Vasubandhu

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Vasubandhu
Yogacara philosophical school
RelativesAsanga (half-brother)
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Vasubandhu (

Yogacara
school.

Vasubandhu's

Abhidharmakośakārikā ("Commentary on the Treasury of the Abhidharma") is widely used in Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism, as the major source for non-Mahayana Abhidharma philosophy. His philosophical verse works set forth the standard for the Indian Yogacara metaphysics of "appearance only" (vijñapti-mātra), which has been described as a form of "epistemological idealism", phenomenology[1] and close to Immanuel Kant's transcendental idealism.[2]
Apart from this, he wrote several commentaries, works on logic, argumentation and devotional poetry.

Vasubandhu is one of the most influential thinkers in the Indian Buddhist philosophical tradition. Because of their association with

Nalanda university, Vasubandhu and Asanga are amongst the so-called Seventeen Nalanda Masters.[3][4] In Jōdo Shinshū, he is considered the Second Patriarch; in Chan Buddhism
, he is the 21st Patriarch.

Life and works

Born in

ancient Indian subcontinent, Vasubandhu was the half brother of Asanga, another key personage in the founding of the Yogacara philosophy. Vasubandhu's name means "the Kinsman of Abundance."[5][6][7] Tibetan Buddhism sees the two brothers as part of the six great Indian commentators called the "Six Ornaments".[8] He was contemporaneous with Chandragupta I, father of Samudragupta. This information temporally places this Vasubandhu in the 4th century CE.[9] The earliest biography of Vasubandhu was translated into Chinese by Paramärtha (499-569).[10]

Vasubandhu initially studied with the Buddhist

Abhidharmakośakārikā (Verses on the Treasury of the Abhidharma), a verse distillation of Sarvastivada Abhidharma teachings, which was an analysis of all factors of experience into its constituent dharmas (phenomenal events). However Vasubandhu had also begun to question Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika view for some time, and had studied with the Sautrāntika teacher, Manoratha. Thus, his auto-commentary to his Abhidharma verses sometimes criticize the Vaibhāṣika system from a Sautrāntika viewpoint.[2] However, the work is not always critical of Vaibhāṣika, and in some cases, it also defends the orthodox Vaibhasika position.[12] The Abhidharmakośa remains the main source for Abhidharma studies in both Tibetan Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism.[13]

Vasubandhu is later said to have converted to

Vimśatikāvijñaptimātratāsiddhi), with its commentary (Viṃśatikāvṛtti), the Thirty Verses on Consciousness-only (Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā) and his Discourse on the Pure Land (Jìngtǔ lùn 浄土論). The Thirty Verses is the basis for Xuanzang's Cheng Wei Shi Lun, one of the most important sources in East Asian Yogacara Buddhism. His Pure Land treatise was also very influential on East Asian Pure Land Buddhism
.

In India, Vasubandhu became known as a major Mahayana master, scholar and debater. He is reported to have defeated Samkhya philosophers in debate in front of the Gupta king "Vikramaditya" (variously identified as Chandragupta II[14] or Skandagupta)[15] at Ayodhya, who is said to have rewarded him with 300,000 pieces of gold.[16] Vasubandhu used the money he made from royal patronage and debating victories to build Buddhist monasteries and hospitals.

As per traditional accounts, Vasubandhu died while visiting Nepal at the age of 100.[17]

Attributed works

Vasubandhu was prolific author of Buddhist treatises and commentaries. A list of his key works includes:

Treatises

  • Viṃśatikā-vijñaptimātratāsiddhi (Twenty Verses Demonstrating Consciousness Only)
  • Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā (Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only
  • Pañcaskandhaprakaraṇa (Explanation of the Five Aggregates)
  • Karmasiddhiprakarana (A Treatise on Establishing Karma) [18]
  • Vyākhyāyukti (Proper Mode of Exposition), a text on
    Buddhist Hermeneutics
    ,
  • Vādavidhi (Rules for Debate), a text of formal epistemology (pramana) theory and debate
  • *Mahāyāna śatadharmā-prakāśamukha śāstra (Baifa mingmen lun 百法明門論, Lucid Introduction to the One Hundred Dharmas, T 1614)
  • Trisvabhāva-nirdeśa (Exposition on the Three Natures) - some scholars question the attribution of this text to Vasubandhu (or at least argue that this is a late work of his which differs in various respects from other works).[19][20]
  • Paramārthasaptati, a critique of Samkhya philosophy

