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Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c35.s6: The Saṃkantikas or Sautrāntikas

Early Monastic Buddhism v2.c35.s6

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The Saṃkantikas or Sautrāntikas

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In the Pāli tradition the Saṃkantikas are described as an offshoot of the Kassapikas, and from the Saṃkantikas branched off the Suttavādīs. Vasumitra writes² that at the beginning of the 4th century (i.e. after Buddha's death), one school named the Sautrāntika, otherwise called the Saṃkrāntivāda, issued again from the Sarvāstivāda; (the founder of this school) declares himself: "I take Ānanda as my preceptor." From these two traditions, it seems that the Suttavādīs are identical with the Sautrāntikas, having branched off from the earlier school the Saṃkantikas, who may also be equated to the Dārṣṭāntikas of Vasubandhu.³

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² Masuda, p. 17.

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³ See *Kośa*, Index.

Doctrines

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Vasumitra characterises the Sautrāntikas as the school which admits the transference of skandhamātras from one existence to another as distinguished from the Sammitīyas who maintain the transference of pudgala. Both of these views are wholly opposed to the cardinal doctrine of the early Buddhists, viz., kṣaṇika (momentary) existence of skandhas (constituents of a being), i.e., the skandhas disintegrate every moment to give rise to another. The Sautrāntikas, in deference to this old kṣaṇika theory, add that the skandhas in their gross form do not pass from one existence to another; the mūlāntika (original or the subtlest form of) skandhas all the five of which are of one nature (ekarasa), in other words, which are in reality one substance and not five different substances pass from one existence to another. Bhāvaviveka in his Tarkajvāla (see Obermiller, Analysis of the Abhisamayālaṅkāra, pt. iii, p. 380) states that the school admitted the reality of the individual which is something inexpressible but neither identical nor different from the skandhas.

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The second doctrine attributed by Vasumitra to this school is "apart from the aryan paths there is no eternal destruction of the skandhas." This shows that according to the Sautrāntikas, the skandhas, gross or subtle end in nirvāṇa. This view is also allied to the doctrine of the Sammitīyas that the pudgala ceases in nirvāṇa. So we may state that according to the Sautrāntikas, the subtle skandhas like the pudgala of the Sammitīyas may continue through several existences but totally cease to exist in Nirvāṇa.

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For this doctrine of transference of skandhamātras through several existences, the Sautrāntikas are also called Saṃkrāntivādins or Saṃkrāntikas.

Kośa on the Sautrāntika doctrines

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Though Vasubandhu belonged to the Sarvāstivāda school, in his writings occasionally he gave preference to the Sautrāntika views. For this, he was severely criticised by Saṃghabhadra, who was a staunch Sarvāstivādin. In the Kośa, Vasubandhu has referred to the Sautrāntika doctrines on several occasions and pointed out the differences between the Sarvāstivāda and Sautrāntika views. Prof. La Vallée Poussin has summed up these references in his introduction to the French translation of the *Kośa*. As these throw welcome light on the Sautrāntika doctrines a gist of the same is given here:—

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(i) The Sautrāntikas do not accept the *Abhidharmapiṭaka* of the Sarvāstivādins as authoritative (*Kośa*, i. 3). On this point Vasubandhu supports the Sautrāntikas.¹

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¹ Acc. to the Sautrāntikas, *buddhavacana* is *vāg-vijñapti*, see *Kośa*, i 25; iv. 2.

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(ii) The *asaṃskṛtas* have no real existence. There is a long controversy in the *Kośa* (ii. 55) between the Sarvāstivādins and the Sautrāntikas as to whether the *asaṃskṛtas* have any cause or fruits.

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(iii) The Sautrāntikas deny the *citta-viprayuktas* (i.e. *saṃskāras* not associated with mind, e.g. *prāpti*, *sabhāgatā*, *jīvitendriya*, etc.) as real as contended by the Sarvāstivādins (*Kośa*, ii. 35-36).

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(iv) The Sautrāntikas like all other schools reject the Sarvāstivāda view that past and future exist (*Kośa*, v. 25).

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(v) By admitting the existence of the past and of *prāpti*, the Sarvāstivādins explained the function of causality. The Sautrāntikas denied both of these and asserted instead the existence of the subtle *citta* or *bīja* or *vāsanā* and explained thereby the working of the formulae of causation (*Kośa*, ii. 36, 50).

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(vi) The Sautrāntikas carry the *kṣaṇikatva* doctrine to the extreme point, asserting that it almost verges on zero, and as such, objects can have, in fact, no duration (*sthiti*). It further asserts that as destruction of objects takes place almost immediately, there is no necessity of any effective cause.² (vii) The Sautrāntikas deny the existence of *avijñapti* (non-communicating corporeal and vocal acts)¹ as a real (*dravya*). They hold in agreement with the Theravādins that an *avijñapti* act is mental (*cetanā*), a *kāyasamcetanā*.

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² See *Kośa*, iv 2-3. The *Ṣaddarśanasamuccaya* cites this passage from a sūtra of the Sautrāntikas: पञ्चमानि भिक्षवः संज्ञामात्रं प्रतिज्ञामात्रं संवृतिमात्रं व्यवहारमात्रं । कतमानि पञ्च । अतीतोऽध्वा अनागतोऽध्वा सहितको विनाशः आकाशं

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¹ For details, see *Kośa*, iv. 3.

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(viii) According to the commentary of the *Vijñaptimātratāśāstra*, the Sautrāntikas are divided in their opinion relating to the conception of *citta* (mind) and *caittas* (mental states). According to the Dārṣṭāntika-Sautrāntikas, *citta* only exists but not the *caittas*, but according to other Sautrāntikas *caittas* also exist and their number according to some is three, viz., *vedanā*, *samjñā* and *cetanā*, while according to others it is four, ten or fourteen. Some Sautrāntikas admit the existence of all the *caittas* of the Sarvāstivādins (for details, see *Kośa*, transl., ii. 23, fn.).

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(ix) The Sautrāntikas hold that the body of an arhat is pure, as it is produced by knowledge.²

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² See above, p. 89 n 164.

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(x) There may be many Buddhas simultaneously.³

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³ See above, p. 75.

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