Luminous mind
Encyclopedia
Luminous mind (Pali
, pabhassara citta) is a term attributed to the Buddha
in the Nikayas. The mind is said to be "luminous" whether or not it is tainted by mental defilements.
The statement is given no direct doctrinal explanation in the Pali discourses, but later Buddhist schools explained it using various concepts developed by them. The Theravada
school identifies the "luminous mind" with the bhavanga
, a concept first proposed in the Theravada Abhidhamma. The later schools of the Mahayana
identify it with both the Mahayana concepts of bodhicitta
and tathagatagarbha. The idea is also connected with features of Dzogchen
thought.
(A.I.8-10) the Buddha states: "Luminous, monks, is the mind. And it is defiled by incoming defilements." The discourses indicate that the mind's natural radiance can be made manifest by meditation.
Ajahn Mun, the leading figure behind the modern Thai Forest Tradition
, comments on this verse:
Similarly, Ajahn Thate
remarks:
The Buddha says that if developed, the mind is supremely "pliable" and "workable." A verse with wording parallel to that of A.I.8-10 and surrounding verses occurs at S.V.92-32. It indicates that when the mind is defiled by the five hindrances
, it is neither pliable, nor workable, nor luminous, nor perfectly concentrated for the destruction of the fetters
. S.V.92-93 also compares the defilements of the mind to impurities in gold ore, implying that just as gold does not manifest its intrinsic radiance when it is in its raw state mixed with impurities, so is the intrinsic radiance of the mind not apparent when it is defiled by the hindrances. A.I.253-255 also uses the simile of gold-refining to illustrate the process of meditative development. A gold-refiner washes gold ore three times to get rid of gross, moderate, and fine defilements, and then properly smelts it until it is free of dross; only then is it "pliable, workable, brightly shining, no longer brittle" and ready to be fashioned into a final object. The sutta compares this process with that of a monk as he gets rid of various mental defilements before he attains unification of mind
, which is then used for spiritual attainments.
Ajahn Maha Boowa's comments on A.I.8-10 may seem to contradict those of his teacher Ajahn Mun. Ajahns Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro write that rather than contradicting his teacher, which Ajahn Maha Boowa would not do, his comments should be read as a warning of the danger of subtle forms of identification and attachment, even to radiance itself.
. The discourses do not support seeing the "luminous mind" as "nirvana within" which exists prior to liberation. While the Canon does not support the identification of the "luminous mind" in its raw state with nirvanic consciousness, passages could be taken to imply that it can be transformed into the latter. Upon the destruction of the fetters, according to one scholar, "the shining nibbanic consciousness flashes out of the womb of arahantship, being without object or support, so transcending all limitations."
Angutta Nikaya Atthakatha
identifies the luminous mind as the bhavanga
, the "ground of becoming" or "latent dynamic continuum", which is the most fundamental level of mental functioning in the Theravada Abhidhammic scheme. Thanissaro Bhikkhu holds that the commentaries' identification of the luminous mind with the bhavanga is problematic, but Peter Harvey finds it to be a plausible interpretation.
, the altruistic "spirit of awakening." The Astasahasrika Perfection of Wisdom Sutra describes bodhicitta thus: "That citta is no citta since it is by nature brightly shining." This is in accord with Anguttara Nikaya I,10 which goes from a reference to brightly shining citta to saying that even the slightest development of loving-kindness
is of great benefit. This implies that loving-kindness - and the related state of compassion - is inherent within the luminous mind as a basis for its further development. The observation that the ground state of consciousness is of the nature of loving-kindness implies that empathy is innate to consciousness and exists prior to the emergence of all active mental processes.
, all the elements of the Yogacara
store-consciousness (alaya-vijnana) are already found in the Pali Canon. He writes that the three layers of the mind (citta, called "luminous" in the passage discussed above, manas, and vijnana) as presented by Asanga are also used in the Pali Canon: "Thus we can see that Vijnana represents the simple reaction or response of the sense organs when they come in contact with external objects. This is the uppermost or superficial aspect or layer of the Vijnanaskanda
. Manas represents the aspect of its mental functioning, thinking, reasoning, conceiving ideas, etc. Citta which is here called Alayavijnana, represents the deepest, finest and subtlest aspect or layer of the Aggregate of consciousness. It contains all the traces or impressions of the past actions and all good and bad future possibilities."
