p.253
p.253
The text under discussion [1] is part of the very last section of the Yagasuutra: within
the Kaivalya Pada it describes a condition immediately preceding kaivalyn itself.
It certainly is of crucial importance for the understanding of the practice and
theory of Yoga. It describes the condition of the yogin at this advanced stage as
dharmamegha samaadhi. While the literal translation of this term does not pose
any problem, it has puzzled commentators and has led to a great number of
mutually incompatible interpretations.
I
The classical commentaries of Vyaasa (Yogabhaa.sya) [2] and of Vaacaspati Mi`sra
(Tattvavai`saaradii) [3] treat the dharmamegha samaadhi as a technical term, describing a condition where vivekakhyaati has become permanent. Bhoja (Yogabhaa.syav.rtti) gives a one-sentence explanation of the term
itself: [4]
prak.r.s.tam a`suklak.r.s.na^m [5] dharma^m paramapurusaarthasaadhaka^m mehati si~ncati
iti dharmamegha.h.
For him the term dharmamegha signifies the outpouring or effusion of the highest
dharma, which is "neither white nor black," [6] accomplishing the highest aim of
human life. Through these highest dharmas he obtains insight into the foundation of all knowledge (j~naanahetutvam).
In the Yogasuutra commentary ascribed to `Sa^nkara (Yogasuutrabhaa.syavivara.na),
[7] the suutra is left without any comment whatsoever. Vij~naanabhik.su, the last
of the classical comment~ators (Yogavaarttika), offers a very brief explanation of
the teIm:
kle`sakarmaadiinaa^m ni.h`se.seniin muulaka^m dharma^m mehati var.satiiti
dharmamegha.h [8]
Dharmamegha, he says, is so called because it pours out or rains down the dharma
which eradicates without a trace all afflicions and karmans. In his Yogasaarasa^mgraha,
[9] he does not mention the term but goes into some detail describing the
condition of vivekcrkhyaati.
The only reference to dharmamegha samaadhi in classical Hindu literature,
outside the commentaries on the Yogasuutra, of which I am aware is a reference
in Vidyaara.nya's Pa~ncada`sii [10] In I, 60 he mentions dharmamegha samaadhi as the
highest stage to be reached in Yoga: In the context of his instructions on the
realization of the highest truth he operates with the well-known triad: `sravanamanana-nidhidyhaasana.
[11] Samaadhi, not further qualified (as in the Yogasuutra), is
described as "that condition in which the mind gradually abandons the notion of
meditator and meditation (dhyaat.rdhyaane parityajya) and is merged in the object
p.254
of meditation (dhyeyaikagocaram).'' In that condition the mind is likened to a
steady flame of a lamp in a well-sheltered place (nivatidiipavat cittam). By way of
confinnation, a reference to Bhagavadgiitaa VI, 19 is inserted. The effect of this samaadhi is the destruction of ail karman accumulated over
innumerable lives and the "growth of pure dharma" (`suddho dharmo vivardhate).
"The experts in yoga call this samaadhi dharmamegha because it pours forth
countless showers of the nectar of dharma (var.saty e.sa yato dharmaam.rtadhaaraas
sahasra`sa.h)." Through this samaadhi the net of vaasaanaa [12] is destroyed and meritorious as well as nonmeritorious karman (pu.nyapaapaakhye karman) is rooted
out.
At that point Vidyaaranya, the Advaitin, brings in an element of Vedaantic
realization: the Word, [13] no longer bound (vaakyam apratibaddham), brings forth
immediate enlightenment (bodham aparok.sa^m prasuuyate) concerning the truth
which previously was known only by the medium of the teacher's instruction.
The guru's instruction is likened to the fire which burns up sin; the direct
realization of aatman is like "the scorching sun that dispels the very darkness of
avidyaa, the cause of sa.msaara" [14].
