3

The Basis of the Self: The Body and Mind

THE BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS are studied and lived by those seeking to assuage misery and attain awakening. What is the nature of a person who does this? That person depends on a body and mind and lives in a universe filled with a plethora of other phenomena. In this chapter we will outline the phenomena that comprise the person and the universe as seen by Buddhist sages. The objects we endeavor to understand with reliable cognizers are these phenomena, their impermanence and unsatisfactory nature, the relationships among them, and their ultimate mode of existence.

Classifications of Phenomena

The classification of phenomena was one of the first topics I learned in my studies as a young boy. Although initially I just memorized definitions without understanding them, I later realized that since this terminology was used by the great sages and scholars, it was important in order to gain an understanding of their writings. This gave me impetus to study the terminology. The following presentation of phenomena is common to most Buddhist schools.

We begin with the selfless — that which does not exist inherently. This has two divisions: (1) The existent (sat) is that which is perceivable by mind, that which is suitable to be known by an awareness. Existent is synonymous with phenomena (dharma), object of knowledge, established base, and object. (2) The nonexistent (asat) is that which is not perceivable by mind.

If something exists, a consciousness must be able to perceive it. A table is existent; a rabbit’s horn is not.

Existents are divided into: (1) permanent phenomena (nitya) and (2) things (vastu/bhāva) or impermanent phenomena (anitya). A permanent phenomenon does not change moment by moment, whereas an impermanent one — a functioning thing — does. Permanent does not mean eternal or existing forever without end. Something that is eternal may be impermanent or permanent. For example, the emptiness of a cup does not change moment by moment, but it ceases to exist when the cup breaks. This emptiness is permanent, but not eternal. The mind changes moment by moment and is eternal. It is impermanent, yet its continuity never ceases.

Permanent phenomena

Permanent phenomena are not produced by causes and conditions and are not products. They neither produce an effect nor change in the next moment. The number of permanent phenomena is limitless; some examples are unconditioned space — the absence of obstruction — and the emptiness of inherent existence. There are two types of permanent phenomena:

1.Occasional permanents may come into existence and go out of existence, although they do not arise or disintegrate momentarily under the influence of causes and conditions. The emptiness of inherent existence of this book is one example. This emptiness is the ultimate nature of the book; it came into existence simultaneous with the book and it will go out of existence when the book ceases. However, it does not change momentarily or disintegrate under the power of causes and conditions.

2.Nonoccasional permanents are eternal. Unconditioned space (ākāśa) is an example. This space exists everywhere, at all times, not just occasionally.

Analytical cessations (pratisaṃkhyā-nirodha) and nonanalytical cessations (apratisaṃkhyā-nirodha) are also permanent phenomena. The former are true cessations, the absence of obscurations through having applied the antidote — the direct realization of emptiness — so that those obscurations can never reappear. Nonanalytical cessations are temporary absences of afflictions because the conditions for the arising of those afflictions are not present. Our not being angry at this moment is not due to a true cessation by our having ceased the seeds of anger in our mindstream. It is due to not being in contact with a disagreeable object at this moment. Anger may arise later when the cooperative conditions — such as someone criticizing us — are present.

Things: impermanent phenomena

A thing is something that performs a function — it produces an effect. Things are impermanent; being conditioned phenomena produced by causes and conditions, they are products (saṃskṛta). Things are of three types: (1) form (rūpa), (2) consciousness (jñāna), and (3) abstract composites (viprayukta-saṃskāra). These three are mutually exclusive — something cannot be two or all three of them.

Form is defined in a general way as that which is suitable to be form. Forms include objects of the sense consciousnesses (colors and shapes, sounds, odors, tastes, and tangibles) as well as subtle forms such as the five cognitive faculties (the subtle material that enables us to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch objects). Tangibles include the four elements — earth (heaviness), water (cohesion), fire (heat), wind (movement) — and smoothness, lightness, cold, hunger, thirst, and so forth. Forms for mental consciousness — such as dream objects and special subtle forms that meditators create by the power of their meditative concentration — are also included among forms.

Gross forms — those apprehended by our senses — can be measured by scientific instruments. Other forms, as well as consciousness and many abstract phenomena, cannot be directly measured by scientific instruments because they are not atomic in nature.

Consciousness is defined as that which is clear and cognizant.14 Clear indicates that it is not physical in nature and can reflect objects. Cognizant means that it can know and experience objects. It is of two types: mind (citta) and mental factors (caitta).

Mind is of six types: visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental primary consciousnesses (vijñāna). These apprehend the presence or basic entity of an object: they know the type of object something is, for example, a sight, sound, a mental object, and so forth.

Mental factors fill out the cognition, apprehending particular attributes of the object or performing a specific function. Some mental factors, such as feeling, discrimination, intention, contact, and attention, accompany all consciousnesses. Other mental factors — such as love or anger — are manifest at some times and latent at other times. Some mental factors, such as the six root afflictions, are harmful; others, such as faith and compassion, are beneficial. Some mental factors — such as investigation and analysis — can be either virtuous or nonvirtuous, depending on what other mental factors accompany (are concomitant with) those consciousnesses.

Abstract composites are impermanent things that are neither form nor consciousness. Many of them — such as impermanence — enable the coming together of causes and conditions and the arising, abiding, and disintegration of things. To perceive abstract composites, we must perceive something else. For example, we know a person by perceiving his or her body, speech, or mind. We know impermanence by seeing an object change.

