Lankavatara Sutra,Tillekeratne,Enc Bud

8/14/2019 Lankavatara Sutra,Tillekeratne,Enc Bud

1/7

LAttKATILAKA (2) 292 LANKA VATARA SUTRARaj ad h i raj as im ha. The rock edict is transcribed withvariations and additions occurring at times up to thefirst line of theseventh side. Theremaining sannasasare then added up tocomplete theseventh side.

It should bementioned that theplates are in lettersof the 18th century. It may be that these w ere copies ofthe original sannasas granted to thevihdra. In view ofthis circumstance , the contents of the document shouldbe examined with a certain amount of caution. Thereare quite a number of architectural details which donot occur inthe rock inscription. Th e base (adhisthdna),levelled to anarea 60x70 cubits in length andbreadth,was of granite and to theheight of a man. Many hun-dreds and thousands of bricks were used, in the con-struction of the rest of the shrine. Facing the easterndirection was a porch (bappuva). On the four sidesthere were moonlight terraces (candrikd-sthala). Theheight of the building from ground level to the finialof the sikhara (Sinh. kot-kdralla) was thirty two cubits.On the top, at thefour corners, there were four (mini-ature) stupas, surmounted by golden pinnacles. Theddgoba (vimana) on thesummit was in thecentreandwas likewise crowned by a golden pinnacle. It was ach am b er co n s t i t u t i n g a l ib rary , where in wast ranscr ibed and deposi ted the%Tripitaka. It haddoorframes and lintels.

With the aid of these details occurring in thecop-per plate, it may bepossible for an architect tohave aconjectural restoration of the shrine as it existed in the14th century, taking into consideration also, themate-rial available in the rock inscription.

The Lahkatilaka rock inscription of VikramabahuIII (1536/7-1373) isdated thethird day of the waxingmoon of Unduvap. Thepurport of thedocument wasto register the grant of the village Pattiyegama inGodarata, including thehouse sites of the village, for-ests, serfs and animals to the Lahkatilaka-vihara forits maintenance. Anddipdda of the reign makes also adonation of thevillage of Rabbegamuva to thevihdrafor itsmaintenance andmentions thevarious curses towhich disputants of the donation would be subject.

Bibliography1. (University) History of Ceylon, Vol. I. Pt. II2. N. M u d i y an s e , Art and Architecture of theGampola Period, Colombo, 1965

Nandasena Mudiyanse

LANKAVATARA SUTRA, 'Discourse about 'Enter-ing Lanka" is one of the most important sutras ofMahayana Buddhism. It is included among the tradi-t iona l 'g rea t d i scourses ' (vaipulya sutra) byMahayanists. Thesutra hasalso been adopted as oneof the basic texts of Soto Zen Buddhist tradition inJapan,

The date of the compilation of the sutra has notbeen fixed with certainty for want of evidence. Theinternal evidence suggests that the sutra representsthe idealist development in the Indian Buddhist tradi-tion. However, it is generally believed that the sutrawas compiled during 350-400 A.C. (See HajimeNakamura Indian Buddhism,Osaka, KUFS Publication,1980. p.231). Many w ho have studied thesutra are ofopinion that the introductory chapter and the last twochapters were added to the book at a later period.Suzuki who may beregarded as themost authoritativewriter on thesiitra in theEnglish language {Studies inthe Lahkdvatdra Sutra (hereafter Suzuki I)Routeledge& Kegan paul Ltd, London. (1930) 1952 andTheLahkavatdra Sutra (hereafter Suzuki II), GeorgeRouteledge and Sons, London. 1931)points out thatthere arerecords of four ChineseTtranslations of thesutra, the earliest being about A.C. 420 and the lastbeing about A.C. 704. He further points out that theearliest translation by Gunabhadra does not containthe first and the last two chapters. He surmises thatthis shorter version is theoriginal Ldkdvatdra whichis believed to have been brought toChina from Indiaby Bodhidharma, thelegendary founder of Mahayanain China. The tradition believes that Bodhidharmatransmitted the text to the second patriarch Hui-FC e.According toSuzuki, thesiitra contains all the majortenets of Zen Buddhism. (SeeSuzuki I. pp 89-236).Stucture ofthe sutra: The sutra has 10 chapters. Theyare:1. Rdvanddhyesanaparivarta (Chapter on Ravana's

