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Classical Yoga (primarily in Yoga Bha\se"ya) and Buddhist scholasticism, argu-
ing, along with Keith, that the fourth pa\da of the YS criticizes the doctrines
of Asanæga and Vasubandhu, rather than a vague  Vijña\nava\da, as other
scholars had postulated.48 Heiler subscribed more generally to the  common
substratum theory of the development of Classical Yoga and Buddhism,
crediting the Yoga tradition with containing a more rich and detailed exposi-
tion of the technical dimensions of yoga practice.49 More recently, Gerhard
Oberhammer, noting the relationship between a number of yogic and Bud-
dhist concepts, such as the five  powers, the definition of sama\dhi in the
Milindapañha, and the use of meditative concepts in Vasubandhu s Abhidhar-
makoóa, suggests, like Heiler, a possible  common root to these yogic prac-
tices testified to in the early strata of Buddhism.50
The Debate over Dialogue 85
ACHANGING TIDE: TOWARD A GREAT SYNTHESIS
Already at the time of the publishing of de la Valleé Poussin s important arti-
cle,  Le Bouddhism et le Yoga de Patanjali, Mircea Eliade had made a con-
siderable impact on the realm of scholarship on yoga, and even to some
degree with the issues of the yoga-Buddhism relationship. At the beginning of
his article, de la Vallée Poussin mentions Eliade and his teacher, S. N. Das-
gupta, as being proponents of  official brahmanism, a view in which the
 Yoga of Patañjali, otherwise known as the Yoga of the metaphysics and
eschatology of Sa\me"khya, was considered as  serving as a model for Bud-
dhism. 51 De la Vallée Poussin, on the other hand, argues that the Sa\me"khya-
Yoga connection was just one among many that  yoga consented to, taking
issue with both Eliade and Dasgupta. He singles out Eliade again at the end
of his article to again differentiate his own view from what he apparently sees
as the prevailing view. He argues that Eliade has understated the significance
of this discussion, due to lack of attention to the apparent points of conver-
gence with the range of Buddhist philosophical viewpoints (such as
Sautra\ntika, Vaibha\se"ika, Yoga\ca\ra, etc.).52 On the other hand, he makes it clear
early on in his study that it seems unprofitable to try to determine the chronol-
ogy of different types of practices, giving the impression that he does feel that
there is a certain identity between Buddhist and Classical Yoga not found in
other sources.
It is in Eliade s Yoga: Immortality and Freedom, or Le Yoga: Immortalité
et Liberté, that we find the full flowering of his work on yoga in its many
manifestations. Eliade tackles some of the more difficult issues regarding the
YS, including those of authorship, such as the  one versus  two Patañjali
issue and the question of the integrity of the original text. He summarizes dis-
cussions regarding the date of the YS, the question of whether Patañjali of the
YS and Patañjali the grammarian are the same individual, questions regarding
the relationship of the author of the bha\se"ya to the YS, and questions regard-
ing possible anti-Buddhist polemics, as raised by a number of scholars.53 He
appears to take a somewhat less aggressive approach to many of these issues,
largely discussing them without giving a strong impression of his personal
inclinations. He does, however, note de la Valleé Poussin s insistence upon the
relationship between the YS and scholastic Buddhism, leaving one the
impression that the issue has yet to be resolved.54 Eliade s work is steeped in
the work of his teacher and guru, S. N. Dasgupta, whose research is closely
followed in many dimensions of Eliade s analysis.
Eliade deals with issues in the Classical Yoga-Buddhism relationship most
definitively in his chapter  Yoga Techniques in Buddhism, in Yoga: Immor-
tality and Freedom.55 Eliade feels quite comfortable stating that the Buddha
forged a path that was the  timeless way . . . of liberation, of nondeath, and it
86 Sama\dhi
was also the way of Yoga. 56 Discussing early Buddhism through the eyes of
an ancient Buddhism constructed from the Therava\
da sources, he talks about
the paradoxical position of Buddha of rejecting the ritualism of Brahmanism
and the extreme asceticism and metaphysical speculation of the ascetics and of
Upanise"
adic thought. Thus the Buddha developed a dangerous path that con-
sisted of a type of understanding that had to be understood experimentally.57
Eliade has no qualms in seeing the Buddha s approach to soteriology as being
parallel, if not identical, to the negative formulations in the Upanise"
ads, such as
the well-known neti neti. The development of meditation for the Buddhist
ascetic in early Buddhism constituted a  rediscovery of the Buddha s truths in
light of his or her own experience. The techniques of mindfulness are then seen
as largely preliminary to the more esoteric practice of the Buddhist dhya\
nas.
According to Eliade, the Buddha s practice and teaching of the dhya\ was
nas
representative of his inclination toward mystical experimentation and his dis-
trust for the speculative systems and theistic practices of his day.58
The dhya\nas and, by extension, the a\ru\pya dhya\nas, which Eliade refers
to as the sama\pattis, are discussed in their phenomenological progression as
culminating in nirodhasama\patti. Using Rhys Davids s translation of the
Dêgha Nika\ya and referring to S:antideva s S:ikse"a\samuccaya, Eliade demon-
strates what he believes are scriptural bases for asserting that the attainment
of cessation as a ninth stage of dhya\na is considered equivalent to liberation,
showing the strong affinity between Buddhist and non-Buddhist yoga. He
argues, however, that it was on the point of same"jña\veditanirodha sama\patti
that Buddhists distinguish themselves as having a unique doctrine that is lib-
erating.59 He notes the Buddhist claims that non-Buddhists have access to
meditative states prior to nirodha, which are characterized by the same"prajña\ta
and asame"prajña\ta classes of sama\dhi. It is clear that Eliade sees the modality [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]

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