c o D t e x t '
However, il, in ectud practice, there bc instanccs where
no jurticc ir properly meted out, yet justice is to be
cxpected in ierms of "conditiondity" cr the law of ceuse
rnd effect ar discovered by the Buddbr.
Buddbrirt teechings conrtantly harp on the vnlue and
di3nity of thc humen bcing. Among two planes of
cxiltence, namely, thc "humen" (miaust) and the
"diviDc' (dibba), in either of which one may work
towrrdr one'l emtncipation, a premium is placed by
Buddhirt thought on exirtence a3 a human bcing
(annuurntm,)which is ga.idto bc achievcd with difliculty
(dull$hr.g). As stated in our observationson Article l,
humu life is so pleced in tbc cormos that humens enjoy
tbc bert opportunity of tranrcendence from the unsatis-
frctoriness of existenct into the stete of Nlbbana - the
hfthert happinesr, The humrn planc ir to be preferred to
thc divine, rincc the former offerr e better opportunity
thrn the lstter to undentrnd reelity, which is eroentially
duLkbt or ruffering. Whilc Buddhology asserts that
Buddhrr rppcrr only in the humen realm, Buddhist
mythology refen to hervenly denizens looking forward
to r'fortunete birth" 6uStti) in the human plane (cf. 1r'
g.n).Moreover, thc Buddhirt religiour lrte (brahma'
ariy)hrdbeen deri3ned to lced one "in this world itrelf "
(difthbva dhamme) to emancipetion' and not to reach e
hcrven. lt will be appreciated then, that iu thc Buddhist
rcntext, one needl edequate recognition as a pcrsoD
bcfore thc law. for mundane matters tbems€lvesneed
evduation a.!la meens to an cnd,
Tbur, the worth of the individual taken in conjunction
'Rule of Rigbteousness"and
with the conception of the
the idea of the "common good of manlind"demands that
thc problemr of the we*, tbe down-trodden' the humble,
the nccdy and tbc dcfencelesr in rociety alro require the
crro ud rttention of thc irw ar exteoded to any other
lcgcDt of society. If the rule end authority of the law ere
to reflect tbc's6ll iqg 66' ( pvr,anr/ of the D h t m m ac*k 4
recognition before the taw is e besic human rigbt,
vhrtsytr the circumltrnes of e victim of discrimination
nry bc.
494 HUMAN RIGHTS
Artlcle Ll:
t. Everyone has tbe right to work, to frce choice of
employment, to just and favourable conditions of
work end to protection ryainst unempioyment,
2, Everyone, without any discriminhtion, has thc right
to equd pay for equalwork.
3. Evcryone whn works ha.r the right to just and
favourable remuneralion ensuringfor himself and his
family an existencc worthy cf human dignity, and
supplemented,il neccssery,by other means of social
protection,
4. Everyone has the right to form end to join trade
unions for the protection of his interests'
In the time of the Buddhe peoplewere lergely seil'
employcd, each in an activity very much determined by
hir or her caste, thereby participating in a sort of
economic organization of society and providing for
thcmselvesas well as contributing to the well-beingof the
community. Buddhist texts reveal that it was a period of
urben expansion in the Gangetic Vallcy with an evolving
city-bared mercantile cla,sswhich abo offered employ-
ment opportunities.
A s f o r t h e c a s t es y s t e mo f t h e d a y , i t i s w e l l k n o w n h o w
the Buddha disapproved of it. As I matter of fact it
contradicted the very basic principle of Buddhism that sll
human beings are born free and equal in digttity and have
thc rame rights, with no reservationsat all, to strive along
the Noble Eightfold Peth to the ultimate atts.inmentof
Nibbana.
The components of the Eightfold Path, epart from
their deep and lasting spiritual implications, are not
d e v o i d o f s e c u l a rc o n n o t a t i o n sw h i c h c a n b e d e v e l o p e dt o
suit changing conditions, keeping within the framework
of their spiritual significance.In fact, the first five factors
or iteps of this Path are consideredto be having a special
l a y s i g n i f i c a n c e( c f . e . g . M . I l l , p . 7 2 ) , a n d t w o s m o n g
them have a special relevanct to the rights embodied in
this Article. They are Right Actio:r (sammi'kammanu)
and Right Livelihood (sammi-Ajivy'. While the former
involves, Bmong other things, abstainingfrom injuring or
killing any being, theft, sexualmisconduct,and falsehood
(i.e. observanceof the Buddhist moral or social virtues),
the rpirituai implication of the lattcr is that one cerns
one'sliving in a way beneficial,and in no way harmful, to
olher sentient beings. Right Livelihood also touches on
Bqrddbisteconomics with thc assumptionthat onc ncedc
to earn a living and therefore that everyone has an
obligation as well as a "right" to work. In the prcrcnt-day
context with the increrse of the power of the State and
therefore its responsibilitics to thc peoplc this would
involve the right "to protection againstunemployment"'
The principte of fught Action would, er far er employen
'be tbey individuale, Corporations or the
rre concerned
State), involve the recognition that their employeesere
 HUMAN RIGHTS
oot exp?cted to work in conditions detrimentrl to their
physicel and spirituel well-being,and tbat they are not to
be deprived (this would elso amount to theft) of just and
favoureble remuneration so that they, and their familier,
can live in a manner in keepingwith tbeir human dignity.
Ar e metter of fact, s very modarn Inbour code, reflecting
meny of the Conventions of thc Intcrnational Labour
Organization, c&n be developedon the application of the
rpirituel significance of the sum tot&l of the elernentsof
the Noble Eightfold Path to recular situations relating to
the rightr of labour,
That the points made above are in no way_farfctched,
cen be secn from Buddbist texts like the Digha-nikiye
end its Commentary. We had occasionto point out how,
in a Buddhist contcxt, rights are assured through the
fulfilment of duties and obligations (vide supra).
Accordingly, just and fevourable conditionc of work and
just and favourablc remuneration for workers are
cxpected to be ensured through the fulfilment of the
following fiw belic obligations towerds labour:
a. Allocation of work to suit the employee's ability
(yathibalam kammanta-samvidhina: D. III, p.
191). Expanding on this point the CommeDtator
further advisesthat the work of the young should
n o t b e p a s s e do v e r t o t h e a g e d ,t h a t o f t h e a g e d t o
the young, or that the work-load bc exchanged
between the sexes(daharehi kiubbam Fahallakehi,
m ah all ake hi kit a b b am d ah arc hi,-i tth ihi k a u b b am
purisehi, purisehi kitabbam itthihi akantvi: DA.
III, p. 956). This stipulation gocr I long way in
ensuring just and favourablc conditions of work,
and also gives recognition to one's ability end
choice,This elso shows concern for the fitnessof the
worker, rcapect for ege rad rex, and non-exploi-
tation of fcmale lebour; night shifts for women arc
cfiminated. Child-labour teemr to be unknown.
b. Provirion of food and weger bhttta-vetaatoup-
ptdancnt : D.lll, p. 191). Buddhism enunciatese
unique wege polky. Explaining the obligetion of
the employer to provide 'food ud wages", the
Commentator strtes thet thc circumstsnc€s of each
person should be repantely considered and thrt
wf,ges should be determined eccording to the
number of dependants in the femily (DA. llI, p.
956). For instance e mdtried man with dependent
child ren kh ud d ak epuff o/ should receive m ore th rn
a bachelor (eka-uihiri: DA. lll, p. 956). Such e
policy would certainly, in rccordance with Artich
23.3, ensure for workers 'Just and favourable
remuneration'so that they end their fami[es can
l i v e ' a n e x i s t e n c ew o r t h y o f h u m a n d i g n i t y , " [ t i s
also stated that hardship to the worker should be
evoided and that the worker should never be made
to work free. This was one of King Dutthagamani's
/j!)6 HTJMAN RIGHTS
particular concernl during the massive task of
constructing the Great Stupa at Anuridhapura
(Mhv. xxx, yy. 15& I7).
c. Ensuring the health-care of ernnloyees gilin\-
psfthAna : D. lll, p. I9l). Euddhism ha-l, in rhis
connection, been thirrking crnturier rhend of itr
time. It is only in the first helf of this century that
international Convcntions were adopted relating to
the health-careof the workers end to the protection
of the workers against bealth-risks in the counc of
their work. Under conditions of ill-health, says the
Commentator, tbe empioyeeis relievedof duties
and resuscitatedwith medical attention and nects-
sary nutrim ent (gilin'upatthsleni ti aphtsuka-kilc
kammam akaretvi stppiye-bhesajjidini datvi
patijagganena, DA. tII, p. 956), Today this would
certainly includc insurance against ill-bealth and
o t h e r e m p l o v m e n tr i s k s .
d. Establishing close comrndeship with employecs
(acchariyinam ras-anam snrlvibhiga, D. tll, p,
l9l). This, Iiterally mears "by thc sharing of
unusual delicacies"with the employec. This would
ceitainly push the spirit of comradeship to its pca.k,
resulting in cordial working relations between
employer and employeeand the srnse of a common
humanity.
e. Recognition of the employee's right to leisure
(samaye vosss&gr, D. l[l, p. 19l). This implics fixed
hours of work. Leisure is explained as two-fold:(l)
Releare from duties or work at specific times during
working hours (ru'ccrsamaye vossajjanq DA.IIl,g.
956) and (2) reasonel leave granred for fcstival
purposcs etc. (kilesamaye vossajjaaa, loc. cit.).
Paragreph 2 of Article 2-1enunciate! everyone's rig,ht
"witbout any discriminction..... to equal pay for equal
work. " The statcment of this rigbt bsd been celled for in
order to eliminatc considerationssuch as those basedon
nerionr.lity, race,colour or sex, which for a long time did,
and in somecountries gtill do, determine wegestructures.
The implied emphasis is tbat the only criteria for
determining wager should be the ki:rd of work, its value
to the community, the ability of the workcr, and the
quality of the work. AJthough thil right ir not expreased
in these terms in eny Buddhist text, it is quitc clear thet
Bucldhism, with its emphe.eison the fact rhat all humen
beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, is
totally opposedto any form of extraneousdiscrimination
in wagc structurcs.
As for the right (sraredin paragreph 4) to form and to
join trade unions it is evident that in the conditions of the
time the needfor such r right did not exist. The societyof
tbe period from the Buddha's day upto about j00 A.C.
(within which period the Buddhirr tradition devclopcd,
crystallized end enshrined within itself the concepts end
 HUJ\{II,ITY 496
v a l u e sd e a l t w i t h i n t h e s eo b s e n ' a t i s n s w ) a sn o n - e x p l o i t a -
-[hcories
t i v e , s h a r i n gt h c p r o d u c t o f i a b a u r . of "exploi-
t a t i o n " a n d " s u r p l u sv a l u e " w e r e a i s o u n k n o w n a t t h a t
t i m e , F u r t h c r m o l e ,t h e w o r k e r sw h o w e r es c l l < m p l c y ed .
particuiarlv the craftsmen,had their guilds to prot:ct
t h e i r s p c c i a l i n t e r e s t s . rT r here is alsri ample tnxtual
e v i d e n c ct o s h o w t h a r B u < l d h i s mb e i : r gd e r n o c r a t i ci n
o u t l o o k r e c o g n i z e s" t h c r i g h t t o f r e e d o m o f p e a c e f u l
a s s e m b l l 'a n d a s s o c i a t i o n " a s u p h e l d e l s e w h e r ei n t h e
I ) e c i a r a t i o n . r r I h i s r i g h t c o u p i e t iw i t h i h e f i v e p l i n c r p i e s
m e n t i o n e da b o v e , r e f e r r i n g t o c o n d i t i o n so f * o r k a n d
e m p l o v e r - e m p l o y eree l a t i o n s ,w i l l d e m o n s t r a t et h a t , i n
p r e s e n t - d a v r : : t r n d i t i o n :B u d d h i s t t c a c h i n g s w o u l d
c e r t a i n l ye n d o r s et h e r i g h t o f e v e r v o n e" t o f o r m a n d t c l
j o i n t r a d e r , t n i o n sf o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f h i s ( o r h e r )
i n t e r c s t s" .
I n c o n c l u s i o ni t c a n b e s t a t e dt h a t B u d d h i s mi s i n f u l l
a c c o r dw i t h t h e s p e c i f i cr i g h t si n c l u d e di n A r t i c l e 2 3 a n d
non-compliance w i t h t h e s er i g h t sw o u l d b e a v i o l a t i o no f
r c l c v a n t B u d C h i s tp r i n c i p l e s .
It is from the point of view of its goal that Buddhism
e v a l u a t e sa l l a c t i o n . H e n c e B u d d h i s tt h o u g b t i s i n a c c o r d
w i t h t h e A r t i c l e s i n t h e U n i v e t s a lD e c l a r a t i o no f H u m a n
R i g h t s t o t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e y f a c i l i t a t et h e a d v a n c e -
ment of human beings towards the Buddhist goal, to
a t t a i n w h i c h , o f c o u r s e ,B u d d h i s m c o m p e l sn o n e .
A r i g h t , a s u n d e r s t c o d t o d a y ,i s a n i n t e r e s tp r o t e c t e d
b y l a w . A n d h u m a n r i g h t s , i n t h e B u d d h i s tv i e w , a r e
interestslcading to the welfare of mankind (bahujanahita
and bahujanasukha) - interests arising from the
individual's "own needs" (attahita) and from his or her
" s e n s eo f d u t y a n d o b l i g a t i o n t o w a r d s a i l s e n t i e n tb e i n g s"
(parahita). These needs are justified as iong as such
i n t e r e s t sa r e n o t b a s e d ,a s B u d d h i s mp u t s i t , o n g r e e do r
covetousness (lobha),hatred or dislike (dosa)anddelusion
or bewildermenl (moha) the three unhealthv main-
s p r i n g so I h u m a n m o t i v a t i o n .
L. P. N. Perera
IILMILITY. I he Pa-liequalentof this term is nihatamana
w h i c h m e a n s ' s u p p r e s s e da r r o g a n c e . 'M i n a w h i c h i s
r e n d e r e di n t o [ ] n g l i s h a s p r i d e , c o n c e i to r a r r o g a n c ei s
c o n s i d e r e di n I l u d d h i s m a s a n e v i l l a t e n t b i a s ( ' a n u s a y a )
w h i c h o b s t r u c t sa m a l r f r o m s e e i n gt h e t r u e n a t u r e o f
t h i n g s ( , 4 . / . l . p . 4 8 6 ; D . I I I , p . 2 5 4 ) . A p e r s o nw h o i s
i n t e r e s t e di n h i s s p i r i t u a l p r o g r e s sh a s t o d e s t r o v t h i s
3 1 . C p . h o w e v e r ,t h e f u n c t i o n s o f t h e p u . e a, g a n a a n d s e n i i n t h i s c o n t e x t - E ' i n - C
32. Article 20. which reads:
'1.
E v e r y o n eh a - st h e r i g h t t o f r e e d o m o f p e a c e f u la s s e m b l ya n d a s s o c i a t i o n .
2 . N o o n e m a v h e c o m o e l l e dt o b e l o n gt o a n a s s o c i a t i o n . '
TIUMILITY
t e n d e n c vr n l ; i , r ,i n o : d e r t c a c h i e v et h c u l t i m a t eg o a l( D .
I I I , p . 2 8 2 i . A p e r f e c t e dm a n i s o n e w h o h a s d e s t r o y e d
t h i s l a t e n tb i a sa l o n gw i t h t h e b i a s es o f g r c e d ,h a t r c da n d
i s n r r r a n c e( . S n v r ' .3 7 0 . 4 6 9 ,7 8 6 ) .I n t h e S a n y u t t a N i k Z y a
(l\', p. 203) the tsuddhasays that a man becomes
c o n e e i t e rol r a r r o g a n tb e c a u s eo f h i s i g n o r a n c et h r o u g h
w h i r : hb e h a r b o u r si t l ea s o f a p e r m a n e n ts o u l . S o t o d o
a w a y w i t h p r i d e a r ' d c o n c e i t ,a t r u e v i s i o n o f t h i n g s r s
e s s e n t i a lA. r n a n b e c r : r n eps r o u d o f f a m i l y , c l a n , p a r c n t s ,
c o m p l e x i o i t ,w e a l t h e t c . B u t t h e t s u d d h as a y st h a t i t i s
o n l y r l u e l o i g n o l a n c et h a t a m a n b e c o m e sp r o u d o f t h e m ,
A n y r : f t h e s et h i n g si s n o t g o i n gt o m a k e a P e r s o na n o b l e
m a n . I n t h e P a r a b h a v as u t t a ( S n . v ' . l 0 ' 1 )t h e B u d d h a s a y s
t h a t p e o p l eb r i n g a b o u t t h e j r o w n d o w n f a l l b y d i s p a r a g i n g
r e l a t i v e sa n d o t h e r m e n , b e i n g c o n c e i t e do n a c c o u n t o f
b i r t h , w e a l t he t c .
T h u s h u m i l i t y , o r a b s e n c eo f p r i d e , i s r e g a r d e d i n
B u d d h i s ma s a v i r t u r e i n m a n . A v i r t u o u s m a n s h o u l d n o t
c o m p a r eh i m s e l fw i t h o t h e r sa n d h a r b o u ri d e a ss u c ha s : ' I
a m i n f c r i o rt o h i m ' o r ' l a m s u p e r i o rt o h i m ' o r ' I a m e q u a l
t o h i m . ' O n t h e o t h e rh a n d h e s h o u l db e a b l et o a p p r e c i a t e
w h a t e v e ri s g o o d i n o t h e r s a n d c u l t i v a t ei n h i m g o o d
q u a l i t i e st h a t a r e l a c k i n gi n h i m . l t i s o n l y a f o o l w h o w i l l
t h i n k t h a t h e a l o n ei s c a p a b l eo f d o i n g v a r i o u st b i n g sa n d
t h a t o t h e r ss h o u l d f o i l o w h i s c o m m a n d ( D h p . v , 1 4 ) . A
m t n s h o u l d b e s y m p a t h e t i c k, i n d a n d f r i e n d l y i n d i s p o s i -
t i o n t o w a r d sa l l b e i n g s ( D .1 , p . ^ 1 , 6 3 ,1 7 1 ) .T h e s ea r e t h e
c h a r a c t e r i s t ifce a t u r e so f a m a n o f h u m i l i t y ' S u c h a m a n
i s l o v e d b v a i l , a n d a l l w o u l d l i k e t o a s s o c i a t eh i m .
T h e B u d d h a i s t h e b e s te x a m p l eo n e c a r t h i n k o f , w h e n
d i s c u s s i n tgh i s v i r t u e .T h o u g h h e w a sb o r n i n t o a w e a l t h y
r e s p e c t a b lfea m i l y o f S a k y a nr o v a l t y .i n t h c p r i m e o f h i s
youth he realiz.ed t h a t w e a l t h a n d p o w e r a r en o t g o i n g t o
m a k e a m a n p e r f e c ta n d r e n o u n c e da l l o f t h e m . H e d i d
n o t w a x t t o s h o w t o t h e w o r l d t h a t h e w a s s u p e r i o rt o a l l
i n r e s p e c to f w e a l t h ,f a m i l y e t c . a n d t h a t t h e r e s t o f t h e
w o r l d w a s i n f e r i o r t o h i m . H c p r e a c h e dt o t h e w o r l d t h a t
a l l a r e e q u a l i n m a t t e r so r b i r t h , d e c a y ,d e a t he t c ,( M . 1 ,
p p . 1 6 1 - 2 )a n d t h a t a l l e x p e r i e n c et h e s ee v e r r e c u r r i n g
n r i s e r i e si r r e s p e c t i v eo f t h e f a m i l y t o w h i c h t h e y b c l o n g .
H e a l s of o u n d o u t t h a t t h e r ei s a w a y o u t o f t h i s s u f f e r i n g ,
and that cverv one can find his wav out of it, if a
p a r t i c u l a rl i n e o f a c t i o ni s f o l l o w e d .H e d i d n o ( b e c o m e
h a u g h t y b e c a u s eh e f o u n d a w a v o u t o f t h e s u f f e r i n go f
s a m s a r a .B u t o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , h e p r o c l a i m e d t o t h e
* o . l d t h a t h e h a d f o u n d h i s w a y o u t o f s a m s a r ab y
f o l l o w i n g a c e r t a i n l i n e o [ a c t i o n a n d t h a t o t h e r s ,t o o ,
c o u l dd o t h e s a m eb y f o l l o w i n gt h e r i g h t p a t h . I n r e s p e c t
of other arahants who realized the truth after the
Buddha, he qurte modestly szudthat all are equal in
 H{I}{C*I
r c s p e c to f t h e a t t a i n m c n : c f r h c e c a i . a n s lt h r t l h e o n l v
d i f f e r e n c eb e t w e e nh r m s e l fa n d o t h e r a r a l : a n t : i.s t h a t h c
w a s t h e p i o n e e r o n t h e p a t h r e - . . i i s c o v e r ebd1 ' h i m . a n d
t h a t t h e o t h e r sh a v e c o m e a f r e i h i n r ( S . I I , p p t 0 5 4 ) . H e
moved among all types cl pecpie and was equally
d i s p o s e dt o w a r d s a l l o f t h e m , B v e x a m p i e h e c o n v f n c e d
h : s d i s c i p i e st h a t n r n a j l ' 9 p r i m a r y d u t y i s l c l , ; e r v et h e
wcrld. For forty-five years he performed this dury,
m o v i n g E m o n g a l l t y p e so f p c o p l e .T h e B u d d h a a sw e i l a s
his disciplesaccepted food and other requisitesfrom all
c l a s s e so f p e o p l e ,a n d t h e y d i d n o t g i v es p e c i a lp r e f e r e n c e
for meals from the rich a-ndthc mighty. fhey went from
door to door beggingalms, and food was placedinto their
bcgging bowls by the rich and poor alike. Somctimes
cxtremely delicious dishes werE put into the bowl by
w e l l - t o d o p e o p l e ,a n d t h e n e x t m o m e n t a p o o r m a n w i l l
put his share into it, and the Buddha as well as his
d i s c i p l e sp a r t o o k o f t h i s f o o d w i t h p e r f e c t e q u a n i m i t y .
^ihe
sameprocedure was followed with regard to clothing
a n d s h e l t e r .E v e n w h e n a n i n v i t a t i o n f o r m e a l sw a s m a d e
t o t h e B u d d h a o r t h e S a i r g h a .n o p r e f e r t n c r w a s g i v e n t o
invitations from the rich and well-placedpeople. One day
they might be the guestof a king or a wealthy householder
(Vin. l, p.35) and the following day thav might be
entertained for meals in a destitute'shome or a beggar's
h a u n t ( D A . I l , p . 5 a 5 ) .I n t h i s w a y , b y e x a m p l e a s w e l l a s
by precept, the Buddha and his disciples proved to rhe
world the importance of humility.
W. G. Weeraratnc
HUNGI (1880-1942)wa"!ian oursrandingrnodern vinaya-
master of China. The surname of his lay family was Li
and he was named W0nt'ao when young. His forefathers
belonged to the P'ing-hu district of Chekiang province,
b u t h e h i m s e l f w a s b o r n i n T ' i e n - t s i n i n 1 8 8 0 ,h i s f a t h e r .
L i H s i a o - l o u b e i n g a c h i n - s z uo r a h o l d e r s f t h e d o c t o r ' s
degree and his mother surnamed Wang. During his
b o y h o o d , h e s t u d i e d u n d e r t h e t u t e l a g eo f Y e n F a n - s u n ,
Chao Yu-mei and other wcll-known scholars of T'ien-
t s i n . A t t h e a g e o f e i g h t e e n ,h e m a r r i e d a n d h i s w i f e w a s
surnamed Yu. Later when he entered the Nanyang
College in Shanghai, he took another name Ch'eng-hsi.
W h e n h e w e n t t o J a p a a h e c h a n g e dh i s n a m e o n c e m o r c
into An with a literary name Shu-t'ung and still another
fanry name Haih-shuang.
D u r i n g t h e C o u p - d ' l t a t o f 1 8 9 8t h a t t o o k p l a c ei n t h e
Manchurian court, he wes suspectedto be a colleagueof
K'ang Yu-wei and Liang Ch'i-ch'ao and thereupon was
obliged to take refuge in Shanglrai where he entered the
'[[an-
Nanyang College, receivingeducation under Ts'ai
pei. He joined with a number of artistsin forming the
4.97 lIilidi;-r
S h e " r p , i r aL:; , : l . r- i { - e i l i g r t p h r r s a i ; ( i P n i n t e r sa n d s p e n t
h i s i t , i ' i : ' r : : { ; i t r s : i ip r i i : t i r -n , i j " ; i i i r g ,p r o d i r i : i n ga s e r i e so f
1 & o r i . sr ., y . .i h r i ; . ' r i - r ; r - p ' i , ,. r ! ; ; l i s : ; - . ! - s n g r a v i n tghse) ,
l . i - ] u - s h t i : - c h u i ' 5 ' . ri. r ' s l , l ' . : r l { l l i i n i r , r s J , a a A u t o -
lliogt;;p!i.y',1 l.i.:i;r*.<i:z;l/ | .ap:t::;tir.Veii". r.'?i .+.ge.and so
f r . r r t h l.n t h r 4 t h i : I r i 1r ' l, 1 1! q S 5 . l , t 5m 6 t h s r i l i s d l { c w a s
t b e n t W f r t i , t , - S iav '.t r J" ! r i J ' .fri i: I i ' r , i : , :l l , h e f el r f e n t e f e dt h e
'i'c;'t,i gt' ',
Art Schco; i:i . ; " ' ; : , , . L r r , ) p c aLn- a r l t i n ga . n d
m u s i c . a r i d i n t h r : n r e a l t l n E . i r : u , 8 5i . . : t e r r s r e i in p i a n o
m u s i c a n d n : u s i c a lc o m p c s t ! i i . r nl ) u r i n g t h * p er i o d o f h i s
s t u d y a b r o a d , h r l a m e n t c d t n : i r a c k w a r d n c t sc ' f C h i n e s e
a r t s a t t h e t i r n e ,s c t h a t h e c o o p e r a t e dw i t b a n u m b c r o f
Chinese students in Ie.panfr fnrnt an amateurish
d r a m a t i c o r g a n i z a t i o r ;, " . . t h r ( - h ' u n * l i c u { " i u b , g i v i n g
t h e a t r i c a ip e i f o r m a n c e ro f t h e i a m o u s E u r o D e a np l a y so f
- f o r r i ' s( a b i n "
"Uncle and "l.a l)ame atrx tlam€lias" in
w h i c h h e i m p t r s o n a t r d t h e h r r o i n c sh i r n s e l f T h e y w e r e
t h e f i r s t C h i n e s ; t o a < ' lt h c ? r ' r d g p 1r l r a n i , . ,, S r s i d e st h e s e
a c t i v i t i e si n l e a r n i n g ,p a i n t i n ga n d p e r l c r m i : l g d r a m a s ,h e
-Ihus ',ve
cdited a Miniature Feriodical c,! llusi<: see, in
t h e e a r i y p r r r o d o f t h e i n t r c d u c t r , . i r: . r t h e E u r n n e a na r t s
o f p a i n t i n g , c i r a m a e n d m u s i c i n t ' ; ( . - l r i r . r nH, u n g - i ' s
c o n t r i b u t i o n sw e r ec o n s i i c r a b l e .
After graduationfrorn the Art School in igl0, he
returned tn China and worLrC as a rcacherin the
'I''ien-tsin.
E n g i n e e r i n gC o l l r g e e f In the springof 1912,
h e w e n t t o S h a n g h a i w h e r e h e b c c a m eI m e m b c r o f t h e
N a n - s h l C l u b , L a t e r :h ej o i n e d t h e P a c i f i cJ o u r n a l , a c t i n g
a s t h e e d i t o r o f l i t c r a t u r e a n d a r t s a n d t o o k c h a r g eo f t h e
p i c t o r i a l s c c t i o n .A t t h e s a m e t i m e , h e c o o p e r n t e dw i t h
M r . L i u Y a - t s u a n c lo t h e r s i n t h c l o r m e t i o n o f t h e W f n -
m e i C l u b a n d a c t e da s t h e e d i t i o r - i n - c h i e o f f the Vr'ln-mgi
Jor,rrnal.[n the autumn of that year, he went to l{angchou
where he taught music and clrawing in the Provincial
Normal School of Chckiang. Afterwards, he became
professor of arts in the Nanking feacher's College.
f)uring his stav in Nankrng, he cooperatedwith the
m e m b e r so f t h e c u l t u r n l c i r c l e st o f o r m t h e W i n g S h i w i t h
t h e p u r p o s eo f p r e s e r v i n gt b c o b i e c t so f C h i n e s ta r t a n d
culture.
l n h i s t e a c h i n g w o r k s , h e a d v o c a t c dt h e s r : - c a l l e d
" s p e e c h i e sesd u c a t i o n " ,s e t t i n gh i m s e l fa s t h e m o d e l f o r
t h e p u p i l s .I n o r d i n a r y l i f e , h e s fr e s s e dt h c c u l t i v a t i o no f
t h e a e s t h e t i cs e n t i m e n t , a r d h c h i m s r : l f d i d s r - l c c e eidn
m a k i n g c o n s i d e r a b l yh i g h a t t a j n m e n t si n t h e f i c l d o f a r t s .
l n 1 9 1 6 ,h e c h a n c c dt o r e a d i n a J a p a n e s ep e r i o d i c a l a n
a r t i c l eo n " f a s t i n g " ,w l i i c h r e c o m m e n d e dt h e c e s s a t i o no f
f o o d - t a k i n g a s a p r a c t i c a b l em e t h o d t o r e n o v a t c m n n ' s
physical and mental conditions. With thc purpose of
c a r r y i n g o u t a t e s tw i t h h i s o w n p e r s o n ,h e t o o k u p a b o d e
i n t h e T e m p l e o f l l u - p ' o i n H a n g c h o u ,w h e r eh e f a s t e df o r
f o u r t c e n d a y s . F r v e r y d a yh e p r a c t i s e d c a l l i g r a p h y a r
u s u a l , a r r d k e p t a s p e c i a ld i a r y f o r h i s f a s t i n g . I n t h e
m e a n w h i l e ,h e a t t e n d e dt h e V e n . F a - l u n ' ss e r m o n s .a n d
 HI.INGI
fully appreciated the purity of the monastic life, whicb
was e very important factor that eventually gave rise to
his intention of renouncing the world.
O n t h e 1 3 t h d a y o f t h e 7 t h m o o n , 1 9 1 8 ,h e b e c a m ea
Buddhist monk in the Ying-hui Temple of Hu-p'o in
Hangchou, the tonsure being performed by tbe Ven.
Liao-wu and he took the religious name Yen-yin with a
literary name Hung-i. He was then thirty-nine years of
age. In the 9th moon of that year, he received the full
ordination as a bhiksu in the Ling-yin Temple. After the
ceremony was over, his friend Mr. Ma Yi-fu presented
him a copy of the Important Pratices and Meanings of
the Disciplinary Regulations of Ling-ftng and a copy of
the Orthodoxical Regulations for the Transmissioa of
the Prcccpts Practised at Peo-htn Mouatein. Thesc
books aroused in him a feeling of deep regret that the
rituals he practised at ordination had not becn in
accordance with the true rulec. Thereupon he resolved to
study the uinaya and to ebide strictly by the pure
discipline. This was tbe cause of his becoming a distin-
guirhed vinaya mastcr of tbe age.
Aftcr being ordained, he began his itinerant life in
various plrces, staying at dillerent times in the Ching-yen
Templc of Chia-bsing theYu-ch\lanTemple of Hangchou,
the Ling-chi Temple of Pei-shan in Hsinting, the Lien-
hua Temple of Ch\tchou, the Ch'ing-fu Temple of
Wlnchou, etc., and perusing extensivelythc works ofthe
ancicnt masters of the Vinaya School, such as Tao-
hstlan, Yrlan-chao, Chih-hsil, etc. During his sojourn in
Wtnchou, he completed An Annoatcd Tablc of tho
Various Commanrtments for Bhiksw According to the
Dhatmryuptaka Yinaya. The final manuscript was done
with his own hand in very fine, regular handwriting, and
wes later published in Shanghei through the help of
Upasaka Mu Ou-ch\. ln the spring of 1927,hestartedhis
period of meditating in isolation in the Ch'ang chi-kuang
Temple of Wrl-shan in Hang-chou, where he studied tbe
viaaya intensively. At that time, the provincial regime of
Che-kiang had recently undergone some changes,and the
newly established authorities were beginning to tdk
about the confiscation of temples for educationel
purposcs, so that his friends, raised a fund to build a
houre for his residence on the Pai-ma Lake in Shangyil.
To commemorate this event, Hung-i composed rcouplet
thet resds thus:
Heaven always feels tcnder regard for the loncly herb
While in man's eyer the sun'l oft more lovable before
durk.
Hencc, he nemed hic vihira as thc Wan-ch'ing-sh8n-
frng (the Mountain Dweling of the Setting Sun), aod
tool rnother fancy name for himrelf rs Wan-Chlng-lao-
jen (the old man who enjoyr tbe sctting sun).
ln the winter of 192E,he joined Yu Hsi-yin end otberr
in a party for a proposed tril to Tbaihnd, intending to
498 HTINGI
rce Buddhism in that country. They set out from Shanghai
end passedAmoy, where Hung-i was asked to 3tey by the
local monls and laity. The rert of his life, a period of
morc then s decadewas spent mainly in coutherD Fukien,
although helsed to make occasional trips to the province
of Kiangsu.and Chekieng. On the l3th day of the l0th
moon of 1942,he pessed away in tbe Wan-chlng Vihara
in the WinJing A.lms Housc, a Buddhist philanthropic
establishment in Ch'uaa-chou, Fukien, et thc agc of 63.
His intimate friends erected a rttpa for him in the Mi-t'o-
yen of the Ch1ng-yuaa Mountain, Ch\ran-chou rnd
another in the Ting-hui Tcmple of Hu-pb, Hangchou.
Hung-i's systcm of Buddhirt thought consirts in the
advocacy of the theories propounded in the Awuhtl}l
sitre for the sphere of onct mentrl ectivitier, the
adberencc to the Dhamttgupt*t-viDaya for guidrncc in
one'r practice, and the achievement of the rebirth in tbe
Pure Land as one's final fruition. Hc made intenrivc
studies on the Avatahsaka in dl itl differcnt venionl,
and hcld Chtng-kuan'J Comaentry oa thir sltra in
particularfy high esteem. llir two written workt, The
Graded Introduction to the rccitttioa and Study of the
Avatais*a+itra rnd The Thrce Huadrd Couplett
Composed from the Sainp of the Avttthlrka, EaY
3erve to illustrate the intenrity of hir comprehenrion of
the doctrine of the Hua-yen Scbool. He-obtained from
Japan the Sanskrit text of the Bhadrrcari-pnaidhln, t
manuscript written by the Japanese Sanrkrit Scholar
Ji-un, and arranged to publiEh it with an iltroduaion
entitled Private Researcheswritten by himrlf.
Among tbe old me.rters,Hrtng-i beld Ven. Chih-hli of
the late Ming dynasty to be his model in inclinetionr end
activities. Like Chih-hsrl, he rcfused to tale pert in
monartic administratiw work, nor did he build up rny
retinue of disciples, but the object of hir inrtnrction war
not limited to Buddhists alone. tn 1921,bc produccd with
his opnhand acopy of the trvfulesn-utivid*piitimokst-
sErre. Afterwrrds, he turucd to follow tbc Dhum*
guptakt-uinty& ln the 2nd moon of 1931, wbcn he war
dwclling in the Fa-chieh Tcmple of Shaag-y[, be mrde e
vow before the Buddbe to devote himrclf to the rtudy of
the South Mountain Vinaye(i.e. thc vinaya prercribcd by
Tao-hr-uan),and further pledged himsclf to receivt thc
commandmentr for the Bodhirattva OD the 3rd d(y of
tbe 5th moon of 1933,the rnnivcnery of Ven. Cbih-hsu's
birthday, in thc K'ei-ylan Templc of Ch'uan.chou, he
compored for the vinayr learnen a piccc u t PIdg to
Study Vinayt'nwhich hc wrote: "We relolve to conceive
the great Bodhicitta to uphold Buddhirm, and pledge
ourselves to bring to light the vinaya of Nan-rhau
Scbool that har been obccurtd end discontinued for more
tbao seven centuries and work for its propagation in the
rorld with aview to the revival of the Riglt Law rnd the
re-ascefiancy of the redirnt run of the Buddhe." Here
the change of his viewr concardl3 vinaya is discerdble.
 HUNG-I
D u r i n g t h e p e r i o d b e t w e e n 1 9 3 4 - 3 6 ,h e o b t a i n e d f r o m
Japan a collection of Buddhist scriprurca of ancient
e d i t i o n s . T h e s e e n a b l e dh i m t o u n d e r t a k e t h e w o r k o f
collating the celebrated"three great vinaya works of the
N a n - s h a nS c h o o l " . I n t h e m e a n t i m e ,h e d e l i v e r e da s e r i e s
of lectures in Anoy on the Annotated Prdtimoksa and
the Revised Karma According to the Disposition of the
Learners. His other written works on vinaya are the
Supplcmentary Explanations of the Commentary on the
Pafrcadila-rupa-sutra, the Jottings of Records on the
Olfences of the ServEstivdda-uinava, the Extracts from
the ,SarvEstiv4da-vinayar for Private Practict (the title
was later changed into Vinaya for One's Own Practice,
Miscellaneous Records from the South Mountain Vinaya
Institute, An Abridged Resume of the South Mountain
Disciplinary Rules for the Reference of Iay Devofee.r etc,
O n c e h e h a d a p r o p o s a l t o e s t a b l i s ha S o u t h M o u n t a i n
Vinaya institute for the propagation of the Dharma-
guptaka-vinaya, which he failed to realiseon account of
certain practical reasons.
From his early youth Hung-i was very sensitive to
impermanence, the painfulness and the voidness of life.
Furthermore, the ideal of "propagating the vinaya when
living and finding rest in Sukhivati after death", as was
set forth by Ven. Chih-hstl, also had considerableeffect
upon his thought. ln religious inclinations he tended
towards the doctrine of the Pure Land School. In his
r e p l y t o t h e N i e n - f o - h u i ( t h eS o c i e t yo f i n v o k i n g A m i t a o f
Ku-lang-harl) he wrote; "Of the various Buddhist
doctrines, the one in which I have the deepestfaith is thc
doctrine of the Pure Land; and of all contemporary
m a s t e r st h e o n e w h o m I a d o r em o s t i s t h e V e n , y i n k u a n g .
B e s i d e sk e e p i n g t h e r o u t i n e c o u r s e o f i n v o k i n g A m i t a ' s
name, praying for the birth in the Pure Land, he also gave
lectureson the Amitayus-sDfra and produced handwritten
copies for circulation. He compiled the fotting Notes
from the Commentary on the Principle of the AmitEyus-
s[tra and the Questions and Discourses concerning the
Pure l-and to praise the excellencesof the pure Land
doctrile. At the same time. he initiated a method of
invoking Amita by following the tick-tack of the clock,
teaching people of distractedmind to keep pace with
t h e s er h y t h m i c s o u n d si n t h e i r p r a c t i c eo f i n v o c a t i o n .
The works edited by Hung-i include a Collection of
Buddhist Books the Forst Ser,in 4 volumes, published in
S h a n g h a i ,1 9 3 7 .A f t e r h i s d e a t h , h i s f r i e n d si n S h a n g h a i ,
both monks and laity, formed a Committee for the
commcmoration of Ven. Hung-i, and published ,4
Collection of Hung-ib letters (lst volume) and The
Sermonsof Huns-i. They also compiled A Chronotogical
Biog,r{phy of Ven. Hung-i, Selected Writings of Ven,
Hung-i, His Abridged Resume of the South Mountain
Disciplinary Rules for the Reference of Lay Devotees,
.Separate Notes Taken in thc Course of Lecturing on the
499 ICONOGRAPITY
'Annotated I'rdtimoksa, Separate Notes
Taken in the
Course of Lecturing on the Revised Karma According to .
the Disposition of l*arners (with 3l other materials
appended), rnd The Collected Explanations of Japarlese
Writers on the Records of Aids to the Practices of the
Dharmaguptaka-vinava in l0 vols. consisting of about
5 4 0 , 0 0 0w o r d s ) h a v e b e e n c o l l a t e d a n d p u b l i s h e du n d e r
t h e a u s p i c c so f t h e T r i p i t a k a S o c i e t yi n S h a n g h a i .
Bfhllography: A Collrction of Writings in Commemo-
ration of Ven. Hung-i, A Commemoretion Book of the
Late Ven. Hung-i. Hsia Miensun Collection of Ven.
Hung-ib Letters (First set), Lin Tsu-chtng; A Chrono-
logical Biography of Ven. Hung-i.
Un Tztt Ctrhrg
ICOI.IOGRAPIIY or ripabheda is one of the six techni-
q u e s p e r t a i n i n g t o p a i n t i n g a n d s c u l p t u r ef o l l o w e d b y
a r t i s t s i n r e p r e s e n t i n gb o d i l y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s p, o s e s ,
mudras, asanas,costumes,ornaments, symbols, mounts
etc. of the figures they depict. From ancient times
religious artists of Buddhist countries such as India,
C h i n a a n d S r i L a n k a h a v e b e e nf o l l o w i n g a n a d v a n c e d
t r a d i t i o n o f i c o n o g r a p h y w h e n d e p i c t i n gv a r i o u s i m p o r -
tant members of the Buddhist pantheon. As Buddhist
iconographyis a vast subject covering a wide erca of
B u d d h i s t a r t i t i s n o t p o s s i b l et o t r e a t l h e s u b j e c rf u l l y i n
a n a r t i c l eo f t h i s n a r u r e , H e n c e t h e s c o p eo f t h i s a r t i c l ei s
l i m i t e d t o p o r t r a y i m p o r t a n t i c o n o g r a p h i c a lf e a t u r e so f
t h e m a j o r f i g u r e so f t h e B u d d h i s tp a n t h e o nc o m p r i s i n g
l h e B u d d h a sD . h y a n i b u d d h a sB , uddhaJaktio sr Dikinis.
'host
B o d h i s a t t v a sa n d t h e i r f e m a l e p a r t n e r s a n d a of
divinities.
T h e B u d d h a s : I t i s v e r y c l e a r t h a t t h e i c o n o g r a p h yo f
t h e B u d d h a i m a g e si s i n f l u e n c e d b y B u d d h o l o g y ( q , v . )
found in the Nikaya literature itself, and subseguently
d e v e l o p e dr a p i d l y u n d e r r h e L o k o t t a r a v i d i n s . a b r a n c h
o f t h e M a h a s a n g h i k a s .T h e L o k o t t a r a v a d i n sc o n c e i v e d
t h e B u d d h a a s b e i n g s u p r a m u n d a n e .a n d t h e r e f o r e ,h i s
a p p e a r a n c ea n d b e h a v i o u r a s a h u m a n b e i n g w e r e c o n -
s i d e r ed a sa m e r e c o n v e n t i o n ,a s o r t o f i l l u s i o n ,T h e y h e l d
the view that only a mind-formed body (manomaya-
k a ; , a ) o f t h e B u d d h a a p p e a r e di n t h e w o r l d o f m o r t a l s ,
a n d h e n c e ,t h e h u m a n B u d d h a ' s p h y s i c a l f o r m w a s n o t
consideredas representingthe real Buddha who is
s u p r a m u n d a n e .T h e s e v i e w s o n B u d d h o l o g y f i n a J I y
r e s u l t e di n t h e T r i k a y a ( q . v . ) d o c r r i n e w h i c h p o s t u l a t e s
t h r e ed i f f e r e n tf o r m s ( k a y a ) o f t h e B u d d h a .T h e s ea r e t h e
D h a r m a k a v a- - t h e B o d y o f t h e L a w - w h i c h i s t h e r e a l
e s s e n coef t h e B u d d h a :t h e S a m b h o g a k u y " - t h eB o d y o f
B l j s s- i n w h i c h f o r m t h e D h a r m a k a y a m a n i f e s t si t s e l f
a m o n g s tt h e D h y a n i B u d d h a sa n d b o d h i s a t t v a s a , nd the
 TCCINOGRAPf"ry 500
N i r m a n a k a y a- - - t h r l l ' ! a n i f r r t t d o r C r e a t e d B o d y , i n
r v h i c h t h e D h a r m i r k a v a r n a n i l e s t si t s e l f a m o n g t h e
. n o r t a l s a t d i f f e r e n t t r n i e sr t n r l er d i f f r r e n t n a m e ss u c h a s
K r a k u c c h a n d a ,K a i l ' ' p a , ( i a u t a r - i - ar n d s o o n . A s b o t h
S a m b h o g a k a y aa n d N i r m a r r a k a v tat . r em a n i f e s t a t i o nosf
t h e D h a r m a k d l ' na l l B " d d l r a s2 ' r r c g a r d e da s b e i n gt h e
s a m e ,t h e S a r n b h o g a k i v aa n d I ) h a r m a k i y a r e p r e s e n t i n g
h o v r t h e l ) t r r a r m a k a y aa p p e a l ' sw h e n v i e w e d f r o m t w o
d i f f e r e n tI r , ' c l so f p c r c e p t i c r n .
T h u s B u d d h o l o g y g : r v et i s e t o t w o d i s t i n c t c a t e g o r i e s
of Buddhas narnely tlte lrutnan Buddhas (manusi-
B u d d h a s : q . v . ) a n d c e l e s l i a !B u d d h a s k n o w n a s t h e
D h y a n i - b u d d h a s( q . i ' . Jt h a t a p p e a ra m o n g t h e b o d h i -
'fhis
s a t t v a si n h i g h e r p ! a n e so f ex i s t e t r c e . latter groupof
B u d d h a sa r eex t r e n l f ; i li' m p o rt a . n itn t h i sc o n t e x t ,f o r i t i s
o n t h e m t h a t t h e p a n t h e o no [ I a n t r i cd e i t i e si s f o u n d e d .
T h e B u d d h c ! o p v a r f n r r n di n t h r N i k a v a l i t e r a t u r ei t s e l f
e n d o w s t h e F r t d , " l h ar " , ' i t t 1 i l:irt]-two rnajor marks of a
Great Being (N{ahap:rrnsa)e , ightv minor marks. four
k i n d s o f r a y s a n C r l u l n e r o u sa u s p i c i o u ss i g n si n t h e s o l e s
o f h i s f e e t . T h e L o k o t t a r a v a d i n sh o l d t h e v i e w t h a t a l l
t h e s ea r ec h a r a c t e r i r t i c n s f I l l r y * a n i b u d d h aws h i c h a r es u b -
s e q u e n t l y a t i r i b r r t t , i li l r l ' s l " ! . r r r u s iB u d d h a s w h e n t h e
B u < J d h aw a s c o n c e i v e cilr r a r r t h r t r p o n l o r p h i fco r m . T h e r e
i s a m a r k e d c l i f f e t e t t c ri:r r t t r e w a y t h c s e t w o t y p e s o f
B u d d h a " sa r r r c p f r s c n t t r r l .i ' l t e N l a n u s i - B u d d h a sa r e a s a
r u t e r e p r e s e r r f e sdi n g l y , . , l l ' r r e a st h e D h y a n i b u d d h a sa r e
r e p r e s e n t e calt t i r n e ss i n g l v a n r l a t o t h e r t i m e s a s b e i n g i n
-l'his
u n i o n w i t h t h e i r :f em ; i l r :r ) o r l t t t e r p a r t s , latter type of
r e p r e s e n t a t i 4 ri l5 1 r { * t ; 1 , . t1, , a s M a h i m u d r A o r Y u g a -
n a d d h a( T i h , Y n l , r Y
" iii'r).
T h e a r t i s t sh a v c m p d e * v e r y c f f o r t t o d e p i c t m o s t o f t h e
thirty-tvro majoi rrte.r!,a s nd eighty minor marks in the
ef t h e m a j o r m a r k s s o
B u d d h a i r n a g r s . I J e t n i i st f r s , r t n o
depicted are as folk-rws:
The usoiss is on,: sr,rchmajor mark. It is the cranial
bump *i iftr Ilcshl' arrd bc'rnyprotuberance seen in the
h e a d o f t h e B u d d h a i r n a g e so f M a h a y a n a t r a d i t i o n ( V o l .
It, Pl. XXtt, IV, Fl. XX, Fig. 2, Pl, X-XVIII). The Sinhala
B u d d h i s t l r a l J i t i o n e r p l a i n t h i s u s n i s aa s t h e f u l l y d e v e -
l o p e d h e a e ir v i t h t h t ' i u l l f o r e h c a d t h a t a p p e a r s i n t h e
s h a p eo f a w p t e r b u h b l e . f h i s i s w h y t h e B u d d h ai m a g e s
belonging to the Mntravihara tradition do not display
s u c h a n a h n o r m a l e r a n i a l b u m p o n t h e i r h e a d s( V o l . l l l ,
P l . X l - t l i , f i g " l ) . J h e i m a g c st ' c l o n g i n gt o t h e A b h a y a -
g i r i r ' ! i r a r :{rr 1 . v .t}l a d i t i a r t , } r n t r e v * r ,f o l l o w t h e M a h a y a n a
s t y l e a - n cri f l y l r r : s t n t l t t c r a n i a l $ r r m p . T h i s , h o w e v e r , i s
not referri:rj lei as the usnrsa,br-ltas the ketumah, the 80th
o f t h e m . : n o i m a r k s a s e n l l r n e r a t e di n t h e S i n h a l a
B u d d h i s tt r a r t i t i l t r
I ' h e B r r d i l l i , , ' q! 1 ; , i ri s [ r . r u t i { u l , t i d y , s o f t , t e n d e r a n d
g ! o s s y ,[ 1 ! 5 r J a - r tl + r l r , ' ei t r c o i o u r a n d i s c u r l i n g t o t h e r i g h t .
l { i s h c a r - ti s l i k e s r r : r a t e r h t : b b l e i ; t s h a D e ,r o u n d a n d
ICONOGRAPHY
w e l l - f o r m e d l i k e a n u n f o l d e d u m b r e l l a . T h e f o r e h e a di s
l i k e a g o l d e n f r o n t l e t u s e db y t h e r o y a l t y . T h e w h i t e h a i r
t h a t a p p e a r sb e t w e e nt h e e y eb r o w s , c u r l i n g t o t h e r i g h t i s
c a l i e dt h e u n a . T h e t a p e r i n g ,w e l l - l i n e dl e n g t h ye y e b r o w s
a p p e a r l i k e a n a r c h i n t h e p a l a c eo f t h e k i n g o f t h e g o d s '
H i s e y e sa r e b l u e i n c o l o u r , c l o n g a t e da n d b i g ' T h e y
r e f l e c tt h e f i v e s t a g e so f j o y , B o t h e y e - l i d sa r e s h i n y a n d
c l c a r . T h e e y e - l a s h e sa p p e a r c o m p l e t e l y r o u n d t h e e y c
and are like those of a black cow; bright and soft like
t h o s eo f a n e w b o r n c a l f . T h e c o r n e r so f h i s e y e sa r e g o l d
in colour and arefull like thoseof a bull.
His prominent noseis long and straight.The mouth
w h i c h i s s t r a i g h t a n d l o n g i s d e e p a n d s o m e w h a ts q u a r e '
Lips are red in colour. .lawsare likc thoseof a lion, the
l o w e r j a w b e i n g r e l a t i v e l yf u l l e r t h a n t h e u p p e r o n e ' T h e
well-formed cheeksare large, even and straight. His ears
are long and beautiful.
T h e B u d d h a h a s a c l e a r r o u n d n e c k .T h e r o u n d e d a n d
f u l l s h o r : l d e r sa r e e v e n a n d w e l l l i n k e d t o h i s n e c k . l n
s h a p et h e y a r e l i k e a n u m b r e l l a . H i s w e l l p r o p o r t i o n e d ,
broad, full chestwhich is like that of a lion has aswasrrka
sign on it.
The trunk of his body is well-formed and full, and
a p p e a r sl i k e t h e t r u n k o f a g o l d e n i m a g e , e r e c t l i k e t h e
trunk of Brahma. The faultlessnavel has its bottom
t u r n e d r i g h t . T h e m a l e o r g a n o f h i s . l i k e t h a t o f a h o r s e ,i s
c o n c e a l e di n a s h e a t h ,
T h e B u d d h a ' sr o u n d e d b e a u t i f u l l e g sa r e o f e q u a l s i z e .
T h e t b i g h s a r e l i k e t h e t r u n k o f a n e l e p h a n tw i t h c a l v e s
l i k e t h o s e o f a n a n t e l o p e .T h e a n k l e sa r e p r o m i n e r r t .T h e
p r o j e c t i n gh e c l sa r e d i v i d e d i n t o f o u r p a r t s , o f w h i c h t w o
a r e t a k e n b y t h e s o l e s ,o n e u n d e r t h e l e g a n d t h e o t h e r
p r o j e c t i n gr e a r w a r d . H i s f e e t h a v e a l e v e l t r e a d : t h e y a r e
soft and fine like heavenly garb: are straight and stand
t o g e t h e r .T h e u p p e r p a r t o f h i s f e e t i s t h i c k a n d s t r a i g h t ,
f u l l . h i g h a n d p r o p o r t i o n a t e .S o l e sa r e r e d , e v e n ,f u l l a n d
firm. His toes and fingers are compact and round,
gradually tapering at the ends. The copper coloured
g l o s s yn a i l s a r e r a i s e d .
H i s h a n d s a r e l o n g a n d h e n c e ,w h i l e s t a n d i n g , h e c a n
t o u c h w i t h e i t h e r o f h i s h a n d s h i s k n e e sw i t h o u t b e n d i n g
his body. There is no webbing beiweenthe fingers and
t o e s ,b u l t h e y a i e s e t i n s t r a i g h tl i n e sl i k e t h e m e s h e so f a
net. The arm-pits are full like pearls.the forearms are
-thc
s t r a i g h t ,l o n g a n d f t i l l . palms of his bandsare red in
colour l i k e a t o t u s ,a n d t h e p a l m l i n e s a r e d e e p ,l o n g a n d
s t r a i g h t .T h e l i n e so n h i s f i n g e r sa r e s i m i l a r t o t h o s eo n h i s
feet.
H e h a s s e v e nc o n v e x s u r f a c e so n h i s b o d y n a m e l y t h e
b a c k o f h i s h a n d s a n d f e e t , s h o u l d e r sa n d t h e t r u n k '
Bones of his body are not visible. The chest and
shoulder bones are full and level. The collar bones are
 ICONOGRAPTTY
l i n k e d l i k e a c h a i n . H i s f l e s hi s f i n e a n d s o f t . H e i s g o l d e n
in complexion, His fine, soft, smooth skin is thin and
does not gather dust or water. fhe face is like the full
m o o n . H e h a s a w e l l f o r m e d ,p r o p o r t i o n a t em a l ep e r s o n a -
lity.
Fourfold rays radiate from his body. The halo or rhe
a u r a ( q . v . ) s p r e a d sa f a t h o m a r o u n d h i s b o d y a n d h e n c e
called vyEmappabhain Pali (Vol. lI, Pls. XXII-XXIV).
His bodily lustre (iariraprabhi) issues forth in riys of
b l u e ,y e l l o w , r e d , w h i t e , c r i m s o na n d a c o m b i n a t i o n o f a l l
t h e s ec o l o u r s , s p r e a d i n gt o a d i s t a n c eo f 8 0 c u b i t s , T h e
nimbus (ramsilEla)that radiatesfrom his head appearsas
a d i s c a t t h c b a c k o f h i s h e a d .T h e r a y s i s s u i n gf o r t h f r o m
the top of his head are called the ketumala or
ramsicilimanr. This is also referred to as srraspata jn
m o d e r n ' S i n h a l a .( S e e M A H A P U R I S A L A K K H A N A
cf.Vol. III, Pl. facing p. 357)
F r o m a r o u n d t h e s e c o n dh a l f o f t h e 5 t h c e n t u r y A . C .
t h c s a m ef e a t u r ew a s a d d e d t o t h e B u d d h a i m a g e so f S r i
L a n k a a n d s u b s e q u e n t l yt h i s f e a t u r ew a s a d d e d e v e n t o
B u d d h a i m a g e s t h a t b e l o n g e dt o a n e a r l i e rp e r i o d . T h i s
feature is the same as ketumala found in Sri Lankan
B u d d h a i m a g e sa n d i t i s q u i t e p r o b a b l e t h a t t h e p a r a l l e l
feature found in Buddha images of South lndia and
Thailand were influencedby the Sri Lankan tradition
(Vol. tII. Pl. XLITI).
N u m e r o u s a u s p i c i o u sm a r k s a r e f o u n d o n t h e s o l e so f
t h e B u d d h a ' s f e e t . A t t h e b e g i n n i n gt h e y w e r e f e w , t h r e e
or four in number, The Apadana mentions the wheel
(cakka), the goad (aitkusa) and rhe flag (dhaja). The
Buddhavamsa gives a list of four namely, the flag, the
g o a d , t h e v a j r a a n d t h e b a n n e r ( p a t a k a )a n d t o t h i s t h e
commentary adds vaddham a naka.
is a list of eight auspicioussignsin the Sarattha-
_The_re
dipani tiki referred to atthamangalamade up by six new
items added to the flag and goad already referred to. The
new marks are the conch shell (sa'nkha) the full vase
(p u n n ak um bh a) ir on mace (gadl), the sym bo I si ri vaccha
r e p r e s e n t i n gt h e g o d d e s so f p r o s p : r i t y n a m e l y S r i D e v i ,
and the swastika. The last two arc regarded as minor
marks of the Buddha by Ratndkaradantiin his .girafama.
a Pafrjikd on the AstasEhasrikaprajfrapdramitE S-utra,
M-ahayana works such as Abhisamayalahk1ra refer to
irivatsa, swastika and nandyvarta as marks appearing
b o t h o n t h e p a l m s a n d s o l e so f t h e B u d d h a . I n t h e P a l i
c o m m e n t a r i a ll i t e r a t u r et h e n u m b c r o f a u s p i c i o u sm a r k s
rises to thirty-one. Later works such as Jinalankaratiki 'Pls.
give a list of one hundred and eightmarks (Vol. III,
LXII-LXV). These are said to appear only on the foot
prints of the Buddha.
Poses: Three main poses are noticeable in tsuddha
i m a g e s .T h e s e a r e t h e s e a t e d .s t a n d i n g a n d r e c u m b e n t
p o s e sT
. h e w a l k i n g p o s ei s r a r e( S e eV o l s . I I I , P l s . L I , t , l l ,
V , P l s ,X I V , X V , X V I I ) .
2.5.P.C.92,+78
501 ICONOGRAT}I{K
The standing pose is subdivjdedinto three i.e. erect
(abhanga) slightly bent (sanrabhahga)" cnd ttrrice bent
(tribhahga).
.{ssne me€ulsboth the positioir ui icgs an,,lthe seat.'fhe
a s a n a so f t h e f i r s t c a t c g o r ya r e a s I r r l i o , a s :
(a) Paryankasana. Ii: this the Butirlfra is seateclwith
l e g s c r o s s e d ,w i t h t h e r i g h t c - t , e rt t r e l c f t o n e . T h i s
p o s i t i o n o f l e g si s a l s o r c f e l r e Ct o a s y r i ' i s a n aa n d i s
p e c u l i a r t o B u d d l r a i r n a g e s o f S r i l , . t u r k a .S o m e
S o u t h I n d i a n t s u d d h ai n r a g e st t r a t d i s p l a yt h i s i s a n a
a p p e a r t o h a v c b e e n i n f l u en i : e d b 1 rt h c p a r a l l e l S r i
L a n k a n i m a g e s( V o l . I , P l . i l l , V o l , I l l , F l " L I I , F i g .
r).
(b) Pralambapada asana; In thrs ths B'idrlrra is reated
o n a p e d e s t aw
l i t h h i s I e g sp c i i d e n t( ! , u 1 .V , P I " V I "
Vol. ll, PL VIII).
(c) Padmasana: ln this asara the butltJha is repre-
s e n t e da s b e i n gs e a t e dw i t h l e g sc r o s s e d t. h e r i g h t l c g
r e s t i n go n t h e l c f t t h i g h a n d t h e I e f t l e g r e s t i n go n t h e
r i g h t t h i g h . s o l c so f t h e f e e r r u r n e d u p w a r d .
( d ) S a y a n a s a n a :I n t h i s t h c B u d d h a i s i n t h e r e c u m b e n t
p o s e l y i n g o n t h e r i g h t , b o t h l e g s s t r e t c h e d .l e f t o n
top of the right one. with orrcfoot slightly drawn
back.
T h e s e c o n dc a t e g o r yo [ 5 s a n . na r c ,
(a) Padmasana: Padntasana means tiie lotus seat. In
this the Buddha is eithcr sitting or standingon the
d o u b l cp e t a l l o t u s .
( b ) V a i r i s a n a : W h e n t h e l l u d d h a i s r r p r e s c n r e di n h i s
conquest of Mara (ntaravijaya) he is depicted as
b e i n g s e a t e do n t h e v a - i r a s a n a
or the seat marked
with thc vajra. kt Sri l,anka the viivavaira symbol is
carved on the lower border of the dado of the
thronc.
'I'his
(c) Sayanasana: d e p i c t st h e B u t l d l i a i n r h e r e c u m -
b e n t p o s eo n t h e c o u c h .
M u d r * T h i s t e r m d e n o t e si h e p o s r t i o no f f i n g e r s ,a n d t h e
i m a g e sa r e s u p p o s e dt o ' s p e a k ' a si t w e r e b y t h e u s e o f
m u d r a s . F o l l o w i n g n t u d r Z sa r e f o u n d i n B u d d h a i m a g e s :
(a) Dhyana or the.gamidhi ntudrE".When rhe Buddha
i s s e a t e di n t h e a t t i t u d e o f c o n t e r n p l a t i o n( d h y a n a )
h i s h a n d sr e s to n t h e l a p , p a l m s t u r n e d u p r v a r d( V o l .
v, P l .vn).
(b) A bhaya mudra; This givcs expression to the
a t t i t u d c o f f e a r i e s s n e sa snd hence called Abhaya
mudra. The right haird is half raised with fingers
s t r a i g h to r s l i g h t l yb e n t i n w a r d . - i - h i si s t h e m u d r i o f .
D i p a n k a r a B u d d h a ,b u t i t i s a s s i g n e dt o S d k y a m u n i
too,
(c) Vitarka mudr'a' When thc Briddha preacheshe has
his right hand half raised with thc tip of the
 ICONOGRAPHY 502 ICONOGRAPHY

f o r ef i n g e rt o u c h i n gt h e t i p o f t h e t h u m b a n d t h e r e s t vit an a c alI s it p a ra d u k k h a du k k hi ta rnttdra"s orrow-

o f t h e f i n g e r se i l h er e r ec t o r s l i g h t l vb e n t i n w a r d .
(dl Bhisparia or Bhimispar(a mudra; ln this the
t s u d d h a i s s e a t e dc r o s s l e g g e d w i t h r i g h t h a n d ,
f i n g e r sp o i n t e dt o w a r d st h e e a r t h ,p e n d e n to v e r t h e
r i g h t k n e e( V o l . I l [ , P I s .V l l - l X ) . T h i s m u d r a i s
c o n n e c l e dw i t h t h e ev en t o I t h e c o n q u es t o f M a r a
( m a r a v i j a y a la t t h e f o o t o f t h e B o - t r e e .
( e ) D h a r r n a c a k r a m u d r a : t h e B u d d h a i s s e a t e dw i t h
b o t h h i s h a n d sh a l f r a i s e do n e a b o v et h e o t h e rt o t h e
l ev e l o f t h e c h e s t ,f i n g e r se x c e p t h e t h u m b sb e n ti n .
T h i s a t t i t u d e i n d i c a t e st h e p r e a c h i n go f t h e f i r s t
s e r m o n c a l l e dt h e T u r n i n g o f t h e W h e e l o f L a w
( D h amm acakkap pa vattan a) at Isipat ana, Varanasi
( S e eV o l . I I . P l . X X I I . V o l . 3 , P l . X I v l l l , F i g . l ,
Vol. IV. Pl.XXI. Fig. l).
(f) Varada mudri: The right hand, with figures
s t r e t c h e d ,p e n d e n ta n d p a l m t u r n e d f r o n t w a r d .
(g) Pratigrahana mudri: This is a rare mudra found in
S r i l - a n k a B ' r d d h a i m a g e s .T h i s m u d r a i s f o u n d i n
B u d d h ai m a g e sd e p i c t i n gt h e B u d d h as p e n d i n gt h e
s e v e n t hw e e k a f t e r t h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t .l n t h i s h e i s
s e a t e dw i t h t h e h a n d s p l a c e d o v e r t h e l a p , p a l m s
opened and fingers slightlirbent in. A male -
p r o b a b l y o n e o f t h e t w o m e r c h a n t b r o t h e r sw h o
offered the first meal to the Buddha after his
Enlightenment standing by the side of the
B u d d h ah o l d sa n a l m s b o w l T . b e B u d d h ai s d e p i c t e d
a s b e i n gr e a d vt o r e c e i v et h e a l m s b o w l ,a n d h e n c e ,
this mudra may be called pratigrahana mudra, or
t h e r e c e i v i n ga t t i t u d e .
( h ) V a _ i r a h u r h k a rmau d r a ; D h v a n i b u d d h a s a r e r e p r e -
s e n t ed w i t h c r o s s e dh a n d s ,h o l d i n g t h e v a . i r aa n d t h e
g h a n t a . T h e c r o s s e dh a n d p o s i t i o n o f S r i L a n k a n
a n d T h a i B u d d h ai m a g e sm a y b e a l o c a lf o r m o f t h e
same Va'irahuritkaramudra. Writers interpret this
m u d r a i n n u m e r o u sw a y s , F o r e x a m p l e ,S . P a r a n a -
FTVE DTTYANIBUDDHAS
i n g f o r t h e s o r r o w so f o i h e r s " . P . L . . P r c m a t i l l e k e
thinks that this is the mudra of animisalocanaa , nd
c o n n e c t si t t o t h e B u d d h ao f
S i r i n i m a ll - a k d u s i n g h e
t h e R a t a n a g h a r a ,d e p i c t i n g t h e B u d d h a i n t h e
fourth week after Enlightenment.However, this
m u d r a i s n o t p e c u l i a rt o B u d d h a s ,l t h a s b e e nf o u n d
i n o t h e r i m a g e sa s w e l l . G u n a p a l aS e n a d h e e r caa l l s
it a swas/ika mudri. Buddha images with this
mudra seem to have been first produced in Sri
I-anka and therefrom found their wav to Thailand
( o f .V o l . V . P l . X V I ) .
D r a p e r y : l m a g e s r e p r e s e n tt h e B u d d h a a s b e i n g d r a p e d
c o v e r i n ge i t h e r t h e l e [ t s h o u l d e r o r b o t h , a n d i n s o m e
i n s t a n c eh e i s d e p i c t e dw i t h h a l f c o v e r e dr i g h t s h o u l d e r
a n d f u l l y c o v e r e dl e f t s h o u l d e r . I n w h i c h e v e rf o r m h e i s
draped the lower edge of the civara ends ahout four
i n c h e sa b o v e t h e l o w e r e d g e o f t h e u n d e r g a r m e n t . l n
s o m e i n s t a n c e st h e s a n g h a t ii s s e e nh a n g i n g o n t h e r i g h t
s h o u l d e r( S e eV o l . I V . P l . X X X V ) .
Dhy5nibuddha: These are the five celestialBuddhas and
t h ey a p p e a r a s a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c f o r m s o f t h e f ) h a r m a -
k a y a i n t h e m i n d s o f t h e m e d i t a t o r sa n d s e r v ea s a i d s t o
m e d i t a t i o n .S u k h a v a t li s s a i d t o b e t h e i r a b o d e .G e n e r a l l y
t h e y a r e r e p r e s e n t e da s b e i n g s e a t e d o n a f u l l b l o w n
d o u b l e l o t u s , l e g si n t e r l o c k e d w, i t h t h e s o l e so f t h e f e e t
turned upward. wearing a robe with right shoulder
u s u a l l yb a r c ( V o l . I V , P I . X L I ) . E a c t rD h y a n i b u d d h a h a s
a S a k t i o r m o r e p r e c i s e l ya D a k i n i ( q . v . ) , W h e n r e p r e -
s e n t e di n u n i o n w i t h t h e D t k i ; i ( i . e . i s i n y u g a n a d d h ao r
T i b . y a b - y u m ) f o r m . T h l y a p p e a r d r e s s e di n p r i n c e l y
a t t i r e .w e a r i n ga c r o w n . H e n c et h e v a r er e f e r r e dt o d s o a s
' C r o w n e d B u c l d h a s ' .T h e m a n d a l a o f t h e f i v e D h y i n i -
b u d d h a s i s s a i d t o r e p r e s e n tt h e w h o l e u n i v e r s e ' T h e
c h a r t sg i v e n b e l o w g i v e i c o n o g r a p h i c a ld e t a i l sa b o u t t h e
Dhyanibuddhas and their iaktis (See Vol. llI, Pls.
LXXIV. LXXV: Vol. tV, Pl. XXXIX).

