adhimokka/adhimukti

[Queequeg]

I've been ruminating on this concept for a while.

A little background before my question. I appreciate if you can bear along.

This word is usually translated into English as faith, or trust, or confidence, or something along those lines. Very often, commentators say it is interchangeable with sraddha and prasada. My investigation suggests that these words, although similar in meaning, are distinct. In any event, I came to wonder about the meaning of adhimukti because it is a critical term in the Lotus Sutra. In short, the 4th chapter is titled adhimukti, but otherwise does not mention it. For those unfamiliar, the chapter recounts the reactions of Subhuti, Mahakatyayana, Mahakasyapa and Maudgalyayana upon hearing the Buddha predict that Sariputra would become a Buddha. They tell the story of some destitute man who is estranged from his wealthy parents and does not recognize them when they find him. The rich man concocts a fiction to hire the son to clean the latrines on his estate, and himself puts on rags to work alongside his son. Gradually, the rich man gives the son more and more responsibility until he is managing the entire estate. The rich man tells the man to think of him as his father. Years pass and the son is comfortable managing the rich man's estate. Time comes that the rich man is nearing his death, so he gathers everyone and announces that he is the true, biological parent of the young man and that he is heir to the entire estate. The arhats explain that on hearing Sariputra's prophecy of Buddhahood, they feel like the son being told that he is the rich man's true son. The connection to Adhimukti is never explained, but I have read commentators suggest that adhimukti refers to the feeling of the arhats on hearing of Sariputra's future Buddhahood.

The term takes a prominent place in the 17th chapter also. In the 16th Chapter, the Buddha reveals that he did not attain enlightenment for the first time 40 years before under the Bodhi tree, but that he actually attained it in the remote past and that he has constantly been in the world since, teaching beings and prompting them toward their own enlightenment. The description of the Buddha's life span goes like this: take this world, grind it into atoms, and then travel east in the universe, dropping one atom every thousandth world one passes. Then, when all the atoms are exhausted, take all the worlds, whether an atom was dropped in them or not, and grind them all into atoms. The Buddha makes a show of asking the Bodhisattvas if they could all combine their abilities to calculate the number of atoms, and they admit that they can't. The Buddha then declares that if each atom was an kalpa, his life span as a Buddha exceeds even that number by countless, immeasurable kalpas. In the 17th Chapter, the Buddha declares that a person who can approach this teaching on the Buddha's life span with Adhimukti, their benefits are greater than a bodhisattva who has perfected 5 of the six paramitas (excepting prajna).

I have tried to find out exactly what adhimukti means, and my investigations took me to Asanga's Abhidharmasamuccaya and Vasubhandu's Abhidharmakosa. It has also led me to the Pali Abhidharma where adhimokka is one of the occasional cetasikas.

The best that I can gather is that adhimukti/adhimokka refers to that moment in the mind when a decision is made to recognize a dharma but even before any understanding of it has been formulated. It is that transition point between the observation of an object in the six senses and the observation of it as a dharma in consciousness.

Does anyone have any further ideas about adhimukti? Could anyone recommend a textual source where this concept is discussed in any length? The best that I can get is that it is some basis for "confidence", or that it means "decision" or "approbation". I'm just not really sure what that means in an abhidharma sense.

Thanks.

[Jyoti]

adhimukti = 信 / faith

This is a common word used in the mahayana and found all over the scriptures.

One example:
Mahāvaipulya mahāsamghāta sūtra
大方等大集經卷第十二
If there is a mind of faith to be close to the holy person is termed the power of faith.
T13n0397_p0078b21(11)║若有信心親近聖人是名信力。

Jyoti

[eijo]

The Pali equivalent of adhimukti is adhimutti. Adhimokkha in Pali is equivalent to adhimokṣa.

According to the Pali Text Society dictionary:

Adhimutta (adj.) [pp. of adhimuccati, cp. BSk. adhimukta. Av. ŚI.8, 112; Divy 49, 302 etc.] intent upon (--°or with loc. or acc.), applying oneself to, keen on, inclined to, given to Vin I.183; A V.34, 38; Dh 226; Sn 1071, 1149 (°citta); Nd2 33; J I.370 (dān°) Pug 26; PvA 134 (dān°).

