Lay Buddhist Zhuang Chunjiang: A Basic Understanding of Buddhism — Chapter 4: Understanding the Self, Section 2: The Development of Our Cognition

Chapter 4: Understanding the Self

Section 2: The Development of Our Cognition

Cognitive Development and Dharma Practice

We often say that affliction and suffering arise from the body and mind’s reactions to what we encounter. More precisely, they emerge as our physical and mental responses develop in the moment we meet and make sense of a situation. The scope of these situations is vast, covering both “inner states” and “external objects.” Inner states are the contents of our own minds, which can be loosely grouped into three categories: feeling (vedanā), perception (saññā), and volitional formation (saṅkhāra)[1]. External objects are everything outside the mind: things seen by the eyes, felt by the body, sounds heard by the ears, and tastes discerned by the nose and tongue.

The second of the Four Noble Truths — the truth of origination (samudaya) — teaches that we have to uncover the root cause of affliction and suffering before we can let them go entirely. That root cause is craving, which springs from our sense of a separate self. But how does this craving take root and grow as we meet and make sense of the world around us? Our cognitive process is fluid, intricate, and constantly evolving — and it happens far faster than we realize. Affliction and suffering move and shift just as quickly. Without dedicated study and training, it is almost impossible to see the links between what we encounter and how we react. Often, by the time we notice a feeling arising in response to something, we are already caught in affliction and distress. The steps in between? We might have only a faint, blurred sense of them — or no memory of them at all[2]. If this is how it is for us, we have no clear starting point for working to ease our affliction and suffering. How can we ever hope to end them completely?

If it were true that simply encountering and making sense of an object automatically brought on joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, grief, lamentation, pain, and distress, what would be the point of practicing the Dharma at all? The moment our senses contact any object, cognition arises as inevitably as a sound follows two hands clapping together[3]. What is more, we cannot simply shut down all six sense faculties and treat isolation from the world as a valid practice. Doing so would cut us off from contact-food (phassāhāra), one of the four kinds of nutriment that sustain this very life. Even closing off just one sense faculty and isolating ourselves from certain objects is not a practice the Buddha endorsed — for if that were the case, would only the blind and the deaf be able to practice[4]? We know Dharma practice is nothing like this. The Buddha, and the many liberated arahants including the Venerables Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, did not practice this way. Since we cannot avoid contact with the world, and contact always gives rise to cognition, our only path forward is to understand how this cognitive process unfolds. Only then can we find the right place to start our practice. This is a fundamental understanding we cannot afford to overlook in our study and practice of the Dharma.

Our Cognitive Development Process — A Modern Perspective

Modern psychologists and neuroscientists, working primarily to correct cognitive deficits and treat brain disorders, have run countless experiments on animal brains and built up a vast body of clinical experience from treating human brain conditions. Their work has revealed how the information our senses pick up is transmitted and processed in the brain[5]. This research focuses on the brain’s structure and function. While its goals are different from ours in Dharma practice — the full cessation of affliction — it can still offer useful guidance as we choose our practice methods, and is well worth looking into.

When our sense organs — eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind — come into contact with an external object, it is like receiving a signal from the outside world. This signal is converted by the sensory nervous system into a format the brain can work with, then sent to the thalamus. From there, it travels along two routes: one to the amygdala and the nearby hippocampus, and the other (the main route) to the relevant part of the cerebral cortex. Visual input from the eyes goes to the visual cortex, sound from the ears to the auditory cortex, touch from the skin to the somatosensory cortex, smell to the olfactory cortex, and so on. In each of these cortical areas, the signal is analyzed and given meaning.

The amygdala is a small, almond-shaped cluster of tissue found in both the left and right hemispheres of the brain. It acts as the frontline outpost and command center for quick emotional reactions, and also stores memories of past emotional experiences. The hippocampus sits just above the amygdala, connected to it, and holds memories of situations that have triggered strong emotions in the past. The cerebral cortex is the hub for rational analysis (thought) and understanding (learning and memory). Normally, the cortex leads the cognitive process, and can tone down the amygdala’s impulsive, knee-jerk reactions. But sometimes the amygdala’s surge is so powerful that it overrides the cortex, taking over the response entirely. In these moments, the cortex’s analysis can end up justifying the amygdala’s agitated feelings, acting as an accomplice that amplifies the emotional impulse even further.

For most of us, what we call analysis and understanding works by comparing new information with memories of past experiences, and making sense of the present through the filter of those memories. These memories include both events we have lived through ourselves, and value systems shaped by our education, cultural background, social conditioning, religious and moral beliefs, and more. The amygdala’s reading of a situation is purely emotional: it is fast, but also rough, approximate, and imprecise — a quick, impulsive match to familiar patterns. The cerebral cortex, by contrast, weighs multiple factors, comes to a more accurate conclusion, and takes more time to do so. Once the cortex finishes its comparison, its results are sent back to the amygdala, where they are blended with the amygdala’s own initial assessment before a response signal is sent out. But sometimes the amygdala cannot wait for the cortex to finish its work. It will send its own response signal first, to deal with immediate perceived danger. The “gut reaction” or “instinctive response” we often talk about is one example of this. This signal travels from the amygdala to the hypothalamus, triggering a flood of hormone release, and to the striatum, the brain region tied to movement. The effects of these two signaling paths can change how the body functions, leading to the physical signs of emotion we all know: a racing heart, quickened breath, tightness in the chest, tense muscles, stomach cramps, trembling, tears, laughter, screaming, rage, and more.

This research makes clear how the amygdala, cerebral cortex, and emotional arousal are linked, helping us understand why we have such intense emotional reactions in terms of brain structure. It is especially worth noting that the path information takes to reach the cerebral cortex is longer, so rational responses take more time to form. This is why logical, considered responses usually arrive later, while quick, reflexive reactions are almost always driven by the amygdala. This knowledge is incredibly useful when we are choosing ways to work with strong emotions.

Our Cognitive Development Process — The Dharma Perspective

Two and a half thousand years ago, in the Buddha’s time, medical knowledge was of course very different from what we have today. No surviving texts from that era discuss brain anatomy or neural transmission. Yet the Buddha’s explanation of our cognitive process, framed not as medical theory but as a guide to practice, is strikingly clear and complete. The sutras put it this way: “Conditioned by the eye and forms, visual consciousness arises. The meeting of the three is contact. Conditioned by contact, feeling arises; conditioned by feeling, craving arises; conditioned by craving, clinging arises; conditioned by clinging, becoming arises; conditioned by becoming, birth arises; conditioned by birth, aging, death, grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and distress come to be.”[6]

What this describes is the process that unfolds when any of our six sense faculties — whether we are actively paying attention to an object, or passively drawn to it — takes in an impression of that object. Through comparing and inferring from past experiences (stored memories), that perceived object takes on a specific meaning for us, and we can say we have cognized it. This is contact (phassa), or more precisely, cognitive contact (viññāṇa-phassa): sensation that has become recognition[7]. An object that holds meaning for us will trigger a feeling: pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral (vedanā). From that feeling, liking (craving) or disliking (aversion) arises. Even aversion springs from preference: we dislike what is in front of us because we are attached to something else. Aversion is, in fact, the other side of craving; the two are deeply tangled, and endlessly give rise to one another[8]. This is why the sutras so often use “craving” (taṇhā) as a broad term that includes aversion and hatred. Once craving arises, it pushes us to act: first fixation, then the urge to possess (clinging; “conditioned by craving, clinging arises”), then the accumulation and ripening of that possessive drive (becoming; “conditioned by clinging, becoming arises”), and finally, action. And so events unfold, one after another, bringing us joy and anger, sorrow and pleasure, grief, lamentation, pain, and distress.

Here is an example: one evening, a friend who practices Buddhism came to the meditation hall as he usually did, closed his eyes, and settled in to meditate. He had not yet mastered one-pointed concentration, so his sense of hearing was still fully active. All at once, a faint sound broke the silence. His ear picked it up (ear-consciousness — what the sutra describes as “conditioned by the ear and sound, ear-consciousness arises”). He matched the sound against his memory of familiar noises, and guessed it was a cockroach flying nearby (contact — the sutra’s “meeting of the three is contact”). Because he had been afraid of cockroaches since childhood, an unpleasant feeling sparked in his mind right away (feeling — “conditioned by contact, feeling arises”), along with a strong urge to focus on the sound and figure out what it was (volition). The sound kept coming, and each new snippet of audio added more clues: his guess shifted from “maybe a cockroach” to “yes, that’s definitely a cockroach,” then to noticing how fast it was moving and where it was in the room. Each new detail fed back into how strong the unpleasant feeling grew. In the end, because of his long-held disgust for cockroaches, aversion arose even before the insect came near him (aversion falls under the umbrella of craving, per the sutra’s “conditioned by feeling, craving arises”). The urge to stop meditating welled up (clinging — “conditioned by craving, clinging arises”), grew stronger, and soon his willingness to keep sitting was completely gone (becoming — “conditioned by clinging, becoming arises”). He took action: either opening his eyes to look for the cockroach, or standing up to chase it away (birth — “conditioned by becoming, birth arises”). Then came the frustration: his entire meditation session had been ruined by this one small cockroach (distress — “conditioned by birth, aging, death, grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and distress come to be”).

