The subject under consideration is a very important one. It comprehends and comprises a summary of many particulars already alluded1 to in the foregoing two articles. The reader will find the path he has to follow less rugged2, and the ground he will have to go over not so arid3.
Our author seems to lay great stress on this special point. The sage4, says he, who is desirous to arrive at the supreme5 perfection, must apply all the powers of his mind to discern the true ways from the false ones. Many are deceived in the midst of their researches after wisdom. The real criterion between the true and false ways is this: when, in considering an object, and making a philosophical6 analysis of it, the sage finds it somehow connected with concupiscence and other passions so far that he cannot, as it were, dissolve it by the application of the three principles of aneitsa, duka, and anatta—that is to say, change, pain, and illusion, then he must conclude that he is out of the right ways; the high road to perfection is barred before him. But on the contrary, whenever, by the appliance of the three great principles, he sees that all the objects brought under his consideration are nothing more or less than the mere7 compound of the four elements, divested8 of these illusory appearances which deceive so many, then he may be certain that he is in the right position, and is sure of making progress in the way to perfection.
To facilitate the study of the Meggas, Buddhists9 have classified all real and imaginary beings under a certain number of heads. The sage, to complete his laborious11 task, has to examine separately each of these subjects and submit them to the following lengthened12, difficult, and complicated process. He takes up one subject, attentively[228] considers its exterior13 and interior compound parts, its connection and relation with other things, its tendency to adhere to or part with surrounding objects. Pursuing his inquiries14 into the past, he endeavours to make himself acquainted with the state and condition of that object during several periods that have elapsed; when his mind is satisfied on this point he follows up in future the same object, and calculates from the experience of the past what change it may hereafter become subjected to. This study enables him to perceive distinctly that it is subjected to the three great laws of mutability, pain, and illusion. This conviction once deeply seated in his soul, the sage holds that object in supreme contempt; far from having any affection for or attachment15 to it, he feels an intense disgust at it, and longs for the possession of Neibban, which is the exemption16 from the influence of mutability, pain, and illusion.
What we have now stated is tolerably clear and intelligible17; but what follows is less evident. It partakes of that obscurity and complication so peculiar18 to Buddhist10 metaphysics. This state of things is created and maintained chiefly by a mania19 for divisions and subdivisions that would have puzzled even the schoolmen of the middle ages. We have to listen to what our author says respecting the method to be observed in carrying on the great examination of all subjects of investigation20. If that labour be patiently and perseveringly21 prosecuted22 until all the objects of inquiry23 be exhausted24, ample and magnificent shall be the reward for such labours. The sage will be in possession of the perfect science; Neibban will appear to him; he will long for it, and unremittingly shape his course in its direction: in a word, he shall have reached the acme25 of perfection. Seated on that lofty position, enjoying a perfect calm in the bosom26 of absolute quietism, the sage is beyond the reach of passions; there is no illusion for him; he has cut the last thread of future generations by the destruction of the influence of merits[229] and demerits; he has obtained the deliverance from all miseries27; he has reached the peaceful shores of Neibban. But such a prize is not easily obtained; it is to be purchased only at the expense of an immense amount of lasting28 and strenuous29 mental exertion30.
The sage, agreeably to the old and always true saying, Know thyself, very properly begins his mightily31 difficult task with the examination of the five aggregates32 constituting a living being, the organs of the six senses, and all that relates to them. Then he applies himself to the studies of the five Dzan, or the parts of meditation34 and contemplation, and to all that is connected with the seats of Rupa and Arupa. All the objects of examination ranged on that scale are 600 in number. We shall rapidly glance over this table, indicating but the heads of the principal divisions.
We ought not to forget that the five aggregate33, or khandas, constituting a living being, are form, sensation, perception, consciousness, and intellect. Supposing that we take the first of those attributes as subject of examination. We must represent it to the mind, carefully examine it in all its bearings and properties, respecting the past, the present, and the future. We must proceed on and bring it in contact with the three great principles of aneitsa, duka, and anatta, and inquire whether form be changeable or not, passive or impassive, transient or permanent. We thereby35 acquire the knowledge of the following great truth; viz., form is essentially36 liable to change, pain, and illusion. The examination of each of the four other attributes is proceeded on in a like manner, and a similar result ensues.
