Cheung Wei Shih Lun Agent

This dissertation aims to make a deeply investigation into the themes of "Refutation of Two Kinds of Graha and Argumentation of the Existence of Alaya-vijnana" in Ch’eng Wei-Shih Lun (abbr. CWSL), the essential sastra of Chinese Yogacara school. Under the guidance of the principles of "relying on artha (meaning) no relying on vyanjana (language)" and "no default value judgment", the primary research method will be both "Buddhist Philology" and "philosophical interpretation". The fundamental spirit of CWSL is "vijnapti-matrata-an-artha", viz. all dharmas are merely manifestations of vijnana, all objects are inseparable from vijnana, and besides, there are no real, external, and independent substances outside Citta. The nucleus of Citta, however, is alaya-vijnana——mula-vijnana, which comprise sarva-dharmah, and in its sequence of cause and effect, it is sajtati (permanent) yet never sajtati.To establish the doctrine of "vijnapti-matrata-an-artha", the CWSL need to refute graha and argument alaya-vijnana. So the "refutation" and "argumentation" will be the kernel of the paper. Based on these considerations, the dissertation can be divided into two parts:part "Refutation of Graha"(chapter Ⅰ-Ⅲ), and part "Argumentation of the Existence of Alaya-vijnana"(chapter Ⅳ-Ⅵ). In addition, there is the "Prolegomenon" and "Conclusion".To begin with, in "Prolegomenon", I briefly review the academic history of CWSL, then, analyze the gain and loss of scholars’ research in the Twentieth century. In part "Refutation of Graha", on the basis of "substance","extension","relationship between atma and skandha, etc.", I analyze the "Refutation" of various "atma-graha"(e.g., puruSa) detailedly in CWSL. Meanwhile, I interpretate the logical structure of the "Refutation" of tirthaka’s "dharma-graha", such as Samkhya’s "pancavimsati-tattvani" and VaiseSika’s "dasa-padarthah". Finally, I also deeply parse the ’Refutation" of Sarvasti-vadin’s idolum of "dharma-graha" to "rupa-dharma","citta-viprayukta-samskara" and "asamskrta-dharma" in CWSL. In part "Argumentation of the Existence of Alaya-vijnana", based on the early Yogacara classics, such as Yogacara-bhumi and Mahayana-sajparigraha-sastra, I make a across-the-board the "argumentation of alaya-vijnana", and "three forms of alaya-vijnana","pratitya-samutpada based on alaya-vijnana" as well. In my investigation, I quote Anguttara-nikaya from Theravada Buddhism, which is translated by the scholars of Tai Wan Yuan Heng Temple, so as to solve the problem of quoting Ekottarikagama but lacking for literature in CWSL.Based on the above studies, the following conclusions can be drawn out:(1) To Dhammapala, the prime author of CWSL,"atma-graha" and "dharma-graha" merely arise in mano-vijnana and manas;(2) There aren’t any "nature" in prthag-jana’s so-called substantial "atma" and "dharma", however, in various scriptures, there are;(3)"Fictitious dharmas" are constructed based on "vijnana-parinama"(manifestation and transformation of consciousness);(4) By translating "parinama" into "capability of manifestation"("neng bian"), Hsiian-tsang want to emphasize the noumenon meaning of vijnana; but to Paramartha, he translate it into "capability of perception", so as to emphasize the epistemological meaning of vijnana;(5) To Dhammapala,"vijnana-parinama" means "svasamvitti-bhaga"(self-corroboratory part of vijnana) transform itself into "darsana-bhaga"(activity of vijnana) and "nimitta-bhaga"(object of vijnana), while to Sthiramati, it means the momentary variation of "consciousness itself"(svasamvitti-bhaga);(6)To CWSL,"vijnapti-matrata" means all objects are "inseparable from vijnana";(7) It will also be "dharma-graha" if "vijnapti-matrata" is considered as substance;(8) Ultimately,"vijnana-only" means "alaya-vijnana-only";(9) When argumenting the existence of alaya-vijnana, the fundamentality spirit of CWSL is same to Yogacara-bhumi, Mahayana-samgraha, etc., though their methods are different;(10)We shouldn’t consider alaya-vijnana as "ultimate substance" or "the first cause", for it is a entia of "three forms";(11)It is not legitimate for western scholars to interpret alaya-vijnana in a "idealism" or "non-idealism" pattern.