Knowing the Nature of the Mind
The Classifications of Mind and Logical Reasonings
Rime Shedra Foundation Course 102
13 Tuesdays, January 10 to April 18, 2023
Source Text: Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics Volume Two: The Mind, Conceived & Introduced by HH The Dalai Lama, compiled by The Compendium Compilation Committee, with material by John Dunne and edited by Thupten Jinpa, Wisdom Publications, 2020
The focus of this course will be on the Buddhist view of the nature and characteristics of the mind and the mental world it creates, as well as how logical reasoning is used to dispel wrong views about reality created by the conceptual artifice. The two preliminary texts for the study of these topics are The Classification of Mental States, or Lorik in Tibetan and The Classification of Reasons, or Tarik, in Tibetan, both of which are encapsulated into the source text for this course, Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics Volume Two: The Mind.
The Classifications of Mental States presents the nature of cognition, its types and characteristics, and precise descriptions of the basic cognitive states –mental factors or formations – with which we are all only vaguely familiar. The Classification of Reasons presents the characteristics and varieties of logical reasoning which are used to clearly understand the nature of the world and our (usually incorrect) experience of it. Together, these two texts provide the foundation for the deeper study of Pramana, or Valid Cognition, which is encapsulated in the core shedra text composed by Dharmakirti in the fifth century, Pramanavartikka.
This is the second in a series of three foundational courses in the progressive curriculum of Rime Shedra NYC. This course builds upon material presented in the prior course, however, one need not have attended the first course to attend this one. The first course focused on Abhidharma and presented the Buddhist view of the phenomenal, objective world as well as establishing a standard method for analyzing our experience, as well as a clear conceptual framework and linguistic pattern.