俱舍論頌疏論本 5.45

5.45

The commentary explains: 'Name-group and so forth' sets forth the topic. 'What is called' and following begins the actual exposition. 'And so forth' includes phrase-groups and phoneme-groups. 'Idea, clause, letter, and generic expression' explains the preceding terms: 'idea' explains name (nāma); 'clause' explains phrase (pada); 'letter' explains phoneme (vyañjana); and 'generic expression' explains group (kāya). The treatise states: '"Name" means making an idea.' The explanation says: An idea is the grasping of an image, or it means convention. If grasping an image is called an idea, the idea is a mental factor; for example, when the name 'matter' (rūpa) is spoken, it can produce the idea of matter—because the idea arises due to the name, it is called 'making an idea'. If it means convention, the idea is itself the name: the noble sages jointly made conventions, establishing names such as 'matter', so the name is itself the idea. Because such names and ideas are capable of expressing meaning, they are called 'making an idea'. In Sanskrit it is called nāma, which is translated into Chinese as 'ming' (name). It conveys the senses of following, resorting, and tending toward: namely, following sound, it resorts and tends toward the referent. Calling out 'matter' and so forth, the name is capable of expressing the referent. The treatise states: '"Phrase" means a clause, which expresses a referent completely. As when one speaks clauses such as "all conditioned things are impermanent", or when it is able to distinguish actions, functions, qualities, and temporal associations and differentiations—such a clause is called a phrase.' The explanation says: Take, for example, a single instance of matter: it has the activity of being seen, and can trigger the function of consciousness. Qualities such as blue and yellow, times such as past and future, and its conjoining with the four characteristics are called 'association'. That which is not associated is called 'differentiation'. Being able to distinguish that matter is what is seen and so forth—such a clause is called a phrase. In Sanskrit it is called pada; translated according to its meaning, it is 'phrase' (sentence), but literally translated it is 'footprint' or 'step', just as an elephant's body has four footprints, and just as a single stanza (gāthā) is formed of four lines (pāda); thus it is now translated according to meaning as 'phrase'. In Sanskrit it is called vākya, which is translated here as 'clause'. A clause expresses a referent completely, and therefore 'clause' is used to explain 'phrase'. 'Phoneme' means letter (akṣara), such as the letters a, ā, i, ī, and so forth; these are letters among the conditioned factors disassociated from thought, unlike the letters written in black ink in this land. In Sanskrit it is called vyañjana, which is called 'wen' (phoneme/manifestation) in Chinese, meaning that which reveals or manifests. Directly it reveals names and phrases; indirectly it reveals meaning. In Western customs, fans, salt, and vinegar are also called vyañjana, which also carries the meaning of revealing: a fan can reveal wind, and salt and vinegar can reveal flavors in food. Therefore the older translation as 'flavor' (wei) was an erroneous rendering. 'Group' (kāya) means an assemblage. 'Generic expression' (samukti) means a combination: bringing together and expressing two or three names collectively constitutes an assemblage, and therefore 'generic expression' is used to explain the meaning of 'group'. The treatise states: '"Generic expression" means combination, because the root uc- is used in the sense of combination.' The explanation says: In the grammatical science of the Western regions for forming words, there are roots (dhātu) and affixes (pratyaya). The root is the basic meaning, and affixes assist in forming various meanings. Here, uc- is the verbal root: the ancient grammarians established the root uc- with the meaning of combination, and later, by adding affixes to the root uc-, it became samukti, which in Chinese is 'generic expression'. Knowing that the meaning of 'generic expression' derives from uc-, and that uc- means combination, it is clear that 'generic expression' also means combination. This passage states that the root uc- is used in the sense of combination to prove that 'generic expression' means combination. Since 'generic expression' explains 'group', we know that a collection of multiple names constitutes a 'name-group' and so forth. However, a single name is just a name, not a name-group. Two names are called a name-group, such as saying 'matter, sound'. Three or more names are called a group of many names, such as saying 'matter, sound, fragrance', where there are three names. A single phrase is a phrase, not a phrase-group; two phrases are phrases and also a phrase-group; three or more phrases are called a group of many phrases. As when saying 'all conditioned factors are impermanent, all dharmas are non-self, nirvāṇa is quiescence'—these are three phrases, called a group of many phrases. A single letter is a phoneme, not a phoneme-group; two letters are phonemes and also a phoneme-group; three or more letters are called a group of many phonemes. As with ka, kha, ga, having three letters, it is called a group of many phonemes. The treatise states: 'For example, the ancients established a single sound "go" with respect to nine meanings, as an established measure of expression.' There is a verse that says: