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THE JOURNAL

i>F THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION Of


BUDDHIST STUDIES
CO-EDITORS-IN-CHIEF
Gregory Schopen
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana, USA
EDITORS
Peter N. Gregory
University oJ Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
Alexander W. Macdonald
Universite de Paris X
Nanterre, France
Steven Collins
Concordia University
Montreal, Canada
~ o l u m e 11 1988
Roger Jackson
Fairfield University
Fairfield, Connecticut, USA
Ernst Steinkellner
University oJVienna
Wien, Austria
Jikido Takasaki
University oJTokyo
Tokyo,Japan
Robert Thurman
Amherst College
Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
Number 2
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THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIA
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CONTENTS
I. ARTICLES
L
The Soteriological Purpose of Nagarjuna's Philosophy:
A Study of Chapter Twenty-Three of the
Mula-madhyamaka-kiirikiis, by WilliamL. Ames 7
2.
The Redactions of the Adbhutadharmaparyiiya
from Gilgit, by Yael Bentor 21
3.
Vacuite et corps actualise: Le probleme de la presence
des "Personnages V eneres" dans leurs images
selon la tradition du bouddhisme japonais,
by Bernard Frank 51
4.
Ch'an Commentaries on the Heart Sutra: Preliminary
Inferences on the Permutation of Chinese
Buddhism, byJohnR. McRae 85
II. BOOK REVIEWS
1.
An Introduction to Buddhism, by Jikido Takasaki
(Fernando Tola and Carmen Dragonetti)
115
2.
On Being Mindless: Buddhist Meditation and the Mind-Body
Problem, by Paul J. Griffiths
(Frank Hoffman)
116
3. The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist
Meditation and Symbolism, by Roderick S. Bucknell
and Martin Stuart-Fox
(Roger] ackson)
123
OBITUARY
131
LIST OF CONTRIB UTORS
136
The Soteriological Purpose of Nagarjuna's
Philosophy: A Study of Chapter
Twenty-three of the Mula-madhyamaka-
karikas
1
.
by William L. Ames
Nagarjuna's Mula-madhyamaka-karikas (MMK) is the funda-
mental text of the Madhyamaka
2
school of Buddhist philosophy.
It is largely devoted to a critical analysis of various conceptual
categories, such as cause and effect, motion and rest, agent and
action, etc. Particular attention is paid to the categories into
which Buddhist Abhidharma analyzed the world. The
Madhyamaka analysis is said to show the emptiness (sunyata) of
all phenomena (all dharmas).
Some readers, both ancient and modern, have taken Nagar-
. juna's position to be one of extreme skepticism, if not nihilism.
Some have also charged that his arguments are little more than
sophistry. Others have had a more positive evaluation of
Madhyamaka, but they have put forward varying interpretations
of Nagarjuna's aim and methods.
3
An examination of all these views is beyond the scope of
this article; and in any case, the matter has been much discussed
by a number of scholars. To be brief, let me just say that I agree
with those who see the notion of intrinsic nature (svabhiiva) as
a key to understanding Madhyamaka. Intrinsic nature is defined
in MMK 15:2cd as being noncontingent and not dependent on
anything other than itself.
4
Thus according to Nagarjuna, it is
necessarily unchanging and permanent. 5 The main target of
the Madhyamikas' criticism is the belief that our conceptual
categories refer to entities (bhiiva) which exist by virtue of having
an intrinsic nature. Such entities would be inconsistent with the
7
8
JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
facts of impermanence (anityata) and dependent origination
(pratztya-samutpada) , which are basic to the Buddhist world-view ..
Hence, according to the Madhyamikas" all phenomena are
empty in the sense of being empty of intrinsic nature. Nagarjuna
compares the way in which things do exist to the mode of exis-
tence of mirages and magical illusions. (See MMK 1-7:31-33
for example.) Like such illusions, things appear in d e p e n d e n c ~
on causes and conditions; but they are not appearances ofintrin_
sically existent entities.
The question I would like to address is the following: How
does the philosophical analysis which I have just described relate
to the soteriological goals of Buddhism? That Nagarjuna is con..;
cerned with these goals is stated quite explicitly in such works
as the RatnavalZ,6 but it is also clearly implied at several places
in the MMK. For example, MMK 18:5 says,
Because of the cessation of action (karman) and afflictions (kleSa),
there is liberation. Action and afflictions are due to concep-
tual construction (vikalpa).
Those [conceptual constructions come] from linguistic prolifera-
tion (prapanca); but linguistic prpliferation ceases in empti-
ness.
7
Madhyamaka is thus conceived of as a means, with liberation
as its ultimate end. But the question remains, how does
philosophical argumentation lead to spiritual goals? To attempt
to answer this question, I will examine chapter twenty-three of
the MMK, where the connection between philosophy and
soteriology is particularly close to the surface. (In this chapter,
Nagarjuna frequently alludes to arguments made earlier in the
MMK without repeating them in detail; but I think that the
general thrust of the chapter will be clear even to readers un-
familiar with the MMK.) I have consulted the commentaries,
primarily the Prajiiapradipa and the Prasannapada; but my dis-
cussion will be based insofar as possible on the MMK itself.
Chapter twenty-three of the MMK takes up a theme intro-
duced earlier. In MMK 17:26b, Nagarjuna stated that "those
afflictions [do] not [exist] in reality (tattvatab}."8 (The afflictions
(kIeSa) are desire (riiga) , hatred (dvesa) , and confusion (moha).)
In the first two verses of chapter twenty-three, he explains why
the afflictions are not real:
SOTERIOLOGIGAL PURPOSE 9
<1> It has been said that desire, hatred, and confusion arise
from conceptual construction (sarrtkalpa).
They indeed occur in dependence on the errors of
prehending things as] pleasant or unpleasant.
<2> Those which occur in dependence on the errors of [ap-
prehending things as] pleasant or unpleasant
Do not exist because of intrinsic nature. Therefore the
afflictions [do] not [exist] in reality.
Here the phrase which I have translated as "the errors of
[apprehending things as] pleasant or unpleasant" is the com-
pound subha (pleasant) plus asubha (unpleasant) plus viparyasa
(error) with a masculine plural ending. Candraklrti takes it to
be a triple dvandva, "the pleasant, the unpleasant, and error;"
but the Tibetan translations of the commentaries of
Bhavaviveka, BuddhapaIita, and the author of the Akutobhaya
understand it to be a as I have translated it here. I
have also added the phrase "apprehending things as" for the
sake of clarity.
Thus the afflictions are not ultimately real because they do
not exist by virtue of some intrinsic nature of their own. They
exist in dependence on the conceptually constructed errors of
taking things to be pleasant or unpleasant.
Additional reasons are given in the next three verses. In
MMK 23:3-4, it is argued that afflictions must belong to some-
one; but since neither the existence nor the nonexistence of the
self can be established, the afflictions also cannot be established.
The fifth verse looks at the relation between the afflictions and
the afflicted mind. Alluding to similar analyses earlier in the
MMK,9 it notes that the afflictions and the one who is afflicted
cannot be shown to be the same or different. Therefore, by
implication, neither of them possesses an intrinsic nature.
If one supposes that the afflictions derive some sort of ulti-
mate reality from their dependence on error, Nagarjuna replies
m verse six,
<6> The errors of [apprehending things as] pleasant or un-
pleasant do not exist by intrinsic nature.
What are the afflictions [which occur] in dependence on
the errors of [apprehending things as] pleasant or un-
pleasant?
10 JIABS V()L. 11 NO.2
. The remainder of chapter twenty-three is largely devoted
to explaining why error does not exist by intrinsic nature. As
we saw in verse one, error (viparyasa or -viparyaya) is closely
related to conceptual construction (sar(lkalpa). Verse seven tells
us that the objects of the six senses are conceptually constructed
(vikalpyate) as the objects of desire, hatred, and confusion. Nag
a
_
rjuna has already shown-particularly in chapter three of the
MMK-that the six sense objects have no intrinsic nature. Thus
23:8ab says,
<8ab> Forms, sounds, tastes, and tangibles, smells and
mas, areisolated (kevala).10
The commentaries gloss as "without intrinsic nature."
The verse continues,
<8cd> They are like a city of the gandharvas; they are similar
to a mirage or a dream.
Since the objects of the afflictions are not ultimately real,
neither are the afflictions; and the same can be said of errors,
which also refer to the sense objects .. Therefore in verse nine
Nagarjuna asks,
<9> How will either the pleasant or the unpleasant occur
In those [objects], which are like a person [created by] mag-
ical illusion and similar to a reflection?
In other words, objects are perceived by the senses; and
this includes the perception of dharmas by the mind. Error or
conceptual construction takes these objects to be either pleasant
or unpleasant, giving rise to desire, hatred, and so on. Butsince
the objects themselves have no intrinsic nature, neither do the
errors and afflictions, which are based on those objects.
Moreover, the pleasant and the unpleasant exist only in
relation to each other. Neither is established by its own intrinsic
nature, since that would imply that they could exist separately.
Thus in verses ten and eleven, Nagarjuna says,
<10> The pleasant, in dependence on which we could desig-
nate the unpleasant as unpleasant,
SOTERIOLOGICAL PURPOSE 11
Does not exist without relation (anapekJya) [to the un-
pleasant]. Therefore the pleasant is not possible.
< 11 > The unpleasant, in dependence on which we could des-
ignate the pleasant as pleasant,
Does not exist without relation [to the pleasant]. There-
fore the unpleasant is not possible. II
That is to say, neither the pleasant nor the unpleasant can
be established unless the other is first established. If one argues
that they come into being simultaneously in mutual dependence,
this, for Nagarjuna, shows that neither has any intrinsic nature.
(See related arguments in chapters six and eleven of the MMK.)
Thus in verse twelve, Nagarjuna asks,
<12> If the pleasant does not exist, how will desire arise?
If the unpleasant does not exist, how will hatred arise?
In these last three verses, as is often the case in the MMK,
some qualification such as "by intrinsic nature" or "in ultimate
reality" (paramarthatab) must be supplied from the context of
the work as a whole. One can scarcely deny that on the conven-
tionallevel, things are perceived as pleasant or unpleasant and
that attachment and aversion do arise.
There is, however, another way to look at such statements.
I argued previously that Nagarjuna wants to make an ontological
point about the way in which phenomena exist or do not exist.
We can now begin to see that he is also showing the reader a
new way of looking at the world. From this new perspective,
errors and afflictions do not arise; or if they do arise, they do
not bind one.
Nagarjuna's interest in leading the reader to a new kind of
experience may also account for the fact that chapter twenty-
three, like the MMK generally, is not tightly structured. Often,
more than one argument is adduced to prove the same point;
and that point may be repeated in different words. As
philosophical argumentation, this is redundant; but such repe-
tition can be very useful for purposes of reflection and medita-
tion. .
N agarjuna has so far examined error in terms of the pleasant
and the unpleasant. Now he turns to a traditional set of four
errors described in Anguttara-nikaya II 52. They are: (1) to hold
12 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
that the .is permanent (nitya); (2) to hold
that suffermg (duMha) IS hapPlD.ess (sukha); (3) to hold that th
impure (asuci) is pure (suci); and (4) to hold that what is not:
self (anatman) is a self (atman). In MMK 23: 13-14, Nagarjuna
discusses the first error, namely, to mistake the impermanent
for the permanent.
<13> "The impermanent is permanent": !fto hold thus is an
error,
[Then] because permanence does not exist in what is
empty, why is it not an error to hold [that the empty
is permanent]?
<14> "The impermanent is impermanent": If to hold thus is
not an error,
[Then] because impermanence does not exist in what is
empty, why is it not an error to hold [that the empty
is impermanent]?'2 .
In other words, what is empty of intrinsic nature cannot be
said to be either permanent or impermanent. Presumably, this
is so because there is no independent, self-existent entity of
which either permanence or impermanence could be predi-
cated.
Suppose that one admits that no ultimately real entity exists
which could be either permanent or impermanent. One might
still argue that the act of mistaking or holding things to be either
permanent or impermanent does exist. If the act of holding
exists, then the one who holds, the cognition by which one holds,
and the object which is held to be such-and-such must all exist.
Nagarjuna replies in verse fifteen:
<15> That by which one holds, the holding, the holder, and
what is being held,
Are all extinguished (upafiinta). Therefore holding does
not exist.
Here "holding" is graha; "that by which one holds" is yena
grhr),ati; the "holder" is grahZtr; and "what is being held" is yad
grhyate. Gramatically, "holding" is the bhava or verbal action;
"that by which one holds" is the karar),a or instrument; the
"holder" is the kartr or agent; and "what is being held" is the
SOTERIOLOGICAL PURPOSE 13
harman or direct object. This sort of argument occurs at a number
of places in the MMK, notably in chapter two and chapter eight.
The point is that all these elementS that go to make up an action
are interdependent, and that therefore none of them exists by
intrinsic nature.
13
Continuing the same line of thought in verse sixteen, Nagar-
juna asks,
< 16> If holding either falsely or correctly does not exist,
For whom would there be error? For whom would there
be nonerror?
Thus there are no grounds for attachment either to the idea
that one is in error or to the idea that one is not in error.
Verses seventeen and eighteen also argue that no one who
is in error, whether conceived of as a self or a mind, exists by
. intrinsic nature. They do so by using a pattern of reasoning
first used in chapter two of the MMK and referred to repeatedly
in subsequent chapters.
< 17> For one who is [already] in error, errors are not possible.
For one who is not [yet] in error, errors are not possible.
<IS> For one who is [in the process of] coming to be in error,
errors are not possible.
Consider for yourself: For whom are errors possible?
Here the focus is on the moment at which someone enters
the state of being in error. If at that moment, one is already in
error (viparita), then coming to be in error again is redundant.
(Here it is assumed that the error in question is the same in
both cases.) If one is not yet in error (aviparita), then by definition
one is free from error; and it would be contradictory to say that
one is free from error and comes to be in error at the same
moment. As for one who is inthe process of coming to be in
error (viParyasyamiina) , it is argued that there is no such third
category, different both from one who is in error and one who
is not in error. If what is meant is that one is partly in error
and partly not in error, then the previous arguments apply to
each part separately. Thus by this argument also, there is no
self-existent entity which could be called "one who is in error."
V erse nineteen presents yet another argument on the same
14
JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
point. Alluding to t h ~ examination of origination in the first
chapter of the MMK, It says, -
< 19> If errors are unoriginated, how will they exist?
If errors are unoriginated, how will one who has fallen
into error exist? .
Here, of course, "unoriginated" (anutpanna) means "not origi-
nated by intrinsic nature."
Following verse nineteen, the Prasannapada adds a verse
which is not found in the earlier Tibetan translations. I will also
omit it here. Thus in what follows, verses 20 through 24 corre-
spond to verses 21 through 25 of the Prasannapada's chapter
twenty-three. .
In verses ten and eleven, Nagarjuna argued that since the
pleasant and the unpleasant are established only in relation to
each other, neither exists by intrinsic nature. Now, in verses
twenty and twenty-one, he makes a similar argument concerning
the four errors which were mentioned previously. .
<20> If self and purity and permanence and happiness exist,
[Then] self, purity, permanence, and happiness are not
errors.
<21> If self and purity and permanence and happiness do not
exist,
[Then] nonself, impurity, impermanence, and suffering
do not exist.
In other words, if conditioned things are permanent, then
the notion of permanence is not an error. On the other hand,
if there is nothing which is permanent, then the concept of
permanence could not arise; and there would be nothing in
relation to which impermanence could be conceived. Since the
concepts of permanence and impermanence are relational, it is
not possible to say that one is purely erroneous while the other
is purely correct.
The relative character of permanence and impermanence
also undermines the notion that there are entities which are
permanent or impermanent by intrinsic nature. Intrinsic nature
is, by definition, independent and "self-contained;" but perma-
nence and impermanence imply each other. If we say that some-
SOTERIOLOGICAL PURPOSE 15
thing is permanent, it can be so only in relation to something
else which is impermanent; but intrinsic nature cannot be rela-
tional. These same arguments also apply to the other three pairs
of alleged errors and nonerrors.
In the last three verses of chapter twenty-three, Nagarjuna
discl:lsses the soteriological side of Madhyamaka more explicitly ..
Suppose that someone has pondered what has been said so far
and has come to some deep understanding of it, deep enough
that categories like pleasant and unpleasant are experienced as
conceptual imputations rather than as objective facts about the
world. Or, in more traditional terms, suppose that srutamayi
prajiiii has been developed into cintamayi prajiia and that in turn
into bhavanamayi prajiia. 14 What is the result for the person who
has done so? In verse twenty-two, Nagarjuna says,
<22> Thus ignorance (avidyii) ceases because of the cessation
of error.
When ignorance has ceased, karmic conditionings
(sar{lSkiirii/:t) and so on cease.
While one would usually say that ignorance is a cause of
error rather than vice versa,15 Nagarjuna may mean that igno-
rance is a necessary and sufficient cause of error, so that the
cessation of one necessarily entails the cessation of the other.
As we have seen, ignorance and error lead to desire, hatred,
and confusion; and these afflictions, in turn, lead to actions
performed under their influence. In this context, sa'f!l,skiiraJ;"
which I have translated as "karmic conditionings," are equivalent
to karman, "action." The context, of course, is the twelvefold
dependent origination, of which avidya and sa'f!l,skilriiJ;, are the
first two members. In verse twenty-two, "and so on" evidently
refers to the remaining ten members, ending with birth (jiiti)
and old-age-and-death (jarii-mara1Ja).
The idea that the cessation of ignorance leads to the cessa-
tion of suffering and rebirth is quite traditional in Buddhism .
. For Nagarjuna, however, this "cessation" is not the ceasing to
exist of some real entity called "ignorance" or "error." Instead,
it is the realization that all things, including even error and
ignorance, lack intrinsic nature and do not exist as self-sufficient
entities.
16 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2.
. Indeed, according to NagarJuna, if ignorance and afflictions
existed by intrinsic nature, liberation would be impossible. Thus
verse twenty-three asks,
<23> If any afflictions of anyone were existent by intrinsic
nature,
How could they be abandoned? Who will abandon the
existent?
Conversely, verse twenty-four inquires,
<24> If any afflictions of anyone were nonexistent by intrinsic
nature,
How could they be abandoned? Who will abandon the
nonexistent?
N agarjuna states in chapter fifteen of the MMK that intrin-
sic nature is necessarily unchanging.
I6
Presumably, this is so
because the independence and self-sufficiency of intrinsic nature
would make it impervious to other influences. Thus if one had
afflictions by intrinsic nature, this condition would continue
indefinitely.
On the other hand, if the afflictions were nonexistent by
intrinsic nature (abhutii!:t svabhiivena) , the question of abandoning
them would not arise. Here abhutii!:t svabhiivena apparently refers
to a kind of absolute nonexistence in which things would be
intrinsically unable even to appear. Nagarjuna has said that the
mode of existence of phenomena is similar to that of mirages
or dreams. It is not the case that they exist by intrinsic nature,
but they are perceived and experienced.
To sum up, according to Nagarjuna, liberation does not
come about through escaping or suppressing ignorance and
error, but through a profound comprehension of their true
nature, which is their lack of intrinsic nature. As Nagarjuna put
it in another work, the
The thorough comprehension of sarpsaric existence (bhava) itself
is called nirval)a.
I7
Thus a Madhyamika can say that ignorance and error cease,
in the sense that one comes to understand something which one
SOTERIOLOGICAL PURPOSE 17
did not understand before. But if one means that a real entity
called "ignorance" is destroyed and another real entity called
"enlightenment" or "liberation" is produced, this very idea be-
comes an ob.stacle to liberation. Before one is liberated, things
lack intrinsic nature; and they are equally lacking in intrinsic
nature after one is liberated.
Chapter twenty-three of the MMK shows how Nagarjuna
carries on philosophical analysis with a soteriological end in
view. The soteriological goal is paramount, but philosophy can
function as an important part of the process.
Philosophy opens the door to an understanding of things as
they really are. Other factors of the path come into play, as
Nagarjuna discusses in the Ratnavali and elsewhere; but it is
the thorough realization of this understanding which constitutes
liberation.
NOTES
1. An earlier version of this paper was read at the Eighth Conference
of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Berkeley, Calif., Aug.
8-10, 1987.
2. As a general rule, the name of the school and its philosophy is
"Madhyamaka;" a follower of the school is a "Madhyamika." See David Seyfort
Ruegg, The Literature of the Madhyamka School in India, vol. VII, Fasc. 1 of A
History of Indian Literature, ed. Jan Gonda, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz,
1981, p. 1 and n. 3.
3. See the discussion in Ruegg, op. cit., pp. 2-3, with references
cited in nn. 7-9, especially Frederick J. Streng, Emptiness: A Study in Religious
Meaning, Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1967, pp. 243-5.
4. akrtrimal;, svabhiivo hi paratra ca.
5. See MMK 15:8cd, prakrter anyathiibhiivo na hi jatupapadyate, where
prakrti is used as a synonym of svabhiiva.
6. See, e.g., the discussion in Christian Lindtner, Niigiirjuniana: Studies
in the Writings and Philosophy of Niigiirjuna, Indiske Studier 4, Copenhagen:
Akademisk Forlag, 1982, pp. 249-77. (See also Christian Lindtner, Master of
Wisdom, Berkeley, Calif.: Dharma Publishing, 1986, pp. 314-44. Master of
Wisdom is a revised version of Niigiirjuniana.)
7. karmaklesii vikalpatal;,l te prapanciit prapancas
tu sunyatiiyii1[t nirudhyatell
8. te ca klesii na tattvatal;,.
9. See especially MMK 2:18-21 and chapter six.
10. In 23:8ab, Nagarjuna almost quotes a passage from the early Bud-
dhist canon: evam rupii rasii saddii gandhii phassii ca kevalii ittii dhammii anittthii
18
JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
ca na ppavedhenti tadino (Anguttaranikaya III 379; see also Vinaya I 185,
Theragatha 643, and Kathavatthu 90).
11. My translation of verses ten and eleven fopows the wording of th
early Tibetan translations. The Akutobhaya, the Buddhapalita-Miilamadh a ~
makavrtti, the Prajiiapradzpa, and the Prajiiapradzpa-tzkii were all translatelb
Jiianagarbh;l. and Cog ro Klu'i rgyal mtshan in the early ninth century. rh
some places, as here, their text of the verses of MMK is a little different from
that found in the Tibetan translation and the Sanskrit manuscripts of the
Prasannapada, all of which are considerably later. See the appendix for the
reconstructed Sanskrit text.
12. In MMK 23: 13-14, as in 23: 10-11, the wording ofthe earlier Tibetan
translations is different from the text of the MMK in the Prasannapada. Again
I have translated the earlier version. '
13. An argument closely related to that in MMK 23: 15 is given in Vig-
rahavyavartanz 13-16, 66-67, where Nagarjuna mentions graha, grahya, and
graMtr. .
14. See, e.g., Lindtner, Nagarjuniana, pp. 269, 274 (Master of Wisdom,
pp. 334-5, 339). The three types of prajiia or "discernment" are derived from
sruti, "hearing," i.e., hearing and learning the content of texts or oral teachings;
cinta, "reflection" on what has been learned, including logical argument and
analysis; and bhavana, "meditation" on what has thus been learned and
examined.
1:5. See, e.g., Abhidharmakosa 5:32cd,33 and 5:36cd, with the bhi4ya.
16. See note 5.
17. parijiianaT(! bhavasyaiva nirva1'}am iti kathyate, Yukti5a5tikii 6cd. See
Lindtner, Nagarjuniana, pp. 104-5 (Master of Wisdom, pp. 74-5, 174).
APPENDIX
Sanskrit Text of MMK, Chapter Twenty-Three
The text of most of the verses follows the edition of Louis de la Vallee
Poussin, Miilamadhyamakakiirikas de Nagarjuna avec la Prasannapada, Commen-
taire de CandrakZrti, Bibliotheca Buddhica 4, St. Petersbourg: Academie Im-
periale des Sciences, 1913, as emended by].W. de Jong, "Textcritical Notes
on the. Prasannapada," Indo-Iranian Journal 20 (1978), pp. 217-52. The excep-
tionsare 23:10,11,13,14, where the Sanskrit is reconstructed on the basis of
the earlier Tibetan translations. See Lindtner, Nagarjuniana, p. 26 n. 79 (Master
of Wisdom, pp. 352-3 n. 61) and Akira Saito, A Study of the Buddhapalita- .
Miilamadhyamaka-vrtti, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Australian National
University, 1984, p. xvi. The Prasannapada's verse 23-20 is omitted in the
early' translations and also here.
sarpkalpaprabhavo rago d v e ~ o mohas ca kathyatel
subhasubhaviparyasan sarpbhavanti pratitya hill
SOTERIOLOGICAL PURPOSE
subhasubhaviparyasan sarpbhavanti pratItya yel
te svabhavan na tasmat kleSa na tattvatal)11
atmano 'stitvanastitve na katharpcic ca sidhyatal)1
tarp vinastitvanastitve kleSanarp sidhyatal) katharpll
kasyacid dhi bhavantIme kleSal) sa ca na sidhyatil
kascid aho vina karp cit santi kleSa na kasyacitll
svakayadntivat klesal) santi na paiicadhal
svakayad:mivat api na paiicadhall
svabhavato na vidyante subhasubhaviparyayal)1
pratitya kataman klesal) subhasubhaviparyayanll
rupasabdarasasparsa gandha dharmas ca
vastu ragasya mohasya ca vikalpyatell
rupasabdarasaspada gandha dharmas ca kevalal)1
gandharvanagarakara marIcisvapnasarpnibhal)11
asubharp va subharp vapi kutas
call
subharp nasty asubharp prajiiapayemahil
yat pratItyasubharp tasmac chubharp naivopapadyatell
nasti subharp prajnapayemahil
yat pratItya sub harp tasmad asubharp naiva vidyatell
avidyamane ca subhe kuto rago
asubhe 'vidyamane ca kuto
anitye nit yam ity evarp yadi graho viparyayal)1
na nityarp vidyate sunye kuto graho 'viparyayal)11
anitye 'nit yam ity evarp yadi graho 'viparyayal)1
nanityam vidyate sunye kuto graho 'viparyayal)11
yena g:rhI).ati yo graho grahIta yac ca g:rhyatel
upasantani sarvaI).i tasmad graho na vidyatell
avidyamane grahe ca mithya va samyag eva val
bhaved viparyayal) kasya bhavet kasyaviparyayal)11
na capi viparItasya sarpbhavanti viparyayal)1
na capy aviparItasya sarpbhavanti viparyayal)11
19
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
20 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
na viparyasyamanasya sa:rpbhavanti viparyayab[
vimrsasva svayarp kasya sa:rpbhavanti viparyayab[[
anutpannab katha:rp nama viparyayab["
viparyayagatab kutab[[
atma ea suci nitya:rp ea sukha:rp ea yadi vidyate[
atma ea suei nitya:rp ea sukha:rp ea na viparyayab[[
natma ea suei nitya:rp ea sukha:rp ea yadi vidyate[
anatma 'suey anitya:rp ea naivadubkha:rp ea vidyate[[
eva:rp nirudhyate 'vidya viparyayanirodhanat[
avidyaya:rp niruddhaya:rp sa:rpskaradya:rp nirudhyate[[
yadi bhi1tab svabhavena klesab keeid dhi kasyaeit[
katha:rp nama prahlyeran kab svabhava:rp prahasyati[[
yady abhi1tab' svabhavena kldab keeid dhi kasyaeit[
katha:rp nama prahlyeran ko 'sadbhava:rp prahasyati[[
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
'The Redactions of the
Adbhutadharmaparyaya from Gilgit*
by Yael B entor
]. Introduction
. The importance of the Gilgit collection of Sanskrit Buddhist
manuscripts has long been recognized. It provides us with
Sanskrit manuscripts of texts which were either previously un-
known in their original language or were known only through
much later manuscripts which have been found in Nepal, Tibet
and Japan. I The present work includes an edition of the Ad-
bhutadharmaparyaya (Ad), a text which falls into the former cate-
gory, based on three Sanskrit manuscripts from Gilgit. The text
.is preceded by a technical introduction and followed by an Eng-
lish translation of the Sanskrit.
2
There are important redactional
.differences between the mss. of Ad which seem to represent
seCtarian differences (see below).
The Ad is a Buddhist canonical text which deals with the
making of stupas and images, and with the cult of relics, as well
as the merit resulting therefrom. Despite the great number of
actual stupas and images preserved in the Buddhist world, only
a small number of Sanskrit texts entirely devoted to the subject
of stu pas and images are known.
3
Ad advocates the establishment
of stupas/imageslrelics and asserts that such acts produce
greater merit than making offerings to the Sangha, the Arhats
and Pratyekabuddhas. This canonical work appears to be only
one of a larger group of texts, which also includes the Kutagara
Siltra
4
and the Mahiira1Ja Sutra,5 all of which share this common
theme.
6
Moreover, thePratttyasamutpada Sutra
7
also has elements
in common with other texts of this group, although its descrip-
tionS of the stUpaslimageslrelics differs somewhat. The basic
description shared by the four just noted texts is also quoted or
21
22 JIABS VOL. 11 NO: 2
mentioned in several stupa texts.
9
The seventh century Chines
traveler to India I Ching was also familiar this
which he quotes, or very closely paraphrases, In explaining the
very common practice of making stupas and images. 10
Although I Ching and our sutras may have intended the
hyperbolic description of "merely" making a miniature stupa
or an image to be taken in a rhetorical sense, there is abundant
archaeological evidence for the actual practice of making small
stupas in large numbers. II The report of Hsiian Tsang on the
making of miniature stupas can be added to this evidence.
12
Of
special importance are the "excavations" at Gilgit. In the same
stupa where the manuscripts of Ad were deposited hundreds of
small stu pas and images were found.
13
A number of texts belong_
ing to the later Avadana class also provide us with literary sources
for this practice.
14
The hyperbolic argument made by Ad and
its related sutras seems to reflect a tension between the cult of
stupas/imageslrelics and offerings to the Sangha/arhats/Pra_
tyekabuddhas as primary "fields of merit" {pu1'}yakietra).15
II. Description of the Manuscripts
Three mss. of the Ad have so far been identified in the Gilgit
collection,16 and all three have been published in facsimile in
Gilgit Buddhist Manuscripts, (GBMs).17 They will be referred to
here as mss. A, Band C.
Ms. A: GBMs vol. 7, folio 1507.8 to end and continued on
folios 1576.1-1581.4. Script: Gilgit/Bamiyan-Type II.IS This
ms. is complete; however, in GBMs the first line of the text,
which occurs as the last line of one leaf, is separated from the
rest of the text by about 70 folios. 19 The center of each folio of
ms. A is unclear, making the readings partly indistinct.
Ms. B: GBMs vol. 7, folios 1588.1 to 1592.4. Script: Gilgitl
Bamiyan-Type II. This ms. contains only the second half of
the text. It begins in section [4] according to the divisions I have
introduced into the text. On the whole it is clearly readable. Ms.
B has, however, been mislabelled by the scribe in the colophon
where it is called the Kutagara Sutra.
20
Ms. C: GBMs vol. 7, folio 16911.2 to end. Script: Gilgitl
Bamiyan-Type I,21 although it is in appearance somewhat cur-
ADBHUTADHARMAPARyAYA
23
sive. This ms. has only the very beginning of the text, ending
in section [1]. It is on the whole clearly readable.
III. Editorial Notes
My edition consists of an annotated transliteration of ms.
A, the only complete ms. The variants of mss. Band Care
supplied in notes. (Ms. B shows greater consistency and
standardization.) Since the 3 mss. belong to more than one
.redaction (see IV. below), my intention was to preserve the text
of A. Notes important for the reading of the text of ms: A itself
are marked with asterisks. Unreadable ak;;aras in ms. A are,
however, reconstructed. All reconstructions are marked as such,
and are based on parallels within A, and on B or C when avail-
able, unless otherwise noted. Only the punctuation of A is indi-
cated. While retaining the punctuation of A, I have also imposed
my own punctuation on the edited text when I thought it helpful
for reading the text.
IV. Redactional Differences between mss. A and B
a. Citations of differing redactional readings
(The parentheses indicate different readings in parallels within
the same ms.)
No.
Reference
1. [4]n.3
and
parallels
in [5], [6],
[7], [S].
2. [4] n.6 and
parallels in
[5], [6].
3. [4] n.S and
parallels in
A
caturdise (va)

cchatrarp.

B
caturddisaya va

cchatram aropayed

24
[5], [6], [7J,
[8].
4. [4] n.9 and
parallels in
[5], [6], [7], .
[S].
5. [5] n.4 and
[6] no.3
(replace
nava with
dasain [6])
6. [5] n.9
[6] n.6
[7] n.9
7. [7]n.3
[8] n.4
S. [9] n.5
9. [9] n.6
10. [9] n.S
andn.9
11. [10] n.9
JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
evanandab
navayojanasahas-
raI).yayamavis-
tarel,la
yavac
yavac
deest
devanam indrasya
deest
maitryaprameyah
karul,la ya prameya
muditayaprameya
upekiJaya
caturbhir vais-
aradyair dasa-
bhis tathagata-
balair aiJta-
dasabhir avel,li-
kair buddha-
dharmmair
imam dharma par-
yayam adbhutam
adbhutadharma-
paryaya [x]i
dharayazl)
evahaI11
na vayojanasahasralJ.Y
ayamena navayojana_
sahasral,li vis tare-
l,la
srotapanne bh ya(l)
sakrdagamibhyo ('na-
gamibhyo) 'rhadbhy-
al) pratyekabuddhebh-
yas
devendrasya
jiianenaprameya
deest
dasabhir bbalais
caturbhir vaisarad-
yais t:rbhir avel,li-
kai sm:rtyupastha-
nair mmahakarul,laya
ca
imam dharmaparyayam
am:rtadundubhir ity
api dharayal) adbhu-
tadharmaparyaya
ity api dharaya tas-
mad asya dharmma-
paryayasya adbhuta-
12. [10] n.12
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA
deest
dharmaparyaya1;t
ityadhivacanam
kutagarasutrarp
samapta:rn
b. Discussion of the Redactional Differences
25
About half of the differences noted above (2, 4, 5, 6, 7)
appear to be simply a matter of "style", although this is an
ill-defined and little studied aspect of Buddhist texts in Sanskrit.
As for the rest, in no. 1 the difference is grammatical as well as
stylistic (see below, Sanskrit edition [1] n. 13). In no. 11, besides
more stylistic differences, ms. B adds another title to the list of
alternative titles for the text: Amrtadundubhib,. In no. 12, the
colophon of ms. B calls the text Kiltiigiira Siltra as well (as was
mentioned above). Both no. 8 and 9 concern the qualities of
the Tathagata. Ms. B adds jiiiina to the list of qualities of the
Tathagata, while ms. A lists the four immeasurables (apramiiry,as)
which are lacking in ms. B.
No. 10 appears to involve a sectarian distinction with regard
to the Doctrine. The disagreement here concerns the conception
of the Buddha. According to ms. A the Tathagata is endowed
with the ten powers (dasabalani) , the four assurances (catvari
vaisaradyani) and the 18 characteristics unique to a Buddha
(a$tadasavery,ikab, buddhadharmab,). Ms. B, like ms. A, begins its list
with the ten powers and the four assurances. However, instead
of the 18 avery,ikabuddhadharmas, ms. B gives the three unique
applications of mindfulness (trfry,y avery,ikani smrtyupasthanani)22
and great compassion (mahakarury,ii).
According to Vasubandhu in the Abhidharmakosa
23
the 18
characteristics unique to the Buddha consist of the ten powers,
the four assurances, the three unique applications of mindful-
ness and great compassion. (a$tadasavery,ikastu buddhadharma
baladayab, . .. katame '$tadasa? dasa balani catvari vaisaradyani trfry,i
smrtyupasthanani mahakarury,a ca.) This list is identical to the one
given in ms. B.
But Yasomitra in his commentary to the Abhidharmakosa,
the Sphutartha Abhidharmakosa-vyakhya
24
says: ete baladya maha-
karury,anta aJtadasavery,ikii Vaibha$ikair vyavasthapya7(lte. baladi-vya-
tiriktan kecid anyan a$tadasavery,ikan buddha-dharman varry,ayanti.
This might be translated: "The declare the 18
26 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
unique (ave1J,ikas) .to begin with th.e powers (bal
as
)
and to end wIth great compassIOn. Others (kead) consider the
18 characteristics unique to the to be different frorn
the powers and so forth." (Here Yasomitra lists the 18
ave1J,ikabuddhadharmas according to these "others");25
Thus, according to Yasomitra, the list of 18 ave1J,ikas in the
Abhidharmakosa represents the position of the This
list is also found in other Sarvastivadin sources as Lamotte has
pointed out.
26
On the other hand, "others" recognize 18 ave1J,ikas
which do not include the ten powers and the four assurances.
This is the view representeq by our ms. A.
In fact, according to the MahiiprajiiaparamitiiSastra (MPPS)
there are two different lists of the 18 ave1J,ikabuddhadharmas. 27
One list is advocated by the MPPS while the other is rejected
there. The list of the 18 ave1J,ikabuddhadharmas advocated there
is common with the Mahayana literature.
28
The rejected list,
according to Lamotte, belongs to the
school.
In sum, the controversy about the nature of the ave1J,ikabud- .
dhadharmas is reflected in a number of important Sanskrit Bud-
dhist scholastic texts. This question seems to have been widely
debated. Ms. B reflects the point of view of the
ms. A that of their opponents. The list of the Tathagata's qual-
ities in the two mss. appears to have been adjusted to suit two
different sectarian conceptions of the Buddha and appears to
reflect this debate.
Of a somewhat different kind, no. 3 may involve a difference
in the actual practice discussed in the Ad. Ms. A has: One estab-
lishes a stupa (stupar(!, prati$thiipayet), makes an image rpratimarrt
kiirayet), and establishes a relic (dhiitur(!, prati$thapayet). It is unclear
whether three different objects are to be made separately or
whether the passage concerns a single stupa with an image and
relic. Ms. B always uses the verb prak$ipet "put into" with dhiitu
"relic," thus making it clear, in this case, that the relic is to be
put into the object. It is, however, still unclear whether the relic
is to be put into both the stupa and the image or into the stiipa
alone. The Tibetan translation of Ad seems to follow Sanskrit
ms. B. It uses byas "make" with mchod-rten "stupa," and sku-gzugs
"image,"29 and bcug "put into" with ring bsrel "relic."
The Sanskrit ms. A of Ad, in which establishing a relic may
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA
27
separate from the establishment of a stiipa, may reflect a
j' form of the relic cult 1)ot yet associated with a stiipa. This form
of the relic cult sans stiipa also appears to be mentioned in the
,Millasaruastiviidavinaya from Gilgit and in the Divyiivadiina.