Adhimutti (f.) [adhi + mutti] resolve, intention, disposition D I.174; A V.36; Ps I.124; Miln 161, 169; Vbh 340, 341; DA I.44, 103; Sdhp 378.

According to Edgerton's dictionary (see pp. 14-15 for many usage examples)

adhimukta (Pali adhimutta), ppp. of adhimucyate, (1) zealous about, actively interested in or devoted to (a) non-religious objects … ; (b) religious objects. ...

adhimukti, f. (= Pali adhimutti; to adhimucyate), (1) strong inclination, attachment; earnest, zealous application; Tib. mos pa (Jaschke, to be pleased, la with; to wish, to have a mind; to take pleasure in, to rejoice at; as substantive pleasure, satisfaction, esteem; also to respect, to esteem, to respect with devotion, to revere, to adore)… Usually it is not so specifically stated, tho the context is apt to suggest that it is zealous cultivation (study or propagation) of sacred texts or religious instruction that is meant...

[viniketa]

In Sanskrit, it is the prefix adhī (turn the mind toward, seek, understand, teach) + mukti (liberation). So, to turn the mind toward and understand liberation. In that sense, it is a decision, a commitment, a confidence or faith in the 4NT as a path of liberation.

[Queequeg]

Jyoti, Rev. Eijo, Vinketa,

Thank you for your replies.

Jyoti, part of the reason I started this inquiry was because "faith" or 信 did not seem like the right translation of adhimukti.

Kumarajiva rendered adhimukti into Chinese as 信解. This has in turn been translated into English, in connection with translations of the Lotus Sutra, as Belief and Understanding, Faith and Understanding, Understanding through Faith, and the like. But something about the gist of these translations did not seem to fit the narrative context of the text. What I found is that other terms like sraddha and prasada were also rendered in Chinese as 信. As far as I can tell, adhimukti, sraddha and prasada have different meanings. However, because they are all rendered into Chinese as 信, this character has taken on an expansive meaning conflating these three sanskrit terms in East Asian Buddhism. Using an index of the Lotus Sutra that compares Kumarajiva's rendition to the Sanskrit version Kern translated into English, what I found is that Kumarajiva's translation itself conflates these meanings, translating sraddha at times as 信解 as well. It makes me wonder if the terms sraddha and adhimukti in particular were interchangeable in South Asian Buddhist traditions... Another inquiry.

Rev. Eijo, the way I came to associate adhimukti and adhimokkha is because of Poussin's footnote in his translation of the Abhidharmakosabhyasam -

See p. 355 fn. 117

This term presents a difficulty… "Adhimukti is the consideration of the object from the point of view of its qualities; according to others, complaisance; according to the Ascetics (the Yogacarins), the contemplation of the object in conformity with the decision taken." (This last point is explained ad. ii. 72 adhimuktimanaskara)…

Paramartha translates: "Adhimukti, tha is neng you ching yin-k'o..." We can translate: "that which makes a sign of approbation with respect to the object." The expression yin (=mudra) k'o (possible) is mentioned by Rosenburg in many word lists. A. Whaley, who has consulted the Japanese glosses, translates: "the sign of approval given to a disciple who has understood what has been taught him." We would thus have k'o = k'o-I = "this is allowable" (A. Debasse). Adhimukti is the approbation of the object, the dharma by reason of which one grasps the object under consideration; it marks the first stage of the act of attention. See the note of Shwe Zan Aung, Compendium, p. 17 and 241 on adhimokkha: "… the settled state of a mind…; it is deciding to attend to this, not that irrespective of more complicated procedure as to what 'this' or 'that' appears to be."

