Mind - Buddhism & Mind

Buddhism & Mind

According to Buddhist philosopher Dharmakirti, the mind has two fundamental qualities: "clarity and knowing." If something is not those two qualities, it cannot validly be called mind. 'Clarity' refers to the fact that mind has no color, shape, size, location, weight, or any other physical characteristic, and that it gives rise to the contents of experience. 'Knowing' refers to the fact that mind is aware of the contents of experience, and that, in order to exist, mind must be cognizing an object. You cannot have a mind - who's function is to cognize an object - existing without cognizing an object. For this reason, mind is often described in Buddhism as "that which has contents."

Mind, in Buddhism, is also described as being "space-like" and "illusion-like." Mind is space-like in the sense that it is not physically obstructive. It has no qualities which would prevent it to exist. Mind is illusion-like in the sense that it is empty of inherent existence. This does not mean it does not exist, it means that it exists in a manner that is counter to our ordinary way of misperceiving how phenomena exist, according to Buddhism. When the mind is itself cognized properly, without misperceiving its mode of existence, it appears to exist like an illusion. There is a big difference however between being "space and illusion" and being "space-like" and "illusion-like." Mind is not composed of space, it just shares some descriptive similarities to space. Mind is not an illusion, it just shares some descriptive qualities with illusions.

Buddhism posits that there is no inherent, unchanging identity (Inherent I, Inherent Me) or phenomena (Ultimate self, inherent self, Atman, Soul, Self-essence, Jiva, Ishvara, humanness essence, etc.) which is the experiencer of our experiences and the agent of our actions. In other words, human beings consist of merely a body and a mind, and nothing etxra. Within the body there is no part or set of parts which is - by itself or themselves - the person. Similarly, within the mind there is no part or set of parts which are themselves "the person." A human being merely consists of five aggregates, or skandhas and nothing else (please see Valid Designation).

In the same way, "mind" is what can be validly conceptually labelled onto our mere experience of clarity and knowing. There is not something separate and apart from clarity and knowing which is "mind," in Buddhism. "Mind" is that part of experience which can be validly referred to as mind by the concept-term "mind." There is also not "objects out there, mind in here, and experience somewhere in-between." There is not a third thing called "experience" which exists between the contents of mind and what mind cognizes. There is only the clarity (arising of mere experience: shapes, colors, the components of smell, components of taste, components of sound, components of touch) and nothing else; this means, expressly, that there is not a third thing called "experience" and not a third thing called "experiencer who has the experience." This is deeply related to "no-self."

Clearly, the experience arises and is known by mind, but there is not a third thing which sits apart from that which is the "real experiencer of the experience." This is the claim of Buddhism, with regards to mind and the ultimate nature of minds (and persons).