There are two types of abstract composites: persons and not persons. The term “person” (pudgala) has a wider meaning here than it does in general usage. Examples of a person are any living being: Joe, a woman, an accountant, a monastic, a Spaniard, an animal, and a god. A person is designated in dependence on his or her aggregates — the body and consciousness — but a person is neither of those. Abstract composites that are not persons (apudgala-viprayukta-saṃskāra) are such things as time, birth, aging, democracy, life force, area, number, absorption without discrimination, and absorption of cessation.15

Contemplating these categories enables us to see that not everything that exists is material in nature. In fact a wide variety of things that arise from causes and produce results exist, although we cannot apprehend them with our senses or measure them with scientific instruments. While we can measure the activities of the brain when a person is experiencing a particular emotion, the brain is form; it is not the emotion, which is consciousness.

Understanding these different types of phenomena is helpful when we explore the four truths, the thirty-seven harmonies with awakening, and emptiness. What may seem to be a dry list of categories comes alive when we ask questions. Is love brain activity or conscious experience? That is, is the brain consciousness? That is not possible because the brain is form and consciousness is clear and cognizant. Nevertheless, the brain and consciousness often influence each other. Is emptiness form, as the words in the Heart Sūtra literally say? Form is an impermanent thing and emptiness is permanent, and nothing can be both. However, emptiness is an inseparable quality of form.

If a truly existent person existed, we should be able to say what it is and we should be able to find it. When meditating on the selflessness of persons, we examine how the I exists: Is it the body, a primary consciousness, a mental factor, the collection of these, or something separate from them?

Five Aggregates

The five aggregates (skandha) is a schema for categorizing impermanent phenomena. In general, the five aggregates include all impermanent phenomena, but when they are spoken of in relation to a person, they are the basis of designation of that person. In his Supplement (Madhyamakāvatāra), Candrakīrti defines the five aggregates:

Form has the definition “suitable as form.”

Feeling has the nature of experience.

Discrimination apprehends [entities and] characteristics.

Miscellaneous factors contain [all the others].

“Individually cognizing objects” is the specific definition

of primary consciousness.

In general, the form aggregate consists of things that are material in nature. The other four aggregates are predominantly mental.

1.Form (rūpa) in general refers to objects apprehended by our sense consciousnesses — colors, shapes, sounds, odors, tastes, and tangibles. As noted above, it also includes forms for mental consciousness. When speaking of the five aggregates that constitute a person, the form aggregate refers to the body.

2.Feeling (vedanā) is the mental factor of the experience of pleasure, pain, or neutrality.

3.Discrimination (saṃjñā) is the mental factor that apprehends the distinctive characteristics of an object and can distinguish one thing from another.

4.Miscellaneous factors (saṃskāra) are mental factors other than feeling and discrimination, such as emotions, attitudes, and views, as well as abstract composites such as karmic seeds and latencies of afflictions.

5.Primary consciousnesses (vijñāna) consist of the visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental primary consciousnesses that apprehend the general type of object. Visual primary consciousness apprehends colors and shapes, auditory primary consciousness apprehends sounds, olfactory primary consciousness apprehends smells, gustatory primary consciousness apprehends tastes, tactile primary consciousness apprehends tangibles, and mental primary consciousnesses know mental phenomena.

Unlike other mental factors, feeling and discrimination are distinguished as their own aggregates. This is due to the special roles they play. Pleasant and unpleasant feelings evoke attachment and animosity, respectively. These emotions motivate sentient beings to create karma that ripens in birth in cyclic existence. Discrimination is the source of disputes because sentient beings discriminate one thing as attractive and another as repulsive, one idea as right and another as wrong. Becoming attached to their views, they quarrel with others who hold different views, thus creating karma that propels rebirth in cyclic existence.

REFLECTION

1.One by one, identify each of the five aggregates that constitute you as a person. Be aware of your body. Identify feelings of pleasure and happiness, discomfort and suffering, and neutral feelings that are neither. Notice the discriminations you make, the moods and emotions you have, and the types of primary consciousnesses that are present.

2.Identifying each aggregate in your own experience, contemplate their different functions and unique attributes.

3.Contemplate the characteristics common to all five aggregates: they change moment by moment (impermanent), they are under the influence of afflictions and karma (duḥkha by nature), they depend on other factors and are not a person (selfless).

Twelve Sources and Eighteen Constituents

An alternative method of classifying all phenomena is the twelve sources (āyatana), so-called because they are sources that give rise to consciousness. Six of the sources are external — the objects known by consciousness; and six are internal — the cognitive faculties of a person that enable an object to be cognized by a consciousness.

THE TWELVE SOURCES

INTERNAL SOURCE (COGNITIVE FACULTY)	EXTERNAL SOURCE (OBJECT THAT IS COGNIZED)
Eye source	Forms
Ear source	Sounds
Nose source	Odors
Tongue source	Tastes
Body or tactile source	Tangibles
Mental source	Phenomena

The eye source, ear source, and so forth are called internal sources because they belong to the person. The first five — the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and tactile sources — are not the gross organs such as the eyeball and the ear. They are subtle forms within the gross organ that are sensitive and receptive to their corresponding object. The mental source includes all six consciousnesses because they have the power to give rise to a mental consciousness that knows a phenomenon. For example, dependent on the visual consciousness seeing blue, the mental consciousness remembers blue.

