Hsuan Tsang, the famous Chinese monk from the Tang dynasty, traveled from China to India to learn Yogacara Buddhism. He crossed deserts, mountains, rivers and spent eighteen years before his triumphant return to his country and began the daunting task of translating the sutras and commentaries that he brought back. One of the most important exposition, “Vijnaptimatratasiddhi-Trimsika”, was written by Vasubandhu who, together with his brother, Asanga, established and developed the teachings of Yogacara Buddhism.
The Vijnaptimatratasiddhi-Trimsika
1
By Vasuhandhu
2
Translated by Wei Tat
3
1)
Concepts of Atman
4 and dharmas
5 do not imply the existence of a real Atman and real dharmas, but are merely fictitious constructions [produced by numerous causes].
Because of this, all varieties of phenomenal appearances and qualities arise.
The phenomena of Atman and dharmas are [all mental representations] based on the manifestation and transformation of consciousness.
Consciousnesses capable of unfolding or manifesting themselves may be grouped in three general categories:
2)
(1) The consciousness whose fruits (retribution) mature at varying times (i.e., the eighth or ‘Storehouse’ consciousness or Alayavijnana
6); (2) the consciousness that cogitates or deliberates (i.e., the seventh or thought-centre consciousness or Manas
7);
And (3) the consciousness that perceives and discriminates between spheres of objects (i.e., the sixth or sense-centre consciousness or Manovijnana
8 and the five sense consciousnesses
9).
The first is the Alayavijnana (i.e., storehouse or repository consciousness).
It is also called Vipakavijnana (retributive consciousness
10) and Sarvabijakavijnana (the consciousness that carries within it all Bijas or seeds
11).
[It brings to fruition all seeds (effects of good and evil deeds).]
3)
It is impossible to comprehend completely (1) what it ‘holds and receives’.
(2) Its ‘place’ or ‘locality’, and (3) its power of perception and discrimination. It is at all times associated with five mental attributes (caittas
12), namely, mental contact,
Attention, sensation, conception, and volition.
But it is always associated only with the ‘sensation of indifference
13’.
4)
It belongs to the ‘non-defiled-non-defined moral species
14’.
The same is true in the case of mental contact and so forth.
It is perpetually manifesting itself like a torrent,
And is renounced (i.e., it ceases to be called the Alaya) in the state of Arhatship
15 (the state of the saint who enters Nirvana
16).
5)
Next comes the second evolving consciousness.
This consciousness is called Manas.
It manifests itself, with the Alayavijnana as its basis and support, and takes that consciousness as its object.
It has the nature and character of cogitation or intellection
17.
6)
It is always accompanied by four klesas or vexing passions (sources of affliction and delusion),
Namely, Self-delusion, Self-belief
Together with Self-conceit and Self-Love,
It is also accompanied by the other mental associates (caittas), namely, mental contact and so forth [attention, sensation, conception, and volition].
7)
It belongs to the ‘defiled non-defined moral species’ (neither good nor bad but defiled).
It is active in the dhatu
18 or bhumi in which the sentient being is born and to which he is bound.
It ceases to exist at the stage of Arhatship, in the ‘meditation or annihilation’ (state of complete extinction of thought and other mental qualities),
And on the supramundane path
19.
8)
Next comes the third evolving consciousness
Which is divided into six categories of discrimination
20.
Their nature and character consist of the perception and discrimination of spheres of objects.
They are good, bad, and neither good nor bad.
9)
They are associated with the universal caittas,
The special caittas, the good caittas, the klesas (vexing passions or mental qualities),
The upaklesas (secondary vexing passions or mental qualities), and the Aniyatas (indeterminate mental associates).
They are all associated with the three sensations [Joy, sorrow, and indifference].
10)
First, universal caittas, mental contact and so forth (attention, sensation, conception, volition).
Next, special caittas, that is, desire.
Resolve, memory, meditation, and discernment.
The objects perceived by the special caittas are particular and varied.