Swaamii Vij~naanaa`srama, in his Hindii padaartha to Vyaa.Sa Bhaa.sya IV,
29, [15] has
some interesting observations which appear quite original. Vivekakhyaati, he says,
is the dharma of buddhi. buddhi is undir the sway of prak.rti and must also be given
up. If the yogin renounces also vivekakhyaati, he realizes vivekakhyaati completely,
and therefore this samaadhi is called dharmamegha. The meaning of dharma here is
akin to brahmaananda, and it is in the II`sopani.sad that we get the explanation of it:
hira.nyayena paatre.na satyasyaapihita^m mukham tar tva^m puu.sann apaav.r.nu satyadharmaaya d.r.s.taye. [16]
He translates this as: "O Paramaatman, destroy the veil which hides satyadharma
or brahmadar`sana so that we may see his face which is satyadharmasvaruupa (of
the nature of true reality)." He continues: Yaaska in his Nirukta also calls the word
dharma one of the names of Paramaatman, and therefore the proper meaning of
dhanna is here brahmaananda. Dharma or brahmaananda is flooding the mind of the
yogin--therefore it is called dharmamegha. When the yogin has attained this
samaadhi, he has become perfect (k.rtak.rtya) and lives forever in the bliss of
Brahman: he can then also be called a, jiivanmukta.
II
Western scholars of Indian literature, not restricted by traditional Indian brtho
doxies, and not bound by the aastika-naastika exclusivism, quite early pointed out
that the Yogasuutra and Buddhist texts on meditation had rather much in common. It became one of the major points of scholarly debate whether Buddhism
borrowed from Yoga or Yoga from Buddhism. [17] Apart from that controversy,
their study focussed on verbal expressions common to Buddhist texts and the
Yogasuutras.
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Thus Louis de la Vall`ee Poussin, summarizing and complementing such
studies in his Le Boudhisme et le Yoga de Pata~njali, points to a parallelism between YS IV, 26 ff and the Buddhist systematization of bhuumis (stages) which the
bodhisattva has to master. [18] He specifically quotes E. Senart on dharmamegha:
"On s'est `etonn`e du nom si `etrange de dharmamegha 'nuage de la Loi', dent le
Yoga designe ce samaadhi ultime qui assure la destruction des kle`sas et du knrman.
Comment le separer de la phraseologie bouddhique et de cette 'ambroisie di la
Loi' que I'enseignment du Buddha fait pleuvoir sur le monde (et la dixi^eme terre
des bodhisattvas dharmameghaa bhuumi)? [19]
Modern interpreters, Indian as well as non-Indian, while recognizing the Buddhist flavor of an expression like dharmamegha, and being--on the whole--quite
open to the mutuality of influences between early Buddhism and early forms of
Yoga, have not--as far as I can see--actually tried to utilize Buddhist texts to
throw some light on this strange term and the stage of development of the yogin
it describes.
A brief survey of such modern comments will prove helpful, however. It forms
part of the history of the interpretation of this crucial suutra, and may, in addition,
convince us of the need to look elsewhere for additional light.
