Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c12.s3.t4.50

v2.c12.s3.t4.50

It is widely acknowledged that the Yoga school borrowed extensively from the Samkhya school, which held that reincarnation results from the combination of *prakriti* and *purusha*. In the philosophical system of the Yoga school, the two entities are called “the seer” and “the seen”, respectively. Both schools believed that “purusha” is a spiritual or positive entity, while *prakriti* is a material or negative entity. When *purusha* affects *prakriti*, the two will combine, generating all things or all kinds of life phenomena and giving rise to reincarnation. During this process, *purusha* can be called “the seer”, while *prakriti* may be referred to as “the seen”.