anitya. [alt. anityatā] (P. anicca; T. mi rtag pa; C. wuchang; J. mujō; K. musang 無常). In Sanskrit, “impermanence”; the first of the “three marks” (TRILAKṢAṆA) of existence, along with suffering (DUḤKHA), and nonself (ANĀTMAN). “Impermanence” refers to the fact that compounded objects (SAṂSKṚTA) created by causes (HETU) and conditions (PRATYAYA) are inevitably subject to change, decline, and finally destruction. Because conditioned objects are subject to such impermanence, they are seen to be unsuitable objects for either desire (LOBHA) or hatred (DVEṢA), thus prompting the meditator to turn away from conditioned objects and toward the unconditioned (ASAṂSKṚTA). Mistaking what is in fact impermanent for something permanent is one of the four fundamental “inverted views” (VIPARYĀSA) and a primary cause of suffering. Two kinds of impermanence (see ER WUCHANG) are sometimes delineated: “impermanence marked by a successive period” (S. prabandhānitya, C. xiangxu wuchang), i.e., when an event or length of time has elapsed, such as the ending of a human life or the waning daylight at dusk; and “impermanence that occurs at every thought-instant” (S. kṣaṇikānitya, C. niannian wuchang), i.e., the inexorable change that is taking place anytime and anywhere, even before an event has come to an end (e.g., even before a person’s biological death, the person “dies” every instant in the continuum of flux that defines his existence). ¶ In the SARVĀSTIVĀDA ABHIDHARMA system, anityatā (more technically “desinence,” viz., death) is treated as a “conditioned force dissociated from thought” (CITTAVIPRAYUKTASAṂSKĀRA), which functions as one of the four conditioned characteristics (CATURLAKṢAṆA, SAṂSKṚTALAKṢAṆA) that are associated with all conditioned objects. Because the ontology of the Sarvāstivāda school, as its name implies, postulated that “everything exists” in all three time periods (TRIKĀLA) of past, present, and future, the school had to posit some mechanism through which to account for the apparent change that conditioned objects underwent through time. Therefore, along with the other three characteristics of birth (JĀTI), continuance (STHITI), and senescence (JARĀ), desinence was posited as a “conditioned force dissociated from thought” that serves as the predominant condition of an object’s death. The very definition of conditioned objects is that they are subject to these conditioned characteristics, including this inevitability of death, and this is what ultimately distinguishes them from the unconditioned (asaṃskṛta), viz., NIRVĀṆA.

aniyata. (T. gzhan ’gyur; C. buding; J. fujō; K. pujŏng 不定). In Sanskrit and Pāli, “undetermined” or “indeterminate”; the term has separate usages in both ABHIDHARMA and VINAYA materials. In the abhidharma analysis of mind, among the mental constituents (CAITTA, P. CETASIKA), “indeterminate” refers to mental factors that, depending on the intention of the agent, may be virtuous, nonvirtuous, or neutral. They are variously listed as four (in the YOGĀCĀRA hundred-dharmas list) or eight (in the seventy-five dharmas list of the SARVĀSTIVĀDA school) and include sleep (MIDDHA), contrition (KAUKṚTYA, which can be nonvirtuous when one regrets having done a good deed), applied thought or investigation (VITARKA), and sustained thought or analysis (VICĀRA). ¶ In the vinaya (rules of discipline), “undetermined” refers to a category of ecclesiastical offenses of “uncertain” gravity, which therefore must be evaluated by the SAṂGHA in order to make a determination. Aniyata offenses are of two types and always concern the conduct of a monk toward a woman in either (1) private or (2) semiprivate situations. For the monk, even to place himself in such a potentially compromising situation is an offense, since it can arouse suspicion among the laity about the monk’s intentions. After learning of such an offense, the saṃgha must then determine the seriousness of the monk’s offense by evaluating his conduct while in that situation. After due evaluation, his “undermined” offense will then be judged accordingly as one of three types: (1) PĀRĀJIKA, or most grave, entailing “defeat”; (2) SAṂGHĀVAŚEṢA (P. saṅghādisesa), the second most serious category, entailing confession before the assembly and expiation; and (3) PĀYATTIKA (P. pācittiya), the least serious offense, requiring only confession.

aniyatagotra. (T. rigs ma nges pa; C. buding zhongxing; J. fujōshushō; K. pujŏng chongsŏng 不定種姓). In Sanskrit, “indeterminate lineage”; referring to those beings who are not predestined to a particular path and who, depending on circumstances, may follow one path and then change to another. According to some YOGĀCĀRA schools, at birth some beings are endowed with an inherent lineage (PRAKṚTISTHAGOTRA) directing them toward one of three vehicles: the ŚRĀVAKAYĀNA, PRATYEKABUDDHAYĀNA, or BODHISATTVAYĀNA. The difficulty or ease with which they proceed on the path results from a developed lineage (SAMUDĀNĪTAGOTRA) obtained from cultivating earlier wholesome roots (KUŚALAMŪLA). For such persons, the lineages of the śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva remain definite even when facing great hindrances. There are also persons of indeterminate or indefinite lineage. For such persons, whether they follow the śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, or bodhisattva path depends on circumstances, such as which teacher they encounter. Persons of this lineage can therefore change their path. For example, beginner (ĀDIKARMIKA) bodhisattvas may revert to a śrāvaka path and seek personal NIRVĀṆA when faced with either the prospect of the difficult deeds (duṣkaracaryā) that bodhisattvas must perform for the sake of others or the seemingly interminable length of time (see ASAṂKHYEYAKALPA) required to achieve full enlightenment (ANUTTARASAMYAKSAṂBODHI). In addition, a Śrāvaka may be inspired to seek buddhahood for the sake of all beings and thus switch to the bodhisattva path.

añjali[mudrā]. (T. thal mo sbyar ba; C. hezhang; J. gasshō; K. hapchang 合掌). In Sanskrit and Pāli, “gesture of supplication” or “gesture of greeting.” The añjali is a traditional Indian gesture of salutation and respect wherein the palms of the hands are pressed together with fingers pointing up, usually at the level of the heart or the forehead. As a specific type of gesture (MUDRĀ), añjali is used to symbolize thusness (TATHATĀ). In Buddhist iconography, this is one of the principal mudrās of AVALOKITEŚVARA, who in several forms holds a wish-fulfilling gem (CINTĀMAṆI) between cupped palms at his heart. This gesture is also commonly seen in images of religious donors and patrons.

anjitsu. (C. anshi; K. amsil 庵室). In Japanese “hut” or “hermitage”; the term is used for a small residence often used by monks to further their training away from the company of others. According to various sources, such as the SHASEKISHŪ, an anshitsu was preferably built deep in the mountains, far away from the hustle and bustle of cities and towns, which might distract monks from their practice. See also AN.

ankokuji. (安國寺). In Japanese, “temples for the pacification of the country.” After the Ashikaga shogunate took over control of the capital of Kyōto from the rapidly declining forces of Emperor Godaigo (1288–1339) between the years 1336 and 1337, they sought to heal the scars of civil war by following the suggestions of the ZEN master MUSŌ SOSEKI and building pagodas and temples in every province of Japan. By constructing these temples, the shogunate also sought to subsume local military centers under the control of the centralized government, just as the monarch Shōmu (r. 724–749) had once done with the KOKUBUNJI system. These pagodas were later called rishōtō, and the temples were given the name ankokuji in 1344. Many of these temples belonged to the lineages of the GOZAN system, especially that of Musō and ENNI BEN’EN.

anleguo. (J. anrakukoku; K. allakkuk 安樂國). In Chinese, the “land of peace and happiness.” One of the many names in Chinese for the buddha-field (BUDDHAKṢETRA) of AMITĀBHA known as SUKHĀVATĪ or the “realm of bliss.” Other terms such as JILE or JINGTU, however, are more commonly used to translate the Sanskrit term sukhāvatī.

Anle ji. (安樂集). In Chinese, “Collected Writings on the Land of Peace and Happiness”; an influential Chinese Buddhist treatise compiled by the monk DAOCHUO sometime during the early seventh century. The text is divided into twelve sections that largely consist of scriptural quotations and exhortations to seek rebirth in AMITĀBHA’s PURE LAND, otherwise known as the land of peace and happiness (ANLEGUO). The Anle ji classifies the Buddha’s teachings into two “gates” known as the “sagely way” (shengdao men) and the “pure land” (jingtu men). The latter refers to the teachings of the Buddha that emphasize the chanting of his name and especially that of the buddha Amitābha, and the former refers to those teachings that expound the means of attaining NIRVĀṆA or enlightenment. This classification became the standard defense for the practice of NIANFO, or “chanting the name of the Buddha.” Many of Daochuo’s contemporaries, such as Jiacai (d.u.), also noted inconsistencies in certain parts of the text that have even led some to argue that the text was not compiled by Daochuo.

Anlu. (C) (安). See ZONGLI ZHONGJING MULU.

Annen. (安然) (841–889?). Japanese TENDAI (C. TIANTAI) monk considered to be the founder of Japanese Tendai esoterism and thus also known as Himitsu daishi. Annen studied under ENNIN and initiated a reform of the Japanese Tendai tradition by incorporating new teachings from China called MIKKYŌ, or esoteric Buddhism. He received the bodhisattva precepts at ENRYAKUJI on Mt. Hiei (HIEIZAN) in 859 and by 884 had become the main dharma lecturer at Gangyoji. He subsequently was the founder of a monastery called Godaiin and is therefore often known to the tradition as “master Godaiin” (Godaiin daitoku or Godaiin ajari). Over one hundred works are attributed to Annen on both the exoteric and esoteric teachings of Tendai as well as on Sanskrit SIDDHAM orthography; dozens are extant, including texts that are considered primary textbooks of the Japanese Tendai tradition, such as his Hakke hiroku, Kyōjijō, and Shittanzō. Annen is especially important for having examined comprehensively the relationship between precepts associated with the esoteric tradition and the Buddhist monastic precepts, including the bodhisattva precepts (BODHISATTVAŚĪLA); his ultimate conclusion is that all precepts ultimately derive from specific sets of esoteric precepts.

An Shigao. (J. An Seikō; K. An Sego 安世高) (fl. c. 148–180 CE). An early Buddhist missionary in China and first major translator of Indian Buddhist materials into Chinese; he hailed from Arsakes (C. ANXI GUO), the Arsacid kingdom (c. 250 BCE–224 CE) of PARTHIA. (His ethnikon AN is the Chinese transcription of the first syllable of Arsakes.) Legend says that he was a crown prince of Parthia who abandoned his right to the throne in favor of a religious life, though it is not clear whether he was a monk or a layperson, or a follower of MAHĀYĀNA or SARVĀSTIVĀDA, though all of the translations authentically ascribed to him are of mainstream Buddhist materials. An moved eastward and arrived in 148 at the Chinese capital of Luoyang, where he spent the next twenty years of his life. Many of the earliest translations of Buddhist texts into Chinese are attributed to An Shigao, but few can be determined with certainty to be his work. His most famous translations are the Ren benyu sheng jing (MAHĀNIDĀNASUTTANTA), ANBAN SHOUYI JING (ĀNĀPĀNASATISUTTA), Yinchiru jing, and Daodi jing. Although his Anban shouyi jing is called a SŪTRA, it is in fact made up of both short translations and his own exegesis on these translations, making it all but impossible to separate the original text from his exegesis. An Shigao seems to have been primarily concerned with meditative techniques such as ĀNĀPĀNASMṚTI and the study of numerical categories such as the five SKANDHAs and twelve ĀYATANAs. Much of An’s pioneering translation terminology was eventually superseded as the Chinese translation effort matured, but his use of transcription, rather than translation, in rendering seminal Buddhist concepts survived, as in the standard Chinese transcriptions he helped popularize for buddha (C. FO) and BODHISATTVA (C. pusa). Because of his renown as an early translator, later Buddhist scriptural catalogues (JINGLU) in China ascribed to An Shigao many works that did not carry translator attributions; hence, there are many indigenous Chinese Buddhist scriptures (see APOCRYPHA) that are falsely attributed to him.

antagrāhadṛṣṭi. (T. mthar ’dzin gyi lta ba; C. bianjian; J. henken; K. pyŏn’gyŏn 邊見). In Sanskrit, “extreme views”; one of the five major types of (wrong) views (DṚṢṬI), along with the view that there is a perduring self, or soul (SATKĀYADṚṢṬI); fallacious views (MITHYĀDṚṢṬI); the attachment to views (DṚṢṬIPARĀMARŚA); and attachment to rites and rituals (ŚĪLAVRATAPARĀMARŚA). “Extreme views” refers specifically to the mistaken notion that there is a perduring soul that continues to be reborn unchanged from one lifetime to the next, or to the self as being annihilated at death and thus not subject to rebirth. The former view is called the extreme of eternalism (ŚĀŚVATADṚṢṬI; P. sassatadiṭṭhi); the latter, the extreme of annihilationism (UCCHEDADṚṢṬI; P. ucchedadiṭṭhi). The Buddhist middle way (MADHYAMAPRATIPAD) between these two extremes posits that there is no permanent, perduring soul (countering eternalism), and yet there is karmic continuity from one lifetime to the next (countering annihilationism).

antarābhava. (T. bar do’i srid pa/bar do; C. zhongyin/zhongyou; J. chūin/chūu; K. chungŭm/chungyu 中陰/中有). In Sanskrit, “intermediate state” or “transitional existence,” a transitional state between death (maraṇabhava) and rebirth (upapattibhava), distinct from the five or six destinies of SAṂSĀRA (see GATI), during which time the transitional being (GANDHARVA) prepares for rebirth. The antarābhava is considered one of sentient beings’ “four modes of existence” (catvāro bhavāḥ), along with birth/rebirth (upapattibhava), life (pūrvakālabhava), and death (maraṇabhava). The notion of an intermediate state was controversial. Schools that accepted it, including the SARVĀSTIVĀDA and most MAHĀYĀNA traditions, resorted to scriptural authority to justify its existence, citing, for example, SŪTRAs that refer to seven states of existence (bhava), including an antarābhava. A type of nonreturner (ANĀGĀMIN), the third stage of sanctity in the mainstream Buddhist schools, was also called “one who achieved NIRVĀṆA while in the intermediate state” (ANTARĀPARINIRVĀYIN), again suggesting the scriptural legitimacy of the antarābhava. There were several views concerning the maximum duration of the ANTARĀBHAVA. The ABHIDHARMAMAHĀVIBHĀṢĀ, for example, lists such variations as instantaneous rebirth, rebirth after a week, indeterminate duration, and forty-nine days. Of these different durations, forty-nine days became dominant, and this duration is found in the ABHIDHARMAKOŚABHĀṢYA and the YOGĀCĀRABHŪMIŚĀSTRA. Ceremonies to help guide the transitional being toward a more salutary rebirth, if not toward enlightenment itself, take place once weekly (see QIQI JI); these observances culminate in a “forty-ninth day ceremony” (SISHIJIU [RI] ZHAI), which is thought to mark the end of the process of transition, when rebirth actually occurs. The transitional being in the intermediate state is termed either a gandharva (lit. “fragrance eater”), because it does not take solid food but is said to subsist only on scent (gandha), or sometimes a “mind-made body” (MANOMAYAKĀYA). During the transitional period, the gandharva is searching for the appropriate place and parents for its next existence and takes the form of the beings in the realm where it is destined to be reborn. In the Tibetan tradition, the antarābhava is termed the BAR DO, and the guidance given to the transitional being through the process of rebirth is systematized in such works as the BAR DO THOS GROL CHEN MO, commonly known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Like several of the MAINSTREAM BUDDHIST SCHOOLS, the THERAVĀDA scholastic tradition rejects the notion of an intermediate state, positing instead that an instantaneous “connecting” or “linking” consciousness (P. paṭisandhiviññāna; S. *pratisaṃdhivijñāna) directly links the final moment of consciousness in the present life to the first moment of consciousness in the next.

