Five wisdoms
The five wisdoms (Skt. pañcajñāna; T. ye shes lnga, ཡེ་ཤེས་ལྔ; C.wuzhi rulai; J. gochi nyorai) are five aspects of the wisdom (jñāna) of a buddha,[1] according to the Sanskrit Mahayana tradition.[1] According to the Yogacara tradition, the five wisdoms arise when the five poisons are transformed at the time of enlightenment (bodhi), in a process known as the "transformation of the basis" (āśraya-parāvṛtti). In Buddhist tantra, the five wisdoms are associated with the five families, the five tathagatas, and so on.
The five wisdoms are:
- Dharmadhātu-jñāna ("wisdom of dharmadhātu")[2] or tathatā-jñāna (wisdom of tathatā), "the bare non-conceptualizing awareness" of śūnyatā, the universal substrate of the other four jñāna;[3]
- Ādarśa-jñāna ("mirror-like wisdom"), "devoid of all dualistic thought and ever united with its 'content' as a mirror is with its reflections";[3][4]
- Samatā-jñāna ("wisdom of equality"), which perceives the sameness, the commonality of dharmas.[3]
- Pratyavekṣaṇa-jñāna ("discriminating wisdom") perceives the specificity, the uniqueness of dharmas.[3]
- Kṛty-anuṣṭhāna-jñāna ("all-accomplishing wisdom"), the awareness that "spontaneously carries out all that has to be done for the welfare of beings, manifesting itself in all directions".[3]
Brief explanation
Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang describes the five wisdoms according to the Nyingma school as follows:
- Just as in one’s ordinary mind there arise many different perceptions and thoughts, for the Buddha’s wisdom too there are five aspects:
- 1. The wisdom of the absolute space is the realization of the absolute truth, the natural state of all things.
- 2. Mirror-like wisdom. In the same way that the clear surface of a mirror reflects everything, the surface of the wisdom of the absolute nature reflects all the phenomena of samsara and nirvana: this unobstructed, perfectly clear reflection is mirrorlike wisdom.
- 3. The wisdom of equality. Just as all the reflections in a mirror are the same in being simply reflections, without any concept of good or bad, the wisdom of equality is to regard samsara and nirvana as equal, as having a single mode and one taste.
- 4. Discriminating wisdom is the knowledge that while from the point of view of the absolute nature all phenomena are the same in being equal, from the point of view of the phenomena themselves all things in samsara and nirvana are distinct and not confounded.
- 5.All-accomplishing wisdom. Like a doctor who diagnoses a disease by taking the patient’s pulse and then does all he can to treat and remedy the disease, the Buddhas, with their all-accomplishing wisdom, consider beings and the ways by which they might benefit them, and then appear spontaneously and effortlessly, without change or exertion, to benefit those beings.
- These five wisdoms may be condensed into two: the wisdom that knows the nature of all phenomena, which comprises the wisdom of the absolute space, mirrorlike wisdom, and the wisdom of equality; and the wisdom that knows the multiplicity of phenomena, which comprises discriminating and all-accomplishing wisdom. They can all be condensed into a single wisdom, the wisdom of omniscience.[1]
Self-nature of the five poisons
In Buddhist tantra, the five wisdoms are said to be the "self-nature" of the five poisons.[5] Thus the five wisdoms are present when the five poisons are completely purified. The five wisdoms correspond to the five poisons as follows:
| Poison | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| Ignorance | wisdom of dharmadhātu (dharmadhātu-jñāna) |
| anger | mirror-like wisdom (ādarśa-jñāna) |
| pride | wisdom of equality (samatā-jñāna) |
| attachment | discriminating wisdom (pratyavekṣaṇa-jñāna) |
| jealousy | all-accomplishing wisdom (kṛty-anuṣṭhāna-jñāna) |
Five tathagatas
The five wisdoms correspond to the five tathāgatas as follows:
| Buddha (tathagata) | Color[6] | Wisdom |
|---|---|---|
| Vairocana | white | wisdom of dharmadhātu (dharmadhātu-jñāna) |
| Akshobhya | blue | mirror-like wisdom (ādarśa-jñāna) |
| Ratnasambhava | yellow | wisdom of equality (samatā-jñāna) |
| Amitabha | red | discriminating wisdom (pratyavekṣaṇa-jñāna) |
| Amoghasiddhi | green | all-accomplishing wisdom (kṛty-anuṣṭhāna-jñāna) |
Transformation of the eight consciousness
According to the Yogacara tradition, the five wisdoms "emerge through a transformation (parāvṛtti) of the eight consciousnesses at the moment of enlightenment".[3] There are different presentations of how the eight consciousnesses are transformed, according to different texts and teachers.
