A
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Abhidhamma - the "seed of awakening"
Afflicted Mind (or Obscuration Consciousness)
Wikipedia:
The Seventh of the "Eight Consciousnesses" (see below) which through apprehension, gathers the hindrances, the poisons, and the karmic formations. Also referred to as manas-ideation, moving-mind, monkey-mind. (Skt: klista-manas, or klesha)
Kagyu Tradition:
The Afflicted Mind - being always associated with the set of four afflictions (ignorance, the views about a real personality, self-conceit, and attachment to the self) - is what mistakes the empty aspect of the alaya consciousness as being a self and its lucid aspect as what is "other." This is the starting point of fundamental subject-object duality, which then ramifies into the appearances of the remaining six consciousnesses and their objects, all of them being consciousnesses filtered and afflicted through this basic self-concern. [3]Alaya (Seed or Store-House) Consciousness
(Skt: ālāya(store), bija(seed), or mula(base)-vijñāna)
Wikipedia:
The Eighth of the "Eight Consciousnesses" (see below) which is the "store-house" or "base" for the other seven.
The store-house consciousness accumulates all potential energy for the mental (nama) and physical (rupa) manifestation of one's existence (nama-rupa). It is the storehouse-consciousness which induces transmigration or rebirth, causing the origination of a new existence.
The store-house consciousness receives impressions from all functions of the other consciousnesses, and retains them as potential energy, bija or "seeds", for their further manifestations and activities. Since it serves as the container for all experiential impressions it is also called the "seed consciousness".
Kagyu tradition:
The alaya consciousness is the sum of the virtuous, non-virtuous, and neutral tendencies that make up the continuum of a sentient being. Thus, it is not like a container that is different from its contents, but more like the constant flow of the water that is called a river. In other words, there is no other underlying, permanent substratum or entity apart from the momentary mental impulses that constitute the ever-changing flow.
Right after each moment of this dualistic interaction of subjects and objects, the imprints created by them merge back into - or are "stored" - in the alaya, just like waves on the surface of a river. In this way, the alaya-consciousness is both a cause for samsaric appearances and a result, that is, their imprints. This does not mean that the alaya actively creates anything, it is just the sum of the dynamic process of various causes and conditions interacting, otherwise known as dependent origination. [3]Anatta Doctrine - (Pali; anatta, Skt: anatman) stipulates that a separate, inherently-existing self does not exist the way that it appears.
Wikipedia:
The anattā doctrine is not a type of materialism. Buddhism does not necessarily deny the existence of mental phenomena (such as feelings, thoughts, and sensations) that are distinct from material phenomena. Thus, the conventional translation of anattā as "no-soul" can be misleading. If the word "soul" refers to a non-bodily component in a person that can continue in some way after death, then Buddhism does not deny the existence of a soul. In fact, persons (Pāli: puggala; Sanskrit, pudgala) are said to be characterized by an ever-evolving consciousness (Pali: samvattanika viññana), stream of consciousness (Pali: viññana sotam;Sanskrit: vijñana srotām), or mind-continuity (Sanskrit: citta-saṃtāna) which, upon the death or dissolution of the aggregates, becomes one of the contributing causes for the arising of a new group of skandhas. [1]
However, Buddhism denies the existence of a permanent or static entity that remains constant behind the changing bodily and non-bodily components of a living being. Reportedly, the Buddha reprimanded a disciple who thought that in the process of rebirth the same consciousness is reborn without change. Just as the body changes from moment to moment, so thoughts come and go; and according to the anattā doctrine, there is no permanent conscious substance that experiences these thoughts, as in Cartesianism: rather, conscious thoughts simply arise and perish with no "thinker" behind them. When the body dies, the incorporeal mental processes continue and are reborn in a new body. Because the mental processes are constantly changing, the new being is neither exactly the same as, nor completely different from, the being that died. [1]
On one interpretation, although Buddhism rejects the notion of a permanent self, it does not reject the notion of an empirical self (composed of constantly changing physical and mental phenomena) that can be conveniently referred to with words such as "I", "you", "being", "individual", etc. Early Buddhist scriptures describe an enlightened individual as someone whose changing, empirical self is highly developed. According to Buddhist teachings, this phenomenon should not, either in whole or in part, be reified, either in affirmation or denial. The Buddha rejected the latter metaphysical assertions as ontological theorizing that binds one to suffering. [1]
