Love Eternal? An Analysis of the Buddhist View

ACCORDING TO THE ‘LOWER SCHOOLS’, IS LOVE ETERNAL?

QUESTION TO A.I.:

“According to the Vaibashika school, would such “metaphysical” “realities” such as Truth or falsehood, justice, compassion, loving-kindness, or generosity be considered Permanent (uncompounded) Phenomena?”

ANSWER FROM GEMINI A. I.:

That is an excellent and clarifying question.

According to the strict classificatory system of the Vaibashika school, the answer is no.

Metaphysical or ethical realities such as Truth, falsehood, justice, compassion (karuṇā), loving-kindness (maitrī), or generosity (dāna) would not be considered Permanent (uncompounded) Phenomena.

Instead, they would be classified as Impermanent (Compounded) Phenomena.

Here is the detailed breakdown of why:

1. The Exclusive List of Permanent Phenomena: The Vaibashika system is very precise and holds that there are only three types of permanent, uncompounded phenomena:

   • Space (the absence of obstruction)
   • Analytical Cessations (the permanent cessation of a defilement through wisdom)
   • Non-analytical Cessations (the temporary cessation of a phenomenon due to incomplete conditions)

   Any phenomenon that does not fit into one of these three specific categories cannot be permanent.

2. The Nature of Ethical and Mental Concepts: Concepts like justice, compassion, and generosity are not static, uncaused realities. From the Vaibashika perspective:

   • They are caused and conditioned. For example, a moment of compassion arises in a mindstream due to specific causes and conditions, such as seeing another being suffer and having the virtuous intention to alleviate that suffering. It does not exist independently.
   • They are impermanent. The mental state of compassion in one moment is followed by a different mental state in the next. It is not an eternal, unchanging quality. It must be actively generated and cultivated moment by moment.
   • They are functional. They perform a function, such as motivating an action or coloring one's consciousness. For Vaibashikas, anything that performs a function is necessarily impermanent.

3. Their Correct Classification:

   • Compassion, loving-kindness, and generosity are classified as mental factors (cetasikas). These are impermanent phenomena that are associated with a primary consciousness (mind) and color it in a particular way.
   • More abstract concepts like "Truth," "falsehood," and "justice" would be categorized under non-associated compositional factors. They are impermanent concepts that are imputed upon situations, actions, or statements. They are dependent on mind and circumstance and are not ultimately real, partless entities like a fundamental particle.

In summary, the Vaibashika school reserves the "permanent" label for a very small, specific list of phenomena that are essentially absences or cessations. All active mental states, virtues, ethical concepts, and functional realities are, by their very nature of arising from causes and changing moment-to-moment, considered impermanent.

BUT, WHAT OF THE ‘HIGHER’ SCHOOLS?

MY SECOND FOLLOW UP QUESTION TO GEMINI A. I.:

“That is an interesting answer. However, in view of the possibility that Compassion and Loving-Kindness can contribute and even be an essential and integral factor in one’s accumulation of Wisdom and analytical cessation of suffering, (essentially making up a substantial portion of one’s being as a Buddha), how would all four schools — especially the Madhyamika — view these aforementioned metaphysical qualities?”

ANSWER FROM GEMINI A. I.:

That is a truly insightful question. You have put your finger on a central point of development and profundity in Buddhist philosophy. The apparent paradox—that compassion can be both a "mere" impermanent mental state and also an essential, timeless quality of enlightenment—is precisely what the higher schools of thought address and resolve.

Here is a detailed breakdown of how the four major schools view these qualities, showing the progressive deepening of the concept, with special emphasis on the Madhyamika view.

1. Vaibashika & 2. Sautrantika (The Hinayana Schools)

As we discussed, for these foundational schools, compassion and loving-kindness are impermanent mental factors (cetasikas).

