Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 2Eliot, Charles
Religion
Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 2
Eliot, Charles
Asia -- Religion; Buddhism; Hinduism
About the time of Vasubandhu there existed four schools of Indian
Buddhism called Vaibhâshika, Sautrântika, Mâdhyamika and Yoga or
Yogâcâra.[230] They were specially concerned with philosophy and
apparently cut across the older division into eighteen sects, which at
this period seem to have differed mainly on points of discipline.
Though not of great practical importance, they long continued to play
a certain part in controversial works both Buddhist and Brahmanic. The
first two which were the older seem to have belonged to the Hinayana
and the other two even more definitely to the Mahayana. I-Ching[231]
is quite clear as to this. "There are but two kinds of the so-called
Mahayana" he says, "first the Mâdhyamika, second the Yoga.... These
two systems are perfectly in accordance with the noble doctrine. Can
we say which of the two is right? Both equally conform to truth and
lead us to Nirvana" and so on. But he does not say that the other two
systems are also aspects of the truth. This is the more remarkable
because he himself followed the Mûla-sarvâstivâdins. Apparently
Sarvâstivâdin and Vaibhâshika were different names for the same
school, the latter being applied to them because they identified
themselves with the commentary (Vibhâshâ) already mentioned whereas
the former and older designation came to be used chiefly with
reference to their disciplinary rules. Also there were two groups of
Sarvâstivâdins, those of Gandhara and those of Kashmir. The name of
Vaibhâshika was applied chiefly to the latter who, if we may find a
kernel of truth in legends which are certainly exaggerated,
endeavoured to make Kashmir a holy land with a monopoly of the pure
doctrine. Vasubandhu and Asanga appear to have broken up this
isolation for they first preached the Vaibhâshika doctrines in a
liberal and eclectic form outside Kashmir and then by a natural
transition and development went over to the Mahayana. But the
Vaibhâshikas did not disappear and were in existence even in the
fourteenth century.[232] Their chief tenet was the real existence of
external objects. In matters of doctrine they regarded their own
Abhidharma as the highest authority.[233] They also held that Gotama
had an ordinary human body and passed first into a preliminary form of
Nirvana when he attained Buddhahood and secondly into complete Nirvana
at his death. He was superhuman only in the sense that he had
intuitive knowledge and no need to learn. Their contempt for sutras
may have been due to the fact that many of them discountenance the
Vaibhâshika views and also to a knowledge that new ones were
continually being composed.
I-Ching, who ends his work by asserting that all his statements are
according to the Ârya-mûla-sarvâstivâda-nikâya and no other, gives an
interesting summary of doctrine.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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