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Vijñānavāda

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Buddhism and Jainism

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Indian Religions ((EIR))

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Synonyms

Cittamātra; Consciousness-only; Mind-only; Vijñaptimātra(tā); Yogācāra; Yogācāra-Vijñānavāda

Definition

Vijñānavāda literally means the “doctrine of consciousness.” The Vijñānavāda, sometimes called as the “Yogācāra-Vijñānavāda,” is one of the most significant schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. According to this school, the only existent is consciousness (vijñānamātra, citta-mātra, or vijñapti-mātra).

Introduction

Vijñānavāda literally means the “doctrine of consciousness” (vijñāna + vāda). The other name of this school is the Yogācāra (see Yogācāra). It is also, at times, called the Yogācāra-Vijñānavāda. It is one of the two major schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. This school of Buddhist thought flourished in India from the third/fourth century A.D. to twelfth century. According to this school, the only existent is consciousness (vijñāna-mātra, cittamātra, or vijñapti-mātra). In Buddhism, vijñānacorresponds to the resulting activity when the mental and physical organs come into...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, 400076, India

    C. D. Sebastian

Authors
  1. C. D. Sebastian
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Correspondence to C. D. Sebastian .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Delhi, Department of Buddhist Studies, Delhi, India

    K. T. S. Sarao

  2. Elizabethtown College, Department of Religious Studies, Elizabethtown, USA

    Jeffery D. Long

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Sebastian, C.D. (2017). Vijñānavāda. In: Sarao, K.T.S., Long, J.D. (eds) Buddhism and Jainism. Encyclopedia of Indian Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0852-2_406

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