What is the
Mind?
by H.H. the Dalai Lama
One of the fundamental views
in Buddhism is the principle of "dependent origination." This states
that all phenomena, both subjective experiences and external objects, come
into existence in
dependence upon causes and conditions; nothing comes into
existence uncaused. Given this principle,
it becomes crucial to understand
what causality is and what types of cause there are. In Buddhist
literature,
two main categories of causation are mentioned: (i) external causes in the form
of
physical objects and events, and (ii) internal causes such as cognitive
and mental events.
The reason for an understanding of causality being so
important in Buddhist thought and practice is that it relates
directly
to sentient beings' feelings of pain and pleasure and
the other experiences
that dominate their lives, which arise
not only from internal mechanisms
but also from external
causes and conditions. Therefore it is crucial to
understand
not only the internal workings of mental and cognitive
causation
but also their relationship to the external material
world.
The fact
that our inner experiences of pleasure and pain are
in the nature of subjective
mental and cognitive states is very obvious to us. But how those inner
subjective
events relate to external circumstances and the material world poses a critical
problem. The question of whether there is an external physical reality independent
of sentient
beings' consciousness and mind has been extensively discussed
by Buddhist thinkers. Naturally,
there are divergent views on this issue
among the various philosophical schools of thought. One
such school [Cittamatra]
asserts that there is no external reality, not even external objects, and
that the material world we perceive is in essence merely a projection of our minds.
From many
points of view, this conclusion is rather extreme. Philosophically,
and for that matter
conceptually, it seems more coherent to maintain a position
that accepts the reality not only of the
subjective world of the mind, but
also of the external objects of the physical world.
Now, if we examine the
origins of our inner experiences and of external matter, we find that there
is a fundamental uniformity in the nature of their existence in that both are
governed by the
principle of causality. Just as in the inner world of mental
and cognitive events, every moment of
experience comes from its preceding
continuum and so on ad infinitum. Similarly, in the physical
world every
object and event must have a preceding continuum that serves as its cause, from
which the present moment of external matter comes into existence.
In
some Buddhist literature, we find that in terms of the origin of its continuum,
the macroscopic
world of our physical reality can be traced back finally
to an original state in which all material
particles are condensed into what
are known as "space particles." If all the physical matter of our
macroscopic universe can be traced to such an original state, the question then
arises as to how
these particles later interact with each other and evolve
into a macroscopic world that can have
direct bearing on sentient beings'
inner experiences of pleasure and pain. To answer this,
Buddhists turn to
the doctrine of karma, the invisible workings of actions and their effects, which
provides an explanation as to how these inanimate space particles evolve
into various
manifestations.
The invisible workings of actions, or karmic
force (karma means action), are intimately linked to
the motivation in the
human mind that gives rise to these actions. Therefore an understanding of
the nature of mind and its role is crucial to an understanding of human experience
and the
relationship between mind and matter. We can see from our own experience
that our state of
mind plays a major role in our day-to-day experience and
physical and mental well-being. If a
person has a calm and stable mind, this
influences his or her attitude and behavior in relation to
others. In other
words, if someone remains in a state of mind that is calm, tranquil and peaceful,
external surroundings or conditions can cause them only a limited disturbance.
But it is extremely
difficult for someone whose mental state is restless
to be calm or joyful even when they are
surrounded by the best facilities
and the best of friends. This indicates that our mental attitude is a
critical
factor in determining our experience of joy and happiness, and thus also our good
health.
To sum up, there are two reasons why it is important to understand
the nature of mind. One is
because there is an intimate connection between
mind and karma. The other is that our state of
mind plays a crucial role
in our experience of happiness and suffering. If understanding the mind
is
very important, what then is mind, and what is its nature?
Buddhist literature,
both sutra and tantra, contains extensive discussions on mind and its
nature.
Tantra, in particular, discusses the various levels of subtlety of mind and
consciousness. The sutras do not talk much about the relationship between the
various
states of mind and their corresponding physiological states. Tantric
literature, on the
other hand, is replete with references to the various
subtleties of the levels of consciousness and
their relationship to such
physiological states as the vital energy centers within the body, the
energy
channels, the energies that flow within these and so on. The tantras also explain
how, by
manipulating the various physiological factors through specific meditative
yogic practices, one can
effect various states of consciousness.
According
to tantra, the ultimate nature of mind is essentially pure. This pristine nature
is
technically called "clear light." The various afflictive emotions
such as desire, hatred and jealousy
are products of conditioning. They are
not intrinsic qualities of the mind because the mind can be
cleansed of them.
When this clear light nature of mind is veiled or inhibited from expressing its
true essence by the conditioning of the afflictive emotions and thoughts,
the person is said to be
caught in the cycle of existence, samsara. But when,
by applying appropriate meditative
techniques and practices, the individual
is able to fully experience this clear light nature of mind
free from the
influence and conditioning of the afflictive states, he or she is on the way to
true
liberation and full enlightenment.
Hence, from the Buddhist point
of view, both bondage and true freedom depend on the varying
states of this
clear light mind, and the resultant state that meditators try to attain through
the
application of various meditative techniques is one in which this ultimate
nature of mind fully
manifests all its positive potential, enlightenment,
or Buddhahood. An understanding of the clear
light mind therefore becomes
crucial in the context of spiritual endeavor.
In general, the mind can
be defined as an entity that has the nature of mere experience,
that is,
"clarity and knowing." It is the knowing nature, or agency, that is
called mind, and
this is non-material. But within the category of mind there
are also gross levels, such as
our sensory perceptions, which cannot function
or even come into being without
depending on physical organs like our senses.
And within the category of the sixth
consciousness, the mental consciousness,
there are various divisions, or types of mental
consciousness that are heavily
dependent upon the physiological basis, our brain, for their arising.
These
types of mind cannot be understood in isolation from their physiological bases.
Now a crucial question arises: How is it that these various types of cognitive
events -- the
sensory perceptions, mental states and so forth -- can exist
and possess this nature of knowing,
luminosity and clarity? According to
the Buddhist science of mind, these cognitive events possess
the nature of
knowing because of the fundamental nature of clarity that underlies all cognitive
events. This is what I described earlier as the mind's fundamental nature,
the clear light nature of
mind. Therefore, when various mental states are
described in Buddhist literature, you will find
discussions of the different
types of conditions that give rise to cognitive events. For example, in
the
case of sensory perceptions, external objects serve as the objective, or causal
condition; the
immediately preceding moment of consciousness is the immediate
condition; and the sense organ
is the physiological or dominant condition.
It is on the basis of the aggregation of these three
conditions -- causal,
immediate and physiological -- that experiences such as sensory
perceptions
occur.
Another distinctive feature of mind is that it has the capacity to
observe itself. The issue of mind's
ability to observe and examine itself
has long been an important philosophical question. In
general, there are
different ways in which mind can observe itself. For instance, in the case of
examining a past experience, such as things that happened yesterday you recall
that experience
and examine your memory of it, so the problem does not arise.
But we also have experiences
during which the observing mind becomes aware
of itself while still engaged in its observed
experience. Here, because both
observing mind and observed mental states are present at the
same time, we
cannot explain the phenomenon of the mind becoming self-aware, being subject
and object simultaneously, through appealing to the factor of time lapse.
Thus it is important to understand that when we talk about mind, we are talking
about a highly
intricate network of different mental events and state. Through
the introspective properties of
mind we can observe, for example, what specific
thoughts are in our mind at a given moment,
what objects our minds are holding,
what kinds of intentions we have and so on. In a meditative
state, for example,
when you are meditating and cultivating a single- pointedness of mind, you
constantly apply the introspective faculty to analyze whether or nor your mental
attention is
single-pointedly focused on the object, whether there is any
laxity involved, whether you are
distracted and so forth. In this situation
you are applying various mental factors and it is not as if
a single mind
were examining itself. Rather, you are applying various different types of mental
factor to examine your mind.
As to the question of whether or not a
single mental state can observe and examine itself, this has
been a very
important and difficult question in the Buddhist science of mind. Some Buddhist
thinkers have maintained that there s a faculty of mind called "self-
consciousness," or
"self-awareness." It could be said that
this is an apperceptive faculty of mind, one that can
observe itself. But
this contention has been disputed. Those who maintain that such an
apperceptive
faculty exists distinguish two aspects within the mental, or cognitive, event.
One of
these is external and object-oriented in the sense that there is a
duality of subject and object,
while the other is introspective in nature
and it is this that enables the mind to observe itself. The
existence of
this apperceptive self-cognizing faculty of mind has been disputed, especially
by the
later Buddhist philosophical school of thought the Prasangika.
In our own day-to-day experiences we can observe that, especially on the gross
level,
our mind is interrelated with and dependent upon the physiological
states off the body.
Just as our state of mind, be it depressed or joyful,
affects our physical health, so too
does our physical state affect our mind.
As I mentioned earlier, Buddhist tantric literature mentions specific energy
centers within the
body that may, I think, have some connection with what
some neurobiologists call the second
brain, the immune system. These energy
centers play a crucial role in increasing or decreasing the
various emotional
states within our mind. It is because of the intimate relationship between mind
and body and the existence of these special physiological centers within
our body that physical
yoga exercises and the application of special meditative
techniques aimed at training the mind can
have positive effects on health.
It has been shown, for example, that by applying appropriate
meditative techniques,
we can control our respiration and increase or decrease our body
temperature.
Furthermore, just as we can apply various meditative techniques during the
waking state so too,
on the basis of understanding the subtle relationship
between mind and body, can we practice
various meditations while we are in
dream states. The implication of the potential of such
practices is that
at a certain level it is possible to separate the gross levels of consciousness
from
gross physical states and arrive at a subtler level of mind and body.
In other words, you can
separate your mind from your coarse physical body.
You could, for example, separate your
mind from your body during sleep and
do some extra work that you cannot do in your ordinary
body. However, you
might not get paid for it!
So you can see here the clear indication of a
close link between body and mind: they can be
complementary. In light of
this, I am very glad to see that some scientists are undertaking
significant
research in the mind/body relationship and its implications for our understanding
of the
nature of mental and physical well-being. My old friend Dr. Benson
[Herbert Benson, MD,
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School],
for example, has been carrying out
experiments on Tibetan Buddhist meditators
for some years now. Similar research work is also
being undertaken in Czechoslovakia.
Judging by our findings so far, I feel confident that there is
still a great
deal to be done in the future.
As the insights we gain from such research
grow, there is no doubt that our understanding of
mind and body, and also
of physical and mental health, will be greatly enriched. Some modern
scholars
describe Buddhism not as a religion but as a science of mind, and there seem to
be
some grounds for this claim.