30
;' V. Pecularities of the Language
3I
A. Grammatical Notes
, Since the three mss. of the Adbhutadharmaparyiiya reflect
grammatical usages, they are treated here separately.
:. The corresponding section numbers from BHSG are given in
.. '. parentheses. Numbers in square brackets refer to my own added
section numbers.
Ms. A:
(1). Nasal and anusviira (#2.64-71).
(a). The anusviira is frequently used for any nasal, final or
medial (#2.64). For example: 'sar(l,gha (throughout), pirruj,a
(throughout), pratikriir(l,ta/:t [2], vaijayar(l,ta/:t [7], k$iir(l,tyii [9], ekiir(l,ta
. [2], bhagavar(l,tam [2], [10], asmir(l,. Cf. Kurumiya p. xxiv 1.6, p.,
xxxix; von Hinuber p. x. As Kurumiya notes, this use of anusviira
, is not restricted to Buddhist mss. alone. Cf. Whitney #73b.
, (b). A double nasal r(l,n or r(l,m, exclusively before long ii. For
, example: civiirar(l,n ii- [2], patiikar(l,m ii- [2], iiyu$miir(l,n ii- [2]. Cf.
Kurumiya p. xxiv 1.6; Watanabe p. xiii.
(2). Dental sibilant and visarga. (#2.92).
(a). The visarga, or its sandhi equivalent, is sometimes omit-
ted. Cf. Kurumiya p. xxvi 3.1; Mette p. 141; Watan
4
be pp.
xiii-xiv. Omissions of this sort will not be indicated in the notes.
(b). gutteral surd (k)and labial surd (p) the
visarga is sometimes replaced with jihviimuliya and upadhmiiniya
respectively (Renou p. 38; Whitney #69, # 170d; Sander Tafel
22; Buhler p. 67). I have marked them, after Renou, with ll. and
'., lJ, respectively. Examples for jihviimuliya: yall. kas [2], chriiddhall.
: kulaputro [2], [5], [7], [8], prameyall. karur],ayii (9). An example
for upadhmiiniya: tatalJ, prabhutatarar(l, [5]. The use of the
.' jihviimuliya and upadhmiiniya is far from consistent. Although
the phrases sriiddha/:t kulaputra/:t and tata/:t prabhutatarar(l, occur in
28 JIABS VOL. 11 2
every section from [1] to [8J, jihvamiiliya and upadhmaniya .......
used only in the cases indicated. The same treatment of
frequently occurs in the Maitreyavyakarary,a ms. from Gilgit
was probably by the same scribe our A, e.g.: tatah
k- (GMBs part 7, foho 1539.1) devatatJ p- (zbzd. foho 1540.4) dosaih
p- (ibid. folio 1541.4). Theupadhmaniya also occurs in the Buddhd_
baladhanapratiharyavikurvary,anirdesa written in Gilgit/Bamiyan-.;
Type I Script32: katJ punar (ibid. folio 1296.8). Cf. Mette pp. 134
and 14l.
(c). Before initial dental sibilant (s) visarga sometimes be-
comes dental sibilant. For example: arhatas s- [6]; cf. Mait-
reyavyakarar;a, tatas s- (ibid. folio 1538.1) and Whitney # 172.
(d). Before initial palatal surd (c), instead of a final palatal
sibilant (5) we sometimes find!;S. For example: pratyekabuddhe_
bhya!;S catur [3].
(3). Sandhi.
(a). Hiatus (#4.51-6).
Hiatus between two vowels is sometimes maintained. For exam-
ple: va idrsam [1], [2], me etad [2], ananda uttaroO [6]. Cf. Kurumiya
p. xxvii 3.9.
(b). A dental nasal (n) preceded by a long vowel and followed
by a vowel is doubled. For example: bhagavann a- [3]. Cf.
Kurumiya p. xxvii 3.4.
(4). The use of lingual vowel (r) for lingual semi-vowel (r) which
occurs in Band C, does not occur in A.
(5). The dropping of a final consonant, which occurs in B, does
not occur in A.
Ms. B:
(1). Nasals and anusvara.
(a). The only example of the use of anusvara for any nasal
in B is the spelling sa'f(tgha which occurs throughout the ms. In
all other cases where A has 'f(t, B has the expected nasal: B has
pir;(ia for A's pi'f(t(ia, pratikrantal; for A's pratikra'f(ttal; etc. These
readings of ms. B with this type of variation will not be given
in the notes.
(b). Double nasals such as found in ms. A do not occur in
ms. B.
(2). Dental sibilant and visarga.
(a). The omission of a visarga or its sandhi equivalents is
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA
29
common in ms. B. Omissions of this kind in B will not be
!'ndicated in the notes. ,
11:.,> (b). ]ihvamilliya and upadhrf!,anfya occur only once each in
ffus. B: ajihvamilliya occurs in [5] n. 7, upadhmanfya in [8] n. 11. .
(c). In B 'there is no occurrence of a dental sibilant (s) for
fi'visarga before initial dental sibilant such as occurs in A.
(d). There is only one instance of the use of M before an
palatal surd (c) in B, again in pratyekabuddhebhyal;S catur [6].
!(3). San,dhi: Hiatus. . .
;ithere IS only one example of an unresolved hIatus III ms. B:
avaragodanfyo [5].
The use of lingual vowel (r) for lingual semi-vowel (r)
ii(#3.97).
!iExamples for lingual vowel (r) used for lingual semivowel (r):
;{trslihasra for trisahasra [8], trbhir for tribhir [9]. Cf. Kurumiya p.
2.12. p. xxxix; Mette p. 141; Watanabe p. xiv. This will not
;'be indicated in the notes. .
r(5). The dropping of final consonants. (#2.90-1) cf. Kurumiya
iiP' xxv section 1.9.
(a). The dropping of final dental surd (t) before initial dental
{sibilant (s) is very common in ms. B. Examples: kliraye s- [4],
"frrati$thlipaye s- [6], arha s- [9].
(b). There is one example of the dropping of a final conso-
';nant when the final consonant is identical to the initial consonant
of the following word: tasmli tvam [10] n. 6. Cf. Mette p. 140;
'Watanabe p. xiii.
Ms.C.
(1). Nasal and anusvlira.
(a). The use of anusvara for any nasal occurs only twice in
ms. C: ekasmir[l [0], sar[lgha [1]. Like ms. B, ms. C has pirp),a. This
will not be indicated in the notes.
(b). There is one occurrence of the dollble nasal in ms. C:
bhagavar[ln raja [0] nA.
(2). Dental sibilant and visarga.
(a). The visarga is sometimes omitted in ms. C. Examples:
amanda, arhata [1]. This will not be noted.
(b).]ihvlimilliya occurs in ms. C: yab, kas cic chrliddhab kulaputro
[1].
(3). Sandhi: Hiatus.
-------------- -----------------
30 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
The one instance of an unresolved hiatus between two vow / I
is the same as in ms. A: va zdrsam [1]. e s
(4). !here is one example of lingual vowel (r) used for lingual.
semIvowel (r) uccrta [1]. Cf. BHSD p. 11gb. This will not b ..
indicated in the notes. e
(5). The dropping of a final consonant does not occur in ms. C.
B. Paleographical and Orthographical Peculiarities
(1). In both mss. A and B the labial sonant (b) and the labial
semivowel (v) are indistinguishable.
33
I have transliterated the
aksara as b or v according to the context. Badarzlvadarz (see M-W
p. 71gc, p. 916b), which I have transliterated as badarz (cf.
Watanabe p. xiv) remains, however, problematic.
(2). In ms. B and once in ms. A., in addition to the regular mark
for an anusvara (a dot above the aksara), a special ligature ( ~ )
written after the aksara is used. I have indicated it by: ifi,. Its use
in both mss. is quite arbitrary. Examples: ms. A: arocayeyaifi, [1]; .
ms. B: [4] n.ll, [6] n.S, [7] n.6, [S] n.7, [10] n.g. Cf. von Hinuber
p. x.
(3). Ms. B uses two systems of vowel notation. In addition to
the vowel matras of Gilgit/Bamiyan-Type II script in which it
is written, ms. B also uses on occasion the vowel matras of Gilgit/
Bamiyan-Type 1. For example: palatal diphthong (e) [4] n.S,
labial diphthong (0) [7] n.2, lingual palatal diphthong (ai) [9]
n.g. I have indicated the use of the vowel matras of the second
kind with e, 0, iii [for the palatal diphthong (e) vowel matra, see
also Sander Tafel 23-4].
(4). A single consonant following a lingual semi-vowel (r) may
be doubled. This happens once in ms. A, and quite often in ms.
B. Examples: In ms. A: dharmma [10]; in ms. B: dharmma (in
every occurrence), caturddiSaya (in every occurrence), purvva [5]
n.2. purrpJa [5] n.6, dasabhir bbcliaiS [g] n.S, smrtyupasthiinair
mmahiikarur;aya [g] n.g. Cf. Whitney #22S, 22Sc.
C. Punctuation
Three punctuation marks are used in the mss.
(1). A single dot raised a half space above the bottom of the line
is used to mark the end of a paragraph. Unfortunately most
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA
31
paragraphs of ms. A happen to end at points. where the ms. is
difficult to read. I have kept these punctuatIon marks-in so
far as I could read them. Cf. Mette throughout the Tathiigata-
birnbakiiriipa1Jasiitra ms. In my edition I have used (as Mette did)
a single dot at the top of the line for this punctuation mark.
(2). (a). Before a pause, ms. C uses a mark which appears to
correspond to a viriima. Cf. von Hinuber throughout his text;
Mette p. 134, n. 4: and Tripathi p. 157, n. 20. The three texts
of von Hinuber, Mette and Tripathi, like our ms. C, are all
written in Gilgit/Bamiyan-Type I. This "viriima" appears to be
used mostly after labial nasal (m), dental nasal (n) and dental
surd (t).
(b). Ms. A and ms. B once ([10] n.3), both of which are written
in Gilgit/Bamiyan-Type II, use a special mark to note a final
dental surd (t). I have transliterated it witht'. It is used before
a pause, in a similar way to the use of the "viriima" in C.
(3). The visarga is sometimes used as a punctuation mark. There
are two examples: sugata/:t [10] and dhiiraya/:t [10]. In both cases
the readings of A and B are the same. Cf. von Hinuber p. xi;
Mette p. 134, n. 4 and p. 141. I have kept these visargas in the
edition.
(4). Absence of sandhi. In order to denote a pause both mss. A
and B sometimes do not apply the appropriate sandhi rules, but
use instead the corresponding sandhi for final position. In this
case no punctuation mark is used. These occurrences are very
frequent in ms. A. In these instances I have supplied a period.
Cf. Kurumiya p. xxxix.
VI. Edition of the Sanskrit Text
Abbreviations
A: GBMs vol. 7, folio 1507.8 to end and folios 1576.1 to 1581.4.
B: GBMs vol. 7, folios 1588.1 to 1592.4.
c: GBMs vol. 7, folio 1691.2 to end.
T: Tibetan according to the Derge edition.
Damaged akJaras are marked by enclosing them in brackets and
paren theses.
[ ]: Reconstructions of akJaras which are damaged or only partially
visible.
< >: Reconstructions of akJaras of which no trace remains.
32 JIABS VOL. 11 NO; 2
( ): Denoting unclear but still readable ak!;aras.
x: Denoting the presence of an akJara which I could not
with any degree of certainty.
par(s): parallel(s).
note number*: Denoting notes important for the reading of
itself.
[0] (1507.8) evarp1 maya srutam
2
ekasmirp samaye
3
.
van
4
rajag:rhe viharati sma
5
ver:lUvane kalandakanivase.
I)Ms. A has one line preceding the standard opening formula evarrz mayii, etc.
which I was not able to read. 2) C: srutam. 3) For the punctuation of the opening
formula cf. J. Brough, "Thus Have I Heard ... " BSOAS 18 (1950) 416-26.
Y. Kajiyama, "Thus Spoke the Bles.sed. One ... " in L. Lancaster, ed., Pr
a
/
iiiipiiramztii and Related Systems: Studzes m Honor of Edward Conze (Berkeley;
Buddhist Studies Series, 1977) 93-99; A. Wayman and H. Wayman, The Lion's
Roar of Queen Srimalii (Columbia University Press, 1974) 59. 4)C: bhagaviirrzn.
5) C omits.
[1] ananda purvah1).e niva[s]ya <pa>(lS76)
(trac)ivara(m) adaya rajag:rharppirp<;laya adra-
hid
2
anando rajag:rhe nagare
3
savadanarp. piIP--
<;lara 4lcarama1).o, 'nyatamasmirp(4 pradde
5
kutagaram asi-
tidvaram ulliptavaliptam
6
[ucchrtadh]vaja(pa)takam7
ktapattadamakalaparp} ca pu[nas ta]syaitad abha-
vat':9 yal;10 kascic chraddhal;11 kulaputro va (ku)laduhita va
Id:rsarp kutagararp k[arayit]va (catur)d(ise) 12,13
rpghe nirya]taye[ d; yo v]a (tathagatasyarha)tal; samya (ksa)-
rnbuddhasyamalakaprama1).arpl4 stup;:trn pra<tiHha>pa-
yet'15 sucImatrarp16 aropayed badari) [patrama-
trarp18 cchatrarpI9*, yavaphala]prama1).arp pratimarp kara-
yet'20 dhaturp
tat katamarn tatal; prabhutatararp pU1).yarp syat'? a[tha]yu- .
ananda[syaitad a]bhvat':22 sasta me sarpmukhl-
bhutal;, sugato me sarpmukhlbhutal;. yanv
23
aham etam .
evartharp bhagavatal;24* arocayeyarp25. yatha me sa bhaga-
varp tathaharp
I) C is difficult to read here. Cf. E. Conze, Vajracchedikii prajiiiipiiramitii
(Serie Orientale Roma 13, 1957) 27 etc. 2) The sentence begins with a finite
aorist verb, later followed by a gerund of the same root. T omits the first
occurrence of this verb. C agrees with A. This verbal construction is perhaps
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA
33
:,:f, f d for emphasis, but is found fairly often in non-Mahayana Sanskrit sutra
t:rature. Cf. E. Waldschmidt, Das Mahiiparinirvii:r;asutra [MPNS] (Berlin,
5.3 10.7 11.820:5 etc.; G. v.0nSimson, Zur Diktion einiger Lehrtexte
:fUesbuddhistlschen S.anskrzt:a;:ons 1965) 15.12f etc. 3) C
ibln
its
. T ag.rees w!th A. :arama1Ja\ ) C:
}(ag
rees
With A. ) C: upahptavallptam. ) For this and the followmg com-
"'Ound, cf. W. Couvreur, Review of J. Nobel's Udriiya1Ja, Konig von Roruka,
:}ljvol. 1 (1957) 312. 8) In C -diima- is an additio.n. A flus.(+)
'sign (kakapada or harrzsapada) marks the place at which the InSertIOn IS to
'be made. 9) C has dental t with a viriima; see introduction V,C,(2),(a). 10)
;:,:C: yab:. II) C: chraddhafl. 12) A is not clear here, C has catur. In the pars to
,';,ihis phrase A almost always uses ciitur (the only exception is in the par in
1,;[5]). 13) In the pars to this and the next compound B always uses a dative
,'ifor the locative here. In the pars apart from the one in [4] this locative will
;"not be further noted. 14)In all the pars in A this phrase occurs as:
}'samyaksarrzbuddhasya parinirvrtasya mrt/mrttikapirrzrjad amalaka . ... There
'{agrees with the pars. C here agrees with A, making it unlikely that it is a
"scribal error in the textual transmission of A alone. 15) In A the t' is an
;.interlinear addition. 16) C: suciprama1Jarrz. A here agrees with all the pars. 17)
>.:C ends after -ya-. 18) Or vadari-; see V,B,(1). It will not be further noted. 19*)
A verb after cchatram is absent in all but the past par in A. The verb aropayet
,"always occurs in the pars in B. T also uses a verb here and elsewhere in the
,'occurrence of this phrase. The absence of the verb in the pars will not be
"further noted. 20) As in [1] n. 15, the t' here is an interlinear addition. 21) In
all the pars B uses the verb see [4] n. 8. 22) Reconstructed with the
: help of Ananda's speech in [2], which is in the first person: me etad abhavat.
T: de yang 'di snyam du sems teo 23)Or yatv. This is perhaps intended for yat tv
, aham or yan nv aham; see BHSD 444b and 104b S.V. arocayati. 24*) The visarga
:<is a "correction" beneath the line. 25) This is the only occurrence of 1f1,
A.
[2] ana[ndo raja] grhe
l
[?nagareF savadanarp
pirp<;laya caritva krtabhaktakrtya pascadbhaktapirpdapata-
pratikrarptal). patraclvararp pratisamayya
3
padau
yena bhagava(rps ten)opasarpkrarnta.4 upasarpkramya bha-
gavatal). padau sirasa vanditvaikarpte 'sthad. ekarptasthita
anando bhagavarp.tam idam avocat': ihaharp bha-
darpta
5
purvahI).e nivasya patrac1vararpm ada(1577)ya
(ra)jagrharp pirp<;laya so 'ham raja-
grhe nagare savadana(rp) pirpdaya caramaI).o 'nyata-
masmirp pradese kutagaram asitidvaram ulli(pta)valiptam
ucchritadh vaja patakarpm am ukta pa ttadamakala parp ca
ca punar me etad abhavat': yah kascic chraddhab
kulaputro va kuladuhita va Idrsarp kutaga(rarp)1* caturdise
34 JIABS VOL. 11 NC). 2
niryatayed; yo va tathagata(sya)rhatah s ';;i
(yaksaqlbu)ddhasya mrttikapiJpQad
kapramaI).aJp stupaJp sUclmatram
cchatra[Jp],
lapra]maI).aJp pratImaJp karayet san;;apaphalapramaI..1irrl.l
dhatuJp <tat ka>[tamam]9 tatal).
tataraJp pUI).yaJp syat'? tasya mamaitad abhavac: chasta
saJpmukhibhutal)., sugato me saJpmukhibhutal).. yanil6
,
l
aham etam evarthaJp bhagavatal). <aroca>yeyam.
bhagavaJp [tathahaJp]11

I) This phrase was read with the help .?f T: de nas tshe dang ldan pa kun
bo rgyal po khab to . .. "Then Venerable Ananda in Rajagrha ... ".2) This is very:
uncertain. A to have ?1jisiite; first and third apparentlyl
,scored out as mIstakes. Two whICh probably were meant to
those scored out are written beneath the line. The first of these two akJaidJ';
is not clear, the second is -ga-. The phrase riijagrhe nagare siivadiinaT[! pirruJa,yt;
lear occurs two more times in [1] and [2]. T does n.ot have grong khyerdil:
(nagare) here, although it does have rgyal po'i khab kyi grong khyer du (riijagrhd:
nagare) for the two other occurrences of this phrase. 3) Cf. BHSD
4) This stock phrase was read with the help of T: beom ldan 'das ga la ba dei'
song nas. 5) For this vocative see BHSD 40Sb. 6) See [1] n. 2. 7*) The par in [Ijj
has kiltiigiiranl kiirayitvii. T also has a verb here. Its absense here in A appears':
to be a scribal omission. 8) This is perhaps a double da'f}r;la; if so, it is the omy:
occurrence of such in A, and is somewhat out of place here. 9) This reading
"
was reconstructed according to the par in [1]. T here has: de gnyis bsad namt
shin tu ehe ba gang lags. 10) see [1] n. 23.
11
) This reading is uncertain. It was!:
reconstructed according to the par in [1]. T: beam ldan ,'das kyis bdag la ji skad
bstan pa bzhin du gzung bar bgyi snyam nas. 12) T has an additional sentence,:
here: beam ldan 'das la bdag don 'di nyid zhu lags na thugs brtse ba nye bar bzung
stel bcom ldan 'das kyis bdag la don 'di nyid legs bar bstan du gsal/ "If I were to ask
the Blessed One concerning this particular matter, he, out of compassion,
would fully explain it tome."
[3] [ xxx ]1 bhagavann anandam idam av-
ocat': sadhu sadhv ananda bahujanahita[ya] tvam ananda
pratipanno ca [bahujanasukh]2aya lokanuka[Jp](payai) ar-
thaya hitaya sukhaya yas t(v)aJp tatha-
gatam etam evarthaJp manyase. ten a hy
ananda (srI).u) sadhu ca ca manasikuru,
ja[Jp]budvipO hy ananda dVlpa saptayojanasahasraI..1Y aya-
mavistareI).a
3
(1578) uttaravisalo sakatamukha'
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA
35
tam enarp kascic chraddhah kulaputro va ku(la) [du ]hita va
saptaratnamayarp (kr) [tv]a sr[ot]apa(nne)bhyal) sakr[dag}
amibhyo 'nagamibhyo 'rhadbhyal) pratyekabuddhebhyal)s4
catu[rd]i(se va) niryataye[d]; yEo va ta]-
(th )agatasyar hatal) sam yaksarpbuddhasya parinirvrtasya
mrttikapirpdad [a]malakaphalaprama<l)a>rp stuparp pra-
su[c]l[ma] (tr)a[rp] va
5
aropa[yed, bada-
ri]patra(ma)trarp cchatrarp, yavaphalapramal)a(rp) prati-
ma(rp) karayet' dhaturp
<pa>yet', idam evananda, tatal) prabhutatararp pUl)yarp
va(da)mi.
I)T: de skad ces gsol ba dang "When thus was said." Although A is completely
unreadable here, T makes it fairly certain that it probably had evam ukte. Cf.
;Vajracchedikii (Pek. vol. 21, 251.1.5): de skad ces gsol ba dang = Conze 28.7 evam
ukte; etc.). This also exactly fills the gap. 2) Reconstruction based on T: skye
bo mang po la bde ba dang, and occurrences of this cliche elsewhere. See e.g.
Et. Lamotte, La concentration de la Marche Heroi'que (Sura'f[!gamasamiidhisutra)
(Melanges chinois et bouddhiques vol. 13) (Bruxelles, 1965) 304. Note, how-
that the ca here is somewhat problematic. 3) On the form iiyiimavistiirer;a
,cf. BHSG 19.38.
4
) For the sandhi see introduction V,A, ms. A (2),(d). 5) This
akJara is difficult to read, has no apparent correspondent in the pars, and is
therefore uncertain.
[4] ananda ja[rp](bud)vipo dvlpal). as(t)y ananda
purvavideho nama dVlpo a>yama-
vIstarel)a samarptad ardhacandrakaraparil)amita. tam
enarp kascic chraddhal) kulaputro va kuladuhita va saptarat-
namayarp krtva
1
,2 3)caturdise niryatayed;
yo va tathagatasyarhatal) samyaksarpbuddhasya parini-
rvrtasya mr[tpirp]dad amalakaphalapramal)arp4 stuparp
sUclmatrarp aropayed badarlpatra-
matrarp cchatrarp6 yavaphalapramal)arp pratima[rpJ kara-
yet7 dhaturp idam
evanandal)9 tatal) bahutararplO pUl)yarpl1 vadami.
I) The religious stages srotiipanna, sakrdiigiimin and so forth, which are listed
. in the pars in [$] and [8], and are referred to withyiivad in [5] and [6], are
missing here. T lists them. 2). B begins here. 3)(3 B: ciiturddifiiya vii
bhikJusa'f[!ghiiya. See [1] n. 13. It will not be noted hereafter. 4) B: iimalakapramii-
r;a'f[!. T agrees with A. 5) B: B uses here a different vowel miitra
for the e. See Introduction V,B,(3). 6) B: cchatram iiropayed. See [1] n. 19. The
36 JIABS VOL. lJ NO.2
absence of not noted 7) B: karaye . . B:
T: bcug na, put mto. ) B: evaharrt. T also omIts ananda. The dIfference not d
here between A and B is consistent and will not be noted hereafter. 10)
prabhutatararrt as both A and B have in all other occurrences of the phrase. T
also uses here the same expression it uses in all the pars. II) B: pU1Jyaift.
[5J anandajarpbudvlpOI dVlpa.b
2
*. asty anandavara_
godanlyo3 nama dVlpa.b 4)navayoja[naJsa[haJsra1).y
vistare1).a(4,5 (1579) samantat pur1).acandrakarapari1).ami_
tal)6. ta(m) enarp kas(ci)c chraddhah
7
kulapurto va
8
kuladu_
hita va saptaratnamayarp krtva yavac
9
caturdi<se> bhiksu_
sarnghe niryatayed; yo va tathagatasyarhata.b
buddhasya parinirv:rtasya mJ;tpirnQ.ad amalaka prama1).
a
rn \Q
stuparn sucImatrarn a[r J<opa>-
yet']2 badarlpatramatrarp cchatrarn yavaphalapramanam
pratimarp. karayet']3 dhaturp
idam evananda.b tatab
15
prabhutatararp PUI).-
yarp vada <mi>. .
I) B: jarrtbudvzpo. Both spellings are common elsewhere,. see BHSD 238b arid
M-W 412b. Differences in regard to the spelling of this word will not be noted
hereafter. 2*) B adds: purvvavideho dV'ipa/:!, which agrees with the general
pattern of this series of repetitions. T agrees with B. 3) B: ananda avaragodan'iyo.
4)(4 B: navayojana(sa)hasra1JY ayamena navayojana(sa)hasra1Ji vistare1Ja. T has: de
chur ni dpag tshad dgu stong zheng yang dpag tshad dgu stong stel 5) throughout
A vistare1Ja and vistare1Ja are used alternatively; see M-W 1001 c. It will not be
noted hereafter. 6) B: pur1J1Ja(ca)ndrakarapari1J,amitastas. The ending results
from a dittography. 7) B also has chraddhall. 8) B: vac, probably a scribal error
written under the influence of the precedingjihvamul'iya of chraddhall kulaputro.
9) B: srotapannebhya sakrdagamibhyo 'rhadbhya/:! pratyekabuddhebhyas. Note that
anagamibhya/:! is here omitted. T lists the five religious stages as in [3]. 10) T:
skyu ru ra'i 'bras bu tsam "the size of an amalaka fruit." Amalaka and amalakaphala
are used alternatively throughout A and B; it will not be noted hereafter. II)
B: it will not be noted hereafter. 12) B: aropayed. 13) B: karayet;
it will not be noted hereafter. 14) B: The use of this verb in B for
in A is consistent and will not be noted hereafter. 15) B: tata/:!;
see introduction V,A, ms. A., (2),(b).
[6J anandajarpbu(d)vlpo dvlpal).
vJi(de)ho dVlpa.b. avaragodaniyo dVlpa.b. asty an an-
da uttarakurur [namar dvlpa.b
2
,3) dasayojanasa<hasrany>
ayamavista(re )l).a (3 samarptat
4
samar:p[ ta Jcaturasra
5
*. (ta)m
e(na)r:p kascic chraddha.b ku(la)putro va kuladuhita va sap-
ADBHUTADHARMAPARyAYA
37
taratnamayarp. krtva yavac
6
catur[d]i[se]
ghe (ni)rya(ta)yed; (yo va) tathagatasyarhatas
7
samyaksarp.buddhasya
8
parinirvr[ta]sya m(rt)pirp.Qad am a-
laka(phala)pramalJarp. stuparp. sucImatrarp.
aropayet'lO bada(r)I(patra)[matrarp. c]cha(t)rarp.,
yavaphalapramalJarp. pratimarp. karaye(t'
pramalJa(rp.) dhaturp. tata1) I I prabhutata-
rarp. pUlJyarp. va <dami> .
1) This reconstruction is uncertain. Possible reading: nnama. 2) B: dv'ipo. 3)(3
, B. dasayojanasahasra1Ji vistare(1Ja) dasayojanasahasra1JY ayamena. T: chur ni dpag
tshad khril rgyar yang dpag tshad khri ste!. See [5] n. 4 where T has zheng instead
'of rgyar yang. 4) B: samanta. 5*) B: ?samametacaturasrapari1Jamitas. The reading
samameta is uncertain. The addition of pari1Jamitas in B agrees with the general
pattern of this series of repetitions. T: gru bzhi lham par grub pa. 6) B: srotapan-
sakrdagamibhyo 'nagamibhyo 'rhadbhyal; pratyekabuddhebhyal;. Cf. [4] n. 1,
j5] n. 9. 7) B: Qarhata. 8) B: samyaksaift[bu]ddhasya. 9) B: prat4thapaye. 10) B:
ii(ro)payed. Cf. [5J n. 12. II) B has idam evaha7[! tatal; here as it has in all the
pars. A in all the pars: idam evananda tatal;. T uses here the same expression
'it uses in all the pars.
[7] ananda jarp.budvlpodvlpas.
1
purvavi-
deho dvI(pa)1). avaragoda[n]Iy(o)2 [dv]I[pahJ. (t)i-
dVlpah. asty ananda sakrasya 3)de[ v ]anam
indrasya(3 (1580) vaijayarp.to
4
nama
5
prasadah. tam enarp.6
sraddhah
7
kulaputro va kuladuhita va
8
*,g caturdise
sarp.(ghe) niryatayed; yo va tathagatasyarhatab. samyaksarp.-
buddhasya paranirvrtasyalO* mrtpirp.Qad amalakaphalapra-
malJarp. ll)stuparp. sUclmatrarp.
a[ropaye]d badarl(pa)tramatrarp. cchatrarp., yavaphala-
pramalJarp. pratimarp. karayet
dh(aturp.) ]y[ e ]d, idam evananda tatab.
pra(bhu)tatararp. pUlJya[rp. va] (da)[mi].
1) B: as in the pars throughout A and B. 2) B: avaragodan'iyo. 3)(3 B:
devendrasya. 4) A: vaivaijaya7[!to. A scribal ditto graphical error resulting from
writing an at the end of the last line of the page and repeating it at
the head of the first line of the next page. B: vaijayantaJ;.. 5) B omits. T: rnam
'. par rgyal byed ces bya ba.A agrees with T. 6) B: enaift. 7) B: kasci(c) chraddha,
,similar to all the parsin A and B. T agrees with B. 8*) B: va saptaratnamaya7[!
krtva. This phrase appears to have been inadvertently omitted in A. It is used
in all the pars in A and B and in T here and throughout. 9) B adds after its
Va sapta ratnamaya7[! krtva (see n. 8) the five religious stages as in [6] n. 6. (The
38 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
-ka- in pratyeka, however is mistakenly repeated). 10*) Read paTinirvrt ..;
'b I . 11)(11' . asya 11
appears to be a scn a error. B omIts. It appears to be at' .'.
homoeoteleuton. YPlCal
[8] jarp(bu)dvlpo dvlpab. pu-'
rvavldeho dVlpab. <avara>godanlyo2 dvlpal). til
d(v)Ipab. sakrasya 4)(d)eva_
nam indrasya(4 vaijaya(rp)tal;l prasadal;l. asty anandas
5
trisahasramahasahasro lo<kadha> [tU].6 tam enarp kaSci(cf
chr(a)ddhah kulaputro va (kula)duhita va
yarp7 krtva srotapannebhyal;l sakrda(ga)mibhyo 'nagaIlli_'
bhyo 'rhadbhyal;l- pratyekabuddhebhya<s> caturdi[seva
nirya(ta)yed; yo [va ta]thagatasyarhatah
samyaksarpbuddhasya parinirvl;tasya ml;ttikapil.:H;iad
8

stuparp su<ci>matrarp
aropayed badarlpatramatrarp cchatram aropaye10* ya-
vaphalapramal).arp pratimarp karayet'
mal).arp dhaturp idam evana<nda> tatal)lI
prabhutatararp pUl).yarp vadami.
1) A uses an irregular form for long ii. 2) B: avaragodanzyo. 3) B: uttaraguru.
4) Bk: deve(nd)rasya as in [7] n. 3)(3. 5) B: iina(nda). 6) B: [lo]kadha[tus] 7) B:
safPtaratnama]yaifl. 8) B: mrtpi1Jljiid. Mrttikii and mrt are used alternately through-
out A and B. Note that here A has pi1Jl/iid; it is the only occurrence of the
retroflex nasal1J in the word pi1Jljiid in A. 9) B: 10*) B: iiropayed.
This isthe only use in A of a verb after cchatram; d. [1] n. 19. 11) B:
[9] tat kasya heto? aprameyol hy2 ananda tathagato da[n]e-
naprameyal;l sllenaprameyal;l vlryel)a-.
prame[ya]<s4 tyage>(l581)naprameyOS 6)maitryaprame-
yah karul)ayaprameya muditayaprameya
s)caturbhir vaisaradyair dasabhis tathagatabalair(s
sabhir avel)ikai(r bu)ddhadharm(m)<ai>r(g
meyagul).asamanva(gato)IO* hi! a(na)ndas!2* tathagato
'rhat 13 samyaksarpbuddal;l.
I) B: aprameya. 2) B omits. 3) B: aprameya/:L. 4) B: aprameya/:L. 5) B: aprameya;
B adds Jiiiineniiprameya. List in T differs from both A & B. It gives: j-iiiina, Siia,
virya, dhyiina, and praJiiii. 6)(6 B omits. T agrees with A. 7*) The aprameya
may have been inadvertently omitted. In order to be consistent, one should
have here 8)(8 B reverses the order: daSabhir bbalaiS (omitting
tathagata) caturbhir vaisiiradyaif. T agrees with B. 9)(9 B: trbhir iive1Jikai
ADBHUT ADHARMAPARyAYA
39
. . T the
dhadharmiif;, tn,,!y the order Df the
tathiigata's qualIties the Tibetan text IS ) Read aframeyo 'prameya-;
;': this is probably a scnbal error. B: aprameyo prameyagu,,!agar;al [sa]man(v)iigatah-.
" . h A II) B . 12*) B' - d 13) B' 0 h
'.'T agrees Wit. omits. . anan a. . ar a.
[10] evam ukto
l
anando bhaga(va)rptam idam
avocat'3: ascaryarp bhagavann aSca<ryarp> (su)gatah yavad
ayarp dharmaparyayah. 4)[ko namaya]rp(4 dharmaparya-
yab, katharp [cai]narp dharayami?5 tasmat
6
tarhi
7
, tvam ana-
nda, imarps dhar[mapa]ryayam
9
*) adbhutam adbhuta(dha-
rma)paryaya [X]ilO dharayab(9*,1l). idam avo(ca)d [bha]ga-
[van atta] (rna) [nasas te canando
bhagavato abhyananda[n](11,12.
I) In B it is not clear whether it is ukto or ukte. 2) B: 3) B also uses t'
"here and this is the only instance of its use in B. 4)(4 B: ko niimayarrz. bhadanta.
Cf. Et. Lamotte, L'enseignement de Vimalakirti (Louvain, 1962) 392, n. 41, for
this stock phrase. 5) B adds: 'bhagaviin iihw. T agrees with B. 6) B: tasmii. An
assimilation of the final t with the initial t of tvam. 7) B omits. 8) The anusviira
found in A is not clear. B: ima(rrz.). 9*)(*9 B: amrtadundubhir ity api dhiirayaf;,
adbhutadharmmaparyiiya ity api dhiiraya tasmiid asya dharmmaparyiiyasya adbhuta-
dharmmaparyiiyaf;, ity adhivacanarfL. The visarga in dhiirayaf;, is used as a mark
of punctuation. 10) Possibly [x]i = hi. This is, however, uncertain. 11)(11 B
omits. Reconstruction supported by occurrences of this cliche elsewhere; see
e.g.BHSD 92a and Et. Lamotte, [see [10] n. 4)(4] 393 n. 43.
12
) B: kutiigiirasutram
, samiiptarfL; see introduction.
VII. Translation of the Sanskrit Text
[0] Thus have I heard at one time. The Blessed One dwelt
in Rajagrha, in the Bamboo Grove, in the Kalan-
dakaniva pana.
[1] At that time Venerable Ananda, having dressed in the
early morning, having taken his robe and his bowl, entered
Rajagrha to collect alms. The Venerable Ananda saw, while
walking from one house to the next to collect alms I)in the
city of Rajagrha, (I at a certain place,
2
a multi-storied build-
ing
3
with eighty doors, plastered inside and out, with flags
and banners raised aloft, and adorned with doth hangings
40 JIABS VOL. 11 NO, 2
and stringed ornaments. When he had seen
thought occurred to him: "If some believing son or . tl.
of good were to make s.u
ch
a multi-storied
mg and offer It to the commumty of monks of the ';
d
f bl OUr
IrectlOns; or 1 someone were to esta Ish a stupa the .,\
. .
of a.n amalaka
4
frUlt for the Arhat, the Full'
One,. and were to stICk It a stupa-pole
SIze of a needle wI.th an the Size of a juniper leaf,
were to make an Image the SIze of a grain of barley and
were to establish a relic the size of a mustard seed,
of them would have the greatest merit?" ...
Then it occurred to Venerable Ananda: The Teacher is
readily available to me, the Sugata is readily available to
me. What if I were to ask the Blessed One concerning this
matter? As the Blessed One will explain it, so I will preserve
it.
I) C omits. 2) C: spot of earth. 3) kiltiigiira, cf. K. de Vreese, "Skr. Kiltagara",
India Antiqua, A Volume of Oriental Studies (E.]. Brill, Leyden, 1947) 323-325;
4) Emblic Myrobalan. M-W 14Jc. Amalaka and iimalakaphala are used
tively throughout ms. A and B. I have translated it always as amalaka fruit ..
[2] Then the Venerable Ananda, having walked from one
house to the next to collect alms in the city of Rajagrha,
having eaten, having returned from collecting alms-food
in the afternoon, having put away his bowl and his robe,
having washed his feet, approached the Blessed One.
ing approached, having prostrated with his head at the
Blessed One's feet, he stood at one side. Standing at one
side, Venerable Ananda said this to the Blessed One.
Today, 0 Honourable, having dressed in the early morn-
ing, having taken my robe and my bowl, I entered Rajagrha
to collect alms. I indeed saw while I was walking from one
house to the next to collect alms in the city of Rajagrha, at
a certain place, a multi-storied building with eighty doors,
plastered inside and out, with flags and banners raised aloft
and adorned with cloth hangings and stringed ornaments.
Having seen that, the thought occurred to me: If some
believing son or a daughter of a good family were [to make] 1
such a multi-storied building and offer it to the community
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA
41
of monks of the four directions; or if someone were to
establish for the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Fully En-
lightened One, who has attained complete Nirval)a, astupa
the size of an amalaka fruit made from a lump of clay, and
were to stick into it a stupa-pole the size of a needle with
an umbrella the size of a juniper leaf, were to make an
image the size of a grain of barley, and were to establish a
relic the size of a mustard seed, which of them would have
the greater merit? It occurred to me: The Teacher is readily
available to me, the Sugata is readily available to me. What
if I were to ask the Blessed One concerning that matter?
As the Blessed One will explain it, so I will preserve it.
J)Words enclosed in square brackets [ ] represent missing words supplied
by the editor.