This is a simplified illustration of a deliberately simple example, showing how cognition and the mental states that follow it develop, all the way to the arising of affliction and suffering (grief, lamentation, pain, sorrow, and distress). We call it simplified because in real life, even when we are engaging with a single object, our six sense faculties almost never work in isolation. Usually two or more senses are active at the same time, influencing and feeding into each other. The mind faculty (manas) in particular: a single thought can set off an entire cognitive process. The result is a deeply tangled, complex web. What is more, contact with objects is rarely limited to one thing at a time, or static: one stimulus follows right after another. Our cognitive process is therefore layered and fluid, making it even harder to see how it unfolds step by step (which is why the above example is so stripped-down). Even so, by studying how the cognitive process works with simple, clear objects, we will gradually grow familiar with its patterns, and learn to untangle even the most complex cases. This is especially important for events that cause us deep distress: no matter how complicated they seem, we need to sit with them and analyze them carefully, to see clearly where the problem lies.

The Purpose of Analyzing the Cognitive Development Process

What is the point of analyzing this cognitive process, and how does it support our Dharma practice? When an event is unfolding and the cognitive process is in full flow, most of us are too caught up in the moment to step back and observe it clearly. But we can do this analysis later, when we reflect on the event after it has passed. In other words, this is a practice rooted in honest self-reflection. Through analysis, we can start to pinpoint the root of the problem. Take the cockroach example above: we might ask, why did I feel such intense disgust? That small weakness — our aversion to cockroaches — turned out to be the key factor that led to the whole outcome: frustration. We can take this insight and reflect on it through a Dharma lens: the next time I face a similar situation, what would be the most appropriate response, aligned with the teachings? If we work out a rough plan of action ahead of time — like running through a scenario in our heads — this is extremely helpful for those new to practice. Beyond that, we can also seek out or develop specific practice methods to work with this particular weakness.

The Flow of Dependent Origination in the Present Moment

If you’re familiar with the twelve links of dependent origination, you’ll notice that from “contact through the coming together of three factors” onward, the process of cognitive development folds directly into the twelve links. This is a present-moment explanation of dependent origination — specifically, the nine-link formulation. We don’t have to spell out all twelve links when describing the cyclical arising of birth, death, and affliction (i.e., dependent origination). It can also be presented as the two-link version (ignorance, craving), the five-link version (craving, clinging, becoming, birth, death), or the nine-link version that focuses on the present-moment process of cognitive development. While these formulations differ in detail, each fully captures the essential meaning of dependent origination. In the nine-link version, the missing links — ignorance, volitional formations, and name-and-form — are actually subsumed within the other links. For example, ignorance is also manifested in contact: an ordinary person’s “consciousness-contact” is invariably “contact accompanied by ignorance.” When sensory input is recognized as meaningful content, ignorance is already at work [9]. The link of volitional formations refers to the karmic influence left behind by past actions [10], and this too is expressed in the link of craving [11]: whether we develop liking or disliking toward what we cognize is invariably shaped by past experience (or impressions, i.e., the influence of past actions, or karma). As for name-and-form, the suttas explain that “name” refers to the four immaterial aggregates — feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness — while “form” refers to the four great elements and matter derived from them [12]. Thus name-and-form refers to the body-mind of the five aggregates, which aligns exactly with the scope of the six sense bases. Furthermore, according to the sutta passage “Internally there is this consciousness-body, externally there is name-and-form; these two conditions give rise to contact” [13], “name-and-form” can also be understood as “the objects known by consciousness”: form is the external object, name is the internal object. In this way, the “object” in the cognitive process can also be counted as a link in the twelve links of dependent origination. Adding “object” to the original nine links yields a ten-link formulation.

Simultaneous and Sequential Arising

The suttas teach that contact gives rise to feeling — the arising of sensation is the next step in how we cognize an object. Beyond this sequential link, the Venerable Nanda once taught the nuns, guiding them in contemplation of non-self at the six sense bases, and noted that contact can also directly give rise to thought and imagination (perception, or “contact conditions perception”), or to intention and resolve (volitional formations, or “contact conditions intention”; volitional formations are also translated as “intention”) [14]. This is the first account, which we can understand as: after cognizing an object, we may undergo an emotional shift, a cascade of associations and thoughts may be triggered, or our intention may change. The second account comes from the Buddha’s teaching to monks on contemplating the impermanence of dependent origination: after contact, feeling arises in the mind; from feeling, intention arises; once intention takes shape, thought and imagination follow (after feeling, intention; after intention, perception) [15]. The third account comes from the Buddha’s guidance to a monk on contemplating non-self through observing “all empty formations”: after cognizing an object, feeling, perception, and intention arise all at once (feeling, perception, and intention co-arise with contact) [16]. These three seemingly conflicting accounts in the suttas might leave you wondering which to trust, but try looking at it differently: couldn’t these three different descriptions simply reflect three possible ways our minds respond after cognizing an object? This is very much worth observing and exploring in your daily life.

