Mindstream

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Mindstream, not to be conflated with (though informed by) stream of consciousness, is a compound lexical item composed of mind and stream. In Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism) it may be understood as an upāya (Sanskrit) doctrine of the nonlocal, atemporal[1] metaphorical stream of moments[2](Tibetan: bkod pa thig le[3]) or 'quanta of consciousness' (Tibetan: thig le; Sanskrit: Bindu) proceeding endlessly in a lifetime, between lifetimes (Tibetan: Bardo), from lifetime to lifetime, prior to engagement in the Bhavacakra of Samsara and beyond as an inclusive 'continuum' (Tibetan: rgyud) rather than an individuated, separate, or discrete perceptual, cognitive, or experiential entity, as in the conception of the Ātman. Waldron (undated) states:

Indian Buddhists see the 'evolution' of mind i[n] terms of the continuity of individual mind-streams from one lifetime to the next, with karma as the basic causal mechanism whereby transformations are transmitted from one life to the next.[4]

Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1996: unpaginated) in contextualizing and redressing what he believes to be the general misconception of anātman (rendered as "no self") and ātman (rendered as "self"), in relation to the view he holds of the intention of Shakyamuni Buddha, states:

...the Buddha was asked point-blank whether or not there was a self, he refused to answer. When later asked why, he said that to hold either that there is a self or that there is no self is to fall into extreme forms of wrong view that make the path of Buddhist practice impossible.[5]

This clear evocation of what later became canonized in Buddhist discourse as Madhyamika or "middle way", is key to tender a description of the ineffable Mysterium Magnum of the "Great Continuum" that is rendered in English as "Mindstream": the nondual resolution of ātman and anātman.

In the entwined Dzogchen traditions of Bönpo and Nyingmapa, the Mindstream is constituted by a continuum of gankyil comprised of the Five Pure Lights of the Five Wisdoms which unite the trikaya. These 'tantric correlations' (or Twilight Language) are evident in the iconographic representation of the Five Jinas[6] and the saṃpanna-krama of the gankyil and mandala in Dzogchen sādhana. The 'supreme siddhi' or 'absolute bodhicitta' of the Dzogchenpa is when the Mindstream of their 'bodymind' (a rendering of namarupa) is 'released' (a rendering of Nirvana) as the Rainbow Body.

Capriles (2004: p.35) defines the 'consciousness of the base-of-all' (Skt., alayavijñana; Tib., kunzhi namshee) as congruent with the 'Mindstream' (Skt., santana; Tib., gyü) and mentions vasanas, bijas, and tathata:

The consciousness of the base-of-all was not conceived as an immutable absolute, which is how the Atman of Hinduism is described; in agreement with the Hinayana idea of a succession of instants of knowledge, it was explained as a continually changing stream of consciousness (Skt., santana; Tib., gyü), and was said to be the vehicle that carries the karmic imprints (vasanas or bijas) that go from one life to the next. In turn, from the standpoint of experience, the consciousness of the base-of-all is an ample condition that yogis may find by absorption. Though the consciousness of the base-of-all is of the nature of thatness (Skt., tathata; Tib., dezhinnyia)—the absolute nature that is the single constituent of all entities—this consciousness is also the root of samsara.[7]

Contents

[edit] Nomenclature and etymology

The nomenclature and etymology of the Mindstream (Tibetan: dam pa'i byin rlabs or sems-rgyud; Sanskrit: citta-santāna) is convoluted and tied to: the historical context of Buddhism in India; the historical development of Buddhism; the Silk Road transmission of Buddhism, the syncretic and dialogic doctrinal development of Buddhism; and to the secession of Buddhism from, and its persistent entwining relationship with, Sanatana Dharma and other Indian religions, Chinese religions and Bön.

[edit] 心相續 (Chinese)

The Chinese rendering of 'Mindstream ' (Tibetan: sems kyi rgyud) is constituted by three characters: 心 (Romanized: sam) 相 (Romanized: soeng) 續 (Romanized: zuk).

