“Mind is the forerunner of all actions. All deeds are led by mind, created by mind. If one speaks or acts with a serene mind, happiness follows, As surely as one’s shadow.” — Buddha, Dhammapada (Introduction, verse 2)
Definitions
Mind
སེམས་
sems
citta
Mind; primary consciousness (Tsepak Rigdzin)
verb: think [in the sense of have an opinion]; contemplate; noun: mind; consciousness; thought; continuum (Hopkins)
Mental factor
སེམས་བྱུང་
sems byung
caitta
mental event; mental factor / function, thought pattern, mental outflows, mental contents, all the reactions that follow initial perception. mental state / event, ‘resulting from a cognitive act’. secondary mind. (Rangjung Yeshe)
Lorig
བློ་རིག་
blo rig
Awareness and Knowledge (Hopkins); Awareness, cognition, and knowledge (Rangjung Yeshe); Ways of knowing (Berzin)
Abhidharma
ཆོས་མངོན་པ་
chos mngon pa
Manifest Knowledge; Higher Knowledge; knowledge; higher doctrine; phenomenology (Hopkins)
The knowledge. The set of teachings and treatises concerning the training of higher wisdom and the study of metaphysics and cosmology. (Tsepak Rigdzin)
Abhidharma Pandits at Nalanda
Vasubandhu (ca. 316-396)
དབྱིག་གཉེན་ (dbyig gnyen)
Asanga
ཐོགས་མེད་ (thogs med)
Mind in Tibetan Buddhism
- Bstan-ʼdzin-Rgya-Mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, and Thubten Chodron. 2018. The Foundation of Buddhist Practice. Wisdom Publications. JABL.
- Chim Jampalyang, and Ian James Coghlan. Ornament of Abhidharma a Commentary on Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakosa. Wisdom Publications.
- Lati Rinbochay and Elizabeth Napper, trans. 1986. Mind in Tibetan Buddhism. Snow Lion. JABL
- Rabten and Stephen Batchelor, trans. 1992. The Mind and Its Functions. Tharpa Choeling. JABL
- Tashi Tsering.2006. Buddhist Psychology. Wisdom Publications. JABL
- Thupten Jinpa, ed., and Dechen Rochard, John Dunne, trans. 2020. Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics. Vol. 2 The Mind. Simon and Schuster. JABL
- Tshe-mchog-gling Ye-shes-rgyal-mtshan and Herbert Guenther, Leslie Kawarure, trans. 1975. Mind in Buddhist Psychology. Dharma Publishing. JABL
- Ye-she Gyel-ten and Toh Sze Gee, trans. 2006. A Necklace for Those of Clear Awareness Clearly Revealing the Modes of Minds and Mental Factors. FPMT. FPMTABC
Indian Sources – Pali Tradition
Abhidhamma Piṭaka
Theravāda Abhidhamma
- Anuruddha and Bhikkhu Bodhi. 1993. A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma: The Abhidhammattha Sangaha of Ācariya Anuruddha. Buddhist Publication Society. JABL
Indian Sources – Sanskrit Tradition
- Vasubandhu, Louis de La Vallée Poussin, and Leo M. Pruden, trans. 1988. Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam. Asian Humanities Press. JABL
- Asanga, Walpola Rahula, and Sara Boin-Webb, trans. 2015. Abhidharmasamuccaya: The Compendium of the Higher Teaching (Philosophy). Asian Humanities Press. archive.org WorldCat
Other Resources
- Hacket, Paul. 2003. “Basic Buddhist Terms and Concepts: A Student’s Guide for the Study of Tibetan Buddhism.” wiki.learntibetanlanguage.org
- Jhado Rinpoche. 2022. “Mind & Mental Factors in Sutra and Tantra.” Maitripa College January 2022. YouTube.com
- Khadro, Sangye. 2021. Know Your Mind, Part 2: Mindas and Mental Factors. Sravasti Abbey, August 21-22. sravastiabbey.org
- Thubten Chodron. 2014. “Buddhist Psychology: Mind and Mental factors.” thubtenchodron.org
- Thubten Chodron. 2019. “The Seven Types of Awareness.” Part 1: thubtenchodron.org Part 3: thubtenchodron.org
- Yönten, Lozang. 2022. Conception and Perception and Main Mind. Land of Medicine Buddha. YouTube.com
