Consciousness is the primary activity in any experience. Without consciousness, there is no experience.
Consciousness cannot arise by itself. It always arises with and conditioned by the mind and matter (the body). The interdependence of Consciousness, Mind and Body is how an experience arises. The triangular center (in the figure left) denotes human experience. There is no experience without Consciousness-Mind-Body. All three arise together and create a human experience. It is important to understand that there is no Consciousness without Mind-Body; No Mind without Consciousness-Body; No Body without Consciousness-Mind.
The above figure is also represented in many religions, as well as the significance of the number 3. An example may be the Trinity, of the Christian religions. To speak in religious vernacular, the in the realm of consciousness, or the flow of the soul, from the Creator, the Conscious, to the mind and body to complete the soul. Which then replicates and builds. Life is part of an expanding consciousness.
The Flow of Consciousness
The phenomenon of consciousness is like the flow of a river. The continuity of flow of water creates an illusion of one entity: the river that is flowing from one location to another. We give this illusion a name or an identity such as Nile, Ganga, or Mississippi. The reality is not the river, but the flow of water. This flow is a phenomenon of coming and going of water. In this analogy, the flow of water represents consciousness and the river represents a name given to an illusion of the continuity of flow of water.
Consciousness: The Ultimate Reality Component of SOUL
Consciousness is the essence of experience, it is the ultimate reality. Therefore, it is the ultimate object of experience or knowledge or knowing. Beyond consciousness, there is nothing. Even though consciousness is conditioned by mind and matter, it exists by reason of its own intrinsic nature, independent of the mind and matter. For without it, mind and matter would not exist.
It is possible to know consciousness directly through experience, making consciousness is the right object of learning. Which is one reason we exist. Here is an example; if you take a bite of an apple, you can taste the sweetness of the fruit. This is a conscious act. However, if someone tells you how sweet a apple tastes it will not bring the experience of the taste of the apple. The experience is simply the arising and ceasing of consciousness at a rapid rate.
Consciousness is not a being or an entity which performs the act of knowing. It is not some universal mighty intelligence or some almighty figure in the conventional sense. It is simply a “phenomenon” of cognition; experience; awareness. Always understand consciousness as a phenomenon, as a flow, like the flow of a river, and, not as a fixed entity.
Types of Consciousness
Consciousness is first and foremost “the phenomenon of experience.” However, depending upon the uniqueness, the utility, the manifestation, and the immediate cause of the experience, we can say that there are many kinds of consciousness. For example, if the nature of your mind is hateful, then the consciousness that arises in you would be unwholesome-consciousness, If the nature of your mind is compassionate, then the consciousness that arises in you would be wholesome-consciousness. So, depending upon the ethical quality of the mind which arises with consciousness, we can have many different types of consciousness.
1. Unwholesome Consciousness:
Consciousness which arises with unwholesome mind is unwholesome consciousness. It is rooted in one or more of the unwholesome mental elements of greed and hatred with delusion being the underlying root. It is unwholesome because it adversely impacts the wholesomeness of experience thereby inflicting pain and suffering. It is unwholesome because it generates unwholesome volition.
2. Wholesome Consciousness:
Consciousness which arises with wholesome mind is wholesome consciousness. It is rooted in one or another of the wholesome mental elements of Non-greed, Non-hatred and Non-delusion (see Chapter III, page no. for details). It is wholesome because it generates wholesomeness of experience thereby bringing happiness, joy and bliss. It is wholesome because it generates wholesome karma and merit.
3. Resultant Consciousness:
Consciousness which arises due to fruition of stored-up karma is the resultant consciousness. It is comprised of the results of both wholesome and unwholesome karmas, however, it, in itself, is neither unwholesome nor wholesome. It simply arises with the ripened karma. It is basically the experience of the maturation of karma.
