The Two Meanings of ālambana in the Triṁśikābhāṣya

Abstract

In this paper, I consider two meanings of the term ālambana in Sthiramati’s commentary (Triṁśikābhāṣya=Tbh) on the Triṁśikākārikā. In the beginning of Tbh, Sthiramati says ālambana is imagery “inside” of cognition. From this point of view ālambana means paratantrasvabhāva in the trisvabhāva. On the other hand, in the second half of Tbh, Sthiramati says ālambana is “outside” of cognition, that is parikalpitasvabhāva in the trisvabhāva. The question is whether Sthiramati’s commentary is contradictory. The purpose of this paper is to consider the reason why Sthiramati uses the term ālambana to express two meanings.