[3] When he was thus asked the Blessed One said this to
Venerable Ananda: It is good, it is good, 0 Ananda, that
for the sake of many people you, Ananda, have acted, and
that for the happiness of many people, out of concern for
the world', for the sake, the benefit, the happiness of gods
and men, you thought that this question should be asked
of the Tathagata. Therefore Ananda, listen well and duly,l
and concentrate your mind; I shall tell you. Indeed,
Ananda, the continent of Jarpbudvlpa is seven thousand
yojanas in length and in breadth.
2
In the north it is broad;
in the south it has the shape of a cart. If it were made of
the seven precious substances
3
and some believing son or
daughter of good family were to offer it to the stream-en-
terers, once-returners, non-returners, Arhats, Pratyeka-
buddhas, or to the community of monks of the four direc-
tions; or if someone were to establish for the Tathagata,
the Arhat, the Fully Enlightened One, who has attained
complete Nirval)a, a stupa the size of an amalaka fruit made
from a lump of clay, and were to stick into it a stupa-pole
the size of a needle with an umbrella the size of a juniper
leaf, were to make an image the size of a grain of barley,
and were to establish a relic the size of a mustard seed, I
say, Ananda, the merit of the latter is much greater than
the former.
42 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
I) I have taken the two adverbs to modify srr;,u, as did the translator .
. . '. s IUta
TIbetan. Cf. Sura1"(!gamasamiidhz, Et. Lamotte (Bruxelles, 1965) 125, 225 s-
dharmapu7}rj,arfka, H. Kern (Dover, 1962) 38. 2) The dimensions of iid-
continents given in Ad, Ku, and Ma are similar to those given in the Lalitavist OUr
P.L. Vaidya (Buddhist Sanskrit Texts no. 1, Darbhanga, 1958)
the Lalitavis:ara, h?wever, is yojanas in length and in
and Purvavldeha IS 9,000 yopnas. ThIs corresponds. to the dimensions.
Taisho 688; see endnote no. 6. The Abhidharmakosa gives different dimensio In
for each of the four continents. Abhidharmakosabhii:jyam of Vasubandhu ;s
Pradhan (Patna, 1975) 161-2. Louis de La Vallee Poussin, L'Abhidharmako'
de Vasubandhu Tome II (Melanges chinois et bouddhiques, vol. 16, Bruxell::
1971) 145-6. 3) The literal translation is: If some believing son or a daughte;
of good family were to make it to consist of the seven precious substances.
[4] aside, Ananda, the continent of J a:rp.budvlpa. There
is, Ananda, a continent named purvavideha. It is fully eight
thousand yojanas in length and in breadth, and is shaped
in the form of a half moon. If it were made of the seven
precious substances and some believing son or a daughter
of good family were to offer itl to the community of monks
of the four directions; or if someone were to establish for
the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Fully Enlightened One, who
has attained complete Nirva1)a, a stupa the size of an
amalaka fruit made from a lump of clay, and were to stick
into it a stUpa-pole the size of a needle with an umbrella
the size of a juniper leaf, were to make an image the size
of a grain of barley, and were to establish
2
a relic the size
of a mustard seed, I say, Ananda
3
, the merit of the latter
is much greater than the fonner.
I) B: or to. 2) B always has: put into. 3) B always omits.
[5] Put aside, Ananda, the continent of jarpbudvlpa. [Put
aside the continent of PurvavidehaJl. There is, Ananda, a
continent named Avaragodanlya. It is fully nine thousand
yojanas in length and in breadth
2
, and shaped in the form
of a full moon. If it were made of the seven precious sub-
stances and some believing son or a daughter of good family
were to offer it, as before, up td the community of monks
of the four directions; or if someone were to establish for
the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Fully Enlightened One, who
has attained complete Nirv3.1)a, a stupa the size of an
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA
43
amalaka fruit made from a lump of clay, and were to stick
into it a stupa-pole the size of a needle with an umbrella
the size of a juniper leaf, were to make an image the size
of a grain of barley, and were to establish a relic the size
of a 'mustard seed, I say, Ananda, the merit of the latter is
much greater than the former.
1) A omits. B has this phrase which agrees with the general pattern of these
series of repetitions. 2) B: It is fully nine thousand yojanas in length [and]
nine thousand yojanas in breadth. (3) B always has: offer it to the stream-
~ n t e r e r s , once-returners, non-returners, Arhats, Pratyekabuddhas, or to the
tommunity of monks of the four directions. Here, however, the non-returners
are omitted.
[6] Put aside, Ananda, the continent of jarpbudvipa, put
aside the continent of Purvavideha, put aside the continent
of Avaragodanlya. There is, Ananda, a continent named
Uttarakuru. It is fully ten thousand yojanas in length and
in breadth! and entirely square.
2
If it were made of the
seven precious substances and some believing son or daugh-
ter of good family were to offer it, as before, up to the
community of monks of the four directions; or if someone
were to establish for the Tathagata, the Arhat, the Fully
Enlightened One, who has attained complete Nirval).a, a
stupa the size of an amalaka fruit made from a lump of
clay, and were to stick into it astupa-pole the size of a needle
with an umbrella with size of a juniper leaf, were to make
an image the size of a grain of barley, and were to establish
a relic the size of a mustard seed, I say, the merit [of the
latter P is much greater than the former.
1) B: It is fully ten thousand yojanas in length [and] ten thousand yojanas in
breadth. 2) B: shaped as a square. 3) A omits ida'T[L. It occurs in the parallels
and in B.
[7] Put aside, Ananda, the continent of jarpbudvlpa, put
aside the continent of Purvavideha, put aside the continent
of Avaragodanlya, put aside the continent of Uttarakuru.
There is Ananda, a palace of Sakra, the chief of the gods,
named! Vaijayanta. 2)If a believing son or a daughter of
good family were to offer it to the community of monks
44 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
of the four directions(2; or if someone v:ere to establish for
the Tath.agata, the Arhat, Fully EnlIghtened One, who
has attamed complete NlrVal)a, stupa the size of ....
fruit made from. a lump of day, ar:
d3
)were to
mto It a stupa-pole the SIze of a needle wIth an umbreU
the size of ajuniper leaf(3, were to make an image
4
)the siz
a
of a grain of barley, (4 and_ were to establish a relic the siz:
of a mustard seed, I say, Ananda, the merit of the latter is
greater than the former. ..... .
I) B omits. 2 B: As in sections [5], [6] and [8] of ms. B. 3 B omits
(homoeoteleuton). 4) B omits (same).
[8J Put aside, Ananda, the continent of ]alflbudvlpa, put
aside the continent of Purvavideha, put aside the continent
of Avaragodanlya, put aside the continent of Uttarakuru
put aside Vaijayanta, the palace of Sakra, the chief of
gods. There is, Ananda, a world system consisting of "three
thousand great thousand worlds."! If it were made of the
seven precious substances and some believing son or a
daughter of good family were to offer it to the stream-en- .
terers, once-returners, non-returners, Arhats, Pratyeka-
buddhas, or to the community of monks of the four direcc
tions; or if someone were to establish for the Tathagata,
the Arhat, the Fully Enlightened One, who has attained
complete Nirval)a, a stupa the size of an amalaka fruit made
from a lump of clay, and were to stick into it a stupa-pole
the size of a needle with an umbrella the size of a juniper
leaf, were to make an image the size of a grain of barley,
and were to establish a relic the size of a mustard seed, I
say, Ananda, the merit of the latter is much greatel' than
the former.
I) On this cosmic system see: Et. Lamotte, E'enseignement de Vimalakrrti (Lou-
vain, 1962) Appendice, Note I.
[9] What is the reason for this? Because,! Ananda, the
Tathagata is immeasurable through his giving, immeasur-
able through his morality, immeasurable through his pa-
tience, immeasurable through his vigor, immeasurable
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA
45
'through his renunciation (tyaga),2 3)immeasurable through
his friendliness, immeasurable through his compassion, im-
measurable through his joy, [immeasurable] through his
impartiality.(3 4)Through the four assurances, through the
ten Tathagata's powers, (4 slthrough the eighteen charac-
teristics unique to a Buddha (avelJikas)(s he is immeasurable.
The Tathagata, the Arhat, the Fully Enlightened One,
Ananda, is indeed
6
endowed with immeasurable
7
qualities.
I') B omits. 2) Ms. A has the first four paramitiis of the established formula of
six or ten paramitiis [cf. Har Dayal, The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit
Literature (Delhi, 1975) 165-172] and tyaga [cf. Har Dayal ibid. and E. Lamotte,
Histoire du bouddhisme indien (Louvain, 1958) 79-81]. Ms. B adds to this list
jfiiina which is the last tenfold formula of the paramitas. 3) B
omits. 4) B reverses the order m hstmg these two formulae. 5) B: through the
three unique applications of mindfulness and great compassion. 6) B omits:
7) B: immeasurable multitude of qualities.
[10] When this was spoken, Venerable Ananda said this to
the Blessed One: "Marvellous, 0 Blessed One, marvellous,
o Sugata, is indeed this discourse on Dharma! 1 And how
should I preserve it?"2 "Because of that you now,3 Ananda,
4)should preserve this wonderful discourse on Dharma as
The Wonderful Discourse on Dharma (Adbhutadharmapar-
yaya)."(4 s)This the Blessed One said. The delighted monks
and Venerable Ananda rejoiced in the speech of the Blessed
One(s.
1) B adds: 0 Honourable. 2)B adds: The Blessed One said. 3) B omits. 4) B:
Should preserve this discourse on Dharma as "The Eternal Drum." You should
preserve it also as "The Wonderful Discourse on Dharma." Therefore the
name of this discourse on Dharma is The Wonderful Discourse on Dharma.
5) B omits and ends with: The Kutagara Sutra is completed. See introduction.
NOTES
*1 would like to express here my deep gratitude to Prof. G. Schopen
who assisted me at every stage of this study, starting from my first introduction
to the Gilgit collection up until the final draft revisions.
l. For the Gilgit mss. and their discovery see the following: Nalinaksha
Dutt, Gilgit Manuscripts vol. 1 (Srinagar-Kashmir, 1939) preface; M.S. Kaul
46
JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
Shastri, "Report on the Gilgit Excavation in 1938," The Quarterly Journal of h
Mythic Society vol. 30 (July, 1939) #1, 1-12 + plates; M. Sylvain Levi, "I/ e.
sur des manuscripts sanscrits proven ant de Bamiyan (Afghanistan) et de
(Cachemire)," Asiatiqu.e Oskar von !finiiber, "Die
der Gll?"lthar:dschn.ften: Nachnchten der Akademze der Wissenschajten
m Gottm!5.:n I. Phllologlsch-Hlstonsche vol. 12 \1979) 329-359; Karl
Jettmar, Zil den Fundumstanden der GllgItmanusknpte," Zentralasiatisch
Studien vol. 15 (1981) 307-322; KarlJettmar, "The Gilgit Manuscripts: Disco
ery by Installments," Journal of Central Asia vol. 4, #2 (Dec. 1981) 1-18 (Th:
is only an English version of the preceding article); Oskar von
"Namen in Schutzzaubernaus GiIgit," Studien zur Indologie und Iranistik vol'
7 (1981) 163-171; P. Banerjee, "Painted Wooden Covers of Two Gilgit
uscripts," Oriental Art N.S. XIV/2 (1968) 114-118.
2. A Tibetan translation of Ad is found in the Kanjur. Derge blockprint
(Delhi, 1976 +) vol. 72, pp. 387-392 (Tohoku #319); Peking blockprint, The
Tibetan Tripitaka, Peking Edition, ed., D.T. Suzuki, #985, vol. 39, 83.3.6-84.4.8'
Narthang blockprint (To yo Bunko), mdo la 303h-308b; Cone blockprint,
mang sa 237h-241a, vol. 28; Lhasa blockprint, mdo la 297a-302a, vol. 72;
Tog Palace manuscripts (Leh, 1980) vol. 59, pp. 737-746; The manuscript
Kanjur in the British Museum, London (Or 6724) mdo na 352a-356a, #36,35
2a4 in E.D. Grinstead, "Index of the Manuscript Kanjur in the British
Museum," Asia Major, New Series, vol. 13 (1967) 48-70. The correspondences
between the Taisho and each of the three Sanskrit mss., as well as the Peking
version of the Tibetan translation are given by Hisashi Matsumura, "Notes
on the Gilgit Manuscripts," Indogaku Bukky6gaku Kenkyu vol. 31, no. 2 (1983)
(130)-(131).
Ad was made into chapter 1 of the *Anuttariisrayasutra, an important
Tathiigatagarbha Sutra. See Jikido Takasaki, "Structure of the *AnuttariiSraya-
sutra (Wu-shang-i-ching)," Indogaku Bukkyogaku Kenkyu vol. 8, no. 2 [16] (1960)
(30)-(35). The entry on the Ad in the Encyclopedia of Buddhism ed., G.P.
Malalasekera (Ceylon, 1961) vol. 1, 191-2 is confusing. It does not refer to
Ad as we know it from the Sanskrit mss. or from the Tibetan translation.
3. Andre Bareau, La construction et le culte des stupa d'apres les Vina-
yapitaka," Bulletin de l'Ecole franr;a"ise d'Extreme Orient vol. 50 (1962) 230-274;
Mireille Benisti, "Etude sur Ie stiipa dans l'Inde ancienne," ibid. vol. 50 (1960)
37-116; L. de La Vallee Poussin, "Staupikam," HaroardJournal of Asiatic Studies
vol. 2 (1937) Gisbert Combaz, "L'evolution du stiipa en Asie,"
Melangeschinois et bouddhiquesvol. 2, 163-302; vol. 3, 93-144; vol. 4, 1-123.
Anna Libera Dallapiccola et al. eds., The Stupa its Religious, Historical and
Architectural Significance (Wiesbaden, 1980); Adrian Snodgrass, The Symbolism
of the Stiipa (Cornell, 1985); Akira Hirakawa, "The Rise of Mahayana Buddhism
And Its Relationship to the Worship of Stupas," Memoirs of the Research Depart-
ment of the Toyo Bunko no. 22 (Tokyo, 1963) 57-106; Robert L. Brown, "Recent
Stupa Literature: A Review Article," journal of Asian History vol. 20 (1986)
215-232; Sushila Pant, Stupa Architecture in India (Varanasi, 1976) pp. xiv and
6; G. Roth, "Buddhist Sanskrit Stupa-texts from Nepal," Actes du XXIX congres
international des orientalistes, Paris,juillet 1973, Inde ancienne vol. 1 (Paris, 1976)
81-87.
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA
47
4. The Kutagara Sutra (Ku)-Derge: Delhi 1976+, vol. 72, pp. 519-526;
Tohoku Cat. #332; Peking: Suzuki edition #998, vol. 39, pp. 109.4.3-111.1.4;
Narthang: mdo la fols. 41Oa-415a; Tog Palace: Leh 1980 edition vol. 79, pp.
288-297; Lhasa: mdo la fols. 397b-403a; Tun Huang manuscripts: #60 in
Louis de La Vallee Poussin, Catalogue of the Tibetan Manuscripts from Tun Huang
in the India Office Library (Oxford University Press, 1962). The Kutagara Sutra
is available to me only in its Tibetan Translation. However, de la Vallee
poussin, ibid. compares the Tibetan text of Ku to a Sanskrit text. No details
on the latter are given. In A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the
Government Collection under the Care of the Asiatic Society of Bengal vol. 1, Buddhist
Manuscripts (Calcutta, 1917) 127-28 [No. 81,4758], M.H.P. Shastri describes
a ms. as having two works, I.
maparyaya. II. Divyabhojanavadana. He says that the ms. has 8 folios numbered
1 and 6 to 12 and adds: "I. comes to an end on 7b, line 1, then begins II."
But this ms. must have contained at least 3 works since the text which Shastri
quotes as the beginning of the Tathagataprativimba is, in fact, not the beginning
of this text, but the beginning of the Kutagara SlUra. The missing folios 2-5,
therefore, must have included at least the rest of the Kutagara Sutra and the
first half of the Tathagataprativimba. This fragment, however, does not contain
the second half of the sutra which is parallel to the Ad.
5. The Mahara1Ja Sutra (Ma) is also available to me in Tibetan only.
Derge: Delhi 1976 + vol. 62, pp. 217-222; Tohoko cat. #208; Peking: Suzuki
edition: #874, vol. 34, pp. 300.3.6-301.4.2; Tog Palace: Leh 1980 edition,
vol. 60, pp. 646-656; Lhasa: mdo ma fols. 166b-170b, vol. 62. The Sanskrit
name of this sutra varies from one edition to another. It is Mahara1Ja in the
Derge and Lhasa editions, Mahahrada in the Peking catalogue, Maharavama
in the Peking edition, Mahasrutam in the Tog Palace ms., and Mahasruta in
the ms. Kanjur of the British Museum. [See L.D. Barnett, "Index der Abteilung
mDo des handschriftlichen Kanjur im britischen Museum (Or 672A)," Asia
Major vol. 7 (1932) 157-178].
6. All three texts deal, wholly or in part, with the cult of relics, the
making of stupas and images, and the merit resulting from the same, all in
very similar ways. For example, compare the Sanskrit and Tibetan of Ad
section [3] in my edition (Derge vol. 72, p. 389.3'-':'.4) to Ku in Tibetan: Derge
vol. 72, p. 523.2-.3, and Ma in Tibetan: Derge vol. 62, p. 218.2-.3. (This
passage of Ku was translated into French by L. Ligeti, in "Le me rite d'eriger
un stupa et l'histoire de l'e!ephant d'or," Proceedings of the Csoma de Karas
Memorial Symposium, ed., Louis Ligeti (Budapest, 1978) 248. Apparently be-
cause of the similarities there has been a good deal of confusion in regard to
these texts. As will be mentioned in section II below, although the name
Adbhutadharmaparyaya appears at the end of Sanskrit ms. B of the Ad, a scribe
mislabled it as Ku (showing his familiarity with Ku as well). The Chinese
translations Taisho 688 and 689, which are supposed to be translations of Ad
reflect a text much closer to Ma. (I have used a draft translation of the Chinese
by P.M. Harrison lent to me by G. Schopen). Curiously, no mention of a
kutagara is found in the Kutagara Sutra apart from the title, however, a kutagara
is mentioned in the opening part of both Ad and Ma. This longstanding
confusion among the three texts makes it extremely Idifficult to determine the
48 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
relations between them.
. 7. The PTatftyasamutpiida Sutra (Pr)-Derge: (Delhi 1976+) 1. vol. 62
pp. 249-50. 2. vol. 88, pp. 81-83. 3. vol. 96, pp. 197-198; Tohoko cat. n '
212,520,980. Peking: Suzuki edition: nos. 878, 221, Tog Palace: Leh
edition, vol. 60, pp. 656-659 vol. J02, pp. 81-83. Pr also is known onl
in translation, however, N .A. Sastri in Arya Siilistamba-sutra, PratftyaSamutpiial
and Library, 1950)
gIves, III addItIOn to the TIbetan versIOn (wIth some mIstakes), his renderin
of it into Sanskrit. g
8. This passage was translated by Richard Salomon and Gregory Scho_
pen, "The Indravarman (Avaca) Casket Inscription Reconsidered: Further
Evidence for Canonical Passages in Buddhist Inscriptions/' The Journal of the
International Association of Buddhist Studies, vol. 7 no. 1 (1984) 107-123. The
wording here is again quite similar to that of the three texts discussed above.
The major change is the substitution of the ye dharmii/; . .. giithii, the "Dharma
relic," for bodily relics (dhiitu). Bodily relics and dhiira1Jfs serve a similar func-
tion. The doctrinal development which stressed the Buddha's teachings at the
expense of his physical body is paralleled by the shift from an emphasis on
bodily relics to an emphasis on the "Dharma relic." Cf. Gregory Schopen,
"The Phrase 'sa prthivlpradeSas caityabhiito bhavet' in the Vajracchedika:
Notes on the cult of the book in Mahayana," Indo-IranianJournal vol. 17 (1975)
147-181; Ryojun Mitomo, "An Aspect of Dharma-sarlra, " IndogakuBukkyogaku
Kenkyu vol. 32, n. 2 (March, 1984) (4)-(9).
9. I. The a circa II th century Buddhist
Sanskrit stiipa text from Nepal, quotes Ku along with the Prakfrr;aka-vinaya
of the Lokottaravadins and passages from the Stilpa-kalpanii-siltra in the
rakavastu of the Sarvastivadins. See Gustav Roth in n. 3.
2. In the polyglot inscription of the 14th century, Chu-yung-kuan monument,
Ku is mentioned and very closely paraphrased. SeeJiro Murata, Chu-yung-kuan.
The Buddhist Arch of the Fourteenth Century A.D. at the Pass of the Great Wall
Northwest of Peking 2 vols. (Kyoto, 1955-57) [in Japanese with English sum-
mary]; L. Ligeti in "Le merite ... " (see n. 6) 244-5, and Sylvain Levi in E.
Chavannes and Sylvain Levi, "Notes preliminaire sur l'inscription de Kiu-yong-
koan," Journal Asiatique (1894) 370; a translation into Japanese is found in].
Murata, ibid. p. 259.
A number of Tibetan accounts concerning the construction and conse-
cration of mchod-rtens (stupas) quote our sutras in order to demonstrate the
merit to be achieved by building a stupa. See Yael Bentor, Miniature Stupas,
Images and Relics; the Sanskrit Manuscripts of the Adbhutadharmaparyiiya from Gilgit
and its Tibetan Translation (Masters Thesis, Indiana University, Bloomington,
1987).
10. I Ching writes: "Even if a man make an image as small as a grain of
barley, or a Caitya the size of a small jujube, placing on it a round figure, or a staff
like a small pin, a special cause for good birth is obtained thereby, and will be
as limitless as the seven seas, and good rewards will last as long as the coming
four births. The detailed account of this matter is found in the separate
Siitras." (Emphasis is mine.) See I-Tsing (I Ching), A Record of the Buddhist
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA 49
- Religion tr., J. Takakusu (Oxford, 1896) 150-I.
11. A good summary with extensive bibliography of the archaeological literature
in regard to miniature stupas and clay table.ts is given by Maurizio Taddei in "Inscribed
Clay Tablets and Miniature Stupas from GaznI," East and West vol. 20 (1970) 70-86.
Here only a few examples will be given. A. Cunningham writes about Bodhgaya:
" ... there were hundreds of thousands of even smaller offerings in the shape oflittle
day stu pas, both baked and unbaked, from 2 or 3 inches in height, to the size of a
i walnut. Scores, and sometimes even hundreds, of these miniature stupas were found
inside the larger stu pas, enclosing small clay seals" (Mahiibodhi or The Great Buddhist
Temple under the Bodhi Tree at Buddha-Gaya (London, 1892) 46-7). Chandra and Dikshit
in their report of the excavations at Satyapir Bhi(ii, 300 yards east of the main
establishment of Paharpur say that " ... the most important discovery of the season
was that of several thousands of miniature votive stupas made of clay, deposited
at the bottom of the relic chamber of a votive stupa of considerable size ... such
stu pas encasing the Buddhist creed have been found also at Nalanda, Mirpur-
khas, Sarnath and other Buddhist sites" (G.C. Chandra and KN. Dikshit,
"Excavations at Paharpur," Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India
1930-4, pt. 1 (Delhi, 1936) 124-5; KN. Dikshit Excavation at Paharpur, Bengal
__ (Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India, no. 55, Delhi, 1938) 83-4;
-see also F.R.S. Sykes, "On the Miniature Chaityas and Inscriptions of the
Buddhist Religious Dogma Found in the Ruins of the Temple of Sarnath,
near Benares," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society vol. 16 (1856) 37-53. Similar
evidence is found also in Central Asia, Tibet, Ceylon, Burma, Thailand and
Indonesia (see M. Taddei, ibid.).
12. Hsiian Tsang, Si-yu-ki, Buddhist Records of the-Western World tr., Sam uel
Beal (Boston, 1885) vol. 2, 146-7.
13. N. Dutt (see n. 1) 41; M.S. Kaul Sastri (see n. 1) 9 and plate 1440.
In 1958 K J ettmar bought in the Gilgit bazaar a small stupa, probably originat-
ing from the same discovery. It is illustrated in Gerard Fussman, "Inscription
de Gilgit," Bulletin de Nicole franqaise d'Extreme Orient vol. 65 (1978) 5 and plate
ii. It should be noted, however, that the miniature stupas found at Gilgit
contain the "Dharma relic"-the ye dharma};, gathii-in addition to, or instead
of, the bodily relics which alone are referred to in the text of the Ad found
at that same site.
14. Among them is the which gives a detailed pre-
scription for the ritual of making a hundred thousand caityas
Tissa Rajapatirana, SuvaT1}avaT1'Javadana translated and edited together with its
Tibetan translation and the (Ph.D. thesis, Australian Na-
tional U niversi ty, 1974).
In Tibet, Nepal and Southeast Asia the practice of making small clay
objects in the shape of stu pas, images or imprinted tablets, in many instances
containing a sacred relic and/or dhiira1J! is very popular. The Tibetan clay
stu pas and images called tsha-tshas, however, have significances and usages
beyond those which small stupas originally had. See Yael Bentor in n. 9.
15. Besides our texts, a similar controversy occurs in some Vinaya pas-
sages related to the cult of the stupa studied by Andre Bareau [(see n. 3) 234
and 257] and Akira Hirakawa [(see n. 3) 98-102] as well as in the dispute
50 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
between the sects of the small Vehicle studied by Andre Bareau in Les
bouddhiques du Fetit Vehicule (Publication de I'Ecole
vo!' 38, Paris, 1955) 88, 100, 105, 154, 185, 188, 192,269,274. This com nt,
tition between the two practices, the establishment of stupas/images/relics
offerings to the Sangha/Arhats/Pratyekabuddhas does not necessarily mea
h
. b na
complete dichotomy between t ese two practIces, or etween the Sangha and
the stupa/image/relic cult. There is sufficient evidence in the Vinaya and in
Buddhist inscriptions from India for the participation of monks in the stupa
and image cults. The Vinaya itself addresses both monks and laymen with
regard to the cult of the stupa [in Bareau (see n. 3) 249]. Moreover, according
to the Mahiisarighika-vinaya, monks made offerings to a stupa on four holy
days commemorating events in the life of the Buddha (ibid. 250); see also The
Stupa Varga, the 14th chapter in the ed., G. Roth (Patna, 1970).
332. Donative inscriptions and Buddhist monastic architecture also confirm
the participation of monks in the stilpa cult. See Gregory Schopen, "Two
Problems in the History of Indian Buddhism: The Layman/Monk Distinction
and the Doctrines of the Transference of Merit," Studien zur Indologie und
Iranistik vo!' 10 (1985) 20-30; and idem, "Mahayana in Indian Inscriptions,"
Indo-Iranian Journal vo!' 21 (1979) 1-19.
16. In Oskar von Hiniiber, "Die Erforschung der Gilgithandschriften
Nachtrag" Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft voL 130.2 (1980)
*25*-*26*.
17. Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra, Gilgit Buddhist Manuscripts, Sata-
pitaka Series, vo!' 10, part 7 (New Delhi, 1974).
18. Lore Sander, Palaographisches zu den sanskrithandschriften der Berliner
Turfansammlung (Wiesbaden, 1968) Alphabet m, 137-161, Tafel 21-26. See
also her "Einige neue Aspekte zur Entwicklung der Brahml in Gilgit und
Bamiyan (ca. 2.-7. Jh.n.chr.)," Sprachen des Buddhismus in Zentralasien (Vortrage
des Hamburger Symposions vom 2. Juli bis 5. Juli, 1981), Klaus Rohrborn
and Wolfgang Veenker, eds., (VerOffentlichungen der Societas Uralo-Altaica,
Bd. 16, in Kommission bei Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1983).
19. As noticed by G. Schopen, in von Hiniiber (see n. 16) p. *26*.
20. As noticed by G. Schopen, ibid. p. *25*. It is difficult to accept Hisashi
Matsumura's objection to this opinion as expressed in "The Stilpa Worship
in Ancient Gilgit, " Journal of Central Asia vo!. 8, (1985) 133-151 (onp.149).
21. Lore Sander (see n. 18) pp. 121-136, Tafel IV.
22. Mahiivyutpatti (Bon-Zo-Kan- Wa yon'yaku taikO Mahiibuyuttopatti) ed.,
Sakaki Ryozaburo (Kyoto, 1965) #187-#190; BHSD (see bibliography below)
614b.
23. of Vasubandhu ed., Prahlad Pradhan (Patna,
1967; reprint 1975) 411; Louis de la Vallee Poussin, L'Abhidharmakosa de Vas-
ubandhu (Melanges chinois et bouddhiques, vol. 16, Bruxelles, 1971) ch. VII,
66-67.
24. Unrai Wogihara, Sphutiirthii Abhidharmakosavyiikhyii by Yasomitra 2
vols. (Tokyo, 1932-6; reprint: Sankibo Buddhist Book Store, Tokyo, 1971)
vo!' 2, 640-641.
25. This list corresponds to the Mahayana system, see below.
26. Etienne Lamotte, Le traitri de la grande vertu de sagesse (Louvain, 1970)
ADBHUTADHARMAPARYAYA
51
01. 3,1605-8,1625-8,1697-1701; Louis de la Valee Poussin (see note 23)
n. 4b; Louis Renou and Jean Filliozat, L'Inde classique (Paris, 1953) vol.
2,537, #2277.. .
. In the texts whIch make the vanous parts of a stupa correspond to
doctrinal categories or the Tathagata's qualities, the system found in ms. B,
the list, is followed, rather than that of ms. A. For example, see
the Mchod-rten-gyi Cha Dbye-ba 'Dul-ba-las Byung-ba'i Mdo Peking no. 3897, vol.
79, pp. 287.2.4-288.1.8, which is discussed in G. Tucci, Indo-Tibetica vol. 1
"Mc'od rten" e "ts'a ts'a" nel Tibet indiano ed occidentale (Reale Accademia D'Italia,
Raffia, 1932) 39-43, and in Gustav Roth, "Symbolism of the Buddhist Stupa,"
in Dallapiccola (see n. 3) 187-193. Roth also adds a similar symbolic represen-
tation found in the Sanskrit treatise 193-195 (see
also note 9). The Tibetan inscription from the Chu-yung-kuan "Arch" gives
a similar set of correspondences; seeJiro Murata, (in note 9) vol. 1,233, verse 5.
27. Lamotte in note 26.
28. This is also the list of the Mahiivyutpatti (see note 22), #135-#153;
see also F. Edgerton, BHSD 108b.
29. With the exception of section [2] having bgyis pa, "to make," an
elegant form for byed pa.
30. Schopen, Studien zur Indologie und lranistik 10 (1985) 20-2l.
31. A bibliographical list for works referred to in this section is found
at the end of the present work.
32. Cf. Gregory Schopen, "The Five Leaves of The Buddhabaladhana-
pratiharyavikurval).anirdea-sutra Found at Gilgit," Journal of Indian Philosophy
vol. 5 (1978) 332, fol 1296 1.6, where ka(l;t) should be read kal]..
33. Geza Dray, "On the Tibetan Letters ba and wa: Contribution to the
Origin and History of the Tibetan Alphabet," Acta Orientalia Hungarica vol.
5 (1955) 101-122.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. The Gilgit Manuscripts
A. Facsimile Edition (GBMs):
Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra Gilgit Buddhist Manuscripts Sata-pitaka Series,
10 vols. (New Delhi, 1959-1974).
B. Editions cited:
Oskar von Hinuber, A New Fragmentary Gilgit Manuscript of the Saddharma-
pU'f}lj,ar'ikasiltra (Tokyo, The Reiyukai, 1982).
Y. Kurumiya, Ratnaketuparivarta (Heirakuji-shoten, Kyoto, 1978).
Adelheid Mette, "Zwei kIeine Fragmente aus Gilgit," Studien zur Indologie und
lranistik, vol. 7. 1981, 133-152.
Chandrabhal Tripathi, "Gilgit-Blatterder Mekhala-dharal).l," ibid. 153-161.
Shoko Watanabe, Saddharmapu'f}lj,arzka Manuscripts Found in Gilgit part 2
(Tokyo, The Reiyukai, 1975).
52 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
II. Grammatical and Paleographical Works
A. Grammar:
Franklin Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary (N
Haven: 1953. repr. Delhi, 1977). (BHSD and BHSG). ew
Louis Renou, Grammaire Sanscrite 2nd ed. (Paris, 1975).
William Dwight Whitney, Sanskrit Grammar (repr. Harvard University Pre
1981). . ss,
B. Paleography:
Lore Sander, Palaographisches zu den Sanskrithandschriften der berliner TUifan-
sammlung (Wiesbaden, 1968).
G. Biihler, Indian Paleography, appendix to Indian Antiquary 33 (1904) (repr.
Delhi: 1973).
Vacuite et corps actualise : Le probleme
de la presence des "Personnages Veneres"
i
dans
leurs images seion la tradition
du bouddhisme japonais*
by Bernard Frank
" .. .l'insaisissable prend corps et de-
vient exorable"
Paul Mus
Le probleme de la presence reelle d'un etre divin dans des
supports et, notamment, dans des images, est de ceux qui n'ont
pas manque d'agiter la conscience religieuse. Mais, si important
qu'il apparaisse au regard de bien des croyances, tant mono-
que polytheistes, on admettra qu'il se pose d'une maniere toute
particuliere dans la perspective d'un systeme comme celui du
bouddhisme japonais, ou, par-dela cette question de la presence
d'un etre venere dans ses images, se profile celle de l'existence
de l'etre venere lui-meme.!
Faut-il rappeler que ce bouddhisme est d'une extreme com-
plexite doctrinale? Situe au bout du cheminement de la grande
religion in die nne a travers l'Asie centrale et orientale, il en a
vu-peut-on dire-converger quasiment tous les courants, et
les a prolonges et develop pes au sein d'un environnement ori-
*EDITOR'S NOTE
Professor Frank's paper was originally published in Le temps de la rijlexion,
VII, 1986 (Editions Gallimard, Paris), which was a special number entitled
<OLe Corps de Dieux" edited by Jean-Pierre Vernant and Charles Malamoud.
It is reprinted here with permission, and with only minor corrections and
additions, with the hope that it will receive the wide attention that it deserves.
We would like to thank Professor Gerard Fussman for having brought Profes-
sor Frank's paper to our notice, and would like to encourage all of our col-
leagues to consider bringing to our attention any important and likely to be
overlooked papers so that we, in turn, can consider reprinting them.
53
54
JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
ginal prepare par Ie vieux shintolsme local. Aussi trouve-t_o
en lui une sorte de "sedimentation" de points de vue qui y r e n ~
toujours ardues les tentatives de saisie globfl.le. Cela dit, l'experi_
ence montre que, sur Ie plan de la pratique vecue, il constitue
bien un tout quiappelle une reflexion specifique.
Sept grandes sectes
2
se partagent officiellement l'essentiel
de ses fiddes :
-Tendai (du nom du mont Tiantai, en Chine du Sud), axee
sur la pratique de ce texte canonique fondamental du Grand
Vehicule qu'est Ie "Sutra du Lotus de Ia Loi Merveilleuse" Uap.
Hokekyo ou MyohOrengekyo ; Ie Saddharmapury)arika des Indiens) ;
qui, en outre, a fait sienne une part importante de bouddhisme
esoterique (il s'agit ici d'uh tantrisme tres epure representant
l'aboutissement d'un stade de developpement anterieur a. celui
du bouddhisme himalayo-tibetain) ; qui, par ailleurs, a cultive
de fac;on privilegiee la devotion a. un sauveur siegeant dans une
lointaine et lumineuse "Terre Pure" de predication situee a.
l'Ouest, Ie buddha Amida (du sanscrit Amitabha : "Celui a.l'Eclat
incommensurable") ; qui s'est done ainsi affirmee camme haute-
ment syncretique et dont plusieurs des sectes apparues ul-
terieurement constituent, d'une certaine maniere, des courants
specialises.
-Shingon (ou seete des "Paroles Veritables," c'est-a.-dire des
mantra), de tradition purement esoterique, et qui a ete introduite
de la Chine des Tang a. la me me epoque que la precedente, au
debut du IX
e
siecle.
-Jodo (secte de la "Terre Pure") etJodo-shinshu ("Vraie secte
de la Terre Pure"), centrees sur la croyance au vceu secourable
d'Amida, la seconde plus radieale que Ia premiere et excluant
toute forme de devotion complementaire.
-Les deux sectes Rinzai et Soto (ainsi appelees d'apres les
noms de fameux maitres ,chino is qui les ont prechees) de l'ecole
du Zen, dont la premiere met l'accent sur l'absorption de l'esprit
dans les questions obsessionnelles et la seconde, sur la meditation
en posture assise.
-Nichiren (du nom du maitre japonais fondateur), qui
prone Ie retour a. une pure pratique du "Sutra du Lotus de la
Loi Merveilleuse," ces cinq dernieres ayant pris leur essor entre
la fin du xn
e
siecle et celle du xure.
Hormis la "Vraie Secte de la Terre Pure," que son orienta-
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE 55
don exclusive vers Amida rend toute proche d'un monotheisme,
ces sectes ont pour objet de veneration un tres vaste pantheon
de figures que, d'apres une classification d'origine esoterique
attestee deja, en Chine au vue siecle et regulierement reprise
depuis Ie x
e
au japon,oli elle est toujours en vigueur
3
, on sub-
,divise en quatre categories fondamentales, qui sont c;elles : I.
des buddha, n. des bodhisattva, III. des "rois de Science" et IV.
des divinites.
I. Les buddha Uap. butsuda ; en abrege, couramment, butsu)
. sont--c'est Ie sens meme du terme sanscrit-des etres "eveilles"
a la verite profonde du monde telle qU'elle est. D'un autre nom,
qui exprime leur totale adequation a cette verite, on les appelle
encore tathiigata Uap. nyorai, "Ceux qui sont ainsi venus"). Le
bouddhisme les avait vus d'abord, sur Ie modele de son propre
fondateur historique, Ie buddha Sakyamuni Uap. Shakamuni-
butsu, Shaka-nyorai),4 entres, au terme d'une carriere devenue
parfaite avec la grande prise de conscience de l'Eveil, dans un
etat d'extinction ineffable-Ie nirva1J,a-d'ou ils ne pouvaient
plus revenir, ni done agir, sinon par leur vertu contagieuse.