S. N. Dasgupta, whose studies Yoga
Philosophy [20] and Yoga as Philosophy and Religion [21] are among the most enlightening and frequently referred to, makes
extensive and sympathetic references to parallels between Yoga practice and
Buddhism. In Yoga Philosophy, however, there is no reference to dharmamegha
at all. In Yoga as Philosophy and Religion, we get a fairly extensive comment on
YS IV, 29:
(The) final uprooting of the avidyaa with its vaasanaas directly follows the
attainment of true knowledge called praj~naa in which state the seed of false knowledge
is altogether burned and cannot be revived again.... When the state of buddhi becomes almost as pure as the puru.sa itself, all self-enquiry subsides, the vision of
the real form of the puru.sa arises, and false knowledge, together with the kle`sas
and the consequent fruition of actions, ceases once for all. This is that state of
citta which, far from tending towards the objective world, tends towards the
kaivalya of the puru.sa. . . . When the mind is in its natural, passive and objectless
stream of flowing praj~naa, it is called the dharmamegha samaadhi. When nothing is
desired even from dhyaana arises the true knowledge which distinguishes prak.rti
from puru.sa and is called the dharmamegha samaadhi (YS IV, 29). The potency,
however, of this state of consciousness lasts until the puru.sa is finally liberated
from the wounds of prak.rti and is absolutely free (kevali). . . . [T]he puru.sa in this
state may be called the emancipated being, jiivanmukta. [22]
Now with the rise of such dharmamegha the succession of the changes of the
qualities is over, inasmuch as they have fulfilled their object, by having achieved
experience and emancipation, and their succession having been ended, they
cannot stay even for a moment. And now comes absolute freedom, when the
gu.nas return back to the pradhaana, their primal cause.... [23]
J. W. Hauer, in his pioneering study Der Yoga als Heilsweg, [24] quite often
approvingly referred to by G. Feuerstein in his own authoritative Yoga studies, [25]
offers a translation of YS IV, 29:
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Wenn einer zur Tiefenschau gelangt, selbst da nicht geniessend verharrt, sondern
zur unumschränkten Unterscheidungsschau fortschreitet, so ist das die 'Einfaltung' genannt 'Wolke der tragenden Urmacht'.
[26]
In a note, he adds to 'Wolke der tragenden Urmacht' (his translation of dharmamegha):
Dieser Ausdruck stammt aus dem Buddhismus. Dharma ist zwar im allgemeinen
'Gesetz', kehrt aber im sp<a>teren Buddhismus häufig zu seiner Grundbedeutung
'tragende Macht' zuriick.... Der sich Versenkende ist in diesem Zustand wie
eingehiillt in die tragende Urmacht der Welt. [27]
Hauer thus assumes that the Yogasuutra makes use of a late Buddhist term in its Buddhist sense, which he takes to mean 'the sustaining primeval power of the
universe'.
I. K. Taimni, in his The Science of Yoga, [28] does not make any reference to
Buddhism at all when commenting on YS IV, 29. He offers a fairly detailed
exposition of the meaning of dharmamegha samaadhi, which he takes to be a 'yogic
technical term'. He describes it as "the highest kind of samaadhi which burns up
the 'seeds' of sa^mskaaras and unlocks the gates of the World of Reality in which
the Purusa lives eternally." Rejecting the usual interpretations of the word, he
proposes his own:
The significance of the phrase Dharma-Megha will become clear if we assign to
the word Dharma the meaning which it has in YSIV, 12 namely that of property,
characteristic or function. Megha, of course, is a technical term used in Yogic
literature for the cloudy or misty condition through which consciousness passes
in the critical stage of Asampraj~naata Samaadhi when there is nothing in the field of
consciousness.
He compares the condition of the yogin passing through dharmamegha samaadhi
to that of a pilot "who comes out of a cloudbank and begins to see everything
ciearly." He states:
Dharmameghasamaadhi ... means the final Samaadhi in which the Yogi shakes
himself free from the world of dharmas which obscure reality like a cloud.
It also means the final and irrevocable separation of puru.sa (spirit) and prak.rti
(matter), the definite eradication of avidyaa (ignorance). "This process is irreversible and after reaching this stage it is not possible for the Puru.sa to fall again into
the realm of Maayaa from which he has obtained liberation." In the comments on
the following suutra he again asserts:
When the last veil of illusion is removed in Dharma-Megha Samaadhi the Enlightenment which comes is of an entirely new
kind. [29]
G. Koelman, in his very detailed thematic exposition of Paata~njala
Yoga, [30]
devotes some discussion to dharmamegha samadhi, which he translates as 'concentration (called) the Raincloud of essences'.
