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Global Lamrim II

Lecture No. 0308

Lamrim Volume 1:  P40-LL18 ~ P41-L14

Date: 10 Apr 2022

Topic: Venerated Master Atisha as the Crown Jewel of Eighteen Sects Without Division

Very well! We will continue reading the 2nd paragraph on page 131(Chinese text), the Introduction to the Four Interwoven Annotations, where it begins with “What he did in India” under “C. Having gained those good qualities, what Master Atisha did to further the teachings.” [00:13]

Master Atisha’s attitude toward  Buddhists was, “With regard to the higher Madhyamaka and Yogacara schools, and the lower systems of Vaibashika and Sautrantika, he furthered the teachings through clearing away the corruptions of ignorance, wrong ideas, and doubts.” Rinpoche said this part should be easy to understand. “So all the schools”, indicating there are many different schools within  Buddhism;  “without partisanship, consider him a crown jewel”, meaning no matter which school they belonged to, all Buddhists venerated  Master Atisha and regarded him as the crown jewel. “Eighty Verses of Praise: In the palace of the great enlightenment; when all were assembled together, … of our own and others’ schools″; “our own” means the Buddhists, and “others” refers to  non-Buddhists. “With speech like a lion’s roar, you confounded the minds of all, who argued for the poor tenets”, meaning while engaging in debate,  Master Atisha refuted the wrong views of the opponents with his sound reasoning; the way he vanquished their misconceptions completely was like a lion’s roar. The quote, “confounded the minds,” means destroying the premises put forth by the opponents who held the poor tenets. [01:30]

This short paragraph is still on the eloquent debating skills of Master Atisha, and all  Buddhists, without partisanship, considered him a crown jewel. With sound persuasive argumentation like a lion’s roar, he refuted the wrong views many [non-Buddhists] held and destroyed their poor tenets completely. [01:53]

So, we can all reflect on this: while we are learning how to debate, we could take it as formulating our train of thoughts with confidence to debate with others. Nonetheless, are we able to thoroughly defeat the misconception other people have in mind? Or while engaging in the debate, do we aim to nurture and deepen our understanding of the Tripitaka and the scriptures? As for refuting the poor tenets of others, what is our intention for doing so? That is, we hope to instill sublime faith in the mind stream of others and institute a very smooth deductive inference logic in accordance with the proper perception – the streamline of argumentation is built upon the law of causality. Other than that, we can analyze if our premise is logically sound*, or if there is any contradictory reasoning on our part. Namely, we can discern our premise repeatedly in this manner. Consequently, we will become very cautious as to the definitions we establish in mind. The emotional feeling that is short of contemplation would be greatly filtered and eliminated after debating. [02:56]

 [*Gelug debating answers can be one of the three: agree, the reasoning is not established, and the reasoning is not pervasive.]

Hence, through learning how to debate, we gain more wisdom. One thing for sure is that many great masters would display their inconceivable compassion during debating. While engaging in debates, those great masters endowed with great compassion would exhibit their warm-heartedness during their dialectic session, just like Je Rinpoche. He would refute the premise the opponents put forth in a debate, but he would not dispirit them and make the opponents feel heartbroken. Rather, with the wrong perception rectified, the opponents would feel elated and salvaged. [03:26]

In the previous teaching, we have mentioned the non-Buddhist with many parasols who debated with  Master Aisha. After the debate,  the  teacher of the non-Buddhists bowed to Master Atisha and became his disciple. So, it demonstrates that they would follow the debating rules very closely while debating.  When it was a victory, it was a victory; when it was a defeat, it was a defeat.  They just adhered to the rules. [03:50]

Having read the above section, let’s reflect on this: it is a process of hardship when it comes to learning how to debate. Though many students tried for a long time, they just couldn’t catch on; they felt they were fumbling in the darkness, trying to find their way. However, one day when they see the daylight streaming down through the crack of the cave, then little by little they can form the line of argumentation in their mind. Once they found it, they couldn’t stop their passion for debating; they would discover how fascinating debating is! When we become increasingly sensible of its fascination, and when the ensuing joyfulness arises, we would want to delve deeper into such joyfulness and obtain it. In turn, we would expand more extensive study and discussion about the right perceptions in the sublime teachings. Such a way of learning is truly beautiful! Everyone should strive to learn how to debate. [04:33]

