The Translation of the Term "Samskara"
in the Chinese Buddhist Literature
Ven. Hsing-kong
佛教與中國文化國際學術會議論文集上冊
1995年出版
P.285-302
.
P.285
a / Introduction
The concept of samskara, together with dharma
and karma, represents one of the key-stones on which
our understanding of Buddhist philosophy depends.
Most of translators of Buddhist literature into
English at present time render this term by the word
'formation[s]', however, in view of the rather
negative connotation this term is endowed with in
Buddhist philosophy, this rendering seems to be
still far from satisfactory. The other renderings,
culled from many authors, such as activities,
Habitual tendency, effort, aspiration, accumulation,
constructions, karmic forces, karmic residues,
condition, propensity, factor, impressions, component
thins, created things, complexes, determinants,
determinates, pre-natal forces, volitions,
potentialities, synergies, etc., seem either to
cover only a limited area of usage, or to bring
unnecessary and undesirable implications with them.
None of them is suitable for general reception.
Rhys David 's ''Pali-English dictionary'' [p.664
] and ''Fan he da zi dian'' [p.1375],both propose ''
preparations'' , as their first rendering of this
term(註1). This rendering, as pointed out by Ven.
Nanananda [Towards calm and insight, 1993] may best
do justice to Buddha's effort to make his language
understood to all, who are ready to open themselves
to his massage of salvation, without discrimination
as to one's social and educational
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background. 'Preperations' is indeed a word
significant to all, and the function of samskaras is
exactly making one ready to reap the fruits of one'
s actions, of whatever kind they may be. Without
samskaras life in this world would be unthinkable,
because pre-perations give meaning to life, and one's
interest in life mostly consists of an uninterrupted
series of preperations, which lead from one kind of
activity into another.
Thus the meaning one gives to life is defined by
his samskaras. In India, whose civilization has
been equally formed by the culture of brahmanas and
sramanas, priests and ascetics, samskaras came to
mean purificatory rites giving meaning to one's life
and preparing one for Heaven for the first, while
in the culture of sramanas samskaras came to be
identified with impurities in mind, responsible for
one's suffering in this world .
Buddha, whose most important contribution was
without any doubt his explanation of both suffering
and liberation on the basis of Interdependent
origination, used the word sankhara as synonym of
dhamma(註2), and this clearly shows, that sankharas,
preparations, meant for him a key word for under
standing his philosophy of liberation.
Since everything in this world is conditioned,
all preparations, based on ignorance, which consists
of appropriation, that is individualization of the
world, are necessarily bound to suffering. (註3) The
preperations are thus conceived as negative
energies structuring the suffering of samsara, which
in itself is nothing but continuity of preperations
[sankharasantati], issuing from a wrong view of
reality [micchaditthi]. The liberation is reached by
struggle to suppress, abandon preparations, and
finally by their appeasement [sankharavupasama].(註4)
'Visankharagatacitta' [DH v. 154 etc.] , the mind
free from preparations, means freedom, nibbana,
while the mind with preparations means bondage,
samsara. However, even for a liberated man, for one
who merged with the ocean of nectar of 'asankhata'
unprepared, the samskaras continue to function, not
as bases for samsara, but as pure samskaras,
activities, without individuation. (註5) Samskaras,
preperations of a man in bondage, or samskaras as
aggregate of appropriation
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[upadanaskandha] become pure activities of a
liberated man. Though the process of Interdependent
origination continues, even in a liberated man, it
is another kind of interdependence, freed from the
suffering of samskaras based on individualization.
The supreme importance of the term samskara for
a correct understanding of Buddha's teachings was
clearly recognized by early translators of Buddhist
literature into Chinese, and therefore their
renderings and interpretations of this term may be
of great help for students of Buddhism. Before
analysing various renderings of the word samskara in
Chinese, we shall briefly mention the usage of this
complex word in Indian literature in general and in
Buddhist literature in particular for our better
understanding .
b / The general usage of the word samskara in Indian
literature
The term samskara was in common use in India
