School

Vaibhāṣika

Overview

Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika (Sanskrit: सर्वास्तिवाद-वैभाषिक) or simply Vaibhāṣika (वैभाषिक) was an ancient Buddhist tradition of Abhidharma (scholastic Buddhist philosophy), which was very influential in North India, especially Kashmir. In various texts, they referred to their tradition as Yuktavāda (the doctrine of logic), and another name for them was Hetuvāda (the doctrine of causes). The Vaibhāṣika school was an influential subgroup of the larger Sarvāstivāda school. They were distinguished from other Sarvāstivāda sub-schools like the Sautrāntika and the "Western Masters" of Gandhara and Bactria by their orthodox adherence to the doctrines found in the Mahāvibhāṣa, from which their name is derived (Vaibhāṣa is a vṛddhi derivative of vibhāṣa, meaning "related to the vibhāṣa"). Vaibhāṣika thought significantly influenced the Buddhist philosophy of all major Mahāyāna Buddhist schools of thought and also influenced the later forms of Theravāda Abhidhamma (though to a much lesser extent).

The Sarvāstivāda tradition arose in the Mauryan Empire during the second century BCE, and was possibly founded by Kātyānīputra (c. 150 BCE). During the Kushan era, the "Great Commentary" (Mahāvibhāṣa) on Abhidharma was compiled, marking the beginning of Vaibhāṣika as a proper school of thought. This tradition was well-supported by Kanishka, and later spread throughout North India and Central Asia. It maintained its own canon of scriptures in Sanskrit, which included a seven-part Abhidharma Piṭaka collection. Vaibhāṣika remained the most influential Buddhist school in Northwest India from the first century CE until the seventh century.

Despite numerous variations and doctrinal disagreements within the tradition, most Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣikas were united in their acceptance of the doctrine of "sarvāstitva" (all exists), which says that all phenomena in the three times (past, present and future) can be said to exist. Another defining Vaibhāṣika doctrine was that of simultaneous causation (sahabhū-hetu), hence their alternative name of "Hetuvāda".

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).

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But by sacred things one must not understand simply those personal beings which are called gods or spirits; a rock, a tree, a spring, a pebble, a piece of wood, a house, in a word, anything can be sacred. A rite can have this character; in fact, the rite does not exist which does not have it to a certain degree.
Émile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of the Religious Life
States what Vaibhāṣika is.
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The Indians infer the existence of “a universal cause which is undistinguishable, while determinate things are finite,” and on this account there must be a cause permeating through them. Even intelligence is an effect of this cause, which is the soul in so far as it is creative in this identity with nature after its abstraction from it. Effect proceeds from cause, yet, on the other hand, this last is not…
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Hegel's Lectures on the History of Philosophy
States what Vaibhāṣika is.
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Fear is, therefore, caution destitute of reason. But a wise man is not affected by any present evil; while the grief of a fool proceeds from being affected with an imaginary evil, by which his mind is contracted and sunk, since it is not under the dominion of reason. This, then, is the first definition, which makes grief to consist in a shrinking of the mind contrary to the dictates of reason. Thus, there are four…
Marcus Tullius Cicero, Cicero's Tusculan Disputations Also, Treatises On The Nature Of The Gods, And On The Commonwealth
States what Vaibhāṣika is.
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Vaibhāṣika

Overview

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