________________ DIGNAGA'S THEORY OF DIRECT KNOWLEDGE - An Annoted Translation of Pramanasamuccaya, Chapter 1- Masaaki HATTORI INTRODUCTORY REMARKS It is just half a century ago that the late Mahamahopadhyaya S. C. Vidyabhusana published his monumental work, History of the Mediaeval School of Indian Logic, in which he first introduced Dignaga's theory of knowledge to the scholars of Indian philosophy. Notwithstanding this incentive, the furtherance of the study on this great figure was not a task that could be carried out without toil. Pramanasamuccaya (PS), a comprehensive and systematical work on epistemology and logic, though being known as a reformative work in the histroy of Indian Logic, is unfortunately not preserved in the original Sanskrit, and the Tibetan version, the only available material of the study on this text, cannot be considered to be quite a readable one, perhaps mainly due to the unfitness of the Tibetan language to this kind of strict and subtle arguments and also sometimes to the translator's lack of understanding. Attempts have been made by Randle and other scholars to collect passages of PS scattered in the Nyaya texts and elsewhere, and these attempts have proved to be very helpful for the study of Dignaga's theory. Controversial points of his theory have been thus gradually made clear. An epoch was marked by Stcherbatsky when he published an elaborative study on the Nyayabindu. While annexing precise notes to this concise treatise of Dharmakirti, he made frequent references to PS, and moreover, translated the portion wherein Dignaga discussed the problem of self-cognition with Jinendrabuddhi's commentary. Dignaga's theory was brought forth under the brighter light and the preliminary course to the textual study of PS was well set up by his effort. Owing to the successful result of Dr. Rahula Sankstyayana's second expedition to Tibet, we are now provided with the Sanskrit text of Pramanavarttika (PV), an extensive critical commentary on PS, along with some commentaries on it. These are precious materials to further the study of the doctrines of Dignaga as well as of Dharmakirti, for PV treats with the same problems as discussed in PS, and, fortunately enough, the passages of the latter are found often cited in the commentaries of the former. Recently some portions of PS have been rendered by Japanese scholars into their own language from the Tibetan version. The portion translated and annoted here was put into Japanese some years back by Mr. Takemura, Asst. Prof. of Ryukoku Univ., Kyoto (Ryukoku Daigaku Ronshu, No. 351, 1956), but, according to the opinion of the present writer, his translation can hardly be recognized as a scholary work,