Request)2. Sattrims'atsahasrasarvadharmasamuccaya-

parivarta (Chapter on the Collection of all theDharmas (taken from) Lahkdvatdra of 36,000Verses)3. Anityatdparivarta (Chapter on Impermanence)

4. Abhisamayaparivarta (Chapter on Intuitive Under-standing)

5. Tathdgatanitydnityaprasahgaparivarta (Chapteron the Deduction of the Permanency and Imper-manency)


2/7

LANKAVATARA SUTRA 293 LANKAVATARA StJTRA6. Ksanikaparivarta (Chapter on Mom entariness)7. Nainnanikaparivarta (Chapter on Transformation)8. Mdmsabhaksanaparivarta (Chapter on M eat-eating)9. Dhdranlparivarta (Chapter on Dharanis)10. Sagdthakam (Chapter with Verses)Contents of each chapter:Chapter 1: The Enlightened one w as staying in a castlesituated on the peak of Mount Malaya in Lanka. Hewas surrounded by bhiksus and bodhlsatvas 'whounderstood the significance of the objective world as amanifestation of their own mind; they knew how tomaintain (various) forms, teachings and disciplinarymeasures, according to the various mentalities andbehaviours of beings; they were thoroughly versed inthe five dhannas, the (three) svabhdvas, the (eight)vijndnas and the twofold Non-Atman'. The Buddha,following a tradition of the ancient B uddhas, expressesthe intention of explaining the dhamma to the king ofRaksasas, Ravana. Having known the intention of theBuddha Ravana arrives before the Buddha. The Bud-dha through his divine power makes Ravana see thateverything in the universe is a creation of one's ownmind. Subsequently, aided by Mahasatva Bodhisatva,upon the approval of the Buddha, Ravana asks a ques-tion from the Buddha on duality. The Budd ha says thatduality arises from discrimination (e.g. dhanna andadhanna etc.) which is 'cherished by the philosophers,S'ravakas, Pratyekabuddhas and ignorant people'. TheBuddha further says that the highest samddhi which isattained by entering into the womb of Tathagatahood(tathdgatgarbha) is realized through oneness which isthe absence of duality and discrimination.

Chapter 2: The chapter begins with the BodhisatvaMahasatva's statement that he will ask one hundredand eight questions from the Buddha. (In actuality,according to Suzuki's translation, there are 151 ques-tions or even more than that in this list.) These ques-tions cover various issues most of which are directlyrelated and some not directly related to the teaching ofthe Buddha . For exam ple a few questions at the begin-ning are as follows:

How can one be cleansed of false intellection?Whence does it arise? How can one perceive errors?Whence do they arise? Whence come lands, transfor-mation, appearance, and philosophers? Wherefore isthe state of image lessness, the gradations, and when ceare the sons of the Victorious? Where is the way ofemancipation? Who is in bondage? By what is he

redeem ed?W hat is the mental state of those who prac-tise the dhydnas? Whence is the triple vehicle? (24)(Unless otherwise stated, these numbers refer to thesection numbers in Suzuki I. These numbers also cor-respond to the section numbers in the Sanskrit textedited by P.L. Vaidya). How ever, there are some otherquestions the relevance of which to the teaching of theBuddha is not quite clear. For instance: of how manysorts are gdthdsl What is prose? What is metre? ofhow many sorts is reasoning and exegesis? H ow m anyvarieties of food and drink are there? Whence doessexual desire originate? Whence are there kings, sov-ereigns, and provincial rulers? (26)The above questions have no direct bearing on theteaching although such questions are not unheared ofin the Buddhist literature. The manner in which theBuddha deals with these questions suggests that theyhave been put not in order to obtain answers but forsome other purpose, namely, to show that the ques-tions are meaningless since the language itself used toconvey the meaning is empty. The Buddha rejects allquestions saying that the sentences do not actuallymake the statements meant to be made by those sen-tences ('....utpddapadam anutpddapadam, nityapadamanityapadam....).