antaradhāna. In Pāli, “disappearance [of the Buddha’s teachings].” According to the Pāli commentaries, the true dharma (saddhamma) or teaching (sāsana) of the Buddha is destined to survive in the world for at most five thousand years, during which time it will suffer a steady decline in five stages, called the pañcantaradhānāni. There are several alternate theories found in the commentaries as to the specifics of the decline. One version of the five disappearances, which appears in the MANORATHAPŪRAṆĪ, the commentary to the AṄGUTTARANIKĀYA, describes the sequential disappearance of (1) the four noble (āriya) attainments, (2) observance of the precepts, (3) knowledge of the texts, (4) outward signs of monasticism, and (5) the Buddha’s relics. In the PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ (perfection of wisdom) literature, there are similarly a number of explanations of the disappearance or extinction of the teaching (saddharmakṣaya). The Śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitābṛhaṭṭīkā, an early commentary extant only in Tibetan, subdivides the five thousand years that the teaching lasts into ten periods of five hundred years each. The first three (the period of understanding) are when people realize the doctrine and attain results of ARHAT, ANĀGĀMIN (nonreturner), and SROTAĀPANNA (stream-enterer), respectively; the second three (the period of practice) are when people cultivate insight (VIPAŚYANĀ), serenity (ŚAMATHA), and morality (ŚĪLA), respectively; the third three are when the majority have a scripture-centered religious life based on the ABHIDHARMA, SŪTRA, and VINAYA sections of the TRIPIṬAKA; and the final five hundred years are when there is just the mere show of the dharma. See also MOFA; SADDHARMAVIPRALOPA.

antarāparinirvāyin. (T. bar ma dor yongs su mya ngan las ’das pa; C. zhong ban/zhong banniepan; J. chūhatsu/chūhatsunehan; K. chung pan/chung panyŏlban 中般/中般涅槃). In Sanskrit, “one who achieves NIRVĀṆA in the ANTARĀBHAVA (intermediate state)”; a specific type of nonreturner (ANĀGĀMIN), one of the twenty members of the āryasaṃgha (see VIṂŚATIPRABHEDASAṂGHA). According to the ABHIDHARMAKOŚABHĀṢYA, the antarāparinirvāyin are nonreturners who, having been reborn in any of the seventeen intermediate states that would have led to rebirth in the realm of subtle materiality (RŪPADHĀTU) (with the exception of the great Brahmā heaven), enter “nirvāṇa without remainder” (NIRUPADHIŚEṢANIRVĀṆA) on the basis of that support. There are three types: those who enter into nirvāṇa without remainder immediately after the intermediate state comes into being; those who enter after it has come into being and just before the sequence of events leading to the conception state begins; and those who enter when thoughts begin to turn toward the conception state.

antarvāsas. (P. antaravāsaka; T. smad g.yogs; C. neiyi; J. naie; K. naeŭi 内衣). In Sanskrit, the “lower robe” or “waist cloth”; one of the “three robes” (TRICĪVARA) worn by a monk or nun, along with the larger outer robe (S. SAṂGHĀṬĪ; P. saṅghāṭi) and the upper robe (S. UTTARĀSAṂGA; P. uttarāsaṅga). See also CĪVARA; KĀṢĀYA.

antevāsika. [alt. antevāsī] (T. nye gnas; C. jinzhu dizi; J. gonjū deshi; K. kŭnju cheja 近住弟子). In Pāli and Sanskrit, a “pupil” who dwells with a teacher. A monk who loses his preceptor (P. upajjhāya; S. UPĀDHYĀYA) while still in need of “guidance” (P. NISSAYA; S. NIŚRAYA) must seek instruction and training under another qualified master. This new master is called the ĀCARIYA (S. ĀCĀRYA), or “teacher,” and the monk is then designated an antevāsika, or “pupil.” The same relationship pertains between the antevāsika and the ācariya as between a *SĀRDHAVIHĀRIN (P. saddhivihārika) and an upajjhāya, and it is described as being like that of a son and father. Accordingly, the pupil is required to serve the daily needs of his teacher, by, for example, providing him with water, washing and preparing his robes and alms bowl, cleaning his residence, accompanying him on journeys, attending him when he is sick, and so forth. As part of his responsibilities toward the teacher, if the teacher should begin to entertain doubts about the doctrine or his ability to practice, the pupil is to try to dispel them. If the teacher should commit a grave offense against the rules of the saṃgha, the pupil is supposed to try to prevail upon his teacher to go before the saṃgha to receive its judgment. An antevāsika requires the permission of his ācariya to attend to others, to accompany others on alms round (PIṆḌAPĀTA), to seek instruction from others, etc. The antevāsika is required to seek pardon from his ācariya for any wrongdoing, and may be expelled for bad behavior. A fully ordained monk (P. bhikkhu; S. BHIKṢU) must remain under the guidance (nissaya) of either his upajjhāya or an ācariya or for a minimum of five years from the time of his ordination. A monk may be required to live under nissaya for a longer period, or for his whole life, if he is unable to become competent in DHARMA and VINAYA.

antidote. See PRATIPAKṢA.

anubhāva. (T. mthu; C. weishen; J. ijin; K. wisin 威神). In Sanskrit and Pāli, “majesty” or “splendor”; referring to the inconceivable power and glory of the buddhas, the spiritual equivalent to the majesty of royalty. The term is often found in compound to express different aspects of Buddhistic splendor. For example, the buddhas are said to have the ability to display various psychic powers (ṚDDHI), including telekinesis, and the ability to walk through walls and to project themselves infinitely (see ADHIṢṬHĀNA); the majestic power displayed through these thaumaturgic abilities is termed ṛddhyanubhāva (P. iddhānubhāva).

anujñā. (T. rjes gnang). In Sanskrit, “authorization”; referring to a ritual less elaborate than the ABHIṢEKA (consecration) rite, which imparts the authorization to perform certain practices within a particular cycle of tantric instructions, including deity yoga (DEVATĀYOGA) and MANTRA recitation, but excluding the activities of teaching and bestowing consecrations authorized by the final part of the abhiṣeka, the ĀCĀRYA (teacher) consecration.

anulomañāṇa. In Pāli, “conformity knowledge”; according to the VISUDDHIMAGGA, this is the ninth and last of nine knowledges (P. ñāṇa, S. JÑĀNA) cultivated as part of the purity of knowledge and vision of progress along the path (P. paṭipadāñāṇadassanavisuddhi). This latter category, in turn, constitutes the sixth of the seven purities (VIŚUDDHI) to be developed along the path to liberation. “Conformity knowledge” refers to the last three so-called impulsion moments (javana) of consciousness that arise in the mind of the practitioner preceding his perception of the nibbāna element (NIRVĀṆADHĀTU). This knowledge is so named because it conforms itself to the preceding eight stages of knowledge, as well as to the immediately following supramundane path (P. āriyamāgga, S. ĀRYAMĀRGA) and the thirty-seven constituents of enlightenment (P. bodhipakkhiyadhamma, S. BODHIPĀKṢIKADHARMA). When the three moments are treated separately, they receive different names. The first impulsion moment is called “preparation” (P. parikamma), when adaptation knowledge takes as its object the compounded formations (SAṂSKĀRA) as being something impermanent (ANITYA), suffering (DUḤKHA), and nonself (ANĀTMAN). Immediately thereafter, the second impulsion moment arises, which takes the same formations as its object and is called “access” (upacāra). Immediately following that the third impulsion moment arises taking the same object, which is called “conformity” (anuloma). At this point, the practitioner is at the threshold of liberation (P. vimokkha, S. VIMOKṢA), and, therefore, conformity knowledge is described as the final stage in what is called “insight leading to emergence” (P. vuṭṭhānagāminivipassanā). This category includes the sixth, seventh, and eighth knowledges (ñāṇa) in the ninefold schema: namely, “knowledge arising from the desire for deliverance” (P. MUCCITUKAMYATĀÑĀṆA), “knowledge arising from the contemplation on reflection” (P. PAṬISAṄKHĀNUPASSANĀÑĀṆA), and “knowledge arising from equanimity regarding all formations of existence” (P. SAṄKHĀRUPEKKHĀÑĀṆA).

anulomapratiloma. (P. anulomapaṭiloma; T. lugs ’byung lugs ldog; C. shunni; J. jungyaku; K. sunyŏk 順逆). In Sanskrit, “forward and reverse”; a term most commonly used in discussions of the twelvefold chain of dependent origination (PRATĪTYASAMUTPĀDA). The “forward” order of the twelve constituents provides an account of the origin of SAṂSĀRA, i.e., an ontology, whereby ignorance produces predispositions, (linking) consciousness, and name-and-form, ultimately leading to birth, aging, and death. The “reverse” order refers to the soteriological sequence, whereby birth, aging, and death are ended by bringing an end ultimately to ignorance; thus, from the cessation of ignorance, volitional action ceases; from the cessation of volitional action, consciousness ceases; and so on.

anumāna. (T. rjes su dpag pa; C. biliang; J. hiryō; K. piryang 比量). In Sanskrit and Pāli, “inference.” In Buddhist logic and epistemology, inference is considered to be one of the two forms of valid knowledge (PRAMĀṆA), along with direct perception (PRATYAKṢA). Inference allows us to glean knowledge concerning objects that are not directly evident to the senses. In the Buddhist logical traditions, inferences may be drawn from logical signs (HETU, LIṄGA): e.g., there is a fire on the mountain (SĀDHYA), because there is smoke (SĀDHANA), like a stove (SAPAKṢA), unlike a lake (VIPAKṢA).

Anumānasutta. (C. Biqiu qing jing; J. Bikushōkyō; K. Pigu ch’ong kyŏng 比丘請經). In Pāli, “Discourse on Inference,” the fifteenth sutta of the MAJJHIMANIKĀYA (a separate SARVĀSTIVĀDA recension appears as the eighty-ninth SŪTRA in the Chinese translation of the MADHYAMĀGAMA). The sūtra was preached by MAHĀMAUDGALYĀYANA (P. Mahāmoggallāna) to a large group of monks at Suṃsumāragiri in the Bhagga country. Mahāmaudgalyāyana enumerates sixteen faults that make it difficult for a monk to be admonished by his teachers or fellow monks, such as evil wishes, conceit, deceit, anger, resentment, stubbornness, defensiveness, and prevarication. Should a monk discover any of these negative traits within himself, he should strive to remove them.

anumodana. (T. rjes su yi rang; C. suixi; J. zuiki; K. suhŭi 隨喜). In Sanskrit and Pāli, “admiration” or “gratification,” also written anumodanā; the act of taking delight in the virtuous acts of others, which, in contrast to the unwholesome emotion of envy (ĪRṢYĀ), enables one also to accumulate virtue for oneself. It is considered an effective means of gaining merit (PUṆYA) and figures as a standard component in MAHĀYĀNA liturgies, including the three-part Mahāyāna liturgy (TRISKANDHAKA) and the sevenfold PŪJĀ (SAPTĀṄGAVIDHI). Anumodanā is also used in mainstream Buddhism to refer to the “benedictions” (C. zhouyuan) that monks recite after receiving a meal or a gift, which express thanks or “gratification” to the donors for their offerings.

Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa. (C. Buzeng bujian jing; J. Fuzōfugengyō; K. Pujŭng pulgam kyŏng 不增不減經). In Sanskrit, the “Neither Increase nor Decrease Sūtra,” one of the earliest TATHĀGATAGARBHA (embryo of the tathāgatas) scriptures, along with the TATHĀGATAGARBHASŪTRA and the ŚRĪMĀLĀ-DEVĪSIṂHANĀDASŪTRA. The text, only a single roll in length, was far more influential in the development of tathāgatagarbha thought in East Asia than its length might suggest. The complete text survives only in a Chinese translation made in 525 by BODHIRUCI (d. 527). Neither Sanskrit nor Tibetan recensions of the text are extant, although the RATNAGOTRAVIBHĀGA includes many quotations from the scripture. The Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa explains the absolute identity between sentient beings and the DHARMAKĀYA of the buddhas through the concept of tathāgatagarbha. According to the scripture, although sentient beings endure endless rebirths among the six destinies (GATI) because of afflictions (KLEŚA), they in fact neither arise nor perish because they are all actually manifestations of the unchanging dharmakāya. Since sentient beings are therefore nothing other than the dharmakāya—and since the dharmakāya is unchanging, ever-present, and subject neither to increase nor to decrease—the sentient beings who possess the dharmakāya as their nature also “neither increase nor decrease.” The scripture also explains that such wrong views as the notion that sentient beings are subject to increase or decrease are caused by not realizing that the realms of sentient beings and tathāgatas are in fact one and the same. When the dharmakāya is obscured by afflictions and resides in the suffering of SAṂSĀRA, it is called a sentient being; when it is cultivating the perfections (PĀRAMITĀ) and developing a repugnance for the suffering of saṃsāra, it is called a BODHISATTVA; when it is pure and free from all afflictions, it is called a tathāgata. Sentient beings, tathāgatagarbha, and dharmakāya are therefore merely different names for the one realm of reality (DHARMADHĀTU). The Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa thus emphasizes the immanent aspect of tathāgatagarbha, whereas the Śrīmālāsūtra emphasizes its transcendent aspect.

anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa. [alt. nirupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa] (P. anupādisesanibbāna; T. phung po’i lhag ma med par mya ngan las ’das ba / lhag med myang ’das; C. wuyu niepan; J. muyonehan; K. muyŏ yŏlban 無餘涅槃). In Sanskrit, “the nirvāṇa without remainder”; one of the two kinds of NIRVĀṆA, along with “the nirvāṇa with remainder” (SOPADHIŚEṢANIRVĀṆA). After a buddha or, in some interpretations, an ARHAT has achieved awakening (BODHI), some Buddhist schools distinguish between the experience of nirvāṇa while it is still accompanied by a substratum of existence (upadhi = SKANDHA) and the nirvāṇa that is completely freed from that substratum. According to this view, at the time of his enlightenment under the BODHI TREE, the Buddha achieved the nirvāṇa with remainder, because he had destroyed all causes for future rebirth, but the “remainder” of his mind and body persisted. The anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa subsequently occurred at the time of the Buddha’s death. It was achieved through having brought an absolute end to any propensity toward defilement (KLEŚA) and of the causes that would lead to any prospect of future rebirth; it is therefore the total extinction of all conventional physical and mental existence. The nirvāṇa that is experienced at death is thus “without remainder” because there are no physical or mental constituents remaining that were the products of previous KARMAN; anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa is therefore synonymous with PARINIRVĀṆA. Since this type of nirvāṇa results from the complete eradication of the afflictive destructions (KLEŚĀVARAṆA), MAINSTREAM BUDDHIST SCHOOLS typically claim that it is accessible by ŚRĀVAKAs and PRATYEKABUDDHAs. However, according to those proponents of the MAHĀYĀNA who assert that all beings will eventually become buddhas, arhats do not enter anupādiśeṣanirvāṇa upon death but instead enter the uncontaminated realm (ANĀSRAVADHĀTU), where they remain in states of deep concentration until they are roused by the buddhas and exhorted to abandon their “unafflicted ignorance” (AKLIṢṬĀJÑĀNA). In the YOGĀCĀRA school, anupādiśeṣanirvāṇa is one of the four kinds of nirvāṇa, which entails the cessation of any tendency toward delusion through the transformation of the eighth consciousness, the storehouse consciousness (ĀLAYAVIJÑĀNA), into the mirrorlike knowledge (ĀDARŚAJÑĀNA).

