Concept of Matter in Lee Buddhism

Author(s): Angraj Chaudhary
Publisher: Z_Kailashchandra_Shastri_Abhinandan_Granth_012048.pdf
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/210343/1

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THE CONCEPT OF MATTER IN EARLY BUDDHISM Prof. Angraj Chaudhary Nav Nalanda Mahavihar, Nalanda In early Buddhism, analysis of matter has been made with an express ethical purpose in view. Buddhist Ethics lays emphasis on getting rid of tanha which is at the root of our repeated existence and sufferings of all kinds, physical, mental and cosmic. Tanha is caused by our desire for the various objects of the world. We are attached to the various forms of rupa (matter) and our passionate attachment to them gives rise to tanha. The irony is that no amount of the enjoyment of the worldly objects can quench our thirst for them. The more we have of them, the more we still desire of them. Tanha, as a matter of fact, is an ever going dynamo; the more it is constantly fed on by objects of tanha the more it produces ever increasing tanha. Lord Buddha, unlike other theoretical Philosophers, was a practical Philosopher and the dharma preached by him contains practical doctrine. Lord Buddha's greatest purpose was to get rid of suffering which are heir to. Suffering, as we have seen, is caused by our attachment to Tupa i. e. by our chandaraga for it. But we are hardly aware that the rupa, we attach ourselves to, is in a constant state of flux. Though it looks permanent and unchanging, it is merely appearance. The reality is far otherwise. Therefore attachment to tupa would inevitably lead to unrest and sorrow. In the Samyutta Nikaya Buddha advises us to give up all kinds of desire and passion in respect of rapa. Yo, Bhikkave, rupasmim chandarago tam pajahatha. 1 Rupa (matter) is not a samyojana (fetter) in itself, but it is Samyojant ya i.e, it creates fetters. So long as we have ayid greed and passion in our mind for the various objects of the world, we will always be bound by fetters created by them. Therefore if we want to put an end to suffering, we must destroy the various warps and woofs of our passion for the objects of the world. Rapa is productive of fetters that bind the living being to Sarisarika existence. Rupam som yojan iyo dhammo." It is chiefly and perhaps solely in this context that the Buddhists have made an analysis of matter. Because rapa is sari yojaniya, so its true nature must be comprehended. Our ignorance of its true nature will make us crave for it, remain attached to it and as a consequence our spiritual progress will be impeded. There are a number of passages in the Pali canon which describe this aspect of rupa. It is a source of dangers that arise from attachment to it. How do we - 426

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get attached to it ? Because we are ignorant of its real nature. Ajanam apassan sarajjati.9 In the Samyutta Nikaya Lord Buddha says: Rupam, Bhikkhave, anabhijanam, aparijanam abhabbo dukkhakkhayaya. 4 Rupa (matter) is not permanant. Its origination and dissolution are manifested. In the Samyutta Nikaya5 its true nature is described. It is Paticcasamuppanna, samkhata, annatha bhavi, khayadhamma, va yadhamma and also it is nirodha dhamma. In the profoundly religious context, it has been described as mara, roga ganda salla ogha and aditta. Sunnam, tuccha, ritta and asara form another set of characteristics describing rupa. It has been compared to Phenapinda (bubble) to bring out its impermanent nature. Analysis of matter by the Early Buddhists has been done in the above mentioned way so that no one may feel like being attached to Rupa which is shortlived like froth. The early Buddhists do not so much describe the metaphysical concept of rupa as they describe its that aspect which causes our worldly existence. Human personality is made up of nama (Consciousness) and rupa (matter). The Early Buddhists have described both of them from a pragmatic point of view which is to end our suffering. The Buddhists like the Vedantins do not regard this external world as nonexistent. Nor like the other idealists, do they show that the world is mind-mnade or a projection of subjective thought as held by Berkely. Throughout the Pali texts it is maintained that matter or rupa does exist independent of one's mind. This is the position taken by the early Buddhists. They start from the obvious. According to them when an individual comes into being in this world, he comes in contact with this external world which acts on him and to which he reacts. Thus, attachment to those objects of the world which are pleasing to him and repugnance for the objects which do not do so arise in him. As a consequence, he gets inextricably bound by his passions and desires. The immediate problem before the Early Buddhists was how to annihilate passions and desires. It was, therefore, very necessary for them to understand the real nature of rupa which acts on human beings and causes interminable grief. According to Buddhist Philosophy, human personality is composed of five Khandas in their dynamic relationship with one another. They are rupa, vedana, sanna, samkhara, and vinnana. The last four are mind and the first one is matter. How the two entirely opposite elements are related has been graphically described by Buddhaghosa. He gives the illustration of a lame man going on the Path on the shoulders of a blind man. None of them can do without the help of other. Both depend on each other. Such a human personality naturally reacts to the external world with the six sense organs he is endowed with. The dynamic contact between the sense - 427 -

