BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Buddhism Fifty Verses on the Nature of Consciousness

To all or none,

In another of my threads ,I spoke of the 8forms of Consciousness.
I also spoke of seeds ,that ,I would explain what they meant.
Starting tonite,we will look at the Fifty Verses on the Nature of Consciousness written by a Master named VASUBANDU.
This data comes from the book written by Master THICH NHAT HANH.

PART ONE .STORE CONSIOUSNESS.

ONE
AMind is a field
In which every kind of seed is sown.
This mind-field can also be called
:all the seeds:

Two
In us are infinite varieties of seeds-
Seeds of Samsara,Nirvana,delusion,and Enlightenment,
Seeds of suffering and happiness,seeds of perceptions,names,and words.

This is all for now.
Imagine Buddha Gautama,knew of the subconscious as it is called today.This is a comment that I added to help in comprehending
Store Consciousness
Loong
Part of the Oneness.

To all or none,

Today ,we will look at verses 3-4-5.

Three
Seeds that manifest as body and Mind,
as realms of being,stages, and worlds,
Are ALL stored in our consciousness.
That is why it is called "store"

Four
Some seeds are innate,
handed down by our ancestors.
Some were sown while we were still in the womb,
others were sown when we were children.

Five
Wether transmitted by family,friends,
society,or education,
all our seeds are,by nature,
both individual and collective.



Loong's comment: Like TNH ,I had to reread,reread to understand
the meaning of certain verses.Food for your Meditation


loong
In Harmony with the Universe.

To all or none,
Tonite ,Verses 6-7-8-

Six
The quality of our life
dépends on the quality
of the seeds
that lie deep in our consciousness(store)

Seven
The function of store consciousness
is to receive and maintain
their habit énergies,
so they can manifest in the world ,or remain dormant.

Eight
Manifestations from store consciousness
can be perceived directly in the mode of things-in-themselves,as représentations,or as mere images,
All are included in the Eighteen elements of being.

Enjoy ,the next post shall list the 18 elements .

loong one with all.

To all or none,
As promised here is the definition of the Eighteen elements of being.
Source:

Ayatana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Part of a series on

Buddhism



Āyatana (Pāli; Sanskrit) is a Buddhist term that has been translated as "sense base", "sense-media" or "sense sphere."[1] In Buddhism, there are six internal sense bases (Pali: ajjhattikāni āyatanāni; also known as, "organs", "gates", "doors", "powers" or "roots"[2]) and six external sense bases (bāhirāni āyatanāni or "sense objects"; also known as vishaya or "domains"[3]). Thus, there are six internal-external (organ-object) pairs of sense bases:[4]
eye and visible objects[5]
ear and sound
nose and odor
tongue and taste
body and touch
mind[6] and mental objects[7]

Buddhism and other Indian epistemologies[8][9] identify six "senses" as opposed to the Western identification of five. In Buddhism, "mind" denotes an internal sense organ which interacts with sense objects that include sense impressions, feelings, perceptions and volition.[6][10]

Saḷāyatana (Pāli; Skt. ṣaḍāyatana) refers to all six sense objects and six sense organs and is generally used in the context of the Twelve Causes (nidāna) of the chain of Dependent Origination.[11]

Good Reading

loong
mish mash Buddhist

To all or none,
Tonite,
we shall look at verses,9-10-11

Nine
All manifestations bear the marks
of both the individual and the collective.
The maturation of store consciousness functions in the same way,
in its participation in the different stages and realms of being.

Realm is in my definition a parallel world.

Ten
Unobstructed and indeterminate ,
store cosciousness is continuasly flowing and changing.
At the same time ,it is endowed
with all five universal mental formations.


Below ,I will give the definition of the Five Universal mental
formations.
Eleven
Although impermanent and without a seperate self,
store consciousnous contains all phenomena in the cosmos,both conditioned and unconditioned,
in the form of SEEDS.

Loong sharing and Learning.

To all or none,
As promised ,the definition of the 5 mental formations
Source:Wikipedia

Five universal mental factors

The five universal mental factors (sarvatraga) are:
1.sparśa - contact, contacting awareness, sense impression, touch
2.vedanā - feeling, sensation
3.saṃjñā - perception
4.cetanā - volition
5.manasikara - attention

loong

To all or none

Eleven
Although impermanent and without a separate self,
store consciousness contains all phenomena in the cosmos,
both conditionned and unconditionned,in the form of seeds.

