The Four Schools of Buddhist Philosophy
THE VAIBHASHIKA SCHOOL
The followers of the Vaibhashika School explain that consciousness perceives an object in direct contact, and that the object is different from or apart from the consciousness. They take support from their authoritative scripture, the treatise known as the Great Treasury of Detailed Exposition, and accept that particles and consciousness are partless, ultimate, and true existence. Partless particles touch but do not adhere to each other, like pages in a book or grain in a heap, and are kept together by wind to avoid scattering.332
They hold the five bases of knowables to be real: physical forms, mind [primary acts of cognition], mental events, nonconcurrent formations, and unconditioned [phenomena]. As well, they claim the three times have substantial existence, that consciousness apprehends perceived objects without a mental image, and that this consciousness is ignorant of itself.
The three types of unconditioned [phenomena] are space, analytical cessation, and nonanalytical cessation.
Since the Vaibhashika’s philosophical point of view is clearly detailed in the commentary itself, I see no need to elaborate further than this.
The second of the four schools is Sautrantika, which holds that what appear as being external objects are nothing other than a mental image for the senses, rather than an experience of real objects outside. They take the support of the Seven Sections of Abhidharma as their authoritative scripture.333
Both schools accept fully the nonexistence of a personal identity, but are also alike in claiming that there are no Mahayana teachings.
Without directly asserting the existence of an indivisible particle, the Sautrantika School teaches that there does exist some unseen substance that acts as the forming agent of all our present experiences of sights, sounds, and so forth. The exact way this unseen substance exists is when one’s eyes are directed toward a visual form—and similarly in the case of a sound, a scent, and so forth—the basis for that perceived object has a basis that is consistent with mind [the cognitive act]. While the object cognized remains unseen, the mental image [of the object] and consciousness are indivisible.
In detail, this school has three subdivisions: one is to hold that the myriad different experiences have the same identity as consciousness, another is to claim that there is a corresponding number of consciousnesses to the number of mental images, and the third is to maintain that the mental image and the consciousness are [two halves of one whole], like a split eggshell.
The Sautrantika’s philosophical point of view is that physical forms, mind, and mental events do have ultimate existence, while nonconcurrent formations only exist as imputations. The unconditioned phenomena resemble identitylessness. The objects that produce all these are the “perceived,” while the mental state that resembles what was produced is the “perceiver.” Moreover, they assert that cause and effect have dissimilar features, and that consciousness is self-knowing.
Concerning the general Mahayana, there are numerous differences between the lesser and greater vehicles, but as a summary it is said that the difference lies in the bodhichitta resolve—that the Hinayana followers do not aspire to perfect buddhahood for the sake of others, while the Mahayana followers do.
In terms of appearances, Mahayana has the two divisions known as Mind Only and Middle Way.
The Mind Only adherents include all phenomena under the imagined, the dependent, and the absolute. Since they assert that appearances (snang ba) are only mind and that this mind has true existence as the self-aware, self-cognizant all-ground consciousness, this school is called Mind Only.
This understanding that mind is real, that [everything is] only mind, and the acceptance that consciousness has true existence is in accordance with the statement of the Buddha: “Listen, sons of the victorious ones; the three realms are mind only!” All that appears and exists, samsara and nirvana, is included within three principles called the imagined, the dependent, and the absolute, also known as the three natures.
The two aspects called “perceiver” and the “perceived,” accepted by both the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika schools, are known as “mistaken dependent [phenomena].” The perceived objects believed to be separate from and other than mind are the “imagined [phenomena].” The knowledge that both of these, [the dependent and the imagined], are mind is the “absolute.”
These three natures can be divided into the following: (1) The “imagined [phenomena] lacking attributes” is the appearance of the duality of self and other things, including visible forms, sounds, and so forth, which in fact does not exist.334 (2) The “enumerated imagined [phenomena]” is the groups of names, words, and letters. (3) The “impure dependent [phenomena]” is the manifold forms of objects and meanings of the outer world and its inner contents that appear by the power of manifold habitual tendencies. (4) The “pure dependent [phenomena]” is the pure kayas and wisdoms, buddhafields, and so forth. (5) The “unchanging absolute” is the dharmadhatu of the true all-ground of the natural state, the tathagata essence that is by nature luminous [wakefulness]. (6) The “unmistaken absolute” is the undefiled path and fruition.
THE MIDDLE WAY SCHOOL
The Middle Way School accepts that all phenomena are included within the two truths: that ultimately all things are free from the eight limits of constructs, while conventionally they appear as dependent origination, just like a magical apparition or a dream. Thus the Middle Way is the pinnacle of all views in that it accepts as well the understanding that mind is devoid of true existence or that consciousness does not really exist. The Middle Way itself is as directly stated in the Lamrim root text.