Vairocana Aksobhya Ratnasambhava Amitabha Amoghasiddhi

Col ou r White Blue Yellow Red Creen

Mudra Dharmacakra (A) BhImispar{a Varada Samaati 1a; Abhaya

Bodhya{ri (C) (A&Q 6&q Dhyana (O 6&q
Symbol Cakra (A) Vajra (A) Ratna (A) Patra (A) ViCvavajra (A)
Asana Padma (A) Padma (A) Padma (A) Padma (A) Padma (A)

V lha na Lion (A) Elephant (A) Horse(A) Peacock (A) Dwurf/ Garuda (A)

Direction Ce nt re East South West North

C o ns o r t LocaniJA; Mamaki(A) Vajradhatiivari (A) Pandari (A) fari (n)

Mlmaki (C) T;ra (C) Locana (C) prijiii tc)
B o d h i sa t t v a S a m a n t a h h a d r a( A ) Vajrapani(A) Ratnapani (A) AvalokiteJvara (A) Vi(vapani(A)

Manusibuddha Krakucchanda Kanakamuni KaCyapa d*tyo.uni Maitreya

(A) = Advat.avajrasahgraha (C) = Citrakarma(Zstra ascribed to Maftjuiri

 ICONOGRAPITY 503 ICONOGRAPHY

BUDDHAdaxns
Locana Mamaki valiradhatiivait Pandara raa
Colour white (A) Blue (,4) yellow Red (A) Green (A)
Hands I

Symbol Discus Blue Vajra (A) .Iewel Lotus (A) Utpala (A)
Direction SE SW (A) Centre Nw (,4) NE (A)

A = Ad va-vavajrasangraha.

In Tibetan Buddhism the yi4am or tutelary deiry k e e p s a s e c r e t ,I f a l a m a f u l f i l s h i s r e l i g i o u sd u t i e s a n d

(istadevata) form of the Dhyanibuddha plavs a very obligation theyi-dammay appear to him in a dream or in
i m p o r t a n tr o l e . l n t h i sf o r m t h e D h v a n i b u d d h ap t a v st h e a vision and reveal the truth. The iconography of the
role of protector and celestialteacher of meditating yi-dam form of the Dhyanibuddha is given in the chart
lamas. Each lama has his own yi-dam whose name he below.

YI.DAM FORMS OF D}TYANIBUDDHAS

Vairocana Aksohhva Ratnasambhava Amitabha Amoghasiddhi

Colour White Blue yellow Red G reen
Asana Dhyana Dh1'ana Dhyana Dhyina Dhyina
iakti Vajradhatisvari Lo"rn" Mumakl pandari Tira
Symbol He holds GhantZ and He holds Ghanta and He holds Ghanti and He holds Ghanti He holds Ghanta and
Cakra:she the kapala, vajra;she the kapila Ratna,she holds and pafra. she" Vivavairat,;ili"il;
Cturi or Cakra and vajra Kapdlaand Katrika holds Kapala and Kapila and Vi{vavaira
ot Ratna Katrika or Cakra

T h e D h y a n i b u d d h a s a r e r e p r e s e n t e da l s o i n t h e i r Mortal Buddhas: In the Theravida tradition the mortal

H e r u k a( q . v . )f o r m s . I n s u c hr e p r e s e n t a t i o nt sh e i r i c o n o - B u d d h a s a r e c o u n t l e s s .O f t h e s e t h e n a m e s o f t w e n t y _
g r a p h y i s d i f f e r e n t ; o f t e n w i t h a n i n c r e a s e dn u m b e r o f e i g h t p a s t B u d d h a s a r e m e n t i o n e d i n t e x t s ,S o m e i c o n o _
h e a d s .a n d a r m s . g r a p h i c d e t a i l so f t w e n t y - f i v eo f s u c h B u d d h a s a r e s i v e n
below.
MORTAL BTIDDHAS
Buddha Height Tree
l. Dipankara 80 cubits Pipphala
2. Kondafifia 88 cubits Salakalyana
3. Mairlala 88 cubits Naga
4. Sumuna 90 cubits Naga
5. Revata 80 cubits Naga
6. Sobhita 58 cubits Niga
7. Anomadassi 58 cubits Ajjuna
8. Paduma 58 cubits Sona
9. Nurada 88 cubits Mahasona
10. Padumuttara 58 cubits Salala -
ll, Sumedhu 88 cubits Mahanipa
12. Sujata 50 cubits Mahavelu
13. Piy'adassi 80 cubits Kakudha
14. Atthadassi 80 cubits Campaka
15. Dhammadessi 80 cubits Ratta Kuravaka
16. Siddhattha 60 cubits Kanikira
17. Tissa 60 cubits
18. Phussa
tl"n"
58 cubits Amanda '
19. Vipassi 80 cubits Pitati
20. sikhi 70 crrhits Pundarika
21. Vessabhfi 60 cubits t*.latrisrta
22. Kakusandha 40 cubits Mahasirisa
23. Konagamana _10cubits Udumbara
24. Kassapa 30 cubits Nigrodha
25. Gotamu l8 cubits Assattha
 i t"tlfi{.r{; lt A 5}[l1 504 ICONOMETRY

-! d i f i e r e n ti n r p o r t a n tm a n i f c s t a t i o n sT. h e r e a r e b o t h m a j o r
l ; r ' t i j i ? l " t i i i r. . : ( A S t : ; 1 t .i ) , . r:.: f e r s t o t h e l a S t s e v e n
r i l c i t a l l i : i { j i j i i ; r r t i e r r , : r lr . , i : r t i i . ri l f . ! , r \ ,I ri s t . ! ' h e r e i na ! l an,j lninor rariations in iconsglaphy when they are
s r v e n B ' . r r j d i r " .r:t i e r e p r e s e n t l i , r s b t : l n g s e a t e d T ' h c r t p r e s e n t e Ci n t h c s e d i f f c r t n t f o r m s . M a j o r f o r m s i n
b a r l h i - t r e e si i i i , ' r i r ' . r l ' i r ua n ( i F . ; ; i ki i c , . : h a n da. lt ' cg l v e n a s w h i c h t h e y m a k - ci h em s e l v e sm a n i f e s tw o u l d b e d e d t w i t h
S a r a l a r i t l l : , i 1 , t l : i i , e r l a l r a r a l i ; l t e i j i t i o i t . t ' . r ( ' )l.t l s c p a r a t e l vu n d e r e a c h n a r n e '
g e n c r a -r € i e r st i , t 1 : '5 15 € r ' c riii i r c i f i h a 3- ,: 1 i l1: i { : ; i t l l l l 'a" )l s ( l
, e r ea r e a l s o a h o s t o f d e i t i c se m a n a t i n gf r o m
B e s r C e st h
t i r c i r f e l r ; a i er a r l n * r r a n . j , r . - r i ; i i | ; ' ",.it, ; i - h r ' d ! : i s a t t v a s ' 'fhey
tlre Dhyanibudclhas. form a majeir aspectof the
T h e s e v e n P r i c C h . Q; ; , l . t i : ; i n i ; t d t - : . i ;i ; ' i p a i y a n t i , Tantrtc Buddhisi pantheon and the important ones
S i k h i m i l i n l , v i i , ; r , i h , r r K a l : , r :hi r r : t i , i ' : i i l t h a r r i l - ! i.n i a m o n g _ t h e mt o o , s u c h a s C a n d a m a h a r o s a n a 'H e r u k a ,
U a h i d t r a r ha n , . i' ; ' a : i < r d hrr., :i l i r r e ! i i ( : c t l \ 'bc r r ' J l t i s a tar r,
H a y a g r i v ae t c . a s w e l l a s i m p o r t a n t f e m a l e d i v i n i t i e s( e g .
a ( e M a h i r l a t i , R a t t ' , i r d h a r aA . ! .a i a g a i l a . S a k a
B h r k u t l c t c . ) w o u l d b e d e a l t w i t h s e p a r a t e l yu n d e r e a c h
m a n g a l a ,K a n a k a r i j a , U h a r m c d l l a r i r a n d A n a n d a . l'readS . ecalso ICONOMETRY.
FufureMort$l Buddhas. [r3ri gxlr;;rica! ar,dcoinmentarial
l i t c r a t u r e si ' e f e rt o c n l \ o n . f t i t : : l l c r o r t a l B u d d h a ( i ' r BlbUography;
b o d h i s a t t v a ia n d t r ei s i { r t t e v , a ( l t { r i t r e y a ) .A t e x t c a l l e d ( | ) A bh i sam ay al i h k Er dI o k a - P r aj f,6piram i tE - vyd k I a,
t h e D a s a b o d h i s a t t u p l t t z t t & a t h ib e l o n g i n g t o a b o u t t h t e d . b y U n r a i W o g i h a r a , 1 9 3 2 - 1 9 3 5 .( 2 ) A g r a v a l , V . S ' ,
l2th century, givesthe t i 'rrtts trf lerrbot!i: isait'i asincludinq Studies tn Indian Art, Yaranasi, 1965. (3) Getty, Alice,
M e t t e y y a .A c c o r d i n g t o t i r r st e x t t h e t e n b o d h i s a t t v a sa r e The Gods of Northern Bttddhism, First Indian edition,
Metteyya, Rima, Dharmarala, harada' Remsinluni, N e w f ) e l h i , 1 9 7 8 . ( 4 ) B h a t t a c h a r y a , B . ,I n d i a n B u d d h i s t
-l I c o n o g r a p h y .S e c o n de d , ,C a l c u t t a ,1 9 5 8 .( 5 ) C o o m a r a s -
D e v a d e v a .N a r a s i h a , i s s a ,S r r m a r r g a l a r i r j D h a m m a -
s ' a m iT . heir h e i g h t si r i c u b i t sa s w e l l a s t h e i r b o d h i t r e e s wam\,, A. K.. "Ivludra", Journal of American Society of
arc mentioned S c i e n c e\,' o l . X I , V I I I , 1 9 2 8 ." O r i g i n o f B u d d h a I m a g e "
Art_Rulletin vol, IX, 1926-1927."The Buddha's Hair,
The N/span nal'ogar'^i 6i\estwr I fr"r,'m5 61fir1aitreya. I n
Usnisa and Crown", Journal of Royal Asiatic Society,
o n e f o r m h e i s g o l d e n i n c ' , r m p i e x i , : nn n d h a s f o u t h a n c i s .
" I h e t w o p r i n c i p a lh a r r d sa r c t n t h c d h a r m a c a k t a m u d r a 1928. (6) I)ohaman, D. K., The Mahayane Buddhist
Sculpture ctf Ceylon, New York, 1977. (7) Narain, A. K.,
w h i i e o f t h c r e r n a i n j n gt w ( , , t h c r i g h t h a n d d i s p l a y st h e
"Bodhisattvas, ldeology and Chronology", Studies in
v a r a d a m u d r i a n d t h e I e ft h o l d s a n a g a k e d a r af l o w e r ' T h e
Buddhist Art of South Asr'a, Kasak Publications, New
o t h e rf o r m i s y e l l o wt n c o m p l e x i o na n d h a st w o h a n d s 'I n
York, 1985. (8) Rahula, Walpola, History of Buddhism
thc right he holds a ndgakcSaraand in the lcft a bowl'
i n C c y l o n , M . D , G u n a s e n a& C o . , C o l o m b o , S e c o n de d .
'Iheravada
Unlike iti the i n t h e t r t a h a v d n ap a n t h e o n 1 9 6 6 .( 9 ) S a u n d e r s ,A . , M u d r a . N e w Y o r k , 1 9 6 0 .( 1 0 )
there i s a h n s t o f b o d h i s a t t v a so f v a r v i n gi m p o r t a n c ei n Sharma, R. C., Buddhist Art of Mathura, Delhi, 1984,
'l
r e l i g i o u sp r a c t i c e s . h e s eh o d h i s a t n ' a si : o u l d b e b r o a d l y ( I I ) S o p e r" E a r l y B u d d h i s tA t t i t u d e sT o w a r d st h e A r t o f
categorised i n t o t w o a s l ) h y a r , i b o d h t s a t t v a sa n d n o n - P a r n t i n g " ,A r t B u l l e t i n ,x x x i i , 1 9 5 0 . ( 1 2 ) W a d d e l l , L . A . ,
-I
D h y a n i b o dh i s a t t v a s . h e [ i v e D h y i n i b o d h i s a t t v a s B u d d h i s m o f T i b e t o r L a m a i s m ,C a m b r i d g e , 1 9 5 8 , ( 1 3 )
n a m e l y , A v a l o k i t e s v a r a ,V a j r a p a n i . S a m a n t a b h a d r a , V / i c k r a m a g a m a g e ,C h a n d r a , " O r i g i n o f t h e B u d d h a
R a t n a p a n i a n d V i i v a p a n i a r e r e g a r d e da s s p i r i t u a l s o n s Image", Buddhist Studies in Honour of Hammalawa
-[hev
of the five Dhyanibuddhas, are of diflerent com- Saddhatissa, ed. by Gatarc Dhammapala, Colombo,
'and, ntudras.There
plexion and display differcnt symbols I 984,
is another group ol' eight gieaf i)hvanibodhisattvas
(astamahabodhisattva)rrsuailt' riepicted as standing on Chandra Wlckramagemeg€
e i i h e r s i d e o f t h e B u d d h a s .J . h e s ee i g h t a r e A v a l o k i -
t e ( v a r a ,V a i r a p a n i , A k a i a g a r b h a a n d K s i t i g a r b h as t a n d -
i n g o n t h e l e f t ; a n d S a r v a n i v a r a r i a v i s k a m b h i nM, a i t r c y a '
Samantabhadra and Mafrju6ri nn the right. Of thesc ICONOMETRY, technically referred to in Sanskrit as
A v a i o k i t e i v a r a a n d N l a f r j u i r i a r et h t t w o m o s t i m p o r t a n t pramina, dea1s with proportions or measurements a
t r o d h i s a t t v a sw i t h c l i f f e r c n tf t r r m so f t h e i r o w n ' A v a l o k i - sculptor or a painter has to adopt when sculpturingor
t e i v a r a ( q . v ) m a n i f e s t sh i m s e l fi n m o r e t h a r i 1 0 8d i f f e r e n t painting a human or any other figure.r Thus, though
forms trf which at least l5 arc very important. Of these iconometry covers a very wide range of subjects the
p r e s c n t a r t i c l e i s l i m i t e d t o t h e i c o n o m e t r i c a Jt h e o r y
n u r n e r o u sf o r m s 1 0 8 a r e o f I r r d i a no r i g i n . F e w o f t h e m
a r e o f S r i [ . a n k a no r i g i n . M a f i j u ( r i ( q . v . )t o o h a s o v e r I 5 p e r t a i n i n gt o t h e B u d d h a a n d b o d h i s a t t v ai m a g e s .

(iconometry) 3' bhiva

[ , T h e r e a r e s i x s u c h t e c h n i q u e st o b e c o n s i d e r e d 'T h e s e are L ripabfeda (iconography) 2. pramina
(dirplay of sctrtiments) 4. lavanay'ojana(endowing with gr&ce or beauty) 5. iadrlya (similarly with the real object or person)
a n d 6 , v a r r r a( a n a l y s i so f c o l o u r ) .
 ICONOMETRY
Tbere is no congensusof opinion regardiirg the exact
period of time dunng which rhe tluddha rsmr to be
r c p r e s e n t c di n a n a n t h r o p o m o r p h i c r o r m . W h i j e s o m e
place this event in the 3rd century B.C. others, specially
a r c b a e o l o g i s tps r, e f e rt o p i r : c i t i n t h e l s t c e n t u r y B . C .
W h a t i s w i d e n t , h o w e v e r , i s t h a t B u d d h i s t a r t i s t sw h o
lived prior to this period had been conversantwith
iconometrical principles.
T h e p e r i o d b e t w c e nt h e 3 r d c e n r u r y B . C . a n d t h e l s t
c e n t u r yB . C . i s i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e r e a s o nt h a t i t i s d u r i n g
t h i s p e r i o d t h a t B u d d h o l o g y r a p i d i y d e v c l o p e d ,c r y s r a l -
l i z e d a n d g o t e s t a b l i s h e d .I c o n o m e t r y a s w e l l a s i c o n o -
g r a p h yh a sb e e ni n f l u e n c e db y B u d d h o l o g y . E e r l y b e g i n -
nings of Buddhology (q.v.) could be traced ro rhe
l i f e - t i m eo f t h e B u d d h a h i m s e l f .l t s g r a d u a l d e v c l o p r n e n t
i s c l e a r l yr c f l e c t e di n t h e P a l i C a n o n . A n u m b e r c f s u ( r a s
in both the Digha-nikaya and the Majihima-nikaya
throw much light on this.The Mahapadina Sutta(.D.ll,
p. I ff,) Lekkhana Sutta (D, Iil, p. t4Z ff.,t and rhc
B r a h m a y u S u t t a ' ( M . I I , p , 1 3 6 f f . ) m a k e r c f e r e n c e st o
thirty-two 'Signs of a Great Bcing' (Mahapwisa-lak-
k h a n a ) w h i c h t h e B u d d h a i s s a i d t o h a v e p o s s e s s e d' f.h e
BrahmEyu Sutta rccords that rhe Buddha himse!f
a f f i r m e dt h a t h e p o s s c s s e idn h i s b o d y a l l t h e s er h i r t y - ( w o
'Signa
o f a G r e a t B e i n g ' ( M . l l , p . 1 4 3 ) .I t i s s e e nt h a r
s u b s e q u e n t l yt h e M a h a s a n g h i k a s a c c e p t e dt h i s b e l i e f .
Still later the Mah[yinists, while accepringthose
Mahipurisa Iakkhanas,putforward the view that it is not
the minusr- Buddha'(i.e. the Buddha in rhe human form)
who possessesthese 'signs' but his SambhogakCya, a
manifestationof the DhermakEyaor rhe Bodli of the [.aw
f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f p r e a c h i n gt o t h e b o d h i s a t t v a s .
O n e o f t h e e a r l i e s tr e f e r e n c e st h a t g i v e sa c l u e t o t r a c e
t h e b e g i n n i n g so f t h e j c o n o r n e t r i c a p
J r i n c i p l c sp e r t a i n i n g
to the Buddha imagc is found among the above men-
tioned thirty-two M ahi puri saJ akk h a n as.A mo ngst them
is one feature referred lo as nyagrodhaparimandala.kaya
(D. ll, p, 18 etc,), This feature is explained'as ,.The
r e v e r e dG o t a m a h a s t h e s y m m e t r i c a l p r o p o r t i o n o f a
b a n y a nt r e e - a s i s t h e h e i g h t o f h i s b o d y s o i s t h e l c n g t h
o f h i s a r m s w h e n s t r e t c h e do u t ; a si s t h e l e n g t ho f h i s a r m s
2 ' T h o u g h o n e c a n n o t s a y w i t h c e r t a i n t y s s t o w h e n t h i s m e t r o l o g i c apl r i n c i p l c o r i g i n a t e d , i t i s e v i d e n t t h a t t h i s s y s t e m o f m e a r u r e m e n t
wa'cof universal acceptance, and the artists of both East nnd West, followed this. Even
thur proving itr unlverrelity and also prevalence from very early times"
3' The latter theory is referredto in the Sinputra and in such works ar the Japancsework on iconornctry,
called R yod o-kyo-sokuho;
the Buddhapratimelaksana, Krilasamucca-ya, Hindu works such as Silparatnaetc., too rsfer
to it
4 ' S e e V r h ,l I l , p . l 4 9 l p p . 1 6 8 ,l 7 3 . T h e P 8 - D , e x p l a i n s s u g a t a - a n g u / a a s - a B u d d h a i n c h , ' s u g a t a - v i d a f r i l r a s * a B u d d h a . s p a n , a s p a n o f
t h e a c c c p t e d l e n g t h "V. idatthi,thatisthedistancebetweentheextendedthumbandthelittlefinger,rngeneral,irsnabsoluteunitof
mesturement which consists of l2 absolute inches. The sugata-vidartfiris said to contain 12 sugata-angtla.
Abhidhinappadipiki equateq it with padesa, gokanna and Gta. See further Chandra wickramagamage ,.Early
TechniquesofPaintingandSculpture,-inAnanda,EssaysinHonouroIAnandaV,.P.Gurug:c, l990,Sri
5. There proportionr suggestthat there is some relation between tila, vidctthi, an<!angula q'stem
r'nd vidatthi arc identicnl as cach is eguul to 12 anguia.
6. Thir ryttem war cvolved from the measurementsthat were obtained from the images (bimba)lhenselves and
hence it is also rcferred
to at bimbanZna,
505 TC{i'F{TITYTETRY
w h c n s t r c t c h e do u t s o i s t h e h e i g h to f h i s b o d y , , , ' p e r h a p s
t t r i sf o r m s t h e L r a s ios f t h e i c o n o m e i r j c a l t h e o n .0 c r r a . : n i n r , t
to the Buddha irnage.:
A c c o r d i n g { r . trh r a b o v s r n e n t i t n e dl h e r - ; r i , i .sr rf . n i n r c t r ; ,
t h e B u d d h a ' sh e i g h ti s c q u a l t c h i s f a t h o m i . e. t h e
clistancc
f r o m t h e t i p o f h i s m i d d l e f i n g e r o f o n e o u t s t r e t c h e dh a r : c i
t o t l i c o t h e r . O p i r , i o n i d i f f e r a s t o r + , h a pt o i n r s a r e t i :
hc
t a k e n z u d e r n n r c e t i o no f h i s h e i g h r ( ) n e s r h o c j
of
t h o u g h to p i n e st h a t i t i s t h e d i s t a n c ef r o i n i h e s o r e s
of his
f e e tt o t h e h a i r l i n e o n t h e t o p o f h i s f r r e h e a d .T h r o t h e r
s c h o o lh o l d s t h a r i t i s t h e C i s t a n c ef r o r n t h e s o l c so f h i s
f e e l t o t h e t o p o f t h c u s n i i . at,h : p r o t u b e r a l c eo n h i s h e a d
O f t h e s et w a v i e w st h e i o r n r r r a p p e a r st c rb e t h e e a r i i e ra s
w e l l a s t h e w i d e l y a c c e p t e do n e i n S r i L a n k a , A r c h a e o -
l c g i c a l c v i d e n c e r e v e a l st h a t a r t i s t s i n S r i [ - a n k a h a v e
a c c e p t e da n d p u t i n t o p r a c t i c et h i s v i e w f r o m a b o u t t h e
3 r d c e n t u r vB . C . u p t o a b o u r t h e l 3 t h c e n t u r yA . C . T h e
B u d d h a i m a g e so f M a t h u r a s , - : [ 6 o 1 of thr Gupta period
too are on this line"r
l{ow theseartists decided as to what exactly is the
distancefrom rhe tip of the Buddha'smidcllc finger of onc
o u t s t r e t c h e dh a n d t o t h e o t h e r i s n o t e x a c t l yk n o w n . T h e
PaIi Canon refers to various measurements used ta
m e & s u r er o b e s . b e d s e t c . T w o s u c h m e a s u r e m e n t se r e
known as sugata-a'ngula and sugata-vidafflri . which
mean the tsuddha'sown finger-breadth and the span
respectivell'.Though one cannot say with anv certainty, it
is possiblethat at an early stage vidatthiand angulawere
a d o p t e d a s u n i t s o f m e a s u r e r r r e nitn m a k i n g i m a g e s .
F r o m e v i d e n c ea v a i l a b l e a t p r e s e n tw h a t i s q u i t e c t e a r i s
t h a t t h e B u d d h i s t s c u i p t o r s a n d p a i n t e r su s e a r e l a t i v e
s y s t e mo f m e a s u r e m e n ti n m a t i n g s c u l p t u r e sa n d p a i n _
tings. Their units of measurement are tila, anguti and,
.yava.'7'herejativr proportions are as follows: eight yavas
(barley corn) make one ahgula (i.e. a finger_breadth
or
one inch), anel twelve angutas male one tila.s As tila
f o r m e c it h e s t a n d a r d m e a s u r e r n e ntth i s s y s t e mo f m e t r o _
logy came to be known as talamane,6 From evidence
available one can fairly certainly surmise that the
Budcihist artists were the first to adopt this relative
ancient artists of Egypt have followed thir,
Moggalina in hir
Buddhirt
[-anka,p.209ff.
of measurement, and apparently rala
 TCONOMETRY 506 ICONOMETRY

system of tilamina. The Hindu artist followed suit, and NAVATALA PROPORTION
in later canons of Hindu iconometry the tilamin system
i s r e g a r d e da s t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t u n i t o f m e a s u r e m e n t , Pert of the Body Talas

Fc.cc I
The term fi,la occurs in both Pali and Buddhist
Neck tl3
Sanskrit literature,However, its use as a metrological
Neck to Chcst
t e c h n i c a lt e r m i s r a r e i n b o t h P a l i a n d S a n s k r i t B u d d h i s t Chest to Navel
l i t e r a t u r e .T h e r e a r e a t l e a s tt h r e e m e a n i n g si n w h i c h t h e Ns.velto Penis
t e r m i s u s e d . F i r s t l y , i t i s u s e d t o c o n n o t e t h e p a . l mt r e e Thigh
w h i c h i s i t s b a s i c m e a n i n g , ?S e c o n d l y , i n a n e x t e n d e d Knee-cap rl3
meaning, it is used to connote, rather figuratively the Shin 2
h e i g h t i n s p a c eb y c o m p a r i n g i t t o t h e h e i g h t o f a p a - l m Head tl3
tree.r Thirdly, it is used to connote the metrological Total 9
m e a s u r e m c n t ,a b s o l u t e o r r e l a t i v e , u s e d b y a r t i s t s i n
UTTAMADASATAI"A
producing images.rWhat is clear is that, due to the
a b s e n c eo f P a J i w o r k s o n i c o n o m e t r y ( w h e r e t h e t e r m Prn-of the Body Tilas Ahgulu: Yavas
could have been used in its technical senseof a metro- Usnisa -t
logical measurement)and also due to the preponderence Uin'isa to hairline on the forehead -3
of its use in its primary meaning of palm tree, its racc lt4
metrological connotation has been overlookedevcn in Neck -4
i n s t a n c e sw h e r e i t i s u s e di n s u c h a s e n s e . Neck to Chest rl4
Chest to Navel ll4
It has been accepted as a rule that Buddhist images
Navel to Penis tl4
which are meant as objectsof veneration must be made in Thigh 23
keeping with the proportions laid down in canons of Knee-cap -4
iconometry. It is seenthat different proportions are given Shin 23
to Buddha, bodhisattva and divine figures. And these, Herd -4
too, vary according to different traditions and schools,In Total r0 1
Mahayana Buddhism uttamada{atala - lerge ten tila
proportion (F'ig. l) is assignedto Buddha images,while The Japanesc text the Ryo4o-kyo-sokuho and the
navatala -. nine tila(Fig.2) is assignedto bodhisattva Pratimiminalaksanam prescribe 125 ahgulasas the full
images and also the images of their iaktis (i.e. female height of the uttamiaiititaproporrion, T\e Sariputra,
counterparts), But in Sri Lanka, where Theravada pre- and the commentary to the Kriyisamuccaya, however,
dominates, early Buddha and bodhisattve images were give 124a'ngulasfor the full height. These texts probably
made in keeping with the navatila proportions. This representtwo different schools of iconometry.
systemcontinued up to about the l3th ccntury A,C. Since
then these artists too have adopted the uttarnadadanla All these texts give minute details of vertical, hori-
proportions for Buddha images. According to the zontal, and circumfcrencc measurementsas well es the
navatAla proportions the height of the figure should be me&surements of thickness.No matter whether the statue
nine times the length of its face. According to the is large or small thc proportion is the same,As theseunits
of measurement are of a relative nature. the tZIa, a'ngula
uttamadalatilathe height should be ten times the length
and yava pertaining to a gmall figure are smaller in size
of the face plus four angulas.Both the PratimEnalakl*g"
than those pcrtaining to a large statue.
and A I ekh y al ak ga 7 atl give the n a vat-al,a
pr op orti ons. The
BuddhapratimElaksana and the Sariputra give the Sculptors and peinters of both lndia and Sri Lanka
uttamada{atala proportions for Buddha images, while used a particular instrument to help them to place all
the former prescribes navatala proportions for bodhi- limbs of the statue in correct positions. In India this is
sattva images.The texts dealing with n a vati.l aproportion referred to as the lambaphalafra, In Sri Lanka the
appear to be older than those dealing with the uttama- particular instrument used for this purpose is called the
dafut-ala.Details of both proportions are as follows: lambatatuva, a term derived from the one used in lndia.

1 Vin, l, p. 189, "f, lV, p. 142.

6. J. tV, p. 467. f. utro PED, BHS, PTC s,v. tala.T.'.e possibility of. tAlnbcinga secondary derlvetive of tala(cf., hatthatala) crnnot be
ruled out.

9 . See Moggalldna's Abhidhanappadipikaed. W. Subhuti, Colombo. 1938,p. 10, Lal p. 151,

1 0 . This text is available in two different editions. A Tibelan translation ic found in the Tanjur (Otani ed. Vol. 143, No. 5807). The
Alekhyalaksana wsn found in Sri Lanka.
 ICONOMETRY 507 ICONOMETRY

DETAILED MEASUREMENTSOF NAVATALA AND UTTAMANSTNIA

MADTTyAMA-x.lvltlle
r 2- 3 1 5 6 7 I 9 r0 rl
Prrl of the Body iguta igrla is"l" igtra igura anguraangrr angtra angulaigrta
"o,.,tl"
u:{:"
Usnisa - hairline on forehead 33 3332
Face t2 t2 t2 l2 t2 t2 t2 t2 12 l2 t2
Neck 334 43343444
Nock-Chest t2 t2 tz t2 t2 t2 t2 l0 t2 l2 t2
Chcst-Navel l2 t2 t2 t2 t2 t2 t2 t2 12 t2 l2
Navel-Penir l2 t2 l2 t2 t2 t2 L2 t2 t2 t2 12
Thigh 24 24 24 2424U2121242421
Kneecap 334 13341143
Shin 21 24 24 2124242421242421
Ankle 334 43314443
Total 108 to8 r08 r08 108 toE t08 t08 t08 loE 108

I : faranitha 7 = Pratimiminalaksana
2 = Tson-ka-ba 8 = Devatimitti-prikirana
3 : Brhatsamhiti 9 = Maya{astra
1 = Sukreniti I0 = Matsyapurina
5 = Ryo4o-kyo-soku-ho II = Visnudharmottarapwina.
6 = Minasira

UTIAMA-D,IiIrAU
r 2 3 1 5 6 7 E g r0 tl
Prn of thc Eody AY AY AY AY AY AY AY AY AY AY AY
U9Ti" 13 13 tt 41 t3
Uf1ry" - hairlineon forehead 334 3320 414 43
Face t3t 13t t3 134 131 13,+ 134 l2 13 13l
Neck 43 43 44 4 44 4 441 51
Neck-Chert 133 t33 134 13 4 13 1 l2 4 121 121 t6 t31
Chert-Navel 133 133 13 4 13 4 13 4 t2 4 121 124 40 t2 t31
Nsvel-Peni! 133 t33 l]4 134 134 124 124 124 t2 131
Thigh 265 27 27 27 27 25 25 25 26 21 2'l
Kneecap 13 4 4 416 865 41
Shin 265 27 27 27 21 25 25 25 26 24 27
Ankle 43 1 4 446 468 64
Total r24 t24 r24 121 t21 4 t21 t25 r25 125 r21 124

| = Vpkhyenasigama 8: Buddhaprsdmehksene
2 = Silparatna,Klalyapatilpa 9 = Pratimaminalaksana
3 = trfanaslan l0 = Brahmayimala f"itr"
1 = Siriputra ll = Citiakarma!-astra

A = Angula
Y = Yava
 stlilHtr 508
The lambatatuva han to be sct according to the size and
pose of the statur, nnri thr plumblines are <Jrawnfrom it.
l l e n c e t h i s i n s l r u m e n t h e r l r , ,h E I : x : d a l i t t l e a b n v : t h c
hcad of lhc stntue.
Thc corrcctness of tl:c propr:rtiorr ,",[seet€dfigur;s is
d e t c r m i n e da c c o r d i n gt o a s y s t e r no f m e a s u r e m e nkt n o w n
a s c r r l l r - i o a , . { c c o , d i r : g l o t h i s s y s t e mo f r n e a s u r e r n e r t t
t h e d i s t a n c eb c t w c e nt f i c t w o k n e c s ,i h c d i s t a n c ef r a r n t h e
l c f t s h o u l d c r t o t h c r i g L l i n c e a n d t h c d i s t a n c ef r o m t h e
right shculder t{i tlie ir":ftkrtc must be the sarne as the
height frorn the asana(seati io the hair-line on tfre top of
thc head,
Blblfography: Bantrjea, J. N", Lhvelopmcnt ol- Hindu
Iconography, Univcrsity sf Calcutta. i956. Bhattacarya,
Tarapada, The Canons af Indian z{rr, Calcutta" 1949,
Bose, Phanindra Nath, Principles of Indian Silpa{astre,
Lahore, 1926. Gfrasimova, K. L{., Rel,"csof .Aesthetic
Thought ol"tJteEast. The Tiktan (:an<tnsof P:rrtrdous,
Ulan-Ude, l9'll. Mindsire, zdited by t'. K. Acharya,
London, 1933.Panop,ll, Erwti. I,1r:::.r i:ttt ir tix ':isusl
A r t s , a P a r a g r i n eB o s k . i 9 5 3 . R - a o , ' i . A . G . , ) - a i a m E ; t a
or lconomefr-v, Caicuttn, !920. Siirinutra and Alekhya'
Iaksana,eCite"Jand t:an*lated by Har:s Ruelius, Got-
tingen, 7* Vit'uv:us, ic:: Eoaks af Architccfrtr€, trans-
latcd by litoilis Hir:ky Morgan, New York, 1960.
Wickramag{rnagc, Chandra, Pinciples of Buddhist
Iconography ar:d lcoaometry with Special Reference to
the Buddha Image, U ni-versityof lnncnster, 1975.unpub-
lished Ph, D. thesic.Wickramagam &ge,Chandra,'Theory
of Frcportionr uf Figures', Thc Ccylon Historical
ioutnal, ed. by Senaka Bandarnnayake,Vol. XXV, Oct.
l9iE, Ti*ara Prnkasakayo Ltd., Dchiwaia,
(lmdrn TVlckmmryamrge
IDDIII.l he word derived from the Sanlkrit rddhi, from
root rdh to grow, to increaSe,to prosper, to succeed,to
accomplish etc. ir of frequent occurrencc in Buddhist
tex$ both in its primary meaning and in a special
extended meaning. Whcn used in itr original meaning it
connotes prosperity, affluence,Nuccess, splendour, high-
porition etc. In this senseit is almost synonymous with
the word anubhava meaning majesfy and power (D, tt,
p . 1 2 ; c f . D . t , p . 2 1 3 1M. , l , p . 1 5 2 ) .T h e u s e o f t h e w o r d
in e still more generalrenseis seenin such contextswhere
it is employed to bring out the mcaning of prosperity in
l. Therix abhifitlicre:i.icldhividhaftindof psychokinesis) ii.dihbasota (clairaudiance);iii.etopuiytrfiar
iv. pubbcnivsZnussetillina (retrocognitlve knowledge);v. dibbacakklu (clairvoyanc) end vl.-stnl*fuytfrar
the dertruction of defiling impulses). For detnih ree under each head word'
2. Thcrewa^ralrorbcliefwhichheldthatwondrouss*s(iddhi)couldbeaccomplirhcdwiththcddofoccuttpildhl(ttdhiriiiii:
D" I, p.2ll).
TDDIII
household-life, implying the possessionof good food,
expensivefine clothing, well-equipped residences(A. [.
p . l a 5 ) . C o m e l v a p p e a r a n c el,o n g e v i t y ,g o o d h e a l t h a n d
p.:pularity among the subiectsare said to be thc iddhi of.
a cakkavatti-raja, a universal monarch (D. ll, p. 117).
Evcn the birds' abiliry to fly is seid to be an iddhi, a
special ability of theirs tDhp. v, 175; Vism. p. 382).
When used in i ts extendedrneaningit connotesthe idea of
psyihokinesis. Iddhi in this senseis the first item in the
list of five or six rinds of super knowledge or faculty
(abhitfia, q.v.)t.
B e l i e f i n p s y c h o k i n e s i si s o f p r e - B u d d h i s t o r i g i n .
T h e r e i s t e x t u a l e v i d e n c et o c s t a b l i s ht h a t f r o m t h e V e d i c
period ascetic practices coupled with some form of
m e d i t a t i o n w e r e c o n s i d e r e da s m e a n so f a t t a i n i n g t h e s e
psychokinetic powers. The Rgveda alludes to the exis-
tence of such a belief.(Rgveda, viii, cix,6, x, cix,4), The
Atharvaveda saysthet goddessAstal'd performing ascetic
practicesproduced the greatnessof lndra (Atharvaveda,
iii, x, l2).'The Satapatha Brahmdna (x, iv,4,2)says that
Prajapati by practising scvere ascetic practices created
stars from the rays of light that issued forth from the
p o r e s o f h i s b o d y ( s e eE R E , V I I I , p p . 2 5 5 , 3 l l , f f . ) . T h a t
the development of psychokinetic powers formed an
esscntialpart of the religious training of almost all pre-
Buddhistic religious traditions is seen from frequent
rcferencesmade to sages(rsi/ and other religious person-
ageswho had gained proficiency in displalng miractlous
powers.
There is positive evidencefound in abundancein early
Buddhist literaturc to show that the Buddha, too, not
only affirmed the existenceof such wondrous powers but
himself masteredthem and gained proficiency at display-
ing them whensver the need arose, Buddhism, too,
admits that the attainment of. iddhi is possible after
bringing tbe mind to a high level of development through
meditational practices.zThe mind at this high level of
development becomesconcentrated,pure, cleansed,frte
from blemishes,purged of all adventitious defilements,
supple, pliant, steadyand unpcrturbed.l This statcof the
mind is referred to ns the fourth jhlnic attainment(D. l.
p. 76). The commentarial tradition refersto thir rtate of
the mind as the basis ol abhifrfla (J. I. p, 88 cf ' Vism' p.
384). When the mind has reachedthis state it could bc
directed towards the attainment of any of the rix
abhififli.
It is seen lhat iddhi is not an antomatic or a necesrary
product of the mind that har rerched thc ttrtc dercribed
(tclcpUblcknowledge);
(tnowledge of
 TDDHI 509 TDDT{I

above. The texts are very clear on thc point that the
meditator should intentionallv turn his mind in that
direction if he so desires (sace akaizkhati: A. III, p.
l7-19: cf. also Vrsm. p. 378).
I t i s a l s o s e e nt h a t t h e N i k a y a t e x t st h e m s e l v e s p e a ko f
the cultivation of rhe basesof iddfu (r.e. itldhiparla, q v
) t h r o u g h t h e e x t e n s i o no t ' k n o r ' ; l e q l q r l v, . s a n t b , l i t t - . . i o o a -
a s a p r e - r e q u i s t ef o r t h e a i t a i n m c n t o f i d d h i ( S . V p .
276" IddhipEda are four in numbrr ard involvc rhe
cultivation of will-to-do (chaltda), cncrgy (vtriya), mind
(citta) and investigation (vimamsi). Even rlre pre-
B u d d h i s t i cr e l i g i o u st r a d i t i o n a p p e a r st o h a v cc o n s i d e r e d
them as pre-requisitesfor the sr:complishmentof iC|hi-
powers (5. V. p.254) and perhaps, this c,rncept beiongs
to the common religiousbackground of ancient lntjie.
However, in Buddhism the role of iddhipida was widened
to help the achievcment of spiritual power (dhamma_
iddhi) leading to Nibbana (cf. .9. V, p. 258).
The commentarial tradition revealsa significantexpan-
sion of the process leading to the attainment af iddhi.
Thus, the Visuddhimagga (chap. xii) details the eight
attainments in each of the .eight kasmas (q.v,), the
fourteen ways of completely controlling the mind etc.
which consist of the course leading to the successful
accomplishment of iddhi.
The numeorus types of iddhi attainable by one who
hasgainedproficiencyarelistedin the srrttas.The stereotyped
pa3sagewhich enumeratesdifferent iddhj is as foilows:
"Being one he becomesDily, having bccome many he
becomesone again, he becomes visible or invisible; he
goes unhindered to the further side of a rampart, wall or
hill as if going through unobstructed space;he dives into
and emergesfrom the solid ground as if he is performing
that feat in water; he walks on water without breaking
t h r o u g h a s i f w p J k i n go n s o l i d g r o u n d ; h e t r a v e l sc r o s s -
leggedin the sky like birds on wings; even the moon and
the sun so potent (mahiddhika) and mighty (mahdnu-
bhiva) he touches and feelswith his hands: he reachesin
b o d y e v e nu p t o t h e w o r l d o f B r a h m a a ( D . l , p . 7 3 ) .
The Visuddhimagga (Vism. p. 378 ff,) discusses the
types of iddhi under ten differenr major heads one of
which is 'iddhi by resolve' (adhitthZna-iddhi) under
which are listed the above-mentionedvarieties of iddhi.
The Patisanbhidimagga (Ps, II, p, 205) lisr is quite
s i n " i l a rt o i r w h i i e t h a t i n t h e A t t h a s a l i n i ( D h s A , p . 9 l ) i s
'The
somcwhat different. heads giuen in the Visuddhi-
magga and the Patisambhidimagga are sri follows: i.
adhitthanaiddhi (.itidhi through rcsri'ir,r,i,ii, vikubbana
(iddhi through transformationi, iii, nlancnala tiddhi
thrnugh the power of mind), iv. fl-anavinpahara(iddhi
h a r a ( i d d h i t h r o u g h f h e e x t e n s i o no f c c n c e n t r a t i o n ) ,v ! .
ariya (iddhi cf noble nnes), .tii. kammavipakaja (iddhi
born of ccrsequence of kamma), viii, pwfrflavato(iddhi
of the meritorious), ix. t,ijjEmaya(iddhi through occult
sciences); x. tattha tattha (sama,i ar sammdpa.yoga-
parcaya yjhaaatthena (icidhi thrcugh the right exertion
applied in specific instances),
Evcn a casual perusai oi thcsc dij'ferent types of rrldfir
c o n v r n c e so n e t h a t s o m e o f i h c m a r e i n n o w a y c o e n c i l e d
t o p s y c h o k i n e s i sI.n f a c t o n l y t h e f i r s t t h r e e i t e m s o f t h c
l i s l c o u l d b e p r o p e r l y i n c l u d e d u n d e r i d d h i h t h e s c n s eo f
p s y c h o k i n e t i cp o w e r . B u d d h a g h o s ah i m s e l f m a k e s s u c h
an observation ( Vrsm. p, 384). J'hese three arc mainly
c o n c e r n c dw i t h l e v i t a t i o n ,t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f o n e s e l fi n t o
differcnt forms and creation,through thc power of the
m i n d , o f a n c t h e r p r o j e c t i o no u t c f t h e n o r m a l f o r m , H o w
t h e j h a n i c p r o c e s s h e l p s t h e a c c o m p l i s h m e n to f s u c h
w o n d r o u s f e a t s ,s p e c i a . l ! yl e v i t a t i o n , i s e x p l a i n e d b y t h e
Iluddha in the Samyuttaniki-va. I'he Buddha says rhet
w h c n c o n c e n t r a t i n g i h eb o d y i n l h e m i n d * J , i ; ; ; " ; ;
the body, making the body dep:nrient on the mind and
t h e m i n d o n t h e b o d y o r i c h a p p c n st r : d w e l l d e v e i o p i n gi n
t h e b o d y a s e n s eo f l i g h t n e s s .A n d a t s u c h m o m e n t s t h e
b o d y b e c o m e sc x t r e m e l y i i g h t . s o f t , p l i a b l e a n d r a d i a n t
a n d w i t h l i t t l e e f f o r t i t r i s e si n r o t h e a i r f r o m t h e g r o u n d
(S. V. p. 282 f.). The Visuddhimegga describes rhe
p r o c e s si n g r e a t e rd e t a i l ( V i s m . p . 3 7 8 f f . ) .
Though iddhi is oneof the abhififra ir is not considered
a part of the Buddhist schemcof salvation leading to
N i b b a n a ( D . l l l , p . 4 ) . T h e e a r l y t e x t u a l e v i d e n c em a k e s
it abundantly clear that it is not an attribute of the
A r a h a n t , 5 T h i s i s f u r t h e r e s r a b l i s h e db y t h e f a c t t h a t
D e v a d a t t a "( q . v . ) w h o w a s n o t a n a r a h a n t , w a s a n a d e p t
in the display of psychokinetic powers (iddhipitihariya),
A m a j o r i t y o f t h e a r a h a n t sd o n o t s e e m t o h a v e b e e n
i n c l i n e d t o w a r d s d e v e l o p i n gt h i s a b i l i t y a s i t d i d n o t i n

3' The prychokinetic power attained through thejhanic processis regardedas a product of mind purged
of all defilements.This power
is lost as soon E8 the mind gets defiled once again. A striking example is Devadatta (q.v.) who lost
all his previously acquired
rddfiipower s.!lloon as hi.smind bccame polluted with the envious thought of assuming leadershipof
the Sangha.
4. This f ict is not exhaurtive. lt appearsthat any wondrous feat that is apparently beyond the ability
of human beings (u/fa, manussa
dhanma) fatb under iddhi (cf. Vin. l, p.2.j. ,4. lli, p. 140; S. I. p.144: lV, p. 290: V. p.26\.
5. Childcn in hir Pali Dictionary states,'lddhi is a peculiar attrihute of the arahanls". Rhys Davids rightly points
out that Childers
giva no authority for his definit ion ( Dialogux of the Buddha, pt. l, p. 272). PerhepsChilders
may have been influenced by a mild
indication to thir effect in the Visuddhimagga (Vism. p. J76) which says that in the case of Buddhas, Pacceka
Buddha.r. chief
dircipler etc' theserupernormal powers are brought to successsimpty with the ar,tainmentof arahantshin.
 IDDHI 510
a n y w a y h e l p t h e m t o r e a l i s eN i b b a n a ( c f, , 5 .l . p . I 9 l ; l l ,
p. ll5 ff; D. lll, p. 105).
Iddhi being beyond the range of ability of ordinary
h u m a n b e i n g s( u t t a r i m a n u s s a d h a m m aD: . l , p . 2 l l ; I l l ,
p. 3 f.) was generally considered a supernormal power,
and those who possessedsuch powers were held in high
esteemand veneration. This has been 3o evcn among the
B u d d h i s t s ,f o r e v e n D e v a d a t t a ,a t o n e s t a g e ,w a s h e l d i n
high esteembecauseof this ability. But it is clearly stated
in Buddhism that all importance and significanceattached
to iddhi pertain to the mundane level and hence, it is
described as a material accomplishment @mr'saiddhi A,
I. p. 93) or a worldly acco_mplishment(pothuijanika
iddhi: Vin, ll,p. 183). The Digha-nikaya(D. Ill, p, I l2)
describesit as being sullied by defiling impulses (sasava)
and accompanied by material substratum (sa'upadhika),
and therefore, ignoble (anariya). ln contrast to this,
accompalishmentsleading to Nibbana arecalled dhamma-
iddhi, and they are describedas being devoid of defiling
impulses (anZsava), without clinging (anupadhika) and
hence noble (aiya cf. A. I, pp. 93-170),
Even this materid accomplishmenthad been put into
good use by the Buddha and some of his leadingdisciples,
especially Moggallana (q.v.). Thus, texts record the
Buddha utilizing his lddbr-power to shatterthe arrogance
o f U r u v e l a K a s s a p a( V i n . 1 , p . 2 4 t t . ) a n d o f h i s k i n s m e n
( " I . L p . 8 8 ) a n d o f t h c h e r e t i c s( D A . l , p , 5 7 ) t o b r i n g
about their well being, Moggallana Thera is said to have
been an €xpert in using iddhipatihariya as a medium to
w i n o v e r p e o p l e ( A . l , p . 2 3 ; B u A . p . 3 1 , s e eD P P N .
Maha-Moggallana),
H o w e v e r , t c x t u a l e v i d e n c ec l e a r l ye s t a b l i s h etsh a t t h e
Buddha while not over-utilizing iddhipatihariya as a
m e d i u m o f t e a c h i n ga n d c o n v e r s i o nt o t a l l y p r o h i b i t e di t s
u s e f o r p u b l i c i t y a n d p e r s o n a lg a i n . I n f a c t t h e B u d d h a
c l e a r l y p e r c i e v e dt h e d a n g e r si n v o l v e d i n t h e i n d i s c r i m i -
nate use of.iddhipatihiriya. He foresawthat somewould
even accuse that such wondrous acts are being accom-
plished with the aid of magical charms (gandhEri vijie, D.
I , p , 2 l l f . ) . T h e r e f o r e , h e d e c l a r e dt h e d i s p l a y o f s u c h
psychokinetic powers by monks for the purpose of
impressing upon laymen, as an ecclesciastica.l offence
@patti: Vin. Il, p. I l2). As the ability to perform such
wondrous feats was regarded as a sign of holinessmany
may have laid false claims for such an ability' This
perhaps is one of the reasonsfor promulgating the
Vinaya rule which lays down that it is a pirijika offence
to make falseclaims to uttarimanussadhammainvolving
s u c h a b i l i t i e s( V i n . l I l , p . 9 l ) .
While discouraging and denouncing this lype of iddhi
which are categorizedas material accomplishments(amisa'
iddhi), the Buddha encouragesthe successfulfulfilment
of spiritual accomplishment (dhamma'iddhi). In the
IDDHIPAOA
SampasidaniyaSutta(D. III, p. I l3) the Buddhaexplains
this kind of iddhi as follows: "This is when a monk can,
i f h c s o d e s i r e s ,r e m a i n u n c o n s c i o u so f r e p u l s i o na m i d s t
w h a t i s r e p u l s i v e ,c o n s c i o u so f r e p u l s i o n a m i d s t w h a t i s
n o t r e p u l s i v e ,o r u n c o n s c i o u so f r e p u l s i o na m i d s t w h a t i s
both repulsiveand not repulsiveor consciousof repulsion
amidst what is repulsive and not repulsive or avoid both
which is repulsive and not repulsive and remain neutral
(upekhako), mindful and self-possessed(sato
sampajano).
S. K. Nanavakkara
IDDHIPADA, the baseof psychokinetic power or spiri-
tual success.These are four in number and are frequently
referred to in the Nikayas which speak of them as prc-
requisitesfor the accomplishmentof iddhi (sec IDDHI)'
The four iddhipadas are l. base of iddhi consisting of
concentration of will-to-do or zeal accompanied by
striving (chandapadhanasankhara - samannagata -
iddhipada); 2. baseof iddhi consistingof concentration
of effort .... (viriyasamAdhi0), 3, conccntration of thought
..... (cittasamidhi0); 4, concentration of investigation ,...
(vimamsasamadhio), The lddhipida-samyuna of the
Samyutta-nikaya defines these as the path, the practicl
of which resultsin the accomplishment of iddhi (5. Y . p.
27,c[. Vism. Ll, p. 385).
Available evidenceleads to the inference tbat
iddhipadas were in vogue and were used by religious
p e r s o n a g e isn p r e - B u d d h i s t i m e s( D , l l , p . 2 1 3 , S . V . p .
2 5 5 f f , ) . H o w e v e r , i t a p p e a r st h a t i n p r e - B u d d h i s tt i m e s
these were used almost solely as an aid to the accom-
plishment of psychokineticpowerswhich were considered
as a hall-mark or necessaryaccompaniment of spiri-
t u a l i t y . T h e m e n t a l c u l t u r e t h a t r e s u l t e df r o m t h e d e v e -
lopment of. iddhipidas does not appear to have been
c o n s i d e r e di m p o r t a n t , H o w e v e r ,a c l e a rs h i f t i n e m p h a s i s
i s s e e ni n B u d d h i s m ,
B u d d h i s m d o e s n o t c o n s i d e r t h e a c c o m p l i s h m e n to f
psychokinetic powers as being in any way helpful to the
a t t a i n m e n t o f i t s g o a l , [ n f a c t , B u d d h i s m l a b e l st h e m a s
mere wondrous physical accomplishmentsQmisaiddhil
as opposed to a new type of iddhi wtttch it refers to as
d h amm a -i dd hi (i.e. wond rous mental accomplishment)
leading one to Nibbana, lt appearsthat the Buddha
secing the high potential of iddhipada as an aid for
gaining mental culture and consequentspiritual growth,
moulded them and geared them in this new direction
making them function as preliminary steps for reaching
t h e g o a l , N i b b a n a ( , 5 . V . p . 2 5 8 ) . P e r h a p si t i s t o t h i s
d e v e l o p m e n ti n t h e n e w d i r e c t i o nt h a t i s r e f e r r e dt o w h e n
thc Samyutfaspeaks of partial (padesa) and comprehen-
 IDDHIPAoa
sive (samatra,)development of iddhipada fS. IV, p,256
ff.). lt may be that the partial pracrice of iddhipada
helped to develop psychokinetic powers, whereasthe
c o m p r e h e n s i v ep r a c t i c e e n a b l e d o n e t o d e v e l o p t h e s e
p o w e r sa sw e l l a sg a i n m e n t a l c u l t u r e l e a d i n gt o N i b b a n a .
T h e c o m m e n t a r y , h o w e v e r , t a k e s t h i s d i f f e r e n t l v( S A .
Ill, p. 251).
I n B u d d h i s m ,t h e r e f o r e ,m e n t a l c u l t u r e r e s u l t i n gf r o m
the development of.iddhipadas took precedenceover the
accomplishmenlof psychokinetic powers. Hence thc
culture of iddhipidas beganto play an important role in
the religious training. Thus, when a brahman called
.Unnabhaquestioned Ananda thera as to the purpose for
which the religious life is lived under the Buddha, the
latter replied that it is for the purpose of abandoning
d e s i r e ,W h e n q u e s t i o n e d a s t o t h e w a y l e a d i n g t o t h i s
abandonment, venerable Ananda answeredthat it is
none other than the culrure of iddhipadas (iddhip1da-
bhavani; S. V. p. 272).Theculture of iddhipida,, ctune
t o b e c h a r a c t e r i s e da s a m e a n s c a p a b l e o f c o m p l e t e l y
d e s t r o y i n ga l l t h e i l l s o f l i f e ( S . V . p . 1 2 5 ) . I ti s c o n d u c i v e
to complete disenchantment (ekantanibbida), detach_
ment (vi rig a), cessatl on (n i rodh a),tr anqu illi ty (up asam a),
insight (abhifrfra) enlighrenment (sambodht) urdfinally
t o t h e r e a l i s a t i o no f N i b b a n a ( l o c . c i t , ) .
Will-to-do or zeal (chan!a), effort (viriyal, rhought
(citta) and investigation (vimamsi) are the four factors
of the predominance and preponderance on which
d e p e n d st h e m e n t a l p h e n o m e n aa s s o c i a t e dw i t h i t a sw e l l
a s t h e c o n s e q u e n at c t i o n so f a b e i n g . H e n c e ,t h e i r c o n t r o l
and proper cultivation has a strong bearing on one,s
s p i r i t u a l e l e v a t i o n ,T h e r c f o r e ,i t i s n o t s u r p r i s i n gt o f i n d
the culture of iddhipadas being interwoven inro the core
of the Buddhist pracrice leading to Nibbana. This
interweaving has been effected through the Noble Eight_
fold Path (ariya-attha'ngika-magga) which is named as
the Path that leads'tothe cultivari on of iddhipadas (5. y .
p.276).
The culture of iddhipidas is clearlv enunciated in the
N i k a y a s .T h u s , i t i s s a i d r h a t t h e s es h o u l d b e d e v e l o p e ds o
that they shall be neither sluggish (atilin4 due to
indolence (kosajja) nor over strained (atipaggahita) due
to excitement (uddhacca), nor shall they be inwardly
cramped (ajjhatta-sankhittal, due to sloih and ,orpo,
(thina-middha), nor outwardly diffused, (bahiddha
vikkhitta) by rheir being concerned with the five desires
( p a f , c a k a m a g u n a : S .V . p p . Z 6 j , z 1 - l . ) .W h e n t h u s c u l t i -
vated they make the mind become untrammelled and
alert, leading it to brilliancc.
When properly de.eloped the iddhipidas operate as
antidotes to the five factors that go to weaken one's
5 11 IDEALISM
spiritual training (sikkhadubbalyini); function as aids
t h a t h e l p t o o v e r c o m et h e f i v e f e t t e r so f t h e m i n d ( c : - t a s o
v i n i b a n d h a : A . l V . p . 1 6 4 ) .F u r t h e r t h e y r e s u l t i n r h e
n o n - a r i s i n go f u n w h o l e s o m em e n t a l s t a t e st h a t h a d n o t
y e t a r i s e n ;f o r t h e a b a n d o n m e n to f u n w h o l e s o m em e n t a l
s t a t e sa l r e a d ya r i s e n ;f o r t h e a r i s i n go f w h o l e s o m em e n t a l
s t a t e sn o t y e t a r i s e na n d a l s o f o r t h e s t a b i l i t y ,c u l t i v a t i o n
a n d i n c r e a s eo f w h o l e s o m em e n t a l s t a t e sa l r e a d y a r i s e n
( S . V . p . 2 6 8 ) .A n a n d a r h e r a v e r y l u c i d l y e x p t a i n s
how
t h e c u l t u r e o f i d d h i p a d a s h e l p st o a b a t ed e s i r e .( S . V . p .
272).
The importance of the culture of iddhipidas in the
s c h e m eo f B u d d h i s t t r a i n i n g i s s u c h t h a t i t i s c o n s i d e r e d
as being conducive lo the realisation of Nibbana. If
h o w e v e r ,i t s c u l t u r e i s n e g l e c t e dt h e n t h e N o b l e p a t h t h a t
l e a d st o N i b b a n a a l s o b e c o m e sn e g l e c t e d( , S .V . p . 2 S $ .
W i t h r e g a r d t o t h e e f f e c t st h a t a c c r u et o I p e r s o nw h o
fully developsrhe iddhipEdas,it is said that such an onc,
besidesgaining proficiencyin the display of psychokinetic
powers (iddhivikubbana), becomesalso successfulin
this
very life, in destroying the asavas,in gaining insight into
the truth aad attaining freedom of mind (cctoiimutti)
and freedom through wisdom (pafrflavimufrl. If, hory_
ever,such a person fajls to realisethis goal in this very life
a n d i f t h e r eb e a n y s u b s t r a t el e f t , h e i s a s s u r e do f t h e
state
of a non-returner (.9. V. p, 2828 ff.).
S. K. Nanayakkara
IDDHfWDHA. SeeIDDHI
I D E A L I S M . l n t h e p h i l o s o p h i c a lc o n t e x r , i d e a l i s m a n d
i t s a d v e r s a r i a tl h e o r i e s ,r e a l i s m a n d m a t e r i a l i s m ,a r e t h e
r e s u l t so f a s e a r c hf o r u l t i m a t e o b j e c t i v i t y a n d c e r t a i n t y
with regard to human knowledge and undertaking.
H o w e v e r ,i d e a l i s mi s a d i r e c tr e s u l to f t h e d i s t r u s to f t h e
i n f o r m a t i o n p r o v i d e d b y t h e s e n s e sa n d t h e c o n s e q u e n t
b e l i e fi n t h e u l t i m a c y o f m i n d a n d s p i r i t u a l v a l u e s .A s i n
t h e c a s eo f m a n y o t h e r" i s m s , , ' i d e a l i s m e x h i b i t sa v a r i e t y
o f f o r m s .T h c s ei n c l u d em e t a p h y s i c aild e a l i s m ,e p i s t e m o _
l o g i c a l i d e a l i s m , t r a n s c c n d e n t a li d e a l i s m a n d a b s o l u t e
idealism.
I n t h e e a r l y l n d i a n p h i l o s o p h i c a lc o n t e x t t h e s e a r c hf o r
o b j e c t i v i t y a n d c e r t a i n t y l e d t h e U p a n i s a d i ct h i n k e r s t o
acc€pt the belief in a permanent and eternal self
etman)
in the human person as well as in the objective world of
e x p e r i e n c e . rT h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e r e a l i t y w i t h i n r h e
individual with the reality pervading other individuals as
 INEALISM
w e l l a s p h e n o m e n a l e < it o a c o n c c p t i n n o f r . r n i t vi n t h e
i orld was ttten
u n i v e r s e . T h i s u n i t y c f t h e f a t - - t t r sw
identified with the ultimete vnlue (bra.trma), the sourct of
'fhi:
the societal division into casles.2 con'.cption of
u n i l y r e p r e $ c n t sw h a t n r a y b e c a l l e d the metaphy:ical
i d e a l i s m ,W i t h t h i s e m p h a s i so n u l t i m a t eu n i t v n n d t h e
g r a d u a l d i s t r u s t o f p l u r a l i t l ' , i i r t U p a n i s a u i ci h i n k e r s
w e r e m o v i n g t o w a r d a i r a n s c e n d e n t a il d e a l i s n i a s l h e v
c n d e a v n u r e dt o c l i s c o v e rs o m e f c r m o f k n o w l e d g et h a t
t r a n s c e n d so r d i n n r y s e n s ee x p e r i e n c el ' h i s w a s e x p r c : s e d
b y t h e p a r a b l e o f t h e t w o b i r d s p e r c t r e do n l h e s a r n e
branch, onc enjoying lhe pippala fruit and tiie other
'fhe
[ o r m e r r e p i c s e n t st h e e r r r p i r i c a l
s i r n p l yl o o k i n g o n . - '
s e t f e n j o y i n g t h c w o r l d o f s e n s o r ye x p e r i e n c ,et h e l a t t e r
t h e t r a n s c e n d e n t a sl e l f w h j t h a c c i l u n l sf < : r t h e r r n i t y o f
e x p e r i e n c e ,a t h e o r e t i c a l s t a n d p o i n t t l i a t i s r t o t m u c h
different from what has been propos;d by the trans-
c e n d e n t a li d e a i i s ti n t h e m l d c r n w o r l d " l m r n a r u e l K a n t , d
A s i n l h e c a s eo f m o d e n : p h i l o s o p h y a [ t e r K a n t , i n t h e
U p a n i s a d i ct r a d i t i o n a b s o l u t c i d c a l i s m w a s l u r k i n g n o t
t o o f n i i n t h e h o t i z o n . A b s o l u t c i d e a l i s r r r e a r : h e di t s
c u l m i n a t i o n w h e n t h e U p a n i s a d i ct h i n k e r s c o n c e i v e do f
brahmaas"pure cognition" (viifrana)andbliss Gnanda,).t
A r r a y e d a g n i n s t s u c h i d e a l i s m w e r c t h e p h y s i c a ld e t e r -
minisrn of the Materialists and the biological deter-
minism of the Ajivikas.6
What was lacking in the lndian context before
Buddhism is any speculation comparable tc what is
i n v o l v e d i n c p i s t e m o l o g i c a il d e a - l i s mA. s u p e r f i c i a lc o n -
s i d e r a t i o no f s o m e o f t h e e p i s t e m o l o g i c asl p t c u l a t i o n si n
e a r l y B u d d h i s m m a y l e a d t o t h e c o n c l u s i o nt h a t t h e y a r e
s i m i l a r t o t h o s e o f t h e e p i s t e m o l o g i c a il d e a l i s t so f t h e
W e s t e r n w o r l d , e s p e c i a l l yG e o r g e B e r k e l e y . Y e t t h e r e
indeed are significant dilferences.
T h e e p i s t e m o l o g i c aild e a l i s t ' sm a i n c o n t e n t i o n i s
whether sensory cxpericnce reveals tlre independent
e x i s t e n c co f m a t t e r , f o r c v e r y t i m e w c l o o k f o r a m a t e r i a l
s u b s t a n c ew e e n d u p w i t h a p e r c e p t u a sl e . r s a t i o nw h i c h i s
m o r e s u b j c c t i v e , F o r h i m e x i s t e n c ei s i c i e n t i c a l w i t h
p e r c e p t i o n "T h i s m a y n o t b e a n u n a c c e p t a b l ep o s i t i o nf o r
t h e B u d d h a w h o e m p h a s i z e dt h e i d e a t h a t t h e w o r l d , i ( s
a r i s i n g a n d c e a s i n g ,i s w i t h i n t h i s f a t h o m - l o n g b o d v
a s s o c i a t e dw i t h p c r c e p t i o na n d m e n t a t i o n ( 5 . t , p ' 6 2 , A '
l l , p p . 4 8 , 5 0 ) .T h e B u d d h aw a s p r e p a r e dt o g o b e y o n d
t h e a s s e r t i o nt h a t t h e r ec a n n o t b e e x p e r i e n c eo f t h e w o r l d
w i t b o u t s e n s ec o n t a c t ( p h a s s a )t o m a k e t h e c l a i m t h a t
2 . r h i d . .! 4 , t 0 1 7 .
- ' ! F i r s t o c c u r r i n gi n t h e R g v e da i . 1 6 4 . 2 A ,i t w a c u t i l i z e d h y s o m e o f t h e f
f o l l o w s . T w o b i r d s , c l o i e l o m p a l i o n s , o c c u p y t h e s a m et r e e .O n e o f t h e m e a t st h e s w e e tp i p p a l af r u i t , t h e o t h e r ,
lookingon
4 . S e e l r n m a n u e lF i a n t ' sC r i t i q u e a f P u r e R e a s o n t, r . N . K . S m i t h , I , o n d o n : M a c r n i l l a n , 1 9 6 3 ,p p . 1 3 5f f .
see alsr: Taittiiira Upanisatl 2.5.1:.1.-<.1.
5. Brhadiranl.alta Llpanisad-1.9.28:
6. .9eeB. M, Barua, Fre-Buddhistic Indian Philosoph.v"
c lr. TDEALISM
e1.,ea n v n l i : ' 1r r r n c e p t i o n o r t h e o r v i s i m p o s s i b l e i n d e -
pendenl of such ccntact {D. l, pp' 43-4{i. But the
s i r n i l a r i t yb e t w e e r re a r l y B u d r i h i s m a n d e p i s t e m o l o g i c a l
'fhis
i d e a i i s me n d s h e r e . i s b c c a u s eB u d d i r i s r nd o e s n o t
l n c k f c r r a h s ' r i u i e c c r t a . r n t yi n s e n s c e x p e r i e n c e a n d
know!edge gained fhrough such experiencewhereas
c p i s t r ; n o l o p , i c s itd e a i i : , r n .s e e k i n g f o r s u c h c t r t a i n t y .
c . r n t i n u e dt o r a i s ef t t r t h e r q r i e s t i o n s .
T h r i r r s t q u e s t i o ni s : l s t h t r e t e a l m a i t e r o r a m a t e r i a l
d y a n d i n d e p e n d e n to [ s e n s ee x p e -
s u b s t a r c er r n d i l r . r i e b
r i e n c e ?A n ep i s t e m c l o g i c a il d e a l i s t I i k e B e r k e l e ya r g u e d
t h a t t h e c o n c e p t i o no f m a t t e r a s s e m e t h i n g e x i s t i n g
independent of expcrienceis a rnyth" He thercfore
c h a r a c t e r i z e dh i s t h c o r y a s i m m a t e r i a l i s m . F o r l h e
B u c t d h a ,t h e o b j e c t i v i t yo f m a t t e r n e c d n o t b e d e n i e d
b e c a u s et h e s o u r c et h r o u g h w h i c h w e g e t t o k n o w m a t t e r
is sensationT . h e o b j e c t o f k n o w l e d g ea n d t h e s o u r c e o f
k n o w l e d g en e e dn o t n e c e s s a r i l b y e i d e n t i c a l .T h u s , w h i l e
d e f i n i n g t h e e x p e r i e n c eo f e a r t h a s c o a r s e n e s s
(kakkhalata), waler as flrridity (apogata), heat as calori-
city (tejogata) and air as viscoctty lvAyogata) (M,l, pp.
1 8 5 , 4 2 1 ,I I I , p , 2 4 0 ) , t h e B u d d h a w a s n o t w i l l i n g t o
r e d u c ee a r t b ,w a t e r ,f i r c , a n d a i r t o e m p t y c o n c e p t s W . hat
h e d e n i e di s t h a t t h e s eo b j e c t i v ee l e m e n t sd e p e n d i n gu p o n
w h i c h w e h a v e s c n s o r y e x p e r i e n c ep o s s e s ss o m e m y s -
t e r i o u s a n d u n d c r l y i n g e s s e n c et h a t m a k e s t h e m p e r -
m a n e n t a n d e t c r n a l c o m p a r e d t o i h e s e n s a t i o n st h e m -
s e l v e sw h i c h a r e o b v i o u s l y i m p e r m a n e n t a n d c h a n g i n g .
T h u s , t h e v e r y a n a l y s i so I a n o b j e c t i n t o s u b s t a n c ea n d
q u a l i t i e sw h er c t h e f o r m e r i s c o n c e i v e da s t h e i n d e p e n d e n t
o b i e c t w h i l e t h e l a t t e r r e p r e s e n tt h e p e r c e i v e dc h a r a c t e -
r i s t i c s . a n a n a l y s i st h a t c o n t r i b u t e d t o p e r s i s t e n tm c t a -
p h y s i c a dl e b a t e sl a t e ro n i n p h i l o s o p h i c atlr a d i t i o n sb o t h
E a s t e r na n d W e s t e r n ,w a s a v o i d e d b y t h e B u d d h a a t t h e
very outset. The Buddha realized that in the process
w h i c h l e a d sl o g e n u i n ek n o w l e d g ea n d u n d e r s t a n d i n go f
t h e o b j ec t i v e w o r l d r e s t r a i n to f t h e s e n s e sc o n s t i t u t e sa n
i m p o r t a n t p r el i m i n a r l s t e p .I n e x p l a i n i n gs u c h r e s t r a i n t
o f t h e s e n s e sh e a r g u e dt h a t w h a t i s t o b e a v o i d e d i s t h e
g r a s p i n ga f t er s u b s t a n c eo r m v s t e r i o u sc a u s e s( n i m i t t a )
a n d q u a l i t i e s( a n u r y a f l j a n aD : . l , p . 7 0 ;M . l , p . l 8 0 f f . ) I n
f a c t , a s t h e d e s c r i p t i o ng o e s ,t h e r e s t r a i n t o f t h e s e n s e s
(cakkhusamvara)d,oesnot involve any physical activity
b u t s i m p l y t h e r c s t r a i n t o f t h e p : r s p e c t i v eo n e a d o p t s
i m m e d i a t e l ya f t e r t h e e x t e r n a lo b j e c t h a s b e e n p e r c e i v e d
(ra kk hun a n rp arndi sva)
, u n r l a k a l . l . l : S v e t a ( v a t a r a 46 . a n d r e a d sa s
I | a n i . s a d sM
n o t e a t i n g ,k e e p s
 TDEALISM
Secondly, tbe Suddha cffrir.illy avcide,l *ny commit.
ment tc either idealism cr reelirm whcn he urilizcd the
languagc of dependcncr in describing the i:rocesc of
semory experience.'Thestetemsnt rcsds:
Depending upon the eye aad the vicible forrn arkes
viEusl c:nsciousnese.Thc ccneomitance of ihc three
fu contect. Depeuding upon corjtacl is feeling trl/. l,
pp.lll-ll2).
The important fecture of this description ic that ir avoidc
rome of ihe basic assumptionsof the realist as well as the
idealist. It diffcrs from the realict,sclaim that the external
object impingcs on ihe senseorgrn or lceve! an imprint
on the mind wbich is a tabula rasa. It afuo differs from the
epirtemological ideelist'r dcscription which bcginr and
ends with a scnr€ impression. Inrtead it a.ssertrtwo
conditions, first the sense organ end then the object of
!en!e, without which no !en!e experience would take
plece. Furthermore, without contributing to eny theory
like epi-phenomenalism which would render conscioul-
Der! r by-product of matter (the materialirt taking the
sence orgen and object of cenge to be constituted of
matter), the Ebove stetement emphasizesthe idea that
consciousnessarisel depending upon the faculty and the
object, instead of the latter generating the former. In
olher words, ssnle faculty and object are conditioning
fsctorr of consciousness (reddizel whicb provide con-
tinuity in expcrienct as it flows like a stream (sota: D. lll,
p. 105).Here again, tbe lenguageof dependenceexcludes
the posribility of understanding coruciousnesr e! rome-
thing that occurs independent of a faculty end an object.
Finally, the Buddha was not troubled by the spccula-
tive question posed by the epistemologicalidealist as to
whethcr an object exists when not pcrceived. It is one
thing to a.ssertthat what exists is what is perccived
through renre experiencc, and yet another to claim that
cxistencc ls identical with perccption, While percepiion
giver us information about the cxistenceof some object,
it is not identical with thc existenceof that object so that
whcn it is not being perceiwd it disappers into nothing-
ners. For the rcidentification of an objcct perviously
pcrceived ir the function of memory. The Buddha was a
radical empiricist (q.v., Empiricism) and was not willing
to dirmiss memory er a totally invdid means of know-
ledge.As such he did not have to porit an all-perceiving
Supreme Being whooe perception eccounts for the exis-
tence of the objectivc world whcn the mortals are not
pcrceiving it, which wa! e solution to the problem
prerented by Bishop Berkeley. Yet this does not rnean
thet the Buddha recognized as existing somcthing that
hrs never been perceived. To claim the existence of
somerhing udperceived (aditthe aittnavaall is said to
contribute to ruffering comparable to that of the purgs-
tory (4. ll, p.227). A disclaimer to omnircience on the
7' S' tl' 17-18quotedby the lcedingphilocophenof the Buddhigttraditionruch er Nigirjuna, ree
ThePhilotophy of the Middle Way, Albany: State Univcrrlty of New york prcrr, 19E6,pp, ff.
3. S.P.C.92,4?8
513 IIlEitL{SyEr
prrt "i. Lirl, Ih:ddhrn dven thr_-:udh ttrFjfaithft"ll wer* lo
attrihr:t* lt ir htm. !g cies;.i_v
evicirili I.r*rn his tii*eerurqe
r:n
'ewrythins'
f.eti&rrn; S. {V, , j 4i.
The epi:lrrni,'lnF:eairf andp'.:i.iirl,:i;y,1;ggr1 'dl,a
}y "i-r ttu
t h U sp r a c i u t i r r I h { l . - r s i i 1i h
. -i " r , ' : ' ,1 1 s 1i r r s r { 1 gh i t r l c c t r i n e
sg sorre i"tlrnt *i leierr-jig:n. t":ii ii r,orlrD,r3ftr_n'ro!ogicel
reflecticngrlri t:c,:tjend tli,, -ilririr'{: tc-ran irieriistjc intr-r-
pretation, ir could !:* arg.ee':f hrelFiur!<lhisrn
lannrr arqiC
an ideeligti; stanrre b:caus* '.: ,:rc rlrq* ti, *np!ain
morality and freedom. -$ F-ar\s,lnshnp;':, 'r-i:o cid nr:t
perceive any differcnte bnrween j*ud"*hism and
Hinduism, crpdcially in reJrtion r,: rhs lcnception of
nirvanq rcferred to earlt l}rddhism. as Erhi;a! Itjcalism,
ln the Westernworld, Kantian idea!isr-cis srilJappreciatrd
becauseof itr defence of freedclm agirat thc cxtrcrnely
popular theories of phyaicrJ and narurrj dererminjgrn.
these latter being ouirighr marerieiisrrc. ACmirers of
Kant arsume that sinre knowledgc anrl ir*rciom sre
closely linked, detern:inirm and reductive rnaterialism
cennot be true. Sincc anrl;l EutjJh,ir*r iv nr:ther detcr*
ministic nor materialistic. it did n*i hxvr tr; adopt an
idealistic alarc.ewhen expiaining rnnraiily nnd fl"eedr;rn.
The Buddha'g doctrine cf "depencierriarising" rps&!.;a-
samuppada) is formulated in n manner that nvrijs thr
extremeE of eternaiiriu and nihilism, dcterminism and
indeterminism, latalism end changc. It is a middlc
standpoint. Itr nnein l'eature is "condiiionality" which
alro involvcs the renus:ciation of absoluie certainty and
equdly ebcolut€eccpticirm. This nneansthat the Buddhe
was prepared to philosophize within a limited framework,
hencc the non-absolutirt charecter of his views about
knowledge and undcrstending as wsll as his conceptions
of truth and reality. lt wac within such a context that he
proposed a theory of morality and a conception of
freedom (nibbna), Neither the theory of morality nor
the conception of freedom are ebgolutisticfor, ar pointed
out eerlier, they wcre formulcted in the background of a
rather abrolutistic metaphysical idealism as wel! as
materialistic and biologicel determinism dl of which he
repudieted.
Buddha's conception of freedom is therefore to be
understood in the background ef his own conception of
bondege. Freedom is sometimer referred to ar trans-
cending the world (lokuttara)which would mcan that the
world (loka) represents bondage. At crther timel it is
described as the ending of the continuous life-pr:occrr
(saTsira). A clarification of the meaning of the term
"world" will rhed more light on the lerm samsa-nrwhich
was widely used in later Buddhism to refer to tbe state of
bondage, According to an extremely importent dir-
course, "The Discourse to Kacciyan{, (Kaor;ayinrgottr-
sutta/, the world (loka) is one which ir "bound bv
DavidJ^Krlupahang Nig-ajunr.
9
 qY}HA!,TSh,T 514 IDOLATRY