anupalabdhi. [alt. anupalambha] (T. mi dmigs pa / dmigs med; C. bukede; J. fukatoku; K. pulgadŭk 不可得). In Sanskrit, “unascertainable,” “noncognition,” or “non-observation,” describing the peculiar type of cognition inherent in enlightenment, in which perception occurs without any bifurcation between subject and object in the case of YOGĀCĀRA or without any perception or “observation” of intrinsic existence (SVABHĀVA) in the case of MADHYAMAKA and is thus freed from any kind of false dichotomization. This type of perception is therefore “unascertainable,” viz., freed from conventional types of cognition and thus “noncognition.”

anupassanā. (S. ANUPAŚYANĀ). In Pāli, “contemplation.” A term applied to several sets of meditation practices, most notably as enumerated under the category of the four “foundations of mindfulness” (P. satipaṭṭhāna; S. SMṚTYUPASTHĀNA). The first foundation is called “contemplation of the body” (kāyānupassanā, S. KĀYĀNUPAŚYANĀ) and comprises fourteen practices, which include mindfulness of breathing (P. ānāpānasati, S. ĀNĀPĀNASMṚTI), mindfulness of postures or deportments (P., iriyāpatha, S. ĪRYĀPATHA), full awareness of bodily actions, contemplation of bodily impurities, contemplation of the four physical elements (DHĀTU, MAHĀBHŪTA), and nine cemetery meditations (P. asubhabhāvanā, S. AŚUBHABHĀVANĀ). The second foundation is called “contemplation of sensations” (P. vedanānupassanā, S. vedanānupasyanā) and consists of one practice: mindfulness of physical sensations (VEDANĀ) as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral. The third foundation is called “contemplation of mind” (P. cittānupassanā, S. cittānupasyanā) and consists of one practice: mindfulness of one’s general state of mind (CITTA), e.g. as calm or distracted, elated or depressed, etc. The fourth foundation is “contemplation of mind-objects” (P. dhammānupassanā, S. dharmānupasyanā) and includes five meditations on specific categories of factors (P. dhamma, S. DHARMA), namely: the five hindrances (NĪVARAṆA), the five aggregates (SKANDHA), the six sense bases and six sense objects (ĀYATANA), the seven enlightenment factors (BODHYAṄGA), and the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS. In the Pāli SATIPAṬṬHĀNASUTTA, the four anupassanās are extolled as the one path leading to the realization of nibbāna (NIRVĀṆA). Another common set of anupassanās found in the Pāli tradition includes three members: (1) contemplation of impermanence (aniccānupassanā), (2) contemplation of suffering (dukkhānupassanā), and (3) contemplation of nonself (anattānupassanā). In the PAṬISAMBHIDĀMAGGA, this list is expanded to ten with the addition of (4) contemplation of nirvāṇa (nibbānānupassanā), (5) contemplation of dispassion (virāgānupassanā), (6) contemplation of cessation (nirodhānupassanā), (7) contemplation of renunciation (paṭinissaggānupassanā), (8) contemplation of signlessness (animittānupassanā), (9) contemplation of desirelessness (appaṇihitānupassanā), and (10) contemplation of emptiness (suññatānupassanā).

anupaśyanā. (T. rjes su lta ba; C. xunguan; J. junkan; K. sun’gwan 循觀). In Sanskrit, “contemplation” or “consideration.” See ANUPASSANĀ (P).

anupubbikathā. (S. anupūrvikathā; T. mthar gyis pa; C. cidi shuofa/jianwei shuofa; J. shidai seppō/zen’i seppō; K. ch’aje sŏlbŏp/chŏmwi sŏlbŏp 次第法/漸爲法). In Pāli, “graduated discourse” or “step-by-step instruction”; the systematic outline of religious benefits that the Buddha used to mold the understanding of new lay adherents and to guide them toward the first stage of enlightenment. In this elementary discourse, the Buddha would outline the benefits of generosity (dānakathā) and morality (śīlakathā) before finally holding out for the laity the prospect of rebirth in the heavens (svargakathā). Once their minds were pliant and impressionable, the Buddha then would instruct his listeners in the dangers (ĀDĪNAVA) inherent in sensuality (KĀMA) in order to turn them away from the world and toward the advantages of renunciation (P. nekkhamme ānisaṃsa). Only after his listeners’ minds were made fully receptive would the Buddha then go on to teach them the doctrine that was unique to the buddhas: the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS of suffering, origination, cessation, and path. Understanding the pervasive reality of the fact that “all that is subject to production is subject to cessation” (yaṃ kiñci samudayadhammaṃ taṃ nirodhadhammaṃ), the laity would then gain a profound personal understanding of the dharma, which often prompted the experience of “stream-entry” (SROTAĀPANNA). The “graduated discourse” was such a stock formula in the standard sermon to the laity that it appears only in summary form in the NIKĀYAs and ĀGAMAs. The only detailed treatment of the graduated discourse appears in the Tuṇḍilovādasutta (Advice to Layman Tuṇḍila), a late Pāli apocryphon (see APOCRYPHA) probably composed in Sri Lanka in the eighteenth century. This late text provides a systematic outline of the specifics of the practice of generosity (DĀNA), morality (ŚĪLA), the heavens (SVARGA), the dangers in sensual desires, and the benefits of renunciation, leading up to the “perfect peace” of nibbāna (S. NIRVĀṆA).

anupūrvikathā. In Sanskrit, “graduated discourse.” See ANUPUBBIKATHĀ.

Anurādhapura. Ancient capital of Sri Lanka nearly continuously from the fourth century BCE to the ninth century CE, with interludes of foreign occupation by Cōḷa forces from South India. To the south of the city was the MAHĀMEGHAVANA park, which was gifted to the elder MAHINDA by King DEVĀNAṂPIYATISSA when the latter converted to Buddhism in the third century BCE. Soon, the MAHĀVIHĀRA and the shrine of the southern branch of the BODHI TREE were built there. In the second century BCE, King DUṬṬHAGĀMAṆĪ built the seven-storied LOHAPĀSĀDA and the MAHĀTHŪPA. The site also housed the ABHAYAGIRI monastery, built in the first century BCE by King VAṬṬAGĀMAṆI, and the JETAVANA monastery built in the fourth century CE by King Mahāsena. The latter two monasteries were headquarters of the two eponymous secessionist fraternities of Sri Lankan Buddhism. Although Anurādhapura was abandoned in favor of Pulatthipura as the capital in the ninth century, it remained a center of pilgrimage and religious activity.

Anuruddha. (P) The Pāli name for one of the ten chief disciples of the Buddha; see ANIRUDDHA. ¶ Anuruddha is also the name of the author of the THERAVĀDA abhidhamma manual ABHIDHAMMATTHASAṄGAHA, as well as the Paramatthavinicchaya and the Nāmarūpapariccheda. Anuruddha flourished during the eleventh or twelfth century and was the abbot of Mūlasoma Vihāra. His Abhidhammatthasaṅgaha has for centuries been the most widely used introductory text for the study of ABHIDHAMMA (S. ABHIDHARMA) in monastic colleges throughout the Pāli Buddhist world.

anuśaṃsa. [alt. ānuśaṃsa; ānuśaṃsā, etc.] (P. ānisaṃsa; T. phan yon; C. gongde/liyi; J. kudoku/riyaku; K. kongdŏk/iik 功德/利益). In Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, “blessing,” “benefit,” “reward,” or “advantage” that accrues from leading a virtuous life or performing various types of virtuous actions. In the Pāli MAHĀPARINIBBĀNASUTTANTA, for example, while preaching on the benefits of moral rectitude to a gathering of lay disciples in the city of Pāṭaligāma (see PĀṬALIPUTRA), the Buddha enumerates five such blessings that a morally upright person can expect to acquire in this lifetime: first, great wealth (bhogakkhandha); second, a good reputation (kittisadda); third, self-confidence (visārada); fourth, a peaceful death (asammūḷho kālaṃ karoti); and fifth, after he dies, a happy rebirth (saggaṃ lokaṃ upapajjati). In contrast, a morally dissolute person can expect in this lifetime: first, poverty due to sloth; second, a bad reputation; third, shame in the presence of others; fourth, an anxious death; and fifth, after he dies, an unhappy rebirth. In the so-called graduated discourse (P. ANUPUBBIKATHĀ), the Buddha also teaches the blessings of renunciation (nekkhamme ānisaṃsa) as a prerequisite to understanding the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS. Different lists of five, ten, or eighteen such blessings appear in Sanskrit sources. The PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ literature has long passages praising the merit gained from writing out in book form, reading, memorizing, and generally worshipping the prajñāpāramitā as compared, in particular, to worshiping a STŪPA containing the relics of a TATHĀGATA, and the commentarial literature lists the benefits (anuśaṃsa) of the BODHISATTVA’s path of vision (DARŚANAMĀRGA) when compared with the earlier understanding of the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS.

anuśaya. (P. anusaya; T. bag la nyal ba; C. suimian; J. zuimen; K. sumyŏn 隨眠). In Sanskrit, “proclivity” or “predisposition”; various unwholesome mental states that lead eventually to suffering. There are several lists, most common of which is a list of six or seven principal proclivities: sensual passion (KĀMARĀGA; see also RĀGA), hostility (PRATIGHA), pride (MĀNA), ignorance (AVIDYĀ), views (DṚṢṬI), and skeptical doubt (VICIKITSĀ); sometimes, passion for existence (bhavarāga) is added as a seventh. The SARVĀSTIVĀDA school of ABHIDHARMA offers an extensive list of ninety-eight proclivities, in which dṛṣṭi is subdivided into five subtypes, giving ten, which are then further subdivided into ninety-eight in relation to the three realms of existence (sensual, subtle materiality, and immaterial) and the five classes of discipline.

anusmaraṇavikalpa. (T. rjes su dran pa’i rnam rtog; C. suinian fenbie; J. zuinen funbetsu; K. sunyŏm punbyŏl 隨念分別). In Sanskrit, “discrimination involving reflection on past events”; the third of the three types of conceptual discrimination (VIKALPA). See TRIVIKALPA.

anusmṛti. (P. anussati; T. rjes su dran pa; C. nian; J. nen; K. yŏm 念). In Sanskrit, “recollection.” The Pāli form anussati is applied to a number of mental exercises enumerated in the Pāli tradition under the category of KAMMAṬṬHĀNA, or topics of meditation. The fifth-century VISUDDHIMAGGA lists ten such recollections conducive to the cultivation of concentration (SAMĀDHI): namely, recollection of (1) the BUDDHA, (2) the DHARMA, (3) the SAṂGHA, (4) morality, (5) generosity, (6) the gods, (7) death, (8) the body, (9) the in-breath and out-breath, and (10) peace. Of these, recollection or mindfulness (P. sati; S. SMṚTI) of the in-breath and out-breath can produce all four meditative absorptions (DHYĀNA; P. JHĀNA), while recollection of the body can produce the first absorption. The remaining recollections can produce only “access concentration” (UPACĀRASAMĀDHI), which immediately precedes but does not quite reach the first absorption. In East Asia, the practice of recollection of the Buddha (BUDDHĀNUSMṚTI) evolved into the recitation of name of the buddha AMITĀBHA in the form of the Chinese phrase namo Amituo fo (Homage to the buddha Amitābha; see NAMU AMIDABUTSU). See also BUDDHĀNUSMṚTI.

anuśrava. (P. anussava; T. gsan pa; C. suiwen; J. zuimon; K. sumun 隨聞). In Sanskrit, “tradition,” “hearsay,” or “report” (in Chinese, it is, literally, “according to what has been heard”), referring to knowledge learned from received tradition, which is said to be unreliable as a standard for judging truth and falsity. In the Pāli KĀLĀMASUTTA, the Buddha rejects the validity of testimony based on anussava (tradition) in favor of what practitioners learn through their own personal training to be blameworthy or praiseworthy, harmful or beneficial.

anutpāda. [alt. anutpanna] (T. skye med; C. wusheng; J. mushō; K. musaeng 無生). In Sanskrit, “unproduced” or “nonproduction”; a term used to describe unconditioned phenomena, especially NIRVĀṆA, which are not subject to either production or cessation. In some MAHĀYĀNA sūtras, all phenomena, including impermanent phenomena, are described as anutpāda; this is interpreted to mean that they ultimately are neither produced nor extinguished.

anutpādajñāna. (T. mi skye ba shes pa; C. wusheng zhi; J. mushōchi; K. musaeng chi 無生智). In Sanskrit, “knowledge of nonproduction”; one of the two knowledges (along with KṢAYAJÑĀNA) that accompanies liberation from rebirth (SAṂSĀRA). Anutpādajñāna refers specifically to the knowledge that the afflictions (KLEŚA), once destroyed, will never be produced again. See also ANUTPATTIKADHARMAKṢĀNTI.

anutpanna. (S; T. skye med). See ANUTPĀDA.

anutpattikadharmakṣānti. (T. mi skye ba’i chos la bzod pa; C. wushengfaren; J. mushōbōnin; K. musaeng pŏbin 無生法忍). In Sanskrit, the “acquiescence” or “receptivity” “to the nonproduction of dharmas.” In the MAHĀYĀNA, a BODHISATTVA is said to have attained the stage of “nonretrogression” (AVAIVARTIKA) when he develops an unswerving conviction that all dharmas are “unproduced” (ANUTPĀDA) and “empty” (ŚŪNYATĀ) in the sense that they lack any intrinsic nature (NIḤSVABHĀVA). This stage of understanding has been variously described as occurring on either the first or eighth BHŪMIs of the bodhisattva path. This conviction concerning emptiness is characterized as a kind of “acquiescence,” “receptivity,” or “forbearance” (KṢĀNTI), because it sustains the bodhisattva on the long and arduous path of benefiting others, instilling an indefatigable equipoise, and preventing him from falling back into the selfish preoccupation with personal liberation. The bodhisattva “bears” or “acquiesces to” the difficulty of actively entering the world to save others by residing in the realization that ultimately there is no one saving others and no others being saved. In other words, all dharmas—including sentient beings and the rounds of rebirth—are originally and eternally “unproduced” or “tranquil.” This realization of nonduality—of the self and others, and of SAṂSĀRA and NIRVĀṆA—inoculates the bodhisattva from being tempted into a premature attainment of “cessation,” wherein one would escape from personal suffering through the extinction of continual existence, but at the cost of being deprived of the chance to attain the even greater goal of buddhahood through sustained practice along the bodhisattva path. Anutpattikadharmakṣānti is sometimes used in a nonpolemical context, where it refers both to the Mahāyāna realization of the truth of “emptiness” and to the non-Mahāyāna realization of no-self (ANĀTMAN) and the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS. In a non-Mahāyāna context, the term corresponds to the path of vision (DARŚANAMĀRGA).

anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi. (T. bla na med pa yang dag par rdzogs pa’i byang chub; C. wushang zhengdeng jue/anouduoluo sanmiao sanputi; J. mujōshōtōgaku/anokutara-sanmyaku-sanbodai; K. musang chŏngdŭng kak/anyoktara sammyak sambori 無上正等覺/阿耨多羅三藐三菩提). In Sanskrit, “unsurpassed (anuttara), complete (samyak), and perfect enlightenment (SAṂBODHI)”; the enlightenment (BODHI) of a buddha, superior to all other forms of enlightenment. The term is often used to distinguish the enlightenment of a buddha from that of an ARHAT, with the former deemed superior because it is the result of the sustained practice of the BODHISATTVA path over the course of many eons (KALPA) of lifetimes. According to Mahāyāna schools, in anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi, both of the two kinds of obstructions, the afflictive obstructions (KLEŚĀVARAṆA) and the obstructions to omniscience (JÑEYĀVARAṆA), have been completely overcome. Although ARHATS also achieve enlightenment (BODHI), they have overcome only the first of the obstructions, not the second, and thus have still not realized anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi. This enlightenment, which is unique to the buddhas, surpasses all other types of realization and is thus unsurpassed, complete, and perfect. See also MAHĀBODHI; SAṂBODHI.

anuttarayogatantra. (T. bla na med pa’i rnal ’byor rgyud). In Sanskrit, “unsurpassed yoga tantra.” According to an Indian classification system, later adopted in Tibet, anuttarayogatantra is the highest category in the fourfold division of tantric texts, above YOGATANTRA, CARYĀTANTRA, and KRIYĀTANTRA. Texts classified as unsurpassed yoga tantras include such works as the GUHYASAMĀJATANTRA, the HEVAJRATANTRA, and the CAKRASAṂVARATANTRA. These tantras were further divided into mother tantras (MĀTṚTANTRA) and father tantras (PITṚTANTRA). The mother tantras, also known as ḌĀKINĪ tantras, are traditionally said to emphasize wisdom (PRAJÑĀ) over method (UPĀYA), especially wisdom in the form of the mind of clear light (PRABHĀSVARACITTA). The father tantras are those that, between method (upāya) and wisdom (prajñā), place a particular emphasis on method, especially as it pertains to the achievement of the illusory body (MĀYĀDEHA) on the stage of generation (UTPATTIKRAMA). According to Tibetan exegetes, buddhahood can only be achieved through the practice of anuttarayogatantra; it cannot be achieved by the three “lower tantras” or by the practice of the PĀRAMITĀYĀNA. The many practices set forth in the anuttarayogatantras are often divided into two larger categories, those of the stage of generation (utpattikrama) and those of the stage of completion (NIṢPANNAKRAMA). The latter typically includes the practice of sexual yoga. The status of the KĀLACAKRATANTRA, historically the latest of the unsurpassed yoga tantras (the text includes apparent references to Muslim invaders in the Indian subcontinent), was accorded special status by DOL PO PA SHES RAB RGYAL MTSHAN; TSONG KHA PA in his SNGAGS RIM CHEN MO (“Great Exposition of the Stages of Tantra”) gave it a separate place within a general anuttarayogatantra category, while others such as Red mda’ ba Gzhon nu blo gros said it was not a Buddhist tantra at all.

anuvyañjana. (T. dpe byad; C. hao; J. kō; K. ho 好). In Sanskrit and Pāli, “minor mark” or “secondary characteristic”; the secondary characteristics of an object, in distinction to its generic appearance, or “sign” (NIMITTA). Advertence toward the generic sign and secondary characteristics of an object produces a recognition or perception (SAṂJÑĀ) of that object, which may then lead to clinging or rejection and ultimately suffering. ¶ The term anuvyañjana [alt. vyañjana] also refers specifically to the eighty minor marks of a “great man” (MAHĀPURUṢA) and specifically of a buddha; these are typically mentioned in conjunction with the thirty-two major marks of a great man (MAHĀPURUṢALAKṢAṆA). These are set forth at length in, for example, the PAÑCAVIṂŚATISĀHASRIKĀPRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ (see PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ) and chapter eight of the ABHISAMAYĀLAṂKĀRA and are known as well in mainstream Buddhist sources.

anuyoga. (T. a nu yo ga). In Sanskrit, “subsequent yoga” or “further yoga,” the eighth of the nine vehicles (THEG PA DGU) of Buddhism according to the RNYING MA sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Here, the system of practice described elsewhere as ANUTTARAYOGATANTRA is divided into three: MAHĀYOGA, anuyoga, and ATIYOGA, with anuyoga corresponding to the practices of the “stage of completion” (NIṢPANNAKRAMA), mahāyoga to the stage of generation (UTPATTIKRAMA) and atiyoga to the great completion (RDZOGS CHEN) and the spontaneous achievement of buddhahood. Thus, such stage of completion practices as causing the winds (PRĀṆA) to move through the channels (NĀḌĪ) to the CAKRAs are set forth in anuyoga. In Rnying ma, anuyoga is also a category of texts in the RNYING MA’I RGYUD ’BUM, divided under the following headings: the four root sūtras (rtsa ba’i mdo bzhi), the six tantras clarifying the six limits (mtha’ drug gsal bar byed pa’i rgyud drug), the twelve rare tantras (dkon rgyud bcu gnyis), and the seventy written scriptures (lung gi yi ge bdun bcu).

anvayajñāna. (S). See DHARMAKṢĀNTI.

Anxi guo. (J. Ansoku koku; K. Ansik kuk 安息國). Chinese transcription of the Parthian proper name Aršak, referring to the Arsacid kingdom (c. 250 BCE–224 CE) in the region Roman geographers called PARTHIA. Aršak was the name adopted by all Parthian rulers, and the Chinese employed it to refer to the lands that those rulers controlled to the southeast of the Caspian Sea. In the Marv oasis, where the old Parthian city of Margiana was located, Soviet archeologists discovered the vestiges of a Buddhist monastic complex that has been dated to the third quarter of the fourth century CE, as well as birch-bark manuscripts written in the BRĀHMĪ script that are associated with the SARVĀSTIVĀDA school of mainstream Buddhism. There is therefore archaeological evidence of at least a semblance of Buddhist presence in the area during the fourth through sixth centuries. Parthian Buddhists who were active in China enable us to push this dating back at least two more centuries, for two of the important early figures in the transmission of Buddhist texts into China also hailed from Parthia: AN SHIGAO (fl. c. 148–180 CE), a prolific translator of mainstream Buddhist works, and An Xuan (fl. c. 168–189), who translated the UGRAPARIPṚCCHĀ with the assistance of the Chinese Yan Fotiao. (The AN in their names is an ethnikon referring to Parthia.) There is, however, no extant Buddhist literature written in the Parthian language and indeed little evidence that written Parthian was ever used in other than government documents and financial records until the third century CE, when Manichaean texts written in Parthian begin to appear.

anxin. (J. anjin; K. ansim 安心). In Chinese, “pacification of mind” or “peace of mind.” Used generally to refer to an enlightened state of mind, anxin is used specifically in the Chan school (CHAN ZONG) in the more active sense of focusing one’s attention in “wall contemplation” (BIGUAN) and thereby calming or “pacifying” the mind. According to the ERRU SIXING LUN attributed to the founder of Chan, BODHIDHARMA, the result of such cultivation is said to be an immovable state of mind. In the PURE LAND traditions, the “pacification of mind” refers to the firm establishment of a sense of faith in the teachings of the buddhas and the patriarchs (ZUSHI).

Anyang jie. (J. Annyōkai; K. Anyang kye 安養界). In Chinese, the “realm of peace and nurturance”; also known as the Anyang jingtu, or “pure land of peace and nurturance.” One of the many names in Chinese for SUKHĀVATĪ (“land of bliss”), the purified buddha-field (BUDDHAKṢETRA) of AMITĀBHA Buddha. Sukhāvatī is, however, more commonly translated as JILE (“ultimate bliss”).

Anzhai shenzhou jing. (J. Antaku jinshukyō; K. Ant’aek sinju kyŏng 安宅神呪經). In Chinese, the “Spirit-Spell Scripture for Pacifying Homes”; together with the Anzhai tuolunizhou jing (“DHĀRAṆĪ-Spell Scripture for Pacifying Homes”), both SŪTRAs detail the ritual known as anzhai zhai (“feast for pacifying homes”). According to this scripture, a merchant’s sons were anguished by the unending travails that befell their household and asked the Buddha for help. The Buddha went to the merchant’s house, reprimanded the spirits who were supposed to be protecting the home (anzhai jingshen), and expounded the means of preparing the feast for pacifying homes. This ritual, which had to be supervised by a BHIKṢU, entailed burning incense, lighting lamps, and chanting the Anzhai shenzhou jing. The scripture is claimed to have been translated during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE) by an unidentified translator, but no Indian or Tibetan recension is known, and it is suspected to be an indigenous Chinese composition (see APOCRYPHA).

Apabhraṃśa. In Sanskrit, literally “corrupt,” or “ungrammatical”; a term used in ancient Sanskrit works to refer to the dialects of northern India. The term is used with reference to a number of north Indian languages, including Bengali, between the sixth and thirteenth centuries CE. A number of important tantric texts, such as the CARYĀGĪTIKOṢA, were composed in Apabhraṃśa.

Apadāna. In Pāli, “Heroic Tales” or “Narratives” (cf. S. AVADĀNA); the thirteenth book of the KHUDDAKANIKĀYA of the Pāli SUTTAPIṬAKA, this collection includes hagiographies of 547 monks and forty nuns, all arahant (S. ARHAT) disciples who lived during the lifetime of the Buddha. The text also contains two introductory chapters in verse. The first, the “Buddhāpadāna,” is a series of encomiums praising the merits and perfections (P. pāramī; S. PĀRAMITĀ) of the Buddha and an account of the past lives during which he mastered these qualities. The second chapter, the “Paccekabuddhāpadāna,” deals with solitary buddhas who do not teach (paccekabuddha; S. PRATYEKABUDDHA). Quite distinctively, the Apadāna names thirty-five buddhas of antiquity, in contrast to the twenty-four listed in the BUDDHAVAṂSA; this is one of the reasons that the Apadāna is presumed to be one of the latest books in the Pāli canon. The third and fourth chapters offer accounts of the noble deeds of the senior disciples, including many of the most famous names in Buddhist history. Each story focuses on a specific meritorious action performed by one of these elders while they trained under a buddha in a previous lifetime, followed by an account of what wholesome result that action produced in subsequent lifetimes, and how this ultimately led them to achieve arahantship in the present life. The collection thus highlights the merit that results from perfecting specific types of moral actions.

aparagodānīya. (S). See GODĀNĪYA.

Aparamitāyurnāmamahāyānasūtra. (S). See AMITĀBHASŪTRA.

Aparānta. [alt. Aparāntaka]. A territory in western India traversing modern Rajasthan and Gujarat along the Narmada River; according to the Pāli tradition, it was one of the nine regions to which Buddhist missions were dispatched during the reign of King AŚOKA. After the completion of the third Buddhist council (see COUNCIL, THIRD) in the third century BCE, the elder MOGGALIPUTTATISSA dispatched the elder Yonaka Dhammarakkhita from Pāṭaliputta (S. PĀṬALIPUTRA) to Aparānta to promote Buddhism. Burmese and Thai chroniclers, by contrast, variously identify Aparānta with Chiangmai, AYUTHAYA, and the Irrawaddy river basin in Middle Burma. The third Buddhist council at Pāṭaliputta and the nine Buddhist missions are known only in Pāli sources and are first recorded in the fifth-century DĪPAVAṂSA.

āpas. (P. āpo; T. chu; C. shuida; J. suidai; K. sudae 水大). In Sanskrit, lit. “water,” viz., the property of “cohesion”; also seen written as āpodhātu. One of the four “great elements” (MAHĀBHŪTA) or “major elementary qualities” of which the physical world of materiality (RŪPA) is composed, along with earth (viz., solidity; PṚTHIVĪ, P. paṭhavī), wind (viz., motion, movement, or oscillation; VĀYU, P. vāyu/vāyo), and fire (viz., temperature, warmth; TEJAS, P. tejo). “Water” is defined as that which is moist and fluid and refers to the principle of liquidity; it also is the agent that binds the other elements together. Since water can convey things, such as ships (viz., earth), has relative temperature (viz., fire), and is capable of motion (viz., wind), the existence of all the other three elements may also be inferred even in that single element. In the physical body, this water element is associated with blood, tears, urine, sweat, phlegm, and so on.

apatrāpya. (P. ottappa; T. khrel yod pa; C. kui; J. gi, K. koe 愧). In Sanskrit, “modesty” or “blame”; one of the fundamental mental concomitants thought to accompany all wholesome actions (KUŚALA) and therefore listed as the sixth of the ten “wholesome factors of wide extent” (KUŚALAMAHĀBHŪMIKA) in the SARVĀSTIVĀDA ABHIDHARMA and one of the twenty-five wholesome (P. kusala) mental concomitants (CETASIKA) in the Pāli ABHIDHAMMA. It refers to a fear of blame or condemnation that prevents one from engaging in nonvirtuous deeds. “Modesty” is often seen in compound with the term “shame” or “decency” (HRĪ), where hrī refers to the sense of shame or the pangs of moral conscience that one feels oneself at the prospect of engaging in an immoral act, whereas apatrāpya refers to the fear of being blamed or embarrassed by others for engaging in such acts. This dual sense of “shame and blame” was thought to be foundational to progress in morality (ŚĪLA).

apavāda. (T. skur ’debs; C. sunjian; J. songen; K. son’gam 損減). In Sanskrit, “denigration” or “slander”; denying the presence of positive qualities and falsely ascribing negative qualities. Philosophically, the term is used to describe the underestimation or denigration of the status of phenomena, by claiming, for example, that phenomena do not exist conventionally. Wrong views (MITHYĀDṚṢṬI) themselves are considered to be the “denigration” of that which really exists, such as the truth of suffering (DUḤKHA); other specific sorts of wrong views may also be the “erroneous affirmation” or “superimposition” (SAMĀROPA) of things that actually do not exist in reality. Four types of apavāda are mentioned in the ABHIDHARMAMAHĀVIBHĀṢĀ: denigration of (1) cause, which is countered by understanding the noble truth of origination; (2) effect, which is countered by the noble truth of suffering; (3) the path, which is countered by the noble truth of the path; and (4) cessation, which is countered by the noble truth of cessation.

apāya. (T. ngan song; C. equ; J. akushu; K. akch’wi 惡趣). In Sanskrit and Pāli, lit. “falling away,” or “misfortune,” viz., “baleful destinies,” and synonymous with the unfortunate destinies (DURGATI); refers to an unsalutary rebirth that occurs as a consequence of performing unwholesome actions (S. AKUŚALA; P. akusala). Three such unfortunate rebirth destinies (GATI) are typically enumerated in the literature: rebirth as (1) a denizen of the hells (S. NĀRAKA; P. nirāya); (2) an animal (S. TIRYAK, P. tiracchāna); or (3) a ghost (S. PRETA; P. peta); birth as a demigod or titan (ASURA) is sometimes added as a fourth. Unwholesome actions that lead to unfortunate rebirth are classified into ten types of wrong deeds (S. duṣcarita; P. duccarita), which include (1) intentionally killing living beings (S. prāṇātipāta; P. pāṇātipāta); (2) stealing (S. adattādāna; P. adinnādāna); and (3) sexual misconduct (S. KĀMAMITHYĀCĀRA; P. kāmamicchācāra). The next four in the list are classified as verbal wrong deeds and include (4) lying (S. mṛṣāvāda; P. musāvāda); (5) malicious speech (S. PAIŚUNYA; P. pisuṇavācā); (6) harsh speech (S. PĀRAṢYAVĀDA; P. pharusavācā); and (7) frivolous prattle (S. sampralāpa; P. samphappalāpa). The final three of the list are classified as mental wrong deeds and include (8) covetousness (S. ABHIDHYĀ; P. abhijjhā); (9) malice (S. VYĀPĀDA; P. vyāpāda); and (10) wrong views (S. MITHYĀDṚṢṬI; P. micchādiṭṭhi). Other sūtra literature, such as the SĀMAÑÑAPHALASUTTA, attribute rebirth in this state to reviling the noble ones (ĀRYA), keeping wrong views, and performing unwholesome acts as a result of those wrong views. See also BHAVACAKRA.