According to Yogacara
teachings, as in early Buddhist teachings regarding the citta, the store-consciousness is not pure, and with the attainment of nirvana comes a level of mental purity that is hitherto unattained.
and the Lankavatara Sutra
describe the tathagatagarbha ("arahant womb") as "by nature brightly shining and pure," and "originally pure," though "enveloped in the garments of the skandhas, dhatus and ayatanas and soiled with the dirt of attachment, hatred, delusion and false imagining." It is said to be "naturally pure," but it appears impure as it is stained by adventitious defilements. Thus the Lankavatara Sutra identifies the luminous mind of the Canon with the tathagatagarbha. (Some Gelug
philosophers, in contrast to teachings in the Lankavatara Sutra, maintain that the "purity" of the tathagatagarbha is not because it is originally or fundamentally pure, but because mental flaws can be removed — that is, like anything else, they are not part of an individual's fundamental essence. These thinkers thus refuse to turn epistemological insight about emptiness
and Buddha-nature into an essentialist metaphysics.)
The Shurangama Sutra and the Lankavatara Sutra also equate the tathagatagarbha (and alaya-vijnana) with nirvana, though this is concerned with the actual attainment of nirvana as opposed to nirvana as a timeless phenomenon.
Páli
- External links :* *...
, pabhassara citta) is a term attributed to the Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
in the Nikayas. The mind is said to be "luminous" whether or not it is tainted by mental defilements.
The statement is given no direct doctrinal explanation in the Pali discourses, but later Buddhist schools explained it using various concepts developed by them. The Theravada
Theravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
school identifies the "luminous mind" with the bhavanga
Bhavanga
Bhavanga is the most fundamental aspect of mind in Theravada Buddhism. It is an exclusively Theravada doctrine that differs from Sarvastivadin and Sautrantika theories of mind, and has been compared to the Mahayana concept of store-consciousness...
, a concept first proposed in the Theravada Abhidhamma. The later schools of the Mahayana
Mahayana
Mahāyāna is one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice...
identify it with both the Mahayana concepts of bodhicitta
Bodhicitta
In Buddhism, bodhicitta jang chub sem, Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) is the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood as fast as possible, so that one may benefit infinite sentient beings...
and tathagatagarbha. The idea is also connected with features of Dzogchen
Dzogchen
According to Tibetan Buddhism and Bön, Dzogchen is the natural, primordial state or natural condition of the mind, and a body of teachings and meditation practices aimed at realizing that condition. Dzogchen, or "Great Perfection", is a central teaching of the Nyingma school also practiced by...
thought.
Overview
In the Anguttara NikayaAnguttara Nikaya
The Anguttara Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
(A.I.8-10) the Buddha states: "Luminous, monks, is the mind. And it is defiled by incoming defilements." The discourses indicate that the mind's natural radiance can be made manifest by meditation.
Ajahn Mun, the leading figure behind the modern Thai Forest Tradition
Thai Forest Tradition
The Thai Forest Tradition is a tradition of Buddhist monasticism within Thai Theravada Buddhism. Practitioners inhabit remote wilderness and forest dwellings as spiritual practice training grounds. Maha Nikaya and Dhammayuttika Nikaya are the two major monastic orders in Thailand that have forest...
, comments on this verse:
The mind is something more radiant than anything else can be, but because counterfeits – passing defilements – come and obscure it, it loses its radiance, like the sun when obscured by clouds. Don’t go thinking that the sun goes after the clouds.
Instead, the clouds come drifting along and obscure the sun.
So meditators, when they know in this manner, should do away
with these counterfeits by analyzing them shrewdly... When they
develop the mind to the stage of the primal mind, this will mean
that all counterfeits are destroyed, or rather, counterfeit things
won’t be able to reach into the primal mind, because the bridge
making the connection will have been destroyed. Even though
the mind may then still have to come into contact with the
preoccupations of the world, its contact will be like that of a
bead of water rolling over a lotus leaf.
Similarly, Ajahn Thate
Ajahn Thate
Phra Ajaan Thate Desaransi, was one of the most famous masters of Theravada Buddhist meditation known as the Thai Forest Tradition who lived in northern Thailand....
remarks:
The Buddha taught [‘Pabhassaramidam bhikkhave cittam, tañca
kho agantukehi upakkilesehi upakkilittham.’] 'The mind is unceasingly
radiant; defilements are separate entities that enter into
it.' This saying shows that his teaching on the matter is in fact
clear. For the world to be the world, every one of its constituent
parts must be present: its existence depends on them. The only
thing that stands by itself is Dhamma, the teachings of the
Buddha. One who considers Dhamma to be manifold or
composite has not yet penetrated it thoroughly. Water is in its
natural state a pure, transparent fluid, but if dyestuff is added to
it, it will change colour accordingly: if red dye is added it will
turn red; if black dye, black. But even though water may change
its colour in accordance with substances introduced into it, it
does not forsake its innate purity and colourlessness. If a wise
person is able to distil all the coloured water, it will resume its
natural state. The dyestuff can only cause variation in outer
appearance...