[edit] 心

CantoDict Project Online (2007) defines the character 心 (sam) as:

[1] [n] heart [2] mind [3] conscience; moral nature [4] intention; idea; ambition; design [5] [n] core; middle; center; inside [6] one of the 28 constellations [7] Kangxi radical 61[8]

[edit] 相

CantoDict Project Online (2007) defines the character 相 (soeng) as:

{1)[1] [v] examine; study; read; [2] [n] countenance; appearance; facial features; looks; bearing; posture [3] [n] prime minister (in feudal times) [4] [v] assist; help {2)[1] each other; one another; mutually; reciprocal [2] substance. [9]

[edit] 續

CantoDict Project Online (2007) defines the character 續 (zuk) as:

[a] continue; carry on [b] succeed.[10]

[edit] Citta-saṃtāna (Sanskrit)

Citta (Sanskrit) holds the semantic field of "that which is conscious", "the act of mental apprehension known as ordinary consciousness", "the conventional and relative mind/heart".[11] Citta has two aspects: "...Its two aspects are 'attending to,' and, 'collecting' of impressions or traces (Sanskrit: vāsanā) cf. vijñāna."[12] Citta is often rendered as "sems" in Tibetan.

Saṃtāna or Santāna (Sanskrit) holds the semantic field of "eternal", "continuum", "a series of momentary events", "life-stream".[13]

In the Sanskrit language, citta-santāna may be parsed as per the analyses of Keown, et. al. (2003: p.62) who state:

Literally, "the stream of mind", a general term used to indicate the continuity of the personality of an individual in the absence of the permanently abiding 'self' (ātman) that Buddhism denies."[14]

[edit] dam pa'i byin rlabs (Tibetan)

In the Tibetan language, dam pa'i byin rlabs may be parsed into dam pa'i which contains the semantic field of "flow", "stream"; whilst the semantic field of byin rlabs holds "blessing", "sacred", "empowerment", "inspiration". Therefore, "empowering flow from the sacred" which has been rendered into English as "mindstream".

[edit] Sems-rgyud or sems kyi rgyud (Tibetan)

The Tibetan term rgyud holds the semantic field of "continuum". Interestingly, it is the term that Tibetan 'translators' (Tibetan: lotsawa) employed to translate and render the Sanskrit term "tantra".[15]

[edit] Mental continuum

Berzin (2007) identifies "mental continuum" as Tibetan: sems-rgyud and Sanskrit: "santana" and defines it as:

The stream of continuity of mental activity (mind, awareness) of an individual being, which has no beginning, which continues even into Buddhahood, and, according to Mahayana, has no end. According to the Hinayana tenets, it comes to an end when an arhat or Buddha dies. Also called a "mind-stream."[16]

[edit] Metaphoric foundation

There are two entwined mindstreams according to the Two Truths, the absolute and relative, that are ultimately non-dual. The Divine Mindstream of 'consciousness' which is engaged in the phowa sadhana, for example; and the mindstream of thought, ideation (Tibetan: sem; Sanskrit: manas) (vṛtti-citta[17]) and which James named "Stream of Consciousness", for example; are founded upon the metaphor of the stream which is endemic to Buddhist literature and worldview.

Sogyal Rinpoche (1994: p.73) frames the importance of the stream metaphor in relation to meditation and the nature of mind, the objective of meditative sadhana:

In the ancient meditation instructions, it is said that at the beginning thoughts will arrive one on top of another, uninterrupted, like a steep mountain waterfall. Gradually, as you perfect meditation, thoughts become like the water in a deep, narrow gorge, then a great river slowly winding its way down to the sea, and finally the mind becomes like a still and placid ocean, ruffled by only the occasional ripple or wave.[18]

As Bucknell, et. al. (1986: p.112-113) in linking Tipiṭaka, Mahāmudrā and David-Néel state:

