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八事倶生

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: co-existence of eight constituents across the physical world

Senses:

  • According to Vasubandhuʼs auto-commentary on the twenty-second stanza of chapter two of his Abhidharmakośabhāṣya, 'The Discrimination of Faculties' and Xuanzangʼs translation thereof, "the eightfold constituency refers to the four elements 四大 of earth, water, wind, and fire, together with their material derivatives (upadānarūpa) in the form of colors, smells, tastes, and tactile objects"  八事謂四大種及四所造色香味觸. T 1558.29.18b25-6. (For original Skt. see edition of Pradhan 1967, p. 52; For Tib. see Derge Work No. 4090. vol. 140, folio/line63a.6). The addition of the ninth constituent (事, 物), is of doctrinal significance as the Abhidharma teachings posit that the ninth constituency of kāyêndriya, the tactile faculty, endows the inert elements of the material world with sattva, or sentience. In Vasubandhuʼs words, 'in possessing the tactile faculty there exists the nine-fold constituency' (kāyêndriyī navadravyaḥ) (Abhidharmakośa 2.22c). In his auto-commentary to this stanza, Vasubandhu further identifies kāyêndriya, the ninth constituent composing the body and sense faculties, with sound. The identification of the number nine with the sentient body of sensory organs and faculties, and with the animating power of sound and sonic vibrations, is attested in a number of Abhidharma works, including the *Saṃyuktâbhidharma-hṛdaya-śāstra 〔雜阿毘曇心論 T 1552.28.882b05〕 , attributed to Dharmatrāta 法救, and the *Samyuktâbhidharma-hṛdaya 〔阿毘曇心論經 T 1551.28.837c16〕 , attributed to Dharmaśreṣṭhin. The doctrine of the nine constituents informing the sentient body and faculties is also attested in the Yogâcārabhūmi recension undertaken by Paramârtha, under the Southern Chen Dynasty, titled Canonical Treatise Making Doctrinal Determinations (Skt. *Vinirṇīta-piṭaka-śāstra) 〔決定藏論 T 1584.30.1032a29〕 . Source [Billy Brewster; source(s): Nakamura 1354b-c, Foguang 1790]
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    Entry created: 2018-08-28