To: Professor Y. KarunadasaFrom : Au Yiu Keung Aaron (Student No.: 201501202)

yiukeungau@yahoo.com

The Theravada Abhidhamma : Assignment 2

O n Consciousness

Contents :(A) Introduction : The Significance of Consciousness P.2(B) The Definition of Consciousness P.2

(C) Western Approaches of Consciousness P.3(D) Consciousness in Early Buddhism P.4(E) Concepts Related to Consciousness in Theravāda

Abhidhamma P.5(F) Traditional Version of Consciousness in Yogacara P.10(G) Transformational Version of Consciousness in

Yogacara P.13(H) Mindstream Approaches of Consciousness P.17(I) The Eight-Circuit Model of Consciousness P.19 (J) Conclusion : Process-consciousness, Process-free

Consciousness and the Purification of Consciousness P.20(K) Notes P.21(L) References P.22(A) Introduction : The Significance of Consciousness

The ultimate purpose of Buddhist teaching is to achieve the release

from samsara. By accomplishing it, clinging to ‘self ’must be removed.

The substrata for clinging are the five aggregates in which consciousness

forms the most familiar and most mysterious aspect. The aim of the

article is to unveil the various approaches about the delineation of the

process of consciousness within lifetime and between lifetime so as to

facilitate the purification of consciousness.

(B) The Definition of Consciousness

The dictionary meaning of the word consciousness stretches through

several centuries. One formal definition indicating the range of cognate

meanings of consciousness is given in Webster's Third New International

Dictionary stating that consciousness is: "(1) a. awareness or perception

of an inward psychological or spiritual fact: intuitively perceived

knowledge of something in one's inner self. b. inward awareness of an

external object, state, or fact. c: concerned awareness: INTEREST,

CONCERN -- often used with an attributive noun. (2): the state or

activity that is characterized by sensation, emotion, volition, or thought:

mind in the broadest possible sense: something in nature that is

distinguished from the physical. (3): the totality in psychology of

sensations, perceptions, ideas, attitudes and feelings of which an

individual or a group is aware at any given time or within a particular

time span. [1]

(C) Western Approaches of Consciousness

The first influential philosopher to discuss consciousness

specifically was Descartes who proposed that consciousness resides

within an immaterial domain he called res cogitans (the realm of

thought), in contrast to the domain of material things, which he called res

extensa (the realm of extension).[2] He suggested that the interaction

between these two domains occurs inside the brain, perhaps in the pineal

gland. [3]

Alternative solutions, provided by later philosophers, have been

very diverse. They can be divided broadly into two categories: dualist

solutions that maintain the rigid distinction of Descartes between the

realm of consciousness and the realm of matter but give different ways

for how the two realms relate to each other; and monist solutions that

maintain that there is really only one realm of being, of which

consciousness and matter are both aspects. The two main types of

dualism are firstly, substance dualism which holds that the mind is

formed of a distinct type of substance not governed by the laws of

physics and secondly, property dualism which holds that the laws of

physics are universally valid but cannot be used to explain the mind. The

three main types of monism are firstly, physicalism which holds that the

mind consists of matter organized in a particular way, secondly, idealism

which holds that only thought or experience truly exists, and matter is

merely an illusion, and thirdly, neutral monism which holds that both

mind and matter are aspects of a distinct essence that is itself identical to

neither of them. There are also many other peculiar theories that cannot

be assigned to any of these camps. [4]

(D) Consciousness in Early Buddhism

Consciousness is described as one of the five aggregates in the sutras.

"Consciousness" or "discernment"[a] (Skt. vijñāna, Pāli viññāṇa, [b] Tib.

rnam-par-shes-pa) means cognizance, [5] [c] that which discerns[6] [d] in the

Nikayas/Āgamas.

The relationship of consciousness with the other four aggregates is

shown in the following diagram :

 The Five Aggregates (pañca khandha)

according to the Pali Canon.