The eighteen constituents (dhātu) — which consist of objects and their corresponding mental faculties and consciousnesses — are another way to categorize all phenomena, both permanent and impermanent. The phenomena source and the phenomena constituent include only objects known uniquely by the mental consciousness: permanent phenomena such as emptiness and permanent space, feelings, and forms for mental consciousness. The latter consists of single particles, the appearance of clear space to the mental consciousness, imperceptible forms, dream objects, and forms generated in deep concentration. Although sense objects are also known by the mental consciousness, they are not included in the phenomena source or phenomena constituent.

When we think deeply about these diverse ways of classifying phenomena, we begin to see that the self we consider to be one unique item is actually a collection of diverse factors that function dependent on one another.

THE EIGHTEEN CONSTITUENTS

COGNITIVE FACULTY	OBSERVED OBJECT	APPREHENDING CONSCIOUSNESS
Eye faculty	Forms	Visual consciousness
Ear faculty	Sounds	Auditory consciousness
Nose faculty	Odors	Olfactory consciousness
Tongue faculty	Tastes	Gustatory consciousness
Body or tactile faculty	Tangibles	Tactile consciousness
Mental faculty	Phenomena	Mental consciousness

REFLECTION

1.In your own experience, identify each of the twelve sources. Observe the relationship between the internal source, the external source, and consciousness arisen from them for each sense.

2.Of the six senses, which ones prompt strong attachment in you? Which are the source of the greatest anger or aversion?

3.Identify the eighteen constituents, especially the ones that compose you as a person.

4.What is the relationship between you — the person — and the constituents that compose you? Are you one and the same as any of those constituents? Are you completely separate from them? Do you depend on them?

Consciousness: Mind and Mental Factors

There are many ways to speak about and classify types of consciousness: mind and mental factors, conceptual and nonconceptual consciousnesses, the seven types of awarenesses, and so forth. The Abhidharma makes the division of consciousness into mind and mental factors and describes the components of these categories. Later Indian sages such as Asaṅga and Vasubandhu elaborated on those descriptions in their Compendium of Knowledge (Abhidharmasamuccaya) and Treasury of Knowledge, respectively. When referred to together, these two texts are called the “Two Knowledges.”

Learning about mind and mental factors enables us to better understand our mind. We will be able to identify in our own experience the mental factors that arise due to pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feelings and that in turn create the causes of happiness and suffering by motivating the actions (karma) we do. Such introspective awareness of our own mental processes is essential in order to tame and transform our mind. We will also understand that Dharma practice entails subduing the destructive mental factors that lead to misery in cyclic existence and enhancing the constructive ones that lead to happiness in cyclic existence as well as to liberation and awakening. This in turn will positively affect our thoughts, words, and deeds.

The core of the meditation on emptiness is examining how the I or self exists. It appears to be very real and “solid,” but can it be found in the aggregates individually or in their collection, or separate from the aggregates? It is not too difficult to understand that we are not the body, but the self strongly appears to be associated with the mind. Understanding the various types of mind and how they function will aid in understanding what the I is and is not, and its relationship to the aggregates.

As noted above, all cognizers consist of a primary consciousness and various mental factors that accompany it. Primary consciousnesses are of six types, as mentioned above: visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and mental primary consciousnesses. Each of these apprehends the fundamental presence of its object. Although a primary consciousness and its accompanying mental factors are different, when they arise together as one mental state, they are the same nature. They are concomitant and share five similarities.

1.They have the same basis (āśraya): they depend on the same cognitive faculty.

2.They share the same observed object (ālambana): they apprehend the same object.

3.Both are generated in the same aspect (ākāra) of the object: they reflect a similar aspect of the object.

4.They occur at the same time (kāla): they arise, abide, and cease simultaneously.

5.They are the same entity (dravya): each mental state consists of only one primary consciousness and only one of each of its accompanying mental factors. Furthermore, the primary mind and all its accompanying mental factors are either conceptual or nonconceptual, either mistaken or nonmistaken.

The Pāli scripture Milindapañha16 contains an excellent example of the relationship of a primary consciousness and its accompanying mental factors. King Milinda asked the monk Nāgasena Thera whether mental factors can be separated out such that we can see them as different parts of the puzzle: “This is contact, and this feeling, and this mentation, and this discrimination.” Nāgasena Thera replied by asking if the king would be able to pick out each flavor, separate from all the others, when the royal cook made a syrup or a sauce with curds, salt, ginger, cumin seed, pepper, and other ingredients.

Clearly this would not be possible. All the various flavors together give the sauce its taste, even though each ingredient adds its own unique flavor. Similarly, the various mental factors accompanying a primary consciousness function together and cannot be separated out since they share the same basis, observed object, aspect, time, and entity. Nevertheless, the primary consciousness and each mental factor perform its unique function and contribute its own “flavor” to the cognizer.

To give another example, the primary consciousness is like the main light in a room, while its accompanying mental factors are like other lights in the same room. While each light is distinct, they blend together to illuminate the room. The fact that an auditory primary consciousness is present means that all its accompanying mental factors also perceive sound. If the mental factor of feeling experiences pleasure, the entire mental state is pleasurable.