Commentaries

Two Vasubandhus theory

Abhidharmakośakārikā which clearly identifies Vasubandhu as the sole author of both groups of writings.[24] According to Dan Lusthaus, "Since the progression and development of his thought ... is so strikingly evident in these works, and the similarity of vocabulary and style of argument so apparent across the texts, the theory of Two Vasubandhus has little merit."[25] Scholarly consensus on this question has generally moved away from Frauwallner's "two-authors" position.[26][27]

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Abhidharma

Vasubandhu's

Creator God (Ishvara
) and against the Sarvastivada theory of avijñaptirūpa ("unperceived physicality" or "invisible physicality").

Critique of the self

Vasubandhu's critique of the self is a defence of Buddhist

soteriological motive for his argument, writing that any view which sees the self as having independent reality (e.g. the Hindu view) is not conducive to Nirvana
.

Vasubandhu then evaluates the idea of the Self from epistemic grounds (

organs. However, there is no such inference for a solid real Self apart from the stream of constantly changing sense perceptions and mental activity of the sense spheres.[2]

Vasubandhu also argues that because the Self is not causally efficient, it is mere convention (prajñapti) and a “conceptual construction” (parikalpita). This argument is mainly against the Buddhist

five aggregates
, yet was also distinct, in order to account for the continuity of personality. Vasubandhu sees this as illogical: for him, the Self is made up of constantly changing sensory organs, sense impressions, ideas and mental processes. Any imagined unity of self-hood is a false projection.

Vasubandhu also uses this analysis of the stream of consciousness to attack non-Buddhist Hindu views of the Atman. Vasubandhu shows that the Hindu view of the Self as 'controller' is refuted by an analysis of the flux and disorder of mental events and the inability of the supposed Self to control our minds and thoughts in any way we would like. If the Self is truly an eternal un-caused agent, it should be unaffected by mere physical and mental causes, and it also seems difficult to explain how such a force existing independently outside of the mind could causally interact with it.[2] Vasubandhu also answers several common objections to the Buddhist not-self view such as how karma works without a Self and what exactly undergoes rebirth. Vasubandhu points to the causal continuum of aggregates/processes which undergoes various changes leading to future karmic events and rebirth.

Momentariness

During Vasubandhu's era, the

Sarvāstivādin tradition which Vasubandhu studied held the view of the existence of dharmas (phenomenal events) in all three times (past, present, future). This was said to be their defining theoretical position, hence their name Sarvāstivāda is Sanskrit for "theory of all exists". In contrast to this eternalist view, the Sautrāntika, a rival offshoot, held the doctrine of "extreme momentariness", a form of presentism
(only the present moment exists).

In the Abhidharmakośakārikā, Vasubandhu puts forth the Sarvāstivādin theory, and then in his commentary (bhasya) he critiques this theory and argues for the 'momentariness' of the Sautrāntika. He also later wrote the Karma-siddhi-prakaraṇa ("Exposition Establishing Karma") which also expounded the momentariness view (kṣanikavāda). Vasubandhu's view here is that each dharma comes into existence only for a moment in which it discharges its causal efficacy and then self-destructs, the stream of experience is then a causal series of momentary dharmas. The issue of continuity and transference of

ālayavijñāna), which stores karmic seeds (bīja
) and survives rebirth.

Yogacara theories

According to Dan Lusthaus, Vasubandhu's major ideas are:[11]

  • "Whatever we are aware of, think about, experience, or conceptualize, occurs to us nowhere else than within consciousness."
  • "External objects do not exist."
  • "Karma is collective and consciousness is intersubjective."
  • "All factors of experience (dharmas) can be catalogued and analyzed."
  • "Buddhism is a method for purifying the stream of consciousness from 'contaminations' and 'defilements.'"
  • "Each individual has eight types of consciousness, but Enlightenment (or Awakening) requires overturning their basis, such that consciousness (vijñaana) is 'turned' into unmediated cognition (jñaana)."