 

form   ( rūpa )

 4   elements

( mahābhūta )  

 

    ↓

   contact

( phassa )

    ↓ ↑ 

consciousness

( viññāna )

 

 

 

 

 

→

←

 

 

 

←

 

mental factors ( cetasika )

 

 

feeling

( vedanā )

 

 

 

perception

( sañña )

 

 

 

formation

( saṅkhāra )

 

 

 

 

Form  is derived from the Four Great Elements.

Consciousness  arises from other aggregates.

Mental Factors arise from the Contact of

Consciousness and other aggregates.

 Source: MN 109 (Thanissaro, 2001)  |  diagram details

(E) Concepts Related to Consciousness in Theravāda

Abhidhamma

The teaching of the eighteen dhātus provides an alternative to the five

aggregates as a description of the workings of the mind. In this teaching,

the Six External Bases, the Six Internal Bases, and the Six

Consciousnesses function through the five aggregates. The suttas

themselves don't describe this alternative. It is in the Abhidhamma,

striving to "a single all-inclusive system" that the five aggregates and the

eighteen dhātus are explicitly connected.

The eighteen dhātus can be arranged into six triads, where each triad

is composed of a sense object, a sense organ, and sense consciousness.

The Eighteen Dhātus

Six External Bases (bāhya-āyatana)

Six Internal Bases (adhyātma-āyatana)

Six Consciousnesses (vijñāna)

(1) Visual Objects (rūpa-

āyatana)

(2) Eye Faculty (cakṣur-

indriya-āyatana)

(3) Visual Consciousness

(cakṣur-vijñāna

(4) Auditory Objects

(śabda-āyatana)

(5) Ear Faculty (śrota-indriya-

āyatana)

(6) Aural Consciousness

(śrota-vijñāna)

(7) Olfactory Objects

(gandha-āyatana)

(8) Nose Faculty (ghrāṇa-

indriya-āyatana)

(9) Olfactory

Consciousness (ghrāṇa-

vijñāna)

(10) Gustatory Objects

(rasa-āyatana)

(11) Tongue Faculty (jihvā-

indriya-āyatana)

(12) Gustatory

Consciousness (jihvā-

vijñāna)

(13) Tactile Objects

(spraṣṭavya-āyatana)

(14) Body Faculty (kaya-

indriya-āyatana)

(15) Touch Consciousness

(kaya-vijñāna)

(16) Mental Objects (17) Mental Faculty (mano- (18) Mental

(dharma-āyatana) indriya-āyatana)Consciousness (mano-

vijñāna)

In regards to the aggregates:

• The first five sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body) are

derivates of form.

# The sixth sense organ (mind) is part of consciousness.

• The first five sense objects (visible forms, sound, smell, taste,

touch) are also derivatives of form.

# The sixth sense object (mental object) includes form,

feeling, perception and mental formations.

• The six sense consciousness are the basis for consciousness. [7]

The Abhidhamma and post-canonical Pali texts create a meta-scheme

for the Sutta Pitaka's conceptions of aggregates, sense bases, dhattus

(elements)[8] and Nibbāna. This meta-scheme is called the four

paramatthas or four ultimate realities.

The four paramatthas with the first three as conditioned and the last

one as unconditioned are shown as followed:

• Material phenomena (rūpa, form)

• Mind or Consciousness (Citta)

• Mental factors (Cetasikas: the nama-factors sensation,

perception and formation)

• Nibbāna

The mapping between the aggregates, the twelve sense bases, and the

ultimate realities is represented in the following chart: [ef]

aggregateexternal

sense baseinternal

sense baseultimatereality

form

visible form,

sound, smell,

taste, touch

eye,

ear, nose,

tongue, body

28

material

phenomena

mental

objects

(dharma)

sensation

 

52

mental

factors

perception

formation

conscious-

ness

(vinnana)

 mind

(mana)

conscious-

ness

(citta)

