In this episode, Lama John concludes discussing the first topic, “The Five Aggregates,” from the classic text “A Manual of Key Buddhist Terms: Categorization of Buddhist Terminologies With Commentary” by Kawa Paltsek. (Click here for an overview of the text.)
The fifth aggregate consists of eight Consciousness Aggregates: the five sensory consciousnesses (eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body); the mental consciousness; the afflicted consciousness; and the mind as the basis of all. Lama John explains how the coming together of an object and a sense organ (e.g., a flower and your nose) results in the arising of the corresponding consciousness. All experience can be said to be part of the mental consciousness, that everything is a mental image that we believe to be true, and that the afflicted consciousness gives rise to a false belief in a sense of self.
It is through the transformation of these eight consciousnesses that we have knowledge of the true nature of reality, and of our self, and we can thus achieve buddhahood.
The Five Aggregates (part 09)