Dharmottaras Theory Of Knowledge In His Laghupramanyapariksa

Author(s): Helmut Krasser
Publisher: Helmut Krasser

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HELMUT KRASSER
With Vätsyayana's Bhasya, Uddyotakara's Värttika, Väcaspati Misra's Tatparyaṭīkā & Viśvanatha's Vrtti. Critically edited with notes by Taranatha Nyaya-Tarkatirtha and Amarendramohan Tarkatirtha. [2 vols.] Calcutta 1936 [Reprint Kyoto 1982]).
13 In the case of perception one single phase is the object to be grasped (cf. pratyakṣasya hi kṣana eko grahyah NBT 71,2, and further yad asadharanam tat pratyakṣasya grähyam DhPr 71,10). This refers to the external object which produces perceptual cognition or, more precisely, to its image in perception. Inference is said to grasp an object that is not real (rjes su dpag pa'i gzun ba yan dnos po med pa yin la PPar II, 8,18f.) This seems to refer to the image (pratibhasa) of inference itself (cf., e.g., anumanam api svapratibhase 'narthe dhyavasayena pravṛtter NBT 71,5).
14 Once the term akara in the triad deśa-kala-äkära is replaced by vyanjaka {48,7), which is not explained here but characterized by Dharmakirti as that which is cause of the cognition; tasmāj jñānahetutaiva vyañjakatvam, PVSV 75,7. 15 Dharmottara does not touch on the problem of whether the object exists outside cognition or if it is internal to cognition at all. That it is an external entity can be seen from the statement that inference determines the grasped object which is not real as external (bahir, phyi rol) object (9,11-14). 16 These types of incorrect cognition are treated later; cf. below p. 260. 17 This interpretation is questionable; cf. Krasser (1991), p. 77f., n. 154. 18 On the sequence of these texts see Krasser (1991), p. 12ff.
19 PVinȚ 206b3-207a4; the passage is translated in Krasser (1991), p. 78 n. 155.
20 käläntarayuktagrahi ca na käläntaravati vastuni pramānam. yathärdharätre madhyahnakälavastugrahi svapnajñānam närdharatrakāle vastuni pramānam. NBT 25,5-7.
21 Cf. Krasser (1991), p. 54f. n. 90.
22 PVinT 6a4-8 and DhPr 33,16-21. Both passages are translated in Krasser (1991), p. 56f., n. 93.
23 NBT 79,8-10: prapakam jñānam pramānam. prapaṇaśaktiś ca na kevalād arthāvinābhävitvād bhavati, bijädyavinābhāvino 'py ankuräder aprapakatvāt. tasmāt präpyad arthad utpattav apy asya jñānasyästi kaścid avaśyakartavyaḥ prapakavyȧpáro yena kṛtenärthaḥ prapito bhavati.
24 This question is systematically dealt with in PVinȚ(a) 13,3-20,14. Dharmottara's theory is summarized in Ernst Steinkellner (1992), 'Early Tibetan Ideas on the Ascertainment of Validity (nges byed kyi tshad ma)', in Tibetan Studies, Proceedings of the 5th Seminar of the International Association of Tibetan Studies, Narita 1990. Ed. Sh. Ihara & Z. Yamaguchi. Narita 1992 [257-273]: 266ff.
25 tad yatha dṛṣṭasddharmyät tatha prasádhitam anumeyatām nätipatati. PVin I 36,5f.
26 This question is dealt with in E. Steinkellner (1982), 'The spiritual place of the epistemological tradition in Buddhism', Nanto Bukkyo 49: 1-15.