On another interpretation, Buddhism rejects any idea of the self. On this view it is incorrect even to speak about an "empirical self". This is because constantly changing physical and mental phenomena all have impermanence, and anything with such impermanence does not amount to the idea of a self. One is permitted to use terms such as "I", "you", and so on, not because they refer to an empirical self, but simply because they are "convenient designations". They are used in much the same way that the word "it" is used in the sentence "It is cold". Here there is nothing that the word "it" refers to. It is merely a grammatical device which allows one to assert "there is cold", while using a substantive term. [1]
Some Mahayana Buddhist sutras and tantras present Buddhist teachings on emptiness using positive language by positing the ultimate reality of the "true self" (atman). In these teachings the word is used to refer to each being's inborn potential to realize Buddhahood through Buddhist practices, and future status as a Buddha.This teaching, which is soteriological rather than theoretical, portrays this potential or aspect as undying. [1]
According to Gyamtso, each individual sentient being's existence is imputed in dependence upon their own unique collection of aggregates (Skt: skandhas), but this is a dependently arisen mere appearance. The problem arises when an individual believes that their aggregates somehow constitute a truly existent self. Therefore, the Buddha taught the methods of how to examine the aggregates and see that there is no truly existent self to be found in the aggregates' multitude of constantly changing, dependently arisen parts. [2]---
B
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Buddha-nature, Buddha-dathu - (Skt: Tathāgata-garbha; Jap: Bussho, Tibetan: Sugatata-garbha) [tatathagata: "the one thus gone", garbha: root/embryo/essence, agata: come/arrived, gata: gone]
According to Gyamtso, buddha nature is the true nature of mind - wisdom that is inherently pure and naturally endowed with the qualities of enlightenment. Thus, to attain enlightenment is not to construct something anew or to acquire something that one does not already possess; rather it is to realize one's own basic nature and potential. [2]---
C
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Chandrakirti (sixth to seventh century) - Indian master and exponent of the Middle Way Consequence school, most famously in his commentary called "Entering the Middle Way," which explains the meaning of "The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way." [2]
Conceptual Fabrications - All the labels that thoughts fabricate and cling to as accurate descriptions of the things that thoughts believe to exist. They are countless in number, but examples are: "good," "bad," "person," "object," "pleasure," "pain," "you," "me," "hot," and "cold." When phenomena and mind are described as being beyond fabrication in their true nature, that means that their true nature transcends all thoughts we might have about what it might be; it is inexpressible and inconceivable. [2]
Consequence School (Skt: Prasangika Madhyamaka) - One of two branches of the "Empty-of-Self Middle Way" school. Its followers refute true existence but do not assert that the true nature of reality is emptiness or anything else, because they realize that since genuine reality transcends all conceptual fabrications, to make an assertion about it would obscure the realization of its inconceivable essence. [2]
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D
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Dependently Arisen Mere Appearances
The essential quality of all possible appearances. Whatever it is that appears, it can only do so in dependence upon its causes and conditions, and so it is a mere appearance, empty of any (completely separate) nature of its own. The classic example is the moon that appears on the surface of a pool of water. [2]
Dharmadhatu
In its most general way, dharmadhatu refers to the ultimate nature of all phenomena - being equivalent to emptiness - which is usually translated as "expanse," "space," or "vastness."
More specifically (in Madhyamaka and other texts on buddha-nature), dharmadhatu may also refer to the nature of the mind of sentient beings in the sense of having buddha-nature as the most basic element of their entire being.Dharmakaya -
Dharmadathu Wisdom
Sugatatagarbha - Buddha nature.
Svabhavikakaya -
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E
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The Eight Consciousnesses - the alaya (base) consciousness, the afflicted consciousness, the mental consciousness, and the five sense consciousnesses.
