The Yogasūtra of Patañjali

A New Introduction to the Buddhist Roots of the Yoga System

Pradeep P. Gokhale

• Publisher: Routledge India
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000041637
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Filosofia
• Subtopic: Filosofia orientale

This book offers a systematic and radical introduction to the Buddhist roots of P?tañjala-yoga, or the Yoga system of Patañjali. By examining each of 195 aphorisms ( s?tras ) of the Yogas?tra and discussing the Yogabh??ya, it shows that traditional and popular views on P?tañjala-yoga obscure its true nature. The book argues that Patañjali's Yoga contains elements rooted in both orthodox and heterodox philosophical traditions, including S??khya, Jaina and Buddhist thought.

With a fresh translation and a detailed commentary on the Yogas?tra, the author unearths how several of the terms, concepts and doctrines in Patañjali's Yoga can be traced to Buddhism, particularly the Abhidharma Buddhism of Vasubandhu and the early Yog?c?ra of Asa?ga. The work presents the Yogas?tra of Patañjali as a synthesis of two perspectives: the metaphysical perspective of S??khya and the empirical–psychological perspective of Buddhism. Based on a holistic understanding of Yoga, the study explores key themes of the text, such as meditative absorption, means, supernormal powers, isolation, Buddhist conceptions of meditation and the interplay between S??khya and Buddhist approaches to suffering and emancipation. It further highlights several new findings and clarifications on textual interpretation and discrepancies.

An important intervention in Indian and Buddhist philosophy, this book opens up a new way of looking at the Yoga of Patañjali in the light of Buddhism beyond standard approaches and will greatly interest scholars and researchers of Buddhist studies, Yoga studies, Indian philosophy, philosophy in general, literature, religion and comparative studies, Indian and South Asian Studies and the history of ideas.

1
ON MEDITATIVE ABSORPTION (SAMĀDHIPĀDAḤ)

In the fifty-one aphorisms of the first chapter, Samādhipādaḥ, Patañjali introduces the concept of meditative absorption (samādhi) in its various aspects. What follows is an aphorism-wise summary of the first chapter of the Yogasūtra.

(1–11): Patañjali defines meditative absorption and situates it in relation to the seer as well as to the epistemological and psychological context of mental modifications or states (citta-vṛtti s). In his commentary, Vyāsa introduces the doctrine of mental planes (cittabhūmi s). (12–16): Patañjali then states and explains the two major means to meditative absorption: practice and detachment. (17–22): He introduces the two types of meditative concentration—with object-consciousness (samprajñāta) and without object-consciousness—and explains how they become available to one by birth or through application of means. (23–29): Patañjali introduces the notion of supreme being (īśvara), resolve regarding the supreme being, meditative concentration on him through utterance of Om and the advantages of this method. (30–31): He introduces the obstacles on the way to meditative absorption. (32–40): Patañjali states various means and objects of concentration prescribed for removing obstacles and achieving peace, tranquillity and stability of mind, through which one can also achieve control over nature. These means and objects include the cultivation (bhāvanā) of four sublime attitudes, breath, a mental attitude with its object, special mental attitudes, an attachment-free person, dream, sleep or any object of one’s inclination. (41–46): Patañjali introduces the nature and types of meditative attainment (samāpatti) and identifies them with meditative absorption with seed (sabīja-samādhi). (47–51): Finally, Patañjali describes the journey of the meditation practitioner from absorption with seed (sabīja-samādhi) to absorption without seed (nirbīja-samādhi), which is made possible by the truth-bearing wisdom (ṛtambharā prajñā) which arises from the practice of the former.

The comments on these aphorisms will reveal how, along with the Sāṅkhya framework, different concepts and doctrines of Buddhist psychology and soteriology must have influenced Patañjali and Vyāsa and how these are relevant for understanding various topics introduced and explained by them in the chapter.

अथ योगानुशासनम् ।।1।।

Atha Yogānuśāsanam.

Now (begins) the instruction on Yoga.

Comments

The uses of the words yoga and anuśāsana in the very first aphorism of the Yogasūtra are not without the background in the works of the Buddhist meditation theorists, particularly Asaṅga and Vasubandhu.

(1) Yoga

The word yoga is used in various senses. In the present context, the word yoga can be taken to mean either of two things:

• (1) The state of self-control and meditative absorption.
• (2) The practice of self-discipline which has meditation as its core.

