Abhisamayalankara;  Abhisamayālaṅkāra;  Ornament of Clear Realization

Indian Buddhist commentary on the Prajñāpāramitā preserved in Sanskrit and Tibetan.

The Abhisamayālaṃkāra (“Ornament for Clear Realization”) is a commentary to the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā (“25,000 verse”) Prajñāpāramitā whose authorship is traditionally attributed to Maitreyanātha (ca. 350 C.E.). The work’s full title in Sanskrit is Abhisamayālaṃkāranāmaprajñāpāramitopadeśāstra. The term at the beginning of the title, abhisamaya, signifies “comprehensive understanding” or “clear realization,” referring to cognitive attainments on the path to Buddhahood. Alaṃkāra (“Ornament”) is a literary style that provides an exposition of a topic. The Abhisamayālaṃkāra is regarded as an upadeśaśāstra (“instructional treatise”) in that it presents the hidden or concealed meaning (Tibetan sbas don, Sanskrit garbhyārtha) of the entire Large Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra corpus. Therefore, the full title may be translated as “An Instructional Treatise on Prajñāpāramitā called ‘Ornament for Clear Realization’” ([1], pp. 48–49).

As a technical treatise, the Abhisamayālaṃkāra consists of an encyclopedic table of contents, communicating in an abridged form the instructions, practices, paths, and stages of realization to Buddhahood that are mentioned in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras. The primary focus of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra is to describe the stages of the Mahāyāna path, which are thought by Indian and Tibetan scholars to be implicitly stated in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, through outlining of realizations and practices that bodhisattvas (“Buddhas-in-training”) must achieve in order to achieve Buddhahood [2].

The Abhisamayālaṃkāra outlines a soteriological system of the entire Mahāyāna path by either explicitly expressing what is already mentioned in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras or superimposing a path schema that is foreign to the sūtras and expressed in Abhidharma and Yogācāra terminology. The Abhisamayālaṃkāra lays out its system of buddhalogical teachings through fusing together Abhidharma categories and technical terminology found in Yogācāra treatises with content from the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras. Terminology such as the four types of dichotomous conceptualization (vikalpa) as well as conceptual schemes for multiple bodies (kāya) indicate Yogācāra influence on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra’s author ([3], p. 196).