According to the The Five Buddha Families and the Eight Consciousnesses by Thrangu Rinpoche:[7]
| Aspect of consciousness | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| 8b. the aspect of the all-ground consciousness that stores all habitual patterns | wisdom of dharmadhātu (dharmadhātu-jñāna) |
| 8a. the aspect of the all-ground consciousness that experiences the present moment | mirror-like wisdom (ādarśa-jñāna) |
| 7. afflicted consciousness | wisdom of equality (samatā-jñāna) |
| 6. mental consciousness | discriminating wisdom (pratyavekṣaṇa-jñāna) |
| 1-5. five sense consciousnesses | all-accomplishing wisdom (kṛty-anuṣṭhāna-jñāna) |
A similar presentation (to the one above) is given in the Khenjuk by Mipham Rinpoche.[8][9] However, the Khenjuk does not explicitly discuss the distinctions between the two types of all-ground consciousness (alaya-vijnana).
According to Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom, a treatise by the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje:[10]
| Aspect of consciousness | Wisdom |
|---|---|
| 6b. The conceptual aspect of the mental consciousness[11] | wisdom of dharmadhātu (dharmadhātu-jñāna) |
| 8. All-ground consciousness | mirror-like wisdom (ādarśa-jñāna) |
| 7b. The afflicted aspect of the seventh consciousness[12] | wisdom of equality (samatā-jñāna) |
| 7a. The immediate aspect of the seventh consciousness | discriminating wisdom (pratyavekṣaṇa-jñāna) |
| 1-5. Five sense consciousnesses and 6a. The non-conceptual aspect of the mental consciousness |
all-accomplishing wisdom (kṛty-anuṣṭhāna-jñāna) |
Alternate translations
Alternate translations for pañcajñāna include:
- Five wisdoms
- Five awarenesses
- Five aspects of pristine awareness
- Five pristine cognitions.
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang 2011, Part 2, Chapter 1.
- ↑ Buswell & Lopez 2014, s.v. pañcajñāna.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Keown 2003, p. 209.
- ↑ Ādarśa is Sanskrit for "mirror"; the term may be related to the term darśana.
- ↑ Thinley Norbu 2012, Chapter 15.
- ↑ The colors of the buddhas may vary in different systems.
- ↑ Thrangu Rinpoche 1998, pp.13-14.
- ↑ Mipham Rinpoche 2002, verse 21.25-29.
- ↑ Lecture notes on the Khenjuk, 2020-2021.
- ↑ Thrangu Rinpoche & Geshe Lharampa 2022, Appendix B, p. 116.
- ↑ According to this view, the sixth consciousness has two aspects: an externally-oriented aspect which is non-conceptual, and an interally-oriented aspect which is conceptual. (Thrangu Rinpoche and Geshe Lharampa, 2022, p. 41)
- ↑ According to this view: "The seventh consciousness has two aspects or functions: the immediate aspect which ensures the continuity of the mind and the afflicted (Skt. klesha) aspect that is responsible for the continual belief in “I” responsible for creating the disturbing emotions." (Thrangu Rinpoche and Geshe Lharampa, 2022, p. 55)
Sources
Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University- Keown, Damien (2003), A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-860560-9
Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang (2011), A Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacher, translated by Padmakara Translation Group, Shambhala- Mipham Rinpoche (2002), Gateway to Knowledge, vol. III, translated by Kunsang, Erik Pema, Rangjung Yeshe Publications
- Thinley Norbu (2012), Small Golden Key, Shambhala
- Thrangu Rinpoche; Geshe Lharampa (2022), Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom, A Treatise of the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, with a commentary by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche and Geshe Lharampa, translated by Peter Roberts, Namo Buddha Publications
- Thrangu Rinpoche (1998), The Five Buddha Families and the Eight Consciousnesses, translated by Peter Roberts, Boulder, Colorado: Namo Buddha Publications
Further reading
ye_shes_lnga, Rangjung Yeshe Wiki
ye shes lnga, Christian-Steinert Dictionary
