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A Manual of Budhism, In Its Modern Development, K. Spence Hardy, 1880 - Complete Book

English

Kaya-winydna, body-consciousness, is the perceiving of touch by the body. The exercise of this power is immediate, which none of the other winy^as are, as they require some medium of communication with the object before any effect is produced. 6. Man6-winydna, mind-consciousness, is the perceiving of the thoughts that are in the mind. Man6 (in other places called hita, sita, and chitta) is the . chief of the winyinas. It is like an overseer who continually urges on his labourers to work ; like the first scholar in the school, who repeats his lesson, and is then followed by all the other scholars; or like the head workman, who sets all his men in motion when he himself begins to work. As a large fish agitates the water in which it swims or sports, so the hita moves the rdpa, or body. Its powers are brought into exercise rapidly, like the quick movements of a mother, when she sees her child in danger of falling into a well. The king of Sagal said to Nagas^na, *^ Is mano-winyina pro- duced wherever there is the production of chaksu-winyina P" Nagasena : " Yes." Milinda : "Is eye-consciousness first pro- duced, and afterwards mind-consciousness ; or is mind-con- sciousness first produced, and afterwards eye-consciousness ?*' Ndgas6na : " First, eye-consciousness is produced, and after- wards mind consciousness." Milinda : '* What, does the eye- consciousness say to the mind-consciousness, I am going to be bom in such a place, and you must be bom there too ? Or does the mind-consciousness say to the eye-consciousness. Wherever yon are born, there 1 will be bom also ?*' N^gas^na : " They have no such conversation with each other. Milinda : WiU you explain to me, then, by a figure, how it is that these two modes of consciousness always accompany each other?" N&gas6na : " What think you ; when it rains, where does the water go to P" Milinda : " It goes to any low place or declivity that there may happen to be." Ndgas^na : " When it rains again, where does this other water go to ?" Milinda : " To whatsoever place the first water goes, to the same place goes the second." Nagasena: " What, does the first water say to the second, Wherever I go, IX. THE ONTOLOGY OF BUDHISM. 437 thither joa must follow me ? Or does the second water say to the first, Wherever you go I will follow ? *' Milinda : " They have no conversation of this kind; they go to the same place because of the declivity in the ground." Ndgasena : " Even so, when eye-consciousness is produced, in the same place is produced mind-consciousness. The one does not say to the other, Where you are bom there I will be bom : they are produced in this manner because it is natural to them thus to be produced." MiliTida : " Will you now explain to me by another figure, how it is that when these two modes of consciousness are thus pro- duced together they both proceed by the same door or aper- ture ?" Nagas^na : '^ There is a fort in some distant part of the country, with walls and ramparts, but only one single gateway ; now when any one wishes to retire from the fort, by what means does he go out?" Milinda : *' By the gateway.*' Naga- s6na : " There is afterwards another man who wishes to retire ; by what means does he go out ?" Milinda : ^* By the same gateway as the first man." N^gas^na: What, does the first man say to the second, You must come out of the fort by the same gateway that I do ? Or does the second man say to the first, I will go out of the fort by the same gateway that you do ?" Milinda : " They do not hold any conversation of this kind with each other ; they both retire from the fort by the same gateway, because it is the right and proper road." Ndgas^na : ^* Even so, there is no conversation held between the two modes of con- sciousness ; it is because of the door or aperture that they are bom together." The priest afterwards illustrated the same process by the figure of two wagons (the bullocks of which), from custom, follow each other in the same path ; and by the figure of a pupil, who at first is unable to understand what he is tught, and his mind is confused ; but by practice, or habit, he becomes calm and collected, and retains the remembrance of what he is told. ''In like manner, from custom, and from practice, or habit long continued, the production of mano- winydna follows the production of chakau-winyana." The king asked the same question relative to the other winy^Lnas; if, where nose-consciousness or bodyoconsciousness is produced, there mind-consciousness is produced also ; and was answered in the affirmative. After receiving this answer^ the king asked Nagasena another 438 A MANUAL OF BUDHISM. question, and said, *' Wherever mind-conBcioiisness is prodaced is sensation, w^dana, prodaced in the same place ?" The priest replied, '' Wherever mind-consciousness is produced, there is also produced touch, or contact, phassd; sensation, w6dana ; perception, sannja, thought, ch6tan^ ; attention, witarka ; and examination, wichira. Of these various modes of winj4na, eye-consciousness and ear- consciousness are produced by communication ; there must be a communication between the object seen and the eje, and between the object that produces the sound and the ear ; images and sounds are, as it were, the food of the eye and ear. The other winy^nas, as taste and smell, are produced by contact. Unless there be actual contact between the tongue and the object tasted there is no production of jiwha-winyina ; but when anything is in contact with the eye, whether it be the coUyrium by which it is anointed, or the grain of sand by which it is annoyed, there is no consciousness of its oolour or shape; notwithstanding, the eye can discern the hare in the moon,* though it is at so great a distance. With regard to ear- consciousness there is a difEerence ; some sounds are heard when afar off, but others must be near, or they are not perceived. Between the birth of the sound and its being heard there is the lapse of a short period of time ; and sound is not heard at the same moment by one who is near and one who is distant. There are instances in which the sound is produced in one place and heard in another, as in the echo. By the rushing of sound, even a large vessel, if it be empty, may be shsLken. The meaning of winydna may be learnt in this way. The watchman of a city remains in its centre, at the place where the four principal streets meet ; by this means he can discover who comes from the east, and who from the south, or the west, or the north ; in like manner, form is seen by the eye ; sound is heard by the ear ; odour is smelled by the nose ; flavour is tasted * The easterns speak of the hare in the moon as we do of the man in the moon. The following passage occurs in the Sanskrit poem called Naishadba Charita, in speaking of the rising sun, as translated hj Br. Yates :— " The moon beheld the hawk of day Hj up. And with hit bright and hearenly rays f^ve chase Unto the raTen night: alarmed with fear For the dear hare reclininc on hia breast, He fled precipitate ; and all the stars, Like doves afraid, betook themselTes to flight."— Asiatio BesMrehes, vol. xx. IX. THE ONTOLOGY OF BUDHISM. 439 hy the tongne ; contact, or toach, is felt by the body ; and thoughts are perceiyed by the mind. All these things are discoyered or ascertained by means of winy&na. 7. Aknsala-wipdka-winy£nfr*dhiLta-chitta, that which is the cause of birth in the four hells ; akusala, demerit, without any admixture of kusala, merit. 8. Kusala-wipdka-winy^na-dhdtu-chitta, that which is the cause of birth as man ; imperfect kusala, which from its imper- fection brings blindness, deafness, disease, &c. 9 — 16. The eight sahituka-k4mawachararsit, that are the cause of birth in the d^wa-ldka, or if in the world of men, as possessing great prosperity. 17 — 21. The five nip^wachara-wipdka-sit, which are the cause of birth in one of the rdpa brahma-16kas. 22 — 26. The five ardpawachara-wip&ka-sit^ which are the cause of birth in the ardpa brahma-16ka. 27. The thoughts that cleave to sensible objects, not perceiving the impermanency of the body ; and are sceptical relative to the consequences of merit and demerit. 28. The thoughts that rest in the supposition that the circum- stances of the present birth are not controlled by that which has been done in a former birth. 29.