Twelve
Seeds can produce seeds.
Seeds can produce formations.
Formations can produce seeds.
Formations can produce formations.


Thirteen
Seeds and formations
both have the nature of interbeing and interpenetration.
The one is produced by the all.
The all is dependant on the one.

loong's comment;These writings have to be read and reread to be be understood.If you have studyed the sub-conscious as I have ,it will be easyer to comprehend.

Good reflexions!

Loong
part of the Oneness.

To all ,
Fourteen
Store consciousness is neither the same nor different,
Individual or collective.
Same and different inter-are.
Collective and individual give rise to each other.

Fifteen
When delusion(ignorance)is overcome ,understanding is there,
And store consciousness is no longer subject to afflictions,
Store consciousness becomes àGREAT MIRROR WISDOM,reflecting the cosmos in all directions.Its name is now PURE CONSCIOUSNESS.

This is the end of the first part of the Fifty verses.

Loong
Small part of the Oneness.

To all or none

Part II Manas.
little note here.Wiki,defines Manas as follows:Manas often indicates the general thinking faculty.[3] Thinking is closely associated with volitions, because mental activity is one of the ways that volitions manifest themselves: "Having willed, one acts through body, speech, and thoughts."[4] Furthermore, willing is described in terms of deliberate thinking.[5]

Sixteen
Seeds of delusion(ignorance) give rise
to the internal formations of craving and afflictions.
These forces animate our consciousness
as Mind and body manifest themselves.

Seventeen

With store Consciousness as its support,
manas arises,
its function is mentation ,
grasping the seeds it considers to be a "self".

Mentation as per wiki is:Mental or psyche energy or activity is the concept of a principle of activity powering the operation of the mind or psyche.Lisa Erickson ,Shall comment on this definition.

Enough for Today,

loong the learner and sharer

To all or none,
Eighteen

The object of manas is the mark of a self
found in the field of representations
at the point where manas
And store consciousness touch
Nineteen

When I started this section ,,I revealed that the author TNH,
had a hard time comprehending some of the verses!at the age of 16 as a young monk.Being modest as possible ,I neither comprehend ,19
and20.So I shall,write them in case someone more advanced that I
am could shed light upon this incomprehension
As the ground of wholesome and unwholesome
Of the other six manifestating consciousness es,manas continues discriminating.
Its nature is both indeterminate and obscured.

Twenty
Manas goes with the five universals,
with mati of the five particulars,
And with the four major and eight secondary afflictions.
All are indeterminate and obscured.

Loong
I shall do research on the meaning of 19-20






.

To all or none,
As promised I have done research on words that seemed cloudy.Later during the day.I shall give you what I have found.

loong
learner

To all or none,
As promised ,is what I have found up to now.
The 5universals,Very old expressions ,going back to the Greeks.
4Pages of text.

Mati of the Particulars:Developing a spiritual will that can be thought and named.
Next the 4major afflictions are,aging,disease,death,ascetism.
For those who do not know what Ascetism is,is putting oneself through incredible sufferings to attain Enlightenment.
Buddha,when he was still Siddhartha Gautama,was one for I believe 7 years,until he discovered the Middle Way,awakening and becoming
Buddha.
Now for the secondary afflictions 8,here is the list.
Attachment
Anger
Ignorance
Pride
Doubt
Wrong view
Conflicting emotions,
Obscuration concerning the Knowable.

Pheewww,I delivered what I could find.

Hope the explanations will shed a bit of light.
The remainder should be easier to comprehend.

Loong the learner

To all or none,
Twenty-one
As shadows follow form,manas always follows store.
It is a misguided attempt to survive,
Craving for continuation and blind satisfaction.

Twenty-two
When the first stage of the Bodhisattva is attained,
the obstacles of knowledge and afflictions are transformed.
At the tenth stage ,the yogi transforms the belief in a separate self,
And store consciousness IS released from manas.

Next post will be on the Mind consciousness.

Loong

To all,

With reservations:I believe manas to be a part of our mind trying to create "an I ",which does not exist in Buddhism.Only
NON-SELF",EXISTS.

LOONG.