The heart is that which lies at the centre of things, and is also
formless. It is simple awareness devoid of movement to and fro,
of past and future, within and without, merit and harm.
Wherever the centre of a thing lies, there lies its heart, for the
word ‘heart’ means centrality.
The Buddha says that if developed, the mind is supremely "pliable" and "workable." A verse with wording parallel to that of A.I.8-10 and surrounding verses occurs at S.V.92-32. It indicates that when the mind is defiled by the five hindrances
Five hindrances
In Buddhism, the five hindrances are negative mental states that impede success with meditation and lead away from enlightenment...
, it is neither pliable, nor workable, nor luminous, nor perfectly concentrated for the destruction of the fetters
Fetter (Buddhism)
In Buddhism, a mental fetter, chain or bond shackles a sentient being to sasāra, the cycle of lives with dukkha. By cutting through all fetters, one attains nibbāna ....
. S.V.92-93 also compares the defilements of the mind to impurities in gold ore, implying that just as gold does not manifest its intrinsic radiance when it is in its raw state mixed with impurities, so is the intrinsic radiance of the mind not apparent when it is defiled by the hindrances. A.I.253-255 also uses the simile of gold-refining to illustrate the process of meditative development. A gold-refiner washes gold ore three times to get rid of gross, moderate, and fine defilements, and then properly smelts it until it is free of dross; only then is it "pliable, workable, brightly shining, no longer brittle" and ready to be fashioned into a final object. The sutta compares this process with that of a monk as he gets rid of various mental defilements before he attains unification of mind
Ekaggata
Ekaggatā is translated as either "one-pointedness" or "unification". This mental factor is one of the components in the jhānas.-See also:* Arupajhana* Buddhist meditation* Five Hindrances* Jhana* Samadhi...
, which is then used for spiritual attainments.
Ajahn Maha Boowa's comments on A.I.8-10 may seem to contradict those of his teacher Ajahn Mun. Ajahns Pasanno and Ajahn Amaro write that rather than contradicting his teacher, which Ajahn Maha Boowa would not do, his comments should be read as a warning of the danger of subtle forms of identification and attachment, even to radiance itself.
Nirvana
In the canonical discourses, when the brightly shining citta is "unstained," it is supremely poised for arahantship, and so could be conceived as the "womb" of the arahant, for which a synonym is tathagataTathagata
Tathāgata in Pali and Sanskrit) is the name the Buddha of the scriptures uses when referring to himself. The term means, paradoxically, both one who has thus gone and one who has thus come . Hence, the Tathagata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena...
. The discourses do not support seeing the "luminous mind" as "nirvana within" which exists prior to liberation. While the Canon does not support the identification of the "luminous mind" in its raw state with nirvanic consciousness, passages could be taken to imply that it can be transformed into the latter. Upon the destruction of the fetters, according to one scholar, "the shining nibbanic consciousness flashes out of the womb of arahantship, being without object or support, so transcending all limitations."
Bhavanga
The TheravadinTheravada
Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...
Angutta Nikaya Atthakatha
Atthakatha
Atthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now lost, in Old Sinhalese, which were written down at the same...
identifies the luminous mind as the bhavanga
Bhavanga
Bhavanga is the most fundamental aspect of mind in Theravada Buddhism. It is an exclusively Theravada doctrine that differs from Sarvastivadin and Sautrantika theories of mind, and has been compared to the Mahayana concept of store-consciousness...
, the "ground of becoming" or "latent dynamic continuum", which is the most fundamental level of mental functioning in the Theravada Abhidhammic scheme. Thanissaro Bhikkhu holds that the commentaries' identification of the luminous mind with the bhavanga is problematic, but Peter Harvey finds it to be a plausible interpretation.
Bodhicitta
The Mahayana interprets the brightly shining citta as bodhicittaBodhicitta
In Buddhism, bodhicitta jang chub sem, Mongolian бодь сэтгэл) is the intention to achieve omniscient Buddhahood as fast as possible, so that one may benefit infinite sentient beings...