Appearance only

Vasubandhu's main Yogacara works (Viṃśatikā and Triṃśikā) put forth the theory of "vijñaptimātra" which has been rendered variously as 'representation-only', 'consciousness-only' and 'appearance-only'. While some scholars such as Lusthaus see Vasubandhu as expounding a phenomenology of experience, others (Sean Butler) see him as expounding some form of

Kant or George Berkeley.[29]

The

Twenty verses
begins by stating:

In Mahayana philosophy...[reality is] viewed as being consciousness-only...Mind (citta), thought (manas), consciousness (chit), and perception (pratyaksa) are synonyms. The word "mind" (citta) includes mental states and mental activities in its meaning. The word "only" is intended to deny the existence of any external objects of consciousness. We recognize, of course, that "mental representations seem to be correlated with external (non-mental) objects; but this may be no different from situations in which people with vision disorders 'see' hairs, moons, and other things that are 'not there.'"[2]

One of Vasubandhu's main arguments in the Twenty verses is the

parsimonious and rational.[2]

The

tathagatagarbha
(Buddha Nature).

Three natures and non-duality

The Thirty verses and the "Three Natures Exposition" (Trisvabhavanirdesha) does not, like the Twenty verses, argue for appearance only, but assumes it and uses it to explain the nature of experience which is of "three natures" or "three modes". These are the fabricated nature (parikalpitasvabhāva), the dependent (paratantrasvabhāva) and the absolute (pariniṣpannasvabhāva). The fabricated nature is the world of everyday experience and mental appearances. Dependent nature is the causal process of the arising of the fabricated nature while the absolute nature is things as they are in themselves, with no subject object distinction.

According to Vasubandhu, the absolute, reality itself (dharmatā) is

non-dual, and the dichotomy of perception into perceiver and perceived is actually a conceptual fabrication. For Vasubandhu, to say that something is non-dual is that it is both conceptually non-dual and perceptually non-dual.[2] To say that "I" exist is to conceptually divide the causal flux of the world into self and other, a false construct. Just the same, to say that an observed object is separate from the observer is also to impute a false conception into the world as it really is - perception only. Vasubandhu uses the analogy of a magician who uses a magic spell (dependent nature, conceptual construction) to make a piece of wood (the absolute, non-duality) look like an elephant (fabricated nature, duality). The basic problem for living beings who suffer is that they are fooled by the illusion into thinking that it is real, that self and duality exists, true wisdom is seeing through this illusion.[2]

Logic

Vasubandhu contributed to

formal logic in the Indian logico-epistemological tradition. He was particularly interested in formal logic to fortify his contributions to the traditions of dialectical contestability and debate
. Anacker (2005: p. 31) holds that:

A Method for Argumentation (Vāda-vidhi) is the only work on logic by Vasabandhu which has to any extent survived. It is the earliest of the treatises known to have been written by him on the subject. This is all the more interesting because Vāda-vidhi marks the dawn of Indian formal logic. The title, "Method for Argumentation", indicates that Vasabandhu's concern with logic was primarily motivated by the wish to mould formally flawless arguments, and is thus a result of his interest in philosophical debate.[30]

This text also paved the way for the later developments of

Dignaga and Dharmakirti
in the field of logic.

Works

  • Abhidharma Kosha Bhashyam 4 vols, Vasubandhu, translated into English by Leo Pruden (based on Louis de La Vallée-Poussin’s French translation), Asian Humanities Press, Berkeley, 1988-90.
  • L’Abhidharmakosa de Vasubandhu, traduit et annoté par Louis de La Vallée-Poussin, Paul Geuthner, Paris, 1923-1931 vol.1 vol.2 vol.3 vol.4 vol.5 vol.6 Internet Archive (PDF)
  • Stefan Anacker, Seven Works of Vasubandhu Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1984, 1998
  • Ernst Steinkellner and Xuezhu Li (eds), Vasubandhu's Pañcaskandhaka (Wien, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008) (Sanskrit Texts from the Tibetan Autonomous Region, 4).
  • Dharmamitra, trans.; Vasubandhu's Treatise on the Bodhisattva Vow, Kalavinka Press 2009,
    ISBN 978-1-935413-09-7