The Meaning of Citta, Mano, and Viññāṇa

In early Buddhism, the terms citta (mind/heart), mano (mentation), and viññāṇa (consciousness) were not strictly distinguished. For example, when the Buddha explained the six sense bases, he said the mind sense base is precisely citta, mano, and viññāṇa: abstract, immaterial, invisible, and intangible [17]. Another time, the Buddha noted that everyone habitually takes “consciousness” to be “the self,” then pointed out that our citta, mano, and viññāṇa change from moment to moment, just like restless monkeys moving through the forest — how could there be an unchanging self in that [18]? He also once consoled his cousin, the lay follower Mahānāma, saying that his citta, mano, and viññāṇa had long been shaped by the Dharma through faith, virtue, generosity, and the wisdom born of learning. After death, his “consciousness” would certainly be reborn in a secure place, relieving his fear that despite his wholehearted dedication to practice, he might fall into an unfortunate rebirth in the next life [19]. After the early Buddhist community split into different schools, Abhidharma scholars began to disagree on whether citta, mano, and viññāṇa carried distinct meanings. Some, following traditional usage, said there was no difference in meaning at all — only different names for the same thing [20]. Others argued that the difference in terminology itself signals a difference in the concepts the terms refer to. Scholars who held that citta, mano, and viññāṇa had distinct meanings looked to the different ways the terms are used in the suttas to tease out their unique connotations. For instance, the five aggregates use the term “consciousness” (viññāṇa) aggregate, never “citta aggregate” or “mano aggregate”; the six sense bases refer to the “mind” (mano) sense base, never the “citta sense base” or “viññāṇa sense base.” The suttas also describe citta as “traveling far, traveling alone” [21], pointing to its far-reaching, persistent nature — its function of storing and remembering. They describe mano as the “forerunner” to highlight its directive, leading quality [22], and explain consciousness as arising from “the six sense faculties meeting the six sense objects.” All of these nuances point to subtle differences in emphasis between the three terms. If we summarize their cognitive functions with respect to an object: mano is the initial “spark of attention”; viññāṇa is the subsequent “discernment and recognition”; citta is the later “synthesis and integration” and “storage of memory.” How does this work? When we encounter an object, if we do not attend to it — whether intentionally or unintentionally — the image (information) of that object will not arise in the mind, and the process will not move to the next stage of discernment. This is like the common saying: “look but don’t see, hear but don’t hear.” Because our attention is not focused there, we don’t take in the object’s information. When the conditions for attention are met and the object’s information enters awareness, discernment and recognition begin. After discernment, the process immediately moves to the core of cognition: interpreting that information. How does this interpretation (cognition) happen? It happens by comparing the input to past experience and memory, integrating information from all relevant angles, until cognition is complete. After cognition, a new experience is formed, which is immediately stored in memory, becoming part of our pool of past experience. It waits to shape the next round of cognition: influencing which objects we choose to attend to, and how we interpret and recognize incoming information. This creates layer upon layer of reciprocal influence, as shown in the diagram below.

Figure: The meaning of citta, mano, and viññāṇa in the cognitive process and their reciprocal influence (omitted)

The Pivotal Stages of Contact and Feeling

So in our analysis of the cognitive development process above, which stage is the turning point where sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair arise? The process of cognition and its aftermath unfolds so quickly — can we ever catch it clearly? This is the question that nags at us once we understand how the cognitive development process works. Below are four relevant teachings from the Buddha, as we explore this question together:

1. When the Buddha contemplated the cessation of the twelve links of dependent origination (working in reverse order), he traced back step by step from death to birth, to becoming, to clinging, all the way to craving. He said that if we can let go of clinging and not give rise to attachment, craving will cease. Once craving ceases, the entire chain of dependent origination unravels from that point: “With the cessation of craving, clinging ceases; with the cessation of clinging, becoming ceases; with the cessation of becoming, birth ceases; with the cessation of birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair cease.” The Buddha compared this cessation of craving to an oil lamp that is no longer refilled with oil and no longer has its wick trimmed: it will inevitably go out [23].

2. The Buddha said that ordinary, unawakened people experience pleasant, painful, and neutral feelings, and that learned noble disciples who have attained stream-entry and higher fruits [24] experience the exact same feelings. So what sets worldlings apart from noble ones? Worldlings can only go wherever their feelings lead them: when a pleasant feeling arises, greed springs up; when a painful feeling arises, aversion springs up; and even with neutral feelings, they remain oblivious to their shifting, impermanent nature. Noble disciples, by contrast, do not follow their feelings around. They see clearly how feelings arise, how they change, and how they fade away. They also experience only the physical aspect of sensation, and never let physical pleasure or pain spiral into psychological distress. As a result, greed, hatred, and delusion do not arise in them, and they do not become slaves to these defilements, trapped in sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, and despair [25]. This teaching makes clear that learned noble disciples relate to feelings very differently from ordinary people.

