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Chapter Two Historical Survey of Yogacara 2.1 CHAPTER TWO HISTORICAL SURVEY OF YOGACARA 2.1. History and Development of Yogdcdra It is truth to say that Buddhism is an ideal religion, which gives human a permission to open the knowledge through the practice of meditation, virtuous precepts, and knowledge. Consequently, after the passing away of the Lord Buddha, Buddhism developed many schools, sects and sub- sects. Each school or sect displayed its role and special doctrine about its religion. With a foundation of the Buddha's teachings, the Buddhist sects performed freely the Buddhist philosophy in the mind understanding and its literature as well. However, although Buddhist schools developed its doctrine to the zenith, but the founders always depend on the basic teachings of the Buddha, practical methods, are with human beings, point out the truth of life and the world view. It is the reason Buddhism develops and transforms whole the world. Where the Buddhism is there is peaceful and happy life; Buddhism comes to a country and gives it a way of life and thought, at the same time preserve the traditional customs and culture of that country. Therefore, Buddhism is welcomed in many countries. 25 The development of Buddhism began at the event of Buddhist councils; ^^ it has brought to Buddhism a great achievement in the development of Buddhist culture and thought. From the Buddhist first council to the third council at the time of the king Ashoka, Buddhist literature was basic completed.^^ By that time the Buddhist sects has been divided clearly. Each sect built up its doctrine and claimed the name of its school. In the work ''Buddhist Sects in India " Nalinaksha Dutt classified Buddhist sects into five groups, and the total number of sixty-five sects and subsects. Dutt observes and collects the number of Xuan-zhuang (529-664), a Chinese monk who traveled in India at the seventh century BC, referred to seven main schools and many sub-sects, the number of monks hundred thousands. Yi-Jing was a Chmese pilgrim too, who came to India after Xuan-zhuang a century, he also noted down a statistical list of Indian Buddhist sects. He divided into five groups and many sub-sects. In a study of Edward Conze, he found down in the first five centuries of Buddhist history, the number of schools or sects eighteen according to traditional source. And in the '''2500 Years of Buddhism" Bapat and Anukul Chandra Banerjee also show the number of thirteen schools in India during five century had " Edward J. Thomas, The History of Buddhist Thought, p. 27-37. ^^ N. Dutt, Buddhist Sects in India, p. 12-36. ^^ Ibid., p. 51-9. ^^ Ibid., Appendix, p. 306-9. ^'Ibid., p. 310-12. ^^ Edward Conze, Buddhist Thought in India, p. 119. 26 T 1 been counted from the Buddha's Nirvana. ' Such above investigation of scholars, we know that there were huge Buddhist schools or sects developed within the first five centuries after the passing away of the Buddha. In which the Yogdcdra School was a latest one. Buddhism propagated to neighbour countries quickly in the time of the king Ashoka and Kaniska, e.i., Yavanas (Ionian Greeks), Ptolemy (Turamevya) of Egypt, Antigonos (Antakini) of Macedonia, Alexandre of Epirus, and Magas of Cyrenia, Central Asia, and then Southern Asia, i.e., China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam; Northern Asia, i.e. Srilanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos. Specially, when Buddhism was introduced to China, it was exited by monks and scholars. Therefore, thee are many new schools were established as Chan School, Vinaya School, Tantra School, Pure Land School, Avatamsaka School, Tian- tai School; and Shingon School, Nichiren School in Japan. Although there are many schools in Buddhism which their different doctrines, 1 agree with Edward Conze that all Buddhist schools either Hinayana or Mahdydna, origin or development, they respect and practice the Buddha's teachings as The Four Noble Truth, The Noble Eightfold Paths, The Law of Dependent Origination, and the way of purification of mind {Samddhi or meditation), keeping virtue of discipline ^' Bapat, 2500 Years of Budhism. p. 86-108. ^^ Ibid., p. 52-53. 27 (Sila), and wisdom {Prajnd)?^ And an observation of Thich Chon Thien in his worlc ''The Concept of Personality'' he points out that the Law of Dependent Origination, expounded by the Buddha covering whole the Dharmas, and its existence by causual happening. Because, all Dharmas were born by causual happening, so it is non-self It is the essential teaching of Buddhism; those who can see this truth of Dependent Origination, see existing things; those who can see existing things, see the principle of Dependent Origination. And those who can see those things, see the Lord Buddha himself. "^'^ This point gives us knowledge that although there are many schools in Buddhism, but the founders always follow the principle or the essential teachings of the Buddha to develop the school's doctrine. And Thomas A. Kochumutton firmly repeats that "throughout its long history of development, has ever retained the original inspiration of its founder, the Buddha. The latter believed in a multiplicity of real, individual, beings, a belief that has never been seriously questioned by any of his followers. The different stages in the history of Buddhism mark, if anything, the different ways of looking at the same teaching of the Buddha. Consequently, the different schools within Buddhism distinguish from each other not so much in their philosophy as in their practices. If, for example, there has been a movement from the non-theistic Theravdda school of Buddhism to the theistic Mahdydna school of the " Op. Cit., Thirty Years Study on Buddhism, p. 87. ^'' Thich Chon Thien, The Concept of Personality, p. 67. 