俱舍論記 3.28

3.28

"Moreover, the organ of speech and the rest... [up to] because they have sovereignty": this asks from the standpoint of the Sāṃkhya. The Sāṃkhya school establishes twenty-five principles (tattvas). Regarding the twenty-five principles: First is the self (puruṣa); they postulate an eternal self whose essence is consciousness (cetanā), which in nature is only an experiencer (bhoktṛ) and not an agent (kartṛ); the other twenty-four principles are 'mine' (belongings of the self), being what the self experiences. Second is primordial nature (prakṛti), which has sattva, rajas, and tamas as its essence, also called pleasure, pain, and delusion, or grief, joy, and darkness; these three are like the ministers of the self. When the self desires to experience objects, they transform for the self; when they have not yet transformed, each abides in its own nature, hence the name primordial nature. Third, from primordial nature arises the intellect (mahat): when the self reflects and wishes to experience objects, at the moment when the three phenomena perceive and stir, because its nature is great, it is named mahat. Fourth, from mahat arises ego-sense (ahaṃkāra): because it conceives of that self, it is called ego-sense. Fifth, from ego-sense arise the five subtle elements (tanmātras), namely visible form, sound, odor, taste, and tangibility; adding the previous, these make nine. Sixth, from the five subtle elements arise the five gross elements (mahābhūtas), namely earth, water, fire, wind, and space; adding the previous, these make fourteen. That is, visible form can generate fire, because fire is red in color; sound can generate space, because sound exists in space; odor can generate earth, because there is much odor in earth; taste can generate water, because there is much taste in water; tangibility can generate wind, because wind can touch the body. Seventh, from the five gross elements arise the eleven faculties (indriyas), namely eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind, hands, feet, the organ of excretion, the organ of generation, and the organ of speech. The organ of speech is the fleshy tongue; adding the previous, these make twenty-five. That is, fire can generate the eye, which in turn can see visible forms; space can generate the ear, which in turn can hear sounds; earth can generate the nose, which in turn can smell odors; water can generate the tongue, which in turn can taste flavors; wind can generate the body, which in turn can perceive tangibles. The five gross elements together can generate mind, hands, feet, the organ of excretion, the organ of generation, and the organ of speech. They postulate the physical heart as the mind. In that school's doctrine, all phenomena are eternal, like transforming gold into rings and bracelets: the gold color does not change, while the shapes of rings and the like differ. When the self desires to experience objects, from primordial nature arises mahat, from mahat arises ahaṃkāra, from ahaṃkāra arise the five subtle elements, from the five subtle elements arise the five gross elements, and from the five gross elements arise the eleven faculties. When the self does not experience objects, from the eleven faculties it returns back into the five gross elements, from the five gross elements back into the five subtle elements, from the five subtle elements back into ahaṃkāra, from ahaṃkāra back into mahat, and from mahat back into primordial nature. Here, the challenge is raised based on the five organs of action (karmendriyas) among the eleven faculties of their school. The organ of speech refers to the fleshy tongue, which has sovereignty over speaking; hands have sovereignty over grasping; feet have sovereignty over walking; the organ of excretion has sovereignty over eliminating waste; the organ of generation has sovereignty over the pleasures of sexual desire. Since these all possess sovereignty, they should be established as faculties.