 Let’s read the Introduction, page 132 of the Chinese text. As for the Buddhists, it says, “At Otanatpuri,” which we have explained before, “Two hundred fifty monks, at Vikramalasila there were almost a hundred”. That is, there were two hundred and fifty monastics  at Otanatpuri. As for the monastery  Master Atisha resided in – do you still remember which monastery that was? It was Vikramalasila, also known as Precepts-can-offer-refuge-to-all [Néng-ìng-fù-jiè-sì] or Chāo-jiè-sì [in Chinese], where there were almost a hundred monks. “All four root schools were present”, as stated earlier all four sravaka schools resided there; it accommodated all schools. “You did not take up the boasts of the various schools” suggests that  Master Atisha did not feel: “I am the Mahasamghika school, while your Sthaviravāda is inferior”. He was non-discriminatory. Thus, it says “Of the land of Magadha;” - Magadha was where the Bodh-gaya [or Vajrasana] was located. “But became the crown jewel of all four followers, monks, nuns, male and female lay practitioners of the teacher”. That is, whether it was in the monastery or in the land of  Magadha, all four followers – monks, nuns, upasaka and upasika [male and female lay practitioners] venerated  Master Atisha and regarded him as the crown jewel. [05:44]

In the above passage, it mentioned male and female lay practitioners. Maybe senior students  have already know the terms, but those who have just begun to study Buddhism might not know this. Male and female lay practitioners mean upasaka and upasika respectively; upasaka and upasika are transliterated from the Sanskrit; they refer to those committed to upholding lay practitioners’ vows. Because they are very conscientious about doing virtuous deeds, they are thus named as attendants of virtuous deeds. This is the honorary salutation! Why? Because they committed themselves to upholding the lay practitioners’ vows, they tend to be virtuous.  [06:25]

In the region of  Magadha, the four followers, be it monks, nuns, male or female practitioners, all venerated  Master Atisha and regarded him as the crown jewel – such precious and highly esteemed eminent guru. [06:44]

Next is the annotations from Master Nga-wang Rab-te (we translated as Venerable Yu in the past) “Venerable Atisha followed his teacher Buddha-jnanapada of the Lokottaravada branch of the Mahasamghika school”; the name of this “teacher” in Sanskrit is “Buddha-jnanapada”, from him the Mahasamghika was passed down. The Mahasamghika has many sects, and  Master Atisha belonged to the “Lokottaravada branch”. However, Master Atisha was not biased towards his own school.  Instead, he was the adept who was able to clearly make distinctions among different schools. That is, with regard to different views from different schools or the different variations of ethical discipline as to what to adopt and what to cast aside, what deed is considered a transgression and what deed is not, Master Atisha was conversant with the nuances of different systems. So, how many sects were there? "Of all eighteen sects [and thus were nonpartisan], everyone received teachings from you.” “Eighteen sects” means that from the four root sravaka schools,  eighteen branches were derived. Out of all these eighteen sects, all the practitioners acknowledged  Master Atisha as the crown jewel; thus, they all listened to his teachings in front of his Dharma seat. The phrase “received teachings” means listening to his teachings and  Master Atisha became the crown jewel of all these disciples. [07:53]

With regard to the eighteen sects mentioned here, Master Jam-yang Shay-pa (which we translated as Venerable Miao in the past) introduced another Tibetan categorization of the eighteen sects in his book Great Exposition of Tenets. Since there are the Southern lineage and the Chinese lineage, there would be some incongruities in the records of Buddhism history. Regarding the categorization of the eighteen sects mentioned in Master Jam-yang Shay-pa’s Great Exposition of Tenets, there are as many as six different ways of classifying these eighteen sects. I will not elaborate on all six of them; instead, today I will just introduce the first two types. [08:22]

First, I will introduce the most popular one. It is the most prevalent in  Tibetan Buddhism, that is, the first of the six ways of classifying the eighteen sects is from Vinitadeva. Take heed! The four root sravaka schools were further divided into eighteen sects: the Sarvāstivāda, the Mahasamghika, the Sthaviravāda, and the Sammatīya, which were the four root schools of the sravaka. The “Sarvāstivāda” school was divided into: the Mūlasarvāstivāda, the Kasyapiya, the Mahisasaka, the Dharmaguptaka, the Bahusrutiya, the Tamrasatiya, and the Vibhajyavada; total seven sub-divisions. The “Mahasamghika” school was divided into: the Purvasaila, the Aparasaila, the Haimavata, the Lokottaravada, and the Prajnaptivada; five sub-divisions. What are the sub-divisions under “Sthaviravāda”? There are Jetavaniya, Abhayagirivasin, and Mahaviharavasinah; three sub-divisions. The “Sammatīya” school gave rise to the Kurukullaka, the Avantaka, and Vatsiputriya; three sub-divisions. There were eighteen sects in total. This categorization is the most widespread in Tibetan Buddhism. [09:26]

