The Conception of Buddhist Nirvana — Th. Stcherbatsky (1927)

XXIV. The Madhyamika repudiates his opponent on principles admitted as valid by the same opponent. 117

XXV. Logical refutation on the basis of facts admitted by only

XXVI. Denial of Causality through a separate substance . . . 120

XXVII. Combined causality denied. 121

XXVIII. No pluralistic universe without causation. 121

XXIX. Causality through the will of God. 122

XXX. Mahayana and Hinayana contrasted. 123

XXXI. The direct and indirect meaning of Buddha’s words . . 126

XXXII. How is the moral law to be vindicated in an unreal

p. 127

XXXIII. The twelve membered causal series refers to the pheno¬ menal WORLD. 134

XXXIV. Controversy about the validity of logic. 135

XXXV. Controversy with the Buddhist logician continued . . . 140

XXXVI. Critique of the notion of an absolute particular pointinstant . 142

XXXVII. Introspection. 145

XXXVIII. The discussion about the point-instant resumed. 146

XX XIX. Is THERE A COGNIZER?. 148

XL. Vindication of Phenomenal Reality. 149

XLI. The definition of sense-perception. 156

XXII. The Hinayana theory of Causation, examined. 164

VI

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XL1II. The existence of separate energies denied . 167

XL1V. Causation is not coordination. 170

XLY. The cause-condition. 171

XLVI. The object a condition of mental phenomena. 173

XLVII. The causa materialis denied. 174

XLVIII. The special cause also denied. 176

Chapter XXV.

Examination of Nirvana

I. The Hinayanistic Nirvana rejected. 183

II. The Mahayanistic Nirvana, what?. 186

III. Nirvana not an Ens.

IV. Nirvana is not a non-Ens. 193

V. Nirvana is this world viewed sub specie aeternitatis . 195

VI. Nirvana is not both Ens and non-Ens together. 198

VII. Nor is Nirvana a negation of both Ens and non-Ens

VIII. The real Buddha, what? . .'. 203

IX. Ultimate identity of the Phenomenal and the Absolute . 205

X. The Antinomies. 205

XI. Conclusion. 208

Indices.

1. Index of Proper Names. 213

2. Index of Sanscrit works. 215

3. Index of Sanscrit Words. 216

4. Index of Tibetan Words . 226

5. Index of Mongolian Words . 226

6. Index of Subjects . 226

7. Index of Technical Terms. 233

The Coneeption of Buddhist Nirvana.

I. Preliminary

A LTHOUGH a hundred years have elapsed since the scientific study of Buddhism has been initiated in Europe, we are nevertheless still in the dark about the fundamental teachings of this religion and its phi¬ losophy. Certainly no other religion lias proved so refractory to clear formulation. We are confronted with an intricate terminology about whose meaning a variety of interpretation is current and which is often declared to be untranslatable or incomprehensible. In despair some scholars were led to the conclusion that a religion or a philosophical system in India is not what it is in Europe, it is not a clear cut construction of consistent speculation. It is always vaguely indefinite, a display of dreamy thoughts about whose meaning ;heir authors themselves are not quite sure. 1 In a recent work M. de la Vallee Poussin 2 has undertaken to reconsider the question about the meaning of the Buddhist ideal of Nirvana, and he warns us from the outset that we have not to expect something very illuminating from Indian sources. 3 Formerly, he confesses, the idea of Nirvana seemed to him vague enough, but recently he has completely changed his opinion upon this subject, and thinks that even the hazy speculations which he was trying to disentangle are but later additions, that at the beginning Nirvana

1 The late professor G. Biihler gathered from a long intercourse with Indian pandits in their own country a quite different impression. He used to repeat to his pupils when perplexed by some difficult texts, «was ein Brahmane gemacht hat, das muss heraus!», for very often it is something simple and clear, but expressed in a technical scientific terminology.

2 Etudes sur l’histoire des Religions, 5. Nirvana par Louis de la Vallee Poussin, Paris, 1925.

3 Op. cit., p. XI—XII.

NIRVANA

meant a simple faith in Soul’s immortality, its blissful survival in a para¬ dise, a faith emerging from practices of obscure magic.

In the following pages we will try to test the arguments by which this new interpretation is supported, and append some considerations about the vicissitudes of this Buddhist conception of the Absolute and the changes which, in our opinion, it underwent during the first thousand years of its history.

II. Buddhism and Yoga