      Nibbāna

The Twelve Nidanas describe twelve phenomenal links by which

suffering is perpetuated between and within lives. According to

Schumann, the nidānas are a later synthesis of Buddhist teachings meant

to make them more comprehensible. Schumann also proposes that the

twelve-fold is extended over three existences, and illustrates the

succession of rebirths. While Buddhaghosa in Vasubandhu maintains a 2-

8-2 schema, Schumann maintains a 3-6-3 scheme, putting the five

skandhas alongside the twelve nidānas. [9]

Schumann

The 12-fold chain the 5 skandhas

First existence

1. Body

2. Sensation

3. Perception

1. Ignorance

2. Formations 4. Formations

3. Consciousness5.

Consciousness

Second existence

4. Nāma-rūpa 1. Body

5. The six senses

6. Touch

7. Sensation 2. Sensation

3. Perception

4. Formations

5.

Consciousness

8. Craving

9. Clinging

Third existence

10. Becoming

1. Body

11. Birth

2. Sensation

3. Perception

4. Formations

5.

Consciousness

12. Old age and death

All potential energy for the mental (mana) and physical (rupa)

manifestation of one's existence (namarupa) in the fourth fold is

accumulated in the consciousness in the third fold which induces

transmigration or rebirth, causing the origination of a new existence. [10]

(F) Traditional Version of Consciousness in Yogacara

A detailed explanation of the workings of the mind and the way it

constructs the reality we experience are delineated by Yogacara. In the

Triṃśikaikā-kārikā (Treatise in Thirty Stanzas),[11] Vasubandhu

elaborated the concept of the six consciousnesses.

According to the traditional interpretation, Vasubandhu states that

there are eight consciousnesses: the five sense-consciousnesses, mind

(perception), manas (self-consciousness),[12] and the storehouse-

consciousness[13] The theory of the consciousness attempted to explain all

the phenomena of cyclic existence, including how rebirth occurs and

precisely how karma functions on an individual basis. It addressed

questions that had long vexed Buddhist philosophers, such as,

• 'If one carries out a good or evil act, why and how is it that the

effects of that act do not appear immediately?'

• 'Insofar as they do not appear immediately, where is this karma

waiting for its opportunity to play out?'

The answer given by later Yogācārins was the store consciousness

(Sanskrit: ālayavijñāna), also known as the basal, or eighth

consciousness. It simultaneously acts as a storage place for karmic

latencies and as a fertile matrix of predispositions that bring karma to a

state of fruition.

The likeness of this process to the cultivation of plants led to the

creation of the metaphor of seeds (Sanskrit: bīja) to explain the way

karma is stored in the eighth consciousness. In the Yogācāra formulation,

all experience without exception is said to result from the ripening of

karma.[14]The seemingly external world is merely a "by-product"

(adhipati-phala) of karma. The term vāsanā ("perfuming") is also used,

and Yogācārins debated whether vāsāna and bija were essentially the

same, the seeds were the effect of the perfuming, or whether the

perfuming simply affected the seeds. [15] The type, quantity, quality and

strength of the seeds determine where and how a sentient being will be

reborn: one's race, gender, social status, proclivities, bodily appearance

and so forth. There is the conditioning of the mind resulting from karma

which is called saṃskāra. [16]

The subject of karma is treated in detail from the Yogācāra

perspective by Vasubandhu in the Treatise on Action

(Karmasiddhiprakaraṇa) . [17]

The Yogācāra eightfold network of primary consciousnesses –

aṣṭavijñāna in Sanskrit (from compounding aṣṭa, "eight", with vijñāna,

"primary consciousness") – is roughly sketched out in the following

table.

The Eightfold Network of Primary Consciousnesses[18]

Name of ConsciousnessAssociated Nonstatic Phœnomena in terms

of Three Circles of Action

English SanskritPhysical

FormType of

CognitionCognitive

Sensor

I.

Eye Consciousnesscakṣur-vijñāna Sight(s) Seeing Eyes

II.

Ear Consciousnessśrotra-vijñāna Sound(s) Hearing Ears

III.

Nose

Consciousness

Smell(s) Smell Nose

IV.

Tongue

Consciousness

Taste(s) Taste Tongue

V.

