What is Buddhism? Applications 6 - Consciousness Only

     In our previous discussion of "emptiness," we explored how, as the disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha organized and classified his teachings, they came to consider several fundamental constituents of the universe as existing entities.

However, such theories of existence were seen as contradicting the Middle Way and the teaching of no-self by Shakyamuni. Therefore, scholars such as Nagarjuna, and Nagarjuna's followers systematically rejected these theories of existence and asserted that everything is ultimately "empty," as explained in the previous chapter.

However, despite everything being ultimately empty and non-existent, the cycle of delusion of individual entities as elucidated by Shakyamuni Buddha through the Twelve Dependent Originations continues to manifest. As explained earlier, this cycle of delusion persists until one fully comprehends the Middle Way.

Nagarjuna and his followers, who expounded on "emptiness," later formed the philosophical school known as the Mādhyamika, engaging in debates with proponents of substantial existence like those from the Sarvāstivādin school. However, due to the emphasis on refuting theories of existence in these debates, some people developed a nihilistic impression that nothing truly exists, and upon enlightenment, all phenomena dissolve into nothingness.

In response to such concerns, emerged the proponents of the Yogācāra, also known as the Consciousness Only school. The primary figure associated with the foundation of this Yogācāra school is said to be the renowned Bodhisattva Maitreya. Though Maitreya Bodhisattva as a historical figure is not documented, it is believed that a person named Asanga met Maitreya Bodhisattva in the heavenly realm of Tusita through meditation, received teachings, and later recorded them.

Some contemporary scholars argue that Asanga is essentially the founder of the Yogācāra school. However, the disparity in writing style between Asanga's records of Maitreya's teachings and his works leads some to speculate that there might have been another founder of the Yogācāra school, distinct from Maitreya Bodhisattva of Tusita.

Regardless, the Yogācāra school, also known as the Vijñānavāda, was known for its focus on meditation practice. Unlike the Mādhyamika, they didn't dwell solely on the concept of emptiness but actively sought to explain how phenomena, even if ultimately non-existent, manifest based on our daily experiences.

According to the Yogācāra school, each individual is composed of eight consciousnesses. Initially, the five sensory consciousnesses correspond to the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, known as the "five sensory consciousnesses." Then there is the sixth consciousness, which synthesizes these sensory inputs into perceptions through language, known as "consciousness."

The sensory consciousnesses do not merely perceive external information but project internal sensory information outwardly. For example, the eye consciousness projects various visual perceptions inwardly and recognizes them as external objects or landscapes. Similarly, the ear consciousness projects various sounds inwardly and recognizes them as external sounds. The other sensory consciousnesses—nose, tongue, and body—function similarly.

Beyond these six consciousnesses lies the ālaya-vijñāna, or store-consciousness, often likened to a hard drive in a computer where all data is stored. However, unlike a passive data bank, the information stored in the store consciousness continually springs forth, giving rise to the six consciousnesses mentioned earlier. Additionally, at the root of these six consciousnesses that are based on the store consciousness, there arises the seventh consciousness, known as the manas or mental consciousness, which perpetuates the illusion of self, based on the store consciousness.

The manas consciousness, arising from the store consciousness, reinforces the notion of self and drives actions aimed at maintaining this self. It serves as the source of all selfish thoughts and behaviors.

In this sense, recognizing the Middle Way and the teaching of no-self by Shakyamuni Buddha and persisting in the altruistic bodhisattva path can be seen as a way to overcome the selfish influence of the manas consciousness.

Thus, humans are said to arise from these eight consciousnesses: the five sensory consciousnesses, consciousness itself, the manas consciousness, and the store consciousness.

Now, let's delve a bit deeper into how this mechanism works.

The store-consciousness contains memories of all actions one has undertaken in the past. It stores memories of both selfish and altruistic thoughts and actions, as well as those in between.

When one is reborn and a new life begins, the store consciousness utilizes accumulated data from the past to establish the "environmental settings" for the new life.

It's crucial to understand that in Buddhism, the concept of "karma" refers to the memories of past thoughts and actions stored in the store-consciousness. These memories only serve to set the "environmental settings" for the new life. Therefore, even if one has engaged in numerous misdeeds in the past, it doesn't mean they will necessarily be reborn as a villain in the next life. However, the consequences of past selfish actions may manifest in the form of unfavorable environmental settings, leading to experiences such as being bullied. Yet, within such circumstances, if one reflects on their past deeds, maintains a sense of remorse, and refrains from seeking revenge, continuously expressing remorse and performing good deeds (known as repentance in Buddhism), the records of thoughts and actions in the store-consciousness for the present life will be predominantly positive. Consequently, the environmental settings for the next life will be very positive, surrounded by kind and altruistic individuals.

In summary, based on memories stored in the store consciousness, the environmental settings for a new life are established. Then, one's new thoughts and actions within these settings are recorded in the store consciousness moment by moment, shaping the environmental settings for the subsequent life.

Therefore, regardless of whether one is born into a privileged environment or not, failing to express gratitude and engaging in selfish behavior will result in a future filled with hardship. Conversely, even if one is born into the worst circumstances, consistently expressing gratitude, and remorse, and engaging in altruistic actions will lead to improvement in one's situation.

Thus, one's current circumstances and environment are entirely determined by one's past actions, making it a realm of absolute self-responsibility. However, while everything is indeed subject to individual responsibility, it should not serve as a reason to shirk responsibility onto others. Even if someone finds themselves in dire circumstances due to their past actions, it's essential to offer assistance to those in need, as mutual aid leads to better lives for all.

Since no one starts as inherently strong, mutual assistance is necessary for overcoming individual problems, and therein lies the origin of altruistic conduct.

In this sense, the term "self-responsibility," often heard nowadays, is often misused as justification for not helping those in need. However, such usage reflects the selfish nature of those individuals, who will undoubtedly realize the cruelty of such an attitude when they themselves drop into such conditions.

Therefore, although often misunderstood as fatalism, the concept of karma in Buddhism does not imply a predetermined fate. Rather, it emphasizes that while broad environmental settings are established, one's freedom of action within these settings is guaranteed, representing absolute freedom.

  

#Mādhyamika #Yogācāra #Sarvāstivādin #Asanga #ālaya-vijñāna #karma