Until he reaches the stage of the Raincloud of essences, the yogi has to initiate his
concentration by starting from some objective prakritic reality. He remains,
therefore, to some extent still dependent on the prakritic world. This tie with the
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outer world must be snapped, there should not be any external supporting object,
otherwise the mind will continue in the emergent state of thinking. The passage
from the state of Sublime Insight to the state of Restriction is called the state of
the Raincloud of Essences (dharmameghasamaadhi). The Raincloud of Essences is
the stage where there is absolutely uninterrupted discriminative intuition, at once
apprehended and generously sacrificed, and uninterrupted experience of the fact
that in our present state we do not square with our true Self, an intuition of our
Self's "otherness", a yearning for release: cupio dissolvi ... et esse ipse solus! ...
The Raincloud of Essences is meant to sublimate the intuition of Sublime Insight,
by a total renunciation of it and an absolute abdication of all attachments,
rejecting the very bliss of sublime insight. It is understood as that perfection of
intuition which rains down, gratuitously and with the yogi's direct collaboration,
that essence which is salvific.
Reflecting on the meaning of the passage just cited, he admits: "What is really
meant by 'dharma' in this expression, I have not been able to ascertain." After
summarizing what he understands to be the interpretations of the classical
commentators, he continues:
We might venture another explanation, which, however, we have met nowhere.
Since every supporting element is a determination (dharma) of the mind, since
every activity and every subliminal impression are likewise determinations of the
mind, that Yoga practice which induces the restriction of the mind's activity and
suppresses all external objective support, while at the same time accumulating
subliminal impressions of inhibition only, may that Yoga-practice not be compared to a cloud which veils, which screens off the mental complex from external
influences?
While Koelman's proposal certainly deserves discussion together with the other
proposals quoted by him, which clearly do not express the same idea, I find it
difficult to accept his statement in the next passage:
Whatever be the exact meaning of dharmamegha, the general idea is quite clear.
It is a state of concentration where only the experience of the difference between
the sattvam of the function-of-consciousness and the Self stands out, without
intrusion of any other ideas.. .. [31]
III
The lead provided by Senart, de la Vall`ee Poussin, Hauer, and others point to
such obvious Buddhist parallels like the (Mahaayaana) Da`sabhuumikasuutra, [32] in
which dharmameghaa is explicitly mentioned as the last bhuumi, and other late texts,
which extensively enumerate the stages of progress of the Bodhisattva. However,
before examining these important sources, I would like to point to an earlier text
in which the term occurs: whether it is the earliest mention of the term I am not
able to decide.
The Milindapannha has among the similes in its latter portion an entry: megha
(rain-cloud). [33] The text enumerates five qualities of the rain-cloud which the
yogin is to possess.
1. As the rain-cloud settles the dust on the road, so the yogin, by means of his yoga
practice, should settle the dust of afflictions (kilesarajojallam).
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2. As the rain-cloud allays the heat of summer, so the yogin, through his practice
of friendliness (mettaabhaava), should reduce the heat of the whole world
(nibbaapetabbo).
3. As the rain-cloud makes all kinds of plants grow, so the yogin should make
faith (saddhaa) arise and grow.
4. As the rain-cloud affords protection in the hot season to vegetation, so the
yogin, by virtue of mindfulness (manasikaara), should protect the sama.nadhamma.
5. As the rain-cloud, when it opens up, fills brooks and streams and wells and
lakes, so the yogin, by virtue of his yoga life (yogaavacarena) well grounded in the
scriptures (aagamapariyattiyaa), should open the "raincloud of dharma" (dharmamegha) and make it pour down fulfillment to the minds of those who are
desirous of learning.
The Mahaayaana text Da`sabhuumikasuutra, which "occupies a position of paramount importance in the Mahaayaana system of thought,"
[34] lists as the last and
highest of the stages which the bodhisattva has to traverse the dharmameghaa
bhuumi. It is also called abhi`sekabhuumi, level of anointment of ordination/
coronation. It represents the highest level and enables the bodhisattva to enter
into innumerable samaadhis.
