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" From this it would seem clear that the Sarvastivadins regarded the Asamskrta Akasa as ether, and the Samskrta Akasa as space. (b) Pratisamkhya Nirodha is conscious cessation. Vasubandhu (A.K. 1-36) says : "It has for its nature freedom from bondage . . . Pratisamkhya means conscious deliberation, and is a type of intelligence since it deliberates upon each of the four Noble Truths. The attainment of cessation (Nirodha, i.e. the cessation of the taints and passions) by means of the power of deliberation is therefore called Pratisamkhya Nirodha, just as a cart pulled by bullocks is called a bullock- cart by the elimination of the middle term." Vasubandhu then goes on to discuss whether this Pratisamkhya Nirodha is uniform and homogeneous, i.e. whether the attainment of freedom from one bond implies simultaneous emancipation from all others, and he answers (op. cit.) : " By no means, for it differs according to the basis of the bondage ; that is to say, the emancipation from bondage is in accord with the extent of basis of the bondage. If this were not so, when one annihilates one klesa ... all other klesas would thereby be destroyed, and, consequently, training in order to master the others would be unnecessary " (which is false). 112 MANUAL OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY Nevertheless, although emancipation from the klesas must be accomplished individually, yet this process leads to complete freedom from all bonds in the end, and so Nirvana, or complete freedom from all bonds by means of conscious effort, comes within this category, and thus Pratisamkhya Nirodha is identified with the only Asamskrta dharma known to the Sthaviravadins. (c) Apratisamkhya Nirodha, in contrast with the preceding, is " unconscious cessation ", and is explained as the non- arising of consciousness, not as the result of conscious effort, but by lack of the necessary sufficing conditions. Vasubandhu (A.K. l-14a) says : " Just as when the mind is intent upon one object, all other objects of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch are lost, because the group of the five vijnanas remains in the not-yet-arisen (or future) state and consequently never arise at a later moment since they are unable to perceive past-sense objects. In like manner, because of the incom pleteness of sufficing causes, Apratisamkhya Nirodha is brought about." Each of the three Asamskrta dharmas, according to the Sarvastivadins, is separate and discrete. Consequently, they are pluralists, inasmuch as they accept more than one eternal unconditioned element. 3. The Yogacarins. — In contrast to the Sarvastivadins, the adherents of the Yogacarin school enumerate six Asamskrta dharmas.1 These are : (1) Akasa, (2) Pratisamkhya Nirodha, (3) Apratisamkhya Nirodha, (4) Acala, (5) Samjna-Vedana Nirodha, (6) Tathata. The first three are the same as the Asamskrta dharmas of the Sarvastivadins, and, therefore, need not be discussed. The additional thiee are : — (a) Acala is, literally, immovability. This is a mental state identified with Upeksa, or indifference, or the trans- 1 Sat. dh. dv., p. 2, V.M.S. f. 1, G.V.P., and A. Sam. San. enumerate eight Asainsk. by dividing Tathata into three classes. COSMIC ANALYSIS 113 cending of both pleasure and pain, and is associated with the third and fourth Dhyanas of the Kupa dhatu ; it is also associated with the mental states of the first three divisions of the Arupa dhatu. (6) Samjna-Vedana Nirodha. This is the state of trance in which both samjfia (ideation) and vedana (feeling) cease (nirodha). At this point the aspirant enters into the Nirodha samapatti. This stage is associated with the mental condition prevailing in the fourth Arupa heaven. (c) Tathata, literally suchness, or the true nature, or the Absolute, which, according to the Yogacarins, is the ultimate reality underlying all phenomena. " This is the ultimate essence of everything, and it is termed Bhutatathata or permanent reality, because it is both real and eternal, though its true nature cannot be grasped by words or ordinary conceptions." The addition of this dharma made a complete revolution in Buddhist philosophy, particularly as compared to the ontology of the Sthaviravadin and Sarvastivadin schools, for, whereas according to these latter systems each of the dharmas is eternally distinct, according to the Yogacarins all dharmas are but modes of the one fundamental " essence of mind ". Consequent upon this idea, the Yogacarins go on to say that the enumeration of the preceding five Asamskrta dharmas belongs to the realm of relative truth, since in reality there is but one Asamskrta, namely the last or Tathata, while the others are but different ways of conceiving it. The Absolute, as the ever-present, non-impeding reality, is called Akasa ; as free from the limitations of the phenomenal world (of which, however, it is the underlying reality) it is called " Pratisamkhya Nirodha ", especially when this state is regarded as the result of conscious effort. The term " Apratisamkhya Nirodha " is also used to show that the Absolute manifests itself when the conditions which obscure it are absent, that its existence continues even when other 114 MANUAL OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY conditions bringing about phenomenal existence do not arise. The fourth and fifth Asamskrta dharmas are but inferior stages leading to noumenal existence. 2. Rupa, or Matter l Having finished our survey of the Asamskrta dharmas we now turn to the Samskrta dharmas, or the ultimate factors, which enter into combination in the phenomenal world ; and of which they are the proximate cause. Consequently, they are defined (A.K. l-4b) as " mundane, temporal (i.e. belonging to the world of time), possessed of causes and conditions, phenomenal, capable of being described by words, tainted (sasrava), and associated with the two truths Duhkha and Samudaya ". Since these are the ultimate parts of phenomenal life, and such life consists of matter and mind (including the phases of the mind), such dharmas are classified into Rupa, Citta, and Caitasika dharmas, to which other schools would add Citta- viprayukta dharmas. Let us first consider the Rupa dharmas, or the material factors of existence. All schools of Buddhism agree that every material dharma falls into one or other of two categories : (1) The ultimate or underived, and (2) the derived. They are generally agreed that the ultimate dharmas are four in number and consist of the four Mahabhutas, or four material elements, which are earth, water, fire, and air, though each of these terms has a very special significance for the Buddhists. Regarding the enumeration of the derived material dharmas, there is not quite such uniformity, though all lists include the five sense objects and the five sense organs, however many other dharmas may be given. 1 For Str. p. 3 of Dh. San. ( Book 2 of Rt. Trans.), C.P. partvi, p. 154 ff. For Sarv. Wu-shih-p'i-p'o sha lun, first half of first fasc., A.K., first half of first fasc. ; for Pr. and M.V. fifth grantha. For Yog. A.V.P. 1-36 and 4a, A.S.S., p. 2a. COSMO ANALYSIS 115 (a) The Ultimate Material Elements These, the four Mahabhutas, require, as we have said, especial attention, as they are easily misunderstood. The use of the terms in the Hinayana sutras is somewhat vague, so that we are left uncertain as to what interpretation was given to them in primitive times, but all the later schools agree that the elements are themselves only perceptible through touch. What we see, hear, smell, or taste, are only sense objects derived from the elements. Even as regards the faculty of touch, certain of the things sensed are only derivative sense objects, though, in addition, the touch sense organ can perceive the elements themselves. The Abhidharma Kosa (l-9a, where a detailed discussion will be found) gives us the following chart of the attributes and functions of each of the four elements : — Name. Attribute. Function. 1. Earth Solidity Supporting 2. Water Moisture Cohesion 3. Fire Heat Ripening 4. Air Motion Expanding Every molecule of every material object contains at least one atom of each of these four elements. Thus a molecule of what we call water contains atoms of earth, water, fire, and air, in addition to the atoms of the sense objects, but it so happens that for the time being the water element has a predominant influence, so that we call the molecule in question water. The Abhidharma Kosa (4-16) has the following state ment concerning the matter.