To all,

With reservations:I believe manas to be a part of our mind trying to create "an I ",which does not exist in Buddhism.Only
NON-SELF",EXISTS.

LOONG.

To all,
Did some Wiki,on the tenth stage,of Bodhisattva's.

Each stage is an obtaining of knowledge.The tenth is full transformation of the Bodhisattva's.

Loong

To all
Today we start on Sense Consciousness.
Note before we start,we will be speaking about our human senses,plus,in Buddhism there is a sixth sense ,Mind,
.So Mind,ears,nose,touch,vision ,Taste.
Loong

To all or none,

Twenty Three
With manas as its base
And phenomena as its objects,
Mind consciousness manifests itself.
Its sphere of cognition is the broadest.

Twenty Four
Mind consciousness has three modes of perception.
It has access to the three fields of perception and is capable
Of having three natures .
All mental formations manifest in it -
universal,particular,wholesome,unwholesome,and indeterminate.

This will be enough for today.

Loong

To all or none,
I wanted to stop writing this thread ,however considering the number of visits ,I decided to go on.So today 25-26-27.Which will complete the section on Mind consciousness.

Twenty -Five
Mind consciousness is the root OF ALL ACTIONS AND SPEEÇH.
Its nature is to manifest mental fermentations,but its existence ,
is not continuous.
Mind consciousness gives rise to actions that lead to ripening.
It plays the role of the gardener,sowing all the seeds.

Twenty-Six

Mind consciousness is always functioning
except in states of non-perception(unconscious)Loong
The two attainments ,
Deep sleep ,fainting or coma (in which I disagree ,as far as coma is concerned ,in many cases people can still hear)thus some form is sense consciousness bringing in Mind Consciousness.

Twenty-Seven

Mind consciousness operates in five ways--
in cooperation with the five sense consciousnesses
and independent of them,
dispersed ,concentrated,and unstably.

Loong,s comment:I disagree on certain points because of other readings of the same Master.Also my comprehension of these texts,
and others ,show ,that Mind Consciousness is in function only when the person has conscience.If unconscious,take my open heart surgery
no feelings,were felt by my body .There is another case where a person will not feel any Mind Consciousness is when a meditator
Attains a certain depth or height bringing this person out of such.
This was mentioned by the Master himself in another text.
Always remember that Mind ,is the Creator of our lives,without Mind,we do not exist.

Loong
Mahayana Buddhist

Yes, or I think another way of putting it is that the manas might be described as the different strategies our mind employs to try and avoid the fundamental groundlessness of being. The 'survival' part of us does not want to face this groundlessness, it is terrified of it (some thinkers have said that the ego is our survival instinct gone wild...we will do anything to avoid facing this groundlessness.) And what Buddha says to us is that if we become comfortable with this groundlessness, and let go into it, we are part of the fluidity of all, and free of suffering...

Lisa......the concept of groundlessness is fascinating and yet I can see how it would be frightening to some. I can relate to the definition of our ego being our survival instinct gone wild. Some people demonstrate that more apparently than others.

Great comments!

Hi Debbie, yes, and this idea of groundlessness is really what differentiates Buddhism spiritually...for some that makes Buddhism seem scary and depressing- they think of it as existential. And it is existential, but not depressing as we get comfortable with it. It's freeing.

Dear Teacher,

You mention :freeing:
Got a taste of that this morning.As I write this, I have a smile on my face.Today ,moment by moment ,shall be a glorious day.

Loong
Mahayana Buddhist

To all or none,
PART IV SENSE CONSCIOUSNESSES

Twenty -Eight

Based on mind consciousness,
The five sense consciousnesses,
separately or together with Mind consciousness,
manifest like waves on water.

Twenty-Nine

Their field of perception is things in themselves
Their mode of perception is direct.
Their nature can be wholesome ,unwholesome or neutral.
They operate on the sense organs and the sensation center of the brain.

Thirty

They arise with the
universal,particular,and wholesome,
The basic and secondary unwholesome,
And the indeterminate mental formations.

This concludes the Sense consciousness section

TNH

Loong
Messenger

To all or none,

Part V The Nature of Reality

Thirty-One

Consciousness always includes
Subject and object.
Self and other,inside and outside,are all creations of the conceptual Mind.

Thirty-Two

Consciousness has three parts....
perceiver,perceived,and wholeness.
All seeds and mental formations
Are the same.

