Inside Vasubandhu's Yogacara: A Practitioner's Guide by Ben Connelly

Author:Ben Connelly [Connelly, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Wisdom Publications
Published: 2016-12-05T16:00:00+00:00

Organ /

Sense Base

Consciousness

Sense Object

Eye

Eye Consciousness

Sight

Ear

Ear Consciousness

Sound

Nose

Nose Consciousness

Smell

Tongue

Tongue Consciousness

Taste

Body

Body Consciousness

Touch

Manas

Mano / Thought Consciousness

Thought—and all the other sense objects

This verse tells us that this awareness, knowing, mind, or thought consciousness always manifests except in a few circumstances: the realm of no thought, the two thought-­free meditation states, unconsciousness, and thought-­free sleep. Sometimes when we sleep, we dream, which means thought consciousness manifests, but sometimes there is no thought consciousness; this is thought-­free sleep. It is also sometimes true that there is no awareness when one is in a coma, under the influence of powerful drugs, or unconscious for some other reason. There are also states of deep meditation where no awareness appears. These are the two specific meditation states that Vasubandhu references here. To be clear, this not does describe a state of meditation where there are no words moving through your mind, but there is awareness. Only when there is no awareness at all is one in thought-­free meditation.

The reference to “the realm of no-­thought” is the only thing in the “Thirty Verses” that sits outside of the realm of twenty-­first-­century rational thought. This is a plane of existence occupied by beings who have no thought at any time. In Buddhist literature, there are many realms: hells, heavens, the realms of fighting spirits and animals, of humans, as well as the realm of no-­thought. It is popular in the modern world to explain these as psychological realms or archetypal realms. If one reads ancient Indian texts, however, it seems quite clear that people understood these as literal realms in which one could be reborn. Although a great deal of the “Thirty Verses” is devoted to working with karma, at no other point do they present anything explicitly pertaining to rebirth. All the teachings in this work, so far, have been perfectly understandable and applicable to practicing to be well and promote wellness in this very life. Yet, there is this mention of the realm of no-­thought. I’ll leave the subject of rebirth to others and just ask this: If what we’re seeing is a projection of our karma and we cannot ultimately know what the “external” world is, as Vasubandhu states, does it really matter whether the realm of no-­thought is a separate plane of existence or merely a psychological realm? Either way, this moment is our opportunity to practice for the well-­being of the world. If we find ourselves in the realm of no-­thought, we may just have to take a break from this noble work and resume when we are reborn where thought manifests. If we don’t find ourselves in the realm of no-­thought, let’s take care of what is here in our awareness.

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