Resultant consciousness can be sub-classified as:
a. Sense-Consciousness: Consciousness predominantly rooted in wholesome and unwholesome karma resultants. Examples- Eye-consciousness (seeing), Ear-consciousness (hearing), Nose-consciousness (smelling), Tongue-consciousness (tasting), Body-consciousness (experience of touch).
b. Receiving-Consciousness: This consciousness arises immediately after the sense consciousness, receives the object of experience and apprehends it. For example, once an object is seen by the Eye-consciousness, it is immediately received and apprehended by Receiving-consciousness.
c. Investigating-Consciousness: This consciousness arises immediately after the Receiving-consciousness in order to investigate the apprehended object. For example, once an object is seen by the Eye-consciousness, it is immediately received and apprehended by Receiving-consciousness, and then immediately investigated and examined by the Investigating-consciousness.
d. Registering-Consciousness: This consciousness arises immediately after the mental action (function of volition) is completed in order to register the generated karma (see pg. no. for details). In other words, this consciousness is responsible for creating memories, impression, stored-up karma, etc.
e & f. Rebirth-Linking-Consciousness and Death-Consciousness: This type of consciousness arises at the moment of conception (rebirth) and at the moment of death. It is the manifestation of subconsciousness.
4. Functional Consciousness: Consciousness which is none of the above three (unwholesome, wholesome, or resultant) is called the functional consciousness.
Functional-consciousness can be sub-classified as:
a. Sense-Enabling-Consciousness: It enables the Sense-Consciousness (five senses) to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch an object by referring it to the sensuality, sense object, sense field, and attention. For example, an Eye-Consciousness is enabled by this Sense-Enabling Consciousness by referring it to eye-sensitivity, visible object, light, and attention. Similarly, an Ear-Consciousness is enabled by this Sense-Enabling-Consciousness by referring it to ear-sensitivity, sound, space, and attention…and so on.
b. Heart-Enabling-Consciousness: It enables the mind-consciousness (the sixth sense) by referring it to mind-sensitivity, mental objects (eg. thought), mind-field (stored-up karma/subconsciousness), and attention. Note that the Sense-Enabling-Consciousness only enables the five senses and Heart-Enabling-Consciousness enables the sixth sense. c. Determining Consciousness: It enables the mind-consciousness to determine the object that has been cognized by the sense-consciousness. This consciousness generally arises after the Investigating-Consciousness and generally completes the investigation or discrimination phase of cognition. The above classification is a simple way of classifying the consciousness in order to prepare the grounds for understanding the dynamics of consciousness. The above classification is a basic, fundamental classification. By that, what I mean is that the unwholesome, wholesome, resultant, and functional consciousness are not strictly that. It cannot be so. For example, a wholesome-consciousness can be a wholesome-resultant or wholesome-functional-consciousness, and so on.
Whatever classification there may be, the most important thing to understand is that there is no one single-consciousness. There is no one permanent-universal-consciousness, or almighty-father-consciousness, or universal-mother-consciousness, or eternal-consciousness. Many different types of consciousness arise and pass away rapidly thereby creating the phenomena of continuous existence.
However, all types of consciousness arise and pass away only in the fixed order through the principle of conditionality. We will talk about that later when it is appropriate.
Subconsciousness
Besides the four basic types of consciousness, there is subconsciousness. Because, it is not exactly consciousness but the “potentiality” of consciousness. Subconsciousness can also be understood as the mind-field, karma-field, or life-continuum since it is made up of stored-up karma, memory, mental impressions, reactions, etc. Subconsciousness is closely related to resultant-consciousness but not same as that. It is more like a resultant-state of consciousness. It is a state, meaning, it is a potentiality; it is seed-like. It does not become consciousness until it gains enough strength through conditionality.
So, whenever there is no new karmic activity or no cognitive activity (meaning no consciousness), subconsciousness arises and ceases rapidly to sustain the flow of existence. In this way, subconsciousness serves as the life-continuum: the undercurrent of our existence. Subconsciousness is like the fuel (energy) for the continuity of existence. It flows on continuously like a stream, burning up in a passive manner, thereby running the vehicle of existence.
In a state of deep meditation or mental absorption, an enlightenment master is sustained by the flow of subconsciousness, because, in such mental state, there is no new karmic activity. Such moments of passive existence also occur a few times during the gaps in the active existence of our daily life.