Vikṣepa (Sanskrit; Tibetan phonetic: ''nampar yengwa'') 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 ...

and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

term that is translated as "distraction", "mental wandering", etc. In the Mahayana tradition, ''vikṣepa'' is defined as the mental motion or wandering towards an object which causes the inability to remain one-pointedly on a virtuous objective.Kunsang (2004), p. 29.Guenther (1975), Kindle Locations 986-987. Vikṣepa is identified as: * One of the twenty secondary unwholesome factors within the Mahayana Abhidharma teachings * One of the attributes of Maya in advaita vedanta.

Adi Sankara Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedic scholar, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and his true impact lies in hi ...

mentions in his Viveka Choodamani (verse 113) that Vikshepa is an effect of Rajo Guna.

Definitions

Mipham Rinpoche states: :Distraction 'vikṣepa''belongs to the categories of the

three poisons The three poisons (Sanskrit: ''triviṣa''; Tibetan: ''dug gsum'') in the Mahayana tradition or the three unwholesome roots (Sanskrit: ''akuśala-mūla''; Pāli: ''akusala-mūla'') in the Theravada tradition are a Buddhist term that refers to th ...

. It is the mental motion or wandering towards an object which causes the inability to remain one-pointedly on a virtuous objective. It can be defined as distraction towards the outer, towards the inner, and towards status. 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 desultoriness? It is to be it scatter-brain and belongs to the categories of passion-lust (''

raga A raga ( ; , ; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. It is central to classical Indian music. Each raga consists of an array of melodic structures with musical motifs; and, fro ...

''), aversion-hatred (''

dvesha __NOTOC__ Dvesha (Sanskrit: द्वेष, IAST: ''dveṣa''; ; Tibetan: ''zhe sdang'') is a Buddhist and Hindu term that is translated as "hate, aversion".;; Quote: The attainment of freedom from the three poisons of lust (raga), hatred (dvesa) ...

''), and bewilderment-erring ('' moha''). Its function is to obstruct one from becoming free of passion-lust (''raga''). Alexander Berzin explains: :Mental wandering (rnam-par g.yeng-ba) is a part of longing desire (''raga''), hostility (''dvesha''), or naivety (''moha''). It is the subsidiary awareness that, due to any of the poisonous emotions, causes our mind to be distracted from its object of focus. If we are distracted due to longing desire, the object of our desire need not be something we are already familiar with, as in the case of flightiness of mind.Berzin (2006)

References

{{Reflist, 2

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''
Zolag

External links

Mahayana tradition:
Ranjung Yeshe wiki entry for ''rnam par g.yeng ba''
Unwholesome factors in Buddhism Sanskrit words and phrases

Definitions

See also

References

Sources

External links