“Consciousness to Karma” was the topic of the Buddha Study monthly class held on September 21, 2024, in the Dharam Hall at Dong Hung Temple. Lay Dharma teacher Mark lead a lively discussion with a group of about twenty sangha members and visitors.
Mark used the Chachakka Sutta: The Six Sets of Six, MN 148 verses 148.1 through 148.6 and the Anathapindikovada Sutta: Advice to Anathapindika, MN 143, primarily verses 143.4 through 143.7 to lay the foundation of the discussion.
First, the group reviewed and discussed the Six Sense bases of consciousness (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mental.) The group then turned their focus to two additional bases of consciousness, as identified from The Yogacara school, the defiled consciousness, klista-manas, also referred to as retrieval consciousness and the storehouse consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna). We then discussed the plausible link between consciousness and karma via the storage and retrieval consciousnesses. We also talked about the energy that comprises the possible karma “energy-based data packet”, looking at it as a possible means of explaining the “continuity” of our awareness or consciousness.
The discussion concluded with a brief look at the concept of panpsychism, the idea that everything has an individual consciousness, just to invite the group to look beyond the Buddhism idea of consciousness. The conversation during the entire class was lively and full of sangha member’s perspectives that provided a lot of material for thinking about the nature of consciousness.
Please join us for the next Buddha Study Class on Saturday, October 19, 2024 from 10 AM to Noon in the Dharma Hall at Dong Hung Temple, Virginia Beach, VA. 23452.
