English
" The being of all things is derived from belief, reliance, pratyaya, in this order ; from false knowledge, delusire impression ; from delusiye impression, general notions ; from them, particulars ; from them, the six seats, (or outward objects of) the senses ; from them contact ; from it, thirst or desire ; from it, embiyotic (physical) existence ) from it, birth, or actual physical assistance ; from it, all the distinctions of genus and species among animate beings ; from them, decay and death, after the manner and period peculiar to each. Such is the procession of all things into existence from awidya, or delusion ; and in the inyerse order to that of their procession, they retro- grade into non-existence. And the egress and regress are both karmas, wherefore this system is called kdrmika. (S&kya to his disciples in the Racha Bhagayati.) "'^Hodgson'ts Illustrations. By Csdma EOrosi it is called*' a dependent connexion or casual concatenation (of twelye things) : — 1. Ignorance. 2. Composition, or notion. 3. Cognition. 4. Name and body. 5. Six senses. 6. Touch. 7. Perception. 8. Affection. 9. Ablution. 10. Existence. 1 1. Birth. 12. Old age and death. £yerything, but especially the human soul, depends for its existence on the causal concatenation.'' We have the same scheme in the brahmanical accounts of the Budhist system. '* Ignorance, or error, is the mistake of supposing that to be durable which is but momentary. Thence comes passion, comprising desire, aversion delusion, &c. From these, commencing in the embryo with paternal seed and uterine blood, comes the rudiment of body ; its flesh and blood : it is name and shape. Thence the sites of six organs, or seats of the senses, consist- ing of sentiment, elements, name and shape (or body) in relation to him whose organs they are. From coincidence and conjunction of the organs with the name and shape (that is, with body), there is feeling or experience of heat or cold, &c., felt by the embryo or embodied being. Thence is eensation of pleasure, pain, &c. Follows thirst, or longing for renewal of pleasurable feeling and desire to shun that which is painful. Thence is effort or exertion of body or speech. From this is condition of merit or demerit. Thence comes birth or aggregation of the fiye branches. The maturity of those fiye branches is decay. Their dissolution is death . . . Upon death ensues departure to another world. That is followed by return to this world. And the course of error, with its train of consequences, recommences." — Colebrooke, Ikfiscellaneous Essays, i. SWv The Chinese scheme agrees, in a remarkable manner, with the preceding extracts. I give 2 o 450 A MANUAL OF BUDHI8M. Milinda : ** Will yon explain what yon have said by a familiar fignre ?" Ndgasena: "A man sets a seed, or nnt, in the gronnd ; from this seed proceeds a germ, which gradually in- creases in sixe nntil it becomes a fnll-g^wn tree, and prodnoes fruit ; in that fmit is another seed or kernel which is put into the ground, and this also germinates, gradually comes a tree, and bears fruit ; of this process no beginning can be perceived ; and in like manner the beginning of duration does not appear. Again, a fowl produces an egg, and this egg produces another fowl, and this fowl produces another egg ; in this way, no end can be perceived to this process ; and it is the same with dura- tion/' The priest then drew a well-defined circle on the ground, and asked the king if he could show him the beginning of it or the end ; but he replied that he was not able. Ndgasena : " It is in this way that Budha has propounded the pratitya-samup- pada-chakra, or circle of existence. On account of the eye and the outward form, eye-consciousness, or sight is produced ; from the union of these three, contact is produced ; from contact, the three modes of sensation are produced ; from sensation, evil desire is produced; from evil desire, karma is produced; so again, from karma, by means of the eye, eye-consciousness is produced. There is no end to this order of sequences. Again, it in the words of M. Klapioth. We may hereby learn that the grand principles of Budhism are the same in nearly all countries, and that there is also great uniformity in the renderings of its