Buddhist Cosmology in Abhidharma, Kaalacakra and Dzog-chen.

·期刊原文
Myriad Worlds: Buddhist Cosmology in Abhidharma, Kaalacakra and Dzog-chen.
By Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye. Translated and edited by the International
Translation Committee founded by the V. V. Kalu Rinpoche
Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1995. Pp. 301
Reviewed by Sara McClintock, Harvard University
Philosophy East & West
Volume 49, Number 2
(April 1999)
pp. 209-212
Copyright by University of Hawaii Press
　

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

p. 209

It is well known that the Buddhist tradition universally rejects the notion of a creator god. Yet this fact, alone does not imply that Buddhists have been uninterested in cosmology. On the contrary, the student of Buddhism inevitably finds that complex theories concerning the structure and evolution of the universe are ubiquitous throughout the tradition, and that an understanding of these theories is indispensable to the understanding of other aspects of Buddhist philosophy, however unrelated they at first appear. Thus, whether one seeks to investigate Buddhist theories of karma and causation, stages of meditation, or even the nature of ignorance and enlightenment, one frequently finds oneself confronted with Buddhist cosmology. Myriad Worlds: Buddhist Cosmology in Abhidharma, Kaalacakra and Dzog-chen is thus a welcome addition to the literature available in English on this important but often neglected topic.

The work itself is a translation of the first book of a voluminous text by the eminent scholar-monk Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye (1813-1899), famed for his role as a founding member of the so-called Rime, or nonsectarian, movement in eastern Tibet. The text, known popularly as The Treasury of All Knowledge (shes bya mdzod), is comprised of a set of verses, The Encompassment of All Knowledge (shes bya kun khyab), and a commentary on them, The Infinite Ocean of Knowledge (she bya mtha' yas pa'i rgya mtsho). As one can infer from these titles, the work was intended to be broad in its scope, presenting the full array of Buddhist wisdom from the differing perspectives of various schools. Although Kongtrul clearly evinces his opinion that the Buddhist traditions can be hierarchically ranked, his nonsectarianism makes

p. 210

itself felt in his assertion that all of them are true. Their contradictions, he says, can be explained by the fact that "the omniscient Victorious One did not view any aspect of either the environment or the inhabitants of our world-system as ultimately real. Therefore, his teaching is not one that, based on a belief in a single view, sets forth a particular system as the only valid one. Instead, the Buddha spoke in response to the various capabilities, interests, and dispositions of those to be guided [to enlightenment]" (p. 166).

Having dispensed with the need to explain contradictions, Kongtrul is free to present a range of Buddhist opinions on the nature of the universe according to the perspectives of (in the terminology of the translators) the Individual Way (Hiinayaana), the Universal Way (Mahaayaana), the Wheel of Time Tantra (Kaalacakra Tantra), and the Great perfection (rDzogs chen). What is remarkable in this presentation is the staggering array of details and topics that are covered even within just one of these cosmological systems. Anyone who has ever wondered about traditional Abhidharma conceptions of the heavens and hells, their shape and size, and their relationship to various meditative attainments will find lucid explanations in the section dedicated to the cosmology of the Individual Way. Likewise one will learn not only of the cycles of the universe, with its inevitable arising, abiding, destruction, and rearising, but one will also read about the origins of legal institutions, kingship, and the ordering of human society. In this regard it is interesting to note the language used to describe the development of the four traditional classes, or castes, of ancient India; the text speaks of the various classes as the "descendants" (p. 134) of those who committed particular types of deeds. Implicit seems to be the recognition of a kind of familial karma that flies in the face of more usual Buddhist explanations of karma as an individual affair.

Much of the book is entertaining, offering opportunities to stretch the mind when considering the outrageously long measurements of time and space for the various components of the universe. For example, the life span in one of the hells, Blistering, is said to be "equal to the time necessary to exhaust the sesame seed stock of Magadhaa when it is reduced at the rate of one seed per hundred years" (p. 130). Similarly, the width of each of the oceans, continents, and mountain ranges according to the Wheel of Time Tantra system is said to be exactly "888 leagues, three earshots, 1,111 bow lengths, ten finger-widths, and five and one-third barley seeds" (p. 151). Gods of the formless realms, who are absorbed in the great joy of various meditative contemplations, have exceedingly long lives ranging from twenty thousand to eighty thousand cosmic ages. Yet despite the apparent luxury of such a long life of bliss, the emphasis in these Buddhist cosmologies is always on the impermanence of such states. A human embodiment, while much shorter and full of suffering, is still preferable to that of a formless realm god, since as humans we are capable of performing new "evolutionary actions" that can lead us out of the endless cycle of death and rebirth once and for all.