Mais, des avant les debuts de notre ere, s'etait fait jour, dans
certaines ecoles, l'idee que les buddha ainsi nes, "eveilles," puis
"nirvanes" en ce monde n'etaient que des manifestations
(nirma1J,akaya, litteralement, des "corps de fabrication" ; jap.
keshin, des "corps metamorphiques") emises, aux fins de stimuler
les etres, par un corps, ceIui-Ia unique et qui etait, en quelque
sorte, leur lieu commun, qu'on appelait Ie dharmakaya ("corps
d'Ordre des choses"5 ; jap. hosshin, "corps de Loi" ou "d'Es-
sence"). De l'idee de corpus de verite constitue par la Parole du
Buddha, on etait passe a celle de corps de verite et de realite
universelle se confondant avec sa personne magnifiee. Entre
ces deux "corps," metamorphique et d'Essence, devait s'en placer
un troisieme, sortede corps glorieux par Iequel Ie Buddha se
manifestait de fa<,;on privilegiee a ceux qui etaient parvenus
jusqu'au seuil de l'Eveil et qui etaient d'ores et deja quasiment
ses paredres, les bodhisattva: c'etait la Ie saf!l,bhogakaya, ou "corps
communiel" Uap. kOjin, "corps retributionnel"). Cette doctrine
des "Trois corps," comme on l'appela, devait rester fondamen-
tale dans l'histoire ulterieure de la religion bouddhique.
6
Le bouddhisme, comme on sait, avait enseigne l'insubstan-
56 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
.de toute et il ne pou.vait etre question pour lui de
retabhr par Ie blals de cette notIOn de dharmakaya l'idee d'
Etre ou d'un Principe substantiel"plein," semblable a
Brahman de l'orthodoxie indienne. La exprimee dans 7
dharmaka)la-sorte de "Brahman en creux," comme aimait a dire
Paul Mus-n'etait autre que l'universelle insubstantialite
meme. Certains devaient la definir comme une insaisissable Va-
cuite et d'autres, partis d'une approche differente, l'appeler
"Ainsite" ou "Quiddite" (tathata ;jap. shinnyo). "Les phenomenes
(auxquels l'ancienne analyse bouddhique avait reduit la realite
du monde) etaient l'ocean en tant que vagues. La tathata ce
furent les vagues en tant qu'ocean," seIon la belle definition.
reprise par Rene Grousset. 7
Les buddha avaient ete con<;us au depart comme Ie fruit d'ac-
complissements d'une extreme rarete. Sur leurs traces, d'autres
sages eminents pouvaient atteindre au nirva1'}a, mais sans etre
prealablement passes par cet "Eveil parfait, complet, sans-
superieur" qui etait Ie leur et qui, seul, pouvait donner a la
predication de la verite sa totale capacite salvatrice. La tradition
voulait que deux buddha ne pussent apparaitre simultanement
en un temps et un univers donnes
8
; iis se succedaient comme.
des phares a travers l'immense nuit des periodes cosmiques. On
en enumerait six anterieurs au buddha Sakyamuni, dont les
carrieres etaient decrites comme s' etant derouiees seIon Ie meme
processus que la sienne. Us formaient avec lui ce qu'on appelait
les "Sept buddha du Passe." On connaissait aussi deja Ie nom
d'un huitieme, ceIui-la futur et qui suivait egalement une car-
riere analogue, Maitreya, "Ie Bienveillant" (au Japon, Miroku).
Pour l'heure, il n'etait encore, comme Sakyamuni l'avait ete
avant son propre Eveil, qu'un bodhisattva qui attendait, au sein
d'une condition divine, l'heure, encore extremement lointaine,
d'aller renaitre parmi les hommes pour y effectuer l'ultime ac-
complissement par lequel il deviendrait un buddha.
Vers Ie commencement de notre ere, avec Ie Grand Ve-
hicule--ce mouvement d'elargissement et d'approfondissement
qui voulut signifier par cette designation meme sa volonte de
sauver les etres sur une echelle beaucoup plus vaste-se de-
veloppa une soteriologie etendue aux dimensions de l'espace
cosmique. On commen<;a a parler de buddha siegeant dans des
mondes lointains situes a tous les orients, dont Ie plus fameux
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
57
devait etre Amitabha (l'Amidajaponais, comme on l'a
predicateur de. la Terre Pure de Un qui allait
connaitre aUSSI une grande populante en ASle onentale, fut
"Ie Maitre aux remedes" Gap. Yakushi-nyorai),
personnification du Buddha en tant que medecin supreme et
demeurant, quant a lui, dans une contne irradiantecomme Ie
beryl situee a l'Est. ,
Quant au buddha Sakyamuni tel que l'exaltent les concep-
tions "supra-mondanistes" d'un sutra comme Ie "Lotus de la Loi
Merveilleuse," it apparait lui-meme, par-dela son "corps de nais-
sance," Gap. shojin ; terme equivalent a celui de "corps factice")
produit pour la stimulation des etres, camme un buddha eminent,
fondamental, "perpetuellement demeurant." C'est en la revela-
tion de cette presence perpetuelle que reside la verite "inouYe"
du "Lotus."
Dans Ie bouddhisme esoterique, la "collectivite des buddha"
Gap. issai-nyorai) et ses representants au premier chef, les
"buddha des Quatre orients" (shiho-butsu), se trouveront federes
par un buddha unique et central, sorte de "Pan-buddha," as-
simile, de par sa position, a l'astre solaire au zenith et que la
tradition indienne transmise en Extreme-Orient connait sous Ie
nom de Mahavairocana, "Grand Illuminateur" (au Japon,
Dainichi-nyorai, "Ie Tathagata Grand Soleil"-il serait sans
doute plus juste de traduire "Soleil Majeur") : buddha qui inc arne
Ie "corps d'Essence" en la figure la plus absolue qu'on en ait
con<;ue, omnipresente aussi bien dans les elements materiels du
monde que dans la conscience qui donne a ceux-ci leur cohesion.
II. Les bodhisattva, "etres d'EveiI"-ou "a Eveil"-Gap.
bodaisatta; en abrege, couramment, bosatsu) sont, camme on l'a
dit tres brievement, des etres parvenus a l'etape ultime de la
carriere qui prepare a l'accomplissement bouddhique. La en-
core, Ie modele d'entre eux fut Sakyamuni, non seulement tel
qu'il apparait dans la premiere partie de sa derniere existence,
ou il obtint l'Eveil, mais tel que Ie decrivent les recits de ses
innombrables vies anterieures, au cours desquelles il s'y etait
prepare en cultivant Ie detachement de la croyance au soi et la
compassion envers autrui. Dans Ie bouddhisme subsequent, se
detache d'abord la figure, precedemment evoquee, de Maitreya
Gap. Miroku), sa replique des temps futurs, dont la parousie,
58
JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
ardemment esperee, sera la source de toutes sortes de croyances
. messianiques, souvent en rivalite avec celles relatives a la renais_
sance dans la Terre Pure d'Amitabha.
De me me que les conceptions relatives aux buddha, celles
concernant les bodhisattva allaient recevoir du Grand Vehicule
une impulsion qui les transforma profondement. Le bodhisattva
du Grand Vehicule est mains presente comme un buddha encore
immature que comme un etre qui pousse l'esprit de depouille_
ment et de compassion jusqu'a refuser son propre Eveil tant
que n'aura pas ete realise Ie "vceu fondamental" par leqUel il
s'engage a sauver les etres. Jusque-Ia, il demeurera avec ceux-ti
a travers toutes les tribulations du monde transmigrant. Plus
proche done, a certains egards, que les buddha dont la carriere
est achevee, parangon d'une perfection qui est en train de se
faire et qui parait d'un niveau moins inaccessible, il attire aussi
davantage la devotion sur un mode familier.
Les grands bodhisattva incarnent generalement plus par-
ticulierement une vertu : Mafijusrl, "Douce Belle majeste" Gap.
Monju-bosatsu), celle de sapience; Samantabhadra, 1"'Om-
nifavorable" Gap. Fugen-bosatsu), celle de perseverance dans la
pratique; "Embryan de la Terre" Gap. Jizo-
bosatsu), celle de compassion. Celui qui incarne sans doute au
degre Ie plus haut, Ie plus total, l'ideal du type, Avalokitdvara,
"Ie Seigneur qui regarde en bas vers Ie monde-ou : qui ecoute
les voix du monde" (auJapon, Kanjizai-ou Kanzeon-bosatsu ;
en abrege, cauramment, Kannan) associe a parts egales et indis-
sociables la compassion et la sapience; son iconographie mul-
tiforme revele son infinitude a cet egard.
III. Les vidyaraja ou "rois de Science" Gap. myoo) sont des
figures particulieres a l'Esoterisme. Ce sont, pour l'essentiel, des
personnifications de formules detentrices d'une science
souveraine qui est censee donner clarte et puissance sur taus
les phenomenes, aussi bien physiques que psychiques. On sait
quel role les formules avaient joue en lnde de puis Ie temps des
Veda. Le bouddhisme, apres s'en etre defie----comme de tout ce
qui relevait du ritualisme des brahmanes-en avait adopte
l'usage dans des matieres d'abord exterieures a l'essentiel de sa
Voie proprement dite : matieres medicales, ou de protection
contre les autres sortes de menaces a l'integrite de la personne.
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
59
Avec Ie Grand Vehicule, elles font dam sa pratique une entree
en force, non plus seulement comme garantes de la protection
personnelle des fiddes, mais de la bouddhique en
general, et en tant que donneuses d mtellIgence, de ,force et de
multiples talents a ceux qui sont en quete de l'Eveil. Pour
l'Esoterisme, dans la perspective duquelles antiques conceptions
vediques relatives a la puissance creatrice de la Parole ont repris
leur entiere vigueur, les formules essentielles (mantra; auJapon,
comme on l'a dit plus haut, shingon ou "paroles veritables") et
celles, generalement plus longues, qui sont dites "porteuses"
(dhiirar;z ; jap. darani) de cette science superieure qu'est la vidya,
et appelees, en consequence, "rois-ou reines-de Science," vont
se trouver progressivement promouvoir de ce vieux role
prophylactique et a une fonction d'expression et d'ac-
tualisation de la nature d'Eveil commune aux etreset au Pan-
buddha.
Tandis qu'un personnage comme Ie "roi (la reine) de Science
de la grande formule du paon" (Mahamayuri ; jap. Kujaku-
iny66), detenteur de vertus efficaces contre tous les poisons qui
affectent Ie corps et l'esprit, procede d'anciennes croyances a
l'opposition du paon, oiseau solaire, et du serpent, lie au monde
aquatique et sou terrain, legitimees par l'Esoterisme de la tradi-
tion la plus ancienne, un autre, tel que Ie "roi de Science" Acala
("l'Immuable" ; au Japon, Fud6-my66), en qui 1'on reconnait
des traits d'origine <;ivai:te, constitue l'une des figures maitresses
de l'esoterisme developpe et approfondi dont les sectes Shingon
et Tendai seront au Japon les droites heritieres. Manifestation
de la volonte d'Eveil universel qui est inherente a la nature
meme du Pan-buddha et qui implique une venue a resipiscence
des etres "difficiles a convertir," les "rois de Science" du type
de Fud6 appartiennent a ce qu'on appelle les "irrites" ou
"furieux" (krodha; au Japon, funnu-son) et leur iconographie
d'apparence effrayante temoigne de la rude mission qui est la
leur, dont Ie moteur profond est la compassion.
IV. Les divinites--c'est-a-dire les dieux (deva) et deesses
(devZ) ; jap. ten et tennyo-sont, de tous les etres veneres du
pantheon bouddhique, les seuls qui soient encore eux-memes
assujettis ala fatalite transmigratoire : de ce point de vue, ils ne
sont pas differents des hommes, ni des animaux, des infernaux
60 JIABS VOL 11 NO.2
et autres etres pris dans Ie cycle sans fin des changements d
. destinee. Mais leur longevite et leur puissance sont connue
e
pour immenses. Des les commencements du bouddhisme IS
plus d'entre eux, Indra, Ie roi des dieux
appele ici Sakra, "Ie Fort" Gap. Taishaku-ten), et Brahma Gap;
Bonten), divinite supreme du brahmanisme, ont ete preSentes
comme emerveilles par la predication du Buddha et devenus
ses suivants attentifs. Des grands dieuxregents des regions car-
dinales a d'humbles genies agrestes ou aquatiques et jusqu'a des
deites ogresses, toutes sortes d'etres divins sont venus s'inscrire
dans Ia troupe qui se de place avec Ie Maitre, tend l'oreille a ses
exposes et fait serment de garder ses fideIes. Leur nombre au-.
gmente de fa<;on considerable avec Ie Grand Vehicule et, plus
encore, avec Ie courant esoterique, qui recrute largement au
'sein du pantheon hindou divinites et demons qu'il sait posses-
seurs de formules, et qu'en vertu du paradoxe qui lui est fonda-
mental, il exalte d'autant plus qu'ils sont d'une nature
dont il aime a souligner qU'elle est, elle aussi, nature d'Eveil.
Cette attitude toute naturelle d'accueil qui est celle du boud-
dhismea l'egard des divinites du "substrat indien,"9 ilIa conser-
vera dans Ie monde exterieur al'Inde et, notamment, en Asie
orientale. II adoptera sans difficulte un certain nombre de divi-
nites de la tradition chinoise, en particulier des divinites relevant
de son vaste pantheon astral, auquell'Esoterisme, tres preoccupe
par les conjonctures spatio-temporelles et qui s'est deja enrichi,
aux confins du monde iranien, d'elements astrologiques oc-
cidentaux, va beau coup s'interesser. Au Japon meme, les kami
du shintolsme, d'abord en tant que necessaires interlocuteurs
des fondateurs de monasteres, de par leur qualite de maitres
du sol local, puis, par la suite, plus glorieusement, en tant qu'ac
vatars reconnus des buddha et des bodhisattva, s'integreront, de
fa<;on analogue, a l'univers de Ia veneration bouddhique. Mais,
il faut souligner qu'a l'inverse, se japoniseront profondement,
par la voie du syncretisme, des divinites de la tradition boud-
dhique (et, au-dela d'elle, vedique, brahmanique ou hindoue),
comme Ie dieu pourvoyeur en nourriture Mahakala Gap.
Daikoku-ten, "Ie Grand Noir"), ou la deesse des eaux dispensa-
trice d'eloquence, d'art et de savoir-faire, Sarasvafi Gap. Benzai-
ten), ou encore la tres complexe figure de Myoken-("Celle a
la Vue merveilleuse" ou "La Merveilleuse a voir"), divinite de
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE 61
:7
rtto
i1e Polaire et de la Grande Ourse, adoree dans trois types
::de sanctuaires (-gu, -do, -sha) respectivement lies a des concep-
;tions chinoises, bouddhiques et shinto.
1o
..... De ces quatre categories, buddha, bodhisattva, "rois de Scien-
'ce," divinites, la seule-il va de soi-qui rappelle ce que connais-
sent les autres religions est la quatrieme. Les trois autres, qui
'sont specifiquement bouddhiques, constituent les extensions,
'sous des modes divers, d'une figure originelle,celle du buddha-
'prealablement, bodhisattva-Sakyamuni, projetee dans Ie temps
etl'espace, perennisee, portee, de maniere toujours plus absolue,
a son essence, puis rediffusee en hypostases de tous niveaux,
dont les grandes compositions federatrices que sont les mal)Q.ala
de l'Esoterisme permettent d'acquerir des visions d'ensemble.
Si une opposition tout a fait categorique entre "buddha his-
torique," d'une part, et figures fabuleuses, de l'autre, releve
d'une optique de type moderne, il n'en est pas moins vrai que
les bouddhistes ont eu une conscience generalement assez nette
de la difference entre Ie Buddha tel qu'il etait apparu ici-bas en
"corps de naissance" Uap. shiijin-on relevera que les caracteres
servant a noter Ie terme peuvent aussi se lire, sur un registre
plus familier, avec une prononciation d'origine vernaculaire,
ikimi ; il y a lieu de comprendre alors : "en corps vivant"), laissant,
a sa disparition, Ie monde dans l'affliction et la nostalgie, et les
autres personnages du pantheon bouddhique, dont les carrieres,
meme lorsqu'elles etaient racontees dans des recits d'une tonalite
plus ou moins historicisante, conservaient un caractere quasi-
ment trans-tempore!. Mais, tant la notion de perennite du
Buddha que celle d'un "nirvii'l'}a depasse" dont ce dernier ac-
quiert, en un stade ultime, la faculte de revenir vers Ie monde
en vue de l'ceuvre du salut,l1 que celle, plus resolutive, encore,
de la question, de "corps d'Essence," permettaient aux fideles
d'invoquer Ie buddha Sakyamuni avec la meme tranquille cer-
titude d'etre entendus que lorsqu'ils s'adressaient aux autres
La situation, comme on Ie voit, est inversee: c'est la "realite"
exorable du buddha qui fut reel que nous voici comme en train
de plaider ou, plus exactement, son "egalite de realite" avec des
figures qui, elies-le cas des dieux etant reserve
I2
-etaient, au
62 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
contraire, d'origine foncierement irreelle.
. Etienne Lamotte, dont l'experience en matiere de boud_
dhologie avait pour axe prindpalle criticisme approfondi de la
pensee de Tecale de la "Perfection de Sapience,"13 ecrit dans sa
belle etude sur. Ie bodhisattva Manjusri
l4
: "Applique a des
bodhisattva, l'evhemerisme n'est pas qu'un prejuge gratuit; c'est
encore, du point de vue bouddhique s'entend, une erreur do
c
-
trinale. Car, pour les plus devots de leurs sectateurs, les
bodhisattva sont des etres de raison et n'existent absolument
pas ... Ce n'est done pas dans Ie monde ni dans l'histoire du
monde qu'il fau_t chercher les bodhisattva, mais dans sa propre
pensee." Se pla<;ant dans l'optique inverse qui est celle du
bodhisattva lui-meme, cet autre eminent specialiste de la littera-
ture de "Perfection de Sapience" qU'etait Edward Conze, ditlS :
"Le Bodhisattva est un etre compose des deux forces contradic-
to ires de la sagesse et de la compassion. Dans sa sagesse, il ne
voit pas de personnes; dans sa compassion, il est resolu ales
sauver. Son aptitude a combiner ces comportements contradic-
toires est la source de sa grandeur, de sa capacite a se sauver,
lui et les autres." Nous touchons la a l'un points les plus imp or-
t a n ~ s et les plus difficiles de la pensee du Grand Vehicule,
qu'Etienne Lamotte definissait un jour
l6
camme "sceptique au
point de vue doctrinal et mystique au point de vue religieux."
U ne conceptiOn qui a fourni l'un des meilleurs outils pour
resoudre cette grande antinomie est celle dite de la "Double
verite"-"mondaine" et "vraie"-que firent leur, avec un certain
nombre de nuances, les diverses ecoles du Grand Vehicule. Seion
celle-d, les etres etaient, ala fois, relativement existants du point
de vue. des liens karmiques qui les unissaient, et non existants
car, en fin de compte, Vacuite pure. n n'en allait pas differem-
ment des buddha et autres veneres, quels qu'ils fussent, auxqueis
Ia pensee du fide Ie donnait ce qu'on peut appeler une "consis-
tance relationnelle" capable d'action jusque dans Ie monde
physique, alors qu'ils n'etaient dans la "Realite vraie," comme
Ie fidele lui-meme, que Vacuite.
17
Le vieux terme chinois ganying (prononce au J apon kanna),
fait de deux elements signifiant respectivement "emouvoir, ex-
citer, influer sur" et "repondre," atteste deja dans I'un des appen-
dices du Yijing
l8
et qui a ete repris plus tard par Ie taolsme
l9
et
par Ie bouddhisme chinois, puis japonais, exprime bien la nature
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
63
d'une ielle relation, creatrice d'une sorte de rea lite momentanee,
analogue a celle d'un courant qui s'etablit entre deux poles. 11
est frequemment utilise dans Ie contexte bouddhique au sens
d"'exaucement" (notamment : miraculeux) et, de la tout simple-
ment, avec celui d'''histoire edifiante." Paul Demieville avait bien
voulu me suggerer de Ie traduire litteralement par "reponse [du
Buddha--ou d'une divinite-] aux impulsions [des etresJ2." 11
est tout a fait remarquable que, dans Ie vocabulaire scientifique
moderne ce terme ait ete repris pour rendre celui d"'induction."
Comment cette "consistance--ou, si l'on prefere : cette reali-
te relationnelle" s'exprime-t-elle de fac;on concrete et, puisque
c'est Ie probleme qui nollS preoccupe ici essentiellement, com-
ment, en particulier, prend-elle "corps" et se manifeste-t-elle
dans des images?
On sait que le bouddhisme s'est d'abord abstenu de repre-
senter anthropomorphiquement Ie buddha Sakyamuni et les
buddha anterieurs, voulant signifier par la qu'il s'agissait d'etres
qui avaient echappe au monde ; on les figurait par des symboles :
l'arbre sous lequel ils s'etaient eveilles, un trone vide, la trace
laissee par leurs pieds dans le sol, la roue dont la mise en branle
signifiait Ie point de depart de leur predication, Ie stupa Qap. to)
ou tumulus charge de leurs reliques. En revanche, a ete figuree
des les debuts de l'art bouddhique l'image de Sakyamuni tel
qu'il etait avant l'Eveil, quand il n'etait encore qu'un bodhisattva
applique ala poursuite des perfections, tant en sa derniere vie
qu'en ses existences anterieures : image princiere ornee de pa-
rures dont Ie rejet allait marquer la rupture definitive avec les
seductions mondaines. 11 en a ete de meme des images des dieux,
representes eux aussi, pour ce qui est des plus importants, sous
un aspect royal et, pour ce qui est des autres, en gardiens, en
notables, voire sous des formes plus ou moins monstrueuses ou
theriomorphes.
Les figures plenieres de buddha n'apparaissent qU'entre Ie
premier et Ie deuxieme siecle de notre ere, d'une part au Gan-
dhara, dans les royaumes indo-grecs des successeurs
d'Alexandre, d'autre part dans l'art indien de Mathura. Du point
de vue iconographique, elies correspondent, pour l'essentiel, a
ce qU'exposent les textes qui decrivent la personne du Buddha.
64 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
Elle a pour caracteristique trente-deux marques auspicieuses
principales et quatre-vingts apparues en tant gu
signes de maturation progressive de l'Eyeil, et que Ie
possede en commun avec cet autre ideal humain de la perfection
qu'est Ie saint monarque appele au regne universel. Plus loin_
tainement, ellessont un attribut de la figure de l'Homme Co
s
-
mique.
2
! La quasi-totalite de ces marques sont de caractere visi-
ble, se rapportant a la forme et a la couleur du corps (ainsi
deux des plus importantes et qui sont les plus frappantes :
protuberance sincipitale-us1J,z,s-a ; jap. figure du siege
de la supreme sapience, et l'uT1J,a-jap. byakugo- sorte de touffe
placee entre les sourcils, ordinairement figuree par une incrus_
tation, qui a une fonction de source lumineuse) et sont done en
principe plastiquement traduisibles. Mais une autre, comme
celle qui se rap porte a la voix du Buddha ne l'est pas: c'est un
point sur lequel nous reviendrons. Dans les plus anciennes re-
presentations, Ie vetement est toujours monastique, les parures
ayant ete, comme on l'a rappele, rejetees ; mais, a partir d'une
certaine epoque, en liaison avec les conceptions boud-
dhologiques et cosmologiques qui exaltent la figure du Buddha
comme eminente par rapport au monde, et recourent, pour
exprimer cette eminence, au symbolisme de la royaute univer-
selle, apparaissent des buddha pares et couronnes
22
dont l'aspeet
sera tout proche de celui des bodhisattva. Ainsi sera figure, notam-
ment, Ie Pan-buddha de l'Esoterisme.
n existe dans la tradition bouddhique un certain nombre
de recits qui relatent l'histoire de la premiere statue du Buddha.
23
Un d'entre eux, relativement tardif (et qui s'est constitue, sem-
ble-t-il, dans un milieu de Grand Vehicule), mais qui devait
connaitre une grande diffusion-et, precisement, jusgu'au
Japon-est celui de l'image confectionnee sur l'ordre du roi
Udayana Gap. Udenno). Elle s'est greffee sur une tradition con-
nue anciennement et qui est celle dite du "prodige de
Sarpkasya."24 Cette derniere rapporte que Ie Buddha, apres son
Eveil, etait monte, durant Ie temps d'une retraite, jusque chez
les divinites demeurant au plus haut etage de la montagne cos-
mique, parmi lesquelles s'etait reincarnee sa mere, morte ala
suite de sa naissance et qui n'avait pu encore profiter de sa
predication. Lorsqu'il revint sur la terre, apparut un triple es-
calier miraeuleux, qu'il redescendit, entoure de Brahma et
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
65
d'lndra. Selon Ie complement apporte plus tard au recit, Ie roi
lJdayana, qui s'etait langui apn':s Ie Bienheureux durant cette
absence, aura it alors pris I'initiative de faire faire par un artisan
divinune replique exacte de sa personne, en bois de santal,
ornee de tdutes Ies "marques." Quand Ie vrai Buddha mit Ie
pied sur Ie sol, ce buddha de santal s'approcha de lui et Ie
salua-scene bien connue de la peinture bouddhique:
25
La ver-
sion de cette histoire qu'a rapportee Xuanzang, fameux pelerin
chinois en lnde de 629 a 645, dans son "Memoire sur les contrees
occidentales a l'epoque des grands Tang"26 et l'analyse qu'en a
donnee Paul Mus,27 sont pour nous, ici, du plus haut interet.
Citons: "Quand Ie Tathagata fut descendu du Palais des dieux,
l'image sculptee dans Ie santal se leva et ana au-devant du Venere
du monde. Le Venere du monde la conforta en ces termes :
'pour convertir [lesetres], il vous faut prendre beaucoup de
peine! Veuillez guider Ie monde jusqu'en son age terminal:
c'est la mon instante priere.'" Paul Mus commente : "C'etait lui
conferer un pouvoir surnaturel dont on croyait sans doute
trouver un reflet dans les copies de la statue. La serie des images
qui procedent de cette tradition est donc comme animee par Ie
contact initial." Une telle remarque doit pouvoir etre ccmsideree
comme valable pour l'ensemble de l'iconographie bouddhique.
Se referant a des textes d'inscriptions relevees en Chine du Nord
et traduites par Edouard Chavannes, l'auteur du Buddha pare
ajoute : "On nous dit ailleurs qU'eriger une statue, c'est 'mettre
un substitut a la place du Buddha."'28 On mentionnera aussi,
comme document significatif a cet egard, un passage de Code
disciplinaire (vinaya ; jap, ritsu) dans lequel il est rapporte que
Ie Buddha autorise l'un de ses donateurs familiers a fabriquer
une image de lui en bois de pommier rose-autre interpreta-
tion : en or-et a la placer "en tete de l'assemblee des moines"
lorsqu'il n'est pas la lui-meme pour presider.
29
De ce "corps substitue" qu'est la statue,30 il est possible de
renforcer encore la fonction vicariante en y plac;ant des re-
liques--c'est-a-dire des elements qui sont eux-memes des sub-
stituts de la personne et tenus pour porteurs de sa vitalite1--ou
autres objets, symboliques ou realistes (notamment des repro-
ductions d'organes externes ou internes)32 visant a rendre plus
parfaite et plus efficace la conformite au modele.
Face a une vision qui peut etre reconnue a bon droit comme
66 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
magique, de la force agissante possedee par les icones boud_
o dhiques, un vieux texte de l'ecole de la "Perfection deSapience"33
precise avec fermete un point de vue : "Prenons un
exemple comme celui-ci: apres Ie nirv3.l)a Buddha, un
homme confectionne une image de ce dernier. A la vue de cette
image, il n'est qui ne s'agenouille pour la saluer ni ne
lui fasse offrande ... 0 Sage, de ce que l'on appelle Buddha
l"ame' est-elle dans l'image?" Le bodhisattva interlocuteur
pond: "Elle n'y est pas. Si l'on confectionne des images du
Buddha, c'est seulement parce qu'on veut faire en sorte que
hommes en obtiennent [des effets emplis de] felicite."
Ainsi, il n'y a pas, en bonne doctrine bouddhique, d"'ame"
dans l'image et, pourtant, lorsque la priere du fidele est suffisam_
ment instante et sincere-autrement dit, lorsque s'etablit Ie
"courant" plus haut evoque : c'est la "reponse a l'impulsion"_
il arrive qu'a partir de cette meme image s'exteriorise une mer-
veilleuse presence agissante. Qu'on en juge d'apres ce recit
japonais de la fin du Xl
e
siecle, intitule Histoire du corps d'appari-
tion d'un Kannon en santal blanc de l'Inde, qui a pour source l'une
des biographies de Xuanzang
34
:
Dans I'lnde, apres que Ie Buddha fut entre dans Ie nirvii'IJa,
il y avait au pays de *** une demeure de la Communaute. De
son nom, on l'appelait Ie monastere de ***. Dans Ie sanctuaire
central de ce monastere, se trouvait une image en santal blanc
du bodhisattva Kanjizai.
35
La miraculeuse efficace en etant par-
ticulierement excellente, Ie peIerinage des gens toujours y etait
tel que plusieurs dizaines de personnes s'y succedaient continu-
ellement. Apres y avoir durant sept jours ou deux fois sept jours
interrompu les cere ales et interrompu l'eau de riz,56 les pelerins
priaient pour demander la realisation des choses dont ils avaient
fait Ie vceu dans leur cceur et, s'ils mettaient a cela un cceur
sincere, Ie bodhisattva Kanjizai lui-meme, pourvu de parures
deJicates et merveilleuses, repandant de la lumiere, sortait de
l'image de bois et se montrait a ces gens. Emu pour eux de
compassion, il exaw;;ait leurs vceux ...
On retiendra ici Ie terme de "corps d'apparition" Gap. gen-
shin, qu'on pourrait, aussi bien, traduire par "corps actualise"}
et l'usage de l'expression "sortir de l'image de bois" (mokuzo no
uchi yori ide . . .). Genshin est frequemment utilise en valeur
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUAUSE
67
dynamique, sens manifester son corps" (equiva-
lent vernaculmre : mz wo arawasu) dans les textes bouddhiques :
ainsi, dans le petit sutra esoterique de haute epoque intitule
Muri-mandara jukyo37 : "Si quelqu'un recite cette formule devant
l'image du [bodhisattva] Vajra Uap. Kongo)38, Vajra actualisera
son corps et satisfera les vceux de cet homme."
Ces textes sont tout a fait explicites : ce qui s'actualise, se
"presentifie"39 dans l'image et en "sort" afin d'exaucer les vceux
du fidele, n'est pas une "arne," mais un "corps." Du point de
vue de la theorie des "corps de buddha," il est bien evident qu'il
s'agit 13. d'un "corps metamorphique" qui n'est autre qU'un reflet
du "corps d'Essence," ou encore, pour employer ce terme
d'usage plus familier que nous avons deja mentionne, d'un
"corps de naissance" ou "corps vivant" (shojin, ikimi).
My6e (1173-1232), qui fut l'un des grands maitres du boud-
dhisme japonais a l'epoque de Kamakura, Ie dit sans ambages,
en me me temps qu'il rappelle avec vigueur cette conception
seion laquelle Ie phenomene de l'''actualisation'' ne se produit
qU'autant que l'esprit du pratiquant y concourt :
Chaque fois que l'on entre dans un sanctuaire, il faut penser
que Ie Buddha au corps de naissance se trouve la, que l'on se
trouve vraiment devant Ie Tathagata au corps de naissance.
Lorsqu'on pense qu'un buddha sculpte dans Ie bois ou
en peinture est son corps de naissance, immediatement ill' est. 40
Environ un demi-siecle plus tard, Ie religieux Muju (1226-
1312), qui declare s'appuyer sur une tradition orale emanant
d'un "sage vertueux d'autrefois," expliquedans l'un de ses ser-
mons
4
! :
Le vrai corps du Buddha est sans aspects particularises et
sans pensees [erroneesJ. En vertu de son Vceuoriginel de grande
compassion, et des bonnes racines engendrees grace a son cceur
compatissant, il se manifeste sous diverses formes. Meme sa forme
exterieure [de statue] est une des formes qU'adopte son Corps
de transformation (= son corps metamorphique). Ainsi, si Ie
Buddha revet aux yeux du pratiquant, selon Ie degre de la foi
ou de la sagesse de celui-ci, l'apparence du bois au de la pierre,
alors Ie corps du Buddha n'est autre que du bois au de la pierre.
Et s'il voit Ie Buddha dans Ie bois au la pierre, il peut en tirer
68 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
ses bienfaits. Si I'esprit de notre veneration respectueuse et de
notre foi sont veritablement profonds et sinceres, alors de teis
bienfaits [provenant des statues en bois ou en pierre] ne SOnt
aucunement differents de ceux provenant des divers buddha en
personne.
42
Les bienfaits dont il s'agit Uap. riyaku) peuvent se traduire
par des faits qui depassent plus encore l'entendement qU'une
projection apparitionnelle hors de l'image ou la realisation
miraculeuse d'un souhait intense. L'actualisation d'un "corps"
qui n'est pourtant que Ie produit d'une "reponse," peut aller
jusqu'a une prise en charge par l'icone de souffrances, infirmites,
blessures, mutilations subies ou redoutees par Ie fidele et dont
les stigmates, en certains cas, demeureront a jamais visibles sur
elle; elle en vient a constituer, a travers ce transfert (qui rappelle
Ie vieux theme, celebre notamment dans les recits des vies an-
terieures du Buddha, du "don du corps" a autrui), son "substitut
corporel" (migawari).43
Les histoires de migawari, dont les descriptions spec-
taculaires sont, a certain egard, tres proches de celles de certains
n'!:cits de punitions de sacrileges, abondent dans les traditions
du bouddhisme chinois
44
et japonais, et il existe au Japon un
assez grand nombre de lieux de culte qui tirent de l'une d'elles
une part de leur celebrite et de leur reputation d'efficace.
4s
N ous nous bornerons ici a evoquer l'une des plus eton-
nantes: celle du Kirimomi Fudo, ou "Fuda perce au poin<;on,"
venere aujourd'hui au monastere de Negoro, pres Wakayama,
l'un des lieux saints de l'ecole reformee du Shingon dite des
"Interpretations nouvelles" (Shingi). Le fondateur de cette ecole,
Kakuban (1095-1143), esprit fort entreprenant et novateur,
avait suscite au Kayasan, centre de la secte Shingon, OU il oc-
cupait de hautes charges, une rancceur si forte de la part de
certaine faction que des hommes de main de celle-ci furent
envoyes pour s'emparer de lui et le chasser.
46
Kakuban etait un fervent pratiquant du "recueillement de
Fuda," ce "roi de Science" Acala-"l'Immuable
h
-
47
a la puis-
sante expression irritee, que ses representations icono-
graphiques montrent tenant une epee qui tranche et un lacet
qui lie, assis sur un siege de roc qU'entourent des flammes
purificatrices. Vne biographie composee au XIV
e
siecle
48
rap-
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
69
porte qu'une nuit de 1134 ou 1135, alors que Ie saint homme
offrait des fleurs a l'image de Fud6 et la saluait, celle-ci se leva
et lui fit offrande et hommage a son tour. La meme biographie
et une autre, contenue dans un recueil acheve a la date precise
de 1322,49 relatent que, quand les assaillants--c'etait dans les
premiers jours de 1140-firent irruption dans Ie sanctuaire ou
70 JIABS VOL 11 NO.2
se tenait Kakuban, au monastere Mitsugon-in du Koyasan :
Le saint homme leur demeura cependant que, SUr
l'autel, siegeaient, l'une a cote de l'autre, deux statues du Venere
Fudo a l'aspect identique. Les mauvais moines entres la par vio-
lence, en resterent tout interdits : laquelle [des deux] etait Ie
Venere fondamental [du lieu] et laquelle etait Ie saint hom
me
?
ils avaient grand mal a reconnaitre Ie vrai [Fudo] du faux. Sur
quoi l'un des mauvais moines dit : "Le Fudo qui est Ie Venere
fondamental est une image de bois; Ie saint homme est un corps
de chair. Celui dont il sortira du sang si on lui pique Ie genou,
nous saurons que c'est Ie saint homme." Ce disant, afin de con-
naitre Ie vrai du faux, il prit un fer de fleche (variante dans des
recensions posterieures : un poin<;on) et, tan dis que, pour com-
. mencer, il per<;ait l'auguste genou de Fudo, de cet auguste genou
du Fudo qui etait image de bois, du sang jaillit.
50
Ala pensee que Ie roi de Science, sans doute, ainsi devenant
un vrai corps [de chair], avait repandu du sang et daigne prendre
sa place a lui (kawari-tamaubeki kotO),51 Ie saint homme fut saisi
d'emotion : "Alors que j'ai, moi, echappe au malheur, voici que,
de mon fait, ce Venere fondamental, qui est innocent de toute
faute, est victime d'un tel malheur!" La-dessus, sortant de recueil-
lement, il fit retour a son corps d'origine et reprit sa forme pre-
miere ; puis, Iaissant couler des Iaimes, il quitta Ie Mitsugon-in
et, sans tarder, s'en fut s'installer au monastere de Negoro.
Le principe fermement etabli dans Ie bouddhisme
japonais-et dont on trouve deja un exemple atteste dans les
Annales officielles a une date de l'annee 671
52
-est qU'une statue
ou peinture cesse d'etre un simple objet materiel et formel pour
devenir une veritable ic6ne chargee de puissance active et sacree
lorsqu' elle a fait l' objet d'un rite consecratoire dit de l'''Ouverture
des yeux" (kaigen-kuyo). n est bien connu que l'ceil est un symbole
de sapience et d'Eveil ; sa presence signifie de maniere toute
specifique que Ie Venere figure dans l'image voit la Verite et la
fait voir. Ce rite de l'''Ouverture des yeux" est d'origine continen-
tale; on Ie retrouve dans Ie brahmanisme et, bien au-dela du
monde indien, jusque dans des pratiques funeraires egypti-
ennes.
55
Le kaigen est couramment defini
54
comme une "ceremonie
au cours de laquelle, lorsqu'une statue au peinture de Vehere
bouddhique est achevee, on marque la pupille de l'ceil." Nous
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
71
voyons par la qu'il est d'abord un acte materiel, celui qui, par
l'apposition d'une touche finale, essentielle, magiquement per-
<;ue comme creatrice de vie, paracheve l'image et fait d'elle un
. objet vivant-ou, pour employer une expression japonaise
familiere, lin objet dans lequel ''l'ame a ete introduite."55 Mais,
du point de vue liturgique, il faut bien comprendre qu'il n'y a
d'effective "Ouverture des yeux" que grace a l'insertion de cet
acte materiel dans tout un deroulement rituel ou la Parole a un
role fondamental.
Honen (1133-1212), qui fut, comme on l'a rappele, Ie fon-
dateur de la "secte de la Terre Pure,"56 expose ainsi Ie probleme
a partir de references de caractere esoterique.:
Ce qu'on entend par 'Ouverture des yeux,' c'est, a la base,
l'acte par lequel Ie maitre imagier, en les marquant, ouvre les
yeux: c'est la ce qu'on nomme l"Ouverture des yeux selon Ie
Factuel' (ji no kaigen). Ensuite, les moines, avec la 'formule de
l'CEil de Buddha' (butsugen no shingon),57 [a leur tour] ouvrent les
yeux, puis, avec la 'formule de Dainichi,'58 font se realiser [dans
l'icone] la totalite des merites du Buddha: c'est Ia ce qu'on appelle
l"Ouverture des yeux selon Ie Principe' (ri no kaigen).
C'est un autre grand fondateur, Nichiren (1222-1282),
ap6tre, quant a lui, de la foi au "Lotus de la Loi Merveilleuse,"59
qui a explique de la fa<.;:on la plus pertinente pourquoi il ne
saurait y avoir de kaigen en l'absence d'un element verbal dans
lequel il reconna'it la voix du Buddha elle-meme-litteralement,
sa "Voix brahmique," jap. bonnon
6
-telle que l'exprime en sa
perfection Ie discours sacre du "Sutra du Lotus" :
Le Buddha a Trente-deux marques [auspicieuses]. Toutes
sont des elements corporels. De celle placee au plus bas, qui est
la 'Roue a mille rais,'61 jusqu'a la derniere, qui est la 'Protuberance
sincipitale,'62 trente et une peuvent etre vues et constituent des
elements 'resistants'65 : aussi est-il possible de les peindre et de
les sculpter. La seule marque de la 'Voix brahmique' ne peut
etre vue, et constitue un element 'non-resistant' : on ne peut
donc la peindre ni la sculpter. Apres Ie nirviir;a du Buddha, il y
eut deux [formes d']images, sculptee et peinte. Elles n'avaient
que trente et une marques: la 'Voix brahmique' leur faisait de-
faut. C'est pourquoi elles n'etaient. point Ie Buddha. [On peut
dire] encore [que] l'element de l'esprit leur manquait. ... Que
72 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
si, devant des buddha figures sous ces deux [formes d']image.
J
sculptee et peinte, on pose un [texte de] sidra (l'auteur va precis
S
!
ensuite qu'il ne peut s'agir que du 'Lotus de IaLoi
elle se trouvera entierement poutvue des Trente-deui
marques ...
La position de l'Esoterisme Shingon sur Ie kaigen est egale_
ment tres interessante a rappeler. Elle est intimement liee a sa .
conception fondamentale de l'''accomplissement de la buddheite .
dans Ie corps" (sokushinj'obutsu-gi)64 et de la sacralite absolue des
elements materiels, qui constituent, au meme titre que l'element
de la conscience, Ie corps d'Essence du Pan-buddha. Pour lui
}"'Ouverture des yeux" n'est rien de plus qU'un moyen .
a faciliter l'acces du profane a une comprehension superieure :
penetre qu'il est de l'esprit de discrimination-et la critique vise
aussi, a travers lui de doctes bouddhistes des ecoles non
esoteriques--ce me me profane ne consent a voir dans les icones
sculptees ou peintes que des supports confectionnes en
materiaux perissables qui ne peuvent en aucun cas etre reconnus
comme identiques au "Vrai corps du Buddha" (shinjitsu buttai)
dont l'attribut fondamental est la Permanence. La verite est, au
contraire, que, de toutes les choses du monde phenomenal,
jusqu'au mineral et au vegetal, il n'en est aucune qui ne soit Ie
corps d'Essence du Grand Vairocana. En consequence, les icones
peintes et sculptees qui representent les buddha, bodhisattva et
autres Veneres doivent etre, elles aussi, tenues pour les vrais
corps de ces buddha, bodhisattva, etc., tels qu'ils se trouvent dans
Ie "Palais du Plan d'Essence" (hokkaigu) du Grand Vairocana,
figure expressive de la Realite absolue.
Tant au Kayasan, maison mere de la secte Shingon et gar-
dien des "Interpretations anciennes" (kogi) qu'a Negoro, siege
de l'ecole des "Interpretations nouvelles" (shingi) , 65 fut en hon-
neur aux XlIIe-XIV
e
siecles, dans les recueils pedagogiques de
controverses sous forme de questions et reponses,66 ce theme
dit "[de la question] des images peintes" (saie-gyozo) ou de "la
nature d'Essence des peintures et des bois [sculptes]" (emoku-
hi5nen).67
Si Ie kaigen,quelle que soit l'interpretation qu'on en donne,
a pour effet de consacrer l'ic6ne dans ses fonctionscultuelles,
cela n'empeche pas que chaque ceremonie, chaque acte religieux
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
73
d'unecertaine complexite qui sera ulterieurement effectue de-
vant elIe devra com porter d'une quelconque maniere un element
rituel-mental, verbal et, tout particulierement dans I'Eso-
terisme et les liturgies ayant subi son influence, corporel, c'est-a-
dire, essentidlement, une reactivation de la
realite agissante du Venere represente.
Bien que cette realite, comme on l'a deja dit, ne puisse etre
dissociee de l'esprit du pratiquant-pour l'Esoterisme, il faut
aller jusqu'a dire qU'elle en emane et s'y resorbe,69 car cet esprit
n'est autre, en realite que celui du Pan-buddha dans l'attente
de sa relevation a lui-meme-Ies textes canoniques et liturgiques
emploient des expressions qui "invitent en les sollicitant" (shosho),
"sollicitent en les exhortant" (kanjo) les buddha et autres Veneres
afin qu'ils viennent, "descendent" (gorinlgofufO dans l'aire de
realisation de l'Eveil et de mise en train d'action salvatrice que
devient Ie monde durant Ie rite. A l'issue de celui-ci, ils seront
respectueusement pries de "s'en retourner" (kigen) dans leur
leur 'terre'-originel(le)" (hongoku, hondo), ce qui,
dans Ie langage de l'Esoterisme, signifie l'etat de calme indif-
ferencie, prealable a toute expression manifestationnelle, OU se
tient foncierement Ie Grand Vairocana.
71
11 se peut qu'on reproche a l'expose qui precede de s'etre
laisse prendre au piege signale en commenc;ant : celui d'avoir
insuffisamment distingue, dans l'immense his to ire du deve-
loppement des ecoles bouddhiques, lei. variete et l'evolution des
points de vue et des pratiques. Le cadre limite de cette etude
no us y a, sans aucun doute, plus ou moins obliges.
Je crois neanmoins qu'a travers cette variete et cette evolu-
tion telles que nousles avons aperc;ues, se degage une evidence,
qui est que les personnages du pantheon bouddhique, buddha,
bodhisattva et autres Veneres, a defaut de constituer des realites
surnaturelles autonomes, qui seraient presentes par elles-memes
dans leurs icanes, paraissent devoir etre credites d'une existence
qu'on a propose de definir plus haut comme de caractere "re-
lationnel" et qui a, Ie plus souvent, ce trait complementaire
d'etre intermittente dans ses manifestations.
74 JIABS VOL. 11 NO, 2
Paul Mus, qui voyait dans ce que--cl.'un terme emprunt'
au geographe Jules Sion-il appelait "l'Asie des Moussons," u e
substrat commun, ante rieur au devdoppement diversifie den
grandes cultures "litterees"-au premier rang desquelles I ~
chinoise et l'indienne-decelait les vestiges de ce substrat dans
les vieux cultes chtoniens ici et l ~ attestes, et ,se declarait frappe
par la concordance entre tel trait de ces antIques cultes loc'aux
et tel autre d'une religion tres complexe et a vocation universelle
comme Ie bouddhisme.72 "Dans l'Asie des Moussons, disait-il73
les dieux sont des etres que l'on evoque," etde redire Ia c h o ~ e
en parlant du "soliS-sol religieux" de cette Asie comme d'un
"substrat de petits dieux evocatoires."
Deux points a propos desquels il s'interrogeait et sur lesqueis
nous Ie retrouvons, concernent precisement ces traits caracteris-
tiques d'un mode d'existence que nous avons defini chez nos
personnages comme "relationnel" et "intermittent." II decrit Ie
corps du dieu "cache dans la pierre, sous une forme invisible
sans doute, mais anthropomorphique." Seion l'explication que
propose Ie schemaanimiste, explique-t-il, ce corps invisible "sort
et vient doubler celui de l'officiant." Mais il ajoute que, au niveau
qu'il envisage, "la pensee [ ... J semble moins precise, ou plutot
dIe est autre. L'identification de la pierre-genie et de l'officiant
[. , .J n'est pas un transfert, mais une bi-presence. La pierre ne
cesse pas d'etre Ie dieu, mais celui-ci, simultanement, et pour
un temps, est aussi l'officiant. II n'y a pas contradiction, car c'est
son etre informe et permanent que conserve Ie dieu-pierre dans
la pierre, tan dis que c'est une personnalite d'un autre ordre,
projetee sur un autre plan, corporel et temporaire, que lui offre
(l'officiant). , .. "74
Un peu plus haut, l'auteur se posait cette question qui n'est
pas non plus sans nous concerner : "En dehors de tels instants
d'incorporation magique, Ie dieu reste-t-il immateriel? II semble
bien que non et qu'il ait admis a date ancienne des supports
permanents, materiels, mais non anthropomorphiques."75
Si cette question me parait particulierement interessante,
c'est qU'elle rejoint une interrogation que je me suis posee a
propos du probleme qui suit: Ie Manshuin, grand monastere
dela secte Tendai a Kyoto, conserve une peinture de fant6me,
datant de l'epoque de Meiji, qui est sans doute l'une des plus
effrayantes qu'on puisse voir: la longue silhouette emaciee, au
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
75
regard lourd de tristesse et de redoutables resolutions, a la
bouche ratatinee d'ou tombe sur Ie menton un affreux reste de
dents cariees, s'eleve, ala fois terreuse et diaphane, d'un support
dont elle parait se detacher, car l'artiste l'a figuree plus grande,
si l'on peut dire, que Ie tableau, la faisant deborder de son
encadrement, en bas et en haut, sur la soierie de la monture.
Cette peinture passe pour extremement malefique, et c'est pour-
quoi elle a ete, en fin de compte, confiee au Manshuin. Elle me
fut montree en 1957 par Ie regrette savant abbe Yamaguchi
Roen, qui m'expliqua que 'Tame en avait ete retiree," autrement
dit, qu'on y avait opere une sorte de "fermeture des yeux," et
que, chaque annee, lors de la fete des morts, on l'y reintroduisait,
procedant ainsi a une maniere de kaigen, la rendant ainsi recep-
tive a un rite d'offrande et d'apaisement a l'issue duquel, aussitot,
on reeffectuait, pour jusqu'a l'annee suivante, Ie retrait de l'ame.
Le point fort du rite etait la lecture du petit "Sutra du cceur de
la Perfection de Sapience" (Prajnaparamita-hrdayasutra; jap.-
Hannya-shingyo)16 dont la vertu contre les mauvaises pensees et
les malefices est tenue pour puissamment efficace, car, prechant
la totale et reciproque identite du Sensible et de la Vacuite, de
la Vacuite et du Sensible, il ramene Ie relationnel, qui se meut
sur Ie plan de la "verite mondaine" ou "vulgaire," au plan de
la "verite vraie," ou il s'abolit dans la Vacuite. On etait inevi-
tablement amene a se demander, la aussi, ce que devenait, entre
ces moments annuels d'actualisation dans l'image, cette "arne"
ou, plutot, en termes de stricte doctrine bouddhique, cette
"charge karmique" douloureuse et, de toute evidence, intense-
ment remplie d'animosite, mais qui se trouvait empechee
d'affleurer a l'existence active.
]'ai, a plusieurs reprises ci-dessus, pour definir Ie mode de
realite ou d'existence qui caracterise nos personnages du pan-
theon bouddhique, employe de maniere conjointe les deux
qualificatifsde "relationnel" et d"'intermittent." Cela ne peut
etonner dans la mesure ou Ie phenomene de l'actualisation d'un
Venere dans et hors de son icone nollS apparait comme Ie re-
suItat d'une action renvoyee au pratiquant sous la forme d'un
effet benefique (de meme qU'a l'inverse, la manifestation d'un
spectre vengeur du type de celui qui vient d'etre decrit est a
76 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
tenir pour l"'effet-retour" de quelque forfait anterieur) ou, en-
core, comme Ie temoin d'une relation karmique de nature
bilaterale ; il n'a done d'autre extension dans Ie temps que celle
de eet effet lui-meme : des lors que ce dernier vient a son terme .
il se resorbe. '
Mais dans certains grands sanctuaires OU les pelerins
affluent en un courant ininterrompu-on renverra a l'exemple
du texte cite plus haut, p. 66-tels ceux des "Trente-trois saintes
places [de Kannon] dansles provinces de l'Ouest" (Saikoku san-
jusanbanreisho) , projection locale de la doctrine du "Sutra du
Lotus de la Loi Merveilleuse" relative aux trente-trois corps
metamorphiques du bodhisattva, la presence agissante du Ve-
nere fondamental du lieu est pen;;ue comme une realite per-
manente ; on pourrait dire qU'elle est constamment "soutenue
a l'existence" par la pensee des fideles et qu'il n'y a plus pour
elle de resorption possible. Ira-t-on jusqu'a parler a ce sujet
d'une creation continue, produit d'un karman collectif?
NOTES ET COMMENTAIRES
1. ]'ai deja brievement aborde ce sujet dans des conferences a l'Ecole
pratique des hautes etudes en 1968 (voir Annuaire de l'Ecole IV
e
section,
1968-1969, p. 546). II a, par ailleurs, en ce qui concerne Ie bouddhisme du
Petit Vehicule et les pratiques suivies a Ceylan et en Asie du Sud-Est, fait
I'objet d'une importante communication de M. Paul Levy ("Culte rendu au
Bouddha present dans ses statues") au 2
e
Colloque d'histoire des religions
organise par la Societe Ernest Renan (Theme : le Dieu personnel) en 1977 (pub!.
C.I.E.E.I.S.T., Orsay, meme annee, p. 93-105).
2. II ne s'agit ici que des sectes du bouddhisme traditionnel. Les "sectes"
(en un sens proche de celui OU nous I'entendons couramment) modernes
posent des problemes sensiblement differents. Pour une bibliographie
generale, voir I'Histoire des Religions, I, de l'Encyclopedie de la Pleiade (Boud-
dhisme indien par Andre Bareau, Bouddhisme chinois par Paul Demieville,
Bouddhisme japonais par Gaston Renondeau et Bernard Frank) et, aussi, la
reedition, largement remaniee, du grand ouvrage publie sous la direction de
Rene de Berval en 1959, Presence du Bouddhisme, Gallimard "Bibliotheque
illustree des Histoires," (1988).
3. Voir B. Frank, College de France, Ler;on inaugurale, 1980, p. 21 ;
Annuaire 1980-1981, p. 572-574; 1984-1985, p. 690; 1986-1987, passim ; et
Essais et Conferences, "L'interet pour les religions japonaises dans la France du
XIX
e
siecle et les collections d'Emile Guimet," P.U.F., 1986, p .. 26-29.
4. La tradition bouddhique japonaise s'etait attachee a une chronologie
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
77
qui assignait a la vie du Bouddha les dates de 1027 a 949 avant notre ere et
qui determina les principes du millenarisme local (voir Ie resume donne dans
Illes Histoires qui sont maintenantdu passe, UNESCO, Connaissance de [,Orient,
Gallimard, p. 217-219). L'epoque qui tend aujourd'hui aetre retenue est la
seconde moiti du Ve siecle.
5. L'interpretation de dharma P3lr "Ordre des choses" est due a Jean
Filliozat (L'Inde classique, II, Bibl. de l'Ecole franr;aise d'Extreme-Orient, Paris et
HanoI, 1953, p. 519). CelIe de sa7[lbhoghakiiya par "corps commimiel" a ete
donnee par Paul Mus, Baraburjur, Avant-propos, HanoI, 1935, reimpr. Arno
Press, New York, 1978, p. 264.
6. Monographie de base dans Hobogirin, Dict. encycloprfdique du boud-
dhisme d'apres les sources chinoises et japonaises, II, Tokyo, Maison franco-
japonaise, 1930, s. v. busshin.
7. II la donne entre guillemets, sous forme d'une citation (Histoire de
l'Extreme-Orient, Paris, 1929, I, p. 123), mais ometd'en preciserla provenance.
8. Tres bon expose du probleme tel que les Japonais se Ie sont pose
dans "Une quaestio disputata de la secte Tendai," contribution de Jean-Noel
Robert aux Melanges ofJerts a M. Charles Haguenauer en l'honneur de son quatre-
vingtieme anniversaire, College de France, Bib!. de l'Institut des hautes etudes
japonaises, Paris, 1980, p. 489-496.
9. Voir David Seyfort Ruegg, "Sur Ies rapports entre Ie bouddhisme
etle 'substrat religieux' indien et tibetain,"Journal asiatique, 1964, 1, p. 77 sq.
10. B.F., Annuaire du College de France, 1979-1980, p. 642-657 ; 1981-
1982, p. 598-608.
11. C'est Ie nirviir:ta que Ie Grand Vehicule appelle a p r a t i ~ t h i t a Uap.
mufusho). Voir Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary, II,
p. 48, qui renvoie a Sylvain Levi, Sutriila7[lkiira, Trad. iii.3, n. 4; Mochizuki,
Bukkyo-daijiten, II, p. 1838-1839, S.v. shishu no nehan.
12. Parce que les dieux, eux, ne peuvent etre consideres-pour em-
prunter Ie mot d'Etienne Lamotte qui va etre cite ci-dessous--comme des
"etres de raison," leur existence releve du donne empirique, au meme titre,
comme on l'a dit, que les hommes et les autres etres trans migrants : ils ont Ie
meme degre de realite et d'irrealite, selon Ie plan sur Iequel on se place, que
l'ensemble de ceux-ci. Dans la perspective relativiste qui est celle du monde
du karman et de la transmigration, il est evident que Ie bouddhisme admet
qu'il y ait des etres divins, demoniaques, etc. : une preuve en est que, pour
certains, la question se pose serieusement de savoir s'ils en sont ou n'en sont
pas: ainsi les demons qui torturent les damnes chez Ie roi Yama sont-ils des
etres ou des fantasmes produits par Ie karman des damnes eux-memes? On
se reportera a Paul Mus, La Lumiere sur les Six Voies, Paris, Institut d'Ethnologie,
1939, p. 209-211: "Les gardes infernaux sont-ils des etres?" Sur Ie meme
probleme, voir La Vallee Poussin, L'Abhidharmakosa de Vasubandhu, reed.
Bruxelles, 1971, II, p. 152-154, et Lin Li-kouang, L'Aide-memoire de la Vraie
Loi, Musee Guimet, Bibl. d'Etudes, LIV, Paris, 1949, p. 14-16.
13. II est--c'est bien connu-Ie traducteur du monumental Traite de la
Grande Vertu de Sagesse (Mahiiprajiiiipiiramitii-siistra, ou mieux, -upadda ; jap.
Daichidoron) attribuea Nagarjuna et de divers autres ouvrages fondamentaux
78 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
se rapportant a ia doctrine de la Vacuite. On se reportera a la notice hio-bibli _
graphique qui vient de lui etre consacree par Hubert Durt dans
Bulletin de l'Ecole franr;aise d'Extreme-Orient LXXIV, 1985, 28 p. e
14. T'oung Pao, vol. XLVIII, liv. 1-3 (1960), p. 9 ..
15. Cf Le Bouddhisme dans son essence et son developpement, Bibl. historique
Payot, Paris, 1952, p. 128. '
16. Dans La chute de l'arhat, conference-res tee, semble-t-il, inedite_
donnee au College de France, 16 mars 1951.
17. On constate-mais nous ne pouvons guere insister sur ce point qui
se situe en dehors de notre propos--que l'irruption de la pleine conscience
de la Vacuite dans Ie relationnel a pour effet de faire eclater I'irrealite de ce
dernier et, done, de Ie deconstruire. C'est pourquoi un sutra comme celui de
L'Enseignement de Vimalakirti (traduit sous ce titre par Etienne Lamotte
Bibl. du Museon, Ll, Louvain, 1962; jap. Yuimagyo) , qui est l'un des
majeurs ou se trouve prechee cette notion et OU est, notamment, exposee a
sa lumiere l'inanite de la maladie, etait tenu pour doue d'une efficace haute_
ment curative: celebre est l'histoire de la guerison du grand ministre Fujiwara
no Kamatari, en 656, du fait de sa predication par une nonne venue de Coree
(voir De Visser, Ancient Buddhism in Japan, II, Leyde, 1935, p. 596). C'est sur
Ie meme principe qu'est fondee la puissante valeur apotropaYque reconnue
au "Sutra du cceur de la Perfection de Sapience" (if. ci-dessus, p. 75 et n. 76).
18. Hexagramme XXXI, Hian ("Attraction mutuelle"). On se reportera
a la traduction de Legge (Sacred Books of the East, XVI, The Yi king, Oxford,
1882, p. 123-124, et Appendice I, section 2, p. 238); decryptement a la
japonaise, in serie Kokuyaku Kanbun-taisei, Ekikyo, p. 200.
19. Du moins Ie taoYsme populaire et tardif, tel qu'en temoigne Ie petit
manuel de morale retributive intitule Taishang ganying pian, qui fut etudie et
traduit par nos sinologues du XIX
e
siecle sous Ie titre de "Livre des recompenses
et des peines."
20. Voir les Histoires qui sont maintenant du passe, op. cit., p. 233.
21. Expose dans Lamotte, Traite de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse, I, Bibl. du
Museon, vol. 18, 1944, p. 271 sq.
22. L'etude classique sur la question est celle de Paul Mus, Le Buddha
Pare, deuxieme partie de ses "Etudes indiennes et indochinoises" (Bulletin de rEcole
franr;aise d'Extreme-Orient, XXVIII, 1928, tire a part doublement pagine, de 7
a 134 et de 153 a 278).
23. Pour l'ensemble de la question, voir HobOgirin, III, Paris, 1937, S.v.
butsuz8.
24 . .A propos du prodige de Sarpkasya, voir Alfred Foucher, notamment
Ie resume donne dans La vie du Bouddha d'apres les textes et les monuments de
l'Inde, Bib!. historique, Payot, Paris, 1949, p. 274-277 et 374-375.
25. En ce qui concerne l'artjaponais, on renverra, pour un bon exemple,
ala peinture de l'epoque de Kamakura (XIIle-XIV
e
s.) conservee au Kuonji,
de la serie Butsuden-zu ("Illustrations de la vie du Buddha"), publiee dans Ie
catalogue de l'exposition tenue au Musee National de Kyoto en 1970 (voir
Nihon no setsuwaga, "Narrative Paintings of] apan," Benrida, 1961, p1.8).
26. Datang xiyuji Gap. Daito saiiki-ki) , V, TaishO-d., Ll, p. 898 a. Pour une
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
79
version japonaise du recit contenue dans Ie Konjaku-monogatari shu, grand
recueil d'anecdotes de la fin du XI
e
siecle ou du debut du XII
e
, VI, 5, voir nos
Histoires qui sont maintenant du passe, p. 77 sq. et 233 sq. Sur la tradition relative
it la translation de l'image jusqu'au sanctuaire de Sakyamuni du
Seiryoji, it Kyoto, et sur la statue conservee dans ce sanctuaire, qui est une
ceuvre de la fin du x
e
siecle, rare temoin de la sculpture chinoise sur bois de
ce temps, ainsi que sur tous les objets places a l'interieur-visceres en tissu,
etc.-voir Artibus Asiae, XIX, 1, 1956, p. 5-55, G. Henderson et L. Hurvitz,
"The Buddha of Seiryoji, New Finds and New Theory," et id., Supplt XIX, 1959,
AC. Soper, Literary Evidence for Early Buddhist Art in China, p. 88-89 et p.
259-265, appendice : "The Sandalwood 'First Image'."
27. Le Buddha Pare, p. 104/250. P. Mus utilise la traduction de Stanislas
Julien, Memoires sur les contrees occidentales . .. , mais nous traduisons ici un peu
differemment, preferant, pour la fin du passage, l'interpretation de Samuel
Beal, Buddhist Records of the Western World, Londres, 1906, vol. 1, p. 235-236,
corroboree par celle de specialistes japonais.
28. Ibid., p. 102/248.
29. Hobogirin, s.v. butsuzo, p. 211b-212a, renvoi a Taishi5-d., XXVIII, p.
782 b. Voir, a propos de ce passage, la remarque de Jeannine Auboyer dans
Le Trone et son symbolisme dans l'Inde ancienne, Musee Guimet, Bibl. d'Etudes,
LV, 1949, p. 155-156.
30. J'emprunte a P. Mus l'expression "corps substitue, corps de substitu-
tion," qu'il a utilisee dans Baraburj,ur, p. 214 sq., ainsi que dans son petit article
"La Tombe Vivante, Esquisse d'une serie ethnographique naturelle," parue dans
La Terre et la Vie, nO 4, juillet-aout 1937, p. 124 a. II est a remarquer des a
present qu'elle constitue en termes inverses l'equivalent du japonais migawan
(infra, p. 68 et n. 43).
31. Une conception largement en usage dans les cultes funeraires de
l'Asie orientale veut que des objets ayant appartenu a un absent et, plus
encore, des appartenances physiques telIes que cheveux ou rognures d'ongles,
puissent etre traites en substitut de sa personne entiere. Certaine tradition
rapporte qu'un stupa fut construit, de vivant meme du Buddha, sur de tels
cheveux et rognures d'ongles que Ie Maitre avait donnes aux deux marchands
et BhalIika qui l'avaient honore apres l'Eveil. La meme pratique est
connue au J apon, oU--Dn I'a vu pendant la derniere guerre-Ies soldats, avant
de partir, remettaient a leur familIe de tels depots appeles a emplacer leur
corps s'il ne pouvait etre retrouve.
Qu'il s'agisse de substituts de cette sorte ou, plus normalement, de cendres
et d'eclats d'os laisses par Ie feu de Ia cremation, ces substituts, souligne P.
Mus avec la plus extreme insistance, ne sont pas a tenir pour des temoins de
mort, mais pour les gages et Ies supports d'une vie desormais cachee, et qui
continue. A qui sait voir au-dela de Ia simple apparence, ils la reverent: "Qui
voit les reliques, voit Ie Jina (= 'Ie Victorieux,' c'estca-dire Ie Buddha)." Dans
des chroniques cinghalaises, elles sont nommement designees comme "la vie"
(jivita) du stupa. Ce point de vue est neanmoins a nuancer par un autre: c'est
que Ie stupa, "doue d'un sens suffisant par sa forme seule," constitue deja, par
lui-meme, un "corps architecturaI,"substitut de la personne, ala fois disparue
80
JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
et ainsi presente, du Bienheureux et que l'addition des reliques ne peut fourn' .
.
qu'un "complement a cette valeur propre": "Le depot couronne Ie
boIisme, il ne Ie cree pas" (Baraburjur, p. 77, p. 2lO-214, 285 et passim; "La
Tombe Vivante," p. 124b). .
Ce qui vaut pour Ies stupa vaut aussi pour ces autres "corps substitues"
que sont les statues,tres souvent, comme on sait, evidees, garnies de reliques
de sutra, de textes de formules ou de vceux, voire d'autres. statues, de
miniaturisee, ainsi que, comme on Ie dit ci-dessous d'objets symboliques.
32. La pratique d'installer, anatomiquement bien a sa place dans Une
statue, un dispositif de visceres fournissant les bases d'une vie magique, tel
celui que presente Ie buddha du Shakado du Seiryoji (ci-dessus, n. 26), a,
comme l'a montre avec beaucoup de pertinence Hubert Delahaye ("Les an-
tecedents magiques des statues chinoises," (Revue d'Esthetique, nouvelle serie
nO 5, 1983, p. 45-53, en particulier, p. 48), ses vraisemblables origines
dans la Chine des Zhou et des Han anterieurs. Le bouddhisme chinois parait
n'avoir, en cette matiere, fait que tirer parti, pour en enrichir sa propre
tradition, de conceptions qui tiraient leur source de l'heritage local.
33. Sutra de Perfection de Sapience de la conduite de la Voie" Gap.
Dagyahannyakya, X, TaishO-d. VIII, p. 476 b) et "Sutra de la Grande Perfection
de Sapience" Gap. DaimyOdokya, VI, ibid., p. 507 a) qui sont des traductions en
chinois, respectivement faites vers 178-179 et 225 de notre ere, du "Sutra de,
la Perfection de Sapience en Huit mille lignes" prajnaparamita-
sutra), Ie plus ancien texte connu, en lnde meme, de la litterature representative
de cet important courant de pensee du Grand Vehicule (voir E. Conze, The
Prajnaparamita Literature, Tokyo, Reiyukai, 1976, p. 1-3 et 45 sq.).
Le Habagirin, S.v. butsula, loc. cit., p. 214 a (l'auteur de ['article est Paul
Demieville, qui revient sur Ie passage dans sa contribution "L'iconoclasme
antibouddhique en Chine," Melanges d'histoire des religions offerts a Henn-Charles
Puech, College de France et E.P.H.E., V
e
section, 1974, p. 21), observe que
cette partie du texte fait dHaut dans la recension sanskrite du sutra qui a ete
conservee et publiee. C'est plutat Ie contraire qui eut ete etonnant, car Ie
bouddhisme indien ne possede ni la notion ni Ie mot qui pourraient corres-
pondre a une "arne" (chin. shen, prononciation au Japon, jin, shin; ver-
naculaire : tamashii-on pourrait traduire aussi par "esprits vitaux"). II faut
se rappeler que cette notion et les mots qui la recouvrent, si familiers en
Chine, de puis toujours, qu'on ne pouvait y concevoir de s'en passer, ont ete
introduits dans Ie bouddhisme chino is des ses debuts--c'est-a-dire des la fin
du ler siecle de notre ere-pour designer un principe trans migrant de caractere
immortel appele a porter Ie fardeau de la retribution des actes. On se reportera
ace sujet aux precieuses remarques faites par Kenneth Ch'en dans un compte
rendu du Harvard Journ. of Asiat. Studies, XX,juin 1957, p. 378, et dans son
livre Buddhism in China, Princeton, 1972, p. 46 et 111-112. II est a relever
que, des 1906, Ie savant japonais Tsumaki N aoyoshi avait attire I'attention
sur ce probleme tres important dans son etude Reikon-ron, "La question des
ames."
34. II s'agit d'un recit du Konjaku-monogatari shu, IV, 28 (Nihon koten-bung.
taikei, 1. p. 314---315). Pour sa traduction integrale et des indications sur ses
VACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
81
sources, voir mesHistoires quisont main tenant dupasse, voir p. 68-69 et 227-229.
35. Autrement dit AvalokiteSvara (voir ci-dessus, p. 58).
36. Xuanzang lui-me me parle simplement ici de jeune. C'est son bio-
graphe qui precise Ie detail. II est connu que l'abstinence des cereales est une
pratique dietetique des taolstes.
37. Voir Annuaire du College de France, 1984-1985, p. 684-685. Texte
dans Taish8-d. XIX, p.658a.
38. Designation abregee de VajrapaI).i Gap. Kongoshu), "Celui qui tient
Ie foudre en main," a l'origine un simple genie gardien du Buddha, devenu
par la suite et, tout particulierement dans la tradition esoterique, une figure
importante, en raison des con,notations du terme vajralkongo, ala fois "foudre,"
"diamant" et pure nature d'Eveil qualifiee d'''adamantine.''
39. J'emprunte ce terme, qui serre de tres pres la realite decrite ici, a
jean-Pierre Vernant, " D ~ la presentification de l'invisible a l'imitation de l'ap-
parence" (Rencontres de l'Ecole du Louvre, "Image et Signification," fevrier 1983).
40. Toganoo Myoe-shonin yuikun (Nihon koten-bung, taikei, Kana-hOgo shu,
p. 69). Traduction de Frederic Girard, "Les Enseignements du maitre Myoe
de Togano-o," dans Melanges offerts a M. Charles Haguenauer . .. , op. cit., p. 515.
On pourra com parer ce que dit Honen (1133-1212), fondateur de la "secte
de la Terre Pure" : "Parce que Ie Buddha en corps de naissance se trouve
dans ce Venere fondamental (honzon-il s'agit ici de l'image d'Amida qui
preside Ie lieu de priere), vous devez penser que tout ce qui se reflete dans
les augustes yeux du Venere fondamental se reflete sur-Ie-champ dans les
augustes yeux du Corps de naissance; vous devez penser que toutes les paroles
qui s'entendent dans les augustes oreilles du Venere fondamental s'entendent
sur-Ie-champ dans les augustes oreilles du Corps de naissance. Si vous pensez
ainsi, les merites acquis a vous tenir face au Venere fondamental seront chose
merveilleuse" (Ryukan-risshi no montei no densho-seru o-kotoba, V, Showa-shinshu
Honen-shOnin zenshu, p. 757).
4l. ShasekishU, II, 6 (Nihon koten-bung, taikei, p. 113). Traduction de
Hartmut 0. Rotermund, "Collection de sable et de pierres," UNESCO, Con-
naissance de l'Orient, p. 92.
42. Le traducteur a rendu par "en personne" Ie terme shOjin ("corps de
naissance," lu aussi, on l'a vu, ikimi et pouvant alors etre traduit par "corps
vivant," if. supra, p. 61), qui designe ici les manifestations sous forme de figures
"en chair et en os," plus frequentes et, tout edifiantes qU'elles soient, quand
me me moins stupefiantes que celles qui se produisent par l'intermediaire
d'une icone (ex. Konjaku-mon, XVII, 8, Nihon koten bung taikei, III, p. 514, et
Histoires qu(sont maintenant du passe, p. 130: "Petit moine jizo, c'etait, en verite,
Ie bodhisattva jizo sous forme d'un corps vivant. Mais, a cause de la lourdeur
de nos peches a nous, il nous a tot abandonnes, il s'en est retourne vers la
Terre Pure").
43. Si Ie migawari peut etre un Venere "en corps vivant" ou, comme on
y insiste ici, une statue, c'est aussi-telle est la forme, a la fois pratique et
simplifiee,qu'a assumee couramment la croyance dans l'usage japonais-une
tablette de bois marquee du nom, de la formule et/ou de l'image du personnage
protecteur, dont il est dit que, souvent, elle se fend a I'instant precis OU Ie
82 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
fideJe echappe au malheur qui devait I'atteindre (accident, etc.) .
. La croyance a son paralleIe et, sans doute, son origine-Ia question est
a creuser-en Chine, OU elle est connue par des designations exactement
sembIabIes. II y a lieu d'attendre avec Ie plus grand interet l'impression de la
communication de Kristofer Schipper au Colloque pluridisciplinaire franco_
japonais tenu au College de France les 7-11 octobre 19S5, "Le rituel du 'corps
de remplacement' (tishen ou dairen) en Chine."
44. Voir Hubert Delahaye, article cite, p. 45-50.
45. Exemples: Konjaku-mon., XVI, 4 (Nihon koten-bung. taikei III, p. 426-
428, Histoires qui sont maintenant du passe, p. 126-130 et 280-281), qui relate
comment, pour sauver un moine mourant de faim, une statue de Kannon se
mua en un cadavre de sanglier, dont Ie moine decoupa et mangea les cuisses.
II apparut ensuite, a la grande honte du malheureux, que les cuisses avaient
ete taillees sur I'image elle-meme. En fin de compte, pour temoigner de ce
que Ie moine avait dit vrai, "les cuisses se recompleterent comme auparavant."
Telle est l'origine du nom du monastere, Nariaiji, ou "mon. du Kannon re-
constitue," qui existe toujours et est compte comme Ie 2S
e
des "Trente-trois
sanctuaires des provinces de l'Ouest."
-Shasekishu, II, 3, (Nihon koten-bung. taikei, p. 94-96, Collection de sable et
de pierres, p. 75-76), qui rapporte l'histoire d'une servante profondement
attachee a la pratique de la recitation du nom d'Amida et qui, pour I'avoir
repetee a contretemps aux yeux de sa maitresse, fut marquee par celle-ci au
visage d'une piece de metal chauffee au rouge. Il se revela peu apres que Ie
stigmate n'etait pas sur sa joue, mais sur celle de l'image doree d'Amida qui
se trouvait dans l'oratoire de la maltresse.
Citons, parmi les sanctuaires connus encore aujourd'hui pour leur tradi-
tion de migawari, celui du Konnyaku-Emma, au quartier de Koishikawa a Tokyo,
qui venere une image du roi Yama fameuse pour avoir rendu Ia vue a une
pauvresse en lui faisant don d'un de ses yeux ; celui de l'Emmeiji a Kamakura,
dont Ie "Jizo nu" (Hadaka-Jiza) est dit avoir pris Ia place d'une femme contrainte
a se montrer devetue en public, etc.
46. Shirya-saran, III (Haen, VI-12-S).
47. Voir ci-dessus, p. 59.
48. Daidenpain hongan-shanin gyoden (Chasha, III-IV) (Zoku-Gunshoruiju,
CCXV et Gunsho-kaidai, IV, 1, p. 95-96; Kokubun Taha-bukkya sasho, Denki, I,
p. 180-181 ; Kagya-daishi denki shirya zenshu, Denki, p. 77-78).
49. Kokubun Taha-buh. sasho, p. 182 -K.-d. denki shiro zenshu, loco cit., p.
7S-79 (et, en outre, p. 159, 295-298, avec une illustration de caractere plus
statique que celle presentee ici ; meme recueiI, vol. Shirya, p. 652 et 666). La
source en date de 1322 n'est autre que Ie Genka shakusho ("Biographies de
moines composees durant l'ere Genka"), V, 12 (Shinteizaho Kokushi-taikei, XXXI,
p. 92, et Kokuyaku Issaikya, nouv, ed., 87, p. 122), qui donne une version tres
succincte du recit, ou il est dit que Ies assaillants "ne virent pas [Kaku] Ban,"
et qu'il y avait Ia seulement deux images de Fudo. Discutant entre eux, ils se
dirent: "L'une des images est surement Ban." II n'est pas precise ce qu'ils
firent apres. Le recueil d'anecdotes SenjilshiJ, traditionnellement attribue au
fameux moine poete Saigyo (111S-1190), qui etait age d'un peu plus de 20
v ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
83
ans a l'epoque OU eut lieu l'attaque contre Kakuban, donne, au contraire, des
details sur la suite de l'affaire et precise que Ie statue que frappa l'agresseur
en croyant que c'etait Kakuban, etait, "lorsqu'illa tata, un peu chaude" (VII,
. 8; ed. Kojima Takayuki et Asami Kazuhiko, Tokyo, 1985, p. 215). Si Ie
Senjiisho etait vraiment l'ceuvre de Saigy6, une attestation aussi ancienne de
la tradition serait d'un interet capital, mais l'ceuvre est, en fait, bien plus
tardive: elle semble posterieure a 1265 pour ce qui est de sa premiere redaction
et, peut-etre, a 1439 pour ce qui est de son etat definitif (voir Kojima et Asami,
op. cit., p. 325-326).
50. L'une des editions citees ci-dessus a une variante : "Comme il pen;ait
les augustes genoux des statues des deux Fudo, les statues, toutes deux ensem-
ble, laisserent couler du sang" (K.-d. denki shiryo zenshu, Denki, p. 79).