before the time of Buddha, and it is unlikely, that
he has added any other meanings to it than those
commonly understood, except interpreting it in the
light of his philosophy of pratityasamutpada, which
was an unpreceded revolution. The multifarious
meanings of this word relevant to our topic may be
summerized as follows ;
l / everything prepared, cooked, as opposed to
raw food.
2 / make-up, stage preparations, ornaments as
opposed to a natural state of affairs.
3 / rafination, cultivation, civilization, holy
rites, purifications as opposed to vulgarity
or barbarity.
4 / energy, that keeps things going, impetus,
urge, tension as opposed to state of
tranquility, peace, where the momentum is
often strengthened by the prefix 'abhi' .
5 / restructuring , reconditioning, entanglement
, multiplicity as opposed to unity, oneness.
As the Brahmanical literature came to emphasize
the first and the third meaning with the positive
implications, and the sramana tradition the
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negative ones, there always existed a potential for
opposition between the two traditions.
c / The usage of the term samskaras in Buddhist
literature
It seems to have been a special intention of
Buddha to widen the sphere of usage of the term '
preperations', in order to lead people to disgust
with themselves and thus with the world, all in
accordance with the key principle of Sramana culture
; bondage, liberation and path are to be searched for
only within one's six feet long body, and nowhere
else. [S.N.4.98] To my knowledge, we do not find
such a wide range of usage of the term samskaras in
any other branches of Sramana culture in India, even
though the term often bears the same negative
connotation in them as well. As Kalupahana [The
Central Philosophy of Buddhism, p.84] has pointed
out; ''In Buddhism, samskara means disposition when
referring to psychological fact, otherwise it refers
to anything in the world''.
As the liberation from suffering is the only
concern [eka rasa] of Buddha's teachings, the
prepared [abhisankhata] and created by will [
adhisancetayita] are used as synonyms, in interest
of knowledge of the supreme dharma, nirvana. [see
Culasunnatasutta, M.N.3,108 etc.] In order to turn
the mind towards the supreme dharma, all existing
things are to be regarded as samskaras, preperations
, and liberation from preparations [including the
holy rites] is explained as ending of pain [dukkha],
ending of samsara. [S.N.ver.731 etc.]
In a famous passage, recurring on several places
in Pali, [D.N.3,212,S.N.2,82, 3.87 etc.] samskaras
are explained as that, which prepares the prepared
..., preparing form into the state of form, feeling
into the state of feeling etc. ( with all other
aggregates) (註6) Samskaras, represented as potter
kneading pots in Tibetan tanka representations,
prepare the world in two ways, by causes and
conditions and by one's will or effort, both being
but two aspects of the same process of preparing.
It is significant to note in this connection, what
words Buddhagosa uses in Atthasalini [DHSA p.156] to
explain the mind with samskaras [sasankharacitta].
They are ussaha
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[effort], payoga [exertion], upaya [expedient],
paccaya [condition] and gahana [entanglement], where
the first two refer to volitional aspect in
causality, the second two to the functional aspect,
and the last seem to refer to both.
The volitional factor in samskaras is motivated
by desire, which gives rise to karma [Tanha paccaya
kammam, A.N.3, 31 etc.] and hence many scholars (
Childers, Warren, Aung...) identified all samskaras
with karma. However, this identification should be
restricted to places where samskaras fulfill the
function of cankers only, in connection with the
second member in the Interdependent origination
series.
Though the samskaras are only products of one's
will and causes and conditions, they appear as
something meaningful, as something pithy, [like a
plantain tree, to which they are often compared,
S.N.3, 142 etc.] to an unenlightened man.
For the sake of disgust with the world,
essential to spiritual cultivation, the samskaras in
Buddhism are identified with supreme suffering
[sankhara parama dukkha, DHP, v. 203 etc.], because
they create the samsara.
The recognition of the nature of samskaras,
understanding them as carriers of all fears
[sankhara bhayavaha, Namarupapariccheda v.1707],
disgust with them and finally indifference to them
is the path of purification of insight, as described
in Pali treatises, dealing with the subject of
meditation. Pali does not recognize any other way to
liberation, except one leading through a progressive
