Vaibhashika

Vaibhashika is an early Buddhist school, formed by adherents of the "Vibhasha Shastra". The school was originally of a mystical nature, later developing into more materialistic concerns with a focus upon Materialism and 'existent phenomena' (Tibetan: "yod-pa"). The key tenets of this school are "that no mental concept can be formed except through direct contact between the mind, via the senses, such as sight, touch, taste, etc., and external objects". [Source: [http://www.babylon.com/definition/Vaibhashika/English] (accessed: January 1, 2008)]

Berzin (2007) elaborates this further:

Vaibhashika asserts sensory nonconceptual cognition of an object through direct contact with it, without the medium of a mental aspect of the object. Because of that, when something made of parts is validly known, the cognition must simultaneously also take as its objects the parts on which the object depends. [Berzin, Alexander (2007). "The Two Truths in Vaibhashika and SautrantikaAlexander Berzin". Source: [http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/sutra/level5_analysis_mind_reality/truths/2_truths_vaibhashika_sautrantika.html] (accessed: January 2, 2008)]

Nomenclature and etymology

Vaibhashika or Vaibhasika (Sanskrit). (Tibetan: "bye-brag smra-ba").

Context

Berzin (2007) discusses and contextualises Vaibhashika in relation to the eighteen Hinayana schools, the Sautrantika, the Sarvastivada:

Within the eighteen Hinayana schools, the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika belong to Sarvastivada (thams-cad yod-par smra-ba), a Sanskrit tradition, different from the Pali Theravada tradition (gnas-brtan smra-ba). The Tibetan lineage of monastic vows comes from another of its sub-schools, Mula-sarvastivada (gzhi thams-cad yod-par smra-ba). [Berzin, Alexander (2007). "The Two Truths in Vaibhashika and SautrantikaAlexander Berzin". Source: [http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/sutra/level5_analysis_mind_reality/truths/2_truths_vaibhashika_sautrantika.html] (accessed: January 2, 2008)]

Nava Vihara and Vaibhashika have entwined histories. Nava Vihara emphasized the primary study of the Vaibhashika abhidharma, admitting only monks who had already composted texts related to the topic.

ee also

*Yogacara
*Early Buddhist Schools
*Schools of Buddhism
*Pratimoksha

Notes

External websites

* [http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/sutra/level5_analysis_mind_reality/truths/2_truths_vaibhashika_sautrantika.html "The Two Truths in Vaibhashika and Sautrantika" by Alexander Berzin; March 2001; revised September 2002 and July 2006]
* [http://sectsandsectarianism.googlepages.com/home Sects & Sectarianism - The origins of Buddhist Schools]