51. Aussi ce Fud6 est-il appele par ailleurs Migawari Fudo, ibid.
52. Nihonshoki, regne de l'empereur Tenchi, xe annee, 10
e
mois (Nihon
kotenbung, taikei, II, p. 378-379 ; Aston, Nihongi, Chronicles of Japan, Trans. and
Proceed. of the Japan Society, Londres, 1896, II, p. 297). Exemple suivant, regne
de l'imperatrice Jito, XI
e
annee, 7
e
mois (Nihon K.-b. taikei, ibid., p. 532-533 ;
Aston, p. 423). II est a remarquer que, dans les deux cas, ces ceremonies de
dedicaces d'icones ont ete faites en tant qu'ceuvres pies, a la veille des deces
des souverains.
Le plus fameux exemple de kaigen a l'epoque ancienne et qui est souvent
indique a tort comme Ie premier de l'histoire du Japon, est celui qui eut lieu
pour !'inauguration du Vairocana colossal du Todaiji en 752 en presence de
l'empereur Sh6mu, de l'imperatrice K6ken et de toute la cour. Le pinceau
servant a l'''Ouverture des yeux" fut tenu par Ie maitre indien Bodhisena Qap.
Bodai) qui etait arrive dans l'archipel en 736 via la Chine. Certaine tradition
veut qu'il soit encore conserve au Tresor Imperial du Sh6s6in, OU il serait a
reconnaitre dans celui dont s'est servi, ainsi que l'atteste une inscription, l'em-
pereur Goshirakawa, en 1188, pour Ie kaigen d'une seconde statue, destinee
a rem placer la premiere, disparue dans un incendie (Shi5soi-ten mokuroku, "Spe-
cial Exhibition of the Shoso-in Treasures," Musee national de Nara, 1967, nO
1; TodaUi-ten, "Exhibition of Todaiji Treasures," 1980, Ire planche en
couleurs).
53. Le rite est connu du brahmanisme sous Ie nom me me d"'ouverture
des yeux" (nayanonmzlana). Louis Renou (L'Inde classique, I, Paris, 1949, p.
573) Ie decrit ainsi : "On revet d'une couleur vive Ie globe oculaire, ou bien
on y insere un morceau d'or, tandis qu'il est procede a un hommage aux
dieux, a une offrande dans Ie feu, a une 'purification du joyau,' etc." Paul
Levy releve l'analogie de la pratique avec Ie "rite essentiel de I'ouverture de
la bouche et des yeux" du culte funeraire egyptien (p. 95-96de son importante
communication mentionnee ci-dessus, n. 1) et renVoie, a ce propos, aux travaux
d'Alexandre Moret et de Jacques Vandier.
On trouve dans des sutra du bouddhisme esoterique traduits en chinois
(ainsi, dans Ie "Sutra du roi de Science U c c h u ~ m a a la grande puissance
majestueuse," jap. Daiiriki Ususama-myoo kyo, II, Taishi5-d., XXI, p. 148 c, et
dans Ie "Tantra-sutra du Recueillement sur l'installation des images de tous
les tathagata," jap. Issainyorai anzo-sanmai giki-kyo, ibid., p. 934 c, Ie premier
84 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
traduit en 732 et Ie second, en 980) l'indication de la necessite de l'operatio
n
du kaigen (appeIe, par Ie premier, d'un terme synonyme, kaimoku).
Je n'ai pas encore trouve d'exemple d'une pratique effective du kaig
en
dans Ie bouddhisme chinois, auquel il y a pourtant tout lieu de penser que Ie
bouddhisme japonais l'a emprunte. H. Delahaye n'en mentionne aucun, tout
en insistant (art. cite,p. 47) sur l'importance qu'a Ie rite pour donner vie aux
statues, et il rap pelle a juste titre qu'il y a dans la litterature chinoise, notam_
ment celIe relative a la peinture, de nombreux textes relatant des histoires de
dragons ou d'oiseaux qui s'envolerent apres qu'un habile artiste leur eut des-
sine la pupille. Ce genre de recits sont egalement bien connus de la tradition
picturale et calIigraphique japonaise.
54. Ainsi, dans Ie "Vocabulaire des termestechniques de l'art boud-
dhique" (Bukkyo-bijutsu yogoshil), de Nakano Genzo, Tokyo, 1983, p. 2l.
55. Jap. nyukon, autrement dit tamashii wo ireru koto. Un dicton bien
connu signifiant "oublier l'essentieI," se presente sous deux formes qui mon-
trent l'equivalence des expressions: Hotoke tsukurite me wo akenu et Hotoke wo
tsukutte tamashii wo irezu, "Fabriquer un buddha et omettre de lui ouvrir les
yeux ~ de lui mettre l'ame" (P. Ehmann, Die Sprichworter und Bildlichen Aus-
drucke der Japanischen Spmche, Tokyo, 1927, p. 83).
L'operarion inverse, dite de la "Fermeture des yeux" (heigen--on trouvera
ce terme, moins connu, atteste dans Ie Nichiren-shu daijiten, p. 900 d) et qui
est designee, paralleIement, comme Ie "fait de retirer l'ame" (tamashii wo nuku
koto), est accomplie quand on veut momentanement desacraliser une ic6ne
afin de la reparer. Nous verrons plus loin, p. 75, qU'elle peut avoir aussi pour
but d'6ter sa puissance active a une image chargee d'une volonte malefique.
56. Voir ci-dessus,p. 7l. Texte dans Hyakushijukajo-mondo (Wago toroku,
22), ShOwa-shinshu Honen-shonin zenshu, p. 648.
57. Butsugen, "CEil de buddha" (skt. Buddhalocana) est la personnification
feminine, maternelle, de la sapience de buddha. On l'appelIe encore Butsumo,
"Mere de buddha" (voir Hobogirin, III, p. 205-207).
58. C'est-a-dire Ie Pan-buddha, Ie Grand Vairocana ; voir ci-dessus, p. 57.
59. Voir p. 54. Ce texte, intitule "Sur l'Ouverture des yeux des deux
sortes d'images, sculptee et peinte" (litteralt. : "en bois et en peinture"), Mokue-
nizo kaigen no koto, date de Bun. ei, X (1273). On Ie trouvera dans ShOwa-teibon
Nichirenshonin zenshu, I, p. 791-794. Dans un autre, egalement fort interessant,
qui est une Iettre a son disciple Shijo Kingo, de Kenji, II (1276), se referant
peut-etre a ce vieux texte de la "Perfection de sapience" reIatif a I'inexistence
de I"'ame" dans I'image, que nous avons cite plus haut (p. 66 et n. 33), il dit
"Si I'on [peut] mettre en de telIes peintures et bois [sculptes] cette 'arne' (shin,
tamashii) qu'on appelle konpaku (Ie vieux couple chinois de l'3.me spirituelle et
de !'ame charnelle), c'est par la [seule] puissance du Sutra du Lotus de Ia Loi"
(mime ed., II, p. 1183).
60. La voix du Buddha est comparee a celIe du plus eminent des dieux,
Brahma. Voir Hobogirin, II, p. 133-135; Lamotte, TraiN de la Grande Vatu de
Sagesse, I, p. 279, OU eIle est enumeree comme la 28
e
des Trente-deux marques
auspicieuses.
6l. Symbole de la mise en train de Ia predication bouddhique (ci-dessus,
.. V ACUITE ET CORPS ACTUALISE
85
p. 63), c'est, en meme temps, dans la tradition indienne, une marque solaire
et royale.
62. Voir ci-dessus, p. 64.
63. A propos de ce terme, voir La Vallee Poussin, L'Abhidharmakosa de
vasubandhu, op. cit., I, p. 24-25.
64. Sur cette conception, telle qU'elle a ete exprimee par Kukai (774-
835), fondateur de la secte Shingon, on renverra a Tajima Ryujun, Les deux
. Grands marpj,alas et la doctrine de la secte Shingon, Bull. de la Maisonfra7ico-japonaise,
Nouv. ser., VI, Tokyo, 1959, p. 248 sq.
66. Rongi, rondai (voir Mikkyo-jiten de Sawa Ryuken, p. 728), du type de
ceuxqui ont ete etudies, pour ce qui est de la secte Tendai, par J.-N. Robert
(supra, n. 8).
67. Mikkyo-jiten, ci-dessus cite, p. 72 (kaigen-sahO), 139 (gilzo-silhai), 250
(saie-gyozo), 52 (emoku-hOnen) ; Mikkyo-daijiten, en particulier, II, p. 745. Le
texte de base sur Ie point de l'emoku-hOnen se trouve dans les "Triples questions
sur cent sujets relatives au Grand Commentaire [sur Ie Sutra du Grand Vai-
rocana]" (Daisho kyakujo daisanjil), de Shaken (1307-1392), moine de Negoro,
IV, 35
e
question, TaishO-d., LXXIX, p. 652-653.
68. Entendons par la les mudra, ou' "sceaux" (jap. in), qui consistent en
positions significatives des mains et des doigts (a propos desquelles, voir la n.
71).
69. Citons ce qU'ecrivait G. Tucci dans son beau livre-ed. de Londres,
1961, p. 105, The Theory and Practice of the Ma'T}rJ,ala, "Les images que voit Ie
mystique emanent du centre de son propre cceur, emplissent l'espace puis se
reabsorbent en lui ... "
70. En lecture japonaise vernaculaire : kudari-nozomu, kudari-omomuku.
71. Voir, entre autres, Ie Dainichikyo, ou "Sutra du Grand Vairocana,"
Fascic. VII (supplementaire), chap. 2 et 3 (TaishO-.d., XVIII, p. 46 c, 49a) :
mantra qui sont les "moyens d'invitation" (kanjo no shingon, shOshO no shingon)
des buddha et des bodhisattva.
Voir aussi, Ie "Sutra aide-memoire donnant un abrege du yoga du Sum-
mum du Diamant" (a propos duquel on se reportera a l'Annuaire du College
de France, 1983-1984, p. 661), IV (TaishO-d., ibid., p. 251 a, 253 b-c ; Kokuyaku-
iss., Mikkyo-bu, I, p. 321 et 330), OU l'on trouvera les diverstermes cites ici.
On pourra voiraussi la place qui est accordee aux temps d'invitation ou
de "reception" des buddha, bodhisattva et divinites diverses dans Ie deroulement
d'un rituel esoterique, en se reportant a Si-do-in-dzou (= Shido inzu), La sym-
bolique des mudras, reimpression (Paris, 1985) d'im vieil ouvrage de Horiu Toki
publie en 1899 par Ie Musee Guimet, p. 67 et 142-143.
72. "L'Inde vue de l'Est," Cultes indiens et indigenes au Champa, Conference
au Musee Louis Finot, HanOI, 1934, p. 6 sq.
73. Cours au College de France, 17 novembre 1964.'
74. Cultes .. " p. 11-12.
75. Ibid., p. 10.
76. Ce celebre petit sutra, dont Ie texte sanskrit est conserve (on Ie
t:rouvera, avec sa traduction anglaise et un commentaire dans Ie livre d'Edward
Conze, Buddhist Wisdom Books-The Diamond Sutra, The Heart Sutra, Londres,
86 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
1958, p. 83-107), a fait l'objet de nombreuses versions chinoises, dont celIe
de Xuanzang, qui est, de toutes, de tres loin la plus connue et qui est utilise
e
quotidiennement dans les liturgies des sectes Tendai, Shingon et Zen. Ceux
qui ont vu Ie film Kwaidan et ceux qui ont lu Ie conte 'de Lafcadio Hearn dout
il est tire, se rappelleront peut-etre que c'est ce siitra Hannya-shingyo qui, telIe
une cuirasse rendant invisible, avait ete calligraphie sur Ie corps du musicieu
Hoichi, sans oublier aucun endroit, sauf-helas!-les oreilles ..
* * *
NOTE COMPLEMENTAIRE
A la suite de la publication de cet article, Madame Kuo Liying, chercheur
travaillant au College de France, a bien voulu me faire savoir qu'elle avait
trouve quelques exemples montrant que la pratique de l"'ouverture de l'oeil"
est effectivement attestee dans les sources chinoises.
L'encyclopedie bouddhique Fayuan zhulin (jap. Hoan jurin), achevee en
668, expose, dans son fascicule C (TaishO-d., LUI, p. 1027 a), que l'empereur
Taizong des Tang fit edifier un temple pour la Grande imperatrice Mu et
que, apres l'achevement de celui-ci, il s'y rendit en personne et marqua (lit-
teralement, "ponctua," chin. dian,jap. ten) la pupille de l'oeil du Buddha. Une
version plus tardive du recit, contenue dans la chronique generale Fazu tangji
(jap. Bussa toki), (1269-1271), fase. XXXIX (Taisho-d., XLIX, p. 364 b), precise
l'annee ou eut lieu ce rite, 634, et emploie l'expression : "ouvrit lui-meme
l'oeil du Buddha" (zi kai fa yan, jap. mizukara butsugen wo hiraku).
Un autre recit contenu dans Ie Fozu tongki, fase. XXXVI (Taisho-d., loe.
cit., p. 340 b), rapporte comment, a une epoque bien anterieure, en 363, sous
les Jin orientaux, Ie fameux peintre Gu Kaizhi avait marque la pupille d'une
statue de Vimalaklrti.
D'autre part, ajoute Madame Kuo, dans Ie taolsme ainsi que dans Ie
religion populaire chinoise, Ie rite d"'ouverture" occupe une place assez impor-
tante. Le premier ne se contente pas d'une simple "ouverture" des yeux ;
cette "ouverture" est pratiquee sur to us les membres du corps de la statue
(renvoi a Ofuchi Jinji, Chilgokujin no shukyo girei, Tokyo, 1983, p. 368-369).
Chez les taolstes d'aujourd'hui, une "ouverture de la lumiere" (kaiguang) est
egalement faite sur Ie "corps de l'ame" (hunshen) (ibid., p. 566 s.). Pour la
religion populaire, voir encore Ie meme ouvrage, p. 1075-1083.
Ch'an Commentaries on the Heart Sidra:
Preliminary Inferences on the Permutation
of Chinese B uddhisrn
by John R. McRae
1. The Acquisition of the Heart Sutra by Chinese Buddhists
The Prajiia-paramita-hrdaya is a Chinese text. True, the words
themselves were translated from an Indian original, and there.
do exist Sanskrit manuscripts to establish this authentic South
Asian pedigree. There are even Chinese transcriptions of the
sounds of the Sanskrit text, an extremely unusual occurrence
that testifies to the use of this short scripture for the instruction
of Sanskrit and its understanding as having incantational effi-
cacy.1 However, the earliest information we have about the text
is all from Chinese sources, which imply that it was abstracted
from the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sidra (Kumarajlva's transla-
tion of the 2S,OOO-line version of the Perfection of Wisdom) in
China rather than translated as an independent work. Also, the
great translator Hsuan-tsang is even said to have acquired the
text-presumably the Chinese version-in China prior to his
journey to India. Hence it is less accurate to talk about the Heart
Sidra's passive transmission from India as its active acquisition
and use in China.
And how the Chinese did use this text! The tradition of
exegesis on the Heart Sidra is absolutely exceptional in the history
of Chinese Buddhism. The elegant brevity and multivalent pro-
fundity of the text have made it a favorite subject of commen-
tators from the middle of the seventh century up until the pres-
ent day, and there is no other single text-nor any single group
of scriptures-that has been interpreted by such a long and
virtually unbroken list of illustrious authorities. Commentarial
87
88 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
literature does not always lend itself to quick analysis and Sum-
mary, and elucidating the issues raised in a single text often
requires consultation of a bewildering of subcommen_
taries and other works. Hence both traditional and modern
readers have tended to look more readily to independent essays,
tracts, and sermons to help them determine the doctrinal con-
tour of an individual figure's teachings. Given the relative lack
complexity of Heart Sidra itself, and especially
gIVen the amenabIlIty of the text to a WIde range of doctrinal
interpretations and religious milieux, differences between its
various commentaries can be unusually revealing as to some of
the major changes in the identity and role of Buddhism in
Chinese history.
A. Chinese Translations of the Heart Sutra
Hsuan-tsang
a
(602-64) translated the Heart Sidra into
Chinese in 649, just a few years after his return from India.
2
There were at least eight other translations, from the late seventh
century until sometime during the Sung; five of these were of
the long version of the sidra, which is no doubt later than the
more widely known short version.
3
The intriguing question is
whether there were any translations of what we now know as
the Heart Sidra before Hsuan-tsang, and specifically, whether it
was translated as an independent work by Kumarajlva. Tao-an'sb
catalogue of Buddhist literature lists two similar titles that later
came to be identified as referring to the Heart Sidra, for both
of which the translator is listed as unknown.
4
In two later
catalogues one of these titles is attributed to Chih-ch'ien
c
of the
Wu dynasty,S while an eighth-century catalogue attributes the
other to Kumarajlva.
6
A Sui dynasty catalogue lists both titles
as deriving from the Ta p'in
d
(see next paragraph) which here
may refer to translations of the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sidra
by Kuinarajlva and others.7
In fact, the bulk of both the Hsuan-tsang and Kumarajlva
translations of the Heart Sidra is found in Kumarajlva's Mo-ho
po-jo po-lo-mi ching,e also known as the Ta-p'in, and in Hsuan-
tsang's translation of the Ta po-jo ching/ i.e., their translations
of the Paiicavirrtfatisahasrika, the 25,000-line version of the Per-
fection of Wisdom Sidra.
8
Hence the original effort of translation
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART S UTRA 89
was Kumarajlva's. Indeed, his students were quite aware of the
important doctrinal ramifications of the lines "form is emptiness,
emptiness is form," as is shown explicitly in the writings of
Seng-chao
g
(374-414).9 However, since the Heart Sidra is not
included in contemporary lists of Kumarajlva's works it was
probably not translated by him as an independent work. Al-
though the earliest titles for this short text (assuming that they
apply to the text in question) identify it as an incantation text,
I know of no references to its now-famous concluding mantra
nor any commentaries to the text prior to the appearance of
the Hsuan-tsang translation.
lo
Our information about Hsuan-tsang's acquisition of the text
corroborates its existence in China prior to his pilgrimage to
India.
11
However, given the slight but significant differences in
the titles found in the catalogues, it is still possible that
Kumarajiva's translation only attained its final form following
the appearance of Hsuan-tsang's translation. This fits very well
with the chronology outlined by Conze that would place the
accretion of tantric ideas into the prajiia-paramita literature
around the year 600.
12
Incidentally, there is evidence in the
Tibetan Tun-huang materials for the existence of a Chinese
version of the text that is no longer extant. 13
B. The Heart Sutra in Tang Dynasty Buddhism
What was the predominant understanding of the Heart Sidra
at the time of its translation? Although we tend to think of this
text as delineating the "heart" or quintessence of the perfection
of wisdom doctrine, this is apparently not the original meaning
of the title. In fact, there is evidence to suggest that in China
during the seventh and eighth centuries the Heart Sutra was
appreciated, not as an exquisite encapsulation of Buddhist doc-
trine, but as a dhiirar/i text to be used in ritual incantation. This
evidence, which has been uncovered by Fukui Fumimasa,h de-
serves our close attention because of its important ramifications
for our understanding of the text in both the Indian and Chinese
contexts.
Fukui has shown that most Tang dynasty references to the
Heart Sutra cite it as the To hsin ching, i where to is the last character
of the transliteration of prajiia-paramita. Other titles given to the
90 ]IABS VOL. 11 NO.2
text in Tun-huang manuscripts are: Po-jo to hsin ching) To hsin
po-fo ching,k Kuan-yin to hsin ching,l Po-lo-mi-to hsin ching"m and
Mi-to hsin ching. n Similar appellations occur in scriptural
catalogues from Tang China and N ara Japan andin a miscellany
of materials extending into the Ch'ing. 14 There also exist several
other Chinese Buddhist scriptures that have titles ending in the
characters hsin chingo or "Heart Sutra," as well as the occasional
use in these texts of terms such as hsin chou
P
(lit., "heart mantra"
or "mind mantra").15 Fukui makes the very cogent suggestion
that the term hrdaya or "heart" in the title of the Po-jo [toJ hsin
ching and similar texts refers not the the "heart" or quintessence
of the Buddhist dharma, but rather to dharar;i as the quintessen-
tial Buddhist practice. 16 Thus the doctrinal content of the Heart
Sidra was of importance primarily insofar as it lent power to
the spiritual and ritual efficacy of the incantation.
Even so, the concise yet profound nature of the Heart Sutra
made it a convenient vehicle for the explanation of the Buddhist
teachings, and the text was so frequently appropriated for use
in doctrinal exposition that it came to be understood primarily
as an exquisite statement of the Buddhist teachings. 17 This proc-
ess of scholastic appropriation began with Hsuan-tsang's disciple
Tz'u-en
q
(or Ta-sheng Chi,r frequently referred to asK'uei-chi
s
;
632-82), who wrote the first of a series of Yogacara commen-
taries.
18
No doubt the most influential commentary in the East
Asian tradition was that by Fa-tsang
t
(643-712), which is cited
by a large number of later authors regardless of their affinities
with his Hua-yen philosophy.19 Advocates of Tien-t'ai doctrine
also compiled their own glosses on the text.
20
In addition to the
large number of commentaries by members of the Ch'an school,
which I will discuss below, there are also one or two texts that
defy sectarian identification.
21
Given the nature of the text, it is
perhaps not surprising that there are no Chinese commentaries
based primarily on Pure Land theory.22
With regard to the Ch'an commentaries, if the impact of _
the scholastic commentaries was to appropriate what was orig-
inally a dharar;i text as a vehicle of doctrinal exposition, Ch'an
commentators at virtually the same time sought to appropriate
the text for interpretation in terms of the "contemplation of the
mind" (kuan-hsin
u
or k'an-hsin V). Although to a certain extent
the Heart Sutra may have been identified with Hsuan-tsang per-
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART SUTRA 91
sonally, it was nonetheless an appropriate choice for use by
Ch'an authorities because of its lack of manifestly sectarian iden-
tity. The evident doctrinal affinities of the Heart Siltra with the
Madhyamika tradition were well in accord with the emphasis in
early Ch'an on the prajiia-paramita, but in the late seventh- and
early eighth-century China this emphasis was devoid of any
particular sectarian implications. .
II. Ch'an-related Commentaries on the Heart Siitra:
The Tang-Sung Series
vVe are fortunate in possessing a number of commentaries
on the Heart Siltra written by members of the Ch'an tradition.
These commentaries derive from different eras of Ch'an, and
they fall into two distinct series: one beginning shortly after the
appearance of Hsuan-tsang's translation and ending in the
Sung, and another beginning with the founding of the Ming
dynasty and proceeding through the Ch'ing. The following dis-
cussion of the Tang-Sung series will focus on how various ele-
ments of the Ch'an hermeneutic deriving from different stages
in the development of Chinese Ch'an were interposed into and
superimposed onto a commentarial tradition.
The Tang-Sung series of Ch'an-related Heart Siltra com-
mentaries consists of the following works:
l. A complex of three Tun-huang manuscripts, one
anonymous, one bearing an obviously fictitious or untraceable
attribution (its author is usually identified as a monk who died
before Hsuan-tsang translated the Heart Sidra), and one written
by Chih-sheri
w
(609-702), who is remembered in Ch'an as a
student of Hung-jen
X
(600-74) and as the precursor of two
important early Ch'an lineages from Szechwan.
23
2. A Tun-huang text written in 727 by Ching-chueh
Y
(683-
ca. 750), an important author belonging to the early Ch'an fac-
tion now known as the Northern school. When Ching-chueh
wrote his Chu to hsin po-jo ching
Z24
he was already an accomplished
author, having written a now-lost commentary on the Diamond
Siltra and one of the two earliest proto-historical accounts of
the development of Chinese Ch'an, the Leng-ch'ieh shih-tzu chi
aa
("Records of the Masters and Disciples of the Lar}ka[vatara
92 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
Sutra]").25 Taken together, the Chih-shen complex of manu-
scripts and Ching-chueh's commentary display increasing evi-
dence of the growing early Ch'an hermeneutic. ~
3. A very widely used commentary by Nan-yang Hui-
chung
ab
(d. 775), who was invited to Ch'ang-an in 762 and
became famous as a successor to the so-called Sixth Patriarch
of the orthodox Ch'an tradition, Hui-neng.
ac
(Since Hui-neng
died in 713, this relationship was probably not based on any
direct contact between the two men.) Hui-chung's commentary
installed early Ch'an ideology into the tradition of commentary
on the Heart Sutra in a fashion that would remain acceptable to
the Ch'an tradition through the Sung. During the Edo Period
in Japan, and possibly as early as the Southern Sung, Hui-
chung's text was circulated within a set of three Ch'an commen-
taries on the Heart Sutra.
26
4. A set of verses attributed to Bodhidharma, the legendary
founder of Ch'an, an attribution that is patently absurd for
chronological reasons. The verses themselves are a very sensi-
tively written product of the early ninth century or SO.27
5. A commentary attributed to Ta-tien Pao-t'ung
ad
(732-
824), whose biography is largely obscure.28 This is a unique text
that seems to have been largely ignored in Ch'an studies. Al-
though internal evidence reveals that it must have been altered
or emended sometime after Ta-tien's death, it seems to derive
from the golden age of classical Ch'an in the middle or latter
part of the ninth century.
6. Two Sung dynasty commentaries, by Fu-jung Tao-k'ai
ae
and Tz'u-shou Huai-shen
af
(d. 1131). These were widely distrib-
uted along with Hui-chung's contribution as the "three commen-
taries" on the Heart Sutra. These two texts are relatively unim-
aginative, a fact that may indicate the basic incompatibility of
the Sung dynasty approach to Ch'an with the enterprise of
textual exegesis.
29
7. A text that was written by a Chinese monk most famous
for his missionary activities in Japan.
30
The monk in question
was Lan-ch'i Tao-lung
ag
(Rankei D6ryii; 1213-78), who was one
of the earliest and most important transmitters of Sung dynasty
Ch'an to Japan. Although there may be methodological dangers
involved in the use of this text to represent the Chinese tradition,
I believe that Tao-lung's Heart Sutra commentary-in contrast
COMMENTARIESONTHEHEARTSUTRA 93
to the two listed in item 6--is an exquisite example of the appli-
cation of the Sung dynasty "high Ch'an" approach to the use
of religious texts.
Briefly put, this Tang-Sung series manifests two major
characteristics: first, the gradual interpolation of distinctive early
Ch'an terminology and ideas into the interpretation of the text,
and second, the superimposition on this interpretive foundation
of the "encounter dialogue" style of Ch'an repartee. Due to
limitations of space, I will only point out the highlights of these
two developments, but two basic implications should be obvious:
(a) that the early Ch'an interpretive structure was surprisingly
long-lasting and (b) that the addition of classical Ch'an elements
in fact reveals the fundamental disinclination of the Ch'an tra-
dition to engage in textual exegesis.
A. Proto-Ch'an: The Chih-shen Complex of Commentaries
An examination of the Chih-shen complex of commentaries
reveals usages that are characteristic of or even unique to early
eh'an texts. For example, the most striking feature of the
anonymous manuscript is its inclusion of the following verses:
Well [should you] view the mind (k'an-hsin
ah
), view the mind
correctly;
view the mind in the locus of the mind.
The mind does not perceive the locus of nonbeing (wu_so
ai
).
View the mind, and the mind will become peaceful of itself.
This locus is both emptiness and form;
the five skandhas are provisionally called a person.
There is no mind that can concentrate thoughts-
let it flow and achieve truth by itself.
Form and mind are fundamentally empty and serene;
a false endeavor is the discrimination of feelings.
Moving but not obstructing the principle;
in accord with words but completely without names.
31
The terms "view the mind" and "locus of nonbeing" are
litmus test indicators of Northern school doctrine from around
the beginning of the eighth century, and the attitude that the
94 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
mind should be allowed to "flow and achieve truth by itself' is
also found in early texts. Although the distinction is not main-
tained throughout these three commentaries, notice that in the
passage just introduced the terms "form" and "mind" (se
aj
and
hsin
ak
) are substituted for the scriptural pair of "form" and "emp-
tiness" (se and k'ung
a1
).
The Chih-shen commentary uses several phrases and terms
characteristic of certain later texts, but it is also unaware of a
number of early Ch'an concepts. Ching-chueh's commentary
understandably contains a greater proportion of these distinctive
terms and concepts.
B. The Pinnacle of Early Ch'an: Hui-chung's Commentary
The commentary by Hui-chung contains a statement of the
most mature phase of early Ch'an, written just as the acrimoni-
ous divisiveness that had arisen in the middle of the eighth
century was being resolved but before the encounter dialogue
style of classical Ch'an practice had become predominant. The
maturity of this message can be seen in the way in which Hui-
chung places hsin, "mind," at the very center of his interpreta-
tion. This emphasis on mind isa direct extension of the early
Ch'an interest in the "contemplation of the mind."
The following is Hui-chung's explanation of the sidra's de-
nial of the existence of suffering, accumulation, extinction, and
the path (the Chinese rendition of the four noble truths). Hui-
chung's first explanation is from the perspective of cultivation:
Since the mind has that for which it seeks and attaches itself
to dharmas, therefore it is called "truth." To energetically cultivate
realization with the mind unceasingly thirsting for it is called the
"truth of suffering." To extensively examine the sutras and
treatises, greedily seeking the wondrous principle, is called the
"truth of accumulation." To eradicate the various false thoughts,
so that one seeks permanent tranquility, is called the "truth of
extinction." To distantly transcend troubling disturbances, de-
votedly cultivating the principle of the Buddhas, is called the
"truth of the path."32
Hui-chung's second explanation, which follows immediately on
the first, is from the perspective of the realized sage:
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART SUTRA 95
[To understand that] the mind is fundamentally pure and
numinous, with no need for recourse to cultivating realization,
is called the "truth of suffering." [To understand that] the
[Buddha]-nature incorporates the myriad dharmas-and how
could one depend on seeking-is called the "truth of accumula-
tion." [To understand that] false thoughts are not generated
(wu-sheng,am "birthless") and fundamentally of themselves per-
manently serene is called the "truth of extinction." [To under-
stand that] serenity is permanently nondual, with false and true
not confused, is called the "truth of the path." ... If you com-
prehend that there is no mind (wu hsin
an
), then how can the four
truths exist? Therefore it is said, "no suffering, accumulation,
.extinction, and path."33
I should emphasize that Hui-chung's explanation of these
passages is not simply a free and unlearned interpretation of
the text. Early Ch'an texts frequently utilize a process known
as "contemplative analysis" (kuan-hsin shih
ao
) , in which traditional
terminology and concepts are drastically and creatively reinter-
preted so as to pertain to the early Ch'an practice of the contem-
plation of the mind. This was important process
in the generation of early Ch'an religious ideology, since it al-
lowed Ch'an to play and experiment with its received ter-
minological and doctrinal tradition and to produce its own new
conceptual paradigms, appropriating that tradition to serve its
own approach to Buddhism. This style of total reinterpretation
may indeed be linked with a decline in the understanding of
conventional Indian Buddhist doctrine in China insofar as it
indicates a growing emphasis on individual practice rather than
doctrinal systems, but it.should not be interpreted in simplistic
terms as a lack of understanding.
It is interesting that the most popular Ch'an commentary
on the Heart Sidra is the one that places the strongest emphasis
on the concept of mind, as well as offering the mOst thought -pro-
voking comments on the identity of form and emptiness. Instead
of concentrating on these terms themselves, as did earlier Ch'an
commentaries, Hui-chung resolutely shifts the focus to the mind
and its attendant dharmas. There is here no distinction between
epistemology and ontology: Form and emptiness are but two
modes of manifestation and nonmanifestation that occur de-
pending on whether the mind either "arises" (ch'ia
p
) or is imper-
ceptible.
34
96 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
We should also observe Hui-chung's frequent use of reflec-
tively paired perspectives. At one point, Hui-chung understands
sunyatii as the seamless reality inherent in all things, the aware-
ness of which is obliterated by deluded thinking: "When the
mind arises there is form, and when the mind is imperceptible
there is emptiness." However, Hui-chung immediately reverses
his terms when describing the situation of ordinary unen-
lightened people, using "emptiness" to refer to the unreality of
the world as it is seen by foolish sentient beings. This emptiness,
this foolish misapprehension of reality, disappears at the mo-
ment of enlightenment: "When the mind is taken as existent
there is emptiness, and when the mind is taken as nonexistent
. there is being."35
This tendency to alternate between two different interpre-
tations of the same term or concept is characteristic of early
Ch'an texts. As in the redefinition of the four noble truths,
Hui-chung defines reality from the perspectives of both the
unenlightened but earnest practitioner and the confirmed sage.
This may be considered, in fact, as Ch'an's unique extrapolation
from the dyad of form and emptiness in the Heart Sutra. The
key to enlightenment, and thus the essential distinction between
the two perspectives, is the ability to "counterilluminate" the
mind-source so as to understand its crucial role and to achieve
the essential "nonarising" or "nonactivation" (i.e., the absence
of intentionalized mentation) of the mind.
C. Ta-tien's Commentary and the Classical Ch'an Hermeneutic
One of the truly exceptional Heart Sutra commentaries still
extant is that attributed to Ta-tien Pao-t'ung. Ta-tien was a
student of Shih-t'ou Hsi-ch'ien
aq
(700-90), who along with Ma-
tsu Tao-i
ar
is one of the figures most closely associated with the
efflorescence of classical Ch'an. Very little is known about his
biography, but Ta-tien is remembered for his contacts with the
literatus Han Yii. aS36 Internal evidence suggests that Ta-tien's
Heart Sutra commentary was edited sometime during the middle
or latter part of the ninth century.37
The following passage provides a hint at the transition that
took place during the eighth and ninth centuries from early to
classical Ch'an:
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART SUTRA 97
Form and emptiness are of a single type.
38
From the buddhas
above to the insects below, each and every [sentient being] is
fundamentally completely emptiness. The eyes are unable to see
form--'-they can only see true emptiness. The ears are unable to
hear can only hear true emptiness. Although divisible
into eighty-four thousand [different experiences], all perceptive
and cognitive activity (chien-wen chueh-chih
at
) derives from the six
senses. Form and emptiness are not different: this is the won-
drous principle of true emptiness ....
If you wish to eradicate birth and death, then just illuminate
and destroy from a single sensory capacity. You will be instantly
empty and serene, you will instantly receive your self from before
the eon of emptiness.
39
Serene but constantly illuminating, il-
luminating but constantly serene.
40
Serene but without anything
that is serene, you only perceive emptiness. Empty yet without
anything that is empty, the eighty-four thousand sensory efforts
and false thoughts suddenly end in a sirigle moment. Persons
are empty, and dharmas are empty, The path of words is cut off,
and the locus of mental activity is extinguished. To make the
thoughts move is to be in opposition; to evaluate it is to be in
error. If you can penetrate to the bottom of this without depend-
ing on anything, you will instantly receive [this understanding].
There are no persons and no buddhas.
41
The basic doctrinal thrust of classical Ch'an was Ma-tsu's
insistence that every human action was a function of the
Buddha-nature, and this passage from Ta-tien's commentary
takes a similar tack in absolutizing the activities of the senses.
Eyes and ears do not perceive mere form and sound (their
respective categories of phenomenal reality); instead, they see
and hear only true emptiness. Any sensory capacity may be used
as the vehicle of enlightenment, as long as one "illuminates and
destroys," i.e., illuminates so as to eliminate any dualistic distinc-
tions, from that one perspective.
42
Ta-tien's' commentary is
explicitly subitist regarding the experience of enlightenment:
"Empty yet without anything that is empty, the eighty-four
thousand sensory efforts and false thoughts suddenly end in a
single moment." This is the early Ch'an agenda rendered more
extreme by the innovations of Ma-tsu and his followers.
This commentary is also remarkable for its inclusion of
encounter dialogue material and its use of poetically evocative
explanations. My favorite is the reference to"solitary brilliance
98 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
illuminating alone, like an autumn moon."43 Another intriguing
line is its inclusion of a variant of a saying most frequently
associated with Mao Tse-tung: "If one wantsJo travel a thousand
li, au a single step comes first. "44 The commentary also contains
a line from the 1 ching
aV
used by Liang su
aw
and Han-yu to
express identity of the sage and the common man: "to develop
one's nature to perfection through the understanding of Princi-
ple" (ch'iung-li chin-hsing
aX
). This line had already been noticed
by Kumarajiva's students, but it also occurs in the sayings of
Nan-ch'uan P'u-yuan
ay
(748-834) and Tsung-mi'saz Yuan jen
lun. ba45 Another passage that incorporates encounter dialogue
phraseology is the following:
Sentient beings do not believe that this mind is the Buddha,
but the buddhas have many types of expedient means by which
to point at sentient beings and make them see their own funda-
mental natures. How blue, the emerald-green bamboo--it is en-
tirely true suchness; you must see true suchness for yourself.
How profuse, the yellow flowers-they are universally prajiiii;
you must see prajiiii for yourself. [The monk] Chia-shan
bb
said,
"There is nowhere that the Tao is not." He also said, "To see
form is to see the mind. Sentient beings only see form and do
not see the mind." If you are able to penetrate this to the ultimate,
then while walking along, thinking of this and that, things will
force themselves together (?) and you will suddenly see it for
yourself. This is called "seeing the [Buddha]-nature" (chien-
hsing
bc
).46
In other words, this commentary gives doctrinal explana-
tions based on a combination of early and classical Ch'an teach-
ings, with occasional elaborations done in the rhetoric of classical
Ch'an encounter dialogue.
D. Lan-ch'i Tao-lung's Commentary and Sung dynasty Ch'an
The Heart Sidra commentary by Lan-ch'i Tao-lung (Rankei
Doryu) carries on the emphasis on the mind that appeared so
strongly in Hui-chung's commentary. Indeed, it is surprising
how Tao-lung reaches back into his own tradition for terms and
explanations reminiscent of early Ch'an. This may have been
the conscious effort of a man teaching what he must have felt
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART SUTRA 99
was a relatively ill-prepared Japanese audience.
The most intriguing feature of Tao-lung's commentary is
the very consistent structure of his remarks on the text: After
virtually every com pound or phrase in the sidra, Tao-lung begins
with a primary definition. Usually, these definitions are reason-
ably faithful to the original meaning of the scripture. After
weaving in other ideas suggested by the definition, the gloss
almost always ends with what can only be called a "capping
phrase" in idiosyncratically Ch'an language. Although lacking
in the sense of dialogue with the sages of the hallowed past,
Tao-lung's proclivity to conclude each gloss with an inexplicably
pithy comment is reminiscent of the approach taken in works
such as the famous Pi-yen lu
bd
("Blue Cliff Records"). Thus both
the presence of such comments in encounter dialogue language
and their location within the text reveal the impact of Sung
dynasty Ch'an rhetorical conventions on this commentary.
