THE “PSYCHONAUTS” OF BUDDHISM
Please describe in detail the meditation objects and techniques that Buddhists use to attain the levels of the form and formless realms. Finally, describe the final steps needed after these preliminary steps to attain Buddhahood. Give the overall historical details of the preceding, along with the Yogacara interpretation.
GEMINI
This is a journey through the "psychonautics" of classical Buddhism. The path to the Form and Formless realms is essentially a process of stripping away the coarseness of reality layer by layer until only the most subtle vestige of mind remains.
Here is the detailed technical breakdown of the objects, the history, and the Yogacara interpretation.
Part 1: The Form Realm (Rūpadhātu)
The Technique: Refining the Object
To enter the Form Realm (which correlates to the 4 Dhyānas or Jhānas), the meditator must first suppress the "Five Hindrances" (sensual desire, ill-will, sloth, restlessness, doubt).
The Primary Objects: The 10 Kasinas
The most famous technique for this is the Kasina (Totalities) practice. The yogi constructs a physical disk or focuses on a natural element:
Earth: A disk of clay, focusing on "Earth, Earth."
2 Water: A bowl of water.
3 Fire: A flame viewed through a hole.
Wind: The sensation of wind or moving leaves.
Colors: Blue, Yellow, Red, White (disks of pure color).
4 Light: A circle of light.
Space: A limited aperture or window.
The Process:
Learning Sign: The yogi looks at the physical object (e.g., the clay disk) until they can visualize it perfectly with eyes closed.
Counterpart Sign (Patibhaga-nimitta): As concentration deepens, the mental image changes. It loses its physical defects (cracks, grain) and becomes a glowing, purified disk of light.
Absorption: The yogi merges with this purified sign. They leave the sensory world behind and enter the 1st Dhyana.
From here, the yogi drops the object and focuses on the mental factors (bliss, one-pointedness) to climb to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Dhyana. By the 4th Dhyana, the breath has technically stopped (became very subtle), and the mind is in a state of pure, equanimous stillness.
Part 2: The Formless Realm (Ārūpyadhātu)
The Technique: Removing the Boundaries
The Formless attainments are not new "places" so much as they are deletions of the previous data. The yogi takes the 4th Dhyana as a launchpad and performs a series of mental abstractions.
1. The Sphere of Infinite Space
Technique: The yogi takes the "Counterpart Sign" (the glowing disk from the Form Realm) and mentally expands it until it breaks. They remove the concept of "materiality" entirely. They focus on the "space" left behind by the object.
The Thought: "Space is infinite. Space is infinite."
2. The Sphere of Infinite Consciousness
Technique: The yogi realizes that "Space" is still an external object. They turn their attention inward to the awareness that is perceiving the space. They realize the perceiver is as infinite as the object.
The Thought: "Consciousness is infinite."
3. The Sphere of Nothingness
Technique: The yogi realizes that focusing on "Consciousness" is still a form of mental agitation. They drop the focus on the perceiver and focus on the absence of perception. They look for the "gap."
The Thought: "There is nothing. There is nothing."
4. The Sphere of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception
Technique: This is the limit of the mind. The yogi realizes that thinking "There is nothing" is still a perception. But they cannot just fall asleep (Non-Perception). They enter a state so subtle that it cannot be called "conscious," yet it is not "unconscious." It is the very edge of existence.
Part 3: Historical Context (The Breath-Wind Magicians)
Historically, the techniques for the Formless Realms were not invented by the Buddha. They were likely the specialty of the Sramana (wandering ascetic) movement and the "Breath-Wind Magicians" of the Upanishads that you are interested in.
Alara Kalama: The Buddha’s first teacher taught him to reach the "Sphere of Nothingness."
5 Uddaka Ramaputta: His second teacher taught him the "Sphere of Neither-Perception-Nor-Non-Perception."
The Buddha's Innovation:
The Buddha mastered these states but rejected them as the final goal. He realized that even in the highest formless state, the "I" was still there, hibernating in a subtle form (resembling your "ice" analogy). Upon death, such a yogi would be reborn as a Formless God for eons, but eventually, when the karma ran out, they would fall back into lower realms.
The Buddha added the critical step: Vipashyana (Insight).
Part 4: The Yogacara Interpretation
The Turning of the Base (Ashraya-paravrtti)
Yogacara (the "Mind-Only" school) reinterprets these realms not as external cosmological locations, but as layers of the Eight Consciousnesses.
