The Concept oftVijflapti and Vijna in the Text of Vasubandhu's Vimsatika- vijnaptimatrata-siddhi

Kizow Inazu

The doctrine of Viinapti-matrata which Vasubandhu had systemati- cally completed was introduced into Japan through Chinese translation in 7th century. Since then it has been studied as the most fundamental Buddhist's philosophy, and with its deep insight into human nature, has much influenced on the spiritual life of Japanese people. But Chinese translation is not enough to give full -understanding, especially in such a theoretical system, and much has heen remained obscure even in im- portant conception or views; for instance, the precise meaning of 唯 識 which `is the title of this theory can never be definitely explained unless referred to original text. under such circumstances, our long-continued thirst was appeased when the samskrit text of Vimsatika-and Trimsika-vijnaptimatrata-siddhi of Vasubandhu, together with Sthiramati's commentary, was published by the late Prof. Sylvin Levi in 1925. Soon after its publication I tried a Japanese translation of Vimsatika, and started a new inquiry by critical method. As one of the most significant results it was found that two different terms, vijnapti and vijnana, were being translated into Chinese

as 識 without distinction; and this discovery became a key to clarify the mystery of Vi jnapti-matrata doctrine. The following is a brief report of those researches.

Classification of the phraseology of vi jnapti and vi jnana in Vimsatika

-474- (2) The Concept of Vijnapti and Vijnana in the Text (K. Inazu) I Vijnapti: The number of this term is counted about forty-two, and its phraseology can be classified into three groups.

a) vijhapti-matra (-ta, -tva): This is the original form of Chinese 唯 識, and appears in the following phrases. (compared with Chinese translation by 玄 弊)

1) mahayane traidhatukam vijvpti-natran vyavasthapyate/安 立 大 乗

三 界 唯 識

2) vijvpti-matrm evaitad asadarthavabhasanat/内 識 生 時 ・似 外 境 生

3) tasyasiddhau rupadinalh cakshuradi-vishayatvam asiddham iti sidd-

hath vijpti-natrambhavati/若 根 若 境 ・皆 不 得 成 ・由 此 善 成 唯 有 識 義

4) yadi vijvpti-navnz evedamna kasyacit kayo 'sti na vak/若 唯 有

識 ・無 身 語 等 5) yadi vijnapti-matram evedam paracitta-vidah kimh paracittam jananty atha na/若 唯 有 識 ・識 他 心 智 ・知 他 心 不 6) anyatheti vijnapti-matra-desand kathamh dharma-nairatmya-pravesah/ 復依此鯨説唯識数受化者 ・能入所執無我 7) vijnapti-matram idam rupadi-dharma-pratibhasam utpadyate na to

rupadi-lakshapo dharmab ko'pi astiti viditva/若 了 知 唯 識 現 似 色 等 法

起 ・此 中 都 無 色 等 相 法 8) yadi tarhi sarvatha dharmo nasti tadapi vijnapti-matram nastiti kathanh tarhi vyavasthapyate/若 知 識 法 一 切 種 無 ・入 法 無 我 ・是 則 唯 識

亦 畢 寛 無 ・何 所 安 立 9) evam vijnapti-matrasyapi vijnapty-antara-parikalpitenatmana naira- tmya-pravesat vijnapti-matra-vyavasthapanaya sarvadharmanam na-

iratmya-praveso bhavati natu tadastitvapavadat/鯨 識 所 執 此 唯 識 性 ・

其 髄 亦 無 ・名 法 無 我 ・不 爾 蝕 識 所 執 境 有 ・則 唯 識 理 ・鷹 不 得 成 ・許 諸 鯨 識

有 實 境 故 ・由 此 道 理 ・説 立 唯 識 教 普 令 入 一 切 法 無 我 ・非 一 切 種 擾 有 性 故 10) vijnapter api vijnapty-antaram arthah syad iti vijnapti-matratvm na

siddhyet arthavatitvad vijnvptznanz/不 爾 ……same as above……有 實

境 故 11) ananta-viniscaya-prabhedagadha-gambhiryayam vijnapti-matratayam/ 唯識理趣無邊決着 品類差別 ・難度甚深 -473- The Concept of Vijnpati and Vijnana in the Text (K. Inazu) (3)