Finally, the samaadhi called sarvaj~naanavi`se.sabhi`seka becomes available to
him. He is seen as occupying a luminous seat called mahaaratnaraajapadma, which
emits rays illuminating the ten quarters of the world, performing a great many
miracles. The Buddhas appear before him and consecrate him in supreme
enlightenment.
He now understands the appearance of phenomenal plurality in its true nature
and realizes the different types of magical creation. He exercises the ten powers
(balas), which include: the power of discrimination between right and wrong, the
knowledge of the law of karma, the knowledge of all the different stages of
creation, the knowledge of the different forms of deliverance, the knowledge of
all the different dispositions of all living beings, the knowledge of the final
destination of all deeds, the knowledge of all the different practices of meditation, the knowledge of former existences, the unlimited power of divinization,
and complete cessation of all evil desires.
He is in possession of the four certitudes (vai`saaradya), namely, of having
attained the highest enlightenment, having destroyed all evil desires, having
rightly identified the obstacles on the path to enlightenment, and having truthfully taught the way to deliverance.
He now possesses the eighteen ave.nikas (unique characteristics) of the Buddha:
he commits no errors; he is faultless in his speech and in his mind; he remains
constant in his mind; his mind is free from particularity; he is confirmed in
equanimity; his desire to save beings is unlimited; his energy is inexhaustible; his
remembrance (of Buddhas past) is unlimited; his wisdom is unlimited; his de-
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liverance is permanent; his knowledge of his deliverance is permanent; his skill in
means is perfect in action and speech; he knows about the problems of all souls;
and he knows all the past, all the present, and all the furture.
He goes through the light of vision of the mahaadharmamegha and makes it his
own (sahate, sviikaroti, sampratiicchati, sa^mdharaayati). Finally he puts out the
flames of afflictions, produced by ignorance, by means of showering the rain of
nectar of great merit. [35]
Neither the number of bhuumis nor their names are uniform in the various
Mahaayaana texts which deal with the ascent of the bodhisattva.
The Mahaavaastu [36] also describes ten bhuumis. Its highest, the Tu.sita, is the place
from which--if he wishes--the bodhisattva can enter again into a human
existence as a bodhisattva "with the resolve that it will be his last existence." The
lengthy chapter is filled with a description of "the wonderful and marvelous
attributes of these supreme men, which are not shared by Pratyekabuddhas, nor
by saints, nor by disciples, nor by average men." At this stage they are "endowed
with the attributes of descent into the womb, of being born, of having parents, of
taking up religious life, of being energetic, of attaining wisdom." [37] The term
dharmamegha is not used or referred to.
Similarly, in Asa^nga's Yogaacaarabhuumi, in the section on Bodhisattvabhuumi,
[38]
we find a total of seven bhuumis: the highest is called Nisthaagamana and is
compared by Nalinaksa Dutt, the editor of the text, with dharmamegha. [39]
D. Seyfort Ruegg [40] mentions a text in which dharmamegha is listed as the
eleventh stage, just before the twelfth and final one (varamabhaavika vi`se.samaya).
T. R. V. Murti [41] refers to Candrakiirti's attempt in his Maadhyamakaavataara to
fit the paaraamitaas in with the ten bhuumis: "the tenth bhuumi--Dharmamegha--is
taken to be the Buddhabhuumi, though complete Buddhahood is still far off."
There is a verse in the Lalitavistara, [42]--in the second chapter, which narrates
how the gods persuade the Bodhisattva residing in the Tu.sita heaven to descend
to earth again--in which the motive of the rain-cloud and the cessation of
afftictions is brought together with the coming of the Buddha:
kle`sgninaa pradiipte loke tvam viira meghavad vyaapya abhivar.saamr.tavar.sa^m `samaya kle`saan naramaruu.naam [43].
The Mahaayaanasuutraaala^mkaara [44] in its description of bhuumis also speaks of the
dharmameghaa as the highest level to be attained by those who are about to reach
complete mukti. It briefly explains the term: dharmameghaa ayam karma^ny abhij~naa'
karma.naam avyaaghaataat [45] --characterizing it as a condition where the karmans are
completely known after they have ceased to be an obstacle.
