Consciousness-Only School

The starting point of the Consciousness-Only School is that everything is created from the mind as is "consciousness-only". Everything, from birth and death to the cause of attaining Nirvana, is based upon the coming into being and the ceasing to be of consciousness, that is, of distinctions in the mind. Consciousness-Only doctrine is characterized by its extensive and sophisticated inquiry into the characteristics of dharmas. For if we can distinguish what is real from what is unreal, if we can distinguish what is distinction-making consciousness and not mistake it for the originally clear, pure, bright enlightened mind, then we can quickly leave the former and dwell in the latter. Chan Master Hanshan (AD 1546-1623) has said, "When Consciousness-Only was made known to them (i.e., those of the Hinayana vehicles), they knew that [all dharmas] had no existence independent from their own minds. If one does not see the mind with the mind, then no characteristic can be got at. Therefore, in developing the spiritual skill necessary for meditative inquiry, people are taught to look into what is apart from heart, mind, and consciousness and to seek for what is apart from the states of unreal (polluted) thinking."

The founder of the Consciousness-Only School was the Bodhisattva Maitreya, who transmitted its teaching to the Venerable Asanga. The school was spread in China primarily because of the efforts of Tripitaka Master Xuanzang.

(Source: Epstein, 2003: pp. 42 - 43)

1) Chinese Mandarin: wei shi zong , 2) Sanskrit: vijnanavada (yogacara), 3) Pali: ----, 4) Alternate translations: mere consciousness, ideation only.

See also: Maitreya, Asanga, Vasubandhu, Xuanzang, One Hundred Dharmas.

Buddhist Text Translation Society (http://www.BTTSonline.org) References: HD; FAS-PII(2) 79-89; "The Transformation of Consciousness into Wisdom: the Path of the Bodhisattva according to the Cheng Weishi Lun, VBS #176, 177, 178 (Jan.-Mar. 1985);

: Also known as the Yogachara school, one of the two major Mahayana schools in India, the other being the Madhyamika school. Maitreya, who is thought to have lived around 270-350 (350-430 according to another account), is often regarded as the founder of the Consciousness-Only school. He is attributed with composing The Treatise on the Stages of Yoga Practice, which explains the Consciousness-Only doctrine, and passing it on to Asanga. Thereafter the Consciousness-Only doctrine was further developed by Asanga and by Vasubandhu in the first half of the fifth century. This school upholds the concept that all phenomena arise from the vijnana, or consciousness, and that the basis of all functions of consciousness is the alaya -consciousness. The Consciousness-Only doctrine was a major subject of Buddhist studies in Nalanda Monastery. Dharmapala and his disciple Shilabhadra further developed the doctrine in the latter half of the sixth century. Shilabhadra taught the Consciousness-Only doctrine to Hsyan-tsang, who brought it back to China. Gunamati and his disciple Sthiramati were also well-known scholars of the Consciousness-Only doctrine. The Dharma Characteristics (Chin Fa-hsiang; Jpn Hosso) school in both China and Japan carried on the philosophy of the Consciousness-Only school.

: Ten Indian scholars who wrote commentaries on Vasubandhu's Thirty-Stanza Treatise on the Consciousness-Only Doctrine. They are Dharmapala, Gunamati, Sthiramati, Bandhushri, Nanda, Shuddhachandra, Chitrabhana, Visheshamitra, Jinaputra, and Jnanachandra. The Treatise on the Establishment of the Consciousness-Only Doctrine, the Chinese version of Dharmapala's commentary on the above treatise, also introduces interpretations on the same work by the other nine scholars.

: A short work by Vasubandhu (thought to have lived in the fourth or fifth century) setting forth the essentials of the Consciousness-Only doctrine and translated into Chinese in the mid-seventh century by Hsyan-tsang. It is thought to be the last of Vasubandhu's writings and is one of the principal texts of the Dharma Characteristics (Chin Fa-hsiang; Jpn Hosso) school. Dharma-pala and nine other scholars of the Consciousness-Only school wrote commentaries on this work, which were later compiled as The Treatise on the Establishment of the Consciousness-Only Doctrine.

