Re: [Buddha-l] Niścaya again

[Dan Lusthaus]

Richard,

I'm not sure the word itself will solve all this, since niścaya probably has different connotations for different thinkers, and even the same thinker at different times.

None of the following may be helpful, but I'll take an initial stab. I am not sure that the distinction between knowing that P vs being convinced that P (the latter a form of belief, not knowledge) applies in Dharmakirti's case. One way to think about that which may help would be to ascertain what sort of objects of knowledge does niścaya apply to. If, as is usually claimed, for Dharmakirti only perception of discrete, momentary particulars can count as direct knowledge (in the know that P sense), while inference (or however you want to think of anumāna) yields indirect knowledge that is nonetheless true, then the question would be: To which type of knowledge-object does niścaya apply? Is it, for instance, only niścaya of doctrinal (i.e., conceptual) objects, or does one have niścaya of the momentary particulars themselves?

Does one have niścaya of both svalakṣaṇa and sāmānyalakṣaṇa, or only the latter? And if there is some sort of niścaya about svalakṣaṇa (e.g., a niścaya concerning the distinction between sva- and sāmānya-, or a determination about the svalakṣaṇa of something), does this constitute direct cognition (pratyakṣa) of that thing and/or its svalakṣaṇa, or is this rather knowledge ABOUT that thing (or its svalakṣaṇa)? While the latter would not have the same status as direct cognition, it would nonetheless be a true conceptual cognition, which is not the same as a belief or (possibly mistaken) conviction.

There are, it would seem to me, methodological procedures by which one can reach true, albeit conceptual, judgements about something. Otherwise Dharmakirti wouldn't bother doing anything or emphasize "purpose."

As for the word itself, here are some Chinese equivalents, which indicate how at least some Buddhist translators understood the term. Again, I'll provide links to Chuck Muller's online dictionary (username: guest, leave pswd blank -- don't forget to include the closing parenthesis at the end of the urls), so that you can see the plethora of *other* terms that are also rendered by these characters, to give you a feel for their semantic range.

1. The most common equivalent is 決定 jueding, which means to settle, decide upon, be certain about, reach a definite determination.
http://www.buddhism-dict.net/cgi-bin/xpr-ddb.pl?6c.xml+id('b6c7a-5b9a')

2. A similar equivalent is 決了 jueliao, which means to reach a resolute decision, or "to apprehend perfectly." It also renders niścaya, avadhāraṇa; ekântī-bhāva, nidhārayati, nirdhārayati, viniścita, vyavasthāna.
http://www.buddhism-dict.net/cgi-bin/xpr-ddb.pl?6c.xml+id('b6c7a-4e86')

3. Less common, but also used, is 剛決 gangjue: certitude, firm determination.
http://www.buddhism-dict.net/cgi-bin/xpr-ddb.pl?52.xml+id('b525b-6c7a')

Each of the above includes as part of its compound the character 決 jue, which on its own means "decide, settle, judge, fix, agree upon, resolve, arrange, determine."
http://www.buddhism-dict.net/cgi-bin/xpr-ddb.pl?6c.xml+id('b6c7a')

4. Even less common, but also attested, is 正思惟 zheng siwei, which is more commonly used as an equivalent for samyak-saṃkalpa, which would certainly go with the application of niścaya to conceptual and doctrinal knowledge-objects rather than direct cognition of discrete particulars.
http://www.buddhism-dict.net/cgi-bin/xpr-ddb.pl?6b.xml+id('b6b63-601d-60df')

5. Finally, again not that commonly used but also attested, 知 zhi, which means direct immediate cognition, and is usually translated "knowledge" or "to know."
http://www.buddhism-dict.net/cgi-bin/xpr-ddb.pl?77.xml+id('b77e5')

The sematic ranges you will find for each of these terms may help clarify -- or further complicate -- your search for certainty about niścaya.

Dan Lusthaus
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