28 same, it is a change only in religion practices, and not a change in the philosophical convictions."' In fact, Buddhism has opened with brightened history. A history of Buddhist thought began the teachings of the Buddha and his disciple later. Buddhism always retains its role and develops thoughts based on its principle. It is mind or consciousness. The Lord Buddha taught that: "Atha kho, bhikkhave, Vipassissa Bodhisattassa etadahosi: Paccudavattati kho idam vinnanam namarupamha, naparam gacchati. Ettavata jayetha va jlyetha va miyetha va cavetha va uppajjetha va yadidam namarupa - paccaya vinnanam, vinnana- paccaya namarupam, namarupa- paccaya salayatanam, salayatana paccaya phasso, phassa - paccaya vedana, vedana - paccaya tanha, tanha - paccaya upadanam, upadana - paccaya bhavo, bhava paccaya jati,jati - paccaya jara - maranam soka - parideva - dukkha - domanassa - upayasa sambhavanti. Evam - etassa kevalassa dukkhakkhandhassa samudayo hoti." (This consciousness turns back at mind - and- body, it does not go any further. To this extent there is birth and decay, there is death and falling into other states and being reborn, namely: mind - and- body conditions consciousness and consciousness conditions mind - and - ^^ T. A. Kochunmuttom, A Buddhist Doctrine of Experience, p. 284. ^^ Mahapadana-Sutta, Dlgha-Nikaya. Vol. II. PTS, London, 1982, pp. 32-33. 29 body, mind - and - body conditions the six sense bases, tile six sense bases conditions contact, contact conditions feeling, feeling conditions craving, craving conditions grasping, grasping conditions becoming, becoming conditions birth, birth conditions aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and distress. And thus this whole mass of sufferings takes its origin). And Samyutta Nikdya says: "Kinca, bhikkhave, vinnanam vadetha || vijanatlti kho, bhikkhave tasma vinnanamti vuccati || kinca vijanati || ambilam pi vijanati || tittakam pi vijanati! || katukam pi vijanati madhukam pi vijanati || kharikam pi vijanati || akharikam pi vijanati || lonakam pi vijanati || alonakam pi vijanati || vijanatlti kho, bhikkhave, tasma vinnanan ti vuccati 11"^^ (And why, brethren, do you say Consciousness? One is conscious, brethren. Therefore the word "Consciousness" is used. Consciousness of what? Of [flavour] sour or bitter, acrid or sweet, alkaline or non - alkaline, saline or non - saline. One is conscious, brethren. That is why the word "Consciousness" is used.) There are many evidences about consciousness expounded by the Buddha in the Pali canon. Therefore, the " Samyutta-Nikaya, Vol. Ill, p. 87. 30 theory of consciousness-only in Yogdcdra has the foundation of the teachings of the Buddha and is further developed by the scholars/ masters of Yogdcdra School. The beginning of the development of the theory of consciousness was counted on Sarvdstivdda and its subsects with the point of view 'everything exists' {Sarvam Asti), while Hinaydna Buddhist thought retains the view as existence of a thing is conditioned and selfless, negates the existence of soul. With the new thinking of Sarvdstivdda, obviously, this school began with innovation and challenge with Buddhist origination or Buddhist Theravdda. But was this Hinaydna thought of negating the existence of the Soul, a threat to the existence of the Hinaydna School itself? It is somewhat misleading, and then this school should present a theory of wholes (Pudgalas) which in itself is unreal. Therefore, the school faces much more difficulties, and finally, it must be changed to the different root as Sautrdntika School. The Sautrdntika School opened the knot of Sarvdstivdda and negated the existence of Dharmas; Sautrdntika School retains the theory of imper- manence, selfless, and individuality (Anitya, Andtma, and Svalaksana). The school accepts the reality of the objects of the external world and the truth evidence of knowledge. "^ Sautrdntika school divided the world into 43 Dharmas, while Sarvdstivdda school accepted 75 Dharmas. The Sautrdntika school played an important role in the historical development Ashok Kumar Chattejee, The Yogdcdra Idialism, p. 2. 31 of Buddhism in the rejecting of rest of subjective. According to A. K. Chatterjee and T. R. Sharma, the development of thought of the Sautrdntika was a basic thought which was built to the next step as the negative thought of all the Dharma unreal by the Mddhyamika.^'^ As we know the division of Buddhism is the process of development of the Buddhist history, not is the common separate thought or doctrine.
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