"lhe restraint of f orce i n the M ah a vasru and the L al itav iseara,both work!
appr*nclt. F i i i s f i i t g , u " : ; . ii n c l t l r t u t i i l n , ' o
apprr'nc'1r, pii':r!:"':; :,rr'',1iirc!itintior, cjr:es not mean the being tooked upon as belonging to the Sarvastivada
total nirniliilr'1.,:-', (r"tet'!*r{a) cf thn world trf experience or school. ln fact, philosophically such a vicw can bc linked
t h e g . t t ; ! i i ; n i e n 9, i , i s f * r n - r r u f i e nsL, i n fI " ' { e : i s t e n c z ( s a s s a t a ) . to the Sarvdstivadinswhosedoctrine of the eternal nature
T h e s a m e d i s c r . t r r s r s 1 : : r . t ei isr ; i i . ! r : r n r e x b e i n g s g e n e r a l l y of plrenomena (dharmasvabhiva) is not a far cry from
lean tolarrl onr {ir ilrr nil;ri gi ,itrsf two States,l The that of the Upanisadic theory of self (atman/' The theory
eliminatinn o{ gle'"i q ii.,hir;r}"i'iai; rr.i iac.srland confusion of substantial or essentiel cxistence (svabhiva) is a
(maha),wltirlr l5 nrtrualr'-ii' ;rlr i i t"",lcn(nibbinaie enables metaphysical attempt to unify variety and plurality'
one to restrri,r orre'q frrr{:€ptive r.egarding the nature of Sarvastivida may therefore be looked upon es the first
t h e w o r l d e n r { , ; ' . r r ri n
f r - r ri r r i i v e t h r r e i n w i t h o u t u n d e r g o i n g step in the direction of metaphysical idedism. Meta-
-[hat
suffering" lr:stinitte4 peispettive also prevents him physical idealism reached a morc sophisticated level in
from graspirlg {jrr lc eRistence sr: lhat at the end of the lhe Saddharmapunderika+fitra where unity i3 proposed
p l e s € n t l i f e t h e p o s s i i r i i i t y i 1 l 4 i r r 1 1 r 1 ql i f e i s a l s o e l i m i - at the concepfual level with the theory of "equality of all
nated, This is whp.t is impiitd hv the ending of the life- dharmas" (sarva4harmeatan ati), the knowledge (ava'
'llrirs,
process ('samsil aj. witcn a p.rson attains freedom bodha) of which is said to constitute enlightenrnent or
he does nr']l irftve 1,.,r1'1tr1,'rutiiii'l,sr:ll front the natural B u d d h a h o o d . r 0 T _ h ec o n c e p t u a l a b s o l u t i s m o f t h e
furrt only abandon those pers-
process r:f dene:r*.ter1;,o;, Saddharrnapunderika placed the concept of Buddha at
pectives tirat !carl tt gratgrittg and the consequent the pinnacle, down-playing the significance of the his:
suffering. torical Buddha, the value of the early discourses,and thc
importance of the life of the early disciples who had
trt is thir nrln.ab.qr.!'.itirfrrnceplirln of freedom that
attained freedom (arhatva: ibid. pp. 8l-82). With dcw-
paved the wn',' tnr pi'r r+t.rz!!i" non-absohttist moral
lopment of such transcendentalismand absolutism onc
p h i l o s o p h y . T h l ' s , e n r ! r , f i u < l d h i t m r l i u Jn o t a d v o c a t e t h e
can noticc a change in thc moralghilosophy as well. For
i d e a t h a t t h e g e r 4 l i f e h n n 1 1 rh . s 6 r : 1i f i e e d a t t h e a l t a r o f
example, the Saddharmapundarikais the first Mayiyina
t h e m o r a l l i f i l n s l l i a i , ' ! * A ! i q t ! r :i r * r l i t i o n s o f t h e E a s t a n d
text to justify self-sacrifice(ibid. p. 164).The secrificeof
West did" [{err, the qi/'-1le prth ir }r:tvreenself-indulgence
one's psychophysical personality for the sake of the
ancl sclf-n_'.n1{jfiq1fin.1 {,q i', p 4?li betrveen craving for
Buddha, the idcal, isjustified by the fact that the former is
becoming a.rr,tir.1't!vitxs:flrr ni.re..t'qcoming or suicide (M.
utterly unreal while the latter is ultimately real. The
lll, p.244:). Tlie nlr:rnl lile q{!ti hand in hanrl with the
moral ideal calls for the abandoning not only of the good
g o ( # t i f e i n q - r ' r . l r3 r l l q r f ? i * t t h e p e n < o n w h o p r a C t i S e Si t
life but even one's own personality, This idea pervades
l i v e s w i t l r r " ' i r l l : i u i t r n g $ i 1 1 ' : r ' l fn t t r j n . t t h a r m i n g r r t h c r s ( M .
some of the Jatakas and the Avadanas as well.
Il, p. I ! 4 f.\ f l i5 * iilt ':l near:r {rr non-€onflict
(ereqat'ihara. i.! {1i, ;; )'ii I I ;r'"! iq sajd to be the The transition from metaphysical idealism to absolule
highest stnge rf mct:rlit"!" nir.l t'ltirrraie frecdom. Thus, idealism is met with inthe La'nkivatira-sitrawherein the
philosophical!y eet!'.' ilrrrJdhism <iid not have to accept famous doctrine of. citta-mirra ("thought only') is ela-
- , 1 r ' l g tr:.\ i r t ' ( . r u n t f o r m o r a l i t y a n d
a n y f o r n : n f i d ^ : r l r q n ri r ' boratcd in great detail.tt lndeed it becomes the /ocus
freerjom" f l l e 1 - n p 1 1 i ' , " 1 1 ' : i ., t i ! r " : l c i r v i e w t r e l n t i n g t o c l a s s i c u so f t h e s c h o o l o f A b s o l u t e l d e a l i s m
human lifr nnri spiriti:,rli1v "r"atr!er{ lnrty Fr"r.ldhism to (Vijf,anavida) that reduced the world (loka) to a mere
adopt 8 lTlJrr pragrr'rti* eppreer:h apparition, an illusion (miyi) The traditional identi-
fication of philosophers like Vasubandhu with this
Howevcr, such polr.r ccncepts did appear in the later
school has been qucstioned in recent times.lz
Buddhist tradition- srperi'rily with the emergence of a
'fhc
transcendentalist r:orlrr'ilrio:l nf fhe Buddha. earliest
DavH J. Kdupehme
refe rence to suclr a vir;, is ii: he f rrlrn.i in lhe Kaflra vatthu
w h e r e N ' l c g g * t i 1 ; r ' l 1 . v i . . i1*r tr e f t r t e st h e t r . . o k u t t a r a v i d a t h a t
n e g a t r c l i i l s h r s f , ; ' , i c l l ; ' c l t h e R i " t c i d h aa n d p r o p o s e d a
t r a l s r : : n r l n . l , i . , i ; r i . l g , . ' :{' f f r ' i r . f } p . 5 5 9 5 6 1 ) . l n t e r e s t i n g l y IDOLATRY, the worship of idols or material objectr as
r ' , , 1 ' 1 : ! n q i i i T 4 l e t n e r gw
e idt h g r e a t e r
t i r . i . l . -' ' i , , i i , " , i i , , representationsof god, This feature in theistic rcHgion

cl 1. rr,':r',ir]?"rir.r-rjr':rna lokc yebhuyl'ena atthitaf, ceva natthitafi ca,

, r''
q ' 1
r , ,' 't"-,;t
r,"gtokkha','r:dnsskkhalo mohakkhayo idam wccati nibbinam.

f 0 t q i ) t " " "

. , , , : ' . r { ' v ' ' .. .: lr*l . 4 1) 1n 9 1 "
*l {J.
u, .
" , , : , : , " , i r r g. l, 6 .
t2. S s ei . , ' ' i ! ,hrrr:r ?iir f'rin';t[iles of Fuddhist Psychology, Albany: State Univerrity of New York Prerr, 1987; Stefan
- ' \ --::r.:i^ 'cr'. ,!elhi: Motilal Banarridars. 1984.
.rl:l?-rt'c' t
 IDOI.,dTRY
has beenadapted in Budd hist worship giving ir a dificrent
value. The follorving staterncnt regarding
idolatry found inthe Enryclopaeriia Britannica (Vol. 12,
p" 70; 1960) may be quorcd here before proceeding to
diacusrthe subject."In Ln age when the study of rcligion
was practically eonfincd to .ludaism and Cl:r'istianity,
idolatry wes regarded as a degeneration frorn an un-
corrupt primeval faith, but the comparativc and historical
investigationof religion har thown it to be rather a stage
of an upwe rd rnovement, and by no me&nsthe earliest."
ln Buddhism this practice bas to be examined in relation
to the images represenringthe historical Buddha or his
p r e d c c e s s o r s ,t h e f u t u r e B u d d h a M e t t e y y a , d h y i n i -
B u d d h a s( s . v . ) ,B o d h i s a t t v a s( s . v , ) a n d t h e m u l t i t u d e o f
other deitiesconnectcdwith the faith, speciallyin its later
developmentslike the Mahriyana and the Vajrayina.t As
\pe arc concerned here with the place assigned to this
practice in Buddhism, it would suffice to discuss the
subject with reference to the image of the historical
Buddha. The theories applicable to the worship of the
Buddha-image in this senaewould apply, mutetis
mutandis, to the worship of these other images as well,
The useof imagesas objectsof worship was a historical
developmentin Buddhism in all its phasesfrom about the
beginning of the Christian era. The early phaseremainecl
aniconic in that whenever need arose to show the
B u d d h a ' sp r e s e n c ei t w a s d o n e t h r o u g h s y m b o l ss u c h a s
tbe bodhi-tree, wheel of the law (s.v. dhamma-cakka),
foot-print etc. This practice may be explained as being
duc to the influence of the Buddhist concept of Nirvana
with the attainment of which the existence of the
i n d i v i d u e l a s a s e p a r a t e e n t i t v c c a s e s .T h i s s t a t e w a s
beyond definition as being inconceivable in human and
m u n d a n e t e r m s , C o n s e q u e n t l y ,i t w a s u n r e a l i s t i c a n d
contradictory to portray a relcasedsaint who has trans-
cendedearthly existencein anthropomorphic form as an
individual.
T w o s t a t e m e n t so f t h e B u d d h a h i m s e l f t h a t c o u l d h a v e
conlirmed and streDgthenedthis view can be adduced
from the Pali Nikayas. The first of thcse is found in the
Brahmajila Sutta 1D,1, p. 46 ff.) and runs as follows:
" T h e b o d y o f T a t b a g a t a , O b h i k k h u s , s t a n d sd e v o i d o f
the rootr for re-cxistence;gods and men seehis body so
l o n g a s i t r e m a i n s i n t a c t : o n t h e d i s s o l u t i o no f t h e b o d y ,
b e y o n dt h e e n d o f h i s l i f e , n e i t h e r g o d s n o r m e n s h a l l s e e
i t . " T h e s e c o n d s t a t e m e n tw a s m a d e t o V a t k a l i T h e r a
(S. lll, p. 120) who was all the rime gazing at the
Buddha's physical form in admiration and the Buddha
advised him not to be attracied towards a body full of
impurities (putikaya) but to 'see'him by undersranding
t h e D h a m m a . F r o m t h e f i r s t s t e t e m e D itt f o l l o w s t h a t i t i s
l. lticsomaimeseuggeetedthatinlndiaidolatryoriginatedwiththeBuddhists,forthemostnrrcientimagesfoundthereareBuddhict
(6RE. vi, p. 122) while bot,hin Hindi and Persian the word for image k 'but' derived frnrn tlc tcrm ,Buddha'(8, Walker.
World, Vol. l, p. 46E: London George Allen Unwin),
515 YT}fIX-Af;RY
incorirct flr tli: 1',.r-l'ld in 1r.:ok lnrwnrel to continue sccing
the tsr.rddhr i'r his phrisirai io,-rn as he. cn being the
Buddha, hsci ,,-'irtofi {trr go,lc ' ;rqt*.)ts in sarnslira.And
acccrding: r lht: :!.r'. {i11d slalfiii " 'ri the ,\{rl.iirelf inspiration
[or the discirrjes!iirr-rlj[.rc11'tr, r.rhsi:;i;,ethr$rJ6hwhich the
Teacher roni;t:ueq {; Iive :;i1i,!!i{rt the pliysical body
w h i c h i r l . . e r i s h s ? j tl :n , ; f u l i : . : li r s - ; i - r . l ! i c s! .t d i s c o u r a g e s
t h c g ! u r ; f i c et i r ; n r ; f l l c l ; ; J i , . , f i ! i t t i e c l o f D e r s 6 i r e l
"4u1s6ion
This kir,C of discourap";r;errl.rt rendcr-inganj, rpecial
honour or reverenrjeto irirn in the form cf a personality
c u l t m u s t h a v c l e r t h i s o i s c i p l e ct o c o n s i d e r i h a t i t w a s
s a f e r a n d m o r e n p p r o p r i a t e i o r e p r e s e n t? h e M a s t e r
t h r o u g h s y m b o l s . N { n r c a ' , ' e rd, u r i n g t h e l a s t d a y s o f h i s
l i f e , t h e B u d d h a e x p l a i n e d r o a r r i r n p a r i e n tA n a n d a t h a t
t h e f o r m o f h o n o u r t h c d i s c i p l e sc o u l d c o n f e ro n h i m a f i e r
his passing away wo,:id bc to erect u stlpa over his
b o d i l y r e l i c s a n d p l a c c g a r l a n d s a n d l a n n p sb e s i d ei t i n
m e m o r y o f t h e M a s t c r . O t h e r f o r r n s s f a n i c o n i cr c p r e s e n -
tation would have been devisrd es rnonunlents in
Buddha's honorrr inercased zu:qithere wss arl cvident
scarcityof relics.And accordingly titl atrout the beginning
o f t h e C h r i s t i a n e r a t l r r E l i d d h a w a j r e p r e s e n t e da n i c o n i -
cally,
H o w e v e r , i n c c u r s e o f t i n n e "p e r h a p sw i t h t h e t h e i s t i c
a n d d e v o t i o n a l d c v c i o p m e n t so f t h e M a h a y a n a a r o u n d
the first century A.C, aniconic symbols began to be
replaced by an imagc. ln this novel and important
d e v e l o p m e n to f t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f c u l t - i m a g c s ,t h e p i e t y
o f t h e b r o a d m a s s e sm u s t h a v e p l a y e d a v i t a l r o l e i n t h a t
they began to treat the Buddha more as a mercifut
redeemcrthan aTeacher showing ttreway. It wss difficult
f o r t h e o r d i n a r y f o l k o f l e s s e rj n t e l l e c t t o c o n c e i v et h e
B u d d h a a s a p r i n c i p l c r e p r c s e n t ? dt h r o u g h a s y r n b o l .T h e
a t t i t u d e o f p e r s o n r l d c v o t i o n , a s e x e m p l i f i e db y t h e c e s e
of Vakknli Thera referred to earlier, that such people
w o u l d i n e v i t a b l y d c v e l o p , a l s o m r r s th a v e m a d e s t r o n g e r
t h i s n e c e s s i t yf o r i m a g e s . ' f h i si m a g e ,i t m a y b e o b s e r v e d
here too, was generally a symbol and not a portrajt.
I m a g e sa r e i n t c g r a t c di n t o t h e n a r r a t i v e sd e a l i n gw i t h t h e
l i f e o f t h e h i s t o r i c a l B u d d h a , T h i s w a s e a s i l yd o n e , o n c e
t h e d r e a d o r t h e d i s l i k c o f h u m a n * r e p r c s e n t a t i o no f t h e
Buddha was overcome
L i t e r a r y r e f e r e n c e sc l e a r l y s h o w t h a t t h e s h o w i n g o f
r e s p e c ta n d h o n c u r t o t h e B r r d 6 1 5 i"n p e r s o n w a s q u i t e
c o m m o n w h e n h c w a s a l i v e .T h o s ew h o c a m e t o m e e th i m
f i r s t p a i d t h e i r . e s p e c r st o h i c n b e f o r e e n g a g i n g i n a
c o n v e r s n t i o n .T h i s p r a c t i c ew a s r e p e a ( e da t t h c t i m e o f
d e p a r t u r e a s w e l l . I f w ' a sn a t u r a l t h a t a T e a c h e rl i k e t h e
Buddha should have been honoured in this manner.
ILrndu
 i"*rlE .,u?RY 516 II)(OLATRY

Ar-:r",r.ii-qpi;iq. rv*n rf{*n his r.ing:i:;:,.. !'.si,evoteescontinued piety and it is such practice that could be conveniently
the pl:r,:tl:q. irrgl *,;i.*n:$lt:i'i-!!r; 6'"lrdi:\tgr through iconr' labetled as image-worahip or idolatry in a pejoratiw
'fhi$ sense.lt could degenerateitself into "pagan idolatry" if
tq{r is .i*i./ ws-ri: !l?rrsi:r*r!,'i b'i the 3tory that led to the
'[he
pi*r"'tir,;, :l ."',y ,."1i,t"",,..:* i'ir.ilii''t.i'ee. citizens of lhe devotee confirms himself to the worship of the image
S h . i l t i r t , r v ' . " 1 ,. ,; , : ! i ! i 6 . ! , I ! , : . i 1 ; . i :' r: l n t h e B U d d h a t S as his main religious practice without practising thc
abserrc*.;rf,:iir",r':,J:r:ii i: :r' i11$tl',.r f .:{ the offeringr they Dhamma.
hsd trrr:rg.t.;i:r :"r f i:r' i.. -: ,;, ':::e$ t;iein near the door
But a factor comtnon to both these highcr and lower
cl thq Hl,rq.lnr;'s tilei:.: .:' :\ .:i:i!$!xindika rcported the forms ir the rervicc the image perfonil ar a reminder and
r n Fl t e i I q i " r r , i r X l"l',i , h ! . ! ' . ' . ' ' t ' rr{r i l : n i ! o nw i t h t h e B u d d h e a souncc of inspiration for tlrc devotee by generating a
deddry.llii triri't , rr- r'1i'. -:t i1'* *"xjhi-tre€ ft Gayiat the feeling of respec't and rsverencl for the Teacbcr. They
'rL*!E
cntrFnce lrr ili: i".i,-:i:{i.nr:r*. war ceremonially
"::i:;ri also become helpful to the devotee by making it posible
, : 1 . . :
r .
, . ; , . : ! ' r r . 1 . i 5 . 1l"hI e
i ;ri Je a f t e f ,t h O S eW h O
dOnq:tr;ias! for bim to approach the Tcacher in s virible scnre of
c&,ri* {l:p.!'rj.r.r{*,: iit:jrh,-' ,: .,,'-"**no rnsde their offerings closcnesst.r Him.
to tht Anatt'la ir..r'Ji,:r;'hi::il :"r'Fs'cotrsidered aS repfe-
c€ntinE the Suddl,::. tt is not posdble to arsign the exact date et which the
Buddha bcgan to be reprerented and honoured through
"be imager. In the oldcn Buddhirt rculpturc at Bharhut and
The wcrsiriri tlr'i;{I*;':$':i.iuj.d meaningful when the
't:: Sanchi of the recond century 8.C., the Buddha himself is
imngr is .l:n4t,.ill::i -:5 f ri tij;{i to nneditation and other
religinilr r'1',i..i-,tii::. r'ri'r:. i; i'l:if,sth* dtvolec to focus his not depicted althougb various other deitiec are portrayed
a t t C n t i o n " , 1 nr 5 t t ' u i i i r ; r ! r + " 1 ' : 1 5 Eadn d p r o p o u n d e d b y in anthropomorphic form. It 3eem3 that the Buddhr-
the tsuddhs. [r1 a;gr;h* {i::Ir:rtec*he image as 8n anthro- image began to appear with the beginning of the Christien
'feacher
pornnrphic t!,:,:l:r:,!.",'!]r.:!f;nts tbe (for this Era, elthough its exirteDce prior to thc date cannot be
rcnesn it is ,::ntin,!sr-. -:-;da,si&* t*tiya) and is devoid of disprovcd. Howwer, it rhould bc mentioned here that
a n y v n ! l r * r . i l r ' ; r ' r : * ' t q ' s i :i r , ? i x p t i n a n a r t i s t i c t e n s e l. t s according to the K-alihgabodhi ",7,t*t (J. lV, pp.
signilicsnx" ;ii:i(-':1ir,+l:)',ii*n in a kind of acquired 28-30) the Buddha-image (p4ini) belongs to tbe
'[he
astocinticin. ritc.!r.:ir:.it'r'tiierxtion (pifa) of an image uddesika (memorial or the last catcgory of the three-fold
in rrreh R *elr$* 'i5,r;11i:',.;"::*r.:i!y n uscfu! religious cxerci$ divirion of Buddhirt rhrines (Cetiya s.v'), acccpted ar
in that it hel;rs rilt' r:,,*':!t{:ri{! req:ollecttbe Buddha's ruch by tbc Buddha himrclf.
grcstness ,rrlr:1;:;;r'':"rr': :r:$ttldineviCablyinspire him to
It is of interest to refer here to a romewhet legendary
follorv th'' l-;;,':,:;':; !:'i ,, r'r:i.'ii46i by him' Like all cltiyaS,
eccount of the firrt instanc€ of a Buddha image rtcowred
irnages [r-:.11, isil;g":qi,; i3r;:;;1;i*ftipper nnd gratify his mind'
by thc Chinese pilgtim Hsflan Trang. According to hir
Thr-cst he i: ro!rv i**qr, +i u!i i..Isl it{ i{:&!typro grersest oward s the
Yener*tiotl of images in Bccount the Buddha himrelf not only approved the
sttpinrureni *i "uir,iightulxi-vrffii,
making of his images for memorial purporer, but dro thc
this eefiee is to be ftgarded not only as useful and
showing of honour to them. Tbe Chinece pilgrim recordts
necessarv hut alti* as n pi cgrc$ive feature in Buddhist
thet in a monastery at Kosambi there war e renddwood
religiour pf srtic:. it is rn rj'J tc wonhip and meditation.
image of Gautama Buddhr with a rtone canopy abovc it.
tn thil {rn$i ihe prectire bns to be kept dirtinctly apart
It was put up by king Udena of Korambi during thc
from idrl*.t!-"' and one should be wary of sueb dcscrip-
3-month absenceof the Buddhawhen hc had arended to
tionr c*f lrudrltrism an "heathen idolatry" as was donc by
the Tusita heaven to prcach the Abhidhammt to the
the eariy Chir$tian missicnerieswho came to Sri Lanka
deities including hir mother. The king had pcnuaded
from the Wcct.:
Arahant Moggallina to tranrport by hir rpiritual powcrt
tdo!atrv. rrn the othtr harrdncould become a degenerate an artist to the heavanly world to obrerve the likencu of
trrr* nrf r:eligi$r.isprnerir:* if g.heirnage of the Buddha is the Buddha end tekc note of the racred markr on hir
regnr''led :ii.:l B$ a ffitmsdai eymbol or 4.8 8n aid to body. He had n rtatue cerved out accordingly and whcn
'Buddha himsell" and the Buddhl rcturned from the Turite heaven the rtatuc
religir::ls rxerci*es but as the
endowed with divinu influence' It is in this sense that "rose and raluted him" and the Buddha then addreued
id<ilrt rv !;ecrirnesobjectionable, when the devotec believes the statue in the following tcrmt: "The work expectod
thai i:h. rea! Buddha actually'lives'in thc image. Such from you ir to toil in tbc convorrion of herctfo:sctrd to lcld
beliei ir rometin:ler inevitable at 8n element in popular futurc gtnerrtiont in the way of religion.{

L S." fiLrdaftrcl {'.*nimiseion Re1,'ort,All Ceylon Buddhirt Congrerr, 1956 (Sinhala), p. 67.
Sr mr'-! Ber!. {..'&raereAre-auntso{ lndit, Vol. ll, p' 291,