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Notes: (The Vijnaptimatratasiddhi-Trimsika, written by Vasubandhu around the fourth century, is a central text for Yogacara Buddhism, which was started by his brother, Asanga. Commentaries written by ten of Vasubandhu’s disciples were merged and translated in a book, Ch’eng Wei-Shih Lun, by Hsuan Chuang after he came back from India to China in the T’ang dynasty. Some of the following notes come from Rev. Tai Hsu’s lectures on the Vijnaptimatratasiddhi-Trimsika. The responsibility of all misinterpretations must be borne by the presenter, Thomas Tam, alone.)
- The thirty stanzas on mere consciousness.
- Author of the thirty stanzas, and brother of Asanga, who lived around the fourth century.
- From his translation of Hsuan Chuang’s Doctrine of Mere Consciousness.
- Meaning self.
- Meaning things, events, ideas, etc.
- The most fundamental consciousness, where everything resides. Like the Sanskrit word for Himalaya, where snow resides.
- The consciousness that differentiates constantly. It grabs onto the store consciousness and considers it to be the self.
- The consciousness that differentiates, but not constantly, for example, good or bad, beautiful or ugly.
- Meaning the consciousness of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
- Roughly meaning consequences.
- Roughly meaning causes.
- A mental attribute is the result of the manifestation of a seed in our store consciousness.
- The consciousness where there is no sense of suffering or enjoyment.
- The consciousness that contains all seeds, which cannot be classified as good or evil.
- The state of sainthood where troubles cease to arise.
- Nirvana does not mean death. It means peace from the liberation of self.
- The consideration made by the mind which can result in future consequences.
- Different levels of existence: human, animal, hell, heaven, etc.
- The wisdom that transcend the ordinary world we live in.
- That is, sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mind.
- Remorse and drowsiness is of one kind; reflection and investigation refers to another kind.
- Name of inhabitants of such a world.
- A permanent self or thing does not exist. The self or thing exists only as perception or objects of perception, both manifestations of consciousness.
- The seeds that reside in the store consciousness, seem to be inert, before manifestation. It is changing and growing at every instant, nevertheless. The manifestation of every seed, is also dependent on the cooperation or interaction of other seeds.
- Habit energy means permeation or impregnation. Thich Nhat Hanh explained it thus: “If you want to make jasmine tea, you pick jasmine flowers, put them in a box together with the tea, close it tightly, and leave it for several weeks. The fragrant jasmine penetrates deeply into the tea leaves. The tea will then smell of jasmine, because it has absorbed the perfume of the jasmine blossoms. Our store consciousness also has a strong capacity to receive and absorb “fragrances” or “scents”.
- The two apprehensions refer to the insistent grabbing of the self and of appearances.
- It is the inability to give up the self and appearances, plus the influences from previous seeds, that the cycle of birth and death continues.
- The nature of ultimate reality refers to the giving up of insistent grabbing of the self and appearances.
- Without experiencing and understanding the nature of ultimate reality, there cannot be an understanding of the nature of dependence on others. In other words, without giving up the self and appearances, one cannot see through the appearance of things and self.
- The three natures of existence refer to: 1) what is conceived by imagination; 2) dependence on others; 3) ultimate reality.
- This refers to Buddha’s understanding that people in the world insistently grab onto some permanent nature in the things they encountered.
- The three non-existences refer to the impermanent nature of appearance; the inability to reduce something to a first cause; and the unreality of ultimate reality.
- The apprehensions refer to the insistent grabbing of the self and appearances. The two terms ‘attachment’ and ‘drowsiness’ in this stanza, however, should be more appropriately translated as ‘dormant’.
- Here, ‘perception’ should be replaced by ‘possession’.
- The two dross barriers refer to ‘knowledge’ and ‘afflictions’.
- It is also known as Pure Consciousness, when it is realized that store consciousness is no longer subject to afflictions, and afflictions are no other than enlightenment. (from Thich Nhat Hanh’s Transformation at the Base: Fifty Verses on The Nature of Consciousness).