The afflicted consciousness is the aspect of mind that is unaware of its true nature, and that believes that the self and phenomena truly exist as they appear. [2]
Due to various conditions - mainly the stirring of the afflicted mind (comparable to wind or a strong current) - the various appearances of the five sense consciousnesses and the (mainly conceptual) mental consciousness together with their seemingly external and conceptual objects emerge from the alaya-consciousness in every moment. [3]
Emptiness (according to the Yogacara school) - The doctrine of emptiness (Sanskrit: śūnyatā) is central to Yogācāra, as to any Mahāyāna school.
Early Yogācāra texts, such as the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra and the Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra, often act as explanations of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. Keenan (2003) holds that emptiness, dependent arising (pratītyasamutpāda) and the doctrine of two truths are central in Yogācāra thought and meditation.
As one Buddhologist puts it, "Although meaning 'absence of inherent existence' in Mādhyamaka, to the Yogācārins [emptiness] means 'absence of duality between perceiving subject [grāhaka, 'dzin-pa] and the perceived object [grāhya, bzhung-ba].'"
This is not the full story however, as each of the three natures (above), has its corresponding "absence of nature". i.e.:
Each of these "absences" is a form of emptiness, i.e. the nature is "empty" of the particular qualified quality.
- pari-kalpita => lakṣana-niḥsvabhāvatā, the "absence of inherent characteristic"
- para-tantra => utpatti-niḥsvabhāvatā, the "absence of inherent arising"
- pari-niṣpanna => paramārtha-niḥsvabhāvatā, the "absence of inherent ultimacy"
Yogācāra gave special significance to the Lesser Discourse on Emptiness of the Āgamas. A passage there (which the discourse itself emphasizes) is often quoted in later Yogācāra texts as a true definition of emptiness.[1]
Emptiness of Phenomena - The abiding reality of all phenomena, which is that they are empty of (a separately existing) inherent nature, and ultimately empty of any conceptual notion of what they might be, even the notion of emptiness itself. [2]
Equality - Contradictions, opposites, differences, and distinctions appear but do not truly exist. In genuine reality, opposites, differences, and distinctions are undifferentiable; they all have the same basic nature. [2]
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F
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Five Traditional Topics of Study for Tibetan Buddhism:
Study of the Tibetan Buddhist canon is a focal point of the monastic curriculum. All four schools of Tibetan Buddhism generally follow a similar curriculum, using the same Indian root texts and commentaries. The further Tibetan commentaries they use differ by school, although since the 19th century appearance of the widely renowned scholars Jamgon Kongtrul, Ju Mipham and Khenpo Shenga, Kagyupas and Nyingmapas use many of the same Tibetan commentaries as well. Different schools, however, place emphasis and concentrate attention on different areas.
The exoteric study of Buddhism is generally organized into "Five Topics," listed as follows with the primary Indian source texts for each:
- Abhidharma (Higher Knowledge, Tib. wylie: chos mngon)
- Compendium of Higher Knowledge (Abhidharma Samuccaya) by Asanga
- Treasury of Higher Knowledge (Abhidharma Kosha) by Vasubandhu
- Prajna Paramita (Perfection of Wisdom, Tib. wylie: shes rab phar phyin)
- Ornament of Clear Realization (Abhisamaya Alankara) by Maitreya as related to Asanga
- The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara, Tib. wylie: sPyod-‘jug) by Shantideva
- Madhyamaka (Middle Way, Tib. wylie: dbu-ma)
- Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (Mulamadhyamakakarika, Tib. wylie: rTsa dbu-ma) by Nagarjuna
- Four Hundred Verses on the Yogic Deeds of Bodhisattvas (Catuhsataka) by Aryadeva
- Introduction to the Middle Way (Madhyamakavatara,’’ Tib. wylie: ‘’dBu-ma-la ‘Jug-pa) by Chandrakirti
- Ornament of the Middle Way (Madhyamakalamkara) by Shantarakshita
- The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara, Tib. wylie: sPyod-‘jug) by Shantideva
- Pramana (Logic, Means of Knowing, Tib. wylie: tshad-ma)
- Treatise on Valid Cognition (Pramanavarttika) by Dharmakirti
- Compendium on Valid Cognition (Pramanasamuccaya) by Dignaga
- Vinaya (Monastic discipline, Tib. wylie: 'dul-ba)
- The Root of the Vinaya (Vinaya Mula Sutra, Dülwa Do Tsawa, 'dul-ba mdo rtsa-ba) by Gunaprabha
