Mechanism of Consciousness during Life, Dream and After-death

When the Master Hyega came and asked to the Master Bodhidharma “Please treat my uncomfortable mind,” Bodhidharma told Hyega, “If you show and give your uncomfortable mind to me, I will treat that.” Then immediately Hyega got enlightenment right there. Though Hyega was not comfortable that time, he could not put out from inside and show his uncomfortable mind to Bodhidharma. He became aware of that he made the uncomfortable mind by himself and destroyed it by himself, too. Finally he got enlightened that everything is fabricated by “Mind”. Mind is the most complicated section among the three categories of consciousness. As one category of consciousness, mind may be referred to as a result of sensation or thought. Also we can explain mind as feeling, emotion or mood. If we hear pleasant speech, pleasant feeling arises, while, if we hear unpleasant speech, aversion does. Regardless of the mind of a human being, there is nothing changed outside world. Nonetheless, the mind such as feeling, emotion or mood may affect the physical body. In accordance with such mind, pulse pounds faster, blood pressure goes up and breath becomes harsh. Sensation or thought may generate mind, and the mind may directly affect the body. Even if consciousness is schematically explained into sensation, thought and mind, we cannot exactly understand how consciousness arises and vanishes, i.e. mechanism of consciousness. Sensation which is perceived by physical organs can be stopped by not contacting the respective objects. For example, if we close eyes, sight consciousness can be stopped, and, if we close ears, sound consciousness can be also stopped, and further, if our five physical organs do not have any contact with the respective objects, i.e. color, sound, smell, taste, and tactile objects, the five sensations will not arise. However, although the five sensations will not arise, thinking in the brain cannot be stopped. We cannot stop thinking in the brain or in the mind, whatever. As long as thinking is not stopped, we cannot stop “mind”. Mind always arises and vanishes consciously or unconsciously. From where and through what process does consciousness arise? How do we recall our past experience? Where is the information on the past experience stored? How is the stored information recalled in our memory? Why do we not recall some of past experiences? When we hear something pleasant, why do we have a pleasant mind? On the other hand, when we hear something unpleasant, why does our mind become unpleasant? What is the relationship between body and mind? How do body and mind affect each other? Although there have been extensive researches and discussions on consciousness in religion, philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, medicine and so on since the dawn of human history, still not much could be concluded out of the same. There have been enormous researches on consciousness in the aspects of science, medicine, psychoanalysis, psychology, and religion in the world. In the West, their researches on consciousness are more likely focused on the aspects of science and medicine, on the other hand, in the East, the researches are mainly focused on the aspects of philosophy and religion. The researches in Western can be classified into in the medical aspects encompassing psychoanalysis and psychology and into in the scientific aspects encompassing biology and neuroscience. In the medical aspects of psychoanalysis and psychology, we can say that remarkable outcome has been achieved by Sigmund Freud, C.C. Jung and the like at 19 c. They introduced new concepts on consciousness such as subconscious, unconscious, and collective unconscious. In the scientific aspects of biology and neuroscience, many aspects concerning brain and neuro systems have been traversed by virtue of progress of science, medicine and technology. Particularly, in the West, the scientists called “corps of white clothes” regard the brain and neuro systems as absolute requirements for consciousness because life is a prerequisite for the five sense organs which generates the five sense consciousnesses. Further, they believe that brain is a subjective of the five sense consciousnesses as well as of thought. They believe that brain is dead when a life dies and that all the consciousnesses never arise when brain dies. Accordingly, they have been trying to find out from brain mechanism of consciousness or mind. Nonetheless, the results were not satisfactory. Although many physiological problems on the brain or neuro systems may be solved through scientific researches in the aspects of biology, neuroscience and medicine, the secrets on mind or thought are not yet until now. I suspect that they are trying to find out the solutions on immaterial phenomena such as consciousness, mind, thought and so on from the material objects such as brain and neuro systems. On the other hand, in the East, there has ever been no endeavor to get answers on the questions on consciousness or mind from brain. They have seen consciousness or mind in view of fundamental of existence of human being or of formation of the cosmos. At least they have not kept any position that consciousness or mind arises from brain. The explanations on consciousness or mind in the East like other oriental theories were prepared in totalism or through insight or intuition, unlike the Western theories which are analytical or logical. In both side worlds, the attitude on consciousness or mind are entirely different each other in the approach and manner of the solutions. Explanation on consciousness such as mind and thought requires various hypotheses to justify. However, there is no evidence for proving that the hypotheses are absolutely right. The hypotheses are deemed as true because it is impossible to prove whether or not the hypotheses are true and because any new theory cannot defeat the hypotheses. If any, we suspect that the current hypotheses we believe true will nowadays be a barrier to discover of mechanism of consciousness or mind. I will first review briefly the hypotheses which we believe, are true without any doubt.