Yoga￣ca￣ra is one of the two schools of Indian Maha￣ya￣na Buddhism. Its founding is ascribed to two half brothers, Asa￣nga and Vasubandhu, but its basic tenets and doctrines were already in circulation for at least a century before the brothers lived.
Yoga￣ca￣ra focused on the processes involved in cognition in order to overcome the ignorance that prevents one from attaining liberation from the karmic rounds of birth and death. Yogaacaarins' sustained attention to issues such as cognition, consciousness, perception, and epistemology, coupled with claims such as "external objects do not exist," has led some to misinterpret Yoga￣ca￣ra as a form of metaphysical idealism.
They did not focus on consciousness to assert it as ultimately real (Yoga￣ca￣ra claims consciousness is only conventionally real since it arises from moment to moment due to fluctuating causes and conditions), but rather because it is the cause of the karmic problem they are seeking to eliminate. Yoga￣ca￣ra introduced several important new doctrines to Buddhism, including vijn～apti-ma￣trata￣, three self-natures, three turnings of the Dharma-wheel, and a system of eight consciousness.
Their close scrutiny of cognition spawned two important developments: an elaborate psychological therapeutic system that mapped out the problems in cognition along with the antidotes to correct them, and an earnest epistemological endeavor that led to some of the most sophisticated work on perception and logic ever engaged in by Buddhists or Indians. Though the founding of Yoga￣ca￣ra is traditionally ascribed to two half-brothers, Asa￣nga and Vasubandhu (fourth-fifth century C.E.), most of its fundamental doctrines had already appeared in a number of scriptures a century or more earlier, most notably the Sa`ndhinirmocana Suutra (Elucidating the Hidden Connections).
After Vasubandhu, Yoga￣ca￣ra developed into two distinct directions or wings: 1. a logico-epistemic tradition, exemplified by such thinkers as Digna￣ga, Dharmakiirti, `Saantarak.sita, and Ratnakiirti; 2.an Abhidharmic psychology, exemplified by such thinkers as Sthiramati, Dharmapaala, Xuan-zang (Hsuan-tsang), and Viniitadeva. While the first wing focused on questions of epistemology and logic, the other wing refined and elaborated the Abhidharma analysis developed by Asa￣nga and Vasubandhu. Digna￣ga, for instance, besides his works on epistemology and logic also wrote a commentary on Vasubandhu's Abhidharmako`sa. What united both wings was a deep concern with the process of cognition, i.e., analyses of how we perceive and think. The former wing approached that epistemologically while the latter wing approached it psychologically and therapeutically. Both identified the root of all human problems as cognitive errors that needed correction.
Whatever we are aware of, think about, experience, or conceptualize, occurs to us nowhere else than within consciousness. External objects do not exist. Karma is collective and consciousness is intersubjective. All factors of experience (dharmas) can be catalogued and analysed. Buddhism is a method for purifying the stream of consciousness from'contaminations'and'defilements'.
Each individual has eight types of consciousness, but Enlightenment (or Awakening) requires overturning their basis, such that consciousness is 'turned' into unmediated cognition. Yogaacaarins deny the existence of external objects in two senses.
1. In terms of conventional experience they do not deny objects such as chairs, colors, and trees, but rather they reject the claim that such things appear anywhere else than in consciousness.
2. While such objects are admissible as conventionalisms, in more precise terms there are no chairs, trees, etc. These are merely words and concepts by which we gather and interpret discrete sensations that arise moment by moment in a causal flux. These words and concepts are mental projections.
The point is not to elevate consciousness, but to warn us not to be fooled by our own cognitive narcissism. Enlightened cognition is likened to a great mirror that impartially and fully reflects everything before it, without attachment to what has passed nor in expectation of what might arrive. What sorts of objects do enlightened ones cognize? Yogaacaarins refuse to provide an answer aside from saying it is purified from karmic pollution, since whatever description they might offer would only be appropriated and reduced to the habitual cognitive categories that are already preventing us from seeing properly.
四分(four aspects)In the theory of the school of Consciousness-only, the mind and the mental function elements have four aspects. They are xiangfen 相分 objective aspect, jianfen 見分 subjective aspect, zizhengfen 自證分 the aspect of the self perceiving the object and zhengzizhengfen 證自證分 the awareness of the function of being aware of the object. ("rewitnessing aspect").
