Virgo, this tallies with my own experience of a 'seat' of consciousness felt in the area of the heart radiating. Yogacara schools talk about the 6th sense base as being the alaya vijnana, the storehouse of consciousness. I'm not sure if they associate this with the heart, though.Virgo wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 4:02 pmHi James, according to tradition it is a small rūpa in the heart.James Tan wrote: ↑Mon Feb 19, 2018 1:51 pm Greetings ,
According to sutta , the sixth consciousness arises from the contact of the mind which is the sixth sense base versus mental objects .
Therefore , what would you think is the sixth sense base ? Would you think the sixth sense base is of matter or non matter ?
best
Kevin
From an earlier post detailing Maha Bua on the heart:
I found this interesting commentary on brain vs. consciousness by Ajahn Maha Boowa
The brain, for instance, is a lump of matter. The brain is merely an instrument that human consciousness uses. When the citta enters into a deep state of calm and concentration, the conscious awareness that is normally diffused throughout the body simultaneously converges from all areas of the body into one central point of focus at the middle of the chest. The knowing quality manifests itself prominently at that point. It does not emanate from the brain. Although the faculties of memorization and learning arise in association with the brain, direct knowledge of the truth does not. Step by step, beginning with the initial stages of samadhi practice, progress in meditation is experienced and understood in the heart—and only in the heart. This is where the truth lies, and the meditator who practices correctly knows this each step of the way. When it comes to understanding the true nature of all phenomena, the brain is not a factor—it is not useful at all. The citta’s serene and radiant qualities are experienced at the heart. They emanate conspicuously from that point. All of the citta’s myriad aspects, from the grossest to the most subtle, are experienced clearly from this central spot. And when all defiling influences are finally eliminated from the citta, it is there that they all cease.
In some schools of Mahayana, they also talk about an area around the heart, not the physical heart. In Jeffrey Hopkins book 'Meditation On Emptiness', one of the meditations focuses on the appearance of the 'I' and the analysis of it. A parallel instruction in Vedanta also stresses the heart:
In Vedanta is often said to be the size of the thumb and
located in the 'heart'. In Vedanta the jiva is to be merged with
the infinite self, Brahman, and in Buddhism the appearance of a
concrete I is analyzed, found to be non-existent, and overcome,
resulting eventually in a direct realization of emptiness in which
the subject, the wisdom consciousness, is merged with its object,
emptiness, like fresh water poured into fresh water.