Buddhist Journeys into the Mind, Body, and Consciousness

Abstract

While there are various modern theories of conscious awareness, they tend to focus on the brain. However, how consciousness connects to its neural correlates in the brain remains unclear. Here, I examine texts from the early Buddhist tradition to look for alternative theories of consciousness. Notably, the Buddhist texts I examined did not focus solely on brain function, leaving the door open to expansive models that connect consciousness to the body and heart. These include a wandering mind/consciousness, a mind based in the heart, and consciousness associated with the senses. I then focus on the six sense-consciousnesses (Sanskrit: ṣaḍ-vijñāna), and examine their relationship to the body and to our material and mental worlds. My analysis focuses on insights from the Theravāda and Sarvāstivādin Abhidharma traditions. Overall, these texts indicate that early Buddhists envisioned a form of consciousness residing in the sense organs. Furthermore, understanding the existence of these consciousnesses in the body seems critical for liberative practices. Finally, I consider whether the idea of sense-consciousnesses might be relevant to the unconscious state, as studied in modern biomedical settings.