[Buddha-l] Pudgalavada #3a

[Dan Lusthaus]

(bounced again, so I am further splitting the middle part)

The Longer version (pt. 1):



四阿鋡暮抄解

 

Q: Why is it not said?

 

A: The not-said: [This refers to what is] not said in the heuristics for appropriation, metaphorical device, and cessation. (sūtra)

 

Those are the heuristics for appropriation, heuristics by metaphorical device (方便), and the heuristics for cessation. This means that whoever is stupid concerning these 'not saids' lacks insight.

 

The heuristics for appropriation [involves] using the name "a living-one" (In Sanskrit, the words for "living one" and "sentient being" sound the same)

[whether he is thinking of sattva or jīva, or both, is unclear, though what follows works better with jīva.]

 

[The idea] that the presently appropriated skandhas, dhātus, and āyatanas are appropriated by an inner living-one is a heuristic. This means that [when one talks about the] present appropriation of an inner living-one appropriating dharmas due to saṃskāras and the fetters (saṃyojana), these are heuristics for appropriation. The dharmas that the living-one heuristically appropriates are not the same as the living-one. It's not as if one seeks to get the jīva and the body to combine [into a single thing]. If they are the same, then [the jīva would be] impermanent and [prone to] suffering; if they are different, then [the jīva] would be permanent [and yet] deemed as [prone to] suffering [which is absurd, since "what is impermanent is suffering"]. 

If it is permanent, one wouldn't [need to] practice brahmacarya [a religious life]. If it is not permanent, one would be unsuited for the brahmacarya fruit. For that which is impermanent, receiving and giving would be ineffective (無義 vyartha). Ineffectiveness is tantamount to nihilism; in these two metaphorical devices (方便中二) [of permanence and annihilation] there is no dharma [conducive to either] suffering or the favorable. (In order to lead practioners [lit. masters], the Buddha metaphorically responds [to beings' needs] with different paths, so that both are attained.) The heuristic metaphorical device (方便) is naming.

 

Dan Lusthaus
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