1 WherKingParenadiofKoralaheerdwhet lJdenaofKorrmbi haddone,hctoogotenndalwoodcoPyofthirlmrycmrdcforthe

Jetavana monaeterv during the rame pcriod of Buddhsl abcenpe (ibid, l, p. 20' which rgrcor wfth the rtory of thc
I osrk,grmb* v.,{f,',F . ;1!ir:;1 he!Fr$i
 ILLUSION
According to another version of the Earne storv
prescrved in Pali entitled Kosalabimbevanaani,
"Account of the Kosala image,,T, once king pasc;iai of
Korda went to the Jetavans to meet the Buddha with
flowers, inccnseetc. As the Buddha had left tbe monastery
he, along with many othen who bad gone in like manner,
left dl the articles of offering in the monesrery and
relurned home. On the following day the king met the
Buddha and informed him of whar had happened and
indicated his wish to make a rletue of the Buddha to be
hoooured in his abrence.The Buddha not only approvcd
the idea but instructed ar how to do it as well. Tbereupon
the king got a beautiful statue made out of rondalwood.
The Buddha war pleasedwith thc work and is said to heve
made tbe same rtatement to the statue as recorded by
Hr(lan Tsang in the abott instance. The dercription
contains a number of Pali !tanza! extolling the merits of
making Buddha images and the writing of books on the
Dhamma.
Whether the incidents rccorded in these reference! arc
historically true or not, the statement said to have bcen
mede by the Buddhr to the starue is significant becauseit
ir intended to make a crsc for the making of and worship
of Buddha imagcs in the manner earlier docribed. In this
qudified censcidolatry can be looked upon as a feature of
Buddhism as hac also been proved historically up to the
prelent day.
A" G. S. Krdpwrcrrn
IGNORANCE. SeeAVUJA
II&USION conrictr ctlentidly of rn erroneous intcr-
pretationof rome externalobjectwhich is then mistalen
for romethingother than it ectud$ is. It reemsprobable
that ccrtain illusionr are gcneratcdby conrciouswishel,
and tbat the error of mirtaking one objectfor anotheris
dueto thedesircto lee romc rpecificobject.But whenan
experiencein the renlc! ir not basedon an external
faaual object, it ir called a hallwination. An illusion,
tberefore,ir a dccption wbich has itr barir in actuality
rod rhi:h may be a mirintcrpretation of a fact, e.g,, a fata
morgsnt or mirage, an optical illurion, a misinterpreta-
tion of an actual experiencc.
But if the imporition is without physicalot imaginary
ground,onespeakrof edelurioD,G.g.,theillurion that all
5. Thil dircoune ir recorded u heving becn delivered by the Buddha at the requat tloth of A6anda gnd Fusenrdi.
KasdrDin}rr"ltloq arrignedtothel3thorthet4thcentury(DPPN.
glven in Peli ar i*U;,.tited by Rcv. A. Gunenand c 1226; Colombo: it ir e l0 page bookht orailebl* *i the cjalonrho S{us*r.un
Ubrery: thcrtoryinvitcrcomperiron withthrtof theAnandabodhi(r.v.). Sceatro lCSNCrCiRAp$'.'
517 n,!"."wlt- i,
phenomena are based on a sub:tance j.iil'*;'r.i;n;.rirf. ihx,t
all living beings ere individuei rntitie$'r.,f h a rl.r:iliir,i,*rt
sotrl (atta) etc.
Heretical views snd speculations i :nlccti a<i: 1tjr,r &r-c
urually bared on dclusion (mohe), pRtrrcrrrrr'i,vtn the
erroneow view of sclf-dclusion (s rl<k*ys <i i tehl)"Whereas
an illusion can casily be rectified by a coriecl itrgeri:reta-
tion of fact or experience,a delusier*,heing n vrrw syhich
is basclesr, blocks the verv enirancc iri rlre path of
perfection and is one of the cEr<jinalmenrsi staretlyirrg at
the root of all unskilfui acticn. Ste MtJFIA
i{. ,ii. .r" vsr }{evst
II,L-W[I,L (Pili byipida, uyipada, c.f. rfn.rx" petigha)is
wil feeling or intention tawartls anc{fier, rnalevoiencc,
enmity or dislike. lt is an unskilleti or ii,llvholesorne
(akusala) state of th_emind nnd s,lsr,*.rne of the five
hindrances (pafrca illy*r'lrua/ tiri-ri eri;*r.r.irciti.:c prowth
and cultivation of the mind i! is e,r.r,l;,ui:r!ls11 *t i.h* ninth
in the list of ten unwhoirg{imr R{.liliiig fi;ress-*}rusa/a
kamma). The causal ple*eric;1{;ii,.",:,i!l is riie'l1ossso; in the
Samyutta-alkiya(1.p. i":l). !? is':y,iiiiirroibegs,r*er,"fthe
element of ill-will (vyapxda4|.1i1; t 11irql g:rrr:eptlcnof
ill-will (vyapada-cafrfri)a:id b*c,iri.rr ri t!:ie *nse th*ughrc
of ill-will (vyipida-sa'nkappa). brcruse *f i!:6i1gfi1s og
ill-\+'ill arises desire f,_rrii!-wit!. *r.rcithr,rrr.ghehir nrires a
b u r n i n g p a s s i o n( p a r i i d * * i r c r ; i i . r r j ! ! , i i , i r rg : v e sr i s e t o a
quest for ill-wi!1. Purg,.rirl,:i;-. i?-i!:1j:rivr,i.:rri ,.:**6t thc
worldling indr.llgtr ii: rli'..,i,j:;-.,;ii,:,,rtj;1;,,"i1*.j.4,irriland
thought. Therefore, it is a ro"ri ;.- ;.irle,.,i i.in.iijbrJlalum€
action (*usale-mfila).
The Sileyyaka Sutla Xrrd. !. * 38?) ''61,i. euce{nctly
explainr the rtrnin of thou:r!:t,r'.t::i I iii:? in iqll:i;:rJrba8-is
affected by ill-wrti. li -,*;.'si?i:ri r r',,'.'i'.
irtr .riil-t **uh a inigld
thinks, "Let thegc heings be kitlcd, :.'r shru*htered or
annihilated or destro'teit or rngv they r:rt cxirt at a!!."
Thug it ir reen that harbouring of ill-.r'ii! is harmlul to
both oneselfand otherc. lt is said thnt one who irsrbourr
ill-will will ccrtainly fait inro a woeful srare nfr*r etearh(^S.
lV, p,33).
The antidote ro a rnind afflicred by iil-wili is rhe
cultivation of Brahmavibaraiq.v.i, 'thrs is illurtrated by
the Buddha in the fufsfifiy*filt:.,,.',j.sa,tilf,"d {Af" I. p.424
ff.)
The
I,69E),irevailableinSinhuisl*:ri'trtner**rric*iportioru
irl*ttr.ll.,$f:TR"i.
 IlvtAGE,BEilltii{e
dciCleering Reh""ra th: Br:tltiiru 3:lys?t'Ikvciop the
truind) criitii atinn thqr i.{ 1,:r','1n*
ki:rqtnesslntettl), Yot,
.from dcveloping this that which ir ill-wiil (byipida)wrll
be got nd r;f. I-rr.vrit"rp
miad cu.ltrvetionthat is compassion
{karuni). Fr:r" fr<lnr thrs that rp,'htchis har"miug (riheei)
will be got rid cf. I)evclop mind cuitivntion that is
rympathetrc jov (muditiJ. For, dui'eloping thi.s that
which ir aversion (arattj wili be got rid *l. Develop the
mind culth;etion thut ir rquanimity lupekkhif. For,
developing ttris that which is rensory reactiun (paftgha)
will bc got rid of. Se DOSA. DVESA, ENMITY,
VYAPADA.
A- G. S. Krlyrwrem
IMAGE, BUDDIIA: Wherc lrrd when the first Buddha
imagc was madc has bcerr ttr* subject of a protracted
controvcrsy, [n recent timeg, however, the tendencyhas
been to rupport the vitw that the first Buddha image was
madc in Mathura" (Cribb, J oe. Ttre Origin of thc Buddha
lmage * Numismstic Evideucc, Souti Asian Archaeo'
Iogr, Crmbridge, 1981, p. 237). Even in prc-Christian
timer, Iudian sculptors with considerable ckill and virtuo-
rity, had created significant tculptures, as exernplified by
tLe remainr of Bharhut and Sanchi and when the demand
for atangible and concrete object of worship by Buddhists
bccame irreristiblc, tndian sculptorr and thcir patrons
iguorcd thc existing taboos against making imager of the
Buddha, and procceded to make these images, which
pcrhapr, were made in the lst century A.C. both in
Gandhara and Mathura- It would Bppc&r, however, that
the fint rcpresentltionr of the Buddha are to be found in
lomc coinr isrued by King Kaniske (A.C. 78-144).
Aftcr the Buddha image had bccn fa.shioned for the
fint time at Matbura and in Gandharq two schools of
Buddhirt rculpturc with distinct characteristics were
toon eetablirhed in thesc two regionr.
The Mathura Buddhartatues wert usually madc of red
randstone found in its vicinity, The head of the Buddha is
thowD as shaven and never covered with curls cxccpt in
later rpecimens. A distinguishing feature of thesefigures
ir that the uEniga, the protuberance that appesrs at the
top of the head, takcs on the shape of a snail, kaparda.
The AryV, the crrrl of hair appcaring on tbe forehead of
the Buddha, ir placed betwcen the eycbrows, immediatcly
above tbe upper end of the nosc.
In seatedBuddha imegee of thir type the rigbt hand is
in the abhaya-mudrE, the gcature of assurance, in which
the palm of the raiscd right-hand either faccs the viewer
or ir turned to the lcft-hand sidc of the statue. The left-
hand rests on the left thigh, slightly above the knee. The
figure is inverted with a cimple halo around the head, and
518 IMAGE, BUDDHA
is seatedon a lion throne, with the Sd Mahnbodhi under
wtrich prince Siddhertha etteined to Buddhahood, in the
background.
In standing ligures the Buddha's right hand is shown
rgain in the abhaya-mudrd, whilc the left-hand is sbown
holding the left hand folds of the robe just above the
waist.
ln both types of the statue thc robc is shown attached
to the body, except above the lcft shoulder whcre thick
schematicfolds are shown in profurion. In the Gandhara
type of Buddha ltatue generally the face took on a
classical &spect with a pure oval shapc regular features,
eyebrows curving over thc straight nose, wavy hair and a
calm expression (Hallade, p. 79). Its main features are
esscntially lndian. [n standing Buddha figures, the robe
covcrs both shoulders, with folds cascading downwards
in a rchematic pattcrn. They are usuaUy placed on lotus
pedestals, and lacking in hcight appear to be rather
stocky. The head and shoulders display thc same
characteristicr as appear in ceated figures. A comrnon
feature of the scated Buddha figures of the Gandhara
School is the lifelesr character of the folded legs, a
feature, perhaps, indicating that the Gandharan sculptors
were not quite familiar with the postures adopted by
lndianr when cngaged in meditation.
In appearance the t\ryotypes of the Buddha statue arc
markedly different. The influence of Hellenistic sculpture
is quite apparent in Gandhara figures, while in the
Mathura figures, the main features are characteristically
lndian, accentuatingthe frailty of the drapcry and Fving
the lace a roundness typical of the Mathura School,
( H a 1 l a d e ,p . 7 8 ) .
One of the earliest representations of the Buddhe
appears on a gold coin issuedin the reign of the Kur[na
Emperor Kanicka. [n this coin the Buddba ir rhown in a
standing porture, in very low relief, with a raised line
around the body to rcpresent li$t cmanetint from hir
body, On the Buddha's right hand side sppeart thc word
Boddo, in Greek characters inscribcd vertically (Row-
land, Benjamin, TIre Art and Architeawv of India,
Penguin Books, 2nd Ed. 1956 (l) pl, 30 H). Often eerly
figures of the Buddha appear in a relic carkct of King
Kaniska and another relic casket from Bimaren (Row-
land, B. op.cit. (i) plate 38). The co-callcd Bodhiuttva
dedicated by Frair Bala is also consideredby some to be
one of the earliest figures of the Buddha (ibld. plate 45).
According to John Marshall one of the earliest Gandhara
Buddhas is to be seen on dirplay at thc Rijkrmuseum
Voor Volkskunde at l-eiden (Hdladc, op,cit. p. 80). Thil
Buddha head is cowrcd with wevy hrir rnd rurmounted
by an ruaisa rimilarly treeted (Hallade, op, cit plate 57).
The two colossd reated Buddha figurer s1 lamiyan,
one mearuring 125 fect aod thc othcr 175 feet in height
 III{AGE, BTJDDHA
may be concidered offshoots in the Gaadbaran rtyle
inllucnced by Sassanian styles. The same could be said in
regard to the small reated Buddha statue, approximately
40 cm. in height, now on display in the Kabul Museum
and the similar rtatue exhibited in the Mus6e Guimet,
Parie, both discovered in Fondukistan (Hallade, op.cit,
plaie xvi and plate I75) respectively. tn the former figure
the robe covers only the left shouldcr and hangs looscly in
ample folds. The right hand is sho$n in the abhaya-
mudrf,,, while the left hand rclts oD the lap. The latter
figure shows the Buddha in the dharaa<akra-mudr7
(thc attitude showing the Buddha preaching the
Dhamma-Cakka,Sura at Isipatana).
The Gandhara style of sc-ulpture lasted till about the
eud of the sixth century, Before it went out of vogue, it
produced, adapting also some of the stylistic features of
tbe Mathura School, the style of sculpture known ac the
Andhre Style.
The Andhra style Bppear! mainly in tLe Buddha
images and bas-reliefr found et the rites of the well-
known $tupas of Amardvati and N[gErjunakonda in
South lndia. The style was also adopted in Buddha
Itatues found at Ndgapatlinam and in some placcs such
er Anuredhapura and Dambulla in Sri Laaka.
Ar has been pointed out by Benjamin Rowland these
imager carved from limestone arr characterised by a
rather rtiff hieratic quelity. The bodies have something of
the fulness of the Mathura type, while the drapery,
urually represented in a series of lines or ridges, appearr
to be a conventionalization of the Gandhara formula
(Rowland, B. op.cit. (II), p. l2).
In the Andhra rtyle iuclf, however, there are very
merked differencc! that may be mearioned here. In the
eerly exrnpler of thir type, ruch as for example in a high
rclief of the Buddhe (on dirplay in the Bririrh Museum)
rcpnescntd in a rtending polture, the hcad ir rouad and
covercd with curlr of hair regulerly erranged around the
head. The body ir erect and rtiff and there ir hardly any
differcotiction of the rcveral parts. The robe is draped on
the body, exporing the right rhoulder and b indicated by
a few diagonal grooves. A broad fold of the robe is placed
over the left hand rerting agaiurt the chert. A largc part of
thc underaarment ir exporcd below the lower edge of the
upper robe. These featurer invaribly appear in the
rtanding figurer of the Buddha made in the period 4th -
5th ccntury A.C. in the Andhreregion, (Coomnrarwamy,
A. K, op.cit. Pl. XXXIII, 137-139. Therc are however
inrtanccr where r staDding Buddha figure has both
rhoulden covered with the robe e.r in Gandhara ltatuer,
with the rchematic foldr of the robe arranged down the
length of the ltetue (Coomarasw'my, Pt. XXXIII, l3Z).
The Buddha ir presented in the srme gartorial style in
brr-rcliefr (Coomaraswany, Pl, XXIII, l4l).
519 Ift{-A(;tr,, Sr,.ie-.,.ni
rj: :,r
Gup{e Perlod: trhe Gripta sryle *f se'.dufure :;*me into
vogue about the middlu of the fcu:rh rjl:ntr.,i'yA.C" As fsr
as the Buddha image is can*eine,.l it wns clearly a
blending of the h{ath,ura rtvle r*ir!: that cf t}andhara.
Buddha imager of the Guptu F*rir,,d a;.,;charar.:trrircd by
an elegant and ant! pleiiring aSi!;r1:.5.1;xld. 'Ile
Gupta
cculptor's nim w&s tel g]1,:;dun;,r". ijii ii!"r{ri;s fLrat gave
expreraion to thr B*.$dl;e'r spti'::r,,,i r.itu,inr;ientswhile
creating a wark *f al't ti:*t v,,:ri a,"st!:eti**rdy tnogt
ratisfying. The Stauding Buddlin trr.riu lt{sthuree now in
the Indian Museum, Calcutta, i* pe r,hupsoue of 0hebcst
examples of this type uf tlr;rqlriF:er 'lhe
image. robc in this
ttetue coverE both sh$u:derc ar:d its ftiir:l**re ghown al
raised lincs ar:rangcri iri an attrsctive pattern. It is
attached to the body *h()sc corlt{lurssftl bc sceuthrough
the robe which givcs tbc in,pr,e*siun eif beirlg macle by a
very thin material. T iic fireeol'ihe giatue is ti.imrgular aud
the head is covered wi,"h curis oi iiaii.t,"rrrring clockwise.
The usai.la is show.r quiie pi*i,rin*ntiy as a semi-
globular appendage in the rop r,f the head, The hcad is
aurrounded by a halu cousfuting.:rfsevernlcirculur bandr
decorated with Uotal d:rig.r lhc ;r*trc pie;e beiug afull
blown lotue, right behirrd rhr Buu"ll-rs,rhead (Rowland,
B. op.cit. Pl. 80). A statue uf thc fiuriclheouir-costereplica
of what hss been dcscnbed &.bove,is a headlese figure,
mrdc of red landstr.rnc,frr::r,rFJathura, iseckel, Dietrich.
The Art of Buddhisiu, b{ethuen, L,t,ndon, 1964, ptate
l4). The left hand oi this stotuc holds the hcrn of the robc
and judging from the Sultanganj figurc deseribcd bclow,
thc right hand uf wtrieh the f.ircu.ri is canrpletety
destroyed, should have b€en sfro:r"inin tlrv ablayx uiudrfr
(Pl.xLrv).
Another notable exarnple of u Hutldh;i iigure of thc
Gupta period ic a copper imrge from Sulru,rgsnj, now in
the Birmingham Muscurn. hi rcspcct of the urain features
it rerembles clorely the stone irrragc fl'onn Mathura
dcscribed above. ln this figurc thc right hand is sho\rn in
the abheya-mudrE" The left hard harigs dorvn with the
forearm stretchiug forward trolding rhe hcm of the robe.
The robe covera both shoulders and its told$ ut indiceted
by meanr of thi:r linel inscribciJ in a sn"he
metic psttern.
The fcatura of the body cu bc clcariy rcen through the
robe, al in the gtatue from Mathura describ,cdabove.
Of seatedBuddha tigures of thr, {}iir;;fr: grcl.iodp*:rhaps
the most notable example is the ligur',r diseorrcred at
Sarnath, now on exhibit in the MuSeum there,
(Coomararwamy A, K., ap.cit. (i) Plarc l6l)" llere the
Buddha is seatedoir e throirr, with legr r;rolted ro as to
show the soles of brth feet tn t11*oir*.rs. "fhe hends are
held in front of the body in the dhamma-rakke-mudrt.
The head is covered by crrrlgturning cioekwise, with thc
ulq1$, shown pr."rmineiltlvon ths head sround which is
again a highly dscornteJ h*lri. T'"vti Viq!;t&dharzfapflce.r
 ffi{lnnHA
ll-!.fAGm. 520
r ; : f l r r r t r rr i 4 e + i ' t h e i ; a l ; r .T h e r o t r ei r s h o w r : b y t h e h e m
allpcnrir:g ;ir,,,3nillirc i;,'::i i:"i a iolei hanging down from
thr right i'rieF:::n and hy lhc crlgesof the rnier end the
inn;r r+hr !;r{rlvrron the shirr (Coomarerwamy, ibid.i.
Cn ihe fjc)'1t l,i;:ifl rrf !i,e lhrsne arc depicted a wheel on
either sicteoJ w*ish deyoteesare rbo'rn paylng homnge to
it, togethr: with two antelopercn either side of thc wheel,
{ecing eech other. "lbe rnudra. the wh.tt! and the antelopen
unmirlakahl'l rndicatethet thir statuein intended to rhow
the Buddha preacrring his first rermon rt lsipatana in
Benaret. Another figurc'irith rinnilar artistic mcrit ir the
head and torro of the Buddhe now in the Mathure
Murcum. {Flaliade, *p,crt. i}1. 142). [n this fragment,
however, rhe rrrbewhich covcrs bnth shouldcrr, il almott
completeiy nttached to the body with scarcely n fold
rhown except around the neck, whcre the edge of the robe
ir represented by a semicircle, made of two raired liner.
Two or three Buddha statuesassignedto the reventh
crntury may be rnentioned bere, as they perhaps rcpre$Dt
the last flickers of the Gandharn style. They are the
figures discovered et Fondukiaten in Afghanirtan and
now on exhibit in Musrums in Europe aad in Kabul.
The first of these is a trighly dcccrrativr fragment of a
figure from thc wnist upwardl, now on cxhibit Et the
Mus€e Guimet (Rowland, B. op.cit. (l) Pl, 624) (PI.
XLY). The head of the ligure which ir romewhat
effeminatc snd is coverrd with curls of heir turning
clockwire, leaving avery high forchead. Around tbe neck
ir placed a rtriking necklace conrirting of a widc bend
with tasscig hanging et regular intervals. The tono ir
draped in a cape like bloure, conrirting of three triangular
flaps adorned with ro3cttes in relief. Tbe edges of the
triangular flaps which are decoreted with a bead pattern
arc also tasselled. Underneath the capc can be c€cn the
rcgular robe whorc ampie folds are shown on tbe trunk
and on the arrns, in thc form of shallow groovcr. The carr
are inng and pierced, and are adorncd with circular
earrings.
The other two statuesof note are both seatedfigures.
The first of these,now on exhibit in the Kabul Muscum,
ir seatedwith legr disposedin n relaxed position, unlike in
statueswhere the lcgs are placed in quitc a rigid position.
Only the left rhoulder is coveredby the robe which hangs
dow':r in schematic folds over thc chest. The right hand ir
lreld up in lhe Abhaya-mudri. The left hand rcsts on the
lap. Thc third gtatue is shown in a rigid padmlsana
position. The robe which ir representedin loore foldr
covers both shoulders not unlike in raated Gandhare
figures. The expression on the face ir a livcly onc, the
eyelids cut sharply to join the nose ridge, There ir a
prominent u$p$a on the head. The hands are held in the
uitarka-mudrE, the attitude of exposition. [n all therc
!tBtues,the influence of the Gandhara School ir palpably
noticeable,
T}IAGE. BUDDHA
When the ruls of tha Guptas came to an end in lndia
Northern end Centrel lndia came under the kingc of the
Psla and the Sena dynartics. They were Hindur by
religion, but cllowed tsuddhirts who were rcBttcrcd about
lndia to cnrry on with their religiour activiticr un-
hindered. They belonged to a sect called the Vajraylnq
which war en off-shoot of the MahiyEna which wrr thc
dominant religion in rome parts of lndia. YajrayEna
required itr adherents to engage themsclves in medi-
tation, whicb required rome form of concrete object es rn
eid to thcir meditation. Hence the appeuanca of a clars
of black rtone rtelae conteiuing afigure of the Buddhaor
of a Bodhirattve who figutid in thcir puthcon, which
iacluded Ecorer of Bodhirattvac and their femalc arpectr
the fa*tlb. The Bodhirattva Avalokitetvara's female
alpcct wa! the well-known deity TAr*
It ir clear tbat the Buddha images mede in the time of
the ruleru of the PaIa and Scna dynastiec inherited mrny
of the charecterirtics of thc Gupta images. As rtated
above the imager were bas-rdiefr rculpted on rtclac,
generally, with a raired outer frnme, containing on a
rnndl rcale oDe or two characteristic incidentr which
could idcntify the event the rculptor intendcd to dcpict,
thc Buddha again appearing er the ccntral figurc. The
rtending Buddha from Biharail, Rajrhahi Dirtrict in
North lndig dirplnys unmirtatable Gupta characterir-
tio. The facc il lflnngular rnd the heir ir shown in
circular curlr. The ur,qlla ir promincntly placcd on thc
hcad, Thc robc ir attachcd to tbe body, dircloaing all the
limbr, while the outer robe hangr down like aloore clork,
(Barcrjie, Plate Xl (a)). A morc advanced type of
rtrnding Buddha epp€ar! in a rtelac in tbc lndien
Mureurn, Cdartta" (Banerjie, op,cit p. xxiii (b). In thir
figure the Buddhe ir inverted with dl the charuterirticr
mcntioned above rucb ar the robe attached to the body
and the cloet-like outer robe, with two additionrl
ferturcl, nrmely,l dccorative border to the hcm of the
robe around the neck and high crown on the head, which
ir an errential featurc of. an abhigeka Buddhg s conccpt
pcculiar to the Vajraylna rect of Buddhirm. With the
commcnccment of the Murlim invarionr of India in the
eighth ccntury, Buddhirm and itr tcmpler c"me undcr
attack and therewith it cca^redto play any rignificant role
in the rcligiour life of tbe people of Nortb tndie and
Bihar.
In the Andhra region in tlle South, however, in cantrcr
ruch ar Amerlvatl, Nlglrjuaatonde rnd Nlgapattinre-
Buddhirm continucd to bc a living rcligioD, crestiug the
circumrtanc€! Dooeilrry to the cvolution of a Buddha
image with charectcricticr peculiar to it different from
any type of Buddha imagc tbat appcared in India earlier.
ln thir typc of Bnddha imegc, the robe ir draped over
the front ofthe body and carried ovcr tbe left rhoulder, a
 IryIASE, BITDDFI,{
part falling over the foided ieft arm and hcid in place
by
the kft hand" The folds of rhe robe are marked by
shnliow
grotlye! thet faMiagonally across the body. An in_
veriable fenture of there rtatues is thc under-robe shon
n Budcjhe
bclow the lower hem of tbe outer robc. onc of the earriest
exrmples of the Andhra type of tsuddha statue is
the
rtending Buddha assigned to the third ccntury, now on
dirplay in the Muc€e Guimet, paris. [n rhis starue,
rtending before e toraDa the body is almost like a solid
block of !tone, without any demarcation of the diffcrent
pertr of thc body, ruch ag thc waist. The right
hand is
denaged, but almost certainly displays the abhaya_
mudrt. The left hend is foldcd back with the hand restlng
on the chest. The robe, indicated by some shallow lines
dnwn diagonally across the body, is folded over the left
hend and hangs down almost reaching the hem of the
inner robe, of which a large portion is ciposed below the
outer robe. aa 3lnmple of a somewhat later date is
a of South
headlecr !tatuc from NEglrjunakondq where the body
is
shown more naturelly, with waist clesrly demarcated.
The folds of the robe are in the form of shallow
continuour lines inciscd diagonally across rhe
body
(Rowland, op.cit. p. ?l (A) pl. XLV). There
are also
qaEmple! of standing Buddha
figures, in which both
rhoulderr are covered with the folds of the robe shown
as
rcmi-circuler parallel liner drawn from the whole
body.
Thir type of figure, perhapr has been influenced
bv
Galdhra prototypcr (Coomnraswamy, pl. XXXIII:
l3;
rnd l4l).
A very rtriking bronze image in the standing position,
probably f:om NEgapattinam rnay be
mentioned here.
The head ir obiong and is covered with circrrlar
curls,
with an ugglgz crowned by asymbotised flame.
The righi
hand is in the abhaya-mudri, while the tefr
hand it
rbown holding the bcm of the robe, (Zwalf,
W. ed.
Buddhirm: An and Feith, London, 19g5, p.
147). The
robe ir attached to the body, which is clcarly
shown
thlough the robe, with some pleats at the
bottom. The
inlluence of the Gupta style of sculpture is
apparent in
thir statue. tt has been assigned to IIth_l2th
ccntury.
A rare example of a sturdy bronze !tatue of the
Buddha
,h. Andhra style is on exhibit in the
ir Government
Muleum, Madras. The baric featureg of the
Buddha
ttrtue of the Andhra rtyle cen be seen in this
sculpture
which ic of conriderablc artistic merit. tn place
of the
wual abhaya-mudrl in the right hend and tlrc
teft hand
raired holding the robe in plecc or holding rhe
left hand in
froat of the left part of the breasl heri tne
handr are
chown in what may be considercd the kataka-mudri
or
tbe vitarka-audrd.
Here the right haad is strerchcd
forward with the fingen slightly bent, while
in the left
hand the forearm is turned towards the right
with the
fingers bent in a half-closed firt, showing the
Buddha in
an attitude of arguing or emphasisinga point.
The statue
52'! IIVLT#F'"
sriDl)rla
i s o n t h e w h o l e . w e l l - p r o p o r t i o n e da n d e l e g a n t l y
finished
( J e r m s a w a r d i ,p l a t e 9 ) .
Srf Lenka: A.cco.ding io the MahEvamsa rhe
image had been in existcnceas early a.sthe regin of
King
D e v a n a m p i y a r i s s a(,2 j 0 - 2 i 0 B . C . ) b u t t h i s i n f o r m a l i o i
appears in a part of thc chronjcle Mhv.
XXXVtr,
128-129)which records the achievernentsof King
Jettha_
tissa(A.C. 266 2iG) and much credencecannot
be placed
in this statement. lmages of the gudctha are also
referred
t o i n t h e a c c o u n ro f t h e c o n s t r u c t i o no f t h e M a h a t h f i p a
at
Anuradhapura (Mhv. XX.X, 72_|.J)but aga.n this
siate_
ment cannot be regarded as trustworthy, as this event
had
taken place somc considerabie time before the
Buddha
image appearcdin India. The oldcst image of
the Buddha
found in Sri Lank4 however, appearcto be the
standing
Buddha found at Maha-iluppallamn, near Kekirava
in
the Anuradhapura district. This statrreis madc
Indien marble and could only have been imported
from
the Andhra region. It has alsu the distinctive features
that
characterise the Amardvati school of rculpture.
Perhapssome of the oldest Buddhaimages found
in Sri
Lanka had been placed around the Ruvanvili-sEya
at
Anuradhapura. They are now hcused in the verandab
of
thc small shrine room st the southern entrance
to tbc
precinct.r of the stllpa. some more rtstues
of the rame
lypc arc exhibited on a specially made platform
neu thc
Fabeluvehera et polonaruwa. Judging by the errantG.
ment of the robe, the demarcation of the waist,
wittr, in
some instanccs, a belt being seenthrough the robe
snd thc
undergarment appearing below the hern of the
outer
robe, there ltatues must be reckoned as being of
a latcr
drtc than the statue in the Mus6e Guirnet and
may be
assignedto abour the fourth cent!,rryA.C. Similar
staiues
of tbe Buddha are found at the Darnbulla-viharn
and a
particularly lerge sta-ndingBuddha in rhe grounds
of the
Sd Mahe Bodbi et Anuradhapura, of a slightly later
date,
perhaps are the seetedBuddha from Toluvila,
now in the
Colombo Museum, the three seated Buddhas
in the
vicinity of the Abhayagiri st0pa and the seatedBuddba
at
the AsokErilma at pankuliya, in Anuradhapure
about
: **o miles to the north of the Abhayagiri
itUpa. The
Toluvila seated Buddha, which is 5 ft. 9 in, in
height is
ccrt&inly a very imprersive work fashioned in the
diytni-
mudrE, i.e. in an attitude of meditation, with foldej
legs
the right placed on the left. The hands rest on the tap
wit-h
the right hand on the left and the palms turned upwards.
The robe ir totally attached to the body, only feint
hem
being shown across the chest. The face shows a placid
and
calm expression with the eyes turned towards the
tip of
the nose. The contours of the body, on the chect andthe
waist are shown clearly. It is indeed the work of a
master
craftsman for it is only such a sculptor who could
have
conccived and executed such a piece of flawlesr
art (pl.
xt-vD.
 IIvIAG!:.,BUDDHA 522
A s i m i l a r s c e t e dB u d d h a f i g u r e o f c o n s i d e r a b l ca r t i s t i c
merit is on exhiblt at the Museum of Archaeology at
Anuradhapura. lt had lrcenfcund at l-irappan-kadavala
near H,rrovpotana. L.ikerhe seetedBuddha frorn Toluvila
thir statuetocris in the dhsani-mtrdra. Though the stetue
h a s u n d e r g o n e c o n s i d e r a b l ew c a t h e r i n g , t r a c c s o [ t h e
folds of thc robe can still be noticed on the left flank.
Owing to weathering, details ttn the face ha're been
rendered obscure but as a whole the figrrre has becn weli
modelled and is an imprcssivework of art that is capable
of inspiring feclings oi faith and spiritual elevation in the
worshipper (Pl. XLVII).
The image at Pahkuliye appeersto be rn srtu and some
of the remains of the original image house are yet to be
seen &round the image. The figure is seatcd with legs
crossed,the right resting on the left. The right hand is in
Ibe abhaya-mudr4, whilc thc leit hand is folded and held
up with a closed fist. indicating that thc Buddha is
engaged in the exposition of the dhamme, Thc face has
bcen rendered full with a .fl'r( expressionof'serenity and
inner contentmcnt. This rtatue t^a*s heen assigntij gr: the
rev:nth or the eighlh cutury on thc basis of an inscrip-
tion in the flighr r-;fsteps kading to the shrine where the
rtatue has been instalted. But it may well belong to a
rcmewhat enrlier perir j. (Fernando. p' 12, Pl' XLVII).
About tht rniddle uf thc Anuradhapura period i'e.,
e b o u r t h e r i ; l l h c e n t u r y , c o l n s s a ls t a t u e so f t h e B u d d h a
were set up nt Avukana" Sasseruvaand Maligavila' The
f i n t t w o r f t h e s es t a t u e sh a v e b e e n c a r v e d o u t o f l i v i n g
r o c k , w i t h a t h i n s t r i p a t t a c h i n gt h e s t a t u €t o t h e r o c k . O f
thrse ttre statue at Avukana, which mcas\.rres 38 ft. l0 in.
is l:asically similal. to the Andhra standing stattresof sn
e a r l i e r a g e .T h c r o b e c o v e r so n l y t h e l e f t s h o u l d e r o v e r
which it is hcld in position by the raisedleft hand"fhe
ri6ht hand is raisedwith thc palm facing the left hand side
of thc stetue. The srraspafa on the ul1lra is a later
r c p l a c t m e n t( p l . X l . V l l t ) .
The statue at Sasseruvais carved of a rock, like the
Avukana statue, with the difference that the former is
carved inside a rectangular box-like arta excavated in the
rock. The robe whose folds are here indicated by meanr
of shallow groove!, covers only the left shoulder' The
palm of the right hand is partly turned towards the front.
A siraspata which had been placed on the head appears to
have been dislodged, leaving an empty circular socket.
Owr each of these statues there had been a shelter to
protect the statue from the weather (Pl. XLIX).
The statue at Maligavila is a free standing sculpture
and measures37 ft. from head to foot. The robe covers
only the left shoulder and its folds are indicated in the
sarne ma.nner as in the Avukana statue. However, the
right hand, with the lower arm including the palm, is held
d o w n s t r a i g h tw i t h t h e l a t t e r t u r n e d t o t h e l e f t ' T h e u s z T s a
h a s n o t b e e n p r o v i d e d w i t h a s i r a s p a t a .I t i s t h c o n l y
IMAGE, BUDDHA
colossal statue in Sri Lanka constructed as a free-
standing sculpture, but it watt Dot provided with a
foundation of adequate depth, resulting in i13 sr$hing
down into pieces.
Mefd Stetues Oniy a fcw of the metal Buddha images,
probably made in considerable numben in the Anu-
radhaprrra perixl have survived in the ravrgel of time. A
:pcdrnen o!! unusual artirtic merit is a seated Buddha
from Badulla, now on cxhibit at the National Muleum,
C,:lombo, tbe right hand being in the ettitude of expori-
tlon, vydkhydna-mudrZ and the left hand holdiug the
hem ofthe robe. Thc face is youthful in appearancc and ir
characteriscdby an expressionofutter calm and content-
ment" A socket meant for the siratpata appear! in thc
centre of the utqll This statue has been essigned to the
fifth or the sixth c€ntury. (Devendrq D.T., Thc Buddha
Image and Ceylon, Kandy, 1957, Pl. XtV).
A n o t h e r B u d d h a s t a t u eo f t h e s a m ep e r i o d , b u t i n t h e
standing position, had been discovered at a place cslkd
Viharagalg near Horovpotana in the North-Centrel
Province of Sri Lanka. The face is full, with cycs half
closed. The right hand is in the abhaya'mudra-, but turred
half way to the right. The fingers are slightly bent, unlile
in Avukana Buddha" rcndering this statue rnore realistic.
There had been t siraspata cn the usnl1a, but is mirsing
today leaving an empty base. Thc folds of the robe are
shown as raised lines with regular flnt spaces between'
A seated Buddha statue not unlike the Toluvila
Buddha has been found at Seruvawila in the Eartern
Province. tt is in the dhydni-mudrd, but is seatcd on thc
coils of a cobra"with a fan-[ke arrangcment of nine cobra'
hoods around the head.There is hardly even & tracc of thc
robc. (Devendrq l). T., op.cit. Pl. XVI).
Two seated bronze Buddha statues of a later drte,
perhaps of the tenth century, w€re found in one of the
vdhalkades of the Ruvanvalisaya at Anuradhapura end
at an unspecified place at M{dirigiriyanear Polonnanrws-
A bronze statue of great distinction of the Buddha' in the
standing position found at M{davacciya can alro be
assigned to this period, i.e., about the sixth ccntury
(Uduvarq Pl, 9). The head as wcll as tlie body of thir
stetue has been modelled with great skill. The right hand
is in the abhaya-mudrd, the palm and the fingerr being
shown realistically, without that stiffness that appearr in
severalstatuesof this type. Thc folds of the robe appcar
as raised lines with spsccs or with slightly curvtd lpaoet'
in cross section in between. The chest end the waist heve
been very elegantly rendered.
The first of these two statu$ is a well-proportioDed
and dignified figure in which details have been rendered
obscure becauseof weathering.Tbe robe coverc only thc
left shoulder and appears to bc attached to thc body
without any folds. T\e sahghagt, i.e., the folded outer
 TMAGE,BUDDHA
robe placed over the left shoulder, can still be clearly secn
a n d i n d i c a t e sa d a t e t o w a r d s e n d o f t h e A n u r a d h a p u r a
period. The head is covered in curls, with an usnisain two
tiers. The eyes ere closed befitting a statue in'tie dhyAni-
m u d r E ( D e v e n d r q D . T . , o p " c i t .p l . X V ) .
T h e B u d d h a f r o m T o l u v i l a i s s e a t e d .o n a t r v o t i e r e d
lotus seat, in thc dhyEni-mudrd. Thc robe, ar usua!.
covers only the left shoulder, with folds in the forrn of
raised lines. The face has been skilfully modellecl with
sharp features. The uqqlgaappearsto have been provic!ed
with a siraspatanow missing (Devcndra, D. T., op.cit. pl.
XVID. These two may be dated in the tenrh or the
eleventh century,
Owing to the dislocarions caused in the kingdom of
Anuradhapura by Tamils in the Chola country in South
tndi8, the capital of Sri Lanka was moved from Anura-
dhapura to Polonnaruwa. In the new capital King
Vijayabahu I (A.C, 1056-llil) and King parakrama_
b a h u I ( A . C . 1 1 5 3 - 1 1 8 6 )s e t i n p r o c e s s a n e x r e n s i v e
programme of building, including image housrs.
ln perhaps the most magnificent image house so-built
nrmed Lankatilaka was installed a standing Buddha
image, now heavily dnmaged, in a pose not unlike that of
the Avukana Buddha. [n the image house called the
Tivanka lmage House, befitting the image installed
thercin, the standing image, again heavily damaged, is
bent at the neck, the waist and the knecs, giving the image
a dynarnic form. [n their original condition these two
megnificent images would certainly have inspired a high
senre of religious fervour and awe in the devotees. The
mort impressive Buddha images of the polonnaruwa
period (A.C. 1056-1215) however are to be focussed at
the Uttararama (the Northern Temple) or the Gal Vihara
situated in the northern part of Polonnaruwa.
Thir complex of images consists of e seated figure at
thc lcft, (from the point of view of the devoree) another
teatd figure insidc a chember excavated in the rock, a
standing ligure and finally a figure in tbe recumbent
position (Paranavitana, S., Art and Architecture of
Ccylon, Polonnaruwa Period, Art Council of Ceylon,
l9!4 Platcs 59-62 (Pl. L).
Buddha ligure on the left is in the dhyEni-mudri and is
positioned with a makara-tora?a behind it. Miniature
figures of Buddhas in the dhyEai-mudra have also been
carred, two figures on either side. This figure measures46
ft. from head to foot and this large size of the figure
combined witb the virtuosity displayed in its design and
cxecution present! a truly magnificent conception of the
intcllectual and spiritual qualities of the Buddha.
To thc rigbt of the seated Buddha figure described
ebove is an excavated cave, called the Vidyddhara-guhE
inside which has been sculpted a seated Buddha figure in
523 [MAG[, BUDDHA
the dhyEni-mudrE with a makara-torana in the back-
grcrund,and with two bodhisalfvason cither srdefanning
the Buddha with a cEmara ('val-tailed fan). It would
a p p e a r t h a t t h c x h o l e g r o u p h a s b e e n c o n c e i v e ds s a
m a n d a l a s e a t e di n { r o n t o f w h i c h d e v o t e e sc o u l d e n g a g e
themselvesin meditation (Fernando), The third figure in
t h e g r o u p i s a s t a n d i n gf i g u r e o f t h e B u d d h a , w i t h h a n d s
Iaid across the trreast.The head is wel!-modelled and is
quite similar to that of the seated Buddha in rhe
V i d y E d h a r a - g u h 6 .T h e l a s t o f t h e g r o u p i s a r e c u m b e n t
figure of the Buddha slighrly over forty-si: feet in Iength,
realistically rendered (Pl, LD.
C o n s e q u e n tt o i n v a s i o n sf r c n r S o u t h I n , I i q t h e c a p i t a l
of Sri Lanka was moved from polonnaruwa successively
to Dambadeniya, Yapahu, and to Gampola where King
B h u v a n e k a b a h u I V ( A . C . 1 3 4 4 - 1 3 5 9 )b u i l t t w o i m a g e
houses,each with a seated Buddha sratue inthe dhyilni-
mudri, made of brick and plaster. These statues,how_
ever, were plasteredand painted in the eighteenthcentury
in the contemporary style, The largc recumbent statue in
the image house at Rfls-vehera hai been a,lsosimilarlv
trcated.
A statue of exceptional merit now in thc Royal
Scottish Museum, Edinburgh, which is aiso been assigned
to the fourteenth century is a solid cast bronze statue of
the Buddha seatedon a two tiered lotus seat.It me€uiur€s
49.5 cm. in height. The robc which covert only the left
shoulder is shown as being attachedto the body. Thc hem
of the upper robc is shown ecross tbe brcast, while thc
hems of the outer robe and under-robe are sbown on the
shins. The head and the body have been very skilfully
modelled imparting to the statuea dignified and imposing
presence(Zwdf W . op.cit. p. I52).
At the beginning of rhe sixteenth century Sri Lanka
was invaded by the Portuguesefollowed after a ccntury
and a haU by the Dutch and after another nearly one
hundred and fifty years by the British. Owing to the
disturbed conditions created by theseinvasions,it would
sppear that the Sri Lankan artists,who had createdin the
past Buddha figures of exceptional artistic merit, ceased
tr oe inspired adequately to produce sculptures of any
significancein the history of Buddhist art.
An attempt was made however, in the reign of King
K i r t i - S r i - R d j a s i m h a ( A . C . 1 7 4 7 - 1 7 8 2 )t o r e v i v e
Buddhism. Old templesin various parts of the Island
were repaircd and restored and new ones built where
n e e d e d .B u d d h a i m a g e s ,i n a l l t h e t h r e e p o s i t i o n s ,s o m e
o f c o l o s s a ld i m e n s i o n s ,a r c t o b e f o u n d i n t h e s en e w o r
newly repaired image housesin piacessuch as Dambulla'
DegaJ{oruva" Ridi-vihara and Mulkirigala. The folds of
the robes in these statues are rcpFesentedby raised lines
p l a c e d c l o s et o g e t h e ri n a w a v y p a t t e r n o n t h e t r u n k a n d
in more or less straighr lines closely fitting the limb or
 IMAGII, BUDDI{A 524
part cf the body ssveed by the rotrc. A seated bronze
imag* of the Birtldhe at lhe l-ankatilaka-vihara near
Gampola, is ptrhaps n g':od exam!,:leof ttris type of
B u d d h a i m a g e . l n t h i s s t a l u e t h c r c b e c o v e r sc r r l y i h t I e f t
s h o u l d e ra s u s u a i .T h e f o l d s o f t h e r c b c a r e i r : d i : a t e d b y
r a i s e d l i n e s p l a c c d c i o s e t o g e t h e ri n a r h y t h m i c p e t t c r n .
The hair is representedby circular button iike curis and
'1
the head is crowned by a lyrc-shaped srraspata" he
nbghdti,placed over the left shoulder"is representedby a
band reaching almost rip to the waist, (Mrrdiyanse,
Nandasena. The Art snd Architecture of {iampola
P e r i o d , C o l o m b o , 1 9 6 4 .F i g s . N o s . l - 3 a n d I l ) . U s u a l l y
t h e s es e a t e dB u d d h a s t a t u c sa r e f r a m . c di n a n c l a b o r a t e
m a k a r a - t o r a n a( P l s . l 0 - 1 4 ) ( P l . L l I , ! - l l l ) .
A good example of this type of elaborate Buddha
image is at the Danagirigala vihdra abottt twelve rniles
routh east of Kegalle, in the Sabaragamuwa Province.
The Buddhe figure herc js plactd on apadm3saca" rvhich
retts on a projecting Esana,with a seriu c'f rncuiCings.
':
The Buddha rits in the i v&.nizwdr$ with baads piaccd
'?
the right upon the lefr. he hair on thr: head is t;lr!'it": nlqd
by circuiar curls nrd e lyrr shaped siranprafe appears on
thc hcad. The foids of the robe are shown as closely
plud lines in reiief, s-qis tlsunl in Buddhaimages made in
tb eightcenth centr.rry.
The robc l:cwn only the left shoulder over which the
sangh*ti h.as "been plnced as a promincnt band. The
Itatue is frnmcd i:r nn elaborale makata'toraoa with an
rwe*inrpiring Hrti-mukhe surmouDting it. Clver the two
erme of the rzetere-toraDe, on either side of tbe kini'
mukha, stand four deities: two on each siqte' Gods
Skandha and Sakre appear on the left while Brahma and
Vlnnu rtand on the right,'from the point of view of lhe
devctce. Over the tirti'mukha is an unfurled umbrella"
s:ound which can be seen the branches of the SrtrMahE
Bodhi in a higbly symbolic fornn. The design and
execution of this seeted Buddha are indeed a most
magaificient achicvement of the eighteenth century Sri
Lankan sculpture.
In image houses reccntly built or repaired, Buddha
rtatues bave been executed in all kinds of stylesfancied by
rculpton and painters, including even the Gandbara
rtyle.
Myrmar (Burrna): Traditionally it is bclieved that
Buddhicm was introduced to Burma" then known as
Suve.naabh0mi, in the third century B'C. by the missio-
narier of the tndian Emperor Asoka' But the earliest
evidence available suggests a point of time in the fifth
acntury as the datc of the introduction of Buddhism to
Burmq (Coomara.rwamy A.K. op'cit p. 169).At first it
\p8t Bt Thaton in South Burma that Buddhist activities
were initiated but later in the ninth century Pegu,slightly
north to Thaton, also became a centre of considerable
religious activity.
IMAGE. BTJDDHA
The earliest Buddha imrges made in Burma eppcar to
heve been palpably influenced by the traditions of Indien
sculptors of the Gupta period. fhis influence is clcarty to
bc seen in a gilded Buddha imagc assigncd to tbe sgventh
- eighth c€ntury, rnstalled in the .A'nandatemple in Pagao
in Central Burma. lr this stntue in thc standing position
the hair is shown in curls with hrgh bun like usnisa. The
roi'* covers boih the strouldcrs with a broad and higbly
ornate sahghiti. The upper robe, attached to the body
from til; neck down almost to the ankle is stretched out
on either side of the waist and the legs, to form something
like a cloak. The right hand hangs down in the wrada'
rnudr1, while the left hand hangs down by the side of the
body, (Hailrde, op.cit, Piate 35). A similar statue, but
obviously of a later date, is to be seenin the Zhweizigon
Pagoda in Pagan, Central Burma. In this statue too the
robe is attached to the body and the outer robe is shown
on either side of the body like a cloak asin Gupta Buddha
figures, for example, the Buddha from Sultanganj
(Rowland op.cit. Plate. 85) (Pl. LlQ. A noteworthy
feature of this sculpture is the high and pointed extenrion
of the wn7sa. which contrast! with that of the stetuc at
the Anande temple referrcd to ebove.
An outstanding image of great artistic merit is a reated
Buddha image of bronze installed at the Ananda templc
in Pagan. It has betn also assigned to the l2-l3th
ccDtury. This seated figure, which mcalurql 34 cm. ia
height, is a very elegantly fabricated piece of sculpturc.
The head is trianguler in shape, with eyeshalf clored. The
robe is attached to the body, the only indication of thc
pres€nce of a robe being the hem acrols the chest, and
aroond the shins, and the sahghdti falling from the left
shoulder to the centre of the chest. The figure rhowr the
Buddha in the bbEtti-spada-mudriwhich is intsnded to
reprcscnt the Buddha at the momcnt of hir vic'tory ovcr
the forces of MEra' inviting the earth with hir right hsnd
to beai witness to his attaining to Perfea Enlightenmcat'
(Zwalf YJ. op.cit. p. 162).
A similar statue but on avery much larger rcale ir to be
found installed in the Ananda Caitya in Pegen, rhoving
clear sigls of the influence of Pala and Sena scrrlpturc.
(Coomarasrpamy, A,K. Plate CIV). Even upto modern
times, it is remarkable to note the peniltant influencc of
Gupta and Pala sculpture on the Buddha statuer of
Burma. This influencc can be seen in a stele from Pegan'
now in possersion of the Archaeological Survey. Thc
stele which is no more than a few centimetres in height'
illustrates in its main figure the attainment of enlightcn-
ment by the Buddhq who is seated in the Dtiioi+pada'
mudrE under the Bodhi tree whose brancher form, er it
werc, a garland around the Buddha. Around this are
shown in a smalier scale ssveral incidents in the life of the
Buddha such as his birth tnd pariairfi?a, (Grirwold
Alexander B. et al. Burma, Korea, Tifut, Methuen,
London, 1964,p, 53) (Pl. LIV). In modern statue! of tbe
 TMAGE,EUDT}TTA
Bu<idha decoraticrn is carricd to an excess,ev?n to the
ext?nt of setting the hems with piecesof ,rnirror"A good
cxample of this type of ornate Buddha figure fronr
Mandalay is assigned ro the ninereenth century. In rhis
ttatue in the standing position, and ruade of rsood,
laCqueredand gilt, the robe covers bcth shoulders. I-he
head is wcll moulded with a large usgTqar:n the top and
around it ig a decorated barid marking the edge of rhe
head of hair, The face is sereneand is rnouldc^dwith rare
virtuosity. Scveral bigbly decorared foids of the rnbc
hang down from the lcft shoulder uptr the waist, Thc
Iower pert of the robe is stretched r-rursy-:rrmetricaliyon
either side of the legs, the lcff. hand holding the rabe in
position. The right hand hangs down thc palm being in
something like the abhaya-mudrF. The figure stendr cn
'W
an opsn lotus; Zwalf . ap.cit, p. 163).
Thdhnd: There is no doubt that Buddhism reached
Thailand (earlier known as Siam) in the early cenruries of
the Christian era, though its earliest material remains can
be dated only in the sixth €Dtury. In the earliestsun iving
imager of the Buddha Gupta influence is onl1, roo
lppsrcnt to need furtherexplnnation. Perhapsone ofthe
eitlielt exo'nples of a Buddhe statue in the stancii,ng
potition ir a partly darnaged specinnennow in the Nelson
Gallery in the U.S.A. (Rowiand, E. ap.cit. p. Tt). it
mcaturc! I30.80 cm" in height. The bcad is oblong, being
nerrower at the chin. The hair is represented ascurls, and
ir crowned by a pyremidal usaTsa. The eyes are almost
clored. Flands havt been da:naged from above thc elbow
eDd it is not possible to determin e the mudrdin which the
icon her been casi. The robe, which presumably covers
both rhouHen ir attached to thc body and the outer robe
lppe8n on either side of the body as a cioak just as in
Gupta rtstue!. The sculptor has attempted to invest this
rtrtuc with a touch of realiem, in showing the folds of
flerh on the abdomen. Two other standing Buddhas of
the rame period arc now on cxhibit in the Cleveland
Mrueum of Art in America (Rowland, B. op.cit. (2) p. 72)
(Pl. LV) end the similar figure now on exhibit in rhe
National Muleum, Bangkok (Rowland (i) p. 63), In the
{int statue the head is triangular and the curls are
represented by large button-like projections. The usaTsa.
ir relatively higb and is built ia two steps. The eyes are
opeu rad the mouth quitc wide with thick lips. The robe is
etteched to thc body with many folds being shown on the
body rnd rppeerr on either gide of the body as a cloak,
rhowing itr unmirtahble affinity with classic Gupta
rculpturc. Both hands are raised aad are cast in the
rbhty*audrt.
The sccond stptue is from Ayodhya the capita-! of
.Dcicnt Sism. The head is covered by thick curls turned
clockwir. The uq4lga. is mildly conical. Tbe robe is
dnpcd over the body closely attached to it, but showing
igelf on eithcr side of the body as in contedporary Gupta
525 IMAGE, ST"JDDHA
'Ihc
irnageo. expressionon the fsce is calm, the eyesbeing
almost closed.As both frs-qdsii: this ststue art dannaged,
it is not possiblero identify thc mudr.I in which the hancis
are positioned. Aaothcr strrnd:n$.iluddha figure oi the
s a r n ep e r i c c i ! s a n ; x h j b i t i n t h r t t r , ' i V l u , . r u m , S e a r t l e
( R . o w i a n d ,B . o p . c i t . ( l ) , p . l 5 , g{ p l . r . , , ) . f h e r w o & i m g
sre sevrrely 'jameecd, and thc iegs belcw the Lr:eeshave
been severeciand arc nrissing. []e crrrk on the hear{ are
show:r as turned er:ti-c!cnckwlse . The iacc is well modelied
ar:d shrirp fca;urr.j. "i he cy*s are half*lcsed. fhe lipc gfv.
the face r:r exprcssion of fjrmacss and an individual
charactc;,'The robe is afiach:<i to the bo{y, appeanng
o n l y o n e j t h e r s i d e o f t h e b o t l l ' a s i n G u p t a c t a t u e so f
{nciin. The whole body is r'",:ilr:tdciled.
ln the tenth century l.haiiand was rnvaded by the
K"hmersand the consequcni phase of art in thirscountrv
can only be regarded as a pcricd when Cambodian
influcnce was predominant, 'Ihe Buddha figures of
Thailand made during this period can hardly bc distin_
guisheti from Cambodian figures and are characterised
by very straight ovcrhanging brows, pointed noses and
broad pointed chins as well as a fondness for a parti-
cularly elaborateconical usqifa.A typical example of this
style of Buddha image is a seated figure from Lopburi,
now on display in r.helJational ilr:seum, Bangkok,
(Rowland, B. op.cit. (t), p. i65) f pi. LVII. The hair is
representedin this statue by ihe usual circular curjs snd
the head is surmounted by a thrce-tiercd usn7sa..The
robe is attached to the bodv nnj covers only the left
shoulder with a wide hem acrossthe chest. The wide
sattgheti falls at an angle from the !eft shoulder. The legs
are also crossed with the right leg placed over the left.
These are all characteristicsof a Buddha figure in the
dhyVni-nudrE. Two or three ccnturies more were ro pels
before Thai sculptors could cieve!opwhat may be called a
t r u l y n a t i o n n l s i y l e i n r h e s c u l p t u r eo f t h e B u d d h a i m a g e .
l-his new national stylc is characterised by the arched
eyebrows, the exaggeratedalmond eyes with the doubte
upward curve in the lids, the horrked sharp nose and the
rather small and deiicarely modelled lips. A herd of the
Buddha from Chiengmai, pcrhaps, best exemplifies this
type of statue which was in vogue for a few more
'Ihe
centuries. head is covered in very prominent curlc
turned to the left. The arched eye brows join the nore
ridge in one curved sweepwhich in its simplicity is quite
strikii.g. The nosc is hookcd. The ears which are a! usual
quite long are curved outwards. The face is full end
c o n t e n d e d( R o w l a n d , B . o p . c i t .( l ) p l . 1 6 7 )( p l . L V I ) . O f
a slightly later pcriod is a somewhat effeminate head of
the Buddha now on display at the Museum of Fine Artr,
Boston, (Rowland, 8., op.cit. (l), pl. l6g) (pl. LV[).
What is peculiar to this stetue is a wide and flat waIE
,
with provision for a ketumEIE(Sinhalese,srrrsprf, whlh
is placed on the crown of the head of the Buddha ltatue,
to symbolize the rays of light emanating from the crown
 I]V[AGE,BUNDHA 526
o f h i s h e a d ) .T h e c u r l s o f h a i r a n t h e h e a d a r er e p r e s e n t e d
t r y s m a . lhl e m i s p h e r i c asl t u d s .T h c f o r e h e a di s n a r r o w a n d
gently merSesinto the eyebrows. The eves are thin and
curved nnd in conformity to the literar"l metaphor, are
'I'he
like the pretalsof the hlue lotus. nose is sansitiveiy
m o d e l l e da n d s o a r e t h e l i p s f o r r n i n g & n & r r c w m c u t h " A
more ornamented typt of FudChs. also produced in
",rlrs
Ttiailand during this period. ln this type of statuethe
uggi,rais usually arranged in two or three tiers, with other
a d r i i t r a n a lo r n a m e n t a t i o ni n t h e f r r m o f b a n d sa b o v et h e
forehead. The lips ar€ wide and prominent.
A h e a d f r o m a B . r d d b a s t a t u eo f t h e t h i r t e e n t hc e n t u r v
a n d a n o t h e r o f a s l i g h t l y l a t e r d a t e m a y h e r e f e r r e dt o a s
examplesof this type of itr:x;{e,(Zwalf, w ' op.tit. p. l7?,
N o s . 2 4 9 - 2 5 0 ) .T w o s t a t u e s .o n e c e a t t d a n d t h c o t h e r i n
the standing position which have hardly suffered any
d a m a g e m a y g i v e a n i d e a q f t h e B u d d h a s t a t u e so f t h i s
period. ln the first of these two sletues cast in bronze in
the bhtmispar{a mudrV or ag the J'hai's call it, in the
m*ravijayamudrT, the Buddha is seated with legs
crossed,the right leg resting on the left. The right hand
restson the upper cnd of the right shin, rvhile the left hand
r ? s t so n t h e l a p ( R o w l a n d , B . o p ' c i t ( 2 ) p ' 7 l ( P l ' L V I I ) '
Tbc head is oblong and tbe hair on the head is represented
by curls turned to the right. On the crown is 8n usnTsa.
topped by a flame-like srraspafa, (Fernando P. E. E.
op.cit. pp. l-6). Tbe forehead is narrow and the eye
brows rharply demercated. The eycs are closed' The
mouth is small and well-formed, the lips bcing quite
'fhe
prominent. The shoulders are unusally wide. robe
which covers only the left shoulder adheresto the body,
only the hem being shown across the chest and around
the shins"The breslts arc prominenr v/ith the nipplcs in
high rclief. The satglrf a is laid scross the left side of the
chest in an arch and terminates in two triangular
extremities.The uecondstatue, also in bronze, is unusuaJ,
in thet both hends of thc Buddha are shown in the
abhaya-mudrll. The Buddha wears a ciowD on hjs head
and wears a broad necklace around the neck' The rnbe is
attached to the body upto the waist around which is an
ornamentcd broad girdle. Four hems gathered together
betweenthe legt, fall half-way down the shinsin astraight
line. The outer robe appearson either side of the body as
a cloak, in a manner reminiscent of Gupta Buddha
statuesof Northern India.
A Buddba image cast in a rare pose is a figure presented
in a walking position, now probably in private hands,
(Zva1f, H. op.cit. p, 180).The head of the Buddha is
tria-ngularin shape, with curls covering the head and a
tiered usnTsa.The robe is sttsched to the body but the
sahgheil is shown prominently diagonally across the
chert. As in other Gupta statues, the robe is shown on
citber side of the body like a cloak, with appropriate
adjustments, The rigbt hand is in the ebhaya'mudr-a
TMAGE,BUDDHA
while the lefl hangs down passively by the side of the
body.
,A,stime passeC,it wouid seem,Thai sculptars made the
Suddha statue morc anci more decorative even to the
extent of placing s crown on the head, perhaps in
respcrlseto the demanrjs of tbe MahEy6na scct'
Onc of the more important products of this period is a
bronze seated figure of the Buddha from Northern
'fhailand,
On thc head is placcd a very elaborate crown
and no hair. either in the form of curls or otherwise, is
shown. The rcbe is attached to the body, but the upper
hem of the robc is shown &crossthe chest and is out of
proportion to the trunk which is decorated with a four
petalled flower. The sahghErf relatively quite broad, is
shown hanging down from the left shoulder. The right
hand is placed on the upper right shin' The Buddha is
seatedon a lotus seat placed on a hexagonal pedestaland
weenl arm-bands and bangles(Zwalf, W ' op.cit' p. l8l)'
There are other statueg which are much morc ornate
than the statue describedabove, so much so that tbey ca:a
be easily mistaken for representationsof Bodhisattve! or
recular members of royalty' A typical example of this
variety of statue is to be found in the Stdcker Collection,
Amsterdam.
In this statue the head is oblong with sharply differen-
tiated features. The right hand is shown in the abhaye'
ntudrl,while the left hand hangs down touching the hem
of the outer robe which appears on either sidc of tbe
body like a cloak. The chest is covered with a wide
spreading necklace,with an eight petalled flower hanging
f r o m i t . A r o u n d t h e w a i s t h a s b e e nw o u n d a p r o f u s i o n o f
tasselled chains with a decorated central band running
down from the waist in front. The outer robe is placed on
cither sidc of the body like a cloak as in Gupta statues.
The eyes are turned towards the earth, almost closed.
(Seckel,D. op.cit. p. 183)(Pl. LtX). A similar rtatue,
fashioned on very much more chaste lines is a bronze
standing Buddha of tbe sixteenth century' now in e
collection in Ameica (Rowland, B. op.cit. (2) p. 77) (Pl'
Lvlll). The statue is cast in bronze and measures7l.25
cm. in height, In this statuetoo the head is crowned with a
six tiered conical ut1ild. The eyesare stylised and almost
totaily closed, and the face is oblong and full' A richly
ornamented broad necklaceis girt round the neck, with a
central medallion frlling on the chest. The robc is
attached to the body and coven both shouldera. It
s.ppearson eithcr side of the body as a cloak, agnin in a
manner reminiscentof Gupta statues.The right hand is in
the abhaya-mudrL, with the palm facing the viewer. The
left hand hangs down in one sweep without any signr of
being bent. A girdle placed around the waist holds the
robe in position,
 IMAGE. BUDDHA
A h e a d o f t h e B u d d h a n o w i n a m u s e u mi n M u n i c h b a s
bcen fashioned in a somewhat different m'nner (Seckel,
D. op.cit. p. l8l) (Pl. LIX). The bead is round and the
fece is full, investing it with an almost fiabby apflearence.
It ls crowned with a crown in the centre of which stands a
-fhe
four ticred u{plfa. eyes arc almost fully closcd and
are highly styiised as is the mouth with thick lips, (Seckel,
D. ibid,').ln re.ccnttimes the Buddha image in Thailand
hrs undergone but a few modifications, elwaysretaining,
ho*tver, its ethnic features.
A bronze seated Buddha with a mannered appears.ncc
merig reference here because of its peculiar character-
irticr. The statue is from Northern Thailand
meurures 35 cm. in height (Zwalf, W. op.cit. p. l8l). The
head of the Buddha is crowned with an eight petalled
flower in the ccntre of the forehead. On thc top of the
crown is e miniature sfDpaof the type found in Thailand.
What is quite striking in this sretucis the bloated chest on
which ir placed again an eight petalled flower. The robe is
attached to the body, and covers only the left shoulder. A
broad sahghdtihtngs from the !eft shouldcr terminaring
at weist level. Two decorative arm bands are placedin the
upper arm with a third arm band on the right wrist. The
strtue is cast in the bium ispar(a-mudrd.ltsits on a lotus
reat placed on a hexagonal pcdestal.A Buddha image of
outstanding merit as a work of art is a trronzefigurc from
Dvlravatt assignedto the period 6th-l2th century. It is a
Iigure cast in the standing position and measures68 cm.
( S e c k e l ,D . o p . c i t . p . 2 9 l , g S , p t . I I ) ( p l . L X ) . T h e h e a d
is carved with curls, with a high usnisa. The face is round
Erd full, with a g€ntle rmilc playing on rhe lips, The
forehead is nanow and the eyes are placcd at a slight
angle betraying Mongolian influence. The robe is
etteched to the body and covers both shoulders. The
chert is gently differentiated from the flanks. Both the
right and the left hand are held in tbe vitarka mudrd.The
r o b e i s d r a p e d o v e r t h e b o d y a s i n G u p t a i m a g e so f I n d i a .
It is indecd a work of high artistic quality, conceivedand
executed by a master sculptor.
Crabodlr end Lros: Buddhism was introduced to
Cambodia in the middle of the fifth century replacingto a
Iarge extent Brahmanism which had been introduced to
thfu country about thc first century (Sunghatissa,p. 65).
It reached Laos a few decadeslater. lt was in its HlnayEna
form that Buddhism was introduced to Cambodia in the
firrt instance.
Bnddhims in Cambodia reachedits zenith of popularity
in the twelfth - thirteenth century in the rcign of Jaya
Varman Vll who was responsiblefor the construction of
rxlnerou! magnificcnt viharas and temples.
One of the oldcst Buddha images to be found in Laos.
ir a st&nding figure of the Buddha, well known a! rhe
Dong Duong Buddha, which has been assignedto the
third century by Coomarasilamy, but this date is clearly
527 IMAGE, BTJDDHA
t o o e a r l yf o r t b i s s t a t u e ,w h e n i t i s c o m p a r e dw i t h s o m eo f
the Andhra sta.tuesassignedto this pcriod (RowlanC, B.
op. cit. (l) p. 137)(Pl, L,XD. Ir is a bronze figurc casr in a
'ihe
style arrd mudri of its own. Lrar;is representedby
curls while a low usnisa adorns tb,ecrow- of the hcad,
The fnce is r,:un6 with a prcminr:nt Drna on the forehead.
ihe eyes are open and ars rcnrescntcrl by simple !in*s.
'the
shoulders are ratirer widc, onjy rhe left shaulder
being covered by the rqbe, Thc folds of the robe arc
reprcserteC by raiseo lines arrangeC in a rhythmic
pattern, leaving a relatively thin shag at the lower hem.
The right arm is stretched forward from the elbow, the
and hand being shown in a rnodifietl form of the abhaya-
mudrE, while the left har;d is strctched out in a noncon-
forriist rnanner with th: ihree central fingers folded
inwards. The two hands in tlris sierue perhaps comple-
ment each other in a vitarka-mudri, more livety than in
similar statues found elsewhere.Of a.verv much earlier
d a t e , p r o b a b l y o f t h e t h i r d c e D t u r y ,i s a b r o n z e s t a n d i n g
figure of the Buddhq discovered in Java (Secket, D.
op,cit. p. 169).
As a whole the statue is relatively altenusted and
mannered.'lhe right hand is inthe abheya-mudrZ, while
the left is in the same stance as in the Dong Duong
Buddha. The head is coveredwith curls, the obtrusive
g o l d e n u g q i g a b e i n g c l e a r l y a l a t e r a < J d i t i o nT
, te robe
covers only the left shoulder, the folds being shown as
gentle convex waves, dernarcated by thin raised lines.
Thcse folds, however, are shown only on the left shoulder
and on the left leg with the shag abovc the right ankle.
The eyesare open and the nosequite sharp and unusually
promincnt. Though it rr.'asdiscoveredin Java" it is more
likcly that it had a South lndian origrn.
As the Dong Duong Buddha and the Buddha from
J a v a d e s c r i b e de a r l i e r a r e o f d o u b t f u l o r i g i n , B u d d h a
statues which can bc considered genuinely Cambodian
s p p e a r o n l y i n t h e t w e l f t h c e n t u r y w h e n t h e g r e a tt e m p l e
a t A n g k o r w a s e s t a b l i s h e d ." I t i s t o t h e c l o s e o f t h i s
cpoch", saysSeckel, "that. we owe the charming classical
Buddha and Bodhisattvaheads,which admittedly becamc
rigid in the course of time owing to constant repetition',
( S e c k e l ,D , o p . c i t . p . 5 5 ) . W h o l e i m a g e sa r e r a r e a n d t h e
h i g h a r t i s t i c q u a l i t i e so f r h e s ei m a g e sc a n o n l y b e j u d g e d
by the few heads that have survived various vicissitudes
t h e c o u n t r y h a s p a s s e dt h r o u g h . A B u d d h a h e a d m a d e o f
limestone, now in the Fogg Art Museum, U.S.A.,
perhaps, is typical of the figures produced during this
period, Brnplyillustrating their high spiritual and mystical
q u a l i t y ( R o w l a n d ,B , o p . c i t . ( 2 ) , p . 7 3 )( p l , L X I ) . C u r l so f
the hair on this head are represented by semispherical
s t u d s ,i n p l a c e o f t h e u s u a l s p i r a . l sE . ye brows arc gently
differentiated leading on to the upper lids which are fully
closed in an attitude of meditation and total withdrewal
from affairs of the world. The nostrils are wide, above a
wide mouth, wirh a gentle almost imperceptible
 [MAGE, BLTDDHA 528
trrile piaFng on proffiinent iiFtg.Tht face is fuli but not
fiabby.
A similar head cf the Buddha bi:t with some diffcrences
i s i n t h r P h i l a d e l p h i aM u s e u m U ' S ' A ' ( R o r v l a n d , F . i l )
o p . c i t . P t . 1 5 7 ) .T h t h e a d i s c o v e r c d b y c r : r l s o f h n i r ,
turning ight and ir toproedl:y a high rgryirra'T'b: hair is
separated from thc ferr by e tarre-iike edging, which is
absent in the head dclcribed abovc" Thc *1,'e:are hnlf
clored and there is an expression of ccmpiete sef-
abscrptit-rnin the face.
T'hercis also e much r':loreornamcnted type of Buddha
imnge cf which culy heads have survived" [n a lypical
exanple, now on exhibit in the l'iur6c Guimet, the heaC
is triangr.darin shape,with a n&rtow chin. Thc hair is not
sbown in the form of curis. but is reprtstnted by a broad
decorated band round the h*sd- with a sharp conicai
u+njta (Swann, Paterc. Pl. 76). The cyehrows &re iinked
'The
togetber in the shapc of a dcuble bow. cycs are like
l<ituspetalr and the nose is delicately modelled as if the
sculptor was closelyfollowing the metaphors often found
in indian literature. Pendent ear-rings adorn the ears' In
some other type of head, the forehead is shown as an areh
with symmetrical sides, abow which the hair is shown as
curls, On the crown of the head is an uggl.saconical in
rhape and covered with curls of hair. The curls, the
mouth and the hair are all highly stylised'
A Buddha figurc in Cambodia, that deserves special
notice, perhaps,is tht atatuc known as the Buddha of the
Bayon. This presentsthe Buddha seatcd cross-leggedand
engagedin meditation, on the coils of a cobra' (Rowland,
B . o p . c i t . ( l ) , P l . 1 5 8 ) .T h e h a i r i s r e p r e s e n t e db y c u r l s
arrangedwith the sbapeof a padded cap around the head
with a high usnlsa^The eyes are tlosed and are {urned
downwards. A bood consisting of sewn cobra-heads
s h e l t e r st h e B u d d h a s e a t e dc n t h e u p p e r m o s t c o i l o f a
three-coiledcobra. It is worth pointing out here that the
Buddba is seated in the paryahk'lssna, that. is with the
right leg placed on the left. The robe is attached to the
body, Another Buddha figure, showing the Buddha
sheltcring under the expanded hood of sevencobras is a
figure frorn Binh Dinh, (Coomaraswamy A.K' ap'ctt. Pl.
C X I V ) . P r e s e n t i n gi n s c u l p t u r e t h e i n c i d e n t w h e n t h e
B u d d h a s h e l t e r e dh i m s e l f u n d e r t h e h o o d o f a c o b r a
named Mucalinda, this profusely decorated figure is
seatedin tbe dhyLna-mudrE. The scvencobra headsthat
form the large hood that shelten the Buddha are highly
decorated with a necklece round each head. The
Buddha's head is also crowned with a four-tiered crown
v e r y e i a b o r a t e l yd e c o r a t e d .T h e e y e s a r e o p e n a n d t h e
mouth quite widc as in most statuesin Laos. Around the
n e c k i s a b r o a d n e c k l a c ei n t h r e e s t r a n d s .O n t h e u p p e r
erms are elaborate armlets and above the wrist are two
b a n g J e sT. h e r o b e i s a t t e c h e dt o t h e b o d y , b u t t h e h e m
Bcrossthe chest and a part ofthe sahghilr resting on the
IMAGE, B{.IDDHA
'I
c}:tst are clea::y v-,;rbie. his is I type of Buddha image
pecuiiar tc lr{airi.yd-na places uf worship. This figurc is
assigaedto ti:; twsif:,h c€niury.
J*vc BudChism was intrc<iucedto Java and oiher partr
of lndoncsia about the iiirh ccntury A.C' but Buddhist
rcn:ainl turviving theru ;;an only be assigrecito about the
eigtrttrcentury, when lhe grtat Buddhist rirdnr:, Borobudur
was esratrlished.Here in all its ticrs sccrcs of Buddha
;rnages,ruostl3 seatcd,but in divelre mudfis were set up
icr the benefir of dcvotees' ln these sculptures the ail
perva.siveinfluence of Gupta sculpture can be noticed
€ven at a casual glance.
One such statuc in which Gupta influence is readily
noticed is a statue in the upper terrace of the Borobudur
monument. It is seated with crosued legs and the soles
turned upwards. The hands are in the vitarka-audrt.
Hair is presented in the form of curls turned rightwardr,
with a three-tiered urqira on the head and en iiraE on the
forchead. Facial features nre clcar-cut and rharp, rcflecting
a firmnesg of mind. The body is softly modclled and the
robc is attached to the body, the onty indication of there
being a robe are the broad pleated hems on the shins,
{ R o w l a n d , B " ( l ) P ! . 1 8 4 )( P l . L X I I ) .
A Buddha head from Borobudur, presenting a differsnt
aspcct,needr to be referrxi to here to indicate the variety
of Buddha figures at this stupendous edifice' The heed of
this statue with a two.tiered ul4ill is covered with curlr
turning lcft and is long in shape. On the wide foreheed is a
rathcr large ilroa. The eyes are half-open. The nostrilr
are wide arrd the lips thick and prominent (Coomara-
s w a m y . A . K . o p . c i s .( l ) P l . X X V I I I ) .
A bronze seated Buddha with a mekara-torana et the
back is certainly an early example of ttris type of Buddha
figure. The Buddha is sbated in the bir.rari-sparta'mudri,
the right hand not only resting on the right knee but
actually covering it. The head is triangular in shape, a
characteristic trait of Gupta statues, and covered with
curls as in other statues described above. The robe is
attached to the body, with hems acrossthe chest and over
the anlles. f'he upper part of the chest is quite wide, in
contrsst to the unusually thin waist. The Buddha is seated
on a two tiered lotus, placed on a pedestalwith two lions
lying in front (Zwalf , W . op.cit. P' 187).
A Buddha statue, in a pose not frequently met with' is
located in a temple called Ca+Ci Mendut' The Buddha is
seated in the European fashion, with feet resting on a
pedestal, in a manner reminiscent of some Buddha
ligures at Ajant[, (Coomaraswamy, Pl. CXVIII)' There
is a high uf?it8 on the head of the statue which is
provided with a halo around it' The figure is quite
sturdily modelled. The hands are represented in the
uitarka-mudrii. The statue is dated with late eighth
 IMAGE. BT.IDDHA
c e n t u r y . T w o a r t e f a c t si n t h e f o r m o f f l u d d h a f i g u r e s o f
great historical significan.e mav be referrecl to here,
p a r t i c u i a r l y i n v i e w o f t h e s c a n t va t t e n t i o n p a - i dt o t h e m
b y s c h o l a r sw h o h a v e s t u c i i e dt h e h i s t o r y o f t h c i l u d C h a
i m a g e .T h e f i r s t o f t h e s ei s a p a r t l v d a m a g e db r o n z ef i g u r e
f r o m S o u t h C e l e b e s ,i n I n d o n e s i a .I n t h i s b c t h h a n d s
b e l o w t h e w r i s t h a v c t " r e esne v e r e da n d s o a r e t h e l e g sf r o m
a b o v e t h e k n e e s "T h e h e a d i s r o u n d a n d v e r y c a r e f u l l y
m o d e l l e d ,w i t h h a i r p r e s e n t e di n t h c f o r m o f c u r l s . T h e
robe coversonlv the left shoulder and folds of the robe
a r e r e p r e s e n t e db y t w o c l o s e l yp l a c e dg r o o v e dl i n e s ,a s i n
t h e s t a t u e so f S r i L a n k a i n t h e P o l o n n a r u w ap e r i o d . T h e
c o n t o u r s o f t h e b o d y a r e s o f t l y i n d i c a t e d .T h e e y e sa r e
fully opened (The Buddhist Council of Ceylon, Buddha
Jayanti Souvenir, p. 96). This figure can be dated
a p p r o x i m a t e l yi n t h e t c n t h c e n t u r y .
The other Buddha figure of which only the head has
survived has been found among some Aztec artefacts,
'fhe
unrecogrlizedtill now as the head of a Buddha. head
is oblong approaching a squere form. The hair is
represented by diagonal lines. The ug4iga is quite
prominent but flat. The eyes are fully open and are
d i a g o n a l l y p r e s e n t e d ,i n d i c a t i n g p e r h a p ss o m e C h i n e s e
influence (Valliant, G. C. The Aztecs of Mexr'co. Pelican
B o o k s , 1 9 5 0 ,P l . l 5 ) .
A b r o n z e s e a t e df i g u r e o f t h e B u d d h a h a s a l s o b e e n
f o u n d i n t h e i s l a n d o f H e l g o w i t h s e v e r a lr e l i c sf r o m t h e
V i k i n g p e r i o d , ( B r o n s d t e d ,p . 1 6 5 ) ,w h i l e a s i m i i a r s t a t u e
o f b r o n z e h a s b e e n u n e a r t h e da t a p l a c e c a l l c d U p l a n d ,
north of Upsalain Sweden.
Chha: The Chinesepeoplebecamefamiliarwith Buddhism
about the first century, but it took some time before it
could obtain a foothold on the country as a whole.
B e c a u s eo f t h e i n a c c e s s i b i l i t yo f C h i n a f r o m I n d i a o w i n g
to the mountain barriers provided by the Hindukush it
w a s t h e G a n d h r a t r a d i t i o n s t h a t f i r s t p e n e t r a t e di n t o
China through Central Asia. The first Buddha images
were made in China in the middle of the fifth centurv.
Perhapsthe first Buddha image made in .China is a
b r o n z e s t a n d i n g f i g u r e o f t h e B u d d h a m e a s u r i n g2 9 c m .
( R o w l a n d ,B . o p . c i t .( 2 ) p p . 8 2 , 8 3 )( P l . L X I I ) T h e w h o l e
b o d y o f t h e B u d d h a i s s u r r o u n d e db y a h a l o o f l i g h t w i t h
s t y l i s e df l a m e si s s u i n go u t o f t h e p e r i p h e r y .T h e r e a r e t w o
c o n c e n t r i cd e c o r a t e db a n d so f l i g h t a r o u n d t h e h e a d .T h e
r o b e , c a s c a d i n gd o w n i n a m p l e f o l d s i n t h e G a n d h a r a
s t y l ec o v e r so n l y t h e l e f t s h o u l d e r .T h e r i g h t h a n d i s h e l d
u p i n t h e a b h a y a - m u d r aw h i l e t h e l e f t i s h e l d d o w n i n t h e
varada-mudri. The Buddha stands on a lotus turned
u p s i d ed o w n . T h e h e a d i s c o v e r e db y l a r g ec u r l sw i t h a n
u s l i s a , w h i c h i s r e l a t i v e l yl a r g e a n d f l a t . A l t o g e t h e r t h e
h e a d a p p e a r st o b e t o o l a r g ei n p r o p o r t i o n t o t h e h e i g h to f
the figure.
I f a n i n s c r i p t i o ni n c i s e do n i t s b a c k c a n b e c o n s i d e r e d
a u t h e n t i c ,a s e a t e dg i l t b r o n z es t a t u en o w i n t h e Y o u n g
4 . S . P . C9.2 4 7 8
529 IIT{A.GE,BLIDD}IA
l \ { e m o r r a i M u s e u m i n 5 a n F r a n c i s c o " a n t € d a t e st h e
s t a t u c d c s c i ' i t r r :adb o v e b . va h u n , : i r e dy e a r s( R . o w i a n d ,B .
o p . c i t .( 2 t . p . 8 4 t f l . I - X i l l l . h i s s t a t u ed a t e d A , C l .3 3 8
-Ihe
d i s p l a - ' lcsi e a r G a : r i l i i a r ac h l ' i i r * r i s t i r . ' c . hairis shown
i n g r c r r p st r i s t r n r r . - i' ,sf t r v i , r : i t i r r q eh s i n w i t h s p a c e s
b e t w e e nt h e r r r . i - h r r t t i s a i : . i , , r ! ' T h e e y r : sa r e n a r r o w
a n d c r u C t i l ' f a s l t i i , n e . ; 1 5 ; . q i l - , uc { r ' r ' ? r h s r : r t hs h o u l d e r s
a n d f o l d s a r e a ; r a n g r d : ; r ' , m c { r i t a i i ' * . : n r i t h r : r s i d eo f t h e
b o d y . T h c h a n d : a r c h e i c ! l l g e i l i e ri r i f r o r r t ; i u o v et h e l a p ,
w i t h t h e b a c k o t t h e h a n < J' " ' i g i b l ct c t h c t l e l c l e e .
O f a s l i g h t l y l a t e r d a t c i s a s l e l ec o n t a i n i n g a f i g u r e o f
t h e s e a t e dB u d C h a { R o w l n n d , B . o p r i t . ( 2 1 , p . 8 5 ( P l .
L X I I I ) . T h e h a i r i s s h o w n a ss t u d si n v e r y l c r l ' r e l i e f ,w i t h
a flat usnlsa.The robc is indicated by a few grooved lines,
onedown thc right hzurda , n o t h e rd o w n t h c l c f t s i d eo f t h e
body and a few over the lap and over the left hand, The
right hand is in the abhaya-mudrEand,the lef! restson the
left leg. The whole figure is typical of tbe crude statues
produced in Chinq in irnitation of Gandhera models in
the final years of their decline.
A v e r y e l a b o r a t e c o l o s s a li m a g e o f t h e B r , r d d h aw a s
m a d e i n A . C . 5 7 6 a t a m o n a s t e r _eva i l e d H o i n C l h a n h iT a
F u i n C h e k i a n gi n r - h i n a b y a s c u l p t o rn a m e d S e Y u n g
.f
(Buddha J ayanti). he image is in the dhydni-mudrE.The
head is rectanguia. r".'ith half-closed eyes and firm
p r o m i n e n t l i p s . A n i ; r n a a d o r n s t h e f o r e h e a d .T h e r o b e
c o v e r s b o t h t h e s h o u i d e r s .b u t e x p o s i n gt h e c e n t r a l p a r t
o f t h e c h e s td o w n t c a l m o s t t h e l e v e l o f t h c n a v e l . T h e
robc of which the folds are shown in a highly stylised
manner covers both hands up to the wrists. A halo
a p p r o p r i a t e l yp a i n t e d o n t h e w a l l b e h i n d r h e s t a t u ea d d s
t o t h e m a j e s t yo f t h e m a i n f i g u r e .
A r e m a r k a b l em a r b l e s t a t u em a d e i n t h e y e a r A . C . 5 8 5 ,
n o w i n t h e B r i t i s h M u s e u m , r n e a s u r e s5 . 7 8 m . i n h e i g h t
( Z w a l l , l N . o p . c i t . p . 2 0 1 ) .T h e l o w e r a r m s a n d t h e f e e t
are missing, but otherwise the statue has bcen well
p r e s e r v e d .T h e h e a d i s o b l o n g a n d e x c e p r i o n a l l yw e l l
m o d e l l e d .T h e h a i r o n t h e h c a d i s s h o w n a s s t y l i s e dl i n e s
'f
r h y t h m i c a l l y p l a c e d . h c f o r e h e a dc a r r i e si n t h e c e n t r ea
l a r g e i r n a . T h c e y eb r o w s a n d t h e e y el i d s a r e s h a r p l yc u t
while the nose and rhe mourh have becn handled with
g r e a t d e l i c a c y .T h e r o b e c o v e r sb o t h s h o u l d e r s ,e x p o s i n g
t h e u p p e r p a r t o f t h e u n d e r - r o b ew h i c h i s h e l d i n p l a c eb y
t w o r i b b o n st i e d o n e b e n e a t ht h e o t h e r . T h e f o l d s o f t h e
r o b e a r e s h o w n b y m e a n s o f t h e i r :r a i s e dl i n e s s y m m e t r i -
c a l l y c u t o n t h e s u r f a c eo f t h e b o d y . l - h e s t a t u eh a s b e e n
s c u l p t e dw i t h g r e a t d e x t e r i t v a n d t a s t e ,c o n f e r r i n g o n i t
a n e x p r e s s i o no f t r a n q u i l l i t y a n d c a l m . T h e s t a t u e
r c p r e s e n t st h e B u d d h a A m i t a b h a o f t h e M a h a y a n i s t s .
A Buddha statue depicting the mahd-parinibbdna,the
Great I)emise, in an unusual manner is an earthenware
p l a q u e m e a s u r i n gl 8 c m , i n h e i g h t ( Z w a l f , W . o p . c i t . p .
2 0 1 ) . I n t h i s p l a q u e a s s i g n e dt o t h e l a t t e r p a r t o f t h e 6 t h
century the Buddha is seated in the dhyEni-mudri,
 RT]DI}*IA
trhXAGE, 530
b r l i r c e n t \ ' , ' oo r n a l ep i l l a r ss u p p , ' r r t i n ae n a r c h e dl o r a n a .
B e s i r : l ieh c t w o p i l l a r s B r e t \ r y os h i a t r e e sw i t h b r a n c h e s
f a l l i n g s y m m e t r i c a . l i yo v e r t h e t r v o a r m s o f t h e a r c h . T h e
B u d d h a ' sh e a d i s s i t r r o u n d e d L r ya h a i r - rT. h e r o b e c o v e r s
o n l y t h e l e f t s h o u i d e ra n d i s r e p r . * s e n t ebdv a f e w t h i c k
f o i d s . C u l l s a r e n o t s i t ' l r w nc r : t t r eh t a d , w h i c h h a s a g a i na
'i
bare ilnt rr.cnisa. he er.'rsa.rrr:iosrcianrl together with the
h a n d s a n d l e g s a p L 'n i F r i a t c r v d i s p o s e d .p r e s e n t t h e
B u d d h n a s a n e s c E t i .c n g a B e cl n d e e p m e d i t a t i o n .
B f n b o t t t t . h el a t t e r { } : : r i lr - , ft } : r f i f t h c en t u r v C h i n e s r
s c u l p t o r s a d o p t e d a n e w c t y l e c ' [ p r e s c n t i n gt h e r o b e i n
'I'he
B t r d c i h as i a t u e s . new style attcmptcd to show the
f o l d s o i t h e r o b e i n s c h e m a ( i c a l l va r r a n g e dr a i s c d l i n e s .
O n c o f t i r e c a r i i e s te x a m p l e so f B r r t J c l h sat a t u e se x e c u ( e d
i n t h e n e w s t y l ei s a f i g u r e o f t h e F u d d h a M a i t r e y a( d a t e d
A . C , 4 8 5 . ( R o w l a n d , B . o S ' t . c i (t ,2 ) p . 8 7 ) ( P l . L X I V ) '
Semi-cilcutar strands of hail vertically arranged repre-
sent the hr:adcn rvhich is placed a similarly fashioned
u g n j q a .T h e r o b e c o v € r s h o t h s h o u l d e r s w i t h a s e m i -
c i r c u l a rs c r i e so f f o i r i s a r r a n g e dr o u n d t h c n e c k .t h e r i g h t
h a n d i s r a i s e d w i t h f i n g e r s s t r e t c h e do u t w h i l e t h e l e f t
h a n d i s h e l . Jr t . r v r . r v i t h t h c f i n g c r ss t r e l c h e do u t , t h e t w o
h a n d r 1 ' s s l n i n iti, r g e t h c r* l i " ; e l yg e s t u r eo f p r e a c h i n g T . he
v a r i o u sg r a r r so f t l r s h n d v a r c d i f f c r e n t r a t e dw i t h p r e c i s i o n
t h r o u g h a f l i m s y r o b c i " ' h i r : hi s a t t a c h e dt o t h e b o d y . T h i s
s t y l eo f p r e s e n t i n gt h e i ; h r y a p p € a r sw i t h v a r i o u sm o d i -
I l c a t i o n s t n b * t h e d c - ' n i i r : a qst t ' r ' l eo I d r a " p e r vi n B u d C h a
f i g u r e sd u r i n g t h e r t e - r !f r w c e n t t t t i e s .
I n t h e s i x t h c . n t t r i ' \ ' (. ' h i n e s eI l u d d h as t a t u e sb e g a nt o
a s s u m ca d e c i d c d l ' , ' f l r r r si dt r , ' l en.o t o n l v i n t h e b o d y o f t h e
B u d d h a b u t a l s oi n t h e h a i o e rw i t h w h i c h m o s t o f t h e s e
f i g u r e sw e r e i n v e s t e ' l A f i q u r e o f t h : B t l d d h " M a i t r e v a
d a t e t lA . C . 5 3 8i s a t y p i c a jc x a m p l eo f t h i s t y p e( R o w l a n d ,
B . o p . c i t .( 2 ) , p . 8 8 ) ( I ' 1 [ . . X l v ) . I t s t a n d so n a f u l l . vo p e n
l o t r . r sw i t h l h t l l a r ' e s v m b o l p e c u l i a r t o t h e C h i n e s e ,
s u r r o r , r n c tJhse h o c l v o ! t h i s s t a t t l ew h i l e a n o t h e r c i r c u l a r
h a l o d e c o r a t e dw i t h a i l o r a l p a l t e r n a p p e a r sa r o u n d t h e
h e a d . ' I h e h a i r o n t h e h e a d a s r ' v e l la s o n t h e u s n i s a i s
'fhc
r e p r e s c n t e dh v i r r e g u l a r r v a v v l i n e s eye brows are
s h a r p l y r : u t a n d t h e e v e sa t e c l o s c d . f h e f a c e c o n v e y sB n
'I'tie
e x p r e s s i o r or f f i r r n n c s s right hand is tn the abhaya'
mudrE, rvhilc thr left disPial's the"r'arada-mudrE.The
r o b e c o v e r s b o t h s t r o u l d e r s ,w i t h w i d e f o l d s c a s c a d i n g
d o w n u p t o k n e e - l e v e lA. s e r i e so f t h e s ep a r a l l e ls w a l l o w -
t a i l t y p e o f h e r n sf l a r e s c r t l tf r o r n k n e e - l e v e d l ownwards.
T h e s t a t r - r ei s f l a w l e s s l ye x e c u t e d b y a m a s t e r s c u l p l o r
with a sure hand (Rowland, B. op.cit.(2), p' 88) (Pl.
L.XV). A Br'rddha statue with unusuaJly soft faciaj
f e a t u r c si s a s e a t t df i g t r r ea s s i g n e dl o l h e s e v e n t h - e i g h t h
c e n t u r v . T h e B u d d h a s e a t e di n t h e p a d m a s a n a s t y l e
w e a r s a r c b r c o v e r i n g h o t h s h o u l d e r sw i t h g b r o a d
d e c o r a t i v eh e m a c r o s st h e c h e s te x p o s i n ga l a r g ep a r t o f
t h e l e f t s i d eo f t h e c h e s t .T h e h a i r o n t h e h e a di s n o t s h o w n
i n t l r e l o r m n f r : u r l s .b u t r l r t h e [ o r : m o f a s m o o t h c a p
IMAGE. BUDDHA
c l o s ei v f i t t i n g t h e h e a d , w i t h a s i m i l a r f l a t l o w u s n l s a .A
g e n t l y ' b e n e v o l ee n p p e a r so n t h e f a c e ,W h a t i s
n xt p r e s s i o a
p a r t i c u i a r l l ' n o t i c e a b l ei n t h i s s t a t u e i s a t h i n s a h g h E t i
h a n g i n g c i o w n f r o m t l ' e l e f t s h o u l d e r , p e r h a p sa n e a r l y
o c c u r r e n c €o f t h i s f e a t u r e o n a B u d d h a s t a t u e 'T h e f o l d s
o f t h e r o b e a r er e p r e s e n t e d b y t h i n r a i s e dl i n e sw i t h m i i d l y
c o n v e x s p a c e si n b et w ee n . T h e l o w e r r i g h t a r m i s m i s s i n g
but probably had beencast in the abha-va-mudrd.The left
h a n d r e s t s o n t h e i e f t t h i g h i n q u i t e a r e a l i s t i cm a n n e r '
'['he
statueis well proportioned and has been executed
w i t h g r e a t v i r t u o u s i i y , g i v i n g e x p r e s s i o nt o t h e B u d d h a ' s
g e n t l ea n d b e n e v o l e n tn a t u r e .
A B u d d h r s t a t u ef r o m t h e C a v e T e m p l e a t L u n g - M e n ,
o f a b o u t t h e s a m ep e r i o d ,d i s p l a y sf e a t u r e sn o t o f t e n s e e n
i n B u d d h a s t a t u e si n C h i n a o r e l s e w h e r e( R o w l a n d , B .
o p . c i t . ( . 2 ) ,p . 8 9 ) ( P l . L X V I ) . T h e B u d d h a i s s e a t e do n
w h a t a p p e a r st o b e a s t o n es e a t ,w i t h l eg s c r c s s e db u t w i t h
f e e t o n t h e g r o u n d . ' f h e h a i r i s s h o w n a s a c l o s ef i t t i n g
cap, without any curls being shown. The usnTsais
d a r n a g e db u t p r o b a b l y w a s s i m i l a r l y t r e a t e d ' T h e r i g h t
hand is in the abhal'a-mudrE,while the left hand restson
t h e l e f t k n e e .T h e f a c ei s f u l l a n d a g e n t l es m i l e a p p e a r so n
t h e l i p s . T h e r o b e c o v e r sb o t h s h o u l d e r s ,e x p o s i n go n t h e
chestparts of an under garment. The folds of the robe
r x ' i t ha b r o a d h e m a r e r e p r e s e n t e di n a c r u d e m a n n e r b y
s h a l l o w g r o o v e d l i n e s ,f a l l i n g d o w n f r o m t h e s h o u l d e r s
u p t o k n e e l e v e l . I n s p i t e o f t h e r o u g h h : w n c h a r a c t e ro f
t h : s t a t u e t h e b e a t i f i c s m i l e o n t h e d e l i c a t e l ym o d e l l e d
lips scems '.o rnake ttp for any shortcomings in the
e x e c u t i c l no f t h e s c u l p t u r e .
C n e o f r . h em o s t i m p r e s s i v e B u d d h a f i g u r e s o f t h i s
perioC appears as a bas-relief on a lime-stone stele
m e a s u r i n g9 5 c m . i n h e i g h t( R o w l a n d ,B . o p . c i t .( 2 ) p . 9 l ) .
T h e B u d d h a s t a n d si n t h e c e n t r e o f t h e s t e l ew i t h t w o
attendant deities on either side. On either side of the
Buddha's body are line drawings of seated Buddha
f i g u r e s a n d o n t h e e d g e si n t w o b r o a d b a n d s a r e s t y l i s e d
flames in flat relief.Hair on the head is shown aswavv
lines. A iarge usnTsawith a flower-like arrangement of
hair in front adorns the head. The robe covers both
s h o u l d e r sw i t h f o l d s p r e s e n t e di n t h e f c r m o f t w o c l o s e l y
p l a c e d r a j s e dl i n e s a p p e a r i n go n t h e a r m s , t h e c h e s t a n d
o n t h e l e g sb e l o w t h e k n e e sw h i c h a r e p r o m i n e n t l y s h o w n
through the flimsy robe. Below the broad lower hem of
the outer robe are two stvlised hems of two under
garments.The Buddha's right hand is in the abhaya-
m u d r E ,w h i i e t h e l e f t h a n d i s h e l d d o w n w i t h l h e f o r e - a r m
r e s t i n g o n t h e w a i s t . T h e e y e sa r e a l m o s t c l o s e d a n d a
contended and a beatific smile plays on the lips (Pl.
LX vr),
A standing Buddha statue of striking simplicity,
m e a s u r i n g 1 2 8 c m . i s n o w i n t h e p o s s e s s i o no f a n
American lr,luseum(Rowland, B. op.cit. (2) p. 9a) (Pl.
LXVII). It is a staid figure with cleaa lines. The hair on
 TMAGE BTJDDHA 531
thc head is representcd i:..,cr:rls with ap uslisa nardl,v
'fhe
d i f i e r e n t i a t e df r c r n t h c h : : r d e ' u e sa r e l : a . j f - c j c s e d .
T h e r o b e c o v e r s b o t h s h o u i d e r s ,e a c h s h c u i r j e rb e i n g
c o v e r e d b y a s e p a r a t e s r r n o f t h e r c b e . l f i e r o ' r , er s
a t t a c h e dt o t h c b o d y . t h o u g h t h e * ' a i s t b a n d c a n b e s e e n
i h r o u g h t h c r o b e w i r r c h a p p e a r st o b e o n e o f ( h e f i n e s t
q u a l i t y . T h e l e g sa r c d i r f e r e n t i a t e d .I h e l o w e r n r i - r i si r a l ' e
b e e n s e v e r s d a n d t h e n r r d , - a s o f t h e h a n c l sc a , n r : o tb e
a s c c r t a i n e dt,h o u g h m o s t p r o b a b l ; ' t h e r i g h t h a n Cr ' ; o u l d
have been in the abia-l'a-mudrEand the left in the 'iarada.
'fhe
s t a t u e i s c a r v e d o u t o f l i m e s t o n e .T h e r e i s h a r d l y
a n y t h i n g p e c u i i a r l v C h i n e s ei n t h e s r a t u et h o u g h G u p t a
i n s p i r a t i o ni s q u i t e e v i d e n t .
T h r b e a d o i a B u r i d i r as t a t u eo f t h e l a t e s i x t h o r s e v € n i h
c € n t u r y ,h o w e v e r ,s h o w st h a t C h i n e s es c u l p r o r sa t t e n p -
teC during this period tc simplifl.'th: Buddha siarue
f u r t h e r . l l e r e t h e h e a d i s s h o w n a s a s m o o r hc a p w i t h t h e
f a c e f r r i i a n d t h e l i p s d e l i c a t e i ys h a p e d ,T h e r o b e c o \ . ' e : s
b o t h s h o u l d e r s ,o v l r a n i n n e r j a c k : t t h e f r o n t c f w h i c h i s
h e a v i l y d e c o r a t e d w i t h ' . ' a r i o u s c l e s i g n si n : l u d : n E r h e
-fhe
s w a s t i k ai n t h e c e n t r c o f t h e c h e s t . r i g h t i . i a n <cia r r i e s
e g l o b e i n f r o n t c f t h e c h e s tw h i l e t h e i e f t i s h e l d d c w n , r h e
l o w e r a r m h e l d d i a g o n a l l y a g a i n s tt h e s i c i eo i t h e t r u n k .
-I'he
r o b e c a : c a d e sd o w n t h e b o d y w i t h t h r e e b r o a i h e m s
one beneath the other. A: is to be erpected the Tun-
h u a n g c a v e s i n N o r t h W e s t C h i n a c o n ' . a i nn r l m e r o u s
f i g u r e s o f t h e F u d d h a , s o m e o f t h e m r e l a t i v e i vl e i i
preserv'ed.One example i'i sucir a figr:1q is a seat:d
B u d d h a f r o m C a v e N o 4 5 , w h i c h i s a s s i g n e dt o i h e
seventh centurv approximately iseckel, L). op.c;t. p.
1 9 3 ) .T h c B u d d h a h e r e i s s c a t e dw i t h l e g sc r o s s e do n s
s e a tc o . r e r e dw i t h a r e d c l o t h . A r o u a d t i : e B u < i d h a ' sh e a d
i s a c i r c u l a r h a i o a n d c o v e r i n g t h e t s u d c l i r a ' sb o d y i s
-l
& n o t h c rl a r g e r h a l o . h e o u t e r - m o s tb o r d e r o f r h e h a l c i s
d e c o r a t e dw i t h s y m b o l i c f l a m e s o f f i r e . J h e h r a r i a n d t i r e
-fhe
us4iqa arc covered with curls, all painted in white
c y e s a r e o p e n . B o t h s h o u l d : r s a r e c o v e r e Cb , v t h e r o b e ,
l e a v i n ga p o r t i o n o f t h e c h e s te r p o s e d .T h e p c r t i o r .o f . . h e
r o b e c o v e r i n gt h e u p p e r p a r t o f t h e b o d y f r o m t h e w a i s t
u p w a r d s e x c e p tt h e l e f t h a n d , i s c o l o ' i r e d b l u e , w h i i e r h e
r e s t o f t h e r o b e i s p a i n t e d .T h e r i g h t h a l r d i s h el d o u t w i t h
t h e p a l m f a c i n g o u t w a r d s , t h e t h u n r b , t h e f o r e f i n g e ra n d
t h e m i d d l c f l n g e r r a r s e di n a n a t t i t u d c o f a d r n o n i t i o n .
w h i l e t h e o t h e r t w o f i n g e r s a , ; et u r n e d d o w n w a r d s . T h e
left hend is held down, w:th the nalrn and the fi:igers
r e s t i n go n t h e l e f t k n e e ( P l . L X \ . , ' I I I ) .
l'wo statues assigned to the Ming Dynasty tA.C.
1 3 6 8 - 1 5 4 4 )d i s p l a y ' r e r n a r k a b l e s i m i l a r i t i e s i n f o r m
t h o u g h f a r a p a r t i n r e s p e c to f d a t e o f f a b r i c a t i o n . T h e l '
a r e b o t h m a d e o f b r o n z e a n d g i l t . T h e f i r s t o f t h e s ed a t e . J
A . C . 1 3 9 6 ,i s a s t a n d i n gf i g u r e ,w i t h t h e r i g h t h a n d i n t h e
varada-mudrZ.The left hand is foldeci and the fore-arm
iests on the waist, the palm and the fingers being
c o m p l e t e l y d e s t r o y e d .T h c h e a d w i t h a n u l q i q a h a r d l y
p e r c e p t i b l ei s c o v e r e d w i t h c u r i s . I n t h r c e n t r e o f t h e
t,fv1AGl.,fitiliilFtA
rtlat-ivci,, nalro,v lolehcad i: ll i;r'nq I he eves are a
-I-he
sirnilal fia' hurnp to rrprr:ieni the l,srrl.i.* e.,'rbrows
a r r d t l i e e - ' ' r l i r l r n r : s i i n ;i e l ! - " : j r - s , 1 c r' ,
t r
simpie shirpes
W i t h a | ; g r 1 7 1 ' y 1 {s, L
a1 S h i C i i . : i i r r i t i ; f i e i f * r . , . r . r dr V e .
T h e m o u t h i s l r a l r c - ' r . , ' . \ , t ti .L. - r n t . . ,i.i!i l i e a t r ! : i p r D r s p i t e
i t s s i m p l t u i i - r l t t c h * r i , r : .a s i i i s " , L { r i r l * i i n p r e s s i v e .
Inspitc oi thr ':tiiiirir,:l::,s;p!;fstir,r:, a highiy
decorativc stvie srril,: t , . l i a r r r - - . r r n ri n l l : t ' + g i r e i n t h e
f a s h i o n i n g n f B r . r d c l h af r g ; r r s 3 i , . , i r . rt ih. e b e g r n n i n g o f t h e
twelfth ceniurv. The swail',:w ia.li'helns of robes re-
e m e r g e d a g a i n a n d a r e f r r l i - r ,e" n p l l l , e C i n f i g u r e s m a d e
during this period and after, iirririgh icss ornate statues
too contiuuei'l to be mede.
A g o o d e x a m p l e o f r h e f i r s t r ' , , p r o f B r _ r d d h al i g u r e i s a
sianding Buddha dated A C. li07 (Rowlan,J. B. ap.cit.
(2). p.99). The head of rhir starrie is covereC with
independent cui'lsarranged in horjz<intaiilnrs rnding in a
straieht linc over the torehraC. wirh wliich tlie patchesof
hair on each side forrn a rrght anrNr Th* cvcs are closed
and slightl,v slanted. The cioirl ,iikr r:utrr robe covers
b o t h s h o u l d e r s . l e a v i n g t h e c h e s t c o m p l r " t e! y e x p o s e d ,
showing a swa.stikail the ccnf re in vrry low relief. Below
the swasttkaard arorrnd thc waisl is a broad bnnrJserving
the purpose of a bei: to hoid the skirt like rohe which
consists of an uppcr part and a iower part. In the upper
part folds are shown as garlan<is round the neck (pl,
l-X\"ll).
The second statue is Iargelysimiiar to tlie first, with the
dif{erence that the exposed area (}n the chest is irregular
i:r shape and almosr the whole of the right arm srrctched
downwards, is bare. Both statues stand on open iotuses
(Zwalf, W. p. 208, p. 209). The disprc'portionately long
right hand is intended to reach out to souls destined for
'rhe
Western Paradise (Zrvalf, ,N " op.cit. p. 209),
A seated Buddha statue madc of rvood iacquered and
gilded appears to have set a new fashion in the designing
o f B u d < j h a s t a t u e s .T h i s s t a t u e a s s i g n e dt o t h e l a t t e r p a r t
o f t h e s e l ' e n t e e n t hc e n t u r y i s s e a t e d o n a t w c t i e r e d o p e n
iotus (Zwa1f ,YJ . op.cit. p.217). The heaci is covered with
stud-like curls, with a flat usnisa lightly demarcated from
the head. An irna appears in the centre of the forehead.
T'hc eycs are almost closcd and are slightly slanted, The
rnouth is delicately modelled, but with a firm and
-fhe
determined cxpr ession. hands arr raised in the
'I'he
dharma-cakra-mudra. robe rvhich covers o.nly the
! e f t s h o u l d e r i s d e c t r r a r e C ' , r ' i t hi i n e a r p a t t e r n s .
T h e r e - e m e r g e n c eo f a t v p e o f B u d d h a s t a t u e t h a t w a s
i n v o g u e i n t h e f i f t h c e n t r . r r yc a n b e n o t i c c d a t t h e e n d o f
the lr{ing period. i6th-l7ih ceniurv. A starue in the
Detrcit l;stitute of Ar ts. (U S.A.) would serve &sa good
example of this type of sculpture(Rowland,B, op.cit.(2),
p. 100) (Pl. LXIX). The hair on rhe head, the highly
rnannered drapcry and even the mudris in this statue are
 ; ilf i\ il[i. fi{-lDn}IA 532 IMAGE, BUDDHA

