Quiz #4 Nirvana

Svalakṣana / Svabhāva

Svalakṣana = particular/unique characteristic of a thing; Svabhāva = own-nature or self-existence. In Abhidharma, dharmas have svabhāva (intrinsic being). Mādhyamaka denies all svabhāva, arguing nothing exists by its own nature.

Mādhyamaka

"Middle Way" school of Mahāyāna philosophy founded by Nāgārjuna (~2nd c. CE). Argues all phenomena are empty (śūnya) of inherent existence (svabhāva), avoiding the extremes of eternalism and nihilism.

Nāgārjuna

Founder of the Mādhyamaka school (~2nd c. CE). Author of the Mūlamādhyamakakārikā. Demonstrated through prasaṅga (reductio) arguments that all dharmas lack svabhāva. Widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.

Śunyatā

"Emptiness." The absence of inherent self-existence (svabhāva) in all phenomena. In Mādhyamaka: everything is empty of svabhāva. In Yogācāra: external objects are empty/unreal; only mind (vijñaptimātra) truly exists.

Mūlamādhyamakakārikā

"Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way." Nāgārjuna's foundational text; uses prasaṅga arguments to show that causation, motion, self, and all dharmas lack svabhāva. Core text of the Mādhyamaka school.

Aṣṭasāhasrikāsūtra

"Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines." One of the earliest Prajñāpāramitā sūtras; teaches śūnyatā and the bodhisattva path. The Heart Sūtra and Diamond Sūtra condense its teachings.

Jan Nattier

Contemporary Buddhist scholar known for her critical study of the Heart Sūtra, arguing it was composed in China (not India) and back-translated into Sanskrit — a controversial and influential thesis.

Where was Nāgārjuna born?

South India (traditional accounts place him in South India, possibly the Andhra region).

Nālandā University

Great monastic university in Bihar, India (~5th–12th c. CE). Major center for Buddhist learning, logic, and philosophy; associated with scholars like Dharmakīrti and Śāntideva. Destroyed ~1193 CE.

Maitreya

The future Buddha, currently a bodhisattva in Tuṣita heaven. In Yogācāra tradition, said to have revealed teachings to Asaṅga. Name means "Loving One" (from maitrī).

Prasaṅga

Reductio ad absurdum argument. Nāgārjuna's primary method: accept an opponent's premises and show they lead to absurd or self-contradictory conclusions, thereby refuting inherent existence without positing a counter-thesis.

Paramārtha

"Ultimate truth." In the two-truth doctrine: the level at which śūnyatā is understood. Contrasted with saṃvṛti (conventional truth). Also the name of a Chinese translator (499–569 CE) who translated key Yogācāra texts.

Saṃvṛti

“Conventional truth" (also "relative" or "veiled" truth). The everyday level of reality where causation, persons, and objects function. Paired with paramārtha (ultimate truth) in the two-truth framework.

Vasubandhu

Yogācāra philosopher (~4th–5th c. CE), brother of Asaṅga. Authored Abhidharmakośa and Viṃśatikā/Triṃśikā. Converted from Sarvāstivāda to Yogācāra. Key systematizer of the mind-only doctrine.

Asaṅga

Founder (with Vasubandhu) of the Yogācāra school (~4th c. CE). Said to have received teachings from Maitreya. Authored Mahāyānasaṃgraha and Yogācārabhūmiśāstra. Emphasized vijñaptimātra (mind-only).

Trikāya

"Three Bodies" of a Buddha: (1) Dharmakāya — truth body, (2) Sambhogakāya — enjoyment body, (3) Nirmāṇakāya — emanation body. A Mahāyāna doctrine explaining the different modes in which Buddhahood manifests.

Dharmakāya

"Truth Body." The Buddha's ultimate nature — identified with śūnyatā or the totality of dharma. Formless, omniscient, beyond space and time. One of the three bodies (trikāya).

Sambhogakāya

"Enjoyment Body" or "Bliss Body." The subtle form body of a Buddha visible only to advanced bodhisattvas; appears in pure lands to teach the Dharma. E.g., Amitābha in Sukhāvatī. One of the three bodies (trikāya).

