The Essentials of Buddhist Philosophy

253 Pages·1956·19.59 MB·English

by  Junjiro Takakusu

T H E E S S E N T I A L S O F B U D D H I S T P H I L O S O P H Y
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
t
Editions :
' t
Taishd Shinshu Daizokyo (Taishd Edition of the Buddhist Tripitaka in
Chinese), 100 vols.
The Pali Samanta-pasddikd, 4 vols. (with S. Nagai)
Hdbogirirt, dictiomume encyclopedique du bouddhisme d’apres les sources
chinoises let japonaises, 3 vols., and a supplement (with S. L£vi)
The Sdkuntala, a Sanskrit Play by Kalidasa
Dai Nippon Bukkyo Z mis ho (The Complete Works of Japanese
Buddhism), 160 vols. (with Shinkyo Mochizuki and Seigai Qmura)
Works : .
Parigoi Bukkyo Bungaku Kohon (Pali Buddhist Literature)
i __ __
Indo Tetsugaku Shukyo Shi (History of Indian Philosophy and Religion)
(with T. Kimura);
Shdwa Hobo Somokuroku (Complete Catalogue of the Tripitaka), 3 vols.
Indo Bukkyo Shiseki Shajitsu (Records of Indian Buddhism)
“ The Date of Vasubandhu, the Great Buddhist Philosopher,” Indian
Studies in Honor of Charles Rockwell Lanman
Translations :
A Record of the Buddhist Religion as Practised in India and Malay
-A
Archipelago (ad. 671-695), by I-tsing (iGijo Nankai Kiki Den)
Amitdyur Dhydna-Sutra (The Sutra of the Meditation on Amitayus)
(The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. X L IX ) (Kanmury5jukyo)
“ The Life of Vasubandhu,” by Paramiartha ( Toung Pao, 1904)
f< The Abhidharma Literature of the Sarvastivadins ” (Journal of the
Pali Text Society, 1905)
Upanishatto Zensko (Japanese translations of 108 Upani§ads), 9 vols,
(with others) :
Baga Bonka (Japanese translation of the Bhagavad-gitd)
Indo Koseika (Japanese translation of the Rg-veda)
“ Le Voyage de Kanshin en Orient (724-754),” par Aomi-no Mabito
Genkai (779) (B.E.F.E.O., t. X X V III et X X IX ) (Kakai Daishi
Toseiden),
Nanden Daizokyo (Japanese translation of the Pali Tripitaka and
commentaries), 60 vols.
T H E E S S E N T I A L S O F
B U D D H I S T P H I L O S O P H Y
by
J U N J I R O T A K A K U S U ’
EDITED BY
W - C C A . M
ing tsit h a n an d harles oore
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, T. H.
A S I A P U B L I S H I N G H O U S E