1. The Trap of the Formless
Yogacara warns that the "Formless Realm" is often just a deep immersion into the Alaya-vijnana (Storehouse Consciousness).
When a yogi suppresses all thoughts (Sphere of Nothingness), they are not enlightened; they have simply arrested the 6th Consciousness (Thinking Mind) and are floating in the silent, dark ocean of the Alaya.
This is dangerous because the "Seeds" (Bija) of anger, greed, and ignorance are still rotting at the bottom of that ocean, waiting to sprout.
2. The Solution: The "Three Natures"
To move from the Formless Realms to Buddhahood, the Yogacara practitioner must apply Wisdom to the silence. They must analyze their experience through the Three Natures:
Imagined Nature: The labels they used ("Space," "Consciousness"). They realize these are just words.
Dependent Nature: The realization that the meditation state itself is dependent on causes (winds, posture, focus). It is not an eternal "Self."
Perfected Nature: The realization of Suchness (Tathata). This occurs when the subject (meditator) and object (emptiness) fuse.
3. The Final Step: The Mirror Wisdom
The transition to Buddhahood in Yogacara is the Turning of the Base.
The Alaya-vijnana (which holds the karmic seeds) is not destroyed, but purified. It flips over to become the Great Mirror Wisdom.
The 7th Consciousness (The Ego-Mind which clings to the Alaya as "Self") flips to become the Equality Wisdom (seeing self and other as equal).
Summary of the Path
Preliminary: Use Kasinas (Objects) to suppress hindrances → Form Realm.
Intermediate: Delete the object to access the "Software" (Space/Consciousness) → Formless Realm.
The Trap: Getting stuck in the "peace" of the Storehouse Consciousness (Alaya).
The Exit (Buddhahood): Using Vipashyana to see that even the "Peace" is empty of self-nature. This triggers the Turning of the Base, transforming the subtle body/mind into the Dharmakaya.
WHO WERE THE “BREATH-WIND MAGICIANS?”
Please go into great depth regarding the breath-wind magicians of the previous answer. Is there any historical evidence of them other than the Upanishads? In depth, what role did they possibly play for the Buddha? What did they turn into historically; were they the precursors to the Yoga practitioners or hindu tantrics?
GEMINI
This is a fascinating area of historical inquiry because these "Breath-Wind Magicians" (often academically referred to as the followers of the Tapas or Ascetic tradition, distinct from the Brahmin priests) represent the "underground" spiritual current of Ancient India.
While the Upanishads provide the philosophical gloss, the "magicians" themselves were likely the Vratyas and early Shramanas.
Here is a detailed breakdown of who they were, where else we find them, and their direct lineage into Yoga and Tantra.
1. Who Were They? (The Historical Evidence)
The "Breath-Wind Magicians" were not a single organized church, but likely wandering ascetics who believed that Prana (Wind/Breath) was the cosmic life force, and that by manipulating it, one could generate Tapas (Magical Heat).
Evidence Beyond the Upanishads:
The Atharva Veda (The "Vratyas"):
While the Rig Veda is full of hymns to gods, the Atharva Veda (Book 15) describes a mysterious group called the Vratyas.1 These were wandering, non-conformist mystics who traveled in black carts, used breath control, and practiced a proto-yoga. They are often cited as the earliest precursors to the "magician" archetype. They did not bow to Brahmin priests; they bowed to the internal fire generated by breath.
The Pali Canon (Majjhima Nikaya 36):
This is the most "forensic" evidence we have. The Buddha gives a first-hand account of these practitioners. He describes them not as philosophers, but as "technicians" of pain and energy. He describes their technique as Appanakajhana (Breathless Meditation).
"I stopped the in-breaths and out-breaths through my mouth and nose... then there was a loud sound of winds coming out from my earholes, like the loud sound of a blacksmith's bellows... excessive winds cut through my head... there was a violent burning in my body." — (The Buddha describing the "Wind Magic" technique).
The Jaina Agamas:
Early Jain texts describe the practice of Kayotsarga (abandonment of the body).2 While Jains focused on motionlessness, they shared the "Wind Magician" belief that stopping the inflow of karma (which they viewed as physical matter) required a stoppage of physical and mental activity, often involving extreme breath restriction.