In Buddhist literature the mental condition in which sequences of imagery and verbalizing run on endlessly is often compared to a flowing stream. We find in the oldest section of the Tipiṭaka the term 'stream of consciousness' (viññāṇa-sotaṃ).[19] The same metaphor is often found in the Tibetan literature. The guru Padma Karpo spoke of 'thoughts...following one after the other as if in a continuous stream';[20] Mipham Nampar Gyalba observed that the 'stream of images flows unbroken';[21] and in the Vow of Mahāmudrā, there is reference to 'the mind river'.[22] This manner of speaking is also common at the present day. Tarthang Tülku refers to 'the stream of mental images'[23] and 'the flow of thoughts and images';[24] and David-Neel, in a discussion of the meditation practices she observed in Tibet, speaks of 'the continual, swift, flowing stream of thoughts and mental images...'[25]
The stream metaphor has also been found appropriate by western psychologists. William James wrote: 'It flows. A "river" or a "stream" are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it hereafter, let us call it the stream of thought, of consciousness, or of subjective life.[26] James's term 'stream of consciousness' has since become widely adopted in a variety of contexts.

[edit] Historical development of the Mindstream doctrine

Manjushrimitra states in the Bodhicittabhavana, a seminal early text of Ati Yoga that the: "The mental-continuum (citta-santana) is without boundaries or extension; it is not one thing, nor supported by anything."[27]

Mindstream is a conflation subsuming 'heartmind' (Sanskrit: bodhi-citta) and 'wisdom-mind' (Sanskrit: jnana-dharmakaya; Tibetan: ye-shes chos-sku).

Lusthaus (undated) in mapping the development and doctrinal relationships of ālaya-vijñāna, tathāgatagarbha, Yogācāra, ātman, Abhidharma, prakṛti and the Mindstream states:

Several Yogācāra notions basic to the Abhidharma wing [of Yogācāra] came under severe attack by other Buddhists, especially the notion of ālaya-vijñāna, which was denounced as something akin to the Hindu notions of ātman (permament, invariant self) and prakṛti (primordial substrative nature from which all mental, emotional and physical things evolve). Eventually the critiques became so entrenched that the Abhidharma wing atrophied. By the end of the eighth century it was ecliped by the logico-epistemic tradition [of Yogācāra] and by a hybrid school that combined basic Yogācāra doctrines with Tathāgatagarbha thought. The logico-epistemological wing in part side-stepped the critique by using the term citta-santāna, "mind-stream", instead of ālaya-vijñāna, for what amounted to roughly the same idea. It was easier to deny that a "stream" represented a reified self. On the other hand, the Tathāgatagarbha hybrid school was no stranger to the charge of smuggling notions of selfhood into its doctrines, since, for example, it explicitly defined the tathāgatagarbha as "permanent, pleasurable, self, and pure (nitya, sukha, ātman, śuddha. Many Tathāgatagarbha texts, in fact, argue for the acceptance of selfhood (ātman) as a sign of higher accomplishment. The hybrid school attempted to conflate tathāgatagarbha with the ālaya-vijñāna.[28]

[edit] Mindstream in sadhana

Buddhist and Hindu Tantric sadhana, and particularly that entwined heritage promulgated by the Mahasiddha, involve the sadhaka 'generating a linkage' kye-rim between their mindstream with that of a guru or yidam as a precursor to 'fully aspecting' dzog-rim their yidam and ishta-deva and their "spiritual personality".[29] The mindstream and the imaginal interiority of visualization are employed in the kye-rim mode of meditative trance sadhana and the internal construction of the buddhafield, mandala and refuge tree.

[edit] Universality

Though a conceptual mystery, mindstream may be conceived as nonlinear and wholistic. The medium and conduit of mindstream is æther or space and is unbounded by temporality or locality. Welwood describes it in this way:

If the contents of mind are like pails and buckets floating in a stream, and the mindstream is like the dynamic flowing of the water, pure awareness is like the water itself in its essential wetness. Sometimes the water is still, sometimes it is turbulent; yet it always remains as it is – wet, fluid, watery. In the same way, pure awareness is never confined [n]or disrupted by any mind-state. Therefore, it is the source of liberation and true equanimity. (Welwood, 2000)

Welwood introduces "pure awareness", the essence-quality of the mindstream, and may be considered synonymous with 'natural mind' rigpa (Tibetan) or the primordial and principal constitutional consciousness of being and accessible by (and the point of origin of) all sentient beings (though uncreated and pre-existing) and the manifest Universe. Welwood (2000: unpaginated) links the mindstream with the trikaya:

In terms of the Buddhist teaching of the three kayas, we could say that the contents of consciousness belong to the nirmanakaya, the realm of manifest form. The pulsation of the mindstream, with its alternation between movement and stillness, belongs to the sambhogakaya, the realm of energy flow. And the larger, open ground of awareness, first discovered in moments of stillness, is the dharmakaya, the realm of pure being (the thing-in-itself), eternally present, spontaneous, and free of entrapment in any form whatsoever. (Welwood, 2000)

The Buddhist and Bön teachings of mindstream and heartmind inform one another, as does bodymind. As Chodron (1991) states: "Just as the body is a 'continuity' even though it has parts, the mindstream or consciousness is also a 'continuity', although it has parts." Hawter (1995) succinctly relates that: "All of our actions lay down imprints on our mindstream which have the potential to ripen at some time in the future." This should not imply that the mindstream is linear and only flows one way, but the mindstream is understood in the Himalayan Tradition to flow all ways, always. For Morrell (1999): "The Mahayanists also contend that the mind forms a continuous, unending and unbroken mindstream or flow of consciousness, from beginningless time and indestructible. Thoughts and feelings in the mindstream are regarded as of supreme importance to Buddhist practice."

Kelzang Gyatso (1708-1757 CE), His Holiness Dalai Lama VII is translated in Mullin (1982) as stating that: "all things in the world and beyond [a]re simply projections of names and thoughts. Not even the tiniest atom exists by itself, [i]ndependently [or] in its own right" (Mullin, 1982: 53). Therefore, the Universe[30][31][32] is the thoughtform of the collective mindstream of all sentient beings (and there is nothing which is non-sentient; pansentience[33]). This pansentient totality is the great continuum, the "great perfection" or "total completion" (Tibetan: rdzog pa chen po) of Dzogchen and Ati Yoga (Tibetan: shin tu rnal 'byor where "shin tu" holds the semantic field "total", "complete", "absolute" and "rnal 'byor" holds the semantic field of "yoga"; Sanskrit: "Ati" holds the semantic field "primordial", "original", "first"; "yoga" holds the semantic field "communion", "union").

[edit] Iconography

For an example of an iconographic representation of the mindstream refer this 'icon' (Tibetan: thangka) of Tapihritsa.

[edit] Use and application

In an unknown (though insightful) commentator's purport to Patanjali's Yoga Sutras Sutra I.34, pranayama, meditation on the breath, is linked to the mindstream:

Thus the outflow of the breath, being associated with release, it is used to release the negative energy, thoughts, and emotions which interrupt the Divine mind-stream. Since breath is related to our basic energy, in this light then, we can also understand how we can can regulate the cit-prana and soothe and clarify the mind by bringing our awareness back to the exhalation of the breath and the regulation of the breath. This will bring freshness and clarification to the mindstream.[34]

When His Holiness the Dalai Lama is asked "what is the nature of the mindstream that reincarnates from lifetime to lifetime?" (1997) he answers making reference to the soul, continuum, the Sakya master Rendawa, the composite of body and mind, the aggregates, alayavijnana, and the Mind-Only school, as follows:

If one understands the term "soul" as a continuum of individuality from moment to moment, from lifetime to lifetime, then one can say that Buddhism also accepts a concept of soul; there is a kind of continuum of consciousness. From that point of view, the debate on whether or not there is a soul becomes strictly semantic. However, in the Buddhist doctrine of selflessness, or "no soul" theory, the understanding is that there is no eternal, unchanging, abiding, permanent self called "soul." That is what is being denied in Buddhism.

Buddhism does not deny the continuum of consciousness. Because of this, we find some Tibetan scholars, such as the Sakya master Rendawa, who accept that there is such a thing as self or soul, the "kangsak ki dak" (Tib. gang zag gi bdag). However, the same word, the "kangsak ki dak," the self, or person, or personal self, or identity, is at the same time denied by many other scholars.