understanding of the nature and functioning of
samskaras. Ii is only by understanding them as being
impermanent, sorrowful and not self, by abandoning
them progressively in absorbtions [sankharanam niro
dho=jhana, see S.N.4, 216 etc.] , and finally by
appeasing them [sankharanam vupasamo], that one
attains nirvana, in the Theravada tradition.
In the highest stage of insight in the world,
before the actual experience of nirvana, that is in
the stage of knowledge of indifference to all
samskaras [sankharupekhanana], the meditator is said
to be in a condition of a bird released by sailors
to search for land. He remains bound to samskaras
[ship]
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as long as he does not see the other shore. [see
Paramavinicchayo verse 1016 etc.] Thus samskaras,
which are said to be unreal(註7), imaginary things,
are unreal only from the perspective of the other
shore, otherwise they are what gives meaning to life
for a man in the world, the ship that carries him
on his worldly journeys.
To summerize, the word samskara is used in
Buddhism to refer to all the world, individualized
as five aggregates of existence. It is used in
active sense to refer to everything creating,
preparing one's existence, and in passive sense to
everything prepared, created in it, because
samskaras tempered by previous samskaras constitute
the causal relations in the world on all levels of
existence.
In it's most fundamental form, the term
samskaras is used to refer to the second member [
nidana] in Interdent origination. Here it stands for
mental stimuli [manosancetana], quivering in mind [
citta praspanda, see A. Kosa Vyakhya, ed. Sastri, p.
187], which bestows it with a primary motivation.
This motivation is identified with root defilements;
desire, dislike and ignorance, which are the
primary causes of one's worldly existence. (註8)
When used in this sense, the term samskara is most
closely linked with karma, defined as motivation [
cetana] and being motivated [catayitva, A.N.3, 415
etc.], but though both terms have a parallel meaning
, their point of emphasis is not the same. When the
word cetana is used, the emphasis is generally on
heaping one's existence in a certain manner, while
samskaras refer to action of preparing oneself to
reap the fruits of one's karma.
In Buddhagosa's interpretation [Visuddhimaggga
p.545 ] samskaras at this stage are said to be
happening in a previous existence, but this
interpretation seems to be doubtful, due to the
dynamic nature of the process of conditioning which
has always been emphasized in the scriptures. As the
second member in the Interdependent origination
samskaras form, or prepare the consciousness and
through it by means of nama-rupa [individuality]
they grow up [sankharanam vuddhi, S.N.2,101] to
contain all functionings within this created world.
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That is to say, they grow as preparations
preparing for bodily, vocal and mental functions [
kaya, vaci and cittasankhara, M.N.130], preparations
for meritorious, non meritorious or unmovable
perception of the world [punnapunnanejabhisankhara,
S. N.2p.82 etc.], and preparations for perception of
the world in terms of six kinds of motivations
[chacetanakaya, S. N.60 etc.]. All these usages
clearly show, that samskaras in early Buddhism meant
primarily forces arising from cankers [ sasava
upadaniya, S.N.3,p.47] , products of attachment to
the world, and forces giving rise to new attachments
[upadana] and hence existence. This process is
meaningful only when observed from the perspective
of the present moment, as the scriptures clearly say
, arising of preperations comes from arising of
contact and disappearing of preparations from
disappearing of cibtact. (註9)
In its second important aspect, the term
samskara is used to refer to all factors preparing
the conditioned elements of existence. In the
Theravada tradition samskara as aggregate is usually
taken to refer to all mental factors [51 cetasikas]
except feeling and conceptualization, which form
separate aggregates. However this differentiation is
only a matter of emphasis, because the late two are
also referred to as mind preparations [
cittasankharas] in the scriptures. [M. N.1 , 301]
Thus samkara as the fourth aggregate is taken to
mean all mental factors operating in juxtaposition
with vocal and bodily actions, while other three
mental aggregates do not require these to be
functional [ as in absorbtions in the formless
sphere ].
According to the Mahavibhasa [T.27, 384c ] all
the five aggregates are samskaras, but still the
fourth aggregate is differentiated from the other
aggregates, just as the dharmadhatu is differentiated