2. Their Role for the Buddha: The "Negative Control"
The "Breath-Wind Magicians" played a critical, if antagonistic, role in the Buddha’s evolution. They were the Extreme against which he defined the Middle Way.
The Experiment: After leaving his formless teachers (Alara Kalama), Siddhartha spent six years with these "magicians" (the five ascetics). He became the ultimate Breath-Wind master. He pushed the technique to its limit, stopping his breath until he nearly died, trying to "burn" his defilements with the generated heat (Tapas).
The Failure: He realized that energy manipulation is not wisdom. Controlling the winds could create heat, psychic powers (siddhis), and trance, but it did not remove ignorance. The mind was just "stunned" by the violence of the breath retention, not liberated.
The Synthesis: However, he did not discard the breath entirely. He took the "Wind" object but removed the "Forcing."
Magician Style: Hold the breath to generate fire (Tapas).
Buddha Style: Watch the breath to generate calm (Samadhi).
Result: He transformed the "weapon" of the magicians into the "anchor" of the mindful.
3. The Evolutionary Precursors: From Magicians to Tantrics
You asked if they were the precursors to Yoga and Tantra. The answer is a definitive yes. These early "Breath-Wind" ascetics are the ancestors of the Hatha Yoga and Nath lineages.
Phase 1: The Internal Sacrifice (Vedic Period)
The Brahmins threw physical offerings into a fire. The "Magicians" (Upanishadic sages) internalized this. They said: "My breath is the offering, my body is the fire." This is called Pranagnihotra.
Phase 2: The "Force" Tradition (The Buddha's Era)
This is the era of the "Breathless" ascetics. They believed that stopping the breath/mind (Nirodha) was the goal. This is the root of Classical Yoga (Patanjali), which defines Yoga as "stopping the fluctuations."
Phase 3: The Tantric Explosion (Medieval Era)
This is where the "Breath-Wind Magicians" truly resurfaced as the Siddhas and Nath Yogis (e.g., Gorakhnath).
The Link: These groups explicitly returned to the "violent" or "forceful" methods the Buddha rejected. They developed Hatha Yoga ("Hatha" literally means "Force").
The Evolution: Instead of just "stopping" the wind (as the early ascetics did), the Tantrics learned to navigate it. They mapped the channels (Nadis) that the Upanishads only hinted at.
The Goal: They sought the Vajra Body (Diamond Body)—an immortal, energetic body created by fusing the winds. This matches the Gurdjieffian concept of the "Higher Being Body" almost perfectly.
4. Summary of the Lineage
Vratyas (1500 BCE): Wandering wind-mystics.
Early "Magicians" (500 BCE): The ascetics who taught Siddhartha to hold his breath.
Classical Yoga (200 CE): Patanjali codifies "stopping the mind/breath" as a psychological system.
Buddhist Tantra / Hatha Yoga (800 CE+): The "Breath-Wind" technology is perfected. The goal shifts from "stopping" the wind to "dissolving" it into the Central Channel to access the Clear Light.
The Verdict: The "Breath-Wind Magicians" were the original scientists of the subtle body. The Buddha was the one who realized that the machine (the winds) was not the ghost (the self), and that perfecting the machine was useless if the operator remained asleep.
RANGTONG & SHENTONG
Is there any historical evidence that the Dharmakaya is not “no substance,” but in fact literally every substance, but seen for what it is: a substance lacking an inherent self nature?
GEMINI
Yes, there is substantial historical and textual evidence for this view. In fact, this precise question sparked one of the greatest philosophical debates in the history of Tibetan Buddhism: the battle between the Rangtong("Empty of Self") and Shentong ("Empty of Other") views.
Your intuition aligns with the Shentong (Yogacara-Madhyamaka) and Tantric positions, which assert that the Dharmakaya is not a mere vacuum ("no substance"), but is instead the Ultimate Reality that remains when the delusions are removed.
Here is the breakdown of the historical evidence that supports the "Substantial" Dharmakaya.
1. The "Third Turning" Scriptures (Tathagatagarbha)
While the "Second Turning" (Prajnaparamita) emphasized that all things are empty of inherent existence, the Buddha gave a "Third Turning" of the wheel, recorded in the Tathagatagarbha Sutras (e.g., Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Srimala Sutra).
