Sam and rigpa as fundamental concepts of the structure of the mind in the philosophy of buddhism

Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

Lviv National Polytechnic University (Lviv, Ukraine)

Sam and rigpa as fundamental concepts of the structure of the mind in the philosophy of buddhism

Khrystyna, Khvoinytska-Pereima

Abstract

The problem of the mind in the works of Buddhism thinkers is considered. Special attention is paid to nature of consciousness as the dominant in the system Buddhism. Specificity of their treatment of mind nature is analyzed as the basis for the philosophy of Buddhism. In the article the feature of understanding of concept of mind opens up in philosophy of Buddhism of different directions and flows. The specific of classification of the states of mind is shown in accordance with an incendiary canon and in accordance with the Mahayana's tibetian Buddhism and dzogchen. Analysed practice of meditation as a constituent of dharma is needed in-process with modification of the states of mind and achievement of brightening. Investigational row of concepts that assist opening of deep essence of nature of mind in accordance with sacral maintenance of philosophy of Buddhism. The depth of the desire of thinkers and practitioners to penetrate into the hidden foundations of the human mind and subconscious in order to grasp all hidden secrets and understand the fundamental foundations of human mental activity has been demonstrated. This problem is examined on the basis of fundamental researches of the known creators and interpreters of buddhistic philosophy: Padmasabhava; Gheshe Djampa Tinley; Namkhay Norbu Rinpoche; Dalay-lama XIV; Soghjal Rinpoche. Study of the problem of the consciousness and mind is relevant and appropriate in Ukraine today because it is undiscovered branch of knowledge. The current situation requires updating attention to nature of mind, detailed understanding of their importance for the Buddhism practice. The necessity of the correct understanding of nature of mind, ability to work with him during meditation practices, effective avoidance of all eclipses and stop of wandering of mind for the achievement of brightening is well-proven in the article.

Key words: Buddhism, mind, consciousness, dharma, bodhichitta, sem, rigpa, clear light, brightening.

Христина, Хвойницька-Перейма, - кандидат філософських наук, доцент кафедри філософії Львівського національного університету «Львівська Політехніка» (м. Львів, Україна)

Сем та рігпа, як основоположні концепції структури розуму у філософії буддизму

Анотація

mind state enlightenment

У праці розглядається проблема розуму у творах мислителів буддизму. Особливу увагу приділено природі свідомості як домінанті в системі буддизму. Аналізується специфіка трактування природи розуму як основи філософії буддизму. У статті розкривається особливість розуміння поняття розуму у філософії буддизму різних напрямів і течій. Специфіка класифікації станів розуму показана відповідно до палійського канону, тибетського буддизму і дзогчену Махаяни. Проаналізована практика медитації як складової дхарми необхідна в процесі модифікації станів розуму та досягнення просвітлення. Досліджено ряд понять, що сприяють розкриттю глибинної сутності природи розуму відповідно до сакрального змісту філософії буддизму. Продемонстровано глибину прагнення мислителів і практиків проникнути в приховані підвалини людського розуму і підсвідомості, щоб осягнути всі приховані таємниці та зрозуміти фундаментальні основи розумової діяльності людини. Ця проблема розглядається на основі фундаментальних досліджень відомих творців та інтерпретаторів буддійської філософії: Падма-сабхави; Геше Джампа Тінлі; Намхайа Норбу Рінпоче; Далай-лами XIV; Согджала Рінпоче. Вивчення проблеми свідомості та розуму є актуальним і доцільним сьогодні в Україні, оскільки це нерозкрита галузь знань. Сучасна ситуація вимагає актуалізації уваги до природи розуму, детального розуміння їх значення для практики буддизму. У статті доведена необхідність правильного розуміння природи розуму, вміння працювати з ним під час медитаційних практик, ефективного уникнення всіх помилок і припинення блукання розуму для досягнення стану просвітлення.

Ключові слова: буддизм, розум, свідомість, дхарма, бодхічітта, сем, рігпа, ясне світло, просвітлення.

The relevance and formulation of the problem in general and its connection with important scientific or practical tasks

The philosophy of the Buddhist East in modern Ukrainian science is studied rather fragmentarily. However, there are certain acquisitions in works in various fields of humanitarian knowledge, in particular in the fields of historical disciplines, Oriental studies, and philosophy: O.P. Kryzhanivskyi; O.D. Ogneva; Yu.Yu. Zavgorodnyi; A.I. Vedrova; V.A. Rubel; S.M. Vovka. Unfortunately, significant scientific gaps remain in the study of Buddhist philosophy.

The purpose of this article is an attempt to fill such a gap in understanding the features ofthe interpretation of the problem of the nature of mind in Buddhist philosophy and to demonstrate the gradation of states of mind on the way to entering complex meditative states and achieving enlightenment.