The six organs of the senses come next under consideration. These are the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, the body, or rather the skin that envelops37 it, and the heart in a physical sense, and mano in a moral one. Each of the six senses partakes of the eleven conditions or attributes we are about to describe; and each of these[230] eleven attributes being brought successively into relation with each of the six senses, must be considered, as above stated, under the treble relation to mutability, pain, and illusion. This will supply the inquirer with a good amount of information. But to shorten this long enumeration38, we will mention now successively those eleven attributes the senses may be affected39 by, and make the application of all to one of the senses, the eye. The same process may be easily repeated for each of the other senses. Nothing is to be changed but the name of the sense that has become the subject of examination.
1. Ayatana, the door, the opening of each of the senses. Applied40 to the eye, it is the opening through which exterior sensations are communicated to the heart by the organ of seeing.
2. Arom, the object of each of the senses. With regard to the eye, it is the appearance or form perceived by the eye; with respect to the ear, it is the sound.
3. Winian, the action of perceiving and knowing. Applied to the eyes, it is the eye seeing and perceiving, or the sight.
4. Phasa, literally41 the feeling or coming in contact with objects, applied to each of the senses. With the eye, it is the passive and active impression it derives42 from the objects it considers, and which it conveys to the heart. With the ear it is the impression it receives, and similarly communicates to the heart.
5. Wedana, the sensation of pain or pleasure obtained through the senses. With the eye it is the sensation created by the sight of objects perceived by the eye, and communicated to the heart.
6. Thangia, the idea or persuasion43 resulting from the six senses, or, according to some doctors, the identity of the appearance with reality. With the eye, it is the conviction we have that such an object, perceived by the eyes, is round or square, &c., according to the impressions received by that organ.
[231]
7. Dzetana, the inclination44 or rather adhesion to good or bad, consequently to the impressions received from each of the six senses.
8. Tahna, concupiscence originating from the impressions of agreeableness communicated by the six senses.
9. Witeka, the idea or representation of objects to the mind through the agency of the senses.
10. Witzara, the consideration of the objects offered to the mind by the instrumentality of the senses.
11. Dat, the matter or elements of the six senses, or, to speak the language of our author, that on which the organs rest, that which supports them.
After the examination of the senses and of the eleven subjects just related, we find the almost boundless45 field of inquiry to expand in proportion as we appear to make rapid progress. Then come successively for examination: 1. The ten Kasaings, or the ten parts or elements to be found in each part of a living being, viz., earth, water, fire, colour, odour, flavour, and grease, to which we add the Dziwa or life, and that of the organ to which belongs the part under consideration. 2. The thirty-two Akan, or thirty-two parts of the living body, of which the first are the hairs, the beard, the nails, the teeth, &c. 3. The twelve Ayatana, or seats of the six senses. Each sense is double, as far as it is considered in a double capacity, that of receiving and that of transmitting the impressions. 4. The eighteen Dat, or matter of the six senses. The organs afford six Dat; the objects that act upon the organs supply six other Dat; and the last six are afforded by the objects submitted to the action of the senses. 5. The twenty-two indre, or faculties46 or capabilities47 of the organs. Each organ has three. The eye, for instance, is capable of receiving an impression and of transmitting it; the eye really receives and transmits impressions. The mano, or heart, being a double organ, has six faculties; three if it be considered physically48, and three if morally or intellectually. 6. The nine Bon, or seats[232] occupied by the Brahmas. 7. The five Rupa Dzan, or degrees of contemplation proper to the Brahmas who have a form. 8. The four Megga, or ways that lead near to Neibban. They are followed by the Brahmas occupying the four superior seats of Rupa. 9. The Arupa Dzan, or contemplation proper to those who inhabit the four immaterial seats. 10. The nineteen Damma. This word means what we know as certain by the use of our mental faculties. When the mano, by a right use of its three faculties, has freed itself from the principle of illusion and error, then there will be the sixteen virtues49 or good qualities, known by the name of Phola and Megga. 11. Finally, the twelve Patan, or elements that are in the mano, which constitute the memory, and enable man to remember, and silently repeat the impressions transmitted by the senses.