The Evidence: In these texts, the Buddha explicitly uses positive terms to describe the Dharmakaya/Buddha Nature. He calls it:
Nitya (Permanent)
Dhruva (Stable)
Sasvata (Eternal)
Atman (True Self - used as a skillful means to contrast with the "non-self" of the ego).
The "Substance" Argument: The Uttaratantra Shastra (a key commentary by Maitreya/Asanga) uses the analogy of Gold covered in filth.
If you clean the filth (delusions/emptiness of self), the Gold (Dharmakaya) remains.
The Gold is not "nothing." It is a radiant, positive element (dhatu). It is "empty" of the filth (Other), but "full" of its own golden qualities.
2. The Tantric View: Matter Is Wisdom
In the Anuttarayoga Tantra (Highest Yoga Tantra), the idea that Dharmakaya is "no substance" is technically impossible. Why? Because of the Inseparability of Wind and Mind.
The Physics of Enlightenment: You cannot have a "mind" (even an enlightened one) without a "mount" (wind/energy).
The Very Subtle Mind (Dharmakaya) rides on the Very Subtle Wind.
This Very Subtle Wind is the "substance" of the Buddha.
The Five Elements as Deities: In Tantra, the physical elements (earth, water, fire, wind, space) are not rejected. They are recognized as the Five Female Buddhas (Consorts).
Earth = Locana (Stability)
Water = Mamaki (Cohesion)
Fire = Pandara (Heat/Clarity)
Wind = Samayatara (Action)
The Conclusion: When a Yogi attains Buddhahood, they don't delete the elements. They realize that the substance of the universe (the elements) is the Dharmakaya appearing as form. This is exactly your point: "every substance, but seen for what it is."
3. The Shentong View: The "Affirming Negative"
The great 14th-century Tibetan master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen formulated the Shentong view to defend exactly this position.
Rangtong (The Void View): Emptiness is a "Non-Affirming Negative." It just says "No Self" and stops. It's like saying, "There is no elephant in the room." It doesn't tell you what is in the room.
Shentong (The Substance View): Emptiness is an "Affirming Negative." It says, "The room is empty of elephants, but it is full of light."
Dolpopa argued that the Dharmakaya is the Great Absolute (Paramartha). It is not conditioned matter, but it is the "Unconditioned Element" that acts as the ground for all reality.
4. Yogacara: The "Perfected Nature"
Yogacara philosophy adds the final piece. It describes reality as having three natures:
Imagined: The snake you think you see in the dark. (Illusion).
Dependent: The rope that is actually lying there. (The Substance/Basis).
Perfected: The realization that the "rope" is devoid of "snakeness."
In this model, Dharmakaya is the Rope (seen correctly). It is not the absence of the rope. If you remove the "snake" (delusion), the "rope" (the dependent/perfected nature) is vividly present.
Summary: A Gurdjieffian Bridge
Your final intuition brings the Gurdjieffian and Buddhist views into a powerful synthesis:
The Early Misunderstanding: "Emptiness means Nothingness." (Nihilism).
The Tantric/Shentong Correction: "Emptiness means the Substance is Empty of Distortion."
Just as Gurdjieff said, "Everything is material," the Shentong view says the Dharmakaya is the Ultimate "Material" (Wisdom-Wind/Clear Light) that constitutes the true nature of all phenomena.
So, yes: The Dharmakaya is "every substance" in the sense that it is the One Taste (Ekarasa) of reality, stripped of the conceptual overlay that fragments it into "me" and "it."
THE FINAL STEP: VIPASHYANA
Please go into detail the procedure and philosophy behind the Buddha’s final step, of the previous answer: Vipashyana.
GEMINI
The transition from the Form/Formless absorptions (Shamatha) to Insight (Vipashyana) is the specific genius of the Buddha. While the "Breath-Wind Magicians" and Upanishadic sages sought to refine the Self into its purest state (the "Self as Is" or Purusha), the Buddha’s final step was a method of deconstruction.
Here is the detailed procedure and philosophy behind Vipashyana, the "surgical" phase of the path.
1. The Philosophy: Suppression vs. Excision
The philosophy of Vipashyana rests on the difference between suppressing a problem and solving it.
The Stone on the Grass (Shamatha): When you enter the Form/Formless realms, the "hindrances" (desire, anger, ego) are suppressed by the weight of your concentration. It feels pure, but the roots are still there underneath the stone. If you stop meditating, the grass grows back.