ulieXpt'::.d i1' rrlr;fixi; art''lltat k l'ick to the work of the t h e f i g u r e i s s q u a t i n a p p e a r a n c eT, h e h e a d o f t h e s t a t u ei s

e a r l y r : e n i r , , : l s . T l i c r r ? r c l r 1 -frt t r i l : c n t h e h e a d ; i n s t e a d covered with independent curls with a flat usnisa rising
-urna
the hair rs siicl.vn ns n stviised rnass, with nn on the u n o b t r u s i v e l yf r o m t h e t o p o f t h e h e a d .T h e f o r e h e a di s
-i"fr,r
forehean. r r s n T , s ias w i c i e a n d ' e i a t i v e l y h i g h a n d i s nerrow and marked .vith an Drnain the form of a small
a l s o m a r k e d b v a n o t h c r l t r n a i h e r r ea d i s s q u a r e i n s h a p e c i r c l e .T h e e y e sa r e c l o s e da n d o n l y s l i g h t l v s l a n t e d .T h e
with thc {acial features rjcrnarr:a'-,1 with a softness that face is full and expressesa senseof inner contentment,
i n v e s t s i h c l a r : e w r l - h ; r n ex p r r s s i o n r r l i n n e r p e a c e . T h c w i t h a d e l i c a t e l ym o d e l l e d m o u t h . T h e f o l d s o f t h e r o b e
r o b e e l l v c rr b o t h s h c u l d e r s , f i r s t w i t h a c o l l a r - l i k e are reducedto a minimum, more prominently around the
arrangcmen r .i rirclrlar folds placcd close together, from waist and on the pubic region, with few folds around the
other folds in the fnrrr' of raised lines hang downwards on shins below the knee. The figure stands on a full blown
either side of thr chest. with a scries of circular and lotus. The right hand of the statue shows the uitarks-
parabolic frikls covering lhe centre oi the chest. Similar mudre and the left hand is folded at the elbow and
folcls cover the thighs up to the knees, which are smooth, stretched out with the palm and fingers held in a
being {ree frorn folcis. Heneath ihe knces the folds appear nondescript manner.
around tlre lrgs. The right nand shows the abhaya-
mudr1, in a modified form, rqith fingers stretched. The
Japan: There is hardly any consensusamong scholars
left hand hangs down with lhe palm and fingers visible to
lhe viewcr. Ben;ath thc lowet henr of the outer robe can
regardingthe date of the introduction of Buddhism to
b e s e e u i w o h e m s r , ' , ' i t hv e r t i c a l f * i d s a r r a n g e d i n a r e g u l a r
J a p a n , b u t i t i s g e n e r a l l yb e l i e v e dt h a t t h i s t o o k p l a c ei n
p a t t e r n . I t r e h e r n s t h a l h a n g d o " * . ' ni r o m t h e r i g h t a n d t h e
the first part of the sixth century. The date of the formal
Ielt trand shrrw nil unrlulnting pattern reminiscent of
introduction of Buddhism to Japan is, however, the year
a n c i e n ( l n d i a n r t a t r ! n r _ \ ,l.n t h e e i g h t e e n t h a n d n i n e t e e n t h
A . C . 5 5 2 .I n t h e e a r l y y e a r s ,a s i s t o b e e x p e c t e d B , uddhist
crnturics, r.hr Rlrddha statuc rindcr went furttrer changes,
a r t i n J a p a n w a s t o a l a r g e e x t e n t i n f l u e n c e db y t h a t o f
i n t h a t t h e p r o , i u s cf o l d s n p p e a r i n g i n t h e t y p e o f s t a t u e C h i n s a n d K o r e a , b u t i n c o u r s eo f t i m e i n d i g e n o u si d e a s
describ*d pbrrr:e werc reriu':ed in number. but still a s s e r t e dt h e m s e l v e so n t h i s a r t , i n v e s t i n g o n i t a s p e c i -
a r r n n g c r . l i r : t l r * , " , a r u er i g i , 1 p a t t r i r r r r f t h e e a r l j e r s t a t u e s ,
fically Japanesecharacter.
( R o w l a : r r l , { f. ' i j , . r i i . { 2 } , i l . l l l l 1 i ' l t r . X I X ) .
A seated Buddha figure dated A,C. 628 is a good
'i-he example of this blending of Chinese and Japanese
Korea: v * : r , i . , E1 ; , r T . l i s t r r d ! t i o n a - l l y r e c o g n i z e d a s
t h c d n i ' ? l v h e r r I l u d d h i s r . - r \ r ' a si n l l o d L r c r d i n t o K o r e a , t h e
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s(,R o w l a n d , B . o p , c i t . ( 2 ) , p . 1 0 9 ) ,H e r e t h e
w h o l e p e n i n s i r l n t n e i n gc n n v e : i c d t r : B u d d h i s m b y t h e e n d
Buddha is seatedon a seat covered with a cloth with
of the si,qllr cr:ill!rt:v {!6riirg i,r iniernal tr"rrmoil and highly ornatc folds. The curls of hair on the head of the
invnsion. most (ii rhr lhrrlrJlrist temyrlrs werc destro-ved
B u d d h a a r e a r r a n g e di n h o r i z o n t a l l i n e s ,w i t h a r e l a t i v e l y
and whatcver $rchaeolngicai remaitrs have survived can
flat usnTsa. The right hand is shown inthe abhaya-mudrd
clnly tre assignr'i t.r tht cightlr centurv.
with the left hand cast in the varada-mudrd. The robe
c o v e r sb o t h s h o u l d e r se x p o s i n g t h e c h e s t ,s o a s t o s h o w
( ) n r o f t t r ar a r l i e s t f , i g " ' r , i r l r t l l u d C . h ai n K o r e a i s , i n
". the upper part of the under garmentheld in position by a
fact, a larger-than*lifc bas-relief ca.rvcd on a rock at
b e l t t i e d w i t h a b o w k n o t . T h e h e a d i s o v a l i n s h a p ea n d
Sosan, S,rirth Ch'rrngch'ong province (Griswold, the face displays a placid and serenemind, with an almost
'79,
Alexanricr B. rt al. op. cit. p. Pl. 3). The bas-relief is
i m p e r c e p t i b l es m i l e o n t h e l i p s . T h e w h o l e f i g u r et o g e t h e r
assigned to t h e c l o s e o f t h q s i xth qsntrlrt.'fhere are no
with two attendant Bodhisattvas is supported from
curls on the head. heing shown as a smooth cap fitted on behind a large, and highly ornate halo, in which seated
t o t h e h e a d . T h e u s n T s ai s l o w h u t w i d e a n d i s t r e a t e d i n Buddha figures and stylised flames of fire are symmetri-
the same ma.Dner as the h"ad. A dorrble halo appears cally arranged to re-inforce the effect createdby the main
arorrnd the head, the inner haln f qkas the shape of an figure (Pl. LXX).
o p e n ! n t u s r v \ i l p 1 1 ' ' 'c. r r r l e r h a - l o t a k e s t h e s h a p e o f a l e a f .
ln this haln t1,':frorrlrr is elecnrpted rvith the Chinese A p a r t l y d a m a g e ds t a n d i n gB u d d h a d i s p l a y i n gu n m i s -
f l s r n 1 3 1 " r ' h i ' ! , f l r t . ? 1t ' s a r c f u l l v o p e n a n d a s i n m o s t t a k a b l e s i g n so f C h i n e s ei n f l u e n c ei s a f i g u r e a s s i g n e dt o
C h i n t s " i ; r i ! 1 i f r . r 1 €t{h c m a u t h h a s b e e n d e l i c a t e l y the ninth century. It is a sturdy figure measuring 290 cm.
i - ! 1 , , , a l r * i . { t v e I s F ; , : r t hs h n t . r l d e r s , l e a v i n g a
hendlei and the peculiar arrangement of the folds of the robe
t r i a n g t r l r . t i - : ' " i - ' n ; : r" , f ' n m t h e r r e c k l i n e d o w n t o t h e which set off the physical features of the figure, investsit
' " " t c l r J n n ' t. l c i t i e s s t a l d o n e i t h e r
c e n t r f , 1 {i 1 w i t h a n e x p r e s s i o no f t h e m y s t e r y a n d p o w e r r e s i d i n gi n
ti6l. 6l :l
the deity by an overwhelming suggestion of power
p g y i i l , . g r ' ,r , ' if fpe4 standing Buddha i m p l i e d i n i t s t i t a n i c f o r m a n d w e i g h t i n e s s( R o w l a n d , B .
{igrrres rrt;'.-', ;l' i:i the Silla period o p . c i t . ( 2 ) , p . I l 2 ) . T h o u g h h e a d l e s si,t i s i n d e e d a v e r y
(Rowlanu ;.' i : ri-,:{'1.
r\S a.WhOle awe-inspiring piece of sculpture (Pl. LXXI).
 IMAGE, BUDDHA
Another massivestanding figure with similar characte-
ristics is in the Genko-ji Temple belonging to rhe Heian
p e r i o d ( A . C . 7 9 4 - 1 1 8 5 ) .T h e h a i r o n t h e h c a d o f t h i s
status is representedby studs placed in parallel horizontal
lines. The head is in shape square, with a forehead
marked by an Drna.(lrie, T. etal., op. cit.p.ZZ). The eyes
are almost closed,The robe covers both shouldersleaving
a l a r g ep o r t i o n o f t h e c h e s tb a r e .T h e f o l d s o f t h e r o b e a r e
all concentrated on the lower abdomen and on the left
hand, which holds a vessel. The right hand is in the
abhaya-mudri, with the palm and fingers facing the
viewer. This again is a powerful and awe-inspiring figure
(Pr.LXXr),
A very elaborately ornamented seated Buddha figure
of the eighth century can be seen in the Toshodai-ji
Temple. The figure is seated on an open lotus, with a
back-rest decorated with scores and scores of small
seatedBuddha figures arranged close together in groups.
The Buddha's hair is representedas separatestuds and
the usnTsais similarly treated. The eyes are fully closed
and the mouth is closely set, Tha flat chestedbody is only
partly covered by the robe which covers both the
shoulders. The two hands do not conform to any
traditional mudrd but unmistakably show that the
Buddha is engagedin an act of explaining the dhamma.
An imposing Buddha figure of the l.{ara period, i.e.,
eigbth century, is a seated figure of bronze, mea:uring
262 cm. enshrined in a temple called Kaniman-ji (Irie, T.
et aI. op. cit. p.6). The hair on the head and on the utr{Fa
Ere representedas a rough surfacc in contrast to the face
which is absolutely smooth and highly polished. The eye
brows are sharply demarcated,with the eyesfully closed.
The robe covcrs both the shoulders, with a few flat folds
shown hanging down from the left shoulder. The hand is
raisedin an attitute of exposition, with the palm strttched
outwards and the thumb and the fore-finger held together
(Pr.LXXrr).
A rare type of Buddha figure appers in a scene
depicting the parinibbdna, the passing away, of the
Buddha at Kusinara (Irie, T, et e|. op. cit. p. 7).The whole
s c u l p t u r ei s m a d e o f s t u c c o .H e r e t h e B u d d h a i s s h o w n a s
lying on a bed on his right side. Five royal figures stand
behind the recumbent Buddha while two monks are
seatedclose to the Buddha's head and two others close to
his feet, All these monks are shown in attitudes of deep
mourning. A Lay figure is seated between these two
groups of monks, trying to console them. The Buddha's
figure is clearly archaic, without any characteristic that
mdy be described as essentially Japanese.The scene is
quite realistically depicted (Pl. LXXII).
A well-preservedseated bronze figure of the Buddhs,
found in the Yakushi-ji Temple, is a rather flamboyant
creation, with a large back rest adorned with seated
533
B u d d h a f i g u r e s i n h i g h r e l i r f a l t r i i c ; . a l [ r . i r r e r r r sl r i s
2 5 4 . 7 c m . i n h e i g h t a l d s h o u l t :l c r v f l a s a : . j i . ! e l e g a n t
p r o d u c t o f t t i e s c r r l p t o r so f f l r e l \ , t a . rpat : r l r i j 1 i r i e , ' I . e f a /
op. cit p, l6) (Pl. LXXlit),
T h e H e i a n p e r i u c io { - l a p a n c : cl . r r s , . - ' ,r .i .r r i . u i r . r ! . n 3 :ar e d
p c r i o d o f n e a r l r v f o r thr r r i i o r t r l! e i , r r r i . , , , i Ai ' . 7 9 4 1 1 8 5 .
A c h a r a c t e r i s l i cf e . r t u r , .t:f t r ' r t i i r i r ! , . i i : , i i * , i r e s , - i f t h i s
p e r i o d i s t h e e x a g g c ir r i * r .fi l a b i i i r : - sI u f t L . l i r ' : r , i i , ; s i o f
the imagesare cast in a n:uu'rd,wiierc the i',idsrJfirrgerrr;f
the two hands and ri'ith ttrr thurnb :rrc g;lacetlclosc
together, somewhat ir; tt:e rrip-rrr:e i' of tils rlhSdni !t]t.idre.
As in the earlierfiguresin tnr }'iara perlrcl tht;* of thc
H e i a n p e r i o d a r e a i s $ s t u r r . i i i yc i - ' n s t l u c t r , d as it w*rc in
conformity with the corrcept af ualta-St.,trrii,a, "great
being'. Some of them are provided wirh back rests
adorned with complicated lloraJ desig,rs.
S o m e o f t h e B u d c l h as t a t u e so f t h e e a ri y l l e i a n p e r i o d
'l
can be seenin the Jingci-jr cmple, N'utable among them
is a seatedfigure (Irie, T. et al. op. cit. p. Z0)(pl. LXXIID
of the Buddha, with a highly o(natc back-rest,painted in
gold. The halo around the hsad seen on the back..restis
flanked by flames of fire cnrved in the traditional style.
The robe covers both the shouldcrs, leaving a large
p o r t i o n o f t h e c h e s t b a r e . I ' h e e y e sa r c q u i r e c p e n , T h e
right hand shows the abhaya-mudra, whiie the left rests
on the left leg. The folds of the robe are somewhat
restrictedin number. The facial featureshaveinvestedrhe
face with, perhaps, an unintended awesonle aspect.
A n o t h e r s t a t u ei n t h e J i n g o - j i f e m p l e , c o n s t r u c t e di n t h e
standing position, (Irie, T" et al. rtp. cit. p.2l), while
d i s p l a y i n g t h e a w e s o m e n e s sa l r e a d y r c f e r r e d t o , i s
investedwith a lofty head of hair, reprcseutr*lby the same
t y p e o f s p i r a l l i n g s t u d s i s q u i t e p r o r n i n e n t{ p l . L X X I V ) .
Somewhat diffcrent in fr:rnl a_rrti :xecution is a wooden
s t a n d i n gf i g u r e o f t h e B u d d h a o f t h e n i n t h c e n t u r y "T h e
h e a d i s s h o w n a s a s m o o t h c a p , w i t h s o m : e" , , e r t i c al iln e s ,
with a flat usnTsasimilarly treated {F.uvrl*nrJ,B. op cit.
( 2 ) , p . I l 5 ) . T h e e y e sa r c c l o s e da n d t l i e m " ; u t h i s n a r r o w
b u t w e l l f o r m e d . T h e r o b e c o v e r s t h e s h o u l , i l c r sl ,e a v i n g
t h e c h e s ta n d t h e u p p e r a b d o m e ne x p . r s e dA , braad trand
r e p r e s e n t i n gt h e h e m o f t h e r o b e h a n g s d o w n f r o m t h e
s h o u l d e r si n a n o v a l o i d f o r m . T h e l i m b s o t t h e B u d d h a
are well differentiated rvith the under garment bclow the
u p p e r r o b e . T h e h a n d s h a v eb e e n s e v e r e da n d t h e n u d r d s
in which they were presentedcannoi bc dcternrined.
A n o t h e r a w e s o m ef i g u r e o f t h e B u d d h a o f t h i s p e r i o di s
n s e a t e df i g u r e i n t h e T o a d a i - j i T e m p l e . T h e r o b e c o v e r s
b o t h s h o u l d e r s w i t h s o f t f o k i s r n p r o f u s i c r no v e r t h e
w r i s t s ,t h e l o w e r a b d o m e n a n d t h e f o l d c d s h i n s .T h e r i g h t
hand is shown in a modified form of the abfray.a-mudra,
w i t h f i n g e r si r r e g u i a r i v p l n c e d .T h e l e f r t r a i : t ii s p l a c e do n
r i g h t k n e e ,w i t h t h e p a l n r f o l d e d r , r , r rt h e l e i t s h i n , q u i t e
c l o s et o t h e k n e e ,( l r i r , f . r r s i 1{ . r p* f r , ! 1 , { P l , [ , X X I V ) .
 T}1AGF].tsTDI)T{A 534 IMAGE-FORMAT'IOh{

I u d d h a f i g u r er o i t h r i a t e t ' lc i a n p e r i o d a r e f o u n d a l s o i n 9 P . E . L , . F c r n a n d o , S i r a s p a t ai n B u d d h a I m a g e so f
t h e J o u r i - r i i ; r i : u i e a r ; . - i, i i c f 3 3 e i < i , - r - iIne m p l e . I n t h e tlie Anuradhapura PerioC, Sanskriti, New Series,
l u t i c r t c m p i ci s a s c a t e dl r g u r eo f t h c l l u d d h a ,w i t h h a n d s V o i .N o . l .
held close1r.r;,;;li:e i rrs t i n g < > nt h c l a p , s o m e w h a ti n t h e 10, C. P. Fitzgerald, China, A Short Cultural History.
-Ihe
mffi:1et rr7\2t';'.4k,var:t-rrudr{iIrie,T" et al. op. crf. p. i3). G e s s e tL i b r a r y . L o n d o n , 1 9 8 6 .
:r haiu eppearsrrrolifld thc borly and another around the i l . A n t o i n e t t e K . G o r d o n , T i b e t a nR c l i g i o u s A r t , 2 n d
F r e a Ci ,h e s l f , t u e a n c l t h c h e l o e s a l l r e s t i n g i n f r o n t o f a F : d .N e l v 'Y o r k , i 9 6 - 1 .
s c r e e nd e c o r a t e dw i t h t h e f l a m e s v m b o i . 12. Alexander Griswold. et aL.,Burma Korea Tibet.
London,1954.
I n t h e K a : T i s t - u r ap e r i c c i w h r c h f o i l o w e d t h e H e i a n I3. The MahZvamsa, translated into English by
p e r i o d s o n r , :5 ' . r d d h af i p L i r e sr l i s p l a ya f a i t h f u l p r c f e r e n c e W i i h e l m G e i g e r ,L o n d o n . 1 9 3 4 .
t o C h i n c s ef o r r n s ,a g o l d e x a n r p l eo f t h i s t y p e o f s t a t u a r y I 4 . N a n d a s e n aM u d i v a n s e , I h e A r t a n d A r c h i t e c t u r e
b e i n g a s t a n e l r n gB u d d l ' : ai n t h c S a i d a i - j iT e m p l e ( I r i e , T . of the Gampola Period, Colombo, 1964.
et al. op. t:it p. 7. The nppling drapery is quite 15. S. Paranavitana, Art and Architecture of Ceylon,
r e m i n i s c e n to l t h e d r a p e r y i n s o r n e C h i n e s es c u l p t u r e s . P o l o n n a r u w aP e r i c d . A r t s C o u n c i l o f C e y l o n, 1 9 5 4 .
C h i n e s ei n f i u e n c ec a n a l s o t r c t r a c c di n s c u l p t u r e ss u c h a s I 5 , B en j a m i n R o r v l a n d, ( l ) T h eA r t a n d A r c h i t e c t u r eo f
t h e s t a n d i n gB u d dh a i n t h e T o d a i - j i T e m p l e ( l r i e , T . e t a l . India, London, 2nd Ed. 1956.
op. cit. p. I0), which rs B verv impn5ing and dignified 17. Benjamin Rowland, (2) The Evolution of the
sculpture comparable to lhe rrost significant Chinese Buddha Imase.New York. 1963.
s c u l p t u r eo f t h e s a m e c l a s s .A r a r e s e a t e dB u d d h a f i g u r e !8. Dietrich Seckel, The Art of Buddhisrr, London,
o f t h e s a m e p e r i o d w i t h s c m e u n u s u a l f c a t u r e si s t o b e I 964.
f o u n d a t t h e T o d a i - l i T e m p l c m e n t i o n e de a r l i e r .T h e h a i r 19. G. C. Va-lliant. The Aztecs of Mexico. Pelican
s h o w n i n t h e f o r m o f s t u C sc o v e r s a h e a d t h a t i s c l e a r l y Books,1950.
out of proportion to the body. It is like a solid thick 20. The Year of the Buddha published and presentedby
h e l m e t p l a c e d o n t h c h c a d , T h e c y c s B r c c l o s e da n d t h e t h e U n i t e d S t a t e sI n f o r m a t i o n S e r v i c e .
faceis full and placid. The figure is draped in a cloak, with 21. Buddhism: Art and Faith, edited by W. Zwalf.
t h i c k f o l d s p l a c e dv e r t i c a l l vo n t h e b o d y , w h i l e l h e p a r i o f London.1985.
t h e r o b e c o v c r i n g t h e l e g s i s a l m c s t f l a t e x c e p ti n t h e
f r o n t . T h e s t a t u ei s s c a t e do n a n o p e n l o t u s . P. E. E. Fermndo
'fhus
d u r i n g a p e r i o d o f a b o u t f o u r t e e n c c n t u r i e s ,t h e
Buddha statue which originated in India in the first
ccntury trnversrd the whoic of South and East Asia,
IMAGE-FORMATIOI{, a mental facultl' formin g i mages
r e t a i n i n g i t s o r i g i n a i i c o n o g r a p h i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c sb u t
of exte:'nalobjects which are not present to the five
undergoing appropriate modifications in external
p h y ' s i c asi e r i s e sl.t i s s o m e t i m e sc a l l e d ,t h o u g h n o t q u i t e
f e a t u r e st o s u i t t r a d i t i o n sa n d s c n t i m e n t sp c c u l i a rt o t h e
a c c u r a t e l y 't,h e c r e a t i v ef a c u l t y o i t h e m i n d . C r e a t i o n i n
p e o p l eo f e a c h c o u n t n ' .
t h c f u l l e s t s c r r s ei s o r i g i n a t i o n w i t h o u t r r r e c e d e n c eA. n d ,
BlbUography a s t h e r ei s n c i d e a i n t h c m i n d r v h i c h w a s n o t p r i o r i n t h e
sensesi'nihil ir; inteiirctunis prius in sensu.),rnind cannot
l. Taikichi Irie and Shigeiu A.oyama. BudChist b c c a l l e d c r t a t i v e i n t h e f r i l l c s t s e n s e ,a l t h o u g h i m a g e s
I m a g e s ,S t h E d . O s a k a ,J a p a n . 1 9 8 2 . p e r c e i v e di n i h c s e n s e sm a y b e r e g r o u p e d b y t h e m i n d
2. Buddha Jayanti Souvenir, the Buddhist Council of w'nich thcreby' forms new mental images, which is
Ceylon,1957. irnagination, or new mental concrpts, which is ideation.
3. Johannes Brondsted, The Vikings, Penguin Books,
London.1965. The process bf formation of images or concepts is
4. C. M. Bowra, Classical Greece, Life-Time Inter- r e f e r r e r tl o i r r l l r r d d h i s tp s y c h o l o g ya s ' m e n t a lf o r m a t i o n s '
n a t i o n a l .N e t h e r l a n d , 1 9 6 6 . lsankhara), the fourth of the five aggregates (paflcak-
5. KennethClark, The Nude, London. 1960. khandha) which constitutes the individual process of
6. Ananda K. Coomarasvarry, The Origin of the consciousliving, It follows immediately after impressions
Buddha Image, Thc Art Bulletin, Vol. 9 (4), June, (feelingsor sensations:vedanQ and perceptions (safifri),
1927. a l l c f w h i c h a r e h i g h l y c o m p l e x p r o c e s s e sC. o l o u r i s n o t
7. Joe Cribb, The Origin ol the Buddha lmage- perceivedwithout form, but imagination can either retain
Numismatic Evidence, South Asian Archaeologv, the form and change colour, or vice versa, or change
1981, Cambndge, 1984. both.
8. D. T. Devendra, The Buddha Image and Ceylon, The main difference, therefore, between impressions
Kandv. 1957. and ideasis that impressions are reproductions and ideas
 IMAGE-FORMATTON
a.rereconstruclions, rr-form ations, comp ositio ns. lmagi-
nation, then is a reconstructive processof earlier impres-
sions, a processof association and dissociation of ideas,
in which memory, recollection and reflection piay an
important part. It is an aspect of actuaiity, which is
individualistic, for it is an individual reaction ro an
individual proccss.
Perccption (saf,f,E)is not precedcd by any conscious
process.This can be experimentally proved in perceiving
ambiguous figures, in which either the black or the white
areas can be seen as ihe figure, the other forming the
background, without any proccss of rationalisarion.The
perception is conditioned bv sensations,but imagination
or formation of images is subscquent.
W h e n a n i n t e r p r e t a t i o no f p e r c e p t i o n ,i . e . ,a c o n c e p to f
t h e s e n s e - i m p r e s s i o ni,s n o t o b v i o u s , a p r o b a b i e a n d
familiar solution or explanation will be adopted, and
thereby one may not pcrceive the event asit occurs,but as
'it
makes sensc'.And that is imagination.
Such imaginative interpretation is primarily a
memory-image, although not a mere revived impression.
Thc ncwly received sensation (vedani), aftcr it has becn
cognized through perception (saflf,i) in a general way, is
now being conceived and formed (sa'nkhata)in which
presentation the old and the new are blendedin cosnitive
reprcsentntiortand reconstruction.
In fact, all recognition involves a high degree of
imagination, for without the recall of an.earlier image-
formation, called grasping the pasr @tliuggahana), it
would be impossible to classify and name any new
impression. Clasification is the grouping inro a higher
order or class,on the collective grasping of what belongs
together (samudayaggahana or samihaggahana), by
means of which clearer understanding of the individual
object is obtained. lr is this grasping of the meaning or
essential nature (atthaggahana,) which leads to the
naming (namaggahay) of the object,
This entire processof recollection, association,classi-
fication, discrimination, judging and identification lies
betweenperception (saflf,i)and consciousness(viflflana)
and is so complex that it is rightly callcd sankhara'or
ideation or image-formaiton,
Of the six particular concomitant mental factors
pakinnakacetasika it is initial application (vitakka) or
d i r e c t i o n o f m i n d w h i c h o p c r a t e sm o s t a c t i v e l y i n t h e
processof imagination and is found indeed in 55 various
c l a s s e so f c o n s c i o u s n e s s .I t g r e a t ! y c o n t r i b u t e s t o
reasoned thinking in such processeswith its characie-
l. Na jiyati n" ji-vtti na miyati'ti amatan'ti vaccati (KhpA. p. fta. similarlv at DhpA. r. 1t.2281
535 IMI\IOR]**iIi
ristics of directing and guiding rhe iuragirrutiol in its
image and name-finding process.
t{" G. A. ,rail lcvst
IMAGE HOUSE. Scc PATIIT{AG}IARA
I M A G E S S e e I C O N C I ( i R A t l t { y . t . t -i ) i ' i { i t \ , t [ ,I:. R y ,
IDOLATRY.
IMMORTALITY, usually designarerlby the Fali term
amata and the Sanskrit terms arrrra ar afilfiatva, is the
c o n d i t i o n o f b e i n gf r e e l r < , r l cr i e a t ha n d ; r t r i r t h , a n d h e n c e
a s t a t c o f d u r a b i i i t y a r r d n o n - c h a u g e ,a s t R t eo [ l a s t i n g
security.t T'he belief ttiat therc cculci tre some krnci oI
eternal existcnce a{ter the <1issi;ir.riiur;i -;t ttrt€pir-vsicaJ
'ihe
body is almost universai. fat,; tri lris.ii:rtler tieatll has
b e e no n e o f t h e b i g g e s tp r ' c b i c r n si . h a .r : c - r :i i a l l a c e < a JnrJ
a t t e m p t e dt o s o i v e ,V a r i o u sp c o p i e s ,i r r x e r p i r r gw i r h t h e i r
c u l t u r e ,c i v i l i s a t i o na n d r e l i g i o u sb a c k g r o u n d ,t i a v eg i v e n
v a r i o u s e x p l a n a t i o n st o t h i s p r o b l e m , a n d t h c c o r r d i t i o n
of immortality and how it could be rea"iised o c c u p i c sa
v e r y s i g n i f i c a n t p l a c e i n t h c s e d e l i b c r a t i o n s .l h e d i f f e -
r e n c eb e t w e n B u d d h i s m a n d o t h c r s y s t e m so { i i r o u g h t o n
t h i s q u e s t i o nl i e s m a i n l y i n t h e t s u d d h a ' sd e n i a l o f a s o u l
@tman or affe)
The concept of immortalitv invariably directs our
a t t e n t i o n t o q u e s t i o n so f d e a t h a n d t h e l i f e a f t e r d e a t h .
T h e m o m e n t i m m o r t a l i t y a s a r c a l i s a b l es t a t ei s a c c e p t e t i
o r d i n a r y p h y s i c a - ld e a t h d o e s n o t b e c o m e t h e e n d o f
e m p i r i c a l e x i s t e n c e .l f p h y s i c a l d c a t h i s n o t t h e e n d o f
o r d i n a r y l i f e w h a t h a p p e n st o t l i e l i f e - f o r c e( d es i g n a t e da s
viflfranaor consciousnessin Buddhism and soui in other
systems)of the dying inrJir.idual?
B u d d h i s m o f f e r s c o m p r c h e n s i v es o l u t i o n s t o t h i s a n d
'fhe
a l l i e dp r o b l e m s . s o l u t i o n sB u d t j h i s r r :u f f r r s . , ' r * r rt h e
r e s u l to f a l o n g p r o c e s so f t h i n k i n g o n t h e p r o b i e m sb y t h e
B u d d h a h i m s e l f a n d v a r i o u s t h i n k e r s t h a t p r e c e d e dh i m ,
The questionsof rebir th arrclo!. karznaald the availability
o f a s t a t ef r e e f r o r n t l r c c l [ e ; r s o i l i f e ' sr : n n f l i c t sh a d b e e n
t r e a t e db y n r a n yo f G o t a m a ' sp r er i e c e s s e i rC s .o t a r n a w i t h
h i s e m p i r i c a l a p p r o a c h t o t h e p r o b l e r l p r e s e n t e da n
 IIIfMOR?'ALITY 536
€ x p l a n s i i o n d i f f e r e r r ti r n r n t h e r l n e sc u r r e n t a t t h e t i m c .
H e p t r t f r : r r , r ' * r rnj s y s t { i t r l f g : l a c t i , r : ac lt h i c s l e a d i n g t h c
i n d r v i d u a l i r - ;' . 5 1 * r *f r c e f r o m I h e l o r t e x o f l i f e a n d d e a t h
and this stbic ls ilesrribed as ihe staic of inrmortalitv.
liibbsna.;
I n a l m o s t s l l l h . r e l i g i o u st r a d i t i o n s o f t h e w o r l d ,
i n c l u d i n g t h a t , r f i n r l i u ' s n c n - B u d d h i s t t i a c l i t i o n ,i t i s
acceptrd that thcre is a soul which is pern:lnent, un-
changing end indestructible (Set ANA1TA). Thc
s , r m m u m b a n u m o f t h c s e t e a c h i n g si s t h a t i t i s p o s s i b i e
f o r t h i s s o u l t o n t t a i ni r n m o r t a l i t y ,B u t B u d d h i s ms t a n d s
a s a u n i q u e s ] s t e mc i i h o u g h t b y d e n y i n gt h e c x i s t e n c eo f
such an un;hanring and perdurable entity within or
w i t h o u t t h e b u m a n p e r s o n u J i t ys, t t i n g o r i n i t i a t i n g a c t i o n
'I
a s i t p l e a s c s . h c : i o l u t i n nt h a t B u d d h i s m o f f e r sl i e si n t h e
r e a l i s a t i o nt h a t a l l e r i s t c n c ei s s u b j e c t t o c h a n g e ,d e c a y
and dcath and once this truc neiure of things (yathAbhita)
is practically realiseo the persrrn is said to become one
with that state frce from birth and death (amatapada).it
i s t h i s s t a t eo f i m m o r t a l i t l w h i c h i s g e n e r a l l yd e s i g n a t e d
by the term Nibbanq which is characteristicallydescribed
as unborn (ajata), unbecome (abhita), unmade (akau)
e n d u n c o m p o u n d e d T a s a i t k h a t au d . p p . 8 0 - I ) . A n d a s
'soul' as such, thc moment he
the individual has no
realises this state he becomes one with it and hencc
i m r n o r t a l . H e g e t s l o s t i n i m m o r t a l i t y a s i t w e r e . 3H e
escapesthe bonds of samsarawhich is the born (Eta),the
becorre (bhita), the made (ketal and the compounded
(sehkhata).
I m m o r t n l i t y i s r e a l i s e db y p r a c t i c a le x p e r i e n c ea n d n o t
b y s p e c u l a t i n ga b o u t i t . F r o m a p r a g m a t i c p o i n t o f v i e w
t h e a c t u a l p r o b l e m o f m a n i s h i s a f f l i c t i o n si n o r d i n a r y
l i f e a n d h i s c f f o r t s h a v et o b e d i r e c t e dt o w a r d ss o l v i n g t h e
problem at hand wrthout resortingto metaphvsical
speculationsabout the immortal state of the saint.
Buddha's reply to brahman Unnabha's question as to
w h a t l i e sb e y o n dN i b b a n a w a s t h a t , t h e q u e s t i o ng o e st o o
f a r a n d i t c a n n o t b e a n s w e r e d .H e f u r t h e r s a y s t h a t t h e
p u r p o s eo f l i v i n g t h e h o l y l i f e i s t o a t t a i n N i b b a n a , w i t h
Nibbana as its goal and end (S V. p. 218). Thera
Mahakassapa is represented as declaring to Sariputta
that the Tathagata has left unanswered (avyAkata) as to
whether he exists (hoti), exists not (na hoti), both exists
a n d e x i s t sn o t . n e i t h e r e x i s t sn o r e x i s t sn o t a f t e r d e a t h ,
becausesuch a declaration is not conducive to the
2. Hence amr,ta or amrta rs one of the most frequent epithets of Nibbans- For references in literature ser-PTC.
3 . N o t e t h e P a l i e x p r e r r i o n sa m a t a p a r i y a ? a ( S . V . p . 2 1 8 ) a n d a m a t o g a d h a ( 5 , V . p p . 4 1 , 5 4 ) .
4. See alro the Citamitun*yasuttanta: (M, l. pp, 426-32).
5. Perhapritilthisundyingconsciousnessinitsunconditionedstatethatisreferredtobytheauthorof.theKathopanisad(l,ii, lE)t
when he says that the roul which is unborn, eternal, and everlasting is not slain when the body is being slain.
6. Compare the ststement "l am purc by nature-, svabhivaluddhoham which is a mantra used by the esoteric Buddhists. See An
IntroducTion to Buddhist koterism, B. Bhattacharyya, pp. 106, 7,
IMMORTALITY
r e a l i s a t i o no f t h e s t a t eo f i m m o r t a l i t y ( S . l l , p p . 2 2 2 - 3 ) .
A b o u t t h e e x i s t e n c ea n d n o n - e x i s t e n c t o f a T a t h a g a t a
a l r e r d e a t hb h i k k h u n l K h e m i r e p l i e st h a t s u c hq u e s t i o n s
a r e i r r e l e v a n (t S . I V , p p , 3 7 4 ) . 1
B u d d h i s m t e a c h e st h a t c o n t i n u i t y o f c o n s c i o u s n e sosf
the individual (cittasantina) which is constantlychan-
g i n g d o e sn o t c o m e t o a n e n d w i t h p h y s i c a ld e a t h o f t h e
i n d i v i d u a l . sl t s s u b j e c t i o nt o c h a n g ea n d h e n c et o b i r t h
a n d d e a t h c a n o n l y b e e l i m i n a t e db y r e a l i s i n gt h e s t a t eo f
enlightenment (sambodhi) and refease (vimutti), T}l,e
p c r s o n w h o h a s r e a l i s e dt h i s s t a t e h a s g o n e b e y o n d t h e
possibility of accumulatinganv rebirth producing kamma
a n d a ss u c hh e h a sr e a i i s e dt h e s t a t eo f i m m o r t a l i t y i n t h a t
v e r - vl i f e i t s e l f .H e l i v e si n t h e w o r l d w i t h o u t b e i n g a v i c t i m
o f i t s v i c i s s i t u d e sH . e d o e s n o t a c c u m u l a t ef r e s h k a m m a
a n d . t h e r e f o r e .h i s c o n s c i o u s n e siss f r e e f r o m d e f i l e m e n t s
and is pure in its unconditioned natural state (pakati-
pabhassara)6,As the cause of the accumulation of fresh
k a m m a i s d e s t r o y e d h i s c o n s c i o u s n e s sh a s b e c o m e
i m m u n e t o i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a l d e f i l e m e n t s .T h i s s t a t e
of purity, of knowledgeand of insight is the immortal
s t a t eo f N i b b d n a f r o m w h e r e n o r e l a p s ei s p o s s i b l e .A n d
w h a t i s m e a n t b y p h y s i c a ld e a t h i s t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f t h e
s t r u c t u r et h a t e m b o d i e st h i s c o n s c i o u s n e s sR. e b i r t h i s t h e
r e - e m b o d i m e n to f t h i s c o n s c i o u s n e s sa f t e r t h e c o l l a p s e
of its previous tenement, And this re-embodiment is
p o s s i b l eo n l y s o i o n g a s t h i s c o n s c i o u s n e s iss b u r d e n e d ,
d e f i l e d a n d d a r k e n e Cb y t h e a c c u m u l a t i o n o f k a m m a .
Once these defilements are removed from it, it remains
p u r e a n d e n l i g h t e n e di n i t s i m m o r t a l s t a t e .
A f t e r h i s r e a l i s a t i o no f t h i s s t a t eG a u t a m a B u d d h a i s
s a i d t o h a v e m a d e t h e s i g n i f i c a n ts t a t e m e n tr e c o r d e di n
t h e P i t a k a s( . e g V i n . l , p . 7 ; M , l , p . 1 6 9 :D . l l , p , 3 9 ) ,
"Open are the doors of immortality, let thosewho have
e a r sg i v e u p t h e i r c r e d u l i t y , " a n d i t w a s w i t h t h e s ew o r d s
that he began his career as religious teacher.By referring
t o h i s r e a l i s a t i o no f t h e s t a t e o f i m m o r t a l i t y a s ' o p e n i n g
t h e g a t e s ' t ot h a t c o n d i t i o nt h e s i g n i f i c a n ti d e a i s e x p r e s s e d
t h a t i t i s b y u n t f i n g t h e t i e sa n d u n l o c k i n g t h e l o c k s o f o u r
h e a r t s t h a t m e n c a n o p e n t h e m s e l v e st o t r u t h a n d
immortality,
A q u e s t i o nc o u l d b e r a i s e dw h e t h e r t h i s p o s s i b i l i t yo f
m a n t o r e a l i s et h e i m m o r t a . ls t a t e t h a t i s p r e s e n ti n e v e r y
i n d i v i d u a l m e a l l s t h e p r e s e n c eo f a n y u n c h a n g i n g a n d
permenent entity like a soul. But Buddhism denies
 TMPERMANENCE 537 IMPER&{"A.NENCE

entirely the presenceof such an entity that experiencesthe t h e m o s t b a s i cc h a r a c t e r i s t i cw h i l e t h e o t h e r r w o a r e m o r e

a c t i v i t i e so f t h e i n d i v i d u a l . T h e s t a r e o f i r n m o r t a _ l i t ya s Iike its coroilanes (.S. IIt, p. 67) Buddhism presenrs
u n d e r s t o o d i n B u d d h i s m i s e n t i r e l y a n i m p e r s o n a ls t a t e i m p e r m a n e n c eo f p h e n o r n e n aa s a n e t . e r - v a l i d u , niversa.l
where the idea of selfhood (asmimana) is completely o b j e c t i v ef a c t ( M . , , p . 2 2 0 ; ^ t I I I , p . 1 3 3 ;A . I V , p . 2 g 5 )
e r a d i c a t e da , n d B u d d h i s md e n i e st h e p r e s e n c eo f a n a g e n t
or a pcrformer maintainingthat thereis only action but E a r l y t e x t s e x p l i c i t l y a n d r e p e a t e d l yd r a w o n c ' sa t t r n -
no actor. Hence Buddhism does not accepta personal t i o n t o t h i s o b j e c t i v ef a c t a x d a l s o p o i n t o u t t h a t a l l t h i n g s
s o u l t h a t b e c o m e si m m o r t a l , b u t a s t a t e o f i m m o r t a l i t v , a r e i m p e r m a n e n t b e c a u s e t h e y a r c c h a r a c t e r i s e dh i ,
dppearenceor birth (uppada), charrgeor transfortnar:on
i m p e r s o n a l a n d a b s o l u t e . [ n t h e u l t i m a t e a n a l y s i st h i s
c o n c e p to f e c t i o n w i t h o u t a n a c t o r i n t h e h u m a a p e r s o n a _ (thitassa-afrfrathatta) and disappearanceor destruction
l i t y s e e m st o b e t h e r e a l d i f f e r e n c eb e t w e e nt h e B u d d h a ' s (vaya:.t. Ill, p. -18) Whatever is born is said to be
conccptof immortality and that of the Upanisads.T i m p c r m a n e n t s i n c ew h a t e v e ri s b o r n i s s u r e t o p e r i s h( A .
I V , p . 1 8 7 ) .W h a t e v c ri s s u b j c c tt o d e c a yi s a l s o i m p a r -
The concept of immortality is inevitably connected m a n e n t( S I p . t 8 6 ) .S i m i l a r l yw h a t e v c ri s c o m p o u n d e d ,
w i t h t h e c o n c c p t o f t i m e a n d s p a c ei n t h a t t h e a c h i e v e - m a d e t o b e d i s p o s i t i o n a J l yd e t e r m i n e d ( s a i t k h a t ao r
ment of immortality meansthe corrquestof time as wcll as s a n k h A r i l 2 t o o i s i m p e r m a n e n t( M . l p . 3 5 0 ;I I I , p . l 0 g ;
of spact. Those who have achieved immortality are A . V , p . 3 4 3 f f ) T h u s , i m p e r m a n e n c ea p p e a r sa l m o s t a sa
b e y o n d t h e e f f e c t so f t i m e i n i t s d i v i s i o n i n t o p a s t ,p r e s e n r collective term for arising and passing away of things
and future, See also AMRTA. (uppada-vaya: cf . D, II, pp. 157; .i. tII, p. 146). The
Patisambhidimagga (/. p. l9l) clearly definesit in this
A. G. S. Karlyawasom manner (uppada-vayatthena aniccE).

I n l a t e r B u d d h i s m ,s p e c i a l l yi n t h e S a n , a s t i v a d as c h o o l ,
the process of change was logically anaiysed and con-
s e q u e n t l yi m p e r m a n e n c ec a r n et o b e e x p l a i n e di n t e r m s
IMPERMANENCE (Pali: anicca;Skt. anitya) is one of of nascent (iti), static (sthiti), decay jari) and cessant
the three characteristics (ti-lakkhana) or universai (nisa)'moments' (ksana).This fourlold sub-division was
charactcristics (sima fffra-lakkhana) of all .things' brought about by'taking change or rransformation
(sabbam) or all phenomena (sabbe dhantmE)i.e., things (thi tassa-aflfl ath at ta : Skt. sthi tyanya thatva) assignifying
o r p r o c c s s e se i t h e r h u m a n o r d i v i n e , a n i m a t e o r i n a n i _ t w o s e p a r a t e ' m o m e n t s ' a s. st a t i ca n d d e c a y .T h e S a u t r a n -
m a t e , o r g a n i c o r i n o r g n i c a n d m e n t a l o r p h y s i c a l( M . l l l , tikas too, acceptedthis theory of moments (ksana-vada).
p . 2 1 8 ;S , I I l , p p . 1 3 2 f . ,2 2 5 ; | Y , p . 2 8 ;A . I , p . I 5 2 ; V , p . However they accepted only uppada and vaya and
1 8 2 ) . T h e o t h e r t w o c h a r a c t e r i s t i c so f t h i s t r i a d a r e rejected sthitiksana (static moment). The Theravada
conflict or non-satisfactoriness(dukkha)t and no-self or commentators too referred to three moments as uppada,
non-substantiality (anatta). Of these, impermanencc is thiti and bhahga (destruction),r

7' Atmanof manasdoerandexperiencerisdescribedinthe K a t h o p a n i s a d l l . i v , v . 3 ": w h a t i s t h e r c u n k n o w a b l e t o t h a t a t m a n b y

w h i c h m a n c o g n i s e sf o r m , t a s t e ,s m e l l , s o u n d s a n d s e x u a lj o y s ? T h i i i n d e e d i s t h a t " .
T h e B u d d h i s t v i e w a s o p p o s e dt o t h i s i s
exp rcssed in the Vi sudd hi m agga ( I{O.9.). p. 5 I 7,

l ' D u k k h a i s a t e r m t h a t i s d i f f i c u l t t o b e t r a n s l a t e d .t n o r d i n a r v u s a g ei t m e a n ss u f f e r i n g ,p a i n ,
s o r r o w , m i s e r y e t c . B u t i t a l s o h a - sa
deeper philosophical meaning which connotes unsatisfactoriness.corrll,ct etc. ln this essaythe term
is used to convey the generalas
well as the philosophical meaning.
2' Sankhara is another extremely complex Buddhist philosophical term pregnant with meaning.
There are at least five nuances of
m e a n i n g d i s c e r n i b l e a c c o r d i n g t o t h e c o n t e x t i n w h i c h t h e t e r m o c c u r s . T h e s e f i v e s h a dm e seoafn i n g
a r e : i . s a n k h i r a a r o n e o ft h e
f i v e a g g r e g a t e s c o n s t i t u t i n g t h e h u m a n p e r s o n a l i tlyn.t h i s c o n t e x t i t c o n n o t e s p s y c h o l o g i c a l t e n d e n r y o r m e n t a l
d i s p o s i t i o n .i i . A s a
f a c t o r r e s p o n s i b l e f o r b r i n g i n g a b o u t r e b i r t h i t i s a f o r c e o r a d r i v ei i.i . A s h a b i t u a lt e n d e n c y i t r e f e r s t o c u m u l a t i v e e f f e c t s o f b o d i l y ,
verbal and mental action. iv. It is also used almost 8s s synonymous term for cetani(volition).
v. lt stands for all phenomena or
things determined by human dispositions or representsany object of human desireor longing, In this
scnseit is synonymous with the
term sanklrata (made-to-be, compounded, arranged, dispositionally determined). On this
see further, David J. Kalupahanq
Causality: The Central Philosophy of Buddhism. Univ. Press of Hawaii, Honolulu, l97S; Philosoph_v.
East&. wes(27, No. 4, Oct.
1977,'Notion of Suffering in Early Buddhism compared with some reflections of early Wittgenstien'bv
David J. Kalupahana, and
also O. H. de A. Wijesekera, The Three Signate, anicca,dhukkha, anatta, Wheel Publ, No. 20, Buddhist publ.
Society, Kandy, Sri
Lanka

3. Onthedevelopment of thetheory of impermanencesee David J. Kalupahana, Buddhist Philosophy, aHistorical

Analysis,l)niv.
Press of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1976.
 TMPFfiR4ANEI.{CE 538 IMPERMANENCE

Thc above sccount outlines very briefly the early that this is not so. A thing that causes pain and
Buddhist theory of impermanelceand its laler develop- u n h a p p i n e s st o o n e c o u l d b e a s o u r c € o f p l e a s u r ea n d
m e n t s . l l o w e v e r . B u d d h i s md i d n o t i r c a t t ' h i st h eo r y t n h a p p i n e s st o a n o t h e r ,S i m i l a r l y - t, h e v e r y t h i n g t h a t g i v e s
a F r s t r a c tB. eing pragmatic and utiiitarian in approach. h a p p i n e s sa t o n e p a r t i c u l a r m o m e n t c o u l d t u r n o u t t o b e
a n d h e n c ep r i m a r i l y b e i n g c o n c e m e dw i t h m s n a n d h i s a c a u s eo f u n h a p p i n e s sa t a n o t h e r m o m e n t a n d s o o n .
e r n a n c i p a t i o nf r o m h i s s a m s a r i cc x i s t e n c et o w h i c h h e i s T h e r e f o r e ,i t i s s e e ^trh a t i m p e r m a n e n c yb y i t s e l f i s v a l u e -
i : o u n d d u e t o h i s c l i n g i n g t o ' t h i n g s ' , B u d d h i s md i d m a l . e neutral objective fact. Thus it is clear that dukklra is not
a s p e c i a la t t e m p t t o a p p l v t h i s t h e o r l ' t o t h e i n d i v i d u a l . an in'"rinsic characteristic or quality of impermanenct.
'fhis B e s i d e s ,i f t h e s t a t e m e n t w h a t e v e r i s i m p e r m a n e n t i s
was for the purpose of illustrating man's own
i m p e r m a n e n c ea n C t h e r e b y p u r s u a d i n g h i r n t o g i v e u p uns atisfactcrry , lyad aniccar7 talr.tdukkham)is considered
c l i n g i n g t o w h a t i s i m p e r r n a n e n t .W i t h t h i s p u r p o s c i n a s a n c q u a l l y v a l i d o b j e c t i v ef a c t l i k e t h c o t h e r u n i v e r s a l
view thc individuai is anaiysed into five components characteristicof all compounded things namely, that all
which are called the fivc aggrcgatesof clinging (paflcu' compounded things are impermatcnt, (sabbe sa'nkhiri
padanakkhandhi). These are: materiai form (rupa), a n i c c i ) t h c n i t w o u l d b e n e c e s s a r yt o c o n c e d e t h s t
sensation (vedana), perception (safifra), mental forma- Buddhism comptetely rcjects any form of enjoyment
tions, psychologicaltcndenciesor dispositions l a s s a d a ) ,B u t t h i s t o o , i s n c t s o . O n t h e c o n t r B r y ,
(sa'nkhara.),consciousness (viflf,ana). In brief the indi- Buddhism grants that there is enjoyrnent (assada).Yet at
vidual is referred to as a heap of processcsor disp*sitions t h e s a m et i m e i t d o e sn o t f a i l t o p o i n t o u t t h a t e n j o y m e n t
(sankharapufrja: S. i, p. 135) ali cf whici: are impcr- too, is impermanent, and therefore, sure to disappear.
m l n e n t ( . S .I I t , p p . 4 1 , 6 ' l , \ 1 9 , 1 9 6f f . ) . l n f a c t t h e B u d d h a Loss of enjoy'ment is a cause for unhappiness and this,
p o i n t s o u t t h a t i t i s t h e s r ; e n s o r i . ' l a g ; : r t t r i r € st h - r l i ' r r r s e Buddhism points out, is the evil consequence(adineva)of
c o n t i n u i t yo f s a m s e r i ce x i s i e n c e ( . M .I . p , ! 9 1 ; I l I , p . ? E 8 i ; enjoyment; and hence, the injunction to detach (nls-
S . I , p . 1 3 5 ) .H e r c c , a c c o r d i n gt o B u d r J h i c mt,h c h i g h e s t s a r a n a )o n e s e l ff r o m a l i f o r m s o f e n j o y m e n t s( M ' I , p ' 5 ;
consummation of spiritunl life rcsultsfiom the perfect S. ttl, p. 27ff.). As enjoyrnent (assida) is necessarily
understaniling rf thc impermanent neture cf these followed by its evil consequencesQdinava) it could be
s e n s o r i a l n g g r e g n t e s( M . l l , p , 2 3 7 ) . T h i s i s w h y t h e reasonably assumedthat the sum-total of all experience
Buddhadecirredthat the kcy to the complexproblem of of an individual amounts to duftllra. Hencc the special
samslric extstcncelics v:ithin this fathom-long body itself e m p h a s i so n t h i s a s P e c t .
(A. ll, p.48; cf. I). ll, p.67; S. t, p.4l; [V, p' 138). It is apparent that while'impermanence'is an objective
fact, non-satisfactoriness(dukkha) is a personal expe-
O n e m i g h t w o n d e r w h y t h i s o b j c c t i v ef a c t o f i m p e r -
rience. Now a problem arises as to how an objective fact
r r l & n € n c eo f a l l t h i n g s i s s t r e s s e ds o m u c h i n B u d d h i s m . I t
can turri out to be a sr:urcc of duhkha. A clue to the
i s b e c a u s et h i s o b j e c t i v e f a c t , t h e r e c o g n i t i o n o f w h i c h
s o l u t i o n o f t h i s p r o h l e mi s f o u n d i n t h e h r i c f s t a t e m e n t
a c c o r d : n gt o B u d d h i s m i s t h e b a s i sf o r e m a n c i p a t i o n ,i s
m a d e b y t h e B u d d h a t h a t ' w h a t e v e ri s f e l t o r c x p e r i e n c e d ,
constarrtiy overlooked by a-11 worldiings. Hence it is
that pertains to du.kfrira (y84 kiflci vedayitanl tlry
repeatedly emphasised and a dictum of great ethicai
dukkhasmim; S. Il, p. 53).Here, too it is not a denial of
import drawn from it namely, that whateveris imper-
experiencing enjoyment but an affirmation of the un-
m&neDt is non-satisfactory (yad aniccary tary dukkham:
satisfactoriness that lies behind the impermanency of
S . t t , p . 5 3 ; l l l , p p . 6 7 , l 8 l ) , a n d t h e r e f o r eo n e s h o u l d
such a joyful experiencc.From this it is quite clear that
necessarilvdevelop dispassion(viriga)towards them' As
dukkhais asubjectiveexperiencecausedby one's proc?ss
s e e nf r o m e a r l y t e x t s B u d d h i s m v e r y c l e a r l y s t a t e st h a t
of sensory perception. This is why the Buddha has
desire. attachrnen! involvement and entanglemeni ir
r e p e a t e d l yp o i n t e d o u t i n a n u m b e r o f h i s d i s c o u r s e st h a t
regard to the five sensory aggregatesis the arising of all
most of the miseries and sufferings experienced by one
misery or suffering (dukkha) connected with samsaric
are due to one's distorted process of perception' Hence
e x i s t e n c e( M . 1 , p . l 9 l ) . T o e x t i n g u i s hc r a v i n g o r d e s i r e
much atlention is paid to the perfect understanding of the
(riga, tanhil one has to cultivate dispassion (viriga)' An
processof sensorypcrception, so that one may be wary of
impetus towards this direction is givcn by pointing out
h o w o n e i s b o u n d t o g e t d e c e i v e dt h r o u g h o n e ' sd i s t o r t e d
the non-satisfactorinessthat lies behind all things.
processof perception.The Madhupindike Sutta(M'1,p.
However, the ststement that whatever is impermanent 1 I I - I l2) analysingthis processof perception shows how
is non-satisfactory (yad aniccary t"ry dukkham) appears it begins on an impersonal tone and then with the arising
t o b e s o m e w h a t o f a g e n e r a l i s a t i o nb a s e d o n t h e p r e - of feeling or sensation (vedani), turns into a personal,
p o n d e r a n c eo f d u k k h a o v e r s u t l a ( h a p p i n e s si)n w o r l d l y deliberate act and how alrnost simultaneously, the ego-
e x i s t e n c e .A n d f u r t h e r , t h i s g e n e r a l i z e ds t a t e m e n t a l s o consciousnessintrudes and shapesthe whole processinto
suggeststhat all things at all times cause dukkia to all a highly ego-centricone culminating in the generation of
a l i k e , B u t o n t b e c o n t r a r , ' -d a y t o d a y e x p e r i e n c es h o w s . u r t h e r , i t i l l u s t r a t e sh o w w i t h t h e
o b s e s s i o n s( p a p a f , c a )F
 IMPERMANEI{CE 539
p r e d o m i n e n c co f o b s e s s i o nt h i s p r o c e s sf i n a i l y b e c o m e s
i n e x o r a b l y s u b j e c t e dr o a n o b j e c t i v co r r l e ro f t h i n g s .W i t h
t h e i n t r u s i o n o f e g o - c o n s c i o u s n e s s( a h a m k a r a ,
mamimkara) obsessionssuch as craving, conceit and
dogmatic'views (tanh'i, mina, ditthi), which are just
t h r e e a s p e c t so f e g o - c o n s c i o u s n e s r.,o * . i n t o a c t i o n .
T h e s e a r e f u r t h e r a i d e d a n d p r o p j l l e d b y c n e , sg e n e r a l
instincts such as desire to live (Jiivitu].amaJ.desire for
immortality' (amaritukama/, desire for pleasure (sukha-
kama) and aversion for sufferi ng (dukkha-patikilata: S,
I V , p . 1 7 2 ) . B e i n g g o a d e d b y t h e s e o b s e s s i o n sa n c i
i n s t i n c t so n e f a i l s t o s e et h i n g s a s t h e y a r e o r a s t h e y h a v e
come to be (yathibhuta/. Craving (tanhE, riga), deres-
t a t i o n , h a t r e d ( d o s a ) a n d c o n f u s io n ( n t o h a ) b e c o m et h e
g u i d e so f o n e ' sp r e c e p r i o na n d a l l t h i n g s b e g i n t o s i g n i f y
t h e s em e n t a l d i s p o s i t i o n s( c f , M . I I , p . 2 9 8 : , 4 . V . p . l 0 g
f.). With this distorted and warped processof grcrception
o n e b e g i n s l o p e r c e i v ep e r m a n e n c ci n t h e i m p e r m a n e n t
(anicceniccasafrf,i),satisfactionin what is unsatisfactory
(dukkhe sukhasafrffi), substance in what js non-srrbs-
tantial (anattani ca atta ti safrfii) aad pleasant in what is
unplcasant (asubhe subhasafrfli..,4.ll, p. 25). percei,.,ing
thus one evaluatesthings in terms of desirahle and
u n d e s i r a b l e ,a t t a c h m c n t a n d a v e r s i o ni n s o f a r a s t h i n g s
affect and influence one's life. ln this processof evalua-
tion things get determinedby one's menral dispcsition
( s a ' n k h a r a )a n d a r e m a d e - t o - b ec o m p o u n d c d , p l a n n e do r
arranged (sanknata) in accordarce with one's likes and
Jislikes, This disrorted view of things which holds
c v e r v t h i n ga s p e r m a n e n ta n d s a t i s f a c t o r yd o e sn o t p e r s i s t
f o r l o n g , Q u i i e o f t e n i t c o m e si n t o c o n f l i c t w i t h t h e t r u e
n a t u r c o f t h i n g s n a m e l - v ,t h a t t h i n g s a r e i m p e r m a n e n t .
T h c e f f e c to f t h l s c o n f l i c t i s d e v a s t a t i n gf o r , i t s h a t t e r st h e
i l l u s o r y s e n s eo f p e r m a n e n c ea n d s a t i s f a c t i o na n d b r i n g s
o n e f a c e t o f a c e w i t h t h e i m p e r m a n e n c eo f t h i n g s w h j c h
one has overlooked due to distortion tvipailasa) of
perception.Herein it is quite clear that it is not imper-
marencc of things in general that causesdukkha, but the
i m p e r m a n e n c eo f t h i n g s w h i c h a r e m a d e - t o - b eo b j e c t so l
one's desire and longing, of things which are disposi-
tionally determined (sa'nkhataor sankhira: Dhp. v.203)
by an individual.
J u s t a s B u d d h i s m t e a c h e st h a t t h i n g s a r e i m p e r m a n e n t
and that there is arising of dukkha it also teachesthat
t h e r ei s t h e c e s s a t i o no f d u k k h a c a u s e db y i m p e r m a n e n c e .
I t i s s a i d t h a t w h a t e v e ri s o f t h e n a t u r e o f a r i s i n gi s a l s o o f
t h c n a t u r eo f c e a s i n g( M . 1 , p p . 4 8 , 3 5 0 ) T . h i si s a p p l i c a b l e
t o t h e a r i s i ng o f d u k k h a t o o . T h e p r o c e s st h a t l e a d st o t h e
cessation of dukkha is very clearly enunciated in
B u d d h i s m . T h i s i s n o t h i n g o t h e r t h a n t h e p e r f e c t i o no f
l. silamsamadhtm pafif,af, ca maggam bodhiya bhivayam, patto'smi paramam
suddhim(S. I, p. 103).
2. iraddhavirtiyo, pahitatto nic-cam dalhaparakkamo pappoti paamam suddhim(s.
t, p. 166).
J. atha kho aham vtisuddho paramiya uisuddhiyi(Vin. t, p. 105).
NTPL'RITY
o n e ' s p r o c e s so t s e n s o r yp e r c e p t i o n ( , 4 . I V , p . l 3 g ) . T o
p e r f e c t o n c ' s p e r c e p t i o n o n e h a s t o e f i m i n a t ee g o _ c o n s -
ci<rusness(ahamkara, mamimkira, asmiminaJ. This will
b r i n g a b o u t t h e p a c i f i c a t i o n o f a l l e g o - c c n t e r e dg, o a l -
directed volitional activities (sabbasahkharasamathatsr
u p a s a m aD . I I , p . 1 9 9 ,c f . D h p . v v . 3 6 8 , 2 8 1 )a n d f l u s h o u t
of the mind all its dispositions (visahkheragatam cittam:
Dhp. v. 154. This, in other words, is the compleic
elimination of craving (raga, tanhi), hatred or aversion
(dosa) and confusion (moha: S. iv, p. 362)which brings
about suprcme inward peace(ajjhattasant::-sn. y, g37).
When the mind is thus freed of all mental dispositions,
t h i n g s i m p e r m a n e n tt h a t c o r n ew i t h i n t h e s p h e r eo f o n e ' s
s e n s o r yp e r c e p t i o nw i l l n o t o b s e s sc, o n f u s eo r o v e r w h e l m
h i m . H e w i l l r e m a i n s t e a d f a s t s, e e i n gt h e o b j e c t i v ef a c t o f
p a s s i n ga r v a yo f t h i n g s( , 4 . l V , p . 4 0 4 ) .T h o u g h f a c e dw i t h
worldlv phenomena (lokadhammal his mind will remain
s t e a d f a s t( . S 2 .v . 2 6 E ) .T h u s , h e w i l l r e m a i n i n t h e w o r l d
a m i d s t a J lp h e n o m e n ay e t t r e i n gu n t o u c h e db y t h e m . ( / .
II, pp. 38-39), See also ANICCA. CHANGE and
DUKKHA.
S. K. Nanayakhera
IMPURJTY. Defilement or uncleanlinessin the figura-
t i v e o r m o r a l s e n s e ;a l s o t h e a g e n l c a u s i n gs u c h d e f i l e -
m e n t "T h e P a l i t e r m f o r i t s o p p o s i t eo r p o s i t i v ec o n c e p to f
puritl' being suddhr, the term asuddhi is used to denote
i m p u r i t _ vM . a l a i s a n o t h e r P a l i w o r d o f t e n u s e dt o d e n o t e
this idea.
'Ihe
Buddhist idea of Nibbanic freedom could bc
describedfrom one angle as the state ofhighest purity or
purity in the absolute sense(paramauisuddhi).This has
b e e ns t a t e db y t h e B u d d h a h i m s e l fw h e n h e e x p l a i n e dh i s
attainment of Enlightenment ss the attainmcnt of highest
p u r i t y , " B y f o l l o w i n g t h e p a t h o f E n l i g h t e n m e n tc o n -
sisting of morality, conccntration and wisdom, I have
attained to the state of absolute purity't. Elsewherehe
nas expressedthe same idea: "Strenuous, energetic and
ever-strong in effort, one reaches the state of absolute
purity'2. In another place Elder Mahakappina also
m a k e s a s i m i l a r s t a t e m e n t ," A s f o r m e , I a m p u r i f i e d
through absolute purity.'tr
Thus, in Buddhism, final emanciparion is envlsagedas
absolute purity (paramavisuddhi)in the sensethat it is a
state free from everything that is profane. From this. it
 INSPURITY 540
f o l l o w s , t h a t t h e k e y n o t ei n B u d d h i s t r e l i g i o u sp r a c t i c ei s
to make a prngressiveeffort to rid oneself of the
i m p u r i t i e st h s t s t a n d o n t h e w a y t o t h i s s t a t eo f p u r i t v '
This effort ha*rto be made bv each individual until the
a t t n i n m e r rot f a b s o i u t ep u r i t y i n N i b b a n a .
W h e n c o m p l e t er e l c a s cf r o m t h e b o n d s o f s a m s a r aa n d
t h e a c c o m F a n v i n gE n l i g h t e n m e r i ta r e c o l l e c t i v c l ve n r i -
s a g e da s p u r i t y i n t h e a b s o l u t es c n s e ,i t f a l l o w s t h a t w h a t
o b s t r u c t st h e r e a l i s a t i o no f t h i s i d e a l m u s t b e c o l l e c t i v e l y
designatecias impurity.
l m p u r i t i e s i n t h i s s e n s ea r e a p a r t o f s a m s a r i cl i f e , t h e i r
dcgree of prevalence varying from person to pcrson,
depending on the lcvel oi" spirituai attainment of each
individual. The immoral man is "hllcd within with
impurities",aThe aim of religious life is to achieve
f r e e d o m f r o m t h e m . T h i s w a s t h e c o n c e p to f p u r i { i c a t i o n
which har! become a major theme in the religious life of
ancient lndia. This purity was sought after bv al! lhe
r e l i g i o u ss e c t so f t h e p e r i o d t h r o u g h d i v e r s em e t h o d s .
W h a t a r e t h e i m p u r i t : 1 . ,i f i a t h r l : a s st h e s n m s a itc b c i n g ?
T h e s e c o u l d b e e x p l n r n e da s t h e f a c t o r s w h i c h o b s t r u c t
s p i r i t u a l p r o g r e s sn . i r db r i n g a b o u t t h e d e g e n e r a c yo f t h e
human mincj tncreby iaking thc individual further and
further away frorn the goal of freedom. So long as the
m i n d i s d e f i l e i a n d p o l l u t e d n o s p i r i t u a l p r o g r e s sc a n b e
m a d e .O u t c f t h e r n a n y s y n o n y m st h a t a r e u s e di n l i t e r a r y
w o r k s t o t i e * i g n a t et h e s ef a c t o r s , t h e f o l l o w i n g m a y b e
cited Es the most important terms: kilesa, asava, mala,
ahgane, sankitesa,upakkilesa, kalusa, rajas, asuci elc'
Theseare impurities inherent in the samsariclife of the
i n d i v i d u a l a n d a l s o i n t h e a c t i o n sp e r f o r m e d b y h i m . ' f h e
palh o{ purification leading to complete freedom from
t h e m i s w h a t i s e m p h a s i s e di n B u d d h i s m a st h e n o b l e p a t h
(a:tya-magga)travelling along which should be the main
d u t y a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t yo f t h e d i s c i p l e .
The terms denoting impurity are all antonyms for
purity (suddhi or visuddhi) and they convey the idea of
impurity in its diffcrent nuances.Thus thc terms .kilcsaor
upakkilesaor sankilesa, all are derived from the verbal
form kilissafi (becoming impure) as opposed ta suijhati
or visujjhati (becoming pure). Thus fr/esa are the factors
that defile pure life -- brahmacariya.'fhe term asava,
coming from sru to flow, basicallymeans "inflows or
influxes" i,e. ethically impurc ideasthat find their way
into the mind. These inflows take place through the
sensedoorswhen they are allowed to function unguarded
a n d u n c o n t r o l l e d .T h e t e r m m a l a , c o m i n g f r o m t h e r o o t
antokasambu samkilittho (S. I, p. 166).
5 . etam malam pahatvana nimmala hotha bhikkhavo (Dhp' v' 243)'
6 . parivodaJxwa atGnam-cittaklesehi pandito (A. V, pp. L32, 753)'
1 . pabhassaramidam bhikkhaw cittam tafl ca kho igantukehi upakkilesehi upakkilittham (,4, l, p. l0).
IMPURITY
m a l , t o s t a i n ,p r i m a r i l y h a s t h e i d e a o f s t a i n ,b l e m i s h ,s l u r
e t c .T h i s t e r m r e f e r st o t h o s cs t n i n so r t a i n t s o r b l e m i s h e s
that spoil the beauty of pure life or thwart the path to
Nin,ana. Ignorance of the true nature of life (avffi) is
'worst of taints' (aviiji paramam malam: Dhp.
called the
v. 243), as it is the root cause of all impurities. Accor-
d i n g l y , t h e B u d d h a ' s d i s c i p l c sa r c g i v e n t h c a d v i c e" R i d
yourselvesof this one taint and become taintlcss O
bhikkhus".s
l m p u r i t i e s t h a t a r i s e f r o m t h e d e e d so f t h e e v i l - d o e r
w i l l d e s t r o y h i m l i k e t h e r u s t t h a t a r i s e sf r o m i r o n a n d
eats itself away (Dhp. v.240). This means that by doing
i m p u r e a c t i o n so n e d e s t r o y so n e s e l fi . e . d i g s u p h i s o w n
roots (I)fip. v.247). All evil actions are, indeed impurities
b o t h h e r e a n d h c r e a f t e r( D h p . v . 2 4 2 ) , l t i s t h e n a t u r e o f
t h e w o r l d t h a t i m p u r e l i f e i s e a s y w h e r e a sp u r e l i f e i s
difficult (Dhp. w.244-5).lt is a very common pheno-
m e n o n i n l i f e t h a t p e o p l es e et h e i m p u r i t i e s o f o t h e r s b u t
f a i l t o s e et h e i r o w n : s u c h a p e r s o n ' si m p u r i t i e s k e e p o n
increasing (Dhp. w. 252-3).
T h e s ei m p u r i t i e s t h a t s t a i n a n d d e f i l eh u m a n c h a r a c t e r
c a n n o t b e r e m o v e d o v e r n i g h t .T h e i r r e m o v a l i s a g r a d u a l
p r o c e s sw h i c h h a s t o b e p a t i e n t l y p r a c t i s e d .T h i s t e c h -
nique is aptly comparedto that of a smith removing the
dross of silver. The gradual and the slow nature of the
p r o c e s si s e m p h a s i s e dw h e n i t i s s a i d t h a t i t i s g r a d u a l
(anupubba) and to bc done in degreesand that too from
moment to moment (thokathokam khanc khanc: ibid. v.
2 3 9 ) . A n d f o r t h e p a t i c n t m a n w h o c o n t i n u e st h e p r o c e s s
with perseverancethat reward is assurcd as it is stated:
" P u r g e d o f i m p u r i t i e s a n d p a s s i o n s ,t h o u s h a l t n o t c o m e
a g a i n t o b i r t h a n d o l d a g e "( i b i d . v . 2 3 8 )a n d " s h a l t e n t e r
t h e d i v i n e s t a t eo f t h e a n y a s " ( i b i d . v . 2 3 6 ) :i . e . h e s h a l l b e
assured of deliverancc. Therefore, the wise man should
p u r g e h i m s e l fo f h i s m e n t a li m p u r i t i e s . 6l t i s s u c h a p e r s o n
who could be describedaspure (suddha) and free from all
blemish (anangana: Dhp. v, 125).
It is important to examine the manner in which
i m p u r i t y t a k e sp l a c e .A v e r y g e n e r a ls t a t e m e n tr e g a r d i n g
t h i s a s p e c to f t h e p r o b l e m t h a t i s f o u n d i n t h e N i k a y a
tcxts is "The mind which in its true nature is pure and
resplendenb t e c o m e ss o i l e db y t h e i m p u r i t i e s t h a t i n v a d e
it from without".T
How does the mind become impure through those
a d v e n t i t i o u s d e f i l e m e n t s :T h i s a d v e n t o f i m p u r i t i e s
g e n e r a l l y t a k e s p l a c e a t s a m s a r i cl e v e l w h c n t h e s e n s e -
doors are not well-guarded. This human weakness is
 IMPURITY
generally rendercci by the term pamada .,dalliancc" or
" n e g l i g e n c e ' .( i b i d . p , I l ) . w h i c h i s a c c o r d i n g l yd e s c r i b e d
as the "path ro death" (Dhp. v. 2l). As it is repeatedly
explained in Buddhist texts one rnust first establish
oneself in morality o, ,-il" and continue to develop self-
p u r i f i c a t i o n w i t h p e r s e v e r a n c e t, i l l c o m p l e t e p u r i t y i s
a c h i e v e d .I t i s t h i s a j l - i m p o r t a n tm e s s a g et h a t i s c o n v e y e d
t o t h e B u d _ d h i s tp r a c t i s e r b y t h e r h r e e c o n c e p t s o f
morality (sila), concenrration (samidfu') and wisdom
(pafrf,a).lf the sensedoors are not well-guarcicdwith evcr
p r e s e n tm i n d f u l n e s s( s a t i ) ,i m p u r e t h o u g h t sa r e b o u n d t o
invade the rnind end drag the individual deeper and
deeper into samsera.With perttct self-control one has to
o v e r c o m e t h e e v i l t e n d e n c i e so f t h e m i n d s o t h a t i t s
impurit:cs are gradually eliminated till it becomescom-
p l e t e l y f r e e f r o m t h e m . T h i s i s t h c m a i n r e s p o n s i b i l i t yo f
all those who profess to follow the Buddha's teaching.
AII thc virtuesthat come under the important concept
of.sila are meant for the purpose of purging the human
mind of its impurities, These sr,lashave been quite
r a t i o n a l l y e x p l a i n e da s h a v i n g t w o a s p e c t sp
, o s i t i v ea n d
negative, (caritta and varitta) in the sense that those
impure actiof,s that should not be done are called
'negative'
(varitta), "to be avoided" while those pure
actions that should be done are called ,positive, (caritu:
Vism. p. ll).
The idea of impurity in Buddhism could be classified
f r o m a n o t h e r a n g l e b y a p p l y i n g i t t o t h c c o n s t i t u e n t so f
the Noble Eightfold Path which is the path of deliverance
as taught in Buddhism aad describedas.,right', (samma,l
w h i J e t h e i r o p p o s i t e a s p e c t sa r e d e s c r i b e da s , , w r o n g "
(miccha). What the term micchi(wrong), convEyshere is
t a n t a m o u n t t o " i m p u r e " , a p p i i c a b l et o e a c h o f t h e e i g h t
members of the Path eg. micchi-dittrLrwould be .impure
view'etc.
A n o t h e r r e l a t e d c o n c e p t i s t h a t o f t h e s e v e ns t a g e so f
purity (satta-visuddhi), whtch too teacheshow to avoid
seven stages of possible impurity, These deal with
morality (sila), mind (citta), view (ditthr) etc. and the
purity in each of thesemeansthe removal of every form of
. effectsto material poverty and its evil consequences.He
impurity from each of them. yet another important
classification of iinpurity is based on greed (tobha),
hatred (dosa), and delusion (moha) which are presenred
as the root-causes of every form ot psycho-ethical
impurity (akusala-mfi1a: M. I. p. 47).
T h e r e i s a s t o c k p a s s a g ei n t h e N i k a v a s w h i c h i s q u i t e
c o m p r e h e n s i v ei n e n u m e r a t i n g t h e i m p u r i t i e s m e a n t
h e r e , T h e p i r s s a g er u n s a s f o l l o w s : " a c e r t a i n p e r s o n i s
i m m o r a l , o r o f e v i l h a b i t s ,i m p u r e , o f c o n d u c tt h a t i s o p e n
E. pipadhammo, asuci,tank"ss"ras"micaro, paticchannakammanto, assamanosamanapattlflflo abrahmaciri brahmacaripatififio,
antopiti, avass,uto,kastmbujato: Vin. ll, p. Z:O S. IV, p. 180; A.ll, p. 24Aetc.
9. suddhi asuddhi paccattam na afrframafrfro visodhaye(Dhn.
541 INA SUTTA
t o s u s p i c i c n ,c o v e r t i n h i s d o i n g s , t h o u g h n o t b e i n g a
monk claiming to be one, though not being chaste
c l a i m i n g t o b e s o , i n w a r d l y i m p u r e , c o m p l e t e i ys o i l e da n d
t u r n e dp u t r i d . ' 1
T h c B u C d h a ' sv i e w o f p s y c h o - e t h i c ai m i puritvigwell-
e x p r e s s c di : r t h i s p a s s a g ew h i c h i h o w s t h a t i n r n o r a i i t y
a n d h y p o c r i s - va r e i i s r r v o m a : : r t i . a i t e .t r t so c c u r r e n c ea s
w e l ! a s i t s r c r n o v a l i t t h e p e r s o n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t yc f t h e
i n d i v i d u a l ! , a r i d a s r h e v ' c l l - k n o w nI ) h a r n m a p a d a s t a n z a ,
s & 1 r su,- o ' O . n c eo f a i l e v i l ,d e v e l o p m e n to f a l l t h a t i s g o o d ,
and purification of rhe rnjnd is the advice of all the
B u d d h a s . "( D h n , v , 1 8 3 ) .
A. G. S. Kartyawmam
INA SIITTA. While the Pali canon abounds in sutras
pertaining purely to doctrinal themes, there are aJso a
n u m b e r o f s u t t a s d : a l i n g w i t h m u n d a n e m a t t e r s ,a l o n g
w i t h m o r a l s u b j e c t s .I n a S u t t a s( A . l l I , p . 3 5 1f f . ) , i s s u c h
a n o n e .A s t h e n a m e o f t h e S u t t a i n d i c a t e si t d e a l sw i t h t h e
problem of debt (ina), not only in the materielsphere,
but alsoin the moral sphere.
The Sutta is important, for it iraces the cause of
m u n d a n es u f f e r " i n tgo p o v e r t y . I n t h i s r e s p e c itt e c h o e st h e
view put forward in the Cal* a,..attisihanadaSuttawhich
p o s i t s p o v e r t v a s a p r i m a r v c a u s c o f m o r a l d e c l i n ea n d
s o c i a lu n r e s t .
T h e I n a - { u / r a b e g i n sb y p o i n t i n g o u r r h a t p o v e r t y i s a
w o e f u l c o n d i t i o n i n t h i s w o r l d f o r a l l p l e a s u r es e e k i n g
f o i k , T h e S u t t a t h e n g r a d u a l l ye n u n c i a t e st h e e n s u i n ge v i l
c o n s e q u e n c eosf p o v e r t y . I t s h o w s h o w p o v e r t y l e a d st o
i n d e b t e d n e s s ,i n d e b t e d n r s s t o i n c r e a s e o f i n t e r c s t o n
b o r r o w i n g s ,a c c u m u J a t i o no f d e b t s t o d e f a u l ti n p a y m e n t
a n d d e f a u l t i n p a y m e n t t o a c c u s a t i o n ,a n d s u b s e q u e n t l y
h o w t h e p e r s o n s u b j e c tt o p o y e r t y b e c o m e sa n o b j e c t o f
p u b l i c r e d i c u l e ,h a r a s s m e n ta n d p u n i s h m e n t .
The Buddha compares moral poverty and its adverse
says that the plight of a man who lacks faith in
w h o l e s o m c t h i n g s , w h o i s n o t s e n s i t i v et o r i g h t t h i n g s ,
w h o ' h a s n o f e a r o f b l a m e c o n c e r n i n g e v i l a c t i o n s ,n o
ener3y and enthusiasmfor wholesome things and no
knowledge of right things is comparable to that of a
m a t c r i a l l y p o o r p e r s o n .A p e r s o nw h o i s m o r a l l y p o o r i s
p r o n e t o m i s b e h a v ei n t h o u g h t , w o r d a n d d e e d a n d
undergo suffering,just a.sax individual who is materially
poor,
v. 163).
 INDtlrlT}TJAL 542
Whiie the /na .Suffa desc::ibeswoes that befall an
individual who runs into debt, tbe tlnana Sutta (A' Il,
p. 69 f.), which as the name indicatesis the opposttr of Ina
S u r t a , b r i n g s o r r t t h c h a p p i n e s se n j o y e d b y o n e w h o i s
free from debt. Thercin unindebtednessis declaredto be a
primary cause of happiness.
S- K. l.lanayakkara
INCANTAIIONS. SCCDHARANi. MANTRA,
I N C A R N A T I O N . S C CA V A T A R A . DALAI I,AMA.
INDAKIIiLA. SeeINDRAKIT-A
INDETERMIMSM. See
DETERMlN ISM and IN DETERMtinlSN4
INDIA See SUB-CON-IINEr*T OF INDIA
INDMDUAL (puggala, satia, nEmartpa sakk7yaj as a
s i n g l eb e i n g o r i n d i v i d u a i c h a r a c t e ro r a h r ' t m a ; b r e i n ga s
an individual or as a social entity. Itr gerreral'rhe
individual in this sensecould be <iefired as"cach separate
o r g a n i ce n t i l y " . W i t h o u t e n t e r i n gi n t o a d i s c u s s i o nt ' f t h c
p r o b l e m o f c o u n t l c s so r g a n i s m sa n d t h e i r i n t e r - r e l a t i o n s .
w h a t i s i n t e n d e d h c r e ! s t o d i s c u s st h e p r o b l e m o f t h e
"person" or a "being" or the "individual" as a concept.
Accordingly, this becornes an attempt to anaiyse snd
i n v c s t i g a t et h e " h u m a n p e r s o n " f r o m t h e B u d d h i s t v i e u '
p o i n t o r i n o t h e r w o r d s t o e x a m i n e a p h i l o s o p h i c a la n d a
s c i e n t i f i cb a c k g r o u n do f t h e t h e o r y o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l f r o r n
t h e B u d d h i s t a n g l e . A c c o r d i n g t o B r . r d d h i s mt,h e r e a r e
s c v e r a l i m p o r t a n t a s p e c t st o t h i s p r o b l e m , T h e m o s t
l, Lokasamafifid, lokan!rurtiyo, lokavohara, lokapafrfrettivo. vahi TathEgato voharati aparimasam: D. l. p.242
2 . r i p a m m e a i l A . . . . . . . v e d a n am e a t t a . . . .M . ! . p . 2 3 2 .
INDt\'trDUAI-
s r g n i f i c a n to f t h t r n r s t h e a b s e n c eo f a p e r m a n e n te n t i t v
u n d e r l y i n gm a n a s a n r r n c i , a n g i n gs,p i r i t u a Ja n d i m m o r t a i
'ro
s o u ! a , st a u g h t i n m a r . 1r' c l i g . i o r -sr sv s t e m s 'R e l a t e d t h i s
. c a m ed o c t r i n e o f a s o u l o ; m o r e c o r r e c t l v . a s a c o n c e p t
f r o m w h i c h s u c h a b e l i c f i n a p e i m a n e n t s o u l r e s u l t s ,i s
t h e i l l u s i r : nc r ft h e " e g n " o r t h e " l - c o n c e p t " . B o t h s s p e e t s
a r e s c t u a l l yo n e . l h e d i f f e r e n c eb e t w e e nt h e t w o b c i n g t h e
a n g l el r o m w h i c h i t i s v i e w e d .
A c c o r d i n g t o B u d d h i s r n .t h e i n d i v i d u a l i s a p s y c h o -
p h v s i c a Jc a u s a lp r o c c s sw h i c h i s a n a l y t i c a l l ye x p i a i n e da s
formcd out ol the fivc aggregates(paficalrkhandfia Skt.
paftca skandht] and syntheticallyexplaincd in the
formula of Conditiorred Genesis(paticcasamuppida) as
an everchangingand mutually conditioned serics of
p h e n o m e n a .B o t h e x p l a n a t i o n sd e a l w ; t h t h e t h e o r y o f
imoersonalitvin two different wavs. Ths gist of both
e x p l a n a t , i o n s: s t h e a b s e n c eo f a l a s t i n g e n t i t y w i t h i r ' :t h e
i n , ' l i l i d u a l t h a t c o u l d b e C e s c r i b c da s a s o u l , a n d t h a t t h e
p c r s o n a l i t y - b e l i e fi s a m e r e i l l u s i o n . H o w e v e r ' t h e
complex llature of the structureof this conceptis quite
clear. Acrcrrding to the khandha (q.v.) theory, the
i n d i v i r i u a l i s a n a l y s e di n t o f i v e c o n s t i t u e n t sw h i c h w h e n
ccn:binccl logether appesr as thc individual. But' in
reality,theseaggregates, eithercollectivelvor individually,
' r e a l ' e x i s t e n c eb e c a u s et h e r e i s n o p e r m a n e n t
haveno
c o r e u n d e r l y r n gt h e r n a s a s o u l ; t h e r e i s o n l y a c c a s e l e s s
'i'hus.
continuity. a s t h e i r " e x i s t e n c e " i sm e r e l y a p s y c h o -
phvsica! causal proccss with only an apparent and
,ielusivr permanency, the designationsgiven to this
'J'.
c o m b i n a i i o n o f a g g r e g a t essu c h a s " y ' o t t ' , ' h e ' , ' g c d ' e t c '
" a r e e x p r e s s i o n sd, e s i g n a t i o n s ,u s a g e sa n d c o n c c p t u a l i -
-I
z a t i o n so f t h e w o r l d w h i c h t h e a t t r a g a t am a k e s u s e o f
w i t h c i : t b e i l r g l e d a s t r a v b - " -t h e r p " , t H e n c e , i n t h e
ultirnate sense(paramattha) there existsonly as actudity,
e v e r c h a n g i n g p h v s i c a l a n d m e n t a : p h e n c : " n e n ac, o m i n g
i n t o b e i n g a n d d i s a p p e a r i n ge v e r y m o m e n t ' T h e s e f i v e
esprcts, into which the individual is analysed,are
designatedas aggregateso{ grasping lupZdZnakkhandha)
i n t h e s e n s et h a t i t i s t c t h e s eg r o u p s t h a t t h e s o - c a l l e d
'ego' - attE' 2
i n d i v i d u a l c l i n g s ,t h i n k i n g t h e r n t t r b e h i s
'fhcse
five are (5. lli, p.47)'corporcality group
(rupakkhandha), fceling-group (t'cdana|), perception
grorrp (safifiaa),mental formation group kankh1rao)a,nd
group (vtfl6ana0)'
consci<rusness
Whrn the individuai is conccived as the coming
t o g e t h e ro I t h c s ef i v e n g g r e g a t e st h, e r e s u l t a n ct o n c e p to f
a ' b e i n g ' i s c a l J e ds a k k i y a * g r o u p o f e x i s t e n c e- i n t h e
s e n s ec f t h e n o r n ' r a il n d i v i d u a l o r t h e p h y s i c a lp e r s o n a l i t y ,
-I
{ . h er a t l o n a l s e l f . h u s i t b e c o m e sc l e a r t h a t i t i s a n a m e
f o r t h e I l v e a g g r e g a t e sc o n c e i v e d c o l l e c t i v e l y a s t h e
a p p a r e n ti n c i i v i d u a i ." s a k k a y a , O V i s a k h a , i s s a i d b y t h e
 TNNIV[D{"IAL 543 TNDTVTNUAL

