Vacuum states of consciousness: a Tibetan Buddhist view

Abstract

In the early Theravada Buddhist view, the bhavakga, literally, the “ground of becoming,” may be characterized as a relative vacuum state of consciousness, voided of all manner of mental activity known as javana. This appears to be identical to the substrate consciousness (alayavijñana) asserted in the later Great Perfection (Dzogchen) school of Tibetan Buddhism. This state of consciousness is presented not simply as a philosophical speculation but as an experienced mental phenomenon that can be accessed through the achievement of meditative quiescence (famatha). According to the Great Perfection school, primordial consciousness ( jñana) may be regarded as an ultimate ground state of consciousness, and it can allegedly be ascertained non-dually through the cultivation of contemplative insight (vipafyana). These relative and ultimate vacuum states of consciousness bear remarkable similarities with the definitions of relative and absolute vacuum states of space presented in contemporary physics. The Buddhist and scientific views may be regarded as complementary, each having its own strengths and weaknesses.

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