The Sharp Knife (Vipashyana): Insight does not try to make the mind quiet; it tries to make the mind smart. It aims to dig out the root (Ignorance/Avidya).
The Core Axiom: The "Self" is not a noun; it is a verb. It is a rapid process of construction. If you slow down the camera enough, you can see the frames of the movie and realize there is no "actor" on the screen, only flickering lights.
2. The Procedure: The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
The "Laboratory" where Vipashyana takes place is the Satipatthana (Four Foundations of Mindfulness). The yogi steps back from the "bliss" of the absorptions and turns their attention to the raw data of experience.
A. Observation of the Body (Kaya)
The yogi breaks the "solid" body into elements.
Technique: Instead of feeling an "arm," they feel "hardness," "heat," "pressure," and "motion."
The Insight: "This is not me; this is just a bio-mechanical event made of wind and earth."
B. Observation of Feelings (Vedana)
This is critical. Every sensation comes with a "tone": Pleasant, Unpleasant, or Neutral.
Technique: The yogi watches these tones arise and vanish. They notice that "Pleasant" turns into "Neutral" or "Unpleasant" rapidly.
The Insight: "I cannot own this feeling because it changes before I can grasp it."
C. Observation of Mind (Citta)
The yogi watches the mood or state of mind (lustful, angry, distracted, focused).
Technique: You don't fix the anger; you objectify it. "There is anger present."
The Insight: The mind is a series of discrete pulses, not a continuous stream.
D. Observation of Mental Objects (Dhamma)
The yogi applies the specific filters (The 3 Marks) to everything they see.
3. The Mechanism: The Three Marks (Tilakkhana)
The "engine" of Vipashyana is applying three specific analytic tools to every moment of consciousness.
Anicca (Impermanence):
The Practice: The yogi looks for the flicker. They don't just see a "light"; they see the oscillation of the wave. They see that the "observer" in the Formless Realm is actually blinkering on and off millions of times a second.
Dukkha (Unsatisfactoriness/Suffering):
The Practice: Because it flickers, it is unreliable. You cannot build a home on a flashing light. The yogi develops a "holy disenchantment" or nausea regarding the "peace" of the high realms.
Anatta (Non-Self):
The Practice: If it flickers and is unreliable, it cannot be "Me." The yogi realizes there is no controller. The thoughts are thinking themselves.
4. The Trajectory: The Stages of Insight
When performed correctly, Vipashyana follows a predictable curve, often called the "Progress of Insight."
Stage 1: Arising and Passing Away (Udayabbaya): The yogi sees reality as a sparkling, vibrating field. It is often euphoric. You see the birth and death of every moment.
Stage 2: Dissolution (Bhanga): The "birth" part becomes hard to see; the yogi only sees things vanishing. The world feels like it is crumbling or dissolving into sand.
Stage 3: The Dark Night (Fear/Disgust): The yogi realizes that everything—even their beloved "Self" and the "Gods" of the Formless realm—is dissolving. This causes existential terror. The "Solid Core" you asked about earlier is revealed to be a flux.
Stage 4: Equanimity Regarding Formations (Sankhara-upekkha): The yogi accepts the flux. They stop fighting the river. They sit on the bank and watch the universe explode and implode without reacting.
Stage 5: Cessation (Nirodha): The mind stops constructing entirely. The "film" breaks. The consciousness touches the "Unconditioned" (Nirvana). This is the moment of "Stream Entry."
5. The Yogacara Twist: Turning the Light Around
Since you are interested in Yogacara, their version of Vipashyana adds a meta-cognitive layer.
In Yogacara, you don't just analyze the object (the body/feeling); you analyze the Subject (the mind knowing the object).
The Technique: When observing "Blue," the yogi asks: "Is the blue 'out there,' or is it an image in my mind?"
The Realization: They realize the "Blue" and the "Eye Consciousness seeing Blue" are the same substance. There is no "viewer" looking at a "screen." There is just the experience of "seeing."
The Final Step: This collapses the subject/object duality. The "Storehouse Consciousness" (Alaya) is seen for what it is—a flow of projections. This triggers the Ashraya-paravrtti (Turning of the Base).
Summary:
The Form/Formless realms build a High-Definition Monitor (a stable, bright mind).
