Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c10.s2: Nāgārjuna's conclusion
Early Monastic Buddhism v1.c10.s2
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Nāgārjuna's conclusion
v1.c10.s2.1
Nāgārjuna is not prepared to accept the contention of the non-Buddhists that a perfectly pure ātman exists without the skandhas, on the ground that any analysis of the constituents of a being does not furnish us with any proof about its independent existence. It has, according to N., for its basis a mere notion, to which the non-Buddhists have attributed existence and qualities.
v1.c10.s2.2
So he says that the characteristics, which the non-Buddhists, attribute to ātman, are not based on the actual conception of the form of ātman (na svarūpata ātmanamupalabhya). They do not understand the real basis of the notion of ātman; it is a mere term. Though they cannot establish anything, yet, out of fear, they recede from even the conventional truth and become entangled in pure conjectures, and being thus deluded, they conceive of an ātman and attribute to it some characteristics. Nāgārjuna then quotes a few verses giving his own idea of the ātman. He says: Just as on account of a mirror, an image, which is not real, is seen, so also on account of the skandhas, the notion of I-ness, which is unreal, arises.¹ As without a mirror, an image is not seen, so without the conglomeration of elements (skandhas), the notion of I-ness does not arise.²
v1.c10.s2.3
¹ The simile is: I=Image on a mirror; skandhas=mirror.
v1.c10.s2.4
² M. Vr., p. 345:
v1.c10.s2.5
The topic of anattā forms the subject-matter of Buddha's second discourse to his five comrades (Vin. I, pp. 13-14) and constitutes the keynote of Buddhism. In this discourse, when Buddha denied the existence of attā, i.e., of any permanent substance apart from the khandhas, he cannot be expected to solve the 'indeterminable' (avyākata) problems, as all of them hinge on nature and existence of attā.
v1.c10.s2.6
यथादर्शमुपादाय स्वमुखप्रतिबिम्बकं। दृश्यते नाम तच्चैव न किंचिदपि तत्त्वतः॥
अहंकारस्तथा स्कन्धानुपादायोपलभ्यते। न च कश्चित्तत्त्वेन स्वमुखप्रतिबिम्बवत्॥
यथादर्शमनादाय स्वमुखप्रतिबिम्बकं। न दृश्यते तथा स्कन्धाननादायाहमित्यपि॥
v1.c10.s2.7
These verses served to remove the avidyā of Ānanda and made him an Arhat.
Linked texts (1)
- Mahāvagga — Pāli