The Background of Vasubandhu’s Definition of Sāsrava-dharmas: Focusing on the Contextual Use of anu-śī-

Abstract

In chapter 1 of the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya, Vasubandhu defines impure dharmas (sāsrava-dharmas) as dharmas to which leakages (āsravas) cling (samanuśerate). The problem here is that the verb anu-śī- (Chi. suizeng 随増), which originally means “to cling to,” is associated with the conception of sāsrava, although there is no etymological relation between the two. In this paper, I will examine how Vasubandhu forms the definition of sāsrava-dharmas with a focus on the contextual use of anu-śī- in Sarvāstivādin doctrine.

In Sarvāstivādin literature, the *Dharmaskandha (Chi. Fayun zu lun 法蘊足論) first uses anu-śī- to define the three realms. Then, the *Prakaraṇapāda (Chi. Pinlei zu lun 品類足論) uses anu-śī- to build a relation between the three realms and their corresponding contaminants (anuśayas) as follows: all the contaminants of the desire realm cling to the desire realm; all the contaminants of the form realm cling to the form realm; and all the contaminants of formless realm cling to the formless realm. According to Sarvāstivādin doctrine, the three realms are equal to the dharmas bound to the three realms, and these dharmas are equated with the sāsrava-dharmas. This suggests that dharmas to which contaminants cling are indirectly identical to sāsrava-dharmas.

From this investigation, I conclude that Vasubandhu forms the definition of sāsrava-dharmas by connecting directly dharmas to which contaminants cling with sāsrava-dharmas, and substituting leakages for contaminants.