Vijñaptimātratā
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vijñaptimātratā (T. rnam par rig pa tsam nyid; C. weishi; J. yuishiki; K. yusik 唯識). Translated as “mere-representation” or “mere-designation”.[1]
- Vijñaptimātratā is the cardinal doctrine of the Yogācāra school, viz., that the objects of experience are mere projections of consciousness (vijñāna). Thus, all objects are mere representations and all categories are mere designations. No object is the natural basis of its name; rather, the mind itself instead designates the object.[1]
The term Vijñaptimātra is used as an alternative designation of the Yogācāra school, especially as represented in the works of Vasubandhu, Sthiramati, and Dharmapāla, with particular emphasis on the doctrine of the three natures (trisvabhāva).[1]
The term also appears in the title of the influential East Asian Yogācāra treatise, the Cheng weishi lun (S. *Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi; “Demonstration of Representation-Only”).[1]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. vijñaptimātratā