3. The Buddha said that in our cognitive development process — which runs through sense faculty, sense object, consciousness, contact, feeling, and so on — if we have no deep, firsthand understanding of the cause of feeling’s arising, the arising and passing of feeling (its cessation), the gratification feeling can bring, its inherent peril, and the way to transcend its lingering influence (escape), then the seeds of greed, hatred, delusion, and self-view are sown right here, and all kinds of unwholesome actions follow [26].

4. The Buddha also said that if, in the cognitive development process — running through sense faculty, sense object, consciousness, and contact — we have no deep, firsthand understanding of the six types of contact: their cause of arising, their arising and passing (cessation), the gratification they can bring, their inherent peril, and the way to transcend their lingering influence (escape) — then we are as far from the Dharma and Discipline I teach as the earth is from the sky. But if, within these six contacts, we realize non-self directly, do not cling, and do not give rise to defilements (influxes), we can be said to have “fully known and severed” contact: just as cutting the root of a fan-palm tree ensures it will never sprout or grow again [27].

At first glance, the teachings in the third and fourth passages may seem contradictory: why does one focus on “feeling,” while the other emphasizes “contact”? Look closer, though: the fourth passage’s phrase “fully known and severed contact” uses the fan-palm root metaphor, which is reserved exclusively for arahants — fully liberated sages — to describe their permanent end to birth and death, their freedom from the cycle of rebirth. The second and third passages both center on “feeling.” The third does not specify what attainment comes from deeply understanding feeling, but the second makes clear that those who do not follow their feelings around are learned noble disciples. “Learned noble disciples” generally refers to practitioners who have attained stream-entry and higher fruits. In their practice toward liberation, they have reached a stage where they can no longer fall back, but they have not yet achieved the full liberation from birth and death of an arahant — they are still continuing their practice. So in the cognitive development process, those who can transcend the influence of feeling are learned noble disciples, while those who can cut off self-view and ignorance at the earlier stage of contact — so that every moment of cognition is “luminous contact” — are the sages fully liberated from birth and death.

These four teachings from the Buddha offer some key insights: if the cognitive development process reaches the stage where craving arises, greed, hatred, and delusion are unavoidable — like the common saying, “the arrow is nocked and the bow is fully drawn; it cannot help but fly.” Once we reach the stages of clinging and becoming, defilements accumulate and come to fruition, moving from dormant to manifest, and there is almost no chance to stop them from progressing further at these stages [28]. So in the cognitive development process, we can practice not letting craving arise in the first place — that is, letting feeling remain just feeling [29], with no further developments following it. Going a step further, if we can cultivate the practice of letting contact remain just contact — so that every contact is “luminous contact,” free from self-clinging and ignorance — then liberation from birth and death is fully accomplished.

Notes

[1] “Based on the five sense bases, the five sense consciousnesses arise and perceive the five sense objects; based on the mind base, mind-consciousness arises and can know feeling, perception, and volitional formations — the mental objects — and can also comprehensively know all phenomena, past and future, conventional and ultimate, and so on.” From An Overview of the Buddha-Dharma (佛法概论), p. 61, by Venerable Yinshun. The term “mental objects” (别法处) appears in the Nyāyānusāra (顺正理论): “That school holds only that the aggregates of feeling, perception, and volition are called ‘mental objects’…” (Taishō Tripiṭaka, vol. 29, p. 361a).

[2] “It’s just like falling from a tree. Before you realize what’s happening — bam! — you’ve already hit the ground. Actually, as you fell, you passed through countless branches and twigs, but you can’t remember any of them, or count how many there were.” From A Tree in a Forest (II) (森林里的一棵树 II), p. 53, by Ajahn Chah, compiled and translated by the Dharma Garden Translation Group.

[3] “Bhikkhu, it is just as when two hands are clapped together to make a sound. Likewise, dependent on the eye and visible forms, eye-consciousness arises; the coming together of these three factors is contact; and co-arising with contact are feeling, perception, and intention. None of these phenomena are self; they are not permanent. This is a self that is impermanent, not enduring, not stable, not unchanging.” From Saṃyukta Āgama Sutta 273.

[4] “Uttara said to the Buddha: ‘My teacher, Bāhiya, says that not seeing forms with the eye and not hearing sounds with the ear is what is called cultivating the sense faculties.’ The Buddha said to Uttara: ‘If that is what your teacher Bāhiya teaches, then would a blind person be cultivating the sense faculties? After all, only a blind person has eyes that do not see forms.’” From Saṃyukta Āgama Sutta 282.

[5] The discussion below of how external information received through the sense organs is transmitted and processed along neural pathways and circuits in the brain is primarily based on Emotional Intelligence (EQ), chapters 1, 2, 4, and 5, by Daniel Goleman, translated by Zhang Meihui, published by China Times Publishing Co.

