Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s7.t12.37

v1.c7.s7.t12.37

Pratyaksha means sense perception. The *Vaiśeṣika-sūtra* further classified pratyaksha into two kinds: regular partyaksha; and Yogi-pratyaksha. They were also named as earthly pratyaksha and non-earthly pratyaksha by later generations. The former only covers the ordinary things in the world, while the latter covers such diverse metaphysical dimensions such as ego, emptiness, space, mind, etc. The “*Daśapadārthaśāstra*” doesn’t distinguish between regular partyaksha and Yogi-pratyaksha, but analyses the major factors contributing to the generation of perception, postulating that the generation of perception normally relies on four factors: “Jing”, literally “environment”, referring to the surrounding objects that can be perceived by five senses; “Gen”, literally “root”, referring to one’s five senses; “Yi”, literally “mind”, referring to the link between five senses and “self”; and “Wo”, literally “self”, referring to the one who perceives. And according to the book and other Vaisheshika works, the normal process of generation of perception can be described as follows: firstly, one’s “Gen” (five senses) come in contact with “Jing” (external environment), giving rising to impressions, which will soon be picked up by “Yi”, which is not an element of consciousness but a material one. It is extremely small in size, and can move very fast within the body. And when the information gathered by five senses is transmitted to “self”, perception occurs. However, according to the Vaisheshika school, for perception to occur, it is not necessary to have all four factors at once. Two, “Wo” and “Yi”, or three, “Wo”, “Gen”, “Yi”, of the four may be sufficient to generate perception.