..續本文上一頁lso means “impurity and defilements.” The Tibetan translation nyon-mongs means “physical or mental misery, distress, and misfortune.” As a standard term, it refers to various lists of ignorance, anger, envy, pride, craving, etc. When the kleshas arise and reinforce the initial sensation, the chaotic forces that bring on frustration increase, too.

　　What is the basic illusion

　　 Perceiving and conceiving that phenomena are separated from the self. It is because of attachment to “a self” and misinterpretation of “others” that pride, jealousy, maliciousness, and further inadequate mental activities spring up and grow. The process increases if it is not recognized and pacified. Karma is accumulated in the process, both good and bad, due to mental activities that engage in trying to accomplish things to validate the insufficient feeling of “a self.” Karma literally means “action,” though in other contexts it can also mean “duty and rite.” The Tibetan translation is las, which means “actions.” Good karma is created through love and compassion, negative karma through ravaging emotions. The mental activities leave an imprint in the ground consciousness, the alaya, where they are stored as latencies, which, in turn, stimulate and activate the five skandhas, the eighteen dhatus, and twelve ayatanas. We learned that all things that appear, all phenomena, are an assembly of parts and are in truth devoid of an own identity. Nothing whatsoever is independent and therefore nothing has an own, inherent existence; all things are “a heap” of various components and factors, are therefore not singular and, in any case, not self-existent.

　　There are five skandhas of being. Skandha means “the (psycho-physical) aggregates.” In general Sanskrit this has many meanings, including “multitude, troop, aggregation, part, pision, section, chapter.” In Buddhism it refers to the five principal mental and physical constituents of a being: form, sensation, identification, mental events, and consciousness. Form refers to any visible or tangible object. We think such things exist independently but they don”t; everything is a collection of many factors. The skandha of sensation refers to any mental and physical irritation or feeling. The skandha of identification refers to perceiving and judging an irritation. The skandha of mental activities means reacting to what was identified. The skandha of consciousness is comprised of many factors and is explained in great detail in the book, Transcending Ego: Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom. The Tibetan word for skandha is phung-po and literally means “a heap” but has the meaning of “aggregation.”

　　There are eighteen dhatus, “elements (of sensory perception),” khams in Tibetan, that give rise to the five skandhas. There are the six sense consciousnesses of sight, sound, smell, taste, tactility, and mind. These six consciousnesses arise due to the six sense faculties and the six objects that can be perceived: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, and thoughts.

　　There are twelve ayatanas, “bases (of sensory perception).” The Sanskrit means “seat, abiding, place,” etymologically closely related to alaya. In Buddhist context, the sites, abodes, or supports of sensory experiences are the six sense faculties (the sixth being the mental faculty) and their respective six objects. The Tibetan term is not a literal translation but is made up of the two syllables “birth” and “increase,” skye-ched, in reference to sensory experience. The inner bases of perception arise, develop, and increase. Relatively speaking, the external objects are perceived by the internal minds, which arise and increase upon having perceived an object fit to be perceived.

　　Experiencing the dual as unitary, and vice versa, depends upon the ska…

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