apocrypha. (C. yijing/weijing; J. gikyō/gikyō; K. ŭigyŏng/wigyŏng 疑經/僞經). Buddhist scholars have appropriated (though not without some controversy) the Judeo-Christian religious term “apocrypha” to refer to indigenous sūtras composed outside the Indian cultural sphere, but on the model of translated Indian or Serindian scriptures. Such scriptures were sometimes composed in conjunction with a revelatory experience, but many were intentionally forged using their false ascription to the Buddha or other enlightened figures as a literary device to enhance both their authority and their prospects of being accepted as authentic scriptures. Many of the literary genres that characterize Judeo-Christian apocrypha are found also in Buddhist apocrypha, including the historical, didactic, devotional, and apocalyptic. Both were also often composed in milieus of social upheaval or messianic revivalism. As Buddhism moved outside of its Indian homeland, its scriptures had to be translated into various foreign languages, creating openings for indigenous scriptures to be composed in imitation of these translated texts. Ferreting out such inauthentic indigenous scripture from authentic imported scripture occupied Buddhist bibliographical cataloguers (see JINGLU), who were charged with confirming the authenticity of the Buddhist textual transmission. For the Chinese, the main criterion governing scriptural authenticity was clear evidence that the text had been brought from the “Outer Regions” (C. waiyu), meaning India or Central Asia; this concern with authenticating a text partially accounts for why Chinese translations of Buddhist scriptures typically included a colophon immediately following the title, giving the name of the translator (who was also sometimes the importer of the scripture), along with the place where, and often the imperial reign era during which the translation was made. Scriptures for which there was no such proof were in danger of being labeled as texts of “suspect” or “suspicious” authenticity (yijing) or condemned as blatantly “spurious” or “counterfeit” scriptures (weijing). The presence of indigenous cultural elements, such as yin-yang cosmology, local spirits, or rituals and liturgies associated with folk religion could also be enough to condemn a scripture as “spurious.” In Tibet, “treasure texts” (GTER MA) were scriptures or esoteric teachings attributed to enlightened beings or lineage holders that purported to have been buried or hidden away until they could be rediscovered by qualified individuals. Because of their association with a revelatory experience, such “treasure texts” carried authority similar to that of translated scripture. Different classifications of apocryphal scriptures have been proposed, based on genre and style, social history, and doctrinal filiations. In one of the ironies of the Buddhist textual transmission, however, many of the scriptures most influential in East Asian Buddhism have been discovered to be indigenous “apocrypha,” not translated scriptures. Such indigenous scriptures were able to appeal to a native audience in ways that translated Indian materials could not, and the sustained popularity of many such “suspect” texts eventually led cataloguers to include them in the canon, despite continuing qualms about their authenticity. Such “canonical apocrypha” include such seminal scriptures as the FANWANG JING (“Brahmā’s Net Sūtra”), RENWANG JING (“Humane Kings Sūtra”), and the YUANJUE JING (“Perfect Enlightenment Sūtra”), as well as treatises like the DASHENG QIXIN LUN (“Awakening of Faith”). Similar questions of authenticity can be raised regarding scriptures of Indian provenance, since it is virtually impossible to trace with certainty which of the teachings ascribed to the Buddha in mainstream canonical collections (TRIPIṬAKA) such as the Pāli canon can be historically attributed to him. Similarly, the MAHĀYĀNA sūtras, which are also attributed to the Buddha even though they were composed centuries after his death, are considered apocryphal by many of the MAINSTREAM BUDDHIST SCHOOLS, including the modern THERAVĀDA tradition; however, modern scholars do not use the term “Buddhist apocrypha” to describe Mahāyāna texts.

apoha. (T. gzhan sel; C. chu; J. jo; K. che 除). In Sanskrit, “exclusion”; a technical term in later Indian Buddhist philosophy of language and epistemology, which describes comprehension through the negative process of exclusion: i.e., only by excluding everything that is other than the target concept will the significance of that concept be comprehended. Buddhist apoha theory therefore posits that concepts convey meaning only to the extent that they “exclude” other meanings: e.g., the concept “chair” is understood only by the mental consciousness excluding everything else that is “not chair.” Concepts thus do not denote the actual objects that they purport to reference but instead denote the mere “exclusion” of everything else that is not relevant. See also VYATIREKA.

appanāsamādhi. In Pāli, “absorptive concentration”; the more advanced of the two broad types of concentration (SAMĀDHI) discussed in Pāli commentarial literature. Both of these two types of samādhi are used with reference to meditators who are specializing in calmness (samatha; S. ŚAMATHA) techniques. The preliminary “threshold concentration” (UPACĀRASAMĀDHI) helps to calm and focus the mind but is too discursive to lead to full meditative absorption (JHĀNA; S. DHYĀNA). In order to develop jhāna, meditators must proceed to cultivate less discursive topics of meditation (KAMMAṬṬHĀNA) that will lead to “absorptive concentration” and thence jhāna: e.g., mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati, S. ĀNĀPĀNASMṚTI); the four “divine abidings” (BRAHMAVIHĀRA; [alt. P. appamañña], S. APRAMĀṆA), namely, loving-kindness (P. mettā; S. MAITRĪ), compassion (KARUṆĀ), altruistic or empathetic joy (MUDITĀ), and equanimity or impartiality (P. upekkhā; S. UPEKṢĀ); and the ten “visual devices” (KASIṆA)—devices that are constructed from the elements earth, water, fire, and air; the colors blue, yellow, red, and white; and light and space. See also KHANIKASAMĀDHI.

apramāda. (P. appamāda; T. bag yod pa; C. bufangyi; J. fuhōitsu; K. pulbangil 不放逸). In Sanskrit, “heedfulness” or “vigilance”; one of the forty-six mental concomitants (CAITTA) according to the SARVĀSTIVĀDA-VAIBHĀṢIKA school of ABHIDHARMA and one of the fifty-one according to the YOGACĀRA school. Heedfulness is the opposite of “heedlessness” (PRAMĀDA) and is the vigilant attitude that strives toward virtuous activities and remains ever watchful of moral missteps. Heedfulness fosters steadfastness regarding spiritual and ethical matters; it was presumed to be so foundational to any kind of ethical or wholesome behavior that the Sarvāstivāda abhidharma system included it among the predominant wholesome factors of wide extent (KUŚALAMAHĀBHŪMIKA). Heedfulness is also an integral part of the path of cultivation (BHĀVANĀMĀRGA), where certain types of proclivities (ANUŚAYA)—such as passion for sensual pleasure (RĀGA)—can only be removed by consistent and vigilant training, rather than simply through correct insight, as on the path of vision (DARŚANAMĀRGA). Heedfulness was so crucial to spiritual progress that the Buddha recommended it in his last words delivered on his deathbed, as related in the Pāli MAHĀPARINIBBĀNASUTTANTA: “Indeed, monks, I declare to you: decay is inherent in all compounded things; strive on with vigilance.” (Handa ’dāni bhikkhave āmantayāmi vo: vayadhammā saṅkhārā; appamādena sampādetha.)

apramāṇa. (P. appammaññā; T. tshad med pa; C. wuliangxin; J. muryōshin; K. muryangsim 無量心). In Sanskrit, “the boundless states,” “unlimiteds,” or “limitless qualities.” This list is identical to the four “divine abidings” (BRAHMAVIHĀRA) of loving-kindness (MAITRĪ), compassion (KARUṆĀ), empathetic joy (MUDITĀ), and equanimity or impartiality (UPEKṢĀ). When taken as objects of concentration and extended in meditation to all beings without limit, the divine abidings then become “boundless states” (apramāṇa). The meditator is taught to take up each of the boundless states in the same way: starting with the first apramāṇa, for example, filling his mind with loving-kindness, he pervades the world with it, first in one direction, then in a second direction, then a third and a fourth, then above, below, and all around, identifying himself with all beings and remaining free from hatred and ill will. In the same way, he takes up compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. These four factors are taken up as objects of meditation to counter the influence of specific unwholesome states of mind: viz., loving-kindness counteracts hostility (VYĀPĀDA); compassion counters harmfulness (VIHIṂSĀ); empathetic joy counters dissatisfaction or envy regarding others’ achievements (arati); and equanimity counters both the desire and hostility arising from sensuality (KĀMARĀGA-VYĀPĀDA) and the desire to win the approval of others (anunaya). Of these boundless states, the first three are capable of producing the first three of the four DHYĀNAs, or meditative absorptions; the fourth divine abiding is the only one capable of producing the fourth meditative absorption.

apramāṇābha. (P. appamāṇābha; T. tshad med ’od; C. wuliangguang tian; J. muryōkōten; K. muryanggwang ch’ŏn 無量光天). In Sanskrit, “immeasurable radiance”; the second of the three heavens of the second meditative absorption (DHYĀNA) of the realm of subtle materiality (RŪPADHĀTU). The divinities of this heaven are so-called because their bodies emanate limitless light. As with all the heavens of the realm of subtle materiality, one is reborn as a divinity in this realm through achieving the same level of concentration (dhyāna) as the gods of that heaven during one’s practice of meditation in a previous lifetime.

apramāṇaśubha. (P. appamāṇasubha; T. tshad med dge; C. wuliangjing tian; J. muryōjōten; K. muryangjŏng ch’ŏn 無量淨天). In Sanskrit, “immeasurable purity”; the second of the three heavens of the third meditative absorption (DHYĀNA) of the realm of subtle materiality (RŪPADHĀTU).

apraṇihita. (P. appaṇihita; T. smon pa med pa; C. wuyuan; J. mugan; K. muwŏn 無願). In Sanskrit, “wishless”; apraṇihita is one of the three “gates to deliverance” (VIMOKṢAMUKHA), along with emptiness (ŚŪNYATĀ) and signlessness (ĀNIMITTA). Once signlessness has exposed the dangers (ĀDĪNAVA) inherent in sensory perception, the meditator loses all desire for the compounded (SAṂSKṚTA) things of this world and adverts instead toward the uncompounded (ASAṂSKṚTA), which is NIRVĀṆA. The wishless is produced through insight into suffering (DUḤKHA) and serves as the counteragent (PRATIPAKṢA) to all the intentions (āśaya) and aspirations (PRAṆIDHĀNA) one has toward any compounded dharma. Once the meditator has abandoned all such aspirations, he or she is then able to advert toward nirvāṇa, which has no relation to anything that can be desired (VAIRĀGYA). This leads to the seeming conundrum of Buddhist soteriology, viz., that nirvāṇa can only be attained once the meditator no longer has any desire for anything, including nirvāṇa itself. The SARVĀSTIVĀDA and YOGĀCĀRA schools sought to resolve this conundrum about nirvāṇa being uncaused by positing that nirvāṇa was a specific type of effect, the VISAṂYOGAPHALA, or “disconnection fruition,” which was disconnected from the afflictions (KLEŚA).

aprāpti. (T. ’thob pa med pa; C. feide; J. hitoku; K. pidŭk 非得). In Sanskrit, “dispossession” or “nonacquisition”; the second of the fourteen “conditioned forces dissociated from thought” (CITTAVIPRAYUKTASAṂSKĀRA) listed in the SARVĀSTIVĀDA–VAIBHĀṢIKA ABHIDHARMA and in the YOGĀCĀRA system. It is the opposite of the dissociated force of “possession” (PRĀPTI), which serves as a kind of glue that causes the various independent constituents of reality (DHARMA) to stick together into apparently permanent constructs. Aprāpti is the absence of such possession: when, for example, the afflictions (KLEŚA) are eliminated through the experience of sanctity, there is a “dispossession” between the afflictions and the mental continuum (SAṂTĀNA) of that sage to whom they were previously attached. Similarly, the state of an ordinary person (PṚTHAGJANA) involves the “dispossession” of the noble (ĀRYA) dharmas.

apratisaṃkhyānirodha. (T. so sor brtags min gyi ’gog pa; C. feizemie; J. hichakumetsu; K. pit’aekmyŏl 非擇滅). In Sanskrit, “nonanalytical suppression” or “nonanalytical cessation,” one of the uncompounded factors (ASAṂSKṚTADHARMA) listed by both the VAIBHĀṢIKA-SARVĀSTIVĀDA and the YOGĀCĀRA schools. In the Vaibhāṣika dharma theory, where all factors were presumed to exist in all three time periods (TRIKĀLA) of past, present, and future, this dharma was posited to suppress the production of all other dharmas, ensuring that they remain ever positioned in future mode and never again able to arise in the present. Whenever any specific factor is unproduced, this is due to its position in the present mode being occupied by the nonanalytical suppression; thus the number of apratisaṃkhyānirodha is coextensive with the number of factors. Because this dharma is not produced, not an object of knowledge, and not a result of insight, it is considered to be “nonanalytical.” Other schools, such as the SAUTRĀNTIKA, presume that this factor has only nominal validity and refers to dharmas when they are in their unproduced state. The term also refers to states of temporary absence or cessation that do not occur as the result of meditative practice, such as the cessation of hunger after eating a meal. See also PRATISAṂKHYĀNIRODHA.

apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa. (T. mi gnas pa’i mya ngan las ’das pa; C. wuzhu niepan; J. mujūnehan; K. muju yŏlban 無住涅槃). In Sanskrit, “unlocated nirvāṇa” or “nirvāṇa that is not permanently fixed”; the MAHĀYĀNA description of the NIRVĀṆA of the buddhas, which is “not permanently fixed” at either the extreme of the SAṂSĀRA of ordinary beings (PṚTHAGJANA) or what is presented as the overly quietistic nirvāṇa of the ARHAT. Since the buddhas’ nirvāṇa is “unlocated,” the buddhas are free to return to this world in order to save all sentient beings from suffering, without becoming in any way entangled by the prospect of rebirth, and without having passed completely away into the nirvāṇa of the arhat. Nirvāṇa as it is experienced by the buddhas, who have eradicated both the afflictive obstructions (KLEŚĀVARAṆA) and obstructions to omniscience (JÑEYĀVARAṆA), is therefore qualitatively different from that of the arhats, who have eradicated only the former.

apsaras. (P. accharā; T. chu skyes mo; C. tiannÜ; J. tennyo; K. ch’ŏnnyŏ 天女). In Sanskrit, “celestial nymph” (lit. “between the vapors [of the clouds]”); female divinities who dwell in the sky but have the capacity to visit the earth at will and thus occupy a liminal state between the celestial and the terrestrial worlds; they are eventually incorporated into Buddhist cosmology as one of several different types of nonhuman beings who dwell in the sensuous realm (KĀMADHĀTU). According to Indian mythology, they are married to the “celestial musicians” (GANDHARVA). The apsaras occupy an ambivalent position in Buddhist cosmology, since they are sometimes depicted as the debauched seductresses of Buddhist ascetics, at other times as the heavenly reward of leading a spiritual life. In Buddhist art, the apsaras are typically depicted as aerial beings fluttering above Buddhist deities or saints.

