sinha braj m p - problem of time and temporality in samkhyayoga and abihdharmabuddhism

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7-1-1976

Problem of Time and Temporality in Sāmkhya- Yoga and Ābhidharma Buddhism

Braj M.P. Sinha

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Recommended CitationSinha, Braj M.P., "Problem of Time and Temporality in Sāmkhya-Yoga and Ābhidharma Buddhism" (1976). Open Access Dissertations

and Theses. Paper 3106.http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/opendissertations/3106

PROBLEM OF TIME AND TEMPORALITY IN

SAMKHYA-YOGA AND ABHIDHARMA BUPDHISM

PROBLEM OF TIME AND TEMPORALITY IN \

SAMKuYA-YOGAAND

ABHIDHARMA BUDDHISM

BRAJ MOHAN Pd. SINHA

. A Thesis

Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies

in Part ial Ful filment o f the Requirements

for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy.

McMas#er University

'July, 1976

Qon 1 - . -

DOCTQR OF PHILOSOPHY (1976)

Religion (Indian Philosophy)

McMASTER UNIVERSITYHamilton, Ontario

TITLE:

AUTHOR:

Problem of Time and Temporality in Samkhya-Yoga and

Abhidharma Buddhism

Braj M. P. Sinha, M.A. (Bihar University) .

B.L: (Bihar University)

SUPERVISORS: Professor K. Sivaraman

Professor J . G. Arapura

Professor Hans Mol

NUMBER OF PAGES: vi i i , 292.

SCOPE AND CONTENTS: In this work, we have analysed the problem of

temporality and i ts soteriological signif icance in the philosophico-

religious tradit ions of the Samkhya-Yoga and Abhidharma Buddhism. The

basic concern is to demonstrate the possibi l i ty of accounting for temporal

determination without t ak ing recourse to a re i f icat ion of time category.

An attempt is made to bring out th e ~ o t e r i o l o g i c a l imp li ca ti on s o f such a

perspective. The introductory section d efin es th e problematic and methodolo

g1cal issues in the p re sent s tudy . This is followed by Part I , which is

an expository section on Samkhya-Yoga. Here, the problem o f t empo ra li ty

is invest iga ted against the background of the basi c on to log ical per spec tive

the S a m k h y a ~ Y o g a . Part I I is a cr i t i ca l exposition o f the problem of tem-'

porality in the A b h i d h a ~ a Buddhism\ We have attempted to show how, accord-. '

ing to the Abhidharma Buddhism, temporal determination is a feature of rea-

l i ty . The concluding section looks at the prohlem in comparative perspectiv

In this section we have tried to show how the two philosophico-religious

systems, despite certain basic differences, have some common s t ructural

•and thematic congruity • .

, i i i

ABSTRACT

In the present work an a ttemp t is made to study the problem of

temporali ty in the religious philosophies of the Samkhya-Yoga and Abhi-

dharma Buddhism. The two systems a re s tu die d ' in comparative perspec-

t ive to determine the d e g r e ~ of compatibility of the two on the specific

,issue of temporality and i t s significance for the world- transcendence.

'TOe systems under invest igat ion have been selected on the ground that

~ o t h of them look a t t emporal ity as a character is t ic bui l t into the

structure of th ings.Re if ica t ion of time, as an abstract category irtdependent

of e n t i t i e ~ , i s al ien to both the systems. T e m ~ o r a l i t y ~ ~ / c o n c e i v e d not

in terms of t iue"as a t ranscendent condi tion of our being and cognition.

" ~ R a t h e r i t is conceived in terms of the changefulness and becomingness,

character is t ic of phenomena as such and i t s relationship,to the cognizingt

consciousness., This indeed is the most important perspective that they

sha re aga in st other religious philosophies of India.

Our in te res t in the two systems' art iculat ion of the problem ema-

nates f ~ o m the conviction that the systems under invest igat ion, instead

of being d ~ a m e t r i c a l l y opposed to each other, complement each other and

in some s igni f icant ways share certain basic perspec t ives. Thef a ~ t

of thei

complementarity has been ignored in the earl ier studies. There are some.occasional s tatements about the possibil i ty of some s imi lar i t ies between

the two. But no study of significance, except that of Stcherbatsky, has

been undertaken to see i f there is any signi f icant c o r r e l a ~ i o n between

the two. Most of the time scholars have treated them as.representing two

diamefrically opposed ontological perspectives, Murti being the most pro

minent proponent of this posit ion. That there are certain important dif-

ferences between the two cannot be denied. But i t has been our concern

to-demonstrate that , despite important differences in the ir ontological

perspectives, the two systems are in close company, specially in their

ar t iculat ion of the problem of temporality and i t s soteriological impli-

cations.

The body of the thesis is divided in to three major parts . The f i r s

part is a cr i t ica l e ~ p o s i t i o n of the problem in the context o f Samkhya

Yoga. The s ~ c o n d part deals with the p r o b l ~ m with r e f e ~ e n c e to Abhidharma

Buddhism. And the third par t is an attempt to bring out the correlation..

between the two systems with special reference t the s o t ~ r i o l o g i c a l impl

cations of the ir conception of the problem under investigation.