, the altruistic "spirit of awakening." The Astasahasrika Perfection of Wisdom Sutra describes bodhicitta thus: "That citta is no citta since it is by nature brightly shining." This is in accord with Anguttara Nikaya I,10 which goes from a reference to brightly shining citta to saying that even the slightest development of loving-kindness
Metta
Mettā or maitrī is loving-kindness, friendliness, benevolence, amity, friendship, good will, kindness, love, sympathy, close mental union , and active interest in others. It is one of the ten pāramīs of the Theravāda school of Buddhism, and the first of the four sublime states...
is of great benefit. This implies that loving-kindness - and the related state of compassion - is inherent within the luminous mind as a basis for its further development. The observation that the ground state of consciousness is of the nature of loving-kindness implies that empathy is innate to consciousness and exists prior to the emergence of all active mental processes.
Citta and Alaya-vijnana
According to Walpola RahulaWalpola Rahula
The venerable Prof Walpola Sri Rahula Maha Thera was a Buddhist monk, scholar and writer. He is considered to be one of the top Sri Lankan intellectuals of the 20th century. In 1964, he became the Professor of History and Religions at Northwestern University, thus becoming the first bhikkhu to...
, all the elements of the Yogacara
Yogacara
Yogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...
store-consciousness (alaya-vijnana) are already found in the Pali Canon. He writes that the three layers of the mind (citta, called "luminous" in the passage discussed above, manas, and vijnana) as presented by Asanga are also used in the Pali Canon: "Thus we can see that Vijnana represents the simple reaction or response of the sense organs when they come in contact with external objects. This is the uppermost or superficial aspect or layer of the Vijnanaskanda
Khandas
Khandas is a small village in Maharastra India approximately 34 km from Karjat station.It is the starting point for trek to Bhimashanker. It takes approximately 5 hours to reach Bhimashanker from Khandas village via Ganesh Ghat which is an easier route...
. Manas represents the aspect of its mental functioning, thinking, reasoning, conceiving ideas, etc. Citta which is here called Alayavijnana, represents the deepest, finest and subtlest aspect or layer of the Aggregate of consciousness. It contains all the traces or impressions of the past actions and all good and bad future possibilities."
According to Yogacara
Yogacara
Yogācāra is an influential school of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing phenomenology and ontology through the interior lens of meditative and yogic practices. It developed within Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism in about the 4th century CE...
teachings, as in early Buddhist teachings regarding the citta, the store-consciousness is not pure, and with the attainment of nirvana comes a level of mental purity that is hitherto unattained.
Tathagatagarbha
Both the Shurangama SutraShurangama Sutra
The ' is a Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtra, and has been especially influential in the Chán school of Chinese Buddhism.- Etymology :According to Ron Epstein, roughly means "indestructible." The word is composed of Śūraṅ , with Gama...
and the Lankavatara Sutra
Lankavatara Sutra
The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra is a sutra of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The sūtra recounts a teaching primarily between the Buddha and a bodhisattva named Mahāmati...
describe the tathagatagarbha ("arahant womb") as "by nature brightly shining and pure," and "originally pure," though "enveloped in the garments of the skandhas, dhatus and ayatanas and soiled with the dirt of attachment, hatred, delusion and false imagining." It is said to be "naturally pure," but it appears impure as it is stained by adventitious defilements. Thus the Lankavatara Sutra identifies the luminous mind of the Canon with the tathagatagarbha. (Some Gelug
Gelug
The Gelug or Gelug-pa , also known as the Yellow Hat sect, is a school of Buddhism founded by Je Tsongkhapa , a philosopher and Tibetan religious leader...
philosophers, in contrast to teachings in the Lankavatara Sutra, maintain that the "purity" of the tathagatagarbha is not because it is originally or fundamentally pure, but because mental flaws can be removed — that is, like anything else, they are not part of an individual's fundamental essence. These thinkers thus refuse to turn epistemological insight about emptiness
Emptiness
Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression, loneliness, despair, or other mental/emotional disorders such as borderline personality disorder...
and Buddha-nature into an essentialist metaphysics.)
The Shurangama Sutra and the Lankavatara Sutra also equate the tathagatagarbha (and alaya-vijnana) with nirvana, though this is concerned with the actual attainment of nirvana as opposed to nirvana as a timeless phenomenon.