In spite of this treatment of his questions by theBuddha, Mahamati continues to ask. It is significantto note that the questions asked are in no way differ-ent from the rejected questions. In fact, almost all thequestions subsequently asked by Mahamati are fromthe previous list. This time, the Buddha does not re-ject the questions, but 'answers' them.

In this longest chapter of the siitra questions areasked on the following subjects: (numbers in the fol-lowing summary refer to the numerial order of thequestion.) (1) in how many ways does the rise, abiding,and the ceasing of the vijnanas take place? (2) the mostsubtle doctrine which explains the citta, manas,manovijildna, the five dhannas, the Svabhdvas, andthe Laksanas; (3) examining into the reality of noblewisdom; (4) purification of the outflow which comesfrom recognising an objective world which is of minditself; (5) the eternal unthinkable; (6) making an as-sertion and refuting it; (7) how all things are empty,unborn, non-dual, and have no self-natue; (8) is thetathdgata-garbha same as ego-substance of the otherreligionists?; (9) perfection of the discipline leadingto be a yogin; (10) will-body (11) causation of allthings; (12) essence of discrimination as regards wo rds;


3/7

LANKAVATARA SUTRA 294 LANKAVATARA SUTRA(13) conditions whereby the word-discrimination mani-fests itself; (14) attainment of self-realization by no-ble wisdom; (15) nirvana; (16) nature of the B uddha'stheory of causality; (16) whether all things exist onthe reality of words; (17) eternity of sound; (18) na-ture of error; (19) the stream-entered and their specialattainm ents; (20) one vehicle that chajacterises the in-ner realisation of noble wisdom. The Buddha answersthese questions by laying emphasis on the fundamen-tal Vijhdnavdda doctrines.Chapter 3: The chapter begins with the Buddha givinga further account of will-body to Mahamati. Subse-quently, the following questions which are similar innature to those in the previous chapter are asked andanswered: (21) the five immediacies; (22) the Buddhanature of the Buddhas; 923) the deeper sense of thestatement "I am all the Buddhas of the past" and "Ihave gone through many a birth..." (24) on 'not speak-ing is the speaking of the Bud dha'; (25) being and non-being of all things; (26) characteristic of the realiza-tion; (27) what characterises wrong discrimination;(28) Why should not Bodhisatva-Mahasatva graspmea ning from words? What are words? Wh at is mean-ing? (29) deepseated attachm ent to the existence of allthings and the way of emancipation; (30) if all thingsare of the nature of false imagination is there neitherdefilement nor purification?; (31) how is transcend entalknow ledge unobtainable (32) why Loka yata shouldnot be honoured?; (33) what does the term nirvanadesignate? (34) self-nature of Budd hahood; (35) is theTathagata a non -entity?; (36) on external causation (ofthe Budd ha and the other religionists); (37) on the claimthat all composite things are impermanent.

Chapter 4: This short chapter is on a single questionasked by Mahamati on (38) the state of perfecttranquilisation.Chapter 5: This short chapter too discusses one point,namely, (39) whether the Tathagata is permanent ornot.Chapter 6: The chapter discusses the following ques-tions by Mahamati: (40) rising and disappearing ofskandha, dhdtu and dyatana\ (41) distinguishing as-pects of the five dliarmas, the (three) svabhdvas, the(eight) vijhdnas and the twofold egole ssnes s; (42)should the statement "theTa thagatas of the past, present