Patañjali uses the word yoga in these senses, and the word was used in one of these senses in the Upaniṣads¹ also. But it is incorrect to conclude from this that Patañjali was carrying forward the legacy of the Vedas and Upaniṣads in a simple and straightforward way. This is because around the second to fourth centuries, Buddhist thinkers like Maitreya and Asaṅga adopted the term Yoga and made it the central concept of their formulation of Buddhist soteriology. In Śrāvakabhūmi, Asaṅga explains words like yoga, yogācāra and yogabhāvanā with regard to a connotation of the path of meditation.²

Patañjali’s use of the word yoga here can be said to be continuous with this but also a response to it.

(2) Anuśāsana

Instruction. The aphorism “atha yogānuśāsanam” is compared by some to the opening statement of Vyākaraṇamahābhāṣya, namely, “atha śabdānuśāsanam” (“Now we begin the instruction in (the science) of word”) to indicate that the two Patañjalis, authors of Yogasūtra and Vyākaraṇamahābhāṣya, may be the same.³ However, the similarity of the opening statements is weak (and unconvincing) evidence for the sameness of the two authors. If, on the other hand, the Yogasūtra’s opening aphorism is dissociated from the context of Vyākaraṇamahābhāṣya and considered in light of its Buddhist background, the word anuśāsana can be understood differently. The word has special significance in the context of the Buddha’s teaching. Vasubandhu refers to the three ways, or three prātihāryas (marvels), the Buddha used to attract the minds of followers: supernormal power (ṛddhi), mind reading (ādeśana) and instruction (anuśāsana). Of these, anuśāsana is regarded as the best because it does not deviate from the truth (avyabhicāritvāt) and is associated with the desired beneficial fruit by instructing the remedy.⁴ Patañjali might have had some such idea while using the word in the first aphorism.

Vyāsa’s commentary of YS I.1 is important from the point of view of the Buddhist influence. Vyāsa introduces the doctrine of cittabhūmis (planes of mind) and suggests that samādhi, that is, concentration, is common to all. These ideas are rooted in Buddhist Abhidharma literature. Vasubandhu refers to a sixteen-fold classification of citta provided by Vaibhāṣikas, which they broadly divide into two groups: defiled (kliṣṭa) and wholesome (kuśala).⁵ The classification includes all five varieties taken up by Vyāsa as five planes (bhūmi): kṣipta (thrown, disturbed), līna (the same as mūḍha, influenced by indolence, inertia, kausīdya), vikṣipta (which focuses outside of the five objects of senses)⁶ and samāhita (same as ekāgra, one-pointed). Vasubandhu’s classification is given in tabular form in Table 1.1.

TABLE 1.1 Vasubandhu s classification of mind (citta) into two groups: defiled (kliṣṭa) and wholesome (kuśala)

Defiled type of mind	Wholesome type of mind
vikṣipta (externally focused)	sankṣipta (internally temporarily focused)
līna (indolent)	pragṛhīta (energetic)
parītta (little, mean)	mahadgata (lofty)
uddhata (agitated)	anuddhata (balanced, not agitated)
asamāhita (unstable, not concentrated)	samāhita (stable, concentrated)
avyupaś^ānta (disturbed)	vyupaś^ānta (undisturbed, peaceful)
abhāvita (non-contemplative)	bhāvita (contemplative)
avimukta (not emancipated)	vimukta (emancipated)

Source: AKB VII.11d

It is clear from the Table that vikṣipta and līna of the Buddhist Abhidharma match vikṣipta and mūḍha of Vyāsa’s classification, while samāhita-citta of the Buddhist Abhidharma matches ekāgra of Vyāsa’s classification. Vimukta is comparable with niruddha of Vyāsa’s classification.

Similarly, the distinction between kṣipta and vikṣipta is clearly made by Vasubandhu. He defines kṣipta in following words: “The mind which is restless due to elemental imbalance caused by karma, and which has lost control and alertness, is called kṣipta”.⁷ In the same context, Vasubandhu also distinguishes between kṣipta and vikṣipta. Here Vasubandhu introduces four possibilities (catuṣkoṭi):

• (1) Mind may be kṣipta, but not vikṣipta. (It may be disturbed and unstable and not even temporarily concentrated.)
• (2) Mind may be...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• CONTENTS
• List of illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 On meditative absorption (Samādhipādaḥ)
• 2 On means (Sādhanapādaḥ)
• 3 On supernormal powers (Vibhūtipādaḥ)
• 4 On isolation (Kaivalyapādaḥ)
• 5 Concluding observations
• Appendix I: Buddhist conceptions of meditation, yoga and bodhisattva’s spiritual journey vis-à-vis Pātañjala-yoga
• Appendix II: Asaṅga on forms of supernormal knowledge and powers (abhijñās and ŗddhis)
• Appendix III: Discrepancies between Patañjali’s aphorisms and Vyāsa’s interpretations
• Glossary
• Aids to reading romanized Sanskrit
• Bibliography
• Index