The Mind

[freeform]

[forestofsouls]

This is sounds very much like a simplified version of the 5 skandhas of Buddhism. One way to classify them is as follows:

 

1. Form. The material building blocks in the world.

 

2. Sensation. The feelings that accompany sensory input. This can be classified into pleasent, unpleasent, or neutral.

 

3. Perception. A more complex ordering of sensory input. The mind labels at this stage.

 

4. Volition. The impulses, habits, intentions and reactions that drive us.

 

5. Consciousness. Sentience. I would suppose this would also include things like the du yin (shadow consciousness) and the transmigrating consciousness. I believe it also presumes a separate consciousness for hearing, seeing, touching, etc. with the mind being the 6th consciousness and including both thoughts (mental audio/visuals) and feelings (emotions).

 

This seems to simplify them into three catgories: form, mind, and consciousness.

 

I wonder about the analysis method referred to in a prior thread. Ian's "embodiment" method has widespread use and tradition behind it. All of my teachers have put an emphasis into less thought, more feeling, and as I've observed my thoughts over the last few years I've noticed that most of them are a waste of energy (specifically, I'd call them a waste of shen). I've also noticed that my own analysis come together over time. I don't sit and think about my experiences, they seem to collect and order themselves in flashes of insight. When I tried to psychoanalyze myself in the past, it did no good--- it just added more thoughts and more chattering to the fray.

[freeform]

Thanks for that, forestofsouls - it's certainly very interesting...

 

so 'form' is what is actually outside of us (minus the illusion)... or is this the 'raw sensory data'?

 

The description of 'sensation' I don't quite understand - personally, I find 'pleasent/unpleasent/neutral' to be part of no.3 - 'perception'... imo sensations have no intrinsic, dualistic value to them - the value comes from the mind and is part of the illusion... the feelings that are set off by sensory imput are illusion no?

 

no.3 I'm familiar with - it's like the network of interconnceting dualities that give shape to the whole illusiory world we create for ourselves (call it identity or ego or 'false self' or whatever)... This is the accumulation of all the conditioning we have experienced from birth... I see no. 4 as part of 3 really - all our impulses, habits, wants and needs are based on our partucular illusiory 'map' of the world (and of ourselves).

 

no.5 - Consciousness - separate consciousness for each of the senses!? sounds very much like the Taoist 5 element/organ theory!

 

I wonder about the analysis method referred to in a prior thread. Ian's "embodiment" method has widespread use and tradition behind it. All of my teachers have put an emphasis into less thought, more feeling, and as I've observed my thoughts over the last few years I've noticed that most of them are a waste of energy (specifically, I'd call them a waste of shen). I've also noticed that my own analysis come together over time. I don't sit and think about my experiences, they seem to collect and order themselves in flashes of insight. When I tried to psychoanalyze myself in the past, it did no good--- it just added more thoughts and more chattering to the fray.

 

Please understand that what I was suggesting to Ian was not 'sitting and thinking about experiences' - that's the content and it's a useless endeavour. Analysing the content will only drive you further into illusion. The technique is about watching how thoughts are created - noticing the tiny building blocks that put together our towering illusions... there is no analysing, no 'thinking' involved only being aware...

 

I know that embodiment has widespread use and tradition upholding it - that's because it has been the best way to cultivate for thousands of years... Working on the mind has little tradition behind it because the mind-based culture has only sprung up in the last couple of hundred years, and is gathering monu-mental force... We now live in the information age - and consumerism works by attempting to set up illusions for us - we need to have smooth skin, we need 6 blades on our razor, we have to have a flat screen tv etc... This kind of culture has come up only after the second world war and If we live in such a society we need new tools to deal with our new way of being in this new world... and that inveriably includes working on the mind as well as our bodies as well as our relationships...

[forestofsouls]

The five skandhas are something that need to be developed, over time. I'm not saying they need to be used, but I've been finding them more and more useful. Of course, if some one does not find them useful, they should not use them.

 

I believe that the form skandhas includes not only the physical form, but the bare visual/audio etc. form as well. However, this is a distinction without a difference: I've never seen form outside my own mind representations.

 

Regarding sensation, I used to think the same thing. The duality, or in this, the triplicity, is due to the mind and the foundation for suffering, i.e. craving and aversion. However, I have eventually come to change my view after observation.

 

If you're talking about witnessing thoughts, or bringing bare attention to them, then there is indeed a tradition behind this. I first came across this personally in the writings of Jack Kornfeld, a vispassana practicioner. Some forms of Buddhist teaching are especially keen on this type of detailed observation. One not only catalogues the sensations of the body (what is the shape of that pain, what is its size? does it have a color? etc/) but one does the same thing to emotions, thoughts, etc.

 

The way I learned to approach it was to first establish a firm foundation in the body. There are a few reasons for this: 1) putting attention in the body naturally relaxes the body. A relaxed body is more open to observation. 2) the body is always anchored in the present. Thoughts carry you to the past and future, but the body is always here and now. 3) The sense of the body provides a striking constrast to the thoughts. It is like a shoreline you can use to observe all the boats in the water.

 

If I had to guess, I'd bet that your author has either a Buddhist or Advaitist background. He seems to simplify and put the concepts in a more Western language.