PSYCHOLOGY OF BUDDHISM: A practical guide to self-knowledge.

you catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye. You are aware that something has happened, but you don't have time to determine what it is. This direct perception without definition is a primordial sensory impression that has not yet been clearly formed and named in our minds. It's like a shadow flashing on a wall – we see movement, But we don't know what caused it.

      Example: You are sitting in a quiet room and suddenly you hear a rustle in the next room. You are aware that there was a sound, but you cannot immediately determine what it was – whether a book fell, a mouse ran by, or something else.

      Parable: A disciple asked his Zen teacher, "What is mind?" The teacher suddenly shouted and clapped his hands. The disciple shuddered at the surprise. The teacher said, "This is mind—pure awareness of the moment without any thoughts or definitions." This parable, like a flash of lightning, illustrates the fleeting nature of pure perception that precedes conceptualization.

      Doubt (Skt. saṃśaya; тиб. Di Tashome):

      It's like a swing, oscillating between two or more possibilities. Imagine not being able to remember if you turned off the iron when you left the house. Your mind is torn between two options: "turned off" and "didn't turn off", causing a feeling of anxiety. Doubt is a natural part of our cognitive process when we are faced with a lack of information or conflicting data.

      Example: You are offered to invest money in a new project that sounds very tempting. On the one hand, you see the potential benefit, on the other hand, you feel apprehension and uncertainty.

      Parable: One day a man was standing on the bank of a river and could not decide whether to ford it or to take a boat. He doubted whether it was shallow enough to make the boat capsize. His doubts paralyzed him like fetters, and he was never able to get to the other side. interfering with decision-making and action.

      False cognition (Skt. Viparaya-jñāna; тиб. People She):

      It's like a mirage in the desert, a misperception or a misunderstanding of reality. Imagine that in the desert you see a mirage, a shiny surface that looks like water. Your mind mistakenly interprets the visual sensations as water, when in fact it's just hot sand. False cognition is a distortion of reality where our mind mistakes an illusion for reality. This can be due to a lack of information, bias, or simply a perceptual error.

      Example: You look at a straight stick that is half submerged in water, and it appears to be broken at the water-air interface. This is an optical illusion – a false perception caused by the refraction of light.

      Parable: One night, a man was walking along the road and saw a rope coiled up in the dark. He was frightened, thinking it was a snake, and he ran away. Only in the morning, in the light of the sun, did he see that it was just a rope. This classic Buddhist parable, like a lantern in the night, illustrates how our minds can misinterpret reality, creating fears and illusions there, where there are none.

      Understanding these seven types of perception is like a clue to the mystery, helping us to become more aware of how our minds interact with the world and how errors in our cognition can arise. This is the first step to developing wisdom and the ability to see things as they really are. As one wise Buddhist monk said, "To get rid of illusions, we must first understand how they arise." Exploring these seven aspects of our perception is an important step on this path that leads to a clearer and more conscious understanding of ourselves and the world.

      Now let us deepen our understanding of these seven facets of our perception, as if peering into the ancient wisdom scrolls of the Buddhist teachings, which, like light, shed truth on the nature of our mind.

      Direct Perception: Buddhist texts, like echoes of centuries, emphasize the paramount importance of direct experience as the foundation of true knowledge. In the Majhima Nikaya, the Buddha, like a wise teacher, exhorts us to see things as they are, without the mediation of concepts or interpretations.

      "Oh bhikkhus, when you see the form with the eye, you simply see the form. When you hear a sound with your ear, you just hear the sound. When you smell a smell through your nose, you just smell the smell. When you taste with your tongue, you just taste it. When you touch your body, you just feel the touch. When you know a thought with your mind, you simply know a thought."

      This passage emphasizes the need for awareness and being in the present moment, without immediately labeling and judging our sensory experiences.

      Inference: Buddhist logic (pramana), like a sharp sword, attaches great importance to inference as a valid source of knowledge. However, the Buddhist texts, likewise warnings, remind us of the need to distinguish between superficial understanding based on reasoning and deep understanding that arises from meditation and contemplation. The Golden Light Sutra speaks of the importance of distinguishing between these two types of understanding.

      "Rely on your own experience, not the words of others. Rely on your own reason, not on other people's opinions. Rely on your own wisdom, not blind faith."

      While inference is valuable as a tool, it must be supplemented by personal experience and intuitive understanding.

      Subsequent Cognition: The Buddhist teachings, like a river of time, speak of the impermanence of all things. Our memories and recognition of objects are based on past impressions, which are themselves changeable. The Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification) describes the process of the arising and disappearance of mental images, emphasizing the transience of our experience and therefore of our subsequent cognition.

      "Everything composite is impermanent, everything composite suffers, all dharmas are devoid of self."

      Our recognition, like a shadow, is based on memory, which can be imperfect and subject to change.

      Correct Assumption: Although there is no explicit mention of "correct guessing" as a separate category in Buddhist texts, the principle of right thinking (samma sankappa) in the Noble Eightfold Path implies the ability to make wise and well-founded assumptions based on compassion and wisdom.

      "Right thinking is aimed at renunciation, the absence of ill will and the absence of cruelty."

      A correct assumption, like a compass, in a Buddhist context, would be based on ethical principles and the desire for the welfare of all beings.

      Direct Perception Without Definition: This state is often described in the context of vipassana meditation (insight meditation), like a safe haven. In the initial stages of practice, we learn to observe our sensations and thoughts without evaluating or categorizing them.

      "Just observe, just notice, just be here."

      Many Buddhist teachers, like guides, emphasize the importance of this non-conceptual perception in developing a deep understanding of reality.

      Doubt: In Buddhism, doubt, like a thorny bush, is seen as one of the five obstacles to enlightenment. However, this does not mean that doubt is always harmful. Healthy doubt, like the wind, can motivate us to investigate and seek the truth. In the Kalama Sutta , the Buddha, like a wise counselor, admonishes us not to blindly believe in authorities, traditions, or rumors, but to test everything by experience.

      "Do not believe the reports, do not believe the traditions, do not believe the rumors, do not believe the scriptures, do not believe the assumptions, do not believe the probabilities, do not believe the thought that 'this is our opinion,' do not believe the authority of teachers or elders. But when you yourself know that these things are not good, these things are evil,