Viṃśatikā

Viṃśatikā (T. Nyi shu pa; C. Weishi ershi lun 唯識二十論), or the Twenty, also known as Viṃśatikāvijñaptimātratāsiddhikārikā (“Twenty Stanzas of Consciousness-Only”) is one of the most important works of the Indian scholar Vasubandhu, in which he defends Yogacara from objections by Realists.

Contemporary scholar Dan Lusthaus states:

Vasubandhu's most original and philosophically interesting treatise is his Twenty Verses (Vimśatikā). In it he defends Yogācāra from objections by Realists. Yogācāra claims that what we think are external objects are nothing more than mental projections. This has been mistaken for an Idealist position because interpreters focus on the word "object" instead of "external". Vasubandhu does not deny that cognitive objects (viṣaya, ālambana, etc.) exist; what he denies is that they appear anywhere else than in the very act of consciousness which apprehends them. He denies that such cognitive objects have external referents (bahya-artha). What Vasubandhu means is that cognition never takes place anywhere except in consciousness. Everything we know we have acquired through sensory experience (in Buddhism the mind is considered a special type of sense). We are fooled by consciousness into believing that those things which we perceive and appropriate within consciousness are actually outside our cognitive sphere. Put another way, we mistake our interpretations of things for the things themselves. Consciousness is driven by karmic intentionalities (the habitual tendencies produced by past actions), and how we perceive is shaped by that conditioning. The goal of Yogācāra is to break out of this cognitive narcissism and finally wake up to things as they are, devoid of erroneous conceptual projections.

Translations

Chinese translations

• Xuanzang in 661 (with the title Weishi ershi lun 唯識二十論; T 1590)
• Prajñāruci 般若流支 (538–543 CE) (with the title 唯識論, T 1588)
• Paramārtha 眞諦 (557–569 CE) (with the title 大乘唯識論; T 1589)

Tibetan translation

• Dergé Tengyur, Toh 4056; translated by Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi, Nanam Yeshe De, and Dānaśīla
• Full title: nyi shu pa'i tshig le'ur byas pa ཉི་ཤུ་པའི་ཚིག་ལེའུར་བྱས་པ། (Viṃśatikā-kārikā)
• Tibetan text, BUDA
• Tibetan text, Tibetan.works

English translations

From Chinese:

• Cook, Frances H. 1999. Three Texts on Consciousness-only. Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.
• Hamilton, Clarence. 1938. Wei Shih Er Lun, or, The Treatise in Twenty Stanzas on Representation-Only. New Haven: American Oriental Society.

From Sanskrit:

• Stefan Anacker, Seven Works of Vasubandhu: The Buddhist Psychological Doctor, Motilal Banarsidass, 2nd Edition, 2002, pp. 157-179, Archive version
• Thomas A. Kochumuttom, A Buddhist Doctrine of Experience: A New Translation and Interpretation of the Works of Vasubandhu the Yogacarin (Motilal Banarsidass Publishers of India; 2017 edition (January 1, 2008)) Google Books preview
• Thomas E. Wood, Mind Only (A Philosophical And Doctrinal Analysis Of The Vijnanavada), Motilal Banarsidass; New Ed edition (January 1, 2009), pp. 97-105 Archive version

French translations

• Philippe Cornu, Vasubandhu, Cinq traités sur l'esprit seulement (Paris: Fayard, 2008)

External links

• Viṃśatikā-vijñaptimātratāsiddhi, Wikipedia
• Twenty Stanzas, Rigpa Shedra Wiki