Early Tibetan Ideas On Ascertainment Of Validity

SR No.: 269440
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Ernst Steinkellner
Publisher: Ernst Steinkellner
Total Pages: 17
Language: English
Classification: Article
File Size: 2 MB

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260
Erst STEINKELLNER
in his school is evident from Kamalasila's list and from Dharmottara's treatment. Nevertheless we can say that in the Indian Buddhist epistemological school the problem was - with the exception of Dharmottara - of only marginal interest.
This impression is vividly corroborated by the words of gSer mdog pan chen Shākya mchog ldan (1428-1507) who in his larger commentary on the Tshad ma rigs gter says with respect to the sources of this theorem (lung khungs bsam pa): "With respect to the twofold divisions of intrinsic ascertainment and extrinsic ascertainment in the case of a valid cognition the sources (consisting) of the Pramāṇasamuccaya and the Seven Treatises are not clear (gsal po med). The commentators, too, did not clearly distinguish that this was the way these two have been taught by the sources and (this was) the definition of each (definiendum), and this was) the exemplificate. Particularly the opinion that intrinsic ascertainment and extrinsic ascertainment are respectively explained by the two (!) feet 'PV II 4d' and 'PV II 5c"]?!) is not held by anybody competent (tshad Idan) and is also in general impossible."22)
Shakya mchog Idan's words and, even more so, his elaborate discussions23) are representative for a more final stage of the Tibetan development of our theme. We shall not deal with it as such, although mainly his and other, even later texts will be exploited as sources of information on ideas of the early period.
There are two main sources presently available for the treatment of our theme in this earliest period of Tibetan interest in it: the Pramāņaviniscaya-commentary21) of g Tsang nag pa br Tson 'grus seng ge (t after 1105),25) a pupil of Phywa pa Chos kyi seng ge, and the Tshad ma rigs pa'i gter, together with an autocommentary by the Sa skya Pandita Kun dga' rgyal mtshan (1182-1251).26)
For two reasons I shall not incorporate the treatment of g Tsang nag pa br Tson 'grus seng ge into the first step of this study: g Tsang nag pa's terminology naturally shows the strong impact of Phywa pa Chos kyi seng ge's systematical categories and terms. And those are still hardly known except for the general information from Shakya mchog Idan which was interpreted by van der Kuijp.27) I assume that van der Kuijp will present a study of Phywa pa's theories on the basis of Shakya mchog Idan's summary and the available fragments and paraphrases in the future. For the time being I have to refrain from offering the results of a study of his pupil's statements except for an occasional reference to them, where they supplement other information. The second and more decisive reason is that Sa skya pandita limits his critique of earlier views in connection with the present theme to opinions propounded by rNgog Lotsāba and his school, and does not seem to - deal with Phywa pa Chos kyi seng ge and his pupils at all.
21) The second foot has been lost in the edition (?). 22) Pham byed II 342,1-3: Ishad ma la rang nges dang gzhan nges gnyis su 'byed pa 'di la / mDo dang De bdun gyi khungs gsal po
med cing/'grel pa byed pa dag gis kyang de gnyis gzhung gis ji ltar bstan pa'i shul dang/ so so'i mtshan nyid dang/mtshan gzhi 'di yin zhes bsal bar phye ba med doll khyad par du / rang las rang gingo bo rtogs/zhes dang/tha snyad las ni tshad ma nyid /> zhes Ishig rkang gnyis kyis rang nges dang gzhan nges so sor bshad par 'dod pa ni / Ishad Idan sus kyang bshad pa min zhing/spyir yang
rung ba min no // 23) Pham byed 11 341,4-375,1 ("mtshan gzhi'i steng du mtshan nyid dang mishon byu nges byed kyi Ishad ma bshad pu") which
forms the last part of his study of the definition of a valid cognition (ibid. 281,5ff.) that van der Kuijp rightly called
"extremely thought provoking" (van der Kuijp 1983: note 340). 24) Tshad ma rnam par nges pa'i çika, Legs bshad bsdus pa. A manuscript is in the possession of the Otani University
Library (cf. Otani Tibetan Catalogue No. 13971, Tome 968). It was indicated to me years ago by Gene Smith whom I would like to take the opportunity of thanking here. This manuscript has now been published in the new series of the Ouani Library (Otani University Tibetan Works Series 2, Kyoto 1989) with a foreword by van der Kuijp (cf.
particularly van der Kuijp 1989: 22-26 for analytical remarks). Cf. also van der Kuijp 1983: note 267 25) On g Tsang nag pa cf. van der Kuijp 1983: 69 and 96 (for a collection of fragments), van der Kuijp 1989: 2-5, also
Jackson 1987: 130. Except for Shakya mchog Idan "gTsang nag pa's work seems to have been little studied by the Tibetan authors (van der Kuijp, letter of July 23, 1988). Van der Kuijp changed the date of his death from 1171 to
after 1185 (van der Kujip 1989: 2). 26) On Sa skya Pandita's life, studies and works cf. now the exhaustive introduction in Jackson 1987: 15-189 (for the Rigs
gter cf. 44-46 and 131ff.). 27) Cf. van der Kuijp 1983: 66ff, and 71-84. g Tsang nag pa treats the topic mtshan gahi la mtshan wyid nges byed bsams pa in
26a2-27b6.