The mental factors described below are not an exhaustive list; they are the principal ones that must be abandoned or cultivated in order to attain liberation. Their enumeration and precise definitions may differ according to the specific Abhidharma text. Here the prominent mental factors are counted as fifty-one and divided into six groups in accordance with the Compendium of Knowledge: (1) five omnipresent mental factors (sarvatraga), (2) five object-ascertaining mental factors (viniyata), (3) eleven virtuous mental factors (kuśala-caitta), (4) six root afflictions (mūlakleśa), (5) twenty secondary afflictions (upakleśa), and (6) four variable mental factors (aniyata).

Five Omnipresent Mental Factors

The five omnipresent mental factors accompany all minds. Without them complete cognition of an object cannot occur.

1.Feeling is an experience of pleasure, pain, or neutrality. Feeling experiences the results of our past actions and can lead to reactions of attachment, anger, confusion, and so forth.

2.Discrimination functions to distinguish “it is this and not that” and to apprehend the characteristics of an object. It differentiates and identifies objects.

3.Intention (cetanā) moves the primary consciousness and its accompanying mental factors to the object. It is the conscious and automatic motivating element that causes the mind to involve itself with and apprehend its object. It is action, karma. Although the mental factor of intention itself is not constructive, destructive, or neutral, it becomes so depending on what other mental factors — such as attachment or anger — accompany that mental state.

4.Attention (mental engagement, manaskāra) functions to direct the primary consciousness and its concomitant mental factors to the object and to actually apprehend the object. It focuses and holds the mind on an object without allowing it to move elsewhere.

5.Contact (sparśa) connects the object, cognitive faculty, and primary consciousness, thereby acting as a basis for feelings of pleasure, pain, and indifference. It is the cause of feeling.

The Compendium of Knowledge says that the five omnipresent mental factors accompany all primary consciousnesses. The Abhidharma system of the Pāli canon explains that each primary consciousness has seven omnipresent mental factors (P. cetasika): contact (P. phassa); feeling (P. vedanā); discrimination (P. saññā), which Pāli translators often render as “perception”; intention or volition (cetanā); one-pointedness (P. ekaggatā); life faculty or psychic life (P. jīvitindriya);17 and attention (P. manasikāra).

Five Object-Ascertaining Mental Factors

The five object-ascertaining mental factors are so-called because they apprehend the individual features of an object. The Treasury of Knowledge says that these five accompany all mental states, whereas the Compendium of Knowledge asserts that they accompany only virtuous mental states. These five are not themselves virtuous, but become virtuous because of being associated with a virtuous mental state. In this case, the mindfulness accompanying a mental consciousness that apprehends and has aversion toward a repulsive object would not be the mindfulness of the five object-ascertaining mental factors, but would be another mental factor similar to it.

1.Aspiration (chanda) takes a strong interest in an intended object and is the basis for joyous effort.

2.Appreciation (belief, adhimokṣa) stabilizes the apprehension of a previously ascertained object and holds it such that it cannot be distracted by another view.

3.Mindfulness (smṛti) repeatedly brings to mind a phenomenon of previous acquaintance without forgetting it. It does not allow the mind to be distracted from the object and is the basis for concentration.¹⁸

4.Concentration (single-pointedness, samādhi) dwells one-pointedly for a sustained period of time on a single object. It is the basis for developing serenity and increasing wisdom.

5.Wisdom (understanding, intelligence, prajñā) functions to discriminate precisely with analysis the qualities, faults, or characteristics of an object held by mindfulness. It cuts through indecision and doubt with certainty and maintains the root of all constructive qualities in this and future lives. There are various types of intelligence:

a.Inborn intelligence is the natural acuity of mind that comes as a result of karma from previous lives.

b.Acquired understanding or wisdom is cultivated in this life. A person may generate it with respect to various topics of the stages of the path. It is of three types:

i.The understanding or wisdom arising when hearing, learning, or studying a topic. It brings initial knowledge of the topic and lays the foundation for the other two types of understanding.

ii.The understanding or wisdom arising from critical reflection or contemplation is generated by thinking about a topic on our own or debating and discussing it with others. Through it, we gain a correct conceptual (inferential) understanding of the topic.

iii.The understanding or wisdom arising from meditation is derived from deeper personal experience when understanding of the topic arises automatically in our minds because we are very familiar with it.19

Our current mental factors of concentration and wisdom are the uncultivated bases for the actual concentration and wisdom that arise due to sustained Dharma practice. The wisdom referred to in the expression “method and wisdom” and the concentration referred to in the phrase “concentration found in the fourth jhāna” are very different in strength, acuity, and effectiveness from the mental factors we have now that bear the same names. Nonetheless, our present mental factors of concentration and wisdom can be nourished and transformed into serenity and insight.

Eleven Virtuous Mental Factors

The eleven virtuous mental factors cause the omnipresent, object-ascertaining, and variable mental factors to take on a virtuous aspect and bring peace to oneself and others. Each of the eleven is an antidote to particular afflictions.