and future are like the sands of the river Ganga" betaken literally? (43) mom entary destruction of all thingsand their distinctive signs; (44) what are the sixpdramitds'l how are they fulfilled?.Chapter 7: The following questions are asked (together)and answered (together): (45) how was it that thearahants were given assurance bythe Buddha on theirattainment of supreme enlightenment?; (46) how canall beings attain Tathagatahood without realising thetruths of parinirvana!', (47) What does it mean.thatfrom the night when the Tathagata was awakened tosupreme enlightenment until the night w hen he enteredinto parinirvdna, between these two evnts the Tathagatahas not uttered, has not pronunced a word? ; (48) W hatis the meaning of this that, being always in samadhi,the Tathagatas neither deliberate nor con template? (49)how do the Buddhas of transformation being in thestate of transformation, executed the works of theTathagata? (50) how is the succession of momentarydecomposition explained, which takes place in thevijfianasl; (51) what do these statements mean: thatVajrapani is constantly with (the Tathagata) as hispersonal guard, and that the primary limit is unknownand yet cessation is knowable, and that there are evilones, their activities and left-over karmasl; (52) howcan the Blessed one with the unexhausted kanna-hindrances attain omniscience?Chapter 8: This chapter is the Buddha's response toMahamati's question (53) on meat-eating.Chap er 9: Th is shor t cha p ter co mp ri se s theLankdvatdra Mahdydna sutra Dhdranl or magical for-mula based on the sutra (a device characteristic ofMaha yana tradition by which usually a lengthy sutrais given in an extremely abbreviated form for the pur-poses of chanting in order to secure good results).Chapter 10:This is usually not num bered as a separatechapter, but meant to be a compilation in verse formof all the ideas expressed in the sutra so that mem ori-zation is made easy. There are 884 verses in this sec-tion which covers not only what was already given inthe sutra but many new issues.

The Lankdvatdrasutra is one of the most impor-tant of all Mahayana works. It represe nts the m ost ad-vanced stage of the philosophical development of the

1. See in this regard Das gupta, S.N., "Philosophy of Lank avatara in Buddhist Studies, ed. by B.C. Law, gndological Bookhouse, Delhi, 1983, pp. 859-876


4/7

LANKAVATARA SUTRA 295 LANKAVATARA SUTRAMahayana tradition, namely, the Vijnanavada or theidealist trend in Buddhist thought.1

The Siltra has a dual purpose, positive and nega-tive. The positive purose of the siitra is to present theidealist persuasion in Buddhist thought. The negativepurpose is to criticise the views that are not in con-formity with its own. The sutra is simultaneously en-gaged in both these activites, and that it is so engagedcan be seen very clearly throughout the work, fromthe beginning to its very end.

We already mentioned the fact that many scholarsincluding Suzuki are of opinion that the first and thelast chapters are later additions. There are several theo -ries about the presence of the first chapter. One theorybelieves that the first chapter with the king of Lanka,Ravana, as the main interlocutor has been added laterin order to give historicity for the siitra (Suzuki (I) p.16. and Ananda Guruge 'History of the Lankavatara-sutra' in Buddhist Essays: A miscellany. London. 1992).Another theory says that the sutra has been compiledhurriedly having Lanka as the venue in order tointroduce Mahayana Buddhism to Sri Lanka. Thistheory is heavily dependent on the eighth chapter onmea t-eating which is a Hinayana p ractice2 W hether thischapter is a subsequent addition or not cannot be de-termined conclusively on available historical or evenon internal evidence. There is a possibility that boththese theories m ay be true. However one thing is clear:the internal evidence clearly sugg est that the first cha p-ter is quite integral in its content and outlook with therest of the sutra and it serves as the introduction to thewhole siitra. The introductory chapter introduces allthe main ideas and trends the reader is bound to com eacross repeatedly throughout the sutra. Therefore thefirst ch apter, even if it is a later ad dition, has been con-structed so as to integrate with the rest of the sutraquit well.

