Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute

(Lond.) An important point of difference between Hinayana and Mahayana as pointed out by the Saddharma-Puticlarika is that according to the former the realisation of the Four Aryasatyas ( Noble Truths ) and the Pratityasamutplida ( Law of Causation ) is of primary importance for the attainment of Nirvana while according to the latter it is only of secondary importance. [...] the realisation of the essencelessness of all constituted things (Pudgala-glinyatd) i. e. the absence of any permanently existing entity ( andtmatä ). The Mahayanists hold that the dryasatyas and the pratityasamutprzda are essential to the comprehension of Pudgala-alinyata and so far the Hinayanists are right ; but they cannot enable a being to realise Dharmairtnyatti the only gate to Nirvana. [...] This statement is meant to convey that nirodha is nothing but the realisation of the real nature of anyafcl."The Place of the Aryasalyas and Pratityasamutptida 119 Arguing in this way Prajnaparamitd shows that the truth is ednyata i e. the noexistence of the so-called things of the world and this may be called the third truth mrodha while duhkha consists in thinking of oneself as related [...] 3 Kntideya speaks of the chain of causation as consisting of three parts : (i) Klegakan4a--avidyii ti..)O1 and TVi(Lina ; (ii) karmalign4a-actimketra and bhdva ; and (iii) du4khaktincla-all the remaining links of the chain.120 Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research inSlitute The MahAyti niets thus relegate the four Truth and the Causal Law to the domain of matters conventional and not real [...] Asafiga for instance refers to the Four Truths ' saying that the first two relate to the origin of the world or thhappening of repeated births and the cause thereof while the second two relate to the disappeaance of things and the causes thereof.