pramanas

[Vincent Eltschinger]

Dear Petra,
Though I am also very curious about the context where this list occurs,
let me say that it does not match other, pre-epistemological lists (from
Dignaaga onwards, late Buddhist philosophers accept only two pramaa.nas,
i.e., pratyak.sa and anumaana). In what appears to be the earliest
Buddhist "dialectical" text, the "hetuvidyaa section" of the
Yogaacaarabhuumi, only pratyak.sa is explicitly said to be a pramaa.na,
but other items have the same function (to provide arguments for the
reason): anumaana, aaptopade'sa (= 'sabda), similarity and dissimilarity
(to be treated as one or two elements). In the *Upaayah.rdaya (preserved
in Chinese only, and retranslated into Sanskrit by Giuseppe Tucci), the
list provided matches the Naiyaayika one: pratyak.sa, anumaana,
aaptopade'sa, and upamaana. However, the Buddhist "idealists" (Asa.nga in
the Abhidharmasamuccaya, Vasubandhu in the Abhidharmako'sabhaa.sya, in the
Vyaakhyaayukti and probably, contra Frauwallner, in the Vaadavidhi)
generally reckon three pramaa.nas: pratyak.sa, anumaana, and aaptopade'sa.
As far as I know, then, arthaapatti does not occur in the available
Buddhist works concerned with pramaa.nas.
Yours sincerly,
Vincent Eltschinger

> Dear All,
>
> I've got a list of four pramāṇas in a Pāli text, these are:
>
> pratyaká¹£a
> anumāna
> śabda
> arthāpatti
>
> Can anybody tell me, whether these four are typical for specific
> branches of Buddhist philosophy or perhaps other Indian philosophies?
>
> Would be grateful for any information,
> Petra Kieffer-Pülz
>
> **************
> Dr. Petra Kieffer-Pülz
> Wilhelm-Külz-Str. 2
> 99423 Weimar
> Germany
> Tel. 03643/770447
> kiepue at t-online.de
>