The Tree of Enlightenment
An Introduction to the Major Traditions of Buddhism
by Peter Della Santina
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Part Two
The Mahayana
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Chapter Seventeen
The Lankavatara Sutra
The Lankavatara Sutra is representative of a large body of literature
and is particularly important for an understanding of the Mahayana tradition.
Like the Lotus Sutra and the Perfection of Wisdom sutras, the Lankavatara is a
voluminous work. It is complex in terms of both ideas and literary composition. Scholars
have
tended to date the written work to as late as the fourth century of the common era.
Although this may be acceptable as far as the literary production of the text is concerned,
a survey of the sutra reveals a number of germinal ideas that were systematized and
elaborated on by Mahayana masters like Asanga and Vasubandhu. If we remember that both
these masters lived in the fourth century C.E., we will have to place the formulation
of the doctrines contained in the Lankavatara well before that time.
This is in line with what I have said before about the origin and
authenticity of Mahayana literature in general. After all, we have seen that many of the
germinal ideas of the Mahayana tradition are found even in the Theravada canon (see Chapter
14). The Lankavatara is representative of the canonical literature that is the
foundation of the Mahayana school variously known as the Yogachara (school affirming the
unity of meditation and action), the Vijnanavada (school affirming
consciousness), and the Chittamatra (school affirming Mind Only). Just as the Perfection of
Wisdom literature in general forms the canonical foundation of the Middle Way, or
Madhyamaka, school, so the Lankavatara Sutra and a number of other discourses form the
canonical foundation of the Yogachara or Vijnanavada school, though obviously elements of
one
school can be found in the doctrine of the other, and vice versa.
The doctrine for which the Lankavatara is famous is the
doctrine of the
primacy of consciousness. This is sometimes called the doctrine of Mind Only, or
of the sole reality of consciousness. The sutra states in unequivocal terms that the three
worlds, or spheres--the sphere of sense desire, the sphere of form, and the
formless sphere--are just mind itself. In other words, all the manifold objects of the world, the
names and forms of experience, are merely manifestations of the mind. The Lankavatara says
that our inability to free ourselves from the discrimination between the conceptions of subject and
object is the cause of our rebirth in the cycle of birth and death. As
long as we are unable to free ourselves from discrimination, we continue to be reborn in
samsara. It is therefore the ability to free ourselves from the dualistic conceptions
of subject
and object that is the key to enlightenment.
But what is this 'Mind Only' of which the Lankavatara Sutra
speaks? Is
it the empirical mind, the mind that participates in the activities of the six
consciousnesses? It is clearly not this mind. The mind of which the sutra speaks both transcends and
annihilates the conceptions of the dualities of existence and nonexistence, identity
and difference, permanence and impermanence. It transcends the concepts of self,
substance, and karma. It even transcends the concept of causation. According to the sutra,
all these concepts are the products of false imagination, or discriminating thought (vikalpa).
The mind of which the sutra speaks does not participate in these dualistic conceptions.
From this it is clear that the mind of which the Lankavatara speaks is precisely that
emptiness (shunyata) of which the Perfection of Wisdom literature speaks.
If the mind of which the Lankavatara speaks transcends the
conceptions
of the dualities of existence and nonexistence, identity and difference, and so forth, then
how is it that this nondual reality of mind manifests itself in the manifold objects of the
world? The Lankavatara--and, indeed, the Mind Only school--expounds a system of
eight types of consciousness. These eight include the six with which we are familiar
from the Buddhist tradition at large (i.e., the five consciousnesses that arise in
conjunction with the five physical sense faculties, and the sixth consciousness, which arises in
conjunction with the faculty of the mind). The two additional types are the storehouse
consciousness (alayavijnana) and the afflicted mind (klishtamanas). These eight
consciousnesses form the basis of Yogachara or Vijnanavada philosophy.
The sutra uses an analogy to describe the process of schism
that takes
us from the ultimate, nondual condition of mind to the fragmented condition,
characterized by the six empirical consciousnesses, that we experience in daily life. The
analogy is that of the ocean, wind, and waves. In its depths the ocean is tranquil,
just as,
in its depths, the storehouse consciousness is. Moved by the wind, the surface of the
ocean is stirred into waves, which roll on and on. Similarly, the tranquil depths of the
storehouse consciousness are disturbed by the wind of discrimination, causing
waves, which are analogous to the functioning of the six empirical consciousnesses.
The villain of the piece is the afflicted mind--the wind of
discrimination--because it is by means of the afflicted mind that discrimination takes place. The
afflicted mind is the go-between that mediates between the storehouse consciousness on the
one hand and the six empirical consciousnesses on the other hand. We may call this
afflicted mind the ego principle, the principle of individuation, or discrimination.
The storehouse consciousness plays a particularly important
role
because it not only exists as the tranquil depths of the ocean do but also functions as a
repository. This is why it is called a storehouse--because it collects the seeds of sense
impressions and actions. Therefore we can best understand the scheme of the eight
consciousnesses presented in the Lankavatara Sutra if we picture them in a circle, just
as we picture the constituents of interdependent origination. In this sense we have an
evolution from the storehouse consciousness in its own nondual nature, through the
functioning of discrimination by means of the agency of the afflicted mind, and on
into the six empirical consciousnesses, which in turn supply the storehouse consciousness with
the impressions of actions, or karma. Thus we have a cyclical process wherein the
storehouse consciousness evolves through discrimination into six empirical
consciousnesses, which in turn sow the seeds of future actions in the fertile soil of the
storehouse consciousness. The storehouse consciousness is particularly important for the
Lankavatara Sutra and, indeed, for this whole phase of Mahayana Buddhism. It is
significant
that, in the Tibetan translation, we find the storehouse consciousness called the 'all-base
consciousness'-- the consciousness that is the substratum of all. This implies that it
has within it the potential for both samsara and nirvana, both the phenomenal world and
enlightenment. And just as it is through discrimination that the storehouse
consciousness evolves into the six empirical consciousnesses, so, through the elimination of
discrimination, the storehouse consciousness becomes the seed of nirvana.