Ārāḍa Kālāma. (P. Āḷāra Kālāma; T. Sgyu rtsal shes kyi bu ring du ’phur; C. Aluoluojialan; J. Ararakaran; K. Araragaran 阿羅邏迦蘭). The Sanskrit name of one of the Buddha’s two teachers of meditation (the other being UDRAKA RĀMAPUTRA) prior to his enlightenment. He was known as a meditation master who once sat in deep concentration without noticing that five hundred carts had passed by. He explained to GAUTAMA that the goal of his system was the attainment of the “state of nothing whatsoever” (ĀKIÑCANYĀYATANA), which the BODHISATTVA quickly attained. Ārāḍa Kālāma then regarded the bodhisattva as his equal. However, Gautama eventually recognized that this state was not NIRVĀṆA and left to begin the practice of austerities. Upon his eventual achievement of buddhahood, Gautama surveyed the world to identify the most worthy recipient of his first sermon. He thought first of Ārāḍa Kālāma but determined that he had unfortunately died just seven days earlier.

arahant. (S. arhat). In Pāli, “worthy one”; the highest of the four grades of Buddhist saint or “noble person” (ariyapuggala) recognized in the mainstream Buddhist schools. For a full description see ARHAT; LUOHAN.

Arakan Buddha. A colossal buddha image that is one of the most sacred images in Arakan, a coastal kingdom along the west coast of what eventually became the country of Burma after the Burmese conquest of the region in the eighteenth century; also known as the MAHĀMUNI Buddha or the Candasāra Buddha. This twelve-foot, seven-inch, tall bronze image of the Buddha as Mahāmuni (“Great Sage”) is claimed by tradition to have been cast in 197 CE, during the reign of the Arakan king Candrasurya, and is assumed to be an exact replica of the Buddha himself, which was made at the time of his putative visit to the Arakan kingdom. The image is cast in the “earth-touching gesture” (BHŪMISPARŚAMUDRĀ) and is now enshrined in the Arakan pagoda (Mahāmuni Paya), located near the old capital of AMARAPURA on the outskirts of the city of Mandalay, which was constructed to house it. The image was coveted by several of Arakan’s neighboring kingdoms, including Prome, Pagan, Pegu, and the Shan, but was eventually carried off to Mandalay by the Burmese as war booty in 1784 when King Bodawpaya finally conquered the kingdom. Since its relocation to the shrine, the seated image has been covered by worshippers with so many layers of gold leaf that its torso is now totally obscured, leaving only the head and face fully visible. The image is embellished with a pointed crown and earrings made in 1884 in the JAMBUPATI style, with a royal insignia across its chest; the Buddha is also draped in shawls by the temple vergers every night to ward off the evening chill.

ārāma. (T. kun dga’ ra ba; C. yuan; J. on; K. wŏn 園). In Sanskrit and Pāli, “park” or “pleasure grove”; a term that originally referred to a garden, a favorite site for the teaching or practice of the dharma. The term came to mean an enclosed area, often in or near a city, which contained permanent dwellings for the use of monks during the annual rains retreat (VARṢĀ). The dwellings were built and maintained by a donor (DĀNAPATI), who offered them to the SAṂGHA for its use. An ārāma donated as property to the saṃgha was called a saṃghārāma and is considered to be the forerunner of the monastery, or VIHĀRA. These residences were often named after their donors, e.g., the JETAVANA-ārāma in ŚRĀVASTĪ, named after Prince JETA.

araññavāsi. In Pāli, “forest-dweller”; in the Pāli Buddhist tradition, a monk who is principally dedicated to meditative training (VIPASSANĀDHURA); contrasted with “town-dweller” (GĀMAVĀSI), who lives in a village or town monastery and whose monastic vocation focuses on doctrinal study and teaching, or “book work” (GANTHADHURA). In Sri Lankan Buddhism, the emphases within the Buddhist order on both meditation and study led to the evolution over time of these two major practice vocations. The araññavāsi remained in solitude in the forest to focus principally on their meditative practice. The gāmavāsi, by contrast, were involved in studying and teaching the dhamma, especially within the lay community of the village, and thus helped to disseminate Buddhism among the people. The araññavāsi were not necessarily hermits, but they did live a more secluded life than the gāmavāsi, devoting most of their time to meditation (either individually or in smaller groups) and keeping their contact with the laity to a minimum. According to the VINAYA, a monk cannot remain constantly alone in the forest by himself; at a minimum, he must join together with the saṅgha at least once a fortnight to participate in the uposatha (S. UPOṢADHA) rite, when the monks gather to confess any transgressions of the precepts and to listen to a recitation of the rules of discipline (P. pāṭimokkha; S. PRĀTIMOKṢA). These two vocations have a long history and have continued within the saṅgha into modern times. In a sense, the Buddha himself was an araññavāsi for six years before he attained enlightenment; subsequently, he then passed much of his time as a gāmavāsi, teaching people the dharma and encouraging them to practice to bring an end to their suffering. See also PHRA PA; THUDONG.

araṇya. (P. arañña; T. dgon pa; C. [a]lanruo; J. [a]rannya; K. [a]ranya [阿]蘭若). In Sanskrit, “forest” or “wilderness”; the ideal atmosphere for practice, and one of the various terms used to designate the residences of monks. The solitude and contentment fostered by forest dwelling was thought to provide a better environment for meditation (BHĀVANĀ) than the bustle and material comforts of city monasteries, and there is some evidence in mainstream Buddhist materials of discord between monks who followed the two different ways of life. Forest dwelling was frequently championed by the Buddha, and living at the root of a tree was one of the thirteen specific ascetic practices (S. DHŪTAGUṆA, P. DHUTAṄGA) authorized by the Buddha. Forest dwelling is also used as a metaphor for the renunciation and nonattachment that monks were taught to emulate. Forest dwellers are called araṇyaka (P. araññaka or āraññaka). See also ARAÑÑAVĀSI; PHRA PA.

arapacana. (T. a ra pa dza na). The arapacana is a syllabary of Indic or Central Asian origin typically consisting of forty-two or forty-three letters, named after its five initial constituents a, ra, pa, ca, and na. The syllabary appears in many works of the MAHĀYĀNA tradition, including the PRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀ, GAṆḌAVYŪHA, LALITAVISTARA, and AVATAṂSAKA SŪTRAs, as well as in texts of the DHARMAGUPTAKA VINAYA (SIFEN LÜ) and MŪLASARVĀSTIVĀDA VINAYA. It occurs in both original Sanskrit works and Chinese and Tibetan translations. In most cases, each syllable in the list is presumed to correspond to a key doctrinal term beginning with, or containing, that syllable. A, for example, is associated with the concept of ANUTPĀDA (nonarising), ra with rajo’pagata (free from impurity), and so forth. Recitation of the syllabary, therefore, functioned as a mystical representation of, or mnemonic device (DHĀRAṆĪ) for recalling, important Mahāyāna doctrinal concepts, somewhat akin to the MĀTṚKĀ lists of the ABHIDHARMA. Other interpretations posit that the syllables themselves are the primal sources whence the corresponding terms later developed. The syllabary includes: a, ra, pa, ca, na, la, da, ba, ḍa, ṣa, va, ta, ya, ṣṭa, ka, sa, ma, ga, stha, tha, ja, śva, dha, śa, kha, kṣa, sta, jña, rta, ha, bha, cha, sma, hva, tsa, gha, ṭha, ṇa, pha, ska, ysa, śca, ṭa, ḍha. The arapacana also constitutes the central part of the root MANTRA of the BODHISATTVA MAÑJUŚRĪ; its short form is oṃ a ra pa ca na dhi. It is therefore also considered to be an alternate name for Mañjuśrī.

Arbuda. (S). One of the twenty-four sacred sites associated with the CAKRASAṂVARATANTRA. See PĪṬHA.

arciṣmatī. (T. ’od ’phro ba; C. yanhui di; J. enneji; K. yŏmhye chi 焔慧地). In Sanskrit, “radiance” or “effulgence”; the fourth of the ten BODHISATTVA grounds or stages (BHŪMI) according to the DAŚABHŪMIKASŪTRA. At this stage, the bodhisattva masters the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment (BODHIPĀKṢIKADHARMA), whose radiance becomes so intense that it incinerates all the obstructions and afflictions. The bodhisattva thus develops inexhaustible energy for his quest for enlightenment; this bhūmi is therefore often correlated with mastery of the fourth perfection (PĀRAMITĀ), the perfection of vigor or energy (VĪRYAPĀRAMITĀ). The fourth-stage bodhisattva also shows special devotion to the fourth means of conversion (SAṂGRAHAVASTU), that of the common good, or consistency between words and deeds (SAMĀNĀRTHATĀ).

ardhapadmāsana. (T. pad ma’i skyil krung phyed pa; C. ban lianhuazuo; J. hanrengeza; K. pan yŏnhwajwa 半蓮華坐). In Sanskrit, “half-lotus posture” a position in which only one leg is crossed completely over the top of the opposite thigh, the other leg being simply folded underneath. (In full-lotus posture, both legs would be crossed completely over the opposite thigh.) See also PADMĀSANA; ARDHAPARYAṄKA.

ardhaparyaṅka. (T. skyil krung phyed pa; C. ban jiafuzuo; J. hankafuza; K. pan kabujwa 半跏趺坐). In Sanskrit, the “half cross-legged” posture (ĀSANA). This particular posture may be formed in a number of ways. As a seated pose, either foot rests on the opposite thigh with the remaining leg bent forward. Alternatively, both shins may be loosely crossed at the ankles while resting or crouching on the seat. As a standing pose, it may form a dancing posture sometimes described as NṚTYĀSANA. Some standing Japanese images described as being in ardhaparyaṅka may show a raised foot lifted straight up off the ground, as if about to stomp down. See also VAJRAPARYAṄKA; ARDHAPADMĀSANA.

arhat. (P. arahant; T. dgra bcom pa; C. aluohan/yinggong; J. arakan/ōgu; K. arahan/ŭnggong 阿羅漢/應供). In Sanskrit, “worthy one”; one who has destroyed the afflictions (KLEŚA) and all causes for future REBIRTH and who thus will enter NIRVĀṆA at death; the standard Tibetan translation dgra bcom pa (drachompa) (“foe-destroyer”) is based on the paronomastic gloss ari (“enemy”) and han (“to destroy”). The arhat is the highest of the four grades of Buddhist saint or “noble person” (ĀRYAPUDGALA) recognized in the mainstream Buddhist schools; the others are, in ascending order, the SROTAĀPANNA or “stream-enterer” (the first and lowest grade), the SAKṚDĀGĀMIN or “once-returner” (the second grade), and the ANĀGĀMIN or “nonreturner” (the third and penultimate grade). The arhat is one who has completely put aside all ten fetters (SAṂYOJANA) that bind one to the cycle of rebirth: namely, (1) belief in the existence of a perduring self (SATKĀYADṚṢṬI); (2) skeptical doubt (about the efficacy of the path) (VICIKITSĀ); (3) belief in the efficacy of rites and rituals (ŚĪLAVRATAPARĀMARŚA); (4) sensual craving (KĀMARĀGA); (5) malice (VYĀPĀDA); (6) craving for existence as a divinity (DEVA) in the realm of subtle materiality (RŪPARĀGA); (7) craving for existence as a divinity in the immaterial realm (ĀRŪPYARĀGA); (8) pride (MĀNA); (9) restlessness (AUDDHATYA); and (10) ignorance (AVIDYĀ). Also described as one who has achieved the extinction of the contaminants (ĀSRAVAKṢAYA), the arhat is one who has attained nirvāṇa in this life, and at death attains final liberation (PARINIRVĀṆA) and will never again be subject to rebirth. Although the arhat is regarded as the ideal spiritual type in the mainstream Buddhist traditions, where the Buddha is also described as an arhat, in the MAHĀYĀNA the attainment of an arhat pales before the far-superior achievements of a buddha. Although arhats also achieve enlightenment (BODHI), the Mahāyāna tradition presumes that they have overcome only the first of the two kinds of obstructions, the afflictive obstructions (KLEŚĀVARAṆA), but are still subject to the noetic obstructions (JÑEYĀVARAṆA); only the buddhas have completely overcome both and thus realize complete, perfect enlightenment (ANUTTARASAMYAKSAṂBODHI). Certain arhats were selected by the Buddha to remain in the world until the coming of MAITREYA. These arhats (called LUOHAN in Chinese, a transcription of arhat), who typically numbered sixteen (see ṢOḌAŚASTHAVIRA), were objects of specific devotion in East Asian Buddhism, and East Asian monasteries will often contain a separate shrine to these luohans. Although in the Mahāyāna sūtras, the bodhisattva is extolled over the arhats, arhats figure prominently in these texts, very often as members of the assembly for the Buddha’s discourse and sometimes as key figures. For example, in the SADDHARMAPUṆḌARĪKASŪTRA (“Lotus Sūtra”), ŚĀRIPUTRA is one of the Buddha’s chief interlocutors and, with other arhats, receives a prophecy of his future buddhahood; in the VAJRACCHEDIKĀPRAJÑĀPĀRAMITĀSŪTRA, SUBHŪTI is the Buddha’s chief interlocutor; and in the VIMALAKĪRTINIRDEŚA, Śāriputra is made to play the fool in a conversation with a goddess.

arhatpratipannaka. (P. arahattamagga; T. dgra bcom zhugs pa; C. aluohan xiang; J. arakankō; K. arahan hyang 阿羅漢向). In Sanskrit, “candidate for worthy one”; one of the VIṂŚATIPRABHEDASAṂGHA (“twenty varieties of the ārya saṃgha”) based on the list given in the ABHISAMAYĀLAṂKĀRA. The arhatpratipannaka is usually an ANĀGĀMIPHALASTHA (one who has reached, or is the recipient of the fruit of nonreturner) who is making an effort to eliminate any fault that could cause rebirth in SAṂSĀRA, including the very last, ninth fetter to the BHAVĀGRA (summit of existence) that only the supramundane (LOKOTTARA) path of meditation (BHĀVANĀMĀRGA) can eliminate. See ARHAT.

Ariyapariyesanāsutta. (C. Luomo jing; J. Ramakyō; K. Rama kyŏng 羅摩經). In Pāli, “Discourse on the Noble Quest”; the twenty-sixth sutta (SŪTRA) in the MAJJHIMANIKĀYA, also known as the Pāsarāsisutta (a separate SARVĀSTIVĀDA recension appears as the 204th SŪTRA in the Chinese translation of the MADHYAMĀGAMA); preached by the Buddha to an assembly of monks at the hemitage of the brāhmaṇa Rammaka in the town of ŚRĀVASTĪ. The Buddha explains the difference between noble and ignoble quests and recounts his own life as an example of striving to distinguish between the two. Beginning with his renunciation of the householder’s life, he tells of his training under two meditation masters, his rejection of this training in favor of austerities, and ultimately his rejection of austerities in order to discover for himself his own path to enlightenment. The Buddha also relates how he was initially hesitant to teach what he had discovered, but was convinced to do so by the god BRAHMĀ SAHĀṂPATI, and how he then converted the “group of five” ascetics (PAÑCAVARGIKA) who had been his companions while he practiced austerities. There is an understated tone of the narrative, devoid of the detail so familiar from the biographies. There is no mention of the opulence of his youth, no mention of his wife, no mention of the chariot rides, no description of the departure from the palace in the dead of night, no mention of MĀRA. Instead, the Buddha states, “Later, while still young, a black-haired young man endowed with the blessing of youth, in the prime of life, though my mother and father wished otherwise and wept with tearful faces, I shaved off my hair and beard, put on the yellow robe, and went forth from the home life into homelessness.” Although the accounts of his study with other meditation masters assume a sophisticated system of states of concentration, the description of the enlightenment itself is both simple and sober, portrayed as the outcome of long reflection rather than as an ecstatic moment of revelation.

Ariyaratne, A. T. See SARVODAYA.

