[Y-Indology] Primacy of consciousness

[Guest guest]

Dear Sir/Madame:

 

Could you please sign your name on posts. It's nice to know these little

facts.

 

In response to your questions, consciousness (vijnana, vinnana) is given

primacy in the 12 fold schema of pratitya-samutpada or interdependent

coorigination, as it is the link which is said to represent the first spark

of life.

 

However, in general, the term vijnana is not always given primacy because it

is sometimes used interchangeably with manas, citta etc. In the

Visuddhimagga of Buddhaghosa, there is a passage where he says that citta,

vijnana, and manas are synonyms. There is a passage in the Samyutta Nikaya

which says something similar but I can't remember where, and sometimes

hadaya or hrdaya (heart) is thrown into the mix.

 

Also, Vasubandhu, in his Vimsatika-vrtti states that vijnapti, vijnana,

manas and citta are synonyms. In addition, Asvaghosa, in his poetic works,

does not make a real distinction between any mental terms: here, I'm

especially referring to Asvaghosa's Saundarananda.

 

A few people have done some work on the 5 aggregates: Mathieu Boisvert,

Susan Hamilton, Stefan Anacker (in Seven Works of Vasubandhu). Herbert

Guenther, Bruce C. Hall, Caroline Rhys Davids and Jan Ergardt have also

written some interesting stuff on the translation and understanding of the

different terms on mind etc. in Buddhism.

 

HOpe this helps,

 

Lynken Ghose

 

 

>In the standard Buddhist formulation of the five skandhas - form,

>feelings, perceptions, predispositions and consciousness - is there

>any primacy given to consciousness over the other four skandhas? Here

>I'm looking only at the dialogues of the Buddha for reference and not

>the philosophies of Buddhist schools. I've seen one such reference

>quoted in Warren's Buddhism in Translations. I'd be grateful if the

>knowledgable can point me to other references.

>

>

 

 

 

 

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