Presentation of the main material of the study with justification of the obtained scientific results

The teachings of Buddhism or dharma (this is a Sanskrit term that means “that which supports” or “that which destroys ignorance and reveals wisdom”) helps everyone to reveal the natural wisdom embedded in him and develop the ability for harmonious coexistence with all creatures of this world. We all have many worries, fears, anxieties and worries in this world. Trying to find the reasons for this, we usually start looking for them in the outside world. However, this is the main mistake of each of us, because the same factors of the external world can bring us grief and disappointment as well as joy and happiness. In fact, the main source of all our suffering lies deep within ourselves and is connected to the state of our mind.

It is the mind that creates all our experiences and perceptions. When our mind is in a state of calm and clarity, all our experiences become relaxed and blurred, like a mist. If our mind is in an uncontrolled state, our words and actions begin to “live a life of their own”, and often on this occasion we can think that we have said something or done some action “without thinking”. Until a person learns to master his own mind, all positive experiences such as joy and happiness will not last long at all, even if a significant number of external factors contribute to their appearance. Only by being able to train one's own mind is it possible to really know oneself and others, and to gain permanent happiness. Many actions that we perform during our life are aimed at obtaining material goods, fame, power, success, but all of them bring only temporary, short-term satisfaction. We are constantly looking for happiness in the external world, but all the external causes of human happiness are too fleeting, and the long-awaited pleasure often turns into suffering and we never achieve complete happiness and peace.

Our life, from the point of view of Buddhism, is a colossal value and a great opportunity to practice dharma, thanks to which a person can destroy any delusions and discover his unchanging inner wisdom. Dharma practice is the calming of the mind, which reveals its true nature and essence as a tool of selfknowledge. Complete control over the mind can bring peace, tranquility, confidence and happiness. Shakyamuni Buddha taught that through the ability to control the mind, one can attain realization and reveal inner wisdom. No one can do it for us because only we ourselves are our own saviors. Man cannot calm the mind by changing external circumstances or external objects. Calming the mind is possible only by discovering and maintaining the natural state of the mind. Calming the mind, a person simply supports it in its original state, in which its clarity and wisdom are revealed. The true nature of the mind is calm, clear and full of compassion, love and wisdom.

Everyone's problem is that ignorance constantly clouds our perception of the true nature of mind. However, despite all the obscurations, the nature of wisdom is always present in us and its light can help us walk through life. This nature is present within all living creatures of this world and is the potential for enlightenment. All external temporary obscurations conceal the deeper nature of the mind. When a person destroys ignorance and discovers the true nature of the mind, he gains enlightenment. The main aspect of dharma philosophy that brings us closer to enlightenment is to do no harm to all living creatures in this world, to benefit them and to control one's mind. It is the control over one's own mind that gets rid of negative thoughts and excessive emotionality, contributes to the development of the main virtue of Buddhism - compassion, which is empathy with all living beings in our world. The mind in Buddhism is a difficult category for the Western researcher, because there is a clear gradation of states of the human mind.

The abstract mind in the sense of the pure form of consciousness or consciousness as such is in a certain way the center of the universal vortex of dharmas (multiplicity of elements), in this sense Buddhists allow the possibility of calling it the term “I”. But this “I” is simply that which is aware, the conscious side of experiences, and not a separate soul in the usual sense of the word. The mind in the sense of the central flow of elements of awareness is called “chitta”, and it is a single dharma, that is, at each moment, together with all other dharmas, there is only one “chitta”, which is replaced by another at the next moment (Rinpoche Sogyal, 2012). The concept of “chitta” (meaning mind in the texts of the Pali canon) covers both the intellect and emotions, both the head and the heart (Khantipallo, 2005). “Mind” can mean any of the five sensory awarenesses or awareness of the mind, which seems to make up the world using the received sensory representations for this and adding to them the sense of perception or knowledge. If the mind is not sufficiently concentrated and organized, constantly jumping from one element to another, it makes it much more difficult for a person to focus on the main elements of life. Meditation helps to control one's own mind, which allows one to control external feelings so that they do not interfere with practice. The mind constantly needs proper attention, heightened attention, to prevent obscurations.

In the Buddhist tradition, one person can experience different states of mind, multiple “cittas”, which change according to external and internal states, and precisely from this point of view, there is an observer who knows the phenomena of his own mind. In some texts on this subject, it is said that the last, attentive citta is aware of something already extinguished, the past, because the sensuous citta is not able to exist with the healthy citta based on mindfulness and wisdom. But as the practice progresses, the sensuous chitta, which is the product of the pride of the ego and the separate personality, begins to gradually dissolve until only the pure, unclouded, attention of the pure, “healthy” chitta remains. One of the most important concepts in Buddhist philosophy is that this world and our own nature, particularly our separate, individual self, exist only in our minds. The mind can be interpreted as the universal basis of what we can experience in our own experience. For a person, the mind is the creator of his world, to the extent that it programs our perception of the world, how happy we are depends on it.

