What do you mean by direct perception of others' minds then?
Collective karma
Re: Collective karma
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Re: Collective karma
No, it does not mean that. For example: 1+1=2 REGARDLESS of your mental conditioning.
So you think that a Buddha's awakened mind is conditioned?Those do not explain how within anyone's experience there can be something independent of one's mental conditioning.
In most situations communication occurs via a medium.Even when there are group activities, each member experiences and comprehends alone, without any means to perceive with the mind of others.
But it seems that you believe that communication cannot occur at all, unless it is directly from mind to mind. If that is your hypothesis, you have to prove it. Because it seems to me that this thread is clear proof that valid communication can occur between individuals and through this communication one person can influence the other without direct unconditioned mind-to-mind communication.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE
"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE
"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Re: Collective karma
If you have the abhijñā of knowing the minds of others, for example, devas, when someone perceives something, it is perceived by a characteristic. A person with such abilities can perceive the intrinsic characteristics of the conceptual image existing in the other person's mind. It does not mean they share the same "thought."
- DiamondMeru
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:24 pm
Re: Collective karma
When you are in a group of people and they yawn, can you prevent yourself from yawning?
We all share biological and cultural subconscious reactions that are shared. Perception of the mind is interpreting these reactions through the lense of one’s own conditioned experience. If you bow I may bow if I am sensitive to your cultural greeting, but ,if I am a confused ignorant American, I may just nod at you but realize it was a customary greeting. You can do this all without perceiving it when it happens because greetings are immediate like smiling and getting a in return.
We all share biological and cultural subconscious reactions that are shared. Perception of the mind is interpreting these reactions through the lense of one’s own conditioned experience. If you bow I may bow if I am sensitive to your cultural greeting, but ,if I am a confused ignorant American, I may just nod at you but realize it was a customary greeting. You can do this all without perceiving it when it happens because greetings are immediate like smiling and getting a in return.
~Homage to you, Tara, upon whom the kings of the assembled gods The gods themselves, and all kinnaras rely; Whose magnificent armor gives joy to all, You who dispel all disputes and bad dreams.~
Re: Collective karma
Mathematical truths mean nothing to those who know nothing about mathematics, i.e. they do not exist for them. If you propose that mathematics is real, independent of minds, that might be so, but they still do not exist for those without relevant knowledge.
Let's review again what I said:In most situations communication occurs via a medium.But it seems that you believe that communication cannot occur at all, unless it is directly from mind to mind.
Karma and its results are strictly individual (here).
Experience is defined by one's own interpretation (here & here).
Therefore:
Individual experiences are the results of karma of the individual (here & here).
Interaction with others is within the scope of individual karma (here).
Which one of the above you do not agree with? Is you view then, that:If that is your hypothesis, you have to prove it.
- Karma is not strictly individual?
- Ignorance is not the root of dependent origination?
- Karma is not responsible for one's experiences?
I presume it is the third one. In other words, there must be exceptions from what occurs to a being, that are not the products of one's karma and not distorted by one's mental conditioning.
A mind is necessarily conditioned. But that's another matter. The problem with assuming that not all experiences are the results of karma means that even when one has attained liberation from karma, all sorts of experiences continue to occur that one can never be free from. In other words, there is no liberation from a conditioned mind.So you think that a Buddha's awakened mind is conditioned?
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Re: Collective karma
That is a perception of a reflection, a copy, a simulacrum of those characteristics, in other words, a representation. Why? Simply because it is the god's perception of a characteristic, not that other being's. To make it not merely a representation, there should be thoughts apart from minds.
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Re: Collective karma
I am not talking about mathematical truths. Even if I have no grasp of mathematics, I know that two individual phenomenon make a pair.
Don't shift the goal posts. You know very well that I do not disagree with any of those points. I asked a specific question, you did not answer it.Which one of the above you do not agree with? Is you view then, that:
- Karma is not strictly individual?
- Ignorance is not the root of dependent origination?
- Karma is not responsible for one's experiences?
So you believe a Buddha's mind is conditioned and thus cannot see things for what they are. You believe that a Buddha is afflicted by ignorance.A mind is necessarily conditioned.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE
"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE
"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Re: Collective karma
Astus, of course an image is a representation. All perceptions of characteristics are representational.Astus wrote: ↑Sat Apr 21, 2018 8:46 pmThat is a perception of a reflection, a copy, a simulacrum of those characteristics, in other words, a representation. Why? Simply because it is the god's perception of a characteristic, not that other being's. To make it not merely a representation, there should be thoughts apart from minds.
For example, there is a story of a monk of whom devas were fond. They cast theirs mind forth one day, looking for this monk, and unable to locate him, they went to the Buddha and asked what had become of him. The Buddha replied, "Why, he became an arhat, he is sitting right there in samadhi."
What had happened? The arhat in samadhi was not grasping any signs, and so his mind disappeared from the mental sight of these devas.
Re: Collective karma
A buddha's mind stream is conditioned and relative; it is however free of affliction and endowed with omniscience.
Re: Collective karma
How do you know? Is that an information inherent in the perceived object, or is it rather an understanding arrived at by inference?
A mind is conditioned, because it is functional, and functioning requires change, causes, etc.So you believe a Buddha's mind is conditioned and thus cannot see things for what they are. You believe that a Buddha is afflicted by ignorance.
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Re: Collective karma
Then why do you call that a direct perception?
