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| − | [[File:0ngm.jpg|thumb|250px|]] | + | #REDIRECT[[The nine consciousnesses]] |
| − | <poem>
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| − | "The most fundamental layer of [[consciousness]] is the ninth or [[amala consciousness]]. Unstained by the workings of [[karma]], this [[consciousness]] represents our true, [[eternal]] [[self]]. The {{Wiki|revolutionary}} aspect of [[Nichiren Buddhism]] is that it seeks to directly bring forth the [[energy]] of this [[consciousness]]--the [[enlightened]] nature of the [[Buddha]]--thus {{Wiki|purifying}} the other, more {{Wiki|superficial}} layers of [[consciousness]]."
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| − | The [[Buddhist]] [[teaching]] of the [[nine consciousnesses]] offers the basis for a comprehensive understanding of who we are, our true identity. It also helps explain how [[Buddhism]] sees the [[eternal]] continuity of our [[lives]] over cycles of [[birth]] and [[death]]. This perspective on the [[human]] [[being]] is the [[fruit]] of thousands of years of intense introspective investigation into the nature of [[consciousness]]. Historically, it is grounded in efforts to [[experience]] and explain the [[essence]] of [[Shakyamuni's]] [[enlightenment]] beneath the [[bodhi tree]] some 2,500 years ago.
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| − | The [[nine consciousnesses]] can be [[thought]] of as different layers of [[consciousness]] which are constantly operating together to create our [[lives]]. The [[Sanskrit]] word [[vijnāna]], which is translated as [[consciousness]], includes a wide range of activities, including [[sensation]], {{Wiki|cognition}} and [[conscious]] [[thought]]. The first five of these [[consciousnesses]] are the familiar [[senses]] of [[sight]], [[hearing]], smell, {{Wiki|taste}} and touch. The [[sixth consciousness]] is the [[function]] that integrates and processes the various sensory {{Wiki|data}} to [[form]] an overall picture or [[thought]], identifying what it is that our [[five senses]] are communicating to us. It is primarily with these six functions of [[life]] that we perform our daily activities.
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| − | [[File:Url-bcc.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
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| − | Below this level of [[consciousness]] is the [[seventh consciousness]]. Unlike those layers of [[consciousness]] that are directed toward the outer [[world]], the [[seventh consciousness]] is directed toward our inner [[life]] and is largely independent of [[sensory]] input. The [[seventh consciousness]] is the basis for our [[sense]] of {{Wiki|individual}} identity; [[attachment]] to a [[self]] distinct to and separate from others has its basis in this [[consciousness]], as does our [[sense]] of right and wrong.
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| − | Below the [[seventh consciousness]], [[Buddhism]] elucidates a deeper layer, the eighth or [[ālaya consciousness]], also known as the never-perishing or [[storehouse consciousness]]. It is here that the [[energy]] of our [[karma]] resides. Whereas the first seven [[consciousnesses]] disappear on [[death]], the [[eighth consciousness]] persists through the cycles of active [[life]] and the latency of [[death]]. It can be [[thought]] of as the [[life]]-flow that supports the activities of the other [[consciousnesses]]. The [[experiences]] described by those who have undergone clinical [[death]] and been revived could be said to be occurrences at the borderline of the seventh and eighth [[consciousnesses]].
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| − | An understanding of these levels of [[consciousness]] and the interaction between them can offer valuable insights into the nature of [[life]] and the [[self]], as well as pointing to the resolution of the fundamental problems that [[humanity]] confronts.
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| − | According to [[Buddhist teachings]], there are specific deep-seated [[delusions]] in the [[seventh consciousness]] regarding the nature of [[self]]. These [[delusions]] arise from the relationship between the seventh and eighth levels of [[consciousness]] and [[manifest]] as fundamental {{Wiki|egotism}}.
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| − | [[Buddhist teachings]] describe the seventh layer as [[emerging]] from the [[eighth consciousness]]: it is always focused on the [[eighth consciousness]] of the {{Wiki|individual}}, which it [[perceives]] as something fixed, unique and isolated from other things. In [[reality]], the [[eighth consciousness]] is in a state of continual flux. At this level our [[lives]] constantly interact, exerting a profound [[influence]] on each other. The [[perception]] of a fixed and isolated [[self]] that the [[seventh consciousness]] generates is thus false.
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| − | The [[seventh consciousness]] is also the seat of the {{Wiki|fear}} of [[death]]. [[Being]] unable to perceive the [[true nature]] of the [[eighth consciousness]] as an enduring flow of [[life]] [[energy]], it imagines that upon [[death]], the [[eighth consciousness]] will become permanently [[extinct]]. {{Wiki|Fear}} of [[death]] thus has [[roots]] in the deep layers of the subconscious.
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| − | [[File:1061.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
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| − | The [[delusion]] that the [[eighth consciousness]] is one's [[true self]] is also termed [[fundamental ignorance]], a turning away from the interconnectedness of all [[being]]. It is this [[sense]] of one's [[self]] as separate and isolated from others that gives rise to {{Wiki|discrimination}}, to destructive [[arrogance]] and unbridled acquisitiveness. [[Humanity]]'s ravaging of the natural environment is another obvious result.
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| − | A [[Karmic]] [[River]]
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| − | [[Buddhism]] posits that our [[thoughts]], words and [[deeds]] invariably create an imprint in the deep layers of the [[eighth consciousness]]. This is what [[Buddhists]] refer to as [[karma]]. The [[eighth consciousness]] is therefore sometimes referred to as the [[karmic]] storehouse--the place where these [[karmic]] [[seeds]] are stored. These [[seeds]] or latent [[energy]] can be either positive or negative; the [[eighth consciousness]] remains [[neutral]] and equally receptive to either type of [[karmic]] imprinting. The [[energy]] becomes [[manifest]] when [[conditions]] are ripe. Positive latent [[causes]] can become [[manifest]] as both positive effects in one's [[life]] and as positive [[psychological]] functions such as [[trust]], [[nonviolence]], {{Wiki|self-control}}, [[compassion]] and [[wisdom]]. Negative latent [[causes]] can [[manifest]] as various forms of [[delusion]] and destructive {{Wiki|behavior}} and give rise to [[suffering]] for ourselves and others.
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| − | While the image of a storehouse is helpful, a truer image may be that of a [[raging]] torrent of [[karmic]] [[energy]]. This [[energy]] is constantly moving through and shaping our [[lives]] and [[experience]]. Our resultant [[thoughts]] and [[actions]] are then fed back into this [[karmic]] flow. The quality of the [[karmic]] flow is what makes each of us distinct beings--our unique selves. The flow of [[energy]] is constantly changing, but, like a [[river]], it maintains an identity and [[consistency]] even through successive cycles of [[life]] and [[death]]. It is this aspect of fluidity, this lack of fixity, that opens the possibility of [[transforming]] the content of the [[eighth consciousness]]. This is why [[karma]], properly understood, is different from an [[unchanging]] or unavoidable [[destiny]].
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| − | The question, therefore, is how we increase the [[balance]] of positive [[karma]]. This is the basis for various forms of [[Buddhist]] practice that seek to imprint positive [[causes]] in our [[lives]]. When caught up in a cycle of negative [[cause and effect]], however, it is difficult to avoid making further negative [[causes]], and it is here that we turn to the most fundamental layer of [[consciousness]], the ninth or [[amala consciousness]].
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| − | This can be [[thought]] of as the [[life]] of the [[cosmos]] itself; it is also referred to as the fundamentally [[pure]] [[consciousness]]. Unstained by the workings of [[karma]], this [[consciousness]] represents our true, [[eternal]] [[self]]. The revolutionary aspect of [[Nichiren Buddhism]] is that it seeks to directly bring forth the [[energy]] of this [[consciousness]]--the [[enlightened]] nature of the [[Buddha]]--thus purifying the other, more [[superficial]] layers of [[consciousness]]. The great [[power]] of the [[ninth consciousness]] welling forth changes even entrenched patterns of negative [[karma]] in the [[eighth consciousness]].
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| − | Because the [[eighth consciousness]] transcends the boundaries of the {{Wiki|individual}}, merging with the latent [[energy]] of one's family, one's {{Wiki|ethnic}} group, and also with that of [[animals]] and [[plants]], a positive [[change]] in this [[karmic]] [[energy]] becomes a "cogwheel" for [[change]] in the [[lives]] of others. As SGI President {{Wiki|Daisaku Ikeda}} writes, "When we activate this fundamentally [[pure]] [[consciousness]], the [[energy]] of all [[life]]'s good and [[evil]] [[karma]] is directed toward value creation; and the [[mind]] or [[consciousness]]...of humankind is infused with the [[life]] current of [[compassion]] and [[wisdom]]." [[Nichiren]] identified the practice of [[chanting]] the phrase [[Nam-myoho-renge-kyo]] as the basic means for activating the [[ninth consciousness]] in our [[lives]].
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| − | As the layers of [[consciousness]] are [[transformed]], they each give rise to unique forms of [[wisdom]]. The [[wisdom]] inherent in the [[eighth consciousness]] allows us to perceive ourselves, our [[experience]] and other [[phenomena]] with perfect clarity and to profoundly appreciate the interconnectedness and [[interdependence]] of all things. As the deep-rooted [[delusions]] of the [[seventh consciousness]] are [[transformed]], an {{Wiki|individual}} is enabled to overcome the {{Wiki|fear}} of [[death]], as well as the [[aggression]] and violence that spring from this {{Wiki|fear}}. A [[wisdom]] arises which enables us to perceive the fundamental equality of all [[living beings]] and to deal with them on an [[unchanging]] basis of [[respect]]. It is this type of [[transformation]] and [[wisdom]] that is sorely required in our [[world]] today.
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| − | </poem>
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| − | {{R}}
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| − | [http://www.sgi.org/buddhism/buddhist-concepts/the-nine-consciousnesses.html www.sgi.org]
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| − | [[Category:Consciousness]]
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