Arnold, Edwin. (1832–1904). Sir Edwin Arnold was educated at Oxford and served as principal of a government college in Pune, India, from 1856 to 1861, during which time he studied Indian languages and published translations from the Sanskrit. He eventually returned to England, due primarily to the death of a child and his wife’s illness. Upon his return, he became a writer for The Daily Telegraph newspaper, where he was appointed chief editor in 1873. He wrote his most famous work, The Light of Asia, during this period. After leaving his editorial position, he traveled widely in Asia, especially in Japan, and published popular accounts of his travels. Although largely forgotten today, The Light of Asia was in its own time a foundational text for anyone in the English-speaking world interested in Buddhism. First published in 1879, The Light of Asia was a poetic rendering of the life of the Buddha. Arnold used as his chief source a French translation of the LALITAVISTARA, one of the more ornate and belletristic Indian biographies of the Buddha. Arnold, however, added his own embellishments and deployed important scenes from the life of the Buddha differently than had previous authors in order to intensify the narrative. Despite the animosity it aroused in many Christian pulpits, the book was a favorite of Queen Victoria, who subsequently knighted Arnold. Although it has long been rendered obsolete, The Light of Asia played a seminal role in introducing the history and belief systems of Buddhism to the West. Arnold also played an important role in rallying support worldwide for the restoration of the important Buddhist pilgrimage site of BODHGAYĀ, the place where the Buddha achieved enlightenment. He and Reverend SUMAṄGALA sent a petition to the Queen of England requesting permission to buy the land and the temple from the Hindus and restore the neglected site. Although unsuccessful, his efforts eventually came to fruition after Indian independence in 1949, when the Indian government returned control of Bodhgayā to the Buddhists.

āropa. (S). See SAMĀROPA.

artha. (P. attha/aṭṭha; T. don; C. yi; J. gi; K. ŭi 義). In Sanskrit, “meaning” or “object”; a polysemous term of wide import in Buddhist materials. In perhaps its most common usage, artha refers to the meaning or denotation of a term (and is always spelled aṭṭha in Pāli in this meaning), and, as the first of the four reliances (PRATISARAṆA), suggests that adepts should rely on the real meaning (artha) of words rather than their mere “letter” (vyañjana). In other contexts, however, artha may also be contrasted with DHARMA to refer to the principal denotation of a word rather than its interpreted connotations, implying the “literal meaning” of a term rather than its imputed “true spirit.” Artha, as extensive understanding of meaning, is also listed as one of the four discriminating insights (PRATISAṂVID), along with knowledge of reasons or causal interconnections (DHARMA), explanation (NIRUKTI), and eloquence (PRATIBHĀNA). In other contexts, artha also can mean a sensory object; an event, matter, or aim; and welfare, benefit, profit, or even wealth. Thus, the bodhisattva seeks the welfare (artha) of others.

arthacaryā. (S). See SAṂGRAHAVASTU.

arthakriyā. (T. don byed nus pa; C. liyi; J. riyaku; K. iik 利益). In Sanskrit, “efficiency” or “capable of functioning”; a term used to describe the capacity of impermanent phenomena to produce effects. Arthakriyā as “actions that bring spiritual benefit to others,” is also sometimes listed as one of the four means of conversion (SAṂGRAHAVASTU), in place of the more typical arthacaryā (actions that benefit others, i.e., helpfulness). The term is also important in YOGĀCĀRA and MADHYAMAKA philosophy in describing conventional truths (SAṂVṚTISATYA), which, although empty of intrinsic nature (NIḤSVABHĀVA), are nonetheless able to perform a function. Thus, for example, although the water in a mirage and the water in a glass are both empty of intrinsic nature, the water in a glass is nonetheless conventionally existent because it can perform the function of slaking thirst.

arūpadhātu. (S, P). See ĀRŪPYADHĀTU.

arūpaloka. In Sanskrit and Pāli, “immaterial world.” See AVACARA.

ārūpyadhātu. [alt. in S. and P. arūpadhātu] (T. gzugs med pa’i khams; C. wuse jie; J. mushikikai; K. musaek kye 無色界). In Sanskrit, “immaterial” or “formless” “realm”; the highest of the three realms of existence (TRAIDHĀTUKA) within SAṂSĀRA, along with the sensuous realm (KĀMADHĀTU) and the realm of subtle materiality (RŪPADHĀTU). The heavens of the immaterial realm are comprised of four classes of divinities (DEVA) whose existence is entirely mental, no longer requiring even a subtle material foundation for their ethereal states of mind: (1) the sphere of infinite space (ĀKĀŚĀNANTYĀYATANA); (2) the sphere of infinite consciousness (VIJÑĀNĀNANTYĀYATANA); (3) the sphere of nothing whatsoever or absolute nothingness (ĀKIÑCANYĀYATANA); (4) the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception (NAIVASAṂJÑĀNĀSAṂJÑĀYATANA, see also BHAVĀGRA). Rebirth in these different spheres is based on mastery of the corresponding four immaterial meditative absorptions (ĀRŪPYĀVACARADHYĀNA) in previous lives. Because they have transcended all materiality, the beings here retain only the subtlest form of the last four aggregates (SKANDHA). For a detailed description, see DEVA.

ārūpyarāga. (P. arūparāga; T. gzugs med pa’i ’dod chags; C. wuse tan; J. mushikiton; K. musaek t’am 無色貪). In Sanskrit, “craving for immaterial existence”; the seventh of ten “fetters” (SAṂYOJANA) that keep beings bound to the cycle of rebirth (SAṂSĀRA). Ārūpyarāga is the desire to be reborn as a divinity (DEVA) in the immaterial realm (ĀRŪPYADHĀTU), where beings are composed entirely of mentality and are perpetually absorbed in the meditative bliss of the immaterial absorptions or attainments (ĀRŪPYĀVACARADHYĀNA). Craving for immaterial existence is permanently eliminated upon attaining the stage of a worthy one (ARHAT), the fourth and highest degree of Buddhist sanctity (ĀRYAPUDGALA) in the mainstream schools.

ārūpyāvacaradhyāna. (P. arūpāvacarajhāna; T. gzugs med na spyod pa’i bsam gtan; C. wusejie ding; J. mushikikaijō; K. musaekkye chŏng 無色界定). In Sanskrit, “meditative absorption associated with the immaterial realm”; equivalent to S. ārūpyadhyāna (q.v. DHYĀNA) and synonymous with “immaterial attainment” (arūpasamāpatti). One of two broad varieties of DHYĀNA or meditative absorption; the other being RŪPĀVACARADHYĀNA (P. rūpāvacarajhāna) or meditative absorption belonging to the realm of subtle materiality. In both cases, dhyāna refers to the attainment of single-pointed concentration of the mind on an ideational object of meditation. Ārūpyāvacaradhyāna is described as accessible only to those who have already mastered the fourth absorption of the realm of subtle materiality, and is itself merely a refinement of that state. In the immaterial absorptions, the “object” of meditation is gradually attenuated until the meditator abides in the sphere of infinite space (S. ĀKĀŚĀNANTYĀYATANA; P. ākāsānañcāyatana). In the second immaterial absorption, the meditator sets aside infinite space and abides in the sphere of infinite consciousness (S. VIJÑĀNĀNANTYĀYATANA; P. viññāṇānañcāyatanta). In the third immaterial absorption, one sets aside the perception of infinite consciousness and abides in the sphere of nothingness (S. ĀKIÑCANYĀYATANA; P. ākiñcaññāyatana). In the fourth immaterial absorption, one sets aside the perception of nothingness and abides in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception (S. NAIVASAṂJÑĀNĀSAṂJÑĀYATANA; P. nevasaññānāsaññāyatana). Mastery of any of the absorptions of the immaterial realm can result in rebirth as a divinity (DEVA) within the corresponding plane in the immaterial realm (ārūpyāvacara or ĀRŪPYADHĀTU); see ANIÑJYAKARMAN. See also KAMMAṬṬHĀNA.

ārya. (P. ariya; T. ’phags pa; C. sheng; J. shō; K. sŏng 聖). In Sanskrit, “noble” or “superior.” A term appropriated by the Buddhists from earlier Indian culture to refer to its saints and used technically to denote a person who has directly perceived reality and has become a “noble one.” In the fourfold path structure of the mainstream schools, an ārya is a person who has achieved at least the first level of sanctity, that of stream-enterer (SROTAĀPANNA), or above. In the fivefold path system, an ārya is one who has achieved at least the path of vision (DARŚANAMĀRGA), or above. The SARVĀSTIVĀDA (e.g., ABHIDHARMAKOŚABHĀṢYA) and THERAVĀDA (e.g., VISUDDHIMAGGA) schools of mainstream Buddhism both recognize seven types of noble ones (ārya, P. ariya). In e.g., the VISUDDHIMAGGA, these are listed in order of their intellectual superiority as (1) follower of faith (P. saddhānusāri; S. ŚRADDHĀNUSĀRIN); (2) follower of the dharma (P. dhammānusāri; S. DHARMĀNUSĀRIN); (3) one who is freed by faith (P. saddhāvimutta; S. ŚRADDHĀVIMUKTA); (4) one who has formed right view (P. diṭṭhippatta; S. DṚṢṬIPRĀPTA), by developing both faith and knowledge; (5) one who has bodily testimony (P. kāyasakkhi; S. KĀYASĀKṢIN), viz., through the temporary suspension of mentality in the equipoise of cessation (NIRODHASAMĀPATTI); (6) one who is freed by wisdom (P. paññāvimutta; S. PRAJÑĀVIMUKTA), by freeing oneself through analysis; and (7) one who is freed both ways (P. ubhatobhāgavimutta; S. UBHAYATOBHĀGAVIMUKTA), by freeing oneself through both meditative absorption (P. jhāna; S. DHYĀNA) and wisdom (P. paññā; S. PRAJÑĀ). In the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya, the seven types of ārya beings are presented in a slightly different manner, together with the list of eight noble persons (ĀRYAPUDGALA) based on candidates for (pratipannika) and those who have reached the result of (phalastha) stream-enterer (srotaāpanna), once-returner (SAKṚDĀGĀMIN), nonreturner (ANĀGĀMIN), and ARHAT; these are again further expanded into a list of twenty members of the ārya VIṂŚATIPRABHEDASAṂGHA and in Mahāyāna explanations into forty-eight or more ĀRYABODHISATTVAs. The Chinese character sheng, used to render this term in East Asia, has a long indigenous history and several local meanings; see, for example, the Japanese vernacular equivalent HIJIRI. It is also the name of one of two Indian esoteric GUHYASAMĀJATANTRA traditions, receiving its name from Ārya Nāgārjuna, the author of the PAÑCAKRAMA.

āryabodhisattva. (T. byang chub sems dpa’ ’phags pa). In Sanskrit, superior bodhisattva, a bodhisattva who has achieved either the path of vision (DARŚANAMĀRGA) or the path of cultivation (BHĀVANĀMĀRGA).

Āryadeva. (T. ’Phags pa lha; C. Tipo; J. Daiba; K. Cheba 提婆). While traditional sources are often ambiguous, scholars have identified two Āryadevas. The first Āryadeva (c. 170–270 CE) was an important Indian philosopher, proponent of MADHYAMAKA philosophy, and a direct disciple of the Madhyamaka master NĀGĀRJUNA. According to traditional accounts, he was born to a royal family in Sri Lanka. Renouncing the throne at the time of his maturity, he instead sought monastic ordination and met Nāgārjuna at PĀṬALIPUTRA. After his teacher’s death, Āryadeva became active at the monastic university of NĀLANDĀ, where he is said to have debated and defeated numerous brahmanic adherents, eventually converting them to Buddhism. He is the author of the influential work CATUḤŚATAKA (“The Four Hundred”). He is also said to be the author of the *ŚATAŚĀSTRA (C. BAI LUN), or “The Hundred Treatise,” counted as one of the “three treatises” of the SAN LUN ZONG of Chinese Buddhism, together with the Zhong lun (“Middle Treatise,” i.e., MŪLAMADHYAMAKAKĀRIKĀ) and SHI’ERMEN LUN (“Twelve [Chapter] Treatise”), both attributed to Nāgārjuna. The *Śataśāstra is not extant in Sanskrit or Tibetan, but is preserved only in Chinese. ¶ The second Āryadeva [alt. Āryadevapāda; d.u.] trained in yogic practices under the tantric master Nāgārjuna at Nālandā. In the Tibetan tradition, this Āryadeva is remembered for his great tantric accomplishments, and is counted among the eighty-four MAHĀSIDDHAs under the name Karṇari or Kaṇheri. His important tantric works include the Caryāmelapakapradīpa (“Lamp that Integrates the Practices”) and Cittaviśuddhiprakaraṇa [alt. Cittāvaraṇaviśuddhiprakaraṇa] (“Explanation of Mental Purity”).

āryamārga. (P. ariyamagga; T. ’phags lam; C. shengdao; J. shōdō; K. sŏngdo 聖道). In Sanskrit, “noble path”; the path of vision (DARŚANAMĀRGA), of cultivation (BHĀVANĀMĀRGA), and of the adept who has nothing more to learn (AŚAIKṢAMĀRGA), in either the mainstream or MAHĀYĀNA traditions. On these three paths, the practitioner becomes a noble person (ĀRYA) as a result of a direct perception of the truth. The paths of the stream-enterer (SROTAĀPANNA), once-returner (SAKṚDĀGĀMIN), and nonreturner (ANĀGĀMIN) would all be classified as noble paths. See also ĀRYĀṢṬĀṄGAMĀRGA.

āryamārgaphala. (P. ariyamaggaphala; T. ’phags lam gyi ’bras bu; C. shengdaoguo; J. shōdōka; K. sŏngdo kwa 聖道果). In Sanskrit, “noble path and fruit”; the four supramundane (LOKOTTARA) paths (MĀRGA) and the four supramundane fruitions (PHALA) that mark the attainment of sanctity (ĀRYA). Attainment of the path refers to the first moment of entering into or becoming a candidate (pratipannaka) for any of the four stages of sanctity; viz., stream-enterer (SROTAĀPANNA), once-returner (SAKṚDĀGĀMIN), nonreturner (ANĀGĀMIN), and worthy one (ARHAT). During this initial moment of path attainment, the mind takes the nirvāṇa element (NIRVĀṆADHĀTU) as its object. Path attainment is brought about by insight (VIPAŚYANĀ) into the three universal marks (TRILAKṢAṆA) of existence that characterize all phenomena: impermanence (ANITYA), suffering (DUḤKHA), and nonself (ANĀTMAN). Attainment of the fruit refers to the moments of consciousness that immediately follow attainment of the path. Attainment of any of the four paths occurs only once, while attainment of the fruit can be repeated indefinitely during a lifetime, depending on the circumstances. It is said that, by virtue of attaining the path, one “becomes” free in stages of the ten fetters (SAṂYOJANA) that bind one to the cycle of rebirth, and, by virtue of attaining the fruit, one “is” free from the fetters. The ten fetters that are put aside in stages are (1) belief in the existence of a self (ĀTMAN) in relation to the body (SATKĀYADṚṢṬI; P. sakkāyadiṭṭhi); (2) belief in the efficacy of rites and rituals (ŚĪLAVRATAPARĀMARŚA; P. sīlabbataparāmāsa) as a means of salvation; (3) doubt about the efficacy of the path (VICIKITSĀ; P. vicikicchā); (4) sensual craving (KĀMACCHANDA); (5) malice (VYĀPĀDA); (6) craving for existence as a divinity in the realm of subtle materiality (RŪPARĀGA); (7) craving for existence as a divinity in the immaterial realm (ĀRŪPYARĀGA; P. arūparāga); (8) pride (MĀNA); (9) restlessness (AUDDHATYA; P. uddhacca); and (10) ignorance (AVIDYĀ; P. avijjā). See also ŚRĀMAṆYAPHALA.