We find diverse opinions, even among Buddhist scholars, as to what exactly the nature of self is, what exactly that thing or entity is that continues from one moment to the next moment, from one lifetime to the next lifetime. Some try to locate it within the aggregates, the composite of body and mind. Some explain it in terms of a designation based on the body and mind composite, and so on.... One of the divisions of [the "Mind-Only"] school maintains there is a special continuum of consciousness called alayavijnana which is the fundamental consciousness.

Waldron links Vasubandhu, bhavachakra, klesha and karma:

Vasubandhu describes this classic account of cyclic causality in terms of one's 'mind stream': "the mind stream (santana) increases gradually by the mental afflictions (klesa) and by actions (karma), and goes again to the next world. In this way the circle of existence is without beginning (anadibhavacakraka)." (AKBh III 19a-d; Poussin, tome 2, pp. 57-59; Shastri, pp. 433-34.) [35]

Vajranatha states:

When we look inside of ourselves and just observe, we find that there is only a stream of consciousness (T. shes-rgyud, S. vijnana-santana). The Buddha introduced this term long before William James did some hundred years ago. When we say “my mind”, this refers not to a thing or a vestment. Yet this stream of consciousness has a continuity and an individuality. Our stream of consciousness is separate from those of other people. There are individual streams of consciousness and individual mental processes. We are not all One Mind. If we were, as soon as one of us realized something, all of us would simultaneously realize it.[36]

[edit] Mindstream and initiation

Yuthok et. al. (1997: p.46) elucidates the intimate connection of the mindstream, initiation and mandala:

It is only through initiation that the blessings of...a mandala may be stamped on the individual's mindstream. Initiation can be given and received only when the time, location and circumstances are appropriate. Only an enlightened, undisputed master may bestow it. The initiation is not given to large crowds of people. It may be received only by disciples who are receptive by virtue of their faith and devotion. If the transmission is successful, disciples will experience it at some level. This may be physical, mental or verbal. People who receive the physical form of blessing sometimes move about and shake. Those who receive verbal blessings may utter all sorts of mantras that they never heard before, which block out their perception of normal sounds. When the mindstream is blessed, the mind is inundated with a new vision of reality. Initiations normally rely on an external mandala, usually painted in sand or on cloth. Once a disciple is initiated, he must re-initiate himself daily through regular practice. Eventually, this will lead him or her to realisation.[37]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Nonlocal and atemporal may be resolved into a qualification of omnipresent.
  2. ^ The lexical item 'Moment', has been employed in the sense of its etymon "momentum" though the 'stream', 'array' or 'procession' is atemporal and nonlocal.
  3. ^ Source: [1] (accessed: January 8, 2008)
  4. ^ Waldron, William S. (undated). Buddhist Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Thinking about 'Thoughts without a Thinker'. Source: [2] (accessed: November 1, 2007)
  5. ^ Bhikkhu, Thanissaro (1996). No-self or Not-self?. Source: [3] (accessed: December 5, 2007)