The only 'non-philosophical' chapter of the Sutra(with the exception of the ninth chapter containing adhdraiu which is not supposed to have a standardme aning ) is the one on meat-eating. H owever, it is hardto say that these chapters are not integral to the w holesiitra, for the sutra not only gives a philosophy butalso gives a religion. The discussion on meat eatingand the dhdraiu are quite significant in this respect.2

The major philosophical and religious views of theSutra are those of the Vijnanavada tradition, namely,the five dhannas, three svabhdvas, the eight vijhdnasand the twofold non-atman (1); the non-differentiat-ing nature of the dlayavijildna (17); denial of duality(16); abandonment of discrimination (18), unrealityof the external world (20), and the 'womb oftathagatahood1 (tathdgatagarbha) (21). The se ideas areintroduced and emphasized in the first chapter itself.The above ideas are not presented in a vacuum , but inthe context of the views opposed to them.3 In this re-spect, the first and foremost target is what the sutracalls s'rdvakas or the Hinayana schools of Bu ddhism.Almost alw ays, the s'rdvakas are grouped together withpratyekabuddhas, the other religionists or tirthakas(which suzuki, not very appropriately, translates as 'phi-losophers') and 'those who are ignorant1. In the firstchapter, the Buddha w arns Ravana that he should "notfall into the attainments, conceptions, experiences,views and samddhis of the s'rdvakas...." (10).Subsequently the Buddha praises Ravana for asking aquestion on some aspect of meditation which is nevertasted by those who practise the maditation of thes'rdvakas..." (14) and refers to the stage of acala inmeditation which goes "beyond the samddhi an dunderstanding attained by the s'rdvakas " (15). Inthis same discussion, the discrimination of phenom enainto dliarma and adharma is attributed to otherreligionists, s'rdvakas, pratyekabuddhas and theignorant (18). In this manner, the siitra always presentsits views along with the criticism of its opponents ofwhom the Hinayana tradition is the foremost.

'Other religionists' are often referred to along withthe rest. However the main contention with them istheir theories of causation (section:40). It is said thatRavana acquired that kind of knowledge which iscapable of d isposing of the arguments of o therr e l i g i o n i s t s o n cau s a t i o n (1 0 -1 1 ) . A l t h o u g hLokayatikas are referred to in several places, it is notclear in what sense the term is used. They have beendescribed as "skilled in varieties of incantations and inthe art of eloquence" and "making clever use of words"(173); but subsequently they have been attributed w ithv i ews u s u a l l y co n s i d e red 'm e t ap h y s i ca l ' an d'unanswered' in the Buddhist tradition (176-17 7). Theyhave also been atributed with dualism (being and non -

2. Kalupahana. D.J., A history of Buddhist Philisophy, Hawaii 1992, ch. XVIII and the Apendix3. We are in agreem ent with ainold K unst who says that the Lankdvatara is a highly polemical text': "Some Polemics in

the Lahkavatarasutra" in Festschrift for walpola Rahu la


5/7

LANKAVATARA StJTRA 296 LAttKAVATARA SUTRAbeing etc..) which is usually attributed to 'o therreligionists' in thesutra. It must benoted that the majorphilosophical and religious views advocated and thereferences to theopponents whose views are criticizedin the first chapter continue to appear till the end ofthe Sutra.

The main interlocutor in theSutra (infact, the soleinterlocutor after the first chapter) Mahamati, theBodhisatva appears in the first chapter itself. He is theonly one in the assembly who understands the signifi-can ce of the myster ious smi le of the B u d d h a .Mahamati's inquiry into the reason behind the Bud-dha's smile opens the door for the exposition of thephilosophy of the siitra, first as responses to Ravana'squestions and subsequently to those of Mahamati.

The themes discussed from the 2nd to the 7th chap-ter are of uniform nature in the sense that the responsesof the Buddha to those quest ions represent theVijnanavada philosophy. As the (above) summary ofthe questions show, the subject-matter of the questionsis diverse and varied. Nevertheless, the philosophypresented to respond to these questions is the same.

