The Stream of Eye-consciousness

眼门心路过程

Seeing means contact between the visible object and the eye-base, which causes eye-consciousness (cakkhuviññāna). This is usually rendered in plain Burmese as ‘myin-thi’ - seeing-knowing, suggesting perception by the eye. Let me begin by explaining the sequence of a thought-process that operates when a visible object presents itself to the eye-base through the eye-door. Several thought moments occur in sequence during each thought-process. First, when the eye-base receives the image of the visible object, life-continuum consciousness (bhavanga) wakes up and initiates the process of seeing in three thought-moments. Thisexciteseye-door-adverting consciousness (cakkhudvārāvajjana), which turns towards the visible object. The image that falls on the eye-base is cognised by eye-consciousness (cakkhuviññāna), which at first remains unperturbed by defilements. It is followed immediately by receiving consciousness (sampaticchana), which receives or accepts the image. After that investigation (santīrana) takes over and investigates the object, so that determining (votthapana)can decide who is who, and what is what. Until now, latent defilement, which has been lying in wait for the opportunity to rear its head, has been unable to operate, but as soon as determining consciousness has decided that the object is agreeable or disagreeable, liking or disliking develop when the process of impulsion (javana) is brought into play. Impulsion normally runs its full course of seven thought-moments. At this stage action can be adjudged as moral or immoral, and defilements of greed, anger, or delusion now shows their true colours. Finally the two thought moments of registering (tadārammana)occur. This is a description of the thought-process of the mind on seeing an object. It is called ‘vīthi,’ the path or course that consciousness takes in establishing itself.

“看到”意味着视觉对象和眼根的接触，这导致生起眼识(cakkhuviññāna)。它用缅甸文通常写作‘myin-thi’ –看到-知道，表示经由眼的感知。让我开始解释，一个视觉对象通过眼门把自己呈现给眼根的时候，一个运作的心路过程的序列。每个心路过程中有几个心识刹那顺次出现。首先，眼根接收到视觉对象的图像后，有分心(bhavanga)被唤醒，并在三个心识刹那后开始看的过程。这就激发眼门转向心(cakkhudvārāvajjana)生起，转向视觉对象。落入眼根的图像由眼识(cakkhuviññāna)来认知，最初眼识心路还不受烦恼侵扰。紧接着的是领受心(sampaticchana)，接收和领受图像。然后，推度心(santīrana)接管并推度对象，如此，(接下来)的确定心(votthapana)就能确定谁是谁，和什么是什么。直到现在，一直在睡眠等待抬头机会的潜伏烦恼，还无法运作，但是，一旦确定心已经确定该对象是可意的或者不可意的，在速行(javana)过程开始运作时，粘着或排斥便生起。速行通常运行七个心识刹那的全过程。到这个阶段，业就能判断为善或不善，贪、嗔、痴的烦恼此时展现出它们的本色。最后，两个心识刹那的彼所缘(tadārammana)生起。这就是看到一个对象时，心的认知过程的描述。它称为‘vīthi’，路或过程。心就是通过路建立起自己的。