  6. ^ Bucknell, Roderick & Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986). The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. Curzon Press: London. ISBN 0-312-82540-4
  7. ^ Capriles, Elías (2004). Clear Discrimination of Views Pointing at the Definitive Meaning: the Four Philosophical Schools of the Sutrayana Traditionally Taught in Tibet with Reference to the Dzogchen Teachings. Source: [4] (accessed: January 15, 2008)
  8. ^ CantoDict Project Online (2007). 心 (sam). Source: [5] (accessed: Wednesday Januaru 23, 2008)
  9. ^ CantoDict Project Online (2007). 相 (soeng). Source: [6] (accessed: Wednesday Januaru 23, 2008)
  10. ^ CantoDict Project Online (2007). 續 (zuk). Source: [7] (accessed: Wednesday Januaru 23, 2008)
  11. ^ Source: [8] (accessed: December 13, 2007)
  12. ^ Source: [9] (accessed: December 13, 2007)
  13. ^ Source: [10] (accessed: December 13, 2007)
  14. ^ Keown, Damien (ed.) with Hodge, Stephen; Jones, Charles; Tinti, Paola (2003). A Dictionary of Buddhism. Great Britain, Oxford: Oxford University Press. P.62. ISBN 0-19-860560-9
  15. ^ Berzin, Alexander (2002; 2007). Making Sense of Tantra. Source: [11] (accessed: December 13, 2007)
  16. ^ Berzin, Alexander (2007). Glossary of English Terms (access: November 1, 2007))
  17. ^ "Moving Mind" [12]
  18. ^ Rinpoche, Sogyal (1994). The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. London, UK: Rider. ISBN 0 7126 5752 5 (paperback). P.73
  19. ^ D iii 105. See Vishwanath Pandey, 'Early Buddhist Conception of Consciousness', Bharatiya Vidya 29 (1972), p. 68, note 95.
  20. ^ As quoted in Beyer, The Buddhist Experience, p.157. See also Evans-Wentz, Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines, p.129.,
  21. ^ Calm and Clear, Mi-pham 'Jam-dbyangs rnam-gyal rgya-mtsho, transl. by Tarthang Tülku (Emerville, Calif.: Dharma, 1973), p.105.
  22. ^ See Garma C. C. Chang, Teachings of Tibetan Yoga (New York: University Books, 1963), p.35.
  23. ^ Tarthang, Calm and Clear, p.77.
  24. ^ Tarthang, Openness Mind, p.67.
  25. ^ David-Neel, Magic and Mystery in Tibet, p.245.
  26. ^ William James, The Principles of Psychology (London: macmillan, 1901), vol. I, p.239. (Emphasis in original.)
  27. ^ Manjushrimitra (undated). Bodhicittabhavana. NB: An English rendering of this text by Kunpal Tulku (2005) is entitled The Cultivation of Enlightened Mind. This is an English rendering from the Tibetan translation of Sri Simha and the Tibetan translator Bhikshu Vairocanaraksita, the original text is no longer extant. Source: [13] (accessed: November 28, 2007)
  28. ^ Lusthaus, Dan (undated). What is and isn't Yogācāra. Source: [14] (accessed: December 4, 2007)
  29. ^ Dowman, Keith (1984). Introduction to Masters of Mahamudra. Source: [15] (accessed: December 4, 2007)
  30. ^ The Universe here is qualified by Rawson (1991: p.9) who states that even before 400 CE: "...the classic Lotus Sutra had developed the intuition that the universe is unknowably vast, containing millions upon millions of cosmoses and worlds 'numberless as the sand-grains of the Ganges river', all continuously arising from and falling back into an indefinable Ultimate." In this context the "indefinable Ultimate" may be equated with dharmakaya. In addition, the term Multiverse or Metaverse may be more apt, though still in the sense of the etymology of the Universe in 'revolving as one'.
  31. ^ A footnote in the English rendering of Manjushrimitra's Bodhicittabhavana, by Kunpal Tulku (2005) entitled The Cultivation of Enlightened Mind states that:

