Conception Of Reality In Mahayana Buddhism

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided Jain text, "Conception of Reality in Mahayana Buddhism" by Y. S. Shastri:

This study explores the philosophical systems within Mahayana Buddhism and their understanding of reality, contrasting them with earlier Buddhist schools and highlighting the influence of Upanisadic thought.

Early Buddhist Thought and the Hinayana Schools:

• Gautama Buddha's Focus: The Buddha himself was primarily concerned with ethics and the alleviation of suffering, not metaphysical speculation.
• Division of Buddhism: Buddhism later divided into Sthaviravada (derogatorily called Hinayana) and Mahayana.
• Hinayana Schools:
  • Vaibhāṣika (Sarvāstivāda): Believed in the existence of all momentary entities (dharmas), both physical and mental. They asserted radical pluralism and the reality of discrete, momentary elements. They held a theory of direct perception and viewed Nirvana as the extinction of desires and miseries.
  • Sautrāntikas: Agreed with the Vaibhāṣikas on non-soul and momentariness but believed external objects are indirectly perceived (inferred) rather than directly perceived. They reduced the number of fundamental dharmas.
• Common Hinayana Tenets: Both schools upheld the theory of momentariness (Kṣaṇabhanga-vāda) and aimed for individual Nirvana, which was seen as a negative state of ending suffering.

The Rise of Mahayana Buddhism:

• Revolt Against Hinayana: Mahayana emerged as a critique of what it perceived as the "feeble-mindedness and selfishness" of the Hinayana. The Mahāsānghikas are credited with a broader interpretation of the Buddha's teachings, leading to the Mahayana designation ("great vehicle") in contrast to the "lower vehicle" (Hinayana).
• Key Mahayana Thinkers: Aśvaghoṣa, Nāgārjuna, Asaṅga, and Vasubandhu are prominent figures.

Aśvaghoṣa and the Awakening of Faith:

• Absolutistic Approach: Aśvaghoṣa, through his work "The Awakening of Faith," introduced an absolutistic approach to reality.
• Critique of Hinayana: He argued that Hinayanists failed to grasp the deeper meaning of Buddha's teachings about reality.
• Definition of Reality: For Aśvaghoṣa, reality is "ultimately indescribable, beyond all the categories of intellect." It is neither existence nor non-existence, nor anything in between. It is formless.
• Unity of Reality: He posited a single, unchangeable, and indestructible "One Real Power" or "True Essence" that underlies all diverse forms of the universe. This reality is attributeless and can only be pointed to as "thatness."
• Absolute and Phenomena: Aśvaghoṣa viewed the Absolute and phenomena as non-dual. Phenomena are mere "appearances" of the Absolute, tainted by ignorance. The phenomenal world arises from the conditioned aspect of the Absolute, influenced by ignorance. The relationship is like the ocean and its waves.

Nāgārjuna and Madhyamika (Sunyavada):

• Systematic Expounder: Nāgārjuna is known for his systematic exposition of Sunyavada (the doctrine of emptiness).
• Critique of Hinayana: He refuted Hinayanists by arguing that nothing exists absolutely or objectively. Everything is relative, dependent, and thus unreal. Even the dharmas accepted by Hinayanists are subjective and unreal.
• Relativity and Unreality: Relativity is the mark of the unreal. All experience is subjective; things have only an apparent existence (saṁvṛti).
• Dependent Origination (Pratītyasamutpāda): Nāgārjuna interpreted dependent origination as the foundation for the unreality of all elements. Since no element arises without conditions, all elements are "śūnya" (devoid of independent existence).
• Sunyata as Ultimate Reality: The ultimate reality is Śūnya, meaning it is transcendent to thought, indescribable, non-determinate, and non-dual. It is free from subject-object duality.
• Two Senses of Śūnya:
  1. From the standpoint of phenomena: Devoid of independent substantial reality (Svabhāvaśūnya).
  2. From the absolute point of view: Devoid of verbalization, thought construction, and plurality (Prapañcaśūnya). It is indescribable and not an "absolute blank."
• Two Truths: Nāgārjuna proposed two levels of truth: paramārtha satya (absolute truth, beyond thought) and saṁvṛti satya (conventional or empirical truth). He criticized Hinayanists for misunderstanding these truths, reducing their accepted realities (dhātus, skandhas, etc.) to merely conventional.
• Nirvana: Nirvana is not just the extinction of misery but the extinction of all conceptual constructs. It is beyond thought categories and is achieved by giving up all views and standpoints.
• No Difference Between Samsara and Nirvana: For Nāgārjuna, there is ultimately no difference between Samsara (the phenomenal world) and Nirvana (ultimate reality).