It is important to look closely at the relationship between the
storehouse consciousness and the notion of the Buddha nature (tathagatagarbha, literally, 'the
womb of tathagatahood'). You will be aware of the natural connection between
the two from what I have just said about the nirvanic potential of the storehouse
consciousness. The Lankavatara describes the mind, or consciousness, as pure in its
original, intrinsic nature. What is meant by the term 'pure'? A careful examination of the
Lankavatara Sutra and other canonical and commentarial literature reveals that this
means
that the mind is empty. Therefore, 'the original purity of the mind' means that the mind
is intrinsically and originally pure of the dualities of existence and nonexistence,
identity and difference, and so forth. Its purity is equivalent to its emptiness. This purity,
or emptiness, is the very essence of Buddha nature, of the nirvanic potential of the storehouse
consciousness. It is in this context that the Buddha nature is likened to gold, to a
precious stone, or to a soiled garment. The intrinsic purity or emptiness of the mind finds
the
expression of its potential in the realization of Buddhahood when the impurities of
discrimination are removed. Just as the brightness of gold, a precious stone, or a soiled
garment is revealed through refinement and through cleansing of impurities, so one
reveals
the original, intrinsic, empty and pure nature of the mind through cleansing oneself
of the habit of discriminating between subject and object by application of the
discipline of a Bodhisattva.
The Buddha nature is the empty and pure nature of the mind.
Because of
the essential emptiness and purity of the mind, all sentient beings have the
potential to attain Buddhahood.
Like a lump of bronze, which can be shaped into a chamberpot, a vessel
for offering water at a shrine, or a statue of the Buddha, the empty nature of mind
can, depending on causes and conditions, appear in the form of a common living being, a
Bodhisattva, or a Buddha.
The Buddha nature is not a self or a soul. It is not a static
entity.
It may be likened to a stream because it is ever-changing, infinitely manifold and dynamic. It
is for this reason that, in another famous sutra, the Sandhinirmochana, the Buddha says
that the storehouse consciousness is profound and subtle, moving like a stream with all its
seeds of sense impressions. The Buddha says that he has not taught the idea of this
storehouse consciousness to fools, for fear that they might mistake it for a self.
It is interesting to note that the storehouse consciousness is fundamentally similar to the
Theravada concept, found in the Abhidharma, of the factor of subconscious continuity
(bhavanga) that carries the seeds of former actions. This concept is expanded and elaborated on
in the Lankavatara Sutra and in the philosophy of the Yogachara school.
The Lankavatara Sutra suggests another important Mahayana
doctrine in
germinal form: the doctrine of the three bodies, or dimensions, of Buddhahood--the
transcendental dimension, (dharmakaya) the celestial dimension, (sambhogakaya) and the
terrestrial or transformational dimension, (nirmanakaya). These three reflect, in
general terms, three levels of enlightened reality: (1) the transcendental dimension is
synonymous with the ultimate level of enlightenment, which is beyond names and forms; (2)
the celestial dimension is an expression of the symbolic and archetypal dimension of
Buddhahood, to which only the spiritually developed have access; and (3) the
terrestrial dimension is the dimension of Buddhahood to which all of us in our unenlightened
condition have access, and which participates in the world of mundane phenomena.
It is this
terrestrial dimension that appears in countless forms in order to nurture and
emancipate sentient beings.
Here you may recall that the essence of the Mahayana tradition
is great
compassion. The skillful means that spring directly from great compassion manifest
themselves not only in the devising of various disciplines, or vehicles, but also in diverse
and countless forms of the terrestrial dimension of Buddhahood. According to the
Lankavatara and other Mahayana texts, the terrestrial dimension of Buddhahood can assume any
form and any number of forms. It can assume not only a recognizable, special form
like Shakyamuni Buddha, with whom we are all familiar but also the form of a
drunkard,
gambler or the like, in order to benefit and liberate sentient beings. If a particular
drunkard or gambler is not affected by the delivery of an exalted Dharma discourse, nor by the
examples of moral purity advocated in the conduct of a Bodhisattva, a Buddha or
Bodhisattva will assume the form of one of that's persons company and, through the
exercise of skillful means labor to bring about the emancipation of that person. In
addition
to assuming the form of animate beings, Bodhisattvas can also assume the form of
inanimate things, such as food, clothing, medicine, a bridge, a road, and so forth. This is
put very beautifully by Shantideva in his book on the Practice of the Bodhisattva,
Bodhicharyavatara where he prays that he may become food for the hungry, medicine for the ill, and
shelter for the homeless. Thus, through skillful means born of great compassion, the
Buddha and Bodhisattvas appear in countless unknown and unrecognizable
forms,
working for the emancipation of all sentient beings, each according to his or her
individual needs and abilities.
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Contents
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01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11
| 12 | 13
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41
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Layout: Nhi Tuong
Update : 11-05-2002