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organs and their objects gives rise to myriads of complex sensations which cause fetters that bind an individual to the wheel of existence unmistakably characterised by suffering. The summum bonum, according to Buddhist Philosophy, is nibbana which means the extinction of all passions and desires. It has been time and again pointed out that whatever is in a state of constant flux can hardly afford any lasting happiness. Rupa has been defined in the following words : Ruppatiti kho, Bhikkhave, tasma rupam ti vuccati. kena ruppati ? siten pi ruppati, unhen pi ruppati, jigaechaya pi ruppati, dansa makasa vatatapa sirinsapa samphassena pi ruppati ! T. W. Rhys Davids explains the most important word ruppati in this passage as "to be vexed, oppressed, hurt, molested". According to the Vibhanga Atthakatha, it is kuppati, piliyati and bhijjati. Although ruppati refers to a psychological disturbance, it also refers to the physical change that an object undergoes. The whole purpose is to show the changeable and transmutable nature of rupa. There is nothing like the metaphysical entity called matter. But any given material is analysable into rupadhammas, which have been regarded as the ultimate reducible factors that make up the physical world. A rupa dhamma does not have any independent existe. nce. It always exists inseparably with a set of other dhammas. It is for this reason that the mahabhutas are called sahajata. According to Buddhist Philosophy, there are twenty eight types of rupas, four of them are primary and the rest twenty four are secondary. Pathavi, apo, tejo and vayo are primary elements and they are called mahabhutas. Pathavi dhatu is characterised by Kakkhalata and kharigata. One may say that kakkhalata is itself Pathavi. So is the case with apo dhatu which is defined as rupassa bandhanatta i. e. viscidity and cohesion that bind the matter together. There are two other characteristics of water, paggharana i. e. flowing and nissandabhava i. e. state of streaming. In the Nika yas, the mahabhutas are defined in simple and general terms and they are illustrated with reference to the constituents of body. Hair of the head and body, nails, teeth, flesh and skin etc. are examples of pathavi dhatu, because they are hard and rigid. Blood, bile, cough and phlegm are examples of apodhatu. Heat in the body is an example of Tejo dhatu and inhalings and exhalings and other kinds of winds are examples of vayo dhatu which is airy. Such definitions of the mahabhutas may be called popular. It is only in the Abhidhamma that abstract and detailed definitions of these mahabhutas are given. According to the Nikayas what is kakkhala is pathavi, whereas according to the Abhi. dhammika definition kakkhalata itself is pathavi. Not only kakkhalata but kharatva and gurutva also are said to be pathavi. It is also defined as that which spreads up, - 428 -

