Pudgalavada
Encyclopedia
The Pudgalavāda or "Personalist" school of Buddhism
broke off from the orthodox Sthaviravāda
(elders) school around 280 BCE. The Sthaviravādins interpreted the doctrine of anatta
to mean that, since there is no true "self", all that we think of as a self (i.e., the subject of sentences, the being that transmigrates) is merely the aggregated skandha
s. The Pudgalavādins asserted that, while there is no ātman
, there is a pudgala or "person", which is neither the same as nor different from the skandhas. The "person" was their method of accounting for karma
, rebirth, and nirvana. Other schools held that the "person" exists only as a label, a nominal reality.
The Pudgalavādins were strongly criticized by the Theravadins (a record of a Theravadin attack on the pudgala is found in the Kathavatthu
), Sarvastivadins, and Madhyamaka
s. Peter Harvey agrees with criticisms levelled against the Pudgalavadins by Moggaliputta-Tissa
and Vasubandhu
, and finds that there is no support in the Theravada nikayas for their "person"-concept.
Among the most prominent of the Pudgalavādin schools were the Sammitiya
. The distinguished Buddhologist Etienne Lamotte
, using the writings of the Chinese traveler Xuanzang
, asserted that the Sammitiya were in all likelihood the most populous non-Mahayanist sect in India, comprising double the number of the next largest sect, although scholar L. S. Cousins
revised his estimate down to a quarter of all non-Mahayana monks, still the largest overall. They continued to be a presence in India until the end of Indian Buddhism, but, never having gained a foothold elsewhere, did not continue thereafter.
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
broke off from the orthodox Sthaviravāda
Sthaviravada
Sthaviravāda literally "Teaching Of The Elders", was one of the early Buddhist schools. It was one of the two main movements in early Buddhism that arose from the Great Schism in pre-sectarian Buddhism, the other being that of the Mahāsāṃghika school....
(elders) school around 280 BCE. The Sthaviravādins interpreted the doctrine of anatta
Anatta
In Buddhism, anattā or anātman refers to the notion of "not-self." In the early texts, the Buddha commonly uses the word in the context of teaching that all things perceived by the senses are not really "I" or "mine," and for this reason one should not cling to them.In the same vein, the Pali...
to mean that, since there is no true "self", all that we think of as a self (i.e., the subject of sentences, the being that transmigrates) is merely the aggregated skandha
Skandha
In Buddhist phenomenology and soteriology, the skandhas or khandhas are any of five types of phenomena that serve as objects of clinging and bases for a sense of self...
s. The Pudgalavādins asserted that, while there is no ātman
Atman (Hinduism)
Ātman is a Sanskrit word that means 'self'. In Hindu philosophy, especially in the Vedanta school of Hinduism it refers to one's true self beyond identification with phenomena...
, there is a pudgala or "person", which is neither the same as nor different from the skandhas. The "person" was their method of accounting for karma
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
, rebirth, and nirvana. Other schools held that the "person" exists only as a label, a nominal reality.
The Pudgalavādins were strongly criticized by the Theravadins (a record of a Theravadin attack on the pudgala is found in the Kathavatthu
Kathavatthu
Kathāvatthu , translated as "Points of Controversy", is a Buddhist scripture, one of the seven books in the Theravada Abhidhamma Pitaka...
), Sarvastivadins, and Madhyamaka
Madhyamaka
Madhyamaka refers primarily to a Mahāyāna Buddhist school of Buddhist philosophy systematized by Nāgārjuna. Nāgārjuna may have arrived at his positions from a desire to achieve a consistent exegesis of the Buddha's doctrine as recorded in the āgamas...
s. Peter Harvey agrees with criticisms levelled against the Pudgalavadins by Moggaliputta-Tissa
Moggaliputta-Tissa
Moggaliputta-Tissa , Moggaliputta-Tissa (ca. 327 BC – 247 BC), Moggaliputta-Tissa (ca. 327 BC – 247 BC), (born in Pataliputra, Magadha (now Patna, India) was a Buddhist monk and scholar who lived in the 3rd century BC...
and Vasubandhu
Vasubandhu
Vasubandhu was an Indian Buddhist monk, and along with his half-brother Asanga, one of the main founders of the Indian Yogācāra school. However, some scholars consider Vasubandhu to be two distinct people. Vasubandhu is one of the most influential figures in the entire history of Buddhism...
, and finds that there is no support in the Theravada nikayas for their "person"-concept.
Among the most prominent of the Pudgalavādin schools were the Sammitiya
Sammitiya
The Saṃmitīya sect was an offshoot of the Vātsīputrīya sect, and was one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools in India. Like its predecessor, it claims the person as a carrier of skandhas endures, and as such was a representative of the Pudgalavāda schools.-Doctrines:The Chinese...
. The distinguished Buddhologist Etienne Lamotte
Étienne Lamotte
Étienne Paul Marie Lamotte was a Belgian priest and Professor of Greek at the Catholic University of Louvain, but was better known as an Indologist and the greatest authority on Buddhism in the West in his time...
, using the writings of the Chinese traveler Xuanzang
Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period...
, asserted that the Sammitiya were in all likelihood the most populous non-Mahayanist sect in India, comprising double the number of the next largest sect, although scholar L. S. Cousins
L. S. Cousins
Lance Selwyn Cousins is a scholar in the field of Buddhist Studies. Born in Hertfordshire, he studied history and oriental studies at Cambridge University, and took up a post in the Department of Comparative Religion at Manchester University...
revised his estimate down to a quarter of all non-Mahayana monks, still the largest overall. They continued to be a presence in India until the end of Indian Buddhism, but, never having gained a foothold elsewhere, did not continue thereafter.
See also
- Early Buddhist schoolsEarly Buddhist schoolsThe early Buddhist schools are those schools into which, according to most scholars, the Buddhist monastic saṅgha initially split, due originally to differences in vinaya, and later also due to doctrinal differences and geographical separation of groups of monks.The original saṅgha split into the...
- Nikaya BuddhismNikaya BuddhismThe term Nikāya Buddhism was coined by Dr. Masatoshi Nagatomi, in order to find a more acceptable term than Hinayana to refer to the early Buddhist schools. Examples of these schools are pre-sectarian Buddhism and the early Buddhist schools...
- Schools of BuddhismSchools of BuddhismBuddhism is an ancient, polyvalent ideological system that originated in the Iron Age Indian subcontinent, referred to variously throughout history by one or more of a myriad of concepts – including, but not limited to any of the following: a Dharmic religion, a philosophy or quasi-philosophical...
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on 'Pudgalavāda' at http://www.iep.utm.edu/p/pudgalav.htm
Further reading
- Priestley, Leonard (1999). Pudgalavāda Buddhism: The Reality of the Indeterminate Self. Toronto: Centre for South Asian Studies, University of Toronto.