『チャラカ・サンヒター』における「来世非存在論」批判

抄録

The Carakasaṃhitā （CS） teaches in its 11th chapter that we should seek three basic desires: 1） for preservation of life; 2） for acquisition of wealth; 3） for the afterlife （paralokaiṣaṇā）.

The existence of the afterlife is important in explaining the desire for the afterlife. Nevertheless, since people have no way to perceive the afterlife, they are skeptical about its real existence. CS reveals that it is possible to recognize the existence of the afterlife in ways other than direct perception, and it explicitly acknowledges the existence of the afterlife.

Considering that CS is a medical text, it is strange that it discusses and acknowledges the afterlife. Nonetheless, CS’s intentions are clearly expressed in its criticism against afterlife denialists. CS strongly criticizes the claim that there is no afterlife because we cannot perceive it directly, and likewise criticizes the denialists who do not recognize any means of perception. In other words, it acknowledges the importance of cognitive measures. It explains that rational reasoning and the word of a trusted person can also be included in the means of recognition. Therefore, it can be understood as follows: CS gives “the afterlife” as an example of something that cannot be perceived directly, and demonstrates how we can recognize in ways other than direct perception. Its objective might have been to show how to recognize an “unmanifest disease” that cannot be directly perceived.