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pattharatiti pathavi. Buddhaghosa says that pathavi dhatu acts as a foundation in so far as the other three elements are established on it. Apo dhatu is rupassa handhanatta i. e. it is that which binds the rupa kalapas together. It is represented by the fact of sineha or viscidity. How are the particles of iron or for that matter the particles of stone closely bound together? It is the function of apo dhatu to bind all the particles together. Two other characteristics of apo dhatu are flowing and streaming. These account for the fact that vayo dhatu and tejo dhatu also have apo dhatu in them, because they spread and flow. According to the Vaisesika philosbphy, apo has two characteristics i. e. Liquidity and viscidity, Apo dravah snigdhah but unlike the Vaisesikas, the Buddhists do not recognize the dichotomy between substance and quality. Tejo dhatu means the phenomenon of heat or unhatta, The Buddhists, unlike the upholders of Vaisesika philosophy, believe that usna and sata really come under tejo dhatu. It is true that cold or sita is known by the sense of touch, it is really tejo dhatu because cold is really relative absence of heat. This is indeed an ingenious explanation given by the Theravadin. The Dhammasangani defines vayo dhatu in terms of thambhitatta (inflation) and chambhitatta (mobility). As distinct from the rest three of mahabhutas, it represents the dynamic aspect. Thus seen, the mahabhutas are not qualities and attributes of the bhuta rupa i. e. they are qualities not inhering in any substance. In other words the qualities themselves constitute the maha bhutas. One of the fundamental features of the mahabhutas is that none of them can exist in isolation. In fact no mahabhuta (Primary element) can exist independently of the other three mahabhutas. They are, therefore, called sahajata and sahabhu. On further analysis it becomes clear that the upapatti (origination), thiti (existence) and bhanga (dissolution) of one always synchronize with those of the others. The maha bhutas cannot be separated from one another. In short, they rise together, exist together and are destroyed together. They are, therefore, called abbinibhoga rupa. It means that every instance of matter contains all the four primary elements. Thus all material aggregates are tetrabhautic. Although the Vedanta philosophy believes in monobhautic substance, it holds that in each mahabhuta there are five suksame (subtle) bhutas present. As against the samkhya system of philosophy where mahabhutas are not ultimate constituents of matter (they are believed to evolve immediately from the tanmatras and ultimately from the prakrti which is the uncaused first cause of the world of non-self), the Early Buddhists assign them a comparatively primary position. Vedanta philosophy, as we have seen holds that mahabhutas are gross which come into being from the suksama bhutas. According to Jain philosophy, not the - 429 - .

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four elements but the paramanus are the constituents of pudgala. So according to them paramanu is given a comparatively primary position. The Nyaya-Vaisesika system of philosophy has postulated four kinds of atoms corresponding to earth, water, air and fire. Besides the above explained four primary elements (mahabhitas) there are twenty four secondary rupas. They are called upada rapas in so far as they depend on the mahabhutas. Five sense organs, four objects of the senses, two faculties of sex, one faulty of life, ahara, hadaya vatthu (the physical basis of mental activity), the two modes of self expression (kayavinati and vact viat!), three characteristics like lahuta; muduta and kammannata, four phases of matter like upacaya, santati, jarata and aniccata and the element of space are the twenty four upada rupas. The first five sense organs viz; cakkhu, sota, ghana, jivha and kaya are respectively the organs of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. In the Abhidhamma they have been described as pasada which means clearness and brightness. These sense organs are not only receptive, but they also gratify our sensual pleasures. They react as well as gratify. They are very subtle and delicate and they can be known by no other sense organ than by mind which is the subtlest of all. They are composed of subtler matter and their corresponding objects are made of gross ones. According to the early Buddhists, the relationship between the sense organs and their corresponding objects is that between the subtle and the gross. The Samkhya philosophy holds more or less the same view. According to it, the development of matter takes place along two different lines. Where there is predominance of sattva that evolves into sense organs and where there is predominance of tamas or dead matter that becomes sense objects. But there is a basic difference. As Prof. Stcherbatsky has pointed out the two groups of matter are not conceived as modification of an eternal substance by the Buddhists. It has been held by most of the systems of Indian thought that the sense organs are something which are very fine and very subtle. The Jains speak of two kinds of indriyas viz., dravya indriyas (the physical sense organs) and bhavendriyastheir psychical correlates. The Mimansakas mention that "the sense organs consist in the faculty of potency abiding in their sockets." According to the Vedanta system of philosophy, different sense organs consist of sattvic parts of light, ether, earth, water and air. From all this, it is clear that sense organs as they are subtle, transparent and translucent, develop sensitivity to external world of objects as a looking glass does to all objects. The sense objects have been enumerated as four viz., rapa (the visible), sadda (sound), gandha (smell) and rasa (taste). Although there is another sense object called the photfabba (the tangible), it has not been enumerated here because it - 430 -

