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Parikshamukham
213 Nihilism without any intermediate hold of anything". The following verse from Bodhicharyavatárc is quoted in the Bhamati :
देशना लोकनाथानां सत्वाशयवशानुगाः । भिद्यन्ते बहुधा लोक उपायैर्बहुभिः पुनः ।। गंभीरोत्तानभेदेन क्वचिच्चोभयलक्षणा ।
भिन्नापि देशनाभिन्ना शुन्यताद्वयलक्षणा ।* The view of Sarvāstitvavādins (Realists) who maintain that everything whether external or internal is real is thus described by Sankarāchārya. "What is external is either element (Bhûta) or elementary (Bhautika); What is internal is either mind (Chitta) or mental (Chaitta). The elements are earth, water and so on; elementals are colour etc. on the one hand, and the eye and the other sense-organs on the other hand. Earth and the other three elements arise from the aggregation of the four different kinds of atoms; the atoms of earth being hard, those of water viscid, those of fire hot, those of air mobile,
The inward world consists of the five so-called 'groups' (skandha), the group of sensation (rûpaskandha), the group of knowledge (vijñānaskandha), the group of feeling (vedanā-skandha) the group of verbal knowledge (sanjñāskandha) and the group of impressions (samskāraskandha); which taken together constitute the basis of all personal existence" f.
The Skandhas are thus described in the following note of Dr. Thibaut to the above. This will explain the Âlayavijñāna and Pravrittivijñāna :
"The rûpaskandha comprises the senses and their objects, colour etc.; the sense-organs were above called Bhautika, they here reappear as Chaittika on account of their connection with thought. Their objects likewise are classed as Chaittika in so far as they are perceived by the senses. The vijñānaskandha comprises the series of self-cognitions (ahamaham ityalayavijñanapravāvaḥ) according to all commentators; and in addition according to Brahmavidyabharana, the knowledge determinate and indeterminate of external things (savikalpakam nirvikalpakancha pravrittivijñānasangitam) The vedanāskandha comprises pleasure, pain etc. The sanjñāskandha comprises the cognition of things by their names (Gauraśva ityādi-Sabdasankalpita-pratyayaḥ, Ananda Giri; Gauraśva ityevam nămavisişta-savikalpaḥ pratyayaḥ, Go. Au; Sanjñā rajñadattādipada-ladullekhi savikalparpratyayo vā dvitiyapakse vijñānapadena savikalpapratyayo na grāhyaḥ). The Samskāras
* The instructions of the preceptors of people follow the inclination of their souls and so differ in many ways by various means. Sometimes the instructions are deep, and sometimes superficial. Sometimes these are of both the above kinds. Though these are different, really they are not different being characterised by Sūnyatā (Nihilism). † The above is Dr. Thibaut's translation of Sankarabhasya to Vedanta Sútra II. 2. 18:
सर्वास्तित्ववादिनो वाह्यमान्तरञ्च वस्त्वभ्युपगच्छन्ति, भूतं भौतिकं चित्तं चत्तञ्च । तत्र भृतं पृथिवीधात्वादयः, भौतिक रुपादयश्चक्षुरादयश्च । चतुष्टये च पृथिव्यादिपरमाणवः खरस्नेहोष्ण रणस्वभावास्ते पृथिव्यादिभावेन संहन्यन्त इति मन्यन्ते । तथा रुपविज्ञानवेदनासंस्कारसंज्ञकाः पंच स्कन्धाः तेऽप्याधात्म सर्वव्यवहारास्पदभावेन संहन्यन्त इति मन्यन्ते ।
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