Five Treatises of Maitreya - These texts are said to have been related to Asanga by the Buddha Maitreya, and comprise the heart of the Yogacara (or Cittamatra, "Mind-Only") school of philosophy in which all Tibetan Buddhist scholars are well-versed. They are as follows:
- Ornament for Clear Realization (Abhisamayalankara, Tib. mngon-par rtogs-pa'i rgyan)
- Ornament for the Mahayana Sutras (Mahayanasutralankara, Tib. theg-pa chen-po'i mdo-sde'i rgyan)
- Sublime Continuum of the Mahayana (Mahayanottaratantrashastra, Ratnagotravibhaga, Tib. theg-pa chen-po rgyud-bla-ma'i bstan)
- Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being (Dharmadharmatavibhanga, Tib. chos-dang chos-nyid rnam-par 'byed-pa)
- Distinguishing the Middle and the Extremes (Madhyantavibhanga, Tib. dbus-dang mtha' rnam-par 'byed-pa)
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G
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Gampopo (1079-1153) - of Milarepa's twenty-five great disciples, Gampopo was "like the sun." He is the author of "The Ornament of Precious Liberation," the famous comprehensive text on the stages of the Buddhist path.
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H
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I
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Illusion-Like Samadhi - Samadhi refers to a state in which one is concentrated and not distracted.
Paradoxically, it seems, the illusion-like samadhi is the meditation one practices in the times between formal meditation sessions, in the midst of all the distractions of thoughts and the objects that appear to the senses.
When one remembers that all of these distractions are illusory, this constitutes the practice of this samadhi, and all the distractions are in fact friends of and enhancements to the meditation rather than hindrances or obstacles.Imagination (or Mental Construction) - The "World is Imagination." The related terms vi-kalpa, kal-pana, pari-kalpa, and their cognates all have the basic sense of "constructing," "forming," "manufacturing," or "inventing." Thus in terms of mind, they mean "creating in the mind," "forming in the imagination," and even "assuming to be real," "feigning," and "fiction."
Fundamentally, these terms refer to the ongoing constructive yet deluded activity of the mind that constantly brings forth all kinds of dualistic appearances and experiences, thus literally building its own world. This meaning of deluded mental activity is particularly highlighted by the classical Yogacara terms abhu-tapari-kalpa ("false imagination," lit. "false imagination of what is unreal") and pari-kalpita ("the imaginary"), the latter being what is produced by false imagination.---
J
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Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye (1813-1899) - A great Tibetan master, renowned for his scholarship and prolific work of compiling and composing texts. [2]
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K
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Karmic Seeds - The anatta-doctrine stipulates that there is no underlying self, while the idea of karma and rebirth seems to implicate an underlying essence that's being reborn. A solution to this problem was the proposition of the existence of karmic seeds. The karmic effects of the human deeds lay dorment, as seeds, until they germinate in this or a next life. Not an individual self, but these karmic seeds are the base for the generation of a following life. This concept of "seeds" was espoused by the Sautrantika in debate with the Sarvastivadins over the metaphysical status of phenomena(dharmas). It is a precursor to the alaya-vijnana. [1]
Kleshas - The disturbing emotions and mental states that cause ordinary sentient beings to suffer as a result of their not having realized the true nature of reality. The five main kleshas, also called the "five poisons," are: attachment or desire; aversion or anger; stupidity or mental dullness; pride; and jealousy. [2]
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L
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Luminous Mind
(Skt: prakrtiprabhasvaram cittam)
As used in the Dharmadhatustava:
The case of naturally luminous mind being defiled by and then freed from "adventitious" stains (agantukamala).
Most fundamentally, "adventitious" indicates that these "stains" are completely unreal, mere fictions of the dualistically mistaken consciousness of ordinary beings. This means that, in actual fact, there is nothing to be removed.