Tao-lung's style is readily apparent in his interpretations of
the lines from the sidra equating form and emptiness, which
also reveal his continued emphasis on the centrality of mind.
The "capping phrases" are given in italics:
Sariputra (She-li-tzu
be
),
The universal sameness of body and mind is called She.
Wisdom and sagacity and called li. The myriad dharmas are gen-
erated by the mind, hence it is said tzu. Where is the location of
the generation of great wisdom? The rabbit pushes the wheel through
the waves of the Milky Way.
form does not differ from emptiness,
Form is originally generated from emptiness. The deluded
person sees form as being outside of true emptiness. Form arises
from the mind. [The enlightened person] comprehends that the
mind is originally without the characteristic of form. If you revert
to the senses you will understand; if you follow their illuminations
you will not. Let them have heads of ash and faces of dirt!
emptiness does not differ from form.
Emptiness is manifested dependent on form; form reverts
to emptiness. Therefore, form and mind are without anything
on which they rely. Therefore, if you are enlightened to the
emptiness of the mind you will naturally [realize] the emptiness
of they myriad dharmas. What would you say, then, about true empti-
ness? Carp on the mountain, thatch under water.
100
JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
Form is emptiness,
Form is the function (yung
bf
) of emptiness; emptiness is the
essence (t'i
bg
) of form. The myriad waves do transcend the
water. [Tao-lung] shouted a single shout, saying "Guest and host are
distinct!"
emptiness is form.
Emptiness is the essence of form; form is the function of
emptiness. scolded, saying "The matter begins from the
repetition! "47
The doctrinal niceties in this passage are overwhelmed by
Tao-lung's concluding remarks. Are we to understand them as
explications of the expository statements they follow? Or is Tao-
lung merely trying to get us to stop trying to understand form
and emptiness with our rational minds? Further study may in-
dicate that Tao-lung's use of two radically different types of
expression-one explanatory, one performative-is related to
the reflexive pairing of the perspectives of the practitioner and
the sage that occurs in Hui-chung's text. Even if this turns out
to be the case, Tao-lung's commentary has a disjointed quality
because of its use of such different types of material. Tao-lung
felt the need to explain Buddhism to his Japanese audience in
the traditional Ch'an fashion, but at the same time he could not
but recreate for them the spirit of Sung dynasty Ch'an as he
knew it.
Engaging though it may be, Tao-lung's text highlights the
fundamental incompatibility between the commentarial enter-
prise and the dominant thrust of Sung dynasty Ch'an. His cap-
ping phrases are an attempt to enter into dialogue with the text,
not to explain it, and this particular Indian sidra cannot talk
back to him. The Ch'an tradition was never interested in scrip-
tural exegesis in its own right, and once the early Ch'an approp-
riation and reinterpretation of the Heart Siltra was completed
by Hui-chung, there was little more that the Ch'an tradition
could derive from within the text. Indeed, the emergence of
Ch'an was in part a reaction against the scholastic tradition, and
the snippets of encounter dialogue material apparent in the
commentaries by Ta-tien and Tao-lung are not intrinsically re-
lated to the content of the text. That we have so few Ch'an-
related Heart Siltra commentaries dating from the Sung dynasty
is no doubt an indication that the primary orientation of the
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART SUTRA 101
"high Ch'an" of the Sung was fundamentally at odds with the
goals and methods of textual exegesis.
Ill. Ming T'ai-tsu and the Ming-Ch'ing series of Heart Sutra
Commentaries
The second series of Heart Sidra commentaries begins from
a fundamentally different perspective from that of the T'ang-
Sung series. The catalyst that made this series of commentaries
possible was the complex approach toward Buddhism taken by
the founder of the Ming, Emperor Tai-tsu
bh
(r. 1368-98). Al-
though his government placed severe .and in some ways arbitrary
institutional restrictions on Buddhism, T'ai-tsu himself prom-
oted the emergence of a syncretic approach to the three teach-
ings of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. In addition, he
showed a personal interest at least initially favoring Buddhism
as an ideology of governance, in part by sponsoring the compi-
lation of new commentaries on a selection of basic Buddhist
scriptures (in 1377-79) and by providing an imperial preface
for the Heart Sutra.
48
Even long after T'ai-tsu's death, when changes in Ming
society had rendered many of his institutional innovations im-
practicable, his legacy was felt in the efforts taken by scholars
and officials in order to recreate the pristine order they per-
ceived in the early years of the dynasty. The Heart Sutra thus
continued to be a focus of interest by both lay and ordained
Buddhists throughout the Ming and Ch'ing dynasties, to the
extent that the number of commentaries on the Heart Sutra
written during these dynasties is several times that of previous
eras.
49
More important than the numerical popularity of the Heart
Sutra is that this text appealed to a much wider assortment of
commentators. Quite a few of the Ming commentaries use this
short scripture as a vehicle for the presentation of theories con-
cerning the unity of the Three Teachings. Among these are a
short work by the iconoclastic and even antisocial Confucian Li
Chih
bi
(1527-1602), who became a Buddhist monk in 1588 only
as a social expedient, and a much longer work by the great
syncretist Lin Chao-en
bj
(1517-98).50 Lin Chao-en's work is in-
102 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
triguing in the image it reveals of the Confucian academy, with
questions and answers between Lin and his students.
Several of the Ming works, by both monks and laymen,
include comments based on the idiosyncraticallyCh'an style of
encounter dialogue, much as in the manner of Ta-tien Pao-t'ung
of the T'ang. As a group, however, they return to a more
straightforward hermeneutical approach of simply attempting
to explain the text according to their own interpretations. Un-
derlying the greater apparent faithfulness to the meaning of
the scripture itself is a much deeper ideological agenda: The
legacy of Sung dynasty Ch'an has not been lost entirely, but the
followers of Ch'an during the Ming dynasty used a different
assemblage of literary sources and felt a new imperative to syn-
thesize and restate the very basics of the Buddhist religion. For
example, Ming dynasty commentaries are much more inclined
than those of earlier periods to cite the Platform Sidra, and Hsi
Ch'ao'sbk late fourth century Fengja yao
b1
or "Essentials of the
Faith" was published together with the Heart Sidra and other
texts during the Ming.
Not surprisingly, the interpretations found in these Ming
commentaries also refer very frequently to the texts and ideas
of Confucianism and Taoism. Indeed, the very popularity of
the text in such a wide range of contexts is related to the in-
creased emphasis on mind by Ming intellectuals in general-
Wang Yang-ming
bm
(1472-1528) is of course the primary exam-
ple. What we refer to in English as the Heart Sidra the Chinese
took to be the "scripture of the mind," the quintessential Bud-
dhist statement regarding the mind.
IV. Wider Ramifications
The analysis given above of the Tang-Sung series of com-
mentaries on the Heart Sidra entails conclusions pertaining to
the transformation of Ch'an Buddhism that took place during
the eighth and ninth centuries. In general, these commentaries
reveal the gradual imposition of early Ch'an terminology and
ideas onto the understanding of the text, followed by the
superimposition of encounter dialogue language deriving from
the classical and Sung dynasty periods of Chinese Ch'an. Con-
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART S UTRA 103
sidering the overall growth of the Ch'an tradition, this seems
to be a perfectly natural progression.
The most intriguing by-product of this research is the appar-
ent interest of Hui-chung and other commentators in working
within a conceptual framework of mind and form rather than
form and emptiness. Some years ago Robert Gimello described
the shift from the apophatic style of Madhyamika dialectic to
. the kataphatic discourse of the Chinese Tathagatagarbha tradition
during the early seventh century,S I and here we may have dis-
covered the intimation of a further development along similar
lines. That is, rather than manipulate the array of implications
deriving from the description of the world as either form or
emptiness, the Chinese tradition became more interested in
probing the identity of the enlightened sage. Also, the assertion
that the mind perceives true emptiness rather than the differen-
tiated stuff of phenomenal reality clearly implies the quest for
a unitary world view that Charles Hartman has shown to be so
apparent in the writings of the Confucian literatus Han Yii.
Finally, there is also an exciting possibility that the formulation
of this unitary world view was in some sense a preamble to major
epistemic changes to come, particularly the fragmentation of
imagery and the collapse in confidence regarding the pos-
sibilities of objective description that are apparent in late Tang
poetry.52
Although a detailed examination of the Ming-Ch'ing series
of Heart Sutra commentaries lies beyond the scope of this pre-
liminary report, even this brief survey demonstrates the palpable
discontinuity between this and the Tang-Sung series of texts.
In conclusion, I would like to comment on the implications of
the distinctions between these two series of commentaries for
the general issue of the role of Buddhism in Chinese history.
Too often scholars focus on the Sui-Tang schools as repre..:
senting the peak of Chinese Buddhism, with the religion's fate
from the Sung onward depicted in terms of a virtually undif-
ferentiated "decline." There are several obvious reasons for this
impression of a Sui-Tang pinnacle and ensuing decline: The
widespread acceptance of the Naito hypothesis, which takes the
transformation of Chinese society during the Tang as a major
watershed in Chinese history, has led scholars to homologize
the various religious developments of the post-Tang dynasties
104 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
under the general rubric of popular religion. Since Buddhism
flourished within the medieval culture of the T'ang and earlier
dynasties, it is natural that scholars would ,think that it would
assume the alternate state, i.e., decline, in the premodern culture
of the Sung and beyond. And the very term "popular religion"
carries the connotation that Buddhism was no longer a vital
part of elite culture.
The judgment that post-T'ang Buddhism was in decline,
or at least largely irrelevant,is in part the legacy of the emphasis
of orthodox Chinese scholarship on the Confucian tradition,
which revels in the Neo-Confucian "renaissance" that began in
the Sung.
53
Another factor has been Japanese scholarship on
Chinese Buddhism. Certainly the centuries of study of the Nara
schools of Japanese Buddhism have led to built-in interpretive
dispositions. In addition, the fact of Ennin's presence in China
during one of the worst persecutions of Buddhism there may
have helped fix the notion of the post-Tang decline in the
Japanese mind.
54
In addition to these modern issues, there may be two other
factors involved in the commonly held notion of the general
decline of Buddhism after the Tang: first, the nonsystematic
nature of the Ch'an religious enterprise, and second, the long-
range influence of the agenda set by Emperor T'ai-tsu of the
Ming. In the first place, it is self-contradictory to accept the
Ch'an school as the most intrinsically "Chinese" Buddhist school,
whatever that generalization is supposed to mean, and at the
same time to assert that the pinnacle of Chinese Buddhism
occurred with the climax in systematic Buddhology by the Sui-
T'ang schools. Systematic statements of religious philosophy are
spectacular achievements easily and rightly susceptible to study
and admiration, but they were not the sine qua non of Chinese
Buddhism. Rather than conceiving of Chinese Buddism as peak-
ing during the T'ang and being replaced by Neo-Confucianism
during the Sung, we should recognize that some aspects of
Chinese Buddhism peaked at the very same time as the
emergence of other important cultural and intellectual trends.
Rather than a simplistic periodization of Buddhist and Neo-Con-
fucian ages, I believe we have achieved a level of sophistication
such that we can talk more meaningfully of major overlapping
trends and processes.
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART S UTRA 105
Second, I suspect that Chinese Buddhism during the twen-
tieth century is still living out the effects of Ming T'ai-tsu's
institutional restructuring anddoctrinai homogenization of
. Buddhism, which sometimes makes it hard for us to see the
distinctions inherent in the older forms of the tradition. The
pedagogical agenda of late Ming Buddhism involved an effort
to return to the basics, to reach the populace with easily under-
stood explanations of the heart of Buddhism. It was also an
avowedly syncretic agenda, which obscured the doctrinal and
sectarian (or, if you will, lineage) distinctions of the past. Neither
the absence of doctrinal systematization nor the presence of
syncretism is necessarily synonymous with decline or a lack of
creativity, let alone with a loss of significance of Buddhism itself
in Chinese !=ulture. We should be able to search for the distinc-
tions apparent in earlier groups, trends, and movements without
immediately succumbing to an overly rigid definition of Bud-
dhist "schools," but neither should we conclude that the absence
of discretely defined schools indicates disintegration and decline.
NOTES
This preliminary research report, which was written while the author was a
postdoctoral fellow at the John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Research,
Harvard University, is based on a presentation given at the American Academy
of Religion annual meeting in Atlanta in November, 1986; a longer and more
detailed study will be published at a later date. The author would like to thank
Donald Lopez for the invitation that led to the AAR presentation, Jan Nattier
for her extensive input concerning the content and wording of this paper,
and David Eckel and the members of the Buddhist Studies Forum at Harvard
for their very helpful comments and suggestions.
1. See notes 11 and 30 below.
2. See the Po-jo po-lo-mi-to hsin ching,bn T8.848c, and Mochizuki Shinko,
Mochizuki Bukkyo daijiten, (10 vols.; Tokyo: Sekaiseiten kanko kyokai, 1933-36),
5: 4265c-67b. Mochizuki, p. 4266a, says the translation was done in the fifth
month of 649 at Mount Chung-nan's Ts'ui-wei kung.
bo
3. The pilgrim and translator I-ching
bp
(often written I-tsing; 635-713)
is also supposed to have translated the text (see Mochizuki 5: 4266a--c), and
Bodhiruci (or Dharmaruci) and S i k ~ a n a n d a each prepared translations of the
text incorporating changes made on behalf of Empress Wu. These were done
in 693 and sometime during the years 695-710, respectively. (This is according
to Shiio Benkyo, Bukkyo kyoten gaisetsu [Introduction to the Buddhist scrip-
106 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
tures], [Tokyo: Koshisha shobO, 1933], p. 147. Shiio's reference to Bodhiruci
[or Dharmaruci] may be an erroneous citation of a much later reference to a
translation by Paramartha or Bodhiruci; see note 30 below.) In 738 the
Magadhan monk Fa-yiieh
bq
(*Dharmacandra; 653-743), working in Ch'ang_
an, produced the first translation of the long version of the Heart Sidra; see
(The restorations of this and other translators' names, which may
not be reliable, are from Edward Conze, The Prajiiaparamita Literature [The
Hague: Mouton & Co.-'S-Gravenhage, 1960], p. 29.) Other translations of
the long version, which vary enough to suggest further development of the
Sanskrit text itself, were done in 790 (by pojobr [Prajiia], who Conze reports
was from Kafiristan and studied in Kashmir and at Nalanda, and Li-yen
bS
;
see T8.849b-50a), 855 (by Fa-ch'eng,bt from the Tibetan; see T8.850b-51a),
861 (by Chih-hui Lun
bu
[*Prajiiacakra]; see T8.850a-b), and sometime during
the Sung dynasty (by Shih-hu
bv
[*Danapala], who was from O<;l<;liyana and
began his translation work in China in 982; see T8.852b-c). The translations
by Hsiian-tsang and Fa-ch'eng were in widespread use at Tun-huang, where
Fa-ch'eng (Tib. Chos-grub) was a very prominent monk who translated various
texts from Chinese to Tibetan and vice versa.
4. See the Ch'u san-tsang chi-chi
bw
4 (T55.31b), which lists the Mo-ho
po-jo po-lo-mi shen-chou i chuan
bx
("Divine Incantation of the Great Perfection
of Wisdom in one fascicle") and Po-jo po-lo-mi shen-chou i-chuan. The latter is
glossed as being a variant of the first. Since the extant Sanskrit versions of
the Heart Sutra do not identify it as a sutra, it is noteworthy that neither of
these texts is labelled ching, by "sutra."
5. These are the Li-tai san-pao chi
bz
4 and 5 (T49.55c and 58b) and
Ta-T'ang nei-tien luca 2 (T55.229a). Here the title actually reads [Mo-ho] po-jo
po-lo-mi chou ching i chuan
cb
("Sutra of the Incantation of the [Great] Perfection
of Wisdom in one fascicle").
6. The title of the translation attributed to Kumarajlva is Mo-ho po-jo
po-lo-mi ta ming-chou ching
CC
("Great Wisdom Incantation of the Great Perfec-
tion of Wisdom"); see T8.847e. This title, which is slightly different from the
found'in earlier catalogues, occurs in the K'ai-yilan shih-chiao lu
cd
4 (T55.512b)
among Kumarajlva's works.
7. See the Chung-ching mu_lu
ce
2 by Fa-ching
cf
(T55.123b). The titles
used here are similar to those found in the Ch'u san-tsang chi-chi, except for
the addition of ching, "sutra." There is some implicit support in Tz'u-en's
commentary (mentioned in n. 18 below) for the interpretation that the Heart
Sidra was abstracted from the larger text.
8. As indicated in Shiio, p. 146, see Kumarajiva's Ta-p'in, T8.223c,
283a-85c, and 286a-87a (the latter two are sections that identify the perfection
of wisdom in general terms with mantra), and Hsiian-tsang's Ta po-jopo-lo-mi-to
ching, T7.11e. There are slight differences between the texts of the
Kumarajiva's Ta-p'in, T8.223c, 283a-85c, and 286a-87a (the latter two are
sections that identify the perfection of wisdom in general terms with mantra),
and Hsiian-tsang's Ta po-jo po-lo-mi-to ching, T7.11c. There are slight differ-
ences between the texts of the Kumarajiva and Hsiian-tsang versions, probably
indicating differences in the original Sanskrit texts.
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART SUTRA 107
9. See Joron kenkyu [Studies in the Chao tun], ed. Tsukamoto Zenryu
(Kyoto: Hazakan, 1955), pp. 51-52, or T45.156c.
10. The only other occurrence of the Heart Sutra mantra that I have
come across is in a collection of dhiira'IJi and similar material translated in 653,
the To-lo-ni chi ching
cg
3, TlS.S07b.
11. A preface to the Heart Sutra, which occurs at TS.S51a-b and is based
on the Tun-huang manuscript Stein 700, states that Hsuan-tsang received
the text in Szechwan prior to departing for India. See the translation of this
preface in Leon Hurvitz, "Hsuan-tsang (602-664) and the Heart Sutra," Prajiiii-
paramita and Related Systems: Studies in Honor of Edward Conze, ed. Lewis Lan-
caster, Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series, no. 1 (Berkeley, CA: University of
California, 1977), p. 109-10. The version of the Heart Sutra contained in Stein
700 is extremely interesting, in that it is a transliteration of the Sanskrit text
in Chinese characters with interlineal glosses correlating the words of the
transliterated original with the Chinese of Hsuan-tsang's translation. The
glosses and punctuation do not always divide the Sanskrit words correctly,
but the underlying text seems to correspond to the modern version transcribed
in Conze, Buddhist Wisdom Books: The Diamond Sutra; The Heart Sutra (London:
George Allen & Unwin, 1955), pp. 77-107. Hurvitz, pp. 110-11, includes a
rendering of the text into English with the glosses interpreted.
12. See The Prajiiiiparamitii Literature, pp. 20-24. Based on the existence
of the Kumarajlva translation, on p. IS Conze identifies the Heart Sutra as
having been composed before the year 400.
13. This evidence, which has some bearing on the early transmission of
Buddhism to Tibet, will be dealt with in an article to be published at a later
date by myself and Jan Nattier.
14. See Fukui Fumimasa, "Chugoku ni okeru Hannya shingya kan no
hensen" [Changes in the Understanding of the Heart Sutra in China], TohOgaku
64 (July 19S2): 43-56, especially pp. 43-45. Essentially the same material is
said to be found in Fukui's "Tashin kyo no seiritsu" [The formation of the To
hsin ching], Tendai gakuhO 24 (November 1972). A more detailed statement of
Fukui's argument, including a listing of the titles of Tun-huang versions of
the Heart Sutra and its commentaries, may be found in the same author's
"Tonka bon," pp. I-S. I would like to thank Professor Yoshizu Yoshihide of
Komazawa University for sending me copies of the articles by Fukui cited in
this study, as well as for showing me Fukui's recent Hannya shingyo no kenkyu
(Tokyo: Shunjusha, 19S7) incorporating these same studies.
15. Fukui suggests that the abbreviation Hsin ching or "Heart Sutra" was
applied to the text by its scholastic commentators, that even here there is
evidence that the character to has been omitted by later editors, and that the
title Po-jo hsin ching is almost entirely unattested in sources prior to the Sung.
See Fukui, "Hensen," pp. 46-47. Unfortunately, Fukui fails to notice the
occurrence of the title Po-jo hsin ching in Hui-li's biography of Hsuan-tsang
(T50.224b). Fukui asserts that the abbreviation Hsin ching came to be generally
used only from the fourteenth century onward, when the text became much
more popular as a subject of written commentaries. See Fukui, "Hensen," p. 46.
16. See Fukui, "Hensen," pp. 4S-51. On p. 50, Fukui cites corroborating
108 JIABS VOL. II NO.2
opinions by M. Winternitz and P. L. Vaidya. In addition, he suggests that
whereas Kumarajlvaand other translators rendered the term hrdaya in this
sense with Chinese equivalents mea'ning "mantra," HSiian:tsang used the
character hsin for both hrdaya and citta, thus causing the later confusion.
17. I believe that Fukui, "Hensen," p. 53, goes too far when he suggests
that there were virtually no Tang and Sung interpretations of the Heart Sidra
that emphasized the doctrine of emptiness over the efficacy of ,the mantra.
IS. Tz'u-en's commentary is the Po-jo hsin chingyu-tsan
c
\ see T33.523b-
42c. There is a preface to this by Miao Shen-jung
Ci
(632-S2),. (Po--jo hsin ching
yu-tsan hsu, Z2B, 23, I, 90a--c), and a subcommentary by Shou-ch'ien
g
of the
Sung dynasty, (Po-jo hsin ching yu-tsi:Ln k'ung-t'ung chi,ck ZI, 41,3, 25Sc-314d).
Shou-ch'ien also composed a diagrammatic interpretation of the text (Po-jo
hsin ching yu-tsan t'ien-kai k'o,cl ZI, 41, 3, 240a-5Sb). In addition, there are
Tang Yogacara commentaries by the Korean authority W6nch'tlk
Cm
(613-96)
(Po-jo po-lo-mi-to hsin ching tsan,en 21, 41, 4, 30Sb--2Sc) and by Ching-majCo
(Po-jo hsin ching shu,cp Zl, 41,3, 213a-lSb), both of which criticize the teaching
of prajiiii on the basis of the Yogacara doctrine.
19. Fa-tsang's commentary, which was composed in 702, is the Po-jo
po-lo-mi-to hsin ching lueh-shu,cq T33.552a-55b (including a short postface by
Chang Yiiehcr). There are two Sung dynasty subcommentaries to this text:
The earlier is by Chung-hs{S (Po-jo hsin ching lileh-shu hsien-cheng chi,ct ZI, 41,
4, 340a-56c); the later one was written by Shih-hujCu in 1165 (Po-jo hsin ching
lileh-shu lien-chu chi,cV T33.555b--6Sc). Shih-hui's subcommentary is a difficult
and controversial text, which inspired the composition of a work by the late
Ming and early Ch'ing dynasty figure Ch'jen Ch'ien-{W (15S2-1664). Written
in 1655,Ch'ien's commentary was based on that of Fa-tsang but also referred
to a work by Tu-shun
cx
(Po-jo hsin ching lileh-shu hsiao-ch'ao ,CY ZI, 41, 4,
357a-90d). Ch'ien's work was preceded by three other Ming dynasty Heart
Sutra commentaries likewise heavily indebted to Fa-tsang: In 15S7, Hsieh
Kuan-k'uang
CZ
compiled two works with homophonous titles, mostly following
Fa-tsang and Wen-ts'ai
da
(Po-jo hsin ching shih_i,db ZI, 41, 5, 410d-12d and
413a-21c). The latter of these two is a detailed attempt to resolve doubts
arising from the numerous divergent interpretations found in earlier commen-
taries. In 1617, Chu Wan_lidc compiled a commentary (Po-jo hsin ching chu-
chieh,dd Zl, 41, 5, 435d-3Sc), drawing from Fa-tsang and others.
20. The earliest Tien-t'ai commentary is attributed, probably apoc-
ryphally, to Ming-k'uang
de
of the Tang; this is the Po-jo hsin ching [lileh] shu,
ZI, 41,4, 32Sd-30c. The only Sung dynasty Tien-t'ai commentaries are those
by Chih-yiian
df
(976-1022), both of which were composed in 1017, These are
the Po-jo hsin ching shu and Po-jo hsin ching shu i-mou ch'ao,dg Z 1,41, 4, 330d-34a
and 334b--39d. The first of these refers to the Tang dynasty commentary
attributed to Hui-ching (discussed in section IIA below). The second text is
a general explanation dealing with possible misunderstandings of the first.
There are Ming dynasty Tien-t'ai commentaries by Chih-hsii
dh
(1599-1655)
(Po-jo hsin ching shih yao,di ZI, 41, 5, 470c-71d), Ta-wen
dj
(Po-jo hsin ching
cheng-yen,dk Zl, 41,5, 443b--46d), and Cheng-hsiang Ti-ju
d1
(Po-jo hsin ching
fa-yin,dm ZI, 41,5, 452d-56d). The last of these was done in 1635.
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART SUTRA 109
21. One of these is attributed to a monk identified only as Deva of
Central India (Po-jo hsin ching chu, ZI, 41, 4, 315a-318a). This is an undated
word-by-word explanation of the text, which although clearly transcribed by
a native Chinese monk could well be based on the non-formulaic oral expla-
nations of an If.ldian master. Another interesting text is the fragment preserved
at Tun-huang, the Po-jo po-lo-mi-to hsin ching huan-yuan shu,dn T85.167b-659a,
based on Stein 3019. This commentary cites the Larikiivatiira and Lotus Sutras
and emphasizes the use of the text in chanting.
22. Even during the Ming dynasty, the Ch'an figures Tzu-po Chen-k'odo
and Han-shan Te-ch'ing
dp
commented on the Heart Sutra, but not the advocate
of Pure Land devotionalism Chu-hung.
dq
At least one such text was written
in Japan by Genshin
dr
, who is renowned for his Ojoyoshu. ds A list of other
Japanese commentators on the Heart Sutra, incidentally, reads like a veritable
who's who ofthatcountry's Buddhist tradition. For example, Saich6,
dt
Kukai,du
and their successors wrote commentaries and subcommentaries on the text.
(Kukai's is interesting for its use of Kumarajlva's translation, although the
text actually cited by Kukai is to Hsuan-tsang's translation.) Within
the Japanese Zen tradition, Ikkyu,dV Menzan,dw Bankei,dx Hakuin,dY and
Muchaku D6chu
dz
also wrote commentaries on the text.
23. The anonymous text is represented in an untitled manuscript (both
the beginning and end are missing) preserved at the Ryukoku University
Library. Introduced by Ogawa Kan'ichi, this short fragment of 172 lines in-
cludes part of the preface and a substantial portion of the text. See Ogawa's
"Hannya haramitta shingyo kaidai" [Explanation of the Heart of the Perfection of
Wisdom Sutra], Seiiki bunka kenkyu, vol. 1, Tonko Bukkyo shiryo (Kyoto: H6z6kan,
1958), pp. 79-87. Sample plates of the manuscript are given on p. 80, while
the text is printed on pp. 81-84; also see the English summary on pp. 10-13
(from the back). The second of the tbree commentaries is attri.buted to a monk
named Hui-ching,ea usually identified as the Hui-chingof Chi-kuo ssu
eb
(578-
645). See the Po-jo hsin ching shu, ZI, 41,3, 206a-12d. (Fukui, "Tonk6 bon,"
p. 8, indicates that Stein 554, on which the Zoku zokyo edition is based, is
actually entitled To hsin ching rather than Hsin ching,) Shiio, p. 154n, claims
that Hui-ching was asked to lecture on the Heart Sutra in 624 and suggests
that the commentary may have been based on an earlier draft of the Hsuan-
tsang translation. However, Hui-ching's very long biography in theHSKC,
T50.441d-46b, does not mention any such event in 624 (nor does it make
any reference at all to the HeartSutra), and I do not know the source of Shiio's
information. Since this would have been before Hsuan-tsang had even received
the text or returned from India, the date given may be a misprint. The title
of the third version is Po-jo po-lo-mi-to hsin ching shu; see Yanagida Seizan,
"'Shishu Sen zenji sen, Hannya shingyo so' k6," ed. Yanagida Seizan and Ume-
hara Takeshi, Yamada Mumon roshi koki kinen shu: Hana samazama (Tokyo:
Shunjusha, 1972), pp. 145-77. On pp. 152-56 Yanagida indicates that there
are five manuscripts of this commentary: Pelliot 2178 and 4940, Peking Wei-52
and ch'ueh-9, and Stein 839.
24. According to Fukui, "Tonk6 bon," p. 7, this was the original title of
Ching-chueh's work. Hsiang Ta'sec transcription altered this to Chu po-jo to
110 JIABS VOL. II NO.2
hsin ching, and Yanagida amended this to Chu po-jo po-lo-mi-to hsin ching. As
Fukui implies in his n. 6 (p. 24), Yanagida was presumably following the lead
set by Chikusa Masaaki.
25. This is an extremely important early Ch'an text. See the annotated
Japanese and French translations by Yanagida, Shoki no zenshi, l-Ryoga shiji
ki-Den'hObOki, Zen nogoroku, no. 2 (Tokyo: Chikuma shobO, 1971), pp.
47-326, and Bernard Faure, La Volonte d'Orthodoxie: Genealogie et doctrine du
bouddhisme Ch'an et !'ecole du Nord----d'apres l'une de ses chroniques, Ie Leng-chia
shih-tzu chi (debut du 8e s.) (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Paris, 1984), pp.
470-792. An unsatisfactory English translation occurs in Zen Dawn: Early Zen
Texts from Tun Huang, trans. J. C. Cleary (Boston and London: Shambala,
1986), pp. 17-78. See my review of Cleary's book in Philosophy East and West
19, no. 2 (Autumn 1986): 138-46. The work is also discussed in my The
Northern School and the Formation of Early Ch'an Buddhism (Honolulu, HI: Uni-
versity of Hawaii Press, 1986), pp. 88-91.
26. The Po-jo hsin ching san chu
ed
(or Hannya shingyo sanchU) (ZI, 41, 4,
390a-96a) was reprinted in 1791; it is uncertain where and when the prior
edition was done. See Ui Hakuju, "N an'yo Echu no shingyo chusho" [N an-yang
Hui-chung's Commentary on the Heart Sutraj, ed. Hisamatsu Shin'ichi, Zen no
ronko-Suzuki Daisetsu hakase kiju kinen ronbunshu-(Tokyo: Iwanami shoten,
1949), pp. 69-81.
27. See the Po-jo hsin ching sung,ee T48.365a-66c. This is a short work,
with a total of 272 characters in both title and text, with 37 verses in 8-line
stanzas of 5 characters per line. These verses are contained in a Sung dynasty
compilation of works attributed to Bodhidharma, the Shao-shih liu men
ef
("Six
Texts from Bodhidharma's Peak"). Since the verses use the famous line "fun-
damentally there is not a single thing" from the Platform Sutra, we m<;ly date
them to sometime after about 800. (See T48.365c and p. 366a.) A closer
examination of these verses and a comparison with other classical Ch'an verse'
compositions, i.e., transmission verses, and the commentary on the Diamond
Sutra attributed to Hui-neng will no doubt yield a more exact dating and a
better understanding of the text in general. The use of Yogacara terminology
in these verses may turn out to be an important indication of their origins.
28. The title is Po-jo hsin ching chu-chieh,e
g
Zl, 42, 1, 34d-35d.
29. See Ui Hakuju, "Jiju zenji Eshin no Hannya shingyo chu" [Ch'an
Master Tz'u-shou Huai-shen's Commentary on the Heart of Wisdom Sutraj, Bukkyo
to bunka-Suzuki Daisetsu hakase shOju kinen ronbunshu (Tokyo: Suzuki Daisetsu
hakase shoju kinenkai kan, 1960), pp. 1-6. Ui is supposed to have written an
article on Fu-jung Tao-k'ai's commentary, but I have been unable to locate
it. See the discussion on Sung dynasty Ch'an and textual exegesis at the end
of section IID. .
30. This commentary, which is known by the title Rankei Doryu chu
shin'yoeh ("Lan-ch'i Tao-lung's Commentary on the Esssentials of Mind"), occurs in
his collected works, the Daikaku shui roku
ei
in one fascicle, following a translit-
eration of the Sanskrit text. See the Dai Nippon Bukkyo zensho, 95: 101-16, or
Po-jo po-lo-mi-to hsin ching chu, ZI, 41, 5, 397a-99b. Comments by the editor
of Tao-lung's collected works, the layman Musho,e
j
reveal a spirit of intense
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART SUTRA
111
competition with the Shingon school. In the process, it is asserted that the
version of the Heart Sutra obtained by Hsuan-tsang in China prior to his
journey to India was the Sanskrit version and not Kumarajlva's Chinese trans-
lation. In fact, Tao-lung's editor denies that Kumarajlva ever translated the
text, suggesting instead that the pre-Hsuan-tsang translations were by Chih-
Ch'ien and either Paramartha or Bodhiruci. In addition, he points out that
since the text had been in circulation in Chinese translation for at least two
hundred years, Hsiian-tsang would not have had to receive this f ~ o m a spirit
monk. See the Daikaku shui roku, p. 3a-b (l03a-b). The motivation for these
and other comments must be related to the fact that Kukai's famous commen-
tary on the Heart Sutra used theKumarajlva translation. In addition, Tao-lung's
birth in Szechwan would have made him more likely to accept the account
placing Hsiian-tsang's initial acquisition of the Heart Sutra there. This last
point is not lost upon Tao-lung's editor; see pp. 4b--5a (l04b--5a).
31. Ogawa, pp. 83b, 84a; and 84b. The first verse has one character too
many; the initial character hao,ek "well," should probably be deleted.
32. Ui, "Nan'yo EchU," p. 78.
33. Ui, "Nan'yo Echu," p. 81.
34. Ui, "Nan'yo Echu," p. 76.
35. These two quotations also occur on p. 76.
36. Dialogues between Ta-tien and Shih-t'ou and some sayings of Ta-
tien's are recorded in the Ching-te ch'ilan-teng lu,el T51.312c-13a, but the only
biographical information is that his residence was at Mount Ling in Ch'ao-
chou em (Ch'ao-an hsien, Kwangtung). For the contact between him and Han
Yii, see Charles Hartman, Han Yil and the Tang Search for Unity (Princeton,
NJ: Princeton University Press, 1986), pp. 93-95.
37. See n. 46 below.
38. This line also occurs in the verses attributed to Bodhidharma.
39. One of the four kalpas or eons, this is the period between the total
destruction of the world system and the beginning of its regeneration. It is
twenty small eons in duration.
40. The locus classicus of the famous line "serene but constantly illuminat-
ing," etc., is the P'u-sa ying-lo pen-yeh ching
en
2, T24.l0 18b. See Yanagida, Shoki
no Zenshi 1, p. 319. The earliest unascribed Ch'an-related occurrence I have
found is in the Wu fang-pien
eo
(see McRae, Northern School, p. 178).
A similar line, "functioning but permanently empty, empty but permanently
functioning," occurs in Shen-hui'sep Hsien-tsung chi
eq
in the Ching-te ch'ilan-teng
lu, T51.459a.
41. Zl, 42, 1, 34b--c.
42. This process is described in Tao-lung'S commentary as "reverting"
to the source of the senses, rather than following the myriad details that they
illuminate; see his gloss on "form does not differ from emptiness" quoted in
the next section. This also parallels the long-standing wisdom within the Bud-
dhist meditation tradition that any sensory capacity could serve as the proper
subject of contemplation.
43. P.35a.
44. See p. 34c; the original line, which is worded somewhat differently,
112 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
is from the Lao-tzu 64.
45. See the commentary, p. 34b, and Hartman, pp. 190-93, who traces
the line through K'ung Ying_ta
er
(574-648) to Tsung-mi. Hartman, p. 193,
suggests that Tsung-mi's "insistence on reserving this phrase for the highest
expression of the Buddhist faith may testify to the strength of its Buddhist
connotation during this period."
46. P. 34b. Where I have "many types" of expedient means, the text
has "many active"; I am emending to tungeS to to chung.
et
The translation
"things will force themselves together" is tentative; the text contains a character
I am assuming is a variant of tsa,eu "to pressure." Also, the extent of the
quotation from Chia-shan is unclear, and its attribution to him may be an
editorial error. Chia-shan Shan-hui
ev
(805-81), who figures prominently in
the Tsu-t'ang chi
ew
and Ching-te Ch'uan-teng lu, was a fourth-generation succes-
sor of Shih-t'ou's through Yao-shan Wei-yen ex (744-827). It may be that his
name was inadvertently added to the Heart Sidra commentary sometime after
its compilation, since the saying attributed to him here is identified with Ma-tsu
and his successors Kuei-shan Ling-yu
ey
(771-853) and Yang-shan Hui-ch{Z
(807-83). If this were the case, there is no reason to assume the commentary
was altered in any significant way after Ta-tien's death.
47. Pp. 6b-7a (l06b-7a). The last phrase might also be read "from the
[opening] politenesses!]"
48. See Fukui Fumimasa, "Min Taiso no Hannya shingyo rikai" [Ming
Tai-tsu's understanding of the Heart Sutra], Makio Ryokai hakase shoju kinen
ronshu: Chugoku no shukyo-shiso to kagaku (Tokyo: Kokusho kankokai, 1984),
pp. 399-408. Fukui cites a number of sources, including Kuo Ming [Guo
Ming], Ming-Ch'ing Fo-chiao [Buddhism during the Ming and Ch'ing] (Fukkien,
China: Fu-chien jen-min ch'u-pan she, 1982).
49. Fukui, "Min Taiso," p. 399, points out that there were about ten
Heart Sutra commentaries written during the T'ang, less than ten during the
Sung, and over thirty during the Ming. About a dozen of the Ming commen-
taries display overt Ch'an influence. I know of only one commentary written
during the Yuan; unfortunately, it is no longer extant.
50. Li Chih's commentary is titled Po-jo hsin ching chien-shih fa or Po-jo
hsin ching t'i-kang,fb Zl, 41, 5, 424b-25a. Less than 800 characters long, this
text lacks any distinctive content. Lin Chao-en actually wrote two works on
the Heart Sutra: the Po-jo hsin ching shih-lUeh/
c
21,41,5, 425b-29c, and the
Hsin ching kai-lun/
d
21,41,5, 429d-35a. The former is a general commentary
and the latter a line-by-line exegesis. On Li Chih, see Hok-Iam Chan, Li Chih
1527-1602 in Contemporary Chinese Historiography: New Light on His Life and
Works (White Plains, NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1980), especially pp. 89-90. Also
see Judith A. Berling, The Syncretic Religion of Lin Chao-en (N ew York: Columbia
University Press, 1980), not only for its excellent treatment of Lin but also
with regard to Li Chih (see pp. 52-54).
51. Robert M. Gimello, "Apophatic and kataphatic discourse in
Mahayana: A Chinese view," Philosophy East and West 26, no. 2 (April 1976):
117-36.