āryapudgala. (P. ariyapuggala; T. ’phags pa’i gang zag; C. xiansheng; J. kenjō; K. hyŏnsŏng 賢聖). In Sanskrit, “noble person”; an epithet given to enlightened beings, i.e., those who have reached at least the path of vision (DARŚANAMĀRGA). There is a well-known list of four types of noble persons, from stream-enterer (SROTAĀPANNA) to once-returner (SAKṚDĀGĀMIN), nonreturner (ANĀGĀMIN), and worthy one (ARHAT). This list is then subdivided into eight types or grades of noble persons according to their respective attainment of the paths and fruits of the noble path (ĀRYAMĀRGAPHALA). These are (1) the person who has entered the path of stream-enterer (SROTAĀPANNAPHALAPRATIPANNAKA); (2) the person who abides in the fruit of stream-enterer (SROTAĀPANNAPHALASTHA); (3) the person who has entered the path of once-returner (SAKṚDĀGĀMIPHALAPRATIPANNAKA); (4) the person who abides in the fruit of once-returner (SAKṚDĀGĀMIPHALASTHA); (5) the person who has entered the path of nonreturner (ANĀGĀMIPHALAPRATIPANNAKA); (6) the person who abides in the fruit of nonreturner (ANĀGĀMIPHALASTHA); (7) the person who has entered the path of a worthy one (ARHATPRATIPANNAKA); and (8) the person who has attained that fruition and become a worthy one (arhat). In some treatments, this list is presented together with a list of seven types of noble ones (ĀRYA) in order of intellectual superiority. By attaining the path and fruit of stream-entry, that is, by becoming a srotaāpanna, a person becomes free of the first three of the ten fetters (SAṂYOJANA) that bind one to the cycle of rebirth: namely, (1) belief in the existence of a perduring self in relation to the body (SATKĀYADṚṢṬI, P. sakkāyadiṭṭhi); (2) belief in the efficacy of rites and rituals (ŚĪLAVRATAPARĀMARŚA, P. sīlabbataparāmāsa) as a means of salvation; and (3) skeptical doubt (VICIKITSĀ, P. vicikicchā) about the efficacy of the path. By attaining the path and fruit of once-returning, i.e., becoming a sakṛdāgāmin, a person in addition severely weakens the effects of the fourth and fifth fetters, namely, (4) sensual craving (KĀMACCHANDA) and (5) malice (VYĀPĀDA). By attaining the path and fruit of nonreturning, i.e., becoming an anāgāmin, a person is completely freed of the first five fetters. Finally, by attaining the path and fruit of a worthy one and becoming an arhat, a person is additionally freed of the last five of the ten fetters: (6) craving for existence as a divinity (DEVA) in the realm of subtle materiality (RŪPARĀGA); (7) craving for existence as a divinity in the immaterial realm (ĀRŪPYARĀGA; P. arūparāga); (8) pride (MĀNA); (9) restlessness (AUDDHATYA, P. uddhacca); and (10) ignorance (AVIDYĀ, P. avijjā).

āryasaṃgha. (P. ariyasaṅgha; T. ’phags pa’i dge ’dun; C. shengseng; J. shōsō; K. sŏngsŭng 聖僧). “Noble community” or “community of noble ones”; the community of followers of the Buddha who are noble persons (ĀRYAPUDGALA). There are eight types or grades of noble persons according to their respective attainment of the paths and fruits of the noble path (ĀRYAMĀRGAPHALA). These are (1) the person who has entered the path of stream-enterer (SROTAĀPANNAPHALAPRATIPANNAKA); (2) the person who abides in the fruit of stream-enterer (SROTAĀPANNAPHALASTHA); (3) the person who has entered the path of once-returner (SAKṚDĀGĀMIPHALAPRATIPANNAKA); (4) the person who abides in the fruit of once-returner (SAKṚDĀGĀMIPHALASTHA); (5) the person who has entered the path of nonreturner (ANĀGĀMIPHALAPRATIPANNAKA); (6) the person who abides in the fruit of nonreturner (ANĀGĀMIPHALASTHA); (7) the person who has entered the path of a worthy one (ARHATPRATIPANNAKA); and (8) the person who has attained the fruit of a worthy one (ARHAT) (see also VIṂŚATIPRABHEDASAṂGHA). These eight persons are said to constitute the “SAṂGHA jewel” among the three jewels (RATNATRAYA) to which Buddhists go for refuge (ŚARAṆA).

āryāṣṭāṅgamārga. (P. ariyāṭṭhaṅgikamagga; T. ’phags lam yan lag brgyad; C. bazhengdao; J. hasshōdō; K. p’alchŏngdo 八正道). In Sanskrit, “noble eightfold path”; the path (MĀRGA) that brings an end to the causes of suffering (DUḤKHA); the fourth of the FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS (catvāry āryasatyāni). This formulation of the Buddhist path to enlightenment appears in what is regarded as the Buddha’s first sermon after his enlightenment, the “Setting Forth the Wheel of Dharma” (DHARMACAKRAPRAVARTANASŪTRA), in which he sets forth a middle way (MADHYAMAPRATIPAD) between the extremes of asceticism and sensual indulgence. That middle way, he says, is the eightfold path, which, like the four truths, he calls “noble” (ĀRYA); the term is therefore commonly rendered as “noble eightfold path.” However, as in the case of the four noble truths, what is noble is not the path but those who follow it, so the compound might be more accurately translated as “eightfold path of the [spiritually] noble.” Later in the same sermon, the Buddha sets forth the four noble truths and identifies the fourth truth, the truth of the path, with the eightfold path. The noble eightfold path is comprised of (1) right views (SAMYAGDṚṢṬI; P. sammādiṭṭhi), which involve an accurate understanding of the true nature of things, specifically the four noble truths; (2) right intention (SAMYAKSAṂKALPA; P. sammāsaṅkappa), which means avoiding thoughts of attachment, hatred, and harmful intent and promoting loving-kindness and nonviolence; (3) right speech (SAMYAGVĀC; P. sammāvācā), which means refraining from verbal misdeeds, such as lying, backbiting and slander, harsh speech and abusive language, and frivolous speech and gossip; (4) right action or right conduct (SAMYAKKARMĀNTA; P. sammākammanta), which is refraining from physical misdeeds, such as killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct; (5) right livelihood (SAMYAGĀJĪVA; P. sammājīva), which entails avoiding trades that directly or indirectly harm others, such as selling slaves, selling weapons, selling animals for slaughter, dealing in intoxicants or poisons, or engaging in fortune-telling and divination; (6) right effort (SAMYAGVYĀYĀMA; P. sammāvāyāma), which is defined as abandoning unwholesome states of mind that have already arisen, preventing unwholesome states that have yet to arise, sustaining wholesome states that have already arisen, and developing wholesome states that have yet to arise; (7) right mindfulness (SAMYAKSMṚTI; P. sammāsati), which means to maintain awareness of the four foundations of mindfulness (SMṚTYUPASTHĀNA), viz., body, physical sensations, the mind, and phenomena; and (8) right concentration (SAMYAKSAMĀDHI; P. sammāsamādhi), which is one pointedness of mind. ¶ The noble eightfold path receives less discussion in Buddhist literature than do the four noble truths (of which they are, after all, a constituent). Indeed, in later formulations, the eight factors are presented not so much as a prescription for behavior but as eight qualities that are present in the mind of a person who has understood NIRVĀṆA. The eightfold path may be reduced to a simpler, and more widely used, threefold schema of the path that comprises the “three trainings” (TRIŚIKṢĀ) or “higher trainings” (adhiśikṣā) in morality (ŚĪLA; P. sīla; see ADHIŚĪLAŚIKṢĀ), concentration (SAMĀDHI, see ADHISAMĀDHIŚIKṢĀ), and wisdom (PRAJÑĀ; P. paññā; see ADHIPRAJÑĀŚIKṢĀ). In this schema, (1) right views and (2) right intention are subsumed under the training in higher wisdom (adhiprajñāśikṣā); (3) right speech, (4) right conduct, and (5) right livelihood are subsumed under higher morality (adhiśīlaśikṣā); and (6) right effort, (7) right mindfulness, and (8) right concentration are subsumed under higher concentration (adhisamādhiśikṣā). According to the MADHYĀNTAVIBHĀGA, a MAHĀYĀNA work attributed to MAITREYANĀTHA, the eightfold noble path comprises the last set of eight of the thirty-seven constituents of enlightenment (BODHIPĀKṢIKADHARMA), where enlightenment (BODHI) is the complete, nonconceptual awakening achieved during the path of vision (DARŚANAMĀRGA). After that vision, following the same pattern as the Buddha, right view is the perfect understanding of the vision, and right intention is the articulation of the vision that motivates the teaching of it. Right mindfulness, right effort, and right concentration correspond respectively to the four types of mindfulness (SMṚTYUPASTHĀNA), four efforts (PRAHĀṆA), and four ṚDDHIPĀDA (“legs of miraculous attainments,” i.e., samādhi) when they are perfect or right (samyak), after the vision of the four noble truths.

āryavaṃśa. (P. ariyavaṃsa; T. ’phags pa’i rigs; C. shengzhong; J. shōshu; K. sŏngjong 聖種). In Sanskrit, “[attitudes of] the noble lineage.” A list of four such attitudes commonly appears in the literature: contentment with robes, food, and beds, and devotion to the way of liberation. In MAHĀYĀNA literature, the meaning of lineage changes, and the word GOTRA or DHĀTU is used in place of vaṃśa.

aśaikṣa. (P. asekha; T. mi slob pa; C. wuxue; J. mugaku; K. muhak 無學). In Sanskrit, lit. “one for whom no further training is necessary,” an “adept”; a term for one who has completed the path (see AŚAIKṢAMĀRGA), used especially as an epithet of the ARHAT. The aśaikṣa has completed the three “higher trainings” (adhiśikṣā; P. adhisikkhā) in morality (ADHIŚĪLAŚIKṢĀ), concentration (ADHISAMĀDHIŚIKṢĀ), and wisdom (ADHIPRAJÑĀŚIKṢĀ).

aśaikṣamārga. (T. mi slob lam; C. wuxuedao; J. mugakudō; K. muhakto 無學道). In Sanskrit, “the path of the adept” (lit. “the path where there is nothing more to learn” or “the path where no further training is necessary”); the fifth of the five-path schema (PAÑCAMĀRGA) used in both SARVĀSTIVĀDA ABHIDHARMA and the YOGĀCĀRA and MADHYAMAKA schools of MAHĀYĀNA. It is the equivalent of the path of completion (NIṢṬHĀMĀRGA) and is synonymous with aśaikṣapatha. With the consummation of the “path of cultivation” (BHĀVANĀMĀRGA), the adept (whether following the ŚRĀVAKA, PRATYEKABUDDHA, or BODHISATTVA path) achieves the “adamantine-like concentration” (VAJROPAMASAMĀDHI), which leads to the permanent destruction of even the subtlest and most persistent of the ten fetters (SAṂYOJANA), resulting in the “knowledge of cessation” (KṢAYAJÑĀNA) and in some presentations an accompanying “knowledge of nonproduction” (ANUTPĀDAJÑĀNA), viz., the knowledge that the fetters are destroyed and can never again recur. Because the adept now has full knowledge of the eightfold path (ĀRYĀṢṬĀṄGAMĀRGA) and has achieved full liberation (VIMOKṢA) as either an ARHAT or a buddha, he no longer needs any further instruction—thus he has completed the “path where there is nothing more to learn.”

asamayavimukta. (T. dus dang mi sbyor bar rnam par grol ba; C. bushi jietuo; J. fujigedatsu; K. pulsi haet’al 時解). In Sanskrit, “one who is liberated regardless of occasion,” in the sense that there is no occasion in which the meditative concentration of such an ARHAT will degenerate; one of the twenty members of the ĀRYASAṂGHA (see VIṂŚATIPRABHEDASAṂGHA).

asaṃjñāsamāpatti. [alt. asaṁjñisamāpatti] (P. asaññasamāpatti; T. ’du shes med pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa; C. wuxiang ding; J. musōjō; K. musang chŏng 無想定). In Sanskrit, “equipoise of nonperception” or “unconscious state of attainment”; viz., a “meditative state wherein no perceptual activity remains.” It is a form of meditation with varying, even contradictory, interpretations. In some accounts, it is positively appraised: for example, the Buddha was known for entering into this type of meditation in order to “rest himself” and, on another occasion, to recover from illness. In this interpretation, asaṃjñāsamāpatti is a temporary suppression of mental activities that brings respite from tension, which in some accounts, means that the perception (SAṂJÑĀ) aggregate (SKANDHA) is no longer functioning, while in other accounts, it implies the cessation of all conscious thought. In such cases, asaṁjñasamāpatti is similar to ānimittasamāpatti in functions and contents, the latter being a meditative stage wherein one does not dwell in or cling to the “characteristics” (NIMITTA) of phenomena, and which is said to be conducive to the “liberation of the mind through signlessness (ĀNIMITTA)” (P. ānimittacetovimutti)—one of the so-called three gates to deliverance (VIMOKṢAMUKHA). Elsewhere, however, asaṁjñāsamāpatti is characterized negatively as a nihilistic state of mental dormancy, which some have mistakenly believed to be final liberation. Non-Buddhist meditators were reported to mistake this vegetative state for the ultimate, permanent quiescence of the mind and become attached to this state as if it were liberation. In traditional Buddhist classificatory systems (such as those of the YOGĀCĀRA school and the ABHIDHARMAKOŚABHĀṢYA), asaṃjñāsamāpatti is sometimes also conflated with the fourth DHYĀNA, and the karmic fruition of dwelling in this meditation is the rebirth in the asaṃjñā heaven (ASAṂJÑIKA) located in the “realm of subtle materiality,” where the heavens corresponding to the fourth dhyāna are located (see RŪPADHĀTU). Together with the “trance of cessation” (NIRODHASAMĀPATTI), these two forms of meditation are classified under the CITTAVIPRAYUKTASAṂSKĀRA (“forces dissociated from thought”) category in SARVĀSTIVĀDA ABHIDHARMA texts, as well as in the one hundred dharmas of the Yogācāra school, and are also called in the East Asian tradition “the two kinds of meditation that are free of mental activity” (er wuxin ding).

asaṃjñika. (P. asañña; T. ’du shes med pa; C. wuxiang tian; J. musōten; K. musang ch’ŏn 無想天). In Sanskrit, “free from discrimination,” or “nonperception”; according to some systems, one of the heavens of the fourth meditative absorption (DHYĀNA) associated with the realm of subtle materiality (RŪPADHĀTU; see RŪPĀVACARADHYĀNA). In the Pāli tradition, it is one of the seven heavens of the fourth dhyāna; in Sanskrit sources, in some cases, it is considered a ninth heaven of the fourth dhyāna, and in other cases, it is considered to be a region of the BṚHATPHALA heaven. It is a place of rebirth for those who, during their lifetimes as humans, have cultivated the trance of nonperception (ASAṂJÑĀSAMĀPATTI), a state of meditative trance in which there is no mental activity; it is compared to dreamless sleep. During their long lifetime in this heaven, these divinities have a slight perception of having been born there and then have no other thoughts, sensations, or perceptions until the end of their period of rebirth in that heaven. Such beings are called asaññasatta (“unconscious beings”) in Pāli. This particular state is often described as the attainment of non-Buddhist ascetics, who mistake it for the state of liberation (VIMOKṢA).