Body

Consciousness

Feeling(s) Touch Body

VI.

Mental

Consciousness

mano-vijñāna Thought(s) Ideation Mind

VII.

Deluded awareness

Manas,

kliṣṭa-manasSelf-grasping

Disturbing

emotion or

attitude

(Skt.:klesha)

Mind

VIII.

All-encompassing

foundation

consciousness

ālāya-vijñāna,

bīja-vijñāna Memory

Reflexive

awarenessMind

Subgroups I – VI

Each of these Six Common Consciousnesses –  referred to in

Sanskrit as pravṛtti-vijñāna[g] – are posited on the basis of valid

straightforward cognition, on any individual practitioner's part, of

sensory data input experienced solely by means of their bodily sense

faculties.

The derivation of this particular dual classification schema for these

first six, so-called "common" consciousnesses has its origins in the first

fourNikāyas of the Sutta Pitaka – the second division of the Tipitaka in

the Pali Canon – as first committed to writing during

the Theravada school's fourth council at Sri Lanka in 83 (BCE). [19]

Both individually and collectively: these first six, so-called

"common" consciousnesses are posited – in common – by all surviving

buddhist tenet systems.

Subgroup VII

This Seventh Consciousness, posited on the basis of straightforward cognition in

combination with inferential cognition, is asserted, uncommonly, in Yogācāra.

Subgroup VIII

This Eighth Consciousness, posited on the basis of inferential cognition, is

asserted, uncommonly, in Yogācāra.

(G) Transformational Version of Consciousness in Yogacara

The traditional interpretation of the eight consciousnesses may be

discarded on the ground of a reinterpretation of Vasubandhu's works.

According to Kalupahana, instead of positing such an consciousnesses,

the Triṃśikaikā-kārikā describes the transformations of this

consciousness:

Taking vipaka, manana and vijnapti as three different kinds of

functions, rather than characteristics, and understanding vijnana

itself as a function (vijnanatiti vijnanam), Vasubandhu seems to

be avoiding any form of substantialist thinking in relation to

consciousness. [20]

These transformations are threefold: [20]

Whatever, indeed, is the variety of ideas of self and elements that

prevails, it occurs in the transformation of consciousness. Such

transformation is threefold, [namely,] [21]

The first transformation results in the alaya:

the resultant, what is called mentation, as well as the concept of

the object. Herein, the consciousness called alaya, with all its

seeds, is the resultant. [22]

The alaya-vijnana therefore is not an eighth consciousness, but the

resultant of the transformation of consciousness:

Instead of being a completely distinct category, alaya-vijnana

merely represents the normal flow of the stream of consciousness

uninterrupted by the appearance of reflective self-awareness. It

is no more than the unbroken stream of consciousness called the

life-process by the Buddha. It is the cognitive process, containing

both emotive and co-native aspects of human experience, but

without the enlarged egoistic emotions and dogmatic graspings

characteristic of the next two transformations. [23]

The second transformation is manana, self-consciousness or "Self-

view, self-confusion, self-esteem and self-love". [24] According to the

Lankavatara and later interpreters it is the seventh consciousness. [25] It is

"thinking" about the various perceptions occurring in the stream of

consciousness". [25] The alaya is defiled by this self-interest;

[I]t can be purified by adopting a non-substantialist (anatman)

perspective and thereby allowing the alaya-part (i.e. attachment)

to dissipate, leaving consciousness or the function of being

intact. [24]

The third transformation is visaya-vijnapti, the "concept of the

object". [26] In this transformation the concept of objects is created. By

creating these concepts human beings become "susceptible to grasping

after the object": [26]

Vasubandhu is critical of the third transformation, not because it

relates to the conception of an object, but because it generates

grasping after a "real object" (sad artha), even when it is no

more than a conception (vijnapti) that combines experience and

reflection. [27]

A similar perspective is give by Walpola Rahula. According to

Walpola Rahula, all the elements of the Yogācāra storehouse-

consciousness are already found in the Pāli Canon. [28] He writes that the

three layers of the mind (citta, manas, and vijñana) as presented by

Asaṅga are also mentioned in the Pāli Canon:

Thus we can see that 'Vijñāna' represents the simple reaction or

response of the sense organs when they come in contact with

external objects. This is the uppermost or superficial aspect or

layer of the 'Vijñāna-skandha'. 'Manas' represents the aspect of

its mental functioning, thinking, reasoning, conceiving ideas, etc.