B u d d h a t o b e a n s m g f s 1 t h e f i v e g r o u p s a s o b j e c t so f in t his formula begins with a vijli or igno rancc of the true

clinging."l
B u d d h i s t t e x l s e n u m e r a t er w e n t y f o r m s i n w h i c h t h i s
d e l u s i o nc f t h e p e r s o n a i i t vo r i n d i v i d u a l i t y c o u l d b e h a d .
These are obtained by applyirg 4 types of that belief to
e a c h o f t h e f i v e a g g r c g a t e si n t h e f c i l o w i n g m a n n e r :
{a.s
a p p l i e dt a r \ p a ) : t h e b e l i c f r h a r r h e i n d i v i d u a l i t y
{atfi) is
(i) identical with eactr of rlie flve aggregates(Cl-0-5),
iii)
t h a t i t p o s s r . s s cesa c h o f t b e m ( 0 6 - i C ) , ( ; j i ) t h a : i n i r i s
contained each o[ thcrn (ll-.l j). and (iv) thnt it is
c o n t a i n e di n e a c h o f t h c m ( 1 6 - 2 C ) . 1 B u c t d h i s me . t c l u d e s
a l l t h e s ep o s i b i l i t i e sa n d c o n c i ' - r d c rsh a l t h e r ei s n o i a s r i n g
or pcrdurable element in the hurnan individua!. The
'I*conccpt'is
o n l y a d e l u s i o nr e s u l t i r g f r o m t h e i g n o r a n c e
o f t h e s ef a c t s . l t i s t h e s a m ei m p o r t a n t i n l t h t h a t i s t a u g h t
in the Buddha's anafte o;:'no-soirl'doctrinc which is a
unique feature of his teaching.
According to the axiom of titakrhana _ the three
signats - also the individual is void of any kind of
pcrmanent soul. '[he three signatataught in Budihism
are anicca (imper-manence)dukkha rpain) and anatta
(no-soul). The anicca and anatta theoriesdirectly imply
soullessness.
The holy life (bnhmacari;'a) is said ro be impossiblc in
B u d d h i s m u n t i l t h e i n d i v i d u a l c c a s c st o b e l i e v e i n a
pcrmancnt soul and begins to rcgard jifc as a psycho_
p h y s i c a l p r o c c s so f i n c e s s a n tb e c o m i n g a s s h o w n i n t h e
theory of conditioned genesis* patiacasamuppdda. 'I-be
Buddha clarifies this position regarding thc individual
w h e n b e s a y s :" V e r i l y , i f o n e h o k l s t h e v i e w t h a t t h e s o u l
Qiva) is identical with rhe body, in rhat casethe hnly life is
n o t p o s s i b l eo r i f o n e h o l d s t h e v i e w t h a r t h e s o u l ( J i v a ) i t
s o m e t h i n gq u i t e d i f f e r c n t , i n t h a t c a s ea l s o t h e h o ! y l i f e i s
n o t p o s s i b l e .B o t h t h e s ee x t r e m e s t h e p e r f e c t O n e h a s
avoided and taught the doctrine in a middle way,which
sa!'s'onignorancedependskarma-formaiions. on karma-
f o r m a t i o n s d e p e n d sc o n s c i o u g n e s.st c . ' ' 5
T h i s s h o w st h a i l h e i n d i v i d u a l a c c o r C i n gt o B u C d h i s n n
is not a'being' (satta) but a'bccorning' (bhava.)composed
of mind and matter (nema-ropa). He is an incessant
psycho-physica.lflux.
A n e x a m i n a t i o no f r h e t h e o r y o f C o n d i t i o n e d G e n e s i s
m a k e s t h i s c l e a r e r .T h e s t o r y o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l a s r e l a r e d
facts of iife. This is only a convenient starting point but
not e first beginning, for as existence is conceived as a
c.vcie(cakka) with ever-rccurring birth and dcath, no
first beginning can bc seen in it.6 (lwi.ng to man's
delusion of a personal sclf and of thc ignorance of the
rraiities of existencche c.urtinuesin thjs cycie as a victim
cf his own volitions_lf,crivitias(kamme). Through this
awgE are produced thz sahkhErE or mentai formations.
These ir: tr:rn produce consiccusnew (vifrfrtaa) which
b:comes responsiblc irlr the next lint, the psycho.
physicel personalitv (nEma-rilpa) or the ,individual'as
gencraily understood. liori this individual becomesfull-
licdged cnly with rhe forrnatjon of thc six scnse-organs,
t h e s i x t h o l w h i c h i s r h e : n i a d . A r t h i s s t a g eh e c o m e si n t o
contact wjtir the externai world through the six bases
(salEyatana)ald as a result of this contact he experiences
feeling (vedani) of various types. Fecling rerults in
craving (tanhd) which in rurn condirions clinging
(updddna). This is the condition which is responsible for
continuous bccoming (bhava) of the individua!. Thus is
brought about rebirth QZti) and all its evils likc old age
0srf) disease (vyedhi) death (maraaa) etc.
Thus tbe individual being which lircs in the wortd as a
rationa.lself could be describedas a product of anyb and
kamma. Also. he must gct over them if hc were to
conqircr suffering. Hoiy tife in Buddhisrnis meant for this
e n d , A n d a s t h e r e i s n o u n c h a n g i n gc o r e s i m i l a r t o a s o u l
i r i t h e i n d i v i d u a l , h e i s c a p a b l e c f c h a n g i n gc o m p l e t e l y
uniil he achieves full frecdom from all samsaric
suffering.
'l-ne
ego-concepr, lsskkiya-d"itr.trl whjch stands on
the way io thc achievement of freedom, cropping up
constantly lile a perennial otrstruction, and which also is
t h e c o n c e p t t h a t l e a d sr o t h e b e l i e f i n a p e r m a n e n ts o u l
w i t h i n t b e i n d i v i d u a l , i s a m e r e d e l u s i o nw h i c h h a s t o b e
got over by constant effort. This is the ,self-realisation'
t a u g h t i n B u d d h i s m . w h i c h i s g i v e n a s t h e h i g h e s ta i m o f
man.
-l-he
fact that rvhar appearsas the individual js merely a
temporary anci changing combination of a number of
conditions is rather dramatica.llyexpressedin a dialogue
b e t w e e nM d r a , t h e E v i l O n e a n d t h e N u n V a j i r a . M a r a
questions her as to who the creator of the individual

3. pafrca kho ime ivuso l'isikha upzdEnakkhancihi sakkayo vutto Bhagavati: M L p. 7q9.
4. i. rilpant attato samanupassati
ii. rfrpavantam vE attinan..,.
iii. attani vi rlpat7t.,...
w. ripasmim vE attdnam.... M. i, p. 300; S. lll, p. j,46 etc.
5' amjivamtamsariranti.vabhikkhildinhi-vasati brahmacaril'avisonahori:affflamfivamafrframsariranuvabhikkhidityhiyasati
brahmacariyaviso na hoti, ete te bhi*khi ubho snte anupegsmma malhena tathagato dhantman
deseti. anjlipac-,,a.yi sahkhErE
etc.S il. p. 62.

6. pubbikotinapafrffEyati: S. Il. p.178.

 INDIYIDUAL
(satta) is. Vajira cxplained to him that there is no such
t h i n g a s a n i n d i v i d u a l o r a p e r s o nb u t m e r c l y a c o l l e c t i o n
o[ ever-changing aggregates(khandha) illustrating her
e x p l a n a t i o nb y t h e s i m i l e o f t h e c h a r i o t w h i c h i s m e r e l va
name for a collection of parts (S. l. p 134 0. This
i l l u s t r a t i o n i s c l a b o r a f c di n g r c a t e rd e t a i i i n t h e M i l i n d a '
p a f r h a w h e r e N a g a s e n ap o l n i s t i r , rt!h a t w h e n a p e r s o nl s
m e a n tb y g i v i n g h i m a n a m ei t d o c sn o t d c n o t ea s o u l b u t
i s s i m p l y a n a p e l t a t i o n f o r t h e i i v e a g g r e g a t e sw h i c h
c o n s t i t u t et h e i n d i v i d u a J ( M i l n . p . 2 5 f f r .
What has been said so far shows that thc Buddhist
concept of the individual or the person is a definite
theory, the essenc,:of which is that this apparently
c h n n g c l e ses n t i t y i s i n r e a l i t y a c h a n g i n gc o m b i n a t i o n o f a
number of conditioned factor:. be it as n1ma and rupa,
or the five aggrcgatesor the pstrrcasamuppada conrplex,
T h u s i t i s s e e nt h a t t h i s i n d i v i d u a l d o e s n o t r e m a i n t h e
s a m e f o r t w o c o n s e c u t i v em o m e n t s s h o w i n g t h a t h i s i s
n o t a s t a t i c b e i n g a s h e a p p e a r st o b e b u t a b u n d l e o f
perpetuatbecoming (bhava'santarl. His spiritual consti-
tuent (ntrt8l and the physical frame (rVpa) are linked
t o g e t h e r b y t h e l a w s o f c a u s a t i o n .T h u s h e i s e n t i r e l y
phenomenal and empiricrl, governed by casual laws and
devoid of any extra-phenomenal soul,
A s t h e e g o { o n c e p t o f t h e i n d i v i d u a li s o n l y a d e l u s i o n ,
t h e a g e n c yo f a c t i o n sh e p e r f o r m s , t h e o w n e r s h i p o f t h e
t h i n g s h e p o s s e s s e sc t c . c a n n o t b e a t t r i b u t e d t o a n v
p a r t i c u l a r e l e m e n tw i t h i n h i m . T h a t i s w h y i t i s s a i d :
For there is suffering, but none who suffcrs
D o i n g e x i s t sa l t h o r r g ht h e i e i s n c d o e r
E x t i n c t i o n i s , b u t n o e x t i n g u i s h e dp e r s o n
A l t h o u g h t h e r e i s a p a t h , t h e r ei s n o g o e r . 7
There is no performer of kamma
O r o n e w h o r e a P st h e k a m m a - r c s u l t s
Phenomena alone flow on -
No other view than this is right'l
The sense-organsand their objects have a functional
i n t e r d e p e n d e n c eb e t w e e nt h e m , w i t h o u t t h e p r e s e n c eo f
any sgency anywhere. Realisation of this fact amounts to
releasefrom the bonds of existencc.
ln this khandha-complexcelledindividual the samsaric
continuity through death and rebirth is maintained by
m e a n so f c o n s c i o u s n e s s w d f E n a /w, h i c h i s o n e o f t h e f i v e
khandhas, and accordingly an ever-changingsSgregate
'. dukkham eva hi na ko ci dukkhito
LVrako nz kinvi va vijjati
etthr nibbutt na nibbuto pumi
maggam athi gamalo na vijjati: Vnm. p. -sl3 (PTS)
8. kamma.tsa tiraL.o natthi
vtlfrkassa cz vdako
su d d h a d h am mE p av a tt an ti
evala.m sammadassanam; ibid. p. 602.
ttti hi ettano natho: Dhp. nz. 160.
544 I}.IDIYIDUAL
a n d n o t a s o u l . [ t s u r v i v e sd e a t h , a n d p r o p p e d b y t h e
f o r c e o f k a r n m a , a s s u m e sa n o t h c r b i r t h a n d i n t h i s
m a n n e r t h c i n d i v i d u a l c o n t i n u e sh i s s a m s a r i cs o j o u r n t i l l
h e r e a l i s e sN i b b E n a . T h e s i g n i f i c a n t p o i n t t o b e u n d e r -
stood here is that although the individual is only a
c h a n g i n gb u n d l c o f a g g r e g a t ew s i t h o u t a p e r m a n e n ts o u l ,
h i s r n o r a l r e s p o n s i h i t i l vf o r t h e a c t i o n s h e p e r f o r m s i s
a s s e r t e dd e f i n i t e l y a n d c l e a r l y f o r t h e r t i s c o n t i n u i t y
amidst this changr. It is taught that his continuity is
i n e v i t a b l ym a i n t a i n e d' * ' i t hh i s i d e n t i t y a s t h e i n h e r i t o r o f
h i s k a m m a . I t i s a c h a n g i n gp r o c e s s ,f o r t h e b e i n g t h a t i s
born into the new life is neither the same nor different
from his predecessor.
W h a t h a p p e n gt o t h e i n d i v i d u a l i n N i b b e n a i s b e s t
i l l u s t r a t e db y t h e a n a l o g yo f f i r e , w h i c h i s e x t i n g u i s h e di n
the absenceof fuel: similarly the so-called individual's
kammic force of continuity is arrested in the absenceof
the rebirth-producing "fuel" of craving (tanhd) in its
'abiding being' who
diverse forms. Hence there is no
attains pcrsonal Nibbdna, there being only a realization.
Dcspite the anattE or no-soul theory, the individual as
a c o n c r e t eb e i n gw i t h m o r a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t ya n d i d e n t i t y i n
continuity after death is always maintained in
B u d d h i s m . A v e r y l u c i d p r e s e n t a t i o no f t h i s i m p o r t a n t
a n d a b s t r u s es u b j e c ti s f o u n d i n t h e B h E n . S u f f a o f t h e
Samyutta-niknya $. Ilt, p. 25), whcre the individual
(puggala) is described as the carrier of the weight of the
five aggregates,(bharahary' described earlier. Here tbe
t e r m b h L r a m e a n s ' w e i g h t ' m c a n i n gt h e w e i g h t o f t h e f i v e
a g g r e g a t e sw, h o s e c o m b i n a t i o n ' c r c & t e s 't h e i n d i v i d u a l ,
'carrier', Hence the term
w h o a c c o r d i n g l y ,b e c o m e si t s
'carrier' of the 'weight' becomes
bhErahEra meaning
quite an appropriate term to mean the samsaricindividuai
i n t h e B u d d h i s t s e n s e .T h i s e x p l a l a t i o n w o u l d b e c l e a r
enough for those who find it somewhat difficult to
conceivethe reality of the conventional individual without
i n v e s t i n gh i m w i t h a s o u l .
In a discussionof the concpt of individuai in Buddhism
a n i m p o r t a n t f a c t t h a t e m c r g e si s t h a t u n l i k e i n t h e i s t i c
r e l i g i o n s ,h e i s n o t c r e a t e d b y s o m e o n e l i k e a C r e a t o r
God, but is self-originated. The paticcasamuppVde
t h e o r y d e n i e sa n y p o s s i b i t i t yo f a f i r s t c a u s es u c h a s G o d
or even first beginning. The other important fact that
follows from this important teachin3 is the individual's
o w n r e s p o n s i b i l i t yf o r a c h i e v i n gr e l e a s ef r o m t h e b o n d s
 TNDO.CREEKS
of existence,which he har to do through his own rfforts
guided, of coune, by the Brrddba'steaching.T he incicpen-
dence or rather the suprcmacy and the responsibility of
ihe individuel in this regard il of utrnost significancein
Buddhism.
Even as n social enima-lwith his rights and duties and
w o r k i n g t o w a r d s t h e g o a l o f f r e e d o m f r o m b o n d a g e ,r h e
individual has to lead e life of independencein views and
e c t i v i t i e si n t h e s e n r et h a t b e h a s n o b l i n d f a i t h i n e n y o n e
and shou,ld not be a tool in the hands of others. The
individuel himself is his lord and master, for be is an
"end ful itrlf and a Jource of value in his own right." e
A. G. S. Kedvewrsm
IhIDO-GREEKS. The term Indo-Greek is gcnerally used
to denote people of Greek origin who first lived in Bactria
and later extened their political power inro the north-
western region of India sometime in the second ccntury
B.C. Although it has bcen statedrhat rhe lndo-Greeks
w e r e d e s c e n d a n t so f t h e G r e e k p e o p l e w h o s e t t l e dd o w n
i n B a c t r i e a n d t h e n e i g h b o u r i n g a r e e sd u r i n g t h e t i m e so f
Alexnnder ard hir Selucidian successors,this theory has
now beensuccessfullydisproved. ln fact, there is evidence
to befievethat long before Alexander's invasion of lndia,
t h e r e w e r e p e o p l e o f G r e e k o r i g i n l i v i n g i n a r e a sj u s t
outsidethe westernboundariesof the Indian subcontinent.
The Ma.ljhima'nikEya mentions Yavane (a tcrm used in
e a r l y l n d i a n l i t e r a t u r et o d e n o t e p e o p l e o f G r e e k o r i g i n ,
but in latcr times it covered manv foreign groups who
came from the west of India) along with Kamboja as two
of the sixteen mahE-janapadas which were flourishing at
the time of tbe Buddha, while the AstEdhyayT, the
famous grammal by Panini, a work assignableto the fifth
century 8.C., also speaksof Yavana and Kamboja as two
of the janapadas. Classical Greck writers also refer to
some Greek colonies such as Nysa which Alexander came
e c r o s si m m e d i a t e l yb e f o r eh e e n t e r e dl n d i a . I t i s p o s s i b l e
that theseGreek colonies werc started by the Achaemenid
r u l e r s o f l r a n w h o w e r e i n t e n t o n d i s p e r s i n gt h e G r e e k
statesin Asia Minor out of political considerations.The
Greek population in these ereas must bave been streng-
thened under Alexander and Selucidial emperors.
A l a r g e p a r t o f o u r k n o w l e d g ea b o u t t h e I n d o - G r e e k s
c o m e sf r o m n u m i s m a t i cs o u r c e s w , hile theworks of some
classicalwriters such as Justin, Strabo, Polybius,
A p o l l o d o t u s a n d a f e w o t h e r s a l s o p r o v i d e s o m es u p p l e -
m e n t a r y i n f o r m a t i o n . A m o n g t h e I n d i a n s o u r c e s ,t h e
Milindapafllra, the MElavikdgnimitra of Kaliddsq the
9. e.g. Kant! definition of persons: 'they are ends-in-themsetves
and sourcer of value in their own right'quoted in TheEncyclopedia
o{ Philosophy, ed. by Paul Edward, Vol. VI. p. l10.
5.S.P.C.92478
545 THT}C}.{;iTEEKS
Mahibhasy.a oi PstBiija1i rnd a few purenas are of
some sign;i:cance. I wr,, inscripiicns whjcli havc c1irect
relevanceta thc k,do -Grrrks .\*w alrd bcen foun<j.At a
glancc, thry mn,,:iook en irn;,, , ,,sivearrav cf sourees,but
rnost o.i th: !ile;rl'.' sr.-ui,irrr.ir irr-!, co.ltain very littJe
inforrnation, $on.retrinq:; asolitrv iiray rcfcrence,pertein-
i n g t o { n d r r ' C r e e k h t s t , ; i v i : r : i , " r s t ; , ' i r c u t n s i x n c eosn,e i E
con:rpelled to fail ba-:xii*ar ,;i tln t.ir numiln:aiic nnaterial,
however uncertain and ;jimsv the data that may be
gleanedfrom it as a resuit cf the inherent dcfectgin this
p a r t i c u l a r t y p e o f s o u r c e .H e n c e , t h eh i s t o r y t h a t i g b a s e d
on such sources is bound to be incrrrnpleteand in rnost
r n s t a n c r s .s k e t c h v ,
B a c t r i e w h i c h w a s o n c r i n c l u C e di n t h e e e s t e r np a r t o f
the Macedonian empire later came undcr the wings of
Selucidian dominion. Howelcr, the Factrians' rtlation-
ship with their Selucidian masters was an unrasy one all
along, and during the time of Antiochus lt {261-246
B.C.) the Bactrians,under the leadershipof orreDiodotus.
revolted against the Selucidians and achieved indepen-
d e n c c s o m c t i m e i n 2 5 0 B . C . D i r r , J c ; t u "s* a ss u c c e e d c db y
his son Diodotus II, but after some years he was ousted
by one Euthydemus. lr{canwhile, the then Selucidian
c m p e r o r A n t i o c h u s I l ! , i n o r d e r t o r e c a p t u r ct h e l o s t
territoty, launched an invasion of Bactria, hut even after
a l o n g s i e g eo f t h c c a p i t a l o f B a c t r i a , f a i l e d t o d e f e a t
Euthydemus. Eventually, s peacesgreementwas arrived
at in 208 8.C., ending the feud and also effectively
removing the persisteiit threat of the Selucidian invasion
o f B a c t r i a . E u t h y d e m u s w a s s u c c e e d e dt o t h c t h r o n e b y
his son I)cmctrius. The friendlv relations that etisted
b e t w c e nB a c t r i a a n d t h e S e l u c i d i a ne m p i r ep r e c l u d e dt h e
p o s s i b i l i t yo l a n y B a c t r i a n e x p a n s i o nt o w a r d s t h e w e s t
a n d t h e o n l y d i r e c t i o n i n w h i c h D e m e t r i u sc o u l d e x p a n d
his kingdom wus southward.
I n t h e m e a n t i m e ,t h e p o l i t i c a l c l i m a t ei n I n d i a w a s f a s t
changing after the death of Asoka. His death wes
followed by a period of internecine rivalry among his
d e s c e n d a n t sa n d a n i n t e n s ec o m p e t i t i o n f o r t h e M a u r y a
t h r o n e , r e s u l t i n gi n p o l i t i c a . tl u r m o i l a n d p a v i n g t h e w a y
for the disintegrationof the empire. About fifty years
after Asoka's departure, the throne wes usurped by
Pusyamitra Sunga, the armv commander of the last
Mauryan emperor Brhadralha.
As mav be infcrrcd from the numismatic sources,
Demeirius, after becoming ruler of Bactria, was busy
w i d e n i n g t h e b o r d e r so f h i s k i n g d o m . W . W , ' I a r n , i n h i s
pioneering study on the lndo Greeks, The Greeks in
Bactria and India, held the view that Demetrius, the ron
of Euthydemus, was the first Bactrian ruler to invade
lndia, and that his invasion went as deep as the Gangetic
 IN[}fl-G}TF"F,KS 546 INDO.GREEKS

pla.in^ I-(.P, !evs:'rvel lqpr! Q r-'' L4ajtrmclar, too, subscribed t h e t h r o n e c . 1 7 18 , C . , a n d t h i s p r o v i d e sa c c c p t a b l ed a t a

to this tlirory. citing some lndian iiterary and epigraphic for Eucratides too, Some bilingud coins issued by
datn in sunport r:f their a.rgtrrncnts. However, Tarn's Eucratides have beenfound in the Kabul region, suSSest-
thcory iq 5r'!tli: hnseci*r F r,"rrya'rrbiguous statement of ing his authority over thct area. According to the classical
Apollodorus of ArternitR, quoted hv Strabo and Justin' accounts,he atsowas in control of Paropamisadae,Aria'
I n t h r s s t F t F m r r i t A p l l l r ' r l . n 1 1 ' s r , ,. ; : t h a t m o r e t r i b e s w e r e Arachosia, Drangiana and Gandhara, Thus, he was able
s r - r b d u e db - v M r t i i , t l n l " , p n i r t r) n m r i r i t r s t h a n b v A l e x a n d e r ' to bring a fairly large area, both in India and outside,
However, it h;rs no 1'*fg;enr:r :.qi;!!5sgvss to any particular under his authority, but his effort of building up 8n
areas coliqltet-t:J "!";:i' ! ,rrr;1a,f ;l1rq .\fter a careful study of lndo-Greek empire was foiled by his own son who
a l l t h e r e l e v a n t s o r : t r { : - ! . ' \ , } " . H n . r p " i ni n h i s w a r k , T h e mrrrderedhim on his return from lndia'
lndo-Greeks, han --'rii' corviltcingly pointed out that Numismatic evidenceof two other rulers is forthcoming:
there is no evidencc ta belitr: that Tiernettius, the son of namely Pantaleon and Agathocles, who appeBr to have
Euthydemr:s, had finv opportutrity to invade lndia' in had some relationship to Demetrius I. The coin types of
fact, no coins that can dellnitelv be assinged to tbis ruler Agathocles and Pantaleon are also very similar in meny
havc been founnl in anv ter"itorY to the east of Hindukush, respects,including their style, legendsand symbols' And
n n d t h i s s t n . n d si n s u p p o t . t c f j \ a r a i n ' s B r g u m e n t ' N a r a i n the coins of both of them, in turn, bear close resemblance
a l s o s h o w s t h n t t h t f i r ' e e k - r v r i t e r sw e r e c o n f u s e d b y t h e to the coins of Demetrius L Therefore, it is believed that
fact thnt thel e viel e two !:ipgs blering the name Demetrius, Pantaleon and Agathocles were brothers and that
whose regnel-perio,ls rvi"re nnt chronologically far Demetrius I may have been their father. The two brothers
remoVed from each c'thtr. appear to have begun thcir career in Arachosia" but, later
Nevcrthel,rss, lhe c.ins of ihe second Demetrius extendedtheir realm to the Kabul region wherc their latcr
( f ) e m e t r i n s I l l d " . i i r t " . n r l e c i d : r r e r e n c e sf r o m t h e c o i n s coin types have becn found. tt has been suggested that
c l f I - ) c m e t t r r t r ,I i ' r , , ; 1 , ; 't i
p " t h i " ' i ' ; ; r i 1 r s ( F ) e m e t r i u sl ) , a n d they reignedconcurrently sharing the kingdom, but some
h i s c c i r : s l : e ' ; . l t r t ' ; 1 ' 1 ' ' 1 : ; r li l t h s K n h l r l r e g i o n a s w e l l . coins issued by Agathocles have also been discovcred in
Annther Frrint ttrrq lrr,:'!s tl he tnken notc of with regard Taxila, pointing to his rule there. This fact, and the
tc his c,rins ir iht r.rqr '-'i t'i ltt.rgqr.tel lcgends (Greek and absenceof Pantaleon'scoins in Taxila, have been intcr-
I n d i a ; l ) s r r e g r s { i r r p ,< o r r e : r 1 . 1 . !tsl sc s o ( i R t i o n w i t h I n d i a ' A preted as an indication of the possibility of Agathocles
c o m p a ' i i s c ' r * i ' t h r c r i i n L 1 ' p i ' 1o f I , h r t w o n r l e r s w o u l d a l s o outliving is brother and extcnding the Indo-Greek power
l e s d t o ! h e n s s l t n r p t i r ' ; t tt h p { f l s r n p l r i r - 5 5L l c l i d n o t h e l o n g into the Taxila region.
t o t h e f p m i l t ' , - - .hf i s n a m r s a k e . f ' r . n v c r s e l y . t h e c o i n s o f The chronology of their reigns may be arrived at by a
L ) e n n r t r i r r sI I b e n r t l c l o s r r " o e r t , h l n i l t e t o t h o s e o f a n o t h e r comparison of their coins with those of Demetrius [1. [t
r 'rre rhe title Theos (god).
r a r r * r l A . r r ? i r n n c h r l ei r ' ' ! r r h
! 1 J l e tn has been argued that the two brothers belonged to a later
Antimachr.ts f,he<is EppeaIs to have bcen an earlier period than Demetrius II, and thercfore, their reigns as
membrl: cf the farr,ily of Denretrir"rr II: perhaps he falling within the period between the death of Demetrius
e s t a h l i s h t : ' . 1h i ; r i s e l f i i r t h e n + r t h , ' v i - i l t E u t h y d e m u s w a s and Eucratidea'invasion of India' It is dso possible that
busy in tll.r":srrr'.th or c8.rne tn thc scene soon after the at least Agathocles, who appears to bave had a longer
'i.foi1s
l a t t e i ' r i , r . l q i i if, Antiinar;hus may havc been able to reign, lived even after Eucratides'invasion, and this may
exinFiii !il:, lr:rlt:l grn'lurollv into the Kabul valley snd to explail the latter's failure to conguer GandhEra.
t h e r " r p p e r! t t d ' : s a r e r . " l { e v r n s t h c f i r s t I n d o - G r e e k r u l e r The above delineations would have revealed that by
t o h a v c i s s u e < jt h e s q u a r e t y p c c o i n s o n t h e I n d i a n m o d e l the time of Pantaleon and Agathocles tbe lndo-Greeks
and according to Narein, the first l'avana ruler to cross had been able to extend their rule, firat from Bactria to
the Hindukush to the South. It is also possible that he the adjoining region of Arachosia and Seistan, and then
annexed Bactria to his domnin, presumably after the
spreadingsouthward to Kabul and GandhEra. Then they
death of Delnetrius I. Antimachus Theos must have
took control of certain parts of Sind' Though this
rcigned until about 180 B.C. appears to be a vast areq the spread of lndo-Greek
Demetrius II appears to have followcd the policy of power in this whole regionscannot be attributed to one or
-l two ruling families. ln fact, a number of ruling dynastiea
Antimachr-rs heos of expanding his realm further into
lndia, F,rm lhe nvailnble numismatic evidence it is were involved in this long process in which stiff competi-
apDFIrnl ; i!qr $,s lr.'n( ;tr control of an ar€a up to tion for power and inter-family rivalry was a common
=r,.;. phenomenon. For the very lame reason, none of these
GencrirFr;r r . . ' i i i i , 'i = l t . , ' v r i sh u s y c o n q u e r i n g I n d i a n
territct:i, . r r i r , ! ' 1 i : - ; ' : i r " n 1 r 1f r y g y i [ o r ' fi n B a c t r i a w a s l o s t ruling families could make much headway in bringing the
t o o n e E u c r a t l e r s i ' ! 1 1 , r , i ; r ' r . t r d i n gt o J u s t i n , w a s a g r e a t entire area under one flag though several sttempts were
k:ng ruling 61';: tfuottsBndciiiee, [{e is also described as a made by some rulers like Demetrius [[ and Eucratides;
r I r:f i?r'rthia who ascended but their luccestrcswere thort livd.
 INNO.{;REEKS
T h e d e a t h o f E u c r a t i < i e sa n d t h e c r : r s r t l u e r i t p o w c r
struggleamong the Indo - Greeks proviCcdirj:p I conditi cns
for the risc of anotherstrong ru!:r, It wss in this srfijnn
t h a t w e s e e t h e r i s e o f M e n a n d e r w h o i s d r s c r r b e di n
I n d i a n a s w e l l a s i n G r e e k s c u r c e s a s t h e g r c a t e s to f a l l
l n d o - G r r e k r u l e r s .H e i s t h e o n l _ vI n d c * G r e e k r , , r l e rI o b e
m e n t i o n e d b v n a m e i n t r n d i s nl i t e r a r u r e. f h e r , : i s I r t t l e
d o u b t t h a t t r e i s M i l i n d a , t h e Y ' a v ' a n ak i n g r e i e r r e t li o i n
the famous B.lddhist work Milindapafrha. I he rvorks ol
Strabo, Justin and the Pcriplus of the E;.rvthnan.Sca,too,
c o n t a i n r e f e r e n c e st o M e n a n d e r . A b o v c q l ! . t h o u s a n d s
o f c o i n s i s s u e db y M e n a n d e r ,d i s c o v e r e di n a w i d e a r e a ,
and an inscription issued by one of his regional offici&ls
also provide usefui information for the studv of the c&recr
and achievementsof this monarch.
E.J. Rapson thought that Menander was a coniern-
porary of Demetrius, and W.W. Tarn, going evcn
f u r t h e r , t h o u g h t t h a t M e n a n d e r s u c c e e d e <Di c m e t r i u s a s
ruler of the Indo-Greeks. The only basis for l-ar:r and
R a p s o n t o e x p r e s ss u c h v i c w s w a s t h e a b o v e - r n r n i i o n e d
s t a t e m e n to f A p o l i o d o t u s i n w h i c h b o t h D e m e t r i u s a n d
Menander are menlioned togethei-,As pointecl out
earlier. this is a very ambiguous statementon which much
r e l i a n c cc a n n c t b e p l a c e d .O n t h e c o n t r a r y , n u m i s m a t i c
e v i d e n c es e e m st o s h o w t h a t M e n a n d e r h a s l o b e p l a c c d
much later than Demetrius I and evenlater than pantaieon
a n d A g a t h o c i e s .N u m i s m a t i c c v i d e n c ea j s oi n d i c a t e st h a t
Menander's queen was one Agathoclea, who is believcd
to have been the daughter of Agathocles. lf so, his
marriage to the daughter of a king who contrcllcd a
c o n s i d e r a b l ep a r t o f t h e I n d o - G r e e k k i n g d o m m u s t h a v e
h e l p e d h i m a g r e a t d e a l t o c o n s o l i d n t eh i s p o s i t i o n a s e n
I n d o - G r e e k l e a d e r .A f t e r a c a r e f u l s t u d y o f a l l a v a i l a b l e
s o u r c e s ,A . K . N a r a i n h a s a r r i v e d a t t h c c o n c l u s i o nt h a t
M e n a n d e r m u s t h a v e a s c e n d e dt h e t h r o n e s o m c t i m e
a r o u n d 1 5 5B . C .
From the Milindapaf,ha we learn that h4cnaxder was
born in a viilage named Kalasi not far fiem Alasantld,
and two hundred Yojanas from SEgala (identified as
m o d e r n S i a l k o t i n P a k i s t a a ) . T h e g e o g r a p h i c a ld j s r r i -
b u t i o n o f h i s c o i n s h e l p st o f o r m n f a i r i d e a o f t h e e x t e n t
o f h i s k i n g d o m . T h e I a r g e n u m b e r o f M e n a n d e r ' sc o i n s
t h a t h a v e b e e nf o u n d i n t h e K a b u l v a l l e y , . p i t h 5 2 1 f r c n r
Mir Zakah alone, is definite evidenceof his rule over ihe
region. The discovery of the famous Bajaur cgskct
inscription of Viyakamitra, a local governor under
Menander, and sornehoards of coins in the adjoining
a r e a s ,b e a r t e s t i m o n y t o h i s c o n t r o l o v e r t h e S w a t v a l l e v
as well. His kingdom also included areas such as
P a r o p a m i s a d a eA , rachosia,Gandh6ra and Taxila. tt is
difficult to ascertain rhe southern bcundariec of his
kingdom, but according to the Periplw, Menander's
coins were in circulation in Barigaza (identified as
Broach, south of Gujarat), Yet this is not a definite
indication of his rule ther;. Strabo, again quoting
547
A p : ) l o , : r ' j l t s i : 1 l . .t i ' , : i l h e C r t e < nc c n q u e r e dP a t a l e n e
{ l o t r ' i . i ; r . ;, 1' i ) , . r l r : p r 1 t t ci5: i d r i t j i : a ? ' }a n d S i g e r d i sb, u t
':{i
a g a i nt l ' . : . ; : :r r i ' 11. ; . , p 1 1 " '. t h e _ rree g i c n sv r n i er r n d e r
Meltnnle: : : , ' :r!;. ,ril ci ir.,, . ,{:.,1:! ;1r:)Il&rrh
f i r c n b : r , . " . . ; f = " . s l 1 1 1 . 1 * ; , ' 1n: lrltim l el , t i c f c r ; . i n iss s u e d
h i ' J \ , l r t ' E - , . l lj ti ' J t r . ' , 1t . ' 1 : ? fr \ r i , , , 1 - i hI cl . a y il i q e r f r o i n t s
t o i h r p o s s , i ; l cr ? s t r i i : : . . . . ; l ; i j e rri '. i t h c I n c j c* G r e e k
k i n g e l r : r nd u r i n g h i r i i r r , ' " : r , . " ri ih * l r s r , i t , - { o r s: r J t n t ea J r
t h a t t h c i n c lo - G r e c k sd r C n r ; t s ; t r f l r p l i n v r t r t i : i et - ' e v o n d
t h e R a v i r i v c r , { o r s e v ; r a l i r r c i , i x ns o u r c c $r * f e r t o o n e o r
morr invasions carii:-l cr,"ril=o'iiie Yavanss snd one of
them into tlrc Gang:t!c p!r-rirr i *: lL{frlavikVgnimitraof
K 5 l i d n r n r p : a L s o f a c l n c h h r t " . ' : * r r trh e l ' , e i , s n a sa n < Jt h c
, E i i : f i g ndsr r r i n e t h c t i r n e o f F i r s - l ' a r r i i r r nw,h e s er e i g n h a s
beerrplacc'i b,r(wee.r1,87 i j, I; tl 1LrcMahahhZs-r*a of
Pateffjaii aiid ihc l'ugapu,ins refcr lo a yavana
invasi,.rn i n i o t h e G a l g c t i c p i n i n .T h e i r ; r ' a s i t -m r ne n t i o n e d
in thc Yugapur\na went as far ns Pdtaliputra but the
invaCcrswere not successfulirr conquering anv territory.
"Ihough some scholars
prefer ir aUrihuferhis invasion
( c r i n v a s i o n s )t o D e m e t r i u s ,t h e s o n o f E u t h v r j e m u s i,t i s
difficult to assum. ae shown hrfi:re, ihat hl had anv
o p p o r t u n i t v t c i i l v g r i : I n , " l i a .. H c n c * . . , v e1 1 r , , ,t1o a g r e e
w i t h N a r a i n . i n w l : , - s eo p i n i c ; . :t h e l a r ' . c r : . si : i . r p - s i o cnf
t h e G a n g e t i cp l a i n r c . r k p l a c ei n a h et i m e o f l r { c n a n c i e rI.n
s p i t e o f t h e f a c t t h a t r h c i n v a s i o n o f t h e G a n g e t i cv a l l e y
d i d a o t p r o d u c e a n v p o s i t i v e e x p a , u s i o no f I n d o - G r e e k
territory undcr MrnanCer, the Indo-Greek kingdom
i n c l u d e d s u c h a r c a r a s B a d a k s h a a ,t h e K a b u l v a l l e y o r
P a r o p a m i s a d a et,h e G b a z n i a r e a o r n o r t h e r n A r a c h o s i a -
w e s t o f t h e I n d u s o r w e s t e r nG a n d h i r a , t h e S l v a t I . a l l e y ,
eastof th: lndus or the Taxila rcgion and the Jammu-
Sialkot region,
'fhere
is littie doubt ihat lv{enander'sregin rnarked thc
c l i m a r o f I n d o * G r e c k p o w e r i n i n d i a ; b u t n r - r lto n g a f t e r
h i s d e a t h ( c . 1 3 0B . C . ) , s i g n so f d i s s e n s i o ni n r l : ek i n g d o m
w e r e q u i t e v i s i b l e . M e n a n d e r w a s s u c c e e r l e cb ly h i s v e r y
v o u n g s o n . S t r a t o I , t r u t a t t h e h e g i n n i r r gt,h e a r _ . t u a r eJi n s
o f p o w e r w e r e i n t h e h a n d s o f A " g a t t r o c l : at,F i ew i d o w o f
M c n e , n d e r . T ' h o s e w h o s u c c e e d e dS i r a t o w e r e w e a l
r u l e r s ,n n d t h i s g s v e a n o p p o r i u n i t y f o r o t h e r a m b i t i o u s
i e a d e r st o t r y t h e i r l u c k , t h u s b r i n g i n g i n r n o r e c h a o s ,
ultimately breaking up rhe kingdom b,rilt up by
ll cnnnder.
Of the rnany trndn-Greek nllers who carne after
Mcnandcr, only one cther ruler is mentioned in the
Indian iources, He was Antalcidas, whose envoy
F l e l i o d o r a st o t h c c o u r t o f B h E g a b h a d r g ( p r o b a b l y a
later Sunga ruler) erectcd the famous Garuda pillar at
Besnagarnear Bhilsa. However, many areaswhich were
formerly under the lndo-Greeks were now fast falling
i n t o t h e h a n d s o f a g r o u p o f n e w c o n q u c r e r s .f h e S a l a s
who had a Crntral .{sian origin, together with thc
Fahlava*o c f p o s s i b l eP a r t h i a n n n d l r a n i a n c o n n c c t i o n s .
 lruN&"GTtEEK*q 548 INDO.GREEKS

pushed thr lntlo-Ureeks ort $i Bactria and Kabul, identical in content. It is quite spparcnt that Menander
extendtng thrrr reaim rntr'r i,irtuailv every area that the was loved by many and that his remeins were in great
I n d o - { i r r e k s h a o F r e i d .T h r J u s t - k n o w n l n d o - G r e e k demand. G. Woodcock thinks that the monuments thur
ruler wa-r h*rr*aeus. r,i,b+se:'lign o-',,isriprohnbly in the erected must have bzen stipas, foUowing the Buddhirt
m i c i d j co i " r h e t i r s t L ' r i : i r 1 r "l lj { tradition. What is unmistalable however in the incident
recorded by Plutarch is its essential Buddhist character'
S € v t r o . ' i r l y . r i 7 . ; cf i , . , . ' i r t " ' r r F l r d t : t n t e f p r e t m a n y
a s p a c t , qn { { i r r e l c i ' " : i ! r r : , i , . r r.i3r i t I n d i a a s r e s u l t s o f Menander's associationwith Buddhism is slso atte!ted
A l e x a n c t e r ' si n . n r i a n " h ' , : 1i t r n u : t h t p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e to by the wheel sign found in some of his coins' Certain
fr/t6g€Elnnerir: n;rritsr':!:''rr*!"t-;ln!;d;) in trndiawns of very scholars hal'e argued that the wheel-symbol did not
s h o r t c l u r a t ; s p ,t n r l r ' r ; i r . ' r n i i n t r l i c n s m a l l a r e a i n t h e neccssarily denote the Dharmacahz, but ws! used e! the
exqrcrfirp61Nf,r. 'wr'51.t::L.ri1'ri1r of the SubContinent.Even sign of a cakkavatr. Even if tbis arSum?nt is acccpted,
thnsr arenslftraf.-xersI ::riiir;ere.dhy him soon fell into the there is no denying of the fact that even the cakkevatti
hands nf thc lvfuuryas, lhr:rrhv rlepriving any reasonable concept wrs primarily of Buddhist origin. lt murt elro be
opportunity for n longla.stingirnpact.Thrrs,if Alexander's noted that Menander's local administretors such e!
i n v n s i o nh e d a n y i m p a c t o n t h e c o u r s eo f I n d i a n h i s t o r y , Viyakamitra too, werc patrons of Buddhism, esil evident
i t w a s b o u n d t o b e o f v e r y l i m i t e d D a t t ! r e .O n t h e o t h e r from the Bajaur c$ket inscription. There are aeverd
hand, it would be exlremely difficult to distinguish traditions in Tibet and Southeast Alia connecting
bctwern sr-tcheffects end those eif the later periods. It is Mennnder with Buddhist monuments in Central Asie
a l s o n o t r w * r t h v t h a t t h e r u l e o f t h e I n d o * G r e e k sl a s t e d a-ndtndo-China. Above all, it is a fact, a! A,K. Narain
close tr"rtwo centuries, extending, over e considerable puts it, that if Menander is known in Indian tradition, it ic
territory hoth in India and outside. As shown above, becauseof Buddhist literature.
s o m e l n d o - . . G r e o : kr r r l c r s m a n a g c d t o l e a d m i l i t a r y The Indo*Greek rule brought lndia and the outside
campnigns rleeF intn the (ianges valley. Others, like world, particularly Centrel Asia and the West, much
Altialcidas, srnt erqisssriesto neighhouring Indian rulers, closer than bcforc, thereby mating the way open for the
thus sngEcstinEgnod rslntions h?twecn the two parties. exchange of ideas, cultural traits, movement of people
"I'heIndo.'i',ireel',s,thorrgh they preservedand cherished and accelerated trade and commercial activity, In the
Graek culturr, werr n(!t at all avetseto iocal cultural and same way that the lndo-Greckt werE amcnable to tbe
social influencc. At leasi some of thent becameconvcrts Indian culture and tradition, they were also responrible
to lndian religiaus like tsuddhism and Vaisnavism. for introducing certain fea.lurer of Hellenistic end Central
I{enander becante a Brrddhist while Heliodorus, the Asian culture to lndia. It hac been stated that tbe
envoy oI rl,ntialcid&s wai a Vnisnava by feith, a fact he Gandh[ra school of art was introduced and nurtured by
d i d n o t f z u lt o g i v e w i d e p i r b l i c i t y b y m e n t i o n i n g i t o n t h e the Indo-Greeks. It is also often statef that in the
Garuda Pillar at Besnagar. Gandh-arasculpturesof the Buddha and ot[er prominent
pcrsonalities in SuddhiEm were portrayed in tbe same
The Milindapaflha is very emphatic on the point that
manner as gods of the Greek pantheon such as Apollo.
King Milindq identified as Menander, after a long and
'lhcra This observation may be true of the early works of thc
arduous debate vrith i{igasena, was ultimately
Gandhdra school, but the large majority of the ranlpture
convirrcerJof the in{allibility of the Buddh a-dhammaa'nd
bclonging to this school depiae a distinctly Romrn
b e c a m ea c o n v e r t . I t a l s o s a y st h a t , t o w a r d st h e e n d o f h i s
influenc-e as well.
reign, Menander handed over the kingdom to his son,
becarnr:a Buddhist mottk and eventuallyattained arhant- One field in which the Indians borrowed hcavily from
ship. Scholars like'f arn question the authenticity of the the tndo-Greeks was the art of minting coins. The
s t o r y , a c c e p t i n gP l r r t a r c h ' ss t a t e m e n t h a t t h e k i n g d i e d i n thousands of neatly minted coins of the lndo-Greeks
I c a r n p . W h e ( h e r h e b e c a m ea m o n k o r n o t , t h e r e c a n b e were closely imitated and followed by the later lndian
I i t t l e d o u b t a b o u t h i s c o n v e r s i o nt o B u d d h i s m ,a n d a g a i n , rulers, Some of the Greek legendsfound in the Indo-Greck
it cr.mr: through conviction. In this regard, another coiis were reproduced by the Sakas and the Kusanas in
s !a t ? r n r n tm a d e b y P l u t a r c h a l s om e r i t s s p e c i a a l ttention. their coins. Sirnilarly, the Greek language continued to
Hr ss','sthnt when Menander died, different cities in his flourish in North Western India long after the disappear-
kingccnr pui forward claims to his rcmains, and only ance of the Indo-Greek rule. It is also believed thet the
w i t h d i l f i c r r l t y c n m e t o t e r m s , a g r e e i n gt h a t t h e y a l l g e t Indo-Greeks wrrre largely responsible for the Greek
e q u a lp o ; t i s n s o f h i s a s h e s a , n d h a v i n gg o t t h e i r p o r t i o n s , influence in fields such as Indian philosophy, medicine,
ere:ted i:-:."1'.!r':",?ri1! t- hirn ip 1!! cities. This incident astronomy, astrology, drama, geometry and science.The
i m m e d i e t e J vr r r n i n d 5 r r s o f t h e s t o r y f o u n d i n t h e lndian acceptance of the Greek leadership in somc ot
Mah4parinibhAna Sttffs regarding the distribution of these fields is aptly epitomized in the words of the
f , F n i " , . - 1 r s 1 r i 3 1 .i n i r a t r y anonymous author of the Gargi saThig2, who was
the Blrddlr.-'5 r.ii,--. respeCtS, afe
 INDOLENCE
incidentally, not a great enthusiastof the Greeks.He says
'Tbe Yavanss
are barbarians yet the scienceof astronomt'
originated with them and for that they must be reverenced
Iike gods'.
BIBUOGRAPIIY: Br€dee, G.N. Hellenism in Ancient
India. Delhi, 1961. Brown, P. Indian Architecture
Buddhist and Hindu Periods. Bombay, 1949. Basham,
AJ^ (ed.) A Cultural History of India, Oxford, 1975.
CoobJ.I|l Grceks in lonia and the East, London, 1926.
Knnrfrch, Stelle Indian Sculpture, London, 1950.
Nrrefn, A.K. The Indo-Greeks, Oxford, 1957.
Rowllngrn, H.G. Bectria, the History of a Forgotten
Empire, London, 1912. Thaper, Romlla. Asoka and the
Decline of the Mauryas, London, 1961. Tarn, W.W.
Greeks in Bactria and India, Cambridge, 195t.
Woodcoct, G. The Grceks in India, London, 1966.
P.Y.B. Kanrnadhka
INDOLENCE" Buddhism empharically declaresthar man
ir his own master and that he is solely responsible for his
destiny. The Buddha admonishes hir disciples to be a
refuge unto themselves and never to seek refuge in
anyhody else (D. ll, p. 100; Dhp. vv. 160, 380). The
Tath[gatas merely show the path and each individual has
to put forth effort and follow the path. (Dhp. v. 216).lris
natural for a religion which rejects the belief in an
cxtcrnal refuge to reject indolence, also as an obstacle to
an individud's progress. Thus, Buddhism considers
indolence to be a hindrance to both spiritual and secular
progress (d. V, p. 136, 159). The emphasis laid on
penonal efforts and exertion (Pali, uiriya, vEyama Skt.
vlrya, vylyEma) as well as on diligence (Palt, appamEda,
Skt. apramEda) fwther clarifies the Buddhist attitude
towards indolence. The Vinaya-pigaka (tt, p. 2) also
records instances where the Buddha emphatically
dcnounccd indolence.
Writcn in English use the term indolence in a very
generd way to conDote different aspects of indolence
which are referred to by different terms in pali and
Sanskrit Buddhist texts. Indolence is of two types, i.e.,
physical and mental. Though the particular phraseology
used both in Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist texts does not
strictly maintain this distinction, the contexts revealsuch
e distinction (eg. the terms kosa,1,rb
and Elasya are used in
conntection with both physical and mental indolence).
It is said that an indolent (kus1ta1monk becomes of
fearful heart (A. ilI, p. 183); that all indolent (kusita)
people cannot comprehend the doctrine. lndolence
(kosajja)amounts to waning in the teaching and discipline
549 TNT}ONT]$iA
(dhamma-vinaya (A. V, p. I59); it brings abour urher
bad conditions for, an indolent person carnot abandon
flurry @ddhacca), lack of self control (asemvara) and
indiscipline (dusslla; A. Y, p. I46). lndolence (ilasya)is
a n o b s t a c l et o t h e a c q u i s i t i o n o f w c a l t h ( A . V , p . 1 3 6 ) .
lndolence (nidd7, tandi; Skt. nr'dr4 tandr1; lit. sleept
and weariness)should be got rid of by thosc who are
intent on attaining NibbFna (Sn. r. 942). Indolene, in
this case connoted trv thc term pameda, is a blemish
(rajo: Sn. v. 334). Indolenc:- (thinamiddha; generally
trsl. as sloth and torpor) is one of five hindrances (n1-
vararya) which bring about a morbid srate of mind
accompanying physical rluggishness.{Nett. 86, Md. ll,
290; Dh* pp. I 156, 1236). Famdtla, tMina-,niddha, tandi
are some of the conditions that weaken one's mind {Miln.
28e),
Inspite of the fact that at times the sameterm is used to
connote both physical and mental indolence it could be
said that such terms as kosajje, (Skt. kaurtdya), kuslta,
Elessa,dlasya, tandl, niddl and so on ar€ predominantly
used to connote physical indolence whcreas the terms
pam\da tnd thlna (-middha) are always used todenote
mental indolence.
It may so happen that an individuai who is phvsically
very energeticand active may be mentally indolent and a
mentally active person may be pbyrically indolcnt.
Sometimes physical indolencc may be due to mental
defects and mental indolence may be the reult of
physical weakness.Whatever the cause is, bath typcs of
indolence are obstacles to onet worldly and spiritud
progress, and from a purely religi<lus point of view
mental indolencc is a far greater obstacle.
Physical indolence often obstructs one's worldly
progress and this could be got rid of by putting forth
effort (viriyarambha: ,\?ft. p. 27). Ment*.l indolence
preventsone from altaining Nibbiina. Buddhisnnaccepts
s e e i n g t h r o u g h k n o w l e d g e i f l E n a - t l a s s a r a r la n d n o t
believing through faith (biafriJ. h,lental indolcnce
(pamida, thina-middha) is a grcat obstecle to thc culti-
vation of this ability of seeingthrough knowledge(5n. v,
1 0 3 3 ) .T h e r e f o r e ,m e n t a l i n d o l e n c es h o u l d b e g o r r i d o f
by cultivating diligence (appameda) for all wholesome
m e n t a l q u a l i t i e sa r e r o o t e d i n d i l i g e n c e( A . l l l , p . 4 4 9 ; V ,
p.2l).
S.K. Nmayaklera
INDONESIA
Introductlon: Images of the Buddhu uf Amariivati rype
from South-Ea.:tern India, perhaps going back to the
third century A.C., have been founci in dilferent perts of
 55i) I}it}OI{ESTA