According to the tenets of Tibetan Buddhism, there are two different aspects, or two different states, of the mind. (Padmasabhava, 2013) The first aspect is the ordinary mind, which is called “sem”. Sam is a dualistic, restless mind that constantly constructs different images and constantly jumps from one object to another. Sam is a mind that skillfully manipulates a person, imposing on him various emotional states, often negative, in particular, a constant series of various desires, plans, ideas aimed at achieving the desired state of happiness. But even receiving what is desired, the mind does not calm down and strives for the satisfaction of an ever-increasing number of desires, which it constantly analyzes, evaluates, draws conclusions, etc. The ordinary mind (sem) is a hostage to its own ever-changing states.

Sam, from the point of view of Buddhism, brings quite a lot of harm to a person, because with his continuous self-throwing and unstable interest in everything around him, he energetically exhausts him, because he constantly projects his own priceless energy onto external empty objects. Very often, such a mind is compared to a monkey that never rests and continuously and aimlessly jumps from branch to branch. At the same time, this is insidious and cunning, because it deceptively convinces a person of its “colossal” importance, and constantly changing objects of attention, and constantly unstable, changing emotional states are the norm of human life. He constantly convinces a person of the need for empty and groundless thoughts, constantly scrolling through pictures from the past, and creating more positive perspectives of the future, that is, constantly pulls a person out of the invaluable and only perfect state of calm presence in the present moment, thus making spiritual improvement of a person impossible. The constant chaos that resides in human heads is the basis of suffering, the cause of death and numerous rebirths.

Sogyal Rinpoche in his work “The Book of Life and the Practice of Dying” characterizes sem as a dark, narrow cage that we ourselves have created and mistakenly take for the entire universe, and only a few begin to imagine another dimension of reality (Rinpoche Namkhai, 2005). The next aspect (state) of the mind is its deep, pure, unclouded essence-base, which cannot be affected by any stormy and fleeting factors from the outside and is called “rigpa” (continuous flow of consciousness). Rigpa is in every person, but in most cases we do not know about it, because we cannot directly see and experience rigpa, for the reason that it is as if surrounded by a thick fog, which in constant fear of its own death does not allow us to see the true, the deep nature of the mind. Often in the Buddhist tradition, they are compared to the sky densely covered with clouds. Sam are clouds that, with their opacity and constant movement, do not allow you to see the clear blue sky - with which rigpa is compared. But just as clouds cannot change the purity and transparency of the sky, sem is unable to affect the state of rigpa. The blue sky can be seen when the clouds disperse, as well as when the sem is at rest and rigpa - the inner nature of the mind - can manifest. The nature of rigpa is actually the essence and nature of absolutely everything, pure knowledge. According to Buddhist philosophy, this pure ground is the Buddha nature that every human being is endowed with, and the obscurations of our ordinary minds prevent us from seeing and knowing it. When all the obscurations of the ordinary mind are dispelled, the Buddha nature can fully and comprehensively manifest itself, and then it becomes clear that this is the true, natural, true state of man, and that it has always been present in us. It is a pure, self-generated state that has no cause, the nature of which is clear light, it is pure being without beginning, end, and foundation. (Rinpoche Sogyal, 2012).The explanation of the nature of rigpa and ways of introduction to rigpa are devoted to the fundamental works of Tibetan Buddhism, in particular “Self-awareness through revealing attention - a direct introduction to rigpa” by Padmasabhava (Maslov, 2004), “Cuckoo of the state of presence: six vajra stanzas with commentary by Namkai Norbu Rinpoche” (Padmasabhava), “Mind and emptiness” Geshe Jump Tinley (Tinley, 2002). His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV repeatedly touches on the question of the secret nature of rigpa (Khantipallo, 2005). Padmasabhava believes that the mind is a luminous awareness, it cannot be considered as a being, because it does not exist. If we consider it as a source, then samsara and nirvana, and all the varieties of bliss and suffering arose from it. If viewed as an object of desire, the eleven chariots strive for it. Look up at the sky - you will not find where thoughts go. Look inside, into your mind, you will not find where thoughts come from. Your mind is the finest clarity without arising (thoughts).

Your rigpa is clear light and emptiness. That is, dharmakaya. It is like the sun shining in a cloudless sky. Although there is no form, it is known as clarity. Understanding or not understanding this is very important (Dalai Lama, 2003).