In terms of general content and structure, the Abhisamayālaṃkāra is comprised of 273 Sanskrit stanzas within nine chapters that present the hidden meaning of the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras. The Abhisamayālaṃkāra lays out the same subject matter numerous times, yet with each repetition of the presentation, the subject matter is covered in successively greater detail ([4], p. 142). The main subject matter of the text is presented five separate times. The (1) homage to Prajñāpāramitā encapsulates the main principles that flow throughout the whole text. The homage is followed by a restatement of these main principles in (2) a versified table of contents (Abhisamayālaṃkāra 1.3-4). These main principles or topics are then slightly expanded and contained in (3) an elucidation of the “body of the text” (Abhisamayālaṃkāra 1.5-17). The fourth repetition is the most expansive and consists of (4) a detailed articulation (Abhisamayālaṃkāra, 1.18-penultimate) of the paths and stages. Finally, (5) summation verses (Abhisamayālaṃkāra 9.1-2) are given which condense the subject matter of the text into three categories – aims (viṣaya), practices (prayoga), and result (phala). The Abhisamayālaṃkāra presents its subject matter in terse verses that are often vague in meaning and difficult to understand without the assistance of a commentary. The text presumes that the reader has a background in Buddhist scholasticism, including a knowledge of Abhidharma path structures, categories of mental defilements, meditational attainments, analytical procedures, and cosmology, among other topics. Along these lines, the path systems presented in the Abhisamayālaṃkāra are quite complex with multiple divisions and subdivisions pertaining to each aspect of the path from several different angles. In the opening verses after the homage, the Abhisamayālaṃkāra (1.3-4) states that “the perfection of wisdom is proclaimed through eight subjects: (1) Total Omniscience, (2) Path Omniscience, (3) Empirical Omniscience, (4) Full Realization of All Aspects, (5) Realization that has attained the Summit, (6) Progressive realization, (7) Instantaneous Realization, and (8) the Dharma-body” ([1], p. 52). The Abhisamayālaṃkāra contains nine chapters, eight of which address each subject in turn. The eight subjects (padārtha) that comprise these eight chapters (adhikāra) of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra correspond to eight clear realizations (abhisamaya) that explain the soteriological purport of Prajñāpāramitā. Total Omniscience or the wisdom of all aspects (Sanskrit sarvākārajñatā, Tibetan rnam pa thams cad mkhyen pa nyid) is regarded as the fundamental wisdom and the central concept of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras ([5], pp. 72–74; [6], pp. 188–190). Total Omniscience for the Abhisamayālaṃkāra and its commentaries is direct unmediated knowledge which understands exactly the manner of reality (Tibetan ji lta ba bzhin yod pa, Sanskrit yathāvadbhāvika) to its fullest possible extent (Tibetan ji snyed yod pa, Sanskrit yāvadbhāvikatā) in all its aspects [7]. Path Omniscience in the Abhisamayālaṃkāra correlates to three types of path systems that are mastered by bodhisattvas: the paths of śrāvakas, the paths of pratyekabuddhas, and the paths of bodhisattvas. A śrāvaka (Tibetan nyan thos pa, “Listener”) is a type of individual who has heard or studied the Buddha’s teachings and who seeks the peace of nirvāṇa through cultivating a direct realization of the Nobles’ Four Truths. A pratyekabuddha (Tibetan rang sang gyas, “Solitary Buddha”) is an “individually awakened one” who cognizes the emptiness of external objects through realizing dependent arising but does not thereby attain the full omniscience of a Buddha. Pratyekabuddhas do not have much compassion and attain their awakening in solitude. A bodhisattva (Tibetan byang chub sems dpa’, “Buddha-to-be”) is an individual who is intent on achieving full Buddhahood for the welfare of beings through cultivating wisdom and compassion [2]. The Abhisamayālaṃkāra is primarily a technical digest for the training of bodhisattvas. The Abhisamayālaṃkāra’s third chapter describes the qualities of Empirical Omniscience (vastujñāna, gzhi shes; literally “knowledge of bases”) ([8], pp. 51–67, 299–328) which is a type of knowledge that cognizes empirical objects that are to be abandoned in conditioned existence. Such realization correlates to knowledge that is comprehended by śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. Empirical Omniscience is mastered by bodhisattvas as well, but bodhisattvas do not cling to the pacifying results of this realization’s cognition. This knowledge leads śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, as well as bodhisattvas, to comprehend the entirety of unconditioned and conditioned things (dharmas) in Buddhist classification, including the five aggregates (skandha), the 12 sense spheres (āyatana), and the 18 sense objects (dhātu). The full realization of all aspects (sarvākārābhisaṃbodha, rnam rdzogs sbyor ba) that comprises the Abhisamayālaṃkāra’s fourth chapter is a yogic practice which enables a bodhisattva to gain a cognition of all the aspects of the three types of omniscience the summit of full understanding (mūrdhābhisamaya, rtse sbyor) or “culminating insight” ([5], pp. 79–80). The Ornament’s chapter five pertains to the summit of full understanding (mūrdhābhisamaya, rtse sbyor) or “culminating insight” ([5], pp. 79–80). This abhisamaya is comprised of eight factors and refers to phases of yogic practices which reach culmination while cognizing emptiness (śūnyatā). The sixth chapter defines, by reference to 13 topics in one verse, the gradual full understanding (anupūrvābhisamaya, mthar gyis sbyor ba) of the three forms of omniscience ([5], p. 81). This clear realization of “gradual insight” consists of engaging in the six perfections of bodhisattva practice. The seventh abhisamaya clarifies the “instantaneous realization” (ekakṣaṇābhisamaya, skad cig gcig pa’i mngon par rdzogs par byang chub pa) occurs at the final moment right before Buddhahood. The last subject in the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, the result of the path, is the realization of the Dharma-body (dharmakāyābhisamaya, chos sku mngon rtogs pa) in its four aspects. Indian and Tibetan commentators debate about what exactly is the correct interpretation of these four aspects [9]. A number of Tibetan scholars, following the Indian scholar Haribhadra, will understand these four as (1) the body of dharma (dharmakāya), (2) the embodiment of Buddhahood in its essence (svābhāvikakāya), (3) the embodiment of communal enjoyment (saṃbhogakāya), and (4) the limitless forms of awakened manifestation (nairmāṇikakāya).The eight subjects found in the Abhisamayālaṃkāra are usually understood in terms of three categories that are mentioned in the final verses of the text’s ninth chapter. The first three clear realizations (1–3) are aims or objects (viṣaya) to be known by bodhisattvas. The next four realizations (4–7) are practices (prayoga) to be cultivated by bodhisattvas in order cognize the first three realizations. Finally, the dharma-body (phala) occurs as a result of the practices that actualize the clear realizations.