    In Buddhist terminology the Universe is referred to as a Tri-sahasra-mahasahasra-dhatu. This describes a Universe consisting of galaxies of (1000)3 x 1000 world-systems with an almost unimaginable event horizon. In every direction these world-systems stretch out, some circling distant uninhabited hot stellar nebula, others rich in sentient beings. When we gaze upwards at the stars, we are gazing toward countless civilizations spanning across the shoreless ocean of the night sky. And yet what we see is only a fraction of the Universe as such. Source: [16] (accessed: November 28, 2007)

  32. ^ Patrul Rinpoche et. al. (1994: p.407) define 'Cosmos of a billion universes' (Tibetan: stong gsum) as :

    ...a cosmos composed of one billion (10003) universes like ours and corresponding to the area of activity of one Buddha.

    Source: Rinpoche, Patrul (author); Brown, Kerry (ed.); and Sharma, Sima (ed.)(1994). The Words of My Perfect Teacher (Tibetan title: kunzang lama'i shelung). Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. With a forward by the Dalai Lama. San Francisco, California, USA: HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 0-06-066449-5 (cloth: alk. paper). p.407
  33. ^ Orofino (1990: p.82) in discussing the Bönpo Dzogchenpa view of Kun-gzhi (Tibetan: Kun-gzhi) (the "all-base") renders into English an extract from the Kun-gzhi'i zhal-shes sgrong-ma, a philosophical tract from the Zhang-zhung snyan-rgyud, the discourse of Tapihritsa who in a vision, appeared to sNang-bzher lod-po, who (by implication) transcribed the discourse (fol. 1a et seq.):
    'Here will be given the oral teaching which removes doubts on the natural state of kun-gzhi: like the sky, it may appear to be divided into external and internal. Some people with limited minds think that the Wisdom Mind is found within one's own mind but does not pervade external objects. The space of the sky, for example, totally and uniformly pervades all phenomenal existence without any difference between inside and outside, but in constructing a house one separates internal from external space, and one gives this internal space a form, be it square, tringular, oval or round, according to the space the house takes. In the same way the Wisdom Mind totally and uniformly pervades saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, without a division of internal and external. There is no separation of external and internal within space in itself: just as it pervades the external, so it also pervades the internal. Thus the mind of living beings distinguishes dualistically an original mind and an internal one. But because internal and external do not exist, neither do these limits. Self-originated wisdom, just as it pervades the consciousness of every individual also pervades all phenomenal objective existence and the entire external universe. It expands in all directions without a centre or a periphery, having no inside or outside.' Orofino, Giacomella (translation & commentary) (1990). Sacred Tibetan Teachings on Death and Liberation: Texts from the most Ancient Traditions of Tibet. Preface by Namkhai Norbu. Bridport, Dorset, U.K.: Prism Press. ISBN 1 85327 049 0. p.82.
  34. ^ http://www.rainbowbody.net/HeartMind/Yogasutra1.htm (accessed: January 17, 2007)
  35. ^ Waldron, William S. (undated). Buddhist Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Thinking about 'Thoughts without a Thinker'. Source: [17] (accessed: November 1, 2007)
  36. ^ Vajranatha (2001). Dzogchen and Meditation. Source: [18] (accessed: November 1, 2007)
  37. ^ Yuthok, Choedak (1997). Lamdre: Dawn of Enlightenment. (Transcribed and edited by Pauline Westwood with valued assistance from Ot Rastsaphong, Rob Small, Brett Wagland and Whitethorn. Cover Design: Rob Small) Canberra, Australia: Gorum Publications. ISBN 0 9587085 0 9. Source: [19] (accessed: January 3, 2008)

[edit] References

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  • James, William. (1890). The Principles of Psychology. New York: Holt.
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  • Morrell, Peter (1999). The Three Poisons And The Three Jewels: An Outline Of The Buddhist Schools. http://www.homeoint.org/morrell/buddhism/outline.htm (accessed: Saturday January 13, 2007)
  • Mullin, Glenn H. (1982). Selected Works of the Dalai Lama VII. Snow Lion, USA.
  • Rawson, Philip (1991). Sacred Tibet. London, Thames and Hudson. ISBN(?) 90-70359.
  • Chodron, Thubten (1991). Basic Buddhist Topics: Mind, Rebirth, Cyclic Existence and Enlightenment (transcript). Seattle: Dharma Friendship Foundation. Source: http://www.thubtenchodron.org/GradualPathToEnlightenment/LR_003_BasicTopics_May91.pdf (accessed: Sunday March 25, 2007)
  • Lama, Dalai (1997). Healing Anger: The Power of Patience from a Buddhist Perspective. Translated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa. Snow Lion Publications. Source: [20] (accessed: Sunday March 25, 2007)
  • Waldron, William S. (undated). Buddhist Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Thinking about 'Thoughts without a Thinker'. Source: [21] (accessed: November 1, 2007).
  • Waldron, William S. (undated). How Innovative is the Ālayavijñāna?: The ālayavijñāna in the context of canonical and Abhidharma vijñāna theory. Source: [22] (accessed: January 23, 2008)
  • Gradinarov, Plamen (2005). Husserl and Yogacara. "Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology", Volume 5, Edition 1, April 2005. Source: [23] (accessed: November 1, 2007)

[edit] External links

  • A quotation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama discusses the nature of the mindstream and how it is placed within the Vajrayana tradition

NB: Refer July 15: http://www.snowlionpub.com/pages/dlquote.php (accessed: December 13, 2007)