The Notion of Class (samgraha) in Early Yogachara Logic (from Asanga's Abhidharma-Samuchchaya)

Philosophy

Abstract

The concept of class (saṃgraha) was introduced into early yogachara philosophy as an element of the logical structure of Buddhist discourse to classify not the dharmas themselves, but sets of dharmas--groups, elements of the cognitive act, and sources of consciousness. The introduction of the concept of class, supplementing the classification of dharmas into groups, elements and sources of consciousness, provided a more complete and yet more detailed classification of states of consciousness in accordance with Buddhist dogma, which was of paramount importance in the context of Buddhist religious pragmatics aimed at the attainment of enlightenment. The Abhidharma-samucheya identifies eleven classes, defined by their place in relation to each other, in relation to time and space, and in their emotional aspect, which are related to the task of attaining nirvana. They are nothing more than mental constructs formed to describe the psyche more accurately from an enlightenment perspective. The only reality in Buddhist philosophy is the dharma, and enlightenment occurs when the conditioned dharma ceases to arise and disappear, leaving only the unconditioned dharma--the treasure-consciousness free of affects and karmic deterministic dispositions. Thus, the classes do not reflect true reality (tathatā) as it is understood in Mahayana Buddhism, but are tools for changing the adept's psyche.