from the other seventeen dhatus, though all of them
are dhamadhatu also. Hence the commentary to
Abhidharmakosa says, the other aggregates have
different names, because they comprise a few
preperations, the aggreggate 'samskara' comprises
many preperations, and therefore it is called the
aggregate of preperation. (註10) Thus samskara as
the fourth aggregate refers to forces preparing the
world. (註11)
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From this function, the usage of the term is
extended to mean all forces essential for functioning
of beings in the world [ayusankhara, jivitasankhara,
bhavasankhara ] on hand, and on the other hand all
things in the world as products of karma.
This last usage of the term samskara, here
always employed in plural number, sankharas, points
out very clearly at the accumulative function with
which is this world always associated. Starting from
the basical impurities in mind, its usage is
extended to include all forces preparing the world
for perception in terms of one's volition or
motivation, and finally to include all things [
dharmas] existing in the world as products of karma.
Thus in the Buddhist conception of the world, the
samskaras function as dynamic forces preparing one's
karma, which define everything experienced in one's
worldly existence.
With this in mind, we can procede to the problem
of translation of this into Chinese.
D / The various translations of the term samskara
in Chinese.
The standardization of translation of key
Buddhist terms in Chinese is generally considered to
have been one of Kumarajiva's great contributions
to Buddhism in China. He was first to use almost
without exception the same term,‘行’to translate
the term samskara into Chinese, and ever since this
rendering has enjoyed such a popularity that it
eventually overshadowed all other translations,
which are nevertheless as numerious in Chinese as
they are in English.
Though the list that follows is far from being
complete, more than twenty renderings have been
culled from various dictionaries and scriptures in
order to show that the translation of this complex
term was also a matter of interpretation in China as
in the West, often reflecting different approaches
and interests of the translators themselves. So
beside the standard translation,‘行’, we also have
; ‘業行’，‘諸行’，‘有為行’，‘作行’，‘資助’
，‘將養’，‘功用’，‘所作’，‘能作’，‘有為法’
，‘餘氣’，‘資糧’，‘有為’，‘生死’，‘精’，
‘情’，‘心數法’，‘等引’，‘業功能’，‘作功用心
’，‘作別故意’，
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‘加行方便’，‘發起加行’，‘造作’，and others.
Let us now consider these various renderings
from the perspective of frequency of their occurrence
and their philosophical implications.
1 / 行
Sometimes written as □ has been from the very
inception of Buddhism in China the most frequent
rendering. In Chinese Buddhist literature, it
translates beside "Samskara" also other important
words like practice, conduct, path, meditation,
yoga, duties, etc. all connected with the notion of
activity, or motion, words which are its closest
literal equivalents in English.[see Sakurabe; Shoki
butsuden ni awareru kyo no kotoba ni tsuite].The
negative implication is not evident from the word
itself, and so Chinese translations, beside putting
the word karmic, 業 before 行 , making it karmic
activity, ‘業行’， used many other skillful means
to impart to their readers the negative meaning or
aspect in its usage筵.
To couple the meaning of activity with volition,
agitation or will in the sense of factor
responsible for prolification of nama-rupa and hence
suffering in the world, the word 行 is juxtaposed
with si 思 cetana' [will] (註12), and consequently
with mind, as the base of samsara. As the term
samskara is traditionally explained as the six
bodies of volition(註13), and as such easily confused
with mind, early translators as An Shi gao and
his disciples, often failed to distinguish clearly
between mind as manas [意], as consciousness [識]
and as mental concomitants [心數法], and thus
identified ‘行’， with all mental activities
perpetuating the suffering of samsara. In his ‘大安
般守意經’， An Shi gao states explicitely that the
worldly existence is thought, or volition which is
opposed to 'dao' [思惟無為道, T. 15, 168b], and
identifies it with mind [意] which is the product
of agitation of heart [心] by all the worldly
phenomena. In a commentary to陰持入經, [T.33 p.9c]
‘行’， as samskara is defined clearly as the
running mind accumulating good and bad karma and
permeating everywhere(註14) and the path of
liberation [dao] is indicated in the same work
and elsewhere [T.l5, 168 etc.] to be the process of
getting rid of samskaras.
An Shi gao himself characterizes samskara as the
perpetuation of
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worldly existence(註15), and it is significant