12) vijnapti-matrata-siddhib svasakti-sadrisi maya/我 已 随 自 能 ・略 成 唯

識 義 b) rupadi-vijnapti: This is a rare form and gives us a hint to notice the different meaning of the two concepts vijnapti and vijnana. Rupa (color or form) is a relative term to cakshus (eye); the former means the object of perception and with which compounded 'vijnapti', while the la- tter means the organ of perception and with which compounded 'vijnana'; so consequently vijnapti means the perception of some particular objects and vijnana the perceiving consciousness. This difference is concealed in

Chinesetext, because both of them being translated as 識 withont disti- nction.

1) yadi vina rtipady-arthena rupadi-vijnaptir utpadyate na rtlpady-ar-

that/若 離 實 有 色 等 外 法 ・色 等 識 生 ・不 縁 色 等 2) na punch santyeva tani rupadi-vijnatindm pratyekam vishayibha-

vantiti/非 別 實 有 色 等 外 法 ・爲 色 等 識 ・各 別 境 耶 3) yat tad rupadikam ayatanam rupadi-vijnaptinam pratyekam vishayah syat/謂 若實有外色等庭 ・與色等識各別爲境 c) vi jnapti as a separate term: In the following phrases vi jn.apti appears in separate form, mostly used in subjective case, and to which given two unique characteristics, i. e. 'utpadyate' and 'artha-prati (or-ava,- a)-bhasa'. Utpadyate means to arise or to be produced, while artha-pra- tibhasa 'assuming objective aspect'. These characteristics are never given to vijnana, and from this feature vijnapti can be clearly distinguished from vijnana. 1) tad-desa-kala-pratishthanarn sarvesam samtana utpadyate na keva- lam ekasya/('sarhtana' means vijnana-samtana; the subject of 'ut-

padyate' is rupadi-vijiapti) 同 一 虜 時 有 多 相 績 ・何 不 決 定 随 一 識 生

2) evanh salhtananyamo vijiaptinam asaty api arthe siddhab/由 此 錐

無 離 識 實 境 ・而 多 相 不 定 義 成 3) yatah svabijad vijnaptir yadabhasa pravartate/ ('yad' means artha; 'pravartate' is almost the same as utpadyate) 識 從 自 種 生 ・似 境 相 而 轄

4) rupa-pratibhasa vijnaptir yatah svabijat parinama-visesha-praptad -472- (4) The Concept of Vijnapti and Vijnana in the Text (K. Inazu) utpadyate tacca bijarh yat-pratibhasa ca sa to tasya vijnaptes

cakshurupayatanatvena yathakramanh bhagavan abravit/似 色 現 識 ・

從 自 種 子 縁 合 蒋 攣 差 別 而 生 ・佛 依 彼 種 及 所 現 色 ・如 次 説 眼 虜 色 慮 5) sprashtavya-pratibhasa vijfiaptir yatah svabijat parinama-visesha- praptad utpadyate tacca bijam yat pratibhasa ca sa to tasya kayas- prashtavyayatanatvena bhagavan abravit/如 是 乃 至 ・似 鰯 現 識 ・從 自

種 子 縁 合 轄 攣 差 別 而 生 ・佛 依 彼 種 及 如 現 燭 ・如 次 説 爲 身 慮 鰯 庭 6) uktalh yatha tad-abhasa vijnaptih/如 説 似 境 識 7) vinapy arthena yathabhasa cakshur-vijnanadika vijnaptir utpadyate tathoktam/如 前 所 説 ・錐 無 外 境 ・而 眼 識 等 似 外 境 現 8) tatohi vijnapteh smriti-samprayukta tat-pratibhasaiva rupadi-vikal-

pika nanovijnaptir vtpadyata iti/從 此 後 位 ・與 念 相 績 分 別 意 識 ・似 前 境 現 9) yadi yatha svapne vijnaptir abhutartha-vishaya tatha jagrato `pi

syat tathaiva tadabhavam lokab svayam avagacchet/若 如 夢 中 錐 無

實 境 而 識 得 起 ・豊 時 亦 然 ・如 世 自 知 夢 境 非 有 ・畳 時 既 爾 ・何 不 自 知 10) yadi sva-samtana-parinama-viseshad eva satvanam artha-pratibhasa vijvptaya utpadyante nartha-viseshat/若 諸 有 情 ・自 由 績 轄 攣 差 別 ・