Samghabhadra (TD 29, p. 384b9): Approbation (yin k'o) with repect to an object is called adhimukti. According to other masters, adhi signifies "superiority, sovereignty;" mukti signifies vimoksa. Adhimukti is a dharma by virtue of which the mind exercises its sovereignty over an object without any obstacle; like adhisila. Adhimukti is a separate object, for the Sutra says: "The mind, by reason of adhimukti, approves of (yin k'o) the object." When the mental states arise, all approve (yin) the object; as a consequence adhimukti is a mahabhumika. Nevertheless the Sthavira says: "It is not proven that adhimukti is a separate thing, for we see that its characteristic is not distinguished from that of knowledge (jnana): the characteristic of adhimukti is that the mind is determined (niscita) with respect to its object. But this is not different from the characteristic of knowledge (jnana) Consequently adhimukti is not a separate thing." This is not correct, for approbation (yin k'o) brings about determination.

Some say: "Adhimukti is determination (avadharana, niscaya)." This is to give the cause of determination (namely adhimukti) the name of its effect. If this is the case, then adhimukti and determination would not be sumultaneous. No: for these two mutually condition one another: by reason of discernment (pratisamkhya) there arise approbation, and by reason of approbation there arises determination (niscaya). There is not contradiction: thus there is no obstacle to their being simultaneous. If all thought include these two, then all categories off mind will be approbation and determination. This objection is worthless, for it happens that their activity is damaged when they are dominated by dharmas: even if there is approbation (yin) and determination, they are small and recognized only with difficulty.

I have no background in Sanskrit or Pali, so my approach to this question is just what I have been able to piece together from minor comments here and there from various sources. What I am pretty confident about, however, is that mutta/mukta and mokkha/moksha seem to derive from the same root and have similar connotations - namely this "determination" or "intention", see http://www.vipassana.info/cetasikas11.html for instance.

This is where I've come to suspect that adhimukti refers to a very specific dharma in abhidhamma/abhidharma psychological analysis and is not adequately captured in a term like "faith" or "trust" or any other other renditions of the term into English, particularly when translated to English via Chinese. For reasons I won't get into, I think some East Asians caught on to this problem of conflating several distinct terms into 信 and even 信解 and took steps in response. Another matter.

Vinketa, it is interesting how adhimoksa comes around to a meaning of determination. This is a new avenue I haven't explored yet.

What I really need to do is learn Sanskrit and Pali, maybe. Ah. I'll have to remember to set aside the time next life.

[viniketa]

it is interesting how adhimoksa comes around to a meaning of determination. This is a new avenue I haven't explored yet.

What I really need to do is learn Sanskrit and Pali, maybe. Ah. I'll have to remember to set aside the time next life.

Thank you for your response. 'Determination' is a good translation of the 'adhī' portion of the term. None of the rest, faith included, would be possible without the determination. 'Mukti' (the same root word as mukta, mutta, mutti, and mokṣa) is very consistent with a translation as 'liberation', and appears in many Indian traditions other than Buddhist. The difference between the traditions has to do with 'what' get liberated and 'how' that is accomplished.

As for the language learning, it might take us many lifetimes to learn all the languages of 'liberation''!

[eijo]

As you say, adhimukti is usually translated into Chinese as 信解. From that point, Chinese commentators discuss the word in terms of the component parts of the Chinese translation. Thus you see explanations like it means "faith and understanding," which in turn is explained as meaning "attaining understanding through faith" or "give rise to faith to generate understanding."

Such interpretations are important for understandings for how texts were read in East Asia, but are not necessarily what the term meant in India. Its a very good idea to try to learn what terms and texts meant in India, but its also a good idea not to overly disregard or devalue how the Chinese read these texts on that basis, particularly if you're practicing in a Sino-Japanese tradition.

BTW, the prefix here is adhi, not adhī.

[viniketa]

Such interpretations are important for understandings for how texts were read in East Asia, but are not necessarily what the term meant in India. Its a very good idea to try to learn what terms and texts meant in India, but its also a good idea not to overly disregard or devalue how the Chinese read these texts on that basis, particularly if you're practicing in a Sino-Japanese tradition.

BTW, the prefix here is adhi, not adhī.

Your point about the Sino-Japanese traditions is well taken. It is certainly 'adhi' in Pali. I am at a disadvantage, here, as I do not read Chinese or Japanese. Could you confirm whether or not this reference speaks to the same term?

http://tripitaka.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/INBUDS ... =20&offs=1

Thank you in advance.