H. V. Guenther, referring to a Tibetan work of a similar character, which
enumerates the ten bhuumis as does the Da`sabhuumikasuutram, describes the last in
this fashion:
The tenth level, "Cloud of Dharma" (dharmamegha) contains innumerable
Dharaa.nimukhas and Samaadhimukhas, and being knowledge, encompasses all
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that can be known, just as a cloud fills the sky. And just as rain quenches the thirsting earth, so this "cloud" pours down the rain of the Dharma and exstinguishes the raging fire of all kinds of
instability. [46]
IV
The use of the term dharmamegha samaadhi in YS IV, 29 does not appear to be
arbitrary or purely technical in the sense that Patar~njali could have chosen
another term, as a quark could well be known by any other name. The associations given to dharmamegha in the Buddhist texts--which reappear in some of
the classical (Hindu) commentaries on the Yogasuutras--seem to be of the essence
of this samaadhii.
These associations suggest in both instances a rather elevated and advanced
state of the vogin, reached after many tests and trials, a state where the yogin is
confirmed in his position and there is no longer any danger of sliding back to a
lower state. The cessation of kle`sa and of karman is closely tied up with the
dharmamegha, and the metaphor of the "rain" appears to be most appropriate
since it extinguishes fire, washes away impurities, and provides a necessary
condition for growth.
The borderline between the dharmamegha samaadhi and the kaivalya of Yoga,
or between bodhisattvahood and Buddahood at the stage of dharmameghaa of
Buddhism, is virtually imperceptible: it is only a question of fulfillment of a
process, which from then on has only one direction. And here we may, possibly,
discern a significant difference between the Yogic (Hindu) and the Buddhist
dynamics: the Buddhist texts emphasize the altruistic aspects of this condition
－the possibility for the Bodhisattva/Yogin to assist the world in reaching the
highest goal, the beneficial effects which "the rain of dharma" has with regard to
the quenching of the firebrand of the kle`sa of those still under their sway. The
Yogasuutra seems to be interested in the benefit of the dharmamegha samaadhi for
the sake of the yogin only: his kle`sa and his karman are eradicted, his knowledge is
infinitely enlarged, his kaivalya is secured, which means the attainment of his
"being his true self," The Bodhisattva in his T.usita heaven forgoes, for the time
being, the complete bliss and the ultimate perfection of Buddhahood, which is
within his reach, and accedes to the pleas of the devas to incarnate and make
himself present in a bodily form among humans for their benefit alone.
In an earlier study, [47] I suggested "to translate megha not as cloud but as 'field'
in the sense of modern physics. Dharmamegha samaadhi would then be a condition
in which the dharmas, which on a lower level of consciousness have been
perceived as differentiated into a great number of specific dharmas, now are
perceived in their (unified) dharma-character: as 'field' surrounding ultimate
reality rather than as things." I also pointed to the crucial function of the k.sa.na
dharma, as the most basic for the origination of all other dharmas and as the last
connection between puru.sa and prak.rti. I tried to suggest dharmamegha samaadhi
as zero-time-experience.
p.261
The insight into the nature of everything as "dhannic" is irrevocable: the
puru.sa will never be able to mistake any particular object as real after the
unreality (in ultimate terms) of everything has been intuited.
NOTES:
1. prasa^mkhyaane 'py akusiidasya sarvathaa vivekakhyaater dharmamegha.h samaadhi.h. As translated by J. H. Woods, in The Yoga System of Pata~njali, Harvard Oriental Series, No. 17 (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1914), p. 340: "For one who is not usurious even in respect of Elevation, there follows in every case, as a result of discriminative discernment, the concentration (called) Rain-cloud of (knowable) things." As translated by I. K. Taimni, in The Science of Yoga (Wheaten, Illinois: Theosophical Publishing House, 1972), p. 431: "In the case of one, who is able to maintain a constant state of Vairaagya even towards the most exalted state of enlightenment and to exercise the highest kind of discrimination, follows Dharma-Megha Samaadhi."
