Part 7 - Evolution of Consciousness through multiple births of Bodhisattva

Jātakāni in Khuddakanikāya with it’s commentary Jātakaṭṭhakathā has interestingly narrated Bodhisattva’s birth stories. Prior to his last birth as a narrative in Vessantara Jātaka he had taken multiple of births as animate beings. It leaves a room to presume that an animate being may taken an evolutionary process of psychic development from quadruped animate to a perfect human personality. Abhidhammapiṭaka particularly the Dhammasaṅgaṇī enumerates multiple mental steps of a person in course of purification through Jhāṇa practice. Jhāna has an alternative significance of burning of refuge elements of one’s mind (Caṇḍālī yoga^[1]).

Buddha’s teachings demand an evolutionary development of psychic consciousness leading upto all pervading dependent consciousness, Ālaya viññāna, as the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra claims. The Ālaya viññāna refers to Tathāgata dhyāna with accurate processes of incoming and out-going of consciousness. 

Consciousness (viññāna) among the Buddhist is very extensive and subtle as well with reference to animate beings of four orders–

i) Aṇḍajā—Egg-born existence;
ii) Jalābujā—Womb-born existence;
iii) Saṃsedajā—Moisture-born existence;
iv) Oppātikā—Existence due to supernatural appearing.^[2]

In every stage of animate evolutionary growth, as Darwin theory has also been taken under consideration properly. The Jātaka stories claim in every case some evolutionary consciousness in acts^[3]. In Abhidhammapiṭaka viññāna or consciousness in the Puggalapññatti has been duly explained with reference to multiple beings distributed in six major groups–Deva loko (heaven), Manussa loka (human beings), Asura loko(demons), Peta loko (hungry ghost), Tiracchāna loko (animals), Niraya loko (hell). The Laṅkāvatāra sūtra and others Buddhist text depicted that The Sentient beings take rebirth in the various realms on the basis of their previous accumulated actions. Thus, a being currently in the animal realm may have previously been a human but on the basis of non-virtuous actions now resides in animal form. Thus, the distinctions between animals and humans for the Buddhist are but temporary. Quite literally, the animal in front of one may be a previous relative or friend. We also see the Niraya loko in the Petavatthu comes under the preview with reference to Kamma by a sattva. ‘Cetanā hi kamma...’ generally govern by viññāna(s) with six fold consciousness–eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, touch consciousness and mind consciousness. Among them mind consciousness play an important role to govern an animate being towards the Cetanā, psychic awareness towards proper actions (sammaka kammanta).

The Jātaka stories as elaborated by Buddhaghosa in his Aṭṭhakathā may be regarded akin to Apadāna. In explaining the results of good action and those of bad actions have been illustrated again and again by the Buddha in course of popular deliberation among the laities on actions after distribution of food to Saṅgha as per practice. In the beginning of Dhammapada the Buddha referred to the importance of the Kamma with reference to pure mind and impure mind^57. Thus mind consciousness is more important to enact by a person in proper way to perform a deed (sammā kammanta). By dint of proper action a person avails ‘Pītisukha’ is in the mind consciousness. Pītisukha has two prongs–in the ordinary mind Pītisukha an experience of bliss with mutual affection with amity. There by animosity of themind to others evades. In the Brahmavihāra^[4] referring to–Mettā, Karuṇā, Muditā, Upekkhā; Muditā, amity of mutual bliss is significant with reference to Pītisukha. This Brahmavihāra practice or cariyā^[5] is used before entering the Bodhisattva path.

Bodhisattva is the stage of mature consciousness. Then he will be a Sammaka Sambuddha. Jātaka stories manifest account of eight fold consciousness at the three level—

1-5–five sense consciousness arising in contact of the phenomenal objects in the empirical mind.

i) Cakkhu viññāna is contact of object relating to eyes, cakkhu indriya-āyatana;
ii) Ghāna viññāna is contact of object relating to nose, ghāna indriya-āyatana;
iii) Sota viññāna is contact of object relating to ears, sota indriya-āyatana;
iv) Sāda viññāna is contact of object relating to tongue, jivhā indriya-āyatana;
v) Phassa viññāna is contact of object relating to body, kāya indriya-āyatana;

6-7–the empirical mind prompts the mind consciousness realiting to the mind of the individual, mano manoviññānaṃ ca.