52. I am referring here to work in progress by Michael Fuller at Harvard,
COMMENTARIES ON THE HEART SUTRA 113
which draws in turn on the writings of Stephen Owen.
53. I am currently finishing a study of Hu Shih's researches on Shen-hui,
which did as much to inform the modern stereotype of the role of Ch'an in
the decline.of Chinese Buddhism as to establish the field of Ch'an studies.
54. I do not intend this as a blanket criticism of Japanese scholars, nor
would, I suggest any hesitation to use the fruits of their efforts. On the contrary,
given the relative dearth of serious modern Chinese scholarship on East Asian
Buddhism it is scholarship led by the Japanese and by those who have studied
at the feet of Japanese teachers that is taking us beyond the most problematic
views of Chinese Buddhist history.
Character Glossary
a
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e "' Sl
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f A i1Ji t!l!
g
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I 1- Ie;-
m
n
o
p Ie;- JL
q
r
s
t iit
u
v
w
x U.'2.
y iiJ:W
z
aa m 11m M )i
ab
ae
ad
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II. REVIEWS
An Introduction to Buddhism, by Jikido Takasaki. Translated by
Rolf W. Giebel, Tokyo: The Toho Gakkai, 1987.376 p.
This book is the English translation of Professor Jikido
Takasaki's Bukkyo nyfimon (An Introduction to Buddhism), pub-
lished in J 983, by Tokyo Daigaku Shuppankai.
Professor Takasaki is a well-known Japanese scholar special-
izing in Buddhism. He is the author of a number of important
Japanese publications. Western scholars know his A Study on the
Ratnagotra-vibhiiga, published by IsMEO, Rome 1956. This is an
accurate translation of the Ratnagotravibhaga with an informative
introduction and very useful notes. Professor Takasaki was the
efficient Secretary-General for the 31st International Congress
of Human Sciences in Asia and North Africa (CISHAAN) con-
vened at Tokyo and Kyoto in 1983.
The present book intends, as stated in the Preface to the
English version, "to present to Japanese readers ... a picture in
concrete terms of the characteristics of Buddhism as established
in India"; it is a book "directed to the general reading public".
Anyhow, owing to its nature and qualities, this book deserves
also the interest of specialists in Buddhism and will be useful to
them.
The book presents, in a systematized way, the "body of Bud-
dhist doctrine in the form it assumed once it had been firmly
established several hundred years after the death of the historical
Buddha", and within this framework, wishes "to consider Bud-
dhism in all its ramifications". So the author does not deal with
Buddhism as it is presented in the original teachings of the foun-
der Sakyamuni, or as it manifests itself in its evolutionary process,
or as it appears in anyone of its different branches; instead, he
takes Buddhism in a well advanced stage of its evolution, and
studies it as it appears in that stage without limiting himself to
any of its ramifications. Thanks to this procedure, the reader
gains a clear idea of the richess and complexity of Buddhism,
which certainly could not be given by an analysis of Buddhism
in its first stage of development or in its making or in only one
of its manifestations.
Following the indicated criteria Professor Takasaki adopts,
as frame of reference for his exposition of the body of Buddhist
doctrine, the Three Treasures of Buddhism: Buddha, Dharma
and Sangha. Thanks to his masterly knowledge of Buddhism,
his exposition impresses because of its clearness and complete-
ness. In many points it enters into interesting and many times
117
118 REVIEWS
not easily accessible details and references.
Chapter I is dedicated to the life of Sakyamuni and Chapter
II to The True Nature of the Buddha. Chapters III-VIII deal
with Buddhist doctrine, giving information about'its principal
tenets under the following titles: The Buddhist Conception of
Truth; the Constituent Elements of Existence; Transmigration,
Karma and Mental Defilements; The Path to Enlightenment;
Mind: The Agency of Practice. Chapter IX has to do with The
Precepts and the Organization of the Community. The last Chap-
ter, X, has as its subject-matter The History of Buddhism not
only in India but also outside India. This chapter will be especially
useful for the specialist in Indian Buddhism, since it allows him
to get, in an easy way, a clear account of the development of
Buddhism in China, Japan, etc.
The book ends with two excellent indices, one General (pp.
325-351) and another of Characters which appear in the book,
(pp. 352-374) giving the Chinese,J apanese and Korean readings.
The translation from Japanese into English was done by
Mr. Rolf W. Giebel, who for several years studied under the
tutelage of Professor Takasaki in the University of Tokyo, spe-
cializing in the field of late Indian Mahayana Buddhism. It is a
clear and very readable translation.
In resume: a first-class contribution to Buddhist bibliog-
raphy, which, though founded in serious scholarship, will contrib-
ute to a broader spreading of the knowledge of Buddhism.
Fernando Tola and Carmen Dragonetti
On Being Mindless: Buddhist Meditation and the Mind-Body Problem,
by Paul J. Griffiths. La Salle, IL: Open Court, 1986. Pp. 220.
$12.95.
On Being Mindless is very far from being brainless. In its
logical approach the work is well-crafted. In its expository section
Pali and Sanskrit terms are avoided so as to render the concepts
in clear English for a wide audience composed of upper-division
students and scholars in religion and philosophy as well as the
general (educated) public.
Griffiths correctly perceives that altogether to avoid
philosophical judgments about Buddhism would be to do the
tradition a disservice (xix). A universal rationality thesis is the
REVIEWS
119
basis trans-cultural philosophical judgments about
BuddhIsm (XVll). At several points where one would hope for
some development, however, the reader is informed that the
philosophical adequacy of this or that view cannot be pursued
(83,95). Although some readers may be thankful for being spared
a those ofa philosophical bent may feel that
GrIffiths brmgs one to a halt Just when the exposition becomes
interesting.
The main problem tackled in On Being Mindless is how to
understand "the attainment of cessation" (nirodhasamapatti,
sa'f/1:jiiavedayitanirodha). "Cessation" (for short) is part of the
enstacy/withdrawallisolation complex of thought as distinct from
the knowledge/power/immortality complex distinguished by
Griffiths (17), and is a topic addressed by most major Indian
Buddhist schools. Griffiths focuses on Theravada,
and Yogacara discussions. Here, I will concentrate primarily on
Theravada.
A major ambiguity in Theravada tradition is explicated by
asking whether "cessation" is equivalent to nirvar;a (Buddha-
ghosa's view) or to nirvar;a in life with substrate (Dhammapala's
view). Griffiths' puzzle is: in the second case how could one
emerge from "cessation" (30-31)? He offers a complex argument
for the claim that the puzzle of how emergence from "cessation"
is possible once one enters it is neither answered in Theravada
Buddhism nor is answerable on Theravada assumptions (41).
(For an alternative account of "cessation" according to which it
is no monkey wrench in the Theravada fan requiring disentangle-
ment by scholastics, see Andrew Olendzki's Interdependent Origi-
nation and Cessation, a January 1981 Ph.D. dissertation in Lancas-
ter University, available from University Microfilms, Ann Arbor.)
Griffiths' argument is summarized as follows:
(1) for the occurrence of any given event Y, there exists a
necessary and sufficient condition X
(2) no mental events occur in the attainment of cessation
(3) all intentions are mental events
(4) the necessary and sufficient cause for emergence from
the attainment of cessation is the practitioner'S act of inten-
tion immediately preceding entry into that state
from which ("the usual Theravadin view") it follows that
(5) the necessary and sufficient cause X, for any event Y,
need not be temporally contiguous with that event
such that it follows from (1) through (5) that not (6) and/or (7)
(6) every existent exists only for a short space of time
120 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
(7) for any existent X, causal efficacy can be predicated of
X only while X exists
and since (6) and (7) are "both fundamen'tal postulates of
Theravada metaphysics," there is a contradiction. "A different
way of putting this is to say that" either A or B below obtains.
A
(1) through (5) plus (7) entails
(8) the practitioner's act of intention immediately preced-
ing entry into the attainment of cessation still exists at the
time of the practitioner's emergence from that attainment
but (8) contradicts (6)
or
B
(1) through (6) but not (7) "leads inevitably" to (7') and (8')
(7') for any existent X, causal efficacy can be predicated
of X when X no longer exists if and only if there is an (in
principle) specifiable causal chain connecting X to its puta-
tive effects
(8') the practitioner's act of intention immediately preced-
ing entry into the attainment of cessation is connected to
emergence therefrom by an (in principle) specifiable causal
chain.
On either horn of the above dilemma there are difficulties,
as Griffiths points out. On A there is a contradiction. On Bone
is required to say "either that the emergence of consciousness
from the attainment of cessation is caused by a physical event-
which stands in tension with Theravada dualism about mental
and physical eventS--Dr that some kind of mental continuum
endures within the attainment of cessation-which contradicts
the standard canonical definitions of that state." (41)
This isa complex and interesting argument which is likely
to occupy the attention of Buddhologists in the future. At the
moment I wish to make only two points about it. In order to
make the first point I must refer to the following passage (37):
Intentions, in Theravada theory of mind, just are not the kinds
of existentievent which can be properly be said to have as their
directly antecedent cause a purely physical event: mental events
do not arise directly from the body, though there are, of course,
manifold and complex kinds of interaction between the mental
and the physical, interaction which is described most clearly in
Theravadin analyses of the perceptual processes. The fact .that
there is no suggestion in Theravadin texts that the mental event
of emerging from cessation can have a purely physical cause is,
REVIEWS
121
by itself, a good indication that Theravadins are dualists in the
sense that they perceive a fundamental difference between the
mental and the physical. -The difference is, on one level,
phenomenological: mental events and physical events simply ap-
pear different from one another and have different specifiable
characteristics, but it is also, I think,
The last three sentences of the passage just quoted above
are supported by footnotes 80, 81 and 82 respectively. The penul-
timate sentence (concluding with note 81) is what logicians call
an "argument from ignorance." It makes the absence of informa-
tion seem to be a virtue in saying that the absence of information
points to a particular conclusion. In fact, one cannot infer that
Theravadins are dualists from the putative fact, "by itself," that
they do not deny that "the mental event of emerging from cessation
can have a purely physical cause." This is purely a logical point.
In addition, there is a question as to whether the alleged fact
really is a faC!. For, as Griffiths himself points out in the footnote
(Ch. One, # 81):
It is not quite true that there is no suggestion of a purely
physical cause for the re-emergence of consciousness. Such may
in fact be suggested by the possibility of the practitioner's death
(a physical event) directly causing the re-emergence of conscious-
ness (on which see Section 1.5). But this is not a possibility treated
with much seriousness by the tradition.
Hence it is clear that Griffiths is willing to admit that there
is counter-evidence to his claim.
More important than my first point that the argument above
is logically unsound and factually inconclusive, however, is the
second of my two points about the complex dilemma offered by
Griffiths against Theravada. This point can be stated with refer-
ence to the sub-argument above (37), but it has serious implica-
tions for the complex argument in the form of a dilemma (A or
B) also stated above, and perhaps for the work as a whole. This
second point may be put in the form of aquestion as: what is
the justification for thinking that there is a form of dualism in
Theravada?
Griffiths holds that there is both a phenomenological and
. a metaphysical dualism in the Theravada idea of mind. He sup-
ports this claim with note 82 which refers to the nama-rilpa
("name-form") distinction and says "opposed to nama is rupa,
physical form" (160). Since the Pali term, rupa, is ambiguous, it
is problematical to construe it specifically as physical form and
122 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
then to use this construal as evidence for a controversial interpre-
tation of Theravada as dualistic. For this construal of rilpa as
specifically physical form presupposes (and hence qnnot be evi-
dence for) a dualistic view.
Despite some difficulties which make his case less than en-
tirely convincing, Griffiths gives considerable thought to the topic
of "cessation" so as to repay careful reading. His conclusion is:
"In sum, we have a non-substantivist, event-based interactionist
psycho-physical dualism" (112). Some passages, e.g. as in Grif-
fiths' note 80 discussed above, do suggest that a mind-body
dualism is presupposed in Sutta Pitaka Buddhism (SPB), but SPB
does not univocally assert a mind-body dualism overall. To follow
Griffiths on this point without reservation would be to superim-
pose a (basically Western) mind-body distinction over alien texts
which do not accept the distinction wholesale.
The dualistic reading of Theravada philosophical psychol-
ogy fits in with Griffiths' general position that "it is more difficult
than it seems to dispose of mental substances, and the debates
among the Indian Buddhist schools concerning the attainment
of cessation make this especially clear" (113). He reads their
dualism as "non-substantivist," but maintains that it ought to
have been substantivist: "without a substance-based ontology,
without postulating an entity of which the mental and physical
events described by Buddhist theorists can be predicated ... " can
one explain identity and continuity, memory, character traits,
and the like (113)? One reply is that even with a substance-view
it is far from obvious how these problems can be solved. Not
only are there unclarities in the notion of substance (sva-bhiiva)
itself, a point that was certainly not lost on the Theravadins, but
in this reader's view of the development of Western philosophy
the solution to the problems Griffiths. mentions has not been
forthcoming even within a predominantly substance/attribute
tradition.
Griffiths thinks "it is indicative of a significant intellectual
weakness within the tradition that the tradition itself perceived
the necessity for construction of a (mental) category which is very
much like a substance: the store-consciousness" (113). That is
indeed one way to see it. Another is to see the store-consciousness
development as unnecessary and perhaps confused. That is, to
see the idea of anattii ("non-substantiality") in SPB as coherent
in its own terms, not requiring (logically) a substance-view of any
sort. One may say that a substance-view is not the answer to
philosophical problems of personal identity and continuity with-
REVIEWS
123
out presupposing that SPB is always preferable to later commen-
taries or schools. As Griffiths himself shows, the store-conscious-
ness idea itself n.ot immune from philosophical criticism (93).
Overall thIS IS an excellent work. Although there is consid-
erably to and its philosophical psychol-
ogy than cessatIOn, thIS book IS one of the most careful studies
of a narrowly defined area of Buddhism ever to corrie to light.
Griffiths is. a philosopher and a Buddhologist's
BuddhologIst. It IS dIfficult to be even one of these; Griffiths is
truly both. The main text is well-written, the production standard
is high, and the backmatter (translations of key passages from
and AbhidharmasamuccayabhiiJya in appen-
dices, notes, bibliography, and index) quite useful. Without hesi-
tation this volume can therefore be rightly recommended as a
significant contribution to both philosophy and Buddhology.
Frank J. Hoffman
The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Sym-
bolism, by Roderick S. Bucknell and Martin Stuart-Fox. London:
eurzon Press, New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986. xiii + 233
pages.
In spite of Buddhism's rejection of an enduring essence
anywhere in the phenomenal world, Buddhists and Buddhist
scholars alike seem forever to have been intent on finding in
Buddhism itself just such a core-a perhaps, on the
basis of which to unify the vast disparity of traditions that go
under the name "Buddhist." One of the more intriguing of recent
attempts to find such a least in terms of Buddhist
meditation-is The Twilight Language, in which Roderick Bucknell
and Martin Stuart-Fox employ a methodology "bringing to-
gether. .. phenomenological description of meditation, and the
analysis of textual-historical data" (p. 197) in order to demon-
strate that "the most advanced [Buddhist] meditation practices
[were] not recorded in the Tipitaka, but [were] transmitted
through a secretive, elite tradition," that "that tradition may have
continued unbroken during the millenium between Gotama's
death and the composing of the tantras," and that "the Vajrayana
[was] a surfacing of the hitherto hidden elite transmission which
Gotama had initiated" (pp. 33-34). Such a thesis, if proved, would
124 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
\
alter greatly our understanding of the relationship between two
types of Buddhist meditation that often are felt to be polar oppo-
sites: Theravadin satipatthiina and tantric sadhgna. Such a
methodology, if successful, could change forever the way in which
Buddhist studies are conducted.
Bucknell and Stuart-Fox's argument proceeds through four
relatively distinct stages.
(1) In the first stage, the authors establish the relatively
uncontroversial point that there is a fundamental difference be-
tween the two types of meditation favored by Buddhists,tranquil-
ity and insight, the one being reductive and non-discursive, the
other inclusive and observational. They point out that the most
common early formulation of the path, as eightfold, seems to
emphasize tranquility at the expense of insight, but that the
limitations of tranquility and the centrality of insight have been
understood by Buddhists from the outset. Comparing the nikayas'
apparent paucity of discussion on insight with the obvious impor-
tance of insight to Buddhists everywhere, the authors conclude
that there must have existed an "elite meditative tradition"
founded by Gotama to transmit the practices of insight medita-
tion.
(2) Having analyzed the "early" textual-historical data and
found clear accounts of insight meditation wanting, the authors
are faced with having to provide an account of a phenomenon
that they themselves admit is ill-defined. Their solution to the
historical difficulties is to apply what they call a "phenomenolog-
ical" methodology, whereby actual introspection-the pFactice
of meditation-is employed to arrive at descriptions the texts do
not yield. On the basis of their introspection, then, the authors
conclude that insight meditation must occur in five distinct stages:
(a) concentration, in which there is the attempt to still the mind
on a particular object, (b) thought-stream, in which, in the wake
of concentration, we become aware of the fluidity and direction-
ality of mind, (c) retracing, in which the thought-stream is traced
backward, (d) observation of linking, in which the relationships
among the various elements in the thought-stream are under-
stood and (e) awareness, in which one dispassionately, directly,
observes events as they unfold in the present.
(3) Having discovered introspectively the actual nature of
insight meditation, the authors are able to apply what they have
discovered to understanding symbolically a number of important
Buddhist categories and concepts that often are taken literally.
Thus, they explain the "three knowledges" acquired by the
REVIEWS
125
Buddha on the night of his enlightenment as his successive mas-
tery of retracing (remembrance of previous lives), observation
ofynking (clairvoyant vision of the arising and passing away of
bemgs) and awareness (knowledge of the destruction of the
asavas)'. His enlightenment or nirva1Ja, thus, "was actually the
attainment of [a] condition of permanent awareness" (p. 92),
while the sa'Y[lsara he transcended was simply the untamed stream
of thought, the births and deaths of beings within it a symbolic
way of referring to the arising and ceasing of images in the mind.
Similarly, the various ariyapuggalas described in Theravada are
to be classified not on the basis of the number of rebirths remain-
ing to them, but on the basis of their progress in the fivefold
path of insight; and the three marks of existents are related to
understandings reached in each of the final three stages of insight
practice.
(4) Finally, then, the authors analyze in some detail the
fivefold symbolism employed in Buddhist tantric systems, espe-
cially in ma1Jrjalas and the system of cakras in the subtle body.
They conclude that this symbolism ultimately refers to the unfold-
ing of the five stages of insight meditation described above. Thu.s,
the different "dhyani Buddhas" of a tantric ma1Jrjala, as well as
the various mudras, vehicles, seed-syllables and elements as-
sociated with them, refer to different phases of insight medita-
tion: "the ma1Jrjala does have symbolic meaning .. .it symbolizes
the meditative path to enlightenment" (p. 148). By the same
token, the different cakras in the subtle body refer not to "real
'psychic centres,' which can be opened if one applies the right
meditative techniques" (p. 152), but-as we might now expect-to
the stages of insight analyzed by the authors. Thus, the code
behind the tantric "twilight language" that so long
has perplexed scholars has been broken: it is insight that is in-
tended by those knotty terms and symbols.
What are we to make of all this? There is much in Bucknell
and Stuart-Fox's account that is interesting and provocative: their
analysis of eightfold versus tenfold Theravada path-structures,
their suggestions about the way in which symbolic systems are
shaped to conform with pre-existing conceptual patterns and
their explorations of the symbolic import of the elements of the
ma1Jrjala. Also, to their credit, they are modest about the evidence
that can be adduced for their theory, which they consider "no
more than a hypothesis which remains open to refutation by
scholars working in the field of-Buddhist studies" (p. 191). This
said, it must be added that there seem to be considerable difficul-
126 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
ties at every stage of their argument, and with t h ~ methodology,
too. I cannot enumerate allthe difficulties any more than I could
spell out the argument itself in toto, but let me indicate some of
the areas that appear most problematic, with regard first to
Theravada, then to tantra, then to their methodology.
The first problem we encounter with the authors' analysis
of Thenl.vada is perhaps the most fundamental: their beliefthat
insight meditation is not really taught in the Tipitaka, and that
it must, therefore, have been transmitted by an "elite meditative
tradition." Now there is little doubt that in the nikiiyaS insight
meditation receives less detailed treatment than tranquility and/
or the jhiinas, and certainly its practice cannot fully be understood
without the instructions of a teacher who must transmit knowl-
edge beyond what is found in the texts. Nevertheless, this hardly
justifies the claim that there is in the nikiiyas a vast lacuna where
insight ought to be, since insight meditation is discussed in con-
siderable detail in the two recensions of the Satipatthiina Sutta.
Thus, there exists an overt, exoteric tradition of insight medita-
tion to which the authors barely refer. The existence of this
tradition would seem, ipso facto, to reduce the necessity or likeli-
hood of an esoteric tradition such as the authors propose. The
authors themselves admit that the existence of such a tradition
is not given much weight by positive textual or historical evidence;
and if the negative evidence they cite (the absence of descriptions
of insight) is problematic, then evidence of any kind seems dif-
ficult to adduce. I am not denying that there may in fact have
been an esoteric tradition in early Buddhism; what I am question-
ing is whether the authors have provided convincing evidence
of such a tradition. .
Further problems are raised by the authors' introspective
discovery of the five stages of insight meditation. I have no quar-
rel with their fivefold process as a (possibly) accurate
phenomenological description of what happens in general in
meditation. What is problematic is the assertion that this is what
Buddhist meditation really is and always has been. The existence
of the exoteric tradition of insight meditation described in the
Satipatthiina suttas provides rather strong evidence that insight
meditation traditionally has been regarded as fourfold, depend-
ing on whether its object is the body, sensations, mind or dhammas.
The Satipatthiina suttas give fairly detailed instructions on how
each of these "foundations of mindfulness" is to be developed,
and nowhere is anything like the authors' fivefold scheme
suggested. Furthermore, the authors themselves admit (p. 59)
REVIEWS
127
that there is no textual corroboration for the stage of "retracing,"
and they provide no corroboration for what they call "observation
of linking." Indeed, the only two of their five stages that do seem
explicitly warranted by the texts are "concentration" and "aware-
ness," which correspond to the two procedures that seem always
to have been recognized by Buddhist meditators.
Still a further problem is entailed by the authors' insistence
that such central Buddhist concepts as rebirth, sar(lsiira and
nirvii1J,a must be understood symbolically, as representing stages
of insight meditation. What is troubling about this is not the
particular symbolic correspondences the authors draw, as the
fact that they insist on drawing them. It is quite evident from
their remarks in a number of places (especially p. 196) that they
are uncomfortable with a literal reading of traditional Buddhist
cosmology, and fear that it will be found irrelevant to the modern
world if it is not reinterpreted symbolically. They regard the
anlysis of mind in insight meditation as far more profound and
compelling than a traditional cosmology, and so insist that that
cosmology must merely be symbolic of the deeper process with
which they are concerned. No doubt, traditional cosmology may
be read symbolically, and often has been; this does not mean,
however, that it never has been or should be meant literally,
too-and some would argue that that literal reading provides
the basic impetus and context for the practice of insight medita-
tion itself. Thus, like so many modern interpreters of Buddhism,
the authors go rather too far in insisting that Buddhists have not
really believed things that Buddhists have, in fact, believed and,
in most cases, continue to believe.
As noted above, Bucknell and Stuart-Fox have undertaken
a detailed and fascinating exploration of tantric symbolism in
that section of the book where they turn to the Vajrayana and
its links to the "elite meditative tradition." They examine various
lists of "dhyani Buddhas" and their correspondences with various
elements,emblems, skandhas, mudriis, cakras, etc., which are, in
turn, correlated with the stages of insight meditation. Unfortu-
nately, their central contention, that the essentially fivefold sym-
bolism of tantra represents the five stages of insight meditation,
simply is not borne out. Though they have familiarized them-
selves with several of the symbolic schemes found in tantra, and
availed themselves of a number of authoritative secondary
sources in the area, the authors show little indication of having
examined the ways in which ma1J,rjalas or cakras traditionally are
utilized, e.g., in the context of generation- or completion-stage
128 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
siidhana practices. An appreciation of these siirjhana contexts, in
turn, should make it evident that, while a "meditation-stage"
interpretation cannot be ruled out (one never can ,rule out alter-
native interpretations of tantric symbolism!), the symb9lism does
not seem centrally concerned to reflect meditative stages, so much
as an array of divine forces. And, again, even if "stage-symbolism"
is appropriate in some contexts, there is no evidence that the
stages symbolized are those identified by the authors.
Another difficulty posed by the authors' treatment of tantra
is that in analyzing the symbolism, they insist on a particular set
of relations among the five stages of insight, the five dhyani
Buddhas, the five mudriis and the five elements, such that any
scheme that deviates from what they consider the norm is rejected
or revised. Thus, the sequencing of the dhyani Buddhas Vai-
rocana, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha and Amoghasid-
dhi is declared to be "symbolically meaningless" (p. 150); and
Amitabha is reassigned from the fire to the water element because
of his association with the thought-stream and passivity (p. 185).
It is not beyond imagining that there are inconsistencies and
incoherencies in tantric symbolic schemes; on the other hand, to
use a fivefold insight scheme that is itself a hypothetical historical
construct as the a priori on the basis of which tantric schemes are
to be understood and judged, seems precipitous.
A final, perhaps minor, difficulty with the authors' discus-
sion of tantra is that they use the term "twilight language" quite
imprecisely. If we grant for the sake of argument that this is an
adequate translation for sar[!dha-bha$ii, it nevertheless remains
the case that the authors seem to take the term as synonymous
with "tantric symbolism." There may be some sense in which this
is true, but they fail to discuss the context in which twilight
language most often is found: the dohas and caryiigiti of the
sahajiyiis and mahiisiddhas. We are a long way from understanding
all that their twilit speech connoted, but the best guesses revolve
around various completion-stage siidhana practices and the pur-
suit of that multivalent summum bonum, mahamudrii; that twilight
language symbolizes a set of practices like those discussed by the
authors is not impossible, but it is less likely.
Before closing, I want to comment very briefly on Bucknell
and Stuart-Fox's methodology, which, it may be recalled, com-
bines phenomenological accounts of introspection with textual-
historical analysis. Meditation hardly has been a standard tool of
modern Buddhist scholarship. Some might regret this, as the
authors do, and argue that meditation may hold the answers to
REVIEWS
129
many historical and textual problems that are insoluble otherwise.
This may be, but if meditation is to be a tool of Buddhist studies,
I fear that it must be used with greater care than by the present
authors. The experiential sample from which they are drawing
never is made entirely clear, and they are rather indiscriminate
in their comparisons of these experiences with those of others,
citing with approbation anyone, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, who
appears to share their ideas, and ignoring or explaining away
accounts that seem to differ. Thus, the fivefold scheme of insight
meditation that they discover comes to exercise a kind of deter-
minative tyranny over the book, shaping all textual readings, all
historical analysis. Yet, as we have seen, the fivefold scheme may
reflect an accurate account of the authors' sense of what medita-
tion is and ought to be, but it does not tally so neatly with tra-
ditional Buddhist accounts of meditation-and that is what they
are purporting to explain.
Indeed, if there is a central problem in the book, it may be
that Bucknell and Stuart-Fox are not careful enough to separate
explanation from interpretation or history from "theology." If
they merely were saying, "this is our experience of meditation,
and this is how we think Theravada and tantra ought to be
interpreted by sensible modern: people," they they would have
made a valuable contribution to the ongoing process of Buddhist
"theology"-indeed, I suspect that their views and modes of in-
terpretation are shared by many. It seems to me that they are
going farther, though, crossing the line into saying: "This is how
it is and this is how it must have been, historically." When they
cross that line, they are making assertions that they must corrobo-
rate by more than the silence of texts and their own intuition-
and this they fail to do.
In spite of the problems in their arguments and methodol-
ogy, we are in debt to Bucknell and Stl\art-Fox for raising a host
of issues that deserve further exploration. Can introspection serve
as a methodological tool for Buddhist studies? If so, under what
conditions? How will conflicting introspectiye claims be adjudi-
cated? What is the process whereby symbolic schemes come to
be the way they are? Do they spring full-grown from the visionary
experience, or do they reflect the manipulation of pre-existent
sets of terms that must be adapted to a new context? Are
Theravada and tantric meditation as radically different as so
often has been supposed, or are there not, at the very least,
"family resemblances"--detectable in the textual tradition-that
unite them? Are there, for instance, structural parallels between
130 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
the practices of mahiimudrii and satipatthana (or, for that matter,
Zen) that would allow us to detect among them a svalak$arJa of
Buddhist meditation? Might this, then, not suggest that there is
a clear historical continuity between the earliest and latest Bud-
dhist meditative traditions? What positive evidence can be
. brought to bear on this process of transmission? My phrasing of
these questions should make it clear that I think Bucknell and
Stuart-Fox are on the right track with much of what they say,
and I only hope that in future studies, either individual or joint,
they will address the questions with sufficient rigor that the prom-
ises made-but not fully realized-by The Twilight Language can
be fulfilled.
Roger Jackson
IN MEMORIAM
Arthur Llewellyn Basham (1914-1986)
A.L. Basham was born 24 May, 1914, in Loughton (Essex) of Welsh
stock. From his father, Edward Arthur Abraham Basham, a journalist who
had served as a volunteer in the Indian Army during World War I and was
posted at Kasauli, he got his first impressions of India. From his mother,
MariaJane, a writer of short stories and an Anglican Christian of deep convic-
tion, he acquired a life-long interest in religions. From both of them, perhaps,
he developed the love ofliterature which expressed itself in many ways to the
end of his life: in the care which he took with his own writing and that of his
students, in his many fine translations of passages from Sanskrit, Pali and
Tamil literature, and in his passion for poetry and novels in several languages.
His interest in literature seems to have had no bounds, and certainly ranged
far beyond his professional identity as his generation's greatest historian of
ancient India. He loved Bhart,hari, and Ruckert's Indian poems in German;
but he was equally fond of Cervantes. He was abreast of the most recent
novels, but one of his favorite works, for sheer beauty of language, was the
rather obscure Urne-Bunall of Sir Thomas Browne, a seventeenth century
English writer of endless vocabulary.
It is not surprising, therefore, that his first book was the proverbial
slender volume of verse. Basham's Proem (1935) was the third and last in the
series of The Sunday Referee Poets, each of which was a first volume of poetry
brought out by Victor Neuburg's Sunday Referee as a prize for the best young
poet of the year; the previous volumes were by Pamela Hansford Johnson
and Dylan Thomas. This was followed by a novel of Indian immigrant life in
East Anglia, The Golden Furrow (1939). Basham once said that with it he proved
to himself that he could get published as a writer of fiction, and that he could
not make a living at it. In the meantime he had won the Ouseley Memorial
Scholarship in Oriental Languages at the School of Oriental and African
Studies of the University of London (1938), and pursued his love ofliterature,
and of India, through Sanskrit, earning the B.A. Honours I degree in Indo-
Aryan Studies in 1941.
During the Second World War Basham served, as a conscientious objec-
tor, with the Auxiliary Fire Service at Lowestoft. After the war he returned
131
132 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
to S.O.A.S. to study ancient Indian history under L.D. Barnett, earning the
Ph.D. degree in 1951. The same year saw the appearance of his first indologicaJ
book (essentially his doctoral thesis): History and Doctri1Jes oj the Ajfvikas, A
Religion, published by Luzac. It was the first book-length study
of the AjIvikas and remains the standard work to this day. Bired as a lecturer
in the history of India at S.O.A.S. in 1948, he succeeded his mentor upon his
retirement, becoming a reader in 1953 and professor in 1957. He continued
there until 1965, when he acceptt'd the position of professor and head of the
Department of Asian Civilisations at the Australian National University, where
he remained until his retirement in 1978.
Basham's second book was the one for which he is best known: The
Wonder that Was India (1954). He blamed Edgar Allen Poe for the rather florid
title, whose poem "To Helen" provided the line, "The glory that was Greece,
and the grandeur that was Rome," from which Basham's publisher took the
titles of the first two volumes of a series on the ancient civilizations, and the
pattern for the rest. Organized topically, with chapters on prehistory, history,
the state, society, everyday life, religion, art, language and literature, and the
heritage of India, The Wonder is a veritable encyclopedia of ancient Indian
civilization, and as such has served as a basic text for an entire generation of
students of Indian history and culture. It is, as Kenneth Ballhatchet has said,
a masterpiece of synthesis, and its special quality lies in the spirit of generous
and intelligent appreciation towards Indianculture that animates it. Appearing
as it did a few years after the independence of India and Pakistan from the
British Empire, it offers a kind of scholarship appropriate for the postcolonial
age, whose implicit basis is sympathy and mutual respect. Shortly after publi-
cation it was reprinted in the United States by Grove Press as the first volume
in the series of large paperbacks it pioneered in this country, and showed up
in college bookstores all over the country. It has gone into paperback editions
in England and India as well, and has been translated into French, Polish,
Tamil, Sinhalese and Hindi.
Basham's other writings cover a considerable range, many of them show-
ing the interests in pedagogy, in synthesis and in the creation of a new style
of indology to replace the colonial mode that are found in The Wonder. His
contributions to Theodore De Bary's Sources oj Indian Tradition are a fine
example of the first; his editing of The Civilizations oj Monsoon Asia of the
second; and of the third, one could mention his revision of the ancient Indian
matter in Vincent Smith's Oxjord History oj India (a particularly intractable case,
since Smith's point of view is so quintessentially colonial) and his editing of
A Cultural History oj India, replacing Garret's Legacy oj India. His more special-
ized writings include the editing of the Papers on the Date oj growing
out of a conference he organized in 1960 on the chronology of the KU$aI).as,
and shorter pieces on ancient Indian political history, religion, literature, art
and medicine. Lectures on "The Formation of Classical Hinduism" that he
IN MEMORIAM 133
gave at several universities under the sponsorship of the American Council
of Learned Societies in 1984-85 are being edited for publication by Kenneth
G. Zysk.
Readers of this journal have reason to know of Basham's services to
Asian scholarship. The International Association of Buddhist Studies chose
him as its first president in 1981. His international standing in the field was
honored by his election to the presidency of the 28th International Congress
of Orientalists, which was held in Canberra in 1971. He was the founding
president of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Asian
Medicine, and participated in the organization of its first conference in 1979.
The Association has established an Arthur L. Basham Medal for "outstanding
studies in the social and cultural history of traditional Asian medicine." He
was a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society, of which he was director in 1964-65,
and of the Society of Antiquaries; Honorary Fellow of the Asiatic Society,
Calcutta; Member of the Oriental Society of Australia; Honorary Fellow of
the Indian Council for Cultural Relations; Foundation Fellow and Vice-
President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities; Honorary President
of the South Asian Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand; member
of the Australian Committee for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO;
Corresponding Member of the Indian Historical Records Commission; and
Vice-President of the Asian Studie.s Association of Australia. Other honors
came his way, from the University of London which conferred the degree of
D.Lit. on him in 1965, and from India. In 1964 Kurukshetra University made
him an honorary D.Lit. In 1975 he was awarded the Dr. B.C. Law Gold Medal
for Indology by the Asiatic Society, and in 1977 he was made Vidya-varidhi
by the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara. Vishvabharati University, Shantiniketan,
gave him the Deshikottama Award in 1985. He was especially pleased to be
made the first Swami Vivekananda Professor in Oriental Studies by the Asiatic
Society, in the last year of his life.
The universalism that was so striking a feature of Basham's outlook made
him something of an itinerant scholar. Up to his retirement from the Australian
National University he had held visiting appointments at the University of
Ceylon, the University of Wisconsin, El Colegio de Mexico, the University of
Pennsylvania, Banaras Hindu University, Utkal University in Bhubaneswar,
the Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires, the University of Minnesota
and Carleton College. After retiring he held a series of visitorships at the
University of New Mexico, Minnesota and Carleton, the University of Toronto,
Brown University and, finally, the Asiatic Society. When he served the society
founded by his compatriot Sir William Jones two centuries previous, the wheel
came full circle. He died on 27 January, 1986, and was buried in the Old
Military Cemetery of All Saints Cathedral in Shillong.
Basham often said that the accomplishment that gave him the greatest
satisfaction was the more than a hundred doctoral students he had directed,
134 JIABS VOL. 11 NO.2
who now occupy academic positions in universities all over India and else-
where. rVluch of this success with students has to do with the deep love of
India and of the Indian people which was so evident in .his makeup, and
which drew people to him. But there were other qualities as well. Those who
have had the privilege to study under him remember him 'with great and
unalloyed affection for his ever-cheerful presence, the way in which he lavished
his time and attention on them outside the classroom to teach and counsel,
his active concern for their personal problems and his running interference
with higher authority for those whose academic standing was problematic.
There wasn't a mean bone in his body, but he would side with his students
against the world. Administrators thought him somewhat soft; students
thought of him as an uncle, as well as a guru. Something of his qualities as
an exceptional teacher, it seems to me, are a part of the magic of The Wonder
that Was India-through which we have all become, in some measure, his
students.
Leave-taking is always painful, and Basham's many friends must feel it
especially so in his case, thinking as they do that here was one of the human
race's finer representatives, the embodiment of a universal sympathy that the
world is much in need of. Perhaps we should leave the last word to him, in
a poem of his youth that evokes the passage of time, the succession of the
generations, and of being part of a process that is larger than oneself.
CHANGE
Here in the swamp before the homestead
was spawned from church and cottar's shed,
herons the sunning adders hoisted,
flies garlanded the auroch's head.
Till feudal axes swept a clearing,
pierced the forest and dyked the marsh,
whereon the binders groan, declaring
war on the manor, their voices harsh.
Uncertain centuries smite my garden,
and villeins' swine impel the seed.
Hammered thorns once oxen goading
girder the grass, and apples feed
on bones of mediaeval ganders.
The slimy pavement of my pond
is bedded with the woodman's grinders,
immortal in the oaks beyond.
When thousand times higher alloy girders
tackle the sky than grasses did,
the farm forgotten by new recorders
in sunlit depths from first sun hid,
IN MEMORIAM
I trust my fruit trees may be meted
to fresh flowers of inverted hues,
and these redundant bones, transmuted,
blow in their gardened avenues.
135
(A.L. Basham, from Proem, 1935)
Thomas R. Trautmann
CONTRIB UTORS
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EI Cerrito, CA 94530
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Uralic & Altaic Studies
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FRANCE
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136
Prof. Roger Jackson.
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Fairfield, CT 06430
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Dept. of Religion
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH 44106
Profs. Fernando Tola and
Carmen Dragonetti
C.I.F.
Seminario de Indologia
Miiiones 2073
1428 Buenos Aires
ARGENTINA
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Proper names: Names of Asian origin should be given in standard transcrip-
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Transcription - Sanskrit, Pali and Other South Asian Languages: For
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