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consists of three of the four primary elements, water being excluded. The rapayatana (the sphere of the visible) includes colour like blue, yellow, red, etc. and figures like circular, oval, square, hexagonal etc. The saddayatana (the sphere of the audible) includes different kinds of sounds of drum, of tabors, of conch shells etc. The gandhayalana (the sphere of the odorous) includes all kinds of odour sugandha and durgandha and the rasayatana (the sphere of the savoury) includes tastes like bitter, pungent, saline and acrid etc. It is interesting to note here that the earlier Buddhists have discussed the problem as to how does the sound travel, Does it require a medium to travel? The answer is in the affirmative. The two faculties of sex which are responsible for distinguishing the male. and the female also come under upada rupa (secondary matter). According to the Dhammasangani, the purisindriya (faculty of masculinity) is responsible for the physical appearance, mark, traits and department that are peculiar to a male. Similarly the itthindriya (faculty of femininity) gives rise to the marks and traits of a female. Jivitindriya (the faculty of life) is also a kind of upada rapa. Its function is to stabilize and sustain the kammasamutthana rupa i. e. matter that rises as a result of kamma. There is Jtvitindriya in a piece of paper so long as it is not friable. The moment it becomes so, it has lost the faculty of life. Kabalikara ahara is also a form of secondary rupa. Although it literally means gross food taken in morsels, its Abhidhammika meaning is that aspect of matter which is nutritive i. e. which helps one in growth. Hadaya vatthu, not recognized as a form of ripa even in the Dhammasangani but mentioned in the Patthava, is a post canonical development. It is called the heart basis which is the physical basis of mano dhatu (mind) and mano vinnana dhatu (mind consciousness). The two modes of self expression (vinnati rapa) kayavinnati (bodily expres sion) and vacivinnati (vocal expression) are also upada rupas. Because they make the thoughts known or they help in communicating thoughts, they are called vinnati. Kayavinnati is not identical with bodily expression but it refers to the bodily tension that rises in response to a thought moral (kusala), immoral (akusaia) or indeterminate (anyakata). In the Dhammasangani, it has been defined as the state of bodily tension or excitement (kayassa thambhana santhanbhana samthambhitattam). Vacivinnati means expression or communication through voice of speech or articulate sound. It rises like Kayaviati in response to a kusala, akusala or avyakata thought. The three characteristics of matter viz., lahuta (lightness), muduta (softness) and kemmannata (pliability) are qualities of matter in general. This triad of lahuta, muduta, and kammannata represents the healthy and efficient position of a being. -431

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There are also phases of matter which are four in number viz., rupassa upacaya (growth of matter), rupassa santati (continuity of matter), rupassa jarata (decay of matter) and rupassa aniccata (inpermanence of matter). Obviously these four phases indicate growth of matter, its continuity, its decaying state and its complete annihilation. These phases of matter clearly point out that there is no justification for our being attached to any object for true happiness. They rise only in order to be annihilated. When they are in a constant state of flux, how can they give true happiness? The last item of upada rupa is akasa (element of space). It is akasa dhatu which gives room to all material things for movement. It is regarded as a bounded space. Thus, it is clear that the early Buddhists have defined matter more from the ethical point of view than from the metaphysical point of view. In spite of this bias, however, the metaphysical point of view is also not blurred and indistinct. References 1. Sanyutta Nikaya, 2, PP. 375 2. Ibid, 2, PP. 262 3, PP. 389 4. Ibid, 2, PP. 262 5. Ibid, 2, PP. 261. Ibid, lekhasAra prAraMbhika bauddha darzana meM padArtha kI dhAraNA pro0 aMgarAja caudharI, navanAlandA mahAvihAra mahAtmA buddha eka vyAvahArika dArzanika the| unhoMne dharma ke mahAn uddezyoM meM tRSNAjanita duHkha se chuTakArA pAne kI bAta khii| yaha tRSNA vibhinna sAMsArika padArthoM ke prati mamatva ke kAraNa hotI hai / ye padArtha saMyojana nahIM, apitu saMyojanIya haiN| ina saMyojanIyoM se mamatva haTAne ke liye hI buddha ne unakI mUla prakRti kA vivaraNa diyA hai| baddha dharma meM padArthoM ko 'rUpa' zabda se abhihita kiyA jAtA hai| saMyuktanikAya meM rUpa ko pratItya samutpanna, saMkhyAta, anitya, vyaya-kSaya-dharmI aura nirodha dharmAtmaka batAyA gayA hai / ise mAra, roga, asAra, zUnya Adi nAmoM se bhI kahA jAtA hai| isakI prakRti bulabule (phenapiMDa) ke samAna anitya hotI hai| rUpa kI anityatA kA yaha varNana usase mamatvabhAva utpanna na hone dene ke liye hI kiyA gayA hai| buddha na to vedAntiyoM ke samAna jagata ko asat mAnate haiM aura na hI ve ise mAnasika prakriyA mAnate haiN| ve isakA svataMtra astitva mAnate haiN| isa jagata meM mana aura padArtha aMdhe aura laMgar3e ke samAna -432 --

