Emptyuniverse on "vi~n~naana.m andassana.m"

A post by Emptyuniverse at E-Sangha...


Anyhoo, since it's now established that one who translates vi~n~naana.m andassana.m as "non-manifestative consciousness," etc., isn't necessarily a heretic guilty of wrong view, it's worth looking at this second allegation: that this translation is merely an oxymoron.

First, a list of some authors and translators who have seen fit to translate vi~n~naana.m andassana.m along these lines:

- the consciousness that makes no showing (Ven. Nanamoli)
- non-manifestative consciousness (Ven. Nyanananda)
- consciousness non-manifesting (from A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya by Ven. Nanamoli and Ven. Bodhi)
- awakened consiciousness (from the Introduction of Ven. Sumedho's Intuitive Awareness)
- consciousness which is unmanifest (Ven. Amaro)
- consciousness without feature, consciousness without surface (Ven. Thanissaro)
- non-manifestative consciousness (Ven. Analayo)
- where consciousness is signless (M. Walshe)
- undemonstratable consciousness (Jeffrey Hopkins, Ven. Lati Rimpoche, trans. of rnam shes bstan med, from The Buddhism of Tibet)

Second, Ven. Bodhi's translation of this term in MN 49: Brahmanimantanika Sutta:

Consciousness non-manifesting,
Boundless, luminous all-round:

that is not pataken of by the earthness of earth, that is not partaken of by the waterness of water ... that is not partaken of by the allness of all.

And his reason for departing from the commentary when doing so (endnote 513 from The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya):

These lines (which also apear as part of a full verse at DN 11.85/i.223) have been a perennial challenge to Buddhist scholarship, and even Aacariya Buddhaghosa seems to founder over them. MA takes the subject of the sentence to be Nibbaana, called "consciousness" (vi~n~naa.na.m) in the sense that "it can be cognized" (vijaanitabba.m). This derivation is hardly credible, since nowhere in the Nikaayas is Nibbaana described as consciousness, nor is it possible to derive an active noun from the gerundive. MA explains anidassana.m as meaning invisible, "because it (Nibbaana) does not come within range of eye-consciousness," but again this is a trite explanation. The word anidassana occurs at MN 21.14 in the description of empty space as an unsuitable medium for painting pictures; thus the idea seems to be that of not making manifest.

MA offers three explanations of sabbato pabha.m: (1) completely possessed of luminosity (pabhaa); (2) possessing being (pabhuuta.m) everywhere; and (3) a ford (pabha.m) accessible from all sides, i.e. through any of the thirty-eight meditation objects. Only the first of these seems to have any linguistic legitimacy.

Ven. Nyanananda's comments on this same excerpt from MN 49:

In the Brahmanimantanikasutta of the Majjhima Nikaaya, also, the first two lines of the verse, vi~n~naana.m anidassana.m, anan­ta.m sabbato pabha.m, occur. But here the commentator follows a dif­ferent line of interpretation. Whereas in his commentary to the Keva.d.dhasutta he explains anidas­sana.m as an epithet of Nibbaana, in the sense of having nothing to compare with, here he takes it in the sense of not being visi­ble to the eye. Cakkhuvi~n~naa.nassa aapaatha.m anupagamanato ani­dassana.m naama, "it is called anidassana be­cause it does not come within the range of eye-consciousness".

In explaining the term sabbato pabha.m, he suggests several alter­native interpretations. In the first interpretation, he takes pabhaa to mean light, or lustre. Sabbato pabhan'ti sabbato pabhaa­sampanna.m. Nibbaanato hi a~n~no dhammo sappabhataro vaa joti­vantataro vaa pari­suddhataro vaa pa.n.darataro vaa natthi. "Sabbato pabha.m means more lustrous than anything else. For there is nothing more lustrous or lu­minous or purer or whiter than Nib­baana".