"Removing" or "purifying" indicates that it is sufficient to realize that nothing of what appears as so solid and real to us right now is actually there or happening. This is similar to realizing, when mistaking a garden hose for a snake, that there isn't and never was any snake at the hose apart from us mistaking it for a snake and then panicking.
However, the process of realizing the same with regard to our own inherent buddha-nature includes an exhaustive check on all our most ingrained habits and patterns of first making up and then dealing with ourselves and our world.
The term luminosity as it is used here primarily refers to the purity of mind, free from obscuration caused by lack of understanding and hanging on to mistaken notions (ignorance).---
M
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Mahayana - The "great vehicle" of Buddhism, it is the path of practicing the two types of bodhichitta; of wisdom and compassion together.
Practitioners begin Mahayana practice by engendering love, compassion, and relative bodhichitta, and then train in the Six Transcendent Practices (Skt: paramitas): generosity, ethics, patience, joyous diligence, concentration and ultimate bodhichitta - the wisdom that realizes the true nature of reality - with the goal of attaining the enlightenment of the buddhas in order to lead all sentient beings to that same state.Mind-Only School (Skt: Chittamatra) - A Mahayana philosophical school. Its view is that outer objects do not truly exist; instead, they are the confused projections of mind's habitual tendencies, like appearances in dreams. Since outer objects of perception do not truly exist, neither do their perceiving subjects, and so genuine reality is empty of the duality of perceived and perceiver. Genuine reality is non-dual consciousness, mere lucid awareness.
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N
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Nagarjuna - Indian master, born four hundred years after the Buddha's passing (544 bc). He is the author of "The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way," and other commentaries on the Buddha's teachings in all three turnings of the wheel of Dharma.
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O
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P
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Padmasambhava - Also known as Guru Rinpoche, one of the original Dzogchen masters, a founder of the Nyingma lineage, and a key figure in the early propogation of Dharma in Tibet in the eight century.
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Q
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R
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S
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Shantarakshita (eigth century) - Great Indian proponent of the Middle Way Autonomy school and author of "Ornament of the Middle Way."
Shantiveda (seventh to eigth century) - Great Indian master and author of "Entering the Bodhisattvas' Way," a famous compendium of Mahayana practice and the view of the Middle Way Consequence school.
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Tathagatagarbha
According to Brunnholzl:
Given that the Sanskrit compound tathagatagarbha and its parts are so rich in meaning, there is clearly no English word that can appropriately translate it. Technically the compound itself can be understood as meaning, "containing a Thathagata (as core)" or "the core of a Thathagata." The first is the most natural reading and is also supported by numerous passages in the scriptures.
Tathagata can be understood as either (a) a "Thus-Gone / Thus-Come One" or (b) "One-Gone / Come-To Thusness," with the former emphasizing the aspect of the path and the latter the result.
Gharba literally and originally means embryo, germ, womb, the interior of middle of anything, any interior chamber or sanctuary of a temple, calyx (as a lotus), having in the interior, containing or being filled with. At some point the term also assumed the meaning of core, heart and pith.
While many interpretations are possible, overall, the term as it is used prevalently in scripture, points to "buddha nature" as being "our true heart."
Interestingly, the Tibetan translation snying po clearly stands for the nucleus or most essential part of something, while the Chinese translation tsang means womb or enclosure, indicating something that includes or pervades, which later even culminated in the notion that buddha-nature pervades everything animate as well as inanimate.Three Kayas - The three dimensions of enlightenment; in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen teachings, the three dimensions of the true nature of mind.
Dharma-Kaya; mind's emptiness of essence,
Sambhoga-Kaya; mind's natural clarity and luminosity, and
Nirmana-Kaya; mind's ability to appear as and cognize an unimpeded variety of images. [2]
Three Natures of Mind - The imaginary nature (pari-kalpita-svabhava), the other-dependent nature (Skt. para-tantra-svabhava), and the perfect nature (Skt. pari-nispanna-svabhava).
The Other-Dependent Nature is the mistaken imagination that appears as the unreal entities of subject and object, because these are appearances under the influence of something other, that is, the latent tendencies of ignorance.