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paraspara saMbaddha hai| isa saMbaMdha ko saMpanna karane meM indriyAM bhI sahAyaka hotI haiM / bauddha darzana meM cAra prAthamika aura caubIsa dvitIyaka rUpa (padArtha) mAne gaye haiN| pRthvI, jala, teja aura vAyu-ye cAra prAthamika rUpa-mahAbhUta haiM / pRthvI meM kakkhalatA (kaThoratA) aura kharigatA (gurutva) hotI hai, jala meM viskAsitA, saMsakti aura pravAhazIlatA hotI hai / USmA tejorUpa hai aura gatizIla zvAsocchvAsa vAyurUpa hai / pRthvI para anya tIna rUpa sthita rahate haiN| vibhinna dhAturUpoM ko bAMdhane vAlA jaladhAtu hai| tejorUpa aura vAyurUpa meM bhI jaladhAtu ke pravAha evaM prasaraNa ke guNa pAye pAye jAte haiM / ye sabhI dhAtuyeM apane guNoM se abhinna rahatI haiM / ye sabhI mUlabhUta rUpa sahajAta hote haiM aura vilagita rUpa meM nahIM rahate / inheM 'agvini bhoga rUpa' kahate haiN| isa prakAra jagata ke sabhI padArtha caturmahAbhUtamaya hote haiM / ye mahAbhUta hI padArtha ke mUla-bhUta tatva yA ghaTaka haiM / nyAya-vaizeSika paddhati bhI saMsAra kI vyAkhyA meM inhIM cAra tatvoM ko maulika mAnatI hai jabaki jainadarzana kevala eka samAna paramANuoM ko hI maulika mAnatI hai / vedAntiyoM ke samAna, bauddhoM ke ye mahAbhUta sUkSmabhUtoM se nirmita nahIM hote| ina cAra maulika mahAbhUtoM se caubIsa dvitIyaka rUpa utpanna hote haiM / inheM utpAda rUpa bhI kahate haiN| inameM pA~ca indriyAM, cAra viSaya, do liMga, jIvana, AhAra, hRdayavastu (mana), zarIra, vacana, halkApana, komalatA, namyatA, upacaya, santati kSaya, anityatA tathA AkAza samAhita haiN| pA~ca indriyAM zarIra ke sUkSma evaM saMvedanazIla ghaTaka haiN| rUpa (varNa aura AkRti), zabda, gaMdha aura rasa-ye cAra viSaya hai| puruSa aura strI-ye do liMga haiM jo jIvoM me do prakAra ke abhilakSaNa utpanna karate haiM / jIvitendriya karma-samutthAna kA cAlaka hai| AhAra vikAsa-sAdhana hai| hRdayavastu mana kI dyotaka hai| zarIra aura vacana abhivyakti ke mAdhyama haiN| anya sAta rUpa padArtha ke vibhinna guNoM tathA prAvasthAoM ko nirUpita karate haiN| AkAza sabhI rUpoM ko avagAhana detA hai| bauddha ise sImita AkAza mAnate haiN| ina caubIsa rUpoM meM kevala hRdayavastu hI aisA rUpa hai jo paravartI samAharaNa hai / ina sabhI rUpoM ke vivaraNa se spaSTa hotA hai ki inameM koI aisA vizeSa guNa nahIM hai jisase inake prati mamatvabhAva baDhe / ataH mamatAbhAvamUlaka tRSNA ke nirodha se jIvana ko kalyANakArI banAnA caahiye| kAna 55 . -433