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增上緣

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: contingent factors as cause/condition

Senses:

  • Contingent causes and conditions; peripheral conditions (Skt. adhipati-pratyaya). One of the four kinds of causation 四緣 and three supports 三所依 in Yogâcāra causal theory. The Skt. adhipati, adhipa 增上 literally means 'predominating,' originally referring to the predominating power wielded by a king over his subjects. But the reference here is to the gamut of an unthinkably vast number of contingent factors and non-factors that contribute to the causation of any single effect. Thus, the term refers to 'conditions related to the absence or presence of empowerment,' meaning all the auxiliary factors that aid the main causes of the production of existences 有力, or conditions that, though not directly contributing to the cause, do not impede 無力.

    In the case of sensory perception, the dominant condition for the arising of sensory consciousness is the sensory faculty and the sensory object; but more generally speaking even the seed could serve as the dominant condition for the generation of a sprout. The four elements 四大 serve as the dominant condition for the generation of the five physical sensory faculties 五根, in that they provide the conditions for the production and development of the faculties.

    〔攝大乘論 T 1593.31.115c27〕 (Skt.ādhipatya; Tib. bdag rkyen) [Charles Muller, Billy Brewster; source(s): Ui, Hirakawa, Nakamura, YBh-Ind, JEBD]
  • In Pure Land 淨土 teaching one of three conditions 三緣, that whereby if sentient beings orally recite the name of Amitâbha 阿彌陀 they will expunge many kalpas of bad karma, and at the end of their lives, the Buddha will come with myriads of sages and release them from their afflictions. [Charles Muller; source(s): Ui]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Bukkyō jiten (Ui) 669

    Bulgyo sajeon 814a

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 737a

    Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha) 339a/376

    Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 881c

    Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Hirakawa) 0304

    Fo Guang Dictionary 5966

    Ding Fubao

    Bukkyō daijiten (Mochizuki) (v.1-6)3070a,853b,1458c,1722c

    Bukkyō daijiten (Oda) 1094-1

    Sanskrit-Tibetan Index for the Yogâcārabhūmi-śāstra (Yokoyama and Hirosawa)

    Copyright provisions

    The rights to textual segments (nodes) of the DDB are owned by the author indicated in the brackets next to each segment. For rights regarding the compilation as a whole, please contact Charles Muller. Please do not reproduce without permission. And please do not copy into Wikipedia without proper citation!

    Entry created: 1993-09-01

    Updated: 2021-06-10