8–Ālaya viññāna is the wholesome consciousness to which both functional mind consciousness and talent consciousness belong. Literally, Ālaya viññāna suggests the extensive status of consciousness in which all wavering are absorbed and from which consciousness arises empirically.

Consciousness is commonly understood as a state of mind when we remain awake, perceive objects, respond to external stimuli and perform physical and mental activities. However, it is very difficult to give a proper scientific definition of consciousness. Consciousness gives us a feeling of our own self. In the life of Gautama Buddha we can see that He achieved state of mind through prolonged meditation that he could visualize all his past lives. Once he could see his past lives all his past impressions or “Saṃaskāra” were gone. As his consciousness was totally freed from past impressions he overcomes the cycle of birth and death. We have to pass through the cycle of birth and death because we have desires unfulfilled in the life we live.

This consciousness helps us communicate with our fellow people, understand our natural world in our own way and express it in specific symbols and languages. This consciousness, also called phenomenal consciousness, is linked to the nervous system, particularly the brain, and may vanish with the death of the Brain. Brain is the most complex and highly specialized of all the organs in the body. It controls our sense organs. Whatever we see, hear, smell, touch and taste through our sense organs provide us an idea of our natural environment. We see different objects of different shapes, different colour, hear many different sounds, feel tender and hard objects and taste sweet, sour, bitter and salty food. Our sense organs have their limitations. Animals have also similar idea of the same natural world. Such as a cat, tiger, dog cannot see colours and they view his this natural world in different shades of grey. A dog is also capable of discerning minor difference in smell. Thus a dog is far superior to humans with respect to these two sensory capabilities. While a man cannot measure the earth’s magnetic field, a migratory bird can, and using this capability migratory bird can fly through continents and arrive at their specific destination. Insectivorous bats are nocturnal and of poor vision. But they can detect and capture a flying insect with perfect accuracy by a process known as echo location. Many small mammals including rats can communicate with their young ones through ultrasonic sound and thus avoid potential predators in their vicinity. Elephants can both produce and receive infra sound and thus communicate with other members of their herd by this process. Snakes have also poor vision and hearing ability, but they can sample their environment with the help of their protruding bifurcated tongue.

A pit viper has a sensory pit on each side of the head which can detect the source of warmth radiating from a tiny warm blooded prey, such as a rat from a short distance.

‘Thus we see that man and other animals show a wide variation in their sensory capabilities. The sense organs in species have evolved both anatomically and physiologically in such a way that he could help the population adapting to their environment. Thus the population of each species have their own idea of natural world depending on the capabilities of their sense organs, their instinctive behaviour and experiences acquired during their life time. Obviously, the natural world would appear in different forms to different species of animal, including man. Man has devised many sophisticated instruments whereby he can compensate for the weakness and inadequacy of his sense organs.’^[6]

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Nādīs are channels for the flow of consciousness (the literal meaning of nādī is ‘flow’). According to the Tantras there are 72,000 nādīs, which cover the whole body and through them the inherent rhythms of activity in the different organs of the body are maintained. 

[See notes regarding the Nādīs]

[2]:

cf. Gautam Buddher Dharma O Darśan, Sukamal Chaudhury, p. 176.

[See notes regarding the Various Births of Bodhisattva]

[3]:

In the Historical development of Buddhist thought composed by Buddhaghoṣa about a million years from the demise of Buddha. After his great demise multiple factions generated all over Indian peninsular with multiple interpretation of Buddha sense. In course of time four doctrinal schools generated viz., Sautāntrika, Vaibhāsika, Yogācāra, Mādhyamika with several sub branches of each case. In this regard Avdvavajra circa 2^nd century distributed the growth of Buddhist thought in his Tatvaratnāvalī in Avdyavajra Saṃgraha, Mahamahopadhyaya Haraprasad Sastri, Baroda, Oriental Institute, 1927, p. 14-22.

[4]:

The word Brahmavihāra suggests state of mind where Pītisukha vis-a-vis bliss-full consciousness pervades all over universally.

[5]:

Observing with moment wise consciousness referring to four fold awareness by the individual (Bodhisattva also) towards his daily actions.

[6]:

Consciousness in physiology and philosophy, N.C. Sukul, p. 65. Vide illustration at the end of the chapter which taken from Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real, Alex Wayman, p.viii.