principal expositors. " L'oiigine des douze Nid&na est I'ignorance ; Tignorance agissant, produit la con- naissance ; la oonnaissance agissant, produit le nom et le titre ; le titre agissant, produit les six entr^ ; les six entrees agissant, produisent le plaisir renouyele ; le plaisir renouTele agissant, produit le desir ; le d^air agissant, produit 1' amour ; 1' amour agissant, produit la caption ; la caption agissant, produit la possession ; la possession agissant, produit la naissance ; la naisfance agissant, produit la yieillesse et la mort, la aouleur et la compas- sion, le chagrin et la suffrance. qui sont les peines du ccBur et 1' instrument de grandes calamites. Quand T&me est ime fois tomb^ dans cette altematiTede la Tie et de la mort, si elle Teut [obtenir In doctrine, elle doit interrompre I'amour et ^teindre et supprimer les passions et les desirs. Quand la quietude est renue, alors I'ignorance s'^teint ; I'ignorance ^tant ^teinte, alora Taction s'^teinte ; I'action s'eteignant, alors la oonnaissance s'^teint ; la oon- naissance s'eteignant, alors le nom et le titre s'eteignant ; le nom et le titre etant 6teints, alors les six entrto s'eteignant ; les six entries s'eteignant, alors le plaisir renouvel^ s'eteint : le plaisir renouyele ^tant eteint, alors le desir s'eteint ; la douleur eteinte, alors ramour s'eteint ; I'amour 4tant Eteint, alors la caption s'ct4;int ; la caption ^tant Eteinte, alors la possession s'^t^int ; la possession s'eteignant, alors la naissance s'eteint ; la naissance s'eteignant^ alors la yieillesse et la mort, la tristesse, la compassion, la douleur et la soufTrance, les peines du cceur et les grandes calamites ont pris fin : o'est ce qu'oii iippeUo ayoir trouy^ la doctrine." IX. THE ONTOLOGY OF BUDHISM. 451 from the ear and sound, ear-conscionsneBS, or hearing, is pro- dnced ; from the nose and perfume, nose-conscionsness, or smell, is prodnoed ; from the tongne and flaYonr, tongne-conscionsness, or taste, is produced ; from the body, and the tangible object body-consciousness, or touch, is produced ; from the mind and the object of mental perception, mind consciousness, or thought^ is produced. From the union of the three in each of these classes, contact is produced; from contact, sensation; from sensation, evil desire, from evil desire, karma; from karma, consciousness ; and so on without any limit to the process. In like manner, the beginning of duration does not appear." The king again said to Ndgas^na, *^ You have declared that the beginning does not appear ; of what is it that this beginning has been predicated ?" N£gas6na: " It is spoken of past dura- tion." Milinda : '* Is it true of all things that the beginning does not appear ?" Nagas^na : " Of some things it appears, and of some it does not appear." Milinda: "In what way?" Ndgasena : " Formerly all things, of whatever kind, were entirely awidyamdna, lost in confusion, or covered from the sight; their beginning does not appear ; but when that which was not existent comes into existence, is produced and destroyed, of this (which may be regarded as referring to each separate indivi- duality in the sequence of existence) the beginning does appear." Milinda : " If that which was non-existent comes into existence, and after coming into existence is destroyed, is not its destruc- tion entire and absolute, from being thus, as it were, cut ofE at both ends ?" Ndgas^na : *' It receives the destruction of awid- ydwa, or non -perception." Milinda : " But can that which is awidyawa, and cut off at both ends, continue to exist P" N^ga- s^na: "It may." Milinda: "But can ifc exist from the beginning." Nagasena: "It may exist from the beginning." The priest then repeated the comparison of the seed and the tree ; the khandas are like the seed (the beginning and the end of each sepa- rate tree being apparent, though the beginning of the process by which this sequence of trees came into existence cannot be traced). 11. The king enquired of Ndgas^na if any sanskh^ra-dharmma- kenek, or sentient being, exists ; and if so, what is the nature of that 'being? In reply, the priest repeated the circle of existence. On receiving this answer, the king said, " Does the being that has no existence come into existence?