2. Edition used: `Srii Naaraaya.na Mi`sra, Paata~njalayogadarsaanam (with Vyaasabhaa.sya, Vaacaspati Mi`sra's Tattvavai`saaradii, and Vij~naanabhik.su's Yagavaarttika) (Varanasi, 1971).
3. Both use an almost identical expression: Vyaasa: tadaasya dharmamegho naama samaadhir bhaavati. Vaacaspati Mi`sra: tadaasya dharmamegha.h samaaidhir bhaavati.
4. Edition used: Swaami Vij~naanaa`srama, Paata~njala Yagadar`sanam(with Vyaasabhaa.sya and Bhoja's V.rtti and a Hindii commentary by the editor) (Ajmer, 1961).
5. Could the text be amended to read prak.s.rtamsuklak.r.s.nam ? It would, I believe, make more sense in the context of quite routine distinctions of akli.s.tn karman into `sukla and k.r.s,na, mi`sra, and a`sukla-ak.r.s.na. See Gopinaath Kaviraaj, "Karma kaa `sreni vvibhaaga aura kli.s.ta-akli.s.ta karma," in "Paraloka Aur Punarjanmaa^nka" (Kalyaa.na 43, no. 1 (Gorakhpuc Giitaapress, 1969): 237-242).
6. I admit to having philosophical as well as philological reservations to this translation,
suggested by Swaami Vij^naanaa`srama.
7. Paatanjala Yogasuutra Bhaa.sya Vivara.nam, ed. by Polakam `Snn Raama `Sastii and S. R. K.r.s.namurti `Sastrii, Government Oriental Series, no. 94 (Madras, 1952).
8. MiSra, Paata~njalayogadar`s戢nam , p. 455 (cited in note 2).
9. Yogasaarasa^ngraha of Vij~naana-Bhik.su, with original text, Hindii translation and explanatory notes by Dr. Pavan Kumari (Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers, 1981).
10. Edition used: Swami Swahaananda, trans. The Pa~ncada`sii (Mylapore, Madras: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 1967), p. 28.
11. Swahanandas Pa~ncada`siiI, 53-54: "The finding out of the true meaning of the great sayings is known as `srava.na, and its validation through logical reasoning is called manana. When by `srava.na and manana the mind develops a firm and undoubted conviction and dwells permanently on theoneness, it is called nididhyaasana."
12. Impressions (desires) left in the mind by previous actions.
13. Literally, vaakya means 'sentence'. What is meant are the 'Great Sayings' (Mahaavaakya), the (four) Upani.sadic (revealed) statements of identity of brahman and aatman.
14. Inid., p. 29 (I, 64).
15. Vij~naanaa`srama, Paata~njala, pp. 500-501 (cited in note 4).
16. I`sopani.sad 15.
17. For some of the older opinions see Louis de la Vall`ee Poussin, "Le boudhisme et le Yoga de Pata~njali," in M`elanges chinois et bouddhiques, vol. 5 (Bruxelles: Institute Belge des Hautes `Etudes Chinoises, 1937), pp. 223-242. For some of the more recent opnions: W. L. King, Theravaada Meditation: The Buddhist Transformation of Yoga (University Park, Pennsylvania, and London: pennsylvania State University, 1980); Karel Werner, "Religious Practice and Yoga in the Time of the Vedas, Upani.sads and Early Buddhism," Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 56 (1975): 179-194; and M. Eliade, Yoga. Immortality and Freedom, Bollingen Series 56 (Princeton University Press, 1969), esp. pp. 162 ff:
18. de la Vall`ee Poussin, "Le boudhisme et le Yoga," p. 241 (cited in note 17).
19. Ibid. No reference is given to the specific source.
p.262
20. S. N. Dasgupta, Yoga Philosophy in Relation to other systems of lndian Thought (originally published 1930; reprint, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1974).