[eijo]

The term is definitely adhimukti in the Lotus Sutra, which was the context of the original question. The title of Chapter Four, as Queequeg mentioned, is Adhimuktiparivarta in Sanskrit (rendered by Kern as "Disposition"), and adhimukti occurs a number of times in that chapter, and throughout the entire text. I don't see a term "adhīmukti" anywhere in the Lotus Sutra, and can't recall offhand ever seeing such a term in any text. But memory is failing these days. The INBUDS reference could be a typo?

[eijo]

If you look here, that INBUDS article citation has other typos, so I think that may be the answer.

http://tripitaka.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/INBUDS ... d=23439&a=

[viniketa]

If you look here, that INBUDS article citation has other typos, so I think that may be the answer.

http://tripitaka.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/INBUDS ... d=23439&a=

I think you are correct. I am not as well versed on the finer points of Sanskrit grammar and syntax as I'd like...

I did find this rather interesting article on saddha/sraddha that also addresses adhimokka/adhimukti and gives this note and reference on the later term:

Park, Sung Bae, Buddhist Faith and Sudden Enlightenment, (SriSatguru), 1983 – page 15-16. Professor Park further defines this term as ‘abiding with confidence in a state of freedom.’
http://thesanghakommune.wordpress.com/2 ... -as-faith/

[Queequeg]

'Determination' is a good translation of the 'adhī' portion of the term. None of the rest, faith included, would be possible without the determination.

Yes, this is what I have been getting from the sources I've found. I quoted the Poussin's footnote above. I have been puzzling over it since reading it - particularly this:

Some say: "Adhimukti is determination (avadharana, niscaya)." This is to give the cause of determination (namely adhimukti) the name of its effect. If this is the case, then adhimukti and determination would not be sumultaneous. No: for these two mutually condition one another: by reason of discernment (pratisamkhya) there arise approbation, and by reason of approbation there arises determination (niscaya). There is not contradiction: thus there is no obstacle to their being simultaneous. If all thought include these two, then all categories off mind will be approbation and determination. This objection is worthless, for it happens that their activity is damaged when they are dominated by dharmas: even if there is approbation (yin) and determination, they are small and recognized only with difficulty.

From here I looked at the Abhidhamma and found the occasional cetasika adhimokkha.

I'll just give an example of what function adhimukti seems to have in the mind -

object and sensory apparatus meet (my eye and a red lollipop meet), there arises eye consciousness of red lollipop. The mind discerns Red Lollipop and the first impulse is the "approbation" (adhimukti) (recognition? acceptance?) of Red Lollipop, followed by the red lollipop dharma becoming the object of the mind attaches meaning to it.... This cetasika is truly momentary - once their is adhimukti of the dharma, this cetasika is no longer necessary for that dharma to continue...

OK, I realize I'm not describing this correctly in abidhammic terms - but this is why I brought this question up - to kind of work it out with help from others.

Indeed, if there is no dharma, no red lollipop, one could not possibly then have "faith" in it. One must first allow this dharma to arise through Adhimukti.

'Mukti' (the same root word as mukta, mutta, mutti, and mokṣa) is very consistent with a translation as 'liberation', and appears in many Indian traditions other than Buddhist. The difference between the traditions has to do with 'what' get liberated and 'how' that is accomplished.

Returning to the context in which I first started having questions about this term - the 17th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha is there urging his listeners to approach his sermon on his life span with Adhimukti, ie. Arouse this Dharma in your mind - this dharma that is beyond calculation... The Buddha goes on from there to describe graduated levels of bodhisattva practice which start with this adhimukti of lifespan. It seems that the text is in a way suggesting that by "liberating" oneself into this dharma of the Buddha's lifespan, such is a step toward annuttarasamyaksambodhi. Liberation through the Buddha's lifespan.

Maybe. Getting ahead of where we are. Still need to understand this adhimukti.

Thanks, Viniketa.

