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Duy Bieu Hoc No7
Consciousness always implies a subject of cognition and an object of cognition; to perceive is always to perceive something. These two parts coexist like left and right, and without an object, there can be no subject. Consciousness is categorized by its functions, often described as:
- Citta (mind): the storehouse or alayavijnana that maintains and preserves all seeds and experiences.
- Manas (mentation): the function that attaches to the storehouse, mistakenly recognizing it as a self.
- Vijnana (discrimination): the sixth consciousness and the five sense consciousnesses that perceive the world.
Every mental formation contains both subject and object, including the five universal mental formations: sparśa (touching), manaskāra (attention), vedanā (feeling), saṃjñā (perception), and cetanā (volition). The storehouse consciousness functions as the earth, preserving seeds of birth and death, nirvana, delusion, enlightenment, suffering, joy, names, and images. These seeds manifest as the five rivers of our person: form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness. By using mindfulness and the three keys of impermanence, non-self, and nirvana, we can unlock the reality of these phenomena and touch their ultimate dimension.
Reality is a construction of individual and collective consciousness. Objects we perceive are not independent entities but objects of our own consciousness, often influenced by distorted perceptions and mental constructions. This manifestation includes the three realms—the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the realm of no form—and the two worlds: tình thế gian (the world of sentient beings) and khí thế gian (the environment). Master Xuanzang describes the work of the eighth consciousness as “Thọ huân, trì chủng, căn, thân, khí”, meaning it receives and maintains seeds, the six sense organs (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind), the body, and the environment. Through practice, we move through the ten stages of the Bodhisattva, such as hoan hỷ địa (the stage of joy), transforming suffering into the insight of “phiền não tức bồ đề”.
Part of the following collection
Duy Bieu Hoc 9