[6] See Saṃyukta Āgama Sutta 218. The sutta names this “the path of the arising of suffering.”

[7] "When this consciousness arises, it takes shape through the union of three factors, dependent on the sense base and its object; this unified consciousness is called contact (触)—the sensory engagement that forms the basis of cognition. The Sautrāntika school explains contact as identical to consciousness itself: it is the consciousness active at the moment of contacting an object, as the Saṃyuktāgama (vol. 13, Sūtra 307) states: ‘From the two conditions of eye and form, mind and mental factors arise. Consciousness makes contact, and what arises alongside it—feeling, perception, and so on—all have their causes.’ The Vibhajyavāda school, by contrast, regards consciousness and contact as two distinct but simultaneously associated dharmas; thus contact arises from the three-fold union, and is also the mental factor that binds the three together. The consciousness that engages a sense base and its object is not inherently dual, but because the sense base’s grasping of the object stirs the inner mind, the mind responds to the object and forms a cognition. This process, moving from outer to inner and back out again, seems to involve two separate minds: an inner awareness and a mind that engages the object. This is true of attention and mind, of consciousness and contact. This cognitive process is extremely rapid, and it is hard to separate its steps in sequence, nor can we force a hard division between inner and outer; we speak of it this way only for the sake of clear explanation. Otherwise, it’s easy to mistakenly assume the inner mind exists independently of the sense base and object." An Introduction to the Buddha's Teaching, p. 114, by Venerable Master Yinshun.

[8] "At that time, the World-Honored One addressed the bhikṣus: ‘There is craving that springs from craving, hatred that springs from craving, craving that springs from hatred, and hatred that springs from hatred. What is meant by craving that springs from craving?’..." Saṃyuktāgama, Sūtra 985.

[9] "While it’s often said that the root of birth and death is ignorance, ignorance is in fact already contained within the contact link of the twelve links of dependent origination. Contact takes many forms, but the contact referred to in dependent origination is ignorance-contact. Because contact accompanied by ignorance prevents us from truly knowing the objects we grasp—we fail to see their impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and lack of self; we fail to understand the Three Jewels, the Four Noble Truths, or the karmic consequences of wholesome and unwholesome actions—we develop feeling. Attachment to that feeling gives rise to craving and grasping." Exploring the Source of Consciousness-Only, p. 25, by Venerable Master Yinshun.

[10] "Furthermore, the twelve links of dependent origination describe the cyclical interplay of afflictions, karma, and suffering: afflictions give rise to karma, karma gives rise to suffering, suffering gives rise to further suffering, and suffering in turn gives rise to more afflictions... ‘Afflictions give rise to karma’ refers to the link of ignorance conditioning formations; ‘karma gives rise to suffering’ refers to formations conditioning consciousness..." Mahāvibhāṣā (Taishō 27, p. 112c).

[11] "Craving and grasping are not subsumed under ignorance, but fall within the formations link." Exploring the Source of Consciousness-Only, pp. 25–26, by Venerable Master Yinshun. The text also cites Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra 294: "The ignorant, unhearing ordinary being, veiled by ignorance, bound by the condition of craving, obtains this body of consciousness. Internally there is this body of consciousness, externally there is name-and-form; from these two conditions contact arises." And Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra 307: "Karma, craving, and ignorance are causes that accumulate the aggregates of another life." These are compared with the standard sequence of dependent origination—"Ignorance conditions formations, formations condition consciousness, consciousness conditions name-and-form, name-and-form conditions the six sense bases, the six sense bases condition contact..."—to illustrate this view.

[12] "What is name? The four formless aggregates: feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. What is form? The four great elements and the forms derived from them. This is called form." Saṃyuktāgama, Sūtra 298.

[13] Saṃyuktāgama, Sūtra 294.

[14] "The Venerable Nanda addressed the bhikṣunīs: ‘Well said, well said! Observe with clarity and in accordance with reality. As for the six contact-bases, observe that they are without self, in accordance with reality: When eye and form give rise to eye-consciousness, the three converge to form contact; from contact arises feeling. Is that feeling the self, other than the self, or part of the self? ... When eye and form give rise to eye-consciousness, the three converge to form contact; from contact arises perception. Is that perception the self, other than the self, or part of the self? ... When eye and form give rise to eye-consciousness, the three converge to form contact; from contact arises volition. Is that volition the self, other than the self, or part of the self?’" Saṃyuktāgama, Sūtra 276.