相分(Objective aspect)One of the four aspects of perception in Consciousness-only theory as explained by Dharmapa￣la. It generally means'object of perception'but more specifically, that image of the outside world that is kept within the mind. In this case, the character xiang 相 means 'image' or 'reflection.' Since this aspect means object(s) of perception, it does not have an active conceptual function.
見分(Subjective view)One of the four perceptions (四分) in Consciousness-only theory. The function of seeing the form of an object. The ideograph 見 (jian) means"to shed light on"or"illuminate."This is also called 能緣 (the subject which cognizes the object). When the substance of the mind and mental functions is produced from the a￣laya-consciousness, simultaneously with the manifestation of the object, the illuminating function of the subject arises. This is called "subjective aspect."
自證分(Self-witnessing aspect)One of the four aspects of perception as explained in Consciousness-only theory by Dharmapa￣la 護法. The function of consciousness of subjectively knowing. According to this function, the subject cognizes the object. The ideograph 自 refers to the function of the self (subject: 見分). The witnessing of the functioning of the subjective aspect.
三類境(The three kinds of objects). In Consciousness-only 唯識(vijn～apti-ma￣trata￣) theory, objects of consciousness are divided into three categories according to their properties. These are (a) xingjing 性境 things which are truly manifested from (a￣laya) seeds; (b) duyingjing 獨影境 things provisionally manifested from a subjective view; and (c) daizhijing 帶質境 things that exist in relation to the above two.
Dharmapa￣la(護法).One of the ten great exponents of Yoga￣ca￣ra 瑜伽行派 in India, supposed to have been born in the middle of the sixth century, C.E. He wrote a commentary on the Thirty Verses on Consciousness-only『唯識三十論』 by Vasubandhu, which was later translated into Chinese by Xuan-zang 현장. Born as the son of a high government minister. At about the age of twenty, on the evening that he was supposed to marry a princess, he ran away to a mountain temple. Subsequently he studied and mastered the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle 小乘 and Maha￣ya￣na 大乘, later traveling extensively, and becoming famous for his debates with non-Buddhists. Later he received instruction in the dharma from Digna￣ga 陳那 while staying at Na￣landa￣ temple. He taught Yoga￣ca￣ra doctrine extensively and had many disciples. He is especially well-known for his understanding that consciousness is always manifested in both its subjective and objective aspects, as distinguished from Sthiramati 安慧, who understood the bifurcation of consciousness into subject and object to be wholly imaginary. At the age of twenty-nine he retired into Asaa￣bodhi temple and passed away at the age of 32. His interpretations regarding the nature of consciousness became predominant in the Faxiang 法相 stream of Xuanzang and Kuiji 窺基.
Sthiramati(安慧); an Indian master of the Yoga￣ca￣ra school (7th century CE); considered in East Asia to be one of the ten great masters of the Consciousness-only school. Extant works by him are the Treatise of Collection of Maha￣ya￣na-Abhidharma『大乘阿毘達磨雜集論』(16 fascicles); the Extensive Treatise on the Five Aggregates in Maha￣ya￣na『大乘廣五蘊論』(one fascicle); and the Treatise on the Middle View of the Great Vehicle『大乘中觀釋論』(18 fascicles).
He is known for refuting the theories of Saa￣ghabhadra 衆賢 through his treatises on Abhidharmakoa￣a and Vasubandhu's Consciousness-only in Thirty Verses.
Discoveries of Sanskrit texts by later scholars led to his being considered an important Consciousness-only master, showing that his interpretations of key Yoga￣ca￣ra theories of conciousness differed sharply from such thinkers as Dharmapa￣la(護法).
For instance, Sthiramati, who understood the bifurcation of consciousness into subject and object to be wholly imaginary, wha￣e Dharmapa￣la understood that consciousness is always manifested in both its subjective and objective aspects. He also established the theory of "self witnessing aspect"(自證分)
Digna￣ga(陳那, Pali Dinnaga.480-540). Lived in Andhra in Southern India and was in the dharma lineage of Vasubandhu. He wrote the『因明正理門論』("Treatise on Entering the True Principle of Causal Logic"), establishing the New School of Hetu-vidya￣. By establishing the three characteristics of cause on the nine possible combinations of like and unlike, by converting the old five-part syllogism into a three-part syllogism, he changed Buddhist logic from the analogical method to the deductive method, giving it a completely different logical basis. Also, in the field of Consciousness-only theory, he developed the theory of the three aspects 三分 of consciousness: subjective, objective and self-witnessing.