[viniketa]

Returning to the context in which I first started having questions about this term - the 17th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha is there urging his listeners to approach his sermon on his life span with Adhimukti, ie. Arouse this Dharma in your mind - this dharma that is beyond calculation... The Buddha goes on from there to describe graduated levels of bodhisattva practice which start with this adhimukti of lifespan. It seems that the text is in a way suggesting that by "liberating" oneself into this dharma of the Buddha's lifespan, such is a step toward annuttarasamyaksambodhi. Liberation through the Buddha's lifespan.

Thanks for giving this context! This is a good clue! I think I may begin to see. "Mukti" is 'walking libertation' while ALIVE. For most this means a state called, in Sanskrit, sopadhiśeṣa nirvāṇa - "with remainder"; while nirupādhiśeṣa nirvāṇa is "without remainder", but is usually obtained at death (or in bardo). Buddha is adhimukti - literally 'above mukti' having attained complete (no remainder liberation) nirvāṇa while ALIVE (in *Pali: anupādisesāsaya - this last term jives with the wording of the Abhidharmasamuccaya - *P.S. This is also translated as the 'deathless' nibbāna).

See Berzin Archives for complete explanation of sopadhiśeṣa and nirupādhiśeṣa nirvāṇa (under 'nirvana'): http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/ab ... 37386.html

For the Abhidharmasamuccaya wording, see here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/38983830/Abhi ... aya-c-Text

Let me know what you think.

[Queequeg]

As you say, adhimukti is usually translated into Chinese as 信解. From that point, Chinese commentators discuss the word in terms of the component parts of the Chinese translation. Thus you see explanations like it means "faith and understanding," which in turn is explained as meaning "attaining understanding through faith" or "give rise to faith to generate understanding."

Thank you, Eijo. One of the first steps I did was to look at the individual characters. "Understanding" seems to be one of the meanings that have attached to 解, but I have questions if it had that meaning when Kumarajiva used it in the compound to render adhimukti. Based on Viniketa's comments above, adhi I guess could in a rough way be rendered as 信. Mukti, on the other hand, is liberation, and from what I can recall, 解 has a meaning of "unbinding" or "untangling". This, in my understanding is a way of describing Buddhist liberation in early Buddhist convention. Understanding seems to be a meaning that has evolved out over time.

Alternatively, looking at the radicals that make up 解, we have "angle", "knife" and "cattle". Now, my written Japanese is not great. I realize that the individual radicals cannot be relied upon to determine the meaning of a character - but given the overall meaning of unbinding/untangling, the sum of these radicals - I am reminded of the Taoist metaphor of the skilled butcher who never has to sharpen his knife because he skillfully cuts the meat away from the bone. I wonder if there is anything to this - particularly in light of the above ideas about Adhimukti being a momentary dharma in involved in the first appearance of a dharma in a person's mind. Could the "cutting" out of "angles" relate in some way to the appearance of a dharma in the mind - the distinguishing of some aspect of the observed environment emerging in the mind as a dharma.

Again, I apologize for my messy attempt at describing abhidhammic processes.

I'm not looking for agreement or disagreement - I'm just putting these ideas out to seek others' impressions.

Such interpretations are important for understandings for how texts were read in East Asia, but are not necessarily what the term meant in India. Its a very good idea to try to learn what terms and texts meant in India, but its also a good idea not to overly disregard or devalue how the Chinese read these texts on that basis, particularly if you're practicing in a Sino-Japanese tradition.

Your point is well taken. My overall approach is not to try and disregard or devalue how 信解 has been understood in Sino-Japanese Buddhism. I started asking these questions because I wanted to know what is meant, and at least East Asian contemporary commentary does not seem to jive with what I'm getting from older sources. I have a nagging sense that Pure Land thought with its particular approach to Faith has come to weigh on the subject of Faith generally across the board in Buddhist circles, a sense that I suspect was not always there.

[Queequeg]

Returning to the context in which I first started having questions about this term - the 17th Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha is there urging his listeners to approach his sermon on his life span with Adhimukti, ie. Arouse this Dharma in your mind - this dharma that is beyond calculation... The Buddha goes on from there to describe graduated levels of bodhisattva practice which start with this adhimukti of lifespan. It seems that the text is in a way suggesting that by "liberating" oneself into this dharma of the Buddha's lifespan, such is a step toward annuttarasamyaksambodhi. Liberation through the Buddha's lifespan.