[15] "At that time, the World-Honored One addressed the bhikṣus: ‘There are two conditions for the arising of consciousness. What are the two? Eye and form, ear and sound, nose and scent, tongue and taste, body and tangible objects, mind and dharmas. This is explained in full up to the point of what lies beyond their domain. Why is this? Because eye and form as conditions give rise to eye-consciousness, which is impermanent, conditioned, and arisen from the mind. Form, eye, and consciousness are all impermanent, conditioned, and arisen from the mind; these three converge to produce contact. From contact arises feeling; from feeling, volition; from volition, perception. All these dharmas are impermanent, conditioned, and arisen from the mind—namely contact, perception, and volition. The same holds for ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.’" Saṃyuktāgama, Sūtra 214.

[16] The Buddha addressed the bhikṣus: "Just as a person with clear vision holds a bright lamp and enters an empty room to observe it, so too a bhikṣu observes all empty phenomena with joy, abiding in the emptiness of self and what belongs to self—the constant, enduring, unchanging dharma of emptiness. Just as eye, form, and the condition of mental phenomena give rise to mind-consciousness, the three converge to form contact, and together with contact arise feeling, perception, and volition. All these dharmas are without self, impermanent, and so on—empty of self and what belongs to self." Saṃyuktāgama, Sūtra 273. Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra 306 contains a similar passage: "From the condition of eye and form, eye-consciousness arises; the three converge to form contact, and together with contact arise feeling, perception, and volition. These four formless aggregates, together with eye and form—these dharmas are called a 'person.' ..."

[17] "The Buddha told the bhikṣus: ‘The internal sense base of mind is mind, intention, and consciousness: it is non-material, invisible, and without resistance.’" Saṃyuktāgama, Sūtra 322.

[18] "Mind, intention, and consciousness change from moment to moment, day and night, arising and ceasing without pause, like a monkey roaming through a forest: every moment it leaps from branch to branch, letting go of one only to seize another." Saṃyuktāgama, Sūtra 289.

[19] "At the time of death, this body may be burned by fire, cast into a charnel ground, scattered by wind and bleached by sun, until it slowly turns to dust; yet mind, intention, and consciousness, over long ages and countless nights, are continually infused with right faith, precepts, generosity, and wisdom. The consciousness thus refined ascends to a place of peace and joy, and is reborn in the heavenly realms in the next life." Saṃyuktāgama, Sūtra 930.

Madhyamāgama Sūtra 17 expresses a similar idea: "Mind, intention, and consciousness are continually infused with faith, diligence, learning, generosity, and wisdom; through these conditions, it naturally rises and is reborn in a wholesome destination."

[20] "Question: The sūtras refer to mind, intention, and consciousness. How are these three distinguished? Some hold that there is no difference between them: mind is intention, intention is consciousness. The three have different names, but no difference in meaning. Just as fire may be called fire, or flame, or any number of other names... So too the sūtras speak of ‘mind, intention, consciousness’—three terms with different sounds, but no real distinction between them." Mahāvibhāṣā (Taishō 27, p. 371a).

[21] "It wanders alone, travels far, hidden, without form. Tame the mind, draw near the Way, and the bonds of Māra fall away." Dhammapada, "Heart-Mind Chapter" (Taishō 4, p. 563a).

"It travels far, roaming alone, formless, concealed in a hidden cave. Who can tame the mind and free it from Māra’s snares?" Pali Dhammapada, "Heart Chapter" (translated by Venerable Liaoshen, printed by Miao Xin Temple).

[22] "Intention is the forerunner of all things; why is this? Once intention arises, all unwholesome dharmas follow in its wake. Intention is the forerunner of dharmas; intention is honored, intention is the master. When intention is defiled, speech and action follow, and suffering trails behind it, as a wheel turns by the push of a hand." (Taishō 17, p. 664a).

"The meaning of all dharmas is led by intention; therefore, they move accordingly." (Taishō 17, p. 254b).

"Intention precedes all dharmas; intention is their chief, intention shapes them. With a pure intention, whether in speech or action, happiness follows close as a shadow never leaves its form." Pali Dhammapada, "Pairs Chapter" (translated by Venerable Liaoshen, printed by Miao Xin Temple) (Note: The Chinese translation of this verse in the Dhammapada’s "Double Essentials Chapter" renders the term as "heart" (心), as in "The heart is the root of dharma, the heart is honored, the heart is the master." But the Chinese Mahāvibhāṣā contains the line "All dharmas are led by intention; intention is honored, intention directs; with stained or pure intention, words and deeds arise; suffering and happiness follow as a shadow." (Taishō 27, p. 371b), which aligns more closely with the Pali Dhammapada translation.)

[23] "Through the cessation of what do all things cease? ... Through right contemplation, the unbroken, equal insight into things as they truly are arises: the object of our clinging is impermanent, subject to arising and ceasing, free from craving, fully extinguished, and abandoned. The mind does not fixate on it, the mind is not bound to it, and craving ceases. With the cessation of craving, grasping ceases; with the cessation of grasping, existence ceases; with the cessation of existence, birth ceases; with the cessation of birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair all cease. This is how the entire great mass of suffering comes to an end.... It is like an oil lamp burning: if you do not add oil or trim the wick, will not the flame inevitably fade and die out?" Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra 285.