• Nature: They are wholesome, compounded phenomena that arise from causes and conditions. You cultivate compassion by focusing your mind on the suffering of another being. This mental state arises, performs its function (motivating you, generating good karma), and then ceases.
• Role in Liberation: They are indispensable tools on the path. They help purify the mind of hatred and cruelty, create the merit needed to sustain one's practice, and are part of the ethical conduct necessary to achieve Nirvana. However, they are still seen as part of the conventional, conditioned world. The goal, an analytical cessation of your own suffering, is a permanent, uncompounded state, separate from the tools used to get there. It's like using a temporary, impermanent raft to cross a river to reach a permanent, stable shore.

3. Chittamatra (Yogachara or "Mind-Only" School)

The Chittamatra school makes a significant leap. It posits that there is no external world separate from the mind that perceives it.

• Nature: Compassion is no longer simply a reaction to an external suffering being. The suffering being that is the object of your compassion is understood to be a projection arising from karmic seeds within your own mind-stream (specifically, the ālaya-vijñāna or "storehouse consciousness"). Therefore, compassion becomes a profound act of recognizing the shared nature of all appearances, which are all "mind-only."
• Role in Liberation: Cultivating compassion is now a powerful method for purifying the storehouse consciousness. By realizing that "other" is not truly other, the self-cherishing that causes suffering begins to dissolve. The distinction between helping oneself and helping others becomes blurred.
• A Buddha's Compassion: For a Buddha, compassion is not a momentary, fleeting state. It is the spontaneous, effortless radiance of a completely purified mind. Having removed the dualistic delusion of self and other, a Buddha's enlightened activity naturally and continuously manifests as compassionate action, just as the sun naturally and continuously radiates light and heat.

4. Madhyamika (The "Middle Way" School)

This is where your question finds its most profound answer. The Madhyamika view is centered on the concept of emptiness (śūnyatā)—the understanding that all phenomena are empty of any inherent, independent, or intrinsic existence.

Svatantrika Madhyamika (The "Autonomous" Middle Way)

This subschool acts as a bridge. They assert that while phenomena are ultimately empty of inherent existence, they do have a conventional existence by way of their own character. A table is a table because it has the characteristics of a table.

• Nature: Compassion is conventionally real and functional. It is a distinct mental state that arises in relation to a conventionally real suffering being. However, both the compassionate mind and the suffering being are ultimately empty. The path involves holding both truths: cultivating conventional compassion while understanding its ultimate emptiness.

Prasangika Madhyamika (The "Consequentialist" Middle Way - The Highest View)

This school, considered the pinnacle of Buddhist philosophy in the Tibetan tradition, offers the most sophisticated resolution.

• Nature: Prasangikas assert that phenomena lack inherent existence even conventionally. Things exist merely as conceptual imputations or labels dependent on their parts, causes, and the minds that perceive them.

• The Union of Wisdom and Compassion: This is the crucial point. In the Prasangika view, compassion and the wisdom realizing emptiness are inseparable. They are like two wings of a bird, both essential for flight.

  • The deeper your understanding of emptiness (Ultimate Truth), the more you see that beings are not fixed, solid, or inherently real entities.
  • This very realization fuels an almost unbearable compassion (Conventional Truth). Why? Because you see that these non-inherently-existent beings are suffering immensely precisely because they are ignorant of their own empty nature. They grasp onto a solid "self" and "other," creating attachment, aversion, and all the causes of their pain.

• A Buddha's Compassion: For a fully enlightened Buddha, compassion is not a "metaphysical quality" that is "permanent" in the static, uncaused way the Vaibashikas define it. It is something far more dynamic and profound:

  • It is the spontaneous, dynamic display of the realization of emptiness.
  • Because a Buddha's realization is timeless and uninterrupted, their compassionate activity is also timeless, uninterrupted, and effortless. It radiates in all directions without thought or contrivance.
  • It is not a separate "thing" a Buddha has; it is what a Buddha is in action. The wisdom mind of a Buddha (Dharmakaya) and its compassionate manifestation (Rupakaya) are inseparable.