: A commentary on Vasubandhu's Thirty-Stanza Treatise on the Consciousness-Only Doctrine by Dharmapala (530-561), a prominent scholar of the Consciousness-Only school. Hsyan-tsang translated it into Chinese in 659, including in his version not only Dharmapala's commentary on the above treatise, but also edited interpretations of the same treatise by the other nine of the so-called ten great scholars of Consciousness-Only. This commentary is the principal text of the Dharma Characteristics (Chin Fa-hsiang; Jpn Hosso) school. It sheds light on the Consciousness-Only doctrine, which teaches that the basis of human existence is the alaya -consciousness and that all phenomena arise through activation of the karmic seeds stored in this consciousness.

: A short work by Vasubandhu, translated into Chinese in 661 by Hsyan-tsang. It criticizes the erroneous views of non-Buddhist and Hinayana teachings and asserts the validity of the Consciousness-Only doctrine. Two other Chinese translations under different titles were produced in the sixth century by Paramartha and by Prajnaruchi. The Twenty-Stanza Treatise on the Consciousness-Only Doctrine is one of the principal texts of the Dharma Characteristics (Chin Fa-hsiang; Jpn Hosso) school.

Source: http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php

(NOTE: Numerous corrections and enhancements have been made under Shastra tradition and "Fair Use" by an Anonymous Buddhist Monk Redactor (Compiler) of this Online Buddhist Encyclopedia Compilation)

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These Good and Wise Advisors (Kaliyanamitra) Dharma Master teachers include Arya Venerables Nagarjuna, Ashvaghosha, Aryasura, Kumarajiva, Shantideva, Chandrakirti, Chandragomin, Vasubandhu, Asanga, Hui Neng, Atisha, Kamalashila, Dharmarakshita, Tsong Khapa, Thogme Zangpo, Patanjali, Sushruta, Charaka, Vagbhata, Nichiren, Hsu Yun, Hsuan Hua, Shen Kai, Tenzin Gyatso, Kyabje Zopa, Ajahn Chah, Vasant Lad, and other modern day masters. We consider them to be in accord with Master Hsuan Hua’s "Seven Guidelines for Recognizing Genuine Teachers"

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See also: Tripitaka (1. Sutras, 2. Vinaya, 3. Shastras or Abhidharma, or Tantra), Taisho Catalog Numbering System, Dharma, and names of individual sutras (such as Shurangama Sutra, Avatamsaka Sutra [Flower Adornment Sutra], Lotus Sutra [Wonderful Dharma Flower Sutra], Earth Store Sutra, Dharani Sutra, Brahma Net Sutra, Medicine Master Buddha Sutra, Sixth Patriarch Platform Sutra, Sutra in 42 Sections, Sutra on the Buddha's Bequeathed Teaching, et al.

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         Name Recitation of Buddhas Amitabha-Amitayus, Medicine Buddha - Bhaisajya Guru - Akshobhya,
         and Bodhisattvas: Avalokiteshvara-Guanyin-Chenrezig-Mahakala, Tara, Samantabhadra Universal Worthy,
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Compilation Sources for the Above Material on the Teachings of the Buddha:

Primary Compilation Source: Epstein, Ronald B., Ph.D, compiler, Buddhist Text Translation Society's Buddhism A to Z, Burlingame, California: Buddhist Text Translation Society, 2003. ISBN: 0881393533 Paperback: 284 pages. www.BTTSOnline.org www.Amazon.com
http://www.bttsonline.org/product.aspx?pid=118 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0881393533/ref=ase_medicinebuddh-20

Secondary Compilation Source: The Seeker’s Glossary of Buddhism, 2nd ed., San Francisco, California: Sutra Translation Committee of the United States and Canada, 1998: www.budaedu.org.tw

Secondary Compilation Source: Muller, Charles, editor, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism [DDB], Toyo Gakuen University, Japan, 2007: Username is "guest", with no password.
http://buddhism-dict.net/ddb - Based in large part on the Dictionary of Chinese Buddhist Terms with Sanskrit and English Equivalents (by Soothill and Hodous) Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass, 1997.

Secondary Compilation Source: Ehrhard, Diener, Fischer, et al, The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen, Boston, Massachusetts: Shambhala Publications, 1991. 296 pages. ISBN 978-0-87773-520-5 www.Shambhala.com, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0877735204/ref=ase_medicinebuddh-20,
http://www.shambhala.com/html/catalog/items/isbn/978-0-87773-520-5.cfm

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Updated July 17, 2008