[24] The term “first fruit” (初果) refers to a ranking of spiritual attainments for practitioners. See Chapter 7, “The Stream of Saints,” for a full explanation.

[25] "At that time, the World-Honored One addressed the bhikṣus: ‘Ignorant, unhearing ordinary beings experience painful feeling, pleasant feeling, and neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. Learned noble disciples also experience these same three feelings. Bhikṣus, what is the difference between ordinary beings and noble ones? ... Because ignorant, unhearing ordinary beings do not understand this, when they come into contact with the five sense pleasures, pleasant feeling arises; enjoying the pleasure of the five senses, they are enslaved by the obsession of greed. When painful feeling arises from contact, anger arises; with anger comes enslavement to the obsession of hatred. Regarding these two feelings, they do not truly know their arising, cessation, allure, danger, or escape. Because they do not know these as they truly are, neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling arises, and they are enslaved by the obsession of delusion.... A learned noble disciple, even when experiencing painful feeling through bodily contact—even when seized by intense suffering, even facing death—does not give rise to grief, complaint, wailing, screaming, or mental confusion and madness. At such times, only one feeling arises: bodily feeling; mental feeling does not arise.... When touched by pleasant feeling, they are not attached to sensual pleasure; not being attached to sensual pleasure, the obsession of greed does not enslave them with regard to that pleasant feeling. When touched by painful feeling, they do not give rise to anger; not giving rise to anger, the obsession of hatred does not enslave them. Regarding these two obsessions, they know their arising, cessation, allure, danger, and escape as they truly are; because they know these as they truly are, the obsession of delusion does not enslave them with regard to neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling.’" Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra 470.

[26] "From eye and form, eye-consciousness arises; the three converge to condition contact; from contact arises feeling—painful, pleasant, or neither-painful-nor-pleasant. If one does not know the arising, cessation, allure, danger, and escape of these feelings as they truly are, one plants seeds of bodily contact rooted in greed, seeds of bodily contact rooted in hatred, seeds of bodily contact rooted in attachment to rites and rituals, seeds of bodily contact rooted in self-view, and also plants and nurtures all unwholesome, unskillful dharmas. This is how the entire great mass of suffering arises from accumulated causes." Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra 213.

[27] "At that time, the World-Honored One addressed the bhikṣus: ‘There are six sense entrances of contact. What are the six? The eye-sense entrance of contact, the ear-sense entrance of contact, the nose-sense entrance of contact, the tongue-sense entrance of contact, the body-sense entrance of contact, and the mind-sense entrance of contact. Any śramaṇa or brāhmaṇa who does not know the arising, cessation, allure, danger, and escape of these six sense entrances of contact as they truly are should be understood as far from my Dharma and Discipline, as distant as empty space is from the earth.... For one who knows and sees, in accordance with reality, that there is no self, no other-than-self, and nothing that belongs to the self in this eye-sense entrance of contact, the outflows cease, the mind is not stained, and the mind attains liberation. This is called the first sense entrance of contact having been cut off and fully known, its root severed like the top of a palm tree; it will never arise again in future states—namely, eye-consciousness and form.’" Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra 209.

[28] "In our practice, we must cut off contact before it can develop into feeling, as if damming a ten-mile river. If we fail at that, we must stop feeling from developing into craving. Past this point, the illness is incurable, with no hope of recovery. We must apply the Dharma at the very moment the eye faculty meets a visual form, the ear faculty meets a sound, the nose faculty meets a scent, the tongue faculty meets a taste, the body faculty meets a tactile object, and the mind faculty meets a mental object—continually training ourselves not to cling to anything." The Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree, p. 24, by Venerable Buddhadasa, translated by Zheng Zhenhuang, Huiju Publishing.

[29] "Most records of practice in the suttas teach us to observe feeling. Many arahants—saints who have attained the end of the path—used feeling as their primary object of contemplation." Handbook for Mankind, p. 108, by Venerable Buddhadasa, translated by Xi Bhikkhu and others, Pure Mind Cultural and Educational Foundation.

"Practicing the Dharma does not require you to search far and wide or exhaust all your energy to attain it. You only need to observe the various feelings that arise in your mind: when the eye sees form, the ear hears sound, the nose smells scent, the tongue tastes flavor, and so on—all of them arise right here in this mind, a mind that is clear and awake." A Gift of Dharma, p. 49, by Ajahn Chah, translated by the Dharma Garden Translation Group, Yuangkuang Temple Scripture Printing Association.

"The place where these feelings arise is exactly where awakening can happen, and where wisdom is born." Provisions for the Journey, p. 131, by Ajahn Chah, translated by the Dharma Garden Translation Group, Fayun Scripture Printing Association.