Th e V i j n an av ad a d o c t r i n e of 'm ind on ly '(cittamdtra) and the reality of alayavijndna is the cen-tral teaching ofthe sutra. This doctrine is presentedagainst the practice of various forms of discrimina-tion, namely, citta, mano and manovijhdna and sub-ject andobject. The following statement articulates thetwo ideas clearly:

....That Mind in itself has nothing to do with dis-crimination and causation, discourses of imagination,and terms of qualification (laksyalaksana); that body,property , and ab o d e are object i f icat ions of thealayavijndna, which in itself above (the dualism of)subject and object; that the state of imagelessnesswhich is in compliance with the awakening of minditself, is not affected by such changes as arising, abid-ing, and destruction (section: 42).

The 'mind-only1 doctrine isaffirmed throughout thesutra. Forexample, itoccurs in the following sections:3 9 , 4 0 , 4 1 , 4 2 , 4 3 , 4 4 , 4 6 , 7 0 , 7 3 , 9 1 , 111 (chapterII);152, 162, 170, 173, 183, 208 (chapter III); 212 (chap-ter IV); 219 (chapter V); 225, 235 (chapter VI); 243(chapter VII); 272, 282, 300, 301, 311, 320, 327, 335,342, 351, 369, 375 (chapter X). The related ideas of(the folly of) false discrimination (129-131, 150, 163,204, 274 and 306); non-reality of the external world

{mayo) (320, 334 and 374); and that all phenomenaare empty of self-nature (73-74) occur throughout thesutra in support of the main doctrine.

The philosophical and religious context againstwhich the idealist philosophy is presented is primarilythe Hinayana philosophy and religion. The referencesto andcriticism o fthe Hinayana doctrines and practicesare many and varied. They arescattered in all chaptersexcept in chapter IX which is a dhdranl (magicalformula). In the first chapter itself there are severalreferences toHinayana. Thefirst reference tos rdvakasoccurs in the admonition by the Buddha toRdvancinot to "fall into the a t t a i n m en t s , co n cep t i o n s ,experiences, views, and satnddhis of the S'rdvakas,Pratyekabuddhas and phi losophers" (10). Subse-quently the discrimination of things as belonging topast, present and future is condemned and the statebyond such discrimination is described as a state "nottasted by those who practise the meditation of theS'rdvakas, Pratyekabuddhas, andphilosophers..." (14).Subsequently sections 15, 18 and 20contain criticismsof the Hinayana on the same grounds. Chpater II ex-tends the criticism of Hinayana to many other philo-sophical issues. The workings of the alayavijndna isdescribed as a phenomenon "not easy to comprehend(especially) by those who practise the disciplinebelonging to the S'rdvakas, Pratyekabuddhas andphilosophers" (45). The 'dharmata Buddha', which isunconditioned is described as "not belonging to theworld ofth e ignorant, S'rdvakas, Pratyekabuddhas andphilosophers" (57).Subsequently the final realizationofthe Srdvakas iscriticised as "nodiscarding of habit-en e rg y and no es cap e f ro m i m p e rce i v ab l etransformation of death" (58). This downgrading ofthe Hinayanic goal reaches its culminating point in thefollowing statement:

... those who, afraid of suffering arising from thediscrimination of birth anddeath, seek for nirvana, donot know that birth-and-death and nirvana are not tobe separated the onefrom theother; and seeing that allthings subject to discrimination have no reality, ima g-ine that nirvana consists in the future annihilation ofthe senses and their fields. They are not aware ,Mahamati, of the fact that nirvana is the alayavijndnawhere a revulsion takes place by self-discrimination.Therefore Mahamati those who are stupid talk of thetrinity of vehicles and not of the state of mind-onlywhere there are no images (61-62).

