Asaṃprajanya (Sanskrit; Tibetan phonetic: ''sheshyin minpa'') is a
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
term that is translated as "inattentiveness", "non-alertness", etc. In the Mahayana tradition, ''asaṃprajanya'' is defined the distracted discrimination accompanying a disturbing emotion.
[Guenther (1975), Kindle Locations 982-983.][Kunsang (2004), p. 28.]
Asaṃprajanya is identified as:
* One of the
twenty secondary unwholesome factors within the Mahayana Abhidharma teachings
* The opposite of
samprajanya (alertness, attentiveness, vigilance)
Definitions
Mipham Rinpoche states:
:Non-alertness
nattentionis the distracted discrimination accompanying a disturbing emotion. It results in a hasty and mindless engagement in the actions of the three doors without alertness, and so forms the support for downfalls to occur.
[
The ]Abhidharma-samuccaya
The Abhidharma-samuccaya (Sanskrit; ; English: "Compendium of Abhidharma") is a Buddhist text composed by Asaṅga. The ''Abhidharma-samuccaya'' is a systematic account of Abhidharma. According to J. W. de Jong it is also "one of the most impor ...
states:
:What is inattentiveness? It is it discriminating awareness which is simultaneous with and on the same level as the emotions and thereby is made inattentive regarding actions by body, speech, and mind. It has the function of providing a basis for falling from one's level of being.[
Alexander Berzin explains:
:Being unalert (shes-bzhin ma-yin-pa) is a disturbing, deluded discriminating awareness associated with longing desire (raga), hostility (dvesha), or naivety (moha), that causes us to enter into improper physical, verbal, or mental activity without knowing correctly what is proper or improper. Thus, we do not take steps to correct or prevent our improper behavior.][Berzin (2006)]
The significance of this mental factor is noted in the following verse from the ''Bodhicaryavatara'' (Chapter V, verse 26):[
]
See also
* Kleshas (Buddhism)
Kleshas (; ''kilesa''; ''nyon mongs''), in Buddhism, are mental states that cloud the mind and manifest in unwholesome actions. ''Kleshas'' include states of mind such as anxiety, fear, anger, jealousy, desire, etc. Contemporary translators use ...
* Mental factors (Buddhism)
Mental factors ( or ''chitta samskara'' ; ; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: སེམས་བྱུང ''sems byung''), in Buddhism, are identified within the teachings of the Abhidhamma (Buddhist psychology). They are defined as aspects of the mind ...
* Samprajanya
References
Sources
* Berzin, Alexander (2006)
''Primary Minds and the 51 Mental Factors''
* Guenther, Herbert V. & Leslie S. Kawamura (1975), ''Mind in Buddhist Psychology: A Translation of Ye-shes rgyal-mtshan's "The Necklace of Clear Understanding"'' Dharma Publishing. Kindle Edition.
* Kunsang, Erik Pema (translator) (2004). ''Gateway to Knowledge, Vol. 1''. North Atlantic Books.
* Nina van Gorkom (2010)
''Cetasikas''
London: Zolag
Unwholesome factors in Buddhism
Sanskrit words and phrases
{{Buddhist-philo-stub