1.Faith (confidence, trust, śraddhā) is confidence in such things as the law of karma and its effects and the Three Jewels. It produces a joyous state of mind free from the turmoil of the root and auxiliary afflictions and is the basis for generating the aspiration to develop new constructive qualities and enhancing virtuous aspirations already generated. It is of three kinds: Inspired faith knows the qualities of the object and rejoices in them. Aspiring faith knows the qualities of the object and aspires to attain them. Convictional faith (believing faith) knows the qualities of the object and thereby has confidence in it.

2.Integrity (hrī) avoids negativity for reasons of personal conscience and self-respect. It enables us to restrain from harmful physical, verbal, and mental actions and is the basis for ethical conduct.

3.Consideration for others (apatrāpya) cares about the effect of our actions on others and avoids negativity for their sake. It enables us to restrain from harmful physical, verbal, and mental actions, acts as the basis for maintaining pure ethical conduct, prevents others from losing faith in us, and causes joy to arise in the minds of others.

4.Nonattachment (alobha) is not the mere absence of attachment, but the opposite of attachment and the direct antidote to it. Referring to an object in cyclic existence, nonattachment prevents and counteracts attachment and subdues obsession with attractive objects and people.

5.Nonhatred (adveṣa) is the opposite of animosity — it is love and benevolence, not just the absence of anger and ill will. When referring to someone who harms us, the harm itself, or the cause of the harm, it has the characteristic of love and directly overcomes anger and hatred. It is the basis for the prevention of hostility and the increase of love, benevolence, forgiveness, and fortitude.

6.Nonconfusion (amoha) is the opposite of confusion. Arising from an inborn disposition and nurtured by study, reflection, and meditation, it acts as a remedy for confusion and ignorance and accompanies the firm wisdom that thoroughly analyzes the nature and specific characteristics of an object. It prevents confusion, increases the four types of wisdom, and helps to actualize constructive qualities.

7.Joyous effort (vīrya) counteracts laziness and joyfully engages in constructive actions. It acts to generate constructive qualities that have not been generated and to bring those that have to completion.

8.Pliancy (flexibility, praśrabdhi) enables the mind to apply itself to a constructive object in whatever manner it wishes and dissipates any mental or physical tightness or rigidity.

9.Conscientiousness (apramāda) values the accumulation of virtue and guards the mind against that which gives rise to afflictions. It brings to fulfillment and maintains all that is good, protects the mind from pollution, and is the root for attaining all grounds and paths.

10.Nonharmfulness (noncruelty, ahiṃsā) is compassion. Lacking any intention to cause harm, it wishes all sentient beings to be free from suffering. It prevents disrespecting or harming others and increases the wish to benefit and bring them happiness.

11.Equanimity (upekṣā) does not allow the mind to be greatly affected by restlessness and laxity without having to exert great effort to prevent them. Important for the development of serenity, it enables the mind to settle and remain on a virtuous object. This equanimity differs from the equanimity of the four immeasurables and the equanimity that is a neutral feeling.

Six Root Afflictions

These six are called root afflictions because they are primary causes of cyclic existence and are the root or cause of the auxiliary afflictions. They are the basis for all distorted conceptions and emotional conflict. Sometimes the last root affliction, afflictive views, is subdivided to make ten afflictions.

1.Attachment (rāga) arises based on projecting or exaggerating the attractiveness of an object within cyclic existence (people, things, ideas, places, and so forth). It wishes for, takes a strong interest in, and clings to that object.

2.Anger (pratigha) arises based on projecting or exaggerating the unattractive qualities of an object or person. It agitates the mind through being unable to bear or through wanting to harm that object or person. It arises in reference to someone who harms us, the suffering itself, or the cause of the harm.

3.Arrogance (māna) is based on the view of a personal identity that apprehends an inherently existent I or mine. It strongly grasps an inflated or superior image of ourselves.

4.Ignorance (avidyā) is a state of unknowing brought about by the mind being unclear about the nature of things such as the four truths of the āryas, karma and its results, and the Three Jewels. This definition is held in common by all Buddhist tenet systems, although each system has its own unique way of defining ignorance. This will be discussed in depth later.

5.Deluded doubt (vicikitsā) is indecisive wavering that tends toward an incorrect conclusion about important points such as karma and its results, the four truths, and the Three Jewels.

6.Afflictive views (dṛṣṭi) are either an afflictive intelligence (corrupt understanding) that regards the aggregates as being inherently I or mine or, in direct dependence on such a view, an afflictive intelligence that develops further mistaken conceptions.

a.The view of a personal identity (satkāyadṛṣṭi) is an afflictive intelligence that, when referring to the conventional I or mine, grasps it to be either inherently I or mine. It is called “intelligence” in the sense that it analyzes something.20 It is the root of saṃsāra and acts as the basis for all afflictions.

b.The view of extremes (antagrāhadṛṣṭi) is an afflictive intelligence that, when referring to the I or mine grasped by the view of a personal identity, regards them in an absolutist or nihilistic fashion. It prevents us from finding the view of the middle way free from extremes.

c.The view holding wrong views as supreme (dṛṣṭiparāmarśa) is an afflictive intelligence that regards other afflictive views as the best views. It increases our attachment to other afflictive views.

d.The view of rules and practices (śīlavrataparāmarśa) is an afflictive intelligence that believes purification of mental defilements occurs by engaging in ascetic practices, inferior codes of ethical conduct, and mistaken practices that are inspired by wrong views.21 It is the basis for wasting time on incorrect modes of practice that do not lead to our spiritual goals.

e.Wrong views (mithyādṛṣṭi) is an afflictive intelligence that denies the existence of something that in fact exists — for example, karma and its effects, past and future lives, and the Three Jewels — or that believes a divine creator or primal substance to be the cause of sentient beings. It functions to prevent us from engaging in virtue and to lead us to create nonvirtue.