The etymology of the term sabbato pabha.m has been given a twist, for the word sabbato is taken in a comparative sense, 'more lustrous than anything'. As we have pointed out, the term actu­ally means 'lustrous on all sides'. Then a second interpretation is given, bringing in the word pabhuu, 'lord' or 'chief'. Sabbato vaa pabhuu, that is to say more prominent than anything else. In sup­port of it he says: Asukadisaaya naama nibbaana.m natthii'ti na vat­tabba.m, "it should not be said that in such and such a direction Nibbaana is not to be found". He says that it is called pabhuu, or lord, because it is to be found in all directions. Only as the third interpretation he cites his simile of the ford already given in his commentary to the Keva.d.dhasutta.

What is the reason for giving so many figurative interpreta­tions as alternatives to such a significant verse? Surely the Bud­dha would not have intended the verse to convey so many con­flicting meanings, when he preached it.

No doubt the commentators have made a great effort to pre­serve the Dhamma, but due to some unfortunate historical cir­cumstances, most of the deep discourses dealing with the sub­ject of Nibbaana have been handed down without even a clue to the correct version among variant readings. This has left the commentators nonplussed, so much so that they had to give us several vague and alternative inter­pretations to choose from. It is up to us to decide, whether we should accept this position as it is, or try to improve on it by exploring any other possible means of explanation.

We had occasion to mention in our very first sermon that the Bud­dha himself has prophesied that those discourse which deal with voidness would, in time to come, go into disuse, with their deeper meanings obscured. The interpretations just quoted go to show that already the prediction has come true to a great ex­tent.

And third, the relevant passage from DN 11: Kevaddha Sutta (Nyanananda trans.):

Consciousness, which is non-manifestative,
Endless, lustrous on all sides[....]

And his comments regarding Ven. Buddhaghosa's treatment of these lines:

The commentator begins his exposition with the word vi~n~naa.na.m itself. He comes out with a peculiar etymology: Vi~n~naa.nan'ti tattha vi~n~naatabbanti vi~n~naa.na.m nibbaanassa naama.m, which means that the word vi~n~naa.na, or consciousness, is in this context a synonym for Nibbaana, in the sense that it is 'to be known', vi~n~naatabba.m. This forced etymology is far from con­vincing, since such a usage is not attested elsewhere. Moreover, we come across a long list of epithets for Nibbaana, as many as thirty-three, in the Asa.nkhatasa.myutta of the Sa.myutta Nikaaya, but vi~n~naa.na is not counted as one. In fact, no­where in the dis­courses is vi~n~naa.na used as a synonym for Nibbaana.

Next, he takes up the word anidassana, and makes the fol­lowing comment: Tad eta.m nidassanaabhaavato anidassana.m, that Nibbaana is called anidassana because no illustration for it could be given. The idea is that it has nothing to compare with. Then comes the explana­tion of the word ananta.m. According to the commentator Nibbaana is called ananta, endless, because it has neither the arising-end, up­paadanto, nor the falling-end, vayanto, nor the otherwiseness of the persisting-end, .thitassa a~n~nathatta. Strangely enough, even the last mentioned middle-state is counted as an 'end' in the commentators concept of three ends. So this is the substance of his commentary to the first three words vi~n~naa.na.m, anidassana.m, ananta.m.

The commentarial interpretation of the term sabbato pabha.m is even more confusing. The word pabhaa is explained as a syno­nym for papa, meaning 'ford'. The bha element in the word, he explains, is a result of consonantal interchange with the original pa in papa. Pakaa­rassa pana bhakaaro kato. The idea is that the original form of this particular term for Nibbaana is sabbato pa­pa.m. The meaning attrib­uted to it is 'with fords on all sides'. Nibbaana is supposed to be meta­phorically conceived as the ocean, to get down into which there are fords on all sides, namely the thirty-eight topics of meditation. This interpretation seems rather far fetched. It is as if the commen­tator has re­sorted to this simile of a ford, because he is already 'in deep wa­ters'! The word pabhaa, as it is, clearly means light, or radi­ance, and its association with wisdom is also well attested in the canon.

Just considering these two venerable authors/translators, it seems that they have employed significant textual analysis in departing from the commentaries to give their translation of this term. It's obvious that they don't do so lightly. IMO their analysis is cogent.

Metta.