In Tibetan Buddha Dharma, mind is seen as a primordial, luminous awareness beyond physical processes, while Western thought often ties mind to the brain and cognition. The brain is the physical organ, the mind is the stream of mental activity, and consciousness is the awareness of that activity.
Tibetan Buddha Dharma View of Mind
- Primordial continuity: Mind is not created by the brain but is beginningless and continues beyond death.
- Dual aspects:
- Sem (ordinary mind): discursive, dualistic, grasping at subject/object.
- Rigpa (pure awareness): the natural, luminous state of mind, beyond concepts (the true nature of reality).
- Emptiness and luminosity: The ultimate nature of mind is śūnyatā (emptiness) combined with clarity and awareness.
- Role in liberation: Recognizing the true nature of mind is central to Dzogchen and Mahamudra practices, leading to freedom from the suffering of samsara (dualistic mind states).
Western Understanding of Mind
- Mind-body problem: Western philosophy debates whether mind is separate (dualism) or identical to brain processes (physicalism).
- Psychological functions: Mind is often defined as cognition, perception, memory, reasoning, and emotions.
- Neuroscientific integration: Modern views link mind to neural activity, seeing consciousness as emerging from brain networks.
- *Consciousness debates: The “hard problem” asks how subjective experience arises from physical processes.
Differences Between Mind, Brain, and Consciousness
| Concept | Tibetan Buddha Dharma | Western Thought |
|---|---|---|
| Brain | Not central; seen as a vessel for mind | Physical organ, neurons, synapses |
| Mind | Stream of awareness, beyond physical matter | Cognitive functions, “software” of the brain |
| Consciousness | Awareness of mind’s nature, luminous clarity | Awareness of mental states; subset of mind |
Key Tensions and Insights
- Buddha Dharma: Mind is non-material, timeless, and the basis of rebirth and liberation.
- Western science: Mind is emergent, tied to brain activity, and studied through psychology and neuroscience.
- Consciousness: Both traditions agree it is awareness, but Buddha Dharma emphasizes its ultimate nature as empty yet luminous, while Western thought struggles with explaining subjective experience.
Tibetan Buddha Dharma response to how subjective experience arises from physical processes.
Tibetan Buddha Dharma does not reduce subjective experience to physical processes (scientific Western-type model). Instead, it teaches that consciousness is a distinct continuum, interdependent with the body and senses but not reducible to them. Physical processes provide conditions, yet awareness itself is seen as a subtle, luminous quality that transcends material causation.
Tibetan Buddha Dharma Perspective on Subjective Experience
- Consciousness as distinct from matter – Tibetan Buddha Dharma views subjective consciousness as an inner awareness that operates independently of the physical body and sense organs. Even in states where the body is impaired (e.g., paralysis), awareness persists, showing its detachment from purely physical states.
- Interdependence of body and mind – While consciousness is not reducible to matter, Tibetan Buddha Dharma emphasizes dependent origination: physical processes (like sensory input, neural activity, and bodily conditions) provide the basis for experience, but they do not fully explain it. Mind and body are mutually conditioning rather than identical.
- Conceptual vs. non-conceptual mind – Tibetan Buddha Dharma scholars and thinkers distinguish between conceptual consciousness (shaped by thought, language, and dualistic perception) and non-conceptual awareness (direct, luminous knowing). Subjective experience arises when these two dimensions interact with sensory and mental processes.
- Continuity of consciousness – Consciousness is seen as a stream that continues beyond physical death, influencing rebirth. This continuity underscores its independence from material processes, while still being conditioned by them during embodied life.
- Role of sensory encounters – Tibetan practices highlight liberation through sensory experiences—sounds, sights, and bodily sensations are not dismissed but transformed into gateways for awakening. This shows how physical processes provide conditions for subjective experience, but the dharma interprets them as opportunities for realization.
Key Tension with Materialist Views
- Materialist science: Explains subjective experience as emergent from brain activity.
- Tibetan Buddha Dharma: elucidates that awareness is not emergent but fundamental, luminous, and continuous.
- Middle Way: Tibetan Buddha Dharma acknowledges physical processes as conditions but insists they cannot account for the qualitative feel of experience (the “hard problem” of consciousness).
Practical Implication
For practitioners, the question is not merely philosophical. Meditation trains one to observe how sensations and thoughts arise interdependently, revealing that while physical processes condition experience, awareness itself is spacious, luminous, and not bound by them. This insight is central to liberation.
Tibetan Buddha Dharma – Difference between mind and self
In Tibetan Buddha, mind is seen as recording all experience—dynamic, luminous, and capable of liberation—while self is understood as an illusion, a mistaken grasping at permanence and independence. The Dharma teaches that freedom comes from realizing the mind’s true nature and seeing that the “self” is empty of inherent existence.
Key Differences in Tibetan Buddha Dharma
- Mind as primary: The Dharma emphasizes that all actions, perceptions, and suffering originate in the mind. Mind is the creator of happiness and suffering, life and death.
- Ordinary vs. true mind: Tibetan texts distinguish between sem (ordinary, discursive mind that grasps dualities) and rigpa (pure awareness, the mind’s natural state beyond dualistic thought).
- Self as illusion: The “self” is not an independent entity but a conceptual construct. Madhyamaka tradition for example explains how clinging to a solid self is the root cause of suffering.
- Two truths framework: Conventional truth accepts the everyday sense of “I” and “me,” but ultimate truth reveals emptiness—no fixed self exists, only interdependent processes.
- Liberation through insight: Dharma practice aims to recognize the mind’s luminous clarity and dissolve attachment to the false notion of self, leading to awakening.
Contextual Notes
- Mind in Tibetan Buddha Dharma: It is not just thought but the knowing principle—awareness itself. Ordinary mind (sem) operates through duality, while the deeper nature (rigpa) is non-dual, spacious, and free.
- Self in Tibetan Buddha Dharma: The self is seen as a projection. It feels real because of habitual grasping, but analysis shows it lacks inherent existence. This insight aligns with the doctrine of emptiness (śūnyatā).
- Practical Dharma: Meditation practices (like Dzogchen and Mahāmudrā) train practitioners to rest in awareness, loosening the grip of the illusory self. Ethical conduct and compassion arise naturally when the illusion of separateness dissolves.
Points to consider:
- Conceptual trap: Over-intellectualizing “no-self” can lead to nihilism. Tibetan teachers stress balancing analysis with direct meditative experience. See Nagarjuna’s teaching on the Middle Way – free of the two extremes of existence either nihilism or eternalism.
- Cultural nuance: Western interpretations often conflate “self” with ego or personality, but Tibetan Dharma points to a subtler illusion—the belief in an independent, permanent essence. In practice, cut through both forms of self-clinging outer and inner. (Outer) – of believing in a self as real and, (inner) attachment to phenomena.
- Practice difficulty: Recognizing rigpa (true mind) requires sustained meditation and guidance; it is not easily understood through study alone. The practitioner practices for a direct yogic experience of reality.
(to be continued…)
IN THE INTERESTS OF TRUE EMPATHY! 