21. S. N. Dasgupta, Yoga as Philosophy and Religion (originally published 1924; reprint, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1973).
22. Ibid., p. 116.
23. Ibid., p. 118.
24. J. W. Hauer, Der Yoga als Heilsweg: Nach den indischen Quellen dargestellt (Stuttgart:
W. Kohlhammer, 1932).
25. G. Feuerstein, The Philosophy of Classical Yoga (The University of Manchester Press, 1982).
26. Ibid., p. 123.
27. Ibid., p. 157.
28. Taimni, The Science of Yoga, pp. 432-433 (cited in note 1).
29. Ibid., p~ 435.
30. G. M. Koelman, S. J., Paata~njala Yoga: From Related Ego to Absolute Self (Poona: Papal Athenaeum, 1970).
31. Ibid., p. 234.
32. Edition used: Da`sabhuumikasuutram, ed. by Dr. P. L. Vaidya, Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, no. 7 (Darbhanga: Mithila Institute, 1967). See also the introduction to J. Rahder, "Da`sabhuumika Suutram. Seventh Stage," Acta Orientalia 4 (1926): 214-256.
33. Edition used: Milindapa~nha Pall, ed. by Swami Dwarikadaasa Shastri, Bauddha Bharati Series 13 (Varanasi, 1979). The reference is to meghaa^ngapa~nho, p. 288 (no. 6). The English translation by T. W. Rhys Davids, in Sacred Beaks of the East (Oxford: 1894) vol. 36, pp. 3 56-357, translates megha as "Rain" and yogi as "strenuous Bhikshu."
34. Dr. P. L. Vaidya in the introduction to the text.
35. The Dharmameghaa bhuuSmi.h is dealt with in pp. 55-64 and pp. 102-108. See also D. T. Suzuki, Outlines of Mahaayaana Buddhism (New York: Schocken Books, 1963), pp. 326 IT.
36. Edition used: Mahaavastu Avaadana, vol. I, ed. by Dr. S. Bagchi, Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, no. 14 (Darbhanga: Mithila Institute, 1970). The reference is to pp. 106-118. The translation here is by J. J. Jones (London: Luzac & Co., 1949); the description of the tenth bhuumi is found in vol. I, pp. 112- 124.
37. Ibid., p. 112.
38. Edition used: Bodhisattvabhuumi: Being the XVth section of Asa^ngapada's
Yogaacaarabhuumi, ed. by Nalinaksha Dutt (Patna: K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute, 1978).
39. Ibid., Introduction, p. 41.
40. D. Seyfort Ruegg, "The Gotra, Ekaayana and Tathaagathagarbha Theories of the Praj~naapaaramitaa According to Dharmamitra and Abhayakaragupta," in Praj~naapaaramitaa and Related Systems,Studies in Honour of Edward Conze, ed. by L. Lancaster (Berkeley; Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series I(1977), pp. 283-312).
41. T. R. V. Murti, The Central Philosophy of Buddhism (London: Alien and Unwin, 1960), p. 269.
42. Edition used: Lalitavistara.h, ed. by Dr. P. L. Vaidya, Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, no. 1 (Darbhanga: Mithila Institute, 1958); the reference is to II, 13 (p. 9).
43. "Enveloping like a cloud the world which is scorched by the fire of aftlictions, pour down, you hero, like a rain of nectar into the fever of men's afflictions."
44. Edition used: Mahaayaana-Suutraala^nkaara of Asa^nga, ed. by Dr. S. Bagchi, Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, no. 13 (Darbhanga: Mithila Institute, 1970).
45. The reference is to XI, 47.
46. H. V. Guenther, Philosophy and Psychology in the Abhidharma (Berkeley, California, andLondon: Shambhala, 1976), p. 245.
47. Klaus K. Klostermaier, "Time in Pata~njali's Yogasuutra," Philosophy East and West 34, no. 2 (April 1984): 205-210.