What is consciousness?

[Deleted member 40035]

I agree with you. Consciousness includes self-delusion and other biases that allow folk to get through.

Do earth worms have self-delusion and other biases though?
Do earth worms have a conscious for that matter.

 

[Harry Angstrom]

So we have consciousness but the real issue for us as human beings is what do we do with that.

What we do with it wasnt the question.
Why is it the real issue? In what way is it the real issue?

I agree with you. Consciousness includes self-delusion and other biases that allow folk to get through.

There are strands of thought that there is no real "self" and "self" is a delusion.

 

[Skandhaless]

Do earth worms have self-delusion and other biases though?
Do earth worms have a conscious for that matter.

They definitely have a conscious. They like all animate beings make volitional acts such as moving and feeding. This must be triggered by desire of sorts for a state preference (full rather than empty, here rather than there). Earth worms are sound, vibration respondent so it's evident they are in touch with at least the sense door of touch.
Are they deluded? They are certainly not enlightened but much would depend on what we class as deluded. Aware of Buddha nature and potentiality probably not, distracted by material wants and creations of self.. Well they're winning that one probably.

 

[Mercia Blackcat]

What we do with it wasnt the question.
Why is it the real issue? In what way is it the real issue?

There are strands of thought that there is no real "self" and "self" is a delusion.

What is consciousness was the question. Well for us, consciousness is an experience. Through the senses we experience form...sight, sound, touch and feeling, smell and taste....essentially waveforms or vibrations. Even smell is based on vibrations at the quantum level and taste is dependent on smell. So we have these four main senses. We react to a form with a feeling, either like, dislike or neutral. So we then perceive the form and even label it. Straight away we form a conceptualisation of the form and so mental formations follow and we experience impulses or volitions. We either cling to an attraction or push away an aversion as the experience enters our consciousness through cognition. This act of clinging causes a sense of self to arise in the mind and in this continuum of experience we form habits of response as the personality arises. The personality in the mind then leads us into everything we do. Some people crave for power and others for wealth. Some crave for sensual pleasure and others for ego fulfilment. We become trapped in the cycle. As all of these things we crave for are transient so is the satisfaction we derive from them so constantly driven by selfish desire we experience suffering and that is the experience of life for many people on this planet.

What is consciousness was the question. We can either pursue a scientific understanding and form more concepts in our mind through external observation or we can remove the mental covering we have formed and experience consciousness through internal observation. I doubt if the former will change our experience of consciousness but the latter certainly will. So what we do with it is vital to our lives. Consciousness is an experience so to pursue that experience without thought coverings is as valid a way to know consciousness as is intellectual curiosity as to its nature and you never know it may even break the cycle of suffering and we could certainly do with that in this world today.
If you experience no suffering in this life then fine, I'm pleased for you, but remember everything you have based your happiness on is transient and so are you.

 

[Harry Angstrom]

What is consciousness was the question. Well for us, consciousness is an experience. Through the senses we experience form...sight, sound, touch and feeling, smell and taste....essentially waveforms or vibrations. Even smell is based on vibrations at the quantum level and taste is dependent on smell. So we have these four main senses. We react to a form with a feeling, either like, dislike or neutral. So we then perceive the form and even label it. Straight away we form a conceptualisation of the form and so mental formations follow and we experience impulses or volitions. We either cling to an attraction or push away an aversion as the experience enters our consciousness through cognition. This act of clinging causes a sense of self to arise in the mind and in this continuum of experience we form habits of response as the personality arises. The personality in the mind then leads us into everything we do. Some people crave for power and others for wealth. Some crave for sensual pleasure and others for ego fulfilment. We become trapped in the cycle. As all of these things we crave for are transient so is the satisfaction we derive from them so constantly driven by selfish desire we experience suffering and that is the experience of life for many people on this planet.

What is consciousness was the question. We can either pursue a scientific understanding and form more concepts in our mind through external observation or we can remove the mental covering we have formed and experience consciousness through internal observation. I doubt if the former will change our experience of consciousness but the latter certainly will. So what we do with it is vital to our lives. Consciousness is an experience so to pursue that experience without thought coverings is as valid a way to know consciousness as is intellectual curiosity as to its nature and you never know it may even break the cycle of suffering and we could certainly do with that in this world today.
If you experience no suffering in this life then fine, I'm pleased for you, but remember everything you have based your happiness on is transient and so are you.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply.
I think we are fairly far apart on what we think we are as human beings. I agree everything is transient.

 

[Mercia Blackcat]

Thanks for the comprehensive reply.
I think we are fairly far apart on what we think we are as human beings. I agree everything is transient.

Well it's one perspective and very Buddhist in origin. It's a detailed perspective that I like and a form of cognitive psychology. There are other perspectives that don't necessarily contradict that version such as those of Raja Yoga which are probably closer to Humanistic Psychology. It doesn't matter that much as it's not the concepts which are important but the practice of the method which is used to break the cycle of suffering.

 

[Harry Angstrom]

Well it's one perspective and very Buddhist in origin. It's a detailed perspective that I like and a form of cognitive psychology. There are other perspectives that don't necessarily contradict that version such as those of Raja Yoga which are probably closer to Humanistic Psychology. It doesn't matter that much as it's not the concepts which are important but the practice of the method which is used to break the cycle of suffering.

If it works for you then it is all good.