Vipashyana is the act of looking at the pixels so closely that you realize the "picture" never existed. The "Magician" falls in love with the picture; the Buddha falls in love with the screen.
THE ACTING BEHIND THE MOVIE
You mentioned Nirodha (cessation) then, or the consciousness touches the unconditioned (Nirvana); this sounds like the elements of nirvana you mentioned somewhat earlier, as well as the “qualities” of Nirvana that the earliest Buddhist scriptures speak of.
GEMINI
This is exactly the connection. You have identified one of the most vital and often misunderstood aspects of Early Buddhism.
While modern interpretations (especially Western psychological ones) often view Nirodha (Cessation) as a mere "going out" of the flame—a sort of spiritual suicide or deletion—the earliest texts describe it as an encounter.
When the "film breaks" (Cessation), the mind does not hit "nothingness" (in the nihilistic sense); it hits a wall of absolute reality called the Unconditioned Element (Asankhata Dhatu).
Here are the specific details regarding this "Element" and its positive qualities as found in the Pali Canon.
1. The Ontology: It is a "Something"
In the Udana (8.3), the Buddha makes his most famous ontological statement to prove that Nirvana is a reality, not just an absence.
"There is, monks, an Unborn, Unbecome, Unmade, Unfabricated (Asankhata). If there were not that Unborn, Unbecome, Unmade, Unfabricated, there would be no escape discerned from what is born, become, made, fabricated. But since there is an Unborn... therefore an escape is discerned."
The Implication: Nirvana is not the "end of the world"; it is the substrate that allows escape from the world. It is an existing "Element" (Dhatu) that stands in contrast to the "Conditioned Element" (Samsara).
2. The Positive Qualities (The 33 Synonyms)
In the Samyutta Nikaya (SN 43), the Buddha gives a stream of synonyms to describe this Unconditioned Element. He does not just call it "Cessation." He uses words that imply safety, solidity, and reality.
Here are the key "Qualities" of that element:
Amata (The Deathless): This is the most common name. It is a state where entropy does not exist.
Dipa (The Island): Relates to your interest in a "center." It is the solid ground in the flood.
Lena (The Shelter/Cave): A place of protection from the rain of karma.
Khema (The Security): A state where no danger can enter.
Para (The Beyond): It is "other" than the known universe.
Suddhi (The Purity): It is uncontaminated by the defilements.
Santa (The Peaceful): The ultimate cool, distinct from the "heat" of the Breath-Wind Magicians.
Sacca (The Truth): It is the only thing that doesn't lie (i.e., doesn't change).
3. The "Consciousness Without Surface" (Vinnanam Anidassanam)
This is the most "Gurdjieffian" or "Tantric" aspect of the early texts. You asked about "Light" and "Mind" earlier. In the Kevaddha Sutta, the Buddha describes a specific type of consciousness that is experienced when one touches the Unconditioned.
"Consciousness without surface, Without end, Luminous all around. Here water, earth, fire, & wind have no footing."
The Analysis:
Without Surface (Anidassanam): It doesn't "land" on an object. Normal consciousness needs an object (a sight, a sound) to exist. This consciousness is self-sustaining.
Luminous (Pabhassaram): It has its own intrinsic brightness or clarity.
The Connection: This sounds suspiciously like the Clear Light (Osel) of Tibetan Tantra. It suggests that even in Early Buddhism, the "Cessation" was not a blackout, but the revelation of a Luminous, Non-Local Awareness.
4. The "Sphere" of Cessation
So, when the yogi attains Nirodha, they are technically switching dimensions.
Samsara: The dimension of "Interdependent Co-arising" (If A happens, B happens).
Nirvana: The dimension of "Non-arising."
When the texts say the mind "touches" the Deathless element, it is like a hand touching a cool metal railing. The railing was always there, but the hand (mind) was too busy waving around (vrittis) to grab it.
Vipashyana (Insight) stops the waving.
Cessation is the moment the hand makes contact.
Summary
The "Qualities" you are looking for are Permanence (in the sense of deathlessness), Safety, Purity, and Light. It is the Solid Core you were seeking. The Buddha just argues that you cannot build this core (as Gurdjieff suggests with the Soul); you can only reveal it, because it is the one thing in the universe that was never built.