to note in this connection that the earliest
translation of Dirghagama translates the second
rddhipapa [padhana sankhara, effort of will] as
succeding in annihilation of samskaras [滅行成就T.1.
P.50], and ‘十報法經’，[T.1.237a], identifying
samskara with cetana, or thought [si wei may mean
both] translates the appeasement of samskaras
[ sankharavupassamo] by abandonning the whole
aggregate of activities [行陰已除,T.i, 237a]. Thus
in the early Chinese translations, particularly in
those connected with An Shi gao and his disciples,
the negative aspect contained in the concept of
samskara is stressed most explicitly, often at the
expense of lucidity of meaning. This tendency
becomes even more prominent with the commentators,
who identify‘行’in its creative aspect [作行]
with the essence of samsara [生死精行], that is
with the mental aggregate which is the seed and the
proliferation of the whole of worldy existence, [see
阿含解十二因經， T.25, n.1508 ]. The aggregate
of proliferation, which samskara is called [ 行為盛
陰，便作生死行 ], is easily interchanged with
consciousness, [識], which is explained as the
invisible aggregate [莫睹其形，故曰陰， T.33,9c]
and therefore, when the early Buddhist literature in
China speaks of the aggregate of samsara it is often
virtually impossible to decide which one of them is
meant.
The cluster of samskaras [sankharapunja], is
translated as [陰聚skandha samudaya] [T.2, 227b],
and so in the early Chinese Buddhist literature the
identification of samskara with samsara, and mind
which creates it, is complete. The Chinese rendering
of samskara as ‘行’ emphasizes particularly
it's dynamic aspect, as evident from the early
translations of the Prajnaparamita literature, where
we find such passages as 設使行空，則無所作, if
samskaras are empty, nothing is prepared, [T.8,153c]
, or 不行色，不生色行， when form is not prepared,
no such preparation as form aggregate arises, etc.
[T.8, 426]
This dynamic aspect of samskaras as forces
preparing the consciousness and through it the way
both to suffering of Samsara or bliss on Nirvana,
accords also perfectly with the outlook of the early
meditation scriptures in China, (修行道地經，陰持入
經，法光經，道地經等等 ),
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where‘行’is used almost exclusively to translate
samskara, even in the numeration of five aggregates,
where ‘生死’ ， is usually used in the early
Buddhist literature. [T. 15, p. 173, 183, 240 etc.]
2 / 生死或生死陰
‘生死’， literally meaning birth and death, or
samsara in the sense of painful worldly existence,
was a general term to render the word samskara in
the early Buddhist literature before Kumarajiva. It
occurs almost as frequently as‘行’， however it
is used most often in a collective numeration of
five aggregates: 色、痛痒、思想、生死、識(註16).
When used individually, it may appear
accompanied by ‘陰’， ‘生死陰’ understood
as 'samskaraskandha' [ T.15, 164c, etc. ] and
differentiated from samsara as such.
However this differentiation is usually
completely obliterated in the early period. It is
also frequently used together with‘行’， in the
sense of involvement in worldly existence as opposed
to liberation(註17), or blind wandering in Samsara
as opposed to truth(註18). Since the samskaras are
said to arise in virtue of three factors: karma,
desire and ignorance [T.2, 88b] ,the translation of
samskara by samsara is philosophically impeccable.
It clarifies its function as the architect of other
four skandhas, but it fails to translate many
particular usages of samskara in Pali, such as
preparations of. body, speech and mind [kaya, vaci,
manosankhara], or preperation of life, or of age
[ jivitasankhara, ayusankhara] etc., where always
other words had to be used. [ 身、口、意行作…T. 15,
175b]. As the translation of samskara as‘行’ is
used in juxtaposition with the description of Nirvana
as unmoved [acala] , or constant [dhuva], so its
translation as ‘生死’, brings to light its unborn
[ajata] and deathless [acuta, amara] nature. This
contrast is often used by the commentators as for
example Xi Chao for whom samskara as‘生死’, seems
to signify the process of arising and passing of [a
defiled] mind. (註19) The commentator of 'Shi er yin
jing [dvadasanidanasutra ] identifies samskara [生
死] with the root defilement of anger or dislike,
lust with ignorance and consciousness with not
knowing or essential unclarity(註20). These three
[consciousness, samskara and ignorance] are here
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undistinguishable, as in many other places in the
early Buddhist literature. In accordance with the
old sramana tradition, describing the mind as
Samsara [cittam eva samsara], the mind is said to
arise due to one's signorance about samskaras and
has to be stopped by the practitionner. (註21)