似 境 識 起 ・不 由 外 境 爲 所 縁 生 11) sadasad-dharma-sravanac ca vijnapti-niyamah satvanam sa katharim

sidhyati/彼 諸 有 情 ・聞 正 邪 法 ・二 識 決 定 ・既 無 友 教 ・此 云 何 成

12) anyonyadhipatitvena vijnapti-niyamo mithah/展 轄 増 上 力 ・二 識 決 定 13) sarvesham hi satvanam anyonya-vijnapty-adhipatyena mitho vijna-

pter niyamo bhavati yathayogam/以 諸 有 情 ・自他 相 績 ・諸 識 轄 展 爲 増

上 縁 ・随 其 所 鷹 ・二 識 決 定 14) atha samtanantara-vijnapti-viseshat sai itanantare vijnapti-visesha ut-

padyate nartha-viseshat/定 謂 鯨 相 績 識 差 別 故 ・今 蝕 相目績 差 別 識 生 ・各

成 決 定 ・不 由 外 境

15) yadi yatha svapne nirarthika vijnaptir evanh jagrato 'pi syat/若 如

夢 中 境 ・錐 無 實 而 識 得 起 ・畳 識 亦 然

16) maranam para-vijnapti-viseshad vikriya/由 他 識 轄 攣 ・有 殺 等 事 業

17) yadipara-vijnapti-viseshadhipatyat satvanam neshyate/如 是 他 識 轄 攣

-471- The Concept of Vijnapti and Vijnana in the Text (K. Inazu) (5)

故 ・令他違害命根起 18) yadi vijnanam eva rupadi-pratibhasam syan na rupadiko 'rthas/ (This is the only one case that 'pratibhasa' appears in connection with vijnana) 若 唯 識 似 色 等 塵 現 ・無 別 色 等 19) cittam mano vijnanam vijnaptisceti paryayah/ (It is not proper to take 'paryaya' in the meaning of synonym as seen in Chinese text, literally it means that these four terms move round in a circle.) 心意識 了 ・名之差別

II Vijnana: The number of this term counts about twelve, and its phraseology can be classified also into three forms. a) cakshur-vijnana, manovijnana: This form must be considered inn relation to rupadi-vijflapti as above mentioned. 1) yada ca sa pratyaksha-buddhir bhavatidam me pratyaksham iti tada na so 'rtho drisyate manovijnanenai va paricchedac cakshur-vijnanasya

ca tada niruddhatvat/又 若 爾 時 有 此 現 豊 ・我 今 現 誰 如 是 色 等 ・爾 時 於 境

能 見 已 無 ・要 在 意 識 能 分 別 故 ・時 眼 等 識 必 已 謝 故 2) nanubhotalh manovijnnena smarayate/要 曾 現 受 ・意 識 能 憶 3) dvayadvijnana-shatkampravartate/ (Shatkameanscakshuradisix

organs) 從 六 二 法 ・有 六 識 轄 b) vijnana-saxntana: Samtana means continuity or continual stream, translated into Chinese 相 績: and being connected with this term the meaning of vijnana becomes more comprehensible. Incase of coming

