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Aspects of Mahayana Buddhism and its Relation to Hinayana c8.s8: VI. Abhimukhī or Pratītyasamutpādapratisamyuktā-dhiprajñāvihāra

Aspects of Mahāyāna Buddhism and its Relation to Hīnayāna c8.s8

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VI. Abhimukhī or Pratītyasamutpādapratisamyuktā-dhiprajñāvihāra

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A Bodhisattva, on the completion of the mārgas, passes to the sixth bhūmi and realises the ten kinds of sameness,¹ viz., the sameness of all dharmas on account of their being (i) animitta (baseless), (ii) alakṣaṇa (signless), (iii) anutpāda (originless), (iv) ajāta (unborn), (v) vivikta (detached), (vi) ādiviśuddha (pure in the very beginning), (vii) niṣprapañca (inexpressible), (viii) anāyūha-niryūha (non-taken and non-rejected), (ix) māyāsvapnapratibhāsapratiśrutkopama (similar to dream, illusion, or echo), and (x) bhāvābhāvādvaya (identity of existence and non-existence).

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¹ Cf. B. Bh., p. 18. The Mtu. (I, p. 120) does not speak of anything particular in this bhūmi. It simply says that a bodhisattva by associating with the meditating ascetics (yogācāras) and by developing śamatha and vipaśyanā passes from the 5th to the 6th bhūmi.

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Looking upon all things in this manner, the bodhisattva through his deep faith reaches the sixth bhūmi but does not yet attain the anutpattikadharmakṣānti (faith in the non-origination of things by nature). As mahākaruṇā predominates in his mind, he pities the beings who, on account of their ignorance, think of the things of the world as originating, decaying and possessing a soul (ātman). Not knowing the truth, they walk along the wrong path, are moved by merits and demerits, and thus have some abhisamskāras (thought-constructions). The thought-seed (citta-bījam) thus produced by the abhisamskāras becomes contaminated (sāsrava), being full of upādāna (attachment to existence) and productive of birth, old age, death and rebirth. Then by the thought-creation of karma-kṣetra (fields of action), ignorance and desire, a net of views is woven, from which come name and form (nāma-rūpa); from them arise in succession the five organs of sense, contact, feeling (vedanā), abhinandana (enjoyment) combined with tṛṣṇā (desire), attachment (upādāna), desire for existence (bhava), and five skandhas distributed into five classes of beings (gatipañcaka). These beings fade into old age, despair, etc. The bodhisattva comprehends that there is really no doer of these, which, being by nature uncreated by any power (anābhoga, śāntilakṣaṇa), disappear and there is no destroyer of them. The bodhisattva further realises that the non-comprehension of the highest Truth is avidyā (ignorance) and avidyā is the source of saṃskāras, which produce the first citta-vijñāna with its concomitant (sahaja) the four upādāna-skandhas, from which arise name and form and gradually the mass of sufferings. The tree of suffering grows without any doer, or feeler (kārakavedakarahita). So he realises that these three worlds are all mere thought-constructions (cittamātram yad idaṃ traidhātukam).¹

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¹ The Pratītyasamutpāda is explained here from ten different standpoints, see Daśa., pp. 48-51. See ante, pp. 210-1.

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Through his comprehension of the law of causation from the ten different standpoints and on account of his being convinced of the fact that there is no doer or feeler, and no creator (asvāmika), and that all things are subject to cause and condition, and devoid of any essence, detached from everything else, and essentially non-existing, the bodhisattva realises the śūnyatā-vimokṣamukha (release of essencelessness).² Then by comprehending that the bhavāṅgas (the links in the chain of causation) are by nature extinct (svabhāva-nirodha), he does not notice any dharmanimitta (basis of dharmas) and thus he attains animitta-vimokṣamukha (release of baselessness). Lastly, on account of his understanding the śūnyatā and animittatā of all bhavāṅgas, he does not really seek any vimokṣa, though he keeps up the appearance of doing so out of compassion for the innumerable beings; hence he obtains apraṇihita-vimokṣamukha (release of desirelessness). Keeping mahākaruṇā before him, he completes the bodhyaṅgas which are still incomplete, and being convinced of the fact that the saṃskāras proceed from the assemblage of, or connection with, materials that are by nature non-originating and non-decaying, he turns his mind to asaṅgajñāna (knowledge free from attachment) called Prajñāpāramitāvihāra ³ and develops it greatly. He now practises all the śūnyatā, animitta and apraṇihita samādhis and develops ten āśayas for rising higher and higher in the spiritual attainments and goes beyond every possible chance of fall to Śrāvaka or Pratyekabuddha stages. Of the ten pāramitās he greatly develops the prajñāpāramitā.¹

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² Cf. B. Bh., p. 18.

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³ Cf. B. Bh., p. 19.

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¹ Śata., p. 1456 says that a Bodhisattva in this bhūmi completes the six pāramitās and avoids the following six thoughts: śrāvakacittam, pratyekabuddhacittam, paritarṣaṇacittam, anabalinacittam, durmanascittam and vikṣepacittam.

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A bodhisattva by passing through these bhūmis attains all the qualities of an arhat besides those which are indispensable to a bodhisattva. He is now an arhat because, as the Laṅkāvatāra says, he is now free from the thought-constructions (vikalpa) of dhyāna (meditation), dheya (objects of meditation), samādhi (concentration), vimokṣa (release), bala (powers) abhijñā (higher knowledge), kleśa (afflictions) and duḥkha (misery).²

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² Laṅkā., p. 120.

