Jain Journal 1997 04

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 20

HOERNLE : THE DOCTRINE OF GOSĀLA MANKHALIPUTTA
117
for the power of man's actions (purisa-kāra), such as when we say : “this we owe to our vigour (viriya), this to our manly strength (purisatthama), this to our manly exertion (purisa-parakkama)." And on account of his rejecting all these terms, he then accepts the following set of expressions.
In the term all beings (sabbe satta) he comprises camels, oxen, asses and other (animals) without exception. The term all sensive beings (sabbe pānā) he uses to denote those with one sense, those with two senses, and so forth. The term all generated beings (sabbe bhūtā) he uses with reference to those that are generated or produced from an egg or from the womb. The term all living beings (sabbe jīvā) he uses with reference to rice, barley, wheat, and so forth; for in these he conceives that there is life, because it is their nature to grow. His terms forceless, powerless, vigourless (avasā, abalā, aviriyā) indicate that (all) those (beings) have no force or power or vigour of their own. In his expression they become diversified (parinatā) through their destiny, their surroundings and their nature, the term destiny (niyati) means fate, the term surroundings (sangati) means the walk of life peculiar to each of the six classes (to which any particular being belongs); the term nature (bhāva) means the peculiar nature of each being. Thus it is that in accordance with their destiny, their surroundings and their own nature they (ie., all beings) are diversified (parinata) or get into that variety of conditions in which we find them. For it is clear that every thing happens exactly as it must happen; and that which must not happen, does not happen. He says that in those very six classes (chhasu eva abhijātisu)- by which expression he means that it is only on account of their being in one of those six classes- they experience pleasure as well as pain (sukhañ cha dukkhañ cha patisamvedenti). It follows that (according to him) there is no other ground of experiencing pleasure or pain.
The reading of the text is not quite intelligible. The quotation of the term has niyati 'fate': but the explanation reads niyati and niyatta, which is incongruous. I am not aware of the existence, in Pali, of any such words as niyati or niyattā: possibly they are misprints for niyāti (Skr. niryāti) and niyattā (Skr. niryat-tā), but these words which mean 'exit' or 'decease' would yield no sense in the context. The correct reading would seem to be either niyatiti niyatatāor niyatiti niyatā, in the latter case niyatā agreeing with sabbe sattā. The doctrine, contained in the paragraphs down to this point, agrees in the main with those ascribed to Gosāla in the Tibetan Dulva, as translated in Rokhill's Life of the Buddha, p. 101. But the remaining portion of it is there ascribed to another 'heresiarch' Ajita (ibid. pp. 103, 104).
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