Thus the translation of samskara as samsara in
early Chinese Buddhist literature brings to light
the accumulative function of samskaras as forces
or factors creating the universe in terms of
proliferation of mind. This rendering is intended
to include all five aggregates of existence and is
also often used in this sense(註22). It is not
surprising that a question crops out in this
connection in the Mahavibhasa [T.27, 384c] ; why the
samskara is not called the aggregate of self [我蘊]
, which is answered by saying, because the pudgala
is not the real characteristic of all samskaras.
3 / 有為[the created], 有為法[the created elements,
formations], 所作，所住[(karmic) products].
All these words are synonyms, used to render the
meaning of samskaras [in plural] as all perceived
things, created by causes, and as such subjected to
changes and to outflow of cankers [asravadharma].
These terms are usually used in the agamas in
connection with the idea of impermanence, as opposed
to non created [na uppada] and non-destructed [na
vaya] nature of nirvana(註23). They are seldom used
to render the word samskaras in the sutras, where
they usually translate the word samskrta, created
delements(註24). In the Abhidharma literature, it
seems, the term‘有為法’, is used to render the
word samskara only in the technical term citta
viprayukta samskara [與心不相應有為法 ], otherwise
it translates the word samskrta only.
4 / 造作[preparation, abhisamskaranal], 能作and能造
[creation.accumulation], 作行and作加行[prayoga,
effort, practice], 作功用心[creative intention,
aspiration], 功用and功能 [determination, power,
samartha] , 作別故意 and 加行方便[determination]
All these words, though endowed with different
connotations, are used to render the sanskrit term '
abhisamskara', in the sense of preparation, or super
(abhi) preparation = supernatural powers, intention
, or karmic act
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determining the function of body speech and mind.
In the case of words 造作，能造，能作 the point
of emphasis in rendering the term samskara is on
the creative activity, in the sense of forming,
preparing the world in accordance with one's
volition. They are used to convey the idea of
samskaras as dynamic forces creating the world from
causes and conditions arosen due to impurities in
mind(註25).
In the words作功用心，功用，作別故意, the point
of emphasis is either on determination capable of
forming one's existence in terms of fruits of one's
karma, (註26)or on determination capable of forming
one's supernatural powers . (註27)
The words 作行，作加行 or加行方便 as renderings
of samskara all refer to effort in practice aiming
at attainment of certain fruits of practice, either
wisdom or supernatural powers. [T.29, 64c, T.28, 790
b, etc.]
5 / 將養 [accumulation], 資糧 [habitual tendency,
factor, accumulation by practice. Sambhara],資助
[activity assistance].
These words, rarely used in agarmas, refer all
to samskaras as habitual activities, tendencies or
practices, (註28) including ritual batming (T.29,169
a) .
6 / 精and 精氣 [essence, seed], 情[predisposition,
mind, feeling], 餘氣，餘習，習氣, [residue of
impurities , tendencies].
The first two words do not occur in the sense
of samskaras in the agamas, but were used by
commentators to explain the concept of samskara in
terms familiar to Chinese readers[T.25, n. 1508] ,
as essential volitional forces in transmigration.
The word‘情’, beside its usual meaning, desire,
passion or sometimes even mind [T.29, 65c], is also
employed in the early period to translate the word
will, volition [cetana] and hence also samskara, in
the sense of predispositions.(註29) The last three
words usually translate the concept to residual
tendencies [vasana] or seeds of passions [klesabija]
, but were also sometimes used, it seems, to
translate the concept of samskaras as habitual
tendencies for defilement. (註30)
P.298
Conclusion
"Samskara" is a complex term, difficult to
explain, however a correct understanding of this
concept is an invaluable asset for study of all the
multifarious facets of Buddhism. As the variety of
rendering of this term in Chinese and Western
languages suggests, the translation of this word in
different contexts presupposes an interpretation on
the part of translator, including an evaluation in
the light one 's culture and personal experience.
In this connection a study of various Chinese
renderings of this term may be of great assistance
for our understanding of different approaches to
Buddhism, but such a study requires a systematic
investigation, far beyond the scope of present work.
The present paper is but an incomplete attempt to
gather a few renderings of samskara in Chinese
agamas and Abhidharma literature, with the aim of
linking them with the use of this term in Pali and