'Citta' which is here called 'Ālayavijñāna', represents the

deepest, finest and subtlest aspect or layer of the Aggregate of

consciousness. It contains all the traces or impressions of the

past actions and all good and bad future possibilities. [29]

In the Sutta Pitaka, the first five sense-consciousnesses along with

the sixth consciousness are identified, especially the Salayatana Vagga

subsection of the Samyutta Nikaya:

"Monks, I will teach you the All. Listen & pay close attention. I

will speak."

"As you say, lord," the monks responded.

The Blessed One said, "What is the All? Simply the eye & forms,

ear & sounds, nose & aromas, tongue & flavors, body & tactile

sensations, intellect & ideas. This, monks, is called the All.

Anyone who would say, 'Repudiating this All, I will describe

another,' if questioned on what exactly might be the grounds for

his statement, would be unable to explain, and furthermore,

would be put to grief. Why? Because it lies beyond range." [30]

(H) Mindstream Approaches of Consciousness

The notion of citta-santāna developed in later Yogacara-thought, where citta-santāna replaced the notion of ālayavijñāna,[31] the store-house consciousness in which the karmic seeds were stored. It is not a "permanent, unchanging, transmigrating entity", like the atman, but a series of momentary consciousnesses. [32]

Lusthaus describes the development and doctrinal relationships of the store consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna) and Buddha nature (tathāgatagarbha) in Yogācāra. To avoid reification of the ālaya-vijñāna,

The logico-epistemological wing in part sidestepped the critique by using the term citta-santāna, "mind-stream", instead of ālaya-vijñāna, for what amounted to roughly the same idea. It was easier to deny that a "stream" represented a reified self. [33]

Dharmakīrti (fl. 7th century) wrote a treatise on the nature of the mindstream in his Substantiation of Other Mindstreams (Saṃtãnãntarasiddhi). [34]According to Dharmakirti the mindstream was beginningless temporal sequence. [35]

The notion of mindstream was further developed in Vajrayāna (tantric Buddhism), where "mindstream" (sems-rgyud) may be understood as a stream of succeeding moments, [36] within a lifetime, but also in-between lifetimes. The 14th Dalai Lama holds it to be a continuum of consciousness, extending over succeeding lifetimes, though without a self or soul. [37]

Three centuries after the death of the Buddha (c. 150 BCE) the Abhidharma in several contending Buddhist schools became well developed. In the Abdhidharmic analysis of mind, it is shown that the ordinary thought is subject to conceptual proliferation (prapañca) in the

presence of expectations, judgments and desires. This proliferation of conceptualizations form our illusory superimposition of concepts like self and objects upon an ever changing stream of aggregate phenomena. [38]

In this conception of mind no strict distinction is made between the conscious faculty and the actual sense perception of various phenomena. Consciousness is instead said to be divided into six sense modalities, five for the five senses and sixth for perception of mental phenomena. [38]The arising of cognitive awareness is said to depend on sense perception, awareness of the mental faculty itself which is termed mental or 'introspective awareness' (manovijñāna) and attention (āvartana), the picking out of objects out of the constantly changing stream of sensory impressions.