The following are the major findings of the present work:

1. Both the Samkhya-Yoga and Abhidharma Buddhism relat iv ize the cate-

gory of time. This' relativization is part and parcel o f thei r non

cosmological understanding of the temporal process.

Temporality i s defined as a feature bui l t into the s t r u c t u r e ~ o f \

change and b e c o m i n g n e ~ s and i t s subjective experience.

For e X ~ i n i n g t e m p o ~ a l determinations of past , present and future

implicit dist inct ion between real and existent i s a d m i s s i b ~ e . The

present alone 1s considered exi s t ent , while past and future are rea

4. The realm of the t e m ~ o r a l is conceived ~ contradist inct ion 'with

Eternity , the two being dialect ical ly re la ted. The temporality is

seen in opposition to Eternity and yet providing a l ink with Eter-

ni ty .

5. The transcendence of temporality is a function of consciousness.

Reflection (contemplation) as an act of consc iousness is a temporal(

ac t . But reflect ion is seen as having a bui l t - in st ructure of

transcendence. This transcendence of the temporal p ro ce ss t ak es

place in the present . Actordingly, both the Samkhya-Yoga and Abhi

dharma Buddhism are the soteriologies of th e p re se nt .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I. acknowledge with deep gratitude the helpful ~ u i d a n c e and en-

c o u r a g e m e ~ t provided.by my co-supe rv iso rs , P ro fesso rs K. Sivaraman and

J . G. Arapura. I thank Professor Sivaraman for the patient and unflag-

ging in teres t that he has taken in the project . His constvuctive sug-

gestions have gone a long way in phaping the present work. To Dr .

Arapura I am indebted for his kindness in being always available for

discussion. He helped me think through my methods and goals and a great

dea l ,of my thinking is inspired by him 'in many ways.

I must acknowledge my deep grat i tude to Professor T. R. V. Murtl

u n d e ~ whom I had the p r ~ v i l e g e of studying Vedanta and Buddhism. The

present project was f i r s t conce ived under his supervision and whatever

insight I have into Abhidh&rma Buddhism lowe to Dr. M u ~ t i with whom I

studied the diff icul t . text ~ Abhidharmakosa .

I express my indebtedness to Professor Hans Mol who has opened up

a new vista of looking a t rel igious problems. I thank him for his k ~ n dhelp and cooperation and the in teres t that he has shown in my work. I

must also thank Professor G. B. Madison of the department of Philosophy

in whose seminars I was f i r s t introduced to the methods of Phenomenology.

The problem of time and temporality was a primary concern of the seminar

and he helped me a great deal in clarifying my own thinking on this spe-

eif ie issue.

I wish to record my deep sense of i nd eb tednes s t o my fr iend Mr.

K. N. Oh. who was kind enough to read some relevant Japanese materials

and t ransla te . them for me. I also thank my fr iends, Miss Kausar Khan and

Mis& Bithika Mukerjee. for kindly going through the manuscr ip t and check-

i ng typograph ical and other errors . I would l ike to thank my ~ i f e Manju

for her love and pa ti ence without which i t would have been di f f icul t to

complete th is work.

Finally, I want to acknowledge the f inancial assistance of McMaster

University in providing me support throughout my stay here and granting

a t ravel grant which made possible my tr ip to India in connection with

my reseftrch a t Varanasi.

v ~ i i

Ma. and Babujee.

w.Uh love. and Jte,6pe.ct

CHAPTER I

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AIMS AND ASSUMPTIONS

IntroductionSett ing of the Problem

The ProblematicA Note on the Method ,.

PART I : SAMKHYA-YOGA

CHAPTER I I

CHAPTER I I I

CHAPTER IV

THE HISTORICAL AND TEXTUAL SETTING OF SAMKRYA-YOGA

Pre-Classical Samkhya-YogaThe Samkhya Karika and Commentaries

The ~ a m k h y a Sutra and Commentar ies

The Yoga Sutra apd Related Literature

SAMKHYA-YOGA ONTOLOGY AND THE NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

TIME AND TEMPORAL1TY IN SAMKHYA-YOGA

TI\e Category of Time: Grounds For I ts Rejection 72

The Questiqn of E tern al and Empirical Time 82

The Consti tution of Homent and the Status of Past ,Present and future 87

Grounds of Temporal Determinations ". 97Some Concluding Observations 106

CHAPTER V TRANSCENDENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND TEMPORALITY 111Subject and Subject ivi ty 111The Empiric Subject and Temporality 112The Transcendental C o n ~ c i o u s n e s s and The Temporal

Structure 117

PART I I : ABllIDHARMA BUDDHISM

CHAPTER VI ABHIDHARMlKA BUDDHISM:. ITS HISTORICAL AND TEXTUAL

SETTING 124

~ S c h o o 1 8 of Buddhism and the Abhidharmika Tradition 124The Two Abhidharmika Tradit ions 131

Abhidharma Philosophical Literature and Their Place

Within the Tradition 144

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VI I I

.ICHAPTER IX

rABHIDRARMA ONTOLOGY AND TIlE PROBLEM OF TEMPORALITY

The Ontology of N o n - B ~ i ~ g (Anatta)

ABHIDHARMlKA CONCEPTION OF TIME AND T E M P O R A L I ~ 'The Category of Time and The Theory of Dharma as

Temporal _Is There a Pre-Abhidharmika Notion of Time as

. Receptum?