Asaṅga and Vijñānavāda (Yogācāra):

• Positive Approach: Asaṅga and the Vijñānavādins sought a more positive approach, identifying ultimate reality with pure consciousness.
• Idealism and Absolutism: They interpreted Nāgārjuna's Śūnyatā idealistically, seeing pure consciousness as the sole reality. This consciousness is non-dual and indescribable.
• Critique of Realism: Asaṅga criticized the realism of the Hinayanists, arguing for pudgalanairātmya (non-substantiality of self) and dharmanairātmya (non-substantiality of elements).
• Ground of Phenomena: While acknowledging the unreality of phenomena, Asaṅga argued they must be rooted in some reality. He identified this ground as pure consciousness. The appearance of subject-object duality is a transcendental illusion.
• Transcending Idealism: Asaṅga's speculative thinking pushed him to transcend pure idealism towards absolutism. By adopting Nāgārjuna's dialectical method, he concluded that even pure consciousness, in the ultimate analysis, ceases to be a subject.
• Ultimate Reality: The ultimate reality is pure consciousness, free from subject-object duality, indescribable, and non-determinate. It is "dvaya-rahita" (free from duality).
• Various Names for Reality: Asaṅga uses terms like Paramartha Satya, Dharmadhātu (essence of all things), Śūnya, Buddhahood, Nirvana, Suddhātman (Pure Soul), and Mahātman (Universal Soul) for the ultimate reality.
• Dharmadhātu: This is the substratum and permanent background of all phenomena, the principle of unity, pervading everything without being affected.
• Transformation of Absolute: Asaṅga described a double process of the Absolute: saṁkleśa (defilement) and vyavadāna (purification). Ignorance defiles the Absolute, transforming it into the phenomenal world. This defilement is not permanent and can be purified.
• Threefold Truth: Unlike Nāgārjuna's two truths, Asaṅga proposed three:
  • Parikalpita (imagined, utterly unreal).
  • Paratantra (dependent, real for practical purposes).
  • Pariniṣpanna (perfected, the highest truth, Nirvana).

Vasubandhu:

• Upholds Asaṅga's View: Vasubandhu, Asaṅga's brother, largely supported his views, describing Absolute Reality as pure, undefiled existence beyond finite thought.

Mahayana Conception of Reality Summarized:

• Indescribable and Non-Determinate: Mahayanists consistently emphasized that Absolute Reality is indescribable, neither existence nor non-existence, and beyond all thought categories. It is "catuskoti vinirmukta" (free from the fourfold negation: is, is not, both, neither).
• Critique of Hinayana Contradictions: They saw the Hinayana concept of momentary but real dharmas as contradictory.
• Nirvana as Realization: Nirvana is the realization of the inherent Buddhahood within, not an externally achieved state. It is the transcendence of subject-object duality.

Mahayana Influence from the Upanishads:

• Profound Influence: The Mahayana philosophy was significantly influenced by the Upanishads, which predated it.
• Shared Concepts: The Upanishadic descriptions of Brahman as indescribable, beyond mind and intellect, and often characterized by "neti, neti" (not this, not this) resonate with Mahayana views.
• Positive and Negative Descriptions: Both Upanishads and Mahayana thinkers described reality using both negative (indescribable, formless) and positive (existence, consciousness, infinity – in the Upanishads) terms.
• Mystical Experience: The realization of the Absolute in both traditions is a matter of mystical experience where duality dissolves.
• Brahmins as Converts: The authors suggest that many Mahayana thinkers were former Brahmins, which facilitated the integration of Upanishadic ideas into Buddhist philosophy.

In essence, the study highlights the Mahayana Buddhist evolution from the foundational ethical teachings of the Buddha to complex philosophical systems that grappled with the nature of ultimate reality, ultimately converging on an indescribable, non-dual absolute, heavily influenced by earlier Indian metaphysical thought.