Rejection of a permanent agent eventually led to the philosophical problems of the seeming continuity of mind and also of explaining how rebirth and karma continue to be relevant doctrines without an eternal mind. This challenge was met by the Theravāda school by introducing the concept of mind as a factor of existence. This "life-stream" (Bhavanga-sota) is an undercurrent forming the condition of being. The continuity of a karmic "person" is therefore assured in the form of a mindstream (citta-santana), a series of flowing mental moments arising from the subliminal life-continuum mind (Bhavanga-citta), mental content, and attention. [38]

The mindstream provides a continuity from one life to another, akin to the flame of a candle which may be passed from one candle to another: [h]

(I) the Eight-Circuit Model of Consciousness

Timothy Leary and Robert Anton Wilson proposed the Eight-Circuit Model of Consciousness, a psychologically based theory that unifies various interpretations of main altered states of awareness into a single meta-theory, or a hypothesis about an already existing hypothesis.

In this case, Leary and Wilson state that the altered levels of consciousness defined in medical fields are products of eight differing brain structures within the human nervous system. [39]

Leary's 8-Circuit Model of Consciousness

Circuit TitleImprinting

StageDescription

BiosurvivalThe Breath of

ConsciousnessInfancy

Suckling, nourishment,

cuddling, trust versus

suspicion

Emotional-Territorial Freud's Ego Toddling

Emotions, domination,

submission strategies,

territory

Symbolic (Neuro-

Semantic- Dexterity)The Rational Mind

From human

artifacts and

symbol systems

Handling the

environment, invention,

calculation, prediction

Domestic (Socio-

Sexual)

The "Adult"

Personality

First mating

experiences

Pleasure, reproduction,

nurture

NeurosomaticZen-Yoga Mind-

Body Connection

Neurological-

somatic

feedback and

reprogramming

Consciousness of the

body

Neuroelectric

(Metaprogramming)

Psionic Electronic-

Interface Mind

Re-imprinting

and

reprogramming

earlier circuits

Perceived

"realities",cybernetic

consciousness

Neurogenetic

(Morphogenetic)

Buddha-Monad

"Mind"

Consciousness

maturation

Evolutionary

consciousness, DNA-

RNA brain feedbacks

Psychoatomic

(Quantum Non-Local)Overmind

Consciousness

maturity

Out-of-body

experiences involving

information beyond

normal space-time

awareness

(J) Conclusion : Process-consciousness, Process-free Consciousness and the Purification of Consciousness

In conclusion, there are two streams of consciousness. One is known as process-consciousness, or vīthi-citta which refers to the stream of consciousness occurring in a cognitive process. Another one is called process-free consciousness, or vīthi-mutta which refers to the stream of consciousness when it is free from cognitive process.

Three different functions are taken by the process-free consciousness. Whenever a cognitive process subsides, the first function as bhavanga-consciousness supervenes to prevent the possibility of any gap in the continuity of consciousness. Furthermore, the second and the third function are as death-consciousness (cuti-citta) and rebirth-linking consciousness (patisandhi-citta) respectively. [40]

Three levels of consciousness are worthwhile to be distinguished in the process of purification of consciousness. The first is called Simple Consciousness which is the awareness of the body, possessed by many animals; the second is called Self Consciousness which is the awareness of being aware, possessed only by humans; while the third is called Cosmic Consciousness which is the awareness of the life and order of the universe, possessed only by humans who are enlightened.[155]

(K) Notes

a. Peter Harvey, The Selfless Mind. Curzon Press 1995, page 143-146.

b. According to the Visuddhimagga XIV.82, the Pali terms viññāṇa, citta and mano are synonymous (Buddhaghosa, 1999, p. 453). However, Trungpa (2001, p. 73) distinguishes between viññāṇa and citta, stating that viññāṇa (consciousness) is "articulated and intelligent" while citta (mind) is a "simple instinctive function .... very direct, simple and subtle at the same time."

c. In commenting on the use of "consciousness" in SN 22.3 [1], Bodhi (2000b), pp. 1046-7, n. 18, states: "The passage confirms the privileged status of consciousness among the five aggregates. While all the aggregates are conditioned phenomena marked by the three characteristics, consciousness serves as the connecting thread of personal continuity through the sequence of rebirths.... The other four aggregates serve as the 'stations for consciousness' (vinnanatthitiyo: see [SN] 22:53-54). Even consciousness, however, is not a self-identical entity but a sequence of dependently arisen occasions of cognizing; see MN I 256-60."

