Alaya-vijnana in yogācāra school and bhavanga-citta in theravāda abhidhamma in relation to the process of rebirth
| dc.contributor.author | Ven. Lim Fei, H. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-11-26T05:39:27Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-11-26T05:39:27Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2018-04-03 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This research examines and compares the concepts of Ālaya-vijñāna and Bhavaṅgacitta in the Mahāyāna and Theravāda Buddhist traditions. Vijñāna (consciousness) is conceived as and the life force of the “mind” which refers to the mental force of awareness that animates the physical body. According to the Abhidhamma of Theravāda, Bhavaṅga is the most fundamental aspect of the mind, which presents a kind of consciousness (bhavaṅga-citta) as the basis of all mental processes or the life continuum. The process of sense perception begins with bhavaṅga and it continues throughout existence like a stream or the current of a river until it is annihilated with the attainment of Nibbāna. Both Ālaya-vijñāna and Bhavaṅga-citta play important roles in psychological and corporeal processes. They serve as a device for attaining understanding or wisdom to penetrate consciousness itself and is crucial to mental and physical actions. The most important process of ālaya-vijñāna consists of four kinds of transforming consciousness leading to the gaining of wisdom. Bhavaṅga plays an extremely important role in the life continuum, and Nibbāna. This research has two goals: (1) investigating the concept of Ālaya-vijñāna and bhavaṅga-citta in accordance with Buddhist theory and practice; (2) comparing and contrasting the role of Ālayavijñāna and bhavaṅga-citta in the process of rebirth. It is mainly based on Sutta-Piṭaka, Abhidhamma and Commentaries of Theravāda and Yogācāra-Sūtras, the Āgama tests the Laṅkāvatāra-Sūtra, the Saṃdhinirmocana-Sūtra in Mahāyāna. In this study, a comprehensive review of the scholarly works both past and present. The contributions of this research is to propose a way to identify the divergence and convergence of the concepts of Ālaya-vijñāna and bhavaṅga-citta. It attempts to view the process of rebirth and emancipation in accordance with concepts of Ālaya-vijñāna and bhavaṅga-citta. Finally, this research attempts not only to identify how the actions of body, word, and mind are supposed to determine our future destination, but also to show the importance of mental concepts related to the attainment liberation. As indicated by the theories discussed, if we want to transmigrate to a good realm, we should act in the righteous way abstaining from evil acts, undertaking the performance of good acts, and keeping the mind pure. Thereby, we are supposed to be able to cultivate the pure mind in order to attain liberation through the transformation of the mind. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Proceedings of the PGIHS Research Congress, 2018, p.45. | |
| dc.identifier.isbn | 978-955-7395-01-2 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir.lib.pdn.ac.lk/handle/20.500.14444/4079 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | University of Peradeniya | |
| dc.subject | Vijñāna (consciousness) Ālaya-vijñāna | |
| dc.subject | Bhavaṅga-citta | |
| dc.title | Alaya-vijnana in yogācāra school and bhavanga-citta in theravāda abhidhamma in relation to the process of rebirth | |
| dc.type | Article |