The second type of classification is from Kamalasila: From the four root schools of sravaka, eighteen sects were sub-divided. These four root schools were the Sarvāstivāda, the Mahasamghika, the Sammatīya and the Sthaviravāda. The “Sarvāstivāda” school gave rise to: Kasyapiya, Mahisasaka, Dharmaguptaka, Mūlasarvāstivāda; four sub-divisions. The “Mahasamghika” school was divided into: the Purvasaila, the Aparasaila, the Haimavata, the Vibhajyavadin, the Prajnaptivada, the Lokottaravada; six sub-divisions. The “Sammatīya” school was divided into: the Tamrasatiya, the Avantaka, the Kaurukullaka, the Bahusrutiya, and the Vatsiputriya; five sub-divisions. The “Sthaviravāda” school was divided into: the Jetavaniya, the Abhayagirivasin, and the Mahaviharavasin; three sub-divisions. There were  eighteen sects in total. [10:04]

From the above passages, we learn that with regard to the ways of categorizing these 18 sects, there are many ways for doing that, but Master Atisha, a wise and exalted sage, could unmistakably distinguish the nuances in the eighteen sects! That is, in terms of the philosophical views, the assertions, and the ethical disciplinary commitments within the eighteen sects, there are minute and subtle differences among them, yet  Master Atisha could totally distinguish the nuances. All the disciples of the eighteen sects came to listen to Master Atisha’s teachings in front of his Dharma seat,  and they all venerated him and regarded him as the crown jewel. Everyone tries to imagine what a marvellous feat to be able to draw so many practitioners, particularly those who were serious practitioners! Because  Master Atisha had such exceptionally good qualities, the practitioners from the four-fold community converged in front of his Dharma seat,  and all the practitioners from the eighteen sects honored  Master Atisha as their crown Jewel. We can imagine what a soaring attainment he had achieved in terms of his compassion and wisdom. [11:06]

Today in our discussion on the Lamrim, we review the good qualities of Master Atisha one more time and understand what he did to further the teachings. This would definitely inspire us to admire and emulate this great teacher. Everyone, please do strive well on this goal! [11:22]

Footnote: 18 sects of the 4 root schools Tibetan调伏天的说法-Vinitadeva 莲花论师的说法Kamalasila 说⼀切有部Sarvāstivāda 根本说⼀切有部Mūlasarvāstivāda 迦叶部Kasyapiya 护地部Mahisasaka 护法部Dharmaguptaka 多闻部Bahusrutiya 红⾐部Tamrasatiya 分别说部Vibhajyavada 迦叶部Kasyapiya 护地部Mahisasaka 护法部Dharmaguptaka 根本说⼀切有部Mūlasarvāstivāda ⼤众部Mahasamghika 东⼭住部Purvasaila 西⼭住部Aparasaila 雪⼭住部Hiamavata 说出世间部Lokottaravāda 说假部Prajñaptivāda 东⼭住部Purvasaila 西⼭住部Aparasaila 雪⼭住部Hiamavata 分别说部Vibhajyavada 说假部Prajñaptivāda 说出世间部Lokottaravāda 上座部Sthaviravāda 只陀林住部Jetavaniya 无畏⼭住部Abhayagirivasin ⼤寺住部Mahaviharavasinah 只陀林住部Jetavaniya 无畏⼭住部Abhayagirivasin ⼤寺住部Mahaviharavasinah Teaching 308 - 4 Teaching 0308 draft 正量部Sammatīya 鸡胤部Kaukutika 守护部Avantaka 犊⼦部Vatsīputrīya 红⾐部Tamrasatiya 守护部Avantaka 鸡胤部Kaukutika 多闻部Bahuśrutīya犊⼦部Vatsīputrīya

讲次 | 0308 (2021-03-11 ~ 2021-03-14)

标题 | 十八部派不分党类奉为顶严

《广论》段落 | P6-L1 ~ P6-L6 于圣教所作事中分二……一切皆受教。”

入门段落 | 第1册 P131-L11 ~ P132-LL1 那对于内道佛教徒......所以成为顶严。

备注 | 四家合注《白话校注集》第1册 P135-L4注释⑥ ~ P136-L11注释⑨完 优婆塞优婆夷......合计十八部。

(更新日期: 2022年4月10日)

好！我们接着看《四家合注入门》131 页的第二段。在讲述“于圣教所作事业中分二”中的“于印度所作事理”。00:13

所以看一看，我们在学习辩论的时候，可能觉得是形成一种理路，然后想要跟别人辩论，但是到底能不能摧毁他人内心中的邪宗呢？还是更多地想要长养自己对于三藏的这个理解、对于经论的理解？那么摧毁他宗的恶论的目的到底是什么呢？就是希望在别人的心续里建立正信，建立对于正理的一个非常调顺的推理——从因到果非常顺畅的一个成立，还有我们这个立宗到底有没有什么不周遍的？有没有因不成的？反复地这样去简择。那么我们的内心对于自己所立的一个定义，就变得非常地慎重。没有经过思考就跟着感觉的这种东西，经过辩论之后就会被强大地涤除掉。 02:56