It appears as the outer world with its various beings and objects; as one's own body, as the sense consciousnesses that perceives the objects, and the conceptual consciousness that thinks about them; as the clinging to a personal self and real phenomena; and as the mental events, such as feelings that accompany all these consciousnesses.
Thus, false imagination is what bifurcates mere experience into seemingly real perceivers that apprehend seemingly real objects. This very split into subject and object - the imaginary nature - does not exist on the level of seeming reality, but the mind that creates this split does exist and function on this level.
The Imaginary Nature covers the entire range of what is superimposed by false imagination onto the various appearances of the Other-Dependent Nature, from the most basic sense of subject-object duality via a self and the really existent phenomena up through the most rigid beliefs about what we and the world are.
In other words, what appear as one's own body and mind form the bases for imputing a personal self. What appear as other beings, outer objects, and the consciousnesses that relate to them provide the bases for imputing really existent phenomena.
In detail, the Imaginary Nature includes;
- the aspects that appear as conceptual objects (such as the mental image of a form),
- the connections of names and referents (the notion that a name is the corresponding referent and the mistaking of a referent for the corresponding name),
- all that is apprehended through mental superimposition (such as direction, time, outer, inner, big, small, good, bad, and so on), and
- all non-entities, such as space.
All of these exist only conventionally, as nominal objects for the dualistic consciousnesses of ordinary sentient beings. They are not established as anything real. [3]
The Perfect Nature is emptiness in the sense that what appears as other-dependent false imagination is primordially never established as the Imaginary Nature. As the ultimate object, this emptiness is the sphere of non-conceptual wisdom, and its nature is phenomenal identity-less.
Since the dharmas of the noble ones are attained through realizing it, it is called "Dharmadhatu". [3]
Transcendent Wisdom Sutras (Skt: Prajna-Paramita Sutras) - constitute the second turning of the wheel of Dharma and teach that all phenomena's true nature is emptiness, beyond conceptual fabrication, and perfect purity. By training in this, one develops transcendent wisdom, and when one perfects this wisdom, one attains the enlightenment of the buddhas. [2]
Treatise on Buddha Nature (Tib: Gyu Lama, Skt: Uttaratantrashastra) - composed by the bodhisattva Maitreya, this text is explains how and why the true nature of every sentient being's mind is the buddha nature, original wisdom, the pure essence of enlightenment. It also describes the buddhas' enlightenment, enlightenment's qualities, and the buddha's enlightened activities. The text is based on the Buddha's teachings in the third turning of the wheel of Dharma. [2]
Two Truths - The Buddha taught that if we analyze, we come to see that the way things appear to be are not the way they truly are. So he taught the truth of relative reality, which is how things appear to be, and the truth of genuine reality, phenomena's true nature. Ultimately, he taught that the two truths are inseparable, beyond the conceptual fabrications of "same" and "different". [2]
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Y
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Yogacara (Sanskrit; literally: "yoga practice"; "one whose practice is yoga") is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and (some argue) ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE. Yogācāra discourse is founded on the existential truth of the human condition: there is nothing that humans experience that is not mediated by mind.
The Yogācāra is, along with the Mādhyamaka, one of the two principal schools of Nepalese and Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Masaaki (2005) states: "[a]ccording to the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra, the first Yogācāra text, the Buddha set the 'wheel of the doctrine' (Dharmacakra) in motion three times."[4] Hence, the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra, as the doctrinal trailblazer of Yogācāra, inaugurated the paradigm of the three turnings of the wheel of Dharma, with its own tenets in the "third turning". The Yogācāra texts are generally considered part of the third turning along with the relevant sutra.[5]
Moreover, Yogācāra discourse surveys and synthesizes all three turnings.
The origins of the scholarly Indian Yogācāra tradition were rooted in the syncretic scholasticism of Nālandā University, where the doctrine of consciousness-only (vijñapti-mātra or cittamātra) was first extensively propagated. Doctrines, tenets and derivatives of this school have influenced and become well-established in China, Korea, Tibet, Japan and Mongolia and throughout the world via the dissemination and dialogue wrought by the Buddhist diaspora.
