This paper is based on the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra, focusing on the topic of examination and inquiry into the mind-body. It analyzes and criticizes the patterns of general thinking, where the mind and body are thought of as two separate entities. The focus of this paper is based on the aspect of the removal of obstacles in order to further investigate into the doctrine of non-duality of mind-body. This includes how the doctrine reveals reality.
This paper includes nine sections. Section one is the introduction which points out the thesis of the research and delineates the preliminary framework. The second section summarizes the main thesis of the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra. This is the context of this paper. By doing this, it gives us a more comprehensive framework in religious doctrine. Section three discusses the reason why the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra expounds on mind-body, in order to illustrate why the mind-body topic becomes one of the teachings in the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra. The fourth section clarifies the characteristics of the mind-body discussion from both aspects of obstacle-removal and ability-cultivation. This serves as the reference framework for the following discourse. The fifth section eradicates the notion of “getting attached to meaning as being in conformity with words.” This also means not to look at the mind and body as “the mind and body which were put into words” of the words. Otherwise, it is difficult to see reality. Section six explains how to prevent getting “differentiating conception concerning mind and body” confused with “reality as-it-is.” In other words, one must guard against putting one's own projections about mind-body into the cognitive process. The seventh section eliminates “the view attached to the body,” which means not to remain in any level of identification with the body. Section eight abolishes “the view attached to the mind,” which means not to linger in the identification of the mind in any item, level, or segment. After recapitulating the removal of obstacles in the mind-body topic, we come to the last section. Section nine is the conclusion and outlook, which summarizes the main points of this paper and reviews relevant future explorations on the subject.
Keywords:
mind-body; non-duality; reality; philosophy of mind; philosophy of life; Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra