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Abstract
In the early āgamas and nikāyas, prajñā is integrated with the practice of śīla
and samādhi. Primarily, it is the true understanding of the Four Noble Truths.
Acknowledgements
The successful completion of this thesis would not have been possible without
the kind guidance, assistance and criticism of the following individuals and
organizations.
Table of Contents
Abstract .................................................................................................... i
Acknowledgements .................................................................................... ii
Table of Contents ..................................................................................... iii
Abbreviations........................................................................................... iv
Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................. 1
Bibliography ............................................................................................ x
1. Primary Sources ................................................................................ x
2. Secondary Sources ............................................................................ x
Abbreviations
A.
BHSD
BD
Ch.
D.
JIBS
JIABS
M.
MMK
Monier
Vibhāṣā
Ny
PED
PTS
S.
Skt.
T
Upadeśa
Vibh.
Vis.
Aṅguttara Nikāya, ed. R. Morris and E. Hardy, 5 vols. PTS, 1885-1900.
(e.g. A. i. 22 means Aṅguttara Nikāya, vol. 1, page 22)
Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary, ed. Franklin Edgerton.
Buddhist Dictionary, Nyanatiloka.
Chinese
Dīgha Nikāya, ed. T. W. Rhy Davids and J. E. Carpenter, 3 vols. PTS,
1890-1911.
Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies.
Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies.
Majjhima Nikāya, ed. V. Trenchner and R. Chalmers, 3 vols. PTS, 18871899.
[Mūla-]Madhyamakakārikā (e.g. “MMK VI, 8” means chapter 6, verse
8.)
Sanskrit English Dictionary, ed. Monier Williams.
Abhidharma-mahāvibhāṣā-śāstra T1545.
*Nyāyānusāraśāstra. T1562.
Pāli and English Dictionary, T. W. Rhys Davids and William Stede.
Pāli Text Society, London.
Saṃyutta Nikāya, ed. L. Feer, 5 vols. PTS, 1884-1904.
Sanskrit
Taishō-shinshū-daizōkyō the Chinese Tripiṭaka (e.g. “T1509, 10a 20-25.”
means number 1509, page 10, column a, line 20 to line 25).
Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa T1509.
Vibhaṅga, ed. Mrs. Rhys Davids. PTS, 1978.
Visuddhimagga, ed. C. A. F. Rhys Davids. PTS, 1975. (e.g. Vis. X. Par.
20, p. 336, means Visuddhimagga Chapter 10, paragraph 20, page 336).
Chapter 1: Introduction
There would have been no “Buddhism” had it not been for the profound
spiritual experience known as samyaksaṃbodhi (Perfect Awakening) of Śākyamuni,
the Buddha.1 However, what is this all-important spiritual experience—
revolutionary and profoundest of its kind—according to the Buddhists? It is Perfect
Insight or Wisdom, prajñā (Pāli: paññā), on account of which the Buddha was able
to see reality face to face, as it truly is (yathābhūtam). With this prajñā, the Buddha
thoroughly and totally realized (sākṣātkāraṇa) the root-cause of the human
predicament and the way of its transcendence. When this Perfect Insight arose, the
Buddha could not find any ready-made words to describe it. Consequently, he had to
express it by newly coining words and imageries and compared this insight to an eye
(cakkhu) and light (āloka) as follows:
idaṃ dukkhaṃ ariyasaccan ti me bhikkhave pubbe ananussutesu dhammesu
cakkhuṃ udapādi ñāṇaṃ udapādi paññā udapādi vijjā udapādi āloko udapādi.2
(This is the Truth of Unsatisfactoriness—to me O bhikkhus, arose the eye,
knowledge, understanding, wisdom, light with regard to dhammas unheard of
before.)
The above description clearly suggests, among other things, that from the very
beginning, prajñā is of paramount importance for Buddhism.
The foregoing remarks suggest that for a proper understanding and a proper
perspective of development in Buddhist thought, an in-depth study of the doctrinal
1
The word “buddha” or “buddhas” (without caps) refers to any awakened being, but Buddha
(with caps) refers to the historical Śākyamuni.
2
S. v. 422.
development of prajñā in the abhidharma period is a sine qua non. The abhidharma
constitutes an important link between early Buddhist doctrines on the one hand and
Mahāyāna development on the other. To date, however, the few studies which focus
directly on or have relevance to the development of prajñā in the abhidharma period
have mainly been based on the Pāli sources. Thus, in his Buddhist Insight: The
Nature and Function in the Pāli Nikāya,3 F. Underwood discusses paññā as found in
the Pāli sutta only. T. Endo’s The Buddha in Theravāda4 is a buddhological study
based on the Pāli commentaries. K. Mizuno’s Prajñā in the Primitive Buddhism and
Sectarian Buddhism,5 in spite of its title, is basically a discussion on the Pāli sources
with only brief comparative remarks, here and there, on the northern abhidharma
tradition. Accordingly, an in-depth critical study on the doctrinal development of the
Buddhist concept of prajñā, with special reference to the northern abhidharma
tradition, still remains a desideratum. To respond to this lacuna constitutes the aim of
our present study.
In our study, we have confined ourselves primarily to the material pertaining to
the Sarvāstivāda school, because fortunately we have an abundance of resources on
3
F. Underwood, Buddhist Insight: The Nature and Function of Pañña in the Pāli Nikāyas
(Michigan: University Microfilms, 1973).
4
T. Endo, The Buddha in Theravāda (Colombo: Buddhist Culture Center, 1998).
5
Kogen,
Mizuno
水野弘元,
“原始仏教および部派仏教における般若について.”
仏教教理研究 水野弘元著作選集2, (Tokyo: 東京株式會社春秋社 1997).
the doctrines of this school preserved in Chinese translation, which have yet to be
properly tapped.
In the present study, while taking the full advantage of the Sanskrit originals of
the AKB, Vy and ADV, we shall extensively utilize the data in the Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣā (Vibhāṣā) and Saṅghabhadra’s *Nyāyānusāra (Ny),6 two very
important abhidharma texts extant only in their Chinese translations.
By way of a methodological remark, we would like here to add a critical note
on the English renderings of the term “Vaibhāṣika.” We generally feel it justifiable to
use it interchangeably with “Sarvāstivāda,” since our sources are those of the
orthodox Sarvāstivādins who came to be known as Vaibhāṣikas. However, where
there is a reference made to an opinion of a non-orthodox (those not basing
themselves on the Vibhāṣā as the supreme authority) master or group of
Sarvāstivāda, we shall use the term “Sarvāstivāda/Sarvāstivādin” specifically.
6
T1562, 阿毘達磨順正理論. On the basis of Uigur fragments, Kudara Kōgi supports the
Sanskritized title, *Nyāyānusāraśāstra, suggested by Nanjio. See, Collett Cox, “Kaśmīra:
Vaibhāṣ ika Orthodoxy.” Sarvāstivāda Buddhist Scholasticism. Ed. Charles Willemen, Bart
Dessein and Collett Cox (Brill; Leiden; New York; Lln: Brill, 1998) 245-46. See also, B. Nanjio,
A catalogue of the Chinese Translation of the Buddhist Tripiṭ aka (Oxford: Clarendon Press ,
1883) p. 178. K. Kudara, “Uiguru yaku Abidatsumajunshōriron shōhon,” Bukkyogaku kenkyū 38
(1987): 20.
Bibliography
1. Primary Sources
Abhidharmakośa Bhāṣyam of Vasubandhu. Ed. P. Pradhan. Patna: K. P.
Jayaswal Research Institute, 1967.
Digha Nikāyā. Ed. T. W. Rhys Davids and J. E. Carpenter, 3 Vols., London:
PTS, 1890-1911; Trans. T. W.; C. A. F. and Rhs Davids, Dialogues of the
Buddha, London: PTS, 1899-1922.
Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā II-V, ed. Takayasu Kimura. Tokyo:
Sankibo Busshorin Pub. 1986-1992.
T1 Dīrghāgama 長阿含經 trans. Buddhayaśas and Buddhasmṛti.
T262 Saddharma-puṇḍarīka-śūtra 妙法蓮華經 trans. Kumārajīva.
T365 Amitāyurdhyāna-sūtra 佛說觀無量壽佛經 trans. Kālayaśas
2. Secondary Sources
Banerjee, Anukul Chandra. Sarvāstivāda Literature. Calcutta : World Press,
1979.
Bhikkhu Bodhi. The Mahānidāna Sutta and Its Commentaries.
Buddhist Publication Society, 1995.
Kandy:
K. L. Dhammajoti. “The Defects in the Arhat’s Enlightenment-His akliṣṭaajñāna and vāsanā.” Buddhist Studies (Bukkyo Kenkyu) Vol. XXVII
(1998): 65-98.
---. “The Abhidharma Controversy on Visual Perception.” Recent Researches in
Buddhist Studies: Essays in Honour of Professor Y. Karunadasa. Ed. K. L.
Dhammajoti etc. Colombo: Y. Karunadasa Felicitation Committee, 1997:
70-117.
Willemen, Charles, Bart Dessein, and Collet Cox. Sarvāstivāda Buddhist
Scholasticism.
Yin-Shun 印順. The Author and Translator of the Da Zhi Duo Lun
大度論之作者及其翻譯. Taiwan: Dong Zong Publishing House, 1991
東宗出版社, 民國八十年.
---. Investigation on Śūnyatā 空之探究. Taipei: Zhengwen Pub., 1992.