On Philosophical View of the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra

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On Philosophical View of the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra
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The position of Śāntideva in Madhyamaka philosophy has not been defined clearly. In the grub mtha' texts, he is generally considered to belong to the Prāsaṅgika school.[1] However, interpretation of his attitude toward epistemological theory has not reached any consensus, such as (a) whether external objects exist or not, or (b) whether images (ākara) exist in cognition or not. Now we can find three different views on this point : (1) he maintains the existence of external objects ; (2) he maintains there exist no objects external to the mind ; (3) he maintains the theory of cognition with images (sākāra, here, precisely satyākāra theory of the Vijñānavāda, which claims images to be true). The ideas of (1) and (2) are found in the BSAP, the commentary by an unknown author on the BSA preserved in the Dunhuang collection, while the idea in (3) is presented by Jñānaśrīmitra and derives from an interpretation of a verse included in the canonical version of the same text, the BCA.
      There are prior works on these views by Akira Saito[2], and the philosophical standpoint of the BSAP concerning (1) has been studied in detail. Although the BSAP takes the position of (1) based on a verse in the BSA, Saito believes that the view of the BSAP author made this excessive interpretation, and therefore he does not extend his study to the philosophical view of the BSA itself. As for (2), we can presume from the criticism found in the BSAP that there was such an interpretation of Śāntideva. However, there is no description of the name of the interpreter or the reason why he took such a position. We do not know which version this philosophical position is based on, whether the BSA or the BCA. As for (3), this seems to be the arbitrary opinion of Jñānaśrīmitra who was a Sākāravādin.
      The reason for the existence of such varied opinions may be as follows: 1) Śāntideva did not directly discuss cognitive issues; 2) thoughts that developed later were applied to the interpretation and 3) there are differences between the BSA and the BCA texts. Recently, it has been clarified that the BSA is an earlier version than the BCA and has better organized contents.[3] In this paper, I will discuss the verses in the BSA that concern the cognitive theory, and I will analyze why Śāntideva was regarded as having the attitude of (2). (Ishida, introduction, 32-33)

Notes
  1. Katsumi Mimaki, Blo gsal grub mtha' , Kyoto 1982, p. 27ff.
  2. The articles abbreviated to Saito [1996a], [1996b] and [1997a] listed in Saito (2000a) p. 108, and Saito (2000b) : "Shāntideva saku Nyūbosatsugyoron no densho to hen'yo : shokibon tekusuto no hakken hiwa," in Reconstitution of Classical Studies 8, pp. 11-19.
  3. Latest articles are : Ishida (2002a) : "On the Refutation of 'Self-cognition' in the Bodhicaryāvatāra : Structures of the Dunhuang Text and the Current Edition (in Japanese)," in Early Buddhism and Abhidharma Thought, In Honor of Doctor Hajime Sakurabe on His Seventy-seventh Birthday, Kyoto, pp. 431-445 ; Ishida (2002b) : "The Theory of Parātmasamatā in the Bodhicaryāvatāra : On the Structure of Chapter of Vīrya (in Japanese)," in The Journal of the Nippon Buddhist Research Association, vol. 67, pp. (113) - (128) ; Ishida (2003) : "Why is the theory of parātmasamatā in the Bodhicaryāvatāra situated in the chapter of dhyāna (in Japanese)," in Kansai University Philosophia 22, pp. 53-74.
Citation
Ishida, Chikō. "On Philosophical View of the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra." Indogaku Bukkyōgaku Kenkyū (Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies) 52, no. 2 (2004): 32–37. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ibk1952/52/2/52_2_923/_pdf/-char/en.
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Classical WorksAbout this item
An "Introduction to Bodhisattva Practice," the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra is a poem about the path of a bodhisattva, in ten chapters, written by the Indian Buddhist Śāntideva (fl. c. 685–763). One of the masterpieces of world literature, it is a core text of Mahāyāna Buddhism and continues to be taught, studied, and commented upon in many languages and by many traditions around the world. The main subject of the text is bodhicitta, the altruistic aspiration for enlightenment, and the path and practices of the bodhisattva, the six perfections (pāramitās). The text forms the basis of many contemporary discussions of Buddhist ethics and philosophy.