所以，透过学习辩论会增长我们的智慧。当然很多大师级的辩论，也会施展他们不可思议的悲心。这种非常非常有慈悲心的大师，他们在辩论的时候，就像杰仁波切他在辩论的时候，摧毁了敌者的论宗，但是不会令他们的心有破碎感，反而被摧毁之后内心有一种欣喜的、被拯救的感觉。 03:26

前面不是写阿底峡尊者跟那个头上飘着很多伞的外道辩论，辩论完了之后，那个外道的导师就给尊者顶礼，成了尊者的弟子？所以看他们在辩论的时候是非常非常地守规矩的，胜利了就胜利了、失败了就失败了，完全是按照规矩来的。 03:50

看了这一段之后，我们要再想想：我们在学习辩论的时候实际上是很辛苦的，有的同学很长时间找不到感觉，好像全在黑暗里摸索；但一朝好像从山洞里有一个孔透过了日光的时候——就一点点找到了那个心中的理路的路，一旦找到了就会欲罢不能，觉得辩论这种学习方式太有魅力了！当我们越来越感受到它的魅力的时候，有一种喜乐产生的时候，我们就会想更深地去获得这种喜悦，所以我们会在佛教所阐述的正理上想要展开更广阔的学习和讨论。这种方式真是太美了！大家一定要加油学辩论。 04:33

在这里边讲到了“优婆塞、优婆夷”，可能老学员都知道了，但是刚开始学佛的会不太清楚；这个是指近善男或近善女，就是梵语邬波索迦及邬波斯迦，这是音译，它是指承许守护居士戒的男女居士，由于他亲近承事善法，故名近善。是个尊称喔！因为他承许守护居士戒，所以为近善。 06:25

阿底峡尊者在摩羯陀境内，不管是比丘、比丘尼，还是男居士、女居士，佛教的四众、四众弟子都把尊者奉为顶上的宝珠，非常非常珍贵、难得的一位伟大的上师。 06:44

这里边所说的十八部，在妙音笑尊者的《大宗义》中也介绍了应该是藏传的十八部的一种分法。因为这里边还有南传的，可能还有汉传的，在佛教史的记载应该有出入。妙音笑大师的《大宗义》里边关于十八部就有六种分法，今天六种分法就不全讲，先介绍前面两种。 08:22

那么先介绍第一种最著名的，就是在藏传佛教中最为普遍的，就是十八部派形成六种分法的第一种——调伏天的说法。注意！声闻根本四部中，细分为十八部派。说一切有部、大众部、上座部、正量部，这是声闻根本四部。那么“说一切有部”分为：根本说一切有部、迦叶部、护地部、护法部、多闻部、红衣部及分别说部，共七部；那“大众部”分为：东山住部、西山住部、雪山住部、说出世间部及说假部，五部；那么“上座部”分为什么呢？祇陀林住部、无畏山住部、大寺住部，三部；“正量部”分为：鸡胤部、守护部、犊子部，三部。合计十八部。这种说法在藏传佛教中是最为、最为普遍的。09:26

那么第二种就是莲花论师的说法：声闻根本四部中，也是细分为十八部派。这四部：说一切有部、大众部、正量部，还有上座部。“说一切有部”就分为：迦叶部、护地部、护法部、根本说一切有部，四部；“大众部”分为：东山住部、西山住部、雪山住部、分别说部、说假部、说出世间部，六部；“正量部”分为：红衣部、守护部、鸡胤部、多闻部、犊子部，五部；“上座部”就分为：祇陀林住部、无畏山住部、大寺住部，三部。合计十八部。10:04

大家可以听听，这十八部派光是分法上就听起来满多种的，把十八部派毫不紊杂地都能够分辨出来的这样的一个智者！他们各部分的承许、戒律的承许等等，见解可能有一些微细的差别，尊者全部能够分出来。十八部派的弟子全部都在尊者的座前听法，把尊者视为顶严。大家可以想像，把很多人合起来的一件事情，而且都是认真修行的这么多修行人合起来，是一件很不容易的事情。但是尊者有这样非常稀有的功德，四众的弟子就云集在尊者的座下，十八部派全部都承许以阿底峡尊者为他们的顶严，可以想像他的悲心和智慧达到了一个什么样的高度。11:06

今天我们能够在学习《广论》的时候，再把阿底峡尊者的功德学一遍，看看他为圣教所作的利益，一定会成为我们向往和追随的上师。大家一定要好好地努力！ 11:22