Sanskrit.
To summerize our investigation a few points of
interest may be raised:
l / A correct understanding of the concept
of samskara must necessarily be linked with
understanding of two casual processes, one in terms
of samsara, and other in terms of nirvana.
In the first process, the function of samskara
is to prepare the conscious and unconscious
processes forming one's existence on the base
of five aggregates of clinging. Here, in this
connection, the samskaras arise due to wrong views
accumulated in mind by volition [cetana], connected
with a wrong view of universe. They form mind in
such a way as to give rise to series of minds with
outflow of cankers [sasravacitta], and thus they
perform the function of architects of samsara, via
their primarily function of forming and directing
consciousness.
To an unenlightened person samskaras appear
as an "I", universaly diffused in the way they do
to ascetic Sena in the Chinese Parinirvanasutra,
but this wrong notion of "I" disappears immediately,
as soon as nirvana is seen.
When this happens, the samskaras by process of
deepening of insight,
P.299
eventually cease to function in the sense of
suffering, but operate as energies or preparations
assisting mind in attaining the goal, nirvana.
Finally, when the goal is realized, the
samskaras become merely forces, directing mind in
certain direction {行}(註31), in accordance with
universal laws and without outflows of ignorance.
Their connection with other four aggregates does not
function in terms of "I" and mine any more,
they become the aggregate of pure energies [
suddhasamskarapunja] .
2 / There is a clear difference in
interpretation of samskaras in so called Hinayana
and Mahayana literature, which became more outspoken
in the course of development of Buddhism.
In the early period of Buddhism in China, the
samskaras were understood as vehicles of suffering
by all translators and interpreters. This fact is
attested by translation of this term by samsara.
However the influence of Prajnaparamita literature,
which came to China as early as the agamas, was
equally important. Chinese thinkers of the early
period, seem to have stressed both emptiness of
samskaras and their function as architects of
samsara side by side, without any clear preference.
The teachings of the Saddharmapundarikasutra, where
all samskaras are understood as being contained in
one single Buddhasamskara, did not seem to conflict
in any way with their depiction as the dark forces
of the universe, accompanying the spirit on the
painful journey of transmigration [Hui yuan], and so
the Chinese thinkers from the earliest period, seem
to have searched for a synthesizing view .
3 / Among all the various renderings of the
term samskara in Chinese, the term‘行’, standing
for activities, forces or motion, seems to be best
qualified to render the multifarious shades of
meanings. It presents also a kind of synthetic
concept, avoiding a onesided interpretation, as the
term ‘生死’does.
However, without the background of original
Buddhism, this term is too neutral to convey the
notion of samskaras as architects of suffering of
samsara .
The early Buddhist thinkers in China did their
best to explain this
P.300
concept in terms of suffering, but with the advent
of purely Chinese forms of Buddhism in; Tian Tai,
Hua Yan, Chan and Pure land, and with the
replacement of ideal of Nirvana by ideal of
enlightenment, samskaras seem to have been given a
new meaning, not used in early Buddhism.
4 / Other renderings of the term samskara
in Chinese, besides "行" and "生死", briefly
mentioned in this paper may also add to our
understanding of functioning of samskaras. Chinese
language seems to be more suitable than English in
rendering the meaning of samskaras as both passive
[所造] and active [能造] forces. They represent
a certain potential in mind [功能，功用] to prepare
[造作] the world in accordance with one's karma.
When connected with meditation practice [加行，
加行方便], they guide the mind to perform feats of
supernatural powers [作別故意], or activate the
otherwise dormant supernatural faculties [as special
creations = abhisamskaras ], becoming also the
equipment [資糧] for the attainment of the goal of
practice.
Otherwise the samskaras assist, or support [資
助，將養] the per-formance of one's duties in life,
so as to enable beings to live in accordance with
their principles, or else, they assist the seeds
of impurities in mind [anusayas, 習氣，餘氣 ] to
continue to manifest samsara to mind.
To my knowledge, a research into translation and
use of the term samskara in different contexts in
Chinese has been a neglected area of study, but may
prove awarding for a better understanding of meaning
of this concept in Buddhism.

