Final liberation

Tou, Min-Hui (2024): Final liberation: the concepts of Bījas and Vāsanās in the works of Vasubandhu and Sthiramati. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Cultural Studies

Abstract

This thesis investigates the specific context in which vāsanās cause bījas to manifest from the ālayavijñāna. The Indian Yogācāra school employs the concepts of bījas and vāsanās to elucidate the process of conceptualization in the mundane world, the continuity of rebirth in the repetitive behavioural circle (saṃsāra), and the potential for obtaining final liberation (nirvāṇa). In the Yogācāra school, bīja refers to the latent potency within one’s mental continuum, whereas vāsanā represents a dynamic force generated by karman or manifested dharma. The works attributed to Sthiramati reveal a diminishing emphasis on bīja while increasing the prominence of vāsanā. Although both bīja and vāsanā are considered defilements, the latter exerts a stronger influence on subsequent mental moments. Accordingly, the Mahāyānasaṃgraha (MSg) introduces the concept of the “vāsanā of hearing [Buddhist teachings]” as a mechanism for transmitting the Buddha’s teachings to ordinary beings, thereby facilitating the path to liberation. The Yogācāra school employs bījas and vāsanās to elucidate not only conceptualization and rebirth but also the attainment of liberation, thereby structuring the mental continuum across past, present, and future. By articulating the relationship between ālayavijñāna, bījas, and vāsanās, Yogācāra establishes its soteriology: vāsanā serves as the link between the mundane and supramundane realms, while bīja functions as the underlying cause of liberation.

• Item Type: Theses (Dissertation, LMU Munich)
• Keywords: bīja, vāsanā, Vasubandhu, Sthiramati
• Subjects: 100 Philosophy and Psychology; 100 Philosophy and Psychology > 180 Ancient, medieval, oriental philosophy
• Faculties: Faculty of Cultural Studies
• Language: English
• Date of oral examination: 15. July 2024
• 1. Referee: Kramer, Jowita
• Signature of the printed copy: 0001/UMC 30995