I n r i o l r e s i a .i r r r l 1 4 , i h r C i i r ; i e s r f J , ; d d h i s t p i i s r i r n , F r : - B u d C b i s ts c r i i r i u r e sz, u r ds p e n ts e v c r ayi e a r si n S u m a t r a .
h s i r r i ,r r u i r - : : ! l Lt : i i r i :i r l i l i B .v i s i r e i ! a v a a n t l f o u n d s o m c t n A . C . 6 7 1 . o n h i s f i r s t j o u r n e y t o I n d i a , h c s p e n ts i x
t r a r - . so f a i i u . j d i , t s t p r e s e r c e ,w h i i e i n A . C . 4 2 4 , G u n a - r n c r n t h si n S r i v i j a y a l e a r n i r r gS a n s k r i t ,a n d r e p o r t e d t h a t
v a r n " l a np , r i : i r e i - r iK a s h m i r , p i c a c h e d B u d d h i s m i n J a v a t h e r ew e r e a t h o u s a n d B u d d h i s t m o n k s i n t h e c i t y . A f t e r
b e f o : c g o i n g c n t t r C h r n n . h ' l c r e s u b s t a n t i a ir v i d e n c e o f s p e n t l i n gs i x y e a r s a t t h e u n i v e r s i t yo f N d l a n d a , h e c a m e
$ u d r j h i s r n i n I n d o n c s t &c o r f i s sf r o n r t h e s i x l h c e n t u r i ' . back to Srlvijaya, where he stayed from 685 to 689,
a n d .b y t b e e n d o f i h e s c v c n t h ,t h e r c l i g i o n r v a s{ i o u r i s h i n g c c p y i n g B u d d h i s t S a n s k r i t t e x t s , a n d t r a n s l a t i n gt h e m
i n S r i v i j a y a i n t h e P a l e m b a n gr e g i o n ; ' : fS o ' . : t l iS u t n a t r a , into Chinese. He returned to Canton to recruit four
With the rise of the Piila Cynastr,'in ilengzu and Brhar in a s s i s t a n t sa, n d t h e n c a m e b a c k t o S r i v i j a v a . H e s e n t h i s
t h e m i d d l e o f t h e e i g h t h r r e n t t t r y .i { a h E v a n a E u d d h i s m manuscripts to China in 692 and finally rcturned there
b e c a m ei m p o r t a n l r n E a s t a n d S o u t h - E a s t A s i a , p r i n c i - in 695.
pally through the iniluctce of the great univcrsitv o{
F o r t h i s s a m ep e r i o d , w e h a v e t h e e v i d c n c eo f f o u r O l d
N [ l a n d E i n B i l ; a r . l n C e n t r a ]J a v a , t h e S a i J e n d r ad y n a s t y
i l { a l a y i n s c r i p t i o n s ,t w o f o u n d i n P a l e m b a n g ,o n e f r o m
built Borobrrduror Barabudr.rr (q.v.). the greatestBuddhist
Karang Brahi on the Batang Hari river, and one from
m u n u m e n t i n t h e w o r l d , a sw e i i a : o l h e r s a n c t u a r i e sa; n d
Kcta Kapur of the isiand of Bangka, which speakof a
M a h E y E n aB u d d h i s m o f t h e A v a t e m s a k as c h o o l b e c a m e
Buddhrst kingdom of Srivijayq thai had conquered
dominant in Java, when it had already becn wel!
.iambi and Bangka, and was l)reparingan expedition
establishedin China and Japan.
against Jal'a. l-rttle in the wa] r)f architeciural rernains
B u d d h i s r nc o n t i n u e d i n S u m a t r a i o r i n a n y c c n t u l - i e s : has been fcund in or near Palembang: but Iluddhist
b u t i n J a v a ,a t t h e e n d o f t h c ' r i n t h c e n t u r y ,t h e S a i l e n d r a s i r n a g e st.h o u g h o f r -s l i g h t l yl a t e r p e r i o d ,h a v eb e e nf o u n d
were eclipsed,and it is not ilntii the thirteenth t he:r.'l-hesc i ncl ud e B cidhisatt v as, especiaJI-v.. Avalo ki te{-
c e n t u r y , i n t h e e a s t c f t h e i s i a n i i . t h a t e ' r t d e n c ef o r v a r ? ! s o c o l f i r n ' r t h e p r e . s e n c ca t t h i s l a t e r p e r i o d o f
B u d d h i s m e g a i n b e , : a i r r * ss l r ( ' I r g . H y t h i s t i m c i t h a d M a h a y a n a B u d d h i s r ni n S r i v i j a y a .
aiquired a Tantric cha-rai,:ler, und ',r,'as mucir mixed with
nre dailenarss of Java and the MahtryEna movemenh The
Saiva Hinduism. In this form it was niso io be fourrd in
patronage of Mahayana Buddhism by the Pala kings of
Bali, and in h,linzurgkabauin Central Surnatra.
Bengal frcm the middle of the cighth century, and
U n d e r t h e p r e s s r r r e su { l { i n d u i s m a r t d l a t e r o f I s l a t n , : s p e c i a l t vt h e i r s u p p o r t f o r t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f N a l a n d d i n
B u d d h i s m i n l n d o n e s i a c i e c l i n e d t, r u t i t a p p e a r st o h a v e Bihar, grcatlv extended the influence of Mahdydna
contributed a permener:t,though largely unacknowledged E u d d h i s n ' irn t h e c o u n t r i e so f E a s t a n d S o u t h - E a s t A s i a :
element in -lavanesc mysticism. Coedis characterizts and the university of Lalitagiri in Orissa"which flourished
Indonesian Bucidhism as having a tendency trrwards the in the cighth century and was near the ports of embarcation
m y s t i c i s m o f t h e V a j r a y f , n as c h o o l , t o s y ' n c r e tism witb f ' r r t t r c e a s t ,p r o b a b l l ' a l s o c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h i s .
H i n d u c u l t s , a n d a s i r , t l a c h i n ge s p e i i a l i n : p o i t a r r ; e t o t h s
In Ccntral Java, the dailendra dynasty came into
r e d e m p t i o no f t h e s c u l s o f t h e d e a t l ,i v l i i c h g a " ' cj a v a i i e s c
p o w e r t o w a r d s t h c e n d o i t h e e i g h t h c c n t u r y ,c o n t i n u i n g
a n d B a ] i n e s cB u d d h i s m t h e c t t a r a c t er o [ a c u l t o f t h e
fcr nearly a hundred vears and promoting Buddhism,
E n c e s t o r sT. h r o u g h t h e i r l o n g i i n k s w i t h l n d o t t e s i a ,t h e
until in 864 A.C., they gained control in Sumatra and
Chinese broright their own syncretistic version of
made Srlvijaya their ccntre,
B u d d h i s m ,w i t h p o p u l a . r ' er e m c n i e sa s s o c i a t e d with tlieir
temples.[n modern times, and especiallysinceindonesian in 778 A.C., tire dailendra ruler, Panangkaran,
independenct, therc has bccn some rcvivai of Buddhism fourdcd the temple of Kalasan (near the presentday
in lndonesia in both Theravida and Mahdylna forms. ! ' c g v a k a r t a ) , a s a s a n c t u a r y o f t h e g o d d e s sT E r 6 , t h e
The restored Borobudur has become a nationel c o n s o r t o f A v a l o k i t e i v a r a . A t K e l u r a k n e a r b y ,a n i m a g e
monument, a centre of pilgrimage and an object of worid- of Ma,frjudriwas installed, which had been made by a
wide fame. master craftsman from Bengal. Buddhist sculpture in the
Saiiendra kingdom was influenced by the style of Lalita-
Se"{"y"t fhc h:story of the Iiang dynasti' crf China
giri, and in the casting of bronze images especially by
speal<sof Kandali, usually ldcntified with Palembang,as
Nalanda.
a c e n t r e o f B u d d h i s m , w h i c h s e n t e m b a s s i e st o t h e
C h i n e s ec o u r t i n 5 0 2 , 5 1 9 a n d 5 2 0 A . C . T o w a r d s t h e e n d Borobudur arrd other Buddhkt momrments of Central
of the seventh centttry, the kingdom of Srivijaya was Java: Borobudur was the greatest architectural achieve-
founded, based on Palembang, and Buddhism was ment of the Sailendras, and is the largest and most
dominant thcre. Ar first, the Mtlasarvdstivdda of thc complex Buddhist monument in the world, The cons-
HlnayEaa" using Salskrit for its scriptrrres,was the main truction belongs to the early part of the ninth century,
s e c t ,W e h a v et h e e v i d e n c co f t h e C h i n e s ep i l g r i m s c h o l a r , and according to de Casparis, was probably consecrated
I-tsing, who went to lndia to study and translatethe about 824 A.C, In plan, the building is a squaremandala,
 INDONESIA
with ridcs 123metrcr long, erectedovcr a low hill. Above
the basethere are four galleries,rnd above these,in three
concentric ranks, a aeries of 72 open-work stiipas,
surrounding a larger cental stilpa. Along each side there
are 108 Buddhaimages in niches,while theT2stDpasalso
contain Buddhas, making 504 in all. According to the
Mahdydna doctrine, tbese are the Buddhas of the
directionr, who oversee the creation, ar follows:
Eert : Aksobhya, the Imperturbable, who
touches the earth in witness. (bhimisparda_
mudrd).
South : Ratnasambhavq the Bright Jewel of
Compassion, whose hand gestureis that of
glenting boons, (varada_mudn).
Wcd I Amitdbha, the Buddha of Boundless
Lighr, who holds his hands togerher on his
lap in mediration, (dhy1na-mudrd).
Nortb : Amogba.liddhi, the Buddha of Boundlcss
Succels, who holds up his right hand in a
gcsture of dirpelling fear, (a bh aya_mudra).
Ceoft : Vairocnna, the Buddha of perfection, in
the stfipas, who holds his hands before his
chest in the gesture of preaching, or turning
the whecl of the ltw, (dharmacakre-
mudrd).
In Javanese Buddhist literature, it is Veirocana who
most often eppears as teacher, as the object of worship
ead as saviour.
The base of Borobudur is kaown as the klma dhatu, the
region of desire. Its walls are illustrated by a series of
reliefi, now hidden from view, rcpresenting worldly
existence, with scenesto illustrate the teachings of tne
Buddhict Sanskrit text Karmavibhahgz, which describes
the cause aad effect ofgood and evil deeds.There are 160
panels, showing lively scenesof contemporary daily life,
and graphically portraying punishments in hell for
various misdecds.
Tbe four galleries above the ba.seform the rtpadhltu,
or region of form, and have reliefs illustrating various
Buddhict themes and texts, both on the main walls and on
the balustrades:
Fk Ssllcry : Lalitauistera; the life of the Buddhe
up to tbe time of hia cnlightemcDt; cD
the main wall, upper register,120percl
JVtakes (mostly selected from the
-lVtakamalE), stories of the previous
births of the Buddhq and,AvadEnas,
stories of Buddhist saints; on the main
wall, lowcr register, and the balustrade,
alrogether 720 panels.
Sccod galcry : Gandauytth4 the otory of Sudhana,
the son of a rich merchant who wanted
to become a Bodhisattvt, apd to this
551 tN E .tc,FI' ,.1:,:.,F
end, with the hr:ii; r,i i,.it:iliusr:r und
M a i t r e y 4 o n a p i i g r i , , i : ;, i - : . : ,!jr - : . i i r ; ri ; f
pcrfect wisdorrr. I i:i,, -u ,.i:.' , !i rfue
principel texts of the 4 ,!!i:i:':,.r'jl:,-i f r:t)t.
( M a i n w a l l ) . { } r i i h t t . , :l r. . , i i r i , : t h c
seriel of _/al.l*-;r,.rnn{.! ,,{;,..€:1.iii,r..6. ig
conclu<Ied.
Thlrd gallery :The {Tandavyu}t,,i! r:r",,;riiri,.r,i ,::r.r thc
main wall and halr.r,"ili ailc.
Fourtt g8lery :Tlrc {}aurlatyfiha i1 Lijr:trir..ri,.l E,irthc
ttalustrxde a-rld tLr: t:a;.;i::,;.,p.ll.i,y!;ere
also tire i;onciuding iry,;rx, i:ii*, i-#lsar3-
cirr, drdi,u teej i & S ar:r.:l; ui.i;i; fi:.r;huo ilt
illustiated" f'hE tiai.li/av"r.tiirai; rkpie tt'd
in 460 pauels.
The prominence of the Ga\iCai:vtt.lirji.,,J r..J lrirli*,
Sudhang is proof of the dominance ot tirr .t,,:,:r.t,r.rr!sllk&
school in Central Java, f'his scctwss faq,oui. ,l .r", 'hitrain
"
Tang timcs from about 040 A.C,, ue..r Ch*aga;, it spread
to Japan, where the school wa$ knowrr as the Kegonnand
its pnncipal temple is tliE'I'cJaili i:, il*r4 whiuk lrirsthe
largest Buddha image (Vair.ociiua;irr rirc y;orlcl,unveiled
by the ruler in 752 A,C, Anuthr;i zuaji,r tcxt of thc
Avatamsaka school is rhe I)a.{abhtJusllvata, whicii is a
treatise on the ten ascrudi[B rtages ttrroug]r which ,rne
mult pass in crder to ailiiin iu Budui;ah.tritl, begirrning
with meditation on the bu.idhh autl euiiing with tbre
endowment of mnnifold attribures uf wouderfui power.
Though this text is not ilirrstratetl trt B*rtibtrdur, it is
pcrhaps significant that rfr€ iliri)ii.i;rijrl{ ir.,icit ircs ten
s'.agesfrom its basc to tlic ctowfiiilg cririiui stirpn, the
arfipadhEtu, or region of furrnjesgi:cs".{:r, * .i.*i:Egirir,
Pls. LIII * LvI).
O n t h e w a y t o B s r o b u . J u ii t l i : e ' * ; : a , , r i . i isr li " , ri . , r r ; + r { t l n t
temple, Candi Mendut (q,v.) of the sarue perJud, vrhich
has fine panels of. Pefrcatenfra gtories aud pcrhaps of
trnidentificd .Ietukss, a_ndiusids hss iLrcu grrat ligures
o f t h e B u d d h a , f l a n k e d b y A v e l u k r r e 6 , , , a r aa n d
VajrapEni, perhaps the nobl*;t pr€s€nt&tionof rhis group
to be seen aaywherc in ttrr ie';)r.lil.Ncnr-irf is ths smaller
Candi Pawon (q.v.), also b'cautifully d*orated; it is
dedicated to Kuvera, thc dcity of riches,
In the Prambanan area,.iustto titc rsst rll't'r,i34r,,akarta,
there are severalimportant Burldhist tc,-li:l*$ ,:.rfth* ie.te
eighth and early ninth centuries. tls$di Kalesr,.tr(q.v.),
778 A,C,, has already been u.rentionecl.Candr.ger and
Candi Plaosan (q.v,) ate br:th rr:orrs,stiutemples of
modest dimensions. ( a.l.r! -geryru {s.I.r,.)consists of a
central cruciform temple, with 2;{0sinaller $lrrinesarourd
it. This complex forrns a nratc'aie ?50 *reties t$qrl8r{,
and like Borobudrrr, was detJicated{r the five Buddhas of
the directions. It is howe ver er ectedtiir u tiet Eiluiu,and ils
sppearanceis crowdcd cnd *elnr:x,!:*t E;fintrrsetj.
 TNDONESIA 562 TNDONESIA

The Sniie*{r*! i,'f fiurnatra: Baiaputra, the son of the f e m a l ed i v i n i t i e s ,i n c l u d i n g P r a j f i E p i r a m i t e ,t h e e m b o d i -

S n r i e n d r ak : . - p : l a l n a : ' G t i r l 1 g 8 r&e,b e i l e da n d w a s o u s t e d mcnt of suprer:rewisdom, while others are dedicated to
f r r - r mJ a v a i r r j i b A . C . : b u t h e h a d m a r r i e d t h e d a u g h t e r Vajra, the diamond-thunderbolt,to Bhairavq the angry
cI the rueir rii Srlvi3aya,and himsell gained power there: god, ald to Yama, the ruler of the underworld. At least
henceforward, the SaiJeridraBuddhist monarchs reigned half a dozen of these hvmns are known and are in use in
Ir.rin Paiembang. He cntered into an alhance with Nepal.
D e v a p i i J ai h , e P i l a r u i t r o l B c n g a l( r . 3 J 3 - 8 9 JA . C . ) ,a n d
strengthen.d lirrks wrth Nlilanda. whric he built a Later Tentrlc Buddhlsm In Sumatra: In 1275 A.C.,
m o n a s t c r yf * i S c m a t r n n s l u d e n t p i l g r i m s . Kertanagara"the last king of Singosari,sent an expedition
to Malay'u in Sumatra. This has beenvariously interpreted,
I n t h e e l r r y 1 n 1 1c "! :, i t t r r t ' ! '{.; ' i . ' i ; a y a \ { ' a sl n r e l a t i c i n s h i p but it probably took place in the courseof an alliance
w i t h t h c C r . ' i ak i n g d i i r r i ; : 1. ' r l u t h I n d i a , a n d t h e k i n g o f against Srivijaya, by which Malayu gained its indepen-
Srlvijaya lruiit a viiAra for pilgrims in Negapatamin d e n c e .I n 1 2 8 6 ,K e r t a n a g a r as e n t a n i m a g e , a p o r t r a i t o f
I 0 0 6 A C , F t r o w e v c r ,i n t h e : ; r : . t d e c a d e , t h e C o J a s his father, but in thc form of AmoghapC6a,together with
a t t a c k e Cg ; i v i j a y a , w h i c h i n t u i n b e c a m e a l l i e d t o t h e copies of other images from Candi Jago, for worship in
J a v a n e s ek r n g d o mu n d e r A i r i i n g g a . ( r .1 0 1 9 -1 0 4 9A . C . ) , Malayu. ln 1294, the expedition returned to Singosari,
r i g h t u n t i i t h e t h i r t e e n t h u e n t u r v , S r l v i j a y a r e m a i n e da with two princcsses from Malayu: one became the
major centre of trade, was lamous fnr camphor and mother of Adityavarman, who later became king of
maintained a powerful fleei" I hroughout this period it Malayu. Adityavarman placed an image of Maf,juCri in
c o n t i n u e da s a n i m p o r t a n t c e n t r cf o r B u d d h i s ts t u d i e s A . t t h e c o u r t y a r d o f C a n d i J a g o i n 1 3 4 3A . C . I n 1 3 4 7 ,h e w a s
t h e e n d o f t h e f o u r t e e n t h c e n t u r y ,r t s p l i t i n t o t h r e ep a r t s , in Jambi as king of Ma-layu and had the Amoghapada
a p p r o x i m a t i n gt o P a l e m h a n g J, a m b t a n d M c n a n g k a b a u . i m a g e e r e c t e di n a B u d d h i s t t e m p l e t h e r e . L a t e r h e h a d
Tantrlc Bddilsm In East Javn end Baff: From 1222 to himself portrayed as MahdlElg the god of death. This
1282,the principal power in East J ave was Singosari,and image was brought from EasternJava to Padang Roco in
b o t h H i n d u i s m a n d B u d d h i s m w e r e p r a c t i s e di n t h e i r Central Sumatra, and is thrce metreshigh; it now stands
Tantric or magico-mysticsl form; the cult was cyDcretistic, in the Museum Pusat in Jakarta.
thc Buddha being often identified with Siva. From
There are many brick-built sanctuariesof this period
Singosari comeg an image of PrajflipEramitE, as a
in Central Sumatra, They are callcd braro (i.e. vihdra -
beautifu.lgoddess, now in Candi.laga (q,v.) at Tumpang, 'fh.y
near Malang, probably built 1270-1280 A.C., as a monastery). are to be found at Tarung-tarung,
monument to king Visnuvardhala of Singosari, and was Pancahan, Lubuk Sikaping, Gdugur and Rangkinang in
dedicatedto 1'antric Buddhisrn.Among the reliefsaround the Padang Highlands. There are also st[pas at Tanjung
Medan and Muara Talus, where small gold plates with
the temple are panels iilustrating the story of Kufrjara-
k a r n a , w h o g a i n e ds a l v a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e h e l p o f V a i r o - mystic syllables (bija) have been found, [n Central
M e u a n g k a b a u , t h e r e a r e i n s c r i p t i o n so f A d i t y a v a r m a n ,
cana. The mlin icon was of Amoghapaia, a form of
and in the Batanghari District a number of brick ruins,
A v a l o k i t e $ v a r a ,w h o r e s c u e st h e p e r i s h i n gw i t h h i s n o o s e
including the sanctuary of Padang Roco. In Tapenuli,
@ e l a ) ; h i s a t t e n d a n t sa r e S u d h a n a ( t h u s i n d i c a t i n g t h e
there are many brick biaros, with fragmentary images,
continuity with the Borobudur tradition), the horse-
and tbere is an important biaro at Si Pamutang at the
n e c k e dH a y a g r i v a , a n d t h e g o d d e s s e T s ara and Bhrkuti.
mouth of the Panei river, with several ruins, encircling
T h e i r w o r s h i p w a s a l a t e d e v e l o p m c n to f t h e A v a t a m s a k a
wall and images. At Gunung Tua Tonga, thsre are
cult in Naland4 and was also to be found in Nepal. The
terraces with ruins and sculptured panels.
rituals are called wata, and include the use of mandalas
a.nddharanTs,and the recital of Buddhist didactic stories
Jsvanet€ Buddht* Uerature: Therc never seems to havc
of the AvadEna type, such as the Kuffjarakarna.
been Javanese translations of any of the Buddhist
B u d d h i s m o f a s i m i l a r c h a r a c t e rw a s p r a c t i s e di n B a - l i , canonical books, though there is evidencethat Buddhist
and is described by C. Hooykaas in his book Balinese Sanskrit literature was known, and Sanskrit hymns end
Bauddha Brahmans. In it, he explains the ceremony, dhEraais were used. So far, only one JavaneseBuddhist
i m p o r t a n t f o r t h e B a l i n e s e ,o f t h e d a i l y a d o r a t i o n , a n d doctrinal text is known, the Kamahayanikaa. There are
the preparation of Holy Water (tirtha) by the Buddhist also severalBuddhist didactic stories of Avaddna type in
priest. In the book, Stuti and Stava, Goudriaan and Old Javanese,as well as Buddhist law books.
Hoovkaas include forty Buddhist hymns and prose The .Sang Hyang Kamahayanikan is written in Old
dhEranis used in Bali. Nine of these are in praise of the J a v a n e s ep r o s e . l t m e n t i o n s S i n d o k , k i n g o f E a s t e r n
Buddha" five of the Buddhas of the Directions (tathigata), Java" who ruled from 929 to 947 A,C. The contents are
t h r e e o f t h e t h r e ej e w e l s ( t r i r a t n a , t h e B u d d h q t h e l a w doctrines of MahEyEna Buddhism, and the text includes
and the monasticcommunitv). five to various TdrEs or numerous Sanskrit Clokas,which are explained in Old
 INDONESIA
Javanese.Many of these describe tbe orientation of the
Buddhas of the directions, and some of them agrec
c l o s e l yw i t h t h e d i s p o s i t i o n o f t h c i m a g e sa t B o r o b u d u r
ln addition, instruction is given on thc development of
samidhi, contemplation. It is divided into two parts.
called Mantrandya and Krama ning pancatatha.
gatajff-ana.lt begins with an account of the various orders
of Buddhas, past, present and future. then the tcn
pEramitE, the four yoga, f our, bhEvana, four
iqrasatya, the mudrEof the Sakyamuni, the five skandha
and the S"*A.
The ,Sufasoma kakawin is an Old Javanese poem in
Sanskrit mctres, in 198cantos. tt has a remore resem_
blancc tothe Mah-asutasoma-JZra*a (Fausbdll No. 531).
l n t h e J a v a n e s cp o e m , t h e d e m o n p u r u s a d a h a d m a d e
captive all the kings of India and had conquered
Ratudharma. Prince, Sutasomq a previous incarnation
of the Buddha, conquered Furusdda with the help of a
relative, Prabhu Matetu. purusdda had wanted to eat the
flesh of his captives; in the end, Sutasoma was prepared
to offer his own body: but purusdda repented and set the
princes free. Tbe author rtas Mpu Tantalur of Majapahit,
w h o w r o t e t h i s w o r k a b o u r 1 3 7 0 - 1 3 9 0A . C .
The story of Kuf,jarakarna exists in Old Javanese
both in prose and in e later poetic version. lt is also
illustreted on the panels on Caadi Jago of about 1270_
1280A.C. It tells how Kufljaratarna was savedfrom the
l-ormentsof hell and restored
to life through following the
teachings of Vairocana on the good law (sudharma).
Later he weDt to tell how his friend, the yaksa king,
P[rnavijaya who guffered from leprosy, was cured of his
illness and granted salvation by the s&me means. There
may be a tenuous connection with the story of Kufljara-
karnq prince of Taxila in the Aloka-evadEnr; but the
tale of Purnavijaya is to be found in the Mahapratisira_
kalpa, one of the five texts of the paf,canksa. The text
contains terminology of the Avatamsata school.
The talg of Bubuksah and Gagang Aking is of two
brothers who learnt to become ascetics,and is generally
reckoned to be of Buddhist origin. Bubuksah (: glutton)
in spite of his profession, ate meat a.nddranl toddy, while
Gagang Aking (= dry stalk) wes assiduousin his religious
practicr. Batara Guru sent Kdlavijaya, in the form of a
white tiger (aacan putih) to test the two. Gagang Aking
was afraid, but Bubuksah offered his body to be eaten.
Then the white tiger told them who he was. and took
thcm to heaven, where Bubuksah enjoyed the highest
blirs, but Gagang Aking was givcn an inferior position.
The story may be compared with the VyZghri-lEtaka
(-tVt*aaEle l).
Tbe Vighnotasava and the Bratilraya are two Old
Javanesepocm! relating the srme story. Jinavikrama, or
king Suprarena of Vallabha was at war with the yaksa
king Vighnotsava, who having vanquished all the other
trR?
INIJG}iESIA
kings, came to attack Vallabha. ln the end, the yalsa wes
s u b d u e d a n d b e c a m ea d i s c i p l eo f t h e B u d d h a .
tn the.Sm6rlalangal4 Cayapurusa, priace of Svctanadi_
pura, ald a follower of Siva, dcsired the princcsscf
Kamarupini, who was a Buddhistof the land of Singha-
langgaia" but failed to overcome her. f'hen his brothe r,
t-aksmikirana,a foliower of Visnu, attacked KFmarfrpiai,
but also failed. Rarih, with her Vidy6dharis, camc to hclp
Kamarlpini, wbile Cayapurusa joined forces with his
b r o t h e r . I n t h e e n d , S i v a h i m s e l fc a m eb e t w e e nt h e m .T h e
story is thought to bc an allegory of the strugg.lebetween
Hinduism and Buddhism.
Kidung Dadang Dudang is a Middle Javanesepoem
from Bali, in Balinesetengahan merres,which tclls of the
wanderings of Ki Dadang Dudang and his wife, Ni Randi
Randu, in search of salvation. From a, p"qdit4 the
husband learns various wata ar ccremonials of merit to
overcome cvil. In the end, he and his wife meet Vairocana
in heaven.
Tlne Dharmopapati ia a Javanese Buddhirt law book
from Bali, beginning with an invocation of the Buddha It
ssnlnins many legal maxims relating to special c&ses,
with the amounts of fincs for vaious offcnces.
Undoubtedly, more Buddhist literature will come ro
light in the course of examining Javanesemanuscripts.
The Cantakaparva, an Old Javanese encyclopaedic
dictionary and compendium of tales, contains many
referencesto Buddhist stories,and may provide a lead for
such an investigation.
Budd$t Art h Indorrcda: The architecture of the temples
of Java, whether Hindu or Buddhist, appearr to have
been influenced by rhe styles of South India. However,
Buddhist images, both in stone, such as those of
Borobudur, aad also the many bronzes, owe most to
Eastern India. Some Gupta bronzes have bcen found in
the outer islands, such as the Buddha from Sikendeng,
Sulavesi, perhaps of the fifth ccntury A.C., and the one
from Kota Bangun in Borneo of the ninth century. The
Sambas trcasure, a collection of smell gold and silver
images from West Borneo, may have been mede in the
tc:ltn century in Java. A considerable number of small
bronze images of PEla type, like those of NEland{ have
been found in Java.
The main archeological sitesof Indonesian Buddhism
have already been discussed.ln Java they belong to two
principal periods: the Sailcndra of the eighth and ninth
centuries A.C, in the centre of the island, where there are
closc affinities with Indian models, both in the archi-
tecture, and in the treatment of sculpture; while in
Eastern Java, from the eleventh to the fourteenth
centuries, indigenized forms, with elaboratcly decorated
buildings, often decoratedwith relief panelsin an artificial
and non-naturdistic style, becamethe dominant forms,
As far as Buddhist art is concerned,the most important
 iNDONESLA
sitesand imagesof this secondperiod are of the thirteenih
centuryin the kingdom of Singcsari.
In Sumatra, the Srivijaya-sailenora art, strongiy
i n f i u e n c c db y t h e C e n t r a l J a v a n e s e- " t y l e p
, e r s i s t e df r o m
the eighth to the thirteenth centurics. Thereafter, in
Central Sumaira, thc usual Buddhist forrnswtrc bdck-
b u i l t v i h a r a s a n d s t [ p a s , w i t h p ! a s t i c i n l l u e n c e sf r o m
Singosari.
S o m e o f t h e l a r g e s t B u d d h i s t i r n a g e s .a n d i o w * r e l i e f
i l l u s t r e t e dp a n e l s ,a r e s t i l l t o b e f o u n d o n s i t e ; b u t m a n . y '
o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t i m a g e s ,a s w e l l a s i h e e x t e n s i v e
collections of small Buddhist bronzes can be seenin the
m u s c u m so f J a v a , i n c l u d i n g t h e M u s e u m P u s a t ,J a k a r t a ,
the Museum Sana Budaya at the Kraton or paiaceof
Y o g . v a k a r t a "t h e M u s e u m R a j a P u s t a k a a n d M u s e u m
Kraton at Surakarta, and the Museum of ihe Archaeo-
l o g i c a l D e p a r t m c n t a t P r a m b a n & n ,n e a r Y o g l ' a k a r t a . I n
E u r o p e , t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t c o l l e c t . i o n se r e a t t h . R i j k s -
m u s e u mv o o r V o l k e n k u n d e ( t h e E t h n o l o g i c a l M u s e u m )
in Lciden, and the British b{usrum. Lnndcn, the latter
including many itcms frcm the collection tl1Sir Stanr{ord
Refflcs.
Buddldst Doctrbre kr Intiorleda: I-Jntil a much more
d e t a i l e de x a m i n a t i o n i s m a d e o f t h e a r c h e o l o g i c a sl i t e s ,
and of the iconography of Indonesian Buddhist images,
a n d t h e c o n t e n t o f J a v a n e s eB u d d h i s t l i t e r a t u r e ,i t w i l l
not be possibicto give a comprehensiveald authoritative
sccount of this sub-icct.We have however broad indi-
c a t i o n s o f t h c h i s t o r y a n d c h a r a c t e ro f B u d d h i s m i n t h e
r e g i o n . B o r o b u d u r c m b o d i e d t h e i d e a sa n d t e a c h i n g so f
the Avatamsaka school, and there are other evidences
t h a t t h i s c o n t i n u e Cd o m i r n a n t f o r s o m ec e n t u r i e s .l n l a t e r
times, Tantric Buddhism of the Vajraydna school was
f a v o u r e d .l n J a v a a n d B a i i t h i s b e c a m em u c h m i x e d w i t h
S i v a i t eH i n d u i s m . s o t h a t i n t h e e n d t h e B u d d h a b c c a m e
equated with Siva, and the cutt became completely
syncretistic. At Singosari in Javq and at Malayu in
Sumatra, one of the most important Tantric cults was
that of Amoghapddq a form of Avalokiteivara with a
n o o E ei n o n c h a n d , s y m b o l i z i n gh i s w o r k o f s a v i n gt h o s e
who would otherwise have perished. This cult probabiy
originated in Bihar, and is also to be found in Nepal.
The Sang Hs'ang Kamahayanikan is the one complet:
B u d d h i s td o c t r i n d t e x t i n O l d J a v a n e s ew h i c h h a s s o f a r
come to light. It may perhaps be compared with the
MahEy1na-samgraha of Asaiga, the foundcr in the
fourth century A.C. of the Yogdc[ra school.His work,
which is an abridgment of the MahEydna doctrine,
e x p l a i n st h e t e n q u a l i t i e so f t h e w o r d s o f t h e B u d d h a . I n
the Sang Hyang Kamahayanikan, a prominent place is
given to the Ten p7ramitE, or perfections,which have a
similar character, Historically, the Yogacdra was the
a n t e c e d e n to f t h e A v a t a m s a k a s c h o o l , w h i c h w a s e s t a -
b l i s h e di n C h i n a i n t h e s e v e n t hc e n t u r v ,w h e n c ei t s p r e a d
554 TNT}ONESTA
to Japan in rhe eighth, and was intellectually one of the
most advanced forms of Mahayana Buddhism; so the
faith of the Sailcndra may have proceeded from, or at
least beeninfiuenced by this Chinesemovement. lts texts,
h o w c v e r ,w e r e S a n s k r i t ,f r o m l n d i a .
T ' h ep r i n c i p a l t e x t o f t h e A v a t a m s a k a s c h o o l w a s t h e
s t o r v o f S u d h a n a i n s e a r c ho f p e r f e c t k n o w l e d g e i l l u s -
t r n r e d i n t h e u p p e r g a l l e r i e so f B o r o b u d u r , T h i s t e l l s h o w
w h i i e t h e B u d ' r h a w a s r e s i d i n gw i t h S a m a n t a b h a d r aa n d
M a f f j u d r i ,h e t a u g h t t h e m m y s t i c a la t t a i n m e n t s ,a n d t h e y
were joined by n murtitude of monks, with whom
M a f i j u i i l s t a r t e do n a j o u r n e y t o S o u t h e r n l n d i a . O n t h e
w a y i : e m e t t h e y o u n g m a n S u d h a n aa n d t o l d h i m a b o u t
t h e B u d d h a . S u d h a n ap r a i s e dh i m a n d s e t o u t o n a q u e s t
for knowledge (bodhi). He visited various teachers in
S o u t h e r n l n d i a , f i n a l l y m e e t i n gM a h E d e v a o f D v a r - a v a t 1 ,
w h o s e n t h i m n o r t h t o M a g a d h a t o m e e tt h e w i f e a n d t h e
mother c,f the bodhisattvaGautama, and they in their
turn sent him back to N{afijudri.At each stage,Sudhana
had increasedhis spiritual knowledge. Finally, Mafijufrl
sent him to Samantabhadra- from whom he receivedfull
and perfect knowledge.The text is completed by the
hvmn known as the Bhadracfri, in which Samanta-
b h a d r a ' st e a c h i n gi s s e t o u t "
The Dafubhlmi(vara complements and explains this
t c a c h i n g , I t i s a n a b s t r a c t t r e a t i s eo n t h e t e n s t a g e so n e
must pass through to attain Buddhahood. Each stage is
calied a bhtmi (which here might be rendered'level of
attainment'), including meditation, simplicity with
c o m p a s s i o n ,m e n t a l e l e v a t i o n , r e l i g i o u s c o n c e n t r a t i o n ,
p u r i f i c a t i o n o f t h e m i n d , e q u a n i m i t y ,s t e a d f a s tp r o g r e s s ,
u n d e r s t a n d i n g ,p e r c e i v i n gt h e m i n d s o l o t h e r s , a n d t h e
attainmcntof wonderful power.
In Old Javanese literature, besidesthe ^9angHyang
Kamahayanrkan, some of the Buddhist stories contain
d o c t r i n a l s e c t i o n s .B o t h t h e p r o s e a n d p o e t i c v e r s i o n so f
the Kufijarakar4a include sections of teaching given by
Vairocana in responseto the enquiries first of Kufljara-
karna, and then or Purnavijaya, These include elements
of the sacred law (sudharma), the doctrine of the Iive
dtma, corresponding to the five senses,and the conquest
o f d e s i r e s .I n o n e s e c t i o no f t h e p r o s c t e x t , t h e B u d d h a i s
overtly identified with Siva,
The cult of Amoghape$a (q.v.) was practised ir the
Singosari kingd_om,particularly at Candi Jago, and in
Malayu under Adityavarman. Amoghapd$a is a form of
the Bodhisattva AvalokiteSvara, usually depicted with
eight arms; in one of the right hands he holds a noose
@efu), from which he derives his name. He is accompa-
nied by the goddesses Tdra and Bhrkuti, (q,v.) the
guardian Hayagrlva (q.v,) ('horseneck), and the pilgrim
Sudhana, thus linking up with the Avatamsal'a school. In
Nepal, the worship of Amoghap-aia is conducted on the
eighth day of the lunar month, and the ritual is called
 INDOI{ESIA
A s t a m i v r a t a ( r i t e s o f t h e e i g h t h d a y ) . T h e p r i n c i p a Jt e x t s
arc the Uposadha-avadana arrd the Wrakuia_avaddna,
both being extracts from the Divya-avadEna. The
w o r s h i p t a ] < e sp l a c e i n g r o u p s l e d b y a V a j r a c a r y ap r i e s t ,
with pElE offerred to the mancialas of the Buddha. the
D h a r m q t h e S a n g h aa n d A m o g h a p a j a . I t . i s n o t t n o * r ,
whether this corresponds to the worship as it was
p r a c t i s e da t C a n d i J a g o , b u t i t i s a p o s s i b i l i t y ,a n d s h c u l d
provide a starting point for investigation,
Modern Buddhtsm In Indoneds: -Ihe open practice of
B u d d h i s m i n J a v a h a s n o t e x i s t e d s i n c et h e d o w n f a i l o f
t h e k i n g d o m o f M a j a p a h i t , a n d t h e e s r a b l i s h m e n ro f
Islam.from the fifteenth century, In Bali, Buddhism
s u r v i v e d b e c a u s et h e B a l i n e s er u l e r s e m p i o y e d B u d d h i s t
Taniric priests for certain court ritrrajs,and in recent
t i m e st h c r e h a l ' eb e e na f e w p r a c t i s i n gB u d d h i s t s .I n J a v a ,
t h e r e h a s b e e na m o d c r n r e v i v a l o f B u d c i h i s m w , hich may
b c a c c o u n t c df o r p a r t l y b y t h e p e r s i s t e n c ien a h i d d e n a n d
unacknowledgedway of Buddhist ideas in Javanese
m y s t i c i s m ,p a r t l y b y t h e p r e s e n c eo f t h e C h i n e s ec o m m u _
n i t y , w i t h i t s p o p u l a r c e r e m o n i e sa s s o c i a t e dw i t h t h e i r
temples, and partly by the interest and pride in the
B u d d h i s t m o n u m e n t s o f J a v a , e s p e c i a l l yB o r o b u d u r _
w h i c h i s l o o k e d u p o n i n i n d e p e n d e n tI n d o n e s i a a s a n
important part of the national cultural heritage,and
which has artracted world-wide attention both of the
c o n s e r v a t i o n i s t sa n d a l s o t h e t o u r i s t s . l n B a l i , t h e s t u d y
o f I n d i a n t e x t s . b o t h H i n d u a n d B u d d h i s t , h a s b e e no n e
a s p e c to f a r e l i g i o u s r e v i v a l , w h i c h s c c k st o e n c o u r a g e
more informed and intelligent understandingof the
inherited culturc.
B e c h e r t , 1 9 8 8 ,n o t e s t h a t r h e r e v i v a l o f B u d d h i s m i n
Java and Bali is a reccnt phenomenon, characterizedby.
the in{luencc of the Theravadq the restructuring of
traditions of Chinese origin, and attempts to revive
ancient Javaneseffaditions. The theosophicalSociety of
Java was founded by Madame Blavatsky in 1883, and
had some influence, but the first truly Buddhist group
was the Javanese branch of the lnternational Buddhist
M i s s i o n f r o m T h a t o n i n B u r m a , e s t a b l i s h e di n 1 9 2 9 .
M o r e i n f l u e n t i a l w a s t h e v i s i t o f t h e S i n h a l e s em o n k ,
N a r a d a M a h a T h e r q i n I 9 3 4 . A l s o i n 1 9 3 4 ,t h e S a m
K a u w H w e e w a sf o u n d e d b y K w e e T e k H o a y ( 1 8 8 6 - 1 9 5 2 )
for the regeneration of Chinese Buddhism in Java. ln
I9f 3, Boan An, a member of the Sam Kauw Hwee went
to Burma to study uipassani, (insight meditation) under
Mahasi Sayadaw.Boan An was ordaineda bhikkhuin
Burma in 1954,end took the name of Ashin Jinaralthita.
He returned to Java and became the most influential
Buddhist teacherfor a long period, bringing with him the
Theravdda form of Buddhism both in prccept and
practicc.
W i t h t h e i n d e p e n d e n c eo f I n d c n e s i a "t h e a d o p t i o n b y
the state of Paficasila, not in its classicalBuddhist sense
of a personal morality, but with the meaning of the
555 INDffftESIA
f i v e f o l d p r i n c i p l e so f t h e s t a t e m o n o t h e i s m ,h u m a n i s m ,
n a t i o n a l i s m , d e m o c r a c y a r d s o c i a l j u s t i c e , p r e s e n t e Ca
p r o b l e m f o r i n d o n e s i a n B u d d h i s t so f T h e r a v a d ap e r s u a _
s i o n . S i n c c t h e i r s y l i e m w a s n o n t h e i s t i c .i t c o u l d n o t b e
d i r e c t l y h a r m o n i z e dw i t h t h e f i r s t o f t h e f i v e p r i n c i p l e so i
I n d o n e s i a ,b e l i e fi n t h e O n e S u p r e m eG o d , a r e q u i r c m e n r
i n c u m b e n t u p o n i t s c i t i z e n s ,T h i s l e d t o c o n t r o v e r s v
d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d 1 9 6 5 - 1 9 7 4J. i n a r a k k h i t " ' , , . r p n o r . , o
this difficulty was to interpret the term Sang Hyang
Adibuddha in the Sang Hyang Kamahayanrfran as
referring to God, but this did not sa::sfy the strict
T h e r a v E d a ,s o l e d t c a d i v i s i o n , N e v c r t h e i c s sB u d d h i s m
has continued to progressin Indonesia.and there are now
about a million adhcrentsthere.Currently there are seven
sects:
l . M a j e l i s B u d d h a y d n a l n d c n e s i a ( s y n c r e t i s fr o l l o w i n g
of Jinarakkhita)
2, MajelisPanditaBuddha Dhamma Indonesia(Thera_
vada)
3. Majelis Dharmad[ta Kasogatan (Revived Old
JavaneseBuddhism)
4, Majelis Buddha MahEyana lndonesia (Chinese)
5. Majeiis Pandita Buddha Maitrcya Indonesia(Chinese
messianic)
6. Majelis Agama Buddha Nichiren Shoshu lndonesia
(Reformed Buddhism of Japanesetype)
7, Majelis Rokhaniwan Tridharma (Chinesetraditional
Buddhism accommodatedto Tao and Confrrcianism).
A SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barkker, J. W. W., 'Contemporary Buddhism in Indo-
nesia',in H. Dumou.lin F, C. Maraldo Edd: Buddhism in
the Modern World, New York, 1976, pp. 147_52;
Bechert H. 'The Buddhism of Indonesia: A syncretistic
f o r m o f T h e r a v a d a ' ,J P T S . 9 , 1 9 8 1 ,p p . l 0 - 2 1 ; B u d d h i s -
mus in heutigen .Iava und Bdi', Internationales Asien
F o r u m , M u n i c h , 1 9 , N o . l , 1 9 8 8 ,p p . l 7 - 3 3 . C o e d e s r G .
Les ttats hindouiles d 'Indochine et d'Indonesre. paris,
1948. Engiish translation The tndianized states of
Southwest Asta, Honolulu, 1968; 'Lr rovaume de Sri-
vijaya' BEFFO. 18, I9l8; 'Les inscriptions malaises de
S r i v y a y a ' , B E F F O , 3 0 , 1 9 3 0 ,p p . 2 9 - 8 0 ; , O n t h e o r i g i n s
o f t h e S a i l e n d r a so f I n d o n e s i a 'J, G I S . l , 1 9 3 4 p, p . 6 6 - 7 0 ;
Fontefn, J. A. Soekmono, R. and Sulelman S.: Ancient
Indonesian art ofthe Central and East Javaneseperiods
New York, I971. Goudrlaan, J. and Hooykaas, C. .Srua
and Stava, Amstcrdarn,lg'14. llsll, D. G. E. A History of
South East Asia, London, 1955. Hazra, K. L., The
Buddhist Annals and Chronicles of South-East Asia,
New Delhi, 1986. Ilooykass, C., Balinese Bauddha
B ra hm a ns,Amsterd am, 197 ;Ishl, Y.:' M od ern Buddhism
in Indonesia', Buddhist Studiesin honour of Hammalava
S a d d h a t i s s a ,N u g e g o d a , S r i L a n k a , 1 9 8 4 , p p . 1 0 8 - 1 5 .
I-TsLrg: A Record of the Buddhist rcligion as practised in
India and the Malay Archipelago, A.D. 67l4gS, Oxford.
 TNDftABHUTI 556
' B u d d h i s t R i t u a i f o r l-aymen, recentiY
1 8 9 6 ;M a y e d a ,E . :
formulated in I n d o n e s i aa s s e e n i n P a n c a r a n B a g i a ' ,
B u k l y o x e n y u ( B u d d t r i s t S t u d i e s ) 7 , 1 9 7 8 ,p p . 9 - 1 6 ;
Sdrdtger, F.M. Forgatten Kingdom of Suntatra, IAE,
3 5 , S u p p i e m e n t ,1 9 3 8 ,P P . I - d A '
G. E. Msrrlsort
INDRA. SeeSAKKA.
INDRABHOII, a fairly important Tantric writer regard-
cd as a siddha(perfected one) in the T'rantric traditicn.
Styted es Mah6cEryq Odiyana Siddha etc. he was thc
king of Uddiy-anat and : assiE;"edto the early part of tbe
8 t h C e n t u r y A . C . R e g a r d e da s t h e d i s c i p l eo f A n a f r g a -
vajra he was aJsothe fatbrr of Padmasambhava'who is
important irnthe introducti(rn of Buddhisrn to Tibet, and
the brothcr of Laksrnif.kar[ rcgarded as one of thc 84
siddhas and as the suthoress of the Trantric work
Advayasiddhi
tndrabhDti is regarded as the author of not lessthan 23
works preserved in the Tibetan Tengyur. Two of his
workr are aveilable in original Sanskrit, One is the
r//Esa diana p reserve d i n the SF.dh a n a-m eiE (GOS'
K r,rrr.rfr
II, pp. 351-3) and the other Jfl-anasiddhi (published as
volume XLIV of the GOS.)
With regard to Indrabh[ti's contribution to Tantric
Buddhism the following words (from N. K. Sahu's
Buddhism in Orissa, published by Utkal University,
'The Tantric ideologi
1958, p. 167) may be quoted:
which was unfolded from about the time of Saraha
attained its highest devclopment in the writings of
lndrabh[ti, whose famous work JfEnasiddhi, asserts
l. Speltalsoasodiyinaoroddiyinaandregarded asapithaoraptaceofpilgrimageinTantricBuddhirm.Thirplaccharnotyetbccn
identifiedwith ccrtginty.*itir" it is generallyidentifiedwith Orissasomebelioreit to bc a part of Bengal.A dircurrion
(pp. lszff .)quoted above and in B. Intrdtrction
Bhattacharyyal
found in Sahu.swork
GO.S,XLIV, lntroduction,pp. xi wherethe entirelist of works attributedto him ir given.
l. S. v. p. 414;Dhp. v.95; .9n.v.229; Thag' v' 663'
2. D. tr,p. l7l.
3, frg h8ni k 8y a -Atthakathi -tika,1: 2t4 T), ll, p' 28
4. A. lV,p. 106
5. r'in ll, p 160
6 . P s Ap . 1 1 9
1. KhpA p t85
E . A A . l V , P .5 3
nronaxil,a
that emancipation cannot be obtained simply by mudrii,"
mantra tnd mandala unless a deepcr knowledge of the
five Tathagatas or the Dhyanibuddhas be attained by the
sadhakaandalso that neitber the learned nor the fool can
get rid of samsdra, if he is devoid of this Buddha
knowledge."
A. G. S. Kerlyiwasm
INDRAIflLA. Thc word indraklla (Pali indakhlla)lite-
rally means lndra's post. It has a long history spenning
over twenty centuries and is attestedin Pali, Sanskrit end
Sinhala Literature. Over the period of time it har come to
mean three different objects: (a) a post, stake, pillar or
column generally eiected at tbe entrance to a city or
village, (b) a stone pillar set up in the interior of the dome
of a stfipa, and (c) a prominent ritual object set up in the
parittamandapa of Sri Lanka.
In Pali canonical literature indakhlla sppears in the
sengeof a pillar firmly planted in tbe ground. [t occurr in
similes denoting stability without any reference to its
exact location.t The Mahdsudassaatsuttd referr to a
similar pillar as asrkil, and its 6kF explains it ar an
indakhila, A passage in the AhguttaranikCyd lPe.kr of
an esr?r which stands in a frontier city of the kingdom
and it is said to be deeply embedded, well dug in,
immovable and unshalable. The PrcittiyaprlF explains
the indakhilaas a threshold, but it does not menn any and
every threshold. It only means the threshold to a king's
household.
According to the commentary of the Petisam'
bhidAmagga,c indakhilais e thresbold to avillage orcity.
Tbe Khuddekap1tha Atlhakathfl refen to thc iad*Iiila
as a large slab of ltone or a pillar made of hard timber
pressed into the ground at the tbreshold of a city by
digging to a depth of 8 or l0 cubits end this lenres to mark
thc city limit. Thc Manorathap&nn? girrcs thc following
description of an csrktr;
on thir b
to Buddhist fuoterism,pp'+1-6. Scedro
 INDRAKILA
Tbe csrtftrbembha is made of bricks. stone or some
herd. well sensonedtimber such as khadira. When it is
e r e c t e df o r p r o t e c t i o n o f t h e c i t y i t i s p l a n t e d o u t s i d e
the city, when it is for ornamentation it is plaated
inside. When constructing it with bncks, a large deep
pit is dug and filled with bricks (up to ground level)
end abow (ground level)it is made ocragonal in shape
aad ir painted white. lt is polished ond painred to such
pcrfection that when elephantsrub their tusks against
it, the paint does not chip off. Stone pillars ctc. are
elso octagonal in shape. If the pillars are eight cubits
higb, four cubits are embeddedunderground anclfour
cubits remain visible abovc ground. It is the samewith
pillars l6 or 20 cubits high. tn all caseshalf the length
of the pillar remains buricd underground and half
r c m a i n s v i s i b l ea b o v eg r o u n d . T h e y s t a n d f o r m i n g a
zigzag pattern (gomuttavahkV).Therefore it is possi-
ble to utilise the spacein betweenthem for somc
purpose by flanking them with timber (padaracayam
katvi). The pillars are decorated with beautiful
drawings and flags are hoisted on them.
lt cen bc gathered from thesepali literary sourcesthat
the indakhila refers to a firm pillar which stands ar a
rymbol of royal authority at the entrancr to a.city, vi!lage
or palace. It also functions as a symbol of stability and
muks the limit.
The word indrekilais ettcatedin a number of Buddhist
Sr"rkrit texts with the following meenings;
(a) a threshold slab, r stone embeddedin the ground at
the entrance to a city, palace or harem;e
(b) a pillar firmly planted in thc ground; and it is uscd in
rimiles denoting stability and immobility.ro
Thus the symbolism of the indakhlla contuned in pali
literature is further substantiated by Buddhisr Sanskrit
literature.
Sinhala literaturett too contains several referencesto
the indraklla and most of them confirm the conclusions
9- Divy' pp.250, 541, Avadanalataka,ed, J. S. Speyer,2 Vols., St. Petersberg;1902, 1906,Vol. I, p. 109.
1 0 . M h w . V o l . I , p . 2 9 2 Y o l . I l , p p . 2 6 1 , 2 6 2 , A v a d a n a l e t a k a ,V o l . t , p . 2 2 3
ll. frlVvaliya, ed. K. Nanavimalg Colombo, 1965,pp. 243,296,5E2
Seddharma Ratnikaraya. ed. K. L. Dharmakirti, Cotombo , 1912, p. l2g
htr'ana Pirupanavat4 cd. B. Dhammaratana" Colombo, 1914,p. l6
Abeddhasimavinilcaya, ed. K. Upa.rena, Colombo, 1952, p. 40
12. Dharnpiyi Atuvi G{tapadaya,ed.. D. B. Jayatilaka" Colombo, 1932, p. 156
13' Saddharma Ratnavaliye, ed. D. B. Jayatilaka, 1928, p. 488 - nuvara vasala kerehifrdavu indrakilayata
dami ryavitra kerd de danno suvaf,da mal adiva pudat da
l/t. A. L. Basham, Wonder that was India,Landon, 1954, p. 203
15. SnA, ll, p.4,f3; Vism.l,p.fr6
catwisiti sahassEniajjhogilho mahalnave accuggato tavad eva sineru pabbat\tttamo.
16' Wcaspatyam, ed. Taranatha Tarkavacaspati, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series,Work No. 94. Varanasi, lndia"
17. Sabdirtha Ratn-*araya, ed. B. Revata. Colombo. 1929
557 INDRAKILA
arrived at through Pali and Buddhist Sanskrit literary
s o u r c e s .F u r t h e r t h e r e i s a c l u e t o t h e e r i s t e n c e o f a
practice of worshipping the indrakila,tz and the Sad-
d h armaratnEval i yatt furnishes conclusi';- el,idencewhen
it says:
Even though small childrrn dirty the indrakila crected
a t t h e c i t y g a t c b y p u t i i n g r u b b i s h , d i s c r e e to n e so f f e r
incenseanC flowers to it.
This practice seemsto be a vcry ancient <lne,for it finds
mention cven in a Tamil poem entitled, .The Grasslandof
Medurai, "which is said to have beenwritten in honour of
a secondcentury Pandyan kine named Nedufljeliyan,but
which, according to Basham, may be assignedto thc third
o r f o u r t h c c n t u r y . I n d e s c r j b i n ga c i t v i t s t a t e s ;
T h e p o e t e n t e r st h e c i t v b y i t s g r e a t g a t e , t h e p o s t s
(Tamil, netu nilai, meaning tall column) of which are
carved with images of the Goddess Laksml and which
i s g r i m y w i t h g b e e ,p o u r . d ' i n o b l a t i o n u p o n i t t o b r i n g
s e c u r i t ya n d p r o s p e r i t y t o t h e c i t y i t g u a r d s . 1 4
This aspect of the indrakila as an object worthy of
h o n o u r i s c e r t a i n l y a n a d v a n c e m e n to n t h e c o n c e p t o f
indrakila as revealed from Pali and Sanskrit sources.Tbe
b e l i e f t h a t a d e i t y r e s i d e si n i t s e e m st o h a v e c o n t r i b u t e d
to the practic.c,and according to the Tamil poem cited
above it is Latsml, the Goddessof prosperity that ij
i n c u m b e n ti n i t ,
The indrakTla seems to share some cheracteristic
featureswith Mount Mcruwhich is said to be submerged
in the ocean to a depth of 84,000 yojanas and it rises
above sealevel to an equal height of 84,il|yojanas.rs The
indrakilais also a post embeddedin the ground to adepth
equal to its height above ground. Mount Meru is the
symbol par excellenceof stability and thc indrakilais a-lso
a s y m b o l o f s t a b i l i t y . I t i s q l s o p o s s i b l et o e q u a t e t h e
indrakila to Mount Meru with evidence from literary
sources.Lexicons such as Wcaspagtaml6and Sabdertha
Ratnakarayar? identify indrakila with Mount Mandera.
bdladaruv1 kunukasala
1962.e.v. indrekila.
 INDRAKILA 558 INDRAKILA

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e , \ y ' a r l a - b h E r a hgroed sc h u r n e d t h e c c e a n
with Mandara as the churning staff. But class:ca-l Sinhala
poems such a-cthe MuvadevdEvata,te Hamsa Sandesaya2D
snd GuttilakEvyava refer to lv{ount Meru s.sthe churning
r o d . C l a s s i c a iS i n h a l al c x i c o n ss u c h a s R u v a n m a l * 2 a n d
Pura!a h?mivalt"i'dl also give Mandara as a svnonym
-Ihercfore
for Menr, t h e e q u a t i o n b e c o m e sp o s s i b l e :
Indrakila : Mandara. Mandara : Meru, therefore
indrakiia: Ment.
N o w M e r u i s t h e h u b o f t h e u n i v e r s ca n d i t i s s a i d t h a t
Indra's (Sakka's) heaven is situated on it. Therefore
indrakTlatoo could sharethe centresymbolism of Mount
I+[eru.
When the foregoing survey of the concept of indrakila
t h r o u g h P a i i , S a n s k r i t a n d S i n h a l c l i t c r a r v s o u r c e si s
s u m m a r i s e ci it r e v e a l si t s e l fa s a s y n t h e s i so f t h e f o l l o w i n g
symbols:
(a) Symbol of stability
(b) Symbol of authority
(c) S " v m b o lo f t h e l i m i t
(d) Symbol of the ccntre.
Paranavitana,in his Stlpa in Ceylofi'states that there
is an octagonal stone pillar weighing about 20 tons
referred to as the indraJ<ilaby ihe monks of the present
d a y , s e t u p i n t h e i n t e r i o r o f t h e d o m e o f t h e s t D p a .H e
observes:
" T h e s e h u g e p i l l a r s s e r v e dn o s ' . r u c t u r a p
l u r p o s ea n d
t h e l a b o u r e n t a i l e di n h a u l i n q t h e m t o g r e a t h e i g h t s
and setting them up must have been undertaken
b e c a u s et h e v w e r e c o n s i d e r e da b s o l u t e l vn e c t s s a r v ,
a c c o r d i n gt o t h e r e L i g i o u sb e l i e f so f t h e t i m e s , t o g i v e
t h e s t D p a st h e i r s a c r c dc h a r R c t e r".
The Divl'dvadLnds which gives a unique dcscription of
t h c c o n s t r u c t i o n a ld c t a i i s o f a s f D p a s t a t e st h a t a p r l l a i
called ynpay,atlt was set up in the interror of the dorne.
Y u p a i n t h c V c d i c t r a d i t i o n w a s t h e s a c r i f i c i a lp o s t t o
w h i c h t h e a n i m a i s a c r i f i c e dw a s t i e d , a n d i t w a s b e l i e v e d
t o b e a p a t h l e a d i n gt o h ea v c n . 2 F 6 o r t h e V e d i cs a c r i f i c e r
t h e - r , D p a w aass 1 ' m b o lo f t h e U n i v e r s a iT r e e o r t h e W o r l d
A x i s 2 ?w h i c h h o i d s u p t h e h e a v e nw i t h i t s s u m m i t . f i l l s t h e
a i r w i t h i t s L r r a n c h easn d s t e a d i e st h e e a r t h w i t h i t s f o o t . i E
i t i s F r c s s i b lteo s u r m i s et h a t t h e y t p a i s t h e p r o t o - t v p eo u t
oi which the concept of the indrakila evolved in the
B u d d h i s t t r a d i t i o n , T h e c h a n g e o f n o m e n c l a t u r ef r o m
y t p a t o i n d r a k i l a i s s i g n i f i c a n t ,f o r , i t s e e m st o h a v e b e e n
n e c e s s i t a t cbdy t h e i n a d e q u a c yo f t h e s y m b o l i s mo f t h e
vilpawhen thc settingchangedfrom a sacrificialtradition
t o a n E n l i g h t e n m e n t - c e n t r e dt r a d i t i o n , E . R . G o o d -
enough formulates the following functional principlc in
the diffusion of cultures:
W h e n s y m b o l s a r e b o r r o w e d f r o m o l d e r c u s t o m sa n d
t r a d i t i o n st h e v a l u er e m a i n sc o n s t a n t ,b u t t h e s y m b o l s
themselvesare intellectually justified in conformitv
with the tcnets of the borrower.2e
Therefore the Centre symbolised bv the indrakila is
neither the World Axis which unites the world with
heaven for the Vedic sacrificer, nor Mount Meru af
Hindu mythology, but the Bodhimanda, the placc where
t h e B u d d h a a t t a i n e dE n l i g h t e n m e n t .
The Bodhimandais said to enjoy univcrsal centrality,
for the Dighanikaya-Atthakathe-nketj and the
MahEbodhivamsaTtcall it the navel of the earth. There-
fore the indrakila with its centre symbolism is most
appropriate for its representation. The Bodhimanda is
a l s os a i d t o b e t h e o n l y s t e a d f a s pt i a c ei n t h e w h o l e w o r l d
o f c h a n g e ,f o r , i t a l o n e r e m a i n e d u n m o v e d : v e n a t t h e
l h e n t h e e n t i r ew o r l d s h o o k
r n o r n e n to f E n i i g h t e n n r e n t r w
with a tremendousroar. Hence tbe suitability of the
i n d r a k i i a w i t h i t s s y m b o l i s m o f s t a b i l i t y t o r e p r e s e n tt h e
Bodhimands. According to the PnlZvaliya, the Bodfu-

f t . M a h e b h e r a t a , I r . P . C . R o y , T h e M a h E b h a r a f a ,C u l c u t t a . 1 9 5 6 ,V c l . i ( A d i p a r v a n ) . S e c . 1 8 . l l l 2
19. Muvadevdivata, e<i.D. G. A'uayagunaratna.Colombo, 1923,p. 9+
20. Hamsa Sandasay+eC. C. E. Godakumbure, Colomt,o, l?53, p. 104
21. Guttilakarya Dipani, ed. D. C. Disanayaka, Colombc, 1957. p. 255
22. Ruvanmala Saha PiSummal4 ed. Batuvantudeve, Colombo, 1892,p. !87
73. PurEna NAmEvaliya,ed. H. Jayatilaka Appuhamy, Colcmbo, 1882,p. 108
24. S. Paranavitana. The Stupain Cr.vlon, Memoirs of the A-rchaeologicalSurvev of Cevlon, Vol. V, Colombo, 19a6,p,38
25. Divy., p.244
76. BhiridattsFtake, J. VI, p. 203
27. lr{ircca Eliade, Images and Synbols: Studies in Religious S:rtbolism, tr. P. h'fairet,LonCon, 196l, pp. 44 - 15
?A. Rgveda,tr, R. T. H. Griffith, The Htmns ofthe Rgveda. 4 Vols. Benares.1882-1892,11t.8.3,Satapatha Brdhmana,tr. J, Eggeling,
f h e S a t a p a t h aB r i h m a n 4 5 p t s . S B E . V o l s . 1 2 . 2 6 , 4 1 . 4 3 , u , O x f o t d 1 8 8 2 - 1 9 0 0 1, 1 1 . 7 . 1 . 4 .
A. E. R. Coodenough, Jewish Stmbols in the Graeco-Roman Period, Vol. i2, Bollingen Foundation, New York, 1953,Vol. 12, pp.
tt i3. IJJ

n. DA?iIt,p.28
31. Mhbr, p. 50
3 2 , D A ? - .l l , p . 2 8
n. mji Valiya,p. 182
 INDRAKILA FRO
INDRAKILA

m e ? d a k a g r e a t f o r t r e s sp r o t e c i e db y r h e m a j e s t i cw a l l o f h a v e b e e n u s e d s y n o n y m o u s ! 1 .m e a n i n g T h e s p e s i a
the ten pLramittrs, extending up ro the cupola of the populnea.tl In Sinhala {satu is the derivative from
B r e h m a w o r l d l i k e t h eh o l l o w o f a d r u m , E v e nM a * r a r r i t h a{va tth a while t eI dsatu me ans Th es si a po pul n ea.tt The
Src
h i s v a s t a r r a y o f f o r c e sc o u i d n o t g et p a s t t h i s f o r n r i d a b l c Tamil equivalent of a{vattha js aracu while
barrier as it was the Buddha'sauthoritv that held sway Thespesia populnes is called ptvaracu which literally
therc. According to the MahEbodhivamsa3tthe maiestv m e a n s ' f i o w e r i n g a S v a t t h a . ! e " f , h e r e f o r ei t i s n o t
o f t h e s p a c es o d e m a r c a t e di s s u c ht h a t n o t c v e nt h c f i y i n g 'Ihespesia
surprising that the popuJneahas been used to
e l e p h a n to f a c d k k a v a r l rk i n g o r e l , e nS a k k a h j m s e l f c a n substitute the invulnerab!c Ficus religiosa for
rhe
fly ovcr it. f hus it becomesquite cler_rthat the tndrak-ila construction of the indrakila in the parirtama?dapa.
with its composite symbolism of the centre,siabriity,
limit and authority eitbcr rituaily rEcreatesthe B*dhi-
manda, or projects the site of its construction to the
Bodhimanda. The sacred character which the indrakila
confers on the srAps as well as the parittamandapa is this
ritual recrcation of the Bodhimanda, ar the projecticn of
t h e s i t e c o n c e r n e dt o t h e V i c t o r i c u s C c n t r e o f t h e e a r t h
w h e r e a l l B u d d h a s c o n q u c r e v i ! a n d a t . r a i nE n l i g h t e n -
ment.

The indrakila of the paritananciapa is maqje with a

straight freshly cut branch of a silriya tree (-fhespesia
p o p u l n e a ) a b o u t 6 f e e ti n l e n g t h . I t i s c o v c r e do v e r w i t h a
s t i f f , w h i t e , n e w c l o t h p l e a t e dl e n g t h w i s ea n d r s t i e d o n t o
t h e b r a n c h i n a c o u p l e o f p l a c e ss o a s t o l e a v e t h e c l o t h
p u f f i n g o u t i n b e t w e e nt h e k n o t s . A t t h e t o p , t h e c l o t h
o p e n s o u t t o f o r m a s o r t o f f a n . T h i s s t r u c t u r ei t f i x e d i n
between the two centre chairs callcd -vu5taputttwhich are
themselvestied together, in the paittamandapa. Behind
this stands a small arecanut palm to which is tied a fullv
opened coconut flower.

