This study aims to examine attributes of each 22 indriyas and their relations with 5 vastu and Sarvastivadin's other doctrines.
Chapter Ⅱ, for these purposes, pays attention to the structural problem relating to 22 indriyas in the Abhidharmakosabhas...
This study aims to examine attributes of each 22 indriyas and their relations with 5 vastu and Sarvastivadin's other doctrines.
Chapter Ⅱ, for these purposes, pays attention to the structural problem relating to 22 indriyas in the Abhidharmakosabhasyam. Inquiry into structural problem relating to 22 indriyas is divided into two parts. In first parts, a comparison between the structure of the Abhidharmakosabhasyam and of other Sarvastivadin's literatures is drawn. In second parts, examinations on why Vasubandhu adopted Indriya as second chapter's title of the Abhidharmakosabhasyam instead of Samskara are made.
Chapter Ⅲ begins with mention on indriya's definition. The definition on indriya shows two important things that indriyas have powerful function and their attributes are very predominant. In indriya's definition a conception of adhipatya also plays an important role. Sarvastivadin's criticism on two interpretations of this conception different from its orthodox view shows apparently that this category is based on activities or functions related to living beings. The rest of this chapter deals with which of the indriyas are substantial and superior to the others.
Chapter Ⅳ is comprised of six parts according to six subcategories of 22 indriyas. Each part examines what is each indriya's own function and is a common point of dharmas which belong to each subcategory, and also scrutinizes relations between 22 indriyas and Sarvastivadin's other doctrines. In examining first six indriyas, the most important issue is about subject of perception. One group of Sarvastivadin maintains that indriya is, the other one group asserts that vijnana is, but Sautrantika regards this problem itself as meaningless. Sexual indriyas, as their name shows, is based on biological difference between man and woman, but the scholar of Abhidharma gives them another meaning that they are foundations of religious practices and moral actions. Next three subcategories overlap with some factors of citta and citta-viprayukta, so Mahavibhasa explains in details the reasons for why only the factors of these categories are called indriya. Summarizing Mahavibhasa's explains, these factors relate to only living beings, and have wider scope of activity and more constant functions than the others. The last three indriyas have close relation with the stages of religious practice to attain Nirvana.
Chapter Ⅴ deals with two opinions on what value has 22 indriyas in structure of the Abhidharmakosabhasyam, and this chapter, for appreciating these, focuses on the problem what, between indriya and Samskara, is more compatible to explain function of dharmas. For this problem, we are necessary to pay attention to these explains: Samghabhadra describes function as to bring result, and regards living beings as one of such function's main condition. Fa-bao(法寶, Beop-bo) says, "Samskara has two means of conditioning thing(緣行) and conditioned thing(所作). Conditioning thing is Samskara as cause and conditioned thing is Samskara as result. …… Samskara as cause means powerful function."