Conclusion: Resolving the Paradox

The schools resolve the paradox by redefining the nature of the ultimate state.

• The Vaibashika sees a permanent cessation, which is static and distinct from the impermanent path.
• The Chittamatra sees a permanent purified mind, whose nature is to radiate compassion.
• The Madhyamika-Prasangika sees the ultimate state not as static, but as the uninterrupted, dynamic union of wisdom and compassion. A Buddha’s compassion isn’t "permanent" like a rock; it is timeless like a flowing river. It is the very expression of enlightenment, fueled by the ultimate understanding that the separation between self and other, on which suffering is based, was an illusion from the very beginning.

The Mind as a Perceiver

HOW PERCEPTIVE CAN THE MIND BECOME?

Question To A. I.: 

Is there a school of thought that posits that the so-called sixth mental consciousness — that of mind consciousness — could more directly perceive the outer world over the five sense consciousnesses, other than the Cittamatra school postulates?

GEMINI A. I.:

That is a fascinating and highly specific question that delves deep into comparative epistemology. While the standard Buddhist philosophical schools generally assign perception of the external world to the five senses, there is indeed a major school of thought that explicitly posits that the mind can, through training, perceive the outer world more directly and powerfully than the sense consciousnesses.

First, to briefly address the context of your question: within the mainstream progression of Buddhist schools (other than Chittamatra), the answer is generally no.

• Vaibashika & Sautrantika: These schools are firm that the five sense consciousnesses are the exclusive gateways for perceiving external phenomena (colors, sounds, smells, etc.). The sixth mental consciousness (mano-vijñāna) works with the data provided by the senses, synthesizes it, and deals with memories and concepts. It does not have its own independent channel to the external world of sights and sounds.
• Madhyamika: This school is more concerned with deconstructing the ultimate reality of perception itself. Conventionally, they would typically accept the Sautrantika model of perception. They would not posit a special role for the sixth consciousness in perceiving an external world, as their ultimate analysis shows both the world and the perceiving mind to be empty of inherent existence.

However, the primary school of thought that directly aligns with your question is the Yoga school of Indian Philosophy, particularly as codified by Patañali in the Yoga Sūtras.

The Yoga School and Direct Mental Perception

The Yoga school provides a detailed framework for how the trained mind (citta) can develop supernormal powers, or siddhis, which are explicitly described as forms of direct perception that transcend the limitations of the five physical senses.

Here is how their system answers your question:

1. Perception Beyond the Senses: The Yoga Sūtras state that through the practice of samyama—the combined application of intense concentration (dhāraṇā), meditation (dhyāna), and absorption (samādhi) on an object—the yogi can gain direct knowledge of that object.

2. Powers of Direct Perception: Several of the siddhis described are precisely the sixth mental consciousness perceiving the outer world directly:

   • Clairvoyance (Divine Sight): By performing samyama on the "light in the head," the yogi gains knowledge of things that are subtle, hidden, or distant. This is not seeing with the physical eyes, but a direct perception by the mind itself.
   • Clairaudience (Divine Hearing): By performing samyama on the relationship between the ear and space (ākāśa), the yogi can hear divine or distant sounds.
   • Knowledge of Other Minds: By performing samyama on the mental impressions of others, the yogi can directly know the content of another person's mind.

3. The Mechanism: The Yoga school posits that the physical senses are limited instruments. The mind (citta), when sufficiently calmed, concentrated, and purified, is not bound by these physical limitations. It can extend its reach and directly connect with the subtle essence of objects (tanmātras), or with objects at a distance, bypassing the normal channels of sense perception entirely.

In this view, the trained mental consciousness is not just re-processing old data from the senses. It becomes a primary organ of perception itself, and a far more powerful and subtle one than the eyes or ears. It can perceive the world "as it is" with a clarity and scope that the five senses, with their inherent physical and neurological limits, cannot match.