Padmasabhava thus instructs his disciples on the path to insight into the nature of pure rigpa: “Without contemplation, without distraction, look (into your mind), revealing (its true nature). Natural rigpa, natural awareness, natural clarity, arise shining - this is called bodhichitta (compassion for all living beings of this world)' (Padmasabhava, 2012). The mind can be observed, explored and learned. In many schools of Buddhism, the mind is often compared to a mirror that constantly reflects all the phenomena and objects of the external world. When the mind is calmed by meditative practice, the mirror stops reflecting everything around and remains completely clean: “Our body is the Bodhi tree,

The heart is like a stand for a clear mirror.

From time to time we thoroughly wipe it,

Without leaving even the slightest speck of dust” (Maslov, 2004).

The state of meditation is a state of purification of the mind, dissolution of all obscurations, all delusions. It is thanks to meditation that a person can know his Buddha nature and experience it directly. Meditation - staying in a state of presence is one of the basic practices of Buddhism. A state in which all thought processes are absent is a neutral and positive state characterized by calmness and stability. This state is considered extremely useful as a basis for entering the rigpa state. Usually, our mind is occupied by many thoughts, so there is a need to gradually cleanse them until the thought process stops completely and the mind simply goes into a state of rest. At such a moment, when external and internal conditions coincide, the very nature of this unshakable state of mind becomes the one on which it is possible to experience pure awareness of a state unlike any other, not clouded by any traces of dulling numbness, but all-pervading and unlimited.

The practice of awareness gives us the opportunity to experience directly, through our own experience, an unclouded state of clear light, pure mind. Then each person understands that the individual separation and “difference” between all of us simply does not exist, and that this world is only a manifestation of the pure self-generated buddha state. We are one whole consciousness, and separation, autonomy, relativity and detachment are only illusions. The “Six Vajra stanzas” explain it to us like this: “Although the nature of everything is multifaceted and not dual,

The true state of each individual thing is beyond conjecture.

Although we do not create a concept from what we call “as it is”,

All presence that manifests is all good.

Since everything is perfect in itself, having overcome the disease of effort,

Possessing presence, we are spontaneously in a state of Contemplation”. (Rinpoche Namkhai, 2005).

The nature of the mind is pure, clear light - an absolute category that does not need any proof and is at the level of intuitive perception. But whether knowledge itself and true knowledge can be disputed, whether we are always in a pure state of this intuitive knowledge or in a polluted state of contamination. In particular, Nagarjuna assures that the mind can be in a state of both true knowledge and certain delusion. This occurs in connection with various aspects of mind objects. For example, one state of mind combines a manifest object and an object of understanding, therefore, true cognition can be mistaken about the manifest object, but perceive the object of understanding without error. Awareness can be false or true only in relation to the object. There can be no consciousness without an object, and no object without consciousness either. So the basis of everything is the principle of interdependence. Consciousness and its objects are in a relationship with each other (Dalai Lama, 2020). And this, in turn, demonstrates to us the integrity of the world and all living beings. Enlightenment is a state of pure vision, pure awareness, pure presence, pure contemplation. The enlightened one can use the ordinary mind (sem), with the essential difference that his usual and stable state becomes being in his own nature of clear light, and the sem becomes only a tool that can be used when needed, he no longer has power over that person, he only a humble servant of his impeccable master (Dalai Lama, 2003).

Conclusions

In the state of enlightenment, everything we see and experience is a manifestation of the pure, clear essence of the fundamental Mind. From the state of the primary eternal clear light of our essence, a pure and clear basis of consciousness is manifested, which interacts with objects, manifesting itself as sight, hearing, smell, etc. Therefore, it can be said that the eternal clear light of our consciousness is the root from which the whole world flows.

References

1. Dalai Lama XIV. (2003). Buddhist practice: The path to a life full of meaning. Shambala. 208.

2. Dalai Lama XIV. (2020). Dzogchen. Shambala. 256.

3. James D. Holt. (2023). Understanding Buddhism. Bloomsbury Academic. 320.

4. Khantipallo Bhikku. (2005). Secrets of Meditation: Calmness and Insight. Routledge Curzon. 272.

5. Maslov A. (2004). Classic Zen. Series “Masters of Martial Arts”. Phoenix. 480.

6. Padmasabhava. (2013). Self-liberation through unveiling attention - a direct introduction to rigpa. Snow Lion. 192. Rinpoche Namkhai Norbu. (2005). Dzogchen - state of self-perfection. Shang-Shung. 130.

7. Rinpoche Sogyal. (2012). Tibetan book of life and death. Samadhi - Ganga. 688.

8. Rosenberg M.D. (2011) Dark Buddhism. Aeon Books. 238.

9. Tinley Geshe Jampa. (2002). Mind and Emptiness. Tsongkhapa Publishing House. 224.

10. Wright Robert. (2017). Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. Simon & Schuster. 336.

Размещено на Allbest.ru