1 13 2 1
BOMBAY • CALCUTTA • MADRAS * NEW DELHI
Copyright Reserved
First Edition: University of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1947
Second Edition : 1949
24, 1956
F ir s t In d ia n E d itio n : M a y
Published on the occasion of the 2,500th Anniversary of the
Mahaparinirvdna of the Buddha
Printed by S. B. Dhawale at the Karnatalc Printing Press, Chira Bazar, Bombay 2
and published by P. S. Jayasinghe, for Asia Publishing House, Contractor Building,
Nicol Road, Ballard Estate, Bombay 1.
PREFACE T O FIRST IN D IA N EDITION
It is with great pleasure that we have welcomed the
opportunity to offer Dr. Takakusu’s study of Buddhism to «
new part of the world and to new readers by -the publication
of this first Indian edition of the book. Since this edition is
to be printed by letterpress process, the editor^ have been
enabled to undertake a rather comprehensive re-editing of the
volume and to correct a few errors a$d a number of question­
able words or passages and to make other improvements in the
text. Chief among these has been the inclusion of all
diacritical marks in the text as well as in the index. In the
preceding editions diacritical marl£s for Sanskrit words were
omitted from the text and included only in the index. That
situation was necessitated by financial limitations, and the
editors are happy to have the opportunity to prepare the volume
for this edition with complete accuracy in this phase of the
work.
The Chinese and Japanese characters which were included
in the first two editions of this book so as to give the Chinese
and Japanese equivalents of all names and practically all
concepts included in the book have been omitted from this
edition. It is felt that this is a justifiable modification of
Dr. Takakusu’s original text Because this edition is intended
primarily and almost exclusively for those who are acquainted
with English and Sanskrit and who have no knowledge of
Chinese and Japanese. For this reason the inclusion of
Japanese and Chinese characters might well be an inadvisable
source of confusion as well as a very great additional expense
to thfpublisher. The previous editions were published primarily
for use by those who are acquainted with Chinese and Japanese
or both and it was therefore advisable to include the characters
so as to clarify the meanings of numerous Sanskrit names and
terms in Chinese and/or Japanese equivalents.
While the editors did not assume the liberty of changing
many of Dr. Takakusu’s words or phrases in the first two
editions, it has been considered wise to make some changes in-
vi PREFACE
this edition where greater darity was needed and' could be
provided by a revision of English terminology and sentence-
structure. In no case, however, has Dr. Takakusu’s treatment
been changed in any substantial w a y ; . the book is still
fundamentally as Dr. Takakusu wrote it.
One type of correction which was felt to be advisable has
not been made, primarily because it would involve many
changes in the text and might lead to more confusion than
clarity. This has to do with Dr. Takakusu’s use of Japanese
names for Chinese Buddhist writers and also for schools of
Buddhism which were originally developed in China and
therefore should probably be cited by their Chinese names.
There are a few places in the text where the precise mean­
ing which Dr. Takakusu irlteaded* to express is still somewhat
uncertain, but in such cases, because of the doubtful meanings
involved and because of the possibility that changes might
distort Dr. Takakusu’s meaning, no changes have been made.
Dr. Richard A. Gard of the Asia Foundation ; Professor
Johannes Rahder of Yale University, and Professor C. W. Taam
and Professor Yukuo Uyehara of the University of Hawaii
rendered invaluable aid in re-checking this entire volume for
its first Indian edition. Deep appreciation is hereby expres­
sed for this invaluable assistance. *
W - C
in g tsit h a n
C A . M
harles oore
Honolulu
January 28, 1956
EDITORS’ PREFACE
. For several decades prior to Professor Takakusu’s death
in June, 1945, the English-speaking world knew him as an
author, editor, and translator of monumental works on Bud­
dhism. In this book, Dr. Takakusu’s only major work in
English, the summation of his lifetime study "of Buddhist
philosophy is presented. Dr. Takakusu prepared the material
in Tokyo and in 1938-39 delivered it, as a series of lectures at
the University of Hawaii, where he was a visiting professor. In
the summer of 1939, philosophers from several parts of the world
gathered at the University of Hawaii, for an- East-West Philo­
sophers’ Conference, and they used this text as one of the books
in their discussions. The results of this conference are presen­
ted in Philosophy—East and West, published in 1944 by the
Princeton University Press.
Before Professor Takakusu returned to Tokyo, he autho­
rized us to publish this text and to make minor alterations with­
out consulting him. We have made some revisions, but, in order
to avoid the possibility of altering the meaning, we have revised
the English only where we felt that a change was essential.
The text gives basic Buddhist terms in English, Chinese, and
Sanskrit, and the index gives the diacritical marks of the Pali
and Sanskrit. Dr. Takakusu employs irregular Sanskrit forms
at times in order to avoid confusion on the part of the reader.
As an aid to students, we have insated references to important
texts of all major Buddhist philosophical systans.
This work represents the conclusions of a Buddhist scholar
whose renown is attested by the academic and honorary degrees
and ather honors conferred upon him. Among these were :
M.A., D.Litt. (Oxon.), Dr. Phil. (Leipzig), D.Litt. (Tokyo),
Ehren Dr. Phil. (Heidelberg), Member of the Imperial Aca­
demy (Japan), Fellow of the British Acadany. At the time
of his death he was Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit at Tokyo
Imperial University.
Some readers may believe that Japanese Buddhism has
been overstressed in this volume, but, as Professor Takakusu
vm• • * PREFACE
states, it is justified—or necessitated—by' the fact that in Japan
“ the whole of Buddhism has been preserved,” as well as the
fact that, in Japan, Buddhism is the living and active faith of
the mass of the people. .
• As Director of the University’s Oriental Institute (now the
School of Pacific and Asian Studies), Mr. Gregg M. Sinclair
arranged for Dr. Takakusu’s engagement as visiting professor
at the University of Hawaii, and as President of the University
since 1943 he has kept alive the plan for publishing this book
at an appropriate time. ’
The project has received generous financial assistance from
Professor Takakusu’s friends in Hawaii, especially through the
co-operation of Mr. Eimu Miake and the Reverend Kenju
Ohtomo. Thanks are also due to Professor Yukuo Uyehara
for his assistance in planning and effecting publication of the
volume, to Professor Johannes Rahder for invaluable assistance
on the proofs and index, and to the Reverend Iwasaburo
Yoshikami for help on the index. Special appreciation is here­
by expressed to Mr. Richard A. Gard for his very generous
assistance in checking the entire manuscript with Professor
Takakusu after the latter’s return to Japan from Hawaii in
1939, and working out with the author many important changes
in the text. Mr. Gard deserves thanks also for similar assistance
in connection with Professor Takakusu’s chapter in Philosophy
—East and West, which indudes, in essence, the same material
as found in Chapter III of this volume.
W - C
in g tsit h a n
C A . M
harles oore
EDITORS’ PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION
The enthusiastic reception of Dr. Takakusu’s presentation
of the basic principles and schools of Buddhist Philosophy led
to the early depletion of the first edition and has been inter­
preted to mean that the book fills a substantial need in the
field of technical secondary literature on the subject. A second
edition, therefore, seemed desirable to the editors and to those
who first published the book, namely,,the University of Hawaii
and friends of Dr. Takakusu in Hawaii.
In presenting this second edition, the editors have main­
tained the policies stated in the preface to the first edition ;
that is, they have not considered it their privilege to change
the text materially. A few changes have been made for the
sake of greater clarity, however, and minor errors have been
corrected.
The editors wish to express their great appreciation for
generous assistance in making these revisions to Professor
Johannes Rahder, Yale University ; Professor Sitaram Tripathi,
Banaras Hindu University ; Professor Yukuo Uyehara, Univer­
sity of Hawaii; and Mr. Richard A. Gard, Ontario, California.
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W - C
ing tsit h a n
C A . M
harles oore
Honolulu
May 1, 1949