Consciousness from a Buddhist Perspective
Even though scientific approaches bring significant and often compelling evidence to controversies regarding consciousness theories, there is still a place for “first-person” approaches, i.e., those based on introspection. Introspection is, historically, an ancient source of perspective on consciousness and is the basis for Vedic, Buddhist and Taoist philosophies. The Buddhist philosphical tradition holds consciousness to be fundamental to the ontology of the cosmos. Yet, this view represents a practical path for self-realization rather than just a lofty philosophical claim.
Buddhism, strictly speaking, is not a religion. It does not posit a supreme creator being, and in fact, offers a mild form of atheism. It might more profitably thought of as a set of philosophical or ‘tenet’ systems and/or a spiritual path.
According to the Buddhist view, ordinary perception is a misrepresentation, in a sense, an altered state of consciousness. Specifically, we take what is changing to be permanent - called reification - and we mistake perceived qualities with actual qualities. We fall into extreme views, nihilism (nothing exists) and eternalism (something exists). This is nowhere more evident than in our conception of ourselves. The Buddhist view is that we are a heap (or aggregate – Sanskrit: skandhas) of attributes, i.e., form, perceptions, emotions, concepts, and awareness, but that these do not form a self that is in some way a lasting thing. The technical (i.e., Sanskrit) term is anatman, where an is the absence or negation of atman, self.
The result of this misrepresentation is that we experience suffering. What sort of suffering? This has been catalogued into a fairly succinct set of categories, but in general we experience suffering owing to change. Things happen that we do not want, things don’t happen that we do want. Friends and relatives abandon us when we most need them and so on. Everyone experiences - at the very least - birth, old age, sickness and death. In the Buddhist view, the “self” that experiences these sufferings does so because it does not recognize its own nature. The point of the Buddhist path is to bring about that recognition. When that recogition is complete the path can be discarded.
The three principal tools of the Buddhist path are ethical conduct, education, and introspection. The latter manifests as a very elaborate set of meditative practices based on mindfulness, the application of selective attention to self-examination and to everyday activities. The perpetual state of ordinary mind is distraction. Only by training the mind through mindfulness can recognition come about. The first step is through calming the mind through the practice of samatha, or calm abiding. In samatha the mind is focused on an object - or very often, the breath - until it has a chance to give up distraction. A skilled meditator can focus without distraction for hours. In the beginning, the technique is to gently bring one’s attention back to the object of focus each time it wanders.
As samatha stabilizes the practitioner can begin the analytical part, i.e., the examination of states of mind, called vipassana, to unravel the layers of misrepresentation that deceive us. Ethical conduct is both a condition for success and an end in itself. As one lets loose of the hold brought about by ego grasping, one’s inborn, natural contentment begins to shine through. It will be seen that this inner contentment or peace is not conditional and so is impervious to outside circumstances or ordinary afflictions.
Buddhism began in India 600 years before the Christian Era, but gradually spread to regions outside of India and took forms appropriate to the cultures where it settled. In Southeast Asia it took the form of the Therevada, which is based very closely on the original teachings of the Buddha. The Buddhist teacher Bodhidharma traveled from India and settled in China, founding the very famous Shaolin temple there and the sect known as Chan. Chan spread to Korea and Japan, where it took on the pronunciation Zen. Great Buddhist scholars - called mahapanditas - and yogis - called mahasiddhas - settled in Tibet and Nepal continuing the Diamond Essence path - the Vajrayana – which remained an unbroken tradition until the Communist invasion of Tibet in 1949. The Tibetan tradition is fractured, with some of its community existing outside of Tibet - the diaspora - while others remain in Tibet, subject to horrific oppression.
What is the Buddhist view of consciousness? The purest forms of Buddhist thought maintain that awareness is fundamental, which is not to be confused with a “soul.” Awareness does not have spatio-temporal features (which by definition are subject to change and decay), nor does it have a sense of “self,” which is considered an extreme view. It does not hold a dualistic view, which in this case means the distinction between self and other. It is not panpsychism in that panpsychism is an ordinary spatio-temporal concept. This fundamental, timeless awareness is beyond birth and death, which are also spatio-temporal. Non-recognition does result in an endless cycle of birth and death - called samsara - and all the attendant suffering of change and self-grasping. Recognition breaks the cycle of existence and restores awareness to its original, undefiled state.
On a more practical level, through ethical conduct, proper instruction, mindfulness (paying attention), and diligent meditation practice, one can begin to access or realize these timeless qualities while alive in this body and pass without regret at the end of life.
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