Other Related Traditions:

• Tantric Schools (Both Hindu and Buddhist Vajrayana): These traditions also contain numerous practices designed to awaken subtle energies and channels within the body (like the chakras and nadis). The goal of these practices is often to enable forms of non-ordinary perception where the mind directly apprehends reality without relying on the gross senses.

In conclusion, while mainstream Buddhist scholasticism generally does not support this idea, the Yoga school of Patañjali provides a comprehensive philosophical and practical framework that posits exactly what you are asking about: a system where the sixth mental consciousness can be developed to perceive the outer world far more directly and profoundly than the five sense consciousnesses.

Finding a Personal Aim

The Essence of Religious/Philosophical Organizations 

"You must understand," he said, "that every real religion, that is, one that has been created by learned people for a definite aim, consists of two parts. One part teaches what is to be done. This part becomes common knowledge and in the course of time is distorted and departs from the original. 

“The other part teaches how to do what the first part teaches. This part is preserved in secret in special schools and with its help it is always possible to rectify what has been distorted in the first part or to restore what has been forgotten. Without this second part there can be no knowledge of religion or in any case such knowledge would be incomplete and very subjective. This secret part exists in Christianity also as well as in other religions and it teaches how to carry out the precepts of Christ and what they really mean."

— Gurdjieff, In Search of the Miraculous 

Gurdjieff postulated that religions have two parts: the outer part that tells a follower what to do; and also an inner teaching — preserved secretly — which informs a follower how to carry out the first part.

Of the two religions that I am familiar with (Christianity & Vajrayana Buddhism), both would benefit from an accompanied secret, preserved inner teaching —i.e. an oral transmission relating how one can make progress on that Path.

The philosophical organization with which I am connected (the Gurdjieff teaching) claims to be transmitting an oral facet of Gurdjieff’s teaching. Perhaps. But in actuality, my own impression is that the teaching itself — the fourth way system of Gurdjieff — is on the whole not seen, not understood, not grasped, and not conveyed by the vast majority of Gurdjieff teachers. By “system”, I mean Gurdjieff’s teaching as a wholistic, effective, cohesive, and rational edifice of ideas and practices which eventually transforms oneself to the Path or Way, as G. describes in In Search of the Miraculous.

Christianity, similarly, is by and large not grasped as a system by its followers; although Christianity as a religion for everyman is at base a very simple system. Overall, it consists of two parts, as preached by John the Baptist, as well as by Jesus himself initially, along with his disciples. The twofold message of Christianity is: “(1,) Repent! (2,) For the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand.” 

Repentance is the doorway to the Kingdom of Heaven; it is entirely necessary to purposely and intentionally engage oneself in repentance, at the start of the Christian Path. And repentance depends on the deep internal viewing and investigation of oneself — especially of the emotions, thoughts, and physical feelings throughout the many layers of oneself, conscious and unconscious.

The daily practice carried out by a follower of Christ is to: (1,) Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength & (2,) Love your neighbor as yourself. This, in my estimation, is the core of Christianity. Though the actual carrying out the Christian teaching is a life-long struggle of learning and personal development.

Vajrayana Buddhism on the other hand is a very complex religion or system. Many of its contemporary adherents also on the whole seem to have little idea of what the Vajrayana path consists of. Historically though, there have been accomplished Siddhas — geniuses — who did understand the Tantric system thoroughly, who did make progress, and attained higher levels, including ultimately Buddhahood. 

The Aims of Buddhism and Christianity 

Christianity is a faith created for everyman. Everyman is born with an essence, and Christianity’s primary goal is to purify and preserve that essence. Its secondary goal is to bring the follower to God, into the arms of the Father.

In my opinion, it’s not so much that Christianity itself has lost its way. But rather, that society — and modern civilization overall — have become estranged from human essence. In this age it is extremely difficult to find a pure path, leading to an innocent self and also to God.