Notes

  1. ^ Lusthaus, Dan (2002). Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogācāra Philosophy and the Ch'eng Wei-shih lun. New York, NY: Routledge.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Gold, Jonathan C. (2015). ""Vasubandhu"". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  3. ISBN 978-1-00-021549-6
    .
  4. ^ "The Seventeen Pandits of Nalanda Monastery". Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition.
  5. ISBN 978-81-208-1967-2
    . According to tradition Vasubandhu was born in Puruşapura, the capital of Gāndhāra (the modern Peshawar in Western Pakistan).
  6. ISBN 978-0-7914-9882-8
    . The principal founders of this school, the brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu, were born in Puruṣapura, today Peshawar in Pakistan, and lived probably in the fourth century.
  7. ISBN 978-8120802032
    .
  8. ^ "Six Ornaments - Rigpa Wiki".
  9. ^ Dharma Fellowship (2005). Yogacara Theory - Part One: Background History. Source: [1] Archived 2018-01-20 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed: November 15, 2007)
  10. ^ Takakusu, J., trans. (1904). The Life of Vasubandhu by Paramartha, T'oung-pao 5, 269 - 296
  11. ^ a b Lusthaus, Dan; Vasubandhu
  12. ^ Vasubandhu; Lodrö Sangpo; La Vallée Poussin, Louis de (2012). Abhidharmakośa-Bhāṣya of Vasubandhu: the treasury of the Abhidharma and its (Auto) commentary. Delhi, India. pp. 1191–1192. ISBN 978-81-208-3607-5.
  13. ^ Lamotte, Etienne (2001), Karmasiddhi Prakarana: The Treatise on Action by Vasubandhu, English translation by Leo M. Pruden, Asian Humanities Press
  14. ISBN 978-81-85179-78-0
    .
  15. OCLC 769116023
    .
  16. ISBN 978-8120802032
    .
  17. ISBN 0-691-02067-1
    .
  18. ^ Keenan, John, P., transl. (2017). Mahayana Demonstration on the Theme of Action, in: Three Short Treatises by Vasubandhu, Sengzhao, and Zongmi, Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai America, pp.5-46. ISBN 978-1-886439-66-5
  19. ^ McNamara, Daniel (2011). “On the Status of the Trisvabhāvanirdeśa in Contemporary Conceptions of Yogācāra Thought.”
  20. ^ Matthew Kapstein. Who Wrote the Trisvabhāvanirdeśa? Reflections on an Enigmatic Text and Its Place in the History of Buddhist Philosophy. Journal of Indian Philosophy, 2017. ⟨halshs-02503277⟩
  21. ^ D’AMATO, M. “THREE NATURES, THREE STAGES: AN INTERPRETATION OF THE YOGĀCĀRA ‘TRISVABHĀVA’-THEORY.” Journal of Indian Philosophy, vol. 33, no. 2, 2005, pp. 185–207. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23497001. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.
  22. ^ Matsumoto, David (2012). "Jōdoron 浄土論: Discourse on the Pure Land". The Seven Patriarchs of Jodo-Shinshu Buddhism.
  23. ISBN 9781886439450
    .
  24. S2CID 170974872
    .
  25. ^ Dan Lusthaus, "What is and isn't Yogacara.".
  26. ^ Anacker, Stefan (2005). Seven Works of Vasubandhu. Delhi: MLBD. pp. 7–28.
  27. ^ Gold, Jonathan C. (22 April 2011). "Vasubandhu". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition). Stanford University.
  28. ^ Lusthaus, Vasubandhu Archived 2017-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ Butler, Sean (2011) "Idealism in Yogācāra Buddhism," The Hilltop Review: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 6. Available at: http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/hilltopreview/vol4/iss1/6
  30. ^ Anacker, Stefan (2005, rev.ed.). Seven Works of Vasubandhu: The Buddhist Psychological Doctor. Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass. (First published: 1984; Reprinted: 1986, 1994, 1998; Corrected: 2002; Revised: 2005), p.31

References

  • David J. Kalupahana, The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1987, pp 173–192.
  • Francis H. Cook, Three Texts on Consciousness Only, Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, Berkeley, 1999, pp 371–383 ("Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only") and pp 385–408 ("Twenty Verses on Consciousness Only")
  • Erich Frauwallner, The Philosophy of Buddhism, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2010 [1956].
  • Li Rongxi, Albert A. Dalia (2002). The Lives of Great Monks and Nuns, Berkeley CA: Numata Center for Translation and Research
  • Thich
    Nhat Hanh
    Transformation at the Base (subtitle) Fifty Verses on the Nature of Consciousness, Parallax Press, Berkeley, 2001; inspired in part by Vasubandhu and his Twenty Verses and Thirty Verses texts
  • Kochumuttom, Thomas (1982). A Buddhist Doctrine of Experience: A New Translation and Interpretation of the Works of Vasubandhu the Yogacarin. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass

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