In the Paññ?sa-j?taka transmitted in central Thailand, there are as many as eight stories of self-sacrifice, where a bodhisatta declares that he carried out his self-sacrifice not to get the achievement of a s?vaka or paccekabuddha but to attain omniscience. Such declaration is rare in the P?li Nik?yas and their commentaries. In the same way, parallel or similar kinds of stories in the av?d?nas or j?takas transmitted in Sanskrit and Chinese do not refer to the disengagement from the achievement of (...) a s?vaka or paccekabuddha, with the exception of the story of K?ñcanas?ra. Since the direct source of the bodhisatta’s declarations including the reference to the achievement does not seem to exist in the P?li Nik?yas and their commentaries, there is a possibility that the bodhisatta’s declarations found in the Paññ?sa-j?taka are derived from a very old origin which is shared with the story of K?ñcanas?ra. (shrink)

We cannot directly perceive and experience objects of words such as “ apūrva ” “ devatā ,” and “ svarga ,” while objects of words such as “cow” and “horse” are perceptible. Therefore in the Indian linguistic context, some assert that there are two categories of words. However, a grammarian philosopher Bhartṛhari (450 CE) in the second book of his Vākyapadīya , introduces a verse stating that there is no difference between them. Other Indian thinkers as well deal with this (...) issue in various contexts. This paper aims at exploring the ideas expressed in Bhartṛhari’s verse and the related arguments found in other treatises of different schools. It consists of discussions of the followingt: (1) Bhartṛhari’s Vākyapadīya 2.119 and its commentarial texts; (2) Kumārila’s Criticism; (3) The Nyāya context; (4) The Sāṃkhya and the Buddhist context; (5) Related grammatical passages and the background of the Vākyapadīya 2.119; and (6) Conclusion. (shrink)