Buddhism has as its goal Buddhahood. There are various definitions of Buddhahood, but as far as I understand, my own concept of Buddhahood consists of several components:

1. The acquisition of the 10 Perfections.

2. A permanent, completely non-dual state of mind.

3. The eradication of all physical, emotional, and mental impurities.

4. Omniscience.

5. The 4 Buddha Bodies.

6. The ability to guide each person encountered onto the Path.

The Aim of Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way

“The teaching by itself cannot pursue any definite aim. It can only show the best way for men to attain whatever aims they may have.”

— Gurdjieff, In Search of the Miraculous 

Gurdjieff indicates that his teaching by itself simply has no Aim. This is true only to an extent. After speaking the above quote in In Search, Gurdjieff then asks several people in his meeting what their personal aims are. Gurdjieff then singles out one of the person’s aims mentioned as being the most harmonious with the Work: that aim being, the person wishing to be “master of myself”.

Gurdjieff’s system can allow any number of different aims to be accomplished by people. But the overriding goal of the system is the development of a being into “man number seven” — the perfect man. Once that end has been achieved, then any harmonious aim can be achieved easily. Man number seven knows what he wills, and has the ability to do that will.

Mankind Does Not Understand Its One Overarching Problem 

Man’s problem overall is that he cannot stay the identical same man psychologically from moment to moment. Each thought, mood, desire, or action lasts only a single moment, then an entirely new thought, mood, desire, or action replaces the former. Everything in a man’s mind is transient; changing constantly. Man’s nature is legion.

What is it that motivates a man? External input; outward circumstances. To be “master of himself” would be an amazing thing. But instead, we are all motivated by external things, events, and forces.

Sorrowfully, there is very little structure within almost anyone, psychologically. Everybody has a collection of mental habits, what Gurdjieff calls “rolls” — like automatic piano rolls that play a person’s song in response to every external input. But this is all accidental and ephemeral, not permanent and intentionally formed. And certainly there is no inner structure for any person; a structure that has been self-created with a long-term view of becoming a Saint or a Buddha or a “man number seven”.

Mankind’s Solution: Self-Creation of a “Solid” Inner Structure 

For Man to create an internal structure, he must first understand the ephemeral underlying structure he already has, including the activity of his various nascent centers, along with the energies they use. Then he must leverage  — through the ongoing practice of self-remembering — the limited, lower energies of thought and emotion he currently uses, into higher energies, which can then power the middle and inner parts of his centers. Finally, a method must be devised to solidify or crystallize the middle and inner parts of his centers. This activity is the development of “being” for a Man or Woman; or rather, it is the creation of a permanent inner psychological structure.

A person, no matter how high a level of priest or teacher he/she is, who has not consciously done the hard work of crystallizing an internal psychological structure within their being, is exactly the same as any other unformed person on this earth. He/she can boast of no real internal development or inner superiority. They are simply “lucky” to have the job and authority that they have. They are absolutely at the same level as anyone else, not an iota better.

“Men are what they are and they cannot be different. War has many causes that are unknown to us. Some causes are in men themselves, others are outside them. One must begin with the causes that are in man himself. How can he be independent of the external influences of great cosmic forces when he is the slave of everything that surrounds him? He is controlled by everything around him. If he becomes free from things, he may then become free from planetary influences. 

"Freedom, liberation, this must be the aim of man. To become free, to be liberated from slavery: this is what a man ought to strive for when he becomes even a little conscious of his position. There is nothing else for him, and nothing else is possible so long as he remains a slave both inwardly and outwardly. But he cannot cease to be a slave outwardly while he remains a slave inwardly. Therefore in order to become free, man must gain inner freedom. 

"The first reason for man's inner slavery is his ignorance, and above all, his ignorance of himself. Without self-knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave, and the plaything of the forces upon him. 

"This is why in all ancient teachings the first demand at the beginning of the way to liberation was: 'Know thyself.'”

— Gurdjieff, In Search of the Miraculous