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We have seen that, according to the Hīnayānists, an adept on completion of the paññā practices becomes an arhat. Buddhaghosa devotes the last twenty chapters of the Visuddhimagga to the elucidation of the various matters which comprise the Paññābhūmi. In this bhūmi³ the adept is expected to examine analytically the five skandhas (constituents of the body), the twelve āyatanas (fields of the organs of sense), twenty kinds of indriyas (faculties), four truths, and the twelve-linked chain of causation. These are only the preliminary practices of the Paññābhūmi. These help the adepts to complete the bhāvanāmārga. We have seen⁴ that the bhāvanāmārga commences in the sixteenth moment, i.e., the last moment of the darśana-mārga when the adept becomes srotāpanna. So the adepts while progressing along the stages of sanctification complete the sila- and citta-visuddhis and partially the visuddhi relating to paññā. These visuddhis, as classified in the Visuddhimagga⁵ and the Abhidhammattha-saṅgaha⁶ are "(i) diṭṭhivisuddhi (purity of views), kaṅkhāvita-raṇa-visuddhi (purity by which all the sixteen classes of doubts with reference to the past, present and future are transcended); maggāmaggañāṇadassanavisuddhi (purity consisting in the distinguishing of the actual path from that which is not the path); paṭipadāñāṇadassanavisuddhi (purity of insight during the progress of the practice of discernment), and ñāṇadassanavisuddhi¹ (purity-insight or path-insight).² In the arhat stage, the adept gets rid of the five saṃyojanas (uddhambhāgiyas), all kilesas (afflictions), āsavas (impurities) and comprehends finally the real sense of the four truths, i.e., he obtains perfect knowledge and his mind is completely freed. He will have no more rebirth and will attain Nibbāna. This is also borne out by the description of the arhats that we find in the Prajñāpāramitās and other Mahāyāna texts. It generally runs thus: An arhat is kṣīṇāsrava (devoid of the four āsravas). niṣkleśa (free from afflictions), vaśībhūta (with a well-controlled self), suvimuktacitta (with the mind completely freed), suvimuktaprajña (with knowledge cleared up), ājāneya (well-bred), kṛtakṛtya (doer of all that is to be done); apahṛtabhāra (relieved of the burden of five skandhas), anuprāpta-svakārtha (successful in achieving the object of life) and parikṣīṇabhavasaṃyojana (free from the fetters of rebirth).

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³ Vis. M., p. 443.

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⁴ See ante, pp. 253 ff.

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⁵ Vis. M., pp. 443, 587ff.

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⁶ Mrs. Rhys Davids has lucidly explained these visuddhis in her Intro. to the Compendium; her English rendering has been adopted here; for further details, see Comp. of Phil., pp. 65ff.

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¹ Vis. M., p. 672 : sotāpattimaggo sakadāgāmimaggo anāgāmimaggo arahattamaggo ti imesu pana catusu maggesu ñāṇam ñāṇadassanavisuddhināma.

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² Buddhaghosa calls these five visuddhis ‘sarīra’ while the sīla- and citta-visuddhis ‘mūla.’ See Vis. M., p. 443.

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Corresponding to the two classes of sotāpannas called Saddhānusārī and Dhammānusārī, the arhats are also divided into two classes: Ubhatobhāgavimutta and Paññāvimutta.³ The former comprises those who realise the eight vimokkhas (releases)⁴ and destroys their āsavas (impurities) by paññā (knowledge) while the latter comprises those who do not realise the eight vimokkhas but destroy their āsavas by paññā.⁵

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³ See ante, p. 251.

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⁴ Dīgha, II, pp. 70-1 (up to saññāvedayitanirodha).

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⁵ Ibid., II, p. 71; Pug. P., p. 14; Aṅguttara, IV, p. 453; Kośa, VI. 63. The Aṅguttara, IV, pp. 452-3, however, says that the Paññāvimutta attains the eight vimokkhas, and omits the words “kāyena phassitvā” which are mentioned in connection with the Kāyasakkhins and Ubhatobhāgavimuttas.

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All the arhats, it seems, did not possess the paṭisambhidās, which a bodhisattva acquires among others in the ninth bhūmi. It is often found that an arhat who possessed paṭisambhidā also was specially described as sahapaṭisambhidā arahattam pāpuṇi (i.e., attained arahathood with paṭisambhidā).¹

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¹ Mil., p. 18; DhP. A., II, pp. 58, 78, 93; Aṅguttara, II, p. 160: Sāriputta attained it within a fortnight after his ordination; Mahāvaṃsa, pp. 3-6: pabinnaṭṭhādiñāṇānaṃ piṭakattayadhāriṇam....arhantānaṃ; p. 54: chaḷabhiññe tepiṭake pabhinnapaṭisambhide, etc.

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With the sixth bhūmi, our comparison of the Hinayānic and Mahāyānic stages ends. The accounts of the remaining four bhūmis have nothing to do with the Hinayānic practices, and besides, the attainments for which a bodhisattva performs the tasks of these bhūmis were unknown to the Hinayānists. From the seventh bhūmi really commence the attempts of the bodhisattva to realise the dharmaśūnyatā, the nirnimittatā of things cognised by us, and the four bhūmis only indicate the gradual development of this knowledge of bodhisattvas until the Tathāgatabhūmi, in which he becomes a perfect Tathāgata and one with all the other Tathāgatas. The Hinayānists, of course, accord a very high position to Buddha with the extraordinary powers and attributes, some of which are found mentioned in connection with the last four bhūmis.

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