In su￣tras and commentaries of Early Buddhism, we see that the Buddha and for a long time after his death the other masters considered and criticised logic as a science of argumentation(takka) and casuistry(vi￣mamsa￣). Logic belonged to the secular sphere and was the domain of heathens. But since the various schools of Indian philosophy recurred to dispute for establishing their philosophy, logic was needed in Buddhist circles as well. Thus in the Yoga￣ca￣rabhu￣mi, logic(因明; Hetu-vidya￣) was considered as a necessary item to be learned by Bodhisattvas. Afterwards, there were the efforts of Asanga and Vasubandhu, but they were not free from flaws. Logic as a Buddhist science was mainly formed by Digna￣ga.
Digna￣ga has been known to scholars of Indian philosophy as the father of medieval logic in India. Especially, the advent of Digna￣ga in the history of Indian logic was a landmark so that Buddhist logic after Digna￣ga has been called New Hetu-vidya￣.
Digna￣ga himself composed three logical treatise of the Prama￣na-samuccaya『集量論』, Nya￣ya-mukha『因明正理門論』and Hetu-cakra-damaru. He established the theory of the three-membered syllogism(三支作法), the three characteristics of the middle term(因의 三相) and the theory of Nine Reasons(九句因).
According to the Nya￣ya-mukha, reasoning is carried on by means of a minor term, a major term, a middle term and two examples. The minor term is also called the subject(paksa or dharmin, 宗/有法). The major term is otherwise called predicate(sadhya or dharma, 所證/法).
The middle term is also called reason or mark(hetu, linga or sadhana, 因/能證). The example(drsta￣nta, 喩) is of two kinds, viz. homogeneous(sa￣dharmya, 同喩) and heterogeneous(vaidharmya, 異喩). Digna￣ga's Buddhist logic was a product of a deep consideration of previous Buddhist logic and was also qualitatively different from it.
He refuted the theory of the four prama￣nas and the five membered syllogism of the Nya￣ya-school and asserted the two prama￣nas of pratyaksa and anuma￣na and the three syllogism of subject, mark, and example. pratyaksa differs into four kinds but it is explained by self-consciousness(svasamvedana; 自證).
In the end, the certainty of knowledge is established through anubhava(覺受). Also, anuma￣na is defined as differential perception relying on language. Hence inference for one's own(sva￣rtha-anuma￣na; 自比量) is relying on language is ascertained by means of three characteristics of the middle term, whereas inference for the sake of others(para￣rtha-anuma￣na; 他比量) as aiming at approbation of one's knowledge by others, is explained by the three membered syllogism.
Therefore pratyaksa cannot be deemed as simply being sensory perception. Rather, it is valid knowledge obtained through investigation and eradication of erratic perception. This is termed as self-consciousness(svasamvedana). Also, anuma￣na is not simply ratiocinating knowledge resulting from the process of ratiocination, but a knowledge resulting of the three characteristics of the middle term. Here anuma￣na denotes a clear perception of those three characteristics.
'Five-fold Consciousness-only.'(五重唯識) The five levels of the apprehension of the principle of consciousness-only 唯識((vijn～apti-ma￣trata￣).
These are five kinds of distinctions made in level of realization, from shallow to deep. They are: (1) The consciousness of expelling the false and abiding in the real; (2) The consciousness of the expulsion of confusion and holding to true awareness; (3) Holding to the function and returning to the essence; (4) Concealing the mean and manifesting the superior; (5) dispelling manifestations and apprehending the true nature. This theory of five layers appears in Kuiji's Dasheng fayuanyi linzhang『大乘法圓義林章』.
Everything we know, conceive, imagine, or are aware of, we know through cognition, including the notion that entities might exist independent of our cognition. The mind doesn't create the physical world, but it produces the interpretative categories through which we know and classify the physical world, and it does this so seamlessly that we mistake our interpretations for the world itself. Those interpretations, which are projections of our desires and anxieties, become obstructions (aavara.na) preventing us from seeing what is actually the case. In simple terms we are blinded by our own self-interests, our own prejudices (which means what is already prejudged), our desires. Unenlightened cognition is an appropriative act. Yoga￣ca￣ra does not speak about subjects and objects; instead it analyzes perception in terms of graspers (graahaka) and what is grasped (graahya).