The Five Levels of Consciousness-Only Contemplation in Kuiji’s 窺基 Banruo boluomiduo xin jing youzan 般若波羅蜜多心経幽賛

Abstract

How was “Yoga practice based on Yogācāra thought,” which was transmitted by Xuanzang, accepted into Chinese Yogācāra?

The best example to understand this is the five levels of consciousness-only contemplation provided in Kuiji’s 窺基 Banruo boluomiduo xin jing youzan 般若波羅蜜多心経幽賛 （T. 1710）. The outline of this text is as follows.

1st level: expelling the unreal （parikalpita） and retaining the real （paratantra and pariniṣpanna）

2nd level: expelling confusion （artha） and holding to true awareness （vijñapti）

3rd level: gathering the branches: objective aspect and cognizing aspect （nimitta and dṛṣṭi）, and turning to the roots: the self-witnessing aspect （vijñapti）

4th level: covering the inferior: the mental functions （caitasika）, and revealing the superior: the mind （citta）

5th level: dispelling manifestations （paratantra） and apprehending the true nature （pariniṣpanna）

According to Kuiji, these contemplations are practiced between the second and third of the five stages 五位 of the Yogācāra path.

The five levels of consciousness-only contemplation are based on theory of the three natures 三性 as a whole. In this respect, the idea inherits the basic yoga practice of Indian Yogācāra in Chapter V of the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra 解深密経 and Chapter Ⅲ of the Mahāyānasaṃgraha 摂大乗論.

On the other hand, it is associated with the developing theories of three components 三分 of cognition and five stages of cultivating the Yogācāra path in the Cheng weishi lun 成唯識論. Furthermore, Kuiji states that what is contemplated in it contains all Buddhist doctrines―not only śūnyatā and vijñaptimātratā but ekayāna and tathāgatagarbha as well.

From the above, it can be said that Kuiji’s five levels of consciousness-only contemplation developed independently in Chinese Yogācāra, while inheriting the basic yoga practice of Indian Yogācāra.