'samtana' alone it is the omitted form of vinanasanhtana, meaning the contiunal stream of human consciousness. 1) karmano vasana tesham vijnana-sanntana-sarhnivishta nanyatra ya- traiva ca vasana tatraiva tasyah phalam t.adriso vijnana-parinama

kinh nenhate/(cf. I, c, 1, 2) 彼 業 黒 習 ・理 鷹 許 在 識 相 練 中 ・不 在 鯨 庭,

有 蕪 習 識 ・汝 便 不 許 有 果 轄 攣

c) vijnana-parinama: Parinama means alternation or transformation, translated into Chineseas 轄 攣; and being connected with this term the meaning of vijnana can be decided more definitely. In case 'parinama' -470- (6) The Concept of Vijnapti and Vijnana in the Text (K. Inazu) comes alone it is also the omitted form of vijnana-parinama, that is co- nsciousness-alternation. 1) yadi tatkarmabhis tatra bhutanam sambhavas tatha ishyate parina- nasca kim vijvnasya neshyate/若 許 由 業 力 ・有 異 大 種 生 ・起 如 轄 攣 ・

於 識 何 不 許 2) vijnanasyaiva tatkarmabhis tatha parinamah kasmat neshyate kith

punar bhutani kalpyante/(cf. b. 1) 何 縁 不 許 ・識 由 業 力 如 是 轄 攣 ・而

執 大 種

Several viewpoits in conclusion

a) The meaning of vijnapti and vi jnana As a result of these researches a clear definition may be given to both of those principal terms. Vijnapti repesents each paticular perception of something, as mentioned 'rupadyartha' in the text, while vijnana indi- cates under-continuing consciousness in which all kinds of vijnapti po- tentially enveloped. Concerning our perception and consciousness a very unique theory is presented in the doctrine of vijnapti-matrata. There the standpoint of naive realism, which holds that the objective things appear- ing to our perception exist in themselves apart from our perceiving con- sciousness, is already rejected; instead established a new viewpoint, that is 'vinarthenapy artha-pratibhasa vijnaptir utpadyate narthat svapnavat' without any real object our perception arises in itself assuming objeetive aspects, not from any object, as in dream. Then how and from where comes it forth? Any of our perception, assuming in itself objective ap- pearance, arises from its own seed, kept deep in our consciousness, forth on the surface of vijnanasamtana, continuing consciousness,-'svabijad vijnanasamtane pravatate'; and all of such relationship is called as a whole vijnana-parinama, that is consciousness-alternation. b) Basis of the doctrine This vijnapti-matrata-doctrine is not being constructed by mere spe- culation, but established on the basis of deep spiritual experience which -469- The Concept of Vijfiapti and Vijnana in the Text (K. Inazu) (7) is mentioned in Virsatika as follows;-'evam vitatha-vikalpabhyasa- vasana-nidraya prasupto lokah svapna ivabhutam artham pasyan na pra- buddhas tadabhavath yathavan navagacchati/yada to tat-pratipaksha- lokottara-nirvikalpa-jnana-labhat prabuddho bhavati tada tat-prishthala- bdha-Buddha-laukika-jn.anam sammukhibhavad vishayabhavam yathavad avagacchatiti samanam etat', that is, in worldly life our consciousness is spiritually fallen in sleep being influenced with continual false thinking, and is seeing various unreal objects just as in dream; but when a spiritual awakening comes into our sleeping consciousness from some innermost depth of our being, we attain the transcendent divine; wisdom and become the enlightened, after then through the world-illuminating pure wis- dom see the unreality of those objects as they truely be, like one who has awakened from sleep; thus it is same. This is the most significaant sentence not only in Vimsatika, but also throughout the whole system of vijnapi-matrata. It reveals the spiritual foundation of this doctrine. c) Problems left unexplained The subject matter of Vimsatika is limited on one point, that is to establish the standpoint of vi jn.apti-matrata by the method of denying an opposite view which maintain that the object of perception has its own real existence apart from our perception or consciousness. As to the rela- tion between our perception and its object a clear explanation is given; but further problems, especially two important ones, are left unexplained. One is to display the inner construction of our consciousness, which is later treated in Trimsika; the other is to realize our conscious life in the light of highest reality and reveal the eternal truth of human nature, which is treated in also Trimsika and other articles of Vasubandhu.

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