Twenty Auxiliary Afflictions

The twenty auxiliary afflictions are branches of the root afflictions and similarly disturb the mind. These will be explained in more depth in the next volume of the Library of Wisdom and Compassion. For now, suffice it to list them: wrath, resentment, spite, jealousy, cruelty, miserliness, haughtiness, restlessness, concealment, lethargy, laziness, lack of faith, forgetfulness, nonintrospective awareness, pretension, deceit, lack of integrity, inconsideration for others, heedlessness, and distraction.

Four Variable Mental Factors

In themselves, the four variable factors are neither virtuous nor nonvirtuous, but become so in dependence on our motivation and the other mental factors that accompany the same mental state.

1.Sleep (middha) makes the mind unclear, gathers the sense consciousnesses inward, and renders the mind incapable of apprehending the body. Sleeping out of attachment and laziness is destructive, sleeping because the body is tired is neutral, sleeping with the intention to resume our compassionate activities after resting is virtuous.

2.Regret (kaukṛtya) regards an appropriate or inappropriate action that we have performed of our own accord or under pressure as something we do not wish to repeat. Regretting negativities is virtuous, but regretting our constructive actions is nonvirtuous.

3.Investigation (coarse engagement, vitarka) arises depending on intention or wisdom and examines an object in general. Investigating the meaning of impermanence is virtuous, whereas investigating someone’s faults with the intention to criticize is nonvirtuous.

4.Analysis (subtle engagement, vicāra) arises in dependence on intention or wisdom and analyzes the object in detail. Analyzing the nature of reality with the motivation of bodhicitta is virtuous, but analyzing how to make more efficient weapons with the intention to kill is destructive.

While there is much that can be said about each of these mental factors, the brief descriptions above give an idea of how our mind operates and the various kinds of thoughts, attitudes, and emotions that arise in it at different times. Such a list of views, emotions, and attitudes provides a structure that helps us to get to know ourselves. We become more aware of our mental states by naming our thoughts and emotions. While meditating or going about our daily activities, it is helpful to practice identifying various mental factors and discerning whether they are conducive to happiness and constructive action or detrimental to them. When an affliction manifests in our mind, we must identify the mental factors that are opposed to it and then activate them.

REFLECTION

1.Read the description of each mental factor, contemplate its meaning, and try to identify it in your own experience.

2.Look especially at the eleven virtuous mental factors and the six root afflictions. Give examples of when you have experienced each of these mental states.

3.Outline both the external events and internal causes (thoughts, moods, and so forth) that make each of these virtuous and nonvirtuous mental factors arise.

4.What effects does each mental factor have on your life, your spiritual practice, and your progress on the path to awakening?

Conceptual and Nonconceptual Consciousnesses

Another way to classify consciousness is into nonconceptual and conceptual consciousnesses. A nonconceptual consciousness knows its object directly, without the medium of a conceptual appearance (artha-sāmānya)22 appearing to the mind. Sense consciousnesses are always nonconceptual — they are direct perceivers — whereas mental consciousnesses may be either conceptual or nonconceptual. Examples of nonconceptual mental consciousness are clairvoyance or a yogic direct perceiver of emptiness.

Reliable sense consciousnesses correctly and directly perceive their object; they see color and shape, hear sounds, and so forth. Based on these direct perceivers, we then think about and remember objects. These are conceptual consciousnesses.²³ Thought is conceptual; it does not know its object clearly but only via a conceptual appearance of the object appearing to the mind. Dharmakīrti says (PV), “Whatsoever consciousness has clear appearance is asserted to be nonconceptual.”²⁴ A direct perceiver sees the building; conceptual consciousnesses plan its construction.

In the Collected Topics (bsdus grwa), a conceptual appearance of a pot is defined as “that factor of superimposition that is the appearance to the conceptual cognizer [of a pot] as a pot despite its not being a pot.” The appearing object of this conceptual consciousness is the conceptual appearance of the pot, not the actual pot.

A conceptual appearance is a representation of the object; it is the appearing object of a conceptual consciousness. It is not the actual object, but it allows us to think about various qualities and aspects of the object. Memories, thoughts, views, plans, imaginings, and afflictions are all conceptual consciousnesses. Conceptuality covers a wide range: from the thought “this is a pot,” to the conception grasping inherent existence, to a correct assumption of the meaning of emptiness, to an inferential cognizer of emptiness on the path of preparation that will soon transform into a nonconceptual, direct perceiver of emptiness on the path of seeing.

Sense consciousnesses directly perceive their objects, while thought apprehends its object in an indirect way by means of negation. When we think about yellow, the opposite of nonyellow appears to our mind. This is the conceptual appearance of yellow.

A conceptual consciousness does not know its object directly, but knows it through a negative process. Its appearing object is a conceptual appearance — an image of the object that comes about by negating everything that is not that object. In other words, what appears to a thought that knows a flower is the elimination of everything that is not a flower. This image expresses the general meaning of flower by combining the characteristics of many flowers with different characteristics that sense consciousnesses perceived at different times.

