Existence and its definition

[Chris Hibbard/E. Stern]

In a message dated 9 October, Jeson Woo inquired:
>
>     The nature of existence (sattva) has been an important question in
>Indian philosophy.  It has been a topic of heated debates between
>different philosophical systems, such as the NyAya and the Buddhist
>PramANa schools, which presented their own definition.  In the eleventh
>century text KSaNabhGgasiddhi, the Buddhist philosopher RatnakIrti
>introduced a list of the definition of existence: causal effectiveness
>(arthakriyAkAritva), inherence of the universal reality (sattAsamavAya),
>reality as specific nature (svarUpasattva), being subject to origination,
>decay and stability (utpAdavyayadhrauvyayogitva), being the object of
>valid cognition (pramANaviSayatva), being the object of valid cognition
>which grasps something positive (sadupalambhakapramANagocaratva), and
>being the object of designation (vyapadezaviSayatva).
>   It seems to be clear that arthakriyAkAritva is the definition by the
>Buddhist PramANa tradition; sattAsamavAya and svarUpasattva are by the
>VaizeSikas; utpAdavyayadhrauvyayogitva is by Jains; and pramANaviSayatva
>is by the PrAbhakara school.  I am now looking for which schools define
>existence as sadupalambhakapramANagocaratva and vyapadezaviSayatva. If
>somebody helps me with this, or if somebody informs me such a list of
>definitions of existence in other texts, I would really appreciate it.
>
The definition sadupalambhakapramANagocaratvam for existence seems to
figure as a vaiZeSika definition, according to kamalaZIlaH. See
tattvasaGgrahapaJjikA 14.18-19 (Dwarikadas' edition) -

... dharmivyatirekiNo dharmAH kaiZcidupavarNyante yathA SaNNAmapi
padArthAnAmastitvaM sadupalambhakapramANaviSayatvamityevamAdayaH ....

and tattvasaGgrahapaJjikA 241.12-13 (Dwarikadas' edition) -

anyaH punarAha "SaNNAmastitvaM hi sadupalambhakapramANagamyatvam gamyatvaM
ca SaTpadArthaviSayaM vijJAnam tasmin sati sadvyavahArapravartanAt" ....

Wilhelm Halbfass refers (*On Being and What There Is*, 159 and notes 120
and 121 thereto) to the section of tattvasaGgrahaH and
tattvasaGgrahapaJjikA in which the second extract occurs, and the
paraphrase/reworking of this in abhayadevasUri's tattvabodhavidhAyinI.


Elliot M. Stern
552 South 48th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19143-2029
USA