The orientation of the Yogācāra school is largely consistent with the thinking of the Pāli Nikāyas. It frequently treats later developments in a way that realigns them with earlier versions of Buddhist doctrines. Dan Lusthaus concludes that one of the agendas of the Yogācāra school was to reorient the complexity of later refinements in Buddhist philosophy to accord with early Buddhist doctrine.
Yogācāra, which had its genesis in the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra, was largely formulated by the brahmin born half-brothers Vasubandhu and Asaṅga (who was said to be inspired by the quasi-historical Maitreya-nātha, or the divine Maitreya). This school held a prominent position in the Indian scholastic tradition for several centuries due to its lauded pedigree and propagation at Nālandā.
Yogācāra was transmitted to Tibet by Śāntarakṣita and later by Atiśa; it was thereafter integral to Tibetan Buddhism although the prevailing Geluk-dominated view held that it was less definitive than Mādhyamaka. Yogācāra terminology (but not view) is used by the Nyingmapa and its zenith, Dzogchen. Yogācāra also became central to East Asian Buddhism. The teachings of Yogācāra became the Chinese Wei Shi school of Buddhism.
Current debates among Tibetan schools between the shentong (empty of other) and rangtong (empty of self) views appear similar to earlier debates between Yogācāra and Mādhyamaka, but the issues and distinctions have evolved further. Though the later Tibetan views could be said to have evolved from the earlier Indian positions, the distinctions between the views became increasingly subtle, especially after Yogācāra incorporated the Mādhyamika view of the ultimate. Ju Mipham, the 19th century rime movement commenter, wrote in his commentary on Śāntarakṣita's synthesis, that the ultimate view in both schools is the same and each path also leads to the same ultimate state of abiding.
The Yogācārins defined three basic modes by which we perceive our world. These are referred to in Yogācāra as the three natures of perception. They are:
- Parikalpita (literally, "fully conceptualized"): "imaginary nature", wherein things are incorrectly apprehended based on conceptual construction, through attachment and erroneous discrimination.
- Paratantra (literally, "other dependent"): "dependent nature", by which the correct understanding of the dependently originated nature of things is understood.
Also, regarding perception, the Yogācārins emphasized that our everyday understanding of the existence of external objects is problematic, since in order to perceive any object (and thus, for all practical purposes, for the object to "exist"), there must be a sensory organ as well as a correlative type of consciousness to allow the process of cognition to occur.
- Pariniṣpanna (literally, "fully accomplished"): "absolute nature", through which one apprehends things as they are in themselves, uninfluenced by any conceptualization at all.
As the name of the school suggests, meditation practice is central to the Yogācāra tradition. Practice manuals prescribe the practice of mindfulness of body, feelings, thoughts and dharmas in oneself and others, out of which an understanding of the non-differentiation of self and other is said to arise. This process is referred to in the Yogācāra tradition as "turning about in the basis" (Sanskrit: āśraya-parāvṛtti), the basis being the storehouse consciousness. [1]
There are two important aspects of the Yogācāra schemata that are of special interest to modern-day practitioners. One is that virtually all schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism came to rely on these Yogācāra explanations as they created their own doctrinal systems, including the Zen schools. For example, the early Zen tradition in China was sometimes referred to simply as the "Laṅkāvatāra school" (Ch. 楞伽宗, Léngqié Zōng), due to their strong association with the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra.[33]
This sūtra draws heavily upon Yogācāra theories of the eight consciousnesses, especially the ālayavijñāna. Accounts recording the history of this early period are preserved in Records of the Laṅkāvatāra Masters (Ch. 楞伽師資記, Léngqié Shīzī Jì).
That the scriptural tradition of Yogācāra is not yet well-known among the community of western practitioners is perhaps attributable to the fact that most of the initial transmission of Buddhism to the west has been directly concerned with meditation and basic doctrines. However, within Tibetan Buddhism more and more western students are becoming acquainted with this school.[citation needed] Very little research in English has been carried out on the Chinese Yogācāra traditions.
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References:
[1] Wikipedia
[2] Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso, Stars of Wisdom, Shambala, 2010
[3] Karl Brunnholzl, In Praise of Dharmadhatu