Nirmāṇakāya

"Emanation Body" or "Transformation Body." The physical form a Buddha takes in the world for the sake of beings. The historical Śākyamuni is considered a nirmāṇakāya. One of the three bodies (trikāya).

Vijñaptimātra

"Representation-only" or "Mere Ideation." The Yogācāra doctrine that what we experience as an external world is only mental representations (vijñapti); no mind-independent external objects exist.

Yogācāra

"Yoga Practice" school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu (~4th c.). Also called Vijñānavāda ("Mind-Only"). Argues only consciousness (vijñāna) truly exists; external objects are mental projections.

Viṃśatikā

"Twenty Verses." Vasubandhu's text arguing for vijñaptimātra by refuting the reality of external objects through logical arguments.

Bīja

“Seed." In Yogācāra, latent impressions (karmic seeds) stored in the ālayavijñāna that ripen into future experiences, perceptions, and mental events.

Eight Consciousnesses

Yogācāra model of mind: (1–5) five sense consciousnesses, (6) manovijñāna (mental consciousness), (7) kliṣṭamanovijñāna (defiled mind-consciousness), (8) ālayavijñāna (storehouse consciousness).

Kliṣṭamanovijñāna

The 7th consciousness; "defiled mental consciousness." Always grasps the ālayavijñāna as a permanent self (ātman), generating fundamental ego-delusion. Root of saṃsāric self-grasping.

Ālayavijñāna

"Storehouse consciousness" (8th consciousness). Carries all karmic seeds (bīja); underlies and supports the other seven consciousnesses. Continues through lives; not a permanent self but functions as its basis.

Trisvabhāva

"Three natures" (Yogācāra): (1) Parikalpita — imagined/constructed, (2) Paratantra — dependent/conditioned, (3) Pariniṣpanna — perfected/fully real. Explains how phenomena exist at different levels.

Parikalpita-svabhāva

"Imagined nature." The first of the three natures: the false superimposition of inherently real subject-object duality onto experience. The layer of conceptual construction and delusion.

Paratantra-svabhāva

"Dependent nature." The second of the three natures: the flow of interdependent mental events arising from causes and conditions (the ālayavijñāna and its seeds). Neither purely real nor purely imagined.

Pariniṣpanna-svabhāva

"Perfected nature." The third of the three natures: the paratantra (dependent flow) when fully purified of parikalpita (false duality). Equivalent to śūnyatā as understood in Yogācāra.

Śūnyatā in Mādhyamaka vs. Yogācāra

Mādhyamaka: ALL phenomena — including mind — are empty of inherent existence; no truly existent basis anywhere. Yogācāra: external objects are empty/unreal, but consciousness really exists (vijñaptimātra); śūnyatā = absence of imagined subject-object duality, not of mind itself.

Tathāgatagarbha

"Buddha-womb" or "Buddha-embryo." The doctrine that all sentient beings inherently contain the seed or nature of Buddhahood. Taught in texts like the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra and Śrīmālādevī Sūtra.

Buddha-dhātu

"Buddha-element" or "Buddha-nature." Related to tathāgatagarbha; the intrinsic capacity for enlightenment present in all beings. Emphasized in East Asian Buddhism (Chinese: 佛性, fóxìng).

Heart Sūtra

Short Prajñāpāramitā text; most widely chanted Mahāyāna sūtra. Famous line: "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form." Jan Nattier controversially argues it was composed in China, not India, and back-translated into Sanskrit.

Lotus Sūtra

(Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra). Mahāyāna sūtra teaching the one vehicle (ekayāna): all three vehicles are ultimately one path to Buddhahood. Central to Tiantai and Nichiren traditions.

Indra's Net

Metaphor from the Avataṃsaka Sūtra: Indra's heavenly net has a jewel at each node, each reflecting all others infinitely. Illustrates pratītyasamutpāda (interdependence) and the interpenetration of all phenomena.