d. Harvey writes, "This is in contrast to saññā, which knows by grouping things together, labeling them. This contrast can be seen in terms of the typical objects of these states: colours for saññā (S.III.87), but tastes (S.III.87) or feelings (M.I.292) for viññāṇa. While colours usually be immediately identified, tastes and feelings often need careful consideration to properly identify them: discernment and analysis are needed."

e. These are not physical components, but rather an agglomeration or coming together of subliminal inclinations or tendencies.

f. The Pali canon universally identifies that vedana involves the sensing or feeling of something as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral (see, for instance, SN 22). When contemporary authors elaborate on vedana, they define it similarly (see, for instance, Nhat Hanh, 1999, p. 178;

Trungpa, 2001, p. 21; and, Trungpa, 2002, p. 126). The one exception is in Trungpa (1976), pp. 20-23, where he states that the "strategies or impluses" of "indifference, passion and aggression" are "part of the third stage [aggregate]," "guided by perception." (This section of Trungpa, 1976, is anthologized in Trungpa, 1999, pp. 55-58.)

g. Sanskrit pravṛtti-vijñāna refers to the first six consciousnesses which derive from direct sensory (including mental) cognition.

h. Compare the analogies in the Milinda Panha

(L) References

1. Consciousness, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, p.4.

2. Dy, Jr., Manuel B. (2001). Philosophy of Man: selected readings. Goodwill Trading Co. p. 97. ISBN 971-12-0245-X.

3. "Descartes and the Pineal Gland". Stanford University. November 5, 2008. Retrieved 2010-08-22.

4. William Jaworski (2011). Philosophy of Mind: A Comprehensive Introduction. John Wiley and Sons. pp. 5–11. ISBN 978-1-4443-3367-1.

5. See, for instance, SN 22.79, "Being Devoured" (Bodhi, 2000b, p. 915).

6. Peter Harvey, The Selfless Mind. Curzon Press 1995, page 143-146

7. Skandha, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, p.9,10.

8. Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed.) (2000a). A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha of Ācariya Anuruddha. Seattle, WA: BPS Pariyatti Editions. ISBN 1-928706-02-9, p.6.

9. Schumann, Hans Wolfgang (1974), Buddhism: an outline of its

teachings and schools, Theosophical Pub. House

10. Eight Consciousnesses, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, p.7.

11. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: ri Satguru Publications, p.135-143.

12. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: ri Satguru Publications, p. 138-140.

13. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: ri Satguru Publications, p. 137-139.

14. Harvey, Brian Peter (2000). An Introduction to Buddhist ethics: Foundations, Values, and Issues. Cambridge University Press. p. 297. ISBN 0-521-55640-6.

15. Lusthaus, Dan (2002). Buddhist Phenomenology: A philosophical Investigation of Yogācāra Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei-shih lun. RoutledgeCurzon. p. 194. ISBN 0-415-40610-2

16. Lusthaus, Dan (2002). Buddhist Phenomenology: A philosophical Investigation of Yogācāra Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei-shih lun. RoutledgeCurzon. p. 48. ISBN 0-415-40610-2.

17. Karmasiddhiprakarana: The Treatise on Action by Vasubandhu. translated by Etienne Lamotte and Leo M. Pruden. Asian Humanities Press: 2001 ISBN 0-89581-908-2. pg 13, 35

18. Berzin, Alexander. "Mind and Mental Factors: the Fifty-one Types of Subsidiary Awareness". Berlin, Germany; June 2002; revised July, 2006: The Berzin Archives. Retrieved 14 February 2013. Unlike the Western view of consciousness as a general faculty that can be aware of all sensory and mental objects, Buddhism differentiates six types of consciousness, each of which is specific to one sensory field or to the mental field. A primary consciousness cognizes merely the essential nature (ngo-bo) of an object, which means the category of phenomenon to which something belongs. For example, eye

