Vicikitsa (Sanskrit, also ''vicikitsā''; Pali: ''vicikicchā''; Tibetan Wylie: ''the tshom'') 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 "doubt" or "indecision". It is defined as being of two minds about the meaning of the

Four Noble Truths In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (; ; "The Four Arya (Buddhism), arya satya") are "the truths of the noble one (the Buddha)," a statement of how things really are (Three marks of existence, the three marks of existence) when they are seen co ...

; it functions as a basis for not becoming involved with wholesome activities. Vicikitsa is identified as: * One of the

five hindrances In the Buddhist tradition, the five hindrances (; Pali: ') are identified as mental factors that hinder progress in meditation and in daily life. In the Theravada tradition, these factors are identified specifically as obstacles to the jhānas ...

that impede meditation * One of the six root unwholesome mental factors within the Mahayana Abhidharma teachings * One of the fourteen unwholesome mental factors within the Theravada Abhidhamma teachings * One of the ten fetters in the Theravada tradition

Explanations

Theravada

Nina van Gorkom explains: The

Atthasālinī Atthasālinī (Pali), also known as Dhammasaṅgaṇī-aṭṭhakathā, is a Buddhist text composed by Buddhaghosa in the Theravada Abhidharma tradition. The title has been translated as "The Expositor"van Gorkom (2009)Preface or "Providing the Me ...

(II, Part IX, Chapter III, 259) defines vicikicchā as follows:

Mahayana

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: Herbert Guenther explains: Alexander Berzin explains: Chogyam Trungpa states that ''vicikitsa'' (''doubt'') means "you do not trust any possible alternatives and do not want advice or any way out". This includes doubting the teachings, the teacher, and the dharma, as well as the norms of everyday existence.

References

Sources

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External links