Check out Dogen's Tashintsu (BDK ed: vol 4, ch 79). Aside from stories, do you know any text that explains knowing other's minds like that? By the way, the standard list of what kinds of minds are perceived includes whether it is liberated or not.For example, there is a story of a monk of whom devas were fond. They cast theirs mind forth one day, looking for this monk, and unable to locate him, they went to the Buddha and asked what had become of him. The Buddha replied, "Why, he became an arhat, he is sitting right there in samadhi."
What had happened? The arhat in samadhi was not grasping any signs, and so his mind disappeared from the mental sight of these devas.
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Re: Collective karma
Inference. I can imagine that a human society that does not have a mathematical or numerical system will still know that two items are twice as many as one item.
But now you are avoiding my question again:
Of course I can. The fact that there can be mutually understood communication is a testament to that. The fact that teaching and learning can occur is a testament to that. The fact that socialisation occurs is a testament to that.
Are you denying these occur?
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE
"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE
"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Re: Collective karma
Doesn't conditioning imply/require ignorance? Conditioned means dependently arisen and dependent arising has ignorance as it's lynch pin.
"My religion is not deceiving myself."
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE
"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Jetsun Milarepa 1052-1135 CE
"Butchers, prostitutes, those guilty of the five most heinous crimes, outcasts, the underprivileged: all are utterly the substance of existence and nothing other than total bliss."
The Supreme Source - The Kunjed Gyalpo
The Fundamental Tantra of Dzogchen Semde
Re: Collective karma
"The cognition in which there is no conceptual construction is perception."
(Dignaga: Pratyaksapariccheda, in Dignaga on Perception, p 25, tr Hattori)
However:
"By the power of meditation the yogin can have such clear representations that they appear to him almost like the specific forms of the mind of another person, just as deities will bestow grace on a person by appearing in their dreams etc. So even the yogin does not directly grasp another person's mind through his representations. He can be said to know another person's mind only in the sense that the representations which appear in his own mind have the same form as those in another person's mind. therefore yogipratyaksa is called perception only for the sake of convenience."
(Dharmakirti: Samtanantara-siddhi, in Mind Only, p 217-218, tr Wood)
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Re: Collective karma
I do not deny the occurrence. What I say is that they can only occur within the scope of individual karma.Grigoris wrote: ↑Sun Apr 22, 2018 7:42 amBut now you are avoiding my question again:Of course I can. The fact that there can be mutually understood communication is a testament to that. The fact that teaching and learning can occur is a testament to that. The fact that socialisation occurs is a testament to that.
Are you denying these occur?
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?
2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.
3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.
4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.
1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Re: Collective karma
Simply put, no. Being conditioned is not commensurate with being contaminated. For example, path dharmas are conditioned, but they are pure.Grigoris wrote: ↑Sun Apr 22, 2018 7:48 amDoesn't conditioning imply/require ignorance? Conditioned means dependently arisen and dependent arising has ignorance as it's lynch pin.
The dependent origination you describe is the dependent origination of bondage. But there is also a dependent origination of freedom. Conditioned by knowledge, merit arises; conditioned by merit, etc.
Re: Collective karma
Yes, this is what we mean when we say that one can have a direct perception of another's mind.Astus wrote: ↑Sun Apr 22, 2018 8:47 am"The cognition in which there is no conceptual construction is perception."
(Dignaga: Pratyaksapariccheda, in Dignaga on Perception, p 25, tr Hattori)
However:
"By the power of meditation the yogin can have such clear representations that they appear to him almost like the specific forms of the mind of another person, just as deities will bestow grace on a person by appearing in their dreams etc. So even the yogin does not directly grasp another person's mind through his representations. He can be said to know another person's mind only in the sense that the representations which appear in his own mind have the same form as those in another person's mind. therefore yogipratyaksa is called perception only for the sake of convenience."
(Dharmakirti: Samtanantara-siddhi, in Mind Only, p 217-218, tr Wood)
What you cite here is not even slightly different than what I said. Therefore, one can know another's thoughts, because thoughts have characteristics and so forth, which are perceptible to those who possess the abhijña of knowing the minds of others.
Apprehending the blue vase in another person knows, for such people, is exactly the same as direct perception of a blue vase; first the blueness, etc, of the representation in the mind of another is apprehended, and then it is constructed as the blue vase they have perceived in one's own mind. The process is identical. This is not hard to understand.
- Caoimhghín
- Posts: 3419
- Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2016 11:35 pm
- Location: Whitby, Ontario
Re: Collective karma
This looks to slightly resemble the "dependent cessation" of sravakayana.Malcolm wrote: ↑Sun Apr 22, 2018 3:33 pmSimply put, no. Being conditioned is not commensurate with being contaminated. For example, path dharmas are conditioned, but they are pure.
The dependent origination you describe is the dependent origination of bondage. But there is also a dependent origination of freedom. Conditioned by knowledge, merit arises; conditioned by merit, etc.
I don't think it can be the "same thing", because that would imply that bodhisattvas are headed the way of arhats when they realize it, but it is at least vaguely similar, inasmuch as "two modalities", if we can forgive that dreadful tirthika language, are being explored of DO.
Then, the monks uttered this gāthā:
These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?
The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)
These bodies are like foam.
Them being frail, who can rejoice in them?
The Buddha attained the vajra-body.
Still, it becomes inconstant and ruined.
The many Buddhas are vajra-entities.
All are also subject to inconstancy.
Quickly ended, like melting snow --
how could things be different?
The Buddha passed into parinirvāṇa afterward.
(T1.27b10 Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra DĀ 2)