Vyākhyāyukti
Vyākhyāyukti (T. rnam par bshad pa'i rigs pa རྣམ་པར་བཤད་པའི་རིགས་པ་), or Well Explained Reasoning, is a treatise by Vasubandhu that is preserved only in Tibetan translation.[1] The text focuses on scriptural interpretation and a wide range of related issues.[1] In the text, Vasubhandu upholds the authenticity of the Mahayana sutras as the word of the Buddha (buddhavacana).[1][2]
Vasubandhu also states that the sutras should be explained according to the following five points:[1][3]
- their purpose (Skt. prayojana; Wyl. dgos pa)
- their summarized meaning (Skt. piṇḍārtha; Wyl. bsdus pa'i don)
- the sense or meaning of the words (Skt. padārtha; Wyl. tshig gi don)
- their sequence and connection (Skt. anusaṃdhi; Wyl. mtshams sbyar ba)
- objections and refutations (Skt. codyaparihāra; Wyl. brgal ba dang lan)
"In discussing the sense or meaning of a sūtra passage, [Vasubhandu] considers thirteen terms that have multiple meanings, including dharma, rūpa, and skandha."[1] In this context, he identifies ten referents for the term dharma.[4]
Commentaries
Commentaries on the text include:[3]
- One Hundred Extracts from the Sūtras for the Principles of Exegesis (Skt. Vyākhyāyukti-sūtra-khaṇḍaśata; Wyl. rnam par bshad pa rigs pa'i mdo sde'i dum bu brgya), by Vasubandhu. A collection of 105 sutra passages that serve as Vasubandhu's source material.
- Commentary on the Principles of Exegesis (Skt. Vyākhyāyukti-ṭīkā; Wyl rnam par bshad pa rigs pa'i bshad pa) by Gunamati.
All three texts, the text itself and the two related texts, at present only exist in Tibetan translation in the "Mind Only" section of the Tengyur.
Alternative translations of the title
- Principles of Exegesis (Princeton Dictionary)
- Principles of Elucidation (Ron Garry)
- Reasoned Exposition (Dharmachakra Translation Committee)
- Rational System of Exposition (Gyurme Dorje)
- Reasoning for Explanations (Hopkins)
- Principles of Exegesis (Peter Skilling)
- Proper Mode of Expression (Goodman, The Buddhist Psychology of Awakening)
- Well Explained Reasoning
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. Vyākhyāyukti
- ↑ Skilling, Peter. Vasubandhu and the Vyākhyāyukti Literature, in the Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Volume 23, Number 2, 2000, page 334-335.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1
Well Explained Reasoning, Rigpa Shedra Wiki
- ↑ Goodman, Steven (2020), The Buddhist Psychology of Awakening, Shambhala
Further Reading
- Skilling, Peter. Vasubandhu and the Vyākhyāyukti Literature, in the Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Volume 23, Number 2, 2000.
- Cabezon, Jose Ignacio. Vasubandhu's Vyākhyāyukti on the Authenticity of the Mahāyāna Sūtras, in Timm, Jeffrey R, Texts in Context: Traditional Hermeneutics in South Asia. SUNY Press, 1992.
- Verhagen, Peter C.Studies in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Hermeneutics (4): The Vyākhyāyukti of Vasubandhu Journal Asiatique 293, no. 2 (2005): 559–602.