A long tradition of commentaries on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra developed in India and Tibet. Traditional accounts mention that the great Yogācāra scholars Asaṅga (ca. 315–390 C.E.) and his half-brother Vasubandhu (fl. Fourth century) wrote commentaries to the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, but they are lost. Ārya Vimuktisena (ca. early sixth century C.E.) is the author of the earliest extant commentary on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, the Abhisamayālaṃkāravṛtti. Ārya Vimuktisena’s commentary links the Abhisamayālaṃkāra to the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā and serves as the basis for all subsequent Indian and Tibetan commentaries ([1], pp. 21–36). The next great scholar on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra is Haribhadra, who was active during the reign of Dharmapāla (rg. ca. 770–810). He composed four works related to Abhisamayālaṃkāra including the Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā, a long explanatory commentary that comments on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra in correlation with Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā [6, 8, 10], and the Abhisamayālaṃkāra-kārikā-śāstra-vivṛti [11], a short commentary that provides an exposition on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra without relying on any prajñāpāramitā text. The Abhisamayālaṃkāra-kārikā-śāstra-vivṛti is the base text for Abhisamayālaṃkāra commentaries in the Tibetan tradition. After the works of Ārya Vimuktisena and Haribhadra, another 16 Indian commentaries on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra were composed during the Pāla dynastic era (750–1150 C.E.) and are preserved in Tibetan translation [12].

Tibetan Buddhists have continued on with the commentarial tradition of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra up to the present day. The Abhisamayālaṃkāra has “…had the most lasting impact of any sūtra commentary [in Tibet],” [13] serving as a gateway for the study of the Prajñāpāramitā by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism as well as being a fundamental text in the contemporary Tibetan Buddhist monastic curriculum [14]. Hundreds of commentaries to the Abhisamayālaṃkāra were composed in premodern Tibet. Among the most well-known were the Theg chen-po la’jug pa of Gnyal-zhig-pa’jam-dpal rdo-rje (flourished twelfth century), the Lung gi nye ma written by Bu-ston rin-chen-grub (1290–1364), the commentary of Nya-dbon kun-dga’-dpal (1285–1379), and the Legs bshad gser phreng by Tsong-kha-pa blo-bzang grag-pa (1357–1419). The Abhisamayālaṃkāra and its related literature has been a source in modern scholarship for the analysis of the embodied qualities of Buddhahood [9], issues in the interpretation of tathāgathagarbha [15], and the elucidation of Buddhist categories of Noble Beings [1] among other topics.

 Abhidharma (Theravāda)

 Bodhisattva

 Mahāyāna

 Prajñāpāramitā