A s u r i y a b r a n c h h a s b e e n u s e d i n t h e c o n s t r r r c t i o no f
the indraklla most probably to repr:seni the Bodhitree,
as the Ficus religiosawhich is the rnost disti:iguishing
featurc of the Bodhimanda. It is not possible to use the
b r a n c h o f a B o d h i t r e e e v e nt o a d o r n t h e p a i t t a m a r y ( a p a
b e c a u s ei n j u r i n g a B o d h i t r e e i s c o n s i C e r e da g r a v f s i n . A
s f i r i y a b r a n c h h a s b e e n s u b s t i t u t e d b e c a u s et h e s D n _ r a
l e a v e ss o m e w h a t r e s e m b l et h e B o d h i l e a v e s .B r r t w h a t i s
m o r e i m p o r t a n t i s t h a t t h e s u r i y a t r e e i s d e s i g n a t e db y
almost identical names in Sanskrit, pali. Sinhaja and
even Tamil. The Sanskrit terms a(vattha, kapTtana and,
plakga are used to designate both the Ficus religiosa and
tbe Thespesiapopulnea.:5The latter is commonl_vcalled
g a d r a b h E n d ai n S a n s k r i t a n d t h i s h a s b e e ne q u a t e dw i t h
indrakila in the PiritmandaDa-
aJvattha in lexicons.r5i n Pali gardabhanda anrj,kapitana

A. Mhbv. pp. 35, 50,79 J. tY. p.232

t::t!:,Enslish Dictionary,ed. M. Mcnier wiiiiarns, O. U. P.. Lon,Jon, !960, s.v. airattha,
2t' . kapitana, plaksa.
36' Sabdakalpadruma, ed. R. Radhakantadeva. Chowkhamba Sanskrit Seires work No.9l, Varanari,
lndia, 196I, s.v. a{vattha,
gardabharyi vi(t.th
3 7 . Abhidhdnapoadii..ka, W. Subhuti, Colombo. 1921.Sg2
3 E . J , M . S e n e v i r a t n a ' S o m e a n c i e n t p l a n t s a n d t r e e e o f C e v l oi nnC, e - v ' l o n A n t i o u a r l a n d [ , i t e r a r - r . R e p n s t e r , V o l . V I I , p t . l l , O c t .
l92l,
p. 102. Paf,cikE Pradipa, eC. R, S. Dharmarama, Colombo, 1g96,p. ll6
39. H' Trimen' Handbook ol ihe Flcra of Ceylon,5 Vols., London, l89i-1900, s.r. Ecus religr'asa,
Thespesia populnea,T. B.
worthington, Trees of Ceylon, Colombo, 1959, s.v. Ficus religiosaand rhespesia populnea.
 INDRIYA 560
I t r e f a n - s h a p c d s t r u c t u r e m a d e o f c l o t h a p p e a r st o
feprcsent the dhammacakka perhaps following the
ancient practice of the aniconic representation of the
B u d d h a w i t h a n e m p t y t h r o n e d i s t i n g u i s h e c ib " v t h e
dhammacakta on al ornarnental pillar, ar for example
can be seen in the dets.ils of the Amaravafr ,Stlpd0
sculpture.
Thus the perz'ttamandapadistinguishedby the tndraklla
is thc ritrral recreation of the Badhinrrd,r, and the
ciharnmacakka and iilurninations in the parittamandapa
s e e mt o c o n s t i t u t et h e v i s u a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o no f E n l i g h t e n -
ment. Scealso PARI'IIA.
(For more deteils see:Lily de Silvq Paritta, Spolia
Zeylanica, Vol. 36, Part I, Nation;rl l{usiums of Sri
'An lndraklla at Ruvan-
L-ankn,Colombo, l98l , Cp. also
v{li S[ya in Anuradhapura,'by P. E. E, Fernando,in
PntidLna Mafrjafl, Pepers on Buddhism and Sri Lankan
Srudr'es in Commemoretion of Gate Mudliyar W' F.
Gunawardbana,Ed. Hiran Jaya.suriyq Sri Lanka, 1987,
pp. 27-35.)
Llly de Sllva
INDRfYA, controlling factor or faculty, e name given in
the Buddhist texts to twenty-two psychological and
corporeal phenomena which perl orm perticul ar functi ons
in the mundane and supra-mundane life of individuals.
These phenomcna occur in other classifications,found in
the Abhidhamma, and there tbey arc treated from
dilfercnt standpoints. In this classification,their ildriya-
aspectis brought out.
These phenomena are called facuities because they
exercisea dominating, governing or controlling inlluence
over the mental factors, associatedwith them, and over
simulteneouslyarising corporeal phenomena.This is
i n d i c a t e db y B u d d h a g h o s a( V i s m , p . 4 9 1 f . ) b y r e f e r e n c e
to the derivation of thc word, indiya from rzda (Skt.
indra) meaning lord. Thus indriya means lordship,
sovereignty;it is the ability to make all that is connected
with it to follow it in their own career. The faculties are
n o t t h c p o w e n l o f p h e n o m e n q b u t p h e n o m e n aw h i c h a r e
powGrs.
The twenty-two faculties may be classified,on the basis
o f t h e i r n a t u r e ,i n t o f i v e g r o u p s ;n a m e l y ,( l ) p e r c e p t u a l ;
( 2 ) p h y s i c a . l(;3 ) s e n s a t i o n a j ;( 4 ) s p i r i t u a l a n d ( 5 ) s u p r a -
mundane.
4O. J. Burgerr , The Buddhist Stipas of Amaravati and Jagpyyapeta in the Krishna DistricT, Archaeological Survey of Southern lndia,
, l a t e sX l l , X X l l l , f i g . 2 , X t V , f i g . I , X L . f i g . 3 .
n . s .V o l . l , M a d r a s P r e s i d e n c y P
TNDRTYA
(l) The first group consists of the six sense-faculties,
namely that of the eye (cakkhu),ear (sota),nose (ghina),
tongue (ivhl), body (keya) and mind (mano), which
constitute the s*colled pcraonality (attabhEva).(2) The
next group consistsof three meterial quaiities;femininity
(itthindriya) mesculinity (purisindriya) and vitality
glvitinr!ri_va): the first two material qualities designatcd
us bhEvaripa (Abhs. 27) determinc the sex of the
individual whereas the third gives lift to it.
Out of tbese nine indriyas consisting of the perceptual
(6) and physical (3), only the mind is psychologicelwhile
the others are material (indriya rffpa:Abhs. 28). The fint
five together with the sixth regulate or control thc five
s e n s c s ;t h e s e v e n t h a n d t h e e i g b t h c o n t r o l t h e p r i m a r y
and secondary charactcrs of either sex and the nilth
kecps the co-existentqualities of body from decay.
With these nine indriyas the living being, the so-called
individual, is complete and is in a position to communi-
cate with the external world and to rcact to externd
stimuli. (3) The third group consisting of five kinds of
sensations, namely, bodily pleasurc (sukha), bodily pain
(du*khe), gladness (somanassa), sadness (domanassa)
and neutral sentations (upekkhfl explains the different
reactions of the personality to external stimuli. Thus
these three groups, consisting of fourteen indriya
faculties may be considered as senticnt existence
(samsara).
(4) The fourth group, consisting of five faculties,
namely, fatth (saddhi), energy (viriya), mindfulness
(sati), concentration (samadhi) and wisdom (paf,frV),
constitutes attributes of the path leading to releasefrom
sentient existencc, i.e., emancipation. These faculties
may, therefore, correctly be described as ethical or
spiritual faculties.
(5) The last group consistingof three faculties, namely,
'I
the assurance shall know what I did not yet know'
(anaflfiEtam flassdmitindriya), the faculty of highest
knowledge (afrfrindriya) and the faculty of him whose
knowledge is made perfect (afifrEtEvindriya)is the fruit of
the path described es the five spiritual faculties under the
fourth group (Vism, p. a82).
T h e s i x s e n s ef a c u l t i e s a r e t h e s i x i n t e r n a l s p h e r e s
(salEyatana)given in the formula oi dependent origina-
t i o n ; t h e y a r i s e d e p e n d i n go n m i n d a n d m a t t e r ( n d m a -
r1pa-paccaya saldyetanam) and they give rise to contact
(salZyatana-paccayd phasso). Here the eye-faculty
(cakkhundriya), is not the power of the eye (chakkussa
indriya), but the eye which is a power (cakkhum eva
indriyaq), Thus the eye controls sight, ear hearing, and
s o o n , b e c a u s ee a c h s e n s ed c p e n d su p o n i t s o r g a n . l f t h e
o r g a n b e w e a k , t h e s e n s ei s w e a k .
 II\dDR.[1'A
'fhe
f i r s t f i v e s e n s e - f a c u i t i easr c c L r r p o i e
a _w: i : i l e t h e l a s t
o n e i s m e n t a l .T h e y p e r fo r n r t h c f u n c t i c nc f p e r c c p t i o ni n
w h i c h t h e m i n d o c c u p : e rt h e p r e - e r n i t r e npto s i t i o n . T h c
f i v e c o r p o r e a i s e n s e - f a c u l t i e sd, i f f e r e n t i n r a n g e a r c i
s c o p c ,d o n o t r c a c t t o t h e r a n p c t , . fc r n ea n o t h e r ,I h e m r n t i
i s t h c r e p o s i ? o r vo f t h e s ef i v e f a c u l t i e s .a n c im i n d ! " e a c t tso
t h e i r r a n g c .( M . I . p 2 9 _ .s; e eA y A . t A N n ) .
T h i s m i n d w h i c h i s i d e n t i c a lw i t h c o n s c i o u s n e sts. t n a n o .
citta, uiflfldgal is a controlling facuitv (manindriya) aisa
o n a c c o u n to i i t s p r e - e m i n c npt o s i t i n na m o n g t h e m e n t a l
f a c t o r s ( c e t a s i k a ) a s s o c i a t e dw i t h i t . T h e s e f a c t o r s .
a m o D g t h e m a l s o t h e r e a r e o t h e r f a c u l t i e s ,b y f u l f i l l i n g
t h e i r o w n p a r t i c u l a r t a s k s ,s e n ' e ,a t t h e s a m e t i r n c , t h e
p u r p o s eo f t h e g e n e r a lf u n c t i o n o f m i n d w h i c h c o n s i s t si n
d i s c r i m i n a t i n go b , i ec t s .B e s i d e si.n t h e s c n s eo f t h e a l r c a d v
g i v e n g e n e r a ld e f i n i t i o n c f i n d d y a , t h e r e i s a i s o i m p l i e d
t h e c o n t r o i e x c r c i s e db v r n i n d o v e r c e r t a i n c o r p c r e a l
p h e n o m e n e .T h e c o n s c i o u si n t e n t i o n a c c c r n p a n v i n ga n d
Cirecting purposeful bodily movernents 1'k7vavilfiaui)
and vocal utterance 1vac1vifrflati)may be cired as an
e x a m p l e .T h i s i n d r i y a q u a l i t , vo f m i n d , e s m a n i f c s t e di n a
ccrtain control over matter, is capable of far-reaching
d e v e l o p m e n t .I t r e a c h e si t s p e a l i n o n c o f t h e f o u r b a s c s
of psychic powcr (citta-iddhipada). It is this aspect of
mind, namelyits controlling power,which is the starting
p o i n t o f t h e s ed e v e l o p m c n t sI.t i s t r u e t h a t n o r o n l y { h e
f a c u l t y o f m i n d , b u t a l s o t h c f i v e s p i r i t u a l f a c u l t i e sa n d
the intensifying factors of absorption (ihdnahgal, narneiv
joyful intercst (piti) etc. as well, form the foundarion cn
which tne loftv structure of e spirituallv developed
c o n s c i o u s n e scsa n b e b u i l t ; b u t , a v e r y a c t i v ep a r t i n r h a t .
d e v e l o p m e n ti s a s c r i b e dt o t h e m i n d . T h e d e v e l o p e dn r i n d
r e p r e s e n t sa n e m i n e n t l y a c t i v a t i n g a n d m o b i l i s i n g f o r c e
againstthe tendeDciesto stagnation and inertia of naturt.
The activating and thereby governing influencc of
m i n d i s d u e t o i t s i n d r i y a - a s p e c t ,i . e . , c o n s c i o u s n e s s
considered as a controlling faculty; in other worris
c o n s c i o u sc o n t r o i . T h i s g e n e r a ia s p e c to f m i n d f o r m s t h e
b a s i s o n w h i c h o t h e r a c t i v a t i n ga n d c c n t r o l l i n g f a c t o r s ,
like mindfulness etc. might be suc<xssfuiiydeveloped.
T h e s e c o n dg r o u p c o n s i s t so f t h r e e p h y s i c a l i a c u i t i c s .
vitality Qivitindnya), femininitv (itthinclriya.,) and mas-
culinity (purisindnya), The sense-faculrieswhich the
V i s u d d h i m a g g a( p . 4 1 8 ) h a s d e s c r i b e d a s p e r s o n a l i t v
( a t t a b h d v a )a r e s a i d t o h e r j e p e n d e n o
t n Eyu(M.I, p. 295)
which is identified inthe Papafrcasudani(.MA.II, p. 349),
with 1-rvitindiya i.e., vitalitv, the faculrv of life.
T'here ere two facuitier by the name of f vitindriy,a;One
is psych ol o gtc il ('art p a -.11
vi ti nd ri y a o r n am a-1ivi ti n d r i-,-a)
The other is ph1'sical(ripa-livitindriya).
Psychic lite (arupa-1-tvitindriya) is one of the sevcn
mental factors (c-etasika)described as universal, i.c.,
c o m m o n t o a l l t y p e s o f c o n s c i o u s n e s s( s a b b a c i t t a -
b. S 1' (1 92/?E
561 ilitlRiYA
. ea t i t a ra n sI I h t a c t i v i t i c , ro i w i r l a n d t h c r c s t o f t l r c
' ; o n c o r , " r i t apr ,r r' ' r p e r t i eaei ' ed r t c t o i h * p e1 c h . i c
l;iervhich
r n f u s e sm c r r t ' aili i c i n t i i o r ! r , . . ' . ja i i l l l : . t i : e p r r : l s t e n c e
1 i _ t ' u .t )i r r ' , c r r a l i t a t t 3 . \ a ' h r i t i : , c i e s c n t , t h e m e n t a l
S t A t e SO c c l ' r .P ( ri i t l , i ! - i i t t : i l U .at l r C l ,- r i r S i S i t, g i r ' . ' c r : Sa J l
a s s c l i a t c dr ( a r r si n r i l t r : h a a ! c t e ir r t i c o f c r r . : : l e s sw a t c h -
i t r g o v e r i i i l r - - r ' . - i : 1. ;c- e
; i f: : t r t r f i r i l / r - t 4 . p . i : t r 9 ) .
f h e o t h e r i i f e - i a i : u i r v . p i r v s i ; n 1v r t a l i t y i r ; J f a - i t , i t i n -
d r i y a i , i s , t n , -, : f t L c t w e n i . . . i , -j i: j i r n d s o f c e r j v e i j r r a t t e r ,
a n d g i r , e si i f c t o m a r r e r ._ iu s t a - sp s v c h i cl i f e . r h e p h y s i c a l
l i f e , t o o . h a s t h e c h a r a c t e r r s r i cr : i r : r a j n t a r n i n gc o n a s c e n t
k i n d s o f m a t r e r .I t s { u n c { i ( ) ni s r t r r n a k c t h e m o c c u r .l t i s
r n a l i f e s t e di n t b c e s t a h l i s i : r n e nci - f t h r i : D r e s e n c eI.t s
p r a x i m a t e c a u s ei s t i r e p r i m a r y e l e m e n t sr h a t a r c t o b e
s u s t a i n e dA. I t l : o u g h i t h a s t h e c a p a c i t vc o n s l s t i n gi n t h c
c h a r a c t e r i s t i co f m a i n t a i l i n g e r , -, y . t i t c .n, l t , n i a i n t a i n s
c c l n a s c e n kt i n c i s o f r r a t t e , a i t h c i n c n t , - n : o f p r e s e n c e ,
even as warer susttins iotuses ald so cn. Though
p t r e n o m e n a( C h a m n B ) a r i s ed . t r ct o t i r e i r o w n c o n d i t i o n s ,
j t m a i n t a r n : t h e m , a s a w e t - n u r s . :r i , , c aa
b a b e .I t o c c u r s
; t s c i f c n l y t h r o u g h i t s c o n n e c t i r r nw i t h t h e s t e t e s t h a t
o c c u r . I i k e a p i l o t . i t d c e s r r o t c a u s e o c c u r r e n c ea f t e r
d i s s o l u t i o n b e c a u s eo ! ' i t s o w n a b s e n c ee n d t h a t o f w h a t
h s s t o b e m a d e t o o c c u r l t d o e s n o t p r o l o n g p r c s e n c cs t
t h e r n o m e n t o f d i s s o i u t i o n ,b e c a u s ei t i s i t s e l fd i s s o l v i n g ,
iike thc flame oi a iamp when the wick and ,.heoil are
consumed.But ii must not be rcgarded as devoid of
power to rnaintain, male occur and mal<e present,
b e c a u s ei t d o e s a c c o m p l i s he a c h o f t h e s ef u n c t i o n sa t t h e
m o m e n t s t a t e d( D h s A . p . 3 2 3 ) .
T h e o t h e r t w o p h y s i c a i f a c u l t i e s ,n a m e l v f e m i n i n i t y
(itthindrila) and masculinity (puriindril,a) which are
described as material qualities of sex (bhivaripa) are
stated by which fernininit-v and masculinity of the so_
c a - l l e dp e r s c n a l i t yc a n b e d i s t i n g u i s h e df . 4 b l r s . p . 2 1 . ) .
The fernininity-faculty (itthindri-va)has female sex as
i t s c h a r a c t e r i s t i ci;t s f u n c t i o n i s t o s h o w t h a t a p a r t i c u l a r
i n d i v i d u a l i s a f e m a l e ; i t i s m a n i f e s t c da s t h e r e a s o nf o r
t h c f c a t u r e s ,m a r k s , s i g n s ,w o r k a - o Cw a y s o f t h e f e m a l e
iDis, p. 6-13;v'rim, p 378).
'Fcarure'is
s h a p e :t h e s h a p eo f w o m a a ' sb o d y , h a n d s ,
f e e t . n e c k , b r e a s t sr t c . i s n o t l i k e t h a t o f a m a n ' s .T h e
{ e m a 1 cl o w e r b o c i yi s b r o a d , t h e u p p e r b o d y i s l e s sb r o a d .
T ' h eh a n c i se n d f e e t a r e s m a l l ; t h e f a c e i s s m a l l . , M a r k ' i s
t h e r e c < l g n i s a h isei g r r .T h e l e m a l e b r e a s ti s p r o m i n e n t :t h e
f a c ei s w i t l : o u t b e a i i a n d m o u s t a c h e . . W o r k ' i sa c t i o n ;i n
y o u t h w o m e n p l a y w i t h t i n y s h a l l o w b a s k e t sp , e s t l e sa n d
mortars, dolls and weave string (mattik1-vaka) ,clay
f i b r e ' . ' 1 V a v s ' a r er n o d e so f g o i n g e t c . T h e r e i s a w a n t o f
a s s e r t i o ni n w o m e n ' s w a i k i n g , s t a n d i n g l v i n g d o w n ,
sittrng eating and swallowilg (ibid).
These feminine fearuresetc. are not femininity (itthin_
driya);thev are products of ittfundriva. When there is the
 INDRIYA 562 INDRIYA

s e e d ,t h . t r c e t r o w s h e c a u s co f r h e s e e d ,a n d i s r e p l e t e external world and to react to external stimuli. This

w i t h b r a n c h c sa n d t w i g s . a n d s t a n d s f i l l i n g t h e s k y : s o reaction is explained under sensation(vedana)which is of
when tbere is a feminine controlljng principle called five kinds. These five kinds of sensationare also termed
f e m i n i n i t y . f e m i n i n e f e a t u r e se t c . c r m e t o b e . faculties (indriya) They are the faculty of pleasure
(sukhindril,a), of pain (dukkhindriya), o1'jov (somanas'
T h e i t t h i n d r i l ' a s h o u l d b c r c g r c c d a s t h e s e e d :i t i s n o t
k n ' : w n h , r v i : i r aj c o s n i t i : r l 1 l:. , . r t, . r n i yb i ' m i n d - c o g n i t i o n . sindriya), or grief (domanassindriya) and of neutral
sensation (upek k hi nd riya).
B u t f c m i n i n e f r a t u r c s r i ( - ' .a r r l . n o w n b _ v i s u a l a s w e l l a s
m i n d < o g n i t i n n ( D l s . p . 6 3 3 , } , ' r s mp. . 3 7 8 ) . Pleasureis a faculty (indriya) becausewhen a pleasur-
able mood arises it dominates one's whole being. lt
A n d i t i s t h e s a m e w j t h i h c m a s c u l i n ec o n t r o l l i n g
suffuses all the other associated qualities, and enlivens
faculty (purisindril'o, }u1s5cr.rlinefeatures etc. are the
the accompanying bodily activity. This is true of the other
o p p d s i t eo f t h e f e m i n i n e .M a n ' s u p p e r b o d y i s b r o a d ,t h e
faculties as well.
l o w c r b o d y i s l e s sb r o a d ; h i s h a n d s a n d f c e t a r e l a r g e ;t h e
face is Iarge; thc brcast flesh is less full; beard and The faculty of joy (somanassa)is identical with that
'f
mo\rttachc grow h e m a n n r ! o i h a i r - d r e s s i n ga n d t h e factor of absorption (hanahga), which is called sukha,
w e a r i n go f c l o l h e sn r r n o l l i k e t h o s eo f w o m e n .l n y o u t h b u t i t i s s t r o n g e ra n d m o r e e n d u r i n gw h c n l i n k e d t o a h i g h
they play with chariots and ploughs etc., male sand- degree of intensifying interest (plti), nother factor o[
b a n k s a n d d i g p o n d s . f l r e r e i s a s s e r t i o ni n t h e i r w a l k i n g absorption.
e t c . , ( D l r s . p 6 3 3 1! r s m . p . 3 ' / 8 )
The faculty of psychic vitality, too, is enlivened by
'fhe
m a s s u l i n ec o n t r o l l i n gl a c u l t y h a st h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c interest and transmits this intensifying effect, received
o f i n d i c a t i n gt h e s t at e c f a r n a n ;f u n c t i o no f s h o w i n g ' t h i s from interest,to physical vitality, too. [n old and sick
i s a m a n ' ; a - n di t s m a r . r i { e s t a t i olni e s i n t h e m a s c u l i n i t vi n p e o p l e ,f o r e x a m p l e ,v i v i d i n t e r e s t s ,w h e t h e r i n p e r s o n s ,
featnres etc. fibid.). affairs or ideas,may prolong life by giving them incentive
Both femininity and masculinitycome into being to muster all physical and mentel powers of resistance.
d u r i n g t h e a p p e a r a n c ro f t h e f i r s t i n h a b i t a n t so f t h i s c y c l e O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , o l d o r s i c k p e o p l eq u i c k l y d e t e r i o r a t e
( k a p p a . ) ;s u h s e q u n
e t l v t h e v a r i s e a t c o n c e p t i o n .M a t t e r when they lose intercst in life owing, for example, to the
c o m i n g i n t o b e i n g a t c o n c e p t i o n f l u c t u a t e s ;d u r i n g i t s d e a t h o f a b e l o v e dp e r s o n o r t o a d i s a p p o i n t m e n t .
g r o w t h i t c h a n g e si r s f e a t u r e s ;a n d m a t t e r c o m i n g i n t o These feelings constitute the second of the five groups
b e i n g d u r i n g g r o w t h d o c s l i k e w i s e ,a n d t h a t i s r h e c a u s e of existence, namely, vedanikkhandha, and one of the
o f t h e c h a n g eo f s c x O f t h c t w o , f h e m a l es e xi s s u p e r i o r , seven mental factors (cetasika) which are described as
f c m i n i n c s e xi s i n f e r i o r . T h e r e f o r e ,t h e f o r m e r d i s a p p e a r s u nive rs als, like p sych ic life ( afi p a{t uit i n driy a).
through grosslv immoral conduct; the lattir may be
The five kinds of sensations (vedanE) are one's reac-
b r o u g h t a b o u t b y r v e a km o r a l i t y . B u t i n d i s a p p e a r i n gt h e
tions to experienceswhich mav be derived from one's
i a t t e r d o e s s o b y r v e a l "i m m o r a l i t v , ( h e f o r m e r m a v b e
a s s c c i a t i o nw i t h t h e e x t e r n a l w o r l d , T h e s er e a c t i o n sm a y
b r o u g h t a h o u t b y s t r o n g r n o r a l i t y ." I b u s b o t h d i s a p p e a r
lead to various mental states,both good (kusala)rndba'd
througlr imrnoralitv ani! lnay he brought about by
(akusala),such as kindness and hatred, The individual is
m o r a l i t y ( . t l h s . A .p p - 1 2 1f f ; l , i s m . p . 3 7 8 ) .
f r e e t o m a k e h i s o w n c h o i c e b e t w e e ng o o d a n d b a d . T h e
T h e t h i r d i t c m o f t h i s g r o u p i s v i t a j i t y w h i c h g i v e sl i f e discrimination between good and bad and the correct
t o t h e s o - c a l l e di n d i v i d u a l .T h e r e a r e t w o f a c u l t i e sb y t b e path avoiding bad and cultivating good are discusaed
name of fivitinddya: one is psychological and is called under five items called the spiritual faculties, They are
arilpa-fvitindiya which gives life to the mental side of faith (saddhd), energy (viriya), mindfulness (sati), con-
the individual rvhile the other, called rtpalivitindriya, is centration (samadhi) and wisdom (paf,fre).(S. V. pp.
material and gives life to the physical side of the 1 9 3 - 2 0 5 ;P s . I I , p p . I f f : V b h . p . 1 2 3 ) , T h e s ea r e d e s c r i b e d
individual(Dis. g. I9. p. 62s; Dhs.A, $. 5, p. 149,323; as faculties and are identified as attributes of the path
l l i s m , p , 4 1 8 ^A b h s . p . 6 , 2 7 ; A b h v t . p . 1 6 ,6 8 ) . leading to emancipation. Saddhd is faith in the perfect
Enlightenment of the Buddha and the efficacyof the Path
O u t o f t h e n i n e f a c u l t i e s s o f a r d e s c r i b e d ,e i g h t a r e he discovered. Viriya is energy which is of four kinds; i.e.
materinland are named (indriya-rupa: Abhs. p. 28); mind an &ttempt at originating kusala, at cultivating kusala
the sixth faculty, being psychologicaJT . he first five
that has already originated, at preventing a,kusa,la from
r e g u l a t eo r c o n t r o l t h e f i v e s e n s e st;h e s e v e n t hk e e p st h e
originating and at putting an end to akusala that has
c o - c x i s t e n tq r r a l i t i e so f b o d y f r o m d e c a y ;a n d t h e e i g h t h
already originated. This fourfold energy,otherwisecalled
and thc ninth control the primary and secondary
sammE-padhEna, is identical with sammF-vayamaof the
c h a r a c t e r so f c i t h c r s e x .
eightfold path,Satr is mindfulness and awareness in
With the nine faculties, the personality, a living being, contemplating on body, sensations, mind and mind-
i s c o m p l e t e a n d i s i n n p o s i t i o n t o c o m m u D i c a t ew i t h t h e objects,it is also called satipatthdna and is identical with
 TNI}RIYA
s a m m a ' s a t i o f t h e e i g h t f e r l dp a t h , , S a r n a t r & r :cso n c c n t r a -
t i o n o f m i n d a s s o c i a t e cri" ' r t hw h o l e s c m ec c n s c r o u s n e s s
w h i c h e v e n t u a J l vm a v r e a c ht h e a b s o ; p t i o n sg n a n a ) ,- I h i s
i s i d e n t i c a l w i t h s a n t m d - s a n t E d hoi f t h e e i g h r l o l d p a t h .
P a f l f r e i s w i s d o m , i n s i g h t i n t r - rt h c F o u r N c b l e T r u t h s ,
a n d i s i d c n t i c a l w i t h s a n m d & t t h i o [ r h e E i g h t f o l dp a t h .
A l ! t h e s ea r e t y p . s o f u ' h o i e s o m ec o n s c i o u s n e s(s& u s a 1 a -
citta). They are ca.lled(indriy,a)becauserhey masrcr iheir
o p p o s i t e s .t h a t i s , t h e y k e e p t h e m u n d r r c o n t r o l . F a i t h
brings lack of faith or doubt (vicikicchE) under control;
enerBy con tro ls ind o lence (k osajj a), mindf ulnesscon t ro ls
h e e d l e s s n e s(sp a m d da ) . c o n c e n t r a t i o nc o n t r o l s a g i ta t i o n
(uddhacca) and wisdom controis ignorance (avi1fi)
(VibhA. pp. l2s-29).
T h e s ef i v e f a c u l t i e sm a y b e c o n s i d e r e dt h e i n d i v i d u a l s '
p o t e n t i a l i t i e si n t h e s p i r i t u a Js p h e r e .I t j s t h e s ep o t e n -
t i a l i t i e s t h a t f o r m t h e o b j e c t o f t h e B u d d h a ' sp a r r i c t r l a r
knowlcdge called indriyaparopariyattaflEna. It is said
that the Buddha understandsb , y t h i s k n o w l e d g e ,t h e
e x t e n t t o w h i c h t h e s cs p i r i t u a l f a c u l t i e so f i n d i v i d u a l sa r e
d e v e l o p e do r d e g e n e r a t e (dM A . l l , p . 2 9 - 3 0 ) .
ln order to perform their governingand controliing
f u n c t i o n s t h e f a c u l t i e s r e q u i r c a h i g h d e g r e eo f s t r e n g t h
end intensity which is imparted to them by the intensi-
fying factors of absorption,which are their supporting
conditions.
F a i t h h a s a c o n t r o i l i n g i n f l u e n c eo n c h a r a c t e rw h e n t h e
f a c t o r s o i a b s o r p t i o n , j o v f u l i n t e r e s t( p i t t ) a n d p l e a s u r e
( s u k h a ) , t h e m s e l v e s p o s s e s sa c o n s j d e r a b l ed e g r e e o f
i n t e n s i t y .I t i s f r o m j o 1 ' t h a t f a i t h d e r i v e sa g o o d p a r t o f i t s
c o n q u e r i n gp o w e r , a n d i t i s k e e ni n t e r e s t h a t m a k e sf o r
t h e c o n s ( a n c yo f f a i t h . F u r t h e r m o r e ,f a i t h i s o n l v a b l e t o
become exclusive devotion when thcre is also a high
degree of mental one-pointedness (cittassa ekaggatZ)
w h i c h i s i d e n t i c a l w i t h c o n c e n t r a t i o n( s a m a d h i ) .F o r t h e
faculty of wisdom to comprehend its objects fullv.
k e e n n e s so f i n t e r e s tm u s t b e h i g h l y d e v e l o p c db y t h e t w o
intensifying factors of absorption, thought-conception
(vitakka) and discursive thinking (vicdra). For the
u n f o l d i n g o f t h e f a c u l t i e s o f e n e r g y , m i n d f u l n e s sa n d
c o n c e n t r a t i o n ,a h i g h d e g r e eo f s t i m u l a t i n gi n t e r e s ti s
r c q u i r e d ,i n o r d e r t o i n t : n s i f y t h e i r a c t i v i t v .O n t h e o t h e r
hand, when mindfulness and concentration are pro-
g r e s s i n gw e l l , t h e i r p a r t i s t o s u s t a i na n d i n c r e a s ci n t e r e s t
b y p r e v e n t i n gi t f r o m f a d i n g a w a y .
T h e f i v e s p i r i t u a l f a c u l t i e s ,t o g e t h e r w : i t h t h e c o r r e s -
p o n d i n g f i v e s p i r i t u a l p o w e r s ( b a l a ) ,c o n t i n u e t h e w o r k
b e g u n b y t h e f a c t c r s o f a b s o r p t i o n . T t r c y i n c r e a s et h e
agility and pliancy of the mind and its capacity to effect
d e l i b e r a t ei n n e r c h a n g e sT . h e s el a s t[ e a t u r c sa r e t h e b a s e s
f o r a n y m e n t a l a n d s p i r i t u a l p r o g r e s s .I t i s m a i n l y o w i n g
t o t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e s e t l " e f a c u l t i e sa n d p o w e r s t h a t
n o t i c e a b l et r a n s f o r m a t i o n so f c h a r a c t e r ,c o n d u c t , i d e a s
563 IF{ilRIYA BHAVANA SqiI'iA
a n d i d e a i r n r l r n a d : p , r s s i L t i eS.o r n e t i r n e si i e v e n a p p e e r s
as if qr.ritea trrw persrinaiitl ha: ernergrd.
! f , o n ' i t e c f i r e rI a n d , t i r , : r r r n l i l y i n ga n d c o n t r o l l i n g
f a c t o rs a r e u e a k e r , , a r t l va h r s r i . a g r n e r a -hi ; a ' " , ! 1 s 53g1 6
u n w i e l d i n e , i so f t i r r r r e r r i r . lf ) r ' ! : i , : : t i swc isi i r c s . r i t ;t h e f o r c e
of habit prrdornr:rartr, ihangrs r-ntl adapiations are
u n c i c r t a k e rsr i c i r v l ia l d i : * i i l i : g l r a n c ' t l r [ g s r n e l l e s t
p o s s i b l ed e g r e e ;t h i : u g l : i . s r i 6 : ; d .i n c l i n i n g i r , 'c l t r g m a .
A s f a r a s t h e c u l t i v a t i o no f r h c : ef i v e s p i r i t u a j f a c u l t i e s
i s c o n c e r n e d ,o D em u s t s e et i l a t t h e y d e v c l o pe v e n l y ;t h e i r
u n e v e n d e v e l o p m e n ti s s o r n e w h a rd a n g e r o u s .l f a s i n g l e
j v * . , h i i et h c o r h e r s . e s p e -
f a c u i t v i s d e v e l o p e de x c l i r s i v e
c i a . l l yt h e c o u n t e r p a r r s a
, r c n e g l c : t e d t r r s u p p r e s s e dt,h a t
f a c u l t v m a v d e v e l o p a t e n d c n c ! . 'f o d { t m r ; i a r . eo t h e r s .
E . x c e s s i vfea r t h , f o r e r a m p l e , m a v w c a k e n w i s d o m , a n d
s t r o n g e n e r g ym a y w e a k e nc o n c e n t r a l i o n .I n e a c h c a s e
t h c b a l a n c e i s d j s t r r r b e da n d h a r r n o n j o u . d e v e l o p m e n t
impaircd. This shows the importance as weil as the
w i s d o m o f i n s i s t i n go n t h e h a r m , , n v o f f a c u l t i e s( i n d r i y a -
samatta). lt is the iacultv ttf ,nrndflrlnessthat watches
o v e r h a r n t o n i s a t i o no f t h e o t h c r f o u r f a c u j t i e s .a n d s o i s
thc chief control ovrr the other four facultics.
T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f i n t c n s i t v c f t h e s e f : r c u l t i e si s
emphasised b y r c p e a t i n gt h e m u n d e r t h e n a m ec i p o w c r s
(bala). The five faclors corresponding to the five faculties
a r e c a l l e Cp o w e r sw h : n t h e y b e c o m eu n s h a k a b l eb y t h e i r
o p p o s i t e s :s o , f o r e x z : m p l e w . h e n f a i t h i s u n s h a k a b l eb y
l a c k o f f a i t h o r v i c i k t c c h a ' d o u b t ' i,t i s c a l l e da p o w e r ; a n d
so on (DDa,4. S, 124).
T h e f i v e f a c u l t i e sa n d p o w e r s a r e s i m p l v t w o d i f f e r e n t
aspects of the same qua_lities.Their nature is basically
one, though their functiohs Ere different.
T h e l a s t b u t n o t l e a s ta r e t h e t h r e e f a c u l t i e sw h i c h a r e
described as supramundane. They are the results of the
c u l t i v a t i o n o f t h e f i v e s p i r i t u a lf a c u l t i c s .T h e v e r e t y p e so f
i n t u i t i v e k n o w l e d g ep o s s e s s ebdy " A r y a s " i n t h e d i f f e r e n t
s t a g c so f s p i r i t u a l a t t a c h m e n t .T h e a c h i e v e m e n to f t h e s e
t h r e e a m o u n t s t o t h e r c a l i s a t i o no f t h e t r u t h w h i c h i s t h e
summum bonum of Buddhism.
The first is the faculty of assuraace:'l shall know what I
did not get know (anaflflitaflflasslmltindriya/, which
arises at thc moment of stream-entry (sotEpatti-magga);
the second is the facultl' of the highest knowledge (afrfrin-
d r i y a ) w h i c h a r i s e sa t t h e n e x t m o m e n t , i . e . , o n r e a l i s i n g
the fruit of stream-entrv(sotEpatti-phala);the third is the
faculty of him who knows (aflftEtAvindnya/which eriset
at attainingarahantship.
Upa[ Kenrnrnhe
INDRTYA.BHAVANA SUTTA,, thc IASI SUTIAOf IhC
Majjhima Nikiya (M. lll, pp. 298-302). The surta
 IT\TDRIYANHAVNNA SUTTA
emtrodirs ri jiscussi,ror lhat ttrlk place between the
t s u r J r J h aa r r d [ . r t t a r a , t h e v o u n g d i s c i p l e n f P E r d s a r i v a , a
.f
b r a h a m i n t c a c h c r . h c v en u e t r f t h e m e e t i n g w a s M u k h c l u -
vana in KainflgnJa.
Uttara, ihc r,oungsttr', lraid a iturlcs-Y call on the
Br.rdChanld while tir. fo',', wrfe engaged in plcasant
co:'lversation, the RrrrJCha asktcl Uttara whether his
lcachcr nr,{vccatts anv course of dcvelopment of the
-io
scnses (indriyabh;ivanE). this Uttara answers in the
affirmatit'e and continrres to sBv that his teacher aCvocates
that one should nol see material forms (rupa) with thc
eve, one shorrld not hear sounds with the ears. The
Budclha points out to Uttara rhat in such circumstances
the blind and the deaf have to be reckoned as those who
have well developeri sense faculties, for thev never see
forms with their evcs nor hear sounds with their ear$.
Uttara could not mcet the Buddha's argument and was
s i l c n t . A t t h i s p o i n t t h c B u d d h a a d c l r c s s e se l d e r A n a n d a
a n d s a y s t h a t t h e m e t h o d o f d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e s e n s e si n
the Fucldha's dispensation is quite different, and on
Ananda's request thc Buddha describes his method of
d r l ' e l o p m e n t o f t h c s c n s e s .T h e B r r d c l h a s a y s : " W h e n a
bhikkhu sees a form with his eyes there arises in him
either a liking to it or a dislike to it or a mixed feeling of
liking and disliking. When such a feeling risesin him he is
aware that such feeling has risen in him and that such
feeling is transient, gross and is dependent on causes,and
to maintain equanimitv on such occasion conduces to
tranqui!lity. When hc contemplates in that manner the
feelings of liking, disliking lrr the mixed feeling of liking
and dislikirrg disappear and equanimity' rernains. The
same applieswith regard to the eors and sounds, the nose
a l d t h e o d o u r s . t h c t o n g u e a n d t h e s a v o u r s , t h e b o C - va n d
tactiies and the mind and concepts. This thought process
takes place in a flash in a man with developed senses."
This discussion brings out the differences between an
ordinarv man and a man who isspiritually advanced. The
ordinarl' man utilises his scnsesto derive sustenance for
h i s l i v i n g w h i l e p s y c h o i o g i c a - l l yb e c o m i n g a t t a c h e d t o o r
repelled objects of the senses. But a man
by
c u l t i v a t e d s e n s e s ,t o o , u t i l i s e s h i s s e n s e st o d e r i v e s u s t e -
nance for his living $'hile psychologicallv maintaining
completc tranquillitv through non-attacbment to or non-
with sense ob_jects, by reflecting on the true
conflict
n a t u r e o { s c n s u a - lp l e a s u r e s .
The Buddha further shows the difference in behaviour
bet',';cen a tra!nee (sekha.) and a pcrfected man (asekha)
when confronted with sensc experiencc. When. in the
1, Iikap p. I
2. t'l-rm n.5-\2
3. M. l, pp. 190 I
4. W.S. Karunarat,ne, fhc T'heorv'of Causality, Sri Lankr, 1988. p. 35
564 TNDRTYAPACCAYA
m i n d o f a t r a i n e e , a p l e a s a n tf e e l i n g o r a n u n p l c a s a n t
feeling or a mixed feeling of pleasantnessand unpleasant-
nessarises,he is troubled about rt (a!!iyati) is ashamedof
it ftafij,ati). loathesit Qigucchatr). But when such feeling
arises in a perfected man (asekfa), i{ he desires thus:
' M a y I a b i d e n o t p e r c e i v i n gi m p u r i t y i n i m p u r i t y ' , h e
a b i d e st h e r en o t p e r c c i v i n gi m p u r i t y . I f h e d e s i r e s : ' M a yI
abide perceiving impurity in puritv', he abides there
'May I abide not
perceiving impurity. lf he desires:
p e r c e i v i n gi m p u r i t y i n i m p u r i t y a n d i n purity,'he abides
'May I abide
t h e r e n o t p e r c i e v i n ei m p u r i t y . I f h e d e s i r e s :
p e r c e i v i n gi m p u r i t y i n p u r i t y a n d i m p u r i t y ,' he abidcs
'May I having
t h e r e p e r c e r v i n gi m p u r i t y . l f h e d e s i r e s :
avoidedboth impurity and purity, abide in equanimity,
m i n d f u l a n d c l e a r l yc o n s c i o u s , ' h ea b i d e st h e r e i n e q u e n i -
mity, mindful and clearly conscious.
There is referencemade in the Theragafla commentary
to a thera Parlpariva who was taught the Indriya-
bhivanE Sutta. It is further said in thc Theragdthd
commentary that this thera learnt it by heart and
pondering over it, attained insight. The Theragatha (w'
726 ff .), givesa summary of the musings of Pdrdpariya
which led to his attainment (see DPPN' s.v' lndriya-
b h d v a n aS u t t a ) .
W. G.'Weeraretnc
INDRIYA-PACCAYA is one of the twenty-four pac-caJ'as
cnunciated in the PatthEnappakarana, a Canonical
Abhidhamma Text of the Pali tradition.r The term
Indriya-paccava is a compound used to indicate a
s p e c i f i cr e l a t i o nu n d e r t h e s y s t e mo f c o r r e l a t i o nk n o w n a s
the PatlhEna-naya i.e. the mcthod upheld in the above
m e n t i o n e d t e x t . l t u n d e r t a k e st o e x p l a i n t h e B u d d h i s t
c o n c e p to f c a u s a l i t yi n a c o m p r e h e n s i v ew a y . A s s u c hi t i s
mentioncdin the earlvwritings as a synonym with other
t e r m se x p r e s s i n gc a u s a lr e l a t i o n . 2 I t i s u s u a l l y t r a n s l a t e d
i n t o E n g l i s ha s " c o n d i t i o n " .
with
I n t h e c o u r s eo f t i m e d u r i n g t h e e v o l u t i o n o f B u d d h i s t
thought on causality the term began to be used in a
s i g n i f i c a n t l yd i f f e r e n t s e n s e I. t i s g e n e r a l l ya d m i t t e d t h a t
t h e B u d d h i s tt e a c h i n go n c a u s a l i t yi s m o s t c o m p r e h e n s i v e
a n d t h u s a s s u m e st h e s t a t u s o f a c e n t r a l t r u t h . T h u s i t i s
said that one who sees it sees Buddhism,: But the
f o r m u l a o f t h e t w e l v et e r m sh a d a l i m i t e d p u r p o s en a m c l y
t o e x p l a i n t h e o r i g i n a n d c e s s a t i o no f d u k k h a . T h i s w a s
e x p r e s s e di n t h e f o r m o f " v a r i o u s s t a g e so f d u k k h a i n
their dynamic aspect.'t But from the point of view of
 INDRTYAPACCAYA
understanding the phenomenonof causality the most
i m p o r t a n t c o n s i d e r a t i o nw a s n o t t h e s t r g e s t h e m s e l v e s ,
b u t t h e c a u s a l r e l a t i o n b e t w e e nt h e m . T h e t h e o r y o f
paccayas was conceivedto fulfil this need.The function
and, for that matter, thcsignificanceof prccEyru lieswith
this consideretion,
T h e f i r s t m e m b e r o f t h e c o m p o u n d ,t h e t e r m I n d r i y a i s
a pre-Buddhist Indian rerm and has originated in the
context of God Indra, as it is evident from the Rgveda.Its
meaning was gradually extcnded and later came to be
u s e d t o c o n n o t e t h e i d e a o f l o r d a n d d o m i n a n c ea m o n g
o t h e r t h i n g s . I n t h e p r e s e n tu s eB u d d h i s m s e e m st o r e t a i n
the extended sensc and as such it closelv resembles
another paccaya i.e. adhipati.s
The term Indriya is used in Buddhist Texts of the
Suttapitaka and Abhidhammapitala to referto twenty-
t w o t e r m s . 6T h e y a r e t h e f o l l o w i n g : ( l ) E y e ( c a k k h u ) ( 2 )
Ear (sota) (3) Nose Gheqa) (4) Tongue (jivhfl (5) Body
(ktya) (6) Mind (mano) (7) Femininity (itthi) (g) Mascu_
Iinity (purisa) \9) Vitality Qivita) (t0) Bodilv pleasant
Feeling (sukha) (l l) Bodily pun (dukkha) (lZ)GIadness
(somanassa) (13) Sadncss(dornansss{ (e Equanimity
(upekkhQ (15) Faith (saddhe) (16) Energl,eiriya) (11)
Mindfulness (sati) (18) Concentrarion (sntedhi) (t9)
W i s d o m ( p a f i f f e ) ( 2 0 ) T h e a s s u r a n c e, . 1 s h a l l k n o w r h e
unknown" (afrf,Etafifrassamitindriya (21) The faculty of
Highest Knowledge (afiflindriya) and (22) The
faculty of Him who knows (afiflitdvindriya), Of these
t h e t w o f a c u l t i e s o f s e x ( 7 , 8 ) , t h o u g h d e s i g n a t e da s
indriyas, erc not treated asindriyapacca),a. Thus indriya-
paeaya consistsof twenty items.
F o r t h e n o n - r e c o g n i t i o no f t h e t w o f a c u l t i e so f s e x a s
indriyapaccaya the following reason has been adduced
b y t h e c o m m e n t a l o r s . TA n e l e m e n to f e r i s t e n c em a t e r i a l
can rightly be called an indriyapaccaya, if it does not
c e a s et o b e a c t i v e u n d e r a n y c i r c u m s t a n c e s B . ut at the
initial stage of the embryonic growth, although the
faculty of masculinity and the faculty of femininity are
p r e s e n tt h e y d o n o t b r i n g a b o u t t h e m a n i f e s t a t i o no f s e x
d i f f e r e n c c s .S o t h e s et w o w e r e l e f t o u t .
Buddhaghosa in his Visuddhimagga offersthc follow-
ing explanation with regard to the function of indriya-
paccaya in different situations.EThe twenty items which
assistin the senseof predominanceare faculty conditions.
The first five are conditions only for immateriai states,
t h c r e s t a r ec o n d i t i o n sf o r m a t e r i a la n d i m m a t e r i a l s t a t e s .
The eye faculty is condition for the eye consciousness
e l e m e n ta n d f o r t h e s t a t e sa s s o c i a t e dw i t h i t . I n t h e s a m e
w a y f a c u l t i e so f t h e e a r ,t h e n o s e ,t h e t o n g u e ,t h e b o d y a r e
5. D'J. Kalupahana Causality: The Central Philosophy, of Buddhism. The lJnior prcss.
Hawaii. Honolulu. 1975
6, Nyanantiloka, Buddhist Dictionary (1980) p. 178
7. Y. Karunad asa, Buddhist Analysis of Matter, ( l9E8) p. l3g
8. Vism. pp. 538-539.
565 INDRIYAPARoPARTf,ATTA I{Axa
c o n d i t i o n sf o r t h e i r r e s p e c t i v ec o n s c i o u s n e sesl e m e n t s
a n d f o r t h e s t a t e sa s s o c i a t e dw i t h t h e m . - [ h e nr h e m a t e r i a l
life facultv is a condition as a facultv condition for the
k i n d s o f m a t e r i a l i t vd u e t o t h e p e r f o r m a n c eo f k a m m a .
Then again the immaterial facultiesare conditions as
f a c u l t y c o n d i t i o n sf o r t h e s t a t e sa s s o c i a t e dw i t h t h e m a . n d
f o r t h e k i n d s o f m a t e r i a l i t v a r i s e nt h e r e b v .
Thus b;; the expression Indri-*.apaccayais meant a
c o n d i t i o nt h a t c o m e sa b o u t t h r o u g h t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o no f
o n e o r m o r e o f t w e n t y i n d r i y a s . G e n e r a l l y s p e a k i n gi t
c a n b e d e s c r i b e d a s t h a t c o n d i t i o n w h i c h e x e r c i s e sa
d o m i n a t i n g i n f l u e n c eo v e r t h e i t e m s r e l a t e dt o i i .
Senarat rillJesundara
INDRTAPAROPARfYATTANANA (var. indivaparo-
pariyatti, indri,vaparopariya), insight inro the function-
i n g o f t h e f i v e s p i r i t u a l f a c u l t i e so f o t h e r b e i n g s ,i s o n e o f
the ten intellectual powers (dasa-bala)of a Buddha ( M. I,
p . 7 0 ; A . V , p p . 3 4 , 3 8 : V b h . 3 4 0 f f. N e t t i p . . t 0 l ) . I t i so n c
o f t h e f o u r t : e n k i n d s L r f k n o w i e < i g et h a t c o n s t i t u t c t h e
knowledge of the Buddha (ps. I, p. 133). By this
k n o w l e d g et h e B u d d h a u n d e r s t a n d st h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h
the five spiritual faculties, namely, futh (saddha.),energy
(w riya), mindfulness (sa ti ), concenrratio n (samed hi) and
wisdom (paflfrE)of beings are developed or degenerated
( M A . 1 1 , 2 9 - 3 0 ) ; i n o t h e r w o r d s , h e u n d e r s t a n d sb y t h i s
k n o w l e d g e t h e p e o p l e ' s p o t e n r i a l i t i e si n t h e s p i r i t u a . l
sphere.
A d e t a i l e dd e s c r i p t i o no f t h i s k n c w l c d g ei s n o t f o u n d i n
the early Nikayas; it is in the Vibhahga-Irakaranaof the
A b h i d h a m m e P i t a k a t h a t w e c o m e a c r o s so n e . B u d d h a -
g h o s a , t o o , w h i l e c o m m c n t i n g o n t h i s k n o w l e d g ei n h i s
P a p a f r c a s f t d a n(iM A . l l , p p . 2 9 3 0 ) r e f e r st h c r e a d e rr o
the Vibhahga (pp. 3a0 ff.) which rreats comprehensively
on this knowledge.
The objects of this knowledge, as given in the
Y i b h a h g a ,i n c l u d e : ( l ) a s a y a ,m e a n i n g s p e c u l a r i v ev i e w s
such as eternalism and nihilism held, as well as the
p o s i t i o n o f c o n d i t i o n a l i t y t a k e n u p , b , vp e r s o n s ;a n d l u s t
f o r s e n s e - p l c a s u raen d i n c l i n a t i o n t o r e n u n c i a t i o n ;s l o t h
a n d t o r p o r , a s w e l l a s e n t h u s i a s mo f p e r s o ns ; ( 2 ) a n u s a y a ,
m e a n i n g s c v e n l a t e n t t e n d c n c i e so r p r e d i s p c l s i t i o n so, f
p e r s o n s ;( 3 ) c a r i t a ,t h e t h r e e f o l dm o t i v e - f o r c eo f p e r s o n s ,
namely, the motive force which rs morallv good, the
motive force which is morallv baC and the motive force
w h i c h i s s t e a d f a s t ;a n d ( 4 ) a d h i m u t t i . i n r c n t i o n sw h i c h
a r e l o w o r n o b l e , o f o t h e r f . r e i n g sT. h i s k n o w l e c l g et h u s
 INDT{IYAPAROPARIYATTANAXN SOO
t h r o w s i i g h t o n t h e d i v : r s i i l e d n a t u r e o f p e r s o n sa n d
n l B k e sa d t \ t : n , ' t i l i : rl r t t q c e n p e r s c n sw h o a r ec a p a b l ea n d
thusc who r:re incapabie c'i rcalisingthe truth By this
k n r r w l e d g et h r i ' i u d C h an l s c s e e sb c i n g s w h o s e m i n d i s
slighri" del-ilrd l ag:paraiakkira.)or much defiled (mah7ra-
: a A k h a . , b e i n g sw h o s es p i r i t u n l f a c u i t i e sa r ed u l l l m u d i n '
ririya)or shnrp (li*i'-frindnya), bcingsof good drsposition
( s v L k i l r a )a n d o f e v i l d i s p o s i t i < >(nd v i * a r a ) , h e i n g sw h o
crn be easily convinced (surirl ffEpaya)and those who are
hard tc be conince d {duti,l64paya),'tn short bcings who
are capable ibhabba) and thc''se who are incapable
( a b h a b b a )c f r e a l i s i n gt h e t r u t h ( V ' b h . p , 3 4 0 2 ) "
It would appear frorn this ciescription that indriya-
paropanS'atts-flenais the know.ltdgc into the nature of
other beings;it is by this knowledge that the Buddha
u n d e r s t a n d sw h e t h e r o r n o t e p a r t i c u l a r i n d i v i d u a l i s
capable of attaining Nibbana (upanissayasampanna)'
This knowlcdge is, thcrefore, very useful for a teacher
w h o s es o l e a i m w a s t o h e l p o t h e r sr c a l i s et h e t r u t h ; f o r h e
could select the worthy persons and instruct them
a c c o r d i n gt o t h e i r t e m p e r a m e n t sa n d a b i l i t i e s .
The ten intellectual powers (dasabala), of which
indriyaparopariyatta-flEna is one. are generally con-
sidered as qualities possessedby the Buddha. The last
thrre of the ten intellectual powers, called tivijfi, namely,
(.1) pubbenivdsEnussati-frina, insight into one's own
previous cxistences,(2) dibba<akkhu, clairvoyancc or
cutfipapEta-fid?a, insight into death and rebirth, accord-
in3 to karnma, of other persclnsand (3) Esavakkhaya-
/ T l a a , i n s i g h t i n t o t h c d e s t r u c t i o n o f c a n k e r s ,h o w e v e r ,
rr€ types c'f insight possessedby all arahants. We also
find an arahantdiscipie of the Buddha, Anuruddha,
claiming for himself not only the tivij1Z,but all the ten
intellectual potvers (S. V, p. 303-5). The Patisambhide'
mtggs, on the contrary, expressly says that indriya'
ptropariyatta-frEna, one of the ten intellectual powers,
claimed a-lsoby Anuruddha, is, together with five other
types of knowledge, a monopoly of the Buddha (clra
tllntni as7,dbl.ran!,nisEvakehi:Ps"l, p. 133).[n reconsider-
i n g t h e s e l w o c o n t r a d i c t o r y s t a t e m e n t sB u d d h a g h o s a
s a y s t h a t t h e t e n i n t e l l e c t u a lp o w e r s p o s s e s s e d by some
d i s c i p l e so f t h e B u d d h a a r e n o t p c r f e c t ;o n l y t h o s eo f t h e
B u d d h a a r e p e r f e c t ( . t . , 4 .I I I , p . 2 6 3 ) . T h e d i f f e r e n c e
b e t w e e n t h e i d e n t i c a l q u a J i t i e sp o s s e s s e db o t h b y t h e
B u d d h a a n d b y t h e a r a h a n t s s e e m st o b c a m a t t e r o f
d e g r e e ,a n d n o t a m a t t e r o f k i n d , T h e B u d d h a ' sr a n g e o f
w i s d o m i s m o r e e x t e n s i v ea n d i n t e n s i v et h a n t h a t o f t h e
a r a h a n t s( V b h A . p p . 3 7 2 - 3 ) .
We find the indnyaparopariyatta-flEnaof the Vibhahga
dirided in the Pattisambhiddmagga into two types of
krowledge, namelr' (l) the indriyaparopariyatta-flEna
and (2) the tuay'Enus aya-ffZna(q.v., Ps. l, pp, 121-4).The
m e t h o d o f t r e a t m e n ta sw e l l a s t h e t e r m i n o l o g yi t s e l fu s e d
in the two texls are identical.Agains,in the Saddham'
TNDRIYASAMATTA
m a p a j l o t t k t , t h e s et w o t y p e s o f k n o w l e d g e h a v e b e e n
i d c n t i f i e dw i t h t h e B u d d h a - c a k k h u ( N d A . l l , p , 3 8 3 ) .T h e
inCriyaparopanyatta-fri?a o{ lhe Vibhahga is, therefore,
identical with the Buddha-cakkhu of the Saddhamma'
pa.ijotikE.But the Buddha-cakllru of the earlier texts (D.
i l , p p . 3 8 9 ; M . I . p . I 6 9 ; V i n . l , p . 6 ) i s i d e n t i c a lw i t h t h e
indriyaparopariyatta-f,Ena of the Patisambhidamagga
(1, p. 121), and the Zsaylnusaya-flEla of the Patisam'
bhid4magga (1, p. 123) is identical with indriyaPEro-
pariyatta-fiana of the Nettippakarana (p. l0l),
Thus. there scems to be a confusion among the
scholias ts about the ind iSaparc pariyatta-fren 4 the isayanu'
saya-\ana and the Buddha-cakkrlu. These three types of
k n o w l e d g em a v b c c o n s i d e r e do n e a n d t h e s a m e ,f o r a l l o f
them throw light on the functioning of the spiritual
f a c u l t i e so f b e i n g s ,
Updl Kerunretne
INDRfYA-SAMATIA, equilibrium (samatta) of facul-
ties (indriya), related to the five spiritual faculties,
namely, faith (saddhE), energy (viriya), mindfulness
(saLi), concentration (samedhi) and wisdom (paf,f,Q.
( S e e I N D R I Y A ) . T h i s e q u i l i b r i u m i s i n d i s p e n s a b l ef o r
t h e r e a l i s a t i o no f t h e s p i r i t u a le t t s i n m e n t s ,f o r , w h e n o n e
f a c u l t y b e c o m e ss t r a n g a n d t h e o t h e r s w e a . k ,t h e w e a k
o n e s d o n o t p e r f o r m t h e i r r e s p e c t i v ef u n c t i o n s . I f , f o r
example, the faculty of faith is stronger than the others,
then the faculty of energy cannot perform its function of
exerting, the faculty of mindfulness its function of
e s t a b l i s h i n g ,t h e f a c u l t v o f c o n c e n t r a t i o ni t s f u n c t i o n o f
n o t d i s t r a c t i n ga n d t h e f a c u l t y o f w i s d o m i t s f u n c t i o n o f
understanding. Vakkali could noi attain insight on
a c c o u n t o f h i s e x t r e m ef a i t h ( S . l I I , p p . 1 1 9 - 2 4 ; T h a g A .
I I , p . 1 4 7 ; I I l , p . 2 0 8 ) . T h e c a s ei s t h e s a m e w i t h o t h e r
faculties.too. Sona Kolivisa was unable to attain arahent-
s h i p o n a c c o u n t o f h i s e x c e s s i v ee n e r g y ( A , I I l , p p . 2 7 4
ff,). So was Ananda (VinA. p. l2) Only later,when they
were able to rid themselvesof excessiveness in faith and
e n e r g yw e r e t h e y a b l et o w i n i n s i g h t a n d a t t a i n a r a h a n t -
ship.
Of thesefive spritual faculties,there were, in particular,
two pairs in each of which both faculties should well
c o u n t e r b a l a n c ee a c ho t h e r , n a m e l y ,f a i t h a n d w i s d o m o n
t h e o n e h a n d a n d e n e r g ya n d c o n c e n t r a t i o no n t h e o t h e r .
F o r e x c e s s i v ef a i t h w i t h d e f i c i e n tw i s d o m l e a d st o b l i n d
faith whilst excessivewisdom with deficient faith leadsto
c u n n i n g , I n t h e s a m e w a y e x c e s s i v ee n e r g y w i t h w e a k
c o n c e n t r a t i o nl e a d st o r e s t l e s s n e swsh i l s t e x c e s s i v ec o n -
c e n t r a t i o n w i t h d e f i c i e n te n e r g yl e a d st o i n d o l e n c e .
Though for both faculties in each of the two pairs an
e q u a l d e g r e eo f i n t e n s i t yi s d e s i r a b l e ,m i n d f u l n e s ss h o u l d
 INDRTYA SAMVARA
b e a l l o w e d t o d e v e l o p r o t h e h i g h e s td c g r e eo f s t r e n g t h
(Vism. p. 129f ,).
Upa[ Karunaratne
INDRIYA-SAIIIVARA, 'restraint of the senses', also
referred to as iidriyesu guttadavEratZ, meaning,the state
of baving the doors of the sensesguarded', is a quality
mentioned in numerous sutta passageswhich describethe
e t h i c o - i n t e l l e c t u apl r o c c s st h a t c u l m i n a t e si n t h e d e s t r u c -
t i o n o f E s a v a s( q . v . ) , i , e . , i n t h e a b s o l u t ef r e e d o m , i n t h e
religious sense (wmuru, q.v.). It is an cssential link,
tbough preliminary, in that process without which no
progress could be effected. lt is closely connected with
slla(q,v.), in fact, it is sometimesconsideredas an aspect
of rth, i.e., as one of its four kinds describedas purity (s.v.
catupEisuddhi+ila), Another qualiry rhat goes hand in
hand with indriya-samvaraismindfulnessand awareness
(satisamp aj af,fra q.v .).
What particular link does indriya-samvara constitute
in that processmay best be gathered from its description
given in the SEmafrfraphale-Sutta ( D. I, p. 62 ft ,) and the
MehitanhEsahkhaya Sutta(M.l, p.267 f.), The process
beginc with the conversion of a person on listening to the
teaching of the Buddha. After developing faith in thc
Buddha he renounces household life and becornes a
monk in order to practise the noble way of life (s, v.
brahma-cariya). The preparatory stage of this noble life
conrists of good behaviour in both word and deed.This is
d/a which includcs restraint according tothe pEtimokkha
(q.v.), good conduct, secingdanger in the sma.llestwrong,
treining in the preceptsand the purity of livelihood (D. l,
p. 63). The next stage is indriya^samyara which is
followed by two further stages of mindfulness (saf.r-
sampajafffla) and contentment santutthi; D, I, p. 7l).
W h c n t h e m o n l b e c o m e sp o s s e s s e o
d f i h e s eq u a l i t i e s ,h e
retires to a suitable place and starts meditating. He gets
rid of the five mental hindrances (nivarana) and attains
concentration of mind (samEdhi). On attaining concen-
lretion of mind he applies and directs his mind toward
knowledge and insight (f,Ena-dassana)andattains it. It is
thk frarydassana that effects thc destruction of the dsavas
and thereby produces absolutefreedom (D. I, pp. 7l -84).
What is meant by indriya-sirmvara has been explained
i n a s h o r t p a " s s a gien t h e s a m es u t t a ( D . t , p . 7 0 ) w h i c h i s
r e p e a t e di n s e v e r a lo t h e r s u t t a s( M . 1 , p p . 2 6 9 ; 3 4 6 ; . S .I V ,
pp. 104; ll2; 176; l. V, p. 206). The passagemay be
rendered as:
"When he (the monk) seesa material object with his
eye, he is not entranced by its general appearance
(nimita)nor by its particular features (anvuyafrjana). He
sets himself to restrain that which might (in the normal
567 INDRTYA SAMVAR..I
c i r c u m s t a n c e s )g i v e o c c a s i o n f o r e v i l s t a t e s s u c h B s
covetousness(abhqihd) and dejection (dontanassa.)to
f l o w i n o v e r h i m s o l o n g a s h c d w e l l s u n r e s t r a i n e da s t o
his faculty of sight. He keeps watch ovcr his faculty of
sight and he attains to masterv over it;" (and this is
repeatedwith regard to other five senselacultics as weil)
and endowed with this self restraint, so noble, as regrrds
t h e f e c u l t i e sh c e x p e r i e n c e s w
, i t h i n h i r - n s e l fa, s e n s eo f
e a s ei n t o w h i c h n o e v i l s t a t ec a n e n t e r .T h u s i t i s t h a t t h e
m o n k b e c o m e sg u a r d e da s t o t h e d o o r s o f h i s s e n s e s " ( D ,
I, p. 70 ctc.).
B u d d h a g h o s ae x p l a i r r sn i m i t t a a s s i g n o f w o m a n o r
m a n o r a n v s i g n t h a t s c r v e sa s a b a s i sf o r d e l i l e m e n ts u c h
as the sign of beauty,etc. and anuv.yafrjana is explained as
a n y c o n s t i t u e n tp s r t o r f u n c t i o n c l a s s e da s h a n d , f o o t .
s m i l e , l a u g h t e r ,t a l k , l o o k i n g a h e a d , l o o k i n g a s i d ce t c .
which has acquircd the name "particular" (feaiures)
becauseof its particularising defilements, becauseof its
m a k i n g t h e m m a n i f e s tt h e m s e l v e sF. u r l h e r , h e s a y st h a t
w h e n t h e m o n k s e e ss u c ha n o b j e c t h e a p p r e h e n d sn e i t h e r
the signs nor the particulars of it; he stops at what is
m e r e l y s e e n( U d A . p . 8 ) .
The process is explained bricfly in the Samyutta
NikEya (.9. IV, p I25) whcre it is said that when the
objects, both attractive and repulsive, that cone in
c o n t a c tw i t h t h e s e n s € d s o n o t t a k ep o s s e s s i o n of theroind
(tyassa phussa phussa cittarp na pariyZdal,a titthaU), and
d u e t o w i s c a t t e n t i o n ( y o n i s om a n a s i k i r a , D . l l l , p . 2 g g ) ,
e f f o r t i s i n i t i a t e d , m i n d f u l n e s se s t a b l i s h e dw i t h n o c o n _
f u s i o n w h a t s o e v e r ,a n d c o n s e q u c n t l y ,t h e b o d y b c c o m e s
c a l m a n d t h e m i n d t r a n q u i l l e d .I n t h i s i n s t a n c t t h e r e n s e
o b j e c t s n o t t a k i n g p o s s e s s i o no f t h e m i n d r c p r e s e n t s
indriya-sanvara.
W h e n s o m e e x t e r n a lo b j e c tc o m c s i n c o n t a c t w i l h t h e
r e l e v a n t s e n s e - o r g a ni,t i s n a t u r a l t h a t t h e p c r s o n c o n -
c e r n c dp a y s a t t e n t i o n t o i t . A p e r s o n ,f o r e x a m p l e ,s s c sa
h u m a n f i g u r e ,h e i s n a t u r a l l y i n c l i n e d ,i n n o r m a l c i r c u m s -
t a n c e s ,t o f i n d o u t w h e t h e r t h a t p a r t i c u l a r f i g u r e r e p r e -
sents a man or a woman: whether or not it looks
beautiful; whether or not irs different parts and the
-Ihis
m o v e m e n t sa r e a g g r e e a b l e . i s a n a t u r a l r e a c t i o no n
t h e p a r t o f t h e p e r s o n w h o s e e si t . l h i s i s r e f e r r e dt o , i n
the texts, as indriya-asamvara,lackof restraint as regards
the faculties, the opposite of indriya-sanlvara.
Indriya-asamvara is condemned on f he grtlunrl that it
g i v e sr i s ep r i m a r i l y t o t w o p a s s i o n s u, a r u e l vc o v e t o u s n e s s
(abhijjhe) and dejectio n (dom anassa;D. l, p. 70 etc. On
).
s e e i n ga n o b j e c t ,a s h a s a l r e a d l ,b c e n o b s e r v e d t, h e p e r s o n
c o n c e r n e da p p r e h e n d st h e s i g n sa n d p a r t i c u l a r so f i t ; h e
f e e l s a t t r a c t e di f t h e o b j e c t i s b e a u t i f u l . A n d h e d w e l l s
w i t h o u t m i n d f u l n e s s. . . a n d d e r i v e sa f e e l i n g* _ p l e n s a n t ,
p a i n f u l o r n e u t r a l . H e d e l i g h t si n t h a t f e e l i n g ;w e l c o m e si t
a n d p e r s i s t si n c l i n g i n gr o i t w h i l e e n j o y i n gi r ( i f . I , p , 2 6 6 ;
 INDRIYA SAMVARA 668 INEFFABILTTY

I t l , p p . 2 0 9 : 2 8 7 5: . l V , p . l 1 9 i . ) . l f . o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , The purpose served by indriya-samvrra thus becomes

'fbe
t h e o b i e c t : s r i i s a g r e e a h lai "n. d r ep u l s i v e ,h e r c s e n t si t ; h e verv clear. raculty (indiya) that produces absolute
h a t e sr t ( r h r C . ; "A l l t h e s ea r e p e s s i o n s o , e f i l e m e n t so f t h e free.dom twmutt:) is iruight (pafifre) Psf,frd dawns in a
m i n d w h i c h r c ; l s t i t u t ee h r n d r a n c ct o s p i r i t u a l p r o g r e s s . nnind'which is calm and tranquilled by samidlf (concen-
-Ihe