NOTES :

(註 l) Though R. Davids in reference to it's meaning
in epic ＆class. Sansdrit.

(註 2) Sabbe sankhara aniccati, sabbe sankhara
dukkhati, sabbe dhamma anattati....... DHP
vs.277-279 etc.

(註 3) Ye ca cetana, yaca patthana, ya ca panidhi,
ye ca sankhara, sabbe te dhamma anitthaya,
akantaya, amanapaya, A. N.5 p.212.

(註 4) Imassa kho me dukkhanidanassa sankharam
padahato sankharappadahana virago hoti, M.N.
2 p.223.
(註 5) Suddhasankharapunjo'yam, nayiddha
sattupalabhati, S.N.l p.135.

P.301

(註 6) sanhatam abhisankharoti bhikkhave, tasma
sankhara'ti vuccati. Kinca sankhatam
abhisankharoti? Rupam rupattaya.......

(註 7) "Vorgestellten Dinge", in the words of O.
Franke, D.N. 1, 311, quoted by Har Dayal in
Bodh. Doctr. p.340.

(註 8) See for ex. Santani ed. Arthaviniscayasutra
p. 8 or Candrakirti, Prasannapada,Vaidya ed.
p.246.

(註 9) phassasamudaya sankharasamudayo, phassanirodha
sankharanirodho... S.N. 3,60

(註 10) 攝行少故，各受別名﹔行蘊攝行多故，故得行名
。see丁福保編佛學大辭典p.1082.

(註 11) Abhisamskarana, abhisamskaranalaksanah
samskarah, -M. Vrtti p.343

(註 12) as in T. 1.737, 若本所行，本所思者，我不樂
彼，不求彼。where the first part translates
Pali, yam kho pana kinci abhisankhatam,
abhisancetayitam.......M.N. 3, 108 .

(註 13) sancetanakaya, see T. 15, 173b, 身六更，in
處持入經 or as 六身生死, in An shi gao's
translation 七處三觀經, Samyuktagama T. 2.
p.876b.

(註 14) 心馳無極，思善存惡，周旋十方，靡不匝也，故
曰行。

(註 15) 行相謂何等﹖謂令後復有，是謂行相。

(註 16) T. 1, 237a, T. 2, 498c, 875b, T. 8. 509, T.
12, 983c, T. 15, 168c, etc.

(註 17) T. 12, 983c; 至于佛法亦不慇懃度生死行也。
does not strive to rid himself of involvement
in the worldly existence

(註 18) T. 15, 168b ;行道得道是謂內法，外法謂度生死
謂生死行。the true dharma is practicing and
accomplishing 'dao' , to misdemean oneself
means to endulge in samskaras = samasara

(註 19) T. 33, 86c ; 心念起始為生想過意識滅為死,
when thought arises, it is birth, when it
pases, it is death
(註 20) T. 25, p.53b ;淫為癡，瞋恚為生死，精疑為識

(註 21) T. 25, 53b ;不識生死故為識，道人欲斷，there
is mind [識]due to ignorance about samskaras,
a practitioner should stop mind.

(註 22) see for ex. T.27, 27a ;行者若得阿羅漢果，定
不復一切生死
(註 23) T. l, 24b; 有為法無常變異= sabbe sankhara
anicca viparinama dharma

(註 24) T. 2, 11c, or T. 29, 164b ;能作功用起有為法
，故說此為行取陰=samskrtam abhisassmskaroti,
tasmat samskara upadanaskandha ity ucyate

(註 25) see for example T. 2, 714 or T. 27, 384c-85a;.
..... 行謂造作有為法中能造作者思為勝思但攝
在此行蘊中......; it is called samskara
because it is preparing the prepared with
volition being the most prominent in it.,
or T.29, 204a; 能作有為，是故名行=it is
called preparation, because it prepares the
prepared
P.302

(註 26) T. 29, 183a, 宿世定業功能盡故; because the
power of his upapatti samadhi has become
exhausted in his previous life.

(註 27) T. 29, 296a ;若六聲聞由天眼欲見，作大功用心
，能見中二千世界; if the six great sravakas
wish to see by a divine eye, they make a
great determination, which enables them to
see dvisahasramadhyamalokadhatu.

(註 28) as T. 27 9l3a ; 佛初轉法界有說意資助緣=
the Buddha tought in accordance with the
habitual tendencies of beings, or T 29, 136a
; 善心價多，大資糧成故 = the meritorious
mind is of great value, as it obtained by
great, accumulated effort.

(註 29) see Robinson, early Madhyamika in India
and China p.103, or Liebenthal's Hui Yuan's
Buddhism as set forth in his writings, JAOS,
70/4, 1950.

(註 30) as in T. 33,275c; 得此三觀諦顯行習氣皆盡=
when the third truth is realized, all the
samskaras (potential defilements) come to an
end?

(註 31) in this sense Xuan Zang translates; 如是二
定心等引生; these two samapattis {asamjni
and nirodhasam.} arise from directing the