On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v1.c8.s6.18.1

v1.c8.s6.18.1

After mastering the Siddham the Indian child, according to Yuan-chuang, was introduced to the “great śāstras of the Five Sciences (Wu-ming-ta-lun 五明大論). The word ming of this phrase is often used to translate the Sanskrit word vidyā, but a five-fold classification of vidyā does not seem to be known to Indian literature. We find, however, our pilgrim’s list in certain Chinese translations of Buddhist books and the “sciences” are there acquired by aspiring Bodhisattvas.¹ They are called the “Five Science places” or the “Five Science śāstras”. In his translation of the present passage Julien has treated the name of each ming as the name of a treatise. This is evidently a mistake, and the context shews that ming here denotes a department of knowledge, and that the Wu-ming named are the literatures of five categories of learning and speculation. Yuan-chuang properly places at the head the Shêng-ming or “Science of Sounds”, i. e. Grammar. Julien agrees with I-ching in giving Śabdavidyā as the original for this term. But Śabdavidyā was apparently the Buddhist name for Grammar which by the people of India generally was called Vyākarana. It is this latter word also which Yuan-chuang elsewhere uses as the original for Shêng-ming. The next group is called Chiao-or in some texts Kung-chiao(工巧)-ming, the “Science of the Arts and Crafts”. Julien retranslates the Chinese name by Śilpasthānavidyā, which seems to be rather the original for the “Arts-place Science” of the sūtra.