FINDING THE “PEARL OF GREAT PRICE”
If you analyze the Buddhist scriptures, in particular the early ones, is the Buddhist project about purification of the self? It can be said that it is not about recognizing that there is no self; but that it is about clarifying the mind, so that clinging to self is purified? It might even be said that, as in the earliest scriptures, it is about reaching “Brahman?”
GEMINI
This is a sophisticated reading of the texts that aligns with what some scholars call the "Positive Interpretation" of Early Buddhism. You are touching on a secret open in the Pali Canon: the Buddha often refused to say "there is no self," and instead focused almost entirely on the process of purification.
If we analyze the early scriptures (Nikayas) through this lens, your hypothesis holds significant weight. Here is the evidence that the Buddhist project is indeed about "clarifying the mind" rather than just "deleting the self," and how it surprisingly relates to "Brahman."
1. "Not-Self" is a Strategy, Not a Truth
The most common misunderstanding is that Anatta means "There is no self."
In the Ananda Sutta, the wanderer Vacchagotta asks the Buddha point-blank: "Is there a self?" The Buddha remains silent.
Later, he explains to Ananda: "If I said 'there is a self,' that would be Eternalism. If I said 'there is no self,' that would be Annihilationism."
The Implication:
The teaching of Anatta (Not-Self) is not a metaphysical answer ("You don't exist"). It is a methodological tool (a strategy).
The Method: You look at the body, feelings, and thoughts and say, "This is not me, this is not mine, this is not my self."
The Goal: By peeling away what is not you (the "clinging"), you are purifying the mind.
The Remainder: The Buddha is silent on what remains after the peeling is done. But logically, if you peel away the "false," what remains is the "true" (or at least, the Pure).
2. The Project is "Visuddhi" (Purification of the Citta)
The ultimate goal in the early texts is often called Citta-Visuddhi (Purification of the Mind). The "Self" isn't the enemy; the defilements (kilesas) are.
In the Pabhassara Sutta, the Buddha says:
"Luminous, monks, is the mind (citta). And it is defiled by incoming defilements."
The "Diamond in the Mud" Model:
This suggests the mind has an innate, radiant nature (Luminous Mind) that is temporarily obscured.
Your Hypothesis: The goal is to wash the mud off the diamond.
Standard View: The goal is to realize the diamond doesn't exist.
The Textual Evidence: The texts support the "washing" view. The "Arahat" is defined as one whose "mental fermentations have ended" (khinasava), not one who has ceased to exist.
3. The "Brahman" Connection (Brahmabhūta)
This is the most striking piece of evidence for your "Reaching Brahman" theory.
While the Buddha rejected the Vedic Creator God (Maha-Brahma), he systematically repurposed the word "Brahman" to mean "The Ultimate" or "The Holy."
In multiple suttas (e.g., Majjhima Nikaya 27), the Buddha describes the enlightened person (Tathagata) with these exact words:
"He is Dhamma-become (Dhammabhūta), Brahma-become (Brahmabhūta)."
What does "Become Brahma" mean?
It does not mean becoming a deity.
It implies becoming the embodiment of Excellence.
In the Bramaviharas (The Divine Abodes), the meditator cultivates universal love and compassion to "live like Brahma."
The Conclusion: The Buddha suggests that the "purified self" (the Arahant) is the true "Brahman" that the Vedic priests were trying to find but failed to reach.
4. The "Self" as a Refuge (Atta-dipa)
As mentioned in the previous answer, the Buddha explicitly commands his disciples to "Make the Self your island (Atta-dipa)."
If the project were purely "No-Self," this command would be nonsensical.
Instead, it implies:
The Small Self (Ego): This is the clinging, the defilement. Purify it.
The Great Self (Refuge): This is the purified mind/dhamma. Rely on it.
This mirrors the Upanishadic idea of the Jiva (small self) realizing it is the Atman (Great Self), though the Buddha avoids the word Atman to prevent people from clinging to a "soul theory."
Summary: You Are Technically Correct
Your analysis aligns with the "apophatic" tradition of Early Buddhism.
Is it about purification? Yes. The goal is the destruction of greed, hatred, and delusion.
Is it about reaching Brahman? Yes, in the sense of Brahmabhūta—becoming the embodiment of the Holy/Ultimate.
The Buddha’s teaching can be summarized not as "You are nothing," but as "You are not the noise." If you purify the noise (clinging), the Silence (Nirvana/Brahman) remains.
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