The Way Consciousness Is Assembled
by barebonesbuddhism
The Aggregates:
The Flesh/Matter
Our bodies are the starting point of consciousness. We cannot have consciousness without bodies. Without bodies we have no way to bring in information to be conscious about. No one, and I mean nobody, can have consciousness as we understand it without a conduit for the consciousness – namely a material body. The idea that people floated around in the heavenlies before they received a body and were conscious of the pre-body experience is highly suspect.
Why? Because they NOW use their bodies to explain the consciousness they supposedly had BEFORE they had a body and they certainly cannot be the same. In other words, consciousness without a body CANNOT be the same as consciousness WITH a body.
So, when people claim to “remember”…well, remember with what? Before having a material body and brain, with what did they remember? With WHAT did they go here and go there and hear this or say that?
Well, they didn’t. One must have flesh/matter in order to experience consciousness and we all understand it.
No body, no consciousness.
Each of the parts of the body has its own CONSCIOUSNESS.
For instance, the EYE has EYE CONSCIOUSNESS.
The EAR has EAR CONSCIOUSNESS.
The TONGUE has TONGUE CONSCIOUSNESS
The SKIN has TOUCH CONSCIOUSNESS.
The NOSE has SMELL CONSCIOUSNESS.
The BRAIN has THOUGHT/MIND CONSCIOUSNESS
This only makes sense. The EYE cannot hear and the NOSE cannot see.
Each sense is a material conduit for interaction with the environment.
To understand consciousness, it is vital to understand these separate consciousness conduits or windows.
No EYE, no sight consciousness and so forth.
No BRAIN, no ability to have thought consciousness.
NO BODY NO CONSCIOUSNESS. NO BODY NO CONSCIOUSNESS. NO BODY NO CONSCIOUSNESS.
THIS IS COMMON SENSE AND NO ONE SHOULD FIND THIS A DIFFICULT CONCEPT EXCEPT THOSE WHO INSIST THEY HAVE CONSCIOUSNESS WITHOUT A BODY BUT THEN DESCRIBE NON-BODY CONSCIOUSNESS WITH BODILY TERMS.
Sensations
The different material organs are constantly ON. This means they pick up input consistent with their construction. Eyes pick up and “sense” a sight object before the brain has time to do anything with it. The brain takes about a thousandth of a second to take note of a sensory exposure.
All sensation means is the sense organ is exposed to a sense object for which it is constructed to receive. At this stage the senses make no judgements concerning the input; they make to response; they simply notice the input like we might notice someone walking into the room.
Perceptions
Once noticed, the sense organ sends the input to the brain to match the input with other like input and come to a conclusion whether the input is dangerous, safe or unknown. The brain matches the sensory input with all other like input and deletes it, distorts it to fit other like patterns or generalizes to make the input fit a general category.
For an example: the ear senses a noise and sends the information to the brain. The brain (or the part of the brain that deals with sound) matches the input with all known input to decide if it is dangerous, safe or unknown (and unknown is always considered unsafe until investigated further).
If the brain matches the ear input with the distant barking of a dog, the sound will be considered safe and tucked away in the brain insofar as this bark was different, the same or identical. Usually, when the input is familiar and safe, the process ends here with ear consciousness.
But, if the information from the senses requires action, then a MENTAL FORMATION must occur and this will lead to ACTION.
If there is no ACTION taken, then there is no KHARMA.
We will talk about that later in another post. (You will have to be motivated to find it).
Mental Volition
Mental Formations/Volitions only occur when ACTION is taken and ACTION is necessary. If there is no ACTION there is no Mental Formation; if ACTION happens in response to sensory input, then a MENTAL FORMATION has occurred.
When ACTION occurs it is due to some desire. The desire to exist, the desire to not exist, revulsion, delight, joy, repugnance, fear, etc. All ACTION on sensory input is to achieve a DESIRE.
For good or for ill, ACTION arises from DESIRE.
Either ATTRACTION or AVERSION (Perceived pain or perceived pleasure) is always the motivation for ACTION.
Remember, ACTION and KHARMA are the same thing. KHARMA is not the result of an action, it IS the action which will always have results of some kind.
Aggregate of Consciousness
When all of these sensory inputs including Mind Objects are working in harmony, then consciousness arises in general.
Consciousness is very general. It is the observation of the input of all the sensory input and noticing of all the action.
Consciousness is the THOUGHTS without the THINKER.
Consciousness at this level is very mysterious. If any of the sensory inputs are diminished in some way, then this Consciousness is aware of it. If the sensory inputs are reduced to nothing, then consciousness ceases.
All of these have 6 ways to induct knowledge:
Eye
Ear
Nose
Tongue
Skin
Mind
barebonesbuddhism 