Thanks for giving this context! This is a good clue! I think I may begin to see. "Mukti" is 'walking libertation' while ALIVE. For most this means a state called, in Sanskrit, sopadhiśeṣa nirvāṇa - "with remainder"; while nirupādhiśeṣa nirvāṇa is "without remainder", but is usually obtained at death (or in bardo). Buddha is adhimukti - literally 'above mukti' having attained complete (no remainder liberation) nirvāṇa while ALIVE (in Sanskrit: anupādisesāsaya - this last term jives with the wording of the Abhidharmasamuccaya).

See Berzin Archives for complete explanation of sopadhiśeṣa and nirupādhiśeṣa nirvāṇa (under 'nirvana'): http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/ab ... 37386.html

For the Abhidharmasamuccaya wording, see here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/38983830/Abhi ... aya-c-Text

Let me know what you think.

Hi Viniketa,

This is an interpretation of these passages that has never occurred to me, but I can see outlines of how it could be. I generally approach the Lotus Sutra through a lens conditioned by the East Asian Tientai/Tendai interpretation. I've always been curious as to how it is interpreted in the Indo-Tibetan traditions. It seems the Lotus Sutra was popular in South and Central Asia at some point, but not so much in the transmission that went to the Himalayas. The issues it addresses seem connected to the emergence of Mahayana around 1st century CE, so those concerns were probably long resolved by the time Buddhism was transmitted to the Himalayas.

I'll have to kick these ideas around some. This is why forums like this where you can get input from a wide range of traditions is great.

Thanks!

[viniketa]

This paper, Bodhi and AnuttarA Samyak-SaMbodhi in the Lotus SUtra, by Tsugunari Kubo addresses all the issues, but does not give a definition of adhmukti, directly:

http://www.elb-studycenter.org/images/D ... 0PAPER.pdf

From this text, it seems that the author is translating as:

śraddhā = aspiration

adhimukti = high aspirations

hīnādhimukti = low aspirations

[viniketa]

Does anyone know where is a Romanized Sanskrit or Pali version of this part of the Sutra?

Without that, after going back and looking at use of adhi and mutta in Pali and adhimokka (Pali) - adhimukti Sanskrit in various contexts, I am going back to my original thinking on this (despite missing ī), so that these become:

śraddhā = faith, hope

adhimukti = determination to attain liberation

hīnādhimukti = inappropriate (either too low OR too high) determination to attain liberation

I've also decided to go back and read Sutra again, in near future, with a transliterated version!

[Queequeg]

Viniketa,

Thank you for the reference to that article. I look forward to reading it carefully.

Off hand, I know there are several sanskrit rescensions of the Lotus Sutra. One of the most widely available is the version Kern used for his English translation which was found, I believe, in Nepal. It is considered to be a relatively late version. There are others that have been found along the Silk Road, if I am not mistaken, some of which are believed to be fairly old - but scholarship suggests that the version Kumarajiva used is much older than even those versions. The Nepali version, and the versions translated into Tibetan, from my understanding, trace back to a version that is older than the version Kumarajiva translated.

That's probably not that clear.

I think I got this information from this source:

http://books.google.com/books/about/Buddhavacana_and_Dei_Verbum.html?id=wFXq2_3W0yYC

As for where to find these - I'm not sure. You can probably find the version Kern used in good research libraries.

The others, I get the sense that the caretakers are a little stingy with access and very little has been published.

[viniketa]

The others, I get the sense that the caretakers are a little stingy with access and very little has been published.

Thank you, Queequeg. Your note seems clear to me. As for this last, that is what I gathered, as well.

[viniketa]

adhimukti = determination to attain liberation

hīnādhimukti = inappropriate (either too low OR too high) determination to attain liberation

It has occurred to me that this might be expressed as:

adhimukti = unwavering determination to attain liberation

hīnādhimukti = wavering determination to attain liberation