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RASAS 2022- 39

An Analytical Study of the Buddhist Perspective on the Nature of Mind with
Special reference to Mūlapariyāyavagga in the Majjhimanikāya.

a
Mahinna Godagamage, N.V.
Department of Pāli and Buddhist Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenepura
nethmivithakshi@gmail.com

Mind is an intangible phenomenon that exists within person and changes momentarily.
According to Buddhism, the mind is able to attach the human being with the existence
or to make the way for the cessation of the cycle of existence. By inquiring about the
accounts on the nature of mind described through the Mūlapariyāyavagga in the
Majjhimanikāya, it enables to elaborate on how the mind and the way, it is dealing with
the defilements that arise through the causation and functions with relation to the
attainment of “Nibbāna”. Among the teachings which are applicable in making the
ordinary mind approach to the state of spiritual bliss, the one-pointedness nature that
gains with the cultivation of meditation paves the path for achieving wisdom that inquires
at the existence of the world in a realistic way. By approaching to the impermanent nature
of the world in a permanent aspect, generates the entities like “I, myself” which obstruct
the cessation of saṃsāric existence, is well-explained in the information recorded in the
Mūlapariyāyavagga through the primary sources and with that, the complete eradication
of the defilements or the destruction of the craving attains. In the Mūlapariyāyavagga,
the mind’s nature is explicated in various ways. The concept of mind has a strong
connection with the teachings of theory of causality, Kamma, Three characteristics of
existence as the links of a chain. Though the concept of mind is discussed with these
teachings on the significant features of the mind, any of these teachings are unable to
define the mind with a fixed meaning as it is indefinable. But through the Buddhist
realistic theories, the defilements and their approach towards the mind, have thoroughly
investigated by describing the techniques to make the stability of the mind and makes it
freed with the incoming defilements.

Keywords: Defilements, Mind, Majjhimanikāya, Saṃsāra, Mūlapariyāyavagga

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