Beyond the mere enumeration of cosmic ages, world formation, and levels of embodiment, the book also goes into deeper questions of Buddhist cosmology, such as the question of the primary causes of the universe. All of the schools agree that the

p. 211

fundamental causes for the repeated creation, endurance, and destruction of the universe can be reduced to two basic factors: karma (or, in the language of the translators, "evolutionary actions") and kle`sa (or "emotions"). Karma refers, according to the translators, to "the cumulative potential that remains in the mind-stream after the performance of any physical, verbal, or mental action that is based on the underlying impulse of clinging to the idea of a self" (pp. 40-41). Kle`sa refers to the negative mental states, such as attachment and hatred, that also have their origin in the idea of a self. As is apparent, the ultimate root of both karma and kle`sa is "the idea of a self," or ignorance. But merely agreeing on the primacy of ignorance as the cause for the universe does not indicate agreement on its nature. The careful reader of Kongtrul's book will discover that the reality of which beings are said to be ignorant is not the same in every Buddhist cosmology. In particular, the final chapter on the Great Perfection presents a picture of ignorance not as a simple superimposition of an unreal entity (a "self") where none exists, but rather as a misconstrual of the ever-present "primordial ground of being" (ye nas gzhi).

The discussions of the causes of the universe lead in turn to more general considerations of causality and of the relationship between matter and mind. In this regard, some of the most fascinating material concerns the role of "winds," both in the form of the movements of the external air element and in the form of the internal "energy-winds." In discussing the reformation of the universe after a periodic destruction, Kongtrul mentions the Individual Way assertion that "winds come carrying seeds from other world-systems" (p. 175). This is an evocative reminder that for most Buddhist cosmologists, our own universe is but one of an uncountable number of universes, each of which is interconnected with the others. In the presentation of winds according to the Wheel of Time Tantra, the movements of the external winds of the universe and of the internal energy-winds of the individual are envisioned as analogous processes. Just as when the internal energy-winds operate harmoniously the body remains in good health, so, too, when the external winds of the universe operate harmoniously, the quality of the environment improves (p. 161).

In order to be appreciated, this book must be approached for what it in fact is: a primary text from within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Although the translators have annotated the text with notes and have provided some useful historical information in the introduction, their approach has been one of reasoned reverence rather than critical analysis. This is perhaps as it should be, as the translation was carried out by a team of translators under the direction of their spiritual mentor, the late Kalu Rinpoche, who saw Kongtrul's treatise as a treasury of "the unsurpassable wisdom of Buddhism [that] can bring immense happiness and benefit to humanity" (p. 10). Still, such an approach has its dangers, as the apparently analytical tone of the translators' annotations may mislead readers who do not recognize the traditional nature of the commentary. An example is found in a note (p. 261) where the translators state that "The Sanskrit word `saastra is derived from `saasti, 'to rule over, overcome,' and traayate, 'to save or protect oneself.'" The unsuspecting reader may mistakenly believe that this is a historical-linguistic explanation of the term rather than a traditional etymology (nirukti). Similarly, students of philosophy may feel

p. 212

irked at the casual use of such terms as "noumena" and "phenomena." When reading a sentence such as "You illuminate all phenomena as they are and as they appear" (p. 85), one cannot help wondering by what definition of "phenomena" this sentence makes sense. For the academic scholar of Buddhism, a particularly bothersome aspect of the book is its treatment of bibliographic sources. If one wishes to discover whether Kongtrul quotes a particular text, one must first determine what English title the translators have used for it (this is by no means always easy) before searching for it in the Index. In addition, the bibliographic information given for many of the primary sources is incomplete, and in all cases is lacking any reference to the Sanskrit originals.

In the main, however, such criticisms do not detract from the value of the book as a whole. Indeed, one can only hope that the translators will continue their work and bring out the other nine books of Kongtrul's momentous treatise.