Because a conceptual appearance comes about through a process of elimination and negation, it is generally considered a permanent phenomenon, although the mind to which it appears is impermanent. There is debate about this, however.25

The appearing object to the conception of a flower — the primary object that appears to that conceptual consciousness — is the conceptual appearance of the flower. The apprehended object of that mind — what that consciousness apprehends — is the flower. Conflating the actual flower with the appearance of the flower to a conceptual consciousness enables us to think about the flower. Conceptual consciousnesses are useful because through them we understand the broader properties and potentials of things and the relationships among them. Conceptual consciousnesses enable us to learn about things that we cannot perceive directly through sense perceivers. Scientific theories, planning a benefit event to help a charity, and considering measures that will stop global warming all depend on our ability to conceptualize objects, their causes, results, relationships, abilities, and so forth. In fact, most of our education entails learning terms and concepts.

Direct perceivers are immediate: they know objects that exist in the present. Nonconceptual direct perceivers apprehend the color, shape, texture, temperature, taste, and smell of an apple. Thought is able to apprehend objects that do not exist in the present moment, thus giving us the ability to remember our previous experiences and to plan for the future.

A visual direct perceiver sees many things in its field of perception, whereas conceptual consciousnesses are selective and focus on only a few aspects of the object. A thought picks out certain attributes and constructs a conceptual appearance of the object. Our memory of something consists of a few details that we happened to pay attention to when directly perceiving the object.

In forming conceptual appearances, conceptual consciousnesses conflate the time, place, or characteristics of several objects. We think, “This is the same table I saw yesterday,” when in fact yesterday’s table no longer exists and we are seeing today’s table. Here the tables of two different times — yesterday and today — have been conflated to form the conceptual appearance of that table. The conceptual appearance of the table appearing to our mind is neither yesterday’s table nor today’s table. It is simply the general meaning of that table.

When shopping for a table, we may think, “This is the same table I saw at my friend’s house.” In fact they are different tables, but thought conflates the two tables that are in different places. There are over seven billion human beings on our planet. Each one is different, yet when someone says, “Think about a human being,” the general meaning of a human being appears to our mind. This conceptual appearance obscures all the variations among human beings and emphasizes a few common characteristics.

REFLECTION

1.When eating a meal, pause before each bite and be aware of what you expect the taste and texture of the next bite to be. What appears to your mind is a conceptual appearance based on having eaten similar kinds of food in the past.

2.Take the next bite and be aware of the taste and texture of the food. This is a direct perceiver of the food.

3.Was your expectation of the taste and texture accurate? What was the difference between conceptual imagination of the taste of the food and your direct perception of it?

Both nonconceptual and conceptual consciousnesses have their advantages and disadvantages in daily life and in Dharma practice. Perceiving objects directly gives us information about the immediate environment around us. However, these direct perceivers cannot remember these objects, nor can they relate one object to another to invent new items, plan how to use the things, or remember our previous experience with them so that we can apply what we learned to what we will do now. Thought enables us to do all this. However, the price we pay with thought is that the conceptual appearance is a conflation of objects at different times, in different places, or with different characteristics. Conceptual consciousnesses lack the vividness and clarity of direct perceivers.

Hearing the sounds of Dharma teachings on impermanence or seeing the black squiggles in a book about this topic involve nonconceptual, direct perception with our auditory and visual consciousnesses. Understanding and contemplating the meanings of these sounds and squiggles are done by conceptual consciousnesses. After we realize impermanence through inference with a conceptual consciousness, we continue meditating until we break through the conceptual appearance and perceive impermanence directly and nonconceptually. This realization is much more profound.

In my conversations with scientists I asked if they differentiate conceptual and nonconceptual consciousnesses. It seems that at this moment they do not. I wonder if there is a difference in brain activity between these two ways of cognizing objects. This is a new and interesting area to research.

Since a conceptual appearance of a table appears to be a table but isn’t, conceptual consciousnesses are mistaken (bhrānti) in that they confuse the conceptual appearance with the actual object. However, not all conceptual consciousnesses are erroneous (viparīta). Confusion about an object can occur on two levels: the level of appearance and the level of apprehension. Conceptual consciousnesses that misapprehend their object — for example, thinking a scarecrow is a human being or believing that the person is truly existent — are erroneous and are not reliable cognizers. However, conceptions may also know their objects correctly even though they are mistaken. When we think about cooking food in a pot, the conceptual appearance of the pot mistakenly appears to be a pot. The conceptual cognizer of the pot correctly knows the pot and is useful in cooking a meal. It does not apprehend the pot and the conceptual appearance of the pot to be one — it does not think the conceptual appearance of the pot is this pot. Thus it is not an erroneous mind. However, on the level of appearance, the pot and its conceptual appearance appear to be mixed and this mind is mistaken with respect to its appearing object, the conceptual appearance of a pot, although it is not erroneous with respect to its apprehended object, the pot.

Language and thought are related. When we conceive an object, we give it a name, and when someone says that name, a conceptual appearance of the object appears in our mind. If someone says, “monkey,” we think of a monkey. Can someone who does not know language — such as a baby or an animal — still have conceptions and thoughts? In the Essence of Eloquence Tsongkhapa says that although animals such as cows do not know words and terms, they do have thoughts, and these thoughts enable them to identify their calves.