Thirty-Three

Birth and Death depend on conditions.
Consciousness is by nature a discriminatory manifestation.
Perceiver and perceived depend on each other
As subjects and object of perception.

Text by TNH

Loong
Messenger

To all or none,,

Thirty-Four

In individual and collective manifestations,
Self and Non-Self are two.
The cycle of birth and death is achieved IN EVERY MOMENT.
Consciousness evolves in the ocean of birth and death.

Thirty-Five

Space,time,and the four great elements
are all manifestations of consciousness.
In the process of inter being and interpenetration,
Our store consciousness ripens in every moment.

Thirty-Six

Beings manifest when conditions are sufficient.
When conditions lack,they no longer appear,
Still,there is no coming ,no going,
No being and no nonbeing.

Thirty-Seven

When a seed gives rise to a formation,
It is the primary cause.
The fourth type of condition
Is the immediacy of continuity.

More tomorrow TNH

Loong the messenger

To all or none

Thirty-Seven

When a seed gives rise to a formation,
it is the primary cause.
The subject of perception depends on the object of perception.
This is object as cause.

Thirty-Eight

Conditions that are favorable or non-obstructing
Are supporting causes.
The fourth type of condition
is the immediacy of continuity.

Thirty-Nine

Interdependent manifestation has two aspects
deluded mind and true mind.
Deluded mind is imaginary construction .
True mind is fulfilled nature.

Loong,scomment:as you can see in Pure Mahayana lineage,
Mind is in two sections.First being the imaginary mind,
The second ,the Fulfilled mind

Now let us go to Tibetan description of Mind.
The Vajrayana or Tibetan lineage ,calls the imaginary mind :Sem:
The Fulfilled mind or creator Mind ,RIGPA.

I myself like to use the tibetan way.Sem, and Rigpa the creator.
Loong
Mahayana Buddhist.

To all or none,

Forty

Construction impregnates the mind with seeds of delusion,bringing about the misery of Samsara.
The fulfilled opens the door of Wisdom
To the realm of such ness.

Forty-One

Meditating on the nature of interdependence
Can transform delusion into Enlightenment.
Samsara and Suchness are not two.
They are one and and the same.

Forty-Two

Even while blooming ,the flower is already in the compost,
And the compost is already in the flower.
Flower and compost are not two.
Delusion and Enlightenment inter-are.

THICH NHAT HANH

To all or none,
Forty-Three

Don't run away from birth and death.
Just look deeply into your mental formations. (Ideas) you have created)
When the true nature of interdependence is seen,the truth of inter being is realized.

Loong,s comment:life and death are both one)

Fourty-four
Practice conscious breathing
To water the seeds of Awakening.
Right View is a Flower
blooming in the field off mindconscious ness.


Forty -Five

When sunlight shines,it helps all vegetation grow.When mindfulness shines,
It Transforms all mental formations.

That is all for today.Heavy stuff to digest ,but is so beautifully written by the Master

Loong
Only the messenger.

To all or none ,
Working with 3books can have one make mistakes.

Verses46-47 of a fantastic importance,I posted in Understanding our mind.
So,so sorry

an imperfect loong

To all or none,

Stubborn Irishman ,has to do it right.so here are the 2 missing verses

To all or none,

Forty -Six

We recognize internal knots and latent tendencies
So we can transform them.
When our habit energies dissipate,
transformation at the base is there.

Forty-Seven

The present moment
Contains past and future.
The secret transformation
Is in the way we handle this very moment.

.........WOW..……...........………........

Loong

To all or none,

Today we shall the writing the end of the Fifty-Verses,by Vasubandu.

Forty-Eight

Transformation takes place
In our daily life,
to make the work of transformation easy,
practice with a Sangha .

Forty-Nine

Nothing is Born ,nothing Dies.
Nothing to hold to ,nothing to Release.Samsara is Nirvana
There is nothing to attain.

Fifty

When we realize that afflictions are no other than Enlightenment,
we can ride the waves of birth and death in peace,
Traveling in the boat of compassion on the ocean of delusion,
smiling the smile of no fear.

Loong,s comment:All the sufferings,all the joys we thought we lived were mere Illusions,created by the mind.
As I wrote the last sentence ,smiling the smile of no-fear,
I smiled.

Loong
Just part of the grand Illusion.