Sections 63, 69, 71 and 83 contain criticisms of


6/7

LANKAVATARA SUT RA 297 LANKAVATARA SUT RAthe Hinayana doctrines of skandha, dhatu and ayatana.Sections 72, 97, 103 and 107 and 134 contain similarcriticisms of the low nature of the H inayana stan dards.Chapter III continuing a similar line of thought con-firms that those who adhere to discrimination ofskandha, dhdtu and ayatana are 'doomed to ruin1 (147).The section 170 shows the importance of keeping thebodhisatvas and mahdsatvas away from 'those whobelong to the vehicles of the srdvaka..! The chapterIV is a reaffirmation of the 'mind-o nly' doc trine anddowngrading of the Hinayana nirvana which is pro-hibited for the bodhisattvas who have a loftier ideal(212). Chapter V, although it does not directly refer tothe s'ravakas, does criticize their practice of discrimi-nation of phenome na into skandha, dhdtu and ayatanaand permanency and impermanency. Chapter VI con-tains a harsher attack on Hinayana. The section (222)claims that self-realization is not gained by thes 'rdvakas, pratyekabuddhas and philosophers. Section226 asserts that the right knowledge constitutes not'falling back into the stage of the philsophers, 's 'ravakasand pratyekabuddhas. Section 236 refers to those'ignorant and simple-minded who are addicted to thedocrine of momentariness 1 and the next sectioncompares those who delight in nirvana and those whoperform the pdmmitds of charity etc. in order to achieveit with the 'ignorant' (237). Chapter Vfl describes theS'ravakas as those who have got rid of 'passion-h i n d ran ce ' (kles'avarana) bu t no t 'knowledge-hindrance' (Jfieydvarana), a result of direct p erceptionof the egolessness of phenom ena which is not achievedby the 5'ravakas. Chapter VIII is the only ch apter whichdiscusses a practically oriented ethical issue, namely,the practice of meat-eating. The entire chatper can beconsidered a direct attack on the Hinayana. At the veryoutset of the chapter the Hlnayanists are isolated fromthe other groups with whom they were combined upto that point for attack, and this fact becomes clearfrom this statement of Maham ati: "even those philoso-phers who hold erroneous doctrines and are addictedto the views of the Lokayata such as the dualism ofbeing and non-being, nihilism, and eternalism, willprohibit meat-eating..." (244). In this chapter we donot encounter the expositions of usual idealist doc-trines, but again the focus is the mahdsattvas andbodhisattvas who must refrain from the kind of foodenjoyed by the s'ravakas. In the discussion it is made

clear that meat-eating is not approved foranyone, noteven for the s'ravakas. The so-called 'meat purifiedfrom three ends' (trikotipdris'uddhamdnsa)of theHinayanists has been clearly denied (253 and 257).The last chapter which is composed of verses is basi-cally a summary of the ideas presented in the previouseight chapters (chapter IX being only a dhdraiu) al-though it contains some other material which is notdirectly related to the main trend of the siitra. The criti-cism of the Hinayana continues unabated in this chap-ter too. The section 295 puts all the doctrines criti-cised together and affirms their dream-like nature:

Causation, the dhdtus, skandhas, and the self-na-ture of all things, though t-construction , a personal so ul,and mind they are all like a dream, like a hair-net.

The doctrines advanced by the s'ravakas are de-scribed as resulting from jealousy. They 'who aredeeply intoxicated w ith the liquor of samddhi are com-pared to an elephant 'who is stuck in deep mud is un-able to move about' (322). In the very last section thebasic ideas emphasized throughout the siitra are reit-erated:

W hen the dualism of being and non-being is aban-doned, there is neither bothness nor not-bo thness; andgoing beyond s'ravakahood and pratyekabuddhahood,one will even pass over the seventh stage (357).

This discussion shows that the Sutra has a clearlyarticulate dual purpose, namely, to promote the ideal-ist trend in Buddhist philosophical thinking and thereligion associated with it and to show the invalidityof the philosophy and the religion of Hinayana.

Many scholars have noticed the Sutra has a largeamount of repetitions.4 However, this aspect of theSiitra may be defended on the ground that in a workwhich combines theoretical philosophy with practicalreligion, repetitions are not only desirable but alsohelpful, for they serve to keep laying emp hasis on themain themes so that the reader gets accustom ed to theviewpoint.