By observing babies and animals, we can see that they identify things by means of conception, even though they don’t know language. Although a baby does not know the word “mother,” after some time he or she is able to identify a certain person and know this person is helpful. This is due to the conceptual appearance conflating the characteristics of his mother on many different days. He also understands she is very kind, even though he cannot express this understanding in words. A mother dog may smell another animal in the area near her puppies. Although she lacks language, she knows that danger is nearby and responds by protecting her puppies.

Learning to differentiate the way conceptual and nonconceptual consciousnesses apprehend their objects gives us a new and valuable tool to understand how our minds work. It enables us to be more aware of when we are conceptualizing and forming a myriad of opinions and judgments about someone, versus when we are actually experiencing and directly knowing the person. Seeing a person directly is very different from fabricating an image of him and daydreaming about him with our conceptual consciousness. Direct perceivers see the color and shape of food and smell its odor. This is different from imagining its taste and wondering if we will like it. If we think the food will be delicious, attachment will arise. But if the food isn’t as good as we had anticipated, we will be discontent. So many emotions can arise in us based on these thoughts.

Differentiating conceptual and nonconceptual consciousnesses brings into vivid relief how we superimpose our past experiences onto the present and develop false expectations. If a child was bitten by a dog and experienced pain, his memory of that unpleasant experience is a conceptual consciousness. Later, when he sees a similar-looking dog, he remembers the previous experience and the conceptual consciousness conflates the present dog with the previous dog, causing him to become afraid of the dog in front of him even if the present dog is friendly. When he brings his attention to the present dog, he stops conflating the past and present dogs and stops projecting his memory of the previous dog onto his interaction with the present one.

REFLECTION

1.To identify conceptual and nonconceptual consciousnesses in your own experience, look at a color and listen to a sound. Minds that know these things are nonconceptual, sense direct perceivers.

2.Close your eyes. Remember the color, then the sound. These remembering consciousnesses are conceptual mental consciousnesses to which a conceptual appearance appears.

3.Which way of knowing the color and sound is more vivid and immediate, seeing or hearing it directly or remembering it?

4.Which is more useful for understanding how a muscle works — a direct perceiver of the color of the muscle or a conceptual consciousness thinking about the way to strengthen the muscle through correct exercise?

It can be challenging to greet situations and people freshly, without our conceptual consciousnesses superimposing previous pleasant or unpleasant memories or associations on them. Although in some cases our memories may have some truth that gives us useful information, at other times they are overlain with attachment, aversion, and confusion. The Zen expression “beginner’s mind” refers to clearly seeing what is presently in front of us without projecting biased conceptions from the past onto present objects and people.

When we meditate, some of our distractions may be sparked by sense direct perceivers, for example, hearing a sound. If we just notice the sound and return to our object of meditation, the meditation session continues. However, sometimes we start thinking about the sound, “What a loud sound! Who made it? Doesn’t she know I’m trying to meditate?” All these thoughts about the sound and the person making it are conceptual consciousnesses that become a major distraction.

We may think about someone, and an image of her appears to our mental consciousness. This conceptual appearance is not her; it is created by our mind having selected and pieced together a few of her characteristics. Ruminating on this image and on memories of past interactions with her, we generate judgments and opinions. Pretty soon, we find ourselves angry, even though the other person may be across the country. We may spend an entire meditation session being furious and planning what we’re going to say to get revenge, when in fact nothing has happened. All this is due to faulty conceptualization.

REFLECTION

1.In the morning when thinking about who you will meet that day, notice your expectation of how an interaction will go with a person with whom you have had difficulty in the past.

2.Be aware that that person is not here now and today’s interaction has not yet occurred.

3.To what extent will your expectation — which is just a conceptual appearance to your mind — become a self-fulfilling prophesy?

4.Try to release that expectation and approach the person with a relaxed and open mind. How does the interaction differ from your expectation?

Conceptions are involved in cultivating wisdom. The process of studying, reflecting, and meditating on the Buddha’s teachings requires conceptual consciousnesses that give meaning to sounds and squiggles. Remembering what we have learned, reflecting on it, discussing and debating its meaning with others also involve conceptual consciousnesses. When we meditate, our initial understanding of topics such as emptiness is conceptual and our first realization is by means of an inferential cognizer, a conceptual consciousness. Although conceptual realizations cannot substitute for direct perceivers of emptiness, they are a useful and necessary stepping stone to gain a direct perceiver of this slightly obscure phenomena. By meditating on emptiness further, the veil of the conceptual appearance is gradually removed and emptiness appears directly and vividly to the mental consciousness, which is now a yogic direct perceiver.

In this chapter we have explored the varieties of phenomena that make up persons and our world. These include permanent and impermanent phenomena; among impermanent phenomena there are forms, consciousnesses, and abstract phenomena. We explored various way of looking at consciousness including differentiating primary consciousnesses and mental factors and discerning nonconceptual and conceptual consciousnesses. Being able to identify these phenomena and being mindful of their functions and relationships is the gist of understanding the external world of form as well as our internal world of mind. When we later investigate the question of what is the self, we will examine all these phenomena to determine if any of them is the person.