Buddhism monastery of
Tapa Shotor, 2nd century CE In
Indian Buddhism, the
Mādhyamaka school of
Buddhist philosophy developed the idea that all phenomena are
inherently empty, without a permanent essence. The "
consciousness-only" (
vijñapti-mātra) doctrine of the
Yogācāra school stated that experienced objects are mere transformations of consciousness, and do not reflect external reality. According to
Buddhist philosophy, particularly after the rise of ancient
Mahāyāna Buddhist scholarship, the concept of
impermanence (
anicca) is understood as one of the
three marks of existence (
trilakṣaṇa): there is neither empirical nor absolute permanent reality, because all phenomena are characterized by their
lack of a solid and independent existence (
svabhāva), and ontology can be explained as a process.
Advaita Vedānta and
other schools of
Hindu philosophy share numerous terminology, doctrines, and dialectical techniques with
Buddhist philosophy. In Buddhist ontology, there is a
system of dependent origination and interdependent phenomena (
pratītya-samutpāda) but no stable persistent identities, neither eternal universals nor particulars. However, the
historical Buddha considered this Brahmanical belief to be one of the
six wrong views about the self; in fact, Buddha held that attachment to the appearance of a permanent self in this world of change is
the cause of suffering (
duḥkha), and the main obstacle to the attainment of
spiritual liberation (
mokṣa). The Buddhist Abhidharma schools developed their analysis of reality based on the concept of
interdependent phenomena (
dhārmata), which are the ultimate physical and mental events that makeup experience and their relations to each other. Noa Ronkin has called their approach "
phenomenological". Later philosophical traditions include the
Mādhyamaka school of
Nāgārjuna within
Mahāyāna Buddhism (3rd century CE), which further developed the theory of the
emptiness (
śūnyatā) of all
interdependent phenomena (
dhārmata), which rejects any kind of
substance. Meanwhile, the
Yogācāra school promoted a theory called "
consciousness-only" (
vijñapti-mātra), In
medieval China, the school of
Xuanxue explored metaphysical problems of
Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy, such as the contrast between being and non-being.
Sāṃkhya Sāṃkhya is an ancient system of
Indian philosophy based on a dualism involving the ultimate principles of consciousness and matter. It is described as the
rationalist school of
Indian philosophy. It is most related to the
Yoga philosophy of
Hinduism, and its method was most influential on the development of
Early Buddhism. The
orthodox Hindu school of
Sāṃkhya philosophy introduced a metaphysical dualism with
pure consciousness and
matter as its fundamental categories. Sāṃkhya is a strongly
dualistic school of thought. Sāmkhya philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two realities;
puruṣa (consciousness) and
prakṛti (matter).
Jiva (a living being) is that state in which puruṣa is bonded to prakṛti in some form. During the state of imbalance, one of more constituents overwhelm the others, creating a form of bondage, particularly of the mind. The end of this imbalance, bondage is called liberation, or
moksha, by the Samkhya school. The existence of God or supreme being is not directly asserted nor considered relevant by the Sāṃkhya philosophers, which
deny the
final cause of
Ishvara (God). While the Samkhya school considers the
Vedas as a reliable source of knowledge, it is an atheistic philosophy according to
Paul Deussen and other scholars. A key difference between Samkhya and Yoga schools, state scholars, is that Yoga school accepts a "personal, yet essentially inactive, deity" or "personal god". Samkhya is known for its theory of
guṇas (qualities, innate tendencies). Guṇa, it states, are of three types:
sattva being good, compassionate, illuminating, positive, and constructive;
rajas is one of activity, chaotic, passion, impulsive, potentially good or bad; and
tamas being the quality of darkness, ignorance, destructive, lethargic, negative. Everything, all life forms and human beings, state Samkhya scholars, have these three guṇas, but in different proportions. The interplay of these guṇas defines the character of someone or something, of nature and determines the progress of life. The Samkhya theory of guṇas was widely discussed, developed and refined by various schools of Indian philosophies, including Buddhism. Samkhya's philosophical treatises also influenced the development of various theories of Hindu ethics. and also not the self-consciousness which as a kind of desire is satisfied by another self-consciousness. It is self-realisation; the realisation of the self consisting of consciousness that leads all else. The word
self-consciousness in the Upanishads means the knowledge about the existence and nature of
manusya, human being. It means the consciousness of our own real being, the primary reality. Self-consciousness means self-knowledge, the knowledge of Prajna i.e. of Prana which is attained by a Brahman. According to the Upanishads the
Atman or
Paramatman is phenomenally unknowable; it is the object of realisation. The Atman is unknowable in its essential nature; it is unknowable in its essential nature because it is the eternal subject who knows about everything including itself. The Atman is the knower and also the known. Metaphysicians regard the self either to be distinct from the absolute or entirely identical with the absolute. They have given form to three schools of thought – the
dualistic school, the
quasi-dualistic school and the
monistic school, as the result of their varying mystical experiences.
Prakrti and Atman, when treated as two separate and distinct aspects form the basis of the dualism of the
Shvetashvatara Upanishad. Quasi-dualism is reflected in the Vaishnavite-monotheism of
Ramanuja and the absolute monism, in the teachings of
Adi Shankara. Self-consciousness is the fourth state of consciousness or
Turiya, the first three being
Vaisvanara,
Taijasa and
Prajna. These are the four states of individual consciousness. There are three distinct stages leading to self-realisation. The first stage is in mystically apprehending the glory of the self within one as though one were distinct from it. The second stage is in identifying the "I-within" with the self, that one is in essential nature entirely identical with the pure self. The third stage is in realising that the Atman is Brahman, that there is no difference between the self and the absolute. The fourth stage is in realising "I am the Absolute" –
Aham Brahman Asmi. The fifth stage is in realising that Brahman is the "all" that exists, as also that which does not exist. ==Islamic metaphysics==