The philosophical method followed in the siitra issimilar to the method in the Vajracchedika and in4. Suzuki ( l)Vaidya,

Saddhannalahkarasutram, Mithila Institute1963; Kalupahana, op. cit


7/7

LANKAVATARA SU TR A 298 L A O SNagar juna , namely , the method o f concep tua l'deconstru ction'. The best exam ple of this kind of treat-ment is the way the Buddha treats the so called 108questions that occur at the beginning of the secondchapter. As we showed earlier these questions cover avast range of concepts.

All the questions are dismissed as not capable ofconveying the meaning intended. The obvious reasonis that both language and the things behind its con-cepts are empty of any reality. There are other occa-sions where specifically Buddhist and philosophicalconcepts are negated, a method which very much re-sembles that of Nagarjuna:

And there are no Buddhas, no truths, no fruition,no causal agents , no perversion, no nirvana, no passingaway, no birth. And then there are no twelve elemen ts(anga), and no duality either, of limit and no-limit;because of the cessation of all notions (that arecherished by the philosophers). I declare (there is)Mind-only.

The difference in application of this method, how-ever, from Naga rjuna, as indicated in the above quotedstatemen t, is that here all concepts are negated not onlyto show that they are devoid of any self-nature butalso to affirm the view'that all such phenomena aremind-m ade and hence the sole reality is mind, a viewwhich marks the idealistic development over theS'unyatdvdda.

The negation of the validity of the concepts in-cluding those in the 108 questions in the second cha p-ter thus seems to be integral to the philosophicalmethod adopted by the siltra. In holding this view weare not in agreement with Suzuki who holds the fol-lowing:

The 108 clauses preached by the Buddhas of thepast are a string of negations, negating any notion thathappens to com e into the mind at the mom ent, appar-ently with no system, with no special philosophy inthem. These negations are another example of the ir-rationality of the Lahakdvatdra (Suzuki I. p. 41).

The negation of the validity of language is an es-sential aspect of the philosophy of religion in the siitra.What the sutra presents as ultimately valid exp erienceis that which transcends the boundaries of language.The following question by Mahamati and the answergiven by the Buddha to the question confirm this:

Mahamati: Are words themselves the highest re-ality, or is what is expressed in words the highestreality?Buddha: Words are not the highest reality, nor is

what is expressed in words the highest reality. Why?Because the highest reality is an exalted state of bliss,and as it connot be entered into by mere statementsregarding it , words are not the highest reality,Mahamati, the highest reality is to be attained by theinner realization of noble wisdom, it is not a state ofword-discrimination; therefore, discrimination does notexpress the highest reality (87).

Th e denial of the validity of all concep ts does n otnecessarily mean that 'things in themselves1 are beyondexpression. Rather it leads us to the core of theVijndnavdda philosophy, namely, nothing in phenom-ena has any reality, but all of them are creations of themind. What ultimately rem ains is the mind alone {citta-matra). This understanding shatters the mdyd, the causeof the realistic view of phenom ena and leads us to theexperience of "the highest samddhi, which is gainedby entering into the wom b of Tathagataho od, w hich isthe realm of noble wisdom realised in one's inne rmostself (21). The R eligion of the Lankdvatdra, for whichthe philosophy is only a means, culminates here.

Asanga TillekeratneLAOS.Introduction: The Lao People's Democratic R epublicis a thinly populated mountainous co untry land-lockedbetween Thai land, Burma, China, Vietnam andCam bodia w ith an estimated p opulation of 4.6 m illion(in 1995). Over half the population in Laos areBuddhist, while the rest comprising more than 60ethnic groups living on the hills adhere to the tradi-tional beliefs of spirit cults. Buddhism continues toexist alongside animism with no conflict w ith the wat(temple) compound having a spirit {phi) house for theguardian of the village.

Buddhism was known in the Lao region by the 8thcentury A. C. from the Mon people who brought Moncivilization and Buddhism, according to Coedes whobased his conclusion on inscriptions found in westernLao ('Documents sur l'histoire politique et religioeu sedu Laos occidental', BEFEO, XXV, 1925, pp. 1-202).Paul Levy dated to the 12th century, two Buddha stat-ues found at Luang P rabang with characte ristics simi-