Such is the immense extent of observations the sage has to range for obtaining the perfect science. This task is truly an Herculean one; very few can perform it.
Before coming to the last article, the writer will make a remark tending to show that there is more of the analytic50 spirit in all what is told us by Buddhist philosophers respecting those abstruse51 subjects than one may be tempted52 to give them credit for. We have seen that the number of precepts53 and counsels is almost countless54, yet it is agreed by all doctors that the five general precepts are the basis of all, and that he who observes them in all their bearings is as much advanced in the path of righteousness as can be expected. Again, Buddhists can never exhaust the stores of all that they have to say about the mental operations and meditation. Yet all is summed up in the comparatively short doctrine55 of tseit and tsedathit. The living beings are by them infinitely56 modified, yet after all we find everything condensed in two words, Nama and Rupa. The theory respecting the generation of beings and their mutual57 dependence58 upon each other is a boundless field. We find, however, that, after all, kan, or the influence of merits and demerits, is the sole cause of and agent[233] in the existence and modification59 of all beings. Mental operations are numbered by hundreds, but the six senses are, after all, the foundation on which that enumeration is raised. The general principles and primary ideas of all these metaphysical theories doubtless belong to genuine and early Buddhism60. But such plain and elementary principles having been got hold of by heads of philosophical schools, and worked upon in their intellectual laboratory, there have come out therefrom at various periods those theories which have given to the doctrines61 of Buddhism so many different hues62, and at the same time contributed so much to puzzle and torment63 the European student.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
alluded
|
|
| 提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
rugged
|
|
| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
arid
|
|
| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
sage
|
|
| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
philosophical
|
|
| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
divested
|
|
| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
Buddhists
|
|
| n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
Buddhist
|
|
| adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
laborious
|
|
| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
lengthened
|
|
| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
exterior
|
|
| adj.外部的，外在的；表面的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
inquiries
|
|
| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
attachment
|
|
| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
exemption
|
|
| n.豁免，免税额，免除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
intelligible
|
|
| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
mania
|
|
| n.疯狂；躁狂症，狂热，癖好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
investigation
|
|
| n.调查，调查研究 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
perseveringly
|
|
| 坚定地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
prosecuted
|
|
| a.被起诉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
inquiry
|
|
| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
exhausted
|
|
| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
acme
|
|
| n.顶点，极点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
bosom
|
|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
miseries
|
|
| n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
lasting
|
|
| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
strenuous
|
|
| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
exertion
|
|
| n.尽力，努力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
mightily
|
|
| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
aggregates
|
|
| 数( aggregate的名词复数 )； 总计； 骨料； 集料（可成混凝土或修路等用的） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
aggregate
|
|
| adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
meditation
|
|
| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
thereby
|
|
| adv.因此，从而 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
essentially
|
|
| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
envelops
|
|
| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
enumeration
|
|
| n.计数，列举；细目；详表；点查 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
affected
|
|
| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
literally
|
|
| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
derives
|
|
| v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
persuasion
|
|
| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
inclination
|
|
| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
boundless
|
|
| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
faculties
|
|
| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
capabilities
|
|
| n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
physically
|
|
| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
virtues
|
|
| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
analytic
|
|
| adj.分析的，用分析方法的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
abstruse
|
|
| adj.深奥的，难解的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
tempted
|
|
| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
precepts
|
|
| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
countless
|
|
| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
doctrine
|
|
| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
infinitely
|
|
| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
mutual
|
|
| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
dependence
|
|
| n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
modification
|
|
| n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
Buddhism
|
|
| n.佛教（教义） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
doctrines
|
|
| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
hues
|
|
| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
torment
|
|
| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |