It is crucial to note one extremely important point here: Buddhist Yogacara, also known as the Mind-only school, is different from secular philosophical idealism.
Yogacara is often wrongly equated with idealism, but eminent Buddhist masters warn of this misconception. Compared to the profound exploration of the mind in Buddhism, secular philosophical idealism offers a limited understanding. WhileSigmund Freud introduced the term "subconsciousness," its depth pales in comparison, lacking the cognitive ability to access and apprehend the deeper dimensions of the mind after the six senses have ceased functioning. The mind explored in Buddhism encompasses aspects unaddressed by secular philosophy, such as Alayavijnana, the base consciousness, an important aspect of the mind in Buddhism. Therefore, equating secular idealism with Yogacarais like mistaking a candle flame for the full blaze of the sun.
First, let us look at idealism. It is divided into two categories: objective idealism and subjective idealism. Objective idealism, as the name suggests, believes in an external deity. While subjective idealism posits that the external world is a product of our sensations. However, Yogacara in Buddhism stands apart from both. It holds that the mind is the foundation of all phenomena. When I refer to "Mind-onlyism" and "mind" here, I'm specifically referring to Buddhist Yogacara, not the limited and unworthy-of-discussion idealism in secular philosophy.
Yogacara holds that the cognitive ability itself, along with all perceivable objects, are just functions of the mind. The cognitive ability is the capability of consciousness to perceive, while the cognized is called form, both tangible and intangible.
Each of the five types of consciousness—visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and tactile—has its own perceiving ability and the perceived form. For instance, we are now sitting in this spacious meditation hall. You all see me at the podium giving this lecture, and I see you all in the audience listening. When you see me, your eyes’ ability to see me is the cognitive ability of your visual consciousness. The object, me in this case, that you see through your visual consciousness has two attributes, called "form" and "color" in Buddhist terminology. "Form" refers to the appearance and shape; for example, my round-shaped belly as you are seeing now. The skin tone of mine you are seeing now is the color. It refers to hues like white, black, brown. Your eyes can perceive form and color directly. They are referred to as the form aspect of eye consciousness.
Your ears' ability to hear my voice is the perceiving ability, and the voice heard by your ears is the perceived form. Your noses' ability to perceive various scents and odors in this hall is the perceiving ability, and the scents and odors perceived by your noses is the perceived form. The subtle fragrance of incense rising from the burner, or the faint earthy aroma of the meditation mats, are all perceived forms created by your olfactory consciousness. Your tongues' ability to perceive various tastes in your mouths is the perceiving ability, and the tastes perceived by your tongues is the perceived form. Your physical bodies' ability to sense various sensations coming and going through them is the perceiving ability, and the various sensations such as the pain you feel in your buttocks, knees, and ankles caused by sitting for a long time sensed by you physical bodies are the perceived form. Similarly, as we sit together, the interplay of sensations shapes our individual perceived forms. The gentle hum of the air conditioning, the coolness of the floor beneath our feet, and the subtle shift of our postures throughout the session – these form a tapestry of awareness woven by our tactile consciousness.
Here, let us take physical sensations as an example to analyze how the perceiving ability and the perceived form are differentiated. Sensations come in two types: internal sensations and external sensations. For instance, touching an object is an external sensation. The feelings of hardness or softness resulting from it are the perceived form, and the ability to touch and sense is the perceiving ability. Internal sensation refers to the feeling of the changes in body temperature. Perceived warmth, coldness, or in-between in the body is the perceived form, and the ability to sense these changes is the perceiving ability. Some individuals, when they advance in their spiritual practice, such as reaching a certain level of mindfulness, can perceive a stream of heat rising from the Dantian (the lower abdomen) along the central channel, indicating the body consciousness at work.
These are the perceiving abilities of the consciousnesses described in Yogacara. And now the question is what their essence is? When we look at a piece of wooden block, the seen wooden block is the perceived form, and the ability to see it is the perceiving ability. However, at the same time, I can perceive other things; there is a greater ability called self-knowing. I can see the wooden block, your faces, the space before me simultaneously and overarchingly—I have this greater perceiving ability. What is it? It is the so-called self-knowing aspect of the mind, the essence of all perceiving abilities. This greater ability has functions, and when those functions start to perform, they become the perceiving abilities and the perceived forms.
To recap what we have just discussed: The cognitive functions of consciousness are twofold: perceiving ability and perceived form. The essence of consciousness is referred to as "self-knowing."
Excerpted from:Cognition and Expression Part One