consciousness cognizes a sight as merely a sight. The Chittamatra schools add two more types of primary consciousness to make their list of an eightfold network of primary consciousnesses (rnam-shes tshogs-brgyad): deluded awareness (nyon-yid), alayavijnana (kun-gzhi rnam-shes, all-encompassing foundation consciousness, storehouse consciousness). Alayavijnana is an individual consciousness, not a universal one, underlying all moments of cognition. It cognizes the same objects as the cognitions it underlies, but is a nondetermining cognition of what appears to it (snang-la ma-nges-pa, inattentive cognition) and lacks clarity of its objects. It carries karmic legacies (sa-bon) and the mental impressions of memories, in the sense that both are nonstatic abstractions imputed on the alayavijnana. The continuity of an individual alayavijnana ceases with the attainment of enlightenment.

19. Berzin, Alexander. "A Brief History of Buddhism in India before the Thirteenth-Century Invasions". Berlin, Germany; January, 2002; revised April, 2007: The Berzin Archives. Retrieved 7 February 2013. The Theravada and Sarvastivada Schools each held their own fourth councils. The Theravada School held its fourth council in 83 BCE in Sri Lanka. In the face of various groups having splintered off from Theravada over differences in interpretation of Buddha words (sic.), Maharakkhita and five hundred Theravada elders met to recite and write down Buddha’s words in order to preserve their authenticity. This was the first time Buddha’s teachings were put into written form and, in this case, they were rendered into the Pali language. This version of The Three Basket-like Collections, The Tipitaka, is commonly known as The Pali Canon. The other Hinayana Schools, however, continued to transmit the teachings in oral form.

20. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: ri Satguru Publications, p.137

21. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: ri Satguru Publications, p. 192, Trimsika verse 1.

22. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology,

Delhi: ri Satguru Publications, p. 194, Trimsika verse 2.

23. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: ri Satguru Publications, p. 139.

24. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: ri Satguru Publications, p. 138

25. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: ri Satguru Publications, p. 140.

26. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: ri Satguru Publications, p. 141.

27. Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology, Delhi: ri Satguru Publications, p. 141-142.

28. Padmasiri De Silva, Robert Henry Thouless, Buddhist and Freudian Psychology. Third revised edition published by NUS Press, 1992 page 66.

29. Walpola Rahula, quoted in Padmasiri De Silva, Robert Henry Thouless, Buddhist and Freudian Psychology. Third revised edition published by NUS Press, 1992 page 66,

30. SN 35.23 Sabba Sutta: The All

31. Lusthaus, Dan (2014), Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun, Routledge, p.7.

32. Davids, C.A.F. Rhys (1903). "The Soul-Theory in Buddhism" in The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Source: [8] (accessed: Sunday 1 February 2009), pp. 587-588

33. Lusthaus, Dan (undated). What is and isn't Yogācāra. Source: [9] (accessed: 4 December 2007)

34. Source: [10] (accessed: Wednesday 28 October 2009). There is an English translation of this work by Gupta (1969: pp.81-121) which is a rendering of Stcherbatsky's work from the Russian: Gupta, Harish C. (1969). Papers of Th. Stcherbatsky. Calcutta: Indian Studies Past and Present. (translated from Russian by Harish C. Gupta).

35. Dunne, John D. (2004). Foundations of Dharmakīrti's philosophy. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-184-X, 9780861711840. Source: [11] (accessed: Monday 4 May 2010), p.1

36. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (2002). Healing with Form, Energy, and Light. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1-55939-176-6. p.82

37. Lama, Dalai (1997). Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective. Translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa. Snow Lion Publications. Source: [12] (accessed: Sunday 25 March 2007)

38. Coseru, Christian, "Mind in Indian Buddhist Philosophy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2012 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.)

39. Wilson, Robert Anton (2008). Cosmic Trigger: Final Secret of the Illuminati. Las Vegas, NV: New Falcon Publications. pp. 1–269. ISBN 978-1561840038.

40. Professor Y. Karunadasa (Summer 2015). ME02 Theravāda Abhidharma: Origins and Development – Lecture 11, p.1.