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Summary

The Consciousness-Only (vijñapti-mātra) School of Chinese Buddhism is a transmission and development of the Consciousness-Only School of Indian Buddhism. Controversies exist regarding to what extent the Indian version was reshaped in China. Historically speaking, there were three major phases of the transmission of Indian Consciousness-Only doctrines: (1) early 6th century, represented by Bodhiruci; (2) mid-6th century, represented by Paramārtha (499-569); (3) mid-7th century, represented by Xuanzang (602?-664) and his disciples, who compiled the Cheng weishi lun (*Vijñapti-mātratā-siddhi) and were later regarded as orthodox. One of the major differences between the Consciousness-Only doctrine transmitted by Paramārtha and that by Xuanzang lies in their reception of Tathāgatagarbha thought. According to Paramārtha, all sentient beings share the Dharma-body of the Buddha and can be properly designated as “Buddha-containing” (tathāgata-garbha), but Xuanzang recognizes the existence of the icchantika-s, namely, a group of sentient beings who will never be enlightened and become Buddhas.

Key works Much about the development of this filed remains murky. Frauwallner 1982 and Otake 2013 touch upon Bodhiruci. Paul 1984聖凱 2006, Keng 2009 and Funayama 2012 focus on Paramārtha. Sponberg 1979 and Lusthaus 2002 discuss the doctrines of Xuanzang and his disciple Kuiji (632-682).
Introductions Gimello 1976 remains a reliable introduction. Lusthaus 2002 is controversial in its interpretation of the Consciousness-Only doctrine of Xuanzang and Kuiji as phenomenology instead of as idealism.
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  1. The Notion of Apoha in Chinese Buddhism.Chien-Hsing Ho - 2022 - Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 21 (2):283-298.
    In this essay, I investigate how Chinese Yogācāra scholars of the Tang dynasty explicated and supplemented the theory of apoha (exclusion) propounded by the Indian Buddhist epistemologist Dignāga, according to which a nominal word functions by excluding everything other than its own referent. I first present a brief exposition of the theory. Then, I show that although they had very limited access to Dignāga’s theory, Kuiji and Shentai provide constructive and significant explanations that supplement the theory. I also show that (...)
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  2. Xuanzang and the Three Types of Wisdom: Learning, Reasoning, and Cultivating in Yogācāra Thought.Romaric Jannel - 2022 - Religions 13 (6).
    Xuanzang (602–664) is famous for his legendary life, his important translation works, and also his Discourse on the Realisation of Consciousness-Only (Vijñapti-mātratā-siddhi, 成唯識論). This text, which is considered as a synthesis of Yogācāra thought, has been diversely interpreted by modern scholars and is still discussed, in particular about the status of external things. Nevertheless, this issue seems to be of little interest for Yogācāra thinkers compared to other topics such as the Noble Path, or else the three types of wisdom (...)
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  3. Through the Mirror: The Account of Other Minds in Chinese Yogācāra Buddhism.Jingjing Li - 2019 - Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 18 (3):435-451.
    This article proposes a new reading of the mirror analogy presented in the doctrine of Chinese Yogācāra Buddhism. Clerics, such as Xuanzang 玄奘 and his protégé Kuiji 窺基, articulated this analogy to describe our experience of other minds. In contrast with existing interpretations of this analogy as figurative ways of expressing ideas of projecting and reproducing, I argue that this mirroring experience should be understood as revealing, whereby we perceive other minds through the second-person perspective. This mirroring experience, in its (...)
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  4. Problematyka medytacyjnego wglądu i wiedzy wyzwalającej w soteriologii wczesnego buddyzmu. Krytyczna analiza problemu przy zastosowaniu podejścia interdyscyplinarnego.Grzegorz Polak - 2018 - Diametros 56:17-38.
    The relation of the meditative state of jhāna to the development of insight and liberating knowledge is one of the most controversial issues in studies on early Buddhism. In the Suttapitaka and later Buddhist meditative texts, one can find discrepancies which are difficult to reconcile. In this paper, I propose a new model of meditative insight using an interdisciplinary approach based both on critical philological studies of the Suttapitaka and the results of the dynamically developing cognitive science. I also highlight (...)
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  5. Buddhist Idealism.Bronwyn Finnigan - 2017 - In K. Pearce & T. Goldschmidt (eds.), Idealism: New Essays in Metaphysics. Oxford University Press. pp. 178-199.
    This article surveys some of the most influential Buddhist arguments in defense of idealism. It begins by clarifying the central theses under dispute and rationally reconstructs arguments from four major Buddhist figures in defense of some or all of these theses. It engages arguments from Vasubandhu’s Viṃśikā and Triṃśikā; Dignāga’s matching-failure argument in the Ālambanaparīkṣā; the sahopalambhaniyama inference developed by Dharmakīrti; and Xuanzang’s weird but clever logical argument that intrigued philosophers in China and Japan. It aims to clarify what is (...)
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  6. From Self-Attaching to Self-Emptying: An Investigation of Xuanzang’s Account of Self-Consciousness.Jingjing Li - 2017 - Open Theology 3:184-197.
    In this paper, I investigate the account of self-consciousness provided by Chinese Yogācārins Xuanzang (602-664CE) and Kuiji (632-682CE). I will explain how they clarify the transition from selfattaching to self-emptying through the articulation of consciousness (vijñāna). Current scholarship often interprets the Yogācāra account of consciousness either as a science of mind or as a metaphysical idealism. Both interpretations are misleading, partly because they perpetuate various stereotypes about Buddhism, partly also because they overlook the religious goal of realizing in practice the (...)
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  7. Buddhist Consciousnesses and Psychological Forces.Ma Zhen - 2016 - Asian Research Journal of Arts and Social Sciences 1 (5):1-15.
    This article reviews the ancient Buddhist doctrine of consciousness and its concordance with the psychological heritage of modern science. Firstly, it introduces the nine consciousnesses of Buddhist philosophy, namely, five sensory consciousnesses, plus Mano, Manas, Alaya, and Amala consciousnesses. Secondly, it summarizes the development of the four psychological forces, i.e., Watson’s behaviorism, Freudian psychoanalysis, Jung’s unconscious, and Grof’s transpersonal psychology. Finally, it suggests that the last four consciousnesses are equivalent to the four forces, respectively.
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  8. A study of the Yuan-Wei translations of vasubandhu's sutra commentaries 元魏漢訳ヴァスバンドゥ釈経論群の研究.Susumu Otake - 2013 - Daizo Shuppan.
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  9. Studies of the works and influence of Paramartha 真諦三蔵研究論集.Toru Funayama (ed.) - 2012
  10. Ouyang Jian wen xuan.Jian Ouyang - 2011 - Shanghai Shi: Shanghai yuan dong chu ban she. Edited by Leiquan Wang.
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  11. Interpretation of yogācāra philosophy in huayan buddhism.Imre Hamar - 2010 - Journal of Chinese Philosophy 37 (2):181-197.
    Huayan Buddhism is regarded as one of the most philosophical schools of Chinese Buddhism, representing the elite-scholar Buddhism under the Tang Dynasty. Its vision of truth is based on the Avatamsaka Sutra, the scripture that Huayan masters studied, explained, and commented intensively throughout their lives. This was the common vocation of these monks, which gradually created a lineage of the Huayan tradition, a succession of exegetes who believed that the Avatamsaka Sutra was the consummate teaching of Buddha preached directly after (...)
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  12. Truth and method in the Saṃdhinirmocana sūtra.Chen-Kuo Lin - 2010 - Journal of Chinese Philosophy 37 (2):261-275.
  13. Truth and method in the sūtra.Chen-Kuo Lin - 2010 - Journal of Chinese Philosophy 37 (2):261-275.
  14. Yogâcāra Buddhism Transmitted or Transformed? Paramârtha (499-569) and His Chinese Interpreters.Ching Keng - 2009 - Dissertation, Harvard University
    This dissertation argues that the Yogâcāra Buddhism transmitted by the Indian translator Paramârtha (Ch. Zhendi 真諦) underwent a significant transformation due to the influence of his later Chinese interpreters, a phenomenon to which previous scholars failed to paid enough attention. I begin with showing two contrary interpretations of Paramârtha’s notion of jiexing 解性. The traditional interpretation glosses jiexing in terms of “original awakening” (benjue 本覺) in the Awakening of Faith and hence betrays its strong tie to that text. In contrast, (...)
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  15. The Doctrine of *Amalavijnana in Paramartha (499-569), and Later Authors to Approximately 800 C.E.Michael Radich - 2009 - Zinbun 41:45-174.
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  16. Empty subject terms in buddhist logic: Dignāga and his chinese commentators.Zhihua Yao - 2009 - Journal of Indian Philosophy 37 (4):383-398.
    The problem of empty terms is one of the focal issues in analytic philosophy. Russell’s theory of descriptions, a proposal attempting to solve this problem, attracted much attention and is considered a hallmark of the analytic tradition. Scholars of Indian and Buddhist philosophy, e.g., McDermott, Matilal, Shaw and Perszyk, have studied discussions of empty terms in Indian and Buddhist philosophy. But most of these studies rely heavily on the Nyāya or Navya-Nyāya sources, in which Buddhists are portrayed as opponents to (...)
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  17. Contexts and dialogue: Yogācāra buddhism and modern psychology on the subliminal mind – by Tao Jiang.Peter D. Hershock - 2008 - Journal of Chinese Philosophy 35 (2):371–375.
  18. Contexts and Dialogue: Yogācāra Buddhism and Modern Psychology on the Subliminal Mind – By Tao Jiang.Peter D. Hershock - 2008 - Journal of Chinese Philosophy 35 (2):371-375.
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  19. Chinese Buddhist philosophy from Han through Tang.Whalen Lai - 2008 - In Bo Mou (ed.), Routledge History of Chinese Philosophy. Routledge.
  20. Contexts and Dialogue: Yogacara Buddhism and Modern Psychology on the Subliminal Mind.Tao Jiang - 2006 - Honolulu, HI, USA: University of Hawaii Press.
    Are there Buddhist conceptions of the unconscious? If so, are they more Freudian, Jungian, or something else? If not, can Buddhist conceptions be reconciled with the Freudian, Jungian, or other models? These are some of the questions that have motivated modern scholarship to approach ālayavijñāna, the storehouse consciousness, formulated in Yogācāra Buddhism as a subliminal reservoir of tendencies, habits, and future possibilities. -/- Tao Jiang argues convincingly that such questions are inherently problematic because they frame their interpretations of the Buddhist (...)
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  21. Shelun xuepai yanjiu Shelun xuepai yanjiu 攝論學派研究.Shengkai 聖凱 - 2006 - Zongjiao wenhua chubanshe.
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  22. On the Problem of the External World in the Ch’eng wei shih lun. Tōkyō: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies.Lambert Schmithausen - 2005 - The International Institute for Buddhist Studies.
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  23. From Buddha's speech to Buddha's essence: philosophical discussions of Buddha‐vacana in India and China1.Eunsu Cho - 2004 - Asian Philosophy 14 (3):255 – 276.
    This is a comparative study of the discourses on the nature of sacred language found in Indian Abhidharma texts and those written by 7th century Chinese Buddhist scholars who, unlike the Indian Buddhists, questioned 'the essence of the Buddha's teaching'. This issue labeled fo-chiao t'i lun, the theory of 'the essence of the Buddha's teaching', was one of the topics on which Chinese Yogācāra scholars have shown a keen interest and served as the inspiration for extensive intellectual dialogues in their (...)
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  24. Ālayavijñāna and the problematic of continuity in the Cheng Weishi Lun.Tao Jiang - 2004 - Journal of Indian Philosophy 33 (3):243-284.
  25. Representing Wonch’uk (613-696): Meditations on Medieval East Asian Buddhist Biographies.John Jorgensen - 2002 - In Benjamin Penny (ed.), Religion and Biography in China and Tibet. Curzon Press.
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  26. Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogācāra Buddhism and the C H’Eng Wei-Shih Lun.Dan Lusthaus - 2002 - New York, NY: Routledgecurzon.
    Preface Part One Buddhism and Phenomenology Ch.1Buddhism and Phenomenology Ch.2 Husserl and Merleau-Ponty Part Two The Four Basic Buddhist Models in India Introduction Ch.3 Model One: The Five Skandhas Ch.4 Model Two: Pratitya-samutpada Ch.5 Model Three: Tridhatu Ch.6 Model Four: Sila-Samadhi-Prajna Ch.7 Asamjni-samapatti and Nirodha-samapatti Ch.8 Summary of the Four Models Part Three Karma, Meditation, and Epistemology Ch.9 Karma Ch.10 Madhyamikan Issues Ch.11 The Privilaging of Prajna-paramita Part Four Trimsika and Translations Ch.12 Texts and Translations Part Five The Ch’eng Wei-Shih (...)
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  27. A Korean Yogacara Monk in China: Won-Cheuk and His Commentary on the Heart Sutra.Chang-Geun Hwang - 2000 - Dissertation, The University of Wisconsin - Madison
    During the seventh to eighth centuries, China was the site of confluence and lively debate between two major streams within Yogacara studies which solidified into two main sects---the Tz'u-en and the Hsi-ming, which were led by two scholars, K'uei-chi and Won-cheuk, respectively. K'uei-chi, who was Hsuan-tsang's successor, enjoyed the reputation of being one of the most authoritative Yogacara, scholars in Chinese Buddhist history, and was acknowledged as the founder of the Chinese Yogacara School or the Fa-hsiang School. On the other (...)
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  28. The early development of the Buddha-nature doctrine in china.Ming-Wood Liu - 1989 - Journal of Chinese Philosophy 16 (1):1-36.
  29. Fan Chen's "treatise on the destructibility of the spirit" and its buddhist critics.Ming-Wood Liu - 1987 - Philosophy East and West 37 (4):402-428.
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  30. Ālayavijñāna: on the origin and the early development of a central concept of Yogācāra philosophy: reprint with addenda and corrigenda.Lambert Schmithausen - 1987 - Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies of the International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies.
    pt. 1 Text -- pt. 2 Notes, bibliography and indices.
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  31. Buddhism Under the T'ang.Stanley Weinstein - 1987 - Cambridge University Press.
    Buddhism Under the Tang is a history of the Buddhist Church during the T'ang dynasty, when Buddhist thought reached the pinnacle of its development. The three centuries spanned by the T'ang saw the formation of such important philosophical schools as the Fa-hsiang and Hua-yen, the consolidation of the T'ien-t'ai school, the introduction of Esoteric Buddhism from India, and the emergence of the Pure Land and Chan schools as the predominant expressions of Buddhist faith and practice. Professor Weinstein draws extensively upon (...)
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  32. The Defeat of Vijñaptimatrata in China: Fa-Tsang on Fa-Hsing and Fa-Hsiang.Whalen Lai - 1986 - Journal of Chinese Philosophy 13 (1):1-19.
  33. Philosophy of Mind in Sixth-Century China: Paramārtha's "Evolution of Consciousness"Philosophy of Mind in Sixth-Century China: Paramartha's "Evolution of Consciousness".Bernard Faure & Diana Y. Paul - 1985 - Journal of the American Oriental Society 105 (4):758.
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  34. The mind-only teaChing of Ching-Ying Hui-yüan: An early interpretation of yogācāra thought in china.Ming-Wood Liu - 1985 - Philosophy East and West 35 (4):351-376.
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  35. The yogācārā and mādhyamika interpretations of the Buddha-nature concept in chinese buddhism.Ming-Wood Liu - 1985 - Philosophy East and West 35 (2):171-193.
  36. Philosophy of mind in sixth-century China: Paramārtha's "evolution of consciousness".Diana Y. Paul - 1984 - Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. Edited by Paramārtha.
    Of the many translators who carried the Buddhist doctrine to China, Paramartha, a missionary-monk who arrived in China in AD 546, ranks as the translator par excellence of the sixth century. Introducing philosophical ideas that would subsequently excite the Chinese imagination to develop the great schools of Sui and T'ang Buddhism, Paramartha's translations are almost exclusively of Yogacara Buddhist texts on the nature of the mind and consciousness. This first study of Paramartha in a Western language focuses on the Chuan (...)
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  37. Amalavijñānam und Ālayavijñānam.Erich Frauwallner - 1982 - In Erich Frauwallner, Gerhard Oberhammer & Ernst Steinkellner (eds.), Kleine Schriften.
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  38. Sinitic speculations on Buddha-nature: The nirvāṇa school (420-589).Whalen Lai - 1982 - Philosophy East and West 32 (2):135-149.
  39. Hsüan Tsang, Ch’eng Wei-Shih Lun, The Doctrine of Mere-Consciousness, trans. Wei Tat, Hong Kong, 1973, CXXXIX4-818 pp., $40.00. [REVIEW]Lewis R. Lancaster - 1980 - Journal of Chinese Philosophy 7 (4):385-388.
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  40. The Vijñaptimatrata Buddhism of the Chinese monk K’uei-chi (A.D. 632-682).Alan Sponberg - 1979 - Dissertation, University of British Columbia
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  41. The meaning of "mind-only" : An analysis of a sinitic mahāyāna phenomenon.Whalen Lai - 1977 - Philosophy East and West 27 (1):65-83.
  42. Chih-yeh and the Foundations of Hua-yen Buddhism.Robert Gimello - 1976 - Dissertation, Columbia University
  43. Ch'eng wei-shih lun : the doctrine of mere-consciousness.Tat Wei - 1973 - Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun Publication Committee.
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  44. New Light on the Mahāyāna-śraddotpāda śāstra.Walter Liebenthal - 1958 - T'oung Pao 46:155-216.
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  45. Wŏnhyo's doctrine of the two hindrances.Charles Muller - manuscript
    as a major force in the establishment of Hua-yen studies in Korea. A major component of Wŏnhyo's career that is sometimes overlooked in these characterizations, however, is the fact that he easily stands as one of the greatest Yogācāra scholars in the entire history of East Asian Buddhism, having demonstrated a mastery of the Yogācāra doctrine equaled by probably no more than three or four individuals in the entire East Asian tradition. 1 Indeed, after K'uei-chi 窺基 and Hsüan-tsang 玄奘, there (...)
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