Reality of Past, Present and Future: Argumentsfrom Cognition and Moral Law' . ,

ABHIDHARMIKA C'oNCEPTION OE KARITRA AND TEMPORAL

DISTINCTION

Three Stages in the Development of Karitra Doctrine 203K a r i t ~ a and the Svabhava of Dharma 215Impredicabili ty ( a n i r v a c a n i y a t v a ~ of Karitra 222Some Concluding Observations 224

PART I l l : SAMKHYA-YOGA AND ABHIDHARMA BUbDHISM----IN COMPARATIVE PJii,RSPECTIVE .

CHAPTER X

CHAPTER XI

-TEMPORAL BECONING AND THE REAL: THE ABHIDHARMIKA

AND SAMKHYA-YOGA PERSPECTIVE

- / .The Abhidharmika Doctt;.ine of the I Mutual Otherness I.

-(Anyathatva) of Temporal DistinctionsThe Parallelism of S a r v a s t ~ v a d a and Samkhya-Yoga

Doctrine of ChangeA S a u t r a n ~ i k a Critique'of Vasumitra's Avastha Theory

S o ~ e Concluding,Observations

TRANSCENDENCE AND TEMPORALITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR

A SOTERIOLOGY OF TIlE P R ~ S E N T

249253

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Consciousness and Transcendence of Temporality: The

Samkhya-Yoga Perspective 257Consciousness/and Transcendence of Temporality:· The

Abhidharmika Perspective 268Concluding O b s ~ r v a t i o n s 276

PART I

SAMKHYA-YOGA

CHAPTER I

AIMS AND ASSUMPTIONS

Introduction:

The subject matter of the present disser ta t ion is the problem of

time and temporality in the systems of Samkhya-Yoga and Abhidharma Budd-

hism. For the purposes of th is study, i t is crucial th at we make a con-

ceptual dis t inct ion between the categories of time and temporality. The

category of time is used for re i f icat ion of time as an absolute category

with independent ontological sta tus. Time is conceived independent of

ent i t ies and somehow i n f l u c n ~ n g and conditioning the , mode of being of.,

a l l ent i t ies . Temporality, on the other hand, is the e ~ r e s s i o n used to

indicnte the fact of change which c h a r a c t e ~ i s e s ent i t ies as their mode.

I t i s not what stands independent of them claiming a co-ordinate s tatus

in relation to t h e ~ , but is const i tuted of thei r very mode of existing.

Neither SaIDkhya-Yoga nor Abhidharma Buddhism look at temporality-.

as a feature o r fun ctio n of time conceived as re i f ied category. Tempo-

ral i ty i s not the adjectival synonym of time u n d e r s ~ o o d as th e t ra ns cen-

dent condition of our being and cognition. More specific&11y, within the

context of these two systems, temporality may be defined in terms of the

changefulness and becomingness character is t ic of phenomena as such and i t s

relationship to the cognizing consciousness. Thus, in this study, the ter.temporality i s used to connote both the fact of change and finitude of,

1~ e x i s t e n c e as well as i t subjective experience.

In th is work we have used the hyphenated expression of Sarnkhya-YogaI:;> -,

to bring out the close c o r r e l a t i o n ~ i n ~ b a s i c ontological perspective 'o f

the two schools of thought. The Samkhya sys tem under investigation includ

the thought of Samkhya Karika and.$amkhya SUtra and various c ~ e n t a r i e sthereon. Yoga, in the p re sent con text , i s used for the class ica l Yoga or

Raja Yoga as expounded in the Patan ja l i ' s Yoga Sutra and the various com-

~ n t a r i e s on i t . In using th is hyphenated expression we have t r ied to zer

upon subs tant ia l agreement in the basic ontological perspectives of the tw2 }

systems. /

-he expression Abhidharma Buddhism is employed in th is work to con-

note the ' school ' of Buddhist thought whose ideas are systematical ly ex-

,pounded in the Abhidharmakosa of Vasubandhu ~ n commentaries thereon. The

use of the expression i s preferred for var ious r ea sons and in the absence

'.of a more a d e q u ~ t e l ab el i nd ic at iv e of the scope of th is study. V a s ~ b a n d h

. ,himself uses the term in Abhidharmakosa as a proper name to refer to the

phi losophical s tandpoin t which i s the subject matter of the Abhidharmako£a

Moreover,' both Vasubandhu and his commentator Yafomitra seem to be in com-

Iplete agTeement in maintaining that the Abhidharmakosa presents in a conci

and systematic manner the cent ral ideas of the primary Abhidharma texts wh

d.R now los t to the Sanskrit t radi t ion.3

lSee pp. 9-15.